Newspaper Page Text
Page 2B
^Reporter
April 12, 2023
PASTOR’S CORNER by Col. (Ret.) Rod Callahan
Do you believe this?
L ast Sunday we celebrated the most
important day of our Christian
faith. “Resurrection Sunday’ 1 ’ The
birth, life and death of Jesus would
have little meaning and our
faith would be in vain if he
had stayed in the tomb.
The story of Jesus’ visit,
to the home of Martha
and Mary after Lazarus
died brings this into focus.
In John 11:25-26 (NKJV)
Jesus said to Martha, “I
am the resurrection and
the life. He who believes
in Me, though he may
die, he shall live.” And
then, “whoever lives and
believes in Me shall never
die. Do you believe this?”
The question of resurrection is as rele
vant today for us as it was for Martha. In
my ministry as a chaplain with Hospice of
Central Georgia, I meet people (patients)
every week who were searching for an
answer. Their search has a sense of urgency
because they have been diagnosed with a
life-limiting illness. They may have only a
few days or, in some cases, a few months to
live. Their loved ones often share the same
feeling and are seeking for an answer too.
Socrates said that the life not examined is
not worth living. The patients and fami
lies in our hospice program have a great
opportunity to do this. Their examination
leads to questions. Where will my spirit
go after it leaves my body? Will my family
and friends who have already died know
me? What will heaven be like? Is there life
after death (resurrection)? The Holy Bible
answers these questions.
But what people are sometimes needing
more than answers to these questions
is to be at peace spiritually; that is, to be
connected to the resurrection
question. The patients receiving
the ministry might say that they
don’t have peace with the Lord
but are willing to let me pray
with them. My prayer usually
begins with our admitting that
we are all sinners, “...for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory
of God...” Romans 3:23 (NKJV).
Then we pray Romans 10:9
(NKJV) “if you confess with
your mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in your heart that
God has raised Him from the
dead, you will be saved.”
After praying, confessing, and believing
in Jesus and his resurrection, the Holy
Spirit works mysteriously in your heart.
Spiritual rebirth takes place and you
experience the peace you are seeking. This
is a mystical experience which the human
mind cannot fully understand. But the
peace which I see in their eyes and on their
faces is real. They have their answer to
Jesus’ question.
Martha answered Jesus’ question. She
said, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the
Christ, the Son of God, who is come into
the world. (John 11:27 NKJV). How do
you answer it?
Col. Rodney Callahan is a retired military
and prison chaplain who has also served as
a hospice chaplain and in numerous other
capacities.
Col ( Ret) Rodney Callahan
Community Calendar
Continued from page 1 B
994 5223. Forsyth Antiques
& More will also accept do
nations to support Save A Pet
so that it can continue to care
for dogs waiting for forever
homes.
Monroe County GOP to
meet
Monroe County GOP (Re
publican Party) will meet on
Saturday, April 15 at 9 a.m.
at Living Word Community
Church, 1278 Juliette Rd„
Forsyth. Come to meet, greet,
eat, and plan.
Head Start/Early Head
Start Super Saturday
Enrollment
Head Start/Early Head Start
will have Super Saturday
enrollment on April 15 from 10
a.m.-l p.m. at Monroe County
Head Start, 525 Highway 83
S, Forsyth and Walter P. Jones
Head Start, 2350 Alandale
Dr., Macon. The events will
offer the opportunity to enroll
children for Fall 2023 and to
earn more about the program.
Parents are welcome to bring
children for fun activities and
snacks. Parents should bring
enrollment documents. Cal
478-738-3240 or visit ma-
conbibbeoc.com/headstart for
more information.
April 18 & 19
Forsyth Main Street hosts
Community Visioning
Meetings
Forsyth Main Street will host
Community Visioning Meetings
to share ideas and priorities for
Downtown Forsyth. Everyone
interested in downtown Forsyth
is encouraged to attend one of
the meetings at City Hall, 23
East Main Street, Forsyth on
Tuesday, April 1 8 from 6-8 p.m.
or Wednesday, April 19 from 12
noon-2 p.m. For more informa
tion, contact mainstreetforsyth®
gmail.com.
