Newspaper Page Text
August 13, 2008
On the outside looking in
Distribution
centers and
no PBJs
S ome people are comparing the land clear
ing and dirt moving off Rumble Road and
adjacent to 1-75 as the most massive dirt-
moving project they have ever seen in
Monroe County, including the dirt hauling
and moving to build the Georgia Public Safety
Training Center back in the early 80’s. Of course,
there has been a lot of Georgia red clay exposed and
moved around the courthouse in Forsyth.
From street talk, con
struction will be soon tak
ing place for a massive
distribution center or cen
ters with a lot of eight
een-wheelers having easy
access to north and south
1-75. Monroe County is an
ideal location for
warehousing/distribu
tion centers. Betcha a
lot of stuff that will be
in those warehouses
for distribution will
have come from for
eign countries coming up from the port in
Savannah.
Since manufacturing jobs have moved offshore
and to foreign countries, distribution centers are
looking for ideal locations to move goods fast and
cheap. Monroe County is an ideal location. I’ve
expounded on our location with many words in the
past.
So here’s the question: since manufacturing, par
ticularly labor intensive, has become so expensive
and manufacturers are looking for cheap labor from
our foreign neighbors and over-seas, what is manu
factured in Monroe County now? I don’t consider
raising biddies or generating electricity as manufac
turing. Trio Manufacturing is hanging in producing
twine and cordage, but what other manufacturing is
going on in Monroe County that is shipped out?
What brought this idea to mind was driving down
Highway 42 from McDonough and seeing all the
distribution centers such as the Toys-R-Us center,
others just as big and some with only 10 or 12 bays.
Highway 42 out of McDonough south has to be
becoming or is becoming the distribution capital of
Georgia and they don’t have what we have in
Monroe County: accessibility.
I asked a Henry County native what kind of man
ufacturing Henry County has and he could only
think of one, Snapper, plus a lot of concrete mixing
plants—which are obviously necessary with the
growth taking place in the county.
LOCUST GROVE has completed their Highway
42 Streetscape program and the town has taken on
a unique and vibrant change. According to my
sources, Forsyth’s Mayor and Better Hometown
Director have met with the Georgia Department of
Transportation but no announcement has come out
of either office as to when Forsyth’s Streetscape
renovation is going to begin. As a note, the bids for
the project were advertised a couple of months ago
and the project was announced almost five years
ago.
ONE OF MY grandsons has a threatening allergy
to peanuts and during a recent visit accidentally
took a bite of a pre-packaged cookie that contained
peanut oil. Although he did not have a reaction,
which he realizes could kill him, panic would not be
satisfied until his Daddy took him to the Monroe
County Hospital emergency room. After about an
hour’s observation, he was fine with no reaction.
What brings that story up is what was relayed to
me by a parent of a student at Hubbard
Elementary. Seems there are a couple of students
who could have an allergic reaction to peanuts so
the school lunchroom is serving nothing cooked or
with peanuts. Parents are being asked not to send
their child to school with even a peanut butter and
jelly sandwich in their lunch box.
Understand a letter is going be sent home to par
ents explaining the school’s no peanut policy.
UNATTRIBUTED comments by commissioners
and visitors at the last county commission meeting:
“We are trying to write an ordinance to please dog
owners;’
“Ain’t nobody gonna tether a dog by its tail;”
“Maybe we need a cow control ordinance;”
“Have you ever been bitten by a Chihuahua;”
“I don’t read it—I didn’t see it;”
“He’s my county commissioner and he should
return my phone calls;”
“They ride together all the time—like they are
married;”
“I can’t help what you can’t recall;”
“I didn’t say anything. I was just looking at you;
“I’m not here with an attitude. I’m just here on
business;”
“I don’t have a pot hole in my district;”
“I’m not here permanently. This is a part time
job;”
“I’m not a lawyer, architect or much of anything;”
“I’ve been having to bite my tongue for the last
six-months;”
“We’ll take it under advisement for further study”
THE COMMISSIONERS are getting close to
adopting a dog ordinance and one section is about
barking dogs. If your dog(s) bark for 15-minutes
non-stop or 30-minutes intermittingly, you can/will
be fined.
