Newspaper Page Text
Page A— Wednesday, January 19, 2022, The True Citizen
OPINIONS
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LOOKING BACK
{this week in Burke County history}
10 YEARS AGO - JANUARY 18,2012
After 35 years in education, Burke County School Super
intendent Linda Bailey announced her retirement effective
June 1. She had served in the position since 2006.
The Savannah Riverkeeper announced plans to hie suit
against Ka-Min, the Macon based kaolin company responsi
ble for two industrial spills in eleven weeks into Brier Creek.
Burke County Commissioners agreed to continue financial
support for Old Fella Burke County Animal Rescue’s spay
and neuter program. Funding totaled $5,000 for the upcom
ing year.
25 YEARS AGO-JANUARY 22,1997
Rick Umpleby and Rocky Sams, members of the Burke
County Recreation Commission proposed the construction
of a multi-purpose athletic complex, including a gym, tennis
courts and other features to be constructed near the existing
facility on Highway 24S.
Internet access was made available for the first time at the
Burke County Library. Only one computer was available and
users were limited to one hour.
With a record 92 career tackles, senior linebacker Tyree
Ware of BCHS was awarded the H. Cliff Hatcher Trophy by
the Waynesboro Rotary club.
50 YEARS AGO-JANUARY 19,1972
Twenty people were treated at the Burke County Hospital
for injuries sustained when a tornado swept through the area,
destroying several homes and buildings. A pecan orchard
owned by Mrs. Henry Garrett was completely destroyed,
along with a house containing thirteen family members. No
one was killed, but all were treated for injuries.
Under the federal Emergency Employment Act, the City
of Midville was able to hire two policemen and three main
tenance men.
Former Burke County Commissioner and local business
man George Perkins died at the age of 61.
70 YEARS AGO-JANUARY 24, 1952
Waynesboro Buick dealer George Perkins announced that
the new 1952 models were on display at his dealership.
Mayor H. Cliff Hatcher warned against speeding on the
newly paved Victory Drive and Sunset Drive in the Burke -
haven neighborhood.
Jacqueline Wilson, administrator of the Burke County
Hospital, was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Georgia
Hospital Service Association.
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BEN ROBERTS
benroberts@bellsouth.net
It was just over a year ago
that I wrote a column lament
ing the lack of transparency in
many of our local governing
bodies. I’m proud to say, fifty-
some odd weeks later, there
has been some improvement
on that front.
Last week, the Burke County
Board of Education (BOE) vot
ed unanimously to change their
regular monthly meeting day
and time. For at least the last
20 years, they and the Burke
County Board of Commission
ers have held their meetings at
the same day and time. Neither
group has been interested in lis
tening to reasons as to why that
was a problem for the general
public. The BOE did move their
meeting times up an hour in
2021, starting at 5 pm, but that
change did little to add to any
public participation.
Beginning on Feb. 15, how
ever, the BOE will now meet on
the third Tuesday of the month
at 5 p.m. Admittedly, a 6 p.m.
start would have been better
for most working folks, but this
change is so important in my
opinion, I’m not going to look
this gift horse in the mouth.
At one point, the discus
sion turned to the question of
whether or not a change was
really warranted since so few
members of the public actually
attend the BOE meetings. I’ll
admit I could feel my blood
pressure rising at the question,
since whether the public ap
pears interested should never be
the basis for a body’s transpar
ency level.
I don’t expect this move to
foster a change in the number of
citizens who start showing up at
BOE meetings, and while that’s
disappointing, it’s not the point.
The BOE’s duty is to conduct
their business in the most open
and transparent model. What
the public does after that is their
own responsibility.
Of course, not everybody has
taken a step forward in the last
year; the City of Waynesboro
seems intent on tripping over its
own feet and one-upping itself
in poor choices.
You might recall allegations
last year of over $100,000 of
city court monies were missing.
That accusation came from a
now-fired Waynesboro police
major. An investigation that
rocked on for several weeks
by the city manager’s office
found the actual amount of un
accounted for funds was closer
to $2,000.
After the employee’s bring,
I contacted the city on Dec. 1
with an open records request
for documents related to the
investigation and subsequent
bring of the police major.
As of this writing, Vice-May
or James “Chick” Jones and
the city attorney have refused
to turn over those documents,
misquoting a Georgia statute
as their reason.
The fact that the city employs
an attorney who is having to
learn municipal law on the job
is a problem in and of itself.
