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& EDITORIALS
Declare among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard;
publish, and conceal not. - Jeremiah 50:2
2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 winner: Editorial Page excellen
2019, 2018 winner: Best Headline Writing
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2019 winner: Best Serious Column - Don Daniel
ON THE PORCH by Will Davis
DRAWING ON THE NEWS by AF Branco
No light until dark
A n alert reader dispatched us to the Forsyth Ingles a few
weeks ago. She was mesmerized by a foreign-born
man playing his violin to perfection in the parking lot.
Frantic shoppers paused from their hurry and stood and
admired. Many dropped dollars in a box nearby. What appeared to
be his wife and young kids looked on and locals were mesmerized
by the seemingly serendipitous harmony. It was like one of those
moving flash mobs of beautiful music that pop
up in airports, busy malls and even Walmart.
Our own reporter Steve Reece is a grizzled
veteran of life. He’s been a lot of places and
seen a lot of things. He’s not easily impressed.
But even Reece came back from Ingles wowed
by this eastern European artist. The man
couldn’t speak much English but was thankful
for the support he was getting. Reece wrote a
nice article with photos that appeared in this
newspaper earlier this month.
In a world starved for good news, it was the
perfect Christmastime story.
Then a friend from Macon called. He had
read about the guy in the Reporter, and was excited to find the
same man playing in the parking lot of a Macon Kroger store.
There, too, crowds had gathered and delighted at the unexpected
grace note.
All except one person. A man in a chef’s outfit came out to the
parking lot and began yelling for the guy to scram, my buddy
recalled. He called him a con artist and told him to get his stuff and
go away.
The wandering musician had had enough. He yelled back “f—
you!” in perfect English, put down his fiddle and began to chase
See ON THE PORCH . Page 5A
STADIUM
Continued from Front
plan to expand the stadium
property into the parking lot
behind the home stands and
build a 3,000-square-foot
building in the comer clos
est to the Freshman Cam
pus. This will be near where
the current GHSA pass
gate is located on the home
side. Hickman said mov
ing the concessions from
its current location behind
the home stands will allow
more room and relieve
congestion there. Hickman
said construction costs right
now are very high, about
$350 per square foot, which
brings the total cost of the
building to an estimated
$1 million. Hickman said
school system construction
manager Roger Onstott
ensured that the state reim
bursed the school system
for the expansion to Mon
roe County Middle School.
That left the system with
over $1 million in the bank
for the project. The school
board authorized Hickman
to spend up to $100,000 on
engineered drawings of the
new building.
Hickman said the new
building would include a
full kitchen with built in
grill, stove, warmer and
appliances for concessions.
It would also bring the sta
dium into compliance with
the number of stalls needed
for the size crowd that MP
football games draw. Hick
man said they need to begin
work so they can finish
before the season starts in
August. He said the work
shouldn’t interfere with
graduation in May 2022.
Hickman said the project
is an important down pay
ment on future improve
ments to football facilities.
He said if voters approve an
extension of the E-SPLOST
(Education Special Purpose
Local Option Sales Tax) in
November, those revenues
will be devoted to building
a new field house for MP
football. Hickman said any
MP fans who travel to away
games have noticed that
Mary Persons is way behind
other schools in its facilities.
“As we visit other sta
diums, I hear it almost
weekly’ said Hickman. “A
lot of things are not up to
par.” Hickman said the cur
rent plan is to demolish the
old gym and field house and
build a fan-friendly pavilion
in that spot. The new field
house would be built in the
opposite end zone where
the practice fields are, said
Hickman. Hickman said he
would rather do the field
house first because it helps
kids but said they won’t
have the money until voters
renew the E-SPLOST.
Hickman said they also
plan to upgrade the visitors
stands. He said while there’s
ample room, the stands are
not level. He said they plan
to make the stands higher
rather than longer.
is published every week by The Monroe County Reporter Inc.
Will Davis, President • Robert M. Williams Jr., Vice President
Cheryl S. Williams, Secretary-T reasurer
OUR STAFF
Will Davis
Publisher/Editor
publisher@mymcr.net
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Business Manager
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Reporter
stevereece@gmail.com
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Advertising Manager
ads@mymcr.net
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Community Editor
news@mymcr.net
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Creative Director
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Deadlines noon on Friday prior to issue. Comments featured on opinion pages are the creation of
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Publication No. USPS 997-840
REECE’S PIECES by Sieve Reece
Christmas in the trenches
Christmas is supposed to be a time
of peace on earth but unfortunately,
this has rarely been the case. Since
1776, the United States has been
involved with war for 92 percent of its
history which comes to 225 Christ
mases out of the 245 years since our
country’s birth. We started it off with
the Christmas of 1776 when General
George Washington led his army
across the frozen Delaware River on
his way to victory in Trenton, New Jer
sey, surprising the British and reviving
the cause of the Revolution.
Just before Christ
mas, on Dec. 23,1777,
while the Revolution
was at its lowest point
in the war, 12,000
soldiers, craftsmen,
women, and chil
dren, marched with
Washington to Valley
Forge, Pennsylva
nia without proper
food, shelter, or clothing. Suffering
from constant hunger and cold, 1,000
soldiers died from starvation and
disease over that winter. Washington
later wrote about the march, “To see
men without clothes to cover their
nakedness, without blankets to lay on,
without shoes by which their marches
might be traced by the blood from
their feet, and almost as often without
provisions as with, marching through
frost and snow and at Christmas tak
ing up their winter quarters within a
day’s march of the enemy...”
In keeping with the spirit of Christ
mas, the War of 1812, the war in
which the British had the audacity to
bum down our White House and oth
er important government buildings,
came to an end on Christmas Eve in
1814 when a peace treaty was signed
in Belgium. Unfortunately, for the
British, it took nearly two months for
news of the treaty to reach the United
States. Meanwhile, British forces at
tacked the City of New Orleans and
were completely decimated by inferior
American forces led by General An
drew Jackson 18 days after the signing.
