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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 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
jana a.
mitcham
What’s in a photo?
W e watched a documentary the other night
about people who collect old photographs.
They have no ties to those pictured.
The photos aren't those that are passed down from
generation to generation.
They are old photographs that are for sale, en
masse, lost through the years to those for whom there
would be a family tie.
They are the unknowns.
The people who buy them sort through thousands
of black and white, sepia and colored prints, scanning
for that particular look in the eye, that face that draws
them in, that perfect composition.
Some collectors are looking for a specific genre, a
certain type of photograph that
appeals to them.
Others, sadly, are creating a
“family album” of sorts, hav
ing no family photographs of
their own. For whatever reason,
whether via estranged family
members or a natural disaster,
these collectors have few or no
photographs of their family,
their childhood, their memories,
so they create an album with
scenes and people whose pho
tos appeal to them.
Today, with digital cameras, it is so easy to take
multiple photographs and download them onto a com
puter. The downside to that is, you then need to make
sure you get prints made. We are just now catching up
on that, with my husband creating photo albums that
include actual prints from our 3-year-old's first few
hours, weeks and months.
In the moment, it’s easy to forget to label pictures
with dates and names because you are sure you won’t
ever forget. And you probably won’t, but someone
down the line won't have a clue.
We, like most families, have old photographs that
date back many years to earlier generations - great-
grandparents, great-greats and so forth. They are
fascinating. Unfortunately, we don’t know who many
of those pictured are and how they relate to us. There
they are, caught on film in a pose, with friends or in
a solemn portrait, a day they wouldn’t forget. Now
we are left wondering, and most of those who could
answer the questions are gone.
It's best not to write with a ballpoint pen on the
back of a photograph, as it will transfer an imprint to
the front side of the picture, but, according to websites
on preserving old photos and documents, a soft 6B
pencil is safe.
There are multiple websites focusing on the care
and preservation of old photographs. The first step,
perhaps the one most people bypass, is labeling them
with names — specific names, not just “grandmother”
or “great uncle” — dates, if possible, and location.
From there, the focus is on proper storage and han
dling.
Most people like to look at old photographs, to see
the manner of dress, to wonder what that person was
like, to imagine the scenario of the day. It's especially
interesting if you can put a name and a relationship to
the face, tracing the likenesses of those you know and
finding similarities in those who have passed on.
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. Box 908, Jefferson, Ga. 30549
Subscription in county $19.75
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National Newspaper Association
Democrats not
letting Georgia
go without fight
"It's hard to take the Olympics seriously...
they don't even have an event for high school football!"
Is Martin tough enough to unseat Saxby?
L ast Tuesday, Georgia Democrats
did what many thought not pos
sible. They rejected the Senate candi
dacy of controversial DeKalb County
CEO Vernon Jones, and chose instead
to nominate Jim Martin to take on
Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss this
fall. Martin, a Vietnam veteran and
former state Department of Human
Resources commissioner under Gov.
Sonny Perdue and former Gov. Roy
Barnes, also represented part of Atlanta
in the General Assembly for 18 years.
When Jones announced his can
didacy in early 2007, he was judged
the immediate frontrunner. He was
an African American running in an
increasingly black Democratic pri
mary, and his electoral base was in
DeKalb, which now casts more votes
in Democratic statewide contests than
any other Georgia county.
What many (including Jones) failed
to realize was how deeply alienating
his tenure as DeKalb CEO had been, in
both the predominately white northern
end of the county and the predomi
nately black southern end. An endless
string of controversies followed him
around, most entirely self-inflicted.
They are too numerous to recount here,
but they run the gamut from accusa
tions of rape to repeated allegations
of physical confrontations with fellow
elected officials and constituents.
To his credit, Martin concentrated on
entering into a runoff with Jones, and
then tread carefully during the head-
to-head contest. He focused on Jones’
open flirtation with the Republican
Party, including his boasting that he
supported George W. Bush in the 2000
and 2004 presidential elections. Martin
understood that Democratic primary
voters, especially in the Atlanta media
market, knew about Jones’ travails, and
that there was no need to throw gaso
line on the fire by highlighting them.
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
Instead he remind
ed Democrats
that Jones has
strong Republican
leanings and
is pro-Bush, a
toxic charge in a
Democratic pri
mary in 2008.
Martin received
a major assist
from Democratic
presidential
nominee Barack
Obama. While visiting the state in July,
Obama clearly let Georgians know that
he disapproved of Jones’ unauthor
ized use of Obama’s image on Jones’
campaign mail, and that he didn’t
think much of Jones’ support for Bush.
It’s hard to imagine a more devastat
ing attacker for Jones than the first
black presidential nominee and cur
rent national frontrunner for the White
House.
The net result of Jones’ problems
is that he failed to break 40 percent
in all-important DeKalb County, his
home turf. He actually ran worse there
than he did statewide, and as a result,
he went down in flames.
Martin deserves credit for running
a smartly low-key primary race that
ensured he secured the Democratic
nomination without alienating the
African Americans he will need in
November. That said, Martin must shift
gears quickly to take advantage of the
openings Chambliss has given him. So
far, that shift does not appear to have
happened. When Chambliss called a
press conference to attack Martin the
day after the runoff, Martin took hours
to respond and then did so with a quick
appearance before reporters, reading
a bland statement and taking no ques
tions. While “low key” may have been
a savvy way to slip past Jones, it is not
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, RO. 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.
what Martin needs to make a run at
knocking off Chambliss.
The well-funded Chambliss is clear
ly the favorite, but he has made some
missteps that give Martin a real shot,
if the Democrat uses them. A recent
example is an incident that can only be
described as insensitive and strange.
Chambliss showed up at a hearing held
by a Senate subcommittee of which he
is not a member to aggressively attack
a whistleblower testifying about the
safety problems at the Imperial Sugar
plant in Savannah, where a dust explo
sion killed 13 people on February 7.
When you add Chambliss’ willing
ness to carry the water for the sugar
industry against his own constituents
to his support for a wildly unpopular
bill that would have provided a way for
illegal immigrants to become citizens,
you get the picture of a guy more inter
ested in protecting the agribusinesses
that fund his political career than the
people who sent him to Washington.
Maybe that’s because the senator’s
world seems filled with lobbyists,
from Chief of Staff Charlie Harman,
who came through the revolving door
straight from his lobbying job for the
insurance industry, to Saxby’s son
Bo, who just happened to find him
self a lobbying gig when Dad went to
Congress.
Martin has a chance to define
Chambliss as the archetype of what
Americans don’t like about our
nation’s capital, and in a year of
change, that might give him the chance
to pull off an upset. That will only
happen, however, if nice guy Martin
decides he’ll take the fight to Saxby.
You can reach award-winning politi
cal columnist Bill Shipp at P. O. Box
2520, Kennesaw, GA 30156, e-mail:
shippl@bellsouth.net, or Web address:
billshipponline. com.
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
may be accessed on the Internet at
www.banksnewsTODAY.com.
T hings should get interesting by
the time the General Election rolls
around Nov. 4.
Early predictions are for voter turnout
to be higher than normal with what is
expected to be a close, perhaps even
razor thin, presidential election. Believe
it or not, even our state is expected to be
a battle ground area as Barack Obama
has let it be known he isn’t letting the
Peach state go without a fight.
The current president has won
Georgia without
much trouble
during the last
two presidential
general elections
although the tide
may change in
2008. For one,
Obama's campaign
has gained so
much momentum
across the country
that I wouldn’t
expect any state
to be a complete one-sided affair. Even
John McCain's homestate of Arizona
is reasonably close in recently polling
numbers.
How serious is the Obama campaign
in making a stand in Georgia? A news
paper article this past weekend outlined
how the campaign was opening offices
in cities that might surprise you. In near
by Barrow County, an Obama campaign
office was opening in Winder. This
surprised me because Barrow County
has gone heavy in favor of Republicans
in recent elections. In fact, there is only
one elected Democrat in the county.
There was also a report in the article
that an Obama support group is form
ing here in Banks County. While Banks
County has also been swept under the
tide of Republican fever in recent elec
tions, there are some faithful Democrats
who are going to do everything in their
power to turn out the vote for their can
didate.
Another reason political experts are
predicting Georgia may be competi
tive this November is the candidacy of
Bob Barr. The Libertarian nominee for
president is well known in the state and
it is feared by Republicans he may draw
enough voters from McCain to make a
difference in the outcome of Georgia.
Barr, for what it’s worth, has said he is
not looking to benefit either candidate.
Rather, he is looking to advance the
cause of the Libertarian Party and point
out how both candidates of the so-called
major parties have failed in numerous
areas including civil liberties, taxes and
our involvement overseas.
Another race on the Nov. 4 ballot
may help make the presidential race
more competitive. Jim Martin won the
Democratic primary runoff for U.S.
Senate and will face Saxby Chambliss in
the General Election. (Libertarian Allen
Buckley is also working hard on the
campaign trail).
Martin's strategy is to connect
Chambliss to the failed policies of the
current president. Many political pundits
have pointed out Chambliss has been lit
tle more than a rubber stamp of approval
for the president's policies, many of
which have been failures, and that our
state needs someone who is not afraid to
stand out on issues.
Martin is a decorated Vietnam veteran
and has a stellar record of serving the
citizens of this state. If he can get his
message out, he would have a chance to
unseat Chambliss. That, in turn, would
make voters in the state think about
casting a vote for Obama as well.
There was a time when a Republican
could not get elected state-wide in
Georgia. Now the opposite is almost
true. Perhaps the fall of 2008 will be
when things begin to turn back the other
way. It usually takes a major shakeup
at the top of the country's leadership
to make changes at the statewide level.
There is definitely a chance for that in
Georgia when voters go to the polls on
Nov. 4.
If nothing else, it’s going to be fun to
watch the votes be counted during elec
tion night.
Chris Bridges is a reporter for The
Banks County News. Contact him at
706-367-2745 or e-mail comments to
chris @ mainstreetnews. com.
Letters to the editor policy
News department contact numbers
chris
bridges