Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
^Reporter
December 31. 2008
Opinion
Declare among the nations,
and publish, and set up a standard;
publish, and conceal not;
Jeremiah 50:2
OUR VIEW
Water: Key to our future
O ne thing we hope we’ve learned in 2008 is that
we shouldn’t take a growing economy for grant
ed. And that’s why Monroe County is wise to
acquire the Plant Camellia water treatment
facility in Juliette (see page 10A). A refurbished
water plant, which is expected to include a permit to with
draw water from the Ocmulgee River, would help secure a
growing economy in Monroe County for generations to
come.
Water service is the lifeblood of economic growth. Few
people are willing to build a home or start a business in a
location that doesn’t include reliable water service. The
more water lines that are extended around the county, the
more prosperity and economic activity we will enjoy.
Monroe County has been progressive about adding water
lines on the north and south ends of the county. The south
end is served with water from the Bibb County Water
Authority. The north end from a series of wells. But it
comes with a cost. The county pays a 50-percent markup
for its water from Bibb County, meaning homeowners in
south Monroe must pay a much higher water bill than
Bibb Countians. Thankfully, our taxes are also lower, and
that’s why we’re still drawing residents out of Bibb County.
Still, Bibb Comity and other nearby water providers cur
rently have us over a barrel. With no water source of our
own, Monroe County has little negotiating power.
But if, as expected, Plant Camellia can be rehabilitated
and the water permit secured, Monroe County will have
achieved some measure of water independence. That
means lower water rates for our residents and more water
lines, and therefore growth, into the county’s hinterlands.
This development will make our land more valuable, our
businesses more profitable, and our future more secure.
Commissioners still have to work out funding for what
will be an enormous project. Sales tax revenues set aside
for water projects are supposed to be divvied up among the
five districts. But here’s a case where spending all $6 mil
lion on one focused project would do more good than if each
district got its $1.2 million slice. Perhaps that measure
would have to be put to a special referendum during the
next county-wide election. We would support it.
On the Porch
What happened to the men?
W hatever hap
pened to the
me " ?
Historians who study our
era may pick through the
remnants and shards of our
society and wonder
that one day. We
should start won
dering now.
Did you know that
according to the
Department of
Justice, more than a
third of American
black men
between the
ages of 17 and
35 are cur
rently in jail,
on probation, or on the lam?
Perhaps not coincidentally,
at least a third of our
nation’s children are raised
without a father in the
home.
Men do a lot of damage,
but federal law doesn’t help.
Title IX ensures that men’s
athletic programs are dis
mantled if they have the
gall to get larger than
women’s. Even the military,
once a man’s domain, is
now replete with females.
More women than men now
go to law school and med
ical school.
What happened to the
men?
It starts, as with most
problems, in the family.
In his 1986 book, “Men &
Marriage,” author George
Gilder wrote that family
break-up leads to “a welfare
state to take care
of the women and
children and a
police state to han
dle the teenaged
boys.”
Sound about
right? It does to
me.
He quotes
anthropol-
gist
Margaret
Mead, who famously
declared that the key social
issue in every society is how
to deal with the aggressive
ness and competitiveness of
males. The traditional solu
tion, said Gilder, is mar
riage, which ties men to the
future through their chil
dren and channels their
aggression into supporting
their families through com
petitive success in both edu
cation and the workplace.
But today, so many boys
are raised in families with
no role model doing that.
Boys aren’t learning how to
master this critical task.
That leaves us with, well,
what we’ve got: Women try
ing to raise children alone.
Boys who never grow up,
instead getting lost in
drugs, gangs or pornogra
phy.
This is evident to any
casual observer of our cul
ture. Who are the mascu
line role models today?
Seinfeld? Homer Simpson?
We’ve come a long way
down from John Wayne (I
know he drank too much,
but you see what I mean.)
With the descent of man, I
think we’ve lost the many
of the virtues of masculini
ty. Yes, I said virtues.
America was discovered,
then founded, then explored
and later settled by men
who were risk-takers,
adventurers. Men who were
willing to be bold.
Now? Now we have “men”
on the TV show “Cops,”
boldly proclaiming, “The
b&%* A set me up!”
And so it is the women
who suffer the most by a
decline in healthy mas
culinity. They are left to
raise kids without a hus
band, to grow old without a
mate, or to suffer at the
hands of an abusive lost
man.
So what can we do to
restore positive masculinity
in Monroe County?
First, we should honor the
men who fulfill their
responsilibities to their
wives and their families.
There are countless boys in
our community who need
an example of how to live. If
we honor those who do it
right, they’ll take note.
Two, we need men who
are willing to be mentors to
un-fathered boys in scouts,
in athletics and in the
school system. I’m told that
many of these young kids,
with no dad in the home,
are hungry for a man to
take an interest in them.
They need someone to teach
them things like how to
shoot a ball, put a worm on
a hook or handle peer pres
sure.
And finally, we can pray.
The problem of lost men in
our society is too great for
anyone but God. Only
through faith can man find
the strength and fellowship
to help him change.
Here in Forsyth, a group
of men from several differ
ent churches meets every
Wednesday morning at
Piedmont Bank. It’s a good
place to start. OK, men, we
have a lot of work to do.
But hey, what are men for?
Destination Bolingbroke
Aren’t we glad to say goodbye to 2008?
A s I reflect back on this
past year, I have to
admit I am not sad to
see it go. 2008 will be
a year I will remem
ber a little more than others for
the roller coaster ride it proved to
be. I think of all the uncertainties
it held (no thanks to the media’s
constant reminders) and can’t
help but feeling a little weary.
