Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
July 2. 2008
iReporter
Opinion
Declare among the nations,
and publish, and set up a standard;
publish, and conceal not;
Jeremiah 50:2
OUR VIEW
Making the grade
A hearty shout out to Monroe County schools’
students, teachers and administrators this
week. They made the Monroe County
school system one of the few in the state to
meet No Child Left Behind standards for a
third year in a row.
The so-called Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) stan
dards set minimum test scores and attendance figures
for school systems around the country. The require
ments apply to students by grade level, race and even
special education, and school systems which fail to
meet those standards are deemed not to be making
Adequate Yearly Progress.
Last year, Monroe County schools were one of just 29
systems in the state to make AYP for the second year
in a row. The standard took effect in 2006. Now, school
officials say they’re confident they have earned AYP
status for a third year in a row. The distinction is cer
tain to put Monroe County schools in some elite com
pany. How elite won’t be known until the state releas
es the final results later this month.
In this space two weeks ago we noted the school sys
tem’s budget has risen 33 percent in the past seven
years, even as enrollment has risen just 3 percent. We
suggested parents and taxpayers raise their academic
expectations of their kids and their schools as a result.
Here’s proof it works. Rising expectations have put
Monroe County among the best school systems in the
state. Well done.
KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOR
Name: Lisa White
Age: 42
Education: Maiy Persons
graduate; two years Gordon
College
Family: Rachel-21;
Brittany-18; Brandon-
15
Where you wor
ship: Forsyth United
Methodist Church
Your job: Assistant
Director of the After
School Program
What was your
first job: Nursing
Assistant (Forsyth
Nursing Home)
Your Passion: Being with
my family
Favorite movie: “The
Notebook”
What kind of car do you
drive and what was your
first car? 1999 Explorer;
1979 Vette (Chevette)
Your hometown: Fort
Lauderdale, FL.
Something you are con
sidering doing:
Becoming a teacher
Words you live by: “Be
kind to everyone.”
Something you can’t
five without: My family
The thing you are most
proud of: My children
What keeps you awake
at night: My oldest daugh
ter living in New York for the
summer
Name something you
will never do again:
Ride a rollercoaster
If your life had
a theme song
what would it
be? “Hi Ho, Hi
Ho, Its Off to
Work I Go”
If you could
start your life
over what
would you
change? Stay in
college.
What food could you eat
everyday? Italian
Something people don’t
know about you: That I
am still taking college class
es.
What’s the worst idea
you’ve ever had? Leaving
home at 18.
What’s the best thing
about living in Monroe
County? Knowing so many
wonderful people.
If you could change one
thing about Monroe
County what would it be?
That there could be more
restaurants and entertain
ment.
WHITE
EARLY DEADLINE THIS WEEK
The Reporter will be closed on Friday, July 4. The deadline for ad
vertising and legal notices will be 12 noon on Thursday, July 3.
Have a safe and happy Fourth of July.
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
Will Davis
Publisher/E ditor
publisher@mymcr.net
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Advertising
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Editorial Assistant
50 N. Jackson St Forsyth, GA 31029
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Official Organ of Monroe County and
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Publication No. USPS 997-840)
Point Blank: Monroe County’s only and best cartoon
POIITG-BIsAflfel FOUR POINT. OH.W
Wilhelm Neal, EsQ.
MAGNA CUM LAUDE
1912 @ THE
CARLISLE INDIAN SCHOOL
Eva Wilder back we hear you
only shop at Pat Patel
owned gas stations in
Forsyth, why is that?
Well, Mr Thorpe, it's
because
*Jam Indian^***
fr Full transcript in last week's Reporter
On the Porch
Don’t know nothin’ ‘bout history
F our years ago
this week I sent
our summer
intern at
the
Sandersville
Progress onto the
streets to ask this
simple poll ques
tion: “Why do we
celebrate the
Fourth of July?”
The results
would have
made George
Washington
grind his
wooden teeth.
One man suggested that
it was when the slaves
were freed (he even let us
take his picture). Another
said it was just a day to
cook hamburgers and eat
watermelon. A rising high
school senior confessed she
didn't know. After her
answer came out in the
paper she was berated by
her history teacher. So we
printed her letter to the
editor the next week in
which she explained that
of course she knew what
the Fourth of July was all
about: It was to honor the
servicemen and women
who fought in our wars.
Ahem. Sometimes, it's best
to quit while you're behind.
Finally, a guy with
Rastafarian hair and a
New York Knicks jersey
said, “That's when we
declared independence
from Great Britain.” I
wanted to kiss him.
These are not alone, of
course. Immersed as we
are in our inane TV cul
ture, where “American
Idol” contests get more
votes than presidential
elections, it's not surpris
ing that we're ignorant of
U.S. history. And while our
schools may finally be get
ting back to requiring stu
dents actually to learn
something, we've got a long
way to go.
What makes this
so sad is that we
Americans are
missing out on a
great story: the
history of our coun
try.
