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Opinion

  • This whole poll is, like, so...

    According to a recent national Marist Poll, many Americans can’t stand the word “whatever.”

    Forty-seven percent of those polled found the word to be the most, like, annoying. “You know” is second, at 25 percent, and “it is what it is” comes in third at 11 percent. Other words or phrases that are like, whatever, include, “anyway” and “at the end of the day.”

  • Mosquitoes are effective...no...

    I posted a comment on my Facebook page the other day that started me thinking...the comment is: If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito.

    I’m sure we’ve all been in that predicament. You’re in bed, trying to get to sleep, and you hear that familiar, high-pitched whine...and you know you are not alone. Funny how the thought of just that tiny mosquito can overtake your need for sleep.

    But that’s just it...that tiny mosquito is not too small to be effective.

  • We've got to stop violence...

    Last week a 13-year-old girl was choked by her boyfriend, who is 16, because she looked at another boy. I am told that incidents like this one occur almost daily. The girl said she didn't want anything to happen to him.

    During a meeting a week ago, I had the opportunity to talk with some young ladies about things that bother them most. The youngest in the group was 15 and her concerns were for the safety of her friends. Their boyfriends, she said, hit them when they "get out of line."

  • Parent tired of bullying

    Is the bully law being enforced in the public schools of Gadsden County? In my opinion as a parent, no!

    My son, a sixth grader in the county school district, has not felt safe in the schools he has attended. As a fourth grader at Stewart Street Elementary, he was bullied on a daily basis by some male students in the same  grade. According to my son, there were no teachers supervising the halls when he was called names, pushed and threatened.

  • Need urgent care more

    On the evening of  Sept. 23, I needed medical care. I went to the Gadsden County Urgent Care. I was taken care of by a competent, courteous staff. I was treated and back home within  an hour, including travel time.

    We need a facility like this more than a hospital. The community would be wise to support this needed care center.

    Fred Miller

    Quincy

     

  • Get involved to reduce tobacco use...

    The No. 1 preventable cause of death in America is tobacco use.  On Sept. 22, an effort by the United States Food and Drug Administration was made to protect America’s young.  A ban on candy and fruit flavored cigarettes was authorized by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.  

    According to the act, it is against the law for any cigarette sold in the United States to have a flavor consisting of natural, artificial, herb or spice.  

  • Everything...and I mean everything...

    I fell victim to a nasty sinus infection last week. I think it had been coming on for several days, as I’d been sniffly and sneezy for a while, along with a few other symptoms, including a headache and achy joints.

    But I quickly made my way to the doctor, and got a Z-Pack, which is a fast way to get over anything that ails you.

  • A shadow is a very good thing

    Last week a young man from Florida A&M University called me. He said he was a journalism student and was interested in a career shadowing experience. My first thought was that I was busy Thursday with a trial, my regular work and a lecture at the art center. I did not want to be a babysitter for someone who, when they found out that journalists make no money, would run for a higher paying job.

  • Judge clears educator

    Administrative law judge Lisa Nelson recently ruled that I, as former principal of Carter-Parramore Academy, was justified in using pepper spray during two altercations at the school in 2007. The Florida Department of Education had sought to revoke my certification as an educator.

    However, after an evidentiary hearing, the judged ruled that I did what any reasonable person should have done to protect himself, his staff and students from two dangerous situations. Nelson confirmed that I had violated no laws and was not guilty of violating any of the rules of the FDOE.

  • Just no reason for it

    In my opinion, there is no legitimate reason for county EMS director Brian Beasley to suffer suspension for doing an excellent job. Almost every week, Brian is on TV bringing in  grants to Gadsden County. Unlike the US Army, whose mission is to kill, Beasley's job is to save lives.

    If an ambulance reaches a citizen's residence late, it's not Beasley's fault.

    Beasley does not need to be home, but rather on the job so that he can continue to be instrumental in saving lives.

    Bobby Jamison

    Gadsden County

  • Former hospital employee questions...

    I worked with the Gadsden County hospital when it was moved from what is now the Gadsden County Sheriff's Offices. In the 2 years I worked with the hospital, my hours were cut twice from 40 hours per week to 20 hours a week. This was in the mid-1980s. The hospital didn't make enough money then and hasn't since that time.

    On April 26, 2007, I had an occasion whereby I had to use the services of the Urgent Care. I have Medicare and a supplement insurance that pays what Medicare doesn't.

  • They can tear down the building,...

    They tore our high school down. Now, that will frost your wheat cakes. Most of us were out of town when it happened. I have no idea who makes those kinds of decisions. I’m sure it had something to do with growth, progress and asbestos-free ceiling tile. I don’t believe anyone in our class got a vote in the deal.

  • Passing on the wisdom to the next...

    Aw, shucks! The ball bounced weakly on two hops right back to the pitcher. My heart sank. With men on second and third I had dug in just seconds before thinking I was going to be the hero. It was not to be the case this at-bat. A thousand thoughts raced through my head as the ball sank into the pitcher’s mitt, none of them good. Failure is not a pleasant companion. I was already two steps toward first base, going through the motions of hustling out the play.

  • Wonderful smells...wonderful...

    Me and Buddy Wiggleton and Bob Edwards used to push and shove our way through the baseball glove section of Robert Hall’s Western Auto. The new leather had such a wonderful smell. And you mix in the distinctive aroma of the Neat’s foot oil and the rubber hoses from the auto displays on the next aisle and that combined scent was the Western Auto store. We didn’t linger to enjoy it. As a matter of fact, we were in such a hurry to get the good 99 cent Wilson baseball that we barely noticed.  

  • Clunker takes on a whole new...

    The government once again has moved too slowly to help me. Where was this clunker program idea in 1954? Was Congress so engrossed in the Joseph McCarthy saga that they forgot about the rest of us? Was Eisenhower more interested in practicing his golf or monitoring the Marshall Plan than to my lonely plight in West Tennessee? Was the entire world’s attention averted by the Monroe-DiMaggio wedding?

  • We dropped out...then dropped back...

    It was late August when me, Ricky and Hollis Mayo decided to quit school. We figured we had gone about as far as we could go. “We can read and cipher. How much more do you need?” is the way Rick put it. We made a pact not to show up for the new school year. We decided to go to California and make movies with Roy and Gene. It looked like a lot of fun and Hollis maintained, “The way the teachers dote on Pam, Susie, Ruth Ann and the rest of the girls, they won’t nobody miss us ‘til Christmas!”

  • Talk about your backyard...or...

    My football career started in the front yard. We lived out at the end of Stonewall Street. Our nearest neighbors in those early years were Mr. and Mrs. Brooks. I figured them to be in their mid 80s, a little old for a quarterback or tight end. Besides, they worked all the time. That left me and Leon and David Mark. It didn’t take us long to choose up sides.

  • Get out the measuring tape...let...

    I'm wondering about life. I wonder if someone's measuring mine with a tape measure like the one Mary Poppins used. Her measurement read, "Practically perfect in every way." I wonder what mine would say.

  • Vendors should have limits

    The city of Quincy can't begin enforcing its street vendors ordinance quickly enough. People selling food on street corners is getting worse. And I'm not buying into the excuse that people have to make money the best way they can.

  • Dog Days can't be blamed for...

    Meth lab “accidentally” blows up house in Panama City. Crook robs store, then comes back to ask clerk for a date. Dog sells for $582,000 in China. Man marries ex-wife and then “remembers” during the second reception why he ditched her originally. Tiger Woods hits a ball into the water.

    You talk about strange headlines in the past week! It’s got people talking about the apocalypse. I’m trying to be an “anchor of reason” amid this chaotic exposition.