Newspaper Page Text
February 11, 2009
PAGE 5A
Around the Bend
c; Reporter
So thatfs what the sunrise looks like
I woke up at 5:30 in the morning both
Saturday and Sunday. I was pretty
mad about it too. I had purposely
planned to sleep late this
weekend. I had worked hard
all week and I longed to lay in the
bed past noon.
But since I turned 40 a couple of
years ago, I just can't sleep late
anymore. It's like God flipped a
switch in my head as soon as I left
my 30s. Most days I don't get up
as early as 5:30, but as I get
later in years, I tend to wake
up earlier and earlier. It's
downright aggravating.
I used to marvel at people who could
get up that early. They were like aliens
to me. I could not fathom ever being con
scious before 7 and that was pushing it.
Larry has always got up pretty darn
early because he has to be at work by 7
a.m. For two decades I managed to get
out of bed, make his lunch. . . some times
even breakfast. . . without actually ever
waking up. As long as he didn't talk to
me I could get back in bed and never
miss a dream.
But, now even when I don't have a
thing in the world to do on Saturday
morning my eyes pop open at the crack
of dawn.
I try to fight it. I will close my eyes
quickly and roll over and cover my head.
I do all I can to resist the urge to get up
before the sun. I don't mind
the gray hair and the wrin
kles that come with old age,
but I'll be dog if I am going to
get up with the chickens like
an old lady.
Back when I was a teenag
er, I used think my grand
mother was insane. She was
always up so early.
I often wondered if
that woman slept at
all.
Often she would lay down with me, but
I never actually saw her sleep. She'd rub
my back until I would go to sleep. And
then the next thing I knew I would wake
to the smell of her homemade biscuits
(mmmm, I can still smell them now).
Now, I was a late sleeper just like
every other teenager I knew, but nobody
could sleep through Grandma's biscuits.
It wasn't long before I gave in to the
aroma and sprinted down the stairs.
My grandma thought I was just as
crazy for sleeping late as I thought she
was for getting up so dang early.
But, no matter how early I thought it
was when I sailed into the kitchen for
biscuits and jelly... Grandma had already
been up long enough not only to make
biscuits, but to wash three loads of
clothes and hang them out on the
clothesline.
Does anyone uses a clothesline any
more?
My grandmother owned a dryer, at
least she did for as far back as my mem
ory will go. But, she seldom used it. She
loved to hang clothes on the line.
"It makes them fresher," she said.
It made them stiff.
Have you ever tried to wear a pair of
blue jeans dried on a clothesline?
Or dry off with a towel that was stiff as
a board? The towels may have smelled
fresh, but they felt like sandpaper. You
could actually hear them crack as you
dried off.
But Grandma insisted on the clothes
line.
“If you want your towels dried in the
dryer, get up earlier enough to do them
yourself,” she say.
And now I do.
I sure do wish Grandma was in the
kitchen making biscuits.
Email Gina Herring at
news@mymcr. net.
Ham
continued from the front
maps. When Grier said both
expenditures would eventually
be necessary, Ham proposed
going ahead and spending the
entire $63,000.
"Let's get that over with and
get Mr. Grier back downstairs
(the assessors office) to do the
job he likes to do," said Ham.
Only Peters opposed the meas
ure.
But things got testy when
Grier also asked commission
ers to let him advertise to hire
another tax appraiser. Grier
said they need to add a third
appraiser to comply with a
consent order from the state
Department of Revenue. The
state had slapped a consent
order on the county in 2006,
citing a number of deficiencies
in the office.
Commissioner Larry Evans
concurred that the county will
have to pay a $5 per parcel
fine if it doesn't comply with
the consent order.
But Ham asked why chief
appraiser Alveno Ross couldn't
act as the second appraiser
required by the order.
"When's he outside smoking,
he can get in his truck with his
cigarette and appraise some
thing," said Ham. He later said
the comment is a joke between
him and Ross.
But Grier, who’s appointed by
the commissioners, said
whether Ross acts as a
appraiser has nothing to do
with the consent order requir
ing them to hire another field
appraiser.
"You all are handicapping the
assessors office," said Grier.
Grier said if the state rules the
assessors office is still in viola
tion of the consent order, it
won't be because they haven't
tried to correct the problem.
Rather, said Grier, it will be
because "we haven't had the
support of the commissioners."
Ham objected to that portray
al.
"I beg to differ with you and
don't appreciate that state
ment," said Ham. Ham asked
if the consent order is even
still binding since there's a
new board of commissioners.
