Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
^Reporter
June 11. 2008
Opinion
OUR VIEW
Lead them not into temptation
Would you leave a bowl of anti-freeze next to your
dog’s food bowl? Probably not, it can kill Fido.
Yet parents of teens are taking a similar risk when
they let their children remain idle and unattended at
home all summer long. Experts say most teen preg
nancies are now conceived at home, often in the sum
mer or after school, when kids are idle and looking for
something to do. Like anti-freeze, teen sex can be
toxic, leaving in its wake sexually transmitted dis-
easess, broken hearts and unwanted pregnancies.
Fortunately, women like Movene Futch (see page 1A)
are trying to help teens make wise decisions about
sex. And an increasing number seem ready to wait
until they’re grown. But they need parental help.
Summer can be a great time for teens to learn to
work, to earn extra money, to attend church camp or
sports camp and make new friends. We encourage par
ents to guide their kids into such worthwhile activi
ties, and away from those things that can harm them
the rest of their lives.
KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOR
Name: Fredrick
Chambliss
Age: 45
Education: High school
graduate
Family:
Married to
Debbie
Chambliss, five
children, one
grandchild
Where you
worship: St.
Paul Baptist
Church
Your job:
Maintenance
Supervisor-MPHS
What was your first
job: Shane’s Restaurant
Your Passion: Old cars
Your favorite posses
sion: My 1968 Chevy
Favorite movie: Old
cowboy movies
Favorite book:
“Inspirational Daily
Devotional,” by Joyce
Meyer
What kind of car do
you drive and what
was your first car?
Chevy Subabaran, Bluess
Chevy Chevelle 1970
Your hometown:
Forsyth
Something you are
considering doing:
Retiring soon
Words you live by:
“Why put off to tomorrow
what you can do today.”
Something you can’t
live without: My wife
and family
The thing you are
most proud of: My chil
dren
What keeps you
awake at night? Pain
Name something you
will never do
again: Go into
the military
again.
What’s your
favorite web
site?
www.opgi.com
If your life
had a theme
song what
would it be?
“Always and Forever”
If you could start
over what would you
change? I would have
gone to school to be an
artist.
What food could you
eat everyday? Chicken
Something people
don’t know about you:
What a kind and nice per
son I am after you get to
know me.
What’s the best thing
about living in Monroe
County? Don’t have to
drive a long distance to
work. Also it is a quiet
town.
If you could change
one thing about
Monroe County what
would it be? More enter
tainment places in
Monroe County, like
amovie theater, bowling
alley, swimming pool and
somewhere teens can
have fun.
is published every week by The Monroe County Reporter Inc.
Will Davis, president
Robert M. Williams Jr., vice president
Cheryl S. Williams, secretary-treasurer
OUR STAFF
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Publisher/E ditor
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Editorial Assistantt
50 N. Jackson St., Forsyth, GA 31029
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The comments featured on the opinion pages
are the sole creations of the writers, they do
not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Re
porter management.
Publication No. USPS 997-840)
Point Blank: Cartoons best understood via last week’s Reporter
PCUTG.BIsAHkl The Reporter supports
women with a movement.
Running for President
0 hr///
Wilhelm Neal, EsQ.
Honey, everything looks
Fine to me...I see nothing
but CURVES!
Will, I know I'm no longer
in college, but I'm still in
shape, right???
1"h£
I
*
On the Porch
Riches waiting to be tapped
i
I n a society hell-bent
on worshipping cool,
no one is portrayed as
less cool than old
folks. Too often we
shun them, ignore
them and by our
actions, tell them it’s
time they were put
out to pasture.
Media and busi
nesses seem tailored
toward the young,
the hip, the sexy, the
cool. By con
trast,
sesasoned citi
zens are often
portrayed in
the media as senile and out-
of-touch, with little to offer
the rest of society. What a
farce.
When I take time to listen
to what members of the
Greatest Generation have to
say, I often come away feel
ing wiser, more patient and
less hurried. I get perspec
tive. And that’s how I feel
after talking with Wallace
Smarr of Forsyth.
“Do you know how the
Smarr community got its
name?”
I believe that's the first
thing Mr. Smarr said to me
when we originally met at
the Reporter office last year.
At 81, Smarr is a tall, lanky
gentleman who carries
around a reservoir of knowl
edge that us young folks (I
am still one, right?) can just
swim around in. The origins
of Smarr is only one piece of
his ready knowledge of
Monroe County history.
Smarr, or rather, the Rev.
Smarr (he has a masters of
divinity from Southeastern
Baptist Seminary in Wake
Forest, N.C., not far from
my birthplace), often plops
down at the Reporter on
Tuesday afternoons while
he waits for our weekly edi
tion to arrive. That's when I
can begin the brain dump -
I open my cranium, and he
just starts pouring in sto
ries. Maybe some of these
memories from the early
20th century will strike a
chord with you:
• A Mary Persons
teacher named
Mary Amos used to
live in the Main
Street home where
Monroe County
Memorial Chapel is
now. She walked to
school every
day.
• Forsyth
had three
car dealer
ships, Willingham
Chevrolet, where Monroe
County Bank is now, and
Bittick Ford, which was
right behind that, where the
bank's parking area is.
