Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Brain Food
It must be the peanut butter and jelly at 2:30 in the morning that's got my brain going but all of a sudden I've thought of at least three good blog topics! I know you all are so pleased. By the way, I just got home from the paper (late Tuesday night, but not as late as usual) so some of this stuff you'll see in our edition this week. For some reason I seem to think better after midnight (which is when I usually begin writing any stories I have to include in the week's paper, lol). Okay, I'm gonna label the new topics: Jury Duty, Courthouse Renovation and School Violence. Remember, if anyone comes up with a topic we need to pursue, PLEASE let me know!
School Violence
We're all aware of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. It's a sad, sad story and a terrible ordeal for everyone involved, especially parents and family members of the deceased. Having personally never lost anyone to a violent death, I can't imagine their pain and suffering.
School shootings, and rather just public shootings in general, seem to be widespread and no one can predict which small town or community college will be featured on CNN next. Each time it's just so hard to understand.
Knock on wood, in Tattnall County we have been fortunate. We seem to have a pretty good crop of kids at the schools although there are exceptions I'm sure. Several years ago a Sheriff's deputy was first based at Tattnall County High School and that has continued today. He even carries a taser on him! I'm sure that is a deterrent to would-be criminals but if someone was determined enough, it wouldn't be much of a hindrance. The high school is centrally located for convenience to the county's population but its rural setting could be a problem if an emergency did occur and immediate assistance was needed. It's not really very close to anything except a few onion fields and there's only one main road to get to it. Come to think of it, it seems like a good building for one of those hostage situations in Bruce Willis' Die Hard movies or something. Maybe considering movie scenarios wouldn't be such a bad idea when reviewing emergency plans.
School shootings, and rather just public shootings in general, seem to be widespread and no one can predict which small town or community college will be featured on CNN next. Each time it's just so hard to understand.
Knock on wood, in Tattnall County we have been fortunate. We seem to have a pretty good crop of kids at the schools although there are exceptions I'm sure. Several years ago a Sheriff's deputy was first based at Tattnall County High School and that has continued today. He even carries a taser on him! I'm sure that is a deterrent to would-be criminals but if someone was determined enough, it wouldn't be much of a hindrance. The high school is centrally located for convenience to the county's population but its rural setting could be a problem if an emergency did occur and immediate assistance was needed. It's not really very close to anything except a few onion fields and there's only one main road to get to it. Come to think of it, it seems like a good building for one of those hostage situations in Bruce Willis' Die Hard movies or something. Maybe considering movie scenarios wouldn't be such a bad idea when reviewing emergency plans.
Courthouse Renovation
If you have been through Reidsville in the last four years or so, you know the Courthouse is being renovated. It is a project that seems like is lasting forever. I can hardly wait until that over-sized chain-link fence is taken down and the place cleaned up!
In this week's paper, we have an article that mentions some ideas for landscaping around the Courthouse. It's written by Ronnie McCall and he actually wrote another one with more ideas although that one didn't quite make it in the paper this week. Sorry, Ronnie. We'll do it next week! Anyway, I thought the County Commissioners had already approved a landscaping plan but it seems like it's still up in the air. Who knows. I haven't officially gotten input from any of them yet on this.
But from talking with Ronnie, it sounds to me like the County is wanting to crowd Courthouse square with parking spaces. Sure, they favor some green spots here and there, but mainly just the parking convenience. This is supposed to be the centerpiece of the county!! A big ole slab of asphalt isn't going to be very eye-appealing. They may consider a public hearing for input from the citizens and that is exactly what they should do. Downtown Reidsville would be much better off with some professional landscaping, memorial brick walkways, trees, park benches or whatever! Some parking, sure, to go along with what's already there, but we should focus more on the appearance of the restored courthouse and the overall benefit to downtown. Let's build something and dress it appropriately so other counties will stop in and say, "Wow, that's a great job on your courthouse Tattnall County!"
The first photo here at the bottom is what the current stage of completion will look like. Of course, the final landscape is not included in this drawing.
The second photo shows the PROPOSED final courthouse, which would restore it back to its pre-1960s look (before the steeple was removed). This stage will have to be approved by the voters before construction proceeds. If the voters do not want to do this phase of the project, it will remain as the finished photo above this one.
The courthouse is being renovated through Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds and so will any future improvements. This is the extra one percent sales tax that voters approve for the county every five years or so.
Jury Duty
Okay, so you get that envelope in the mail from the Sheriff's Office and you think, "Uh oh, this can't be good." Then you open it and breathe only a slight sigh of relief when you realize it's just jury duty and not some crime you forgot you committed. But then again, you might be like me and actually be excited about the jury duty summons!
I don't know why I particularly like it. I mean, just about anything that requires attendance before 10 a.m. is not on my list of things I normally look forward to.