Donald Jackson Daniel is the founder and former
publisher of The Reporter. He can be contacted via e-
mail at tullaybear@bellsouth.net.
iReporter
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
PAGE 5A
People need to know and the newspaper is the best way.
Emergency is a time to help
To the editor:
y first letter
was a bit
scathing
toward the
deputy and
the other two involved in
this travesty of unprofes
sional and heartless behav
ior (“No mercy: Speed ticket
for transplant seeker,” page
1A, July 30 Reporter) - so I
had to change it three
times! Sometimes, callous
behavior denotes that
someone is not working in
the proper profession-could
it be?
JFK once remarked,
“Forgive your enemies but
remember their names!”
How true! The deputy has
really made a name for
himself and Monroe
County. Many travel 1-75 to
our destination in Atlanta
and elsewhere. Forewarned
by newspapers, statewide-
we will slow only and
remember you but few will
stop for necessities.
A few years ago, we rode
90 mph and over up 1-75 to
Egleston Hospital in
Atlanta with a dying child.
Alerted to this, Sheriff A.
Paul K. of Lowndes County-
-a great American, opened
passage for us. Through
each county, atop overpass-
es-law enforcement waved
us on to our destination.
Mercy was shown and trav
elers even knew by our
speed and flashing car
lights that we had a desper
ate situation.
And-by the way-”Andy or
Barney” would have gladly
given us a royal escort, all
the way!
A former resident of
Monroe County....
T.C. Adams
Tifton
RS. A very special thank
you to Dr. Welchel for alert
ing all of us of this horror!
Editor-Copies of your arti
cle have been mailed to
many. People need to know
and the newspaper is the
best way! Thanks!
Burned out of home, family still blessed
To the editor:
e would like to thank
everyone for helping
our family. We lost a
lot when our house
burned and even
though I know it can never be
replaced, I feel like we’ve been
blessed because we have met new
friends and received many gifts of
clothing, household items and love
donations. Jimmy Owens helped to
set up an account at Farmers Bank
and through his love and friendship
we have been blessed. Thanks to
everyone who helped us and to those
who prayed for us. We are still in
need of your love and support. Also
thanks to Farmers Bank. God bless
you all.
Brandi Smith
Forsyth
Why did trees
have to be cut?
To the editor:
I wish to express an opinion. I have
lived in Forsyth for about 77 years.
I have watched trees grow on the
square and I have watched them
being cut down. Why do they have
to be cut down? Are they dead with limbs
falling off?
Lucy Rogers
Forsyth
Seeks genealogy help
To the editor:
M y name is Elizabeth Singletary
and I’m looking for Sally
McClure Holloway. She was
born in 1869 and married in
1917-1920 to Robert Ballard
Holloway. If anyone has any info on my great
great grandmother Sally, please contact me.
Address: Elizabeth Singletary, P.O. Box 4905,
Eastman, GA 31023. My email address is esin-
gletary9872@yahoo.com Any info would be
greatly appreciated.
Elizabeth Singletary
Eastman
Sex: TV’s alternate reality
T he upcoming fall
television season
is being
heavily
promot
ed, and if previ
ous programming
is any indication,
we parents should
be on guard.
A recent study
by the Parent’s
Television Council
analyzed the sex
ual content of last
fall’s primetime
lineup on major
broadcast televi
sion networks.
They found that
verbal references
and visual depictions of
non-marital sex (including
adultery, promiscuity and
deviant sexual behavior) far
outnumbered those depict
ing sex in a marital context.
The ratio of verbal refer
ences was nearly three to
one, while visual references
were nearly four to one.
Most of these references to
non-married sex took place
during the family hour
(8:00 pm to 9:00pm) when
most young people are like
ly to be watching.
“Sex in the context of
marriage is either non-exis
tent on prime-time broad
cast television, or is depict
ed as a burdensome rather
than as an expression of
love and commitment,” the
report says. “By contrast,
extra-marital or adulterous
sexual relationships are
depicted with greater fre
quency and overwhelming
ly, as a positive experience.”
Of course, the people who
produce such content are
dismissive of the critics.
