Newspaper Page Text
Page A—Wednesday, February 2, 2022, The True Citizen
OPINIONS
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LOOKING BACK
{this week in Burke County history}
10 YEARS AGO-FEBRUARY 1,2012
Lexie Tenhuisen was named Citizen of the Year by the
Burke County Chamber of Commerce. Byne Blueberries
was named Business of the Year.
Burke County Clerk of Court Sherry Cochran announced
she would be a candidate for re-election. She had held the
post since 2005.
BCHS graduates Alaytra Carswell and Char’De Wash
ington both starred in the North Carolina Track Invitational
Tournament at UNC Chapel Hill.
25 YEARS AGO-FEBRUARY 5,1997
Waynesboro Elementary School was one of two finalists
for the Georgia Exemplary Reading Program Award, given
each year by the International Reading Association.
Waynesboro City Council approved a $1.7 million bid for
an upgrade in the city’s water treatment plant. The project
would be financed by a loan from the Georgia Environmental
Facilities Association.
Burke County Commissioners promised to “get tough”
on litter and the illegal use of the county’s dumpsters by
strictly enforcing the local ordinances pertaining to litter
and dumping.
50 YEARS AGO-FEBRUARY 2,1972
John M. Lovett, Jr. joined the staff of the Federal Land
Bank Association of Louisville.
For the first time, Georgia vehicle owners would receive
a renewal sticker instead of a new tag.
Rep. Preston B. Lewis, Jr. introduced legislation setting
the salary of the Burke County Tax Commissioner at $ 12,000
per year, replacing the current fee system.
70 YEARS AGO-FEBRUARY 7,1952
Bill Evans of Evans Hardware announced plans for another
annual fishing contest to be sponsored by the store.
Prizes were offered in many categories, with the stipula
tion that the fish must have been caught with a lure bought
from Evans Hardware.
William Powell and John J. Jones started a new nursery
called Holly Land on Herndon Road. The firm offered a
variety of camellias, azaleas and sasanqua.
James E. Bargeron, commander of the Sardis American
Legion Post 180, said the group will sponsor a barbecue on
Feb. 14. Tickets were priced at $1.00.
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Waynesboro, Georgia 30830
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BEN ROBERTS
benroberts@bellsouth.net
I try not to dabble in ru
mors in this space, but one has
cropped up again recently and
I feel like I should address it.
Some of you may have heard
that a Big Lots retail store is
coming to Waynesboro, in the
old Bi-Lo grocery store loca
tion across from Jones Lake.
As of this writing, that does not
appear to be true.
Someone texted me this
weekend asking if I knew about
it and that their information
came from reliable sources. I
decided to check with my own
source, Ashley Roberts, the
Director of the Burke County
Chamber of Commerce.
Mrs. Roberts also happens
to be my wife. My writing is
a source of contention in our
household so, to bypass such
episodes, we try to avoid talk
ing politics as much as possible.
I won’t necessarily refer to
her as “reliable” since she’s
pretty stingy with information,
but she was willing to go on the
record to discuss this rumor:
she has “no knowledge” of Big
Lots coming to Waynesboro -
direct quote.
She’s quick to point out that
local chambers don’t generally
recruit businesses to towns,
but they can and do serve as
liaisons for information and so
they often get wind of projects
ahead of time. But, as far as she
knows, this one is just a rumor.
While we’re on the subject,
we’re not getting a Publix, or a
Kroger or even a Food Lion ei
ther - at least not anytime soon.
My wife has to field that
question often too. The reality
is the chamber - or any other
elected or government official -
doesn’t have the power to bring
a new business to a community.
They can talk us up and try
to convince a business or cor
poration to take a look at Burke
County but at the end of the
day, it all boils down to money.
Can a business turn enough of
a profit to justify locating here?
Unfortunately, many times
that answer is going to be “no.”
The reality is we just don’t
have the population size or the
income levels to support much
more than what we have right
now. And anybody looking at
us is going to have to consider
fighting Walmart for their busi
ness.
Superior Court Judge Jesse
Stone issued his ruling on Sher
iff Alfonzo Williams’ Manda
mus lawsuit against the Board
of Commissioners last week.
Stone dismissed the sheriff’s
request to have his payroll run
thru his department rather than
through the county’s human
resources department like the
rest of the county’s various
employees. He also rejected
the commission’s claim that the
sheriff be forced to adhere to
county purchasing policies that
went above and beyond state
and federal guidelines.
Stone’s nine-page decision
cited numerous court cases
showing the limits of both sides’
power in contrast with the other.
In short, Stone is instructing
both parties to sort out their is
sues amongst themselves.
