The Commerce news. (Commerce, Ga.) 1???-current, December 28, 2016, Image 4

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The Commerce news., December 28, 2016, Image 4

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Newspaper Page TextPAGE 4A THE COMMERCE NEWS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016 Editorial Views In uncertain times, unity is our strength With this issue, The Commerce News will cease to exist, though all of its func tions will be assumed by The Jackson Herald, the flagship publication of Main- Street Newspapers. That change pales, however, in comparison to the uncertainties that come with the arrival of 2017 and a new presidential administration at a time when America seems critically divided and fearful. A new and very different sort of president, growing racial discord, a belligerent Vladimir Putin disrupting elections in Europe and the United States, concerns over terrorism, paranoia on immigration, a growing disparity between rich and poor and what seems like growing intolerance for anyone different than ourselves all serve to create an atmosphere of fear for the future. We must resist fearfulness. We cannot let fear dictate how we live, how we treat one another and above all, change the rule of law in this country. America did not become the richest, most powerful, most envied nation in the world by cowering in fear and overreacting to per ceived threats. The strength of America rests with its tradition of peaceful tran sition of power, belief in the principles laid out in the U.S. Constitution and an optimism for the future. The threats from abroad cannot take down the United States, but a fearful and divided American public can. The biggest threat to our way of life comes not from ISIS or Russia, but from those American citizens—politicians and pun dits in particular — who would see ISIS, Russia and other perceived enemies of America as an means to convince us to curtail our freedoms, encourage dissen- tion and intolerance and to destroy the public institutions that keep us safe and prosperous. “A house divided against itself cannot stand” is not just a biblical quote or a metaphor used by Abraham Lincoln, but a truth that applies to this nation. It is up to each of us to make sure that those who seek to divide us are unsuccessful. The 24/7 instant availability of news, the plethora of sources of information, rumor and gossip and entertainers pos ing as journalists can make it seem that war in Syria, economic unrest in Greece, terrorist attacks in Berlin or race-based crime in Chicago are closer to home and can affect us directly, darkening our worldview — if we allow it to happen. When we allow politicians to pander to those fears, we do not gain security, we lose it. Let us resolve as the new year begins to stand firm against those who trade in fear and discord, whether abroad or on our shores. We must renew the Amer ican commitment to the principles of our constitution and the belief that we’re stronger when we’re united and reject those who attempt to destroy that unity. We must never lose sight of the facts that our diversity contributes to our strength and that people of all faiths, races and cultures all help make America the greatest nation in the world. Unless otherwise noted, all editorials are written by Mark Beardsley. He can be reached at mark@mainstreetnews. com. The Commerce News ESTABLISHED IN 1875 USPS 125-320 P.O. Box 908 Jefferson, GA 30549 MIKE BUFFINGTON CoPublisher SCOTT BUFFINGTON Co-Publisher Mark Beardsley. Editor THE COMMERCE NEWS is the legal or gan of the city of Commerce and is pub lished every Wednesday by MainStreet Newspapers Inc. Periodical postage paid at Jefferson. Georgia 30549. Subscription Rates Per Year: $25 POSTMASTER send address changes to THE COMMERCE NEWS, P.O. Box 908, Jefferson, GA 30549. Blessed to have worked here This is a hard column to write. How do you sum up four decades of weekly journalism, remember four decades of colleagues, stories, events and friendships over the course of that career? It’s beyond my level of skill. I came to Commerce while I was still a student at UGA’s School of Journalism, so Commerce News readers had to endure the mistakes of inexperience and the arrogance of youth, for which I will always be grateful, but The Commerce News was of critical impor tance to the community, which made working there fun, challenging and rewarding. I’d never recommend anyone staying in one job four decades. It’s not a path that will lead to prosperity but it allowed Barbara and me to develop roots and raise our family in Commerce. After growing up in the most densely populated county in Florida, living in a well-located (proximity to Athens, Atlanta, the mountains, 1-85...) rural community was exactly what I wanted. It still is. Sadly I hold the record for having attended more Commerce City Council meetings than anyone in history. Ditto for the Jackson Coun ty Water and Sewerage Authority