Newspaper Page Text
Page 4A
& 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
DRAWING ON THE NEWS by AF Branco
Forsyth’s Malik
makes the Chiefs
A s we went to press on Tuesday, the NFL’s
deadline for teams to cut their rosters to 53
players struck at 4 p.m. EST.
There was a lot of speculation as to
whether former Mary Persons and University of
Georgia Bulldog Malik Herring would make the
Kansas City Chiefs.
Malik was coming off an ACL
injury suffered while prepar
ing for the Senior Bowl, and so
wound up not being selected in
the 2021 NFL Draft. But Malik
didn’t give up. He was signed as
an undrafted free agent by the
Chiefs. He was placed on the re
serve/non-football injury list
vXyx C\ . to start the 2021 season.
Now in 2022, Malik is
fully recovered from the ACL
injury and it was time to find out whether he could
indeed make a career in the lucrative but cut-throat
NFL. Some said the Chiefs would keep Malik because
he could make a difference in the rotation of their
defensive ends. Others said the Chiefs might prefer
a more athletic player who could make an impact on
special teams.
But when the Chiefs unveiled their 53-man roster
at 4 p.m., Herring was on the list. Its a good day for
Forsyth. Malik is the first Monroe Countian to make
“The League” since Mario Harvey played for the
Indianapolis Colts. Harvey was active in the League
until he was released by the Jets in 2015.
Harvey played linebacker and Herring is a defensive
end. Harvey played at Marshall while Herring played
for Georgia. But one thing the two men seem to have
in common is a love and appreciation for their home
town. Both can be seen around town helping young
football players pursue their dreams. Herring gave
away Walmart gift certificates to youngsters from
each elementary school last Christmas.
Sadly, the Chiefs don’t play the Falcons this year.
That might have been one Falcons’ game worth
watching. But be certain of this: a lot of Monroe
Countians will be following the Chiefs this fall, hop
ing that Malik gets the chance to show young people
all over Forsyth and the world that hard work, resil
ience and persistence can pay off, no matter where
you are from or what obstacles arise in your way.
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
Forsyth, GA 31029- 994-2358
SUBSCRIPTION RATE: In County: $50 • Out of County: $60 • Single Copy: $2
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
REECE’S PIECES by Sieve Reece
Sad demise of another old-school skill
In the National Archives Museum
in Washington, D.C. is a document
written over two hundred years ago
that continues to inspire the world:
the Declaration of Independence.
Although Thomas Jefferson is credit
ed with writing this priceless instru
ment now faded and barely legible,
it was a beer brewer from Pennsyl
vania named Timothy Matlack who
took a quill pen and set Jefferson’s
words across a sheet of parchment
paper using an elegant script.
If you view a copy of the docu
ment, you can see that Microsoft
Word couldn’t have formatted it
more perfectly. The margins are
exactly centered and aligned. Every
line across the page is perfectly
straight. If you take the time
to read these lines, you will
have no difficulty reading
each word clearly. Every let
ter was painstakingly formed
with precision. I did notice
an early-day typo on the
16th line, however. The
word “Representative”
is misspelled “Represta-
tive”. A correction is
neatly made with “en”
inserted in the correct spot above
the misspelled word with a tiny
arrow below, but it was done so per
fectly that it doesn’t bother my OCD
issues in the least.
Writing with a quill pen is messy.
You dip the feather of a goose or a
swan into a bottle of ink and let the
excess ink drip back into the bottle
before scratching out a couple of
words then repeat. The ink dries
slowly, and you must be careful not
to smear. It took Jefferson 17 days
to pen the Declaration of Indepen
dence. I couldn’t find any documen
tation on the amount of time it took
Matlack to do the actual writing of
the document, but it was an effort
of love. Not only should Jefferson’s
work be considered a masterpiece,
so should Matlack’s penmanship. His
work is pure art.
The first signer of the declaration
was John Hancock who made a bold
statement by placing his signature in
the exact center using an extremely
large script. When later asked why
he wrote his name so large he an
swered, “so that the fat old king can
read my name without spectacles.”
Some say it was because he was so
egotistical. His historic autograph
is so famous that many still use it
as a norm synonymous with
“signature” and National
Handwriting Day is observed
on Hancocks birthday, Janu
ary 23.
