Life is a roller coaster. Emotions take wild rides. It’s the same with opinions and our thumbs. We flash two thumbs up when we see and hear of things that make us happy. And when we know of situations that are disappointing, we turn our thumbs down. This week, The Oglethorpe Echo reflects its opinions with these thumbs.
Thumbs Up: Howard’s Covered Bridge
History runs deep in Oglethorpe County. The organization, Historic Oglethorpe, does a splendid job educating and reminding us of our heritage. And we like the way the community embraces things and places of historical importance. An example is what’s been going on recently at Howard’s Covered Bridge on the fringe of the Smithonia community. Time and vandals haven’t been kind to the wooden covered bridge over Cloud’s Creek. Rot and graffiti have taken their toll. The historic structure was begging for TLC.
Thanks to the county commissioners, Howard’s Covered Bridge was put on the public works department’s to-do list. The repair work is not 100% complete, but a giant step has been made. While the county provided the most of the manpower and materials, we need to thank Ken Arnold and Rayle EMC for their assistance. Rayle donated and set the poles for the walkway to the bridge’s entrance. For all involved, we give a hearty thumbs up! Now, let’s focus on ways to stop those vandals.
Thumbs Down: Anaerobic digesters
All things new and shiny aren’t necessarily good or progress. That’s why we’re hesitant to endorse the concept of anaerobic digesters, as explained to the Oglethorpe County commissioners earlier this month. No doubt there has been tremendous amounts of research and engineering to create the process to turn stinky stuff into things of value, such as fertilizer and natural gas. We appreciate the concept, but we’re a long way from climbing on the anaerobic digester bandwagon.
The presentation, we understand, was just an introduction to the idea. Education, much more education, is necessary before we would recommend greenlighting this for Oglethorpe County. We are being told the positives, but what are the negatives? Where are other similar operations? Who has visited those sites and talked to neighbors in the communities? How many times have we been reminded — the hard way — that if it’s too good to be true, it’s not?
Our recommendation is to go slow, very slow. Learn all we can. What are the consequences and potential unintended consequences? If anyone is in favor of rushing a decision on anaerobic digesters, we’d turn our thumbs down.
Thumbs Down: Local mail service
Since the federal postal gurus have shaken up local mail delivery, how’s it going for you? We have said this before, and we’ll keep emphasizing our opinion: “Personnel of the local post offices are friendly and helpful. They want the best possible customer service.” But from our perspective, top-flight customer service is only a dream. Local offices are handicapped. They can only deliver what’s brought to them.
For example, The Oglethorpe Echo’s post office drawer has been almost empty on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Three pieces of first-class mail in two days? That’s abnormal. Where’s the hang up? And then our phone rings way too much about subscribers not getting their newspaper on time or not at all. Fortunately, we offer electronic delivery, which doesn’t rely on the post office. Again, we are quick to praise our postal personnel here. But for the results from the attempt to improve service, unfortunately, we give a thumbs down.