Opinions

Jamison Hooks

news@lakeoconee.us

Well… not really. But that would be the case without the dollars generated by tourism related economic activity in our community.

If you think that’s interesting, you’ll definitely want to continue reading about the efforts of the Madison Morgan Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), which come at absolutely ZERO cost to local taxpayers.

By Justin Hubbard

My weekend did not get the fairytale ending I wanted but, boy, was it a fun one.

It all started last Friday. The Morgan County football team hosted the Monroe Area Purple Hurricanes in Madison. Their game likely decided the Region 8-AAA champion for the 2017 season.

We knew going into the matchup that a good game was on tap but I don’t think anyone expected what actually happened on the field. Morgan and Monroe traded punches like two heavyweight boxers.

And that’s what the teams are: the heavyweights of the region. Hart County is still in the mix and is a much better team than its losing record shows, but, for most people’s money, the champ was going to come from either Monroe or Madison. At the end of the night, it was Dogs on top, 22-21.

Hank Segars

Lakelife Associate Editor

The recent mass shooting in Las Vegas once again reminds us of the courage and importance of law enforcement personnel as first responders. News outlets provided numerous reports of brave officers taking gunfire as they rushed to assist injured victims, likely saving hundreds of lives. All the while, fellow lawmen were seeking the evil sniper situated high above the crowd in the Mandalay Bay hotel suite.

By Justin Hubbard

Sports can be beautiful and painful all at the same time. It seems every time I start to forget it, something happens to remind me.

This past Sunday afternoon, I watched my Dallas Cowboys take a 7-0 lead over the Green Bay Packers early in the first quarter.

Green Bay then drove down the field and scored but, thanks to a missed extra point attempt from the usually sure-footed Mason Crosby, the Cowboys still led, 7-6. My dad and I left home soon afterward to go buy some groceries and grab supper.

If you’ve ever been inside the Ingles in Greensboro, then you know the cell service is poor. I’ve got Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott on my fantasy team, though, and I was somehow able to get alerts each time Prescott threw another touchdown.

By Justin Hubbard

Earlier this week, Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart danced around a question from a reporter.

It was during Smart’s weekly press conference, held Monday afternoon. A reporter asked which quarterback, sophomore Jacob Eason or freshman Jake Fromm, will be the Bulldogs’ starter moving forward now that Eason is cleared to play.

“We compete every position every week,” Smart said. “It is not something we have to announce.”

Smart’s answer was smart (no pun intended) for his sake. Head coaches always want to keep their opponents guessing – this week, it’s Vanderbilt – and he likely accomplished that with his comments. You also don’t want to give the impression you prefer one quarterback over another.

But I don’t have to be so diplomatic here in my column space. Therefore, I’d like to tell you who I think should be Georgia’s starting quarterback from now on.

It’s Jake Fromm.

By Justin Hubbard

I feel a lot of sadness as I type these words.

My Tuesday’s going pretty well. We’ve produced what I think is another strong sports section. The Georgia football team won big last week and, last night, my Dallas Cowboys snapped out of their funk and won on Monday Night Football.

People ask me all the time, “How are you?” And I typically respond with, “I can’t complain.”

But, today, I’d like to complain. I want to complain about the state of our country.

Nobody can say or do anything without offending someone else. This past weekend, the big issue of debate was NFL players' protests during the national anthem.

Notice the wording of that sentence: It says “during” the anthem, not “of” it. No one is protesting against “The Star Spangled Banner” or the United States flag or even the troops.

Mr. Smith, Mr. Smith,

haven’t I told you to take the pith

and marrow and substance out of all

the articles passing beneath your scrawl?

Hank Segars

Lakelife Associate Editor

With all the commotion from Hurricane Irma hitting Florida and then invading Lake Country as a tropical storm, my mind wandered back to Hurricane Katrina and the evacuation of New Orleans in 2005. During this time, folk here in Lake Country tried to help the people of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. This leads to today’s story that might be hard to believe; nevertheless, like all these hurricanes, it happened.

By Justin Hubbard

When last Friday’s Morgan-Putnam football game ended, I very nearly left as soon as the final buzzer sounded.

I needed to get to my brother’s apartment in Athens; we at Lake Oconee News covered Saturday’s Georgia-Samford game so I left from Madison and went on to the Classic City. Morgan head coach Bill Malone and I were going to talk early this week for quotes to use in my Morgan-Putnam recap story, so there was no need for me to hang around the stadium much longer after the game ended.

Morgan’s players and cheerleaders sang as the marching band played the school’s alma mater, which is their postgame tradition. There was a different energy among the group, though, and I noticed it right away.

Hank Segars

Lakelife Associate Editor

We hear about employees having mentors in the workplace, colleagues who offer guidance to enhance careers. There are even life coaches, those who help others to meet the challenges that come in everyday life. Parents and teachers have always been mentors. Many students need advice, counsel and friendship . . . and that’s what the mentoring program in Madison is all about.