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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
2019 winner: Best Community Service
2019 winner: Best Layout and Design
2019 winner: Best Serious Column - Don Daniel
ON THE PORCH by Will Davis
Look out Bibb County
Good
fences make
good neigh
bors, said
poet Robert
Frost, and
apparently
bad fences,
or at least
unclear
boundaries,
make things
dicey
We already know that our friends in Bibb County have
craftily pushed our shared boundary to the north in the two
centuries since Monroe County was created in 1821. Surveyor
Terry Scarborough found the real line, which ends at the
“Waller or Turrentine” ferry on the Ocmulgee River, in 2011.
It’s hundreds of yards to the south of where the line is currently
recognized. The Bass Pro parking lot, and everything north of
there, should be in Monroe County. But Bibb County doesn’t
see it that way. And sadly, we’ve yet to find
a Secretary of State with the guts to accept
Scarborough’s survey, which was ordered
by the governor. And now, to add to the
scandal, the Reporter has learned that
the rest area on 1-75 south, which even
k 'v. S Bibb County must concede is in Monroe
Ak County, includes a giant “Welcome to
m ™ Macon-Bibb County” sign. What is going
. on here?
The very nice attendants at the rest area
didn’t answer questions from our re
porter Steve Reece, referring them to the
Macon-Bibb Convention and Visitors Bureau. One lady said
she had worked there for 20 years and never noticed the sign.
This newspaper is blessed to count thousands of readers
from both counties. In recent years more and more Maconites
have seen our thorough and interesting coverage of Monroe
County news, and asked us to do the same in Bibb County.
And now we will have to give it some thought. If they’re gonna
jump up here in our business, we may need to jump down
there in theirs.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Thoughts on Reece prison column
To the Editor:
irst off, I want to say that I really enjoy
Steve Reece’s columns in the Report
er. The paper is great and I appreciate
all of the efforts of Steve, the leader
ship and staff.
Steve’s last column “Home of the free, or
land of the inmate?” was, once again, timely
and thought-provoking. You stated the facts
of the situation clearly.
I have a couple of thoughts for your consideration
though.
The more civilized a society gets, the higher the incar
ceration will be. Such a society is more dependent on our
system taking care of issues. When this happens, a prolific
mentality among law breakers is that they are up against a
system and they feel many crimes are victimless.
The disparity in the incarceration rate among races is
broader than the face value of the offense. If sentencing
discretion is allowed, a major factor for consideration is
past offenses and activities and the potential for future
offenses. When sentencing is analyzed, this factor is often
left out of the conversation.
Not arguing, just contributing to the conversation. I
hope my comments are well received.
Keep up the great work!
David Flury
Juliette
FLURY
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
Tammy Rafferzeder
Business Manager
business@mymcr.net
Steve Reece
Reporter
stevereece@gmail.com
Donna Wilson
Advertising Manager
ads@mymcr.net
Diane Glidewell
Community Editor
news@mymcr.net
Amy Haisten
Creative Director
mymcrgraphics@gmail.com
Official Organ of Monroe
County and the City of Forsyth
50 N. Jackson St., PO Box 795 • Forsyth,
GA 31029 • Periodicals Postage Paid at
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Deadlines noon on Friday prior to issue. Comments featured on opinion pages are the creation of
the writers, the do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Reporter management.
Publication No. USPS 997-840
DRAWING ON THE NEWS by AF Branco
Legdflnsumtiofuom
CreatarS.aHn
REECE’S PIECES by Sieve Reece
Post-pandemic world on the horizon
W;
'e were living in a
prison without bars,
trapped behind
masks looking for
some path that led to escape, wary
of our fellow inmates standing a
guarded distance six feet away.
The strict rules we were given for
our own good did little for the nearly
1 million Americans who suc
cumbed to the horrible disease they
said came from China. There were
many of those that died who fol
lowed all their rules and yet they are
gone. While hiding in our homes,
we wondered who would be next,
and would it be us?
I was lousy at following the Center
for Disease Control rules
that changed almost daily.
How I survived the COVID
crisis without becoming
“tango uniform” (toes up)
I’m not sure but I’m certain
the Good Lord must have
had a little something to do
with it.
