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PAGE 4A - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS. WEDNESDAY. MAY 21. 2008
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Editorial Views
What Does Commerce
Board Of Education Fear?
The Commerce Board of Education missed its
chance last Wednesday night to build public sup
port for its plan for a new high school. In a clearly
orchestrated event, the board used its panel of archi
tects, attorneys and others to refute concerns raised
by citizens about the school's design, refused to let
the public ask questions and approved a prepared-
in-advance motion to proceed with the school con
struction.
The presentations, particularly by the architects,
appeared to answer most of the concerns raised by
People Excited About Commerce Education (PEACE).
Then two things happened. First, former board chair
man Steve Perry insulted the group for its audacity
in questioning the design. Second, the board of edu
cation refused to let citizens ask questions or make
comments. The parents, alumni and others who
were interested enough to attend the meeting left
enraged, and the school board came across as weak
and cowardly.
That's a shame, because the school officials, archi
tects and attorneys who addressed the issues raised
by PEACE appeared competent and thorough and
should have been able to adequately answer linger
ing questions. But by refusing to allow questions
when it had the professionals on hand to answer
them, the board lost rather than gained traction.
Then, when member Bill Davis read a prepared
motion, it was clear that Wednesday night's meeting
was held only to fulfill a promise made to PEACE to
respond to its written concerns. The school board
was actually committed to not engaging citizens in
discussion about the most important construction
project in Commerce in the past 50 years.
The board blew the chance to decisively demon
strate the validity of its process and its design with
its cowardly action in refusing questions. What did it
fear? The presentations of its consultants (and staff)
were, for the most part, strong and credible. It had
presented sound responses to the group's concerns. It
should have welcomed questions from the audience
because it had the expertise on hand to deal with all
concerns. Because it feared to let its audience speak,
the board's credibility in the community among
some of the school system's strongest supporters is
greatly diminished. Restoration of respect for the
board of education require more time than the con
struction of a new high school and may prove to be
the greater challenge.
Memorial Day: It's About
Showing Some Respect
For many Americans, next Monday will pass with
nary a thought of what Memorial Day is about, other
than a day to go to the lake or lay out of work.
It's about respect for the foundations of and
defenders of our freedom — the people who served
and died for their country. Some died defending our
freedom. Others died in pursuit of freedom for for
eign citizens, here for a valid cause, there for a lost
cause. They're still fighting and dying, ostensibly for
the right of Iraqis to be free and to bring to justice
the architect of 9-11.
Soldiers aren't called upon to choose their battles.
They go where their country sends them, and we owe
them all our continued respect. While we sit in our
recliners and watch TV or snooze on the sofa, men
and women around the world put their lives on the
line for people who scarcely think of a soldier's lot.
When you fly your flag on Monday, realize that
many have died for it and that thousands still wear
that flag into conflict. Say a prayer for those who
served and died and for those who serve now.
Editorials, unless otherwise noted, are written by Mark
Beardsley. He can be reached by e-mail at mark@main-
streetnews.com.
The Commerce News
ESTABLISHED IN 1875
USPS 125-320
1672 South Broad Street
Commerce, Georgia 30529
MIKE BUFFINGTON Co-Publisher
SCOTT BUFFINGTON Co-Publisher
MARK BEARDSFEY Editor/General Manager
BRANDON REED Sports Editor
TERESA MARSHALL Office Manager
MERRILL BAGWELL Cartoonist
THE COMMERCE NEWS is the legal organ of the city
of Commerce and is published every Wednesday by
MainStreet Newspapers Inc. Periodical postage paid at
Commerce, Georgia 30529.
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and Madison counties, $19.75; State of Georgia,
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POSTMASTER send address changes to THE COMMERCE
NEWS, P.O. Box 908, Jefferson, GA, 30549.
\ know it's called Vacation
Bible SCHOOL, but ! never expected
there’d be homework.
%
The Wine Of The South
Rapid change is nothing new;
we didn't invent it in the 21st
century. My dad entered the
world of the Model-T, yet at the
height of his aviation career
he was watching American
astronauts walk on the moon.
So Dad might say that the pace
of change has slowed in recent
decades. It's almost as if we
had to absorb what had been
achieved before we moved on.
I could be wrong, though.
Maybe it's all out there, still
happening, and I'm the one
who had to slow down. I
know I begged the cell-phone
people not to confuse me with
a phone that took pictures.
Please! Cameras take pictures!
And phones are for talking
and listening. And why any
one would want to type on
them is completely beyond me.
Oh, and by the way, when did
"text" become a verb?
You see how it is: I sound like
a Luddite. Why, I remember
when "The Times, They Are
A-Changin'" was the theme
song of my generation. The
times are still a-changin', but
I'm a-standin' still, especially
at the end of my driveway —
there's so much traffic now
that I have to get up five min
utes earlier in the morning
because I wait that long for an
opening in the line of cars.
Who are all these people? And
where did they come from? I
A Few
Facts, A
Lot Of
Gossip 2
BY SUSAN HARPER
went to bed one night in the
26th fastest-growing county in
the U.S., and woke up the next
morning in the 10th fastest-
growing county. Who can keep
up?
As for "Who are all these
people?" — I guess I'm one
of them. My family's been in
Commerce for many genera
tions, but I moved here from
San Francisco just 13 years
ago, and Frances Griffin, who
worked with me at the library,
told me at the time that there
was no way to become a
native: you either were one or
you weren't. I got here ahead
of the rush, though, which I
think should get me points for
perspicacity.
When I arrived, there were no
computers in the library. Now
there are more than 25. We
use them for everything except
making the coffee, and I sup
pose they could do that, too,
and be better at it than I am.
