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Page 4A— Wednesday, May 4, 2022, The True Citizen
OPINIONS
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LOOKING BACK
{this week in Burke County history}
10 YEARS AGO-MAY 9,2012
Sam Dong, a South Korean-based magnet wire manufac
turer, purchased the vacant ASTAbuilding, located on Burke
Veterans Parkway. The company said it would employ up to
150 workers when in full production.
Denzell “Snake” Warthen, who had helped lead the BCHS
Bears to the state football championship, was killed in an ac
cident near Scott’s Store off Highway 56 South.
Mary Harper retired after 32 years as owner of Waynesboro
Florist and Gifts.
25 YEARS AGO-MAY 7,1997
Krista Ann Kehr Anderson of Perkins was found shot to
death in her car just inside the county line on Highway 25
South. She was apparently on her way home from her job at
a North August Walmart. The case was under investigation by
the Burke County Sheriff’s Office and the GBI.
Missing papers caused a mistrial in the murder case against
Willie Palmer. Judge William Fleming agreed that the prosecu
tion should have turned over the typewritten notes of Frederico
Palmer’s original statement to authorities. Frederico Palmer
was a state witness who allegedly saw Willie Palmer shoot
his estranged wife and her daughter.
J.W. “Squat” Bailey and his wife, Betty, closed out almost a
half-century in the horse business with a dispersal sale of their
stock at their Windy Hill Ranch just south of Waynesboro.
50 YEARS AGO-MAY 3,1972
Mayor Paul Stone welcomed Georgia State Treasurer Bill
Burson on his “Walk through Georgia” to become the next
U.S. Senator. Burson said he anticipated walking 1,100 miles
during the campaign.
The Selective Service System announced its new procedures
for signing up for the draft. Registrants had to sign up within
30 days before or after their eighteenth birthday.
Jimmy Nichols, formerly of Waynesboro, was named branch
manager of the First National Bank of Cobb County.
70 YEARS AGO-MAY 8,1952
Frank Griffin led Waynesboro High School to the State Class
B Track Championship. Griffin won the 220 yard dash with
a time of 23.15 seconds. He came in second in the 100 yard
dash with a time of 10.2 seconds. Other stars for Waynesboro
included Heyward Gnann, Bobby Glover, Benny Kissam and
Marcus Borum.
Ralph Elliott won the Evans Hardware fishing contest for
April with a 5 if pound largemouth bass caught with a creek
chub darter.
The Burke County Health Department moved into its newly
completed facilities on Jones Ave. behind the Burke County
Hospital.
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BEN ROBERTS
benroberts@bellsouth.net
If you’ve been anywhere
near any form of Augusta-area
media in the last week, then by
now, you are probably aware
that a male Burke County High
School (BCHS) special educa
tion teacher has been arrested
for inappropriate behavior with
a female student.
According to the Burke
County Sheriff’s Office, Scott
William Hooker, 40, of Augus
ta, was arrested last Wednes
day, April 27. He is charged
with one misdemeanor count
each of improper sexual con
tact, sexual battery, and simple
battery.
The BCSO incident report
states that the department was
contacted by the victim’s moth
er on March 29, in reference to
her daughter being “inappro
priately touched” by Hooker.
The report goes on to explain
the teacher had been making
the victim “uncomfortable by
hugging her from behind and
tugging her hair” during lunch.
Hooker is not accused of
physically having sex or sexual
contact in the sense most of us
would assume when we hear
those phrases. I don’t say that
to lesson his actions in any way
but to clarify what exactly is
alleged to have occurred.
On Thursday of last week, I
happened to hear portions of the
Austin Rhodes radio show in
Augusta. Rhodes spent a large
portion of his show discussing
Hooker’s arrest and how it was
common knowledge he had left
a job at a Columbia County
school under the same circum
stances. According to Rhodes,
accusations against Hooker
had even been brought before a
grand jury, however, that group
declined to indict Hooker on
any of the alleged charges.
As I listened, I had two im
mediate reactions. The first, as
the father of a daughter headed
to BCHS next fall, was concern
and anger. The second, as a
newsperson, was to question
how in the world this ever oc
curred.
In an interview with Burke
County School Superintendent,
Dr. Angela Williams, on Mon
day, I asked for clarification on
several issues. In particular, I
wanted to know how Hooker
had been suspended, pending
the school’s investigation, and
then allowed to return to work
on campus prior to his arrest.
Dr. Williams explained that
Hooker was suspended on
March 29 while the school
system’s human resources de
partment conducted their in
vestigation. That investigation,
she said, determined that while
Hooker had “hugged” the vic
tim, there was no evidence the
intent was sexual. Dr. Williams
also said there were no other
reports of this kind of conduct
by Hooker.
