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PACE 4A
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2008
Editor: Angela Gary
Phone: 706-367-2490
E-mail: AngieEditor@aol.com
Website: www.banksnewsTODAY.com
Opinions
“Where the press is free and every tnan
able to read, all is safe.”
— Thomas Jefferson
The funny things
kids say...
M y 6-year-old nephew, Jake, had an
upset stomach a few nights ago. He
loves honey but ate a little too much of
it—without a biscuit or anything to soak it up. He
hurried to the bathroom and I could tell that he was
sick at his stomach.
“Go get Nanny,” he yelled.
“She will know what to do. She
was a doctor in the old times.”
I stopped to laugh before I
hurried off to get her. Wonder
how he got a thought like that
in his head. Must be because
we all want Mama when we are
sick. I know Daddy and I want
her as soon as we feel a little
under the weather. My sister
also calls to describe ailments
she has or her sons and husband
has and asks Mama what to do
for them.
Another time Jake had me laughing came after I
spent the night with him. I got up the next morning
and asked him what he usually had for breakfast.
He said, “Mama’s homemade biscuits.” I laughed
my way into the kitchen and asked my sister why
she told Jake her canned biscuits were homemade
biscuits. She laughed too and insisted that she had
never told Jake she made homemade biscuits.
I’m sure for every story I share, anyone out there
with a kid can share two or three more. Children are
such a blessing and they provide us with so much
laughter and happiness. A stressful day disappears
as soon as your precious young one gives us a hug.
As I recently celebrated another birthday, I spent
more time than usual giving God thanks for my
blessings. My young nephews, Jake, who keeps us
laughing, and Grayson, who isn’t talking yet but
can make us laugh just by looking at his smiling
face, are two blessings I give thanks for every day.
A healthy, happy child is a blessing and I am thank
ful for the two we have in our family.
I am also so thankful for my health. It may be
easy for some to take their health for granted, but
not me. I always thank God for my health, and I do
so even more than usual, when I add another year to
my age. I may groan about how I can’t get around
like I used to, but I don’t have any serious medical
problems and I am so thankful for that.
This past birthday, I celebrated the passage for
more than one week. I was out of town for my birth
date, so I had to stretch out the gatherings with fam
ily and friends over more than one week. It made
me even more thankful for the many friends and
wonderful family members who I have.
Other blessings I have include a job to go to every
day; a house to live in; and more than enough food
and clothing. Life is good.
angela
gary
Angela Gary is associate editor of The
Jackson Herald and editor of The Banks County
News. E-mail comments about this column to
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
Suzanne Reed...
Co-Publisher
. Co-Publisher
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
(SCED 547160)
Published weekly by
MainStreetNewspapers, Inc.,
P.O. Box 908, Jefferson, Ga. 30549
www.banksnewsTODAY.com
Subscription in county $19.75
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Subscription out of state $44.20
Military with APO address $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
Member: Georgia Press Association
Georgia Sports Writers Association
National Newspaper Association
Learning the importance of a weather siren
T here’s something you
should know if you find
yourself in Columbus, Ga.
at noon on a Saturday — that noise
is not an air raid at the nearby Ft.
Benning.
Instead, that deafening noise
— heard throughout most of the
city — is the weekly severe weather
warning siren.
Around here, we don’t hear a
weather siren on a regular basis
— regardless of the weather condi
tions. But in Columbus, it’s a part
of the city much like the Aflac
building, the Hooch (Chattahoochee
River) and scrambled dogs.
My family moved to Columbus
from Texas 15 years ago, when I
was a sophomore in high school.
I remember walking up to my
new high school to register for class
when I saw that sign — “Fallout
shelter.”
Living in the suburbs of Houston,
we didn’t have a need for fallout
shelters. And besides, we were so
close to the Gulf that no one in
Southeast Texas could have a true
basement.
Did our move to the city next to
Ft. Benning — the world’s larg
est military base — threaten our
lives? Do schools in Georgia have
bomb drills like we had fire drills in
Texas?
A few days later, I heard that
noise. It starts as a faint, but notice
able sound, and soon becomes a
noise that is unavoidable. It sounds
like a weather siren — but there are
no clouds in the sky. Could some
thing be happening on the base?
I quickly learned that panic
isn’t necessary
— that noise
is Columbus’
weather siren.
Later, that noise
would become
my alarm clock
for those lazy
Saturday morn
ings that I didn’t
want to get out
of bed. When
you’re teenager with a late-night
job, a blaring noise provided by the
city certainly starts the senses.
That siren would also prove to be
a lifesaver. One late afternoon, as
some ominous-looking clouds rolled
into the area — and the sky turned
green — the siren was activated.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but
those clouds were funnel clouds —
and they were heading in our direc
tion.
But, like a deer caught in the
headlines, I kept staring at the
clouds. I had never seen anything
like it.
With the siren blaring and the
clouds a short distance from our
apartment, my sister was doing her
best to get me to take shelter in a
bathroom. I’m lucky that my stupid
ity (and curiosity) didn’t cost me
my life.
