Newspaper Page Text
July 27,2022
sReporter
PASTOR’S CORNER by Rev. Billy Beard
Spotlight on Local Churches
CHURCH CALENDAR
Email church calendar news to Diane Glidewell at news@mymcr.net by Monday at
10 a.m. Church information is published free of charge as space permits.
Keep in mind how
Goa has blessed you
I have learned to he content whatever the
circumstances.
- Philippians 4:11 NIV
A n armchair philosopher once
declared, “Don’t try to keep up
with the Joneses. Drag them
down to your level. It’s cheaper.”
We can applaud his creative solution to
this age-old problem, but I
prefer God’s advice on the
subject. He tells us just not
to play that game at all. We
fall into a destructive trap
when we compare ourselves
to others, because the fact is,
there will always be someone
who has more than we do.
On Monday we are so
proud of our shiny new car,
but on Tuesday a newer one
is parked in the driveway
next door. And that 65-inch
TV will soon pale in comparison to your
brother-in-law’s 80-inch OLED model
with SONOS sound. Here’s a guarantee in
life: no matter what you acquire, some
body, somewhere, is going to have some
thing newer, shinier, and better.
So what’s the harm in comparing our
selves to others? Comparison takes our
eyes off of the blessings God put into our
lives. When we compare our things with
those of others, we feel superior if we have
more and inferior if we have less. Compar
ison cheapens our appreciation for what
God has done in our lives, and we can eas
ily shift from gratitude to “attitude.”
God wants us to be content
with how He has blessed us in
life. The sooner you learn this,
the happier you’ll be.
How content are you going
into this season of “Back-to-
School” planning?
Rev. Billy Beard is pastor
of Forsyth United Methodist
Church, 68 West Johnston Street.
The Pastors Corner is sponsored
by the Monroe County Ministe
rial Association, which meets
on the second Thursday of each month at
9 a.m. at Christ United Methodist Church,
417 N. Frontage Road, Forsyth. .[The Min
isterial Association will not meet in June or
July and will meet on the 3rd Thurday, Aug.
18, for August.]
Rev. Billy Beard
Van Hoy earns Achievement Medal
July 17-30
Evangelistic Meeting
Forsyth New Life Mission of
Seventh-day Adventists will
have an Evangelistic Meet
ing, Jesus is the Answer, from
Sunday, July 17 to Saturday,
July 30 at Monroe County
Recreation Park in Forsyth.
Meetings will be 6:30-8:30
p.m. Sun.-Wed. & Fri. and
9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on
Saturdays (lunch provided).
There will be a Free Health
Screening on Sunday, July
17 from 12 noon-4 p.m. For
more information, visit www.
jesusistheanswer.space
July 30
St. James Baptist hosts
Community Prayer
Breakfast
Enjoy a morning of com
munity prayer. St. James
Baptist Church will host a
prayer breakfast on Saturday,
July 30 at 9:30 a.m. at the
Monroe County Clubhouse,
70 West Chambers Street,
Forsyth. A $7 donation will be
greatly appreciated.
Aug. 10
Food Distribution at
Christ UMC
The Circle of Care Mobile
Food Distribution at Christ
United Methodist Church,
417 N. Frontage Road, For
syth will be on Wednesday,
Aug. 10 from 10 am - 12
noon.
Aug. 14-17
St. Paul Missionary
Baptist has Homecoming
& Revival
Rev. Rufus Whatley and the
St. Paul Missionary Baptist
invite everyone to worship
and praise of the Lord on
Sunday, Aug. 14 to observe
the Annual Homecoming Day
Service starting at 1 1:30
a.m. Pastor Rev. Rufus What
ley will deliver the message.
Revival will be Monday
through Wednesday the week
of Aug. 15-17, services
starting at 7 p.m. nightly. Rev.
Eddie Collier of the Towaliga
County Line Baptist Church
in Jackson will be the guest
minister for the three-night
revival. Everyone is invited to
worship with St. Paul Mission
ary Baptist.
Aug. 19-20
East Juliette Baptist
hosts Women's
Conference
The East Juliette Baptist
Church Women’s Ministry
will have a women's confer
ence at East Juliette Baptist
Church in Juliette, where the
senior pastor is JR Jones. The
conference, titled “For Such
a Time as This,” will be on
Friday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. and
on Saturday, Aug. 20 at 10
a.m. There are no fees for this
conference, but a love offer
ing will be accepted.
The conference is set to be
a powerful time of worship
and the Word, along with fel
lowship and testimonies. The
guest speaker for the confer
ence will be Johnnie Goolsby,
who serves as the associ
ate pastor of East Juliette
Baptist Church. Deadline for
registration is Monday, Aug.
8. For more information, visit
www.ejbaptist.com or call
478-305-1054 or 478-365-
0537.
Aug. 27
Sanctuary Baptist offers
Single Mothers/Grand-
mothers Free Oil Change
Plus
The Men’s ministry of The
Sanctuary Baptist Church,
1 2643 Georgia Highway
87, Juliette will host a Single
Mothers/Grandmothers Free
Oil Change Plus on Saturday
Aug. 27 from 9 a.m.- 1 2
noon. The oil change will con
sist of oil, filter change and a
vehicle maintenance check
by appointment only. You
must make the appointment
by emailing Steve Skinner:
skinnersl963@att.net, or call
ing 478-394-1449 with the
following information, year,
make and model of car and
engine size; one vehicle per
appointment per mother (one
appointment only), registration
cutoff is Aug. 24. Mothers
will be required to sign a hold
harmless agreement prior
to having oil change done.
Childcare will be available.
