About The Madison County journal. (Hull, Ga.) 1989-current | View Entire Issue (March 12, 2025)
PAGE 4A - THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2025 Opinions ‘Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost onmipotent." Henry Ward Beecher Be skeptical of the severe spring hype WWI and WWII By Mark Jenkins Before we get to the forecast for spring, including severe weather, let’s review our mild February. After a top-ten cold January, we actually finished February well above normal in temperature. The mean temperature last montli was 51.3 degrees, or 5 degrees above average. This is despite a signifi cant cold snap in the middle of the montli that brought temperatures into the upper teens across the area. February was a “sandwich” month, witli a very mild start (81 on the Sth), a cold to cliilly mid dle, and a very mild end. This continued our trend of mild Feb ¬ ruary’s in the last decade or more. We have had only 2 below normal February’s in the last 10 years. For the winter we finished 0.7 degrees above average. One factor that likely influenced our mild February was the La Nina that finally appeared. While still weak, the La Nina brought about the more zonal flow across the Soutli that kept the cold mostly confined to the northern Plains to New En gland. Areas from Virginia nortli to Maine finally liad several significant snowfalls tliis winter along witli persistent cold. Texas to the Carolinas was generally mild. You may have seen some social media hype (whicli seems pretty common these days) that we are headed for an epic severe weather season this spring. While it is true that La Nina springs tend to be generally more active for tornadoes than neutral or El Nino springs, it isn’t always the case. Many of us remember well the super outbreak of April, 2011 when 367 tornadoes hit the southern and eastern states over a 4-day period. A total of 348 people died in several states, including Georgia. It was the worst outbreak ever recorded in the U.S. While a significant tornado outbreak is certainly possible tliis spring, I don’t think this year is going to mimic 2011. 2011 was a moderate to strong La Nina, wliile this year is mucli weak er. Winter of 2010-11 was quite cold wliile tliis winter was average to mild. One year tliat was similar witli a weak La Nina was 2006. But the winter was quite different and the spring was one of the driest ever for our area. I actually like the recent spring of 2018 as a more similar year (or “analog year”). The La Nina tliat year was weak, and the winter was almost a carbon copy of this past one. The severe season for our area was pretty weak. In fact, we had only 11 days witli thunderstorms for the entire spring in 2018. The most sig nificant outbreak tliat year was on Marcli 19 and liit north ern Alabama to the Atlanta area. The most active areas for tornadoes in 2018 was in the Plains and Midwest. It should be emphasized, liowever, that no two years are exactly the same. Spring, 2018 was unusually cool, and severe storms prefer lots of warm, moist air. As of now, it looks like spring 2025 will feature more ups and downs than persistent cool. I would expect 2025 to be more active for us than 2018 was, but not another 2011. As always, be severe weather aware. If you don’t have it, get an alert system on your phone that pings you when a watcli or warning is issued for your county or area. NOAA weather radios will wake you up at night when a warning is issued. Severe weather watches and warnings should be taken seriously. If we have another season like 2011 then I’ll be the first to admit that the scare- mongers were correct. Keep alert, but don’t borrow trouble. Weather averages for February, 2025: Avg. low: 40. Lowest: 18. Avg, high: 63. Highest: 81 (tied warmest ever in Febru ary). Mean: 51.3 (+5.0). Ramfall: 5.12” (+0.49”). 2025 ram total to February 28: 7.59” (-1.57”). Unpacking Hello, neighbors. One of the most difficult parts of any trip is unpacking, in my opinion. I am the kind of traveler who likes to use the accommodation’s drawers and closets if they are available, so many trips see me unpacking twice. Twice’t, as some Southerners might say. Putting away clothes and sundries after arriving for any stay barely reg isters on the to-do list. It is not nearly the mental hurdle of doing the same once the trip is over, the travel bag stuffed and glaring at me from my bedroom floor. Long drive, usu ally tired, unpack yourself. But, I prefer an unburdened mind, ready to be at ease once any adventure ends. I rarely put off the task’s weight for very long—the washing machine starts whirring as quick ly as possible, items back in their places, suitcase empty and stowed for next time. The same is true for my mental journeys throughout the week: unpacking is important to me, thougli I hardly make sucli frenzied, hurried efforts at it compared to the resettlement at home described above. Instead, quiet time in empty spaces dominate. Last week was a very cluttered week for me witli daily events scatter