Opinions

There exists a picture of me, back before photographs were merely shimmering decorporealized surfaces of ones and zeros floating upon a weightless ether and onto which the bored and enterprising could affix any number of flower crowns or dog tongues, that remains nestled in some greenish leather-bound photo album so familiar to the 30-ish and above crowd: the thin pockets of rectangular plastic, the overlit and unfiltered images, the sepia scrolls of negatives. In this photograph, I, a towheaded three-year old with a face the color of strawberry milk, fan out my stumpy toddler arms in jubilation and flash a smile almost idiotic in its ecstatic intensity.

One of the most interesting and unusual sculptures in our state is the Peace Monument located at the entrance to Atlanta’s Piedmont Park on 14^th Street. Dedicated by the Old Guard Battalion of the Gate City Guard, this unusual sculpture defies what we might assume about war monuments with its themes of reconciliation and remembrance. And, remarkably, the historical group that dedicated this memorial back in 1911 still remains active and meets on a regular basis.

By Justin Hubbard

“Time flies when you’re having fun.” – Someone smarter than me

Somehow, I find myself disbelieving the fact this Friday, Aug. 11, is my one-year anniversary at Lake Oconee News.

On that day, which fell on a Thursday last year, I began my professional career at one of my hometown papers. It was not the original plan I had for myself, but I’ve heard the best way to make God laugh is by telling him your plans.

I’m sure he laughed his tail off at me last May when I graduated from UGA thinking my life was headed in a totally different direction. Although I did not expect to get a job at Lake Oconee News before I interviewed here last July, I couldn’t imagine the past year going any differently.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with this company. The powers that be entrusted me with the duties of sports editor, which has brought on a lot of work but a whole lot of fun, too.

Hank Segars

Lakelife Associate Editor

It’s really hot this afternoon and the scorching Georgia sun reminds me of earlier small town life, before our region became known as Lake Country.

In those dog days of summer, screened windows were open, noisy fans whirled at full speed and everyone sweated more. Vacations to Florida meant getting up hours before sunrise to travel, when Dixie’s humid and sultry atmosphere was at its coolest.

By Justin Hubbard

This past Monday night, the Greene County Board of Education held a town hall meeting to discuss the proposed merger of Union Point Steam Academy and Lake Oconee Academy.

The merger was first proposed a couple weeks ago when UPSA’s governing board unanimously voted to not seek a new charter for the school and latch onto LOA. Unsurprisingly, parents, teachers and concerned citizens were heavily opposed to this proposal.

As such, the GC BOE invited the public to Monday’s town hall and allowed anyone who wanted to make public comments a chance to speak into a microphone for those in attendance, and more importantly the board members, to hear.

I attended that meeting, and as I told the board when I began my comments, I did so as a concerned citizen and proud alumnus of Union Point Elementary. I was not there in a working capacity.

By Justin Hubbard

I love using social media.

The various platforms available to consumers offer a plethora of ways to communicate and learn. Those platforms can also bring a lot of fun.

This past week, Johnny Carver, a basketball buff who has studied the advanced metrics of the game, took to Twitter and asked his followers to list various “top fives” in different categories. Those categories included favorite movies, favorite sports moments, etc.

One of those top five polls asked for your favorite athletes of your life. I thought it’d be cool to take a break from offering my thoughts on current sports events and list here my favorite athletes. Now, I’ll use Carver’s guidelines: this top five “can mean most entertaining to watch, personality, etc.”

5. Kobe Bryant

I’m not a follower of basketball, but I’ve always been aware of Kobe Bryant.

For the past month or so, a facade in downtown Athens at a slight diagonal across from the town’s lone, beleaguered gentleman’s club, has been home to an installation of an international art project called simply a “Before I Die Wall.” These walls, created at first by New Orleans-based artist Cindy Chang, allow people to anonymously stencil in the end of the sentence “Before I die I want to . . .” According to the project’s website, walls have been put up in 76 countries, from Venezuela to Japan to Kazakhstan, and stenciled in nearly 40 languages.

By Justin Hubbard

I tried hard, folks.

This week, I’d hoped to write a one-topic column. I started doing multi-topic columns as a way of upholding my platform and not giving up my ability to convey opinions through writing. I don’t like the idea of writing these two weeks in a row, but, this week, I must.

I’m serving up again this week a column that dives into a handful of the juiciest sports stories of the week – and boy are they juicy. These stories were just too good to ignore and too good to write about alone.

So, for the second consecutive week, here are my thoughts on three of the biggest sports stories of the past week.

 – The Freeze melts in Oxford

Hugh Freeze became the Ole Miss football coach on Dec. 5, 2011. Last Thursday, Freeze’s tenure with the program ended.

Hank Segars

Lakelife Associate Editor

With abandoned storefronts, closed schools and unpainted structures, our crossroads villages in Lake Country sometime resemble abandoned and ghostly places. Yet, many of these small communities hold historical significance and cultural importance. And, this week, let’s focus is on Godfrey, a scenic spot with a whole lot of history.

By Justin Hubbard

I’ve got to be honest, people, I’m itching for football to return.

Baseball is my favorite sport, but there’s nothing I enjoy watching more than football, especially the college game. And my job is a lot more exciting when I know there’s a football game coming up every Friday.

But for now, things are kind of in a lull. We’re waiting around for the players to take the gridiron once again. That doesn’t mean there isn’t any sporting news, though. There are a couple topics that came up this week I’d like to discuss, and there’s a question I’d like to pose.

So, dear readers, if you’ll indulge me…

– Who will take over the No. 88?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced earlier this year that the 2017 season will be his final one as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver.