About The Banks County news. (Homer, Banks County, Ga.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (May 8, 2013)
PAGE 4A THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 201 3 Editor: Angela Gary Phone: 706-367-2490 E-mail: AngieEditor@aol.com Website: www.banksnewsTODAY.com Opinion “Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.” — Thomas Jefferson Mother-in-law loved like a mother Someone once said the mother-in-law daughter-in- law relationship is the toughest one to manage. Can any other woman cook his favorite foods just like mom did or wash his clothes just so? Is anyone good enough for the light of her life? Can anyone else treat her son with the love a mother has? Can she graciously move to second place as another woman takes first place in his heart? I was thinking about this last week as we traveled eight hours to Commerce to attend the funeral of my husband’s mother. But Juanita never made that relationship a tough one to navigate. We didn’t ever live near her and my father- in-law, so we relied on visits and phone calls to keep up. But she always made me feel loved and accepted. Always treated me like a daughter and not a daughter- in-law. She told me it was because her relationship with her own mother-in-law had been especially dif ficult, and she vowed to treat the wife of her only son better than that. It probably helped that when we ate dinner at his parents’ house, even before we were married, I helped clean up, taking on the challenge of finding the right- sized storage bowls for the amount of each foodstuff left over. I found out that another of my husband’s girlfriends sat in the living room after a meal. That did not sit too well with Juanita. On summer visits to their vacation home in the North Carolina mountains, she taught me how to make jams and jellies from the wild blackberries we’d pick. Her larder was an amazing repository of jars of fruit I’d never heard of such as sea grape jelly and fig and pear preserves. She also taught me to cook the Southern foods my husband loved: greens, eggplant casserole, yellow squash, beans and rice. She was a connoisseur of hot tea, and we drank many cups together. I learned how to fix hers: one rounded teaspoon of the pink sweetener. She liked to play cards: Rook, Uno and Hand and Foot. She was a shrewd player and we did a lot of laughing. Her laugh was sweet and playful and infec tious. And she loved her husband. Theirs was a model of a long, loving marriage where each sought to please the other with gestures of love such as fresh cookies on her part of perfume or flowers on his. She packed Charlie’s lunch each day before he went to work as a carpenter and she drove a school bus. She did laun dry and cleaned and kept their finances in order. He was in charge of the house and grounds: repairs, gar dening, landscaping. They were openly affectionate, calling each other pet names or flirting or he wrapping an arm around her shoulders. In later years, as macular degeneration stole her sight, my father-in-law took on more and more duties and her care-giving. They would balance the check book together and cook together, her doing the duties that demanded clear vision as she supervised. I learned a lot from that partnership and how it changed over time to accommodate the directions their lives took them. Once, after Chuck and I had been married a few years, she confessed I was not her first choice to be his wife. But, she continued, she realized I was the best fit for her son, complementing him with my personality and strengths as we faced life as a team. I have been a mother-in-law to my oldest’s wife, Ashley, for almost five years now. My mother-in-law gave me a legacy I’m trying to pass on. Suzanne Darland teaches journalism classes and is director of the faculty advising center at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College. This column was originally published in The News- Enterprise. 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 Randy Crump Sports Editor Sharon Hogan Reporter Anelia Chambers Receptionist Phones fall 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., PO. Box 908, 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 Postmaster, send address changes to: Subscriptions, The Banks County News, PO. Box 920, 935 Historic Homer Highway Homer, Ga. 30547 suzanne darland GUEST COLUMN "They want to know if you have one without a left wing." Georgia's leaders fix a past mistake It’s no secret that politicians often make mistakes - a lot of them. We are all human and we all make mistakes, so politicians are not unique. I have often observed, however, that elected officeholders can be extremely reluctant to admit they have made a mistake and then do something about it. That’s why it was so hearten ing to see the governor and the General Assembly recognize a seri ous error they made two years ago and attempt to fix that error in this year’s session. The misjudgment involves HOPE Grants, financial aid that is provided through Georgia Lottery revenues to students who take job training courses at the state’s network of tech nical colleges. HOPE Grants help students pay the tuition for classes that teach them the skills neces sary to find a new job or get their working life off to a successful start. Although the grants come from the same pot of money that funds HOPE Scholarships in the University System, HOPE Grants are a different form of financial aid aimed at a different kind of student. Gov. Nathan Deal has said the state will need 250,000 more college graduates by 2020 to meet Georgia’s growing workforce needs. About 50,000 of those graduates will have to come from the technical colleges. In 2011, when Deal and the Legislature were developing a bill to stabilize the financially troubled HOPE program, one of the changes they made was to raise the grade point aver age required for a HOPE Grant from the 2.0 level to the 3.0 level. The change worked, in terms of reducing the demand for HOPE Grants, but it worked too well. Student enrollment in the technical college system dropped by almost 24,500 stu dents the year after the GPA requirement was raised and continued to drop in the following year. An estimated 9,000 students lost the HOPE Grant because they could not maintain a 3.0 average. In technical colleges, as opposed to public universities, a high GPA is not the primary goal for a student. What is more important is that the student learns the job skills being taught by the technical college so that the state has another well-trained worker. “Technical colleges are different, technical college students are different, the academic setting is different,” said Rep. Stacey Evans (D-Smyrna). “The financial aid that goes to those students should rec ognize those differences.” Evans, who was able to attend college herself because of a HOPE scholarship, proposed a bill dur ing this past session to change the GPA requirement for a HOPE Grant back to the 2.0 level so that more students would be able to afford job training courses. Deal recognized the need for the legislation and instructed