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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
Re-thinking Jax
I ’ve been going to Georgia-Florida games on and off since
1992 and have always enjoyed the late October trips to the
coast.
I have thought it crazy that UGA is thinking of abandoning
our unique rivalry game in Jacksonville. Until this past weekend.
My UGA freshman son came down with the flu on frat beach on
Friday, where he was dressed as the Statue of Liberty. So he and his
mother skipped the game. That left me and my 8 year old to head to
River City for some father-son bonding and hopefully a UGA win.
Alas, Jacksonville was not ready. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who play
in the TIAA stadium where Georgia-Florida is held every year, claim
they average 59,000 fans per game. Georgia-Florida draws 75,000.
They were not ready.
During a first quarter timeout, we headed to the concourse to get
Ford a pizza. As soon as we got in the long line, they screamed from
befiind the counter, “Were out ofpizza!!!!”
Welp. He settled for a pretzel. That would buy me 10 minutes —
maybe — of peace and quiet
At halftime, we set out to the concessions again, this time for his
favorite, Dippirf Dots. They didn’t have those, but they did have ice
cream. Only chocolate. The only problem was that after securing
said ice cream, we literally could not move. There were so many
UGA fans clogging the concourse that returning to our seats was a
tedious and slow process.
Thankfully, the Bulldogs gave us plenty
to cheer in the first half despite the incon
veniences. They led 28-3 at the break. One
more touchdown, I told Ford, and we would
head to the truck while its still daylight.
That turned out to be wisfiful drinking.
The Dogs fumbled, tlrrew an interception,
and committed a late hit penalty in the tlrird
quarter and the Gators came roaring back.
Thankfully, in the fourth quarter, Georgia
re-asserted its dominance over the rep
tiles and we were happily on our way.
We had parked on the shoulder of
MLK Boulevard and I asked one of the
rickshaw drivers outside the stadium what he would charge for a
bike ride.
“I am not going there unless you pay me $ 150,” said the driver.
I should have known then it was gonna be a long night.
As darkness settled on the area, we set out on what’s called the A.
Phillip Randolph Boulevard. It was a combination Dr. Dre music
video and Mad Max film. As we travelled the street, we ran into
larger and larger crowds now massed in the street, most of them
holding a liquor bottle, or two. The distinct odor of skunk weed
wafted from every tent, and loud expletive-laden rap music filled the
street I clasped my 8-year-old’s hand and said, “Let’s run!”
We zig zagged in and out of the mobs. I gave my iPhone map to
Ford to let him navigate. We knew we would turn to our truck when
we got to Jessie Drive and I asked Jiim 5 times, ’’Are we there yet?!?”
The mobs were so thick that traffic could not move as football
fans flocked to their cars. All I could think was how I would write
the news story when a Georgia fan and his son were shot trying to
return to their car in downtown Jacksonville. Or if just I was shot,
how would Ford find help?
Finally, the cavalry arrived, literally. Five Jacksonville police officers
emerged on horses from a side street and rode in front of us to clear
the road. “Follow them!” I told Ford. They were like pulling guards
on a trap play in football.
We were scared so we probably followed the horses too closely.
“Get back!” one officer bellowed, and we complied lest we get kicked
by a fund leg.
We finally made it to Jessie Street and then to MLK. We were
sweating and exhausted. Cars were zooming by in the dark now, and
I was still scared. But Ford was just amused.
“Day-day!” he laughed, “we got our exercise today!” And then,
ever the smart aleck, added, “and you need it!” as he patted my belly.
I laughed, but I couldn’t relax. I still didn’t see my truck, wfiich was
precariously parked somewhere in some palm hushes on the shoul
der of a 4-lane fiighway A nice man in an orange vest had collected
$20 from me for parking on the state right of way. I’m not sure how
that works.
A nice female officer suggested we look for our truck to the south,
closer to the stadium. NotJiing. So I went back north. Then I realized
that became a full-on interstate. So we headed back south. Finally,
the 8-year-old had a good idea. “Day-day, we just need to pray’ he
suggested. And so we did. We asked God for help. Suddenly my
mind turned to my Life360 app wfiich showed my path during the
day. Viola. It showed where we had parked. It was south. Down we
went and found the truck We had no traffic, jumped on the inter
state and were back at the river cabin in Darien in 90 minutes. Yes
it was a happy ending. But I do not know that I will be back Kirby’s
idea of making Georgia-Florida home-and-home suddenly seems
just fine by me. And with what he’s done for the Georgia program,
he certainly has earned the choice.
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
DRAWING ON THE NEWS by AF Branco
DpMfn FlagAndCross.i
DlMviWJ @2022 Creators.com
IF REPUBLICANS
WIN] ITU GET
A LOT WORSE
REECE’S PIECES by Steve Reece
Who will audit the auditors?
L ast Thursday I received a call that
there were two yayhoos with
cameras stalking the corridors
of our county administration
building (currently a polling place)
causing trouble. Georgia law prohibits
recording inside polling places. This
prohibition applies to the entire polling
place. I looked it up.
They were gone when I arrived in just
minutes, but I later caught the action on
their short-lived YouTube video, entitled
“Horrible Public Employees”, one of four
they posted about our county that day.
Shots from a shaky camera started the
amateurish show as the pair entered the
building and into the first occupied of
fice. A nice lady asked if she could help,
and they told her they were just there
to look around. When asked who they
were with, they replied, “independent’!
The camera then zoomed through an
office door and a man stared back won
dering who the clowns were. Photos of
his family, including his young grand
children, were clearly in the shot.
Moving on, were treated to a lot of
boring video of nothing but peeking
through windows of unoccupied empty
rooms. A county deputy arrived to in
vestigate and that’s exactly what the two
“First Amendment auditors” wanted.
