Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 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
Going by the wayside
A s I was driving down the road last week, I
noticed flashing blue lights and a caravan of
cars heading toward me in oncoming traffic.
A funeral procession.
The driver of the car in front of me flipped on the
blinker and pulled off to the side of the road. I did
the same.
Because we were driving on
a four-lane road, motorists who
didn’t want to stop passed us by
and kept on going about their busi
ness.
It’s an old tradition, that momen
tary show of sympathy for a fam
ily you likely don’t know and will
never meet, but you know they are
people who must be suffering at
that time.
It’s a show of respect for some
one who will never again meet a
stranger or a friend.
It is an old Southern tradition — at least I thought
so, although I’ve since heard of it happening in other
parts of the country, as well — but it’s one that seems
to be going by the wayside.
And quickly.
I watched as the cars sped past, one after the next,
with drivers in a hurry to get on with their lives.
When I see that solemn procession, my throat feels
tight. When I hear a siren or hear the report of a wreck
come across the police scanner here at the paper, I
have the same reaction, that sudden sense of impend
ing doom for someone out there.
(After all these years of hearing the police scanner,
I want to know what kinds of vehicles were involved.
Could it have been someone I know and love?)
So, it’s not you or your family and you are thankful.
You are sympathetic.
Or, you zoom past, in a hurry, “invincible” in a
sense.
I’ve read that in years past, people would get out of
their cars and stand in silence as a funeral procession
passed.
Granted, the roads are a lot busier than they used to
be, so that’s probably not the wisest course of action
these days, but I’ve read complaints that even hav
ing cars pull off the roadway as a funeral procession
passes by is a hazard. Some people suggest that it is
safer to merely slow down, rather than actually stop,
although I can’t see how a slowly moving car would
be less of a threat than a parked car to those whizzing
past at the speed limit or above.
Some states have laws pertaining not only to the
actual funeral procession itself, which is required to
follow the rules of road, but also to how other motor
ists should proceed.
For example, in Tennessee, drivers say the law
requires motorists in oncoming lanes to continue mov
ing.
In Massachusetts, drivers report it is against the law
not to pull over.
There goes that strictly Southern angle.
So, some people don’t pull over.
Or slow down.
But some even go so far as to pass members of the
funeral procession, winding their way in and out of the
line of cars driven by mourners.
In Georgia, that’s against the law.
Everywhere, it’s common decency going by the
wayside.
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 Co-Publisher (Editorial)
Scott Buffington Co-Publisher (Advertising)
Angela Gary Editor
Chris Bridges Sports Editor
Sharon Hogan Reporter
Anelia Chambers Receptionist
Suzanne Reed 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
(SCED 547160)
Published weekly by
MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.,
P.O. Box908, Jefferson, Ga. 30549
Subscription i
Subscription in stati
Subscription out of stati
Military with APO address .
$19.75
$38.85
$44.20
$42.20
Senior citizens get a $2 discount
Periodicals postage paid at Homer, Ga.
Postmaster, send address changes to:
Subscriptions,
The Banks County News,
P.O. Box 920,
Homer, Ga. 30547
The riddle that is Hillary Clinton
T he presidential primary sea
son ought to end Tuesday,
and I finally figured out the
answer to the riddle of the ages: Why
did Hillary run?
Before I share the Hillary solution
with you, dear readers, a bit of back
ground is in order.
Hillary Clinton is probably the
most focused and energetic govern
ment wonk ever to seek the presi
dency.
She also may have had more nega
tive marks against her than any major
presidential candidate in modern his
tory, more than even Bob Barr.
A former Georgia congress
man told me months before she
announced, “She’ll never run. Sure,
she’s dedicated and talented. She’ll
tell anybody who listens how much
she wants to be president and serve.
But she knows better. She knows her
negatives are so high that she can
never win. Bill knows, and he will
tell her.”
Ha! She ran anyway. Blame it on
Bill. He encouraged her. The notion
that Bill wanted to be a co-president
or something like that is pure bull.
Bill wanted one thing. He wanted
out of the doghouse more than he
wanted back in the White House.
Any married man who wants to
stay wed knows the rule: Do any
thing, say anything and promise
anything to get out of the doghouse.
Talk about appeasement. You don’t
know the meaning until you have lis
tened to a guy begging his way back
into his wife’s good graces. We’ve
all been there — well, most of us
anyway.
Think about it: Bill Clinton, prob
ably the most gifted politician of our
time, must have looked at the num
bers and tested the wind long ago. He
knew that Hillary
couldn’t win, but
he couldn’t bear
to tell her.
Instead, he
was determined
to help her cam
paign for presi
dent. By golly,
if that would not
help Hillary for
get Monica and
those other bim
bos, nothing would.
Bill wouldn’t let her down this
time. He would once again become
her shining knight, just like when
they were young. He would put the
stars back in her eyes. He would man
the ramparts and tell the media to
take a flying leap.
It was the least he could do. After
all, Hillary stood by her man when
many thought she should have kicked
his butt.
Can you imagine the embarrass
ment and chagrin she must have suf
fered? Day after day after day she
listened to details of her husband’s
dalliances. It was all over TV all the
time. He even tried to argue with a
straight face that oral sex was not
really sex. She must have been livid,
and stayed that way for a long, long
time. Who could blame her?
