Newspaper Page Text
Page 4—Wednesday, August 17, 2022, 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-AUGUST 22,2010
Nearly 100 workers at oneCare (formerly Evercare), locat
ed on Burke Veterans Parkway, will be out of job by the end
of the year as the facility is turned into a distribution center.
The Burke County Hospital, acting on financial forecasts
for the coming year, intended to ask the county for more than
$5.7 million to keep the facility open in fiscal year 2013.
The world’s largest heavy lift derrick was erected at Plant
Vogtle. The 560 foot boom will be used to place components
into the new reactors under construction.
25 YEARS AGO-AUGUST 20, 1997
Sonic Drive-In advertised a Sonic Burger, French fries
and a Coke for $2.99.
Local pilot Robbie McMillan walked away unharmed
from the crash of a crop duster he was flying. The plane
experienced total engine failure as McMillan was approach
ing the Burke County Airport and he had to attempt a land
ing on a dirt road. Everything went smoothly until a wing
struck a metal fence post, ultimately causing the plane to
flip completely over. It was McMillan’s first incident in 24
years as a pilot.
Members of the Waynesboro Burke County Humane So
ciety asked the county commission to hire a full-time animal
control officer and build an animal shelter.
50 YEARS AGO-AUGUST 16,1972
True Citizen publisher Roy Chalker, Jr. was scheduled to
serve as interviewer in a debate between U.S. Sen. David
Gambrell and his opponent, State Rep. Sam Nunn. The event
was to be televised on WRDW TV Channel 12.
Final returns from the August 8 General Primary showed
that 61 percent of those registered actually voted. It was a
record turnout for the county.
WHS graduate Tommy Purser accepted a position as math
teacher and assistant basketball and football coach for the
coming year.
70 YEARS AGO-AUGUST 21,1952
Hammond Blanchard announced that Blanchard Tractor
Co. had purchased the Purina Feed dealership from Fred
DeLaigle and would move the operation to his dealership.
John Reese, president of the Burke County Game and Fish
Club, reminded local citizens that no license was required
for anyone fishing with a pole and worms. He also said that
no license was required for anyone under the age of 16,
regardless of the bait or equipment used.
The local National Guard unit announced that it needed
81 enlistees to bring the unit up to full strength. Veterans
with experience in anti-aircraft artillery were a special need
for the unit.
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
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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
(Reprinted from 2014)
When I was a kid, I spent
many hours in the hay loft in
our old barn that doubled as my
playhouse.
It was my tall ship if I wanted
to play pirates.
My battlement if I was a
Rebel soldier fighting off the
Yankee hordes.
My fort on the western fron
tier if I was playing cowboys
and Indians before we had to
call Indians Native Americans.
The loft had openings on both
ends, the east looking toward
the pecan orchard and the west
overlooking the hedgerow that
I knew to be full of quail and
rabbits.
There were great views from
the loft of the old barn.
But that’s a story for another
time.
Today I’m talking about a
different loft.
Therefore, a different view.
The choir loft.
A few years ago, when I
moved back to the Blessed
South and to my old homeplace
smack in the middle of the
Bible Belt, I rejoined the choir
that I hadn’t sung a note in for
decades. Several of the mem
bers were the very same ones
who were there back then and
have been lifting their voices up
to Him all that time.
It’s a joy.
I have loved every service
that I’ve been blessed to be a
part of.
And, there’s the view.
Now you might think that
singing in the choir would mean
seeing the same thing every
week, sitting in the same spot
with your back to the rear wall
facing the congregation, week
in and week out, and, to some
extent you’d be right.
I see the balcony that was
once the Sunday School wing
back when the entire church
building was under one roof. No
add-ons. No annexes. No gyms.
I also see the framed docu
ment on the back wall, the one
that tells good Baptists what
debaucheries to avoid in order
the remain good Baptists.
And, from my perch on the
far left end of the back row, I
can watch the front door and
see who comes in late and who
leaves early.
But there’s another kind of
view.
The faces.
When you attend the same
church where your Mama took
you for the first time when you
were two weeks old, that’s my
history, many of the faces out
LOFTY RECOLLECTIONS
in the congregation are mostly
familiar, mostly friendly and
nearly all memory provoking.
Like the cousin who recently
came back for a visit. She was
a senior in high school when I
was a sophomore but we were
good buddies and she even
claimed me as her own on a
long-ago Sadie Hawkins Day.
