I just wanted to thank Dick Yarbrough for his recent column about teachers and the state of education in Georgia. I am glad he will be watching Chip Rogers to see if he tries his vouchers bill again. Read More

The 2012 Legislative Session is off to a fast start, as lawmakers have already passed several pieces of legislation and met to discuss the governor's budget recommendations. In addition to my duties at the Capitol, I spent time this week meeting with several key leaders from throughout the 51st District, as well as my constituents. Read More

Whew, that was close. I almost became a Baptist the other day. Not just any Baptist, but a (gulp) Southern Baptist. Let me add here that there have been times when the Rev. Dr. Gil Watson, the world's greatest preacher, has become so weary of trying to save my sorry soul that he would gladly trade me to the Baptists, Presbyterians or even the Islamic Center for the Advancement of Self Pity in return for ... Read More

The mayors and city officials from around Georgia hosted a breakfast for the General Assembly and selected state-wide officers on Jan. 23. Mayor Gary McCullough, the Dahlonega City Council, Senator Steve Gooch and I were present for the occasion. Read More

There must be some irony in the timing of President Obama's recent trip to Disney World. He returned to his home base of "fantasy land" to give an address regarding the need to boost tourism. He looked a tad on the silly side using Cinderella's Castle as his backdrop while exclaiming "America is open for business!" Taking a vacation in the middle of a depression is hardly a choice when you are unemployed. Yet just ... Read More

Last week was budget week at the Capitol. The Appropriations Com-mittees of both the Senate and House held joint hearings from the governor and his department heads. Gov. Nathan Deal has set the "revenue estimate" for FY 2013 at $19.2 billion. Read More

State Sen. Tommie Williams, R-Lyons, one of our two unelected lieutenant governors - Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, is the other - sent out a puff piece taking much credit for authoring a bill to require local school boards to consider a teacher's "effectiveness," not seniority, when getting rid of teachers. People both inside and outside state government tell me that Williams has solved a problem that doesn't exist. Many school boards are already doing this. Seniority ... Read More

Most of us can find good excuses for breaking any New Year's resolutions we may have made - and mine is physical disability. It's not that I have been very physically active in the last several years, but over the holidays I compounded my ailing-back-syndrome and thus postponed "getting back to some activities (including Silver Sneakers exercise)" that I was doing before my forced inactivity during summer and early fall. Read More

In what is normally a traditionally ceremonial first day of session, members of the Georgia General Assembly passed two significant bills aimed at setting a positive course for Georgia's future. On the opening day of session, Senators worked to advance student achievement in the classroom and ensure the right people are in place to lead our students. Read More

Officially, the 2012 Legislative Session began on Jan. 9. On Jan. 10 we got our marching orders from the Governor in his State of the State Address. Read More

State School Superintendent John Barge knows what teachers can do, given the opportunity. "A teacher turned my life around," he said in a recent telephone conversation. Read More

I would like to express my appreciation to the KARE for Kids organization. Their work makes such a difference at Christmas for so many children. The people at Bethel United Methodist Church that took the applications were so nice and caring. Read More

The folks at Lake Superior State University in Michigan have just released their recommendation for words and phrases that should be erased from our vocabulary in its annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness. Why Lake Superior State? And why the list? Well, for one thing, they don't have a football team which gives them a lot of time to think about stuff like this. I wish ... Read More

Some years ago, Seth Godin, one of the best Internet gurus, coined the phrase "permission marketing." The idea was that the Internet allowed companies to market to the consumer in a different manner. Read More

It is with a great deal of pleasure that I announce the Yarbrough Worldwide Media and Pest Control Company, located over a pool hall in Greater Garfield, has signed an exclusive contract with one of the nation's premier prognosticators, Plum Nelly Pitts, of Varnell, Ga. I don't have to tell you what a coup this is. Frankly, it was a major commitment by the company but you deserve the best experts I can assemble and ... Read More

In preparation for our 2012 Legislative Session, I have been looking at what other states consider to be their top issues. Here are a few that seem to emerge as most important: Energy, jobs, Medicaid, state budgets and college affordability. Americans are spending more than ever to put gas in their cars, heat their homes and pay their utility bills. Rising energy costs have increased the costs for everyday goods. Energy costs trickle down into ... Read More

Dear Cameron: For the past decade, I have written an annual letter of advice to your father, your uncle and their cousins, trying to give them a little perspective on what life was going to be like for them as they grew into adulthood. Today, they are all adults and are experiencing first-hand the ups-and-downs of everyday living. I discern that they are finding that life is harder than they thought. Welcome to the real world. Read More

On behalf of the State Bar of Georgia, I offer congratulations to Northeastern Judicial Circuit Public Defender Brad Morris on receiving the 2011 Indigent Defense Award, presented by the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Poor Georgians accused of crimes, including those who are innocent, rely upon our indigent defense system to protect their constitutional rights. The rest of us look to the public defender system to protect the integrity of the judicial process. Read More

I wanted to thank everyone involved who helped make the third annual Taste of Dawson High at the Dawson County High School on Dec. 10 an even bigger and better event. I could not have pulled this event off without thanking the following PTSO board members who helped make the event possible: Jon and Laurie Erickson, Alaina Jones, Katrina Lund, Kim Glaze, Michelle Matthews and Robyn Dunn. Read More

It was a great week. I had an opportunity last week to participate in two community events that inspired this writing. Read More

I am pleased to announce that beginning with the New Year, Junior E. Lee, general manager of Round or Square Polls, a division of the Yarbrough Worldwide Media and Pest Control Company located in Greater Garfield, will be offering exclusive analysis of the upcoming presidential election that can be seen only in this space. In addition, if you are bothered with termites, Junior is your man there, too. (He asked me to add that. Junior ... Read More

As one of the authors of the Georgia Water Coalition's Dirty Dozen list (on which the proposed Shoal Creek Reservoir in Dawson Forest was included), I am compelled to respond to assertions made in Commissioner Gary Pichon's letter to the editor of Nov. 16 ("Calling Water Dirty.") The water that flows out of the hollows of Dawson and Lumpkin counties and through the Etowah River is not owned by anyone. No one can claim it as "their water." Read More

Dear valued reader: In appreciation for your loyalty and support this past year, I had planned to thank you by sending each of you your own personalized Dick Yarbrough Christmas card - suitable for framing - that you could proudly show your envious friends. Read More

The Greatest Generation, those who survived The Great Depression and World War II, are now among our dwindling number of oldest senior citizens. When the going got tough, they got tougher and beat both monumental challenges. They didn't sit on their back side and whine for a government handout. They didn't Occupy Wall Street. They worked hard and accumulated their nest egg for retirement. We need to salute their work ethics. Read More

Nobody likes to hear bad news forecasts. That is why almost no one ever reads the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. They were all saying that things were bad, and going to get worse, but that it would turn out OK in the long run. They were pessimists about the day, but optimists on a longer time line. Things always turn out for the good if you can stand the wait. My solution to ... Read More

You expect me to say "there are signs of Christmas," and certainly that is true. Retail establishments didn't wait until Black Friday to begin offering Christmas specials, and I hope we all remembered to "shop local businesses" on Small Business Saturday. Individuals are putting away fall and Thanksgiving decorations and clothes and pulling out Christmas stuff. Read More

In case you have been vacationing on the moon, you may have missed the news that the student-athletes from the University of Georgia, the oldest state-chartered university in the nation, located in Athens, the Classic City of the South, came up a wee bit short in attaining the football championship of the Southeastern Conference. That honor went to the young men of Louisiana State University who, having observed them in post-game interviews, are destined to ... Read More