ing my mind and spirit. Perhaps those windy days played a part, too; I certainly felt blown-about. I spent more time beside a window, this time at school. My classroom—the gym—gets uplifting natural light thanks to a bank of win dows along the “playground wall.” In early spring, the room brightens to a dim gray before gaining hints of rose, all while the building sits relatively empty. I stood admiring the pink-bottomed clouds a couple of times last week. All was quiet, and my mind soon followed, uncluttered. Oddly, the right kind of noise, blaring into my ears, has a similar effect from time to time. Headphones on, car-clean ing towels in hand, I wondered if my neighbors cared that I sang loudly while I wiped and buffed my vehicle’s stand-out blue last week. Someone left the invisible gate between our spaces open that day, I suppose. I think I am generally a good neighbor, and country folk are kind to one another anyway. Music, as noted in previous columns, does take me away and feed a strong hunger. It certainly left me full last week. I know my efforts are not singular to me. My dad does combinations of chair yoga, swimming, and walking at the Athens YMCA multiple times a week. He breathes deeply. Mom spends time witli her horse and horse-ing friends at the barn nearly every day. My friend David dutifully walks Ellie, an energetic boxer pup, mornings and evenings, two miles. Lee hugs Anson. Justin and Matthew wear ruck-sacks filled witli weight. Heather reads. The soccer girls gab and do Hair Salon/Beauty Parlor on away game bus rides. I even had a fifth-grader explain her “My 2025 Word Is...” to me last week—“mindfulness.” She said she enjoys the Sun, the trees, the birds; they make her remember how special and important she is. They do the same for me, and maybe even you, too. My hope is that you take care of yourself. Thank you for making my life better, mindful moments. Mindfiilly yours, Travis. By Travis Moak Mike Collins and DOGE comes to Madison County Dear Editor: I am a retired Marine living very hap pily in Comer, Georgia. After 37 years of service overseas and in combat, I returned home to Madison County and my neighbors. During those many years I did not once get involved in politics, nor did I ever talk to my fellow Ma rines about politics. Since all of us came from different backgrounds and nobody thinks exactly alike, it made sense to me because we were building a team and because we all took one oath: to protect and defend the Constitution. In fact, all active-duty service members are pro hibited from political activity by regu lations. So, when I retired and came home, I was very curious about politics. For the last 10 years I have attended the monthly meetings of both the Republi can and Democratic parties, both held in the Madison County Senior Center. I am very glad and proud that I did. Both meetings begin with the same pledge of allegiance to our republic and the party leaders and everyone on both sides are welcoming. At every meeting I learned something important from both sides. But personally, I have not joined either party. I prefer to vote for candidates I trust, not just those picked by a party to run. Last Thursday, the 20th of February, I attended the Republican Party meeting as usual. But it was an unusual honor to see national politics at work on the local level. I had the opportunity meet our Congressman, Mike Collins, who had just been to Brunswick, Georgia, working to fix serious infrastructure problems at the port. On his way back to Washington, he stopped by Daniels ville to hear from the people of Madison County. I took the opportunity to ask his support for the courageous people of Ukraine, explain that I trained with the Ukrainian Marines and respect them, and I asked him to visit Ukraine at the first opportunity. He gave a brief report to the meeting on his activities at Con gress, including funding for Madison County water projects, and answered questions. Finally, the meeting was given a pre sentation by Scott, a local businessman who is partnering with the billionaire Elon Musk and his company GROK AI (an Artificial Intelligence company) to investigate Madison County govern ments and, with the help of artificial in telligence tools, to identify fraud, waste and abuse. Scott reported that this is a state-wide initiative called DOGE Geor gia and that 59 other counties have al ready established DOGE headquarters. In response to a question, Scott said that participation in DOGE Madison Coun ty would be open to anyone, including democrats. I hope the democrats partic ipate. After all, DOGE follows a long history of federal assistance programs and will surely arrive and say, “Hello, I am from the federal government, and I am here to help.” Sincerely, Bruce Gandy, Col. USMC (Ret.) Comer “Back during the war ” I have overheard a mil lion sentences start this way. When I was born, it had only been five years since WWII was over. It was a re ally big deal and it is still talked about today. However, I did hear a lot