Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A —THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 11.2014
Frankly
Speaking
By Frank Gillispie
The story of
Georgia’s gold
When you drive up 1-20 into downtown Atlanta,
you will spot one of our state's most visible icons, a
Greek style building with a shining gold dome. That
is the Georgia state capital building, and yes, that is
real Georgia gold on top.
In 1928, according to one of several stories, a slave
belonging to Frank Logan found a gold nugget in
Dukes Creek near Dahlonega. That discovery set off
the first great gold rush in America. Unfortunately
for the Cherokee, it was on their tribal land. But
the greed for gold would not be denied, and the
natives were forced off their land and submitted to a
punishing march to Oklahoma along what became
known as the “Trail of Tears.” Exact figures are not
available, but estimates say that from 2,000 to 6,000
died on the forced march.
The most telling factor was that the Cherokee
were among the five civilized tribes that previously
occupied portions of the southeast. They worked
hard to adapt to the white man's ways. Chief John
Ross, a mix breed Cherokee, invented an alphabet
of their language. Soon the Bible and several other
books were translated, and a newspaper in the
Cherokee language was published.
But that was to no avail. Soon the white man’s
greed for gold overcame the tribe and all but a few
were removed. The remnants are still in Cherokee,
North Carolina and are now known as the Eastern
Tribe of the Cherokee Nation. Once the Cherokee
were removed, their lands were distributed by lottery
to white settlers. They were awarded up to 40 acres
each. Many found pockets of gold on their ill-gotten
land, and a few found productive mines.
Eventually, several thousand miners were active,
and enough gold was found to supply a branch of the
United States Mint. The Dahlonega Mint produced
gold coins from 1838 to 1961. At the start of the War
Between The States, Georgia seized the mint and
produced a small number of Confederate coins. But
at the end of the war, the U.S. Government decided
to close the mint and move it to Denver. The Georgia
coins carried the D mark for Dahlonega. That mark
went to Denver along with the mint’s equipment.
When Georgia's gold dome needed to be restored
a number of years ago, the state activated an old
mine near Dahlonega and collected enough gold to
complete the task. The dome is covered with tiles
containing a thin gold line.
The gold was not all found. People still find small
deposits of gold along the creeks in north Georgia.
When I was a teenager, my uncle, Sloan Gillispie,
had an old gold mine on his property north west of
Gainesville, he assured us that a pack of rattle snakes
lived in the old tunnel. I suspect that was just to keep
us out of it. Several of my cousins and I spent a num
ber of weekends with pie pans and small shovels
trying to find gold in the sand bars along a nearby
creek, but we never had any luck.
The Georgia Gold Rush came to an end when
larger gold deposits were found in the western states
from Colorado to California. Several state officials
made an attempt to keep them in Georgia by assur
ing them that there was still "gold in them thar hills”
but few remained, and most mining operations in the
state closed down.
If you have a great desire to find gold, go to one
of the local parks where for a small fee you can pan
for the yellow metal, and with persistence, you can
find a few flakes. At least you can have fun trying!
Frank Gillispie is founder of The Madison County
Journal. His e-mail address is frank@frankgillispie.
com. His website can be accessed at http://www.
frankgillispie.com/gillispieonline.
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
E-mail: zach@mainstreetnews.com
ZACH MITCHAM, Editor
DALLAS BORDON, Sports reporter
MARGIE RICHARDS, Reporter/Office Manager
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
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
THE MADISON COUNTY JOURNAL
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A publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc.
9/11
It's a strange thought, but 9/11
is a teenager today. Thirteen
Septembers ago, we felt it like an
earthquake, the world shifting in a
terrible way.
Our emotions were pretty clear
that day: shock, devastation, fear,
anger. But the day unleashed a
wave of complexities into our
society. And we are vastly divided
on how we should stand on certain
issues.
For instance, we have an ongo
ing freedom-versus-safety debate
in this country. Are we comfort
able with the government moni
toring us to prevent another attack?
Some say they have nothing to
hide, so "Yes, monitor my every
move.” Others adamantly shout,
“No, my business is mine alone,
not the government’s.” If someone
sneaks a dirty bomb into a city, I
hope there’s a way to catch them
before they set it off. It seems
secretive information gathering
could be vital in that effort. But
how far are we willing to go to
make that happen? That's a terri
bly difficult question. It pits our
mortal fears versus the American
principle of individual liberty. It’s
a true Patrick Henry kind of pro
posal. I don’t think it’s paranoid to
recognize that at some point, the
watchful eye can take its own fomi
of menace. If you say, “I have
nothing to hide,” then you’re trust
ing that the watchful eye is always
benevolent, always on your side.
This may be a comfort to you, but
it’s important to acknowledge that
such a structure, once installed.
left us with many complexities
In the
Meantime
zach@
mainstreet
news.com
By Zach Mitcham
will likely morph over time and be
used in ways that have nothing to
do with their public-safety intent
— perhaps in your interest and
possibly against it. Truth is, I don’t
mean to belittle either side on this.
I understand the motivations of
both. But I wish our commitment
to liberty could be stronger than
our fear. When it comes down to
it, I believe that even in a complete
surveillance state, there will be
attacks. And if we fundamentally
alter who we are, then we bow to
the will of terrorists in the name
of fear. I see a significant defeat
in this.
Of course, sitting still is no
option. Anyone who attacks us
directly should be pursued. That’s
an easy call. But what about our
perceived threats? We took out
Saddam Hussein in a pre-emptive
war. We feared what he could do.
But the world of global terrorism is
a many-headed hydra. And there’s
no easy way to make it all stop.
Of course, some people endorse a
“blow-‘em-all up” strategy when
it comes to our Middle Eastern
foes, a “nuke-‘em-all” sentiment.
But this is the exact same moral
certainty in terrorists’ hearts. It is
the sure path to becoming what
you hate. Innocence lost should
be mourned wherever it is taken
away. The dead Israeli child, the
dead Palestinian child, they are
both equally sad. We divide into
nations and teams, but each life is
precious and we do ourselves no
favors if we ignore or forget that.
All that said, we have to pursue
murderers with all our might in the
name of the innocent. And while
we seemed intent on making 9/11
a state war by invading Iraq, we
seemed to ignore the nation that
had the most blood on its hands
— Saudi Arabia. Fifteen of the 19
hijackers were from this country.
They received support in the U.S.
from other Saudis before their
attack. Some of those who may
have supported the hijackers, such
as a Saudi family in Sarasota, Fla.,
abruptly left the U.S. two weeks
prior to 9/11. Here’s an excerpt
from a July 5, 2014 article in The
Miami Herald, “New 9/11 records
offer tantalizing puzzle pieces."
Google this headline if you want
to read it for yourself.
“According to FBI records,
authorities searched the dumpster
and found ‘a self-printed manual
on terrorism and Jihad, a map
of the inside of an unnamed
airport, a rudimentary last will
and testament, a weight-to-fuel
ratio calculation for a Cessna 172
aircraft, flight training information
from the Flight Training Center in
Venice [Fla.] and printed maps of
Publix shopping centers in Tampa
Bay. The Flight Training Center
is where 9/11 hijack pilot Ziad
Jarrah, who was at the controls of
United Airlines Flight 93 when it
crashed in Shanksville, Pa., took
flying lessons.”
Good grief, why isn't this bigger
news? And why weren’t these
documents made public in the
aftermath of the attack? Why are
28 pages of the report by the 911
Commission still censored? Why
were a number of Saudis flown out
of the country on 9/11 when the
rest of the nation was grounded?
I certainly am not on board with
any 9/11 conspiracies that make
the attacks out to be some sort of
inside job. I think that’s nonsense,
but there’s an obvious stink in the
air related to Saudi Arabia and its
connection to 9/11. I really want
to know more and I don’t think
I’m crazy to perceive a purposeful
effort on the government’s part
not to shed light on any Saudi
connections. Is it about protecting
an oil ally? Are we that dependent
on them financially?
No doubt, I still have very strong
feelings about that day, just like
anyone else old enough to recall
that morning. It’s 13 years old and
just as hard to explain as the day
it happened. It will live on as one
of the most disturbing, perplexing
events in many of our lives. And
for those who lost a loved one, it is
so much more.
Zach Mitcham is editor of The
Madison County Journal.
No-show El Nino brings dry August
In the world of weather and
climate, one thing is for sure:
long-range forecasts are not sure.
If you have read many of my
past articles, you know I repeat
edly have suggested not to put
too much stock into long-range
forecasts, especially anything
beyond 10 days or so. I have
referred to them as “la la land",
“dream land” or ‘fantasy land”
because of their notorious abil
ity to leave you scratching your
head wondering what happened
to the forecast snow or rain or
hurricane.
Normally, forecasts of large-
scale trends in the climate are
actually a little more accurate,
especially El Nino and La Nina
events in the Pacific. Four or
five months ago there was a tre
mendous amount of warm water
lurking just below the surface in
the central Pacific just waiting
to up well into a budding El
Nino. The majority of comput
er models were confident of at
By Mark Jenkins
least a moderate El Nino event
beginning later in the summer.
After a brief up-shot in May and
June, however, the Pacific has
cooled again to “neutral" condi
tions, casting doubt on whether
an El Nino is going to appear at
all this year.
Officially, an El Nino event is
when at least five-straight over
lapping periods of three months
of surface temperatures averag
ing at least 0.5 degrees Celsius
are observed in the equatorial
Pacific. So basically, El Nino tried
to sputter to life back in the early
summer but crumbled. Instead of
a wet and cooler August, we had
a cool, but very dry month in
most areas. Notable exceptions
were in the mountains of north
Georgia, the Atlanta metro area
and the Anderson to Greenville,
SC areas where normal to above
normal rainfall was reported.
