Spring is here, and despite our cold snap last weekend, folks are busy getting gardens ready. Gardens can come in all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately, not every landscape is suitable for in-ground gardens. In these situations, raised bed gardens have become increasingly popular. Raised beds …

There is a loneliness within each of us, because only we are in our heads. We fill that void with all sorts of things, good and bad.

Dear Editor: In last fall’s Presidential election, the Madison County election office with the help of Republican, Democrat and independent volunteers alike (all working under significant duress in the midst of a pandemic) did an outstanding job. We were encouraged by the voter turnout, whic…

Some consumers itch for whatever is new, but many of us just want to keep what we have for as long as possible.

Dear Editor: Regarding Julie Buffalo’s opinion letter in the March 18th edition, I am infinitely appreciative of the amazing efforts of the scientific community to come together so swiftly and in the face of significant and unnecessary political obstacles, at least in this country, to develo…

Dear Editor: I have been a professional nurse for over 35 years and I have never been so proud of our scientific community, and now our Federal administration. We are tackling the COVID pandemic head-on. I was also part of the clinical trials that helped bring this vaccination process to fruition.

House Bill 531 was crafted by the House Special Committee on Election Reform to re-tool the mechanics of a flawed system. The elections of 2018 and 2020 created a lack of confidence and trust by citizens of both political stripes. Confidence and integrity of our elections are the bedrock of …

Dear Editor: By joining forces and investing billions of dollars in research based on scientific evidence we created a vaccine to protect humans from a deadly disease in less than a year. This is something to be proud of and grateful for. For those of us who remember growing up with friends …

Dear Editor: I appreciate Zach Mitcham’s opinion “Is voting an American right or a privilege?” (March 11) that the vote is not just a right of each citizen but a duty.

Dear Editor: I want to personally thank our Georgia Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock for their integrity and fortitude in getting the Relief Bill signed.

That distinction matters.

Dear Editor: Polls show that 76 percent of Americans like the coronavirus relief bill, including 60 percent of Republicans. It includes $1,400 stimulus checks, improved unemployment benefits, $350 billion in aid to state and local governments, tax credits for children, money to schools, $8.5…

The historic, record-setting cold outbreak last month in the Plains states could have been our problem to deal with. In fact, some of the earliest model projections had the tip of the spear of the coldest air coming right down across the Ohio Valley and into the Southeast instead of the sout…

March 8 marked our “cross-over” day and legislation that doesn’t pass from one chamber to the other by adjournment will be taken up in the 2022 legislative session. Committees in House and Senate have been working hard to pass out meaning legislation:

Well…this week (March 7-13, 2021) is National Groundwater Awareness Week and it can be a deep subject. The United States uses 82.3 billion gallons per day of fresh groundwater for public supply, private supply, irrigation, livestock, manufacturing, mining, thermoelectric power, and other pur…

The plane, which was transparent, like Wonder Woman’s, crash-landed into a lake by my childhood home, which was not in Macon but some cold Northern European setting, like Norway, on an overcast day. I could see the airline passengers putting on lifejackets. The commotion excited a group of k…

Dear Editor: It never ceases to surprise me when Mr. Mark Jenkins, who styles himself a student of weather, routinely sneers at the overwhelming evidence and solid science that demonstrates the effect we humans have on climate. I suggest more study would benefit Mr. Jenkins.

Here’s a grab bag column of various thoughts on a rainy Monday morning:

Although it’s still cold and wintery outside, it is time to start prepping for warmer weather and spring gardening. If your gardening goal is to fill your pantry with an array of homegrown food, then starting plants from seed can help you achieve that goal. Starting seeds indoors under contr…

This past week, the Senate completed its busiest week to date, passing a total of 10 bills and holding multiple committee meetings to properly vet legislation before it receives a vote on the Senate floor. At this point in the session, legislators begin to feel a sense of urgency, as we are …

Meal preparation means food inventory, recipe research, grocery shopping, cooking, meal portioning, and storing your meals. Most families do the cooking, portioning, and storage on a daily basis. With proper planning, most of the cooking that you do all week long can be done in one day. Savi…

Dear Editor: The recent historically severe winter outbreak in the central and southern Plains and Midwest didn't mean to start such a ruckus, but it did.

Dear Editor: The Georgia Renewable Power Noise Nuisance Survey being conducted by the Madison County Clean Power Coalition will end on Feb. 28. The MCCPC survey goal was to find out how residents living near the GRP facility are being affected by the noise originating from the plant.

If some future Democratic demagogue does exactly the same thing as Trump, and asks a horde of riled-up followers to fight like hell and walk with him only hundreds of yards to the Capitol to overturn his electoral defeat precisely at the moment of certification, then is that OK? Should his f…

Dear Editor: After reading in last week's edition of The Journal a letter to you from Mr. Gene Lurwig, I decided to write this one. My thanks to you Mr. Lurwig for being interested in our country's future and brave enough to write your letter in which you urged conservatives to get involved …

Dear Editor: My husband and I live approximately .7 mile from Georgia Renewable Power biomass plant in Colbert. I can see it, and the emissions coming from the stack, from my bedroom window.