First Amendment auditors photo
graph and film public locations testing
their constitutional rights and the pa
tience of ordinary government work
ers. They claim their actions
promote transparency and open
government. In truth, most
are obnoxious, confrontational
troublemakers trying to gener
ate more clicks and ad revenue
from YouTube accounts.
When the deputy approached,
they immediately demand
ed his name. He identified
himself and asked what
they were doing. When he
asked for their ID, they re
fused, and the video cut away to an out-
of-focus shot of Eddie Murphy laughing
hilariously for a full 7 seconds.
First Amendment auditors
YouTubers Lana and Russ
c
The woman,
whose YouTube
name is Lana, asked
what she had done.
The deputy replied
they were being
evasive. Another
county employee
told them voting
was going on and
they couldn’t be
filming and they cut
back to Eddie Mur
phy. Lana’s accomplice, Russ, wanted to
know if he had committed a crime. The
deputy went to his phone and the pair
moved on.
They then got into a county employee’s
face, but he swatted Lanas camera away
and told them they didn’t need to be in
his “fly zone! Lana said she wasn’t going
anywhere and accused him of assault.
The deputy returned and told them
they were allowed in any public areas of
the building but not in private offices or
polling area. Russ again demanded to
know what law they had violated. Lana
asked the deputy what would happen
if she walked up and touched him.
Hypothetically she said. The deputy
responded that he wasn’t going to be
baited. She then told him the county
employee of assaulted her by shoving
away her camera.
The deputy informed them they were
starting to cause a disturbance and told
them to go have a good day.
The “journalists” then leveled
their sights on another county
employee, and she promptly
informed them she thought they
were being a little silly.
They then went into the water
department and told the lady
they didn’t appreciate
her calling the deputy
on them. She refused to
respond and picked up
the phone and could be
heard saying she was being harassed.
Russ started calling her a liar. The video
stayed online barely 24 hours until You
Tube posted a statement
saying it was no longer
available due to a privacy
claim by a third person.
From the polling place
they headed to the court
house where they created
a nice little video called
“Monroe Courthouse
History with Mrs. Paula!
There is nothing on this
planet that could fluster the
sweetest lady in the county
and after a few minutes, they moved on
to find a better source of clickbait. That
happened to be the district attorney’s
office where our DA chased them away
after he caught them filming papers on
desks through the windows.
I found them easily on the comer of
Johnston St. and Jackson St. Lana had
on a jacket with “PRESS” emblazoned
on the back. Russ was sporting tie-dyed
shorts and flip-flops. I introduced
myself and proudly told them I work
for the Reporter. When I asked who
they were, the cameras suddenly came
on and I became the newest star of two
of their featured videos: “Bootlicker
ALERT!! - Forsyth, GA” and “Look
at this guy!’! Y’all can watch them if
you have time to waste. I basically told
them I thought they were a joke to the
journalism profession. The comments
were ugly, though. They would make
a normal person depressed. But I don’t
mind being labeled as the town chunk. I
admit I have a fondness for Kahlua but
I only drink on my days off which are
never. Some dude commented I looked
like Kolchak, the Night Stalker. That was
cool. But those saying I am a threat to
the First Amendment were ridiculous.
These two yayhoos are now making
money off two videos where I’m the
attraction. If they come to town again,
maybe we can get together on an even
better show and make the big bucks.
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
We all need a little talk with Jesus
OUR STAFF
Will Davis
Publisher/Editor
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Business Manager
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Reporter
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Advertising Manager
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Community Editor
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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
W hen Dennis and I got
married (many years
ago now), we
bought a small,
modest house. I’ll never forget
our first week there. While
Dennis was away at work, I
decided I would mow the front
lawn. I was mowing away,
when a neighbor pulls
into the driveway, gets
out of his truck and
walks towards me. He
says, “I hope you plan
to keep up your yard
and property!’ What? Are you kid
ding me? There was no introduc
tion, handshake or welcome to the
neighborhood. I wiped the sweat
from my brow and stared at the man
for moment thinking this was a joke.
But he wasn’t joking! He was serious.
Needless to say, I was dumbfounded
by his arrogance.
After I regained my composure, I
said, “Well, of course we plan to take
care of our property” After he left, I
thought about some things I could
have said, like: “Sir, see my
driveway over there? That
same driveway that brought
you in, will take you right
back out! Oh, and by the
way, we are going to paint
our house a bright orange
color tomorrow!”
Funny how you can
think of things you
could have said after
the fact, even though
they that might not be
the right the things to say!
So what was this man’s problem?
Was he worried about his property
values? He did have the nicest house in
the neighborhood, and maybe he was
worried that we wouldn’t keep up our
home and yard to his standards. Was
he allowing his wealth and status to go
to his head? Was he so self-absorbed
and conceited that that he felt he
could speak to me in a condescending
manner? I think he needed to have a
little talk with Jesus, instead talking to
me.
I also needed to have a “little talk”
with Jesus. I needed my Savior’s help
to forgive this man. I felt insulted, and
I was ticked off by his arrogance. Was I
going to allow my neighbor’s conde
scending words and attitude to steal
my peace and joy? Deep down inside,
I knew that if I was going to be set free
from the negativity and resentment I
was feeling, I needed to forgive him.
We may find it difficult to forgive
someone who has hurt or offended us.
Yet, God’s word exhorts us to show the
same grace that our Heavenly Father
shows to us. Colossians 3:13 says,
“Bear with each other and forgive one
another if any of you has a grievance
against someone. Forgive as the Lord
forgave you.”
Carolyn Martel of Forsyth is the re
tired long-time advertising manager for
the Reporter. Email her at carolynmar-
tell@bellsouth.net.