Newspaper Page Text
November 19,2008
PAGE 5A
On the outside looking in
Football
commercials
& downtowns
N ot including half-time, time-outs and
penalties, football games should not
last over 60 minutes...four 15 minute
quarters. When was the last time you
watched a football game on TV or lis
tened to one on the radio? The “games” last close to
three hours if not longer. Thanks to the commer
cials, football is no longer a
sport but a venue for adver
tisers. (No, I don’t have a
what-cha-ma-call-it machine
that can skip commercials)
Everything about football
has become so commercial
ized, it is no longer fun to
watch or to listen to. The
other day, watching the UGA
game, the commercials
reached the epitome of
being ridiculous. You
know the yellow stripe
imposed on the screen to
show where the first
down is indicated, the
announcer (sportscaster)
said that stripe was sponsored by some company
and thankfully I don’t remember whom.
Let’s take it to the limit. Here’s my idea: let’s sell
advertising for every play including penalties. For
example, credit card companies will sponsor penal
ties. You know what happens if you are late mak
ing a payment, you get penalized. Here goes and
here’s my idea and I need your help.
First downs will sponsored by First National
Bank;
Second downs will be sponsored by Second
Baptist Church;
Third downs will be sponsored by Go For Broke
Pawn Shops;
Fourth downs will be sponsored by Nike—Just Do
It;
Kick offs will be sponsored by Kix Cereals;
Fumbles will be sponsored by banking, financial
and mortgage companies;
Extra points will be sponsored by insurance com
panies.
Send me your e-mails as to who you think the
sponsors should be.
THIS IS being repetitive but I couldn’t help
thinking about downtown Forsyth when reading
the Sunday paper about the cities of Winder and
Acworth. From the reports, both towns’ downtowns
are undergoing a revitalization bringing not only
locals to the downtown business district but
tourists as well.
Yes, Winder is on the way to Athens, but you
gotta get off the main road to get to downtown.
And, although Acworth is only 45-minutes from
downtown Atlanta, its downtown merchants have
banded together to draw not only locals to down
town, but also those looking for a day trip from
Atlanta.
Downtown Forsyth is on the cusp of being just as
unique as Acworth, Winder and even Madison.
We’ve got two mighty fine dining restaurants and a
deli all that appeal to just about every appetite
whether one is in court, in the offices downtown or
just visiting.
And, of course, one of the best pizza parlors in
middle Georgia just off the square down on East
Johnston where some painting and revitalization is
taking place on other buildings.
Shopping in downtown is beginning to grow with
an existing drug store that is stocked with gifts, an
antique market, a flower shop, music store and just
down the street a couple of shops showing off local
artists. And one of the best and friendliest what
ever you need hardware stores is on the square.
We are getting there and hopefully the downtown
merchants and business owners who rejected the
Streetscape program will get re-interested and
motivated to make our downtown a place you want
to go and want to be.
As a footnote, a business owner commented the
other day, “if we could get 10 cars a day from Wal-
Mart shoppers and 20 cars from the interstate to
come downtown, we would be in the driver’s seat.”
ANTICIPATION is beginning to build now that it
looks like Wal-Mart is going to start moving some
dirt. Got a phone call from an excited local the
other day: “There’s a big dirt moving piece of equip
ment on the new Wal-Mart site.”
IT WILL be very interesting to find out how much
each of the local candidates spent on their election
or re-election. Each will have to file a final cam
paign expenditure disclosure and it will be easy to
extrapolate how much they “paid” for each vote.
What do you think...five or ten-dollars per vote?
DISGUSTING is about the best word to describe
the revelations as reported by the Associated Press:
“Incidents around the country referring to
President-elect Barack Obama are dampening the
postelection glow of racial progress and harmony,
highlighting the stubborn racism that remains in
America.
Thankfully, the story didn’t single out the south—
particularly Georgia— but reported incidents from
California to Maine.
