Newspaper Page Text
December 7, 2022
Page 5A
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
by Don Daniel
Is customer
service caput?
I n years past, I would plan a weekend trip
to Atlanta at least once a month. Maybe
you could classify it as an “escape.” I would
stay at a nice hotel and enjoy fine dining
and if this time of
year, it was Christmas
shopping. Well things
have changed and the
weekends in Atlanta are
no longer a priority. My
Christmas gift shopping
is almost entirely from
catalogs, Amazon and
as much as I detest,
Walmart.
Why do I detest
shopping at Walmart?
Although the em
ployees at our local
Walmart are doing their best to assist customers
in finding what they ask for. Finally getting used
to the re-organizing has been a challenge.
The most disturbing aspect of shopping at Wally
World is the check-outing. Few of the registers
have a human to assist us. It is all scanning and
doing your own bagging. I can’t complain too
much about Wally-World since our other major
shopping store, Ingles, also attempting to “de-per-
sonalize” checking out, with more “scanner”
checking out than with a live person.
What I am discovering with Wally-World and
Ingles is that both stores make it obvious cus
tomer service costs money. Eliminating personal
customer service at check-out is no longer a cus
tomer service or commodity. And then paying for
your items with cash is no longer an option if you
are in the wrong check-out line, credit card only
and cash not accepted.
BOTH THE Forsyth City Council and the
“They Think They Are The Fabulous Five” (coun
ty commissioners) met this week. I will have some
un-attributed comments in next weeks column.
In the meantime, the county public informa
tion officer—after my filing an opens records
request—provided me with the top salaried (key
word salaried not hourly) county employees.
There are 389 employees with the county manag
er being the highest paid at $131,478. The second
highest paid county employee is the finance
director at an annual salary of $110,744. The third
highest paid county employee is our sheriff at
$101,423.42
Our district county commissioners get annual
salaries with the chairman getting $20,519.05.
Commissioner Eddie Rowland gets $19,868,
Commissioner John Ambrose $19,508.13,
Commissioner Famarcus Davis $19,133.13,
Commissioner George Emami also gets a salary
$19,133.13
Although paid a salary, commissioners get
reimbursed for mileage, county travel, telephone
and a host of other opportunities such as reduced
insurance premiums.
Our newly appointed Road Superintendent
Chris Walker, although still living in Griffin, gets
paid $80,000 yearly. The lowest paid salaried em
ployee is the Community Development Director
at $53,022.
THE FIRST correct answer to last weeks The
Question came from Jennifer Pippin and seconds
later from Redonna Burch identifying Woodrow
Blue as being selected as Forsyths new chief of
police.
Both Redonna and Jennifer get a certificate for
a dozen Dunkin donuts, car wash at Big Peach,
Whistle Stop fried green tomato appetizer, slice of
Shoney’s strawberry pie, a Dairy Queen Blizzard
and a single dip at Scoops.
Here’s The Question for this week: How much is
the grant Monroe County schools got for the new
College & Career Academy? First correct answer
after twelve noon on Thursday gets the certificate.
IF YOU want to be aware of the growth taking
place in Monroe County, I suggest you read the
monthly Building Permits and the Property
Transfers. In October fifty-seven building permits
were issued. The Largest Property transfer was
$7,300,000 sold by Atlanta group in Atglen, Pa.,
on Giles Road. No acreage amount.
I also read with interest the Public Notic
es (legals) and “Cops and Robbers” and, of
course,“Busted” where you can maybe find a
photo of your neighbor or somebody you would
be surprised at being busted.
One other positive aspect of “Busted” most of
those pictured and identified were from 1-75 who
ignored the law attempting to get where they go
ing winding up in the local jail house and paying
which boost our local tax base.
THIS FROM Ambrose Bierce’s “The Devils
Dictionary”: Politics, n: A strife of interests mas
querading as a contest of principles. The conduct
of public affairs for private advantage.
I DO NOT approve of Impact Fees as the coun
ty commissioners are considering and were to
vote last night for either approving or disapprov
ing. No matter what you hear or read, impact fees
are a method of controlling growth and putting
money in the county coffers for spending on proj
ects/items which are primarily “wish list” items
and not budgeted or going into the county coffer
to prevent spending what we don’t have or need.
CONTACT Donald Jackson Daniel at mediadr@
bellsouth.net, if you have a publishable comment
or want to answer The Question to get the goodie
certificate.
Reporter
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dr. Perry finds nothing good in Arctic Vibe
To the Editor:
ant to have more energy,
accelerate metabolism,
live fit and burn body
fat?
Beautify Forsyth in its rambling
post-Christmas Parade came across a
can entitled “Arctic Vibe”—the “spar
kling frozen berry edition.”
This 12 ounce edition is a “clinically
proven dietary supplement” promising
“zero sugar, no aspartame, no preserva
tives or artificial colors or flavors.”
