OPINION: Trying week for all involved

Posted by
Chris Bridges
in Editorial Archives
Thursday, January 20. 2011
Comments (2)
I'm not used to weather occurrences like the one we had last week.

It’s why I can remember when we have them for they are so rare. We still talk about the winter storm that arrived in 1993. Ironically, I was a college student home on spring break at the time. I guess I should have headed for Florida that week with so many of my fellow students. [Full Story »] 

OPINION: Plenty happening on the political front in 2011

Posted by
Chris Bridges
in Editorial Archives
Thursday, January 13. 2011
Comment (1)
With the recent mid-term election now in the history books, politics may not be front and center on everyone’s minds.

However, in the political world there always seems to be something brewing, be it at the local, state or national level.

Here are a few items which should be worthy of your attention:

•Secretary of State Brian Kemp recently appointed 16 members to his Elections Advisory Council, according to Ballot Access News.

Among those appointed include Rusty Kidd, a Georgia independent legislature and political science professor and David Shock, a Libertarian activist. According to BAN, last year Kidd authored a bill to eliminate petitions for minor party and independent candidates.

The new commission will hold public meetings during 2011 which should open needed debate for greater ballot access for those who don’t run as Democrats or Republicans. BAN reports in 1998 a similar committee was formed in Florida and the end result was improved ballot access laws.

Kemp, a Republican, deserves credit for this commission and for at least opening the door for easier ballot access for candidates. Georgia is known for some of the most archaic ballot access restrictions in the country.

What I would like to see is the Secretary of State’s position be a nonpartisan one. An office which oversees the state’s elections should not lean toward one party or another. [Full Story »] 

OPINION: All in all, 2010 not a bad year

Posted by
Chris Bridges
in Editorial Archives
Thursday, January 6. 2011
Comments (3)
The arrival of a new year has always been something I look forward to.

It brings a sense of renewal, a sense of hope and gives us a feeling that maybe, just maybe, this will be the year when we win the lottery.
[Full Story »] 

OPINION: New year vital for Winder, all of Barrow

Posted by
Chris Bridges
in Editorial Archives
Thursday, December 30. 2010
Comments (0)
The time has come to not only flip the calendar for another month, but for yet another year.

As is the case with the passing of every 12 months, we’ve seen quite a bit during the past 52 weeks here in our home.

Some of it good, some of it not so good and some of it down right ugly I’m afraid to say.

I’m not one of those who pretend that if we bury our head in the sand and pretend that nothing bad happens then that makes it reality. Hogwash. You can pretend to live in that fantasy world if you like but here in the land of reality, we know that is not the case and will never be the case.

Winder and Barrow County does have some good things going for them. I’m not such a doom and gloom person that I don’t realize that. However, we’ve got some work in front of us folks and until everyone in leadership roles realize that then we are going to continue looking at problems with no solutions in sight. We are going to continue to have the same issues as we enter 2012 as we have entering 2011.
[Full Story »] 

OPINION: Family makes holidays special

Posted by
Chris Bridges
in Editorial Archives
Thursday, December 23. 2010
Comments (0)
Ready or not, Christmas is here.

The mad rush to buy presents, decorate the house, cook tons of food and mail Christmas cards is entering a fever pitch. In just a few days, the “Big Day” will be here.

I still have vivid childhood memories of Christmas Day while growing up in the central Georgia town of Monticello.

It seemed Christmas Eve was always the toughest night to go to sleep.

No matter how many times I tossed and turned, flipped the pillow over or tried to force myself into dreamland, it was no use. (I suppose I should have tried reading a book as I recall back then that was a sure-fire way to make me go to dreamland.) Eventually, Christmas morning would arrive, and I was always blessed with new items that would be the center of my attention — for a little while anyway.

Another part of Christmas morning I always enjoyed was the visit to my grandparents’ house located just down the road from where I grew up. The ritual Christmas morning visit to Pop and Nanny’s house is something I still remember, cherish and miss to this day.

