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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. DECEMBER 5. 2019 - PAGE 5A
Opinions
Concerned about emissions
from power plant
Dear Editor: The talk
given to the Rotary Club
by the Colbert biomass
plant manager a month ago
raised some concerns for
me.
First was the assertion
that the plant's emissions
are continuously moni
tored by the federal EPA
and the state EPD. and that
crossties burnt at extreme
heat lose their toxicity. If
the “volatile organic com
pounds” are destroyed,
then why have I smelled
the stink of the plant five
miles away in Comer? Is
it odors from burning? Is
it particulate matter from
grinding the crossties into
smaller pieces? Have any
ties treated with chromate
copper arsenate crept into
those big piles at the plant?
There are volatile organic
compounds coming from
somewhere.
Also, I'm alarmed that
Dominion Power in Vir
ginia was cited as a model
for safe energy production.
That company has one of
the worst reputations in the
country for polluting the
environment, manipulating
energy markets, and being
unresponsive to citizen
complaints. Since the year
2000, they have been fined,
not millions, but over $1
billion for environmental
violations. This year alone
they were fined $14 million
for engaging in a scheme
that manipulated the ener
gy markets in a three-state
area. I hope the business
ethics of Dominion Power
have not surfaced in our
corner of Georgia.
Sincerely.
Dena Chandler
Carlton
Buffington continued from 4A
probably won’t — do that
given his greater loyalty to
Trump.
Instead, he’s called for
more legal immigration
to appease the local busi
ness community, but since
he knows Trump won’t
support that movement,
he doesn't really have to
worry about crafting the
details, or being seen as
too pro-immigration to his
far-right supporters. With
Trump as president, legal
immigration is dead in the
water.
• ••
All that political games
manship is not going to
resolve the underlying
problem, nor will Trump’s
anti-immigrant policies
stop the nation from be
coming increasingly di
verse and multi-cultural.
It may even have the per
verse effect of increasing
illegal immigration — if
people can’t get into the
U.S. legally to work, then
they will find illegal ways
to get here.
Anyone who has done
family history research
knows there is no “pure”
ethnic group or culture.
We're all the result of thou
sands of years of multiple
cultures overlapping and
intermarrying.
Those of us who claim
to be from England, for
example, are really from
a variety of cultures and
tribes that conquered and
occupied the British Isles
over thousands of years —
Celts. Vikings, Romans,
and many others.
There is no reason to
think that this march of hu
man history will suddenly
stop. The U.S. is a nation of
immigrants. While it was
founded mostly by those
descended from Western
Europe, as time goes on,
Hispanic. Asian, African
and other non-European
groups will assimilate into
the country and the ethnic
makeup will change. In
500 years, “Americans”
will look very different
than they do today.
Consider what's already
happened.
In 1960, 87 percent of
the U.S. population was
white. Today, that is 63
percent and by 2050. it will
be 47 percent. At the same
time, the Hispanic, Black
and Asian population will
increase.
• ••
But being an American
isn’t about your skin color,
or your ethnic background.
Being an American is
about believing in a shared
set of values; about believ
ing that men are not ruled
by other men, but by the
rule of law; about believ
ing in justice for all; about
believing in the freedom to
practice the religion of your
choice; about believing in
the freedom to speak out in
the political arena without
the fear of violence.
With their focus on eth
nic backgrounds and skin
color, our political leaders
have missed the main point
in the immigration debate:
It's not where people
come from that’s import
ant; it's what they believe
when they get here that
makes them an American.
Mike Buffington is
co-publisher of Mainstreet
Newspapers. He can be
reached at mike@main-
streetnews.com.
Richards continued from 4A
like the rest of us.
The concepts he pro
moted are simple in the
extreme, so simple that
they're entirely overlooked
by a callous world.
It was easy to take Rog
ers’ simplicity for naivete,
but those wise enough to
look a little closer, saw that
it was hard-earned wisdom
instead. The Presbyterian
pastor’s most potent pow
er lay in focusing all his
compassion and attention
on the person in front of
him, whether it be an an
gry, cynical adult like Jun-
rod (or Vogel in the movie)
or thousands of little faces
staring at their TV screens.
