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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2008
Editor: Angela Gary
Phone: 706-367-2490
E-mail: AngieEditor@aol.com
Website: www.mainstreetnews.com
Opinions
“Where the press is free and every man
able to read, all is safe.”
— Thomas Jefferson
angela
gary
Memories of Quincy
W hen I woke up on a recent Saturday
morning, Quincy was curled up on my
chest. He had one paw around each side
of my neck and his head was lying next to my face.
Quincy has always slept with me and cuddled as
close as possible, but I didn’t recall him every doing
that before. Later that afternoon, I told some friends
about how close to me Quincy was when I woke up
that morning.
I have shared many stories
about Quincy since I adopted him
from the Athens Humane Society
in December of 1994. There was
the “arrival notice” that I wrote in
my column after I adopted him. I
wrote it as if we had a new baby
in the family, which we really
did. I remember when I first
saw his photograph in an Athens
newspaper as part of a feature on
animals available for adoption. I
had seen many similar photos, but
something about Quincy touched
me. I just knew he was meant to become a part of our
family.
Another column told of the time a photograph I sent
in of him was selected to appear in a very popular
national cat calendar. There were also the stories about
how he woke me up every morning wanting his break
fast and how he comforted me during times of loss
and sorrow.
And, of course, there were the annual Christmas
cards. I posed Quincy each year for a photo on my
cards and sent out hundreds of them. Sitting in a bas
ket, curled up under the Christmas tree and sitting in a
wrapped package are just a few of the poses I put him
in each year. He always cooperated with me. I guess
he knew I wouldn’t stop until I had the perfect photo.
I adopted Quincy 13 years ago and he was a full-
grown cat when he joined our family. I figured he was
at least 15-years-old — maybe even a few years older.
He was such a big, healthy cat when I adopted him —
over 20 pounds. That was no longer the case in recent
years. He was really skinny and had other health prob
lems that older cats get. I still hoped we would have
at least another year or so together.
That wasn’t to be. Quincy died as I was petting him
and talking to him on Dec. 22. It was the same day
that I woke up with his arms around me. I guess he
was telling me goodbye.
Quincy was fine when I left the house that day. He
had jumped in a box of T-shirts in the hallway and
curled up. We had just brought the box in the house
and he always checked out anything new. When I left
to go to have dinner with friends, he had jumped up on
my bed and was taking a nap.
When I returned home, Quincy was standing in a
corner at an odd angle. Jake was eating on the couch
and he didn’t even try to get any of the food from
him. I knew then that something was wrong. I picked
Quincy up and put him on a blanket on the couch.
Before my mother could find the number and call the
vet’s office, he just stopped breathing.
My nephew, Jake, and I were petting Quincy as he
stopped breathing. I was in shock and still find it hard
to believe that he is gone. I find myself looking for
him when I get home from work and calling out, “Q,
buddy, where are you?”
It was several days before I could even talk about
losing Quincy. On Christmas Eve, I sat alone in my
living room. Amanda and her family had just left.
Dad was in the hospital with chest pains and Mom
was staying overnight with him. I felt so alone sitting
on the couch without Quincy by my side. It will be a
while before I stop looking for him and missing him.
At least I have so many wonderful memories of him.
Angela Gary is editor of The Banks County News
and associate editor of The Jackson Herald. She can
be reached at AngieEditor@aol.com.
The Banks County News
Founded 1968
The official legal organ of Banks County, Ga.
Mike Buffington. .
Scott Buffington . .
Angela Gary
Chris Bridges . . . .
Sharon Hogan. . . .
Anelia Chambers .
April Reese Sorrow
Co-Publisher
Co-Publisher /Ad. Manager
Editor
Sports Editor
Reporter
Receptionist
Church News
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P.O. Box 908, Jefferson, Ga. 30549
Homegrown Civil War: South Georgia should secede
T he great water crisis proves
at least one thing. Georgia
should be divided into two
states. The present single-Georgia
system is not working.
If our senators and congressmen
were in tune with the pressing needs
of their South Georgia constituents,
they would start pushing a charter for
the state of South Georgia.
Time is running out. Metro Atlanta
and North Georgia have become
giant vampires, intent on draining
South Georgia of its lifeblood and
leaving little more than a dried-out
wasteland.