According to the Georgia
Department of Education
website at www.gadoe.
org, the State Board of
Education adopted the
Common Core State
Standards (CCSS) in
July 2010. The new guidelines were
implemented in Monroe County
in the school year 2012-2013 and
under the new rules, schools are
not required to teach cursive writ
ing. Among the reasons cited for
the change were the increased use
of technology for communication
and feedback from teachers them
selves. A longtime Monroe County
educator now retired told me every
teacher she knows supports teaching
handwriting and that any average
student can learn the skill in just
one semester. She also said time and
budgetary restraints put penman
ship at low priority. Some conspiracy
theorists believe cursive handwriting
was stopped being taught in public
schools so that the general populace
wouldn’t be able to read the Dec
laration of Independence, the U.S.
Constitution, or the Bill of Rights.
They seem to ignore the fact that the
documents can easily be found and
read online in good old Helvetica
font.
The legibility of handwritten words
can be an extremely big deal. Ac
cording to a shocking 2006 report
from the National Academies of
Science’s Institute of Medicine, doc
tors’ sloppy handwriting skills killed
more than 7,000 Americans every
year. The report also said unclear
handwriting on some of the 3.2 bil
lion prescriptions given out annu
ally injured more than 1.5 million
patients. Thanks to computers, the
internet, and call-in prescriptions
this serious problem is rapidly being
resolved.
My own handwriting is a mess
I must admit. I am not sure why
because I remember I was an excel
lent student during my penmanship
lessons. I enjoyed the way my letters
looked so nice and neat and lined up
in those perfect rows. That was then.
I now write nothing like the letters
I use to trace in my little workbook.
At some point, I deviated from
making the fancy loops in a capital
ized S and ended up just making a
simple printed-styled S. I do that
with nearly all my capitalized letters.
Students begin to develop their own
handwriting styles almost immedi
ately after learning cursive.
You would think that the demand
for ink pens would be practically
non-existent in today’s digital world
but writing instrument sales are
growing. Especially in Asia, Latin
America, and the Middle East. In the
U.S. and Europe, luxury pens are in
high demand as gifts that go mainly
unused.
It used to be said that “a good hand
was the sign of a good man”. This
was back when people believed that
good handwriting showed discipline
and integrity. Well, we can write that
one off.
Steve Reece is a writer for the Report
er and a known crime fighter. Email
him atstevereece@gmad.com.
CAROLYN S CORNER by Carolyn Marlel
Success: Do a common thing uncommonly well
T oday I was reading the
biography of Henry
John Heinz an American
businessman who
founded the H.J. Heinz
Company. Who hasn’t heard
of or tried Heinz Ketchup,
right? I found Heinz to be a
very interesting person and
entrepreneur. He was one
of the first to really
understand global
marketing and brand
ing. He not only saw
the value of branding,
but also how important it was to
generate consumer confidence and
trust by providing superior products
and service. His philosophy was one
that we can embrace today. He said,
“To do a common thing uncom
monly well brings success.”
Heinz was a devout Methodist all of
his life and was known for treating his
employees like family. He took good
care of his workforce and
provided many ameni
ties for them that were
unprecedented in his era.
His character was forged by
his parents and he learned
from his mother at an early
age to show respect and
concern for people. He
always tried to practice
her golden rule:
“Always remember to
place yourself in the
other person’s shoes.”
Early in his career Heinz went
bankrupt, but he learned from his
mistakes, rebounded and his business
grew and prospered. It took five years
of hard work to repay all his debt.
Under bankruptcy laws he was not
obligated to do so, but he promised
his debtors that he would pay them
back and he kept his word.
Heinz became a millionaire by
age 52. In addition to his business
success, his good name earned him
an excellent reputation, honor and
respect that money could not buy.
Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is
to be more desired than great wealth;
favor is better than sliver and gold.”
The exemplary manner of Henry
Heinz proves that it pays to be honest,
you can’t go wrong by practicing the
golden rule and by all means be a man
of your word. These are common
godly principles that Heinz practiced
uncommonly well.
Carolyn Martel of Forsyth is the re
tired long-time advertising manager for
the Reporter. Email her at carolynmar-
tell@bellsouth.net.