Matthew StrotherNews Editor

It may be early for Christmas, but not too early to start thinking about what a simple gift could mean to one child this year.

For Renan Perdomo, receiving his first pres-ent at age 8 in his home country of Honduras, the simple set of notebooks, pencils and scissors was a life-changing event. It meant he could go to school. He could learn. He felt that God had pro-vided for him what he otherwise could not have.

“It meant a lot. It was my first present ever

in life,” Perdomo said Thursday at Lafayette Christian School. “Before that, we didn’t celebrate Christmas because we had no money. It was like gold. Amazing. Unbelievable.”

Perdomo, who didn’t even have a pair of shoes until he was 13, grew up with his mother and sis-ters and attended a small church where his mother was pastor. Even though attending school was free, he would have to bring his own supplies, and with no money, his family couldn’t afford them.

Perdomo now lives in

Hamza HendawiAssociates Press

BENGHAZI, Libya — Heavily armed militants used a protest of an anti-Islam film as a cover and may have had help from inside Libyan security in their deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate, a senior Libyan official said Thursday.

As Libya announced the first four arrests, the clearest picture yet emerged of a two-pronged assault with militants screaming “God is great!” as they scaled the con-sulate’s outer walls and descended on the com-pound’s main building.

The rampage killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans.

Eastern Libya’s deputy interior minister, Wanis el-Sharef, said a mob first stormed the consulate Tuesday night and then, hours later, raided a safe house in the compound just as U.S. and Libyan security arrived to evacu-ate the staff. That sug-gested, el-Sharef said, that infiltrators within the security forces may have tipped off the militants to the safe house’s location.

The attacks were sus-pected to have been timed

to coincide with the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist strike in the United States, el-Sharef added, with the militants using the film protest by Libyan civil-ians to mask their action.

Killed in the attack were U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, informa-tion management officer Sean Smith, and private security guards Glen Doherty and Tyrone S. Woods.

El-Sharef said four people were arrested at their homes Thursday, but he refused to give any further details. He said it was too early to say if the suspects belonged to a particular group or what their motive was. Libya’s new prime minis-ter, Mustafa Abu-Shakour, said authorities were look-ing for more suspects.

One of five private secu-rity guards at the consul-ate said the surprise attack began around 9:30 p.m. when several grenades that were