Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 5A
April 9,2008
"Reporter
From the outside looking in
Around the Bend
Positivism,
and impact
F rom what I have heard, the chair
man of the county commission joked
to a group that one day I would write
something positive about the com
missioners. Well, here goes: The com
missioners are a dysfunctional body, which
becomes apparent if you attend a county com
mission meeting, see and hear the sniping,
watch it on TV and the total lack of decorum
and leadership at times.
I guess you could blame their public percep
tion on a couple of things. First, you’ve got two
commissioners who’ve been on the commission
long enough to remember when there were
more dirt roads than paved in the county and
all water came from a personal well.
Secondly, two of the commissioners have
“D’s” after their names and three of them,
including the chairman,
have “R’s” after their
names when on a ballot.
Those D’s and R’s auto
matically increase the
personal interaction ten
sion.
Thirdly, it quite often
becomes apparent that
we don’t have
“county commis
sioners,” but “dis
trict commission
ers” a majority of
the time.
But, hey, let’s
look at a couple of
positive things: Applause, please!
There are more paved roads than dirt roads;
We have an expanding and growing county
water system;
Three of the commissioners will be up for re-
election this November;
The commissioners don’t have to sign any
more checks to pay off the Tift College debt;
They are looking at positive ways to spend
the SPLOST money, i.e. building an adminis
tration building;
We now have building codes and a building
inspector;
We’ve got a renovated courthouse with
already turning green copper roof (which it is
supposed to do).
And zoning ordinances are being applied and
enforced.
SURELY if Monroe County had a fire mar
shal, he would have declared the last meeting
would have to have been moved to a larger
space. Between 40 and 50 opponents of the
expansion of the rock quarry were out in force
to oppose the expansion. It was a standing-
room-only audience all the way back into the
foyer (entrance). Overcrowding at commission
meetings gives credence to the necessity of an
administration building as more citizens
attend and become involved in commission
meetings. Controversy always attracts a crowd.
HERE are some unattributed comments by
several of the commissioners:
“In the clerk’s defense, sometimes I mumble.”
“I believe some people are dragging their feet
on this issue.”
“That’s a big word.”
“I’m being dysfunctional tonight. You’ll have
to excuse me.”
“I’ve seconded a bunch of them.”
POPULATION EXPOSION? Did you know
there are over 60,000 people in Georgia’s pris
ons and it takes over 15,550 Department of
Corrections employees to manage the prisons
and the system? That’s what the deputy com
missioner for the Georgia Department of
Corrections, Brian Owens, revealed when he
spoke to the High Falls Civic Club recently.
He also told the group that training should
begin on the Tift Campus in 2009 with DOC
headquarters settling in to their new digs on
the campus by 2010. Although 170 DOC
employees will not be moving from Atlanta’s
surrounding burgs to Monroe County, DOC will
be hiring to replace those who decided not to
make the move. Great!
As with many Monroe Countians, now that
the deputy commissioner and his family have
moved to Monroe County, he has some concerns
specifically related to the impact DOC will
have on Monroe County. “We have to be smart
how we develop and DOC being here is going
to spawn all types of development,” he com
mented as an interested and involved citizen.
QUESTION of the week: Do you feel safer
now that you can carry a weapon—gun—into
restaurants, state parks, MARTA trains and
workplace parking lots with the company’s per
mission? Of course you have to have a con
cealed weapon permit (do you get the permit
before or after a shoot-out at local
restaurant/bar?) Our legislature passed such a
law and it will be on the Governor’s desk for
his signature.
I have to admit, our county commissioners
are not as dysfunctional as what we saw in the
just-ended session of the Georgia General
Assembly. Now that’s a positivism!
STREET TALK is that a museum is coming
to downtown on the square.
Donald Jackson Daniel is the founder and for
mer publisher of The Reporter. He can be con
tacted at tullaybear@bellsouth.net.
I should own stock in Purina
T here has never been
a stray or needy ani
mal that crossed
paths with my hus
band or my son and
went away hungry or lonely. Our
home has been the haven for
many a wayward
critter. Andy and
Larry are both a
couple of softies
when it comes to fur
ry creatures with
four legs.
Just a few weeks
ago, Larry
called me to let
me know why
he was late get
ting home from work. After
exiting the interstate, he saw
a dog wandering around on
the side of the road.
“She’s going to get killed
out here,” he begged.
“Do NOT bring that dog
home,” I ordered.
I can rant and rave as
much as I want. . . Larry
never listens to me when it
comes to stray dogs.
But, I had to try.
