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Our thoughts... Monastery
One of our hidden treasures in Rockdale county is the Monastery of the Holy Spirit.




Our thoughts... Happy Birthday, Boy Scouts
This weekend we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.




Fighting Socialism in the depths of winter
It’s freezing cold down here in Dixie! Listen, I fully expect the South to be humid and hot, balmy and breezy, and stifling and sticky, but nowhere did I sign up for frigid and frozen. We southerners will tolerate an occasional ice storm or that rare centimeter or two of snow, but weather like we’ve had for the past few months is nuts. The only solution to this craziness is to learn ...




Leave it to Skeeter to put things in perspective
Whenever this world starts looking too complicated, I call my friend Skeeter Skates, owner of Skeeter’s Tree Stump Removal and Plow Repair in Greater Metropolitan Pooler. Skeeter has a wonderful way of putting things into perspective.




An old-fashioned tea party for state politicians
What this state needs is a good old-fashioned Tea Party. Not one directed at the liberal weenies in Washington who tried to ram health care reform down our throats. This protest needs to focus on the State of Georgia.




Economy and budget in the second week
Your Georgia House and Senate completed Day 8 of 40 legislative days on January 28 and will convene again on Monday, February 1. The four legislative days we completed this week saw a first in Georgia history, Senators and Representatives leading the way for state employees on furloughs and a continuing effort to ensure taxes levied on our citizens are fair and equitable.




There Goes Another Good Dress Shirt
Well, I just messed up another one of my nice dress shirts. This time, it was an exploding jalapeño that did the damage. Add that to the two other good shirts that were stained by splattered soy sauce and splashed gravy, and you can see why I'm afraid to wear nice clothes when there's food involved.




Geography lessons from an angel
I love the South, and I especially love Georgians. Georgians are some of the most courteous people around — people who will go out of their way to help you. I think God created Georgians because his regular angels didn’t take too well to our red mud, what with those white outfits they have to wear.




Down to business at the Capitol
After a break for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday on January 18, the Georgia House and Senate spent three days receiving budget requests from the various departments of state government. Governor Sonny Perdue led the briefings on Tuesday afternoon with his overall assessment of state finances and his proposed amended FY 2010 and full FY 2011 budgets. The "amended budget" means that money taken in over the pervious budget ...




Our thoughts... Toney Collins
We try our best to have respect for our elected officials. It is often thankless work and most of them run for office with the best of intentions and sincerely try to be good representatives of the people who have elected them.




State of the city
On Thursday, community leaders, resident and the "who's who" of Conyers and Rockdale gathered in the evening at the Georgia International Horse Park to hear about the state of the city of Conyers.




21st Century Schools
There are two people responsible for the editorials you see in this column every week. Both of their names are proudly posted at the top of this column. The one member, who is a card carrying member of the baby boomer generation, was absolutely and completely in awe this past week as he along with other members of school superintendent Dr. Samuel King advisory council visited the spanking brand new Rockdale elementary school C.J.Hicks. The ...




Legislature convenes for 2010
The 2010 session of your Georgia House and Senate kicked off on the morning of January 11. The annual 40 working day session is expected to last until the first week of April during which time we will write a budget for the next fiscal year as well as tend to other business.




Pecan Pie for the Mind: An unknown world
For years, I put off learning how to cook because I was afraid it was going to be really hard and require a lot of thinking. But, over the past couple of months, I’ve learned that I can make my way around in the kitchen with my brain almost completely shut off. If you’re a guy like me and you’re wondering, "What’s so hard about operating a blender," let me share some of the ...




Some advice for the new year
To Brian and Thomas Yarbrough and Nicholas Wansley:




Our thoughts: Being counted
For nearly as long as there have been governments, there have been population counts, also known as a census. In fact, Mary and Joseph were traveling to Bethlehem in order to be counted for the census when Jesus was born.




Have you ever been to your own funeral?
I’m not afraid of dying, but I assure you I’m in no rush to prove that point to anyone. So, you can imagine how I reacted years ago when I visited a nice, grassy cemetery plot I’d just acquired and found a freshly-dug grave, all decked out for a funeral. Earlier that week, I’d accepted the plot as a benefit of church membership and had considered it a rather nice gesture. However, ...




Our thoughts: Cold weather
According to some renowned experts on weather, like Al Gore and President Obama, we are in the dawn of global warming. As you celebrate that fact while you are shivering in the intense cold this morning, we would ask you to be cautious.




