Newspaper Page Text
Page A— Wednesday, January 26, 2022, The True Citizen
OPINIONS
"fr ★ ★
The Pledge U1 Allegiance
R allegjam c to tirw flag
of sha l .VuTiSci &HH£- of Ajrianrj
i"sd lei ifui! RiTnafir for ■u+ur.h
sLnjxli;, esw Nation under
CVrl t irift«i with Mwrly .“id
indite for jH.
LOOKING BACK
{this week in Burke County history}
10 YEARS AGO - JANUARY 25,2012
The Burke County Development Authority closed the
purchase of a 494 acre tract of land located along Highway
80 West just beyond AgGeorgia Farm Credit. The tract,
which cost $2.47 million, was to be marketed for industrial
development.
HealthSpan LLC, the management company running the
Burke Medical Center, announced that changes in Medicaid
and Medicare reimbursements had created financial problems
for the facility.
Sheriff Greg Coursey announced he would run for a ninth
term.
25 YEARS AGO-JANUARY 29,1997
Dr. A1 Wright, pastor of the First Baptist Church of
Waynesboro, was named “Citizen of the Year” by the Burke
County Chamber of Commerce.
Dr. Shirley Lewis, president of Paine College of Augusta,
was the guest speaker at the Waynesboro Rotary Club.
The Waynesboro Community Concert Association an
nounced that Guy Lombardo’s Royal Canadians would
appear at the Burke County Office Park.
50 YEARS AGO-JANUARY 26,1972
With his family at his side, Ronald “Bo” Ginn of Millen
announced his candidacy for the First District Congressional
seat held by G. Elliott Hagan of Sylvania.
The Burke County Development Authority announced the
appointment of James F. West, Jr. as Industrial Manager of
the authority.
Jay’s Radio and TV Service of Augusta opened a new
store in the former location of Cowart’s TV and Appliance
in Waynesboro.
Paul Anderson “World’s Strongest Man” was scheduled
to speak at the First Baptist Church.
70 YEARS AGO-JANUARY 31,1952
U.S. Navy Chief Wright North, a 19-year veteran, reenlist-
ed for four more years. North, who would be eligible to retire
in two years, was a resident of Jones Ave. in Waynesboro.
GMC announced that, for the first time, automatic trans
missions would be available in commercial trucks.
Local veterinarian Dr. Carl Blount announced a series of
rabies vaccination clinics to be held here. Fees ranged from
$1.00 to $1.50.
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.
Don Lively
“Hello, Sunshine!”
That’s the greeting I often
heard whenever I walked into
her studio.
There would always be a
clutter of what looked like
scraps of wood and multi
colored glass and metal all
over the tops of the various
tables and counters where she
practiced her craft.
I learned pretty quickly, it
wasn’t clutter.
She knew what every piece
within her arm’s reach was for,
what it would be used for and
what part of her latest project
it would become.
If I came into the studio
several times over a month’s
time, I would watch that pile of
clutter turn into something that
had to be seen to be believed.
The clutter became master
pieces.
I know that certain words
get overused a lot these days,
and masterpiece is one of those
words.
Robin created masterpieces
that will live on for decades,
maybe centuries.
She was an artist in every
sense of the word.
And she was my friend.
Robin went to Heaven last
week.
To say that I was stunned
when I heard the news is a vast
understatement.
In my real job, the one that
pays the bills, not my weekly
scribblings, among other duties,
I try to bring new businesses to
my hometown.
Robin was my first success.
She was working out of her
studio in our large neighboring
city to the north, and had grown
very unhappy with the over
bearing government regulations
there. She was trying to decide
between our town and another
small town where to relocate.
When I got wind of that I paid
her and her husband Mike a
visit at the studio.
They have been my friends
since that day.
I was able to convince Robin
that our town was a perfect
place for her studio and that
we would welcome her with
open arms.
The rest, as they say, is his
tory.
Robin’s art was, is, stained
glass windows. She has brought
the beauty of her work to hun
dreds of churches, homes and
businesses across the South
and beyond. I didn’t know it for
I WON'T FORGET
years, but the windows in my
own little country church, the
ones that I often catch myself
staring at, were created by Rob
in years ago. A couple of years
ago, some of the windows, due
to the passage of time, needed
attention. I just mentioned it to
Robin and didn’t give it much
more thought. I found out later
that she had fixed the problem
and didn’t bill us for the work.
She didn’t even mention to
me that she had repaired the
windows.
That was Robin.
She didn’t give one rat’s
hiney about the attention.
She let her art speak for itself.
There’s a small chapel a
couple of hours drive from our
neck of the woods that is billed
as “The Smallest Church in
America”. It stood as an iconic
landmark, but also as a sanctu
ary for travelers from all over
the country, until some lowlife,
for reasons known only to God
and the devil, decided to bum
the church to the ground.
Robin had seen the little
church and she was outraged.