Fortunately, the dog did go
home or at least went some
where else.
I HAVE had my fill of dogs.
I love the two we have, but
once they’re gone, I do not
want any more. I would ven
ture to guess we’ve had at
least 100 dogs over our 21
year marriage. Most of them
were “surprises” when I got
home from a busy day. Larry
cannot resist a cute furry
face. Once he brought home
a white bulldog and named
him Butch. Larry proclaimed
that he would be a great
watchdog.
Turns out, Butch was deaf.
The only way he
would have attacked
any home-invaders
was if they happened
to step on him while
breaking in.
WHAT USUALLY
happens when Larry
or Andy get a
new dog is Gina
ends up being
the primary caregiver. I
traipse to Wal Mart on
Sunday afternoon because
we’re out of dog food. I clean
the carpet and pick off the
ticks and briars when they
chase rabbits. I make sure
they have clean water and
all their shots. I have to
break the news when they
don’t make it. It’s exhaust
ing. I don’t want any more
dogs. Period.
But, Larry never listens.
He just smiles that knowing
smile. He knows that within
seconds, I, too, will be in love
with the mutt and it will be
ours.
“Did we get a new dog?”
asked Andy when he got
home form work Friday
night. My heart sank.
Had Larry defied me yet
again?
I have threatened that man
with everything from divorce
to public torture if he brings
home another animal.
I drew in a deep breath and
looked out the window.
Sprawled out on our front
porch was a big old brown
dog. . . a mix of pit bull and
fence-jumper. It seems, he
came to court Duchess, our
aged St. Bernard, who we
were sure was in menopause
by now. I guess she still has
a few hormones left in her.
Larry and Andy instantly
fell for the enamored hound
and named him “Beau” . . .
because he’s Duchess’s beau,
they told me.
She is oblivious to Beau’s
advances, however, and he
seems content to wait until
she’s ready.
“We are not keeping him,” I
told Larry stomping my foot.
“Do you hear me?”
He did not.
“He’s got to be somebody’s
dog,” I reasoned. “He’s clean
and healthy and he’s so
sweet. He is not a stray.”
LARRY EXPLAINED that
Beau would return home
soon, after failing to impress
Duchess with his manliness.
But, the next morning, in
fact, the entire weekend,
Beau did not leave our yard.
He barely left the porch.
He slept there while it
rained. He barked at the
neighbor dogs when they got
too close. He ran out to greet
us when we returned from
the store.
Pebbles, my middle-sized
neurotic mutt, is not too
happy with Beau’s presence.
He messes up her bed and
eats her food, something
Duchess would never do to
her.
“Aren’t you going to do
something about him,” she
seems to say every time I go
outside.
But, Beau is hard to resist.
I thought I knew most of the
neighbor dogs. I’ve become
acquainted with them on
morning walks. But I’ve
never seen Beau before.
“I guess you better put an
ad in the paper,” Larry said
Monday afternoon. He had
returned from work to find
the brown dog bouncing
across the yard to say hello,
along with Pebbles and
Duchess.
“The classified ads have
already gone to press,” I told
him. “I’ll have to wait until
next week.”
I don’t know why I didn’t
think about that earlier. I
could have put a “found dog”
ad in the paper this week
and sent Beau packing. I
know he belongs to someone.
I know they must be missing
him terribly.
But, the truth is, and don’t
tell Larry this. . . but I will
miss him when he goes.
Gina Herring may be
reached at 478-994-2358 or
ginaherring@bellsouth. net.
Do your part: Give kids a chance
I got a job as a
shoeshine boy when I
was 13. It was at
Riverside Barber Shop
in Macon. I was a good
shoeshine boy. In my
humble opinion, Best
Shine In Town. Had
a lot of business. I
usually got at least a
fifty-cent tip, some
times a dollar. Lots
of Lanier ROTC
boots lined up when
I got to the barber
shop every day.
At 15,1 got a job in
the operating room at
the Macon Hospital (now the
Medical Center). They made
me go to the Board of
Education to get a work per
mit before I could start. I
wonder if they still do that?
It was much easier back
then for a young person to
get a toehold in a going con
cern. Not any more, it
seems. My own industry
seems among the worst.
Paranoia about HIPAA, pri
vacy, workers’ comp, and I
can go on and on. Believe
me, we’ve got more than
enough folks in our own
camp who are perfectly will
ing to throw the baby out
with the bath water.