Look what Portugal did to
Mozambique. Or how Great Britain
drew the boundaries of Kenya and
Iraq. Our British cousins forced peo
ple who didn’t jibe with each other
to live in the same state. Inevitably,
one side exploited the other — and
civil war erupted.
If the state of Georgia (another
dastardly English-created polyglot)
goes through with its present, hast
ily drawn “water conservation” plan,
you’ll see the same cycle begin.
Under the cash-scented influence
of gigantic Atlanta-centric develop
ers, Gov. Sonny and his pals are
working on a plan that would allow
metro interests to tap into South
Georgia’s bountiful water supply.
They would transfer the liquid gold
meant for the plains into North
Georgia so that developers could
keep on developing.
Alabama and Florida have already
made it clear: They want Georgia to
quit slurping up more than its share
of their common water resources.
If Georgia can’t prey on neighbor
ing states, why not do it right here at
home? Georgia government can skip
all that interstate legal hassling. We’ll
just take the water from our own
hapless citizens below the Fall Line.
Of course, a few
palms in the Gold
Dome may have
to be greased to
get the proper
laws passed, but
the guys in shiny
suits know how
easily that can be
done.
Then the
Atlanta barons
can start piping
the cool, clear water northward. Just
think, Buckhead groundskeepers can
get back to work.
Developers can tear up more
mountains and build more
McMansions, this time with two
swimming pools instead of just one.
Economic developers might even lure
a new brewery or two into the moun
tains. Good times will roll again,
right along with the flow of South
Georgia water.
Our feckless state leaders could
then stop frowning and begin smiling
again. They will be rich, rich. Sonny
can stop dabbling in real estate and
take it easy. Romeo Richardson can
float away to Club Med and forget
other matters.
This will only happen if we let it,
friends, but there is another way.
Call Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Let’s
get the ball rolling for a brand-new
state of South Georgia. Saxby under
stands the problem. Being from
Moultrie, he’ll be delighted to help.
Tell him to draw up a petition to
create the 51st state, South Georgia.
Let’s re-establish our first capital
at Savannah or, better still, build a
new one in Valdosta or Statesboro or
Albany.
In no time, the new state of South
Georgia, having escaped the clutches
of Atlanta interests, could become a
bustling commercial center rivaling
parts of Florida. South Georgia could
make its own water rules instead of
having to kow-tow to those white-
shoe lawyers in Buckhead.
Tifton could be the new Atlanta.
Oops, I take that back. Tifton could
become the shining city we always
dreamed about on the Coastal Plains.
This is not a new idea. In the
1980s, several professors at the
University of Georgia conducted
extensive research on the disparities
between North and South Georgia.
As I recall, Gov. Joe Frank Harris of
Cartersville was not impressed. He
fired Dr. Talmadge Duvall, the main
author of the Two Georgias scenario,
a fellow who will undoubtedly be
recognized one day as the George
Washington of the great state of
South Georgia.
Do not misunderstand. I do not
advocate revolution. I simply sub
scribe to a peaceable and sensible
revision of state lines to group people
with similar interests and goals into
their own province. And, of course,
to prevent predatory legislative prac
tices.
As things stand now, North
Georgia and South Georgia are as
different as toad frogs and hoot owls.
People move from Atlanta to South
Georgia all the time because, it is
said, they “can’t stand Atlanta any
more.”
The idea of a state of South
Georgia is so appealing that, if it
caught on, I might even move from
Acworth to Bonaire, to spend the
rest of my golden years helping Gov.
Sonny with his memoirs.
Of course, I would have to be
invited.
You can reach award-winning
political columnist Bill Shipp at P.O.
Box 2520, Kennesaw, GA 30156, or
e-mail: shipp1@bellsouth.net.
bill
shipp
Letters to the Editor policy given
The Banks County News has estab
lished a policy on printing Letters to
the Editor.
We must have an original copy of
all letters that are submitted to us for
publication.
Members of our staff will not type
out or hand-write letters for people
who stop by the office and ask them
to do so.
Letters to the Editor must also be
signed with the address and phone
number of the person who wrote
them.
The address and phone number
will be for our verification purposes
only and will not be printed unless
the writer requests it. Mail to,
The Banks County News, P.O. Box
920, Homer, Ga. 30547.