While both sides may be
disappointed in the ruling, this
Don Lively
(Reprinted from 2013)
It was a really big pine.
Must have been a pretty big
wind that knocked it over.
The tree was laying across
the trail that links the wooded
enclave with Willie’s place,
my little brother’s house, not
the Sirius XM radio station
that bears the same name. I
wondered for the thousandth
time, why the trees always fall
across the paths? Why don’t
they ever fall back toward the
woods? Is there some law of
nature that requires them to fall
toward open space where they
will have to be removed?
Just wondering.
Getting all philosophical
Down South.
It’s easy to do while spend
ing time walking around in
the country. Except for a few
blustery days a fellow can be
outside in the fresh air pretty
much anytime of the year
around these parts.
But, it’s also easy, if you’re
me, to get distracted from the
task at hand.
Let me explain.
The fallen pine was a little
piece down the tracks so I
gathered up my chainsaw, my
third favorite worldly posses
sion, and my Woodsman’s Pal
machete. I was going to have
to use the big knife for limbing
because my ax didn’t survive
The Great Firepit Fire and Fi
asco Of 2012.
Just as I got to the downed
tree I saw an armadillo lurking
through the underbrush a few
yards away. These animals that
appear so cute and harmless are
very destructive and about as
welcome around here as a Jer
sey bull in a juke joint. So, the
Texas turkey had to die.
I left the chainsaw and
walked back to the house for
the 22 rifle that Uncle Hayward
left me via Cousin Uncle Julian,
then walked back to where I last
saw the armadillo. Naturally,he
was gone so I started looking
for him.
I’d only gone a few steps
when I spotted a small oak that
had been strangled by wild
grapevines and twisted into an
unusual, gnarly shape. I knew
immediately that it would be a
perfect piece to make a unique
walking stick, another hobby
of mine.
I walked back to retrieve the
SIDETRACKED DOWN SOUTH
chainsaw, propped the rifle
against the fallen tree, and went
back to the twisted wood. Once
I got it cut to size I decided that
I wanted to skin the bark off of
it while it was still moist but
I hadn’t brought my whittling
knife.
I went back to the pine tree,
dropped the chainsaw off,
grabbed the rifle and headed
to the house. After I found the
knife and dropped off the rifle
I decided to cut through the
woods on the way back. As I
walked I realized that there’s
a slight depression toward the
backside of my property. When
there are heavy rains water sits
there for days. It occurred to
me that it would be a perfect
place to build a small pond.
So, I began a walking survey
of exactly where the banks of
my eventual pond would be,
where the access road might
be cut, and what kind of fish it
might support.
On my second circuit around
the site I jumped a rabbit. I’ve
noticed recently that rabbits
seem to be making a comeback.
Maybe they finally learned
to outmaneuver the coyotes.
Anyway, on the spot I decided
that I’d love some fried rabbit.
Surely there’s somebody in the
family who could tell me how
was about the best possible out
come for the citizens of Burke
County.
This fight has dragged on long
enough and needlessly cost the
taxpayers of this county.
In a Facebook post last week,
I stated that Judge Stone has
given the sheriff and commis
sioners an opportunity to step
back and pause this fight. This
is a chance to let cooler heads
and clearer minds prevail.
That will not be easy. This
lawsuit has created some deep
divisions within this county.
But it is what is both necessary
and right.
We need a sheriff focused
on protecting this county and a
commission working to address
the many needs of its citizens.
That will be far easier if the
two sides will work together
towards their common goals. It
will also be cheaper if they can
go back to having discussion
that don’t involve attorneys.
For more Burke County po
litical news, follow Bird Dog
Politics on Facebook,
to fry one up. I headed back to
the house for the rifle.
I left the unskinned walking
stick on the porch, reacquired
the 22, got some ammo and
went rabbit hunting. Of course,
rabbits, once you’ve jumped
them, don’t normally sit and
wait for you to come back and
shoot them and this one was no
exception. I couldn’t find hide
nor hair.
But, since I hadn’t shot for a
while, and since I had a brand
new box of shells, I set up an
impromptu shooting gallery us
ing pine cones propped up on a
log as targets. I hit nearly every
one. Yep. I still got it.
Then I realized that it was
getting dark and I still hadn’t
cleared the path. Willie and
Miss Debbie would be driv
ing the golf cart over soon on
their near nightly visit to make
sure I haven’t stroked out, ac
cidentally injured myself with
something sharp or had a heart
attack.
I hurried back to the tree and
got to work getting it cut up and
off the path.
Later, sitting on the north
porch, I pondered on how little
I accomplished that afternoon.
All I did was cut up and move
one pine from the path.
But, it was a really big pine.