He told the Reporter Monday
the county never should have
signed the consent order.
Meanwhile, Grier responded
by accusing commissioners of
spending a million dollars in
attorney fees trying to revalue
Plant Scherer, which he called
a wasteful and useless move.
"He's out of order, Mr.
Chairman!" replied Ham.
As Grier continued, Ham
walked out of the meeting. He
said later he was just going to
the bathroom.
Grier went on to say that
commissioners aren't helping
when they point fingers at the
chief appraiser. And he said
assessors can't do their job
because commissioners still
haven't approved a 2009 budg
et.
That set off new commission
chairman James Vaughn.
"You listen to me for just a
minute," said Vaughn. "Your
office isn't the only one in
limbo because of that (budget
not being done)."
Commissioners still haven't
approved a 2009 budget. They
are slated to hold a budget
meeting at 9 a.m. on Friday,
Feb. 13 to go over the budget.
Vaughn reminded Grier that
commissioners had approved
two of the three items he
requested. And commissioners
voted to ask county attorney
Mike Dillon to determine
whether the consent order
requires they hire another
appraiser.
"Cut us a little slack," said
Vaughn. "You talk about point
ing fingers — you're doing the
same thing."
When Grier tried to make
another point, Vaughn said
he'd had enough.
"One more time and I'm
going to leave," said Vaughn,
referring to Ham. As Grier sat
down, Ham returned to the
table.
Peters later told the Reporter
he's fed up with the assessors.
"They're at every (dam)
meeting wanting something,"
said Peters. "I've had a belly
full of it."
On Monday, Ross told the
Reporter that he does do some
field appraising. But he said
the 10-page consent order
requires two field appraisers in
addition to a chief appraiser,
and his office currently has
just one.
The county just did a contro
versial county-wide revalua
tion to comply with the con
sent order. Ross said the
$400,000 revaluation has
brought the county into line
with sales values. That will
mean more money out of Plant
Scherer as well. But of the
county’s 15,000 parcels, there
were about 3,000 appeals. Ross
said the state is working to
determine if the county is now
in compliance. But he said it
won’t help if the assessors
don’t have a budget. The asses
sors office is asking for a big
budget increase to more than
$770,000 this year. Ross said
they need the money to comply
with the state order.
In other county news:
• Commissioners have his
torically cited three exemp
tions to the open meetings act
in state law which let them
close meetings to the public.
Those are to discuss a specific
person’s job performance,
pending litigation or a real
estate transaction. But com
missioners used a new one
from the law to close last
Tuesday’s meeting: To discuss
homeland security. An official
from the Georgia Emergency
Management Agency request
ed the meeting to discuss, well,
commissioners weren’t saying.
• Commissioners agreed to
take over Duncan Circle Road,
formerly a private road across
from the High Falls
Supercross. Local residents
had brought it up to standards
so the county could take over
the road and maintain it.
Peters, whose district includes
Duncan Circle Road, said it
was a bad, muddy road until
they did their work.
Bunn
continued from the front
HOW tCr OCrntoUytyOUT
rep resb&ntatiA/esy...
FORSYTH
CITY COUNCIL
The Forsyth City Council meets at 7 p.m. on
the first and third Tuesday of the month at
the City Hall Annex on Jackson Street.
Mayor Tye Howard
526 Virginia Street
Forsyth, GA31029
mayorhoward@
cityofforsyth.com
994-0690 h 731-0902 c
Mike Dodd
120 Meadow Drive
w - 994-6203
h - 994-6204
medodd@forsythcable.com
James Calloway
485 Stroud Street
Forsyth, GA31029
jcalloway@forsythcable.com
478-994-0784 home
cell 478-214-5384
Desi Hansford
y, 377 Brookwood Drive
R Forsyth, GA 31029
11 994-6530
cell 478-501-1755
desi6@forsythcable.com
Melvin Lawrence
345 Brookwood Dr
Forsyth, GA 31029-3296
994-5022
cell 993-7841
mlawrence@forsythcable.con
Lamar Rusell
106 Mornside Drive
Forsyth, GA31029
994-5422
carlam@forsythcable.com
Rosemary Walker
389 Brookwood Dr
Forsyth, GA 31029-3299
rwalker@forsythcable.com
994-7795 - work
cell 478-447-5474
994-5455 - home
MONROE COUNTY
SCHOOL BOARD
The Monroe County school board meets at 7
p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month at
the board of education office on Brooklyn Ave.
