Newspaper Page Text
June 1, 2022
Page 5A
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN by Don Daniel
Hey candidates: just
tell us the truth
I don’t know when I started but it was a long time
ago. Every Fourth of July and each Memorial Day
eves, on public television, the featured concerts are
a must-watch for me. As I am writing this, the 33rd
Memorial Day concert is playing in the background and
when some of John Phillip Sousas marches are played by
the National Symphony Orches
tra, I just have to stop, stand up
until the chill bumps of patriotism
cease, waiting for the next ones.
Each branch of our armed ser
vices are honored at this concert.
With the crises we are undergo
ing in this country, we need to
make dedicated efforts to renew
our patriotism. I know, it is hard
but tenacity, faith, trust and chill
bumps are what we need.
This year is an election year and
what better time to exercise our
freedoms than to turn out and
vote. It is hard for me to watch, listen and read the “elect me”
campaigners which is often “crap” and the elect-me’s attempt
to get us to vote for them. For once, I would appreciate many
or any campaigner would get off the ego trip and just be
honest with themselves in trying to convince us what they
are going to do for us when elected.
In all of my being aware of politics, and trust me that’s
going back a long way, finding a non-egotistical hopeful
elected person is very rare if non-existent. The sad thing is
we see how when someone is elected, they have lapses of
why they were elected and forgetting why we should trust
them.
Hey, I got that out of my mind and off my chest. Finally, I
know a few of those who have been elected who have not
become egotistically superior.
I FORGOT two people who worked for me at The
Reporter in the “establishing” Monroe County’s First Total
News Newspaper. Thanks to Shelly Shuman for reminding
me: Debbie Bazemore Melton and Cheryl Bennett. Accord
ing to Shelly, Debbie lives in Columbus and Cheryl still lives
in Monroe County.
HERE ARE a couple Chamber of Commerce events you
should attend whether a member or not: This Wednesday,
yep 7:30 in the morning, the Chamber’s Eggs & Issues event
will be at El Tejado. Nope it will not be a taco or burrito
breakfast, just grits, eggs sausage and bacon, gravy and
biscuits.
Got a deal for you: if you are not a member of the Cham
ber I invite you to come to Eggs and Issues and be my
special guest and I’ll pay for your breakfast. Elected political
officials not included in this free offer because they usually
ask for meal reimbursement on their expense reports.
Business After Hours is going to be held at Branded Starr
Boutique located on the Square at the former U-Save-It drug
store. There’s going to be a ribbon cutting for this new busi
ness with door prizes, refreshments and discounts. That’s a
week from this Thursday starting at 5:30 p.m.
OBVIOUSLY PROPERTY is “hot” in Monroe County
according to the emails I have been receiving wanting to
buy my property and home. It is the fifth email notice I have
received in the last couple of days.
My inside source tells me those people get addresses from
the tax records that are open records in the county tax office.
THE CORRECT answer to last week’s The Question came
from Dena Wheeler naming Kenny Mill as the new Mary
Persons boys soccer coach and Jacob Haygood as the new
girls soccer coach. Dena receives a certificate for a dozen
Dunkin donuts, Scoops single dip, Dairy Queen Blizzard,
Whistle Stop fried green tomato appetizer, slice of Shoney’s
strawberry pie, card wash at Big Peach and a slice of Jonah’s
pizza.
Here’s The Question for this week: name the lady who
has worked at the Forsyth Waffle House for 50 years. First
correct answer after 12 noon Thursday gets the goodie
certificate.
YOU KNOW the future of Plant Scherer is in question
and has supposedly already shut down 1 or 2 of the four
generators. I bring this up in response to the full page ad in
last week’s paper obviously touting the how the company
has invested in generating power not only here in Monroe
County but all over the state.
I HAVEN’T heard where the City of Forsyth is going to
build a pickle-ball court. If you know, let me know. Maybe
“the committee” has not decided or just maybe it has already
been built and people are playing on them. For marketing
purposes perhaps they should build them near one of our
popular restaurants on the square, The Pickled Okra?