Then she suddenly needed Bill
again. She needed him at her side,
trashing her enemies as the two
of them stuck it out for the White
House. The last thing in the world
she needed from Bill was the harsh
truth: “Run for president? Are you
kidding? With your negatives, you
won’t stand a chance. Even a black
kid from Chicago could beat you.”
Bill, being the smart politician,
took a different tack. “I’m with you,
Hillary. Whatever you want from me,
you’ve got it. Of course you can win.
Look me straight in the eye and say
after me: ‘I can do it. I can do it. I
can win the nomination. I can win the
White House.’”
That is precisely what Hillary
wanted to hear her Bill say. Suddenly,
old Bill is out of the doghouse. Life
is pleasant again. Even if Hillary is
out of the race after Tuesday, she can
run another day, and old Bill will
jump right in again — before any
one has a chance to bring up Monica
again.
Footnote: The death of political
wise man Hamilton Jordan brought
back memories of a situation kindred
to the present never-say-die Obama-
Clinton primary battle. In the 1986
Georgia Democratic primary for the
Senate, Hamilton finished second
(32 percent) to Wyche Fowler Jr. (49
percent) and thus found himself in a
runoff three weeks later.
However, Jordan saw that his
chance of a runoff victory was slim.
For the good of the mission to oust
a GOP senator, Hamilton agreed
to drop out of the race, thus allow
ing Fowler to avoid the expense and
bloodletting of three more weeks of
campaigning. That is Fowler’s ver
sion of the story. However Jordon’s
folks say their man barely lost out
right, so they endorsed the frontrun
ner.
Democrat Fowler defeated GOP
incumbent Mack Mattingly 51 per
cent to 49 percent. Perhaps someone
should have told Hillary the Jordan
story months ago.
You can reach Bill Shipp at P.O.
Box 2520, Kennesaw, GA 30156,
e-mail: shipp1@bellsouth.net, or Web
address: billshipponline.com.
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 call
ing 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, questions
or suggestions relating to the coun
ty board of commissioners, county
government, county board of educa
tion and crime and courts is asked to
contact staff reporter 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 Suzanne
Reed at 706-677-3491. Church
news may also be e-mailed to
churchnews@mainstreetnews.com.
The Banks County News website
is updated each Thursday and
can be accessed on the Internet at
www.mainstreetnews.com.
Motivation,
quality teaching
keys to success
I t came as no surprise to me that
the test scores from Banks County
Middle School surpassed many of
the systems in this area and across the
state.
The Criterion-Referenced Competency
Test (CRCT) has gained plenty of pub
licity in recent weeks and most of it bad.
However, the news was certainly not all
bad at the local level as BCMS students
seemed to handle the controversial test
better than many.
State-wide, approximately 50,000
students failed and will be attending
summer school and retaking the portions
test before becoming eligible to advance
to the ninth grade.
BCMS, on the
other hand, will
have only a few
students (less than
50) attending sum
mer session.
Looking closer
at the numbers sees
almost 62 percent
of state-wide eighth
graders passing the
math portion of the
test. At BCMS, that
pass rate was close to 80 percent.
What’s the secret to success at BCMS?
Is it some magical formula put in the
school lunches? Is it simply a stroke of
good luck? Hardly.
You have to start at the top at BCMS
with principal Matthew Cooper, who is
the best educational motivator I have
met. Cooper’s enthusiastic approach
to learning is contagious. When listen
ing to him speak at Board of Education
meetings, I am ready to take out pen
and paper and go to work. Motivation
is so vital to any student, but especially
at the middle school level. Cooper has
what it takes to make learning fun but he
also doesn’t let his students lose track of
what’s important.
Testing of this nature can be very
stressful. Many students who realistically
know the material they are being testing
on are apt to freeze up when they see the
test in front of them. Cooper has found
ways to take the stress out of testing (not
just on the CRCT but in all aspects of
daily learning). In the end, students are
more relaxed and are able to excel on the
CRCT.
BCMS is also blessed with quality
teachers who implement Cooper’s game
plan on education. Without the teach
ers, success would not be possible. The
teachers put in countless hours of work.
Their jobs go so far beyond the time
they are actually in the classroom. They
take high levels of pride in teaching the
students and their ultimate goal is to see
each one of them succeed at a high rate.
How well is the formula working at
BCMS? Almost immediately after this
year’s CRCT preliminary results were
released, other school systems in the
Northeast Georgia area were looking
into visiting BCMS to see its game plan
for success.
When you are successful year after
year, you are obviously doing some
thing right. Other educators realize this
and will be making their way to Banks
County to visit with Cooper and his
teachers.
While parents in other school systems
across Georgia have been protesting
the poor CRCT results, the parents of
BCMS students have to be pleased with
how well their children are performing.
Even with the state school superinten
dent throwing out results because they
were so poor overall, students at BCMS
were overall moving right along and
continuing their past success.
It’s easy to criticize education offi
cials when even the smallest of things
aren’t to our liking. However, something
very positive is taking place at BCMS.
Students are excelling year after year.
That’s something worth celebrating. A
tip of the hat to Cooper and his teachers
for all they have accomplished in helping
their students succeed with each passing
school year.
They deserve a high level of praise for
all they have been able to accomplish.
Other systems may be struggling, but the
stars are shining brightly at BCMS.
Chris Bridges is a reporter for The
Banks County News. Contact him at
706-367-2745 or e-mail comments to
chris@mainstreetnews.com.