Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
September 17. 2008
^Reporter
Opinion
Declare among the nations,
and publish, and set up a standard;
publish, and conceal not;
Jeremiah 50:2
OUR VIEW
First, do no harm
I t may have seemed like a silly idea to stack bags of
tree bark on streets around the courthouse square.
But Mayor Tve Howard’s insistence on doing just
that now looks like a wise stroke of planning.
Howard suggested the city simluate planned curb
bumpouts before pouring concrete and making permanent
changes in the downtown traffic flow. During the trial
period, tractor trailers largely destroyed the bark bags, as
they would have any new ‘bumpouts,” “bulbouts,” or “but-
touts,” whatever they’re called. And the trucks might have
taken a few pedestrians with them, even as they further
clogged downtown streets.
The bumpouts show the inadequacy of government plan
ning without local input. The reality is that heavy vehicle
traffic will continue around the courthouse square until
Forsyth gets on the DOT list for bypass funding (a good
idea, by the way). Even after that, a bypass is still at least
10 years away (see DOT funding shortfall, projects cut).
Thanks to the mayor’s bark bags, residents took greater
interest in the long-awaited $1.2 million streetscape proj
ect. They learned at Monday’s town hall meeting not only
about plans to constrict traffic flow, but also to wipe out six
parking spaces. They don’t like it, and neither do we. So
we urge city officials to re-shape this project to reflect our
priorities in Forsyth. Yes, beautify downtown and improve
sidewalks. But don’t remove parking spaces and don’t
impede vehicle traffic. We live here. We work here. If far
away bureaucrats are going to tell us what’s best for
Forsyth, they can keep their $1 million.
KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOR
Name: Leonard “Jap’
Battle
Age: 54
Education:
Mary Persons
H.S., Hubbard
Elem. School
Family:
Sherrye (wife),
Lenard
(deceased),
Davion (23) and
Nychole (22)
Where you
worship: Piney
Grove Baptist
Church
Your job: Head mainte
nance at William Hubbard
Middle School
What was your first
job: Delivering papers
Your passion: Playing
drums
Your favorite posses
sion: My drums
Favorite movie:
“Unforgiven”
What kind of car do
you drive and what was
your first car? 2004
Chevy Silverado, 1964
Chevrolet Impala
Your hometown:
Forsyth
Something you are
considering doing:
Opening a restaurant
Words you live by: Love
others as yourself
Something you can't
live without: Family
The thing you are
most proud of: My family
What keeps
you awake at
night: Nothing
Name some
thing you will
never do again:
Marry
What's your
favorite web
site? Don’t have
one
If your life
had a theme
song what
would it be? “Happy
Feelings”
If you could start your
life over, what would
you change? I would have
pursued a career in music.
What food could you
eat everyday? Chicken
and ribs
Something people
don't know about you:
I’m soft hearted
What's the worst idea
you've ever had? Selling
my 1964 Chevrolet Impala
What's the best thing
about living in Monroe
County? The people
If you could change
one thing about Monroe
County what would it
be? More jobs and inudstry
for people to work and to
keep our young people here
after graduation.
LEONARD
“JAP” BATTLE
is published every week by The Monroe County Reporter Inc.
Will Davis, president
Robert M. Williams Jr., vice president
Cheryl S. Williams, secretary-treasurer
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According Po rccen-h Me
On the Porch
Laura 9 s night with the ghouls
O ur cub reporter
Laura
Thackston is
learning
there’s
rarefy a dull day in
newspaper work in
Forsyth.
On Saturday night,
Laura went to the
Royal Palm to spend
all night watching
eight ghost
chasers trying
to find signs of
the afterlife at
the cafe and
inn.
Now, she’s an objective
reporter, so she won’t tell
you this. But I will: These
ghost chasers are,
well, how shall I
put this, a bit
unusual. I know,
you’re shocked.
Anyway, one of
the ghost chasers
told Laura up
front that she wor
ships the
devil. Yow.
s As the
night wore
on this
ghost chaser apparently
also worshipped too many of
the other kinds of spirits,
and wound up passing out
in an upstairs room before
Casper arrived.
And so here’s our sweet
Laura, who’s kind of shy,
just north of 20 years old,
and a faithful member of
New Providence Baptist
Church. She’s got her
reporter’s notebook and her
camera and is trying to
make sense of the ghost
chasers and their strange
equipment (see page 2A). I
asked her Monday morning
what she thought of her all-
nighter with the ghost
chasers. Her face got red, as
it often does, and she smiled
and said it was sort of
weird.
Laura has an almost
British knack for under
statement.
