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Frankly
Speaking
frankgillispie671@msn.com
By Frank Gillispie
Puzzled by feedback
to Obama’s speech
After reading President Obama’s speech to
our school children, I am a bit puzzled by the
reaction of some people.
The prepared speech released on Monday,
Sept. 7, makes a strong case for a strong wide-
ranging education and calls for everyone to
contribute to the effort. He called on parents,
teachers, community and government lead
ers and especially the students themselves to
devote themselves to the education process.
I urge you to read the speech for yourself
athttp://www. whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/
PreparedSchoolRemarks/
There are many parts of the president's
agenda that I find disagreeable. But it would
not make sense to automatically disagree with
everything he does simply because of my dis
like for his liberalism. Nor am I convinced
that the address in its final form is what he had
originally intended it to be. It is possible that
the strong public reaction to early reports of
its contents caused a substantial rewrite of the
speech. If so, it may mean that the president
is starting to pay attention to the voice of the
people.
Early education is especially important. If
you work hard at learning to learn, then your
education will continue throughout your life
time. I learned a lot from all my teachers at
Madison County High School, but two of them
had the greatest influence on my life because
they taught me how to learn and how to teach
myself the things I needed to know. They were
Miss Jeffie Fitzpatrick, who taught us math,
and Doc. Powers, our science teacher.
We had three years of scheduled math at
that time, but I needed another class to fill out
my senior year and she suggested that I and
another student take a fourth year of algebra in
the back of her regular class. It was there that
I learned to seek out answers on my own. I
often wondered if I would ever make practical
use of all that math. How was I to know then
that I would wind up an a heavy artillery unit
in the Georgia National guard computing firing
coordinates?
Then in 1986, when I felt that we needed
a different slant on local news and decided
to start my own newspaper, I started with no
formal training in journalism. I read some text
books, picked the brains of several friends in
the business and put out my first crude issues.
The more I worked on the project the more I
learned and the paper was eventually filled the
need for which it was intended.
I am a great believer in personal respon
sibility. That is why I was pleased with the
emphasis on the student’s responsibility for
their own education reflected in the president’s
speech. Now if we can only convince him
that our adult citizens need to learn personal
responsibility for the welfare of their families
and themselves, there might be hope for his
administration.
Frank Gillispie is the founder of The
Madison County Journal. His email address is
flxmkgillispie671@msn.com. His website can
be accessed at http://frankgillespie.tripod.com/
The Madison
County Journal
(Merged with The Danielsville Monitor
and The Comer News, January 2006)
P.O. Box 658
Hwy. 29 South
Danielsville, Georgia 30633
Phone: 706-795-2567
Fax: 706-795-2765
Email: zach@mainstreetnews.com
ZACH MITCHAM, Editor
MARGIE RICHARDS, Reporter/Office Manager
BEN MUNRO, Reporter/Sports Editor
MIKE BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
SCOTT BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
FRANK GILLISPIE, Founder of The Journal.
Jere Ayers (deceased) former owner
of The Danielsville Monitor and The Comer News
Periodical postage paid at Danielsville, Georgia 30633
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Madison & surrounding counties $19.75/year
State of Georgia $38.85/year
Out-of-state $44.50/year
Military personnel with APO address $42.50/year
Senior rate $2 off all above rates
College student discount rate $2 off all above
rates
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
THE MADISON COUNTY JOURNAL
P.O. Box 658, Danielsville, GA 30633
A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
Hope couple’s death was not in vain
So, what have we learned?
That’s what I’m wanting to
know.
I am still reeling from the
shock of what happened to
that poor couple in Oglethorpe
County a few weeks ago - it
is still hard to believe that they
were killed in such a brutal way.
And as a lifelong animal lover,
it is also hard for me to think of
those dogs - unwanted and aban
doned, left basically on their own
to starve and breed more unwant
ed puppies. It sounds as if the
gentleman trying to feed them had
been long overwhelmed by dogs
being dropped off near his home.
Long ago, those working
toward the construction of an
animal shelter warned that such a
horror could happen right here in
Madison County - like an elderly
person or a child being killed
or terribly wounded by a dog
or dogs - and the truth is it still
could happen.
I had hoped the shelter and
its low-cost spay/neuter clinic
would help alleviate such prob
lems - it has been seven years
this December since the doors
opened. But the numbers that
come through those doors there
are still staggering - 600 dogs
and cats, puppies and kittens,
were surrendered to the shelter
during the months of June and
July alone. Of course, some of
Close
to
Home
By Margie Richards
these numbers are due to the
economy - people who are home
less and/or in financial straits
themselves find it hard to keep
their pets. But most of it is still
due to the same old reasons - a
lack of responsible pet owner
ship; allowing dogs and cats to
produce litters of babies over and
over again.