J.R Evans
District 1
93 Blount St
Forsyth, GA 31029
994-6773
Dr. J. Ray Grant
Chairman
Disrict 2
699 Dumas Rd
Forsyth, GA 31029
994-5406
ici699@aol.com
Eliana knows she is still
needed in Iraq.
"Not a day has gone by that
I have not thought about a
time when I can go back,"
said Eliana. No matter which
side of politics people are on,
Eliana says Americans have
an obligation to support the
troops.
“Whether you agree with
the war or not, we are there
now. Some things were done
right. Some things were done
wrong, but it’s done. We need
to support the soldiers,” said
Eliana.
She said she often gets calls
asking her to return to work
in Iraq.
“I never agreed to go
because I needed to be here
for my son,” said Eliana.
But now that her son Sam
is in college, Eliana has
decided it's time to return to
the desert for a while.
Eliana is passionate about
being an interpreter and says
now that Sam is grown and
settled into college, she
believes her place is in Iraq
helping the American troops
communicate with Iraqis. She
can also advise the troops on
cultural differences and
taboos.
"I am needed there. I help
bridge the gap between Iraq
and America. Communication
is very important," said
Eliana. "If you get just one
word wrong it could send an
innocent man to jail or set a
guilty man free."
She was scheduled to leave
on Feb. 25, but last week got
a call asking her to come two
weeks early. Eliana spent the
weekend hurriedly packing
and preparing for her jour
ney.
"I thought I would have a
little more time to prepare
them and prepare myself,"
said Eliana. "I keep thinking
I am forgetting to tell them
something. I really thought I
would be able to spend
Valentine's Day with Darden,
but it all got changed and I
must go now."
Darden says he under
stands why Eliana has to go
but says he will miss her a
lot.
"Now it's very real that I
am actually going," she said
Saturday afternoon.
"Everywhere we go I am try
ing to soak in the atmos
phere. Once I am in Iraq, all
I will see is sand and an
occasional palm tree."
Although she is excited
about her new adventure,
Eliana confides that she is
worried about leaving her
husband of 8 years and her
18-year old son home alone.
"I am not afraid for my
safety. Life is not guaranteed
no matter wher you are. I
could just as easily die in a
car accident right here. I
can’t let fear stop me from
helping my country. The
truth is I am more worried
about Darden and Sam. But I
know they will take care of
each other," said Eliana. "And
I know I will be fine. The sol
diers treat me with such care
and would take a bullet to
protect me, I know. They are
wonderful.”
To help make sure no ques
tion goes unanswered, Eliana
has taped up little notes and
reminders for her guys on
her kitchen walls of her Josey
Road home. She also spent
the weekend writing down
recipes for some of their
favorite meals.
"I will miss them dearly,"
said Eliana.
Sam admits he will miss his
mother too.
" [Going to Iraq] is a good
thing for her," said Sam. "I
just hopes she makes it back
OK."
Eliana flew to Virginia for
processing on Sunday. After
that she will spend a few
days at Fort Benning getting
her gear, some training and
a few immunizations. She
expects to arrive in Iraq in
about two weeks.
While there Eliana will be
able to keep in touch via
email, so Darden and Sam
won't be completely on their
own. But, she is not sure
where she will be from day to
day.
"It's all top-secret, it's clas
sified. I will go where they
need me. If they need a
translator I will have to go
there," she said. "I will miss
my own bed, that's for sure. I
never know if I will have a
bed or will be sleeping on a
cot in the desert somewhere."
Eliana says she is not sure
how long she will be in Iraq
this time.
"It might be a year. It might
be two," she says. "To be hon
est, I really want to come
home when the troops come
home. I do not want to leave
them behind again."
Phil Walker
District 3
204 Langston Avenue
Forsyth, GA 31029
994-9232
walkerp9232@bellsouth.net
Judy Pettigrew
District 4
5423 Ga Highway 42 N
Forsyth, GA 31029-4148
994-5416
j_pettigrew@bellsouth.net
Nolen Howard
District 5
nolenhoward@bellsouth.net
1418 Rumble Road
Forsyth, GA31029
Tammy Fletcher
District 6
1965 Highway 41 S
Forsyth, GA 31029-8642
994-5576
tammywfletcher@aol.com
Eva Bilderback
District 7
251 Sleepy Creek Rd
Macon, GA 31210-5721
476-8681
hurricanel 000@juno.com