But she’s never turned
down an assignment. She’s
never shied from a tough
story. She’s a valuable mem
ber of our team, and I hope
we don’t run her off with
crazy jobs. She should at
least stay until Halloween. I
think she’s earned that day
off. Big time.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Judge’s shirttail rule hits men
To the editor:
am a 71 year old college gradu
ate with average intelligence, a
retired federal employee, a can
cer survivor with heart trouble
and a total hip replacement.
I have visited many courtrooms
during my 71 years and I have never
been ordered to tuck in my pull over
sport shirt. No one could be trying to
hide any weapons as you had just
passed through the metal detector.
In Monroe County, I was ordered to
tuck in my pull over sport shirt.
When I questioned the law that
required this action, the deputy sher
iff stated there was no law, that it
was just for the “dignity of the
court.”
This appears to me to be unlawful,
and is certainly discrimination as all
women were allowed to wear flip
flops, pants and skirts with outside
shirts and blouses and not one
woman was ordered to tuck in their
shirts or blouses.
Inside the court room, women at
the judges bench and at the court
table wore shirts and blouses outside
of their pants and skirts.
Something must be done to correct
this discrimination and injustice at
the Monroe County Justice Center.
Any assistance anyone can give to
correct this injustice would be great
ly appreciated.
Clyde Hoffman
Miracle brings home Boo Baby
To the editor:
P lease allow me to share
with your readers a won
derful, happy-ending story
that happened to me and
my beloved cat, Boo.
Boo, or Boo Baby, as I often refer to
her, is a six-year old, fluffy, black-as-
midnight cat with great big amber
eyes. On July 12 she jumped from
my car while I was helping to feed
the "Exit Dogs" off exit 188. Living in
Macon, I traveled back and forth
twice, sometimes thrice a day for
weeks, calling and putting up flyers.
I received many helpful tips and
sightings, and every time I traveled
to a new location of where Boo might
be, I went with hope in my heart.
But, as the weeks went by and each
tip and location proved fruitless, the
despair I felt upon leaving increased.
Not all faith left me, but reason and
time told me that Boo had either
found a new home, taken up with
one of the many stray colonies in the
area, or had wandered who knows
how far from the initial site, possibly
beyond Forsyth entirely.
And then, the impossible! On Aug.
22, I got a call from Jari Green. She
and Rosie Flanigan, two of my good
friends with Save A Pet, while on a
mission to catch and rescue the exit
dogs, were driving around the back
of a motel right off the exit, and had
spotted Boo. Though I was reluctant
at first to believe it was indeed Boo
and not some other black cat, Jari's
description of the cat and the
encounter itself gave me great opti
mism. Saturday and Sunday I called
around the area and put out food
under the eaves of the last building
(the abandoned one), but the weath
er was very uncooperative. Then,
Monday, while doing the same rou
tine I heard a meow. And for the first
time since I had lost her I knew that
the cry I was hearing wasn't a cat
bird or a mockingbird, but was defi
nitely my Boo Baby. But I couldn't
see her. I kept calling and she kept
meowing until I realized she was
inside one of the rooms. Sure
enough, I saw where one of the win
dows was broken and when I looked
inside there she was just calling and
looking at me with her big eyes. I
picked her up immediately and was
shocked to see how much weight she
had lost - she felt as if she weighed
no more than a pound, and half of
that was fur and cobwebs. Still, what
I felt inside as I held her I will never
forget: a mixture of amazement and
indescribably happiness. Boo has
been given a clean bill of health and
back at home, eagerly working to
reclaim her lost weight. I would very
much like to thank the good people
of Forsyth for their calls and efforts
in helping me, as well as my wonder
ful friends at Save A Pet, Jari and
Rosie, for finding Boo. If nothing
else, I hope Boo's story gives people
who have lost a dear pet hope and
encouragement.
Anna Krampl
Macon
Reader: Marshall independent
V
To the editor:
riefly, I’d like to make two com
ments related to the editoral,
“See Jim Run,” published in
your Sept. 2 edition.
It is interesting that on the date of
publication when you took
Congressman Marshall to task he
was in Monroe County at the
Monroe County Hospital dis
cussing an equipment grant for
some $43,000 that was made avail
able through his influence. I would think
the hospital is very grateful for the new
monitors and defibrillators. With such a
strong editorial statement, perhaps next
time a similiar grant would not receive
such positive consideration.
Secondly, our national party conventions
have become nothing more than scripted
media events. Why would anyone of intel
lect and substance waste their valuable
time at a convention where the nominees
were decided months ago?
I believe Congressman Marshall to be an
independent voice in the highly partisan
atmosphere of the U.S. Congress.
Robert L. Ragsdale
Juliette