And it seems those overwhelm
ing numbers are just the tip of
the iceberg, because then came
August, and the deaths of Mr.
and Mrs. Schweder - and the
subsequent trapping of the group
of dogs suspected of killing them.
Those dogs, of course, ended up
at the shelter, where they were
humanely euthanized by order
of a judge. And this was right
- those poor animals could not
continue to run loose after such a
horrendous event. The plain fact
is that those animals should never
have been allowed to get in that
type of situation.
But take out the deaths of the
couple all together, if these dogs
had been rounded up and brought
to the shelter (as many are), they
still would have had to be put
down - they were in very poor
health and had not been social
ized. Even the puppies were in
poor health, and according to
shelter workers would probably
not have lived much longer.
Now the couple’s own dogs
- rescues all - are being cared
for at the shelter and in need of
rescuing again. The Schweders
were obviously great animal lov
ers who took in as many animals
as they could - all the dogs are
spayed or neutered and have been
well cared for. Many of the cats
the couple had have been taken to
the Athens Area Humane Society
and were also well cared for by
the Schweders.
The whole thing is such a ter
rible shame and so very unneces
sary.
I do feel that public opinion is
changing, though very slowly, as
witnessed by the deluge of letters
and blogs on this incident encour
aging spaying and neutering as
part of responsible pet ownership.
Of course there are still the “just
shoot ‘em comments" that are to
be expected from an ignorant few
who have no empathy for other
humans, let alone an animal.
And then there are the disturb
ing comments of how we as a
society are elevating animals to
“human status” in importance.
Hello - this could not be fur
ther from the truth. A trip to the
Madison-Oglethorpe Animal
Shelter, or any shelter for that
matter, can show how wrong
that opinion is. Look at the little
faces in those runs and cages
- many brought there because
there is not enough consider
ation for them as living things,
let alone elevated to "human
status." Millions of healthy ani
mals are euthanized every year
in this country because they
are simply unwanted. There are
too many and their owners (if
they ever had one) allowed irre
sponsible breeding. Too often,
litters of puppies and kittens are
brought to shelters or thrown out
on the side of the road, while
mama dog or cat is left to breed
more babies that will have to
die - either by euthanization, or
worse, by sickness, starvation, or
under the wheels of a car.
So what have we learned?
Hopefully, the death of this
couple will not have been in
vain.
Margie Richards is a reporter
for The Madison County
Journal.
Observations on the political landscape
Now that we are turning the
comer on summer and moving
into the fall season, let’s try to
answer some of the questions
hanging over Georgia’s political
landscape.
Question: Do media scandals
harm a politician?
In the case of some politi
cians, maybe not. Several
months ago, the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution published
hard-hitting articles detailing
how more than $100,000 in
political contributions were fun-
neled to Insurance Commissioner
John Oxendine, a Republican
candidate for governor, through
political action committees set
up in Alabama.
The story hinted that
Oxendine, who has regulatory
authority over insurance compa
nies operating in Georgia, was
shaking down the companies
for campaign contributions - an
allegation that has followed him
throughout his tenure as insur
ance commissioner. The AJC’s
reporting was solid enough
that Oxendine agreed to return
$120,000 in questionable dona
tions.
The resulting publicity, how
ever, does not appear to have
hurt Oxendine’s standing in the
Republican primary for governor.
Recent polls have consistently
showed him well ahead of the
other GOP candidates with 38
or 39 percent support among his
party’s voters.
Another Republican candidate
for governor, U.S. Rep. Nathan
Deal of Gainesville, was the
The Capitol
Report
tcrawford@
capitol
impact.net.
By Tom Crawford
subject of another front-page
article in the AJC that described
how he had tried to influence
state officials to continue with a
profitable business arrangement
involving Deal’s auto salvage
business.
Deal even was able to have his
close friend and political ally, Lt.
Gov. Casey Cagle, haul revenue
commissioner Bart Graham into
a meeting with Deal in Cagle’s
capitol office to discuss the mat
ter.
The article did not reflect well
on Deal, but it’s too early to tell
if he will emerge unscathed in
the polls, as Oxendine did.
Question: Does money deliver
the votes?
