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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 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
Love — or something —
is in the air
L ove is in the air, and it stinks.
It’s that time again.
With February nearing, most people
think of Valentine’s Day.
I think about skunks.
And skunk love.
And the horrible scent that wafts through the
night air and surrounds our house, waking us from
our sleep.
Yet, better that than in and under the house, a
form of guerilla warfare we
almost succumbed to a few years
ago.
Yes, I’ve written about this
issue before. Someone at work
even thought of me when she was
at a yard sale and bought an oil
painting of a skunk. It adds to the
decor of my office, and it reminds
me.
It’s getting cold.
Get some repellent (it can’t
hurt, anyway, as long as you get
the kind that doesn’t repel your cat).
Batten down the hatches.
Seal off even the smallest cracks and crevices.
In short, try to fight Mother Nature.
Will she win this year’s battle?
Will we win the war?
It’s funny how little kids are enamored with
skunks. There is a Curious George episode where
George gets “skunked,” repeatedly. My daughter
thinks it’s hilarious, and I heard another mother of
a toddler say just the other day that her 3-year-old
loves that particular episode, too, and also has great
interest in skunks.
George stories are in constant demand at our
house — “Tell me about George?!” — and there’s
always a tale about a skunk coming out of the bush
es, stamping its feet and spraying. Or perhaps that
rogue skunk, named “Harvey,” of all things, makes
an appearance at the playground, spraying George,
the Man With the Yellow Hat and all the friends.
Bad skunk! Be nice or you won’t get a turn on the
merry-go-round.
Seriously, though, late January and early February
mean mating season for skunks. That brings the
need for a warm nest, often underneath some poor
unsuspecting soul’s house, where baby skunks can
be born (and grow and stink and view that as home
forever and ever). Skunk love is fraught with tur
moil and violence and lots of screaming and
spraying.
Beware.
jana a.
mitcham
Jana Adams Mitcham is features editor of The
Jackson Herald, a sister publication of The Banks
County News. E-mail comments about this column
to jana@mainstreetnews.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
Phones (all 706 area code):
Angela Gary Phone 367-2490
Angela Gary Fax 367-9355
Homer Office Phone 677-3491
Homer Office Fax 677-3263
Advertising Phone 367-5233
Sports News 367-2745
Sports Fax: 367-9355
Member: Georgia Press Assocication
National Newspaper Association
Georgia Sports Writers Association
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Axiom: Don't hit women
C onventional wisdom
holds that the polls were
all wrong about Barack
Obama having a whopping lead
over Hillary Clinton going into New
Hampshire.
Conventional wisdom errs. The
polls were right when they were
taken. The real mistake regard
ing Hillary was committed by her
rivals John Edwards and Obama.
Presidential politics ain’t boxing.
O&E hit Hillary much too hard.
They overplayed their hands in the
extreme as they took turns pounding
her. Shame on you, boys.
You must have missed class the
day they taught axiom No. 6 of
presidential politics. “Hell hath no
fury like a scorned bloc of women
voters.” You also missed your read
ing assignments: “Just Because You
Are a Misogynist, You Don’t Have
to Act Like One in Public” and
“The Myth That Women Secretly
Love Being Insulted by Guys with
Expensive Haircuts.”
Give Obama the booby prize for
stupidity at the Saturday debate
before the New Hampshire primary.
Hillary started to pick up momen
tum the moment a male panelist
blithely asked why so many vot
ers don’t like Hillary and Obama
quipped, “She’s likeable enough.”
Heh-heh-heh.
“That hurt my feelings,” Hillary
said later. It apparently hurt a lot of
other female feelings too. Hillary
choking up over the presidential
campaign also may have gained
her some sympathy, but the overall
meanness toward her in the debate
had far greater effect.
O&E should have watched the
films of the 2000 New York Senate
debate before
they assailed
Hillary in the
final New
Hampshire
match-up.
Remember
what happened?
Her challenger,
then-Congress
man Rick Lazio,
aggressively
approached
Hillary on stage to demand she
disavow “soft money” in the race.
Lazio came on like a New York
Giants tackle. His bullying even
turned off hardened New Yorkers
and propelled Hillary into the
Senate.
We wander. Let’s return to the
future. Georgia is lucky to have a
huge air hub in Atlanta. Otherwise,
we could not assume the role of
Stopover Heaven in the upcoming
Feb. 5 Super-Duper presidential
primary. We would just be another
middle-size state lost in the clash
of titan jurisdictions from the North
and West.