Never before had I compared the
gas price signs of the stations
across the street from each other
when I needed to fill up and I
only hope “they” won’t do that to
us again ($4+/gallon). Mother’s Day torna
dos, the volatile stock market, the housing
crisis, the bailouts and the worst
mud slinging election year
(locally and nationwide) I can
ever recall are just a few of the
events I am grateful to put
behind us and welcome in a
hopeful new year. This Dec. 31,
I might just stay up till mid
night and happily ring in 2009.
The year 2008 did however
bring new friends and opportu
nities I will forever be grateful
for including the wonderful
opportunity to share my
thoughts and stories with you in
this paper thanks to Will Davis,
new friends in places such as Paris and
locally, a new position on the board of Save
A Pet, the challenge (and thankfully the
celebration) of the community backed
effort in getting a much needed expanded
fire station, a continued blessing with my
affiliation in the Bolingbroke Community
Club and most of all, the joy I get each
year when I look at the faces of the chil
dren who attend the annual Bolingbroke
Christmas Parade. Their anticipation of
getting to visit with Santa is obvious and
makes all that hard work worth while. I
just have to say thank you to all that
either attended or participated in this
year’s parade. It was the biggest (and
best) to date and the support from the
community is almost overwhelming. I
must admit I almost cried (with joy) as I
made my way down the parade route and
saw the huge crowds lining Rivoli Road. It
was at that moment it hit me no matter
what our uncontrollable circumstances,
God is always in control and Bolingbroke,
Ga. is a great place to live and I am
blessed to be a part of it.
In 2009,1 will continue to introduce to
you via this article (as long as Will will
have me), the wonderful citizens and
events of Bolingbroke. I appreciate all the
great comments I receive and if you know
an outstanding Bolingbroke resident or an
event, please e-mail me at
vicki.smith@remax.net. Until next time, I
wish you a very Happy New Year!
Vicki Smith covers Bolingbroke for the
Monroe County Reporter. And yes, she’ll of
course be welcome on these pages in 2009.
By Vicki
Smith
is published every week by The Monroe County Reporter Inc.
Will Davis, president
Robert M. Williams Jr., vice president
Cheryl S. Williams, secret ary-treasurer
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Home for Christmas
Hill Daniel makes surprise trip to Forsyth
Hill Daniel opens a Christmas gift at home, his
first time in Forsyth since his November wreck.
Many Monroe Countians know that
the family of Hill Daniel, the Mary
Persons senior, has faced a trying
Christmas. Hill, 17, suffered a serious
spinal injury in a car wreck on the way
home from church in November. He’d
been at Shepherd Spinal Clinic in
Atlanta for 42 days - until Christmas
Eve.
His father, Jackson Daniel, has been
posting regular updates at Hill’s site
on www.carepages.com. We thought
readers would enjoy Daniel’s
Christmas Eve entry, republished here
with Daniel’s permission:
BY JACKSON DANIEL
hristmas Eve - Wednsday,
Dec. 24, 7:30 p.m. Tonight,
on this Christmas Eve, on
this night six weeks after
Hill's and Matthew's acci
dent, after 42 days of constant prayer
and hope, the Daniel family celebrated
a Christmas miracle. All five of us -
Hill, Katie, Matthew, Theresa and
Jackson - attended Ebenezer United
Methodist Church's Christmas Eve
service tonight. We were blessed to be
with our church family, and to have
my mother and my aunt present
(thanks to Dr. and Mrs. Lumpkin).
Actually, it's been a day of miracles.
Bright and early this morning, our
friend and doctor Herndon Murray
informed Hill that he was being dis
charged as an inpatient from
Shepherd Spinal Clinic. So, about 11
a.m. this morning, we loaded Hill into
the front seat of the Volvo, piled his
wheelchair into the trunk, and left
Shepherd as a family for the first time
in almost six weeks. We were over
joyed, emotional, and nervous all at
the same time.
We truly feel this is a true
answer to the prayers of so
many people and we give so
many thanks to God for pro
viding this and for allowing
Hill's health to be at the
point that the doctors felt
comfortable leaving for a
short time at home.
The plan is for us to be
home for five days. We will
return to the Shepherd
Center next Sunday, Dec. 28,
to get settled back into the
housing unit and on Monday
morning, Dec. 29, Hill will
begin his therapy work in
the outpatient/day program
- a five day a week, 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m. schedule of therapy
and work that we've been
told is more intense than the therapy
Hill has done as an inpatient.
I believe Dr. Murray and the staff at
Shepherd felt that having Hill at
home for a few days would be as
strong a medicine as they could pre
scribe. And I believe it is working.
Although our first visit back to our
church family in six weeks (recall Hill
and Matthew were leaving the church
when the accident occurred Nov. 12)
was extremely emotional, Hill is
happy to be home and thoroughly
enjoying a little bit of "normalcy" for a
change. Right now, he is in the kitchen
trying to help Katie cook dinner and is
reminding me that the Christmas tree
in the family room (cut down on our
way home this morning) still is not
decorated. We will spend part of our
Christmas Eve night taking care of
this.
So, it is wonderful to be home for
Christmas. So many times today, I've
thought back to some of the days
we've lived through and remind
myself how miraculous it is that we
are back at home. We still have much
work to do and progress to make, and
he road in front of us is long. But,
gosh, it's good to be home tonight!
So praise God! He is truly the giver
of blessings and the answerer of
prayers! In those times we have been
able to turn things over to Him, he has
taken control!
Each of you have blessed us to richly,
and we are so appreciative and thank
ful. We will continue to pray for heal
ing, strength, stamina and progress,
but tonight we are most thankful for
the blessing of being home.
So tonight, all of us wish you and
your families the most blessed of
Christmas Eve nights.