Opinion & Editorial

The General Assembly should make all local races – anything below state representative and state senator – non-partisan.

The General Assembly should make all local races – anything below state representative and state senator – non-partisan.

Local races no place for parties

The Georgia General Assembly will meet again beginning in January under the Gold Dome in Atlanta. There will surely be many important issues considered by the state legislature in the 40 days of the session. One issue that should be on the agenda will likely not be.
In 2016 my teammate Marcus Waters and I visited during the 50th reunion of Jesup High School’s Class of 1966. As a strong safety for East Tennessee State’s Buccaneers, Marcus helped set a national record for interceptions, and his team won its division’s national championship. Born on Nov. 29, 1947, Marcus died on Nov. 9, 2024.

In 2016 my teammate Marcus Waters and I visited during the 50th reunion of Jesup High School’s Class of 1966. As a strong safety for East Tennessee State’s Buccaneers, Marcus helped set a national record for interceptions, and his team won its division’s national championship. Born on Nov. 29, 1947, Marcus died on Nov. 9, 2024.

Marcus Waters will always be on my mind

As they rolled his polished-oak coffin into place, a recording of “Georgia on My Mind” set the mood of the packed funeral-home chapel.  That song is one of my all-time favorites. Inside that casket was a high school classmate and one of my all-time favorite football players, Marcus Waters.
Don’t flush plan for sewer line

Don’t flush plan for sewer line

Don’t flush plan for sewer line

Franklin County commissioners appear ready to move ahead with a plan to ask for sewer capacity in Franklin Springs’ planned new sewer plant. It will be the right move. The county is currently limited in its sewer capacity.

Make the Great Investment

By Gatlin Correia   With much of our world spiraling out of control and a divided nation with more uncertainty everyday, we are often lost in our own selves.
The bill must be paid

The bill must be paid

The bill must be paid

Franklin County and Georgia voters will decide the fates of two proposed State Consitutional Amendments and one statewide referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Please, get out and vote in the Nov. 5 election. Your ballot is important. And after you vote, have confidence that however the election results turn out, the people have spoken.

Please, get out and vote in the Nov. 5 election. Your ballot is important. And after you vote, have confidence that however the election results turn out, the people have spoken.

Vote and trust

The polls are now open for U.S. President. Early voting kicked off with a good turnout Tuesday and will continue through Nov. 1, Monday through Friday and the next two Saturdays at the Franklin County Elections and Registration Office. At the end of Election Day on Nov.
The photo and headline on last week’s front page of the Mitchell News-Journal tell the story of what happened in Spruce Pine, N.C.

The photo and headline on last week’s front page of the Mitchell News-Journal tell the story of what happened in Spruce Pine, N.C.

Hellish hurricanes put things into perspective

By Dink NeSmith Albert Einstein theorized that things (such as time, space, mass and motion) are relative.  To me, that suggests putting things into perspective. In a seven-day span, my personal perspective couldn’t have been more powerful if a jackhammer had been pounding inside my brain.
True colors shine during trials

True colors shine during trials

True colors shine during trials

Like people, communities show what they are really made of in trying times. The remnants of Hurricane Helene brought a trial to Franklin County late last week. Thousands in the county were without power, some for a couple of days, and trees blocked roads and damaged structures.
Our family gathered with friends Monday at a surprise party for my Mama, Sherry Scoggins. Mama turns 78 years very young – except for those achy knees – today.

Our family gathered with friends Monday at a surprise party for my Mama, Sherry Scoggins. Mama turns 78 years very young – except for those achy knees – today.

Today is Sherry Scoggins’ Day

Today is my mother’s birthday. Sherry Scoggins turns 78 today. While her knees give her fits and she walks a little stooped over now, Mama’s spirit is just as alive and young as it has ever been. She truly is a remarkable woman.