Newspaper Page Text
November 5, 2014
PAGE 5A
On the Outside Looking In
Is it over yet?
By DON DANIEL
tullaybear@bellsouth.net
majored in advertising/public relations at
UGAand admit my favorite elective courses
were sociology and political science which I
determined was a good mix for the course of
study I was pursuing.
Well, the mid-term elections and my political
science studying has kicked in. Writing this on
Sunday night in anticipation of who is going to
win, lose and facing the possibility of six-plus
weeks of more nasty “elect me” advertising is a
bummer. I voted early and anxiously wanting to
know if I voted right or wrong. At least I can
brag I voted. Hope you can brag the same.
The campaign between our two senatorial can
didates has obviously boiled down
to a vote for or against the presi
dent. On the gubernatorial race,
as always the lambasting and
negativity has been focused on
education as with every gover
nor’s race I can remember.
There is another parallel on the
local level particularly when it
comes to a county commission
or city council race. Never do
we hear what an incumbent(s)
has accomplished but we are dulled out with the
“I didn’t raise taxes” rhetoric and the chal
lenger^) lambasting the incumbent for what has
not been done offering few if any positive ideas or
positions.
ENOUGH of my disgust, well almost. Up in
DeKalb County, a county commissioner got sen
tenced to prison for her shenanigans and is, get
ready, going to receive almost $3,000 a month in
retirement for the rest of her life even while sit
ting in a prison cell! All legal under Georgia law.
So, as you are aware, one of our county commis
sioners is under investigation for failure to com
ply with certain Georgia laws. If convicted, you
guessed it, he could receive his retirement bene
fits.
WONDER why our school system didn’t get
some of the $36.7 million to improve technology
infrastructure. According to news reports, over
100 Georgia school districts will get a slice of the
dollars we didn’t. Do you agree that our school
superintendent and the school board should tell
us why we were left out?
Of course, our incumbent governor made the
announcement about a week before his hoping to
get re-elected. Politics as usual!
THE PERSON featured on the front page of
The Reporter’s Middle Georgia Home and
Garden Section was correctly identified as Percy
Kelley by Arthur McMurray. He gets a certificate
for a cookie from Jonah’s, two Lucky Cafe egg
rolls, fried green tomato appetizer at the Whistle
Stop, Dairy Queen Blizzard and a t-shirt from
Forsyth Main Street.
Here’s The Question for this week: What family
was featured on the cover of the Welcome Home
magazine included in The Reporter a couple of
weeks ago? First correct answer after twelve
noon on Thursday gets the goody certificate.
GET READY, maybe, for an announcement
from the Development Authority of Monroe
County. They met yesterday and, of course, went
into an executive session to discuss acquisition of
property.
Maybe they will announce with front page news
they are buying the land for a new industry/busi
ness coming to Monroe County which will hire a
lot of Monroe Countians.
THE GEORGIA Legislature’s annual gather
ing in January under the Gold Dome is fast
approaching. In my opinion, we have three of the
most respected legislative members returning to
Atlanta to represent us: Representatives Allen
Peake, Susan Holmes and Robert Dickey. Those
three are always willing to at least listen and
pay attention to Monroe County.
This will be the first term/session for Senator
John F. Kennedy. Hope he doesn’t forget Monroe
County.
TOOK a “familiarization tour” this past week
end up into North Carolina, visiting Bryson City
and Dillsboro with a lunch----no, Sunday “din
ner”--- at the Dillard House in Dillard, Georgia.
Our Chamber of Commerce and Main Street
directors should make it a priority to visit those
two towns. They could learn a lot about how to
attract tourist, promote tourism and local busi
nesses.
In Dillard, had a conversation with a couple
from Vero Beach, Florida. When I told them I
was from Forsyth/Monroe County, they comment
ed, “we just came through there last week. We
come through Forsyth often. Didn’t stop and
stayed in McDonough”. My reply was a simple,
“you should have stopped. You would have discov
ered a unique town and hope you will stop and
visit next time”.
Learned from my visiting the three towns, visi
tors come up to the Georgia and North Carolina
area via 1-75, right through Forsyth/Monroe
County.
DON’T forget to listen to The Reporter On The
Radio on Majic 100 on Sunday mornings at
seven. Will and I will give you something to talk
about before and after church.
Don Daniel is the founder of The Monroe
County Reporter and has been living in Monroe
County since 1972.
^Reporter
Gun
continued from the front
sion and had tried to hurt
herself before. A law
enforcement source said
she hadn’t
slept in two
days. Roberts
reeled from the
discovery. He
said he drove
around town
for about 10
minutes trying
to decide what
to do. He finally went to
the Forsyth Police
Department for help.
When he returned, he
said he found Jennifer on
the porch with his gun.
Roberts had convinced her
to put it on the porch
swing until she saw an
unmarked police car
pulling up. She grabbed
the gun and went back
inside the house around
2:30 p.m. That set up a
tense 3-hour standoff.
