Catching up

By Ken Stanford Contributing Editor

Posted 8:33AM on Sunday, July 24, 2011

There's been a lot of water under the bridge, as they say, since we last visited in this space. It's a good thing I am not required to write a column every day, week or even month. I would have been fired a long time ago. I greatly admire those people who do meet such deadlines even with other duties which take up most of their time. That said - let's catch up. We've had a monster snow storm, by north Georgia's standards, since we last met here. A wholesale firing of several top administrators in Hall County government. The installation of a new Governor, one of our own, no less, and the swearing-in for another four-year term for the Lt. Governor who also happens to be from Gainesville. More turmoil in Hall County government, as the county commission chairman issued a surprise call in spring for a 1.40 mill tax rate hike as the county struggled with an $11.5 million budget deficit. The tax hike idea got the ax in the end as did a number of county employees as departments were reorganized, libraries were shuttered, etc. And, now Uncle Sam is faced with its own budget crisis with the partisanship in Washington never more evident than it has been as the issue is debated. Gov. Deal took office on the appointed day, January 10, the same day as the snow storm which virtually paralyzed Atlanta and, to a degree, Gainesville. However, the ceremony was moved indoors and that night's gala celebration was postponed until May. The snow storm brought out the Jacobs Media mantra "if you can get here, we'll come get you" which is issued every time such weather is imminent. A lot of the time, it's a false alarm, it doesn't get nearly as bad a predicted. But this was the exception. We had employees spending the night in the building, some lodged in a local hotel and some of us - me, Dick Huff and Joel Williams, and perhaps others - helping ferry people back and forth to work, either from their temporary lodgings or their homes... some as far away as Dahlonega. Me, I was designated as the work-to-hotel and hotel-to-work shuttle, picking up a couple of colleagues on the street at 4:30 in the morning after they had made the treacherous walk over snow/ice-covered pavement from the hotel to the curb and, as needed, making a return run to the hotel at day's end. And, now we come to July and a relentless heat wave that has seen temperatures around here above, sometimes well-above, average for all but a few days since mid-May. I have friends who were crying for summer in January who are now crying for snow and freezing temperatures. For me, as I have written in this space before, I'll take 32 over 92 any day... as long as I am spared the snow and ice. (See link below.) And, as we reach mid-year, what does the final half of the year hold for us? Who knows. Hang on for the ride. Oh, and, one more thing, which comes to mind this time of year. Why do people seem to always say, about this time of the year, "boy, where has the time gone? I can't believe the year's already half over." And, they do the same thing toward the end of a month, even a week. Wouldn't you, just once, like for someone to say "boy, time sure has been dragging by this year/month/week. I thought mid-July/the end of the month/the end of the week would never get here." Expect it only when there is ocean side land in Arizona, but with the rising oceans... (Ken Stanford is Newsroom Manager for NEWSTALK AM 550 and FM 102.9, WDUN; 1240 ESPN Radio; and AccessNorthGa.com.) Featured columnists' opinions, views and comments are not necessarily those of AccessNorthGa.com or JACOBS Media.

Ken Stanford Contributing Editor