Opinions & Ideas
PAGE 4A - HOGANSVILLE HOME NEWS - DEC. 25, 2003
THE HOGANSVILLE HOME NEWS
USPS 620-040
JOHN KUYKENDALL
PUB| JSI IER/EI)ITOR
LAURm LEWIS
AI)Vt.:RT]S[NG DtRECT(n
CIJNT CLAYBR(IK)K
Ass( K'IA'rF EDITOR
ROB IICHARI)SON
ASSISTANT EI)ITOR
JAYNE GOLDSTON
BUSINESS MANAGER
Phone (706) 846-3188 • Fax (706) 846-2206
P O. Box 426
ltogansville, Georgia 30230
Damon Evans Has
Made History at UGA
At the age of 34, Damon
Evans has made history by
being named the Athletic
Director at the University of
Georgia. Evans is his own
man, but in some ways fol-
lowing in his father's footsteps.
Damon's father, Sam
Evans, was the first-ever
black elected official in the
small north Georgia town of
Oakwood. When he was elect-
ed to office and made history,
it didn't make the headlines of
major newspapers around the
state or the nation, it only made
the front page of the small
weekly paper (like the one
you're reading) that serves
Oakwood. However, every
major daily newspaper in the
state and around the nation,
every television and so on and
so forth has announced that
Damon has been flamed the
first black Athletic Director
(AD) in the Southeastern
Conference (SEC).
Not only is Damon the first
black AD in the SEC, but he is
also the youngest. That put's
him in the record book twice.
MANY MAYbe concerned
that because Damon Evans is
so young, that he may not be
ready for the AD job just yet.
I wouldbeg to differ.
Evans was a solid football
player during his stint at the
University of Georgia and has
the knowledge and ability to
do the job. Vince Dooley
agrees with that as weJ1.
"He's better prepared than
I was," Dooley told reporters
when asked about it. "He's
been better coached."
I agree with that state-
ment: there are not many
coaches around better than
Vince Dooley.
The thing that will help
Evans prepare most for his
new job is that he will work
side-by-side with Vince for the
next six months preparing to
take over when Dooley does
finally step down. Dooley's
contract will expire on July 1,
2004. The young AD will learn
a lot during that time from
Dooley and should be ready
for the challenge of the job
when he has to stand on his
own two feet.
Dooley will certainly give
him all the help he needs dur-
ing the six month period and
even after should a need or
question rise, because we all
know that Evans was Dooley's
choice for the position.
UGA PRESIDENT
Michael Adams was encour-
aged by many to select Evans
for the job. The reason he was
because I became convinced
Damon Evans was the best
person for the job," Adams
said. "Any side benefits are
icing on the cake. This is a very
competent person who I am
convinced is ready for this.
He's here because he's the per-
son who most deserved the
job."
Some have said that
Adams selected Evans only
because of the pressure that
was applied for him to do so.
I'm not so sure that is the
case, but naming Evans as AD
will certainly appease some of
the UGA fans that are still
angry over the way Adams
handled Dooley's situation
recently.
Evans hiring has been
received well in the athletic
department and it calmed
some of the concerns that an
outsider would be hired and
tremendous changes might
have been made.
That does not mean there
will not be staff changes or
other changes forthcoming.
That is something we'll all just
have to wait and see about.
FOR HIS TROUBLE,
Evans will be paid $250,000
annually, with a possibility of
$50,000 in incentives. A pret-
ty nice salary for a 34-year-
old. At present Dooley is paid
$333,000 annually.
Is Evans worth that kind
of money? I guess that remains
to be seen, but he sure has
made an impact at the
University.
In the late 90s, Evans was
named assistant commission-
er of the SEC. Early this year
he was named one of the most
101 powerful minorities in
sports by Sports Illustrated
magazine.
For three years, he has
been Georgia's senior associ-
ate athletic director in charge
of internal affairs. In that role,
he quickly impressed Dooley
with his handling of the
Athletic Association's budget,
which grew from $28 million
to $45 during his tenure.
EVANS HAS said he wants
to take the athletic program
to the next level. That will be
a tough challenge considering
that UGA already has one the
encouraged so was because, nation's most financially sta-
Evans was the best candidate ble and athletically competi-
for the job. tive programs. However, we
"The decision was made should all wish him luck.