She moved away and met with
a lot of success but back in the
day she was just one of the
boys. You read that right. She
could, and would, try pretty
much anything that the boy
cousins would.
There’s also that sweet face
of Miss Joanne who recently
lost her husband. They were
some of our closest neighbors
and she helped raise me. I
crashed my bicycle on the road
in front of her house and tore a
chunk out of me knee. She got
to me before Mama did and
made it all better.
There are two faces that look
nearly identical. Understand
able since they are identical
twins. Their daddy and mine
occasionally farmed together
and I remember them as teenage
farmboys working in the peanut
fields. These days, between the
two of them, on some Sundays
their families, children, grands
and great-grands, fill a couple
of pews.
On some Lord’s Day morn
ings, if I really look hard, I can
also see many faces that are no
longer there among the wor
shipers but who I am confident
are all currently worshiping on
a higher plain.
Mama and Daddy of course.
They used to sit on the east side,
near the front, second or third
row. I was always amazed and
how often both of them sang the
hymns, word for word, holding
but not really using the hymnal.
Grandma is there too, al
ways wearing a Sunday-go-
to-meeting dress and always
somewhere near the front.
I see Mr. Thomas who could
and would extend the service by
ten or fifteen minutes with his
epic closing prayers but who
meant and lived by the words
he said.
On the very front row I see
Brother Fred and Brother Bob
and Brother Gerald and several
other pastors waiting till it was
time to step into the pulpit and
get to preaching.
All in Heaven.
All absent from the body but
present with the Lord.
But the faces remain.
I can see them.
From the loft.
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.
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
Citizen, 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; Brannon
Braddock, Monica Mobley, Daniel Hannah, Sports
Reporters; Tracy Parker, Office Manager; Martha Chalker,
Advertising Sales; Roy F. Chalker, Jr., Printing Manager.
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Harriet Dixon Guest Columnist
PAINFUL
I have lived in the City of
Sardis for all my life, which
consists of 74 years. I love
Sardis and it is immensely
painful to hear the false in
formation being circulated
among some of our current
citizens regarding issues they
seemingly have no facts to
support.
I am not insensitive to the
issues we are facing, and it
would be irresponsible of me
to dismiss them; however, I
believe there is a proper way
to address our concerns. So
cial media is a wonderful tool
that many of us use to keep up
with the lives of those we hold
close, but it can be damaging,
especially when used to ex
press concerns of any nature
whether true or false.
Many threats have been
posted to social media ref
erencing contacting news
outlets about brown water,
the city falsely overcharging
citizens for water service and
much more.
Brown water has been in
this city since late 70’s early
80’s. Water rates, historically,
have been below other cities
for years and have resulted
in economic hardship for
the city. Meters are old and
outdated. Based on informa
tion discussed in our council
sessions, meters should be
replaced every 10 to 15 years
but haven’t been changed for
30 to 40 years.
The current administration
is being slandered for inher
iting major issues that it is
doing its best to correct and
is intent on solving issues as
they are discovered. The ad
ministration has reached out
to various agencies for grants
to replace old and rusted iron
pipes that are causing discol
oration in the water system.
The citizen participation
in the 2020 Census was less
than desired. If all citizens
had participated, grant fund
ing for Sardis would have
been increased, helping to
correct some of the major
problems we are currently
experiencing. One grant that
was requested from CDBG
(Community Development
Block Grant) was for fund
ing to replace corroded iron
pipes and to assist in Mag
gie Valley roads. I cannot
say with assurance why the
census or grant surveys were
not completed but I know that
the refusal to participate has
greatly impacted our abil
ity to obtain funding as our
numbers do not meet certain
requirements.
This administration dili
gently searched for funding
to replace all manual water
meters that are legally con
nected. Proudly I say, the
funds have been received and
digital meters will be installed
in the coming months. With
these meters being electroni
cally read through a com
puter system, all the myths/
untruths will be dismantled.
This is one example of how
the present administration
has worked tirelessly to ac
complish and bring our city
up to par.
This city can only be as suc
cessful as the individuals liv
ing in it. We have repeatedly
requested attendance by our
citizens at our monthly coun
cil sessions, but participation
is consistently low. This is not
the time to spread hurtful
myths and untruths about our
administration but to band
together so that we can ef
fectively and efficiently make
changes for all our citizens.
Everyone is being treated
equally and the goal is to en
sure that we, the citizens, have
what we need.