"Declare among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard;
& EDITORIALS
publish, and conceal not." - Jeremiah 50:2
2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 winner:. Editorial Page excellence A~I~.
2019, 2OIII winner:. Best Headline Writing
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2OI9 winner:. Best Serious Column - Don Daniel
ON THE PORCH by Will Davis
urveys show that bad news travels much faster than
good.
One oft-quoted survey reported that when people
a bad experience with a business, they tell, on
average, seven people about it. But when they have a good
experience as a customer, they tell only one person, on
average.
That comports with my observations, and with what I've
learned about human nature. I guess we like to complain.
Another truth about human nature is that people gener-
ally get what they expect.
Maybe you've heard about
the new guy in town getting a
haircut from barber Lee Smith.
"So what kind of town is For-
syth?" he asked Lee.
"Well" replied Lee, "what was
your old town like?"
"Oh it was great" said the new
guy. "People were so friendly
and helpful and I really enjoyed
it there. I hated to leave but
needed to get closer to family:'
"Well I've got good news"
said Lee, "you'll discover that
Forsyth is just like that. A very
welcoming place. You'll love it
here."
The next day another newcomer visited Lee for a hair-
cut. He was also curious about his new town.
"What's Forsyth like?" he asked.
"Well" said Lee, "first, tell me about the town where you
used to live"
"Oh it was awful," replied the newcomer. "If you hadn't
lived there 40 years, they didn't accept you. They'd talk
about you and gossip about you. It was a terrible place to
live"
"I hate to break it to you" replied Lee, "but you'll find
this town is about the same"
Yep, Lee understands that people generally find what
they're looking for. So here's the question: what do people
expect when they visit Monroe County Hospital?
Starting this week and in the weeks to follow, you're go-
ing to find testimonies from your friends and neighbors
telling the experiences they've had at Monroe County
Hospital. If you're like me, you're going to be over-
whelmed and maybe even pleasantly surprised by their
stories.
We asked the Reporter's Facebook family a few weeks
ago to share some of their stories from Our Hometown
Hospital. We were immediately flooded with messages
and phone calls and emails, all with great stories to tell
about how the hospital helped them. Several said point
blank that the hospital saved their lives.
This week's kick-offtestimony, found on page 3A, tells
the story of little 6-year-old Trinity Marshall. She lives
in Jackson, but when she was attacked by a pit bull, her
mom took her to Monroe County Hospital because she
had heard good things about it. She was impressed by how
quickly the nurses and staff patched up and took care of
little Trinity. But she was most impressed on their sub-
sequent visits as Trinity had to follow up with a series of
rabies shots. She was always seen quickly when it was time
for her shots, and they worked hard to make Trinity, who
was terrified of shots, comfortable. When it was time for
her last shot, the nurses discovered it was Trinity's birth-
day and bought her gifts and a cake.
"They treated her like a queen!" said Tr'mity's mom. Now
that's hometown hospital service.
There will be more great stories to come. People don't
always share good experiences they have at local business-
es. But they will now. If you've got one to tell, email me at
publisher@mymcr.net or call 994-2358.
By the time we're done telling these stories, I think Mon-
roe County Hospital will be in good shape for a long time
to come.
th~ Monroe County
www. MyMCR.net
is published every week by The Monroe County Reporter Inc.
Will Davis, President. Robert M. Williams Jr Vice President
Cheryl S. Williams, Secretary-Treasurer
Will Davis ~
Publisher/Editor
publisher@mymcr.net
-- umas ~
News Editor
forsyth@mymcr.net
Carolyn Martel ~
Advertising Manager
ads@mymcr.net
Trellis Grant
Business Manager
business@mymcr.net
Diane Glidewell
Community Editor
news@mymcr.net
Amy Haisten
Creative Director
graphics@mymcr.net
Official Organ of Monroe County and the City of Forsyth
50 N. Jackson St PC) Box 795 Forsyth, GA 31029
Periodicals Postage Paid at Forsyth, GA 31029
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
THE MONROE COUNTY REPORTER - 478-994-2358
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Deadlines noon on Friday prior to issue. Comments fi~ured on opinion pages a re the creaUon of
the writers, the do not necessadly reflect the opinions of'l~e Reporter management.
Publication No. USPS g97-840
PEACH STATE POLITICS by Kyle Wingfield
e
e e
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.
