Newspaper Page Text
Page 4— Wednesday, November 24, 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-NOVEMBER 30,20ll
Torrance Crumbley and Michael Mathis were charged in
connection with the deaths of two bystanders at a drag racing
accident on Nov. 27. The accident took place on Seven Oaks
Road and was witnessed by a number of people, according
to the Georgia State Patrol.
For the second straight year, the Burke County Bears
would make an appearance in the Final Four of the Class
AAA State Playoffs. Hundreds of local fans were planning
to make the Friday trip to Gainesville to see BCHS take on
the Red Elephants. A win would send them to the Georgia
Dome for the state title game.
25 YEARS AGO-NOVEMBER 28,1996
Burke County Board of Elections chairman Pete Willis
declined to hold another recount in the District 3 county
commission contest. He said that a proper recount had been
done and the results had been certified to the Secretary of
State’s office. The final result gave Ellis Godbee the victory
by the margin of 724 to 691 over Wayne Crockett.
Former Waynesboro police officer Marvin Jones filed a
lawsuit in connection with being shot in a training exercise
in March. Jones asked for $5 million in damages, claiming
his was permanently and totally disabled as a result of be
ing shot point-blank in the face by Officer Doyle Windham.
Building owner George DeLoach announced that a Mexi
can restaurant would be opening on South Liberty Street in
the building formerly occupied by D & L Restaurant.
50 YEARS AGO-NOVEMBER 24, 1971
J.C. Palmer, Sr. was named as local chairman of a drive to
collect funds for the establishment of the Richard B. Russell
Library at the University of Georgia.
The West Burke Civitan Club was holding its annual tur
key shoot with a Browning automatic shotgun as the grand
prize. Proceeds of the event would be divided among the
communities of Gough, Vidette and Keysville.
70 YEARS AGO-NOVEMBER 29,1951
Hammond Blanchard of Blanchard and Chance Equip
ment Company, announced the firm had been named as the
Willys-Overland dealer for the county. Blanchard said the
latest models of the Jeep would be kept on display.
Raymond N, DeLaigle announced as a candidate for Clerk
of Superior Court and A .H. Gnann qualified for re-election as
school superintendent. C.W. Skinner, M.A. Miller, Jr. and J.
Wright Brinson announced as county commission candidates.
The world’s only known two-headed cow, a 2500 pound
Holstein-Guernsey mix, was on display in the vacant lot next
to the Waynesboro Groceteria.
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benroberts@bellsouth.net
If you’re a frequent reader of
this space, then you are aware
of the ongoing dispute between
Sheriff Williams and the mem
bers of the county commission
and the county manager.
That dispute came to a head
last week when Williams filed
a lawsuit alleging the commis
sion has continued to interfere
in his authority over his depart
ment’s budget.
I have been asked more than
once over the past few months,
“How did we get to this point?”
I’m not privy to the mindsets
of the people involved in this
situation or the choices each of
them has made along the way,
but I do believe I know the very
night that put us on our current
path: December 13,2016.
If that sounds awfully specif
ic, that’s because it is. That was
the night of the county com
mission’s last regular monthly
meeting of 2016. I was there
and I remember the night so
well because it was that evening
that Sheriff-elect Williams, still
a few weeks from officially be
coming the new sheriff of Burke
County, told the commission he
needed a raise.
According to the official min
utes of that meeting, Williams
wanted $33,113.52, which
would put his starting salary
at $103,500 - without having
served a single day on the job.
Williams justified the increase
by offering to take over the du
ties of animal control and code
enforcement for the county.
I don’t remember all of the
details of that night, but again,
according to the minutes, Lu-
cious Abrams made a motion
to set the sheriff’s salary at
$90,000. After some discussion,
Abrams changed his motion to
$85,000. Terri Lodge Kelly, not
yet chairman, gave the motion
a second. She, Abrams, and the
late Allen DeLaigle approved
the sheriff’s raise. George
DeLoach and then-chairman
Wayne Crockett, worn down by
a years-long battle with cancer
and soon to retire from the com
mission, both voted against it.
That same evening Williams
made requests for additional
employees, increases to the
pay scale for his department as
well as new vehicles for those
new employees. He told the
commission an extra $836,000
added to the sheriff’s budget
would cover all his needs.
When Crockett suggested
Williams was asking for a lot
and he had not even taken of
fice, the minutes say Williams
stated it wasn’t fair for him to
be expected to work with the
budget of the previous sheriff.
