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PACE 4A
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 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
Women get the vote
I received an e-mail on Monday with details of how
women were treated during the suffrage days. Some
were imprisoned. Some were beaten. Some were
treated as if they were insane and attempts were made
to institutionalize them, simply because they sought
the right to vote.
Of course, there was nothing “simple” about it. The
vote would change everything, giving women power in
more areas than just the polls. It would mean a shift
ing of the bedrock - in the home, in education, in the
work world.
The point of the email was that
women should take advantage of
their right to vote, for it was hard-
won.
The primary has come and gone.
November will be here soon
enough, and it seems that female
voters are particularly in demand
this year, as Obama and McCain
seek to pick up Clinton's female
supporters.
Back when we were working on
the book “Our Time and Place: A
History of Jackson County,” I did
some searching through old copies of The Jackson
Herald to learn about the earlier role of women in
politics.
Not surprisingly, the response to women seeking the
vote was not overwhelmingly positive.
In July 1913, The Herald reprinted an article from
The Augusta Chronicle commenting on the right
to vote for women in Illinois. This article told of a
woman who went out to the polls, while her husband
stayed home with the children. Imagine!
Men weren’t allowed to “throw up their jobs every
time election day comes around, so women shouldn't
expect to, either,” the article said.
Yet, by March 1914, a “Suffragette Convention”
was planned at Martin Institute in Jefferson. By 1920,
some 40 years after the Women’s Suffrage Movement
began, women were given the right to vote.
The editor at The Jackson Herald expressed misgiv
ings.
“We have never favored woman suffrage. Not
because woman (sic) is not qualified for this respon
sibility, but because we did not believe it good for
woman to get mixed up in politics.”
Because voter registration was required six months
prior to an election, women did not vote on state or
national issues that year. However, they could vote on
city matters.
Miss Lurline Collier was the first woman to qualify
to vote in Jackson County - she had also been another
“first,” having been named a deputy sheriff years ear
lier when her father was sheriff. Miss Collier noted
that there was not a “mad rush” of women preparing
to vote.
By 1924, 135 women had registered to vote in the
county. Commerce women voted for the first time
in November 1921, with 44 of the total 271 voters
reported as female.
Once women gained the right to vote, they also
gained the right to hold office and sit on a jury, but it
took a while. In 1955, Dorothy Bullard, Center, was
the first woman to serve on a Jackson County jury.
She was foreman.
It’s been a slow march, from the 1880s and the
beginning of the suffrage struggle, to the 2008 cam
paign, where a woman was seeking to become presi
dent.
So, she wasn't the one, but I really wouldn't say it
had that much to do with her gender.
What woman is out there now who will eventually
be that “first?”
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
Scott Buffington
. Co-Publisher
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 in county
$19.75
Subscription in state
$38.85
Subscription out of state
$44.20
Military with APO address
$42.20
Senior citizens get a $2 discount
Periodicals postage paid at Homer, Ga. 30547
Let's hope the winners don't turn out to be losers!
comments from
www.BanksNewsTODAY.com
On story “Attorney says test results
clear assistant principal:”
"When is this witch hunt going to
end?!! Lori Rylee has been a fine
educator for years and is being thrown
under the bus by this school board.
Kids have imaginations and this is
obviously a situation that has been
born of that. What I would like to know
is what education degrees our respec
tive school board members hold? Do
we realize that they hold power over
educators that have masters, special
ists and sometimes doctorate degrees?
Remember that on election day!”
On Chris Bridges column:
“Presidential election proving to be
puzzling:”
"Libertarians are nothing more than
Republicans that lose their morals.
Disappointed in
Dear Editor:
We were disappointed to read a gov
ernment notice in the July 9 paper that
informed Banks Countians of a public
hearing at the next BOC meeting on
July 22.
The hearing is intended to brief
citizens on the proposed update to the
county’s comprehensive plan and to
“provide for public input.”
We have participated in several pre
vious meetings at which the BOC
sought public input, and it is discour
aging that the commissioners decided
to schedule this very important final
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.
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
They have Republican views towards
the business and free enterprise, but
hold the deplorable liberal views
toward abortion, homosexual marriage,
etc. Bob Barr is better than Obama,
but I can’t vote for him. What’s wrong
with Sean Hannity by the way?”
On story “Assistant principal case
could be nearing end:”
“Lori Rylee is being thrown under
the PC bus. Our school board quakes
in their boots when the noisy minority
of parents rattles their sabres. Read
the report — no pee pee in the water.
Couple this with CHILDREN HAVE
UNBRIDLED IMAGINATIONS! We
can’t do this because somewhere down
the line we raised a generation of
parents who haven’t grown up them
selves. It’s time to send the message
public hearing at 3:30 in the afternoon
on a work day.
