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PAGE 4A- THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. DECEMBER 26. 2019
Opinions
GRP, health and money
Georgia Renewable Power (GRP) seems
to fill our front page every week these days.
That’s because there are many facets
to this story. But I put public health at the
top of the value chart in covering this is
sue. Yes, there are a lot of money matters
to look at. And most certainly, this county
needs real revenue boosts. But as long as a
carcinogen is burned in mass quantity next
door to homes in Madison County, then
that requires real scrutiny. Anything less
would be negligent on my part and on the
part of the local government.
My opinion carries no worth in a news
story. It’s a parasite if it appears outside
of this opinion column. But in this specif
ic spot, where I speak my mind, I’ll say
this: I am opposed to the burning of cre
osote-treated railroad ties as a fuel source
in Madison County. I say this, because I
just couldn’t be OK with that next to my
family. And when people living near GRP
scream about this, I completely under
stand. I would feel panicked with that next
to my asthmatic wife and my two children.
I come back to a fundamental dismay
that this is even an issue. It feels absurd. In
a broader scope, the burning of these ties
is legal now and the foreseeable future.
But this won’t last. I don’t know how long
it will take the big ship of government to
correct its course on this. But it’s going
to be outlawed again. To consider this a
“green” source of energy creation is a kind
of blasphemy, a middle finger to common
sense. All the talk of it being legally OK
and allowed by the federal government
is hollow. It’s a sham. It’s not OK. We all
know it.
We are supposed to trust in the machin
ery, to trust in the permits, to trust in the
regulations. It’s hard to afford such blind
trust these days. It just is. It’s especially
hard for the people who breathe in the cre
osote and are supposed to just accept it as
“not a problem” because the federal gov
ernment approved it as OK.
It’s also hard to trust a “nothing-to-see-
here” attitude after reading the 89-page
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organi-
In the
Meantime
zach@
mainstreet
news.com
By Zach Mitcham
zations (RICO) complaint in federal court
filed by the people who were hired to help
this company secure foreign investment.
Those consultants needed all the details
they could get to present the plans. And
when they pointed out misrepresentations
about the capabilities of the power plants,
they were fired, not thanked for catching
problems. It’s hard to read that complaint,
with all of its many details, and not con
clude that fierce skepticism of this compa
ny is warranted.
Understand, I’m not publishing that
RICO story to take a shot at a company.
I’m publishing it because the information
exists in the public domain, and that suit is
very relevant to what is happening in our
county, as it grapples with how much trust
to put in the new power plant. Read it and
form your own conclusions. And if you
find fault with how it’s presented, point it
out, please. I want to know.
But I’ve thought a lot about GRP’s per
spective here, too, especially as it relates
to the railroad ties and its investments.
All health issues aside, and purely in a
financial sense, GRP would do really well
to bum only railroad ties if they could. The
projected cost of the Colbert and Cames-
ville plants was $350 million, according to
a GRP official quoted in Biomass Maga
zine. That’s a massive investment, and the
company must present the appearance of
true profitability to get the funds it needs.
If the company transports its fuel source
by highway, then it has a hefty trucking
expense. I don’t know any numbers, but
it’s surely not cheap. So whatever can be
transported by rail may be preferable, es
pecially if CSX has an interest in unload
ing its debris (railroad ties) at the plant as
a convenient disposal source. This is ob
viously great for GRP in terms of operat
ing expense. It’s a chocolate/peanut butter
arrangement between two companies. But
there’s a secondary economic boost for
the company with railroad ties as a fuel
source: it significantly brightens the pro
jected economic profitability for the plant
in Colbert. It means that GRP can tell in
vestors that they have vastly reduced pro
jected expenses. That means investors can
then feel more confident in getting a return
on their dollar. Likewise, if this all gets to
be too much for GRP and they try to sell
these plants and jump ship, then they need
to show potential buyers that the easy fuel
source will help guarantee profitability.
This is why company assurances that
the creosote isn’t an issue are hard to
stomach. They truly need it not to be an
issue for their own financial health.
