Newspaper Page Text
Page 4 — Wednesday, July 7, 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-JULY 6,20ll
Alfonzo Williams was promoted to Chief of Police of
Waynesboro after serving four months as interim chief. He
succeeded Karl E. Allen in the post. In one of his first official
statements as chief, Williams said the city would enforce an
ordinance which said a juvenile could not be out on the streets
between midnight and 5 a.m. Prents or guardians could face
fines of up to $1,000 for violations.
Sardis native Val Prescott became a full partner in the
Joyner-Anderson-Saxon-Prescott Funeral Home in Waynes
boro. He had been serving as funeral director there since
2009.
25 YEARS AGO -JULY 11,1996
Nine-year school board veteran Paul Williams, lost his
post to Robert Stokes by a vote of 438 - 272. Incumbent
Magistrate Judge Patricia McDonald found herself in a runoff
with Alma Tuff of Midville, who led the three person ticket.
Former Waynesboro Police Chief H.F. Ivey was honored
for his nearly 20 years of service by the Waynesboro Ex
change Club. Georgia Attorney General Mike Bowers was
on hand for the presentation.
Plans were being finalized for the Olympic Torch ceremony
to be held in Waynesboro. Events included; a musical prelude
by the BCHS Band, National Anthem by the band and the
Community Choir, reading of a proclamation by Martin Dolin
and “God Bless the USA” sung by Brian Wren.
50 YEARS AGO-JULY 7,1971
Sally Tallent, last year’s winner of the Little Miss July 4
contest held by the Jaycees, crowned Dawn Mobley as queen
of the event for 1971
American Legion Post 562 added the name of Thomas
McBride to the post. The newly christened organization
would be known as the William C. Scott - Thomas McBride
Post 562. Members also broke ground on a new building for
the post to be located on the Wrens Highway.
70 YEARS AGO-JULY 12,1951
Major Bernard B. Sapp returned to the states after serv
ing a tour of duty in Korea. He was scheduled to report for
duty on July 25 at an officers school at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Preston B, Lewis, Jr. was attending the ROTC Summer Camp
at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
It was announced that Burke County had been selected as
the site for a new agricultural experiment station. Members
of the committee who worked to acquire the station for the
county included Porter Carswell, John W. Walker, R.C.
Neely and Albert Daniel.
Charles W. Cullen of Sardis was fatally injured in an
automobile accident in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He
was touring the area with members of his family when the
accident occurred. Several others were seriously injured.
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Don Lively
It was a big fish.
I saw the strike.
My 10-year-old grandson
was the fisherman. His Daddy
taught him early how to set the
hook. I watched as he worked
the big bass ashore through the
weedy pond water. The fish
was so big that he needed his
Daddy's help to land it. I didn't
move off of my chair. I was
enjoying the moment way too
much to get involved.
One thought occurred to me.
That boy thinks we're just
fishing.
It wasn't an original thought.
Somebody wrote a great coun
try song about just such an
occurrence. The point being, to
him it's just fishing, but to me
and probably to his Daddy, this
is all about making memories.
I wouldn't trade that experi
ence for all the tea in China.
That boy's Daddy, my son,
was sitting with me, just the
two of us, on the north porch
late one night. My son fought
for his country, came home
and married his high school
sweetheart, and is now an ex
tremely successful mechanical
engineer. He's also become
something else.
My friend.
He's old enough now that we
can have grown up conversa
tions, political, religious, you
name it we talked about it.
We sat up till the early morn
ing hours talking about every
thing and talking about nothing.
If somebody offered me a
million dollars to steal that
memory from my mind it would
be no deal.
I took a large gulp of the
lemonade and was immediately
drawn back across the years to
when I was a child. The recipe
for the sweet drink is many de
cades old and has been passed
down from one sub-clan of our
very large family. That same
line of the family has been mak
ing the lemonade for our annual
reunion for most of the 92 years
we've been doing it. The young
man that served me my glass
is at least the third generation
to handle the lemonade duties.
Every year the lemonade gets
sweeter and sweeter.
They're simply no way to put
a price on that kind of nostalgic
tradition.
It was a small circle of cous
ins sitting at The Pond enjoy
ing the afterglow of our big
reunion. I joined in late but the
conversation was wide open
from the minute I sat down.