April 20
Monroe County Golden
Eagle Awards
The Central Georgia Council,
Boy Scouts of America will
honor Phil Ham and Joel Vinson
as 2023 Monroe County
Golden Eagle Award honor-
ees on Thursday, April 20 at
Monroe County Convention
Center. The reception will
be at 6:30 p.m., followed by
dinner at 7 p.m. The two hon-
orees are being recognized for
their outstanding service and
involvement in the community.
Donations to Central Geor
gia Council are appreciated.
For more information, contact
Garrett Williams at 478-743-
9386 or Garrett.williams®
scouting.org.
Monroe County
Special Olympics
Monroe County Special
Olympics track & field events
competition will be Thursday,
April 20 at the Mary Persons
track.
April 21
Forsyth Tree Board Golf
Tournament
The Forsyth Tree Board will
host its 8th Annual Golf Tour
nament on Friday, April 21 at
the Forsyth Golf Course, 400
Country Club Drive, Forsyth.
Registration for the 4-person
scramble is 8 a.m., 9 a.m. tee
time. Registration is $65/per-
son, $260/team and includes
lunch, swag bag, green fees
and cart. To register, call Lyn
Standifer at 478-994-5649 or
email lstandifer®cityofforsyth.
com. All proceeds fund tree
planting projects for the Tree
Board.
April 22
Bluebirds & Bluegrass
Festival
The 22nd Annual Bluebirds &
Bluegrass Festival at Dauset
Trails Nature Center, 360
Mount Vernon Church Road,
Jackson will be Saturday, April
22 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. There
will be live bands, food trucks,
outdoor recreation exhibits,
local artisans, live demonstra
tions, dulcimer jam sessions.
Free admission & parking. For
more information, call 770-
775-6798.
May 5
Forsyth Farmers Market
opens for the season
Forsyth Farmers Market will
open at a new location, 94
E. Adams Street (Old Mil
Market) on Friday, May 5. It
will be open every Friday from
9 a.m.-5 p.m. through October.
Vendo registration is available
at City Hall, 23 E. Main Street
or online at www.mainstreet.
cityofforsyth.net.
May 13
6th Annual Fit to Achieve
5K
Due to weather the Monroe
County Achievement Center’s
6th Annual Fit to Achieve 5K
has been re-scheduled from
March 25 to Saturday, May
1 3 at 8 a.m. For more infor
mation, contact Sarah Alford
at 478-994-7072 or sarah.
alford®mcschools.org, Rebecca
Harmon at rebecca.harmon®
mcschools.org or Margie
Bryant at campbellmargie®
hotmail.com.
May 20
Clay Shooting Fundraiser
for the Pregnancy Center
The Meadows Gun Club will
host a Clay Shooting Tourna
ment on Saturday, May 20 to
benefit the Pregnancy Center
of Monroe County. Check in
is at 8 a.m., shooting starts at
9 a.m. Awards, lunch and live
music follow the tournament.
A team of 4 is $500; an indi-
vidual shooter is $150. A guest
pass (non-shooter) is $20 and
includes lunch. Call 478-994-
3173 for more information.
June 10
1st Annual Save A Pet
Rescue Ride
Monroe County Moose Lodge
2424 will host the Save A Pet
Rescue Ride on Saturday, June
10 starting from 524 Cabiness
Road, Forsyth. Sign in is 10 a.m.:
ride begins at 1 1 a.m. There will
be two routes: motorcycles &
cars. Jeeps.$20/bike or jeep,
$10/passenger. Lunch, raffle
prizes, entertainment by The
Mustangs. For more informa
tion, call Amanda after 5 p.m.
at 478-365-3033 or Mary
Edith at 478-394-0670.
Fan Design contest for
Indian Spring Hotel Bicen
tennial
The Butts County Historica
Society is having a fan design
contest for students K-12 to
create a design for the Bicen
tennial of the Indian Springs
Hotel/Museum. There will be
recognition for the top three
entries at each grade level
and prizes for the top entries,
including gift certificates. Entries
should be on 3 x 5 white index
cards or equivalent space.