Manufactured by Celsius, Inc. in Boca
Raton, Florida, Arctic Vibe, among oth
er ingredients, claims high daily content
of niacin, vitamins B-6 and B-12, biotin
and chromium. Additionally, this
Celsius product boosts metabolism
through the use of green tea, ginger
and guayana seed and has no alcohol
content, which is a downer for many
of the Reporter’s readers we predict!!
Anyway...
Merry Christmas,
Tom Perry
Forsyth
Tom Perry is the chairman of Beautify
Forsyth. To help, call 994-5622.
JUST THE WAY IT IS by Sloan Oliver
For best results, celeberate Christmas locally
H opefully, you made it to last
week’s Hometown Christmas
Parade in Forsyth. In Mon
roe County, it’s become the
traditional way to start off the Christmas
season. Forsyth looked magical for the
parade. I particularly love watch
ing the little children who are
mesmerized with the crowds,
the lights, the music, large
vehicles (firetrucks, etc.), floats,
elves, candy being tossed, drones
overhead, and, of course, Santa.
This year was special since
our great-grandchild is
now old enough to have
an idea about what’s going
on.
THE FOLLOWING story is from the
Internet. A boy wanted to know the truth
about Santa Claus so he asked his father if
Santa is real. The father agreed to tell him
the truth but first asked him a question.
Dad: “The truth is dangerous. Once you
know something, you can’t unknow it.
When you know the truth about Santa,
you’ll never again relate to him as you do
now. Are you sure you want to know the
truth about Santa?” After a brief pause,
the boy answered “Yes.”
Dad: “Yes, there is a Santa Claus.”
Son: “Really?”
Dad: “Yes, but he’s not an old man with
a white beard wearing a red suit. That’s
just what we tell children. See, kids are
too young to understand the true nature
of Santa. We explain it to them in a way
that they can understand. The truth is
that Santa’s not a person at all. He’s an
idea. Think of all the presents Santa gave
you over the years. Your mother and I
actually bought all of them for you. We
watched you open them and enjoyed
the pleasure on your face. Did it bother
us that you didn’t thank or acknowledge
either of us? Of course not! In fact, giving
to you gave us great satisfaction. Santa is
the idea of “giving for the sake of giving”
without concern for thanks or acknowl
edgement.”
Son: “Oh.”
Dad: “Now that you know the secret
of Santa, you’re part of it. You have to be
Santa Claus. That means you can never
tell a young child the secret. More impor
tantly, you must look for opportunities
to be Santa yourself, to help out without
thought of ever being thanked or ac
knowledged.” And that’s the real meaning
of Christmas.
SPEAKING OF what’s going on,
Monroe County (MC) and central
Georgia (Macon area) provide many
opportunities to ensure you’re in
the Christmas spirit. For those
who are new to the area, let me
try to help out. Not just because I
write for it, but this newspaper is a
good “one-stop” for events in MC.
< ik Between the free announcements
in the Community Calendar
(Section 1C), articles about
-UTY various events (for example,
last week’s article “Don’t miss
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever)’ in
section 1C), and the paid advertising, you
can easily fill up your holiday calendar.
Following are some upcoming events in
MC:
Dec. 1-25: Christmas Lights at 1403
Pate Road, Thurs-Sunday from 6-9:30pm,
free but any donations received go to the
Christmas Angels Fund to buy gifts for
hospitalized children.
December: Upright Family Christ
mas Lights at 1489 Smith Rd„ Forsyth,
Sun-Thursday 6-9:00pm, free.
Dec. 8: Christmas Concert by the MC
3rd Graders at the MC Fine Arts Center,
6:30pm, free event.
Dec. 9-11: “The Best Christmas Pageant
Ever)’ play presented by the Backlot Play
ers at the Rose Theater in Forsyth, tickets
available.
Dec. 10: Bolingbroke’s Xmas Parade at
11:00am down Rivoli Road, Bolingbroke
(still time to enter a float.)
Dec. 12: MP High School Chorus Con
cert at the MC Fine Arts Center, 6:30pm,
free.
Dec. 14: Mrs. Claus will visit the MC
Library to sing, read, and take pictures,
4:30pm, free.
Dec. 16: A Bluegrass Gospel Christmas
at the MC Fine Arts Center, 7:30pm
(tickets still available.)
Yes, several of these events are school
performances. However, the kids work
hard on these productions and actually
put on good concerts.
BECAUSE THE Reporter has many
subscribers in Bibb County, and because
Macon’s paper (The Telegraph) is a joke,
following are some upcoming Macon
Christmas events:
Dec. 1-31: Macon Christmas Lights
with lights synched to music, Poplar
Street, 6- 10:00pm nightly, free.
Dec. 8-11: The Nutcracker at Macon’s
Grand Opera House, 651 Mulberry,
tickets still available.
Dec. 9-11: Christmas Concert put on
by Ingleside Baptist Church, this is an
outstanding free event.
Dec. 9-18: “Miracle on 34th Street”
by Theater Macon at 438 Cherry Street,
tickets available.
Dec. 10-11: Holiday Tour of Homes,
sponsored by Intown Macon that features
10 historic homes and 4 churches deco
rated for the Christmas season (purchase
tickets at: “intownmacon.com”).