Forsyth police and the
Monroe County sheriffs
office surrounded the
home and blocked area
streets. The adjacent
Forsyth UMC and its
childcare and after-school
programs were put on
lockdown. A fire truck was
parked nearby to block
any potential stray gun
fire.
"You never know where
a bullet might go," said
police chief Keith Corley.
Since no one else was
inside, said Lee Roberts,
authorities decided to be
patient, especially
with September’s
tragic shooting still
haunting. Deputies
called for help from
the Bibb County
Sheriffs Office,
which sent the
bomb squad and a
robot to assist.
They sent a robot into the
home with a video camera
around 5 p.m. and discov
ered that Jennifer Roberts
had fallen asleep in the
bedroom. A team went in
around 5:30 p.m. and
secured the weapon and
Jennifer Roberts was
taken to the hospital for
an evaluation.
Lee Roberts said he's
sorry that people in the
area were inconvenienced.
He said the police depart
ment and sheriffs office
did an outstanding job
and he's relieved that it
ended without anyone get
ting hurt.
"You can never plan for
something like this," said
Roberts. "It wasn't the
way I had planned my
Monday."
As for his soon-to-be ex-
daughter-in-law, Roberts
said he hopes she gets the
help she needs.
"Bipolar is a disease and
unless you treat it, this is
what happens," said
Roberts. "She doesn't need
people scorning her. She
needs people praying for
her."
Jennifer
Roberts
‘She doesn't need people
scorning her. She needs
people praying for her.’
- Lee Roberts,
on his daughter-in-law
Title
continued from the front
home" one year after a
painful and somewhat
unexpected loss to the
Warhawks. The West
Laurens game will also
serve as MP's Senior
Night with pregame fes
tivities, which will
include the recognition of
all senior football play
ers, cheerleaders and
band members, begin
ning about 7 p.m.
The Bulldogs have not
won a region champi
onship since 1997, the
final season of legendary
head coach Dan Pitts'
career. The 1997 champi
onship capped off a
stretch of five titles in six
seasons.
MP, which is currently
ranked No. 7 in AAAA in
the Atlanta Journal-
Constitution's Sunday
poll, already clinched at
least a second-place fin
ish in the region with a
55-21 demolition of
Baldwin last Friday. The
win also guaranteed MP
at least one home playoff
game. The Bulldogs will
host at least two state
playoff games if they beat
West Laurens.
The Raiders have a 6-3
overall record (4-1 in
Region 2-AAAA) and are
coming off of a 31-0
blanking of Perry last
Friday. West Laurens has
won four of its last five
games with its only loss
coming by a 20-12 score
at Baldwin on Oct. 17,
the same Braves' squad
the Bulldogs pummeled
last Friday.
West Laurens has an
even longer region title
drought than MP having
gone since 1996 without
a championship. In fact,
the Raiders have only
won one region title in
their 43-year history. In
head coach Stacy Nobles'
fourth season, the
Raiders have already
qualified for the state
playoffs for the first time
in nine years and only
the second time since
1997.
The Raiders' offense is
led by the explosive pass
ing duo of dual-threat
quarterback Garrel
Quainton and 6'7" receiv
er Justin Smith. Running
back Darius Bradford is
the team's top rusher
behind a big West
Laurens offensive line.
The defense is strong and
athletic, led by defensive
tackle Shundrekus Smith
and linebacker Matthew
Turner.
MP and West Laurens
have met 11 times in
their respective histories
with the Bulldogs win
ning 10 of the 11 meet
ings. MP's only loss came
in West Laurens' lone
championship season of
1996.
The two teams staged a
classic in Dexter in 2013.
MP fell behind 14-0 one
week after their crushing
loss to Veterans. Then,
MP running back Dee
High rushed for a pair of
short second-quarter
touchdowns before then-
quarterback Cal King
connected with receiver
Justin Stroud on a 49-
yard Hail Mary pass to
end the first half and
give the Bulldogs a 21-14
edge.
West Laurens' quarter
back Cameron Gibson
scored a pair of rushing
touchdowns in the second
half to put the Raiders
back in front 31-24, but
MP's Keri Brown
answered with an 80-
yard kickoff return for a
score to tie the game at
31-all. Then-kicker
Dennis Miller's 20-yard
field goal with 4:25 left
ultimately provided the
winning points for MP in
a 34-31 victory.
MP has dominated its
region competition thus
far in 2014, having won
all five region contests by
at least 31 points. The
Bulldogs' only loss of the
year came in Week 2 to
Washington County, the
top-ranked team in AAA.
King
continued from the front
J.B. King, Reason King's son,
was asked by some U.S. Marine
friends who knew his father was
a Marine if his father had trained
at Montford Point. When J.B. told
them his father had been at
Montford Point, they told him
about the Congressional Gold
Medal and J.B. began making
contacts.
After the Japanese bombed
Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 and
the U.S. entered WWII, African
American Marine recruits were
trained at the segregated Camp
Montford Point instead of at
nearby Paris Island. Montford
Point was deactivated in 1949,
ending the segregation. Like the
more publicized Tuskegee
Airmen, who were awarded the
Congressional Gold Medal in
2006, the Montford Point recruits
served the U.S. until discharged
after the war.