Every year, it's
my July 4
tradition to
watch the
movie
“1776,” an
irreverent
but inspiring look at how
the Founding Fathers
came to declare their
unlikely independence
from the British crown. If
you can skip over some of
the singing, it's a great
movie. It puts flesh to Paul
Harvey's radio tale about
the sacrifices those
Founding Fathers made
when they pledged “their
lives, their fortunes, their
sacred honor” to the cause
of American Independence.
What makes it such a good
story is how unlikely the
birth of a new nation
seemed, since the delegates
decided any vote for
Indendence had to be
unanimous. It took a
miraculous turn of events
for America to be birthed.
Especially in the Deep
South, there was little pop
ular sentiment for
Revolution. Georgia, after
all, was named for the king
and had more problems
with Creek and Cherokee
Indians along the frontier
than with Redcoats.
Meeting in a Savannah
tavern, Georgia's provin
cial congress couldn't even
get a consensus to send
delegates to the
Continental Congress in
Philadelphia. Georgia was
the youngest, poorest and
most sparsely populated of
the colonies. But with
large tracts of land being
offered in Georgia, an
increasing number of
Independence-minded
Yankees were making their
way down, especially into
St. John's Parish along the
coast. Frustrated by the
colony's foot-dragging, a
fiery radical named Dr.
Lyman Hall, a
Connecticut-born physi
cian, minister and planter,
almost persuaded his St.
John's Parish to secede
from Georgia so it could
support independence.
Finally, on July 4, 1775,
Georgia's provincial con
gress voted to send Hall
and others in a delegation
to Congress.
Hall, then 51, was later
joined by Georgia's other
two signers, the ill-fated
Button Gwinnett, and 26-
year-old lawyer George
Walton. None of them were
born in Georgia. Gwinnett,
of course, went on to
invent suburban sprawl.
Gwinnett stoked a nasty
feud with his fellow
Georgia leader Lachland
McIntosh (for whom
McIntosh County is
named). Gwinnett returned
from signing the
Declaration of
Independence expecting to
be appointed head of the
state's militia, only to
learn that McIntosh had
been named instead. So he
set out to destroy
McIntosh's department,
then led an aborted
attempt to invade Florida
to secure Georgia's south
ern border. McIntosh, per
haps sensing the rise of
Steve Spurrier and the
Jacksonville Jinx, helped
thwart his state's invasion
of Florida. Gwinnett was
later cleared of charges of
malfeasance. But McIntosh
was understandably
peeved and challenged
Gwinnett to a duel near
Savannah. Both men were
wounded in the May 16,
1777 duel, but only
Gwinnett's injury was life-
threatening. He died three
days later.
Hall and Walton's stories
are more heroic. Hall was
forced to flee with his fami
ly after the British sacked
Savannah and burned his
home and plantation in the
swamps of what is now
Liberty County. Walton
was wounded trying to
defend Savannah and was
captured by the British.
After the Revolution, both
men served with distinc
tion as Georgia governors,
judges and legislators.
Hall was instrumental in
building schools and
churches around the state,
leading the legislature to
found Franklin College in
1785, named for his
Declaration co-signer
Benjamin Franklin. It
would later become the
University of Georgia.
These are great stories
and we need to re-tell
them. They remind us that
history is not an imperson
al force of predetermined
events. Rather, history is a
sometimes surprising tale
of ironies, coincidences and
miracles in which we mere
mortals play a part. And it
reminds us that there was
a Divine Hand guiding our
nation from its founding.
So this Fourth of July we
have every reason to feel
gratitude to Providence,
and to the imperfect men
and women whose sacri
fices enable us today to call
ourselves “Americans.”
Will Davis is publisher
and editor of the Monroe
County Reporter.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Bilderbacks birds of a feather
To the editor:
A s evidenced by Mrs.
Bilderback's tirade, it is
no wonder that the school
system is in such poor
condition.With leadership
such as hers, it appears to me that
there will be no improvement in the
school system until we have more
professional and responsible leader
ship.
Given the antics of her husband
during county commission meetings,
we really should expect no different
from her. With her outburst, she is
acting as immaturely as she is accus
ing Mr. Carlisle. But at least he had
the dignity not to perform such an
outburst for a live audience and in
front of cameras.
Gene Lunsford
Monroe County
Family needs help after house burned
To the citizens of
Monroe County:
B randy Clark and her four chil
dren lost everything in their
home May 5 from a house fire.
She needs to start over again.
Here's a list of items: electric
stove, television (optional), refrigerator,
cooking utensils, pots and pans, silver
ware, dish towels, towels, wash cloths, two
bedroom suits with mattresses, sheets, pil
low cases, living room suit, lamps, table for
kitchen or dining area and a cheap place to
live not more than $350-$400 a month.
She also needs money donations to help
her get started.
Children's Clothing: Girl 12- Size
11-14, Shoe size youth 6 1/2; Boy -
Size 3T and 4T, Shoe size 2; Boy -
Size 7 Slim, Shoe 8.5 - 9
Please help her anyway you can.
Thank you so much.
Linda Jump Green
Address: 520 Indian Springs Drive
Forsyth, GA. 31029
Telephone: (478) 974-0117