If the intent is to hear from as many
citizens as possible, then this timing
is extremely puzzling. Most Banks
Countians have to work for a living,
and coming to a mid-aftemoon meet
ing is virtually impossible. We won
der why this was done.
The comprehensive plan is one of
the most important matters that county
government produces to guide the
future growth and development of
Banks County, and it seems like the
commission should go out of its way
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.
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.
to the school board to stop bowing
their knees to the PC crowd. Vote on
July 15th - three of them are up for
re-election!”
On Maysville fire story:
“Why is it no one remembers house
bill 489...using Maysville Fire as first
due is duplication of service and ille
gal by state law. Maysville Fire has
lost their share of houses in the last
few years...any one remember the two
fires on Deer Run where both of them
burned to the ground ? How about
some positive stories instead of trying
to brew more controversy?”
On Loyd Echols death:
“My prayers and heart goes out to
the Echols family and even more so
for Ms. Echols.
to hold public hearings during night
meetings, or at least in the very late
afternoon.
Almost every BOC meeting is held
at night. We had hoped our local gov
ernment would want to be as open to
its constituents as possible. We were
apparently wrong.
We hope someone will be able to
attend and have a voice about a plan
which is going to be in place for the
next 10 years!
Sincerely,
Cliff Jolliff and Elaine Gerke
Maysville
given
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.
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.
FISA bill
an assault on
civil liberties
Tuesday’s summer primary election
is now over. With that in mind, a few
thoughts about November’s vote which
is now. believe it or not. less than four-
months away:
For those of you who have been
asleep at the wheel in recent days,
President Bush got his wish with
the repassing of the FISA (Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act) Bill.
Despite the objections of those who
value civil liberties and certain historical
American docu
ments such as the
Bill of Rights, the
President contin
ues to contend this
unconstitutional
bill is necessary for
the so-called “war
on terror.”
Thumbs up to
those lawmak
ers who fought
this bill such as
Russ Feingold of
Wisconsin.
Thumbs down to those such as Orin
Hatch of Utah who gave the president a
rubber stamp of approval on this issue
which poured more acid on Americans
right to privacy and civil liberties.
• ••
Former Georgia Congresswoman
Cynthia McKinney, always a lightning
rod for controversy, is now a presiden
tial candidate.
McKinney easily won the Green Party
nomination last week and joins several
third-party candidates with higher-than-
usual name recognition this year. (Bob
Barr is the Libertarian Party nominee
and Ralph Nadar is once again running
for president as an independent.)
Now a resident of California,
McKinney will be on the ballot in
approximately 36 states although
Georgia will not be one of them. State
Green Party officials attempted to obtain
the number of necessary signatures to
place their presidential candidate on
the November ballot but fell way short.
Georgia has one of the most strict bal
lot access laws in the country thanks to
the Republicans and Democrats who
work together on this issue to keep vot
ers from having much of a choice. (Barr
will be on the ballot by the way.)
McKinney's vice-presidential running
mate is Rosa Clementa of New York.
•••
At a recent campaign event in Denver,
John McCain was holding one of his
“Straight Talk” rallies. That apparently
didn’t hold for one former newspaper
reporter and current part-time librarian
outside the event who was actually tick
eted after holding a simple sign which
read “McCain = Bush.”
It seems Secret Service agents told
local police to tell the woman holding
the sign to leave the area even though
she was standing on public property.
When she asked why, she was told she
was trespassing. Even after she left, with
four police officers as an escort, she
was ticketed and given a court date. She
was told if she returned she would be
arrested.
The footage of the incident is all over
the Internet. In no way was the woman
threatening the police officers or any
one for that matter. She was not even
attempting to enter the building. Simply,
she was holding a sign that McCain rep
resentatives apparently didn't like.
The best question she asked however,
was, “Why do the McCain people find
this sign offensive? Are they ashamed of
George Bush?”
When all was said and done, I
don't guess the event was really about
“Straight Talk” afterall.
•••
With more talk than usual this presi
dential election of third-party candidates
do you know who was the last person
outside of the two major parties to actu
ally carry a state? Ross Perot? John
Anderson? Ralph Nadar? No. Try for
mer Alabama Governor George Wallace
who in 1968 won five Southern states,
including Georgia, in the presidential
election.
Chris Bridges is a reporter for The
Banks County News. Contact him at
706-367-2745 or e-mail comments to
chris@mainstreetnews.com.
Letter to the Editor
BOC meeting planned during day
Letters to the editor policy
News department contact numbers
chris
bridges