Home › OPINION

OPINION Section

Lessons from the budget process
The budget process was an enlightening experience for me. It gave me an opportunity to sit down with each of the constitutional officers and department heads to understand better their departments. I learned about their revenue sources, maintenance and operation needs, as well as their plans for the future. I also learned which public services are required and which are implied necessities.




We need news other than MJ
Last week pop icon Michael Jackson died. A possible cause of his untimely death has been linked to an alleged misuse of pain killers.




Declaration of hope
Tomorrow, as a community and with our nation, we celebrate the 233rd year since the signing of the Declaration of Independence from England. In honor of that day and for the courage undertaken by 40 brave men, on page 4A we are running a copy of this great masterpiece.




Time to speak up
Dear Editor: Like most decent citizens I often ruminate about what is happening to my beloved country, state and county. In the past I found a 100 reasons for staying uninvolved in most civic acts and responsibilities. I rationalized my actions by believing things that I’d sometimes been told like, "Nobody wants to hear anything from you," or, "If someone wanted your input, they’d ask for it." All that and more ...




State pinches pennies, local government suffers
Georgia's recession has put state government in the same position as a penny-pinching old geezer, the kind who searches under the sofa cushions for lost dimes and quarters or cashes in that jar of pennies he's been hoarding. The state's search for loose change has intensified in recent weeks because the end of the fiscal year is approaching and Gov. Sonny Perdue is constitutionally required to make sure that the books balance on June 30.




Remember the first amendment
Looking around for something appropriate to say as our nation celebrates its 223rd birthday, I happened to run across an old clipping in my files from Eugene Methvin, one of the finest journalists ever from the state of Georgia. Methvin is a local boy made good. His distinguished family were the longtime publishers of the Vienna News in Dooly County. Gene graduated cum laude from my beloved Grady College of Journalism at the University of ...




Irresponsible adults
Dear Editor: I am in total agreement with the letter titled "concerned about drug use in the county" written by a Mr. Harry Long on 5-29-2009. The part that overly concerned me is where Mr. Long spoke on drug usage in our schools. I have a daughter in college and a daughter entering Eastside High School this year. Both have lost friends due to their drug use. Many of these students either fell behind or ...




How precious our blessings
 "My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!"




Good Samaritan, bad dad
Last week in this space we editorialized about the dangers of leaving children in locked cars, especially in the middle of the Georgia summer. In Friday's paper there was a story of another incident of this kind in our own community.




Nat's seven solutions
I hope this last Sunday morning in June finds you well and enjoying life in America. Hard as it is to believe, we're halfway through 2009 already. Since that whole "hopey-changey" thing isn't working too well for me, in the interest of helping solve our nation's problems, today I'm offering insight into seven issues facing America. There's no need to thank me; you're welcome. 1. Prisons - Let's immediately model all prisons in America after ...




Celebrating the USA's birth
Next Saturday we celebrate our nation's biggest holiday; it will be marked by celebrations across the land. In next Wednesday's paper and at CovNews.com, we will tell you where all of the municipal celebrations will be held in Newton County and Social Circle.




Amen and thank you
In Wednesday's paper we published a front page picture and story about the life of Mary Frances Hays Wofford, who turned 100 years old in April. If you missed it you can see it on CovNews.com Reading the story of her life was like taking a step backward into history.




They gave us nice bright colors
In the past few days, the Eastman Kodak company announced that its Kodachrome film would be no more. Kodachrome was Kodak's slide film. It was idolized in a song by Paul Simon. The song included the classic line,




Ms. Mary Jo will be missed
As we celebrate the 100 year birthday of Mary Frances Hays Wofford, we celebrate the life spirit of Mary Jo Dally Whitley, who died this past week at the age of 86. Ms. Mary Jo was born to the Dally family - a family rich in the heritage of Jersey, Social Circle and Walton County.




Transparency
The expense records of our U.S. Representatives and Senators are soon going to be online. It should be interesting to see if transparency makes any difference. I am mindful of the story of the police station that installed TV cameras to "prove" that allegations of routine police brutality were false. It worked until the officers forgot their own cameras were there and started beating up suspects at the booking desk.




Warm weather reminders
Now that we are in the throes of our sweltering Georgia summer, we offer these reminders for safety. Last week a mother of twins was arrested for leaving her 4-month-old child locked in her car while she went in to shop at a local discount store.




Honoring heroes
The Covington Rotary does a lot of positive things for our community. One of those positive things is naming the club's pick for Public Safety Employee of the Year; this year there were some very worthy nominees.




DOT looks for the right turn
The State Transportation Board has elected yet another commissioner for that troubled agency: state Rep. Vance Smith (R-Pine Mountain), a person who has some expertise in highway construction because his family-owned business did a lot of road grading back in Harris County. Smith will be the fourth person in two years to serve as DOT commissioner, which typically budgets more than $2 billion a year to build our highways. If you think the continuing turnover ...




Bad service, good water
A friend of mine, once a top official in state government, recently tried to get AT&T service to his farm in Middle Georgia. After talking to robots and not getting his calls returned by a human being, he decided he had no choice but to call the Public Service Commission and complain. The PSC never returned his call either. The "new" AT&T's indifferent customer service doesn't surprise me. Now it looks like the regulators have ...