He gave them all he had.
Here are some of the
things I learned from “It's
a Beautiful Day in the
Neighborhood.”
The first is probably the
hardest: work to accept
people as they are, not as
you wish them to be. Work
at being kind even when
you don't feel like be
ing kind, especially when
you don’t. Work to make
kindness your first instinct
(man. that’s a whole lot
easier said than done).
Look for the child inside
each person you meet and
remember, that you were
once a child, too.
Pray for people by name.
Find an outlet for anger
and disappointment that
doesn’t inflict damage on
others or on yourself.
It's OK to be a work in
progress — the important
thing is to do the work to
make the progress.
Boy, did I need that
movie and it's one I will
likely turn to again and
again, especially in this era
of anger, fear and mistrust.
Mr. Rogers’ message to
children of all ages is one
that is needed today more
than ever.
I left the theater that
day feeling just a little bit
lighter despite the pound
of buttered popcorn in my
stomach.
I guess the best way to
say it is that I felt like a
prayer had been answered
— one that I hadn't even
known I needed to pray.
Margie Richards is a re
porter and office manager
for The Madison Coun
ty Journal She can be
reached at margie@main-
streetnews.com.
About the papers
The five MainStreet Newspapers pub
lications — The Madison County Journal,
The Jackson Herald, The Braselton News,
The Barrow News-Journal and The Banks
County News — are printed and delivered
once a week.
•About delivery: The newspapers are de
livered to the post office and, from there, to
subscribers' post office boxes or home mail
boxes. The newspapers do not have “paper
boxes” at people's homes and are not de
livered by carriers. However, the papers are
delivered to newspaper vending machines in
various locations across Madison, Jackson,
Barrow and Banks counties.
•About subscriptions: Subscribers are
sent a renewal notice before their subscrip
tion runs out. A quick way to check to see
when a subscription ends is to look for the
expiration date on the mailing label.
For more information on the above
items, or for other details about the news
papers, call The Madison County Journal
at 800-795-2581; The Jackson Herald at
706-367-5233; The Braselton News at 706-
367-5233; The Banks County News at 706-
612-5327; or The Barrow News-Journal at
770-867-6397.
Legal Services Program offered
Free legal services are available to low-income clients. Services are based on case
type and financial eligibility. The Georgia Legal Services Program does not handle
criminal cases. For an appointment, call 1-800-745-5717 between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.,
Monday through Friday.
Always a good time to be thankful
Thanksgiving has moved into the rear
view mirror for another year, and from a
personal standpoint I hate to see it gone.
Thanksgiving marks the time when
we unofficially go from fall to winter.
To many, the fall season is September
through Thanksgiving, which was Nov.
28 for this year's calendar. Now we are
looking at several months of cold, dreary,
cloudy, windy and often miserable days.
Since many (or some) of us still have
giving thanks on our mind, I thought it
would be a good time to offer appreciation
for things both serious and not so serious.
So on this December day I am thankful
for:
•The first areas of blue sky which return
after an extended rain.
•A peaceful afternoon nap which does
not occur often enough.
•for college football games like this
year’s Iron Bowl. Wow is all I can say.
•for the high school parent who doesn't
think his or her son or daughter is the
greatest athlete of all time.
•for political season, which is my favor
ite season along with football of course.
•When I leave the dentist knowing I
won’t have to return in a couple of weeks
to have more work done.
•The time when the phone rings and
there is someone on the other end who ac
tually knows me rather than a telemarket
er or scam of some kind.
•A text from a friend simply asking how
you are doing.
•A movie made in 2019 that is not a re
make of an old one.
•The old VH1 “Behind the Music” se
ries which ended way too soon.
•When the power doesn’t go out during
a violent thunderstorm or, worse, a winter
snow storm.
•For the political candidate who remem
bers at least some of his or her campaign
promises once in office.
•That a few of us still enjoy reading a
My
View
pchris
bridges@gmail.
com
By Chris Bridges
newspaper the way it should be read: by
turning the actual pages.
