Newspaper Page Text
Page 4A — Wednesday, March 10, 2021, The True Citizen
OPINIONS
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
The Pledge Of Allegiance
1 pledge, allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic for which
*it stands, one Nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice, for all.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
LOOKING BACK
{this week in Burke County history}
10 YEARS AGO-MARCH 16,20ll
Statistics compiled from several local agencies showed that
there were at least 81 homeless people in the county, more
than half of them children.
Officials from Southern Nuclear said that the recent earth
quake and tsunami in Japan would have no effect on the future
of new reactors at Plant Vogtle.
Burke County Commissioner Alphonso Andrews died. He
had been the board’s vice chairman sine 2009 and had retired
after a long career with the Farmers Home Administration.
25 YEARS AGO -MARCH 14,1996
Waynesboro attorney Preston B. Lewis, III said he would
be a candidate for the office of Burke County Probate Judge
being vacated by Mary O. Herrington. Mrs. Herrington had
held the post for the past ten years.
Patricia May was appointed as Chief Tax Appraiser for the
county, succeeding Julie Story who resigned from the post.
Story had held the position for 16 years.
Waynesboro Police Officer Marvin Jones was accidentally
shot in the face during a routine training exercise. He faced a
number of surgeries, including the reconstruction of his jaw.
50 YEARS AGO-MARCH 10,1971
For the third time in five years, Buck Brannen was taking
the Waynesboro High School basketball team to the State
Championships in Atlanta. Team members included Steve
Elliott, Willie Sims, Clay Brinson, Jimmy Riggs, Robert
Allen, Marty Banks, Robert “Mule” Abrams, Leroy Turner,
Claude Hill, Ray Mahaffey, Willie Young, Jimmy Lee Holmes
and Paul Martin.
Mrs. Cecil Elliott of Hephzibah gave birth to the first set of
twins to be born at the Burke County Hospital in eight years.
The two boys weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces and 6 pounds 12
ounces.
Waynesboro Police Department officers Sgt. Willard God-
bee and Cpl. Andrew Godbee both completed the basic course
of law enforcement in Augusta.
70 YEARS AGO-MARCH 18,1951
Two Waynesboro teens, Jimmie and Jack Daniel, discovered
a stolen car while horseback riding on a trail off Herndon
Road. The sheriff’s office determined the vehicle had been
stolen in Swainsboro and the owner had offered a reward for
its return.
The Central of Georgia Railroad was installing a flashing
light signal at the Seventh Street crossing. Prior to the instal
lation, motorists depended on a flagman stopping traffic.
Many Louisville residents reported sighting several “flying
saucers” over the area. Other witnesses said the object was
a jet plane.
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Waynesboro, Georgia 30830
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BEN ROBERTS
benroberts@bellsouth.net
I had to pick my kids up
from school on Monday. It’s
not something I normally do
because, frankly, I don’t have
the patience for it and my wife
frowns on me using ugly lan
guage in front of our children.
I don’t blame this on the
school system; no, it’s the fault
of the people in the vehicles
in front of me and behind and
blocking the turn lane, etc.
There is a large contingent of
folks in this county who have
no business driving, especially
with children in their cars.
Why so many of them believe
they should leave a car-length’s
worth of space between them
and the car in front of them is
beyond me.
Or why they refuse to let their
kid out unless he or she is right
next to the entrance, as though
walking an additional 100 feet
is going to be detrimental to
their health. Or why, after sit
ting in the drop off line for sev
eral minutes they and their child
decide they’ve got something
to discuss at the car window as
soon as the kid gets out.
Like I said, the school system
cannot be blamed for the habits
of parents and guardians. I do
fault the school system for the
poor planning however.
I was a reporter for The True
Citizen when the new Blakeney
was under construction. Having
just moved here from Atlanta, I
questioned the thought-process
behind putting three schools
on what amounts to a single
two-lane street with two exits.
I was assured it wouldn’t be an
issue. Twenty years later as a
parent with kids at two differ
ent schools, I can vouch for the
fact that has indeed become an
issue.
The current solution has
been to allow vehicles to use
the shoulders of either side of
Olympic Drive as a turn lane,
converting the street into some
backwards four lane road and
an accident waiting to happen.
The most obvious fix is to
widen Olympic Drive from the
bypass to its intersection with
Southside Drive. It’s a city
street but the school board and
the county own both sides of
the road.
The Recreation Department
is across the street and parents
often park on the sidewalk to
access the lower ball fields.
There’s a space there that could
be turned into a parking lot that
could also be used as overflow
for the school when necessary.
Is any of this cheap? Of
course not. Is it worth it for the
sanity of those of us dropping
off and picking up children?
