Newspaper Page Text
Page 4 — Wednesday, June 16, 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-JUNE 15,20ll
Former Burke County Middle School guidance counselor
Heather Hart and Holly Rachelle Whitfield, who had worked
as a paraprofessional at RiverQuest, were both indicted by
the Burke County Grand Jury on charges related to having
sex with students.
Burke County Sheriff Greg Coursey was leading an effort to
provide local families with low-cost box fans to help alleviate
heat problems for those without air conditioning.
A monitoring report issued by the Georgia Public Service
Commission said that completion dates of Units 3 and 4 could
slightly miss their completion dates of April 2016 and April
2017 - possibly by as much as two months.
25 YEARS AGO-JUNE 20,1996
An official from the Georgia Department of Transportation
told the Waynesboro City Council that installing a left turn
signal at the intersection of Sixth and Liberty Streets would re
quire the elimination of between eight and 12 parking spaces.
Nine inmates at the Burke County Jail were arrested for
rioting or inciting to riot. The disturbance was caused by a
cutback in some of the inmates privileges.
Cpt. Mike Farrell of the Burke County Sheriff’s Office
resigned to accept a position as Chief of Security for the
Richmond County School System.
50 YEARS AGO JUNE 16,1971
Store manager Ronnie Page said the new Piggly Wiggly
store would be open for business on Thursday, June 24.
Former Burke County Sheriff O.J. Cliett succeeded Ray
Harper and T. R. Rowland replaced Charlie Kitchens as
members of the jury commission.
Burke County Commissioners said they have asked the
CSRA Planning Commission to study plans for sanitary
landfills and other methods of waste disposal for the county.
70 YEARS AGO-JUNE 21,1951
Nightly room rates at the Burke County Hospital were:
Semi-private - $7.00, private without bath - $9.00, private
with semi-private bath - $10.50 and private with private
bath - $12.50.
Demonstration drives of the new Power-Glide Chevrolet
were available at Chance and Hopkins Motors. The new
automatic transmissions on these models have proven to be
so popular, according to the dealership, that this was the first
opportunity they have had for demonstrations of the new
technology.
Drum Major T. Burton Cates, Jr. and other Waynesboro
High School band members were attending the University
of Georgia Majorette and Music Camp in Athens. Other at
tendees were Harriet Pintchuck, Anne Ellis, Elaine Martin,
Sara Anne Daniel, Dolly Wayne Welborn and Jane Blount.
We welcome your letters
Letters to the editor of The True Citizen are welcomed and encour
aged. These are pages of opinion, yours and ours.
Letters to the editor voice the opinions of the newspaper’s readers.
The True Citizen reserves the right to edit any and all portions of a
letter. Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters must include the
signature, address and phone number of the writer to allow our staff
to authenticate its origin. Letters should be limited to 400 words and
should be typewritten and double-spaced or neatly printed by hand.
Deadline for letters to the editor is Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Email Letters to the Editor to: truecitizennews@live.com.
Gkt State €iixstn
9
P.O. Box 948 • 629 Shadrack Street
Waynesboro, Georgia 30830
Telephone: (706) 554-2111 • Fax: (706) 526-4779
Published every Wednesday by The True Citizen, Inc.
Periodical Postage Paid at Waynesboro, Georgia (USPS
642-300)
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The True Citi
zen, P.O. Box 948, Waynesboro, GA 30830.
Roy F. Chalker Roy F. Chalker Jr.
Publisher Publisher
1945-1970 1970-
Lavonna Johnson, Managing Editor; Jill DuMars, Adver
tising Manager/Printing Assistant; Diana Royal, Feature
Writer/Reporter/Associate Editor; Shellie Smitly, Feature
Writer/Reporter/Copy Editor; Marianne Smith, Office
Manager; Martha Chalker, Advertising Sales; Roy F.
Chalker, Jr., Printing Manager.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
$1 per single copy at locations all over Burke County. By
mail: In Burke County, 6 months, $18.90,1 year, $29.10,2
years, $49.20; outside Burke County, 6 months, $25.30,
1 year, $44.30; outside of Georgia, 6 months, $31.30, 1
year, $55. Student rate: 9 months in state: $25., outside
of Georgia, $30; One-year online subscription, $20. All
prices include state and local tax.
BEN ROBERTS
benroberts@bellsouth.net
In two weeks, Georgia Gov.
Brian Kemp will end the ad
ditional unemployment ben
efits provided by the Federal
government in response to the
COVID pandemic. This means
that some unemployed indi
viduals who have been receiv
ing up to $300 in additional
unemployment will no longer
receive that extra supplement
along with their state’s regular
unemployment benefit.
Georgia is one of 23 states
that has chosen to end the
federal benefit in the coming
weeks. The program is current
ly scheduled to end on its own
in the first week of September.
Like so many things in our
country these days, depending
on which political party you
affiliate yourself with will also
most likely determine your
opinion on the right or wrong of
this decision. Democrats have
decried the move as harmful to
citizens who need those funds
to pay their bills and feed their
families. Republicans say those
benefits are keeping people out
of the workforce and stalling the
overall recovery of our national
economy.
And, again, like so many
other political debates, there is
some truth to both sides of that
argument.
On a recent family vacation
to Florida, my wife and I no
ticed that many of the shops or
restaurants we walked in to had
“help wanted” or “now hiring”
signs on the door.
I had heard or read so many
stories about such difficulties
that I reached out to some local
businesses to get their take. I
allowed them to talk “off the
record” so they could speak
frankly about what they see
locally.