Donald Jackson Daniel is the founder and former
publisher of The Reporter and can be contacted at
tullaybear@bellsouth.net.
c; Reporter
Around the Bend
Joy, pain of being Miss Gina
O ne of the best things
about my job is that
I often interact with
and get to know
Mary Persons stu
dents. Over the last six
years I have developed
friendships that have
lasted way beyond foot
ball season or the
school play.
"Momma's every
where," my son
Andy often tells his
dad. "Everyone
at school knows
her."
Hey, that’s my
plan. Everyone
knows me so he can’t get
away with anything.
But it's a dual-edged
sword.
One of he worst things
about my job is that my
interaction with Mary
Persons students exposes
me to potential heartache.
That reality came crash
ing down on me last
Thursday morning as I
learned about Hill Daniel's
accident.
I was trying to take a
shower and my phone kept
ringing. Finally I jumped
out and grabbed it. They
had already hung up. The
caller ID showed Andy's cell
phone number.
He must need lunch
money, I thought. I
figured he would
call back or test
message.
But, my heart
wrenched with
pain when,
moments later, I
heard the news
about Hill.
I sank to
^'^3- my knees
L" and began
to pray.
Not only is Hill a friend of
Andy’s, but quite honestly I
consider him my friend as
well. That's the great thing
about being "Miss Gina" to
so many kids. I can be their
friend and not worry about
raising them. It keeps me
young, I always say.
For the most part, the kids
at MP are a great group of
kids. Yeah, they can be
smart-aleck punks at times,
but, hey. . . who hasn’t been?
But, time after time, these
kids prove who they really
are when they step up and
act like the kids their par
ents always dreamed they
could be.
Mere hours after hearing
the devastating news, my
"other daughter" Haleigh
Herring (no real relation)
and some of Hill's other
friends made a huge banner
saying "We love U Hill." The
banner was signed by the
entire senior class with
encouraging, funny and silly
remarks. If you think there
is no prayer in schools,
think again.
Considering how self-cen
tered teenagers can be, it's
refreshing to see them react
so empathetic and sincere.
"This is something that
happens to someone else,"
said one of the kids in the
hospital last Thursday. "Hill
is one of us."
I can easily put myself in
Jackson and Theresa's
place. It could have just as
easily been my own son. As
parents we hold our breath
and pray each time our kids
turn that key. They think
they are invincible, but we
know how vulnerable life
really is. Sometimes we
become complacent and
take it for granted that they
are going to be OK. But
there are no guarantees.
But, I know Hill is strong.
He has "good raising." I'm
sure there is not a person in
this county that has not
been touched by the Daniel
family in some way.
As a former editor of the
Reporter, Jackson has
helped me so many times
with my job. As an assistant
superintendent he is always
willing to explain things
over and over again until I
understand them so I can
tell you what's going on
with the school system.
Katie worked with us as
an intern this summer and
was a delight to know.
I also got to know Hill and
Matthew real well just this
year. As one of the ringlead
ers of the MP student sec
tion, Hill often orchestrated
elaborate schemes to get
noticed and get in the
paper. ... all while tireless
ly cheering on the Bulldogs.
Now it's our turn to cheer
him on.
Go Hill! You can do it!
Email Gina at
news@mymcr. net.
Destination: Bolingbroke
Time for Bolingbroke Christmas parade
Crowds are expected to line the streets again in Bol
ingbroke on Dec. 6 just like this scene from last year.
I am proud to announce that the
10th annual Bolingbroke
Christmas Parade is scheduled
for Saturday, Dec. 6 (begins at 3
p.m.) in
beautiful down
town Bolingbroke
(Rivoli Road). The
Bolingbroke
Community Club
began preparations
back in July and
we are anticipating
the biggest parade
yet and expect to
surpass last years
45 entries. I am
amazed to witness
this parade grow
each year and this
one promises to be very special. In
addition to our 10th anniversary of the
Bolingbroke Christmas Parade, The
Bolingbroke Community Club will be
celebrating the 170th anniversary of
the first train to come thru
Bolingbroke and in honor of this
anniversary, Jimmy and Beverly
Mickle will have their 18 passenger
mini train ride for the kids (and
adults) from 2-5 p.m. Beverly
(Bolingbroke’s historian) explains that
on Dec. 10, 1838 about 50 Monroe
Countians and
Maconites gathered to
try something novel
and exciting and board
ed a train for the cero-
minial opening of The
Monroe County
Railroad, the third rail
road in Georgia and
among the first in the
nation. According to
the then Georgia
Messenger, cannons
were fired and the
countryside was literal
ly covered with people.