Ongoing
Bread & Blessings
food pantry is open at
Bethany Baptist
The Bread & Blessing food
pantry is open at the fellow
ship hall of Bethany Baptist
Church, 365 Pea Ridge Road,
Bolingbroke every Monday
from 10 a.m.-12 noon. There
are a variety of shelf stable
items available for families
who need them. For more
information, call 478-974-
AG1 Parker Van Hoy of
Forsyth, a graduate of Mary
Persons, has received the
Navy and Marines Corps
Achievement Medal for
Outstanding Efforts during
his two-year tour in Japan.
The award was presented
to him by Vice Admiral Karl
Thomas, 7th Fleet Com
mander. AG1 Van Hoy is a
Staff Meteorologist for the
US 7th Fleet in Japan. He
expects a follow-on assign
ment in Italy in late 2022.
Eliza Wright contributes
to M.C. Animal Services
Monroe County Animal Services, 157 L. Cary Bittick
Drive, Forsyth appreciates the generosity of 8-year-old
Eliza Wright. She decided to hold a lemonade stand for
her 8th birthday and donate the proceeds to the dogs
and puppies at the animal shelter. Monroe County Ani
mal Services are grateful for everyone who visited Eliza
last weekend and contributed and especially thanks
Eliza’s parents for teaching compassion and kindness.
CALENDAR
Continued from Page C6
July 30
Back-to-School Bash
There will be a Back-to-
School Bash on Saturday,
July 30 at Monroe County
Fine Arts Center, 25 Brooklyn
Ave., Forsyth from 8:30-
10:30 a.m. Children who
come will receive free
backpacks, school supplies
and snacks. Come for
games & fun, too.
Aug. 1
First Day of School for
Monroe County Schools
Oct. 8
High Falls Triathlon
The High Falls Triathlon spon
sored by the Friends of High
Falls State Park will return this
year on Oct. 8. It will be a
three-mile run, 12-mille bike
ride and a 1.5 mile kayak
paddle to reach the finish
line. The event is limited to
100 competitors and benefits
High Falls State Park. The
last High Falls Triathlon was
in May 2019. Sign up at
ultrasignup.com/register.
Sales tax collections exploding, but
some businesses caught off guard
By Steve Reece
stevereece@gmail.com
Many Monroe County retailers say
they’ll have to pay a new sales tax out of
their own pockets because they didn’t
know to begin charging it.
Monroe County raised its sales tax
from 7 to 8 percent on April 1 after vot
ers had approved a new Transportation
Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax
(TSPLOST) in November.
But many business owners say they
never got official notice from the county.
One store owner told the Reporter
that she went two months before dis
covering that taxes had been raised and
wasn't aware of the tax increase until she
checked her bonus points on her Ingles
receipt. She said there is no way her store
can go back and collect the money from
customers, and they must take the loss.
A gas station owner admitted that ig
norance is no excuse but blames his CPA
for not notifying him to update the tax
rates on his registers. He said he didn't
learn about the increase until April 20.
This is a lot sooner than other retailers
who are just now discovering that haven't
been charging the correct tax amount for
nearly four months.
Monroe County commissioner John
Ambrose told the Reporter he has been
checking his receipts at local businesses
and informing the managers they needed
to change their tax numbers including,
Dairy Queen, The Huddle House and
Zaxby's. Ambrose said he thinks the
state should have sent out a notice to the
businesses.
The TSPLOST is expected to gener
ate about $17 million in revenue ($14.1
million for Monroe County, $2.6 million
for Lorsyth and $300,000 for Culloden)
over the next five years with at least half
of that revenue generated by visitors to
the county.
Monroe County intends to spend the
proceeds resurfacing as many county
roads as possible as ranked by greatest
need of repair. Commissioners approved
to contract with an Atlanta-based civil
engineering firm, Neel-Schaffer, Inc., to
perform a comprehensive evaluation of
all Monroe County roads that will be
used to prioritize TSPLOST road repairs.
So far, Monroe County is collecting
more sales tax than anyone projected, so
much that the new transportation sales
tax may expire in about half the time
expected.
Monroe County began receiving the
new T-SPLOST revenues from the state
in May. The county had projected the tax
would collect about $283,333 per month.
Instead, the county collected $433,249 in
the first full month of the tax, in April,
and a whopping $529,326 for May.
That averages $507,793 per month,
which means the tax would collect its full
$17 million in 33 months, less than three
years. The tax was scheduled to continue
for 60 months, or five years, but will end
once collections hit $17 million.
Commissioners are expected to ask
voters to renew the tax once the current
one expires or finishes collecting the set
amount. That’s what commissioners and
the school board do with their respec
tive 1-percent sales taxes used for capital
purchases.
When the T-SPLOST first took effect in
April, Monroe County’s sales tax jumped
to 8 percent, its highest rate ever. County
voters rejected the T-SPLOST the first
five times commissioners asked for it, but
finally approved it last November by 60
to 40 percent.
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Lee Smith
994-1666
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Ready to Meet
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• Hoarding • Bathing
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60 S. Jackson St. * Forsyth.GA ♦ 478-994-4986
Voted 2014 Best Veterinarian by readers of the Reporter
Freeman Funeral home
A name that can be trusted for funeral and burial arrangements
26 Brentwood Place • Forsyth
994-6483 • 994-6576
“Servicing Each Family With Equal Respect”
WBIB-FM 89.1
Forsyth-based Christian Radio
Believers in Broadcasting
478-957-9164
www.wbibfm.com
We are here to serve the
local church and community.
Sunday morning local sermon schedule:
9 a.m. Dayspring Presbyterian Church
10 a.m. Rock Springs Church
11 a.m. New Providence Baptist Church
facebook.com/believersinbroadcasting
RAFF, INC.
Better Built By Raff
Jerry Raff contractors
jerraff@bellsouth.net 478-256-0253
www.facebook.com/raffinc