Sometimes all the “we need more of this and less of that” and “let’s give that a whirl” philosophies of modern Georgia education still return to a rather simple concept. So far removed from days of old, most of today’s students have never heard of “The Three ‘R’s’” unless they think it stands for “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.”
Charles Ivey was on his way back from Arkansas when he called Peggy in Gainesville, Ga., to check in. He’d been trout fishing on White River with a bunch of other guys, and his wife would be interested in what he was bringing home. Usually it was a T-shirt, but this year he was bringing home a dog.
I have taken on extra poundage for some time now, but certainly in excess over the last three months. I assure you it is not water retention. If I had been packed back a few gallons of H2O, I’m positive our governor Most Cloudy Perdue would have found a way to siphon it out of me to fill Lake Lanier for his Aug. 5-8 mega fishing tournament. Nope, my blubber bonanza came from the barrage of political e-mails I received from candidates, candidates’ cohorts, and candidates’ opponents who want to denounce the other candidate’s credentials.
Eugene Phillips sat on a settee he and Nadine bought soon after they married in 1941. Steve Arnold sat on a small bench. You could almost reach out and touch the respect each man had for the other as they talked. Both of them are retired Army generals. Both of them fought in wars. Both of them feel a special tie to another general, George Smith Patton, the man who performed miracles in battle during World War II. Brig. Gen. Phillips fought in that war and served with Patton. Lt. Gen. Arnold commanded Third U.S. Army, Patton’s outfit, in the 1990s.
People ask, “What’s your description of a good newspaper?” I believe a good newspaper is a smorgasbord of information - something for everyone. A good newspaper also is a community talking to itself. If news is the lifeblood of the paper, the editorial page is the backbone. I evaluate a newspaper’s strength by its willingness to take stands on important matters and stimulate discussion. I’ve never seen a newspaper with too many letters to the editor.
A year ago on July 17, Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson ruled in a lawsuit filed by Alabama and Florida that the Army Corps of Engineers exceeded their authority in allowing water withdrawals from Lake Lanier to meet the water supply needs of metro Atlanta’s 3.5 million residents. In his order, Judge Magnuson made it clear that the only way to meet the needs of the metro area is for Congress to authorize Lake Lanier for water supply. The judge stayed his ruling until 2012 to give Georgia time to seek that authorization.
During the course of its investigation into the current Gulf of Mexico oil spill, The Associated Press was given information from the then-office of Mineral Management Services that was not making a lot of sense.
To the Screven County Recreation Department and its staff for a job well done. Year round the local recreation department provides hundreds of youth with fun, character-building healthy activities. However, during the summer the staff adds to its workload by hosting district and state tournaments that not only promote the vast number of county positives, but also bolster the local economy. The all-star teams, with their coaches and slew of accompanying parents, spend money on motels, gasoline and food.
As sure as a South Georgia boy shows up for the second grade snaggle-toothed, he’s going to have a nickname. I didn’t have to wait that long. Before Big Dink ever saw that I had his blue eyes, I was destined to be Little Dink. Monikers are as Southern as sweet tea. Just ask George Irvin Perdue III. Don’t know him? Sure you do. He’s the governor of Georgia. Sonny knows that he, like me, could have been tagged Bo, Buster, Bubba, Booger, Hoss, Rooster, Pig, Catfish, Turkey, Cooter, Pork Chop, Jet, Fuzzie, Skeeter, Speck, Slim, Chubby, Peanut, Toad or Frog.