about “the great war.” That was the first World War. It started in 1914. That was 111 years ago. People don’t know much about it today. So, what was the first country that declared war in 1914? It is little known but it was a combo country called Austria-Hungary. This was a monarchy made up of twelve countries in central Europe. None of it exists today and my guess is unless you live in that region, nobody cares. One of the archdukes got assas sinated and then Germany got involved and before you knew it the entire world was at war. This war was the first industrialized war. I remember seeing the pictures of tanks that were used. One of these was in one of the Indiana Jones movies. The battle of Verdun was the biggest battle of that war between 1914 to 1918. It in volved trench warfare. Talk about dumb. Nobody won that battle and no territory of any consequence was taken. It lasted ten months and there were over seven hundred thousand casualties on both sides. Most of the casualties in WWI were from artillery rather than any other cause. Also, something that was later banned as a weapon by all countries was the use of poisonous gas. We got in it when the Lusitania, a passenger liner ship, was sunk by a German submarine torpedo. An other little-known fact is that we found out that Germa ny was trying to get Mexico to ally with them against the Western coalition. Also little known was that Japan fought with England, France and America in that war. Russia was also an ally in that war but were not much help after 1917. That is because that was the year of the Russian Revolution. After that started, they were mostly fighting amongst themselves. Italy was also part of the allies that were fighting Germany and Austria-Hungary. The Central Empire, as it was known was also made up of Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire (the Arabs). For those who think they know about the great world wars, it is generally not known that the United States entered these conflicts very late. I often heard terms like Yank used by British people. That was the name we got when we joined the war. Doughboy was anoth er name our soldiers got when we went to fight “Over There”! There was the song, “Over there, over there, send the word to beware. ‘Cause the Yanks are com ing!” Airplanes were used in that war but not much for fighting. The great Baron Von Richthofen was shoot ing down allied planes. He is probably the most fa mous pilot of that war. Planes were almost always just used for reconnaissance. If they dropped any bombs, they were often just tossed over the side out of the cockpit by hand. With all these countries fighting and all these battles going on, how did they move things around in 1914? A little-known fact is that, from all the thirty coun tries that declared war, there were sixty million sol diers involved. Of those nine million did not make it. Transportation was basically by train or behind some of the over six million horses that were employed in multiple ways. Most of these poor brutes were lost in battle situations. One more amazing results of this unbelievable event is that this was a war that really did not end. Nobody really surrendered or was totally defeated. There was an armistice, which only meant that everybody got to gether and agreed to stop fighting. Later there was the treaty of Versailles, which dictated the terms of peace and punished Germany. These onerous terms of peace ultimately lead to WWII but that is a topic for another day. It is ironic that this conflict was called “The great war” and “The war to end all wars.” Compared to the one that was to come only twenty years later, the first World War paled in comparison. If you study this histo ry much, you become very aware of what Bob Dylan’s words meant when he wrote “Biowin’ in the Wind.” By Charlie Snelling Senior tax exemptions Dear Editor: Regarding exemptions for seniors from property taxes by Madison County, we’ve been here before. I am over 70 and could really, really benefit from some property tax relief, but there are way more than a few seniors in Madison County over 70 who are quite well off and not in need of government assis tance from the taxpayers of Madison County. Any reductions should be based on need, not some blan ket idea. I’m against this even though it would bene fit me. It’s simply not fair. Find a better way to help seniors in need and not on the backs of our school children. Sincerely, Virginia Moss Ila The Madison County Journal Danielsville, Madison County Georgia 30633 Merged with The Danielsville Monitor and The Comer News, January 2006 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. MIKE BUFFINGTON, Go-publisher SCOTT BUFFINGTON Go-publisher CALEB ROLLINS Editor Subscriptions: $45/year —$40/seniors POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: THE MADISON COUNTY JOURNAL PO Box 908 Jefferson, Ga. 30549 The Official Legal Organ of Madison County, Georgia-Periodicals postage paid at Danielsville, Georgia 30633 (USPS 011-097, ISSN 1074987X)