Dec. 15-18: “Angels ‘R’ Us” at Macon
Little Theater, Forsyth Road, a comedy
about our guardian angels.
Dec. 17: Christmas with John Berry at
the Grand Opera House, 651 Mulberry
Street, tickets available.
Dec. 22: Christmas Sing-Along at
Macon Little Theater, 4220 Forsyth Road,
tickets available.
I’M A HUGE proponent of shopping
local and of frequenting local businesses.
If we (all of us) don’t frequent them, they
will go out of business - that applies to
restaurants, antique malls, retail shops,
and the performing arts. A vibrant com
munity is just that - vibrant due to the
energy and enthusiasm of the locals. Yes,
were all busy this time of year. However,
I encourage everyone reading this to
choose several events - whether it is a
free event or one costing money - and
attend them. If I had to pick just one of
the above, I couldn’t because, previous
years, I’ve been to most of them and
realize that all are worth our time and our
attendance.
FINAL THOUGHT: Don’t forget that
after the holidays, all of the above venues
(MC Fine Arts Center, Macon’s Grand
Opera House, etc.) host shows and per
formances throughout the year. You can
pay big money to see a show in Atlanta
or see the same quality show around here
for a lot less. Support local.
Sloan Oliver of Bolingbroke is a retired
Army office who writes each week in the
Reporter. Email him at sloanoliver@earth-
link.com.
ON THE PORCH
Continued from page 4A
gifted communicator. Sermons
I heard by his father Charles
Stanley when I was in college
played a big role in building
my faith. And my brother and
his family have attended Andy
Stanley’s church for years. So
when I saw Stanley had posted
his latest Christmas sermon
on Twitter while getting ready
for work Monday, I thought I
would listen. It was a terrific
message. He actually quoted
the Old Testament, a book he’s
been criticized for downplay
ing. He talked about how the
Christmas story actually starts
in Genesis with God’s promise
to a then-childless Abraham
that all the world would be
blessed through him. Stanley
goes through Israel’s history to
describe how the nation was
most certainly NOT a blessing
to the world over the next 2,000
years. But Stanley says God sent
Christ at just the right time,
when the Romans had given
the world common roads and
language through which the
Good News could spread. Ever
the contrarian, Stanley went
on to suggest that while people
like to say Jesus is the reason for
the season, it would be more
accurate to say that WE are the
reason for the season, because
Jesus came to bless us, to make
our lives better. When he was
done, I felt encouraged and re
freshed. But something seemed
to be missing. Jesus didn’t just
come to be a good luck
charm. His coming at Christ
mas was for one purpose
— to die. He gave His life on
the cross, making us acceptable
to God. That’s the point. To
be charitable, Stanley said he
would have two more messages
to finish out his Christmas
series. Perhaps at some point
he will get around to the cross.
But sometimes I get the feeling
that he doesn’t think preaching
the cross will be sophisticated
and edgy enough for his metro
audience. I think he might be
surprised. In all places and in
all times, sin and guilt our are
biggest problems. The cross is
a welcome and refreshing solu
tion, pointing to a suffering and
loving messiah who washes
our sins away. There’s no better
Christmas message.
Alas, Paul ran into a similar
problem in the 1st century, and
wrote about it in a letter to the
Corinthians: “The message of
the cross is foolish to those who
are headed for destruction! But
we who are being saved know
it is the very power of God. As
the Scriptures say, ‘I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise and
discard the intelligence of the
intelligent.’
So where does this leave the
philosophers, the scholars, and
the world’s brilliant debaters?
God has made the wisdom of
this world look foolish. Since
God in His wisdom saw to it
that the world would never
know Him through human
wisdom, he has used our fool
ish preaching to save those who
believe.” Amen.
• ••
CONGRATULATIONS to
Woodrow Blue, the new For
syth police chief. Blue has been
the chief in Milledgeville, Ha-
hira, East Point and Donalson-
ville over his 30+-year career.
So he certainly knows what he’s
doing. Blue wanted to get back
to Middle Georgia from South
Georgia to be near his family.
He inherits a department badly
in need of leadership, short on
officers and needing a boost.
Let’s hope he can provide it.
Fm encouraged to hear he’s
looking for a home locally. We
currently have county manager
who doesn’t live in the county
and a city manager who doesn’t
live in the city. At least maybe
the police chief will live in the
city.
L I IIUllllvL
H E n T I N G & fl I R
RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL
Call For A Quote Today!
478-994-0647
Don Etheridge, Owner
405 College Street • Forsyth, GA31029
“Over 30 Years Experience”
• Services On All Brands • Replacement & Repairs
• New Construction • Remodeling
• Custom Designed Metal Duct Systems
• Zoned Systems
• TRANE Communicating Systems
• MITSUBISHI Ductless Systems
We are DET and BPI certified for testing your home
and duct work for air tightness.
I S/ISAtm 1 Financing Available MITSUBISHI
^ Subject to credit approval. W'*. ELECTRIC
CN210533 See store for details, cooling & heating