Plan to come bring
the entire family (even
the family dog is wel
come) and spend the
afternoon in our won
derful town and catch the Christmas
spirit. Bring your lawn chairs and
blankets and enjoy goodies from the
Bolingbroke Community Club’s conces
sion stand (homemade by the best
cooks in the county). We will have an
extra special Grand Marshal this year
and of course Santa and Mrs. Clause
(along with an elf or two) will be the
grand finale (oh, wait till you see what
Santa will be riding on this year!). He
has agreed to take time out of his busy
schedule and visit with each child
after the parade in Santa’s workshop
(blue cottage next to the fire station).
Parents, this is a great photo opportu
nity.
Don’t miss out on this fun event! I
can assure you even Mr. Ebenezer
Scrooge would enjoy himself. I can
hardly wait and hope to see you there!
Vicki Smith is the Bolingbroke colum
nist for the Reporter. Call her at 474-
7320 or email vicki.smith@remax.net.
By Vicki
Smith
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Ray taxes soon to get ’08 deduction
To the editor:
ederal income tax regula
tions for 2008 include a new
deduction for real estate
taxes paid by those taxpay
ers who take the standard
deduction. The deduction is a maxi
mum of $1,000 for married taxpayers
filing jointly and $500 for others. It
was formerly allowed only for those
who itemize deductions.
I just received my 2008 Monroe
County real estate tax bill, and note
that it is not due until Jan. 14, 2009.
(Last year's bill, for 2007, was due in
December 2007.)
I think that to claim this year's
county real estate tax as a standard
deduction on your 2008 federal
income tax, you must pay it by Dec.
31. Those who wait until the January
2009 due date won't be able to take
the deduction until they file their
2009 tax return.
In other words, to claim this deduc
tion, the real estate tax must be paid
in the same tax year as it is being
claimed for. I am a trained tax prepar
er, but individuals may want to verify
this opinion with the IRS or their own
tax expert.
Dick Godschalk
Monroe County
Reader: Bailout U.S. auto makers
To the editor:
I t amazes me that we can be sit
ting here having a discussion on
whether or not to bail out the
U.S. auto industry. There are
actually people in this country
who are prepared to see them fail,
and some who say it may even be
good for our country. Just where do
these people come from? How can we
possibly be prepared to call ourselves
the most powerful nation on earth,
when we may soon not even be able to
build the cars that we drive. Is there
no pride left in “American Made”?
Oh, forgive me. Those same experts
who say that we should let these com
panies fail also point out that
Japanese and German, and soon
South Korean cars are made in
America. So what? The profits from
these companies head outside this
country. Is it such a crime for profits
made off American consumers to be
kept in America to be spent by
Americans, union or otherwise?
A little history lesson is in order
here. America was once a colony of
England. This means that we export
ed raw materials, and imported near
ly all of our finished goods. Our fight
for independence was partly attrib
uted to the fact that we wished to be
masters of our own destiny. What
resulted? Over 200 years of American
innovations that have transformed
the entire world. Our industry did
that! In the wars of the 20th century:
World War 1, World War 2, and the
Cold War, it was our industry that
won them! And the auto industry had
a key part in all of this. When World
War 2 broke upon us, our nation did
n't have to build factories to produce
the planes and tanks we needed to
win the war, our auto industry was
transformed almost overnight to this
capacity. When the next war comes,
and if our industry is defunct, do you
think the Germans and Japanese will
just let us use their factories for our
national emergencies? I doubt it,
especially should they once again
become our enemies. We need our
auto industry. It is a symbol of our
pride. We have lost everything from
Budweiser to Church's Chicken to
other nations, let's not add Ford and
GM to that list.
Bill Mauldin
Jackson