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The True Citizen, Wednesday, November 2, 2022 — Page 5
Ronda Rich
Nowhere are the common
thieads that make up America’s
fabric showcased more than in
the courthouse in the midst of
a vast jury pool.
There, the tire store owner
sits shoulder-to-shoulder with
the high school teacher who is
seated next to a grocery store
baker who speaks to her neigh
bor, the farmer. They lay aside
their work and struggles to do
their civic duty.
Recently, I sat among these
great Americans - my fifth
time summoned to serve - and
remembered back to a pow
erful lesson of my first jury
summons. It’s been over 25
years. Then, it was exciting
and felt like such a grownup
responsibility.
I was selected for a jury
and, in a bit of inexplicable
reasoning, was voted foreman.
We were there to decide the
verdict of a man who had been
arrested for driving under the
influence. He had refused a
breathalyzer and, in those days
before today’s stringent laws,
his fate would be decided upon
his testimony and the arresting
officer’s as well as the police
report.
In the jury room, we debated
for half an hour then took a
vote: 8-4 in favor of conviction.
More discussion and a second
vote which was then 10-2.
More discussion and another
vote, again 10-2. After a couple
of hours and more ballots, I
was forced to notify the judge
of a deadlock. We broke for
lunch then returned to deliber
ate further.
The two hold-outs were
older men who, as it turned
out, were both World War II
veterans. They were deeply
resolved to acquit. I’ll never
forget how firm one man was.
Steely. Unbending.
I took a breath. “We’ve all
talked about why we think it
should be a guilty conviction,
why do you think it should be
‘not guilty’?”
Remarkably, the two gentle
men were sitting side by side,
both gray-headed, with faces
that crackled with the experi
ence of their seven decades of
living but they had never met
WHEN JURY DUTY CALLS
until that day when they had
been called to another service
for their country. The man,
whose jaw was set the firmest
in stubbomest, spoke up.
“I fought for this country to
ensure the rights of all men. I
landed on the beach of Nor
mandy, with bullets whizzing
past by my head and friends
falling dead at my feet, their
blood covering my wet boots.
I risked my life to guarantee
freedom for every American.
I’m not convinced he’s guilty
so I can’t vote that way. It goes
‘agin’ what I fought for.”
Heaviness filled the room
and the impact of what he said
swept across the faces around
that table. It is fair to say that
he almost changed 10 votes.
I was the youngest in the
room but I had a peculiar ex
perience that none of them pos
sessed. I had once wanted to be
a lawyer. As soon as I had my
driver’s license, I dashed out of
school, daily, and headed to the
courthouse where I spent the
rest of the afternoon, listening
to lawyers making their final
summation. The storytelling
was superb.
After college, I scored well
on the law school entrance
exam but another story inter
rupted, leading me down a
different path.
“If you knew that he had
been arrested before for a DUI,
would that sway you?”
“Yes. Definitely.”
“He has.” I smiled.
The jurors all sat up. “How
do you know?”
“Because his lawyer never
mentioned his clean record and
he would have.”
When we returned our guilty
verdict, the judge was without
mercy. “This is the fourth time
you have been arrested for
DUI. I’m about to bring down
on you the full power and
wrath of this court.”
On the courthouse steps, the
gentleman approached, teary-
eyed. “Thank you, young lady.
I’d have voted to let him go and
he might have killed someone.
Maybe someone I love.”
Duty to country. It calls us
all. In one way or another.
Ronda Rich is a best-selling
author, 11th generation South
erner and an American grateful
to our sellless militaiy.
Veterans
Continued from front
from the Iraqi citizens.
“Some thought we were
there to help and some thought
we were there to impose our
way of life on them,” he said.
“Some greeted us fondly and
some shunned us away.”
After Jones returned to the
U.S., his next deployment
involved evacuation of the
embassy in Somalia.
RESPONSE TO 9/11
The September 11, 2001
attacks, involved four coordi
nated suicide terrorist attacks
carried out by the militant
Islamic extremist network al-
Qaeda against the U.S. Nine
teen terrorists hijacked four
commercial airliners flying
to California. The hijackers
crashed the first two planes
into the Twin Towers of the
World Trade Center in New
York City, and the third plane
into the Pentagon in Arlington,
Virginia. The fourth plane
was intended to hit a federal
government building in Wash
ington, D.C., but crashed in
a held following a passenger
revolt. The attacks killed nearly
3,000 people and instigated the
global war on terrorism.
Robinson was deployed to
Iraq the first time in 2001.
He stayed for six months. He
describes the first deployment
to Iraq as a spiritual experi
ence. He learned to pray with
a purpose. One of his concerns
was that his marriage would
fall apart. He also prayed about
the prospect of dying. He found
peace of mind in his prayers.
“When I stepped into Iraq,
I wasn’t concerned if I was
coming back,” he said. “I was
only concerned about my team
coming back.”
Robinson said his team
learned to understand that
carrying out a mission was
different than civilian life. It
required a higher level of sup
port and honesty amongst the
men. The experience allowed
the teammates to grow closer
together.
“We trusted each other re
garding things that we wouldn’t
have talked about if we had not
deployed,” he said. “It allowed
us to see our leadership in a
different light.”
