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Ol’ fashioned solutions
Boy, times have changed. Once upon a time cheating in school was limited to the students. Now it appears there are some school districts with teachers and/or administrators who can’t keep their eyes on their own paper. The Atlanta school system has become the poster child for chicanery. The bizarre thing about this cheating scandal in student testing is that the students appear to the ones ...




Letter to the Editor: Public housing unwanted
Dear Editor: I have yet to find a community that prospered from allowing public housing much less encouraging it to increase as the city of Conyers is doing. We the citizens do not need this. We need people that will contribute to the local economy, not cost taxpayers.  




Our thoughts... Big Haynes Creek Wildlife Festival
If you are looking for something to do today and tomorrow, may we suggest you head on out to the fourth annual Big Haynes Creek Wildlife Festival being held at the Georgia International Horse Park.




Our thoughts... Ready for football
Fall is an exciting and refreshing time of year, although it doesn’t feel like it with the temperature still above normal. But if you look really hard you can actually see some of the trees starting to turn color ever so slightly.




Pecan Pie for the Mind: Tobacco summers
There’s a long, boring stretch of road between Macon and Savannah, but one exit always grabs my attention and reminds me of a summer adventure I could have had. If you stay alert while traveling on Interstate 16, you’ll spot the exit for Soperton, the hometown of another David, a high school friend who invited me to spend the summer picking tobacco in the hot fields that lie just northwest of Vidalia. ...




Thanks for your support
Our campaign for the Georgia Public Service Commission came to an end on August 10 when Tim Echols garnered 52 percent of the vote. Between May 1 and Aug. 10, we drove nearly 20,000 miles across Georgia, met wonderful people and shared our ideas on making this state better for all of us. Working hard to have been the first Newton County resident elected statewide was both gratifying, rewarding and eye opening, ...




Our thoughts... Lobbyists
When David Ralston was elected by his colleagues last year to the powerful George House Speaker position, he promised that he would make ethics his top priority. It was the lack of ethics that caused the previous speaker Glen Richardson to fall from grace.




The dog days of summer
The dog days of summer are upon us.




Pecan Pie for the Mind: The $45,000 plate of fried chicken
Just to see if I could do it, I ate dinner out for $2.97. I had to use a coupon, and drink water from a special he-didn’t-buy-a-drink-from-us cup, but I actually ate a full dinner for less than three bucks. That’s cheap for a meal in 2010, but back in college in 1981, I could eat out for practically nothing. In fact, I ate quite a few meals for exactly nothing because ...




Our thoughts... Giving back
The Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology recently was awarded the prestigious Difference Maker award by the Alliance for Student Activities as the top community service high school in the United States.




Our thoughts... 'No show' no more
Almost two years ago an unprecedented number of voters of the 95th District turned out to vote in the Presidential election. The majority of those voters of the district marked an X next to every candidate that was running as a Democrat.




Our thoughts... Making a difference
The official 2010 United Way campaign kicked off Wednesday at a luncheon held at the Rockdale Hospital before a joint meeting of the Rockdale and Conyers Rotary clubs and special guests.




Pecan Pie for the Mind: Instructions for my final day on earth
There’s absolutely nothing more annoying for a control freak like me than to relinquish important decisions to someone else. For instance, the painful subject of death came up recently, and I realized: "Hey! I won’t be in charge once I’m gone!" That’s not good. Since I like control, I should rattle off a few demands while I still can. I won’t be able to enforce my wishes when I’m six-feet-under, but maybe ...




Rational, Free-Market, Disaster Preparedness
Dear Editor: My heart goes out to victims of natural disasters, whether they suffer property damage, personal injury, or loss of loved ones. Hurricane, tornado, flood, naturally occurring wild fire — "acts of God" — there, but by the grace of God, go I.




The disarray of political parties
Will Rogers once famously noted he was not a member of any organized political party: he was a Democrat.




The boys of summer
The boys of summer have done it again, Rockdale style. The American Legion Post 77 sponsored Conyers baseball team beat Douglasville 17-7 last Wednesday to bring the American Legion State Championship back to Conyers/Rockdale. As a reward for their efforts, the team will represent Georgia in the Southeast Region playoffs . Visit www.RockdaleNews.com and pick up the Rockdale News for results of their efforts. We congratulate Coach Eddie Bagwell and his team of scrappers for ...




USO
This past week we heard a presentation on the USO at the weekly meeting of the Conyers Rotary. The presenter, a retired West Point Graduate and volunteer for the Georgia branch of the USO, brought back memories of the late Bob Hope, who every year put together a troupe of entertainers and traveled to the far flung parts of the world in order to provide some welcome relief for our troops. The USO - Support ...




The United Way Drive
Wednesday is the official kick-off of the annual Rockdale County United Way drive. In the early 1970s I happened to be the Circulation Manager of the Daily Advance located in Elizabeth City, and in those days as a young executive trying to move through the ranks, it was imperative to volunteer in your community. I threw myself at the task with relish. One of my first volunteer loves was volunteering for the United Way, and ...




Pecan Pie for the Mind: Murder, mayhem and an old song
Do you ever wonder why children aren’t completely insane by the time they’re adults?