The consensus seemed to be
that, yes, the additional benefits
did appear to be influencing
our local workforce. Some
local businesses furloughed
employees or lost workers who
lacked childcare options with
schools being out over the last
year. Now, with the economy
trying to get back in full swing,
these same businesses are hav
ing trouble getting people to
come back to work or attracting
qualified candidates to fill those
vacant positions.
One industry that tracked a
lot of data concerning their em
ployees, admitted there could
be several factors affecting our
local employment numbers but
that those extra unemployment
benefits was most likely one of
those factors. This individual
said they would know the extent
of its effect in July, when those
benefits had run out, based on
any discernible changes to pro
spective job applicants.
In several discussions, how
ever, the conversation changed
from how COVID may be af
fecting our local employment
numbers to how changes in
society itself may be hurting us.
Some industry leaders talked
about the difficulty in finding
qualified workers who had
come through our local school
system and whether those indi
viduals, particularly those not
headed on to further education,
are equipped to immediately
enter this county’s workforce.
One individual voiced his
concern that maybe Burke
County’s workforce was just
about tapped out, meaning that
the folks that wanted to work
and who were physically and
mentally able to work, already
had jobs. That is a concerning
prospect because that means
there is a large portion of our
local population who are either
unwilling to look for a job or
unable to get hired. It can be
awfully hard to attract industry
and jobs to a county that has a
reputation as being lazy and/
or stupid.
And nearly everyone I talked
to brought up the generational
differences in our society now
when it comes to possessing
work ethic. Younger people
appear to have trouble with
getting to work on time or
understanding how to put their
cell phones down. The issue of
“attendance” came
up a lot.
You can point BIRD DOG,
to schools again 5
Don Lively
Every son of the Blessed
South believes that his Daddy
was the wisest man since God
blessed Solomon.
Southern Daddies start teach
ing their children before those
children can talk or walk.
I'm told that I learned to
swim when Daddy took me to
The Pond, a place that's nearly
sacred to my family, and eased
me into the frigid water before
I was a year old. He did the
same thing with all four of his
brood. The result is, all of us
have always known how to
swim, none of us are afraid of
the water, and none of us ever
drowned. At least so far.
Daddy was the wisest man
I've ever known.
Thankfully, God sent other
men into my life to lead and
guide me along my journey.
One of the men who was
most influential to me was
never a father, but he was cer
tainly a father figure to many
young people.
Uncle Hayward never mar
ried or had kids of his own but
he took many younger cousins,
me included, under his wings.
He was really not my uncle,
he was my cousin, but because
he was close to Daddy's age,
I would've never called him
by his first name out of pure
respect, but also beeause Daddy
would've whupped my tail if
I did.
Uncle Hayward was an avid
bird hunter and a huge fan of
the Georgia Bulldogs football
team. He and I walked many
hedgerows stalking quail. We
didn't need a dog. He knew
where the coveys were and
we never failed to bring home
a game bag full. I saw, with
my own eyes, Uncle Hayward
bring down six quail with one
shot. This is not a parable. This
is not a tall tale that I am often
accused of spreading. It's the
gospel truth. Six quail with
one shot.
So, what's the wisdom in that
story?
Uncle Hayward told me not
to tell anybody about the shot.
He had a tradition. If anybody
asked him how many birds he
killed,he always gave the same
answer.
"I got two or three."
He also guarded the best
places to find birds. He figured
that he'd worked hard to locate
the sweet spots, why share that
with folks who didn't want to
do the legwork.
THE WISDOM OF OLD MEN
Uncle Hayward was a wise
man.
My friend, Jim, was also
very wise.
Jim was one of my best
friend's dad. My friend Mike
led a troubled life and died
way too young, but Jim and I
remained friends until he died
in his 90s. Jim would often call
me when he took issue with
something that he read in my
scribblings, or when he wanted
to explain something to me
that I'd gotten wrong. The fact
is, Jim was always right and
could back up his opinions with
facts. Jim got me hooked on
arrowhead hunting long before
the government decided that it
should be illegal to look for arti
facts along the public riverbeds
and creeks. He had a fabulous
collection that he allowed me to
lust over for hours. Because of
Jim I've held on to bits of rock
that looked like nothing, only
to learn later that they were,
in fact, tools used by Indians
thousands of years ago.
I dedicated my third book
to Jim.
Of course, as much love and
respect as I still feel for Uncle
Hayward and Jim, Daddy is
still my choice for wisest of
the wise.
He taught me that working
for a living is what men do.
He taught me to get up and
go to work, even when I didn't
feel like working.
He taught me that my family
should come before everything
else, except my God.
He taught me that being edu
cated was a whole lot different
from being intelligent.
He taught me to wear long
sleeves even in the summer be
cause I inherited his fair, easily
sunburned, skin.
He taught me to pay attention
to men like Uncle Hayward and
my friend Jim.
Yes, Daddy was the wisest of
the wise.
All three of the men I've writ
ten about, not coincidentally,
were members of The Greatest
Generation. All three fought
the tyranny that threatened to
conquer the planet. These three
heroes were part of the military
machine that stopped Hitler and
Tojo from accomplishing their
evil goals.
All three were wise enough
to understand that they had to
stand and fight, or lose their
country.
I suspect that they are all
enjoying each other's company,
Up Yonder.
Happy Heavenly Father's
Day to them.
Happy Earthly Father's Day
to you.