My friend Rod Albaugh asked a few days ago why I write columns now and then. Rod said he thought he knew but wanted me to tell him. So I explained.
We live in a modern world that delivers our daily news pre-packaged in feelings, ready for our consumption, but we are rarely required to think.
Human nature’s mental...
Here is what is scheduled for the political calendar in 2010.
President Obama’s poll numbers will continue to drop. Sure, his teleprompted speeches carry the same vim and vigor as the march to Washington campaign addresses, but fewer people are buying pomp, wishing for leadership and results instead.
The beleaguered President, controlled by centrist Democrats, must think the American taxpayers...
Unlike many people, I’m not a maker of New Year’s resolutions. Mainly because when I see the need for change or improvement, I resolve to fix it then, even if it’s July 23 or Oct. 1. I don’t wait until the first of the year.
But I have discovered the need for sweeping change in my life, so large...
Had it not been for a malfunctioning detonator, nearly 300 people traveling on a Christmas Day flight might have perished. Only the faulty device, along with some fast-acting passengers, prevented a disaster.
But the detonator was not the only malfunction in this near-catastrophe. Government also broke down. The suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has been on a watch list for...
Obama’s healthcare bill, the poisoned Kool-Aid now approved by the Senate, will not confer any of its supposed benefits on Americans until 2013. But they will find themselves chafing at its restrictions and paying its taxes immediately after the law takes effect. Then, they will see no gain, but plenty of pain, for the next three years.
This odd juxtaposition...
By Ronald E. Bachman
It turns out that “Joe the Plumber” gave us the real insight to the ultimate goals of the Obama presidency and the current Congress: redistribution of wealth.
Centralized government power, federal control and redistribution of wealth seem to be behind many of the proposed “reforms.” This includes more than $1 trillion in redistributed wealth in...
Hugh W. Weaver, Fayetteville, died Dec. 19, 2009. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Alice Qualia Weaver. He was born March 8, 1932 in Dublin, Ga. He attended Marion Military Institute and later graduated from Florida State University. He served in the United States Air Force from 1952 to 1956. He worked for Eastern Airlines until...
Dr. John Gordon Alford Jr., 79, Peachtree City, died Dec. 20, 2009 from respiratory failure. He served in the United States Navy during the Korean War. He received his master’s in education from Northwestern University and his Ph.D. from Harvard. He worked in various educational administrative roles for the State of Illinois for over 30 years, retiring to...
Elizabeth Nelms, 89, Fayetteville, died Dec. 20, 2009. She was preceded in death by her husband, Horace Harrison Nelms, a son, William Horace “Billy” Nelms, and a grandson, William Allen Nelms. Services were at the Carl J. Mowell chapel with the Rev. Ed Lynch officiating. Interment was at Westminster Memorial Gardens, Peachtree City.
Survivors include a daughter, Barbara Nelms,...
Arthur William Stephens, 77, Jonesboro, died Dec. 23, 2009. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mildred Jeanette Stephens. Services were at the Carl J. Mowell chapel with the Rev. Ronnie Whitlock officiating. Interment was at Flat Creek Baptist Church cemetery, Fayetteville.
Survivors include his sons, Jerry Stephens, Hampton, and Joey Stephens, Snellville; daughters, Pat and Cecil Ethridge,...
Sammie Lynn Allen Norman, Peachtree City, died Dec. 24, 2009. She had been employed by the Fayette County Board of Education for 21 years, primarily serving as a teacher at Braelinn Elementary School in Peachtree City.
Services were at Central Funeral Home, Manchester, Tenn with Pastor Paul Frank officiating. Interment was at Gardens of Memorial Cemetery in Smartt, Tenn....
Virginia Gore, 85, Fayetteville, died Dec. 26, 2009. She was preceded in death by her husband, Joe A. Gore. She was a longtime member of McDonough Road Baptist Church, and loved her family, especially her grandchildren.
Services were at the McDonough Road Baptist Church with the Rev. J.W. Wallis officiating. Interment was at College Park Cemetery. Survivors include daughters, Leigh...
Answers to your questions about life, religion and the Bible
Pastors get some of the most interesting questions from people they meet and people in their congregations. Here are some questions that I’ve gotten over the years and via email for this column.
Dear Father Paul: In light of Matthew 7:22 – 23 don’t you believe that today...
Several churches in the Fayette area will hold services on New Year’s Eve to usher in the new decade.
Called “Watch Night” services by some, the Watch Night tradition began in 1732 with the Moravians in Germany. It was a time for giving thanks for the blessings of the previous year and praying for God’s blessings and good...
Congregation B’nai Israel in Fayetteville will offer a two-part class on “Judaism - Are you Curious?” Saturday, Jan. 9 (part one) and Saturday, Jan. 16 (part two), both sessions taught from 9 a.m. until noon.
Classes are free but donations will be accepted.
Both sessions will be held at Congregation B’nai Israel in Fayetteville. The classes will explain the differences...
Cole Minter (top photo) and Olivia Lohr and Alicia Baston (bottom photo) cooked up “turkeys” in cooking class at St. Andrew’s Dayschool during the celebration of Thanksgiving last month. The turkey was actually a pear ... and the feathers were ... well, just use your imagination. Photo/Special.
Davis Smallwood and Lauren Lawson participated in a Thanksgiving feast last month as part of learning activities at St. Andrew’s in the Pines Dayschool in Peachtree City. Photo/Special.