Right now, Madison County neighbors
simply can’t abandon their senses: smell,
sight and sound. And it’s not right to ask
them to.
And there’s also that other sense, the no
tion that this just doesn’t feel right.
Yes, bringing business into Madison
County is important. The county is woe
fully lacking in commercial tax revenue,
which puts a burden on property own
ers. But bringing in business that comes
to define an area by its pollution, not its
attributes, well, that’s actually bad for the
area’s business outlook in the long run.
County leaders must balance their desire
for new revenue with their duty to pro
tect local citizens facing an actual health
risk. I don’t see how the scale falls on the
GRP side at the moment. They have a lot
of cleaning up to do to earn this county’s
trust.
That’s not anti-business. It’s just pro
fact.
Zach Mitcham is editor of The Madison
County Journal. He can be reached at
zach @ mainstreetnews. com.
Families are what make Christmas special
The following is my annual Christmas
column, first written several years ago. It
remains a favorite of mine and has prob
ably received as much positive feedback
from readers as anything I have written.
I like to share it with readers each year.
I trust this Christmas will be filled with
blessings for you and yours and that
2020 will be the best yet for each of you.
This past year, like most, has been
stressful at times but as always I have
the great gift of strong family support,
something which never goes out of style
or fades with time.
I trust each of you is as blessed with
as much family support as I am. Mer
ry Christmas to each of you who take
the time to read this column or others I
have written throughout the 2019 calen
dar year. Thank you for your feedback,
whether positive or negative. A gift to
any writer is the simple knowledge that
something is reading what they have to
offer.
The weather forecast is calling for
warmer-than-usual temperatures for
Christmas Day this year which suites me
just fine. I’m not a big fan of the cold. In
fact, Christmas in south Florida or Ha
waii would be perfect for me.
I do have friends and family who live
across our great country in such states as
North Dakota, Maine and New Hamp
shire. Their dreams of a white Christmas
are almost guaranteed each year. That’s
not for me. At least here in Georgia we
have a chance of nice weather.
• ••
Ready or not, Christmas is here.
The mad rush to buy presents, dec
orate the house, cook tons of food and
mail Christmas cards has been at a fever
pitch in recent weeks. The “Big Day” is
now here.
I still have vivid childhood memories
of Christmas day while growing up in
the central Georgia town of Monticello.
It seemed Christmas Eve was always the
toughest night to go to sleep.
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By Chris Bridges
No matter how many times I tossed
and turned, flipped the pillow over or
tried to force myself into dreamland,
it was no use. (I suppose I should have
tried reading a book as I recall back then
that was a sure-fire way to make me go
to dreamland.)
Eventually, Christmas morning would
arrive, and I was always blessed with
new items that would be the center of
my attention — for a little while anyway.
Another part of Christmas morning
I always enjoyed was the visit to my
grandparents’ house located just down
the road from where I grew up. The rit
ual Christmas morning visit to Pop and
Nanny’s house is something I still re
member, cherish and miss to this day.
The table would be full of all the right
Southern breakfast items from scram
bled eggs to biscuits to bacon. It simply
couldn’t be beat.
Looking back now, however, I realize
what I actually enjoyed more than the
food was the family togetherness we
shared. My grandparents, parents, broth
er, cousins and other family members
were always there, along with additional
guests each year.
In the future, let’s hope we can all
make more time for our family and not
just during the holiday season.
In today’s hectic, fast-paced society
we can often forget those who are most
important — our family. Unfortunate
ly, family members take a back seat
when we have to try and deal with our
work-driven lifestyles.
As far as the weather goes, I still feel
fortunate to live in a part of the coun
try where we have at least a 50 percent
chance of a good day on Dec. 25. While
we’ve had to deal with some crummy
weather of late, you can never complete
ly rule out a day of sunny weather with
a high in the 60s on Christmas. Nothing
can beat Christmas in the South.
While I love our neighbors to the
North, there is now I would want to be
there when this time on the calendar ar
rives.
