opinions
Light Up Georgia With Kindness – By Tommy Purser
Do yourself a favor and visit www.LightUpGeorgiaWithKindness.com It’s a heartwarming initiative that is being launched this December “to strengthen and bring together communities with a new annual tradition.” According to an article by Cindi Pickett in GwinnettForum.com, every individual, family, local neighborhood, business and organization is being encouraged to be more intentional in performing acts…
Read MoreSurviving Mother Nature By John Reed
Surviving Mother Nature Mother Nature happens. Last weekend’s five inches of rain is only the most recent reminder. Notably, the power stayed on and the school buses ran, a testament to the preparedness of our road and electric crews. The key words here are “preparedness” and “adaptability”. We’ve learned from previous storms to trim trees…
Read MoreAvoiding Another Public Shaming
I wrote about this more than a year ago. But, today, it seems so much more relevant than then. What I wrote back then was that I stopped going to the local National Day of Prayer observance after three or four years because I felt uncomfortable there. There were no kind prayers for the media…
Read MoreEchoes That Follow — By John Reed
Echoes That Follow I’ve written before about the digital “echoes” people leave behind, even after death. For example, Facebook still eerily reminds me of birthdays of lost loved ones. There are other more tangible echoes. At least once a month, I get mail from one charity or another in my mother’s name…she passed in 2008.…
Read MoreNews Not Fit To Print — By Tommy Purser
I found a wealth of information about the holidays for inclusion in this week’s edition of the paper. But many of the articles, in my opinion, were not fit to print in this newspaper. Those articles dealt with Black Friday sales and how to take advantage of the day in malls while you do your…
Read MoreTime To Fix Things — By John Reed
Time To Fix Things Now that Stacey Abrams has finally, if not graciously, conceded the governor’s race, it’s time to fix things. My conservative friends may disagree, but some of Abrams’ complaints about our current system need to be looked into. It’s in both parties’ interest to have the most fair, efficient, and transparent elections…
Read MoreShop Local This Season — By Rhea Landholm
Shop local this season By Rhea Landholm, Center for Rural Affairs This holiday season, will you be among 83 percent of consumers who plan to do some portion of their holiday shopping at a small, independently owned retailer or restaurant? These types of businesses are what keep our small communities thriving. Up and down rural…
Read MoreHollywood Stars — & — Is No One Safe?
President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence both made visits to Georgia during this year’s gubernatorial election to prop up the chances of Trump admirer Brian Kemp. It’s hard to say whether or not their visits helped but Kemp did win. But he certainly didn’t win by as big a margin as he was…
Read MorePoppies — By County Agent Jennifer Miller
Poppies As we observe Veterans Day we remember all of those who have given their lives in war. This past week I took some time to look at the Veterans Memorial here by my office. The memorial looks amazing. Over the last few months I have seen it transformed. All those involved with the project…
Read MoreTime Will Tell — By John Reed
Time Will Tell We’re all in such a hurry. As technology has improved, every aspect of our lives seems to have speeded up. We drive faster, communicate faster, and grow up faster. Ask any teacher about their kids now compared to even 10 years ago. So it’s no surprise we expect to know last week’s…
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