RCPS moving forward
I’m pleased to announce Rockdale County Public Schools has achieved Adequate Yearly Progress for the fifth consecutive year! Furthermore, 100 percent of the schools within the district achieved AYP. This is a remarkable accomplishment that attests to the hard work and dedication of students, teachers, parents, volunteers and staff who strive to make education a number one priority. Our focus continues to be on increasing student achievement and encouraging students to pursue ...




Our thoughts... Eyesore of the Week
Conyers is a beautiful city, and most of the residents who own homes in it take special pride in the upkeep of their properties.




Our thoughts... Drive carefully
Our schools in Rockdale County started last week, no doubt to the relief of moms across the county.




Calls and support
Dear Editor: I want to thank Rockdale County for all the calls and support you have given Holly and me over the last couple weeks. Your good wishes and kind words have meant a great deal to the both of us.




Education, a silver bullet?
As election season tumbles on, it is fascinating to note how practically every candidate, especially for governor, touts themselves as the "education candidate."




Better than a root canal... maybe
Round one is over and the winner is, well, yet to be determined. Primary Election Day is like a regular visit to the dentist, only to discover you have to come back for a root canal.




Pecan Pie for the Mind: Grinding gears and teenagers
If your church has a prayer-request board, may I ask you to post a little item on my behalf? Write, "Mr. David McCoy, my absolute favorite columnist, is teaching one of his kids to operate a five-speed manual transmission." That’s all we’ll need. Anyone with teen drivers will know just what kind of prayer to offer up. They’ll know there’s nothing more frustrating than trying to teach someone to operate a manual ...




Barking laws
Dear Sheriff: This is Dayle Young. Within the past maybe 3 years, I have contacted and spoke with you on several different times about the unenforceable laws concerning these way out of control dog ordinance noise control laws, throughout this county, with NO help or solutions. You advise us to call and report it to the Sheriff's department. Upon doing this, when your officers come out, they do nothing, not even as ...




Car break-ins
Dear Editor: As a concerned citizen/victim I feel compelled to notify others about a recent incident that took place at the Highlands Golf course in Rockdale County.




Let's hear it for the Boys and Girls Club
Two weeks ago I had the honor of being asked to serve on the Barksdale Boys and Girls Club. I am proud to say that I have had the opportunity to serve on many Boys and Girls club boards around the country and I myself am a product of the Jelliff Boys Club of Washington DC.




Miss Opal and my Kentucky flame
As a college student, I was always grubbing for a few extra dollars. I held part-time restaurant and retail jobs, and I even built hydraulic hoses for 18-wheelers. "Anything for a buck" was my motto. It was also my excuse for becoming a telephone solicitor — that unloved wage-slave who calls your home just as you sit down to dinner. So, instead of studying or attending school events, I was often renewing ...




Community Strength
To test the true strength and vitality of any community you only have to look at how they treat their youth.




SPLOST accomplishments
Dear Editor: During the past six weeks, there have been many comments and opinions expressed about what the current SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) has or has not accomplished and how the resources have been spent.




Career fair
Dear Editor: I spent Friday morning (July 9) at the Career Expo at the Rockdale Career Academy off Parker Road. The Expo was being promoted by US Rep. Hank Johnson, so I didn’t expect much, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt in that he was wanting to get jobs to his voters. Nope. There may have been snippets of information that ...




PR nightmare
Dear Editor: I am Ray Webb and my daughter’s name is Holly Lafontaine. We moved here when Hwy 138 was a dirt road.




Say NO to SPLOST
Dear Editor: Why in this economic slump would we want to self-impose a tax? SPLOST is the only tax we have any say about. There is no evidence that the current SPLOST tax is being paid by outsiders, as was claimed. There is no clear accounting for what has been done with all the SPLOST money. There are 80 new taxes (called ...




Misrepresentation
Dear Editor: The time to elect the politicians that will play hard ball on behalf of a unified community that is pursuing equity of privilege is at hand. Note that every wannabe is showing up at every possible point of observation wanting to be your Guardian Angel.




Barking mad
Dear Editor: As a citizen of Rockdale County I am greatly disappointed in both the commissioners and the new manager of animal control Ciji Baker. I have been trying to get a basically unfair and unenforceable statute regarding nuisance animals changed for more than 6 months. I have written to everyone who has an address and I have received sympathy from all but the only thing that has changed is the ...




It’s the economy
Recently we saw a mailer sent out by one of our local candidates for state senator. The mailer was slickly done and we are sure it cost the candidate a pretty penny.




Civic Minded
Two civic groups that are essential to the welfare of the Rockdale-Conyers community the Rockdale and Conyers Rotary held a changing of the guard last week.




Pecan Pie for the Mind: The secret to cleaning a teenager’s room
Once again, I’m in an ideal position to offer you some secret advice to make your life a little easier. No, I’m not turning my space in the big-time world of newsprint into a watered-down advice column. I’m still a humorist, but who says I can’t educate you and make you giggle at the same time? I’m going to tell you how to trick your teenagers into cleaning their rooms. See? Isn’t ...




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