Defective government

"Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster, and what has happened once in 6,000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world."

New superintendent

Graduates

County budget

The Newton County Board of Commissioners has a tough task in front of them as usual, deciding how to make expenses meet revenues, but we'll say what we've said for each of the past few years - this is still not the time to raise taxes.

Some thoughts

Last week, two young lives were snuffed out on Interstate 20. A 19-year-old and a 7-month-old baby will never know what it's like to grow old.

New superintendent

On Tuesday night, the Newton County Board of Education will choose Dr. Gary Mathews' successor as superintendent of the Newton County School System.

Mother’s Day

"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."

Making the grade

In Wednesday's paper, we ran a story explaining what the new state school assessment model means to students and other citizens of Newton County.

Good moves

The Covington City Council has made two practical decisions that could contribute to economic growth in the future.

The morning-after pill

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, 1.3 million babies a year are aborted in the U.S. That is a staggering number.

Social Circle

If you were driving through the main street in Social Circle and blinked twice, you might miss the physical heart of the city.

Rotary

A sure sign of spring here in Covington and Newton County is the sweet smell of Vidalia onions.

Development

There's no question we've had a successful run of economic development deals in Newton County over the past couple of years.

Special Olympics

"Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

Hometown Hero 2012

"I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."

Good grief

Recently we were seeking some information from different counties around the state that would help us add useful information to our Web site CovNews.com. In doing so, we realized again how efficient our own Newton County agencies are.

A sad chapter

We feel the Newton County Library and the W. H. Stanton Memorial Library in Social Circle are the best-run libraries in the state. For the majority of us, the first official card we ever received was our library card.

Remembering Lewis

For the last few months we have been promoting the first Remembering Lewis Grizzard Weekend, which will be held this weekend March 14 and 15. We have been pleased to do this and we are proud of the efforts of our partners The Covington Rotary, The Social Circle Rotary, The Rockdale Citizen and radio station Q92.3 FM.

Our Thoughts... Enough is enough

Speaking of our representatives not paying taxes, Senator Robert Brown, a Democrat representing Macon, wondered whether he was on the list of senators not paying his back taxes. He claimed to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution that he has filed an extension for his 2006-2007 taxes.

Our Thoughts... Courage and cowardice

This week the Newton County Commissioners voted not to help fund the annual Fourth of July fireworks display. It's hard to say no to anything patriotic, but with the current budget constraints that the county is facing, it was the right and courageous thing to do. The vote was 3-2 not to share the costs of the event with the city of Covington this year.

Our Thoughts... Special thanks

A pat on the back again goes to the Newton County Sheriff's Office. The department's efforts with the cooperation of Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, the Ketchikan (Alaska) police force and the Anchorage (Alaska) police department, have taken another pervert off of the streets.

Our Thoughts... Community spirit

The spirit of the people who settled in this area and over the years contributed to the growth of Newton County never ceases to amaze us.

Doubletalker with a heart of gold

 Durwood Fincher is one of the few people who actually loves telemarketing calls. One of his friends asked if his telephone number was on the "do not call" list.

Good neighbors

 One of my favorite British comedies is "Good Neighbors." The basic story line concerns a couple where the husband had resigned his job so they could live the "simple" life in a suburban area. He had no experience with livestock, gardening, etc., so you can imagine the situations. Their next door

Keeping the arts alive

 We think that a dedication to the arts is a dynamic plus for a community like ours; supporting programs that support the arts is essential to keeping our culture alive and vibrant for future generations of the families of Newton County.

Survival of the fittest

 When we are invited to speak at different community forums, one of the questions always asked is "will our paper survive?"

Right to privacy

If you were around during the Vietnam era you will remember the daily depiction of flag-draped coffins returning from that country to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. It became a regular occurrence to see anti-war activists prey on these images, which should have been those of honor, and vilified these brave soldiers who had given their lives serving their country.

Excellent leadership

Throughout Black History Month we have been proud to feature African-American leaders of our community, who by their actions and perseverance, have made our community a great place to live. Friday we were honored to print the story and philosophy of Ezell Brown, our newly elected sheriff.

Our Thoughts... Paradoxical speech

"Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established, should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience [has] shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce [the people] under absolute despotism, it is ...

Our Thoughts... People first

Newton County employees breathed a sigh of relief as the Newton County Board of Commissioners voted not to cut manpower or hours at a special called meeting Wednesday.