Jones’ belief that the public
doesn’t have a right to know
how such decisions came to
be made is a whole other is
sue that should concern all of
Burke County. You’ll recall
Jones has never actually been
elected mayor. He got the job
by default when Greg Carswell
was indicted last year on felony
theft charges. Carswell didn’t
set the bar real high on leader
ship, and yet Jones still can’t
seem to reach it.
I won’t blame city council at
this point because I doubt they
have any knowledge of this
situation themselves.
It would appear Jones’ lack of
transparency includes not only
the citizens of Waynesboro but
his own fellow council mem
bers as well.
For more Burke County po
litical news, follow Bird Dog
Politics on Facebook,
Don Lively
ONE MORE DAWG TALE
I was 27 years old.
Ed been married for less than
two years.
I was struggling through two
years of being a full-time youth
minister, a position for which I
was exceedingly unprepared,
but giving it my best shot.
Jimmy Carter would leave
the White House in 19 days,
ending what I considered to be
the worst presidency in modem
history, until the current occu
pant moved in.
The New Year began with the
possibility of better times with
a new president.
It was the day I watched
the Georgia Bulldogs become
National Champions for the
brst time since Daddy and the
rest of the Greatest Generation
were still taking care of busi
ness in Europe and the Pacibc
in 1942.
January 1,1981.
The Sugar Bowl.
New Orleans.
I was there.
By the time this week’s scrib-
blings go to print, a week and
a half will have passed since
Georgia whipped the might
Alabama juggernaut in India
napolis , but can y’all stand one
more Dawg story?
Sure, you can.
My wife and I had journeyed
from our home Out West to
spend the week of Christmas
with my family in the Blessed
South. My huge clan was en
joying a gathering on the sto
ried front porch of the old
homeplace. Most of the aunts
and uncles were there as were
many of the scattered dozens of
cousins. One of those cousins,
also a huge Dawg supporter,
mentioned off-the-cuff that he
knew somebody trying to sell
their tickets to the Sugar Bowl.
This was long before the cur
rent college football playoff
system was invented but the
Dawgs were undefeated and
sitting atop both polls at num
ber 1, so everybody knew that
if they beat Notre Dame, UGA
would be national champions.
Georgia, even at number 1,
was an underdog, which may
have been the reason my tickets
were available.
New Orleans was a “fur
piece” from our neck of the
woods, and, UGA had lost
seven of the last ten bowl games
that they’d played, including
the last four straight.
I don’t even remember who
I bought the tickets from but
I suspect that whoever it was
eventually regretted the sale.
I paid $40 for the pair even
though the face value of each
was only $17, and I was happy
to pay it.
We quickly changed our
plans to return to Colorado by
the northern route, detoured
through the heart of Dixie and
ended up “way down yonder in
New Orleans”.
On the day of the game, we
joined 70,000 plus of our clos
est friends in the Superdome,
along with the most famous
sitting politician on the planet,
that same above mentioned
soon-to-be Ex-President Carter.
I suspect that the president
had better seats than we did
since we were in the end zone.
But it was the very same
end zone into which Herschel
Walker dived over the mass of
sweaty humanity scoring the
game’s first touchdown.
It’s somewhat ironic that
there was a soon-to-be ex
president, and, a very likely
soon-to-be Senator-elect in the
stadium that day.
Herschel was much more
well-received than President
Carter, with all due respect.
He and the Dawgs prevailed,
17-10.
Then, like now, there were
pre-printed items of all sorts
being sold on every street cor
ner for blocks, proclaiming the
Dawgs as the National Champi
ons . Naturally, I had to buy a tee
shirt. It was black with all the
graphics done in red and white.
To get it, I stood in a line at least
40 fans deep for an hour.
All for naught.
Somewhere between Louisi
ana and Colorado the bag the
shirt was in got thrown out with
the road trip trash.
Forty-one years later I still
feel the sadness I felt when I’d
looked through every square
inch of the car and didn’t find
my shirt.
Sigh.
Due to illness and other cir
cumstances, I didn’t get to this
year’s championship. I watched
it from my recliner but briefly
forgot about my vertigo when
the game clinching interception
happened. I jumped up and very
nearly fell on my a..., my face.
Which would have been just
fine.
Because my Dawgs are Na
tional Champions.
My son and his sweet bride
were there. I don’t know what
their tickets cost but I suspect
it was a sight more than $40.
Shortly after the game they
called me and I could hear the
absolute, pure exhilaration in
their voices.
They saw our Dawgs win
it all.
You can’t put a price on that.
This time around, I’m buy
ing the tees for all of my Dawg
loving kids.
Delivered straight to their
doors by FedEx.
Go Dawgs!