his House floor leaders, along with Evans as one of the sponsors, to introduce a HOPE Grant bill (HB 372) that reinstated the former 2.0 GPA requirement. “In recent years, Georgia has seen a large drop in technical college enrollment - much larger than in our University System,” Deal said. “For some students enrolled in a techni cal school, the loss of scholarship money put higher education out of reach.” The passage of the HOPE Grant bill provid ed a good example of bipartisan cooperation in this year’s legislative session. Republicans and Democrats teamed up to pass the bill by overwhelming margins in both chambers. “This is a good step in the right direc tion and will undo some of the damage that was done two years ago,” Sen. Jason Carter (D-Decatur) said when the Senate passed HB 372. The only legislator voting against the HOPE bill was Rep. Charles Gregory (R-Kennesaw), who like Evans represents a Cobb County dis trict but is much more of a political extremist. Deal signed the bill into law a couple of weeks ago. “We need more college or technical college degrees in order to attract and fill the jobs of tomorrow,” the governor said at the bill signing. “This additional benefit will provide Georgians with greater access to school at a relatively small cost to the state.” While the governor didn’t say it, he and the legislators were finally acknowledging and fixing a big mistake they made during the 2011 session. Let’s hope they can find more mistakes to fix when the General Assembly convenes next year. Tom Crawford is editor of The Georgia Report, an internet news service at gareport. com that reports on government and politics in Georgia. He can be reached at tcrawford@ gareport.com. tom crawford Airs concerns on editorial style Dear Editor: I am amazed by the lack of professional ism shown by the reporter (Gillsville council hears rezoning request, reported by Sharon Hogan in the April 10 paper). After the first paragraph that mentions Mr. and Mrs. Norrell, Mrs. Assumpta Norrell was reduced to A. Norrell. Her name has eight letters in the spelling. I have seen Peggy Sue, Essie Mae, Billy Joe and Bobby Joe in print; each of these names have nine letters and I have never seen P.S. Smith, E.S. Jones, etc. Have their names ever been reduced, I think not. I really do think you owe her some kind of apology. I would really like to know which group of people awards this newspaper all the awards they receive. Sincerely, Carolyn Vento Homer EDITOR’S NOTE: When two people with the same last name are mentioned in a news story, it is our policy to use the first initial and last name on second reference. We do this whether the first name is Assumpta or Essie Mae. POLICY ON LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The policy for letters to the editor submitted to The Banks County News is as fol lows: • An original copy of all letters must be submitted 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 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. • E-mailed letters will be accepted but we must have a phone number and address. • Letters that are libelous will also 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 706-367-2490. What makes a special Mother? A special mother is someone who encour ages her children in all that they do. Whatever path they chose, a special mother will do all that she can to help her child become suc cessful. A special mother is one who wipes away tears, bandages up skinned knees, cooks supper and does the laundry—all after a full day of work. A special mother is sweet as a kitten but will turn into a tiger if any one messes with her babies. She will go from sugar sweet to full-on anger in a few seconds if she feels her children have been wronged. A special mother is one who teachers her children the importance of prayer. She takes them to church and Sunday School and Vacation Bible School and instills in them the importance of going to church. A special mother is someone who teaches her children values and morals. She sets an example of what a Godly woman is through her life. A special mother is one who works hard all of her life and teachers her children work ethic and the importance of working hard and doing a good job. A special mother is one who teaches her children manners and respect for adults. She teaches her children to say yes mam and no mam and thank you and please. These things aren’t old-fashioned. They are manners that children and adults alike should have. A special mother is one who teaches her children the importance of education and doing good in school. She makes sure her children are prepared for school and that they respect their teachers. A special mother is one who still thinks of her children as “her girls” even if it’s been decades since they were girls. They will always be her babies and she always looks out for them. A special mother is one who disciplines her children and teaches them rules and know ing the difference between what is right and wrong. When her children make a mistake, she is the first to tell them that they were wrong. She still loves them but she makes sure they know that what they did is not right or acceptable. A special mother is one who shows her strength and faith in good times and bad times. She always praises God and looks to him for guidance and strength. A special mother is always a true lady and her children look up to her and respect her. A special mother is one who teaches her children to stand up for their rights but not to be a bully. How do I know what makes a special mother? Because I have a very special mother who has all of the characteristics above and even more that make her so special to me and to everyone she encounters. I honor and thank her this Mother’s Day. Be sure to let your mother know how special she is to you. Angela Gary is an editor with MainStreet Newspapers Inc. She can be reached at Angi- eEditor@aol.com. Public meetings you can attend About the newspapers: The six MainStreet Newspapers publications - The Commerce News, The Madison County Journal, The Jackson Herald, The Braselton News, The Barrow Journal and The Banks County News - are printed and delivered once a week. •About delivery: The newspapers are delivered to the post office and, from there, to subscribers’ post office boxes or home mailboxes. The newspapers do not have “paper boxes” at people’s homes and are not delivered by carriers. However, the papers are delivered to newspaper vending machines in various locations across Madison, Jackson and Banks counties. •About subscriptions: Subscribers are sent a renewal notice before their subscription mns out. A quick way to check to see when a subscription ends is to look for the expiration date on the mailing label. Online: Each of the newspapers has its own website (CommerceNewsTODAY. com, MadisonJournalTODAY. com, JacksonHeraldTODAY. com, BraseltonNewsTODAY.com, BarrowJournalTODAY.com and BanksNewsTODAY.com) in addi tion to a common website for sports (MainStreetNewsSports.com), obituaries (MainStreetObits.com) and a combined site, MainstreetNews.com. angie gary