There does seem to be a very
strong correlation between lob
byist money and congressional
opposition to the health insur
ance reform bill that is coming
up for debate this fall.
The health care industry and
its lobbyists, according to some
estimates, are spending an aver
age of $1.4 million every day to
try to defeat several aspects of
the proposed health care plan.
including a “public option” that
would provide government-fund
ed health insurance coverage for
people who don’t have it.
The biggest recipients of health
care industry dollars among
Georgia's congressmen are
Republican Rep. Tom Price (who
has received nearly $2.4 million
in campaign contributions from
the healthcare sector) and Rep.
Phil Gingrey (who’s received
$1.87 million from the same
source). Price and Gingrey have
been the most outspoken oppo
nents of the health care reform
bill, along with Deal (who has
received more than $1.5 million
in healthcare industry contribu
tions).
Reps. John Barrow and
Jim Marshall are Blue Dog
Democrats who have opposed
the Democratic version of the
health care plan. They have also
received a lot of money from
the health care sector ($462,000
for Marshall and $360,000 for
Barrow).
The Georgia congressman
who most strongly supports a
health insurance bill with a pub
lic option is Democratic Rep.
Hank Johnson. Johnson has also
received less campaign money
(only $51,752) from health care
lobbyists than anyone else in the
delegation.
Look at the numbers and draw
your own conclusions.
Question: We’ve heard a lot of
bad news about the state budget.
Is there any good news?
Over the past week there have
been some positive developments
here.
The seven justices of the
Georgia Supreme Court have
agreed to take three furlough
days without pay between now
and Dec, 31, as regular state
employees are already required
to do.
The state constitution prohib
its judges’ salaries from being
lowered, but it does not prevent
judges from voluntarily return
ing a portion of their pay. That
gesture will save the state a few
thousand dollars, at least.
Attorney General Thurbert
Baker also announced a settle
ment of fraud allegations against
the drug manufacturer Pfizer that
will result in Georgia receiving
$21.7 million that presumably
can be used to pay Medicaid
expenses.
Baker said the $21.7 million
would be enough money to pay
for Medicaid coverage for more
than 8,900 non-disabled children
or take care of all treatment costs
related to treating Medicaid can
cer patients between the ages of
18-44.
In the overall context of an $18
billion state budget, neither sum
represents a lot of money, but
at least it’s a start. Sometimes,
small victories are the best you
can hope for.
Tom Crawford is the editor
of Capitol Impact’s Georgia
Report, an Internet news service
at www.gareport.com that cov
ers government and politics in
Georgia. He can be reached at
t crawford® capitolimpact. net.
A summer of the haves and have-nots
While the drought that plagued
us since 2006 was officially
declared over back in May, we
just finished our fourth very dry
summer in a row here in Madison
County.
For June to August our total
rainfall was a paltry 6.47 inches at
the official reporting station here
near Danielsville. This is 7.24
inches below average, or only 47
percent of normal.
Some sections of the county
reported even less for the summer,
while other sections, especially
the southern third, reported more.
This variation is typical in the
summer months, as our main
source of rain comes from pop-up
thunderstorms, which can deposit
Weather
wise
By Mark Jenkins
1-2 inches in a narrow swath
while areas five miles away get
next to nothing. Generally, it was
a dry summer for most of north
east Georgia within a 25-mile
radius of Athens. It was not a
dry summer everywhere across
the state, however. Most areas
north of a LaGrange to Toccoa
line had a decent summer, with a
few isolated spots above normal.
Most of south Georgia south of
LaGrange to Augusta had rainfall
close to average, even above in
some spots.
This variation was common
across the entire Southeast
region this summer. Atlanta,
Birmingham, Columbus, Asheville
and Charlotte all had normal
or above normal rainfall for the
summer. At the end of August,
Columbus was an astonishing 13
inches above average for the year
so far. It has been a very wet year
in that part of the state.
By contrast, it was a dry sum
mer in Athens, Macon, Greenville,
Columbia and Chattanooga.
One caveat to the dryness was
the slightly cooler than normal
temperatures observed in August.
Now with September upon us, it is
only a matter of weeks before the
first real cool snap that makes you
go look for the sweater you put
away last spring.
Weather numbers for August,
2009 - average low: 67, average
high: 88, lowest: 63, highest: 98,
mean: 77.5 (-0.9), total precipita
tion: 2.40” (-1.93), total rainfall
for 2009 to Aug. 31:29.60"
(-5.34”).
Mark Jenkins is the cooperative
weather obser\>er for Madison
County.