Please be careful
Please be careful as you celebrate the ending of 2009. If you intend to celebrate with alcohol, drink responsibly with someone who won't drink and who can be a driver.




Coach Bell
Christmas brought some great news to Rockdale County. The Rockdale Board of education voted unanimously this month to name the Heritage High School Gym after Coach Curtis Bell.




Thankful in the new year
We have a lot of thanking to do. The Rockdale News is 10 months old this January and because of you our reader and advertisers, our gamble that the folks of Conyers, Rockdale County wanted a true community newspaper that carried no wire stories and was filled with just the happenings of the good folks of our county and their neighbors has succeeded.




So many stories, so little time
This year has come and gone so quickly, I'm still scratching my head at where it all went. I mean, it took me a good five or six years to get comfortable calling the "2000s" the "2000s," and now I have to get used to another decade? It's true what they say. Life happens when you're busy making other plans. When 2009 started, I was working next door in Newton County for our sister paper ...




Pecan Pie for the Mind: A new year and no resolutions in sight
I have no intention of writing a typical, schmaltzy, New Year's Eve column offering snappy resolutions for your consumption. If you need help in that department, may I suggest you examine your e-mails from this past year? I'll bet several people you know have each sent you at least 30 "Incredible!!!!!" pictures of kittens playing with yarn. Please reach out to those dear souls for help crafting a resolution or two. People who e-mail pictures ...




Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, ‘If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?




Mercy Heart
Dear Editor: With unemployment on the rise and no real end in sight for the recession, more and more people are finding themselves making difficult choices about how to spend their hard-earned money. While opting to eat out less frequently or to take fewer trips in the car are common decisions in a tight economy, I believe there are some matters that should not be optional. I would put at the top of that list ...




Political grease
As I advised the county commissioners, I formally requested that as of Jan. 1, 2010, a complete list of all categories of income of any nature regardless if county, state, Federal or private be listed so that every citizen in our county can track our income on a monthly basis. The commissioners must demand that this be accomplished if they intend to manage the county or be just clean up artists once we hit another financial wall as we seem to do on a regular basis.




The last hairstyle I'll ever need
I've had only a few hairstyles in my entire 49 years. As a grade-schooler - during the heyday of the hippies - I was saddled with the classic barbershop buzz-cut. Even though I was only in the first grade as the "Summer of Love" commenced, I sensed something violently wrong with my shorn locks. So, I pleaded and begged, and by sixth grade, I had convinced my parents that a few less "inches off the ...




Go Bulldogs
Dear Editor: For the first time in a long time Rockdale County has something to be proud of. Our Bulldogs started the season off with a bang and within just a couple of games, it seemed like our season would end before it began. But then the tides turned… it wasn’t over yet!




What I would never change about the South
Last week, I described what I’d "change" about the South. This week, I’ll list those things we should never change. You might have balked at my suggestion that dogs should wear clothes, but I’ll bet you’ll agree with me that town squares, boiled peanuts, and refined manners are rich blessings of the southern life.




Our thoughts... Dickensian times
Charles Dickens once wrote that "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times." When he penned these words in "A Tale of Two Cities" in 1859, the times seemed bleak to the people of that era.




Pecan Pie for the Mind: What I would change about the South
Now settle down! I didn't say there was anything wrong with The South; I just have some ideas for a few improvements here and there. Put down that fire place poker, listen up, and see what you think. If you agree with me, we can get a petition going and send it up to the governor's mansion in time for Christmas.




HOFBG forum
Dear Editor: On Dec. 3, a recently surfacing community-based organization presented a prepared presentation worthy of a Community Access time slot on Channel 23. Don Meyer, an organizer of a citizens' group Homeowners for Better Government moderated a presentation to approximately 60 individuals. Overall observations include kudos for the presentation. The fear (potential increased county property tax) is the essence of concerned voters. Even though there is an acknowledgement that "we are all in this ...




Mighty Bulldogs
We want to salute the players, coaches, parents and students of Rockdale High who helped give our community some added excitement this fall. The fighting Bulldogs did us proud as they came within one game of playing for a state championship.




Shop with a Cop
We always have the utmost respect for the Conyers police department. We are particularly pleased that the officers take the time to take many of our community children, whose family might be having financial difficulties, shopping this time of year at a local super store. Sgt. First Class Greg Carson is spearheading this year's Shop with a Cop program, held on Dec. 19. This interaction by our local police with children in the community can ...




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