Entries will be judged on
creativity and use of theme (the
200th anniversary of the hotel
built by Chief William McIn
tosh of the Muskogee nation).
Deadl ine is June 10. Visit the
BCHS website or the BCHS
room at the Historic Court
house for detailed instructions.
On-Going
Cooling assistance avail
able
Middle Georgia Community
Action Agency will accept
appointments for cooling
assistance applications for
households where all members
are 65 years of age or older
or homebound beginning Mon
day, April 3. Call 1-844-588-
1552 or go to https://mgcaa.
appointment.works/ea/home to
schedule an appointment. No
walk-ins. Other income eligible
households may contact the
scheduling system beginning
May 1. Verification of income
for all household residents is
required as well as proof of
identify and recent utility bills.
The income limit for a two-per
son household is $36,690.
Forsyth Monroe County
Rotary Club
Forsyth Monroe County Rotary
Club meets a 1 2 noon each
Thursday at The Fox City
Brewing Company, 45 N.
Kimball Street, Forsyth.
Friends of Monroe County
Library Book Sale
The Friends of the Monroe
County Library are holding
ongoing small book sales in
the library lobby (62 W. Main
Street) and at Forsyth Antiques
and More (booth 145), 816
Highway 41 S. All sales sup
port the library.
AA meetings
AA meetings are held at Christ
United Methodist Church, 417
N. Frontage Road, Forsyth on
Tuesdays, Thursdays & Sundays
at 7 p.m.
Forsyth Bicentennial
Fun Fact
By Ralph Bass
In the long history of the male-dominat
ed Forsyth newspaper, the Advertiser, two
women, Ada O. Sanders and Jane Lanyon
Leeder, have been at its helm.
James R Harrison founded the news
paper in 1867, replacing the Educational
Journal established by William C. Wilkes,
the president of Monroe Female College,
later Tiff. Harrison’s first press was the
Washington press that Henry W. Patter
son had used to print his Chattanooga
Rebel, the mobile newspaper the great
Southern journalist Patterson published
during the Civil War.
In the Advertiser office in Forsyth, a
freedman, Tyler Slaughter, was the press
man. Newspapers throughout the state
in 1880 carried notice of his death from
dropsy.
After Harrison, various men, including
Mayor William E. Sanders, owned the
paper. When Sanders died, his widow,
Ada O. Sanders, assumed management
of the newspaper, publishing it with the
assistance of Mary (‘Mamie’) Pinckard,
a daughter of the attorney James Steptoe
Pinckard and his third wife, Mary Sharp
Pinckard.
The Rev. Jack H. Clarke owned and ed
ited the Advertiser from 1917 until 1946,
when he was elected county school su
perintendent. After 1946, it went through
a succession of owners, among them the
Canadian-born Jane Lanyon Leeder, who
served as its editor along with her son,
Richard Cox.
In the early 1970s, the Advertiser pe
tered out during the editorship of Gainer
E. Bryan Jr., unable to meet the vigorous
challenge of the Monroe County Reporter
that Don Daniel had started in 1973.
Remember when...
1993
• For eight days of Spring
Break, 1 3 Mary Persons
students will visit Great Brit
ain on a tour organized by
counselor Blanche Presley
and Spanish teacher Leila
Bass.
• A committee sets the 5th
annual Forsythia Festiva
for April 23-24, hoping
for better weather than in
1993 when the festival was
cancelled because of a
blizzard.
• The Red Carpet Tour to
promote economic devel
opment in Central Georgia
will stop in Juliette for 20
minutes on April 7.
• Monroe Countian James
Watkins Jr. receives the
Georgia Centennial Family
Farm Award for 1993, rec
ognizing an actively working
farm that has been in
continuous ownership by the
same family for more than
100 years.
• Monroe County 4-H'ers
and their parents camped
out on the sidewalk Friday
morning trying to get limited
spots at the 4-H camp this
summer.