A sizzling summer
Goodness, it’s hot. Our wet, cool spring saved us a bunch on air-conditioning bills and broke the drought that held Georgia in such a stranglehold for the last several years. But, traditional Georgia summertime heat and humidity have arrived, and it’s pretty close to miserable.




Our Thoughts... Good news from the library
We were extremely pleased to hear that the Newton County Library will be re-opened on Saturdays starting July 11.




Our Thoughts... Happy Father's Day
"4 years: My Daddy can do anything!




Letter to the editor... I agree with Ms. Banks
Dear Editor: I was appalled by the letter to the editor from Katie Hurd in the June 14 edition. She was very critical of a previous letter from Ms. Mae Banks. In that letter Ms. Banks was complaining about a type of lascivious behavior shown by mostly white women in some of our restaurant parking lots. I am in 100 percent in agreement with Ms. Banks.




Our Thoughts... Administration changes
High schools are like miniature cities; the principals of high schools have duties not much unlike the mayor of a large city.




Path to bipartisanship
There is a decided lack of bipartisanship in Washington. Perhaps it would be easier to agree on what should be done rather than the reasons for doing it. Everyone is then free to invent whatever explanations will excite their "base" supporters.




Our Thoughts... An honorable judge
 In an earlier editorial we extolled the virtues of Superior Court Judge Samuel D. Ozburn who has been nominated by Sen. John Douglas to fill a soon to be vacant spot on the Georgia Supreme Court.




Trouble with the term grown children
This is my 19th Father’s Day. That is, if you count the one where we were anticipating an arrival in September of 1990.




What type of union do we prefer?
 The U.S. Constitution lays out the foundations of our society. Its purpose, as stated in the preamble, is to "form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence [sic], promote the general Welfare." According to the preamble, the first goal is to form a more perfect union, that is, a society of individuals that shares the benefits of laws, that seeks justice rather than retribution, that ensures ...




Our Thoughts... A senseless tragedy
Last week we learned that a body was found in Snapping Shoals Creek.




A Libertarian to admire
Hard to believe, but some people actually get their knickers in a wad over observations that emanate from this space. After a careful analysis of critical comments (insert joke here), I have decided that the vast number of complainants suffer from a serious case of humor deficiency. This is not unlike being deficient in your intake of omega-3 whatevers, except that eating fish doesn't improve the situation. It just makes your breath smell bad. My ...




A fantastic revival
We applaud the unanimous vote of the Newton County Board of Education on requiring the students of the two new theme schools to wear a standard type of uniform and requiring parents of students who will attend the new schools - located at Fairview Elementary and Clements Middle schools - to sign a contract that requires, among other things, volunteer time. We have said this before, and it is something that parochial and private schools ...




Strict but fair, please
We understand very well that rules are rules. During the last year the state of Georgia has revised and tightened the rules involving restaurant inspections. We also understand why this has been done. Nobody wants to eat in an establishment that is not clean and that does not follow the rules regarding food preparation.




The drought ends, but will return
The rains finally came this year, even if not on a biblical scale, and environmental officials in state government now proclaim that Georgia's historic drought has officially "ended." "Our water supplies are flush," observed Carol Couch, director of the state's Environmental Protection Division, as she discussed the factors that justified her decision that the devastating dry period was over.




A caring community
The newly opened homeless shelter located at Turner Lake Circle is an encouraging example of how dreams can come true for good people. Former mayor and local furniture store owner Sam Ramsey and the Rev. Clara Lett had a dream that a homeless shelter could be built in Covington.




Judge not
Dear Editor: This letter is in reply to Ms. Mae Banks' letter concerning her disgust over women she describes as "floozies." As a Christian, I was appalled by the hateful, judgmental attitude Ms. Banks displayed. She insinuated that as a woman who "attend[s] church every Sunday" she has the right to judge others. I invite Ms. Banks to read John 8:1-11, in which Christ defends a woman accused of adultery. I also would like to ...




Watch out for your kids
Dear Editor: Mr. Long had a fine letter in your paper on May 29. I saw some of my own kids and grandkids go to jail because of drugs. They got with the wrong people, who, every time, were older than they were. Older drug heads don't care about how much pain they cause those younger than they are or their families. I hope you will print this letter so parents can call 911 if they see any drug use around their kids.




Creating a hub
The Covington Municipal Airport is scheduled to close at the end of July for runway repairs and upgrades. We know that some residents will be cheered by this and probably wish that the airport would just go away completely; we sympathize with those who are bothered by the noise.




Tolerate this
In the interest of providing food for thought over as wide a spectrum as possible, I normally don't revisit my previous week's column. But, apparently last Sunday I jangled the nerves of Jehovah's Witnesses from as far away as Oregon and Washington, judging from the letters to the editor which ran last Wednesday. Well, where there's smoke there's usually fire, and the hit dog hollers, right? Nevertheless, I'll speak as plainly as possible for those ...




The other boys of summer
 There is a connection between summer and cars that remains in my mind.




Our Thoughts... Consolidating services?
The city of Oxford made a decision this week to pay Newton County to handle its fire service needs.




Powered by
Morris Technology
Weather Forecast