Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 5A
April 2,2008
"Reporter
From the outside looking in
Around the Bend
It’s time for a
new party - the
political kind
F irst, KUDOS were doled out too
soon: A couple of weeks ago I
bragged on WSB-TV in Atlanta for
using Forsyth County instead of
Forsyth in its news reporting.
Well, it didn’t last long, according to a head
line on their website last week. The headline
stated “Forsyth Man Hit and Kills Girlfriend
With Truck.” It caught my attention in that I
had not heard of a Forsyth man killing his girl
friend with his pick-up truck, although we do
have a lot of pick-up owners and drivers here
in Monroe County.
Sure enough, the man was from Cumming,
which is the county seat of Forsyth County.
Yep, I did send an e-mail to the news director
at the station asking them to be more cog
nizant of Georgia history.
It was in essence the
same e-mail I sent to Jim
Wooten with the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution ask
ing his headline writers
to give us a break.
HERE’S the question of
the week: are we in a
recession, depres
sion or just what?
According to my
very reliable
sources, we are in a
recession with just
about everybody
cutting back on spending, particularly for such
things as new shoes, haircuts, hairdos and new
tires.
One reliable source owns a shoe repair busi
ness and he explains: “We get a lot more cus
tomers wanting their shoes repaired such as
resoling when money tightens up. Although
shoes have become relatively inexpensive,
instead of replacing an expensive pair of
favorite shoes, they bring them here.”
Then there is another of my reliable sources
that is also convinced we are in a recession.
She owns a beauty salon but specializes in cut
ting hair, in other words a barber for men and
hair salon for women. Yep, her business is off.
“Men and women are waiting longer between
hair cuts and styling. It used to be we were
very busy on Thursdays and Fridays when our
customers were getting dolled up for the week
end and Sunday church.
“What we are finding out, the men are wait
ing longer between haircuts and the women
are waiting longer between getting their hair
dyed and styled.”
Then there are tire sales. I can remember
when it was a lot cheaper to buy retreads than
new tires, particularly when money was short
and the dollar a lot thinner. Wonder if Joey
Pitman is selling more retreads than new
tires?
SPIN is what politicians and supposedly
important newsmakers like to put on their
“news,” consequently giving a boost to their
public perception.
One of the best “spins” I have read about in
the news was from last week’s Reporter. The
story was about the quarry expansion, which
the county commission was to consider last
night.
Here’s what the quarry manager had to say
as quoted in the news story: “We are not
expanding operations actually. A better expla
nation would be to say we plan to relocate min
ing from the current quarry to another section
of land that has better quality rock. Once we
are mining in the new locations, our plans are
to stop mining in the current location.”
HERE’S another question. What’s the differ
ence between “misspoke” and out-and-out
lying?
THE OTHER day I purchased a book that
has the unadulterated version of our
Constitution, Declaration of Independence and
Articles of Confederation. I have really enjoyed
refreshing my patriotism and have become
more aware of the political shenanigans dis
played by elected office holders, wannabes and
how they prostitute those three great docu
ments for their self-serving egos.
The D’s and R’s have interpreted and misin
terpreted the Constitution of the United
States, The Declaration of Independence, and
the Articles of Confederation for their own per
sonal, political and party gains. Therefore, it is
time for a new political party and I am going to
call the party “The Constitution Party,” with
strict adherence to our Constitution.
I wonder if our school systems require stu
dents to study the three documents on which
our country was founded and the underlying
principles of those documents that made us
great? If not, it should be required.
THE BEST yet! According to an Associated
Press story, a judge up in Pennsylvania has
ordered three Spanish-speaking men to learn
English or go to jail. The three men were
arrested for criminal conspiracy to commit rob
bery and are going to be required to learn
English, earn their GEDs and get full-time jobs
or face a prison term. Good.
Donald Jackson Daniel is the founder and
former publisher of The Reporter. He can be
contacted at tullaybear@bellsouth.net.
Please forgive me Mrs.
T he thin coat of yel
low dust on my van
tells me it’s
spring. I
guess it’s
time for a little spring
cleaning. Unlike my col
league, Will, my beds
haven’t been made
since... well, I think
since the last time my
dad came to visit.
I am not a n
very good clean-
er. I used to be. '
When I was a stay-at-home
mom, my beds were always
made. My house was compa
ny-ready at any given hour.