There was a Plymouth deal
er where West Mane salon
is now (that's where Smarr
gets his haircut, by the
way.)
• Georgia Ace Hardware
has been in its West Main
Street location a long time,
but Bramlett Hardware
used to be on the other side
of the square in the current
Jenkins and Ham attorney
building.
• Forsyth had three cloth
ing stores, Forsyth
Mercantile, where Grits is,
E.W. Banks and Bloom's.
The Rose Theater has not
always been where it is now.
It used to be next to the
current Forsyth Feed and
Seed. Smarr should know,
since he ran the projector.
Wayne Stokes was the man
ager and they both had
1936 Fords.
• Ann's Deli was
Alexander's Pharmacy, and
Smarr drank what seemed
like 10 Cokes there at a
time.
• Castleberry Drug was
on the square then.
• Smarr attended the old
Banks Stephens School,
located behind where
Farmer's Furniture is now.
He recalls one day they got
a rare Georgia snowfall, and
principal Flora Childs
implored the children not to
throw snowballs. So what
did he and buddy Alton
Bunn do? Of course, they
chucked snowballs. This
being a more rational time,
Childs began whipping the
boys, Alton first. Whack!
"Did that hurt?" she asked.
"No," said Alton. Whack
again. "Did that hurt?" she
asked again. "No," said
Alton. And so it continued
until she almost drew blood,
and Alton finally whim
pered that it hurt. Then it
was Wallace's turn. Whack.
"Did that hurt?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am!" replied a wise
Wallace, and he was done.
But the most interesting
memories to me are of his
family. His granddad, Ben
Smarr, was a prison guard
in Culloden. One day a con
vict jumped on the back of
his fellow guard, Fremont
Williams, and tried to grab
his gun. So Ben Smarr took
his double barrel shotgun
and had to shoot the convict
dead.
On another occasion,
Wallace's granddad was sit
ting on a nail keg watching
inmates build a highway
when he suffered an appar
ent stroke. Though he was
the only guard, the inmates
drove him to Forsyth to see
a doctor. The doctor sent
him home, so the inmates
drove him to his house, put
him in his bed, and then -
get this - drove back to
work unguarded.
But the most touching
story was hearing Wallace
Smarr talk about his mom.
His father, who worked at
the Macon Telegraph, died
at age 32, also of a stroke.
And so it was left to his
mother to raise Wallace and
his two brothers by herself.
She worked hard for long
time local businessman
Jack Treadwell, whose fami
ly still owns the Holiday
Inn. Treadwell tells Wallace
his mother was "one of the
finest women I've ever
known." She saved enough
to buy a house and land on
Tobefsokee Creek.
And when Wallace fin
ished divinity school he
returned to Forsyth and
pastored Trio Baptist
Church, where he had the
privilege of baptizing his
own mom.
Wallace Smarr is proud of
his late mother. And I'll bet
she's pretty proud of him
too. I am a richer man for
having heard part of their
story.
Just think: Rich wisdom,
humor and timeless truths
are all around you. You just
have to be willing to listen.
Oh, and the origins of
Smarr? That will have to
wait for another column.
• • •
FOLLOW UP: In last
week's column I wrote that
any man who'd buy his wife
a gift certificate to Curves,
the neighborhood fitness
center for women here on
Jackson Street, might be,
well, mentally challenged.
In my experience, wives can
be sensitive to any sugges
tions about their figure. But
some of our friends at
Curves didn't get my halt
ing attempt at humor. I'm
sorry. So let me re-phrase: If
I bought a gift certificate
from Curves for my wife, I
would be in the dog house.
But if, perchance, your wife
doesn't mind, well by all
means, send her to Curves.
And tell 'em I sent you!
Will Davis is puhisher and
editor of the Monroe County
Reporter. Email him at puh-
lisher@mymcr. net.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Butler: Passing on my school spirit
To the editor:
graduated from Mary
Persons in 2003 and will
always remember the
good and bad times I
had while there. I met a
lot of wonderful people who
were good to me at times. I
want to thank all the seniors
from the class of 2003 who
voted me Most Spirited. Now I
pass on my school spirit to the Class
of 2008-09.1 miss my sister, Amanda
Butler, as well as Sean Mayo, Crystal
Pastor, Betsy Davis, Annie Bittick,
Sean Boland, Amanda Causey
(my middle and high school
crush), Elizabeth Copelan,
Stephanie Dykes, Josh
Harbin, Amelia Grant, Leigh
Howard, Mary Howard, Jim
Miller and all the volleyball
players. I miss the friends I
grew up with, Annie, Amanda,
Alicia Walker, Daniel Fowler,
who wrote things to me. For example,
he wrote this to me in my yearbook:
“You sure are showing your school
spirit in this last week! Calm down a
little and wait for graduation to
come. Mike, you’re a cool dude with a
bright future ahead of you. Stay
focused on God and don’t let others
influence you. Enjoy post high
school.” Good luck to the Class of
2003 - we will always rock! I also
wish the Class of 2008-09 the best of
luck.
Michael Butler
Forsyth