•For coaching characters like Mike
Leach because it's never a dull moment
with him.
•The pothole in the road once it has
been fixed.
•The nail that doesn’t find a home in my
tire.
•That I still own a working VCR.
•A parent who takes the time to stop
you and thank you for a kind word written
about their child in the paper. Many times
simply mentioning their name means a lot.
•Childhood friends who remain friends
today although we have long ago left our
childhood years behind.
•Re-runs of “The Andy Griffith Show.”
“Perry Mason” and “Matlock” to name
only a few.
•A good movie that actually provides
suspense and a good scare or two. I re
member years ago watching Alfred Hitch
cock’s “Psycho” with a friend who had
never seen it. My friend didn't know the
story line and actually screamed out loud
at the end. Now that’s good filmmaking.
•Finally, the fact that spring will even
tually return. Maybe all the forecasts of a
cold winter in our neck of the woods will
be wrong. I hope so anyway.
Winder resident Chris Bridges is a for
mer editor for the Barrow> News-Journal.
He can be reached at pchrisbridges@
gmail.com.
Caregivers sought for area
veterans foster care program
Qualified caregivers are
needed for the Veterans Med
ical Foster Home program
managed by the Charlie Nor
wood VA Medical Center.
Approved applicants will
provide physical and mental
health care to veterans who
are in need of a family. Ap
plicants must be 21 to apply.
“We’re seeking competent
and compassionate care
givers.” said Hallie Cheek,
Medical Foster Home coor
dinator for the VA services
out of Augusta.
The veteran pays to re
side in a VA-screened and
approved medical foster
home with private funds like
Social Security, VA aid and
attendance, or service-con
nected disability compensa
tion. The veteran’s primary
medical care is managed by
the VA's interdisciplinary
home-based primary care
team or spinal cord injury
home care. The rates of the
foster home are negotiated
between the veteran and the
caregiver, and are based on
the veteran’s ability to pay as
well as the level of care that
is required.
Caregivers must be finan
cially stable, own or rent
their home, and have either
formal or informal caregiv
ing experience. A medical
foster home caregiver must
be willing to accept veterans
without discrimination on
the basis of race, color, sex,
age. religion or national ori
gin. To apply, call Cheek at
706-945-9447 or email her
at Hallie.Cheek@va.gov.
GBI offers child safety app
for Georgia residents
More than half of child deaths in Georgia
could have been prevented. That is the finding
of the Georgia Child Fatality Review Program
(GCFR) which evaluates all injury, sleep-relat
ed, and unexpected/suspicious deaths involv
ing children who are less than 18 years old.
In an effort to prevent and reduce incidents
of child abuse and fatalities in the state, a new
mobile app named “GaCFR” is the latest tool
launched by the Georgia Bureau of Investiga
tion in collaboration with the Georgia Division
of Family and Children Services and the State
Office of the Child Advocate. The GaCFR app
is designed to be a quick resource for families,
care givers, support agencies, and law enforce
ment. Within the app are links to report miss
ing children, report abuse, investigative check
lists, and a host of other valuable resources.
A free download of the app is currently
available for Android, Apple, and Windows
operating system devices. Use keywords
“Georgia Child Fatality Review” when search
ing for the app.
Law enforcement agencies may contact
GBI Child Fatality Review at ChildFatalityRe-
view@gbi.ga.gov.
1050 Thomas Avenue.
Watkinsville, GA 30677
Monday ■ Thursday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Friday 8:00 am -12:00 pm
athensdermatologygroup. com
706.769.1550
READY FOR
DAWG DAY
FUN IN
TFIESUN!
KAREN MAFFEI, MD
Emory University School of Medicine,
Cum Loude.Americon Society of Mohs
Surgery, American Society of
Dermatological Surgery, American
Board of Dermatology
MORGAN RAINS, PA-C
Medical USC. Summo Cum Loude
UGA, Mogna Cum Loude, American
Academy of Physician Assistants, Society
of Dermatology Physician Assistants,
Georgia Dermotology Physician Assistants