She immediately contacted
the keepers of the church and
offered to build and install new
windows for the church and no
cost. I don’t know this, but I
suspect that she and Mike also
helped fund some of the other
reconstruction costs.
Due to the fact that Robin
was one of very few people
who create stained glass win
dow artwork, she could have
charged whatever she wanted
and clients would have gladly
paid. Because she was so “in
demand”, she made a very good
living with her art. But, she was
also very generous. Her contri
bution to the little church being
restored was just one of many
of Robin’s acts of generosity.
Robin deeply cared about
people and she deeply loved
Mike.
When it became apparent
to Robin and Mike that she
would not survive the illness
that eventually took her, they
decided together to take no ex
traordinary measures to prolong
the inevitable.
Near the end, Mike was alone
with Robin in the hospital room.
Mike’s mother and sister, both
of who lived a couple of hours
away, were called to come be
with Mike.
Less than five minutes after
the two arrived, Robin passed
away.
She waited until Mike wasn’t
alone.
That’s our Robin.
“Go rest high, on that
mountain. Your work on
Earth is done.”
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; Shellie Smitly,
Feature Writer/Reporter/Associate Editor; Tracy Parker,
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, $22,1 year, $34,2 years,
$56; outside Burke County, 6 months, $29, 1 year, $49,
2 years, $82; outside of Georgia, 6 months, $34, 1 year,
$59, 2 years, $96; One-year online edition only, $25. All
prices include state and local tax.
Michael N. Searles
In his second inaugural ad
dress on March 3,1865, just 41
days before his assassination,
Abraham Lincoln said these
words: “With malice toward
none, with charity for all, with
firmness in the right as God
gives us to see the right, let us
strive to finish the work we are
in....” This speech was de
livered to bind up the nation’s
wounds after a bloody Civil
War. However, the first words
in this section of his address
still rings with a certain clarity,
“With malice toward none, with
charity for all.” These words
resonate because of their genu
ineness and generosity. During
a time when those qualities are
in short supply, it is good to
look back and savor that which
is genuine and fair.
We are engaged in a battle
as to who determines fairness
in our electoral system. The
battle currently is not being
waged with guns but with the
advice and consent of lawmak
ers. The battle is thought to be
one where one political party
seeks to put another political
party at a disadvantage. The
tactics are as old as America
itself. In years past, polling
places were changed a day be
fore an election, hostile forces
patrolled the road to voting
places, and threats were issued
to those who wished to cast a
ballot. During a recent Senate
Judiciary Committee hearing
on voter suppression, Senator
Raphael Wamock said, “Record
numbers of Georgians used
their voices and voted in the last
election. And in response to this
swell in democratic participa
tion, politicians and our state
legislature responded not in
celebration, but with retaliation.
Not seeing the outcome they
wanted, they could have gotten
busy changing their message or
adjusting their policy. Instead,
they got busy changing the rules
as if the democracy belongs to
them, and not the people.”
Actions are being taken to
reduce political participation
across the state of Georgia. Re
cently, all eyes have focused on
Lincoln County. While Lincoln
County was named for General
Benjamin Lincoln, a Revolu-
WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE
tionary War hero and created
in 1796, there is a certain irony
that it bears the name of Lin
coln, the Great Emancipator.
Another factor of note is that
the county is 65.7% white and
32.1% black, and in the 2020
Presidential election, Donald
Trump received nearly 70%
of the vote. It would seem the
last place Georgia Republicans
would terminate the people’s
right to make the rules for their
elections, but that is exactly
what happened. Senate Bill
202 imposed numerous new re
quirements and rules on voting
in Georgia, including allowing
legislators to remove elections
boards and for boards to close
polling places. Sen. Lee Ander
son, R-Grovetown, hied bills
dismantling the Lincoln board
within days of co-sponsoring
202. Lincoln County has had
its election board abolished
with a new board now seeking
to close all voting precincts
with one exception.
This action says a great
deal about the intentions of the
Republican dominated State
Legislature. Its efforts are not
merely aimed at reducing votes
of Democrats but an attack on
democracy itself. A county
with an overwhelming Repub
lican majority is being told that
the Georgia Republican State
Legislature does not believe
local citizens should decide for
themselves. Republicans used
to believe that decision-making
should be as local as possible
and if there is something im
portant that needs solving on a
social level, the state’s decision
should trump any federal deci
sions. The Georgia Republican
Party opposed the federal gov
ernment having power over
states, but agreed that it should
have the authority over local
officials. This decision denied
Republicans and all citizens
of Lincoln County their right
to choose. Democrats should
not stand alone in its outrage
at the seizure of local control.
If there is a time for a united
front, it is now. The Georgia
Republican Party is engaged
in a power grab not only from
its citizens but against what
makes America great. When
we remain silent, we give our
consent and, in so doing, we
relinquish the liberty America’s
forefathers fought to preserve.