E-mailed letters will be accepted,
but we must have a contact phone
number and address. Letters that are
libelous will not be printed.
Letters may also be edited to meet
space requirements. Anyone with
questions on the policy is asked to
contact editor Angela Gary at
AngieEditor@aol.com or by calling
706-367-2490.
News department contact numbers
Anyone with general story ideas,
complaints or comments about the
news department is asked to call edi
tor Angela Gary at 706-367-2490.
She can also be reached by e-mail
at AngieEditor@aol.com.
Anyone with comments, ques
tions or suggestions relating to the
county board of commissioners,
county government, county board of
education, Maysville City Council
and crime and courts is asked to
contact staff member Chris Bridges
at 706-367-2745 or by e-mail at
chris@mainstreetnews.com.
Bridges also is sports edi
tor of the paper and covers local
high school, middle school and
recreation sports.
Anyone with comments, ques
tions or suggestions relating to
Alto, Lula, Baldwin and Gillsville,
should contact Sharon Hogan at
706-367-5233 or by e-mail at
sharon@mainstreetnews.com.
Calls for information about the
church page should go to April
Reese Sorrow at 706-677-3491.
Church news may also be e-mailed to
asorrow@mainstreetnews.com.
The Banks County News
website can be accessed at
www.mainstreet.news.com.
Looking at the
brighter side
of winter months
C an we put in a request to have
spring hurry up and get here?
How many more weeks
of winter must we endure? I know the
official start of winter was not that long
ago, but already I’m tired of it.
Perhaps it’s the fact the temperatures
refused to climb above the freezing
mark during the middle of last week as
I struggled with a nasty stomach virus.
With it taking all the strength I had to
simply get out of bed to take care of
necessary business, Old Man Winter
had a firm grasp on us.
My heater
couldn’t catch
its breath as it
struggled to keep
my house warm. I
had to unfreeze the
water in my pets’
drinking bowls
several times all
the while strug
gling to stand for
even a few min
utes because of
the illness which
knocked me out like a ton of bricks.
(My better half said my sickness came
from another season of watching the
hapless Atlanta Falcons play each week,
a true case of Falcon Fever if you will).
By Sunday, I was feeling somewhat
better and the weather had managed
to escape its freezing pattern, Still, I
thought, how I long for spring and the
warmth of the Georgia sunshine with
clear blue sky.
I still long for a day at the local
baseball field watching the Diamond
Leopards compete and I still long for
color to return to the landscape. The
bareness of the trees gives off an almost
haunting display, one which backs up
the knowledge that spring is still a long
way off.
Can winter really be that bad? Is win
ter the evil, green-eyed monster that I
make it out to be each year? I decided
to try and find a few positive things
about winter, hard as it might be.
With that in mind, I suppose the arriv
al of winter makes me thankful because
during this time of year:
•we don’t have to worry about cutting
the grass.
•we don’t have to worry about sting
ing insects.
•we don’t have to worry about break
ing out in a sweat after walking from
the front door to the mailbox, which are
only a few feet apart.
•we don’t have to worry about getting
too much sun.
•we don’t have to worry about bat
tling fire ants.
•we don’t have to worry about the air
conditioner putting a strain on our car.
•we don’t have to worry about the
temperature being stifling when you
first walk out the door in the morning.
•we don’t have to worry about water
ing the outside plants every couple of
days because of the extreme heat.
•we don’t have to worry about clean
ing bugs off our windshield several
times each week.
•we don’t have to worry about
remembering to take a hat with us to
keep the sun from causing damage to
our skin.
•we don’t have to worry about becom
ing dehydrated when we spend the day
doing yard work.
•we don’t have to worry about our
CDs getting too hot if we leave them
inside the player in our car.
•we don’t have to worry about the
house getting too warm if we open a
few window blinds.
•we don’t have to worry about suffo
cating from the heat if we decide to grill
out for supper.
•we don’t have to worry about finding
a pair of shorts that fit.
•we don’t have to worry about hang
ing one of those bug zappers on the
front porch when we want to enjoy the
sunset.
•we don’t have to worry about trying
to convince ourselves that winter really
isn’t all that bad. Bring on spring.
4 h
chris
bridges
Chris Bridges is a reporter for The
Banks County News. Contact him at
706-367-2745 or e-mail comments to
chris@mainstreetnews.com.