On Jan. 12, Fayetteville First Baptist Church will begin a new session of GriefShare, a 13-week Bible based program for those who have lost a loved one.
The class meets each Tuesday from 6:30-8 p.m. Each class begins with a video followed by group discussion.
The program is open to people of all ages in the community and surrounding areas, whether...
The children who attended the Christmas Eve services at The Cathedral of Christ the King, Sharpsburg, received a special story and visit. Bishop David Epps gathered the children near the altar and told them a short story about Bishop Nicholas of Myra and how he later became a “saint.” Upon the conclusion of the story, the door opened and...
A 13-week class on Scripture passages related to healings performed by Christ was taught at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Sharpsburg. Teachers were Bonnie Bar, MSN, RN, an associate professor of nursing at the State University of West Georgia in Carrollton, and James Taylor, DPC, a chaplain at Piedmont-Fayette Hospital. Completion of the class is a...
All Saints children’s program set
All Saints Anglican Church, now located at 225 S. Peachtree Parkway, will present its Children’s Christmas Pageant, Sunday, Jan. 3 at 10:30 a.m.
FFUMC seniors plan lunch
Senior Adults in the Titus II group at Fayetteville First United Methodist Church will have lunch at noon Tuesday, Jan. 5, in the Family Life Center Gym.
The cost is...
Americans sick over Congress’ “healthcare” outrage should be glad to sniff the generally unpolluted air of Christmas Eve in order, at last, to hear the angels sing.
Because if anyone ever took a political vote-counter for one of the heavenly host, it had to be a long time ago: not in the eight or nine months we’ve been anguishing over...
Science is one of the great achievements of the human mind and the biggest reason why we live not only longer but more vigorously in our old age, in addition to all the ways in which it provides us with things that make life easier and more enjoyable.
Like anything valuable, science has been seized upon by politicians and ideologues,...
Detroit’s (predominantly black) public schools are the worst in the nation and it takes some doing to be worse than Washington, D.C.
Only 3 percent of Detroit’s fourth-graders scored proficient on the most recent National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) test, sometimes called “The Nation’s Report Card.” Twenty-eight percent scored basic and 69 percent below basic.
“Below basic” is the NAEP...
I had unpacked the manger display that a family in the church lends to us each year and was setting it up on a table in the church foyer.
Piece by piece, the display came together — shepherds, wise men, camels, a donkey, a sheep, and, of course, the Virgin Mary and Joseph. One piece, however, was missing.
I went thorough...
On Monday December 21st The Peachtree City Youth Council Alumni were “Home for Christmas” and home from College to attend the Inaugural “Peachtree City Youth Council Alumni Reunion.”
The Peachtree City Youth Council began in March of 2003 and has been a volunteer youth organization under the Peachtree City Parks and Recreation Department since then.
Current members were able to meet...
On Tuesday Dec. 29, the Peachtree City Library in cooperation with the Peachtree City Parks and Recreation Department will be offering a FREE Literary Juggling Performance by guest performer Ron Anglin from Quite a Catch Juggling.
Ron Anglin has over 3,500 performances across the country and has also volunteered with the Big Apple Circus Clown Care program at Children’s...
There are several American Red Cross blood drives upcoming in the Fayette and Coweta area.
To schedule a donation appointment please visit www.RedCrossBlood.org.
• Wednesday, Dec. 30 at Gilead United Methodist Church, 2651 East Ga. Highway 16 in Sharpsburg from 3-8 p.m.
• Wednesday, Dec. 30 at Fayette County Public Library, 1821 Heritage Parkway, Fayetteville from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Friday, Jan. 1...
The insatiable curiosity of Curious George – the little monkey who has captured the imagination and hearts of millions of children and adults for over 65 years – comes to life at Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta. The Curious George: Let’s Get Curious! exhibit will introduce young children to Curious George’s world and lead visitors on a...
Last weekend was an historic time around our house. No, I didn’t finally win an argument with The Wife. Not that we ever argue, mind you, but if we did, I still wouldn’t win. She was the high school debate team coach for three years, and they won the state championship. Why start an argument when you know you’re...
Christmas is indeed the season of giving, and Peachtree City residents proved it again as they responded to the police department’s “Light Up the Night” toy drive.
With the community’s help, police were able to provide 42 children and six entire families with a Merry Christmas. On top of that, they were able to help the Fayette County Department of...
Accessing Ga. Highway 74 to the north from Rockaway Road has been a long standing vehicular nightmare. The beginning of the Hwy. 74 widening project is now under way and the first construction project will be the realignment of Rockaway so that it ties in to the traffic signal at Holly Grove Road. Weather permitting, that realignment work is...
While the jobs picture certainly isn’t rosy, it improved slightly last month for Fayette and Coweta counties, according to statistics published this week by the Georgia Department of Labor.
Coweta’s unemployment rate dropped from 10.4 percent in October to 9.9 percent in November while Fayette’s unemployment rate dropped from 8.5 to 8 percent.
In raw numbers, the data showed that in...
It was in early summer that representatives of Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) met with government and business leaders from across Coweta County at Newnan City Hall to announce the city’s selection as the site of the company’s first hospital in the Southeastern United States. Earlier this week CTCA received a Georgia Dept. of Community Health Certificate of...