- You might say Doug
Ducey, Arizona's ice
cream salesman-turned-
governor, is into scoops.
No longer serving up the
tasty kind at the chain he
once led as CEO, Cold
Stone Creamery, he now
scoops other
governors
as an early
adopter of
innovative
policies.
Earlier
this spring
he signed
the nation's
first law in
which a state
recognizes
occupational
licenses
granted in
other states. For Arizona,
which is experiencing
the fourth-fastest rate of
population growth in the
nation, it's a matter of
making sure all the new-
comers put their skills to
use quickly.
'Arizona and California
have a lot in common:
We're both full of Califor-
nians" the second-term
governor has quipped.
"Those Californians
didn't lose their skills
when they crossed the
state border into Ari-
zona"
Listening to Ducey
expound on the policy
at the Heritage Founda-
tions annual Resource
Bank conference in this
Phoenix suburb, I found
myself wondering why
our own fast-growing
state shouldn't follow
suit.
The Census Bureau
estimates Georgia added
106,420 new residents in
2018, seventh-best in the
nation and
close behind
Arizona's
122,770.
Once again,
Georgia is on
pace to add a
million new
residents in
just 10 years;
the 2010s
would be
our fourth
straight
decade wffh
,l.
It's not enough say
our existing compa-
nies, or those that will
be recruited here, will
create enough jobs for
everyone. Nor should we
count on training all the
newcomers. Many new
Georgians came trail-
ing spouses who'd found
work or been transferred.
Like the erstwhile Cali-
fornians in Arizona, they
may already have the
training they need to find
a job or, better yet, start
their own business. They
just lack the credential.
Unfortunately, Georgia
makes it much harder to
obtain one than many
other states. In its most
recent ranking of states'
TAKING A LIKENS TO YOU by Dale Likens
[hinldng of the
article I was
about to write, I
sat at my com-
puter when I recalled
Psalm 30:5.
I especially
enjoy the end
of this verse
where we are
reminded,
"weeping may
endure for
the night, but
joy cometh in
the morn-
ing." How
beautiful and
comforting
those words
are! How
meaningful
and appropriate they are
to the article I am about
to writel
The doctor had left our
house late that evening.
"Gene will not make it
through the night,' he said
to my mother as he gently
held her hand. "Please un-
derstand there is nothing
more I can do"
"There is no need to give
Gene any more medicine
other than what he has
been taking these past few
years, Sylvia. He will have
a peaceful death; I assure
you." He hung his head
sadly as he walked to the
kitchen door. My older
sister, Shirley, led him to
the door. He paused for
a moment and hugged
my sister. "Take care of
your mother, Shirley.
She'll need you more than
ever tonight7 Tears rolled
down my sister's cheeks.
"I promise I will be with
her to the end, Doctor.
Thank you" she said as
her head dropped lower
and the tears fell harder.
"There's no need for you
to stay up" my mother
softly spoke to me as I
gave her a big hug. "Your
sister and I will let you
know if any-
thing happens
during the
night."
I looked to
my mother as
she fought back
her tears. "Go
ahead, Dale. It
may be a long
night. We'll let
you know" She
kissed me on
,A my forehead
L,
'eAT and turned to
Gene as he lay
quietly in his
bed.
I climbed the stairs to
my bedroom and crawled
sadly into my bed. I said a
soft prayer for my mother
and my brother Gene.
' M1 these years, I said to
God Almighty, Gene had
bravely fought muscular
dystrophy and now his
life is ending. I love you,
Gene]" And then I lay in
bed thinking of my won-
derful brother. I thought
of the times I, or one of
my brothers or sisters, had
pushed him in his wheel-
chair to our tiny bridge
where he could watch
us swim or fish below. I
remembered the time my
brother Jim hit a foul ball
playing a game of softball
in our back field. The
ball pounded off Gene's
chest. He said nothing.
I recalled the Christmas
he sat near the Christmas
tree and opened his only
gift, a set of pencils and
paints. Mom had smiled
as Gene's eyes lit up. "Now
I can draw and paint all
occupational licensing
regimes in November
2017, the Institute for
Justice found Geor-
gia had the 14th-most
burdensome licensing
laws - "requiring, on
average, $185 in fees, 464
days of education and
experience, and about
two exams" Our only
saving grace is we require
licenses for a relatively
small number of jobs:
only 41 of 102 commonly
licensed low-income oc-
cupations. (The median
nationally is 59.)
