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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 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
Amazed by technology
of today’s world
I was in a hotel room in Macon on a business trip
recently when my cell phone rang. My 6-year-
old nephew, Jake, was very excited. He told
me that he had sent me a photo on my cell phone. I
quickly checked it out. There was a smiling Jake with a
gap in his mouth.
That front tooth had been loose for a while and it
finally came out. I may have been out of town but I
had that smiling photo in just a few minutes. When I
was Jake’s age, I had no idea what a cell phone was.
It’s amazing that my tiny cell phone is also a camera
and a mini computer where I can check out my e-mail.
The cell phone also has a calen
dar, a calculator, a tape recorder
and an alarm clock on it!
My cell phone really is like a
toy to me. I have ordered several
songs and have them programmed
to ring when family and friends
call. If I hear “Song of the South,”
I know my Mom is calling. If I
hear “Rapper’s Delite,” I know it’s
my sister calling. I have people
who call me regularly listed on
my contact list. So, not only do I
hear “their song” playing, I also
see their name pop up on the
screen of my cell phone.
You can even take photos of the people on your con
tact list and program your cell phone so that their snap
shot pops up when they call. All of this technology has
been developed since I was a teenager. Just imagine
what will be available when Jake is a teenager.
This recent business trip to Macon is also the first
one where I took along a laptop computer. During the
eight hour meeting one day, I e-mailed several articles
back to the office. In the past, I had to wait a few days
until I got back to the office to write up articles.
I also took a few photos of the meeting with my
digital camera. Popped an adapter into my laptop
computer. Saved the photos on my desktop and then
e-mailed them to the office. I wouldn’t be back in the
office for a few days but I had already sent several sto
ries and photos.
I never would have imagined this back in my days at
the Journalism School at the University of Georgia in
the mid-1980s. In those days, we still used typewriters
in class.
I toured the Journalism School at UGA recently
while attending a Georgia Press Association seminar in
Athens. My how things have changed. No typewriters
were found in the classrooms. Instead, we saw more
technology than I would have thought possible a few
decades ago.
When I was in high school, we had one computer
class. There was one computer in the class and we all
stood around it like it was some foreign object. Back
then, hardly anyone had computers at the office much
less at home.
Today, Jake can maneuver his way around the com
puter better than I can. He goes to computer lab with
his fellow kindergarteners and they all have their own
computer to work on. When I can’t figure something
out on the computer, Jake quickly helps me figure it
out.
All of this technology is amazing. I’m always learn
ing something new. It certainly makes keeping in touch
easier than ever before.
angela
gary
Angela Gary is editor of The Banks County News.
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
Phones (all 706 area code):
Angela Gary Phone
..367-2490
Angela Gary Fax
..367-9355
Homer Office Phone
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Homer Office Fax
..677-3263
Advertising Phone
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(SCED 547160)
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‘The candidates all like to talk about dollars.
Before I vote, I'd like to hear one talk sense!
Sam or Roy for V.P. Too?
W e have been so busy
advising Sonny Perdue
on how to become the
Republican vice presidential nomi
nee that we overlooked two obvious
Georgia possibilities as the Democratic
running mate — former Gov. Roy
Barnes or former Sen. Sam Nunn.
Let’s make the case for the V.P. slot:
The best V.P. choices are not always
those made purely for reasons of geog
raphy and ideological balance. The
best running mates are often those who
help the presidential nominee address
a source of voter concern, or who
reinforce the presidential candidate’s
message.
Consider the last two nonincumbent
presidential winners: In 2000 George
W. Bush picked Dick Cheney, who was
actually residing in Bush’s home state
of Texas at the time, and who hurriedly
changed his voter registration back
to his native Wyoming to meet the
Electoral College requirement that the
presidential and vice presidential can
didates be from different states. Bush’s
selection of Cheney reassured voters
that a seasoned and capable running
mate would adorn the ticket. Cheney
had served as secretary of defense
under Bush’s father, White House
chief of staff under President Gerald
Ford, and as a Republican leader in
Congress.
Then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton’s
choice of then-Sen. Al Gore, from
neighboring Tennessee, was likewise
brilliant. It reinforced Clinton’s mes
sage — he chose a bright, relatively
moderate young politician who had
made a name for himself. The Gore
ploy said to a country weary of a
recession, budget deficits and other
ailments that the Clinton-Gore ticket
meant change but not the scary left
wing kind that Washington Democrats
have so often tried.
That brings us to this year. If leading
candidates decide
to look beyond
geographic
considerations,
ex-Gov. Barnes
or ex-Sen. Nunn
could move into
V.P. consideration
on the Democratic
side. Georgia
won’t go blue
under almost any
circumstance.
However, Sam or
Roy could help either Barack Obama
or Hillary Clinton in the fall, even if
they can’t help win Georgia.
Nunn could be Obama’s Cheney.
Nunn was the premier Democrat on
national security policy during his 24
years in the Senate. He has maintained
his profile with his work to stop the
spread of nuclear weapons. A Vice
President Nunn could reassure vot
ers that the inexperienced Obama will
have a trustworthy national security
veteran close at hand in a crisis.