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STAFF
Publisher and FAiler ............................................................................ John Kukyendall
S, dverlising Director .................................................................................. l.aurie Lewis
Ass(:iate Fklitor ................................................................................... Clint Claybreok
Business Manager. ................................................................................ Jayne Golds|on
Assistant Editor ............................................................................ ........ Rob Richardson
;taff Writers .......................................................................... Brsan Geter, Billy Bryant
?omposing ............................................................ Dewayne Flowers, Robert Weems
[,egals ...................................................................................................... Jayne Goldston
?irculation Manager ............................................................... Barbara Arlene Steerman
Press Manager ................................................................................. Wayne Grt:howski
pressroom Assistants ..................... 'Lan'y Colleges, Zaddie l)ixon,l)amell McCauley
Vlailroom Di:,tribution ............................................................................... David Boggs
CORgORATE OFE|CERS
[:'resident ...................................... , ...................................................... Millard B. Grimes
Vice President .................................................................................. Charlotte S. Grimes
Executive Vice Presidem and Secretary ........................................ Laura Grimes Corer
Freasurer ....................................................................................... Kathy Grimes Garrett
Legal Counsel and Assistant Secretary ............................................... James S. Grimes
The Lonely Day His Daddy Die
From Lewis Grizzard's
collection "Won't You Come
Home Billy Bob Bailey?"
Written in 1979
August 12, 1970, Claxton,
Georgia. The devil in the bot-
tle, and perhaps a thousand
more that inevitably hound a
fallen hero, finally won the
battle.
There are scenes that will
never leave you. One such,
for me took place here in lit-
tle Claxton, where they make
fruitcakes. It was an August
morning, hot and damp out-
side. I stood inside a tiny hos-
pital room where a 58-year-
old mn was near death. It
was my daddy.
Around me stood a few
others who also cared about
him, too. One was a preach-
er. As the end neared, the
preacher asked that we all
bow our heads, and he prayed.
He osked the Lord to take
the soul about to depart the
ravaged body on the bed. I
said a prayer of my own. I
asked the Lord to ignore the
preacher and leave the soul
where it was.
That was the only mira-
cle I ever prayed for. I was-
n't ready to give the man up
just yet, and, frankly, I
thought the preacher was
rushing things a bit.
The preacher asked that
we bow our heads again, and
we did, and he prayed again,
but I forgot about what this
time.
I WANTED to say some-
thing dramatic when he had
finished, something befitting
the life we had just seen pass.
I said something stupid,
instead. I said, "He hated hot
weather, you know."
The only comfort I could
find in the moment was that
the man wouldn't have to live
through the oppressive
Georgia heat the afternoon
was sure to offer. He was a
big man, a fat man, and the
heat was ways his dreaded
enemy, I recalled. You think
of the strangest things at
times like those.
I had held his hand dur-
ing the final minutes, and I
will always be thankful for
that.
I have often wondered
since if, somewhere in his
fleeting sub conscious, he had
known I was there.
Probably not, but it is a
fantasy worth keeping. He
was alone a great deal during
his life, which was the real
cause of his death, and I will
always hope he had some
faint knowledge of the fact
that there was an audience
for the last act he performed.
How he happened to die
here, in this outpost, is still
somewhat of a mystery to me.
Better, I thought then and I
think now, years before on a
battlefield of some historic
worth.
SEVEN of his 58 years
had been devoted to combat,
and he had distinguished him-
self and had inspired others,
I have heard. Better he had
gone in the midst of some
heroic adventure, even at a
much younger age, than here
between white hospital
sheets.
Hb had found nothing but
unhappiness since his last
war, Korea, and he had wan-
dered alone and lost.
He was just passing
through this, his last stop,
when some vital organ
stopped its function.
The nurse came in. Then
the doctor, who noted the time
before he pulled the sheet
over the man's blue face.
Later, someone handed
me his earthly belongings in
a plastic bag. It was a sm
bag Inside were shoes, soc .A
:': . -.t" Clauu
unuerwear, trousers, a sml, •
an empty wallet, an old wat xlemw
and a cheap ring. psplce J
Fifty-eight years,
they can put what is left
you in a small plastic bag.
I was
here the other day
but there was time
away, to put the scene
together again. I owe the
that much - to ponder
sionally how his end
come.
I owe him a 1
that. He's the one who
me his name, for one
For another, he left me
a stockpile of stories,
of which are even true,
keep a roof over my head.
BY SPECIAL
WITH ms WIDOW, DEDRA,
HOME NEWS
ED COLUMNS BY THE LATE
BY MOR:ELAND, AND BECAME
MOS:- WIDELY READ
WRITER OF HIS TIME.
BOOKS AND TAPES
PRODUCTIONS, P.O. BOX
ATLANTA, GA 31118-1266 AND
BOOK AND MUSIC STORES
WIDE.