Reason King was barely 18
years old and the U.S. had
already been fighting the
Germans, Italians, and Japanese
for over two years when he was
drafted into the military. He had
a job working on Georgia Power's
Plant Arkwright in north Macon,
was married and expecting his
first child when he reported to Ft.
Benning for evaluation. Traveling
to Ft. Benning was his first bus
trip. Out of a crew of about 36
recruits, Reason was the only one
picked for the Marines.
Reason left Forsyth on Dec. 23,
1944 to report for duty. His son,
J.B., was five months old, and he
missed his first Christmas.
Reason's first train ride got him
to Jacksonville, N.C., and a bus
took him to the gate at Montford
Point to be processed.
"I was afraid to look out the
window of the train when I
went," said Reason. "I don't know
how we got to Jacksonville."
He remembers that he was
issued two sheets for his little
bunk bed and wondered what he
was supposed to do with two
sheets, but he only had a limited
time to make the bed and put his
things away before lights had to
be out. He recalls that during his
12 weeks in boot camp he
thought North Carolina was the
coldest place he had ever been.
He was proud to complete boot
camp, to wear the uniform and be
a "leatherneck." After a 15-day
home leave, he reported to Camp
Lejeune, N.C. and was then sent
to Norfolk, Va. Next he travelled
by ship to Camp Catlin near
Honolulu, Hawaii. His unit was
at Camp Catlin preparing for an
invasion in the Pacific theater of
WWII when news came that the
Japanese had surrendered on
Sep. 2, 1945, ending the war.
Reason completed his tour of
duty and was discharged at
Camp Lejeune in July 1946.
Upon discharge he was issued
$90 for a month's pay and 5 cents
a mile for travel back to Forsyth,
for a total of $165.95. While he
was on duty, most
of his pay was
sent home to his
wife, Lillie Mae.
She saved
enough from his
little salary that
in December
1947 they were
able to buy the
home in Forsyth
they have shared
ever since.
Reason had one
negative experi
ence at Montford
Point that has remained etched
in his memory. It may well be an
experience that other recruits
shared.
"I was a fellow who liked people.
I walked up smiling," said
Reason.
The Marine who was telling
what he needed to do on that first
day at Montford Point told him to
get the grin off his face and then
hit him from behind with a chop
to the neck. Reason said he
knocked the smile off and it took
him a long time to put it back.
During his 18 months of active
duty, Reason was promoted from
private to private first class,
lance corporal and corporal. He
was a rifle marksman and
trained with the Ml carbine and
Browning Automatic Rifle. He
said he was never really scared;
he didn't particularly want to be
there but he was proud to be a
member of the USMC.
"When I got home, I walked
proud," said Reason. "I was a
man going home. No one was
going to take that from me."
After he was home three
months, he checked into reenlist
ing with the idea of pursuing a
military career. But the rules
would only let him include one
dependent child and by that time
he and Lillie Mae had a second
son on the way.
His son, J.B., did follow a mili
tary career in the U.S. Army,
including two tours in Vietnam.
He retired with the rank of
Captain. Reason's sons George
and Benny served in the U.S.
Army, and George was with the
173rd Airborne in Vietnam. J.B.'s
son Bernard is retired Army.
George's son Dexter was U.S. Air
Force and, to Reason's delight,
George's son Brian chose the
Marine Corps. Reason's son-in-
law, James Alexander, is retired
Air Force.
When Marines came to Forsyth
to honor Reason on Oct. 11, he
told them how much he would
love to put on
"one of those
blue uniforms."
J.B. said that
he got a call
asking for
Reason's hat,
pants and shoe
size because
those Marines
intend to make
Reason's wish
come true.
Reason and
Lillie Mae
marked 71
years of marriage last July 3. She
said that during the year and a
half he was away in the Marine
Corps, she wrote to him every
day. Of course those letters did
not arrive every day, but it made
Reason happy when they did and
he heard his name at mail call.
"It was a great feeling day for
me. It was a good feeling," he
said.
Reason came home to Forsyth
from his USMC tour on a
Greyhound bus that brought him
to the old bus station where the
Sunshine Cleaners is now. Son
Moore gave him a ride home from
the station. He worked a couple
of textile jobs and then got on
with what became Georgia Kraft
Woodlands, where he worked
until he retired in 1988. He and
J.B operated the Monroe County
Driving School from 1990-2003.
Reason has been a registered
voter since 1948. He and Lillie
Mae raised six children and now
have grandchildren and great
grandchildren. He said he always
enjoyed working and he always
enjoyed taking care of his family.
"We're a family that has a lot of
fun. The Lord blessed us with a
very good life," said Reason. "My
lifestyle was to be a good hus
band, and to be a good husband,
you have to be a man."
And he said he became a man
almost 70 years ago as a U.S.
Marine. Semper Fidelis.
Reason King wears his Congres
sional Gold Medal for a picture with
his son, J.B., and wife, Lillie Mae.