Maybe. Is it cheaper than an
accident that hurts one of the
county’s children? Absolutely.
Speaking of public streets,
the Burke County Board of
Commissioners held a Public
Works Committee meeting last
week and once again the subject
of maintaining or helping fix
private roads and driveways
came up.
For those of you readers, and
some of our commissioners,
that don’t understand, county
owned equipment is not sup
posed to do work on privately-
owned property. Why should
the public tax dollars that you
and I pay be used to fix the
private road or driveway that
we’re not allowed to use.
And who decides who gets
help and who doesn’t? Or how
much help? Is the county will
ing to scrape every driveway
less than 200 feet? What if
it’s 200 yards long or even a
mile-and-a-half? What if the
machine tears up something on
my property?
That’s a lot of what-if’s. So
what-if the county just keeps its
equipment off private property
all together.
The work-around that at least
one commissioner has come up
with is to have private roads and
driveways deeded to the county,
making them public property
and thus solving the issue of
whether taxpayer-owned equip
ment can be used to maintain
them.
Now they truly are the re-
continued on page 6A
Don Lively
I DON'T GET IT
There have always been
things in my life that I can't for
the life of me figure out why
they hold such interest to other
folks.
The preacher mentioned one
of those things in church during
a fine Sunday sermon,
The Rubik's Cube.
You remember them.
The perfectly square, six-
sided adjustable puzzles. Each
of the six sides are made up of
nine little blocks of different
colors. The object is to jumble
up the little blocks into a total
chaotic mess and to then reas
semble the sides back to their
original colors. I tried a total
of one time, decades ago, to
solve the Rubik's puzzle and
didn't come anywhere close,
but the experience lead me to
a question.
Why would anybody actu
ally enjoy that kind of disarray
in something that billed itself
as a toy?
Aren't toys supposed to be
fun?
With all due respect to any
body who is a Rubik's aficio
nado, you're weird.
I don't get it.
Years ago, when I was still
working as a street cop, some
of my buddies talked me into
joining them for an after work
workout at a local gym. It was
a huge place with every kind of
exercise machine imaginable.
There were also basketball
courts and racquetball courts.
Indoor tennis courts. Even a
faux rock climbing wall for the
most adventurous attendees.
And there was a sauna.
Have you ever been in a
sauna?
I have.
Once, and only once.
This thing was the size of
a walk-in closet. It was lined
with cedar siding which, I
suppose, was supposed to add
to the health benefits. Inside
there were several benches,
also made of cedar, and pegs on
every wall stocked with clean
white towels.
Sounds very nice, right?
Except it was so hot that I
immediately began thanking
God again that I was saved
and would not be going to hell
which is presumably even hot
ter than that sauna was.
My buddies were all sitting in
there, yukking it up, seemingly
having the time of their lives,
while I was nearly asphyxiating.
I immediately started sweating
buckets, which, inexplicably, is
the actual purpose of a sauna. I
lasted all of ten minutes before
I decided that saunas are not my
cup of perspiration, and I not so
politely excused myself.
Who on Earth would inten
tionally put themselves in a
place that's hotter than Middle
Georgia in late July?
Not me.
I don't get it.
On the exact opposite ex
treme, I was once invited to
join a different group of friends
who, once a year on New Year's
Day, would engage in what they
referred to as the "polar bear
plunge". Mind you, this was
in Colorado where the average
temperature in January is, well,
let's just say, you don't want to
leave any vital parts of yourself
exposed to the elements. Those
folks would break the ice off of
a section of Cherry Creek Res
ervoir, strip down to their skiv
vies, and jump into the frigid
water. They all used the same
word. Invigorating. I only got
as far as sticking one toe in and
I came up with a different word.
Insane.
What person in their right
mind would leave their toasty
homes to immerse themselves
in ice water?
Not me.
I don't get it.
When I visited Scotland,
because I am of Scottish de
scent, I reluctantly tried the
traditional dish of the Scots,
haggis, which is basically the
innards of a sheep. As soon
as it was brought out by the
pub-tender I was immediately
dubious. It looked hideous. It
was a mashed mass of what
appeared to be green Alpo. I
forced myself to take one bite
and, in spite of the threat to my
Scottish credentials, I shoved
it aside and ordered a plate of
bangers and mash.
When there are good cuts
of meat available, why eat the
guts?
I don't get it.
Believe it or not, there are
people in the world who enjoy
what's called "snake massage",
where a person allows their
unclad body to be wrapped and
engulfed with several writhing
reptiles.
Are you kidding me?
That makes the sweaty sauna
or the freezing ice water plunge
seem almost inviting by com
parison.
continued on page 6A