the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority Commerce Plan ning Commission and possibly the Commerce Board of Education and the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce as well. Perhaps I was being punished for sins of an earlier exis tence. I’ve seen the best and worst of government, and while bad government is good for selling newspapers, most reporters would rather get to It's Gospel According To Mark By Mark Beardsley report on the successes of government than its failures — particularly if they live in the commu nity. In reality, our loyalty is to the story whether the news is good or horrid. My experience suggests that a significant majority of men and women who serve the voters are honest, well-meaning and love their communities. They make mistakes. Sometimes they get corrupted, and occasionally what power they have goes to their heads. For the most part, I’ve found Commerce and Jackson County elected officials and public employees friendly responsive, helpful in providing infor mation, transparent in their actions and anxious to help the people they serve. I will miss the interaction with such people. I will also miss my co-workers. A few years ago, I hated closing the Commerce News office in the downtown and relocating to Jefferson, which made it harder to keep up with what was going on in Commerce and cut down my interaction with readers and residents. At the same time, though, I got to better know and appreciate the MainStreet Newspapers’ staff, some of whom I’d never met. I’m grateful for that experience and the time together. They’re a great group and fun to work with. For those who have expressed appreciation for my columns, editorials, stories or news coverage over the years, please know I cherish your kind words and am grateful for your loyalty. Believe me, with the world transitioning to digital readership, I regard those who prefer the print- ed-on-paper copy as kindred spirits. But this newspaper has run its course. This is the last issue of The Commerce News, a decision with which I concur, though it saddens me. The news, photos and events from the Commerce area will be thoroughly covered in The Jackson Herald, and Commerce News subscriptions will be converted to The Herald. Coverage will not miss a beat. I’ve been blessed to work through the golden days of the weekly newspaper industry when people would be waiting at Bill’s Bi-Rite when we delivered that week’s papers late on Wednes day nights, when Commerce hosted scores of retail businesses whose owners saw value in advertising. Times have changed, but one thing has not. The local newspaper remains the only media that will consistently report what goes on in Commerce and help hold government accountable. Keep reading. And thanks for encouraging me, helping me and tolerating me for over 42 years. Mark Beardsley is the editor of The Com merce News. He lives in Commerce. Moving forward, looking back Six years ago, in mid-December, I got a letter from my cousin Larry - a rare event, but worth waiting for. Larry’s letters are invariably keepers, which is why I have this one; it was in a rub ber-banded pack of letters I treasure. In it, Larry was recalling the summer of 1965, when he and his parents drove up to New York from Reynolds, Georgia, to visit us and go to the World’s Fair. Our grandmother, Mera Trawick, was already there; she had come for my college graduation. But from college I went directly to “stewardess school,” and Larry’s parents went home. So Gran volunteered to accompany a startled Larry into Manhattan, where he had been planning to look for job opportunities - by himself. As it turned out, Gran had called ahead and arranged an interview for Larry with her old journalist friend Mark Ethridge, whom she had met when he was working for the Columbus and Macon newspapers. By 1965 he was the editor of Newsday, a New York newspaper, and a prominent figure in his field. “Our meeting with him was in the Time-Life building,” Larry wrote, “and I will never forget walking into that building, all suited up for a job interview, but with my grandmother!” Gran was a force to be reckoned with. Here in Commerce she was a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse out toward Bold Springs, then a journalist for The Commerce News, and then A Few Facts, A Lot of Gossip II By Susan Harper —with a husband and a growing family—the owner of The Commerce News, until she sold it to Albert and Estelle Hardy. She continued writing for the paper, reporting for the Society page and keeping up her column, “A Few Facts, Lots of Gossip,” which she wrote under the pen name Samanthy, until she retired at the age of 93. And she never lost her love for journalism, nor her ties to fellow journalists, some of whom, like Celestine Sibley and Olive Ann Bums, became nationally known. It’s been lovely to follow in “Samanthy’s” footsteps a tiny bit by writing for her old paper, even though I could never fill her shoes. And I’m grateful