But as a youngster, an
adult took a chance
on me. I got to look
straight into the
eyes of an ongoing
concern, a local
business, a building
full of mature,
money-making, bill
paying, regular
folks who made a
living honestly and
who loved doing what
they were doing. I
got hooked. I loved being a
part of that, and what I saw
in my youth shaped the rest
of my life.
At the hospital, giving kids
real-life examples is impor
tant. Monroe County
Hospital participates in the
Youth Apprenticeship
Program, shadowing days,
the Choices program and
Health Occupations classes.
Each year we have National
Youth Leadership groups
come through our little hos
pital, kids from all over the
country.
Why do this? For those
business owners out there
who might be considering an
investment like this, let me
give you some of the answers
we came up with.
First off, it’s an honor for a
kid to want to come to the
hospital. The student, the
parents, the teacher, and the
school system have all pretty
much agreed that they trust
us to provide a wholesome
and good message to their
child and that we are a wor
thy business. Apparently,
they believe we just might be
good role models. They could
have sent their child to
another hospital, but they
sent them to us. That faith
in us is priceless.
Secondly, the healthcare
industry needs good workers.
There’s a shortage now of
nurses, technicians and
physicians. It’ll be worse in
the future. We need to do
everything we can to encour
age a child to become a
future healthcare worker. I
look at it as an investment.
They need to see first hand
what the real world in
healthcare is like, insofar as
we can demonstrate it to
them. There’ll be a time
when you and I will need
someone to take care of us,
and one day it just might be
that little Betty/Johnny who
shadowed a few nurses some
10 years ago.
Lastly, that young person
has a dream - that a career
in healthcare is something
they may want. We want to
help them realize that
dream, because the ultimate
gift we give is growing oth
ers. There’s no higher call
ing than to give to others
and enrich the lives of those
around us. To help a young
person realize a lifelong skill
is the ultimate legacy.
In this world of “feed me,
feed me” mentality, it’s an
honor and a gift to see a
child in our midst who has a
desire to learn, to emulate, to
grow. I got a chance. Some
of you got a chance. Let’s
return the favor.
O.J. Booker is the CEO of
Monroe County Hospital.
By O.J.
Booker
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Whatever happened to love thy neighbor?
To the editor:
ove thy neighbor. It is in the
Bible, but a lot of people in
this community have forgot
ten what those words mean. I
am referring to two recent
incidents and the attitude of a lot of
people towards their neighbors.
First, I have tried not to weigh in on
the Wal-Mart issue but I am so tired of
seeing letters to the editor that, week
after week, call on their neighbors to
just drop the lawsuit so we can all go
shopping. I have heard all the reasons
why we so desperately need a Wal-
Mart: it will help the local economy, and
we could save gas if we didn’t have to
drive to Macon, etc., etc. and blah, blah,
blah. Yes, these are important reasons.
But I think the people that will be
directly impacted by the construction
and location of the mega store should
only address this issue. I live near
River Forest subdivision and no one
asked me if I wanted it built. The land
was bought, hundreds of acres of trees
were logged out, and my neighborhood
became a construction zone. For four
years I was forced to live with convoys
of cement and dump trucks and 18
wheel trucks driving up and down my
road, causing noise and pollution. This
would start before daylight and lasted
all day, every day, and destroyed my lit
tle country road. The road was paved
and the trucks destroyed it again. I
complained loud and long to the county
commissioners and they never did a
thing for me. That is what the people
that live on Indian Springs Drive have
to look forward to. It is good that they
are fighting this now because after the
deal is sealed no one will help. They
will be on the side of the developers. I
guarantee it. The people who are fight
ing this have my full support and bless
ing. They also have my sympathy.
Second, the issue about the supercross
track has me outraged (“Supercross
owners confront critic,” page 1A, April 2
Reporter). It should have never been
built so close to an established neigh
borhood in the first place. If it was
going to be built near any of the county
commissioners homes back in those
days, I bet it would never have even
been considered. I have found out that
as long as the noise and pollution is not
in their yard, people don’t care about
your situation. But they know they
don’t want it in their back yard.
It is unbelievable that six men would
show up to threaten June Eaves for
speaking out. And then they had the
nerve to say they were being bullied.
This whole community should be furi
ous at this treatment and support her
and her neighbors. How can she sell her
home and just leave? No one wants to
live near a motorcross. It has destroyed
her property value. Shame on the com
missioners who created this situation.
They should come and sit on her porch
on a spring day when we all want to be
outside to enjoy the weather and see
what she is forced to endure. So, people
of Forsyth, love your neighbors and try
to walk a mile in their shoes. I am sure
you would not enjoy the journey.
Terry Abston
Forsyth