Opinion

Earlier this year, we observed the 35th anniversary of the torture murder of Donna Ogletree Johnson. Her car, with her two dogs inside, was found about 4:30 p.m. on July 16, 1984 at a dumpster site on Piedmont Road not far from her home where she had gone to dump the trash.

A search for her ramped up. It rained that afternoon. Some still say that was the hardest rain they have ever seen. Sadly, it washed away evidence. Some say the crime scene was not secured. Others say it was. It is known the GBI changed its crime scene security protocols if the aftermath of the case.

Some four hours after her car and dogs were found, Johnson’s body was located. She had been gagged with her own bra and panties. Her blue jeans had been cut and pulled down to thigh level. She was hogtied, sexually violated with a metal rod, run over by a vehicle and finally dispatched with three blows to the head from a roofing hatchet or similar tool.

Johnson lived in Pike County. Her car and body were found in Lamar County. This created jurisdictional issues and further complicated the investigation. As time passed, the investigation petered out. It was never abandoned but crime never sleeps and investigators have full plates of new horrors to deal with daily.
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By Mike Ruffin

At 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 12, 2000, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision that, on a 5-4 vote, decided the case of Bush v. Gore in George W. Bush’s favor. It was and is a controversial decision. It would have also been controversial had it gone the other way.

Gore had won the popular vote by over half a million votes. But, once Bush had Florida in his column, he had the majority of the Electoral College votes.

I’ll be upfront and tell you—surely to the surprise of no one who knows me and/or reads my writings—that the decision didn’t go the way I wanted it to go. I voted for Gore because I thought he’d be a better president than Bush, so I wanted the Court to rule in his favor.

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The Battle of Potato Creek, which dates back to 1976, is the epitome of a high school football rivalry and the 2019 installment played Friday night was a classic.

The stands in Zebulon were nearly full with fans two to three deep standing along the fence which encircles the field. It was the first cool Friday night of the season - a welcome relief from field temperatures near 100 degrees.

Grill smoke floated over the field and the aroma of seared meat filled the cool air. Two excellent marching bands performed and kept the players and fans hyped up. Cheerleaders with ribbons in their hair and their faces painted roamed the sidelines and everyone stood for and sang the national anthem. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

I tend not to notice roadkill until it’s too late.

I’ll be driving merrily along, and I’ll feel that little bump from running over something that’s already dead.

If my Good Wife is a passenger in the car I’m driving, she’ll cringe when I run over a dead animal. Kindly and gently, she’ll say, “I started to tell you it was in the road, but I figured you’d see it.” [Full Story »] 

Growing up in Savannah, one always felt a collective, ingrained fear of hurricanes. I don’t remember a really impactful one from my youth but I do recall seeing windows boarded or taped up and sandbags being filled in preparation for a coming storm. Of course, that was long before the breathless, diminutive Jim Cantore and The Weather Channel (TWC) prepped us for looming disasters weeks in advance.

If somebody reports more than a half dozen clouds off the Horn of Africa, Jim goes on full alert status. He has more wind than the big bad wolf and Hurricane Dorian, which threatened Georgia’s port city last week, combined. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

In September 1975, I entered Mercer University as a freshman. Mercer followed the quarter system back then, so three courses constituted a full load.

Two of my first three courses were held in Knight Hall.

I was a Christianity major and Greek minor, and Knight Hall housed both of those departments. During my Mercer career, I took, as best I can recall, nineteen classes in that building—all of my Christianity and Greek courses, plus three Sociology classes and one course each in Philosophy and Political Science.
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The long drought ended Friday when football returned with both the Lamar County Trojans and the Pike County Pirates back in action. It had been far too long without real football. There is just nothing like Friday night football and knowing the college action will follow the next day.

The Pirates easily dispatched Central-Talbotton 34-6 on the road. They travel to Fayette County this Friday. Their home opener is Sept. 6 against Greenville.

Lamar County was one of the surprise teams in the state Friday as they wore out Mt. Zion, the state’s #7 Class A team, 27-6. LC made multiple mistakes but still held the Eagles scoreless until just 12 seconds remained on the game clock. They play at Hogansville this Friday. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

Well, the kids have started a new school year.

In my home county of Lamar, the high schoolers are in a brand new facility.

When the Lamar County schools officially consolidated and desegregated in 1970, boys—I think it was the seventh through twelfth grade boys, but it may have been fifth through twelfth— were assigned to the former Booker T. Washington School, which was given the cartographically accurate but historically meaningless name of Forsyth Road School.
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I can remember my grandmother using the phrase ‘it sticks in my craw’. The word ‘craw’ is slang for crop which is the place in the throats of poultry and birds where seeds are stored as they break down into a digestible form. I have opened the craw of many a dove in the field to see what they were feeding on that brought them within range of my shotgun.
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I recently completed teaching an eight-week class on Wednesday evenings at Mercer University’s Henry County Center in McDonough. My usual route home takes me down I-75 to the Barnesville/Jackson exit.

These days, the Georgia Department of Transportation is resurfacing that stretch of interstate highway. They do the work at night. My class ended at 9:45 p.m.

You do the math.
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I am rapidly closing in on my 65th birthday which is astonishing to me. When I was young, those who were 65 seemed ancient. But, there is no denying it, I am almost there.
All the old sayings about aging are true.

‘If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.’ Check. ‘The older you get, the colder you get.’ Check. ‘The older you get, the faster time goes by.’ Check. ‘Growing old is not for sissies.’ Check! They go on, ad infinitum.

Thus far, I have been able to open my eyes each morning (though much earlier now), put one foot in front of the other and I recognize every day north of the dirt is a good day. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

I love the United States of America. This is my home. I was born here. I have lived here all my life. I’ve visited a few other countries, but I’m always glad to get home to the good old U.S.A.

To quote the great theologian Chuck Berry, “I’m so glad I’m livin’ in the U.S.A.!”

I love the United States of America. That’s why it makes me happy when we promote equality, practice justice, and foster community. That’s why it makes me unhappy when we don’t do those things.

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The Independence Day holiday in 1994 fell on a Monday. At that time, we were putting out this newspaper and printing many others at our printing plant in Barnesville. We moved production of some papers up and others back to enjoy a long weekend at the beach.

Weather coverage then was not what it is now but we heard it had rained a lot in Barnesville and more was on the way so we came back early as a precaution. On Hwy. 41 between Forsyth and Barnesville, we crossed a normally placid little stream which looked like the Chattooga River in the film (italics) Deliverance (end italics). We knew then there could be trouble.

It was raining hard. It rained hard all night and the downpour continued all day July 5. We initially thought low-lying areas would take the brunt of the damage. Barnesville is largely at pretty good elevation so we thought our building would be fine and it was until the water overwhelmed the city storm water system. Debris clogged pipes and grates and eventually Towaliga Creek was running so full it backed up into the storm drains, or so it was explained to me. [Full Story »] 

On Thursday, July 20, 1969 at 3:17 p.m., the Apollo 11 lunar landing module touched down on the moon’s surface. At 10:56 p.m. on that same day, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin soon joined Armstrong on the moon’s surface.

I was an almost eleven-year-old boy who was really glad to be out of school for the summer so I could stay up and watch the incredible event take place.

I joined millions of people in being enthralled by the moon landing.
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