opinions
We Have To Demand Change — By Tommy Purser
I felt for Landon Chavis as I sat in the back of the City Council’s meeting room last Thursday. The young, homegrown business owner, who put down his roots in downtown Hazlehurst hoping for a bright and prosperous future, was at the meeting to ask for some help. He looked around and saw downtown’s shortcomings…
Read MoreBeing Good Stewards — By John Reed
Being Good Stewards Stewardship. Whenever that word comes up in sermons, the subject of tithing is sure to follow. The scriptural command to give one tenth of your earnings to the church provides material support, but that’s only one sense of what stewardship really means. In business, stewardship first and foremost means taking care of…
Read MoreTrump, DeJoy attacking postal service — By Tommy Purser
The Trump administration’s failure to take the COVID-19 threat seriously has all but brought the U.S. economy to a standstill — and the future continues to look grim. This newspaper is suffering through its worst year ever. Surely it’s the worst year in my 47-plus years at the helm. And if Trump and his Postmaster…
Read MoreWe Must Be Crazy — By John Reed
We Must Be Crazy If it seems to you things are out of whack, don’t worry, it’s not you. People are definitely acting stranger than usual, which is saying something. I’m not sure of the clinical difference between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but I’m sure O Dependable One can set me obdurately straight. We have…
Read MoreRebecca Latimer Felton — By Tommy Purser
During the Civil War, women across Georgia and the south had to take over the men’s farming work as so many farmers put down their hoes and plow mule reins and picked up rifles to join the “fight against northern aggression.” In those days, it was customary that the ladies of the plantations and high…
Read MoreOfficer W.J. Waters
I enjoy going through past copies of the Ledger/Georgia Cracker/Hazlehurst News, especially the really old ones. Years ago, I got a letter from a person in Florida, seeking information about a relative, W.J Waters, who the writer said was shot and killed in Jeff Davis County in 1930 while serving as a law enforcement officer.…
Read MoreEquality vs. Freedom — By John Reed
Equality vs Freedom “All men are created equal.” Those immortal words from our Declaration of Independence were no more true then than they are now. I first learned this in the locker room in junior high school. It’s a nice idea, an aspiration about people’s potential or every infant’s starting position under God. The writers…
Read MoreConsistency Matters — By John Reed
Consistency Matters Kids are smart. They understand fairness and consistency at an instinctive level, which can be frustrating for parents of siblings. They can tell if one child is getting a better deal than the other. Often that better deal is merited, either because of age differences, better behavior or whatever. The other kid doesn’t…
Read MoreThink. It’s Not A Difficult Thing To Do. — By Tommy Purser
The first conspiracy theory I recall in my lifetime was in the early 1950s, during the McCarthy era. McCarthyism spread like wildfire until its perpetrator, Senator Joseph McCarthy was finally shamed into silence. I was really young then but I can still remember the adults in my life talking about McCarthy’s allegations that hundreds of…
Read MoreThe Coming Tempest — By John Reed
The Coming Tempest Not long ago, I wrote how distant events affect us, even out here in the country. I was reminded of this once again as I was writing this last Sunday night. At twilight, the sun’s last westward fading glory backlit a wonderful thunderstorm, alternating pink and grey rays extending all the way…
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