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Editorial
The Banks County News
November 3, 1999
Baldwin should
tax all residents or do away with property tax
Baldwin officials have argued for months
over whether the town's residents living in Banks County should
pay a property tax. The town already taxes its Habersham County
residents.
City attorney David Syfan and Mayor Mark Reed are right on the
mark with their opinion that both sides need to be taxed. It
is not fair to split the county in half and make one side pay
property taxes and the other side not.
It's time for this matter to be settled. It shouldn't have to
take the state attorney general to tell the council that what
they are doing is not fair. The council needs to take a stand
on this issue and tax both sides or do away with the property
tax all together.
DON'T
FORGET...
News, ad deadlines moved up for next week
News and ad deadlines have been moved up for next week due to
the Veteran's Day holiday on Thursday, Nov. 11.
The deadline for classified and display ads will be at noon on
Friday. The legal deadline will remain the same, noon Thursday.
The news deadline will be 5 p.m. Friday. This includes school,
social and other news submitted to the paper.
The papers will be available late Tuesday night on the news stands
and will be delivered by mail Wednesday. The change was made
because the post offices will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 11.
The news offices in Jefferson, Homer, Danielsville and Commerce
will remain open for the holiday.
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Column
By Amanda
Roberts
The Banks County News
November 3, 1999
I can see!!!
My senior year in college is when it happened.
I tried to ignore it. This happens to people who are ... you
know ... old. I'm young. It can't be happening to me, I would
say. I ignored it for a long time until I couldn't stand it any
longer. I had to admit it: my eyesight wasn't what it used to
be. I couldn't see the board. I couldn't read road signs. Everything
from afar was blurry. I had to go to the eye doctor. I couldn't
believe I had to wear glasses.
I hated those glasses!! I refused to wear them. I had at least
50 excuses explaining why I couldn't wear them. My next eye exam
was awful. My vision was only getting worse. CONTACTS!! That's
it. I will wear contacts.
My sister, Angie, has worn them forever. Why didn't I get them
in the first place? Little did I know that contacts would only
be a bigger thorn than glasses. I went through five different
kinds. Every pair danced around in my eyes. One pair was lost
somewhere in my eyelids for about two days. Daddy pinned me down
and about rolled my eyeball out of my head. That's enough!! No
more contacts. Something else must be out there for me.
Aunt Peggy came to my rescue. She told me about corrective eye
surgery. We watched a video about it. This painless surgery was
the way for me. I couldn't make the appointment fast enough.
Angie would be so happy for me. I can always count on her for
support. When I called her, the response I got was ... NO!! YOU'LL
GO BLIND!! YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS ... I'M TELLIN' MAMA!
Well, this really made me want to have the surgery. I would prove
her wrong. I wasn't nervous at all until the night before. Angie
called to inform me that she and Mama were going to be there
with me. Every step of the way. Great, a worrywort and a pessimist.
We arrived at the doctor's office early. First mistake. I didn't
know you could sit in the waiting room and watch the doctor perform
the surgery. Then there was the TV screen which showed the eye
and every move the doctor made. Angie was like a cat on a hot
tin roof. I almost had to blindfold her. Before the procedure
began, they game me a few "relaxers." I wish Angie
and Mama could have had some. They needed it more than me. I
decided to go first so Angie and Mama wouldn't have a nervous
breakdown. The surgery didn't last long at all and was really
painless. Having to stare at a bright light was the hardest thing
for me. Other than that, it really wasn't bad. I could almost
see clearly the minute I got up. I thanked God it was over and
everything went successfully. Angie finally calmed down.
The doctors are great! They called to check on me and have made
several appointments to continue checking my vision. My vision
is 20/15! I can't tell you how wonderful it is to not wrestle
with contacts or wear glasses all of the time. Thank God, I can
see and I didn't listen to Angie.
Amanda Gary Roberts is a resident of
Homer and a fourth grade teacher at Maysville Elementary School.
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