Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
December 17. 2008
^Reporter
Opinion
Declare among the nations,
and publish, and set up a standard;
publish, and conceal not;
Jeremiah 50:2
OUR VIEW
Two needs meet
Two stories over the past two weeks converge to cre
ate a big opportunity for Monroe County.
Dec. 10 Reporter: “Survey says Monroe County kids
need more to do.”
Dec. 17 Reporter: “3 of 4 in Monroe County don't go
to church.”
Our kids need more healthy activities that teach
positive values. Our churches need souls, flocks to
feed. Shall the two meet?
We don't know if they shall, but they should.
Tracy Buff, a member of First Baptist who suggested
this week's cover story on our surprisingly low church
attendance, tells a hopeful story. A Mary Persons stu
dent got very involved in First Baptist's youth choir a
few years ago. He seemed to enjoy it. His family was
n't necessarily involved in the church. But he convert
ed, became a Christian. It seems he and his friends
found belonging and meaning by using their talents
together and nurturing a relationship with God.
This is what kids need. Many leaders in our church
es are doing an outstanding job trying to give our
young people spiritual direction and encouragement.
They need our help. What are you doing to help build
a moral and spiritual foundation for the next genera
tion? No task is more important.
KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOR
Name: Lynn Devereaux
Age: 44
Education: B.S. degree
from Georgia College in
office administration
Family: Husband
(Bryant) and daughter
(Lauren)
Where you
worship: New
Providence
Baptist
Church
Your Job:
Church secre
tary at New
Providence
What was
your first
job? Baby-sit
ting
Your pas
sion: Missions
Your favorite
possession: My
camera and pic
tures I’ve taken
Favorite movie:
“Fireproof”
Favorite book: Bible
What kind of car do
you drive and what
was your first car?
2003 Honda Accord and
1983 Honda Civic
Your hometown:
Forsyth (Smarr)
Something you are
considering: Going on
an international mission
trip
Words you live by: Be
content with what you
have.
Something you can’t
live without: Faith and
family
The thing you are
most proud of: My
daughter Lauren.
What keeps you
awake at night?
Absolutely nothing!
Name something you
will never
do again:
Work as a
medical tran-
scriptionist
What’s
your
favorite
website?
amazon.com
If your life
had a theme
song, what
would it be?
Don’t worry—
be happy!
If I could start
your life over,
what would
you change?
Nothing
What’s the worst idea
you’ve ever had? Giving
our cat a bath.
What food could you
eat every day?
Chocolate chip cookies
Name something peo
ple don’t know about
you: I have a motorcycle
license.
What’s the best thing
about living in Monroe
Co? Wherever you go you
see someone you know.
If you could change
one thing about
Monroe County, what
would it be? To have
saved Tift College.
LYNN
DEVEREAUX
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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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)
‘Udlhefm 'TveaC EsQirire presents; POUT. Bin OK!
Commish HAM,
why did you
feel the need to
stop those deer
poachers?
Because 1 was
afraid they
were gonna
shoot one of my
9 special
deer) ***
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dormer, Slitzen, Rudolph!
v* t *
m
■'I IS-
On the Porch
Glad to see someone’s fed up
"I go sit down in Atlanta
and we talk about cutting,
cutting cutting, .how do we
make ends meet?
Then I come home
and look on TV and
the federal govern
ment is spend,
spend, spend. I'm
tired of this."
Those were the
words of our State
Rep. Jim Cole
at last week’s
legislative
session. We’re
fortunate to
have Cole represent Monroe
County in Atlanta. Cole
seems to have a healthy
skepticism about govern
ment that is sorely lacking
in many of our elected offi
cials.
Washington is ever looking
for ways to spend more of
our money. Who can we
bailout next? I can hear our
Congress Weasels
behind closed doors
gleefully celebrat
ing: “It’s all ours, it’s
all ours! Everytime
someone comes to
us in desperation,
with hat in hand,
whether
GM,
Wachovia or
Bear Sterns,
it allows us
to print more money and
obtain more power.”
The antidote: “I’ve got a
little political tiredness,”
Cole confessed last
Wednesday. Thank God.
Thank God somebody’s get
ting fed up. We seem to be
on a fast track to Bailout
Nation, where everything
becomes the collective prop
erty of the U.S. Government.
It’s about time somebody got
fed up.
My 4-year-old son, Park,
came to me the other day
with an amendment to his
Christmas wish list. “Daddy,
can I have Thomas the
Train Legos for Christmas
too?”
“Son,” I said fatherly.
‘You’ve already asked for
Thomas Waterfall, Thomas
train house, Leapster Play
and Learn, batteries for
your flashlight, etc. Mommy
and daddy don’t have the
‘monies’ to buy everything
you want.”