Don't Forget Meaning of Christmas
As I sit here this morning,
it is Monday, Dec. 22.
Christmas is only three days
away.
The mall stores are filled
with last minute shoppers
searching for that perfect, or
near perfect, gift, the grocery
stores are seeing folks get
ready for that Christmas din-
ner, or breakfast as the case
may be, and the excitement
in the hearts of children
grows minute by minute.
These things have
become the usual signs of
Christmas. I must admit that
it is easy to get caught up in
all the traditions that go along
with this time of year, even
in the church.
There have bene numer-
ous dinners and gatherings,
there have been play prac-
tices and special plans, but
the time has come to slow
down and even stop.
To often the frustration,
the anxiety, and the busy
schedules take us away from
the real meaning of this sea-
son.
Today I want us to con-
sider what the angel said to
the shepherds while they
watched their flocks by night•
The Bible says in Luke 2:10
"And the angel said unto
them, Fear not: for, behold, I
bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be to
all people."
This time offyear is sup,
posed to be one of great joy
and peace, yet for some, it is
everything but joy and peace•
The joy only comes when the
last gift is wrapped, some-
times only seconds before it
is to be torn open.
THE PEACE only comes
when all the family and
friends have gone home. If
the Bible declares this is to
be a time of great joy, then
why do so many have a lack
of real joy?
The truth of the matter is,
this world has a disillusioned
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ........ •-s .
!i,00i0 i
perception of real joy and
peace. This world only thinks
joy comes from presents and
that peace only comes from
an absence of trouble.
Please understand today
that the real peace and joy
the angel s spoke of to the
shepherds comes not from
the material world, but from
the spiritual world.
The basis for joy and the
foundation for peace is found
only in Jesus. Joy and peace
are things that come from the
inside, not the outside. The
reason so many are not find-
ing that which they are
searching for is because they
are looking in the wrong
place.
Today, as things
ly will begin to slow
you, I want to invite you
look within for that which
are searching.
True peace and true j(
can only be
where Jesus abides.
You see, it is this time
year that we celebrate
birth of Jesus Christ,
Son and our Savior, and it
in" th "persOn
Jesus that joy and peace
be found.
STOP TODAY and see
you have Jesus as
personal Savior. It is
when you come to
that you can know the
joy that was promised to
shepherds. It is my
that if you do not know
Jesus of Nazareth as
own, today you will come
know him and when you cot
to know him, it is then y
can truly have a "Mer
Christmas.
50 Years Ago
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In the
Hogansville Herald
Predecessor to the HogansvilieHome News
• On Christmas Eve of 1953, the Hogansville
had stories ranging from ,'Family Quarrel Ends in Death"
to "Two Hogansville Players Named On All State Team
Football" on the front page.
The tale of family tragedy reported that on the pre-
vous Sunday, Leonard Smith, who lived on Baptist Drive
was fatally stabbed by his wife, Clara Maude Smith fol-
lowing a quarrell between the two.
Clara Maude had sat up during most of the night with
a sister in the City County hospital and upon retuming to
her home had gone to bed, according to that report.
"The husband came in later in the (Sunday) morning
drunk andbegan to berate his wife for being away," the
newspaper reported. "The quarrel that followed ended in!
the stabbing affray..,."
• The youngsters making the all-state football team
were Joe Leatherwood and Billy Pike. Leatherwood was
an end on the Hogansville team and Pike was the quar-
terback.
Hogansville was the only town that placed two men
on the first team, according to that story.
• In another Page 1 story, The Herald reported that
'he merchants of Hogansville and surrounding area have
unanimously agreed to close both Friday and Saturday"
of Christmas week so families and store personnel "may
enjoy a vacation on Christmas." Christmas Day fell on a
Friday that year.
oA Hines Motor Co. advertisement invited the pub-
lic to come see ,'q'he New 1954 Chevrolet" featuring
Chevrolet's"exclusive Powerglide" and other features such'
as "automatic window and Seat Controls.
• Another tidbit of news that Christmas E'*ve:
Hogansville was to receive $514,000 from a $37 million
state bond issue for "a new elementary school,'! an addi-
tion of a lunch room and shop department at the high.
school a shop room, a room for the homemakers class
and additional class rooms at the West End (then called
the Colored) School.
• The Belk-Gallsnt Co. store in HogansvUle was adver-
tising "one group of men's Suits" for only $21.44.
• At the Royal Theate in Hogansville, Randolph Scoff
was starring in 'q'hunder Over The Plains," and Dennis
O'Keefe and Eveleyn Keyes could be seen in "One Big
Affair."
L' ,\[I/L'I'IC3