But they couldn't make the
tea, and these days neither can
a lot of people. One person
who can is Gayle Pritchett, and
she says there's a secret to it.
You can't let the water come
to a rolling boil, although it
has to come close. You mustn't
squeeze the tea bags, either —
that bruises the flavor. (Notice
how close we're getting to the
language of wine aficionados.)
Another friend says you have
to put a cup of sugar and a big
pile of lemon slices in the bot
tom of a pitcher and then pour
the hot tea over all that and let
it sit, and then stir it VERY gen
tly with a wooden spoon.
These are the stalwarts who
are still making the wine of
the South. These are the people
who care about tea. In far too
many dining establishments,
"tea concentrate" is mixed
with water to create a dreadful
concoction, dark as coffee and
so sweet that it cloys. This is
the kind of progress we don't
need. (Notice that "we" — I'm
still trying to go native.) Some
people order an Arnold Palmer:
half tea, half lemonade.
Luddite that I am, I just mut
ter, "Bring back the wine of the
South."
And by the way, we do have a
camera/cell phone in our fam
ily. It belongs to my dad. Now
there's a fella who keeps up!
Susan Harper is director of the
How Can Anyone Thank Them?
Chance meetings can
sometimes become defining
moments in one's life. The day
before Mothers' Day I had one
of those defining moments, an
epiphany.
My daughter and I were
shopping in the women's
section of a Chattanooga
department store, just brows
ing, looking not too hard for
something interesting. Another
shopper, a fortyish black man
with a cane, was also looking,
but looking hard, pulling out
one garment after the other,
then rejecting them, only to
search again. Finally, he made
his choices, putting together a
top and a bottom for his lady.
Since we had been elbow to
elbow, and getting in and out
of one another's way, I said to
him, "Good color choices."
His response was, "I'm glad
you said that. I was concerned
about that because I want it
to be right. You see, last year I
was in Iraq, and I didn't get a
chance to do this."
It was then I noticed his cap
Views
In
Rotation
BY CLAIRE GAUS
which noted he was an Iraq
veteran. The necessity for the
cane use became obvious. His
demeanor, which was open and
friendly, gave me the courage
to say to him, "Thank you and
God bless you."
"But," he said, "the ones who
should be thanked are the
ones who didn't make it back.
I'd have given everything for
the boys I lost. They were so
young."
I told him then how the
small town in which I lived
had recently brought home
from Iraq its first war casualty.
I told him how people had
made bouquets of ribbon to
hang on trees and posts; of the
cortege including the motor
cycle escort; of the people who
left their homes and businesses
to line the streets waving flags;
of the school children who
left their classes to take part
in recognition and homecom
ing of a dead soldier; and of
the unabashed and unchecked
tears that ran down the cheeks
of those who were there to pay
their respects.
By the end of my story, he
was in tears, and so was I.
"Thank you," he said, "and
God bless you and your town.
Thank you for caring."
What a sight we must have
been, a fortyish black man and
an oldish white-haired white
woman, in one another's arms
sobbing for the loss of those we
didn't even know.
It was them I had my epiph
any — my defining moment.
How could anyone thank this
man I was embracing and
Please Turn To Page 5A
It's Gospel
According
To Mark
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
Group Must
Decide If Fight
Should Go On
The members of the citizens' group
who have opposed the design of the
new Commerce High School have a
decision to make.
What do they do now that the
school board has voted to proceed?
To say that they were incensed
after last Wednesday night's meet
ing would be an understatement.
They came away feeling insulted by
a board that refused to let them ask
questions and by former chairman
Steve Perry who acted personally
offended that they'd gotten involved.
The leadership of People Excited
About Commerce Education
right now is very angry at the
Commerce Board of Education and
Superintendent Mac McCoy.
That's OK, but the issue is that new
school.
I thought the board's presentation,
particularly that of the lead architect,
did an excellent job of addressing
the issues PEACE brought up. They
gave logical reasons for selecting a
one-story building instead of two-
story, addressed the "green" issues,
explained how the elevations would
work, described input from school
staff into the design and discussed at
length the gym situation, the reasons
for it and their plans to address it.
A spokesperson for PEACE acknowl
edged that if that same presentation
had been made in March, many of
the group's concerns would have
never come up.
What's left involve the gym, the
practice field, the track and the per
forming arts center — none of which
are directly related to the central
functions of CHS.
Personally, I would have preferred
a two-floor school, for reasons that
are largely aesthetics, but several
speakers presented good arguments
for going with one floor. I can accept
those. The gym, practice field and
even the track location are secondary
issues. Is the size of the performing
arts center a deal-breaker?
Among the options for PEACE are
filing suit, trying to recall the board
of education or accepting the current
plan.
Before either of the first two is
attempted, PEACE must assess the
situation solely on the merits of
the plan, laying aside the school
board's cowardly response. I think
Wednesday's session answered most
of the group's important concerns. At
the least, it should have given mem
bers a higher comfort level with the
architects. Are there still sufficient
concerns among enough people to
warrant hostile and costly action that
could very well delay and increase
the cost of the new school? Are the
remaining differences of opinion
substantial or cosmetic? The risk is
that the anger felt over the school
board's response will carry an inor
dinate amount of weight in deciding
whether to escalate the fight, to the
detriment of the school system.
My inclination is that the architects
have come up with a plan that, while
it does not totally fulfill my wish list,
will result in a functional, attractive
high school, and I came away from
Wednesday's meeting reasonably sat
isfied that Robertson Loia Roof is up
to the task.
PEACE members likely feel other
wise. They must soon decide if the
lingering questions warrant taking
the fight to another level.
Mark Beardsley is editor of The
Commerce News. He can be reached at
mark@mainstreetnews. com.