As the campaign circus heads into
the Feb. 5 volcano, here are some
questions that loom large over the
election and perhaps our national
destiny:
1. Will the Democratic nomina
tion finally boil down to a contest
of women vs. blacks? If so, how
will most black women vote? We
forget that discrimination against
women runs as deeply and predates
mistreatment of blacks. Black males
were given the right to vote more
than a half-century before guys like
O&E decided it was OK for women
to vote too — if they would just
stop nagging.
2. Will John Edwards still be
around for the primary in Georgia,
a state where he has amassed an
impressive list of supporters? If he
continues to collect delegates, he
will be.
3. Is Obama another Gary Hart —
a smooth talker with lots of drive
but not much else? Hart burst on
the scene like a roman candle, then
faded like bad film. Is that Obama?
Gary couldn’t take a punch. Can
Barack?
Campaign note: Support for
Obama and Clinton among African-
American leaders is split almost
along generational lines. Hillary
counts old-timers John Lewis,
Calvin Smyre and Hank Aaron
among her backers. Obama’s sup
porters include Shirley Franklin,
Kasim Reed, Lisa Borders and Hank
Johnson.
4. Will Mitt Romney make
it to the South? If so, will his
Mormonism cause him problems? If
he does not survive, where will the
Republican establishment turn?
5. Related puzzler: Is John
McCain already becoming the
darling of panicky white-shoe
Republicans intent on stopping Mike
Huckabee from becoming the nomi
nee for the Gomer Pyle?
6. Whatever happened to Rudy
Giuliani? Ralph Reed, give me ring.
I want to make sure your guy is still
running and not just dodging the
mob or back in the Big Apple chas
ing show girls again.
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.
Banks community
shows strength
during past year
I know we are a couple of weeks
into the new year now, but 2007
remains on my mind.
Like all years, the past 12 months
were filled with good and bad. Banks
County citizens had their share of the
positive and the negative to deal with
during 2007. I’ve yet to reach my three-
year mark on the news beat locally, but
one thing which has already made a
strong impression on me is the people
who make up this county.
The people who have treated me like
family, even though I am an outsider to
this county. The
people who talk to
you like they’ve
known you for
years when in real
ity I couldn’t tell
you their name if
my life depended
on it. It’s seeing
people wave at you
when you drive
down the street and
wondering if the
person recognizes
you or if they are
simply being friendly (or both).
That’s why I’m not surprised that a
community likes Banks County pulled
together during two tragic events which
occurred in 2007. The deaths of Shawn
Smith and Ashley Blevins stunned
everyone who knew them or knew of
them and helped draw an already close
community closer. While several months
have passed since the tragic death of
these two young people, their loss is still
being felt by family, friends and all of
Banks County. No doubt it will continue
to be that way for years.
I never had the opportunity to meet
Shawn Smith. By all reports, the Banks
County High School graduate was on
the fast track in coaching circles. A
respected coach and teacher at North
Oconee High School, Smith worked
for a year at his alma mater in Homer
before moving on. He was involved
in a traffic accident this past summer
while attending a basketball camp with
members of the North Oconee team in
Alabama. Smith’s passing has touched
both the BCHS and North Oconee com
munities and the football game each
year will now be played in his honor.
While I didn’t know Smith personally,
I felt like I did in many ways. I work
with a member of his family and other
members of his family are friends.
I did have the opportunity to watch
Ashley Blevins perform on the bas
ketball court and on the soccer field at
BCHS. She was the type of athlete who
always gave her best and that could be
seen in numerous photographs which
were published of her in this newspaper.
Blevins could often be seen leaping
through the air for a rebound or bas
ketball and sprinting down the soccer
field making another play for the Lady
Leopards.
Blevins, who died in a car crash last
spring, certainly left us way too soon.
A young, energetic high school student,
she had so much to look forward to in
life. She was only a few months from
graduating and moving on to make her
next impact on the world.
Death is something most of us, myself
included, don’t like to think about. It’s
understandable. Something that is so
permanent is so scary, so intimidating
that they would rather not think about
it in hopes that we would never have to
deal with it. I think about Shawn Smith
and Ashley Blevins often. I think about
Smith whenever I’m at BCHS. I think
about Blevins when I drive past the
memorial placed off Hwy. 98 between
Maysville and Homer. I think about how
much these two young people still had
to offer.
The Banks County community ral
lied together during these two tragic
events, like it has so many times in the
past. That’s one of things I have grown
to admire about the place I cover in the
short amount of time I’ve been here. If
you are a newcomer, you are treated like
family. And if you are family, you are
treated like gold.
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.