But the funnel clouds continued to
my high school, which was next to
our apartment complex.
There, our baseball team and its
rival team ran into the school when
the siren sounded.
It was just a few seconds later that
the small tornado touched down on
the baseball field, ripping most of
the equipment to shreds. The play
ers survived, but few openly talked
about the fear of huddling together
in the school as they heard the
destruction outside.
Years later, while attending a cal
culus class at UGA, a siren started.
It was already a nasty weather day
— the sky was black, it was rain
ing and thunder was heard in the
distance. And, now, there was siren
making a lot of noise outside the
building.
There were more than 200 stu
dents in that classroom — and
seven of us had panicked looks on
our faces.
Do we take shelter?
Do we interrupt the professor in
mid-sentence and run?
Do we really care about a tangent
line when there’s a siren telling us
something is horribly wrong?
And so, we sat there — listening
to the siren with our eyes concen
trating on the professor, who contin
ued the lecture.
It turned out that siren was a part
of a statewide drill. There was no
real threat. Hopefully, whoever
flipped the switch on the siren that
day in Athens realized that wasn’t
the best time to test the system.
So, if it’s noon on Saturday and
you’re in Columbus — don’t freak
out about the noise.
But any other time and any other
city might be cause for concern.
Kerri Testement is news editor of
The Braselton News, a sister publi
cation of The Banks County News.
E-mail comments about this column
to kerri @ mainstreetnews. com.
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.
Fetters 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, RO. Box
920, Homer, Ga. 30547.
E-mailed letters will be accepted,
but we must have a contact phone
number and address. Fetters that are
libelous will not be printed.
Fetters 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, 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 concerning the City of
Maysville should go to staff report
er Justin Poole at 706-367-2348.
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 throughout the week and
can be accessed on the Internet at
www.banksnewsTODAY.com.
Voter turnout
should be
much higher
T here will be several hundred
people who go to the polls in
Banks County for the upcom
ing July 15 election and I salute each
one of you.
However, for each one of you who
cast a vote in the primary election, there
will be so many more people who don’t.
Believe it or not there will be people
who don’t even know an election is tak
ing place Tuesday. I know, I know. How
could that be, you ask.
Personally, I
haven’t a clue.
With candidates
placing their signs
all over the county
and placing ads in
this publication and
through other ven
ues I can’t imagine
someone — any
one — not know
ing what is taking
place next Tuesday.
Yet, I know there
will be people who could not tell you
next Tuesday was primary election day
if you offered them a crisp, new $100
bill. What a shame.
When you think about what the sacri
fice our servicemen and servicewomen
are making today you have to cringe
at that notion. Yet, I know it exists. I
know people who couldn’t tell you the
first thing about this upcoming election.
You know them too. The bad thing is
they aren’t living in a cave. They actu
ally have access to television, radio and
newspapers. Many probably even have
ways to log onto the Internet.
Yet, they remain uninformed on the
voting process. Some never even bother
to register to vote. I’ve heard all kinds
of excuses through the years. Some
include:
•I don’t care about voting.
•I don’t want to be called for jury
duty.
•I don’t have time to keep up with
elections.
•They are all crooks.
•My vote doesn’t matter.
•They don’t care about my concerns.
•They aren’t going to do what they
say so why bother.
Excuses, every one of them and quite
frankly not very good ones in my book.
A different kind of apathy can be seen
by those who actually take the time to
register to vote once upon a time but
then never bother to visit their respective
polling location. Some go so long with
out voting in an election their names get
dropped from the voter lists.
It’s easier than ever to vote these days.
You can always vote by absentee ballot.
We now have advance voting where you
can vote the week before the election
takes place. There’s still the old fashion
7 a.m. to 7 p.m. block of time on elec
tion day.
So many options, so many oppor
tunities to do our patriotic duty yet so
many of us do not. It’s enough to make
Thomas Jefferson, George Washington
and John Adams all turn over in the their
graves. What have we come to when we
won’t even take a few minutes every few
months to vote on those who represent
us at the local, state and national levels?
What does it say about us when most
couldn’t tell you who is running even
if the keys to a new house were on the
line.
I hope one day things will be differ
ent. I hope one day when I arrive at my
polling place the line will be so long I
have to prepare myself for a multi-hour
wait. Despite the fact I have an overall
lack of patience, this would be one time
I would force myself to stand there and
enjoy every minute of being in line.
Afterall, what is more American than
voting in an open election?
Unless a miracle happens and the
voter turnout happens to be in the 90
percent range Tuesday I am not going
to be happy. (I realize we should strive
for 100 percent, but hey I will take 90
to start with.) As you stay away from
the polls Tuesday think about those who
are fighting to give us the right to vote.
Aren’t they worth it?
Chris Bridges is a reporter for The
Banks County News. Contact him
706-367-2745 or e-mail comments to
chris@mainstreetnews.com.