When the Christmas rush is finally
over, we get to enjoy another holiday
a few days later on New Year’s, a day
which has become known (to me at
least) for college football bowl games
if nothing else. It’s a time when I try
to squeeze in as many games as possi
ble before the long, long winter drought
without gridiron action to watch begins.
The long-winter drought for football
junkies can be downright depressing
(take it from me, someone who knows
personally).
Football aside, the year 2020 brings a
sense of hope for better times and bet
ter events ahead. I personally hope the
next calendar year will be a positive 12
months for everyone.
That’s what is so great about begin
ning a new year. The old one, no matter
how tough or trying, can be put behind
us. When we flip the page on the cal
endar from December to January, high
hopes for a prosperous new year can be
felt.
I offer a Merry Christmas and Happy
New Year to each one of you. I thank
you for taking the time to read the words
in this space from time to time. Let’s all
gather again here next year. I wish each
of you good health and the blessing that
is family.
Chris Bridges is a columnist for
MainStreet Newspapers Inc. He can be
reached at pchrisbridges@gmail.com.
Want to submit a letter?
Email us at: zach@mainstreetnews.com.
Or you can mail a letter to us at RO. Box
658. Danielsville, Ga. 30633, or drop off a
letter at our office on Hwy. 29 at the court
house square. You may place the letter in the
drop box below the front porch window if
the office is closed. There is no word limit,
but if letters are excessively long, then they
may be abbreviated for space purposes.
Close to
Home
margie@ main-
street
news.com
By Margie Richards
A Lulu of a
Christmas
A few months ago I wrote about the
death of my little dog, Joe.
He was a rescue from the Madi-
son-Oglethorpe Animal Shelter back
in 2010 and it seemed he’d led a pretty
hard-scrabble life up to that point.
Despite his tough beginning, that lit
tle arthritic old dog was literally “the
heartbeat at my feet.” He followed me
anywhere and everywhere, no leash re
quired. We went for long car rides, that
included many family vacations. He
was not a young fellow when Charles
brought him home from the shelter, but
he lived nearly nine more years, and I
think he had no doubt that he was loved
and cherished every day of those years.
I have spent the months since he died
feeling like something was missing not
only from my arms, but from my heart.
When Charles asked me what I want
ed for Christmas a few weeks ago, I
found the courage to tell him what was
in my heart. What I truly wanted was
another little dog like Joe to love.
And though we still have three dogs,
five cats, not to mention two goats (who
think they are dogs), my husband didn’t
hesitate.
After all, he knows who he married
more than 40 years ago and he loves me
anyway.
I finally visited the shelter a couple of
weeks ago and while I was there a little
terrified Chihuahua-mix, along with her
brother, came in as owner surrenders
(meaning they could be adopted right
away after their health checks).
I brought “Lulu” home after her spay
surgery a few days later.
Lulu is only seven pounds (a bit un
derweight) and her ears are the biggest
part of her. She has obviously not known
a lot of kindness in her short life and it
is taking some time to gain her trust, but
we are getting there.
Once he saw which way the wind
blew, Charles has gone all in, taking up
time with her and helping me teach her
that she is now in a place where she will
be loved and cared for. She is slowly
learning that she doesn’t have to cow
er or hide when someone stands over
her, or to be afraid to eat the food in her
bowl; nor does she have to run away
when there’s a loud noise.
Lulu may not understand it fully yet,
but she has come home for Christmas.
She loves to snuggle and has found
that sleeping under the covers in our
bed is a truly marvelous thing. She
gets along well with our other dogs
and seems to like the cats (which is a
See Richards, page 5A
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: 800-795-2581
E-mail: zach@mainstreetnews.com
ZACH MITCHAM, Editor
MARGIE RICHARDS, Reporter/Office Manager
MIKE BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
SCOTT BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
FRANK GILLISPIE (deceased), Founder of The Journal.
JERE AYERS (deceased), former owner
of The Danielsville Monitor and The Comer News
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