to MainStreet News publisher Mike Buffington (and to Buzzie Hardy before him) for having continued to publish The Commerce News at a time in American life when it’s a chal lenge to keep any newspaper afloat, especially a small-town paper. As for my cousin Larry he did get a job offer out of his interview in the Time-Life building! He decided to remain in Georgia instead, but remembers that day vividly and fondly because of Gran’s love and her “caring determination” in trying to help him shape his life and find a foothold in the world of work. What triggered Larry’s letter to me was my having sent him a book by Willie Snow Ethridge (Mark Ethridge’s wife, and a well-known author). It was a book Larry had given Gran, and inscribed to her, but I’d found it at my broth er’s house in Raleigh. Gran had sent it there, I think. An old clipping inside the front cover is entitled “Dear Dad,” and says, in part, “It’s only now, after passing through the long, hard school of years, only now, when my own hair is grey that I understand how you felt.” She meant to help my brother in his relationship with our dad. And so we come full circle. As for Commerce without its very own news paper for the first time in over 100 years? I tell myself what Gran often said — in fact, I hear her voice saying it: “Old Harmony Grove will blos som like a rose, if we all try.” Susan Harpe■ is a retired editor, lecturer, and local library director who currently serves on the Jackson County and Piedmont Regional library boards. The pencil in the invisible hand Do you have a pencil sharpener in your house? I always regarded pencil sharpeners as ubiquitous and I installed a pencil sharpener in our house before it was completed. But I asked a friend about his pencil sharpener and he said he didn’t have one and hadn’t had one for years. “Don’t you use pencils,” I asked. “Nope. We use gel pens,” he replied. I don’t quite know what a gel pen is, but I assume it is basically a bail-point. We have ball point pens at our house too - dozens of them, in fact. But they never work. They write fine for a few weeks and then stop. And instead of throwing them away we put them back where we found them and the next time we want to write something they still don’t work. So we pick up a pencil. Pencils never quit working. They just get shorter and shorter. When they get too short, you get another one. For some reason we at our house have never migrated away from pencils. Bail-point pens just don’t seem to be any better. So we have pencils and a pencil sharpener. But it’s a funny thing about pencils: no one on earth knows how to make one. It’s true, and you can find the definitive explanation of why that’s so here —www.econlib.org/library/Essays/ rdPncll.html (If you don’t want to type that in, you can do a Google search for “I Pencil.” This article will be at the top of the list. “I, Pencil” was written by Leonard Read in 1958. He points out that no single person knows how to make a pencil because a pencil rep resents the work of literally millions of people all over the world, from loggers in the Pacific Northwest, to graphite miners in Ceylon to miners of clay in Mississippi to lac harvesters in Indonesia (for the lacquer) and the zinc and copper miners who furnish the ingredients for the brass ferrule. And, actually pencils are simpler to make than many other things. There is no factory in the world, for example, that makes all the parts for a car. At the final assembly plant they install the engines made elsewhere, the seats from a different plant, gas tanks, tires, dashboards, etc., each from independent suppliers. And those manufacturers don’t really make their compo nents themselves. They buy subcomponents from others that they incorporate into their products. But then Mr. Read reaches his central point: While it is true that millions of people all over the world cooperate in making a pencil, there is no one in charge. In fact, all those people aren’t really making pencils. They are just doing their jobs, which might be sawing wood, manufacturing glue or paint, driving a truck or whatever. But each job is necessary for a pen cil to be made. This is the point Adam Smith made in “Wealth of Nations”: There seems to be a mys terious Invisible Hand that facilitates the coop eration of people to produce benefits to society that they never intended. Each individual is only trying to parley his personal skill into money but because of all those uncoordinated efforts we have pencils - and automobiles and everything else. Mr. Read also points out that independent shippers can deliver four pounds of crude oil from the Persian Gulf to the U.S. east coast for less than it costs the U.S. Mail Service to deliver a one-ounce letter across the street. Can you imagine what gasoline would cost if the govern ment were involved? Or healthcare? Willis Cook is a retired electrical engineer who was born in New Orleans and grew up in the Mississippi Delta. He lives in Franklin County.