In the initial attack, which lasted a
little more than 30 minutes, the British
suffered around 2,000 causalities while
the Americans had roughly 70.
Christmases and wars came and
went and in the destroyed South dur
ing the later years of the Civil War the
presents were few and many southern
children went without. Some parents
told their children the Union blockade
was keeping Santa out while others
gave the excuse that Santa had been
shot by a Yankee. For a Christmas
present in 1864, President Abraham
Lincoln was given the city of Savan
nah, Georgia by General William
Tecumseh Sherman who had spared
the city from fiery destruction after
destroying everything else in his path
during his march from Atlanta. In
addition to the city, Lincoln was given
150 heavy guns and 25,000 bales of
cotton and was extremely grateful for
the yuletide gifts. He had a use for
the guns, and I suppose the cotton
could’ve been used in the manufacture
of blue uniforms.
A Christmas miracle occurred at the
outset of World War I on the Western
Front. Fighting was so intense when
the killing first began during the “War
to End all Wars” that armies soon
began running out of men and am
munition and breaks in fighting would
occasionally occur.
It was during one of these such lulls,
five months after the outbreak of the
war, 100,000 frontline French, Ger
man, and British soldiers began an un
official impromptu truce resulting in
widespread ceasefires and crossed into
“no man’s land” during the week lead
ing up to Christmas Day of 1914 to
share the holiday with their enemies.
The trenches of both sides were close
enough that opposing soldiers were
within earshot, some combatants were
separated by less than 100 feet, and the
truce amazingly began when some
unknown British soldier shouted out
to an unknown German soldier, “Mer
ry Christmas!” and then suddenly an
unofficial Christmas ceasefire went up
and down the lines until by Christmas
morning the racket of war was muted
on the battlefields. No machinegun
fire or the whiz of bullets. No grenade
explosions. No screaming from men
dying agonizing deaths.
Infantry troops of both sides
mingled, chatted, and laughed with
enemies like old friends, exchanging
souvenirs such as buttons and hats.
Prisoners were swapped and burial
ceremonies for infantrymen on both
sides were held. They even played
soccer on fields that just hours before
were used for battlefields. Men who
had been trying to kill each other
stopped shooting long enough to
sing a few Christmas carols. Even the
artillery went silent after months of
constant shelling.
Of course, you can’t have a decent
war with such goodwill towards men,
so a few Scrooge generals put out
orders forbidding fraternizing with
enemy troops. There was also a young
corporal in the Bavarian Infantry who
opposed the truce: Adolf Hitler.
This Christmas there are around
173,000 U.S. military personnel de
ployed around the world in 159 coun
tries away from their families protect
ing our freedoms on the holiest of
days. And there are the homeless vets
who once fought our wars wandering
the streets of our cities who are just
as hungry and cold as those soldiers
at Valley Forge. Remember them this
Christmas Day.
Steve Reece is a writer for the Reporter
and a known crime fighter. Email him
at stevereece@gmail.com.
CAROLYN S CORNER by Carolyn Martel
Christmas hymns more than just little ditties
I love Christmas music
and I decided to research
three of Americas beloved
Christmas hymns. In
1738, Charles Wesley
wrote: “Hark! The Herald
Angels Sing.” I see Wesley
sitting at his desk with
paper, pen and ink But
he cannot sit still. A
God-inspired hymn
is stirring in the
heart of the gifted
songwriter. As he
paces the floor, essential key
words and phrases flash across
the canvas of his mind. Wesley
returns to his desk, dips his pen
in ink and these awe-inspiring
verses unfold: “Glory to the
new-born King! Peace on earth,
and mercy mild, God and
sinners reconciled.” Tears must
have streamed down his face,
as Wesley gazed at the majestic
lyrics inspired by the Holy
Spirit.
ORIGINALLY,
THE first line of
Wesleys famous hymn
was, “Hark! How
all the welkin rings.”
What does “welkin”
mean? I looked
it up and it’s an
old English word
that means the
vault of heaven or the celestial
sphere. Later, George Whitfield,
a friend of John and Charles
Wesley changed the leading line
to: “Hark! The Herald Angels
Sing.” Whitfield introduced the
change in Wesleys hymn when
he published the song in 1754.
Charles Wesley was a pro
lific writer and he penned over
1,000 hymns in his lifetime.
Remarkable!
“JOY TO THE WORLD”
is another Christmas carol
we love to sing at this time of
year. Written by Isaac Watts in
1707, it has become one of the
most published songs in North
America. When Watts wrote
this hymn, did he ever imagine
or foresee his lyrics being sung
by the “joyful” centuries later?
I think he did. Looking down
the corridors of time, surely he
saw the need of generations to
come-each needing redemp
tion-each finding tme JOY
when they make Jesus Christ
their Savior and Lord. When
Watts composed this well
known hymn, the Holy Spirit
prompted him to write:”Let ev
ery heart prepare Him room!”
As we celebrate Christmas, may
we remember this timeless invi
tation to give Jesus first place in
our hearts.
LAST, BUT not least is the
hymn, “O, Come All Ye Faith
ful.” This song of praise reminds
us that ADORATION is key in
celebrating our Saviors birth.
John F. Wade’s glorious Christ
mas hymn written in 1744,
exhorts the “faithful” to come
and worship the long-awaited
Messiah. With passion, Wade
bids worshippers: “O, come, let
us adore Him. O, come, let us
adore Him, Christ the Lord.”
These beloved hymns serve as a
reminder that Jesus is the REA
SON for the season! Merry
Christmas everyone!
Carolyn Martel retired after 30
years as the advertising manager
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