OPINION Section
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Free market security blanket Now that Democrats are asking for benefits for the rest of us, the tired canard about "free markets" is |
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Not fiscally fit It has been a while since I had a column appear here in The Covington News. I spent the spent the last five months working for Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee and former United States Representative. It was a great experience and I will miss it. A lot has happened over the last several months. The biggest news, of course, is that Sen. Barack Obama defeated Sen. John McCain in the presidential election. |
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Our thoughts...OOPs In our editorial saying thanks and hello to our local politicians we left out two outstanding officials. Bob Wheeler chose not to run after serving 20 plus years as the coroner of Newton County. He performed his duties with professionalism. He will be missed. |
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Our thoughts...Enter the FanZone If you've already stumbled across our new sports Web site, you might have initially thought you accidentally clicked on a site for professional sports. You didn't. For the past couple of months our Web and sports staff have worked diligently to prepare a comprehensive and interactive resource for athletes and fans of Newton County's prep sports. |
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Our thoughts...Seamless interaction On Wednesday, Newton County's new OpenSky Radio Network officially opened. The who's who of Newton County law enforcement and public safety officials were in attendance. State Homeland Security Director Charlie English praised the county's state-of-the-art-operation, which allows every law enforcement and safety organization in the county seamlessly and instantly to communicate with each other instantly. |
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Letter to the editor...Healthcare reform Dear Editor: I cannot believe that no one understands the basic foundation of this country - the American worker. I would not expect a soldier with the flu to fight a better fight, nor would I expect a ditch digger to dig deeper when his son is at home with a toothache. We need a health and dental plan across the board for this county. Imagine the play-ball pit at McDonald's. Every individual ball in ... |
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The Russians out in the code I didn’t find it all that newsworthy to learn that the Russian and American governments often used bugging devices to find out what one another is doing/and or saying. |
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Unintended consequences run again There is a longstanding tradition in Georgia that the political party controlling state government will try to give itself an advantage over the opposition by fiddling with the election laws. |
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Our thoughts...Protecting our heritage The Newton County Board of Commissioners created a new historic preservation commission last week. We support this decision wholeheartedly. |
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Our thoughts...Holiday cheer This past year has been a year that most of us would like to forget. |
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Healing Home Depot If more people would go to Home Depot, it would relieve the strain on the doctors and reduce our medical cost. The other day I was at Home Depot, and as I walked through the parking lot, a pickup pulled into a handicap space. A middle age man got out; he looked like a construction worker. He limping badly on his right leg; so badly I thought he should have a cane or ... |
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Time for a change Dear Editor: Statewide, 82 percent of schools passed Annual Yearly Progress in 2006-2007, an indicator from No Child Left Behind. In Newton last year, 59 percent passed. One of our three high schools passed: 33 percent. It appears that our students are not achieving adequately, according to these indicators. |
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Our thoughts...Dysfunctional government Dysfunctional government For the past year The Covington News has covered the Porterdale City Council with much disappointment. In that time we have watched the city dismiss a capable city clerk and downtown manager as well as run off a dedicated city council member and now a city manager who has worked for the city for more than a decade. The city council ... |
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The great ones Have you heard that Herb Score passed away just a few days ago? He was the longtime announcer for the Cleveland Indians, calling games mostly on radio from 1964 to 1997. A lot of folks may not know, however, that before the move into the announcer’s booth, Score was on the cusp of becoming the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time. |
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When the cheering ends The moment the TV networks declared Barack Obama the president-elect, something wonderful happened. The perception of the United States changed around the world. America was the international good guy again. There was dancing in the streets of the great cities of Europe, Asia and Africa. |
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Not-so-bright ideas Sometimes, you just have to wonder what people are thinking when they do really stupid stuff. A man over in the western portion of our state decided to steal some electric wire belonging to the Georgia Power Co. Unfortunately, he thought that the lines were not energized. They were. No charges were filed because it is difficult to file charges against a dead man. |
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Our thoughts...Congrats Eastside Congratulations to the Eastside football team for bringing home the region 8 AAA championship. We know Coach Hurst and his assistants have worked hard to develop a team of both character and ability. |
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Our thoughts...A little angel Anytime there is a tragic death there is a shock and feeling of disbelief that settles in. These feelings are particularly felt when a child is involved. |
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Our thoughts...Send in the recipes We will be printing a special keepsake holiday section on December 14. |
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Our thoughts...I Have a Dream award The Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration committee is seeking honorees for the "I have a Dream "award. There should be plenty of deserving nominees this year. |
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Urban gardens Dear Editor, I am looking for individuals in the Covington area willing to donate their time, experience, property or expertise to create areas of urban gardens in Newton County. There are many benefits to creating permanent green areas within the cities of our county. To be successful, this will take the hard work of many individuals and institutions with the determination to better the lives of all Newton ... |
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American made Dear Editor: It amazes me that we can be sitting here having a discussion on whether or not to bail out the U.S. auto industry. There are actually people in this country who are prepared to see them fail, and some who say it may even be good for our country. Just where do these people come from? How can we possibly be prepared to call ourselves ... |
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A gathering of neighbors Well, it’s time to move on. But before we turn the page, I would like to congratulate all of the newly elected public officials throughout the county, state and nation. And of course, 145 years since emancipation, 100 years since the founding of the NAACP, 45 years since the March on Washington, 40 years since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., America’s 44th president is an African-American. How did this happen? ... |
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All God’s children Barack Obama’s election has everyone talking about Martin Luther King’s "I have a dream" speech. It was 45 years ago when King dreamed of his children being "judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." That is the sort of justice that we all want for our own children. |
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Marshaling memories I've had some great memories in my life. I played golf with Arnold Palmer, I heard Willie Nelson sing "Precious Memories" in the back yard of the Carter White House. I once took the "Take It Off, Take it All Off" Noxzema shaving cream girl to dinner. |
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Trust but verify I don't have much tolerance for rude behavior myself, so it is humiliating to have to beg your indulgence while I ask this rude question. Why in the world do we Georgians trust that our votes are being counted accurately? Because we are too polite to question authority. |
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Change isn't easy On Tuesday, 65.4 million Americans said "Yes, we can" and voted for "Change we can believe in." |
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Our Thoughts... Hello and goodbye With very few exceptions we think anyone who chooses to run for public office is a fantastic public servant, who by running for a position in government shows a special concern for their community. |
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Missing the moment Dear Editor: I had not had an opportunity to see your paper on Friday before sending you [an] e-mail and I wish to ensure your awareness that it was a pleasure to see something worthy of the office in print about the President-elect. However, the historical nature of the election should not have had to wait from Wednesday until Friday to be noted. |