Consider II's calcula-
tion that it could take a
Georgian nearly a year to
become a barber, almost
eight months to become
a makeup artist, or some
manicurist. No one wants
to get a bad hair'cut, but
has anyone ever heard
of a crisis of poorly
trained barbers in Ohio,
New Jersey or any of the
other states that have
lost residents - includ-
ing, perhaps, barbers - to
Georgia?
Just last month in
Savannah, a federal judge
held that city's licensing
requirement for paid
tour guides violated the
workers' constitutional
right to talk for a living.
Savannah had required
aspiring guides to pass
a lengthy exam on local
history, even if they sim-
ply wanted to tell ghost
stories to paying custom-
i
those pictures that flash
over and over in my
mind!" he said excitedly.
I could not sleep, i
just lay there in my bed
thinking of Gene. Then I
heard my sister's voice at
the bottom of the steps.
"Dale!" She began to cry
harder. "Gene just passed
away!"
I threw the covers from
my body and sat at the
foot of the bed. I looked
out the dark window as I
pulled my pants over my
legs. I whispered a soft
prayer for my brother
Gene. At that moment a
spark fell from the chim-
ney outside and stopped
right in front of the win-
dow. The spark grew very
large and then suddenly
shot up to heaven. "Some-
day I'll see you again,
Gene!" I said as the spark
sped quickly upward.
"Please listen while
Mom explains what hap-
pened to Gene before he
passed away." Shirley said
to me when I met her at
the bottom of the stairs.
Tears flowed steadily
down her cheeks.
I walked to Mom as
she sat beside Gene's
bed. She reached out and
dasped my left hand with
her right hand as her
other hand held tightly to
Gene's cold, thin hand.
"I sat here praying"
Morn began. "Suddenly
he sat up in bed, like he
never had in years! His
eyes opened wide and his
face was all aglow! 'Look
at the foot of my bed.
Mom! Look at that beauti-
ful white bird sitting at
the foot of my bed, Mom!
Do you see the beautiful,
white bird?' He asked so
ers. (The city repealed the
law in 2015, but plaintiffs
represented by IJ contin-
ued to pursue the case
to establish a constitu-
tional ruling.) Similar
rulings have been issued
in Charleston, S.C and
Washington, D.C.
Those who already
have their licenses are
the biggest proponents of
keeping the requirements
in place, the better to
limit their competition.
But again, these licenses
disproportionately affect
low-income jobs - mean-
ing they tend to harm
most those trying to start
their careers and/or rise
out of poverty. The first
rungs on the career lad-
der should be the easiest
There is reason to hope
here. Gov. Brian Kemp's
Georgians First Commis-
sion has identified occu-
pational licensing as one
of the areas it will tackle
in its effort to make
Georgia the top state for
small business. Commis-
sioners are tasked with
proposing policies by the
summer of 2020.
Scooping up Arizona's
sweet deal for newcomers
would be a great place to
start.
The president and CEO
of the Georgia Public
Policy Foundation, Kyle
Wingfield's column runs
in papers around the state
of Georgia.
excitedly. 'It's the most
beautiful, white bird I
have ever seen! Do you
see it, Mom?'
"I didn't see the white
bird Gene saw" Mom told
me as tears of joy swept
down her cheeks. But I
said I didl Then Gene
sat back in his bed and
smiled the prettiest smile
I ever saw in my whole
life. 'Oh, Mom that's the
most beautiful, .white bird
I have ever seen!' He said
once more. 'I must go
now, MomI The beautiful,
white bird is calling mel I
must go now!' And then
he closed his eyes and
went to heaven!"
Mom began to weep
more now she smiled
at Gene's cold, stiffbody.
Shirley hugged Morn
from behind and bent
over and kissed her on the
side of her cheek. "He's
safe in God's hands now,"
she whispered softly into
Mom's ear.
My brother, Gene, told
me often that he wanted
to live to be 25 years of
age. Gene was 24 when
he died. The dock beside
his bed chimed 1 o'clock
in the morning when he
passed away.
Yes, "Weeping may
endure for a night, but joy
cometh in the morning!"
God bless.
* The above story is true.
The entire story of our life
on Anghn' Road is record-
ed in both of my novels
titled, "Our Mansion on
Anglin' Road" and
Wounded, White Dove!"
by Arthur Dale Likens.'
Dale Likens is an author
who lives in Monroe
County.