As for Clinton, she may need help
mending rifts in the Democratic coali
tion that she and her husband have
created with their aggressive campaign
against Obama. At this point, she’s
unlikely to pick Obama, both because
of the animus between them, and
because the Clinton machine is too risk
averse to run the first woman for presi
dent on a ticket with the first African-
American.
So who else could send a message
of racial reconciliation inside the
Democratic Party? How about Barnes?
The national press has repeatedly
reported on how Barnes gave up an
easy stroll to a second term by remov
ing the segregation-era Confederate
battle emblem from our state flag.
The Kennedy family awarded him
its Profile in Courage award for that
daring and politically disastrous
deed. Barnes is close to the national
African-American civil rights estab
lishment, which is still largely based
in Atlanta. Instead of turning himself
into a high-priced lobbyist at a big law
firm, Barnes has been practicing law in
Marietta, representing aggrieved con
sumers against corporate bad guys.
Barnes also brings the narrative of
Georgia’s recent political history to the
race. Many Democrats and national
observers see the state as ground zero
for the hardball Karl Rove-Ralph
Reed tactics of this decade. The nasty
2002 race that cost Barnes the gov
ernor’s office also took down Sen.
Max Cleland, the circumstances of
whose loss are still a rallying cry for
Democrats nationally. Barnes himself
was an early victim of the politi
cized Bush Justice Department. Rick
Thompson, the first Bush U.S. attorney
in Savannah, was eventually removed
for violating the public trust after he
issued press releases meant to damage
Barnes’ and other Democrats’ 2002 re
election bids.
Beyond the symbolism he would
bring, Barnes is a competent manager
who served as governor as long as
Jimmy Carter did. He left office with
nary a whiff of scandal, and he can
turn a phrase in a campaign. Plus, he
has the trait most important in a vice
president — he’s loyal. Among many
other examples, witness him stick
ing by his friend John Edwards to the
bitter end. Wouldn’t it be wonderful
(for me anyway) if the GOP turned
to Sonny for V.P. and the Democrats
tapped Roy? We’d have the rematch
of the century on a national scale. So
what if that is an absurd idea? I can
dream, can’t I?
You can reach award-winning politi
cal columnist Bill Shipp at P.O. Box
2520, Kennesaw, GA 30156 or by
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.
Impressive role
models found
at BCMS
I n a day and time when positive
role models are so desperately
needed for our young students,
Banks County Middle School has two
of the best teaching and coaching at 712
Thompson Street.
Steven Shedd and John Bertrang are
both quality coaches and teachers, who
deserve praise for the positive lessons
they are teaching students on a daily
basis at BCMS.
Both of these men coach the basket
ball teams at the local middle school
and parents could
not ask for two
better mentors
to be working
with their chil
dren than Shedd
and Bertrang.
The countless
hours each puts
in deserves a big
amount of respect,
gratitude and out
right praise.
On the surface, it
may seem glamor
ous to be a coach. However, in reality,
it is a lot of hours for not a lot in return
when it comes to pay. However, men
tors like Bertrang and Shedd obviously
aren’t in this for the money. You won’t
read about them negotiating a new mil
lion dollar contract to continue coaching
at BCMS.
No, you have two coaches who like
to see young people be a part of a team
environment and to enjoy success on the
basketball court. Sports, if used prop
erly, can be a positive teaching tool for
young people, especially at the middle
school level. Parents of Banks County
Middle School students can rest assured
they have two basketball coaches who
are coaching for the right reasons and
who are coaching the right lessons when
it comes to sportsmanship and respect
for the game.
The BCMS teams competed in their
annual Leopard Invitational this past
week with both the Leopards and Lady
Leopards finishing as tournament
runner-ups. While the players were no
doubt disappointed by not taking the
first-place trophy, Shedd and Bertrang
once again displayed why they are such
great leaders for our young student-ath
letes. Both coaches immediately talked
about the positives their teams accom
plished both in the championship games
and throughout the season.
Athletics, especially at this level,
should be about learning and preparing
for future endeavors. BCMS has two
coaches who are teaching this impor
tant lesson with every practice and with
every game.
“I am proud of what we were able
to accomplish this season as a team,”
Shedd said of his Lady Leopards. “ This
is one of the best teams we have ever
had here at the middle school and their
record proves that.”
The Lady Leopards were 11-3 this
season and went 25-6 overall during the
past two years under Shedd’s leadership.
For the BCMS boys, there isn’t a
coach in the county who can offer
the level of experience that Bertrang
can. Well respected among his peers,
Bertrang lends his coaching knowledge
to the middle school and high school. In
fact, Banks County High School varsity
boys basketball coach Mike Ruth con
siders Bertrang his right hand man when
it comes to coaching the Leopards.
Like Shedd and the Lady Leopards,
Bertrang has guided the BCMS boys
to back-to-back runner-up seasons.
Watching him coach gives one a chance
to see him share his knowledge of the
sport and help prepare his young ath
letes for their future roles as players
at the junior varsity and varsity levels.
Bertrang runs the same system as Ruth
does at the high school for that purpose.
The season is now over for the BCMS
teams, but the great memories will live
on for many years. Plus, the lessons
taught by Shedd and Bertrang will stay
with their players for the rest of their
lives. These coaches are a true asset to
BCMS and Banks County as a whole.
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.