Newspaper Page Text
June 22, 2011
^Reporter
PAGE 7A
Sosebee
continued from the front
Judge Sosebee greets Laura Newton at Friday’s
dedication. (Photo/Laura Corley)
The Bridge Builder
Judge Hugh Sosebee read this poem at the
dedication of the Tift College Drive bridge in
his honor:
BY WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE
An old man going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening cold and gray,
To a chasm vast and deep and wide.
Through which was flowing a sullen tide
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength with build
ing here;
Your journey will end with the ending day,
You never again will pass this way;
You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build this bridge at evening tide?”
The builder lifted his old gray head;
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he
said,
“There followed after me to-day
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been as naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for
him!”
Source: Father: An Anthology of Verse (EP
Dutton & Company, 1931)
bridge in Sosebee's honor.
Cole spoke of riding in
the car with his friend, for
mer state Rep. Larry
Walker, as Walker told
him stories about nearly
every person that a
Georgia landmark is
named after. Cole told
Monroe Countians that
they needed to be like
Walker and tell the
younger generations about
the accomplishments of
men like Sosebee and for
mer state Supreme Court
chief justice Harold
Clarke, who was also on
hand Friday.
Sosebee has served
Monroe County and the
Flint Judicial Circuit for
the past 56 years, serving
as Solicitor General from
1954-63, as the sole
Superior Court Judge from
1964-78 and as a Senior
Judge from 1978 to the
present.
Sosebee told the gath
ered crowd that his "sup
porters include everybody,"
and said he is "over
whelmed by your kind
ness."
He also thanked Cole for
championing the resolu
tion, saying Cole is "an
action person and gets
things done."
Sosebee's son Hugh
Sosebee Jr., a Forsyth
attorney, served as Master
of Ceremonies, thanking
numerous city, county and
state elected officials for
coming to the event,
including current local
state Reps. Susan Holmes
and Robert Dickey.
Sosebee Jr. also intro
duced the guest speakers,
who were friends and col
leagues of Sosebee's.
Towaliga Circuit
Superior Court Judge
Tommy Wilson paid high
praise to the Sosebee fami
ly: "Everything they've
ever done is for Monroe
County and the
community of
Forsyth."
Wilson added
his fondest
memory was
being sworn
into judgeship
by Sosebee. He
called Sosebee
and Clarke,
who was seated
nearby, the
"most honor
able, respectful,
polite people in
this communi
ty"
Monroe
County com
mission chair
man James
Vaughn noted
that Sosebee's
county work
went far
beyond that of
a judge.
Vaughn said
Sosebee actual
ly acquired all
right of way for
1-75 while he
was serving as
a county attor
ney.
Former
Monroe County
sheriff L. Cary
Bittick was out
of town and
could not
attend the
event, but he
sent a letter,
which was read
by Forsyth
attorney Ashley
Hawkins.
Bittick wrote:
"Working with
Judge Sosebee
was probably
my favorite
association as
Monroe County sheriff."
Sosebee's friend David
Ridgeway, a retired
Superior Court clerk in
Butts County, knew
Sosebee back when he was
solicitor general. Ridgeway
noted Sosebee routinely
tried four cases in one day.
He said he wondered why
someone as "talented and
smart" as
Sosebee was
practicing law in
a small place
like Monroe
County.
However, he
said he found
out later that
Sosebee was in
the right place.
Ridgeway told
humorously of
the time Sosebee
thought he had
arrived late to
court and went
ahead and paid
Ridgeway a fine.
Ridgeway said
he looked at the
clock, and
Sosebee was
actually on time.
Ridgeway said
he gave him his
money back and
told him to go
buy a new
watch.
Sosebee, who
was the last to
speak, said the
speakers'
remarks "mean
a lot to me and
my family,"
before conclud
ing the ceremo
ny by reading a
poem entitled,
"The Bridge
Builder."
Sosebee was
then personally
greeted by
everyone in
attendance.
Sosebee Jr.
said Monday a
special thanks
should go to
Cole for his role
in his father's
honoring.
He said, "That was a
deeply genuine gesture on
his part."
The sign was erected on
the bridge Friday.
Gas
continued from the front
federal air standards.
However, that didn’t
relieve Monroe County
from regulations self-
imposed by the state of
Georgia in 2003 requiring
local gas stations to sell
more expensive, low sulfur
gas.
Holmes called it “absurd”
that the EPA includes the
rural counties she repre
sents in the area, while
Bibb and Baldwin counties
go scot-free.
“It’s a huge government
problem,” said Holmes.
Forsyth mayor Tye
Howard, Monroe County
commissioner Patsy Miller
and county administrator
Anita Buice were among
those in attendance at last
week’s regional meeting.
Holmes told the Reporter
that if local communities
put sustained pressure on
the EPA through their
U.S. representatives and
senators, they may be able
to escape those regula
tions. State Environmental
Protection Division (EPD)
officials at the meeting
said the EPA is the one
that makes the decisions,
and that it’s possible it
could be un-done.
“It’s worth pursuing,”
said Holmes. “I don’t know
how hard it’s been
pushed.”
Holmes said the area’s
new congressman, Austin
Scott, is very effective and
may be able to apply some
pressure.
The EPD will have to
submit its findings about
Monroe County’s new sta
tus to the EPA for a waiver
to remove the regulations.
However, Holmes said
that the EPA is awfully
hard to deal with. She also
allowed that it may take a
new president to make
those changes. Under the
Obama administration the
EPA has generally adopted
more regulations, rather
than rolling them back.
James Johnson with the
EPD Air Support Program
told attendees that rural
Middle Georgia counties
would need a waiver to get
out of the nonattainment
area, and that is almost
impossible at this time. He
did say Atlanta’s air quali
ty had improved to the
attainment levels, and
once that is documented,
the waiver can be revisit
ed.
Holmes asked how long
that process would take,
and Johnson said probably
two years.
“Two years is a long
time. Businesses could go
down the tubes while they
are waiting,” Holmes said.
T.J. Heath, owner of the
Old Clinton Gas station in
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Gray, said the difference in
the fuel is even greater
when the mandated sum
mer blend is used. He said
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the spread between gas
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week the spread ranged
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“This switch over costs
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people are pinching pen
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Forsyth mayor Tye
Howard said the higher
gas prices hurt his commu
nity, and he told the
Reporter he’s been angry
about it for years.
Howard said it’s ludi
crous to say Monroe
County contributes to
Atlanta’s pollution, and
said it’s frustrating
because despite years of
effort he cannot even find
someone at the EPA who
can explain why Monroe
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“What is the equation for
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support of the EPD and
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the mayor said. “We are
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Jones County is included
in the zone only because
EPA officials created the
non-attainment zone in
the late 1990s by drawing
a box on a map that
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of Jones. And the box only
includes the northern half
of Monroe County. But if
part of a county falls
inside the zone, the whole
county must comply.
Jones County
Development Authority
director Doug Redmond
said the nonattainment
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“Why should a business
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road and not face this
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nesses we have. It’s hard
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penalized for the way the
wind blows.”
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