Everybody thinks that their
NO PRICE
family is the greatest one on
earth. I know you do. I also
know you're wrong. Cause
mine is, hands down. There
were probably 8 to 10 people
in the little group, everyone
with a different and distinct
personality, and all except one
was kin to me in some way or
another. The one non-kinsmen,
a visitor from Canada, would
often just chuckle and shake his
head at our antics. I don't blame
him. Our family can be a triple
handful at times.
I wouldn't trade that moment
in that circle for all the gold and
silver on earth.
Once the annual fireworks
show that I am in charge of was
underway, I was able to sit back
and enjoy the event with a few
thousand of my closest friends.
The patriotic music was playing
along with the loud booms and
bangs. Lee Greenwood rasped
"I'm Proud To Be An Ameri
can". Bruce Springsteen, The
Boss, belted out "Bom In The
USA". When Ray Charles be
gan to sing "America The Beau
tiful" , I actually got emotional.
Later, after the show, three
different friends, through the
magic of modern day instant
video, sent short clips to my
cell phones of children looking
skyward, eyes full of wonder,
oohing and ahhing as they
watched the fiery spectacle.
Those kids and their families
are the reason we do the show
every year.
Americans celebrating Amer
ica.
It was priceless.
The older I get the more I re
alize that happiness and success
are not measured by dollars and
cents. Better gauges are the love
of and the relationships with
friends and family.
The point was driven home
again last night as my family,
Daddy and Mama's extended
progeny, took on another line
of the clan in our annual game
of Trivial Pursuit. The game
was lively (pardon the pun) and
spirited and very competitive.
My family won.
We almost always do.
No brag, just fact.
But the winning was not
nearly as important as was just
being there.
With no less than forty folks
jammed into a living room, I
suspect that some of the young
er players thought we were just
playing a game.
We were doing so much
more.
We were living life as free
Southern Americans.
You needn't try to buy such an
experience because you can't.
It's free.
And priceless.
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.
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zen, P.O. Box 948, Waynesboro, GA 30830.
Roy F. Chalker Roy F. Chalker Jr.
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tising Manager/Printing Assistant; Diana Royal, Feature
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Manager; Martha Chalker, Advertising Sales; Roy F.
Chalker, Jr., Printing Manager.
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Shellie Smitley
PROPOSED AMENDMENT IGNORES THE PLIGHT OF THE POOR
The Burke County Com
mission will decide July 13
whether to reduce an oppor
tunity for people with lower
incomes to fulfill their dreams
of owning a home.
A proposed amendment to
the county’s land ordinance
dictates whether someone can
live in a camper on private
property.
In a time of stagnant wages
that do not meet the cost of
living, and in the middle of a
shortage of affordable hous
ing, the move eliminates the
outside-the-box option for
people of lesser incomes to
reside in a camper while they
either build a house or save
up enough money to install a
modular unit. Young couples
lose the option of staying in a
camper on their parents’ prop
erty while saving up enough
money to buy a home.
Local government has ap
proached the issue with a
“from the top down” perspec
tive.
Burke County’s rental mar
ket currently caters to Plant
Vogtle workers, offering tem
porary housing at inflated rent
al rates. There are few places
for poor people to reside.
The median age of resi
dents in Waynesboro in 2018
was 29.5 years old and the
median household income
was $30,536, roughly $15/hr.
Meanwhile, the median prop
erty value stood at $105,700
and the homeownership rate
was less than 45%. Georgia’s
minimum wage continues to
stand at $5.15/hr, with em
ployers being forced to meet
the Federal minimum wage
of $7.25.
Burke County is not immune
to the student loan crisis that
plagues people around the
country.
While economic develop
ments like hospital and airport
expansions and Fort Gordon’s
Cyber Center are positive for
the community in general, they
drive up the housing market,
leaving the less fortunate with
fewer options.
It’s unfair to eliminate the
option of residing in a camper
while failing to solve the low
wage and unaffordable housing
situations. The county could
enforce stricter septic require
ments without eliminating the
option for poorer folks to be
resourceful in their pursuit of
homeownership.
Especially when a local lead
er, making more than $80,000
a year, has recently cited Burke
County’s rental housing short
age as the reason she is moving
out of the area, I challenge the
board to take a look at the hous
ing dilemma with a “from the
bottom up” perspective.
The next time they go out to
eat, I encourage them to look at
the employees who are feeding
them and ask themselves two
important questions: Where
do you expect poorer Burke
County residents to live? What
opportunities exist for low
wage earners to own their own
homes?