The soldiers got to see what
the training actually prepared
them for and they got see the
human side of people instead
of just recognizing rank. The
leaders also got to see the
soldiers as men and women
rather than people just taking
and executing orders.
“It created more of a fam-
time for a year.
“I took God with me the sec
ond time, more experienced,”
he said. “I didn’t need to get
scared about it.”
This time the enemy wasn’t
the greatest challenge, it was
working with his team.
“Our purpose was different,”
he said. “They wanted us to
win the hearts and minds of the
Iraqi people. We were training
their army to do the job that we
were doing.”
Even so, Robinson had to
balance out teaching with
retaining secrets. The Iraqi
soldiers were his understudies
but not his best friends. The
threat remained that anyone
being trained by U.S. military
personnel could turn against
them.
“I can’t give them our fre
quencies,” he said. “I can’t
always communicate with
them because we are using
technology that we can’t even
let them know we are using. We
can’t give them that informa
tion because it would devastate
all our efforts that we are doing
around them.”
Veterans Day, originally
known as Armistice Day, is a
federal holiday in the United
States observed annually on
November 11, for honoring
military veterans of the United
States Armed Forces.
Sources: U.S. Army Center
of Military History, U.S. De
partment of Defense, Byju’s
Exam Pre, Wikipedia
NOTICE
CITY OF WAYNESBORO
The City of Waynesboro does hereby announce that the millage rate will be set at a meeting to be held at City of Waynesboro located at 615 N.
Liberty Street, Waynesboro, Georgia on November 17, 2022 at 6:00 p.m., and pursuant to the requirements of O.C.G.A. Section 48-5-32 does
hereby publish the following presentation of the current year's tax digest and levy, along with the history of the tax digest and levy for the past five
years.
CURRENT 2022 TAX DIGEST AND 5-YEAR MILLAGE HISTORY OF LEVY
ily than a military structure,”
City of Waynesboro, GA
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022 Proposed
Robinson said.
Real Estate & Personal
145,286,101
139,044,320
143,945,940
159,643,640
156,566,543
172,371,871
The experience also tested
Motor Vehicles
3,155,860
2,260,420
2,193,720
1,942,800
1,320,940
1,204,060
Robinson’s theoretical beliefs
Mobile Homes
197,155
196,755
205,173
188,298
201,565
216,045
and invoked a more experi-
Timber -100%
-
-
-
-
-
-
ential relationship with God.
Heavy Duty Equipment
-
-
-
-
21,521
-
There were times the unit
suffered attacks, prompting a
Gross Digest
148,639,116
141,501,495
146,344,833
161,774,738
158,110,569
173,791,976
flight or fight response. The
Less M&O Exemptions
13,979,418
16,072,246
16,749,514
18,105,846
18,415,973
19,182,885
first time it happened, Robin-
Net M&O digest
134,659,698
125,429,249
129,595,319
143,668,892
139,694,596
154,609,091
son’s heart raced. However,
after that he found more and
Gross M&O Millage
0.020
0.022
0.020
0.022
0.023
0.021
more trust in his creator when-
Less M&O Rollback
0.009
0.011
0.009
0.011
0.012
0.010
ever faced with danger.
Net M&O Millage
0.011
0.011
0.011
0.011
0.011
0.011
“It wasn’t that I disregarded
the danger that was there,”
Net Taxes Levied
1,481,256.68
1,379,721.74
1,425,548.51
1,580,357.81
1,536,640.56
1,700,700.00
he said. “I was at peace with
myself which allowed me to
Net Taxes & Increase
85,680
(101,535)
45,827
154,809
111,092
164,059
do my job. So even though
Net Taxes % Increase
6.1%
-6.9%
3.3%
10.9%
7.8%
10.7%
my soldiers were nervous,
especially when they thought
they were being gassed, I didn’t
have the fear.”
He believes his faith assisted
him in being a better person for
those around him.
“I can only thank God that
I had peace of mind in the
middle of a war,” he said.
Robinson went back to Iraq
a second time, 2007-2008, this
Desert Storm saw the first use of the MIM-104C Patriot
missile system in combat, where it was used to intercept
Scud missiles. It was also the first time the Air Force used
stealth and space systems support capabilities against a
modern, integrated air defense.
’ca.. 706.554.2111
lor your copy
Notice of
Property Tax Increase
The City of Waynesboro City Council has tentatively adopted a 2022
millage rate which will require an increase in property taxes by 7.97
percent. All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearing on this
tax increase to be held at the City of Waynesboro, 615 N Liberty Street,
Waynesboro, Georgia, on November 10, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.
Times and places of additional public hearings on this tax increase are
at the City of Waynesboro, 615 N Liberty Street, Waynesboro, Geor
gia, on November 17, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. and November 17, 2022 at
6:00 p.m.
This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 11 mills, an in
crease of .812 mills. Without this tentative tax increase, the millage
rate will be no more than 10.188 mills. The proposed tax increase for
a home with a fair market value of $100,000 is approximately $32.48
and the proposed tax increase for non-homestead property with a fair
market value of $300,000 is approximately $97.44.