His big eyes glazed over.
He was thinking. He went to
his room and returned with
his piggy bank and offered it
to me. Ah, such innocence.
He was willing to do his
part. That’s my boy.
Of course, a father won’t
take his child’s money. He
loves his son. But govern
ment is not our daddy.
Government is authority:
power and law. Government
raids your piggy bank and
wants more. If a private
company no longer has a
viable piggy bank, that’s a
personal problem. It’s not a
problem the rest of us
should take responsibility
for. To do so Congress has to
take from the piggy banks of
those of us who aren’t bank
rupt. Reward the losers and
take from the winners.
That’s a recipe for disaster.
Maybe that’s a simple mes
sage Jim Cole can take to
Congress one day.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Nelson: Maj. Perry too aggressive
To the editor:
wrote to The Reporter last May
concerning police abuse inflict
ed upon my husband, Thomas
Nelson, by Maj. Matthew Perry
of the Forsyth Police
Department. My letter was pub
lished in your issue of May 7, 2008
and I and my family are very appre
ciative of the Reporter’s considera
tion in allowing our side of the inci
dent to be heard by the citizens of
Forsyth and Monroe County.
In my letter, I tried to sound an
alarm to residents of Monroe County
about the danger posed by an out-of-
control officer to the general public. I
ended the letter with a caution that
anyone who crossed officer Perry’s
path would be in danger of being
brutalized in the same manner as
my husband was.
A news article in the Reporter’s
Nov. 19, 2008 issue, “Chief: has
proven my point. It now appears that
Maj. Perry is being investigated for
“mistreatment” of Terrance Shannon,
who had the misfortune of being
innocently at a place where Perry is
accused of again losing control of
himself. Maj. Perry’s disciplinary
record includes several suspensions
when he was with the Macon Police
Department. Perry’s record from the
Macon PD indicates a propensity to
beat, kick and sling people to the
ground—including women. His use of
force against my husband included
use of a Taser.
I will gladly furnish written infor
mation regarding this officer’s mis
conduct to any citizen who becomes
another of his victims. Such informa
tion, together with the most recent
example of this officer’s habits, is
ominous. Once again, I warn citizens
that any of them could be the next
victim. When will our government do
something to protect us against this
ticking time bomb?
Colleen Nelson
Juliette
Editor’s note: District attorney
Richard Milam said he hasn’t had a
chance to present the charges against
Colleen Nelson with her husband
Thomas Nelson after his altercation
with Maj. Matt Perry at the 2008 For-
sythia Festival. (File photo)
Thomas Nelson to the grand jury for
indictment yet, but hopes to do so in
February. As for Perry, he’s been on
medical leave for the past month.
Twas the
‘perfect’
column
To the editor:
T hat (“Twas the
night
before...liberal
ism,” On the
Porch by Will
Davis, Dec. 10
Reporter) was per
fect! I have
laughed and
laughed over and
over again. I don't
know whose idea to
come up with this
but it is great. I
will cut this out
and save it to
read again.
Thanks for a great
paper. Mr. Davis, you
are a great
American!
James
Chancellor
Macon
Races can work together
To the editor:
would like to start out by
saying I am not racist
but I am opinionated and
as my right as an
American citizen I am
gonna use my freedom of
speech to respond to a lot of
the "racism" articles that I am
starting to see in the paper. I
think that it is ignorant to
insinuate that only "African
Americans" are victims of
racial slurs and racial hate
crimes. This however is not
what irritates me. I want to
ask Forsyth and Monroe coun
ty one simple question. What is
Obama gonna do for this town?
Him being elected president is
not gonna take the drugs and
gangs off of our streets. It is
not gonna make the grafitti at
our city park disappear. It is
not gonna make it any better
for us to walk out our door and
feel safe. Why did it take
Obama to be elected president
for people to open their eyes
and realize that "hey, we do
have a problem here." Race is
always gonna play a huge part
in this town for the simple fact
that people are so close minded
and would rather claim racial
profiling than accept responsi
bility for their actions. We as a
community should have been
banding together all along to
take back our community and
make it safe for us and our
children. No, instead we would
rather blame opposite races for
everything that happens. Our
gangs and drug dealers consist
of whites and blacks. It should
not have taken Obama to open
our eyes.
I hope that Obama makes a
great president for the USA
but I also hope now that we
see that there are problems on
our streets that we will face,
and become better and
stronger people for Forsyth
and Monroe County. Let's stop
making it about race and start
making it about the future of
our children. God bless us all!
Crystal Mercer
Forsyth