OVER AT the county commission, it was bill paying time
with eighty-two checks written paying $340,395.80 in outgo
ing tax money.
Believe it or not, Commissioner Lamarcus Davis obviously
filed expense reports for February, April and May and got a
check for $522.52 for “travel” The commission chairman got
reimbursed $225.81 for travel mileage to a Savannah Con
ference and a $300.00 check for his per diem at the same
conference The Development Authority of Monroe County
got “gap financing” checks for $10,332.54.. Whoever H20 is
they got a check for $35,999.67. Obviously using a lot of fuel
Walthall Oil Company got a $69,127.77 payment. And then
there was Charles Abbott Associates raked up a $23,753.85
payment for April building services. Along those same
lines, Carter Engineering was paid $10,680 for “consulting-
general.
ON THE lighter side, from the “Illustrated Book of Snark”
this by Samual Taylor Coleridge: “The most happy marriage
I can picture or imagine to myself would be the union of a
deaf man to a blind woman”.
^Reporter
VALEDICTORY ADDRESS by Marlee Coffman
Marlee Coffmans valedictory address
Coffman
Marlee Coffeman, valedicatorian
for the Mary Persons Class of2022,
delivered this valedictory address on
Friday night at Dan Pitts Stadium:
elcome parents,
friends, faculty, and
most importantly
graduates. My name
is Marlee Coffman and I am hon
ored to be the Valedictorian for the
class of2022. Tonight we are here to
honor the class of2022 and offer our
congratulations as they leave high
school and go off into the world.
IT’S ALWAYS customary to
first give thanks to our parents for
all of the help they have given us
throughout the years. Without the
backbone of support provided to us
by our parents, some of us wouldn’t
even show up to school most days.
For your continuous love and care
throughout our high school careers,
we thank you.
NOW, I would like to give a spe
cial thank you to our teachers and
the individuals here at Mary Persons
who made high school what it was.
Our parents may have offered sup
port at home, but it’s our teachers
who have consistently pushed us to
do our best and succeed. If there’s
one thing I’ll miss from my time at
Mary Persons, it will be Mr. Meeks’
weekly lineup of outfits, Dr. Wil
liams’ sarcastic math lessons, and
most notably, the daily smiles from
the lunch ladies who are far happier
than you would expect for some
one who serves a bunch of grumpy
teenagers all day to be. It’s truly the
little things in life that matter the
most, and our caring and passionate
teachers created those moments that
we will cherish for the rest of our
lives, and for that, we thank you.
WE COULD sit here all day while
I rattle off thanks to the parents and
staff, but that’s not what graduation
is all about. Graduating Class of
2022, this is our night of celebra
tion. We have sacrificed, strived,
and succeeded. And I’m so happy
I can finally say, we’ve made it.
From newbie freshmen to seasoned
seniors, our class has overcome a lot.
We’ve lost beloved classmates. We’ve
survived a global pandemic. We got
through the storm of life hitting us
just a bit earlier than expected. But
here we sit. Along with the hype of
football games, the relief of passing
tests, and the happiness of chicken
tenders tuesdays, we have put in
hours of work, many tears and men
tal breakdowns, just to finally be at
the end of our high school journey.
You should all be proud of what you
have overcome and what you have
accomplished to be here today.
I’VE BEEN to a few graduations
here at Mary Persons, and every
single time, without fail, there is at
least one speech with a SpongeBob
or Dr. Seuss quote. To be completely
honest, I felt like maybe I could be a
bit more original. So I’ve decided to
let my originality shine with a quote
from a Disney movie called Up. The
very first time Carl hears from Ellie,
she says, “Adventure is out there!”
