Newspaper Page Text
r.om the Sidelines
Dawgs spear Spartans
By Joke Harrison
The No. 15 Georgia Bulldogs came
into Orlando on Thursday to finish
their season in the Capital One Bowl.
Not to say that this is not an accom
plishment, but more was expected
from the pre-season No. 1 by most
people, especially their fans.
Despite being disappointed many
of the Bulldog Nation showed up to
watch their beloved team overcome
No. 18 Michigan State 24-12 in what
was a likely last hurrah for Georgia
QB Matt Stafford and RB Knowshon
Moreno.
The game started out slow. Excru
ciatingly slow. Georgia’s offense kept
“pulling a Plaxico” one of ESPN/ABC’s
TV commentators said, shooting them
selves in the foot with penalties and
poor execution.
On the other hand, MSU’s offense
spent nearly the whole first half in
Georgia territory and only came away
with six points due to a titanic effort
by Georgia’s defense, especially LB
Rennie Curran. Despite the tremen
dous defense played by the Dawgs
the Spartans were able to tack on two
field goals. Going into halftime the
score was 6-3 in favor of MSU.
Entering the second half, Matthew
Stafford was 6 for 15 passing with no
touchdowns. Exiting it he was 20-31
passing with three touchdowns. You
can guess what the final outcome was.
Stafford performed extremely well in
what could be his last college half,
including the game sealing touchdown
with 3:43 remaining to Knowshon
Moreno (His last touchdown as a Bull
dog?).
The Dawg defense continued their
outstanding play, right up until FS
Reshad Jones picked off Brandon
Hoyer’s final college pass with 0:39
remaining, basically ending the game.
The scoreboard read 24-12 in favor of
the Bulldogs. □
Mallery St. bars
Continued from Page 1
In his report, Phillips told the com
mission that the hotel and drinking
establishment have been in existence
for approximately eight years, but the
drinking establishment has not tech
nically complied with comity zoning
requirements.
Phillips recommended approval of
the SUP as did the Island Planning
Commission on a unanimous vote at
their Nov. 18 meeting.
With little discussion the comity
commission voted unanimously to
approve the Village Inn and Pub’s spe
cial use permit.
When asked after the meeting, why
was the bar was allowed to operate for
eight years in violation of the Comi
ty Zoning Ordinance, Commission
Chairman Don Hogan said, “It slipped
through the cracks under a previous
comity commission. We caught it and
took action to correct it.”
Iguanas
The other Mallery St. business the
commissioners dealt with last month
was Iguanas bar and restaurant.
In November the commission had
to deny the 2009 renewal of Iguanas
owner Jepter Butler’s liquor license,
because Butler was convicted in July of
selling alcohol to a minor.
Comity Attorney Aaron Mumford
told the commission the ordinance was
clear and that no one convicted of an
alcohol related crime could be issued a
new liquor license or have an existing
one renewed.
Several commissioners, not wanting
to put the restaurant/bar out of busi
ness and people out their jobs, asked
if an exception could be made in this
case because Butler has his conviction
under appeal.
Mumford said the ordinance did
not provide for that exception, but, he
added that Butler’s 2008 license was
good until Dec. 31.
Butler’s only recourse, other than
closing down, was to change the owner
ship of the business to an employee or
relative.
During the Dec. 18 meeting, Andrew
Snyder, Butler’s brother-in-law and
Iguanas manager, applied for a Tem
porary 90 Day license for the business
in order to remain open after Jan. 1
while he goes through the process to
get a regular license.
Snyder has already applied for a
regular alcoholic beverage license,
according to Mumford.
Mumford told the commission that
Snyder cannot sell alcohol under the
temporary license until the ownership
change has taken place.
Commissioner Tony Thaw made
a motion to approve the temporary
license and Commissioner Jerome
Clark seconded.
Commissioner Cap Fendig asked
Mumford for a final clarification on the
change of ownership for the business.
Mumford said, “Control, manage
ment and ownership of Iguanas must
be out of Butler’s hands completely.
There has to be a change in the build
ing lease and in the business docu
ments before the temporary license is
in effect and before the regular license
can be granted. You can grant the
temporary license because this is an
existing, licensed premises.”
Thaw’s motion to approve the tem
porary license passed on a 5-2 vote.
Commissioners Uli Keller and Howard
Lynn voted nay. □
Upcoming January
Classes at CCGA
Watercolor artist Laurie Violette
will teach Watercolor Painting start
ing Jan. 13. The Tuesday classes are
scheduled 9 a.m.-noon. These classes
are for beginners or for those with some
experience.
Dixie Howell will teach Gentle Yoga
and Tai Chi for Beginners starting in
Jan. 13. The courses provide no impact
ways to lose weight, relieve stress and
increase stamina. To register, call
279.5777. College of Coastal Georgia is
ADA/EEOC compliant. □
THE ISLANDER, JANUARY 5, 2009, PAGE 7
Back Talk
Continued from Page 20
at the downtown location.
The four sitting commissioners have
all voted in favor of the project, but you
never know.
Another kink in the story is the
Brunswick City Commission's decision
not to abandon a portion of I St. to the
county for the jail project until after the
first of the year. They said they wanted
to give the new county commission
ers a chance to take their seats on the
board.
Well, that's happening this week, so
the city is going to have to make a deci
sion on I St. soon.
With no crystal ball, that's about all
I care to predict for the big local stories
for '09, so let's take a brief look at the
future of the University of Georgia foot
ball team for next year.
If you watched the Dawgs play
Michigan St. in the Capital One Bowl
last week, you saw the defense play
their best game of the season.
Unfortunately the Bulldog's top gun
quarterback Matthew Stafford didn't
find his groove until the third quar
ter. Running back phenom Knowshon
Moreno was held to 62 yards on 23 car
ries. And pass catchers extraordinaire
Mohamed Massaquoi and A.J. Green
simply made no impact.
But, if these four had played like
they can and have, the Capital One
Bowl would have been a rout like last
year's Sugar Bowl instead of the rather
routine game it was.
The question about the Dawgs
future is, of course, 'What are Stafford
and Moreno going to do next year?'
They're both eligible for the NFL
after this year. At one point there was
talk of an NFL rookie salary cap being
instituted in 2010, meaning if the two
college stars stay one more year at
UGA, they would be limited in how
much money they could make their
rookie year in the NFL next year.
Now I'm hearing the salary cap may
not go into effect until 2011.
If that's the case, I think Stafford
would do himself a lot of good stay
ing at Georgia one more year to gain
another year of age, maturity and
experience, which would help him a lot
in the pros.
Plus, as high as his QB rating is
now, if he were to stay for his senior
year, his rating and his NFL stock
would increase dramatically.
As far as Knowshon is concerned...
I've heard it said, by people who know
more about these things than do I,
that running backs only have a certain
number of 'carries' in them and when
they're used up, they're used up.
QB's certainly take their licks, but
they don't get hit every time they
have they ball. Running backs do, so
logically the injury rate is higher for
running backs, who necessarily have
shorter careers.
As much as I would love to see both
Stafford and Moreno stay next year
and win us a National, or at least an
SEC, Championship, I think Know
shon should think about turning pro.
According to one report, both Staf
ford and Moreno are still undecided
about their futures.
But... imagine the possibilities. □
*
V
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