As is typical with summer,
some spots were really dry (like
my neighborhood), while others
saw a little more rain. It might
surprise many that we had a cool
month on average given the heat
observed during the latter half of
the month. While we had seven
days in the 90s during the last
half of the month, we had only
two in the first 15 days and 4
days in the 70s.
Overall, our summer was dry,
but cool, which kept pastures and
crops from completely wither
ing. The overall pattern across
the nation shifted to much more
moisture over the inter-mountain
West and desert Southwest, as
the high shifted to the southern
Plains. This kept us in a weak,
mostly northwest flow aloft; not
a favorable flow for rain in our
area. The latest forecasts from
the Climate Prediction Center is
for El Nino to still develop by
this fall, but the likelihood has
dropped from 80 percent to 65
percent. This would be most sim
ilar to the fall of 2006 when we
had a late, weak and short-lived
El Nino, leading to a slightly dry,
slightly mild fall and winter. But,
of course, I don’t want to lead
you into long-range “munch-
kin-land.” We might just have
to shovel some of that “dry and
mild” this winter!
Weather averages for August,
2014: Avg. low: 66. lowest:
58. Avg. high: 88. Highest: 96.
Mean: 76.6 (-2.1). Rainfall: 1.22»
(-2.78”, 3rd driest on record).
2014 total to August 31: 26.12"
(-7.05”).
Mark Jenkins is Madison
County’s cooperative weather
observer.
The camera never blinks
When George Orwell
first coined the phrase “Big
Brother is watching you,” he
knew what he was talking
about.
Thanks to the NSA wiretap
ping of the Bush and Obama
administrations, some version
of Big Brother is indeed mon
itoring Americans just about
any time they talk on the
phone or send an email.
If you are a candidate run
ning for political office, you
are probably being watched
by more than Big Brother.
With the proliferation of
camcorders and smart phones,
the chances are good that
someone is out there in the
audience videotaping every
public remark you make.
The person shooting that
video could be a journalist
or a tracker, someone who is
hired to follow candidates and
tape their comments in case
they say something dumb.
Trackers have become a
standard part of nearly every
political event. Republican or
Democratic.
Internet postings of the
video they shoot have also
caused problems for a lot of
candidates.
An example is the video
that surfaced during the 2012
presidential campaign of Mitt
The
Capitol
Report
tcrawford@
capitol
impact.net.
By Tom Crawford
Romney talking about the “47
percent” of Americans that he
contended would never vote
for him.
In one of Georgia's congres
sional races this year, a video
clip circulated of Savannah
physician Bob Johnson tell
ing an audience: “I'd rather
see another terrorist attack —
truly, I would — than to give
up my liberty as an American
citizen.” He was complaining
about having to undergo air
port security searches.
That clumsy remark played
a role in Johnson’s loss to
Buddy Carter in the 1st
Congressional District’s GOP
primary.
In the Senate race, David
Perdue was caught off guard
when video became public of
his disparaging remark about
Karen Handel’s lack of a col
lege degree: “I mean, there's
a high school graduate in this
race, OK? I’m sorry, but these
issues are so much broader, so
complex.”
Unlike Johnson, Perdue sur
vived that video moment to
win the Republican runoff for
the Senate. But as any candi
date could attest, you never
can be sure what is going to
show up online.
Trackers and journalists
usually are allowed to shoot
their videos without being
harassed at public events, but
that isn’t always the case.
Nydia Tisdale is an inde
pendent journalist who often
attends political gatherings to
shoot video that she later posts
on YouTube,
At a city council meeting
in Cumming two years ago,
Mayor Ford Gravitt ordered
Tisdale to be removed from
the meeting room by police
because she would not stop
videotaping. A judge later
ordered the city to pay
$12,000 in penalties for eject
ing her.
At a recent Republican
rally in Dawsonville, Tisdale
was shooting video of
speeches by statewide can
didates. She taped Insurance
Commissioner Ralph Hudgens
making this comment about
Democratic Senate candidate
Michelle Nunn: “I thought I
was gonna absolutely puke,
listening to her.”
A few minutes after Tisdale
recorded that humorous
remark, she was suddenly told
to stop taping by a Dawson
County sheriff’s deputy.
When she continued to shoot
video, the deputy grabbed
her, dragged her away from
the meeting area, and had
her arrested on charges of
obstructing an officer.
It should be noted that
Tisdale was attending an event
to which the general public
had been invited. She was
doing the same thing she had
done at that Cumming City
Council meeting - a videotap
ing whose legality was upheld
by a Superior Court judge.
A local journalist at the
same event as Tisdale was
taking photos and making an
audio recording of the speech
es, but he was not ordered to
stop taping and was not forci
bly removed from the meeting
by a sheriff’s deputy.
The media coverage of
the Tisdale incident has put
Georgia in an embarrassing
light - we’re now known as
the state that beats up jour
nalists.
— See “Crawford” on 5A