Whether we realize it or not, we are
all about to enter a world full of op
portunity and adventure. This is our
time to stand up and take the initia
tive to begin. Adventure is out there,
but it’s up to us to make the most of
it and live our lives to the fullest.
AS WE, the Mary persons high
school class of2022, leave here
tonight and go out and start the
adventure that is our lives, I im
plore each and every one of you to
be proud of what you have ac
complished thus far, and take that
motivation with you as you continue
on your journey on the road of life.
Life is full of experiences, and it’s my
hope that every one of us graduating
here tonight strives for excellence in
our quest for adventure. Although
we may hit some snags along the
way, it’s my hope that no matter
what path our lives take, the direc
tion is always Up.
EDITOR’S KID by Park Davis
Covering the town that raised me
M y name is
Park Davis,
and I’m the
new intern at
the Monroe Coun
ty Reporter. I’m 17
years old, and I just
graduated from
First Presbyterian
Day School. I will
be heading to the
University of Geor
gia in the fall to
study an undecided
engineering major
with a minor in
business. I enjoyed playing
soccer and football in high
school.
I grew up in Forsyth,
making many memo
ries with kids my age. I
enjoyed mini Blizzards
at DQ after soccer games
at the Monroe County
Recreation Department,
attempting
Zumba with Mrs.
Shipman in kin-
dergarden at T.G.
Scott, acciden
tally throwing the
football onto the
field while play
ing on the hill
at Mary Persons
football games, and
birthday parties at
the High Falls Water Park.
An activity that resi
dents of Monroe County
still carry on to this day
is jumping off boulders
into Lake Juliette, which I
used to do every Sunday
afternoon with my friends.
I have attended New
Providence Baptist
Church ever since Pas
tor Nathan Jackson led
Youth Evangelistic Service
Camps that I attended in
middle school. Some of
you might know my dad,
Will Davis, who is not a
plumber. I always had to
make sure, as the editor’s
kid, that I didn’t end up in
the newspaper for doing
something dumb. My dad
always said that if I got
in trouble, I wouldn’t get
special treatment. I am
excited to work under him
as an intern this summer.
I will be here all sum
mer, so if you have any
story ideas, please call me
at 478-319-8068. I’d love
to jump on any story in
Monroe County and write
about it. In fact, on my
first day, I’ve already been
on my first assignment of
breaking news to south
Monroe using the police
scanner. I’m excited to
chase many more stories
this summer, so let me
know if you have any
ideas.
A graduate ofFPD
heading to the Univer
sity of Georgia in August,
Park Davis of Forsyth is
the summer intern for the
Reporter.
Davis
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Quit waiting for someone else to do it
To the Editor:
aster than a speeding bul
let! More powerful than a
locomotive! Able to leap tall
buildings at a single bound!
As a child of the 1940’s, I listened,
spell bound, as “the Man of Steel”,
aka “Superman”, saved the world
from unimaginable evils every week!
What a relief! Superman will
always be there to do what no mere
mortal can do: rescue us from cer
tain death and destruction.
So now, madmen (yes, almost all
are men) daily use fire arms with the
killing power of whole platoons to
murder men, women and children
indiscriminately because.. .they can.
And every year we enact laws to
make it even easier for the killers to
effortlessly obtain weapons designed
for the military to kill the most
people, the most quickly and in the
most grotesque way possible.
And Superman is nowhere to be
found.
So who will save us from this mad
ness, from the murder of masses
of innocent and totally harmless
people in supermarkets, theaters,
restaurants, schools, churches and
any other place people gather?
Is there any hope without Super
man?
Miraculously, there is! As it hap
pens, we, each of us, can be the
Super Hero we so desperately need!
We can demand that our mayors
and commissioners, members of
our state legislature and Congress,
our governor stop this madness by
ending the indiscriminate access to
weapons of mass destruction. And,
if they fail or refuse to do so, we can
replace them with men and women
who will.
We are all Superman. And now we
must act to save the world.
Bruce Menke
Athens, Ga.