Dear Editor: The Georgia Renewable Power (GRP) Noise Nuisance Survey being conducted by the Madison County Clean Power Coalition(MCCPC) is nearing completion.

Dear Editor: To Madison County residents, the Georgia Renewable Power plant off Hwy. 72 just outside of Colbert has submitted an application to discharge their wastewater onto our lands and waterways. They want to release this wastewater into local small streams and wetlands and finally the …

The Senate completed its the fifth week of the legislative session Friday. As we wrapped up legislative day 16, I feel strongly that we have continued to tackle the issues of most importance to Georgians. Notably, this week brought a final vote on our supplemental budget, the filing of sever…

Governor Brian Kemp recently rolled out more of his legislative initiatives for this session.

The daffodils were late this year. After 2020, I really needed the feeling of hope they never fail to bring me.

Many of us accumulate evidence of our lives in a stockpile of stuff — not just the things that fill the fridge or closet, but the personal momentos.

Dear Editor: For four plus years, Zach Mitcham, Scott Thompson, Margie Richards and Mike Buffington have written negative opinions on the Republican Party and anyone conservative.

Dear Editor: Having the option to Zoom into Madison County Board of Commissioners meetings was a welcome and safe way to be involved, stay informed and have the opportunity to provide public comments.

This time of the year, we get a lot of questions about whether it’s the right time for pruning. The timing of pruning varies with plant species. Most trees and shrubs are pruned according to their date of flowering. For example, spring-flowering plants, such as dogwood or forsythia, normally…

Dear Editor: I read with some dismay, the letter from Sheriff Michael Moore about the deputy sheriff pay. Please recall from the stories in the crime section, the difficult things, often dangerous, that deputies do for us. Their pay is too low! I suggest to the board of commissioners to imme…

Dear Editor: There’s still time to complete the Georgia Renewable (GRP) Noise Survey being conducted by the Madison County Clean Power Coalition (MCCPC).

The loss of a child at the hands of another is the worst thing imaginable, but imagine being told that your murdered child never existed, that you are an actor, not a parent, and that you should die for pushing the “lie” of your kid’s life.

The original budget for Fiscal Year 2021 (July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021) had a $25.9 billion revenue estimate, with deep cuts for all agencies. Those cuts were necessary with declining tax revenues due to COVID-19. Our state’s financial situation has improved since summer, and the Gove…

Dear Editor: I would like to offer an indirect rebuttal to Scott Thompson’s column. I will write some issues and values in two groups that have no labels. I will leave it up the reader to supply a label and to assign themselves to a particular group.

Dear Editor: If you live near the Georgia Renewable Power Plant (GRP) in Colbert you no doubt have heard the noise coming from the facility. GRP’s noise pollution is a real problem and needs a real solution.

The current crisis that you are facing and the emotions you are experiencing during this pandemic are like what foster youth experience every day. People are now walking in our shoes as they experience fear, uncertainty and constant changes to daily life. You can’t see your friends or family…

Dear Editor: As Sheriff of Madison County, I want to personally thank everyone involved these past budget hearings to increase the public safety wages. The sheriff’s office and EMS have seen so many good people come and go due to monetary reasons. All of those statements of fact were present…

I love the scene in “The Office” when Michael insists on following GPS directions against Dwight’s objections. Michael says GPS is telling him to turn. But Dwight says no, there’s a lake! You can’t turn! Seconds later, they’re standing next to the lake, soaked, with Michael’s company car submerged.

Dear Editor: I have voted in every election in Georgia every since I turned 18. I am now 69. I produced proper identification and signed my signature every time with no problem. I voted absentee once this year due to the pandemic and still produced the required identity proof. I fail to see …

On our farm, dealing with mud in high traffic feeding areas is a constant battle. Jeremy Kichler, Colquitt County Ag Agent and Forage Extension Member, discusses strategies for mud mitigation.

When I read, watch or listen to anyone expressing an opinion, I’m like any other listener. I want to know “what’s motivating this person?” Are they trying to be persuasive or do they delight in belittling someone?

Dear Editor: The noise at the Georgia Renewable Power (GRP) plant in Colbert has ruined our quality of life. There is no relief. The noise is a constant irritant.

Dear Editor: As you well remember, there was a fierce battle that many had to go through to get a bill passed to ban the burning of railroad ties. The bill was passed and we are all able to breathe a little easier. Everything is kosher and good to go with Georgia Renewable Power (GRP) right? Wrong!

Dear Editor: The Georgia Renewable Power (GRP) biomass plant has brought many unwanted consequences to Madison County and to the Colbert area. One of the many problems with GRP is the never-ending noise generated by the operations there. Madison County Clean Power Coalition (MCCPC) has been …

Dear Editor: As we begin 2021, I would like to remind the citizens of Madison County how blessed we really are.

If you send me a letter to the editor and say one of our elected officials is a child-molesting, child-eating Satanist, and then I publish it, you won’t be the only one in serious legal jeopardy. I will be, too. Libel law makes it really clear what will happen to me if I publish such a libel…

I am angry. I am frightened. I am a lot of other things too. The many descriptive words that are appropriate to how I feel are not acceptable for print in this newspaper.