The table would be full of all the right Southern breakfast items from scrambled eggs to biscuits to bacon. It simply couldn’t be beat.
[Full Story »] 

LETTER: Clarifies Chamber selection process

Posted by
Staff Writer
in Editorial Archives
Wednesday, December 8. 2010
Comments (2)
Dear Editor:

I’d like to respond to Mr. Jim Mauldin’s Letter to the Editor that ran in last week’s edition. 

Titled “Questions Chamber of Commerce selection,” Mr. Mauldin questioned the sensitivity of selecting Mrs. Betty Jo Maddox as our Barrow Businesswoman of the Year. 
[Full Story »] 

COLUMN: Preparing for the holidays and anxious about the future

Posted by
Staff Writer
in Editorial Archives
Monday, December 6. 2010
Comments (2)
Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it’s time to think about the holidays. Whether I like it or not, I have to pull out all the decorations and deck the halls because we have a four-year-old in residence. And four-year-olds are all about Christmas. I love Christmas too, although I wish somebody else would do the decorating, and more importantly, put it away after the season.

Before Halloween, my four-year-old reminded us that Christmas would soon be here. We had to keep reminding him about Thanksgiving. Now that he knows Thanksgiving is over, it might as well be Christmas today. [Full Story »] 

COLUMN: Knowing change is coming isn’t easy

Posted by
Staff Writer
in Editorial Archives
Sunday, December 5. 2010
Comments (3)
Growing up is tough. Some days you are just ready to be out on your own and face the world. Other days, you want to curl up and cry when the thought of the real world crosses your mind. It is truly a bittersweet experience for me.

My senior year has finally arrived.

I always dreamed of this moment. I have always been ready to get out of school and move forward with my life doing things I love. I’ve seen countless friends graduate for the past three years. During my junior year, it felt like senior year would never arrive. Now that it’s nearly half way over, I realize how much I’m going to miss it.

For most kids, school has dominated a majority of their lives until they are 18 (not counting college). As graduation approaches rather quickly, the real world starts looking more and more terrifying. Think about it, all we have ever known for the most part is school. The real world is completely different. While I look forward to stepping into it, I also want to hold myself back. [Full Story »] 

COLUMN: Americans asleep on personal freedom

Posted by
Chris Bridges
in Editorial Archives
Thursday, December 2. 2010
Comments (7)
It seems everyone these days is outraged over what passengers have to go through at airports.

The Transportation Security Administration is determined that terrorists use only the means of flying for getting from point A to point B and are bound and determined to cause every grandmother, every school teacher, every person (regardless of age) to put aside their dignity when going through an airport.

While some conservative-based talk show hosts are using it as an excuse to criticize the president, we should all remember how this attack on our civil liberties started. It began not long after 9-11 with the passing of the Patriot Act. While it was President Bush who rammed this through under the cover of darkness, it must be noted that President Obama has also supported it and it remains with us today. [Full Story »] 

COLUMN: Thankful for family, veterans, holidays and living in a great country

Posted by
Staff Writer
in Editorial Archives
Monday, November 29. 2010
Comments (8)
Columnist’s Note: This is not part of my actual column. This is just an explanation of why I haven’t been writing. To read the actual column for this week please skip to the next paragraph. Hello Winder! I’ve missed you! Finding time to write a column has been difficult. I’ve picked up more extra curricular activities at school on top of all the homework and studying. Luckily, Thanksgiving break is finally here. Time for me to get busy writing again. I’m trying to get in the habit of writing a column every week again. What I probably need to do is write out a schedule and plan when I can sit down and write. Sounds like a good plan to me. Now on to the business at hand.

Folks, we all know that it’s the holiday season. If you didn’t know, then maybe you should come out from under that rock of yours and take a look around. Holiday movies spam the television (I love those cheesy Hallmark movies- guilty pleasure!) and Christmas music is already storming the radio waves. Cities are decking the streets with lights, and Santa has already made his appearance in Auburn. Yes, ‘tis a joyous time of the year.

But something about it is just irking me this year. Halloween has come and gone in the blink of an eye. While that saddens me deeply, I think it saddens me even more that Thanksgiving Day has not even happened yet and Christmas is already on everyone’s mind. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas as much as the next guy. It’s the fact that Thanksgiving hasn’t even passed.
[Full Story »] 
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