You might have seen me
in Ingles and Walmart wandering
around wondering what happened
to all the toilet paper while wear
ing an 89-cent mask clinging to my
face back in the early days of the
pandemic when face-coverings were
required. What you saw me wear
ing was very likely a dirty mask I
dug out from behind the seat of my
pickup lying on the filthy floorboard
before going inside the store. I still
possess a large collection of those
particulate filtering facepieces hang
ing from a hook on a hat rack in
my house. I never saw the point in
paying $2-$5 for one of those fancy
N-95 jobs and I have never pur
chased a fashion mask. Not even one
emblazoned with a Georgia Bulldogs
logo. If you want to know the truth,
I never saw the point in wearing a
mask at all. I know from the expe
rience of using them while spray
painting and sanding sheetrock
joints that they really aren’t much
good. No matter how snug my mask
was, that whiffer positioned just
above my mustache always became
extremely clogged by day’s end. I
also shelled out good money on a
100-count box of those latex gloves
they said we should wear whenever
we were touching things, but I only
used one which I used to blow up
and freak out my cat.
Not once did I go around
with a chemical-laden sanitiz
ing cloth rubbing down every
shiny surface in sight. I can
barely wash my clothes and
the dishes let alone all that
deep cleaning the CDC
recommended. I’m sorry, I
just don’t have all that much
OCD.
I didn’t sing “Happy Birthday”
while I washed my hands for 20
seconds either. I must admit there
were times when I didn’t wash my
hands at all because some of the
sinks are much too nasty to touch in
many of the gas stations I frequent.
And I’ve never once included one
of those handy little bottles of hand
sanitizer along with the other junk
I lug around in my pants pockets.
And yet, somehow, so far, I’ve sur
vived. Thank you, Lord!
I must also confess during the
height of the pandemic my good
buddies and I continued to shake
hands like good buddies do; not do
ing that elbow bump thing because
real men don’t like bumping any part
of their bodies on each other. Elbows
are not excluded. And that foot
bump was too much like dancing
with each other.
The social distancing part never
bothered me all that much though.
I don’t mind it at all if y’all stay over
there six feet away, not breathing
on my back while we’re standing in
a long line of strangers waiting for
some yahoo to decide this week’s
Powerball numbers. As a matter of
fact, I wouldn’t mind in most cases
for the required distance to be ex
tended to eight feet. The only down
side is that it makes it more difficult
to read the phrases tattooed across
some of my fellow convenience store
customers’ necks.
Due to my procrastination prob
lem, it took me forever to get vac
cinated. I was one of the last in line.
Only after my doctor frightened me
into rolling up my sleeve by telling
me if I caught the virus, I was sure
to die, did I break down and find my
way to those scary needles waiting
for me down at the CVS. I also fig
ured that after all the poison I’ve put
in my body over my lifetime, I might
as well put something into it that
just might save my life. The shots
never made me sick, thank you very
much. Just like I didn’t get sick when
I received all those vaccinations with
my fellow boot camp recruits at Fort
Jackson, S.C.
It seems we finally are approach
ing the end of yet another difficult
period in history. We can now travel,
go out, go to church, get together,
party hearty and I’m “school’s out”
happy about all that. Of course, I’m
sure we’re going to emerge from this
pandemic straight into some new
catastrophe. Well, I say bring it on.
Airborne!
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
Snail made the ark, and you can too
C harles Spurgeon
said, “By perse
verance the snail
reached the ark.”
Perseverance
means to remain
steadfast even
in the face of dif
ficulty or delay
in achieving suc
cess. Sometimes
life throws
us a curve,
and we have
to learn to
persevere.
There are times when our
faith is tested and Mur
phy’s Law rims amuck.
ARE YOU familiar with
Murphy’s law? It is typically
stated as: “If anything
can go wrong, it
will go wrong, at
the worst possible
moment.” This past
week I have experi
enced the reality of
this law in spades.
Maybe you’ve had
a similar
week I was
stretched
to the limit
and I prayed,
“Lord, I sure could use a little
encouragement right now!’
COULD YOU use some
encouragement right now?
There are those of you read
ing this article who need
encouragement and strength
to endure. The aggravations
I’ve experienced this past
week are minor compared to
the trials that you maybe go
ing through. If you are going
through a tough time right
now, I want to encourage you
to persevere. Persevere even
when you don’t think any
body understands or cares.
Persevere when you want to
scream. Persevere when God
seems a million miles away.
I KNOW I often mention
my daddy in my articles, but
he had incredible wisdom.
He taught me the valuable
lesson of never losing my
faith and confidence in God.
Your faith may waver in
times of great difficulty, but
God’s unwavering love and
strength will sustain you.
Isaiah 41:10 reminds us of
God’s faithfulness,” I will
strengthen you, be assured I
will help you.” You may feel
overwhelmed right now, but
you’re not in this struggle
alone. If by perseverance the
snail reached the ark, we can
make it too with God’s help!
Carolyn Martel is the retired
advertising manager of the
Reporter. Email her at car-
olynmartell @bellsouth. net.
r
k.