The executive producer of
the new CBS show
“Swingtown,” which por
trays married couples who
engage in sex with other
married couples said about
her show, “It’s about sexual
freedom, but because it’s set
in the ‘70s, it’s not about
sexual responsibility...We
don’t want to punish people
with TV morality.”
Huh? Is she real
ly suggesting that
portraying marital
intimacy is some
sort of punish
ment? (I suspect
she’s given us a
glimpse into how
she sees the world.)
But why does all
this matter in the
first place? So
much could be said
here, but let me
state just a couple
of things. The way
we order our lives
matters. Decisions
we make have con
sequences, good or bad, for
how we live; and they
impact our children too.
And television can certainly
influence our attitudes and
behaviors.
The reason we have tele
vision shows is because
advertisers shell out mil
lions of dollars to networks
so that they can advertise
during programming. And
the reason companies spend
so much money on advertis
ing is because they believe
doing so will change view
er’s behavior so that they
go out and purchase their
product or service. It would
be a little hypocritical for
the television industry to
argue that their program
ming has little impact on
behavior, when they rely on
ads to influence the behav
ior of their audience. If the
ads didn’t work, companies
wouldn’t spend millions to
run them.
We know that advertising
shapes behavior. And there
is plenty of evidence to
show that television pro
grams can influence the
way young people act. And
that is a big reason to be
concerned about what the
Parent’s Television Council
report has found. Research
published in the journal
Pediatrics and the Journal
of Adolescent Health dis
covered that adolescents
who watch more sexual con
tent on television are more
likely to begin having sex
at an earlier age.
It shouldn’t come as a
surprise that viewing sexu
al content on television
affects the attitudes and
behaviors of young people.
Often the message they get
is that everyone is doing it
and something must be
wrong with anyone who
isn’t.
The glamorous portrayal
of extra-marital sex is also
a danger for adults.
Belittling marital intimacy
can undermine the appeal
of marriage among nonmar-
ried viewers. And for those
who are married, it may
foster discontent among
those who find the free
wheeling pleasure of
promiscuity and adultery
portrayed on television
appealing. According to the
Parent’s Television Council,
references to adultery in
primetime outnumbered
references to marital sex by
two to one.
The irony of primetime’s
portrayal of sex is that it
does not resemble reality.
On television, we’re use to
references to singles having
frequent, exciting, passion
ate sex, while married cou
ples’ endure boring, unsat
isfying or maybe even non
existent sex lives. However,
research like the National
Sex Survey done by the
University of Chicago tells
us that the opposite is true.
Married couples have more
sex more often than single
people and married couples
are more satisfied physical
ly and emotionally with
their sex lives. Even
unmarried couples who live
together (though typically
having as much sex as mar
ried couples) are less likely
to report being as emotion
ally or physically satisfied.
As with so many other
things, television gives us a
skewed version of what is
true while promoting
behavior that undermines
what it best; in this case,
that extra marital sex
trumps marital sex. It
turns out that sex within
the committed bonds of
marriage not only avoids
harmful consequences like
unwed pregnancy, STDs
and heartache, it is also
much more fulfilling.
So what do we do? It
would be naive to believe
that much will change on
the airwaves. So as parents
we need to know what our
expectations are for televi
sion viewing. And we need
to talk about those bound
aries with our children. The
younger we start the better.
But this is not simply
about forbidding content or
somehow sticking our head
in the sand. We need to
help our children learn to
think critically about what
they are watching - to help
them understand why cer
tain content is harmful and
to realize that there is a
price to be paid when living
the skewed life so often por
trayed on television. Our
kids are not always going to
be in our care. Sometimes,
they will have to make
judgments on their own.
When the time comes, we
want them to make the
right choices.
It’s up to us to be the
voice of influence in their
lives, not the head-in-the-
sand portrayals of relation
ships perpetuated by net
work television.
Randy Hicks is president
of the Georgia Family
Council, a non-profit organ
ization that works to
strengthen and defend the
family in Georgia by equip
ping marriage advocates,
shaping laws, preparing the
next generation and influ
encing culture. For more
information, go to
www.georgiafamily.org,
(770) 242-0001,
stephen@gafam.org.
By
Randy
Hicks