A week later, the commission
voted to approve all of Wil
liams ’ requests. Wayne Crockett
was the lone no vote. Perhaps
he was the only one in the room
who could see the path the com
mission was putting itself on.
For the record, Williams nor
his department ever assumed
the duties of code enforcement
or animal control. And he never
gave back any part of that raise,
of course the commission never
asked him to either.
Looking back now, it’s appar
ent that this is how the sheriff
operates: make bold statements
and flashy productions with one
hand, while not allowing folks
to see what the other hand is
really up to. Hindsight, as they
say, is 20/20.
Someone recently suggested
to me that Wayne Crockett is
probably rolling over in his
grave. At the very least, I as
sume he’s shaking his head in
disapproval, knowing how we
got here.
For more Burke County po
litical news, follow Bird Dog
Politics on Facebook,
Don Lively
DREAMER ME
When I was a young boy
growing up on a dirt farm in
the Blessed South, I couldn't
see much beyond the horizon.
My life revolved around my
family and my church, and
grudgingly, my school.
When I wasn’t working for
Daddy, pulling weeds or toting
stumps, I was wandering the
woods looking for adventures,
or walking the plowed fields
looking for arrowheads. The
only time I ever thought very
far into my future was when
I dreamed about becoming an
archaeologist, a word that I
learned to pronounce long be
fore I could spell it. All it took
was finding that first perfect
flint point half buried in the dirt
and I knew that that’s what I
wanted to spend my life doing.
It didn’t work out that way.
Though I dreamed of digging
and searching for ancient relics
and artifacts, there were other
things that I never dreamed of.
Back then I never dreamed
of moving away from my
home, but as I got older, I was
infected with a serious case of
wanderlust.
Suddenly I wanted to be any
where but that little dirt farm.
I wanted to see the world.
Still, I never dreamed that
I would get to visit all fifty
states. That once seemed like a
daunting undertaking. Now that
I have accomplished it, I dream
of seeing them all again, well,
almost all of them. Some I’ll
happily avoid.
Back in the day, as a young
man who discovered that he
is of Scottish heritage, I never
dreamed that I would one day
visit my ancient homeland.
Now I dream of going back,
again, the next time spending
more time on the Highland
backroads.
All of the years that I lived
Out West, roaming around
America and a few other parts
of the globe, I dreamed of living
at the foot of the Rockies for the
rest of my life. I never dreamed
I will be back living within half-
a-mile from where I was raised,
but, here I am.
Having lived at over twenty
addresses in my life, most of
those for just a few years, I
never dreamed that I would
design my own house and build
it on family land, but I did.
Incidentally, there’s a funny
story about that.
When I took the house plans
to a builder to ask him if he
could do what I wanted, he took
a long look at the drawing and
affirmed that he could build my
dream house. But then he asked
me a question.
“You're not married, are
you?”
I said, “Well, no I'm not but
I don't know how you can tell
that by looking at this draw
ing.”
He chuckled, then said,
“Well, it's a great design. Three
bedrooms. Two full baths. A
large great room and kitchen.
Nice wraparound porches. The
only problem is, you didn't
include a single closet in the
whole house.”
Oops.
Yeah, a wife probably would
have caught that little omission.
He added the closets for me
and I've been happily living
there for over a decade. When I
was a boy attending the church
revivals where those sweaty,
thunderous preachers shook the
rafters, my favorite part was the
singing. It seemed as though all
of my neighbors and kinfolk
had great voices and could sing.
I never dreamed that I would
be leading the singing in one of
those revivals, but it happened,
just last week.
As a kid, playing cops and
robbers with my brothers and
cousins, I never dreamed that I
would become a real police of
ficer, prowling the streets late at
night looking for bad guys, but
that’s what I did for over twenty
years. If you had told me back
then that I’d have a career in law
enforcement, I’d have laughed.
I have always enjoyed writing
but as a kid I never dreamed
that one day I’d be a semi-suc-
cessful columnist and author.
Then one day my high school
English teacher told me, very
seriously, that I had a talent for
words and that I was not just a
dumb football player. I’ve been
writing ever since. Now I dream
about writing a semi-successful
novel.
There are many things I never
dreamed of that came true.
There are just as many things
I dreamed of that didn’t come
true.
So, what is my advice to
myself?
Keep dreaming.
The dreams that come
through are worth the effort.