Alas, those days are gone,
thanks to this job. It sucks
every bit of time and energy
I have.
SO, I GUESS I’ll do a little
spring cleaning around here.
A little clutter has built up
over the winter that I feel I
must put away. Im sure I’ve
ticked off a few people this
year. I’m sorry. I am much
too busy to go out of my way
to mess with you. It is sheer-
ly a mistake when I do. So,
to those whom I have
wronged, forgive me please.
Here goes. . .
To the lady who emailed
my boss that she
plans to cancel her
subscription to the
Reporter because
she brought in an
announcement or
something and a
picture about her
daughter
if ' throwing a
birthday party
^ for Jesus but I
never put it in the paper . . .
I am sorry.
I have absolutely no idea
what happened to it. I see
hundreds of pieces of paper a
month. I really cannot say
why your item didn’t get in.
It was a complete oversight
on my part. I’m sorry.
I love Jesus. I would never
intentionally leave out His
birthday party. I only wish
you would have called me a
little sooner instead of wait
ing three-and-a-half months
and then tattling to my boss.
Thankfully, he did not fire
me. If you send it to me
again, I will do my best to
get it in this time.
Considering you were having
a birthday party for Jesus, I
am assuming that you are a
Christian and believe you
will forgive me. Thanks.
TO THE GUY or gal who
commented on my column
about seatbelts on the web
site — (I think his name was
Wolfman) I say thanks! You
were my very first comment
on our brand-new website.
Although you didn’t agree
with me, I appreciate you
reading. But, for the record,
your comment said it should
not be up to the government
to make us wear seatbelts. . .
I never said anything about
it being the law, I just said
it’s the smart thing to do.
People who do not wear a
seatbelt are stupid, stupid
selfish people. Period. I’m
standing by that one.
OK, I AM definitely not a
grammar expert. There are
several English teachers in
this town who read my col
umn or . . . even worse. . a
news story. . . and cringe at
my misuse of the English
language. I try, believe me.
My boss catches some of my
slip-ups, but some just slip
Grant
on by and make into the per
manent record. Sorry.
To Mrs. Grant, the late
mother of Dr. J. Ray Grant,
esteemed physician and
chairman of the Monroe
County Board of Education, I
sincerely apologize for mis
quoting your son.
It had to have been my
messy handwriting. I am
sure Dr. Grant did not say
the phrase “Where we’re at”
as I quoted him to say in a
recent story. I’m sure he said
“Where we are.”
TO ALL the kids whose
names I have misspelled. . .
I’m sorry. I understand your
pain, believe me. No matter
how many times I spell my
name for people, it inevitably
gets misspelled. People just
cannot grasp that it is just
four simple letters G-I-N-A.
OK, I’m done cleaning for
now. That’s enough for one
spring. But, I’m still not
making my bed. I’ll just mess
it up again tonight.
Gina Herring may be
reached at 478-994-2358 or
news@mymcr. net.
The Low Down on High Falls
Do you know what Towaliga means?
H ello from High
Falls— I wanted
to write about
the park this
week so I visited
with Paulette Thompson, the
resource manager
for High Falls State
Park.
We talked about
the history of the
park, which encom
passes 1,050 acres.
The lake, which is
fed by the Towaliga
River, cover 650 of
those acres. From
the 120 foot water
fall, the highest in
middle Georgia, the extinct
town of High Falls took its
name.
The Creek Indians (a
name given them by the
British), living along the
Ocmulgee River, inhabited
the area around what is now
High Falls State Park.
According to the legend, the
river takes its name from the
Creek word Towaliga: pro
nounced “ti-laggi” which
means “roasted scalp.” As it
is told, the Indians massa
cred the first settlers, laid
the scalps along the
rocks on the bank to
dry.
Monroe County, orig
inally called
Unionville, was one of
the first settlements
established, the vil
lage operated two
large general stores, a
gristmill, a gin, black
smith shop, a shoe
shop, furniture factory,
broom and mop factory and a
sawmill. The town changed
its name to Towaliga, then to
High Falls.
During its heyday from
1883-1899, the town reached
a population of 200 people.
The grinding wheel from the
old gristmill is all that
remains of the original town.
The bridge was construct
ed on an iron girder frame
using hand installed rivets
instead of bolts to secure the
wooden planks and was com
pleted in 1902.
A flood in this area in 1994
destroyed all but the current
remains.