• Monroe County will
have numerous services to
celebrate Easter, including
a community interdenom
inational Sunrise Service
at 7 a.m. at Monroe Hills
Memorial Garden.
• Marcia Burford of Forsyth
wins the double wedding
ring quilt from the Forsyth
Woman’s Club drawing.
• Retired Monroe County
teachers Elsie Daniels and
Claudette Smith are in
Russia for nine days with the
Friendship Force's Teach
er to Teacher Exchange
Program.
• Mr. & Mrs. Hugh H.
Andrews Sr. celebrate their
50th wedding anniversary
with a reception at the
Monroe County Clubhouse.
2003
• Mrs. Julius Stroud hangs
yellow ribbons in the yard
of her home on Highway
41 N in support of members
of her family in the military
and of soldiers deployed to
the Middle East.
• Monroe County Tax Com
missioners Office is support
ing military members from
Monroe County through
the Operation Shoebox
program.
• The annual Spring Fling
Rotary Thing, the Rotary
Club’s biggest fundraiser,
will be held at the Welling
ton Building in Forsyth and
will feature entertainment by
Bone Holmes and Friends of
Macon.
• Forsyth's Emergency
Operations Center installs a
weather monitoring system
that upgrades every three
minutes instead of every 15
minutes.
• Ronald and Beverly Davis
continue to confront the
city of Forsyth about the
sewerage overflow on their
property. They are living in
a motel and don’t plan to go
back to the house.
• Forsyth's Walmart raises
$5,375 for the Children’s
Miracle Network.
• Forsyth Walmart donates
$1,000 to Hubbard Ele
mentary to honor Walmart
Teacher of the Year Ginger
Wilson and donates $1,000
to Mary Persons.
• Forsyth Monroe County
Chamber of Commerce
holds a ribbon cutting to
announce the opening of
the new office of Dr. Trellis
Baker.
• A ribbon cutting celebrates
the grand opening of the
Forsyth Curves for Women.’
Co-owner is Marilyn Cox.
• There are at least 20
housing developments at
various stages in Monroe
County with lots for nearly
1,000 homes. River Forest
has lots for 350 homes:
Hickory & Horseshoe Devel
opment in High Falls has lots
for 1 28 homes; the Cedars
at Rum Creek on Highway
83N will have 99 homes.
2013
• Strong winds topple two
large oaks at Freeman
Funeral home, smashing
a limousine, truck and
out-building.
• The Reporter is using tech
nology to combat the theft
of 100-200 newspapers
stolen from its coin racks
each week.
• A Monroe County jury
returns a surprising verdict
of ‘not guilty' for a Macon
woman, Jacqueline Denise
Pryor, 47, accused of selling
cocaine.
• Members of Mt. Zion
United Methodist Church
and New Providence Baptist
Church, both in Smarr, unite
on Good Friday to walk
the cross between the two
churches. They sing hymns
as they walk.
• The Backlot Players
present the children's play,
‘The Tortoise and the Hare,’
directed by Marion McDou-
gall at The Rose Theater.
• Three of the four parent
coordinators at Monroe
County Schools resign:
Kelley Butler-Freeman at
Monroe County Middle
School, Diana Haire at
K.B. Sutton Elementary and
Susan Wood at Hubbard
Elementary. Ginger Baldwin
of T.G. Scott Elementary is
the school system's only re
maining parent coordinator.
• The Monroe County Arts
Alliance Gallery at 54 N.
Jackson Street will close be
cause of funding struggles. It
has been at the location for
about eight years.
• Fundraisers are planned
for Amanda Doster Parks, a
young wife and mother who
suffered a major stroke.
• Twin Drakes Outdoors, a
new duck and turkey call
business owned by Brad
Neill, is expected to open
in south Monroe County as
soon as next month.
Remember When
This look at what Monroe County residents were reading in the
Reporter 30, 20 and 10 years ago this week is brought to you by...
Monroe County
Memorial Chapel
We set the standards
that others follow 1
Harley Ray "Spanky" Beck
86 West Main Street • Forsyth
478-994-4266