I got my first jury summons I guess around the year 2000 and it seemed to signal "adulthood" or something. It was a real honor to me! Everyone in the office told me, "No big deal. You won't get picked because you work at the newspaper." Well as luck would have it, I did indeed get picked. The case was a minor one involving a drunk driving incident. No one was killed or hurt so there wasn't much to it. The entire process lasted about three hours I guess and myself and my peers in the jury box didn't do much deliberating on it -- guilty as charged. But I remember it was all very fascinating.
I then once got a jury summons for federal court and was to report in Statesboro. It felt like a step up from the "regular" jury duty. I couldn't hardly wait. But then it got cancelled before the date arrived.
My most recent summons was for Tattnall County Grand Jury. Cool. Yep, I really was looking forward to it Monday morning, April 16 (even though I had to break the speed limit law and run across the parking lot to squeeze in the door as the last juror to arrive, only five minutes before the judge himself did). And what's even better than getting picked (as one of 23 jurors) was being elected as Clerk! Perhaps it had to do with most everyone already knowing that I worked for the Journal and had been writing stuff for almost 14 years now for the papers.
Although I can't divulge details of the cases we heard (38 in all) I can tell you that criminals are pretty dumb overall and must never watch cop shows themselves. Most of the cases involved drugs and/or theft. If you're reading this and think you may want to be a potential criminal, let me tell you that if you rob someone, the first place the police are going to check is at the area pawn shops. I was blown away by how many people actually steal something THEMSELVES and then go straight to the LOCAL pawn shops to get cash. How strange. I would think that personally I'd go to a pawn shop far away (like the big city where there are dozens and dozens of them). Another thing, if you are thinking of sneaking in drugs to an inmate behind bars, DON'T DO IT. How crazy. Charges just mount up on cases like that. And, I learned, it's the same thing as if you're at the airport (watch your bags, don't carry someone else's, etc.). If somebody asks you to deliver a package to an inmate, a bottle of shampoo, a magazine, or whatever, don't be an idiot. REFUSE! They find the slightest bit of drugs on it and it's YOUR felony charge.
I'm telling you, jury duty is a wonderful educational experience. There were a few things I didn't know going in, that I know now (after two days of it). If you get the chance to do your "civic duty" go for it. I consider it an honor to be asked and/or chosen to serve.
I don't know why I particularly like it. I mean, just about anything that requires attendance before 10 a.m. is not on my list of things I normally look forward to.
I got my first jury summons I guess around the year 2000 and it seemed to signal "adulthood" or something. It was a real honor to me! Everyone in the office told me, "No big deal. You won't get picked because you work at the newspaper." Well as luck would have it, I did indeed get picked. The case was a minor one involving a drunk driving incident. No one was killed or hurt so there wasn't much to it. The entire process lasted about three hours I guess and myself and my peers in the jury box didn't do much deliberating on it -- guilty as charged. But I remember it was all very fascinating.
I then once got a jury summons for federal court and was to report in Statesboro. It felt like a step up from the "regular" jury duty. I couldn't hardly wait. But then it got cancelled before the date arrived.
My most recent summons was for Tattnall County Grand Jury. Cool. Yep, I really was looking forward to it Monday morning, April 16 (even though I had to break the speed limit law and run across the parking lot to squeeze in the door as the last juror to arrive, only five minutes before the judge himself did). And what's even better than getting picked (as one of 23 jurors) was being elected as Clerk! Perhaps it had to do with most everyone already knowing that I worked for the Journal and had been writing stuff for almost 14 years now for the papers.
Although I can't divulge details of the cases we heard (38 in all) I can tell you that criminals are pretty dumb overall and must never watch cop shows themselves. Most of the cases involved drugs and/or theft. If you're reading this and think you may want to be a potential criminal, let me tell you that if you rob someone, the first place the police are going to check is at the area pawn shops. I was blown away by how many people actually steal something THEMSELVES and then go straight to the LOCAL pawn shops to get cash. How strange. I would think that personally I'd go to a pawn shop far away (like the big city where there are dozens and dozens of them). Another thing, if you are thinking of sneaking in drugs to an inmate behind bars, DON'T DO IT. How crazy. Charges just mount up on cases like that. And, I learned, it's the same thing as if you're at the airport (watch your bags, don't carry someone else's, etc.). If somebody asks you to deliver a package to an inmate, a bottle of shampoo, a magazine, or whatever, don't be an idiot. REFUSE! They find the slightest bit of drugs on it and it's YOUR felony charge.
I'm telling you, jury duty is a wonderful educational experience. There were a few things I didn't know going in, that I know now (after two days of it). If you get the chance to do your "civic duty" go for it. I consider it an honor to be asked and/or chosen to serve.
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