The dam is 606 feet long
and 335 feet high and
impounds the 650 acre natu
ral lake with an average
depth of 12 feet.
Paulette said what she
would most want people to
know about the park, is the
4.5 miles of hiking trails, and
the fact that High Falls is
one of the top fishing spots
in Georgia with large bass
ranking near the top.
Catches that average 2-3
pounds are likely, hybrids
from 5-10 pounds are com
mon.
Private boats are allowed
with a 10-horsepower limit.
Paulette also expressed to
me how much they would
welcome volunteers to help
maintain the park. Currently
they have six full time
employees and three part
time.
With almost a half million
guests visiting the park
every year, it’s an awesome
task.
I urge you to visit the park
if you have not taken advan
tage of the activities the
park offers. The
fishing, boating, hiking,
birdwatching and camping.
I promise you will come
away being so glad you
did.
Remember: Every thought
is a seed. If you plant
crabapples, don’t count on
harvesting Golden Delicious.
Margaret Sigretto is the
High Falls columnist for the
Monroe County Reporter.
Email her at highfall-
shideawa@bellsouth.net.
%
By Margaret
Sigretto
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Fovu^way stops will only add danger
To the editor:
A n article in the March 5,
Telegraph and the March 26
Reporter addressed two new
four-way stops on U.S.
23/Ga. 87 in Monroe
County-one at the Hwy. 18 intersection
and the other at Hwy. 83. According to
the article the Georgia Department of
Transportation's recent traffic engi
neering study found that roundabouts
would make these intersections safer.
However, before that feat of engineering
is accomplished, they have decided to
implement four-way stops at both loca
tions beginning April 1.
My family is familiar with both these
intersections and believe some form of
safety measure is needed and round
abouts may be the answer. However, a
four-way stop in the interim seems the
least likely solution for at least one of
these problem areas, specifically the
one at Hwy. 18. There is a tremendous
amount of truck traffic on U.S. 23 Ga
87 both north and south. Loaded grav
el trucks, semis, log trucks, etc. topping
the hill from either direction need a
tremendous stopping distance. Just
imagine the scenario with traffic cross
ing at Hwy 18. Is a four-way stop really
the answer here? Perhaps so if all
motorists followed the traffic laws, but
there are those who won't no matter
what. Over the years we have seen a
variety of safety measures implemented
at this crossing for the Hwy. 18 traffic
including caution lights, speed break
ers, stop signs, and signs clearly stating
that U.S. 23/Ga. 87 traffic has the right-
of-way. None of these measures have
been successful on a number of occa
sions because of noncompliance. So a
four-way stop in our opinion has the
potential to make an already dangerous
situation much worse.
As stated earlier, roundabouts may be
the answer, but a timeline was not
given in the article as to when these
would be begun or completed. There
are many citizens of Monroe County
and the surrounding counties who trav
el U.S. 23/Ga. 87 daily and know first
hand about which I speak. We would
urge those of you who feel as we do to
voice your opinion to the Georgia DOT.
The web site is
www.dot.state.ga.us/misc/Pages/Contact
US.aspx.
Carl and Loretta Knott
Juliette
Forsyth officers there when you need them
To the editor:
hen I see a police car
the first thing I see on it
are the words “serve
and protect,” and that is
exactly what two partic
ular officers proved to me and my fami
ly. On March 6 around 9:30 p.m. I
walked out of my house and standing
beside my house was a man. I do not
know what his plans were nor did I
know why he was there. Due to a situa
tion beyond my control I feared for my
life and the lives of the children who
live in my home. I called the Forsyth
Police Department and within minutes
Officers Bittick and Devane were there
searching the yard in hopes of finding
this man. As it turned out there was a
miscommunication and an innocent
man was involved. I apologize for that,
but honestly if it had not of been for the
actions of these two officers I fear that
something would have happened to my
family. Therefore I want to express my
greatest appreciation to them for the
quick response. I speak for my family
when I say this incident that could
have turned out with a not-so-good end
ing. We slept good that night knowing
that we have officers like these two who
actually care and go through what they
go through to keep us safe. They gave
me their word that they would patrol
through the night and that is exactly
what they did. So thanks from the bot
tom of our hearts for doing a great job.
Once again I apologize to the innocent
man who was involved due to miscom
munication. But as I said, a police offi
cer’s job is to serve and protect, and
these two officers proved just that.
Crystal Baker
and family
Forsyth