It would appear he was guilty
of some very poor choices
concerning boundaries with
students but not that he was any
sort of predator.
Based on that investigation,
Hooker was reprimanded and
reminded about said boundar
ies when it came to touching
students. He was allowed to
return to work on April 20.
In the meantime, a BCSO
investigator found information
concerning the 2017 incident
that landed Hooker before a
Columbia County grand jury.
However, since there was no
indictment and no arrest, there
was nothing to show up on
Hooker’s background check.
Dr. Williams said the school
was notified of this separate
investigation and what they
had turned up on April 25.
Hooker was again placed on
leave awaiting the conclusion
of the BCSO investigation. He
was arrested two days later and
will no longer be employed by
Burke County.
When I asked Dr. Williams
about the claim that Hooker’s
past was well documented, she
explained there was nothing in
his personnel hie
or employment SEE
history that indi- BIRD DOG,
cated any previ-
“There’s that house I used
to go to all the time.”
I was driving, Mama was my
only passenger. I was pretty
certain that she’d never set
foot in the house that she had
pointed to. But this was after
my siblings had chastised me
and convinced me to stop argu
ing with Mama, no matter how
aggravating and argumentative
she could be. She was in her
last few years and her mind had
slowly begun to leave her. Even
though it sometimes appeared
as though she was saying things
just to get a reaction, mostly she
was just talking because she
didn’t like the quiet.
Being somewhat buttheaded
myself, it took me a while to un
derstand that Mama often had
no idea what she was saying.
If you’ve watched an elderly
parent’s or relative’s mental
cognizance slowly leave them
before their body is ready to
go, you know what I’m talking
about.
Before she died a few years
later, I did apologize to her for
my impatience.
I hope, I pray, that she com-
Don Lively
MAMA COULD
prehended and accepted.
I still miss my Mama.
She was without doubt the
boss of the house, even though
Daddy was the head of the
household.
I remember Mama meeting
me at the door on more than
one occasion when I’d either
been working in the fields all
day, or playing in the woods and
swamps. It was like she knew I
was coming and met me at the
threshold.
“Gel out there and wash off
under the hosepipe before you
come in this house.”
Then she’d hand me a towel.
I always enjoyed the outside
washings so much that I was
clean enough, at least by my
standards, that I didn’t need to
get in the shower. But Mama
still made me have a real bath
before supper.
Supper.
Yankees call it dinner, but
folks around these parts call the
evening meal supper. Regard
less of the name, Mama always
had “a gracious plenty” waiting
when Daddy, usually the last
one to stop working and come
in, got to the table. Incidentally,
I never wasted a second wor
rying about why Mama never
insisted that Daddy hose off
outside. I knew the answer.
Anyway, I’m still amazed all
these years later how Mama
was able to provide feasts at
every meal and rarely have any
of us complain about the fare.
Mama did a lot of things well
but there’s never been a better
cook anywhere on Earth.
Mama could also dance.
I had heard about her danc
ing skills from her sisters and
friends but I don’t remember
ever actually seeing her dance
until we threw her and Daddy a
50th anniversary shindig at the
VFW. They danced a few times
but then Daddy, ten years older
than Mama and, by that time 80
years old, turned her over to his
friend Mr. Luther, who was also
a renowned dancer.
Those two did indeed “cut
a rug”.
They spun and twirled and
dipped while my extended fam
ily and dozens of friends, and
Daddy, happily watched from
the sidelines. I think Mama, 70
years old, would have danced
all night except she wore Mr.
Luther out too.
Mama could sing too.
It wasn’t unusual for her to
break into a song for no other
reason than singing made her
happy. Sometimes she would
insist that I, or one of my sibs,
sing along with her as she
worked in the kitchen. Other
times, when she’d be driving
all four of us somewhere, we’d
all be singing to the top of
our lungs. We all got Mama’s
singing genes too and in later
years, after I moved back from
Out West, I had the opportunity
to sing in the choir with her
and my brothers other kin and
friends. Mama sang in the choir
until she couldn’t.
I can still hear her.
Mama could cook, Mama
could dance, Mama could sing.
But above all things, Mama
loved her children.
We were told that Mama and
Daddy were not able to have
children for the first five years
they were married, but once the
figured out what the issue was,
they created all four of us in a
little over five years.
Mama loved her children.
It only requires a glance at
me to know that she kept me
well-fed.
She “made” me dance with
her though I secretly thanked
her, and I can still dance when
the situation necessitates.
And I still bust out in song
on occasion for no other reason
that it makes me happy.
Mama loved her children.
Mama loved me.
Happy Heavenly Mother’s
Day, Mama.
Don Lively is a freelance
writer and author of several
books of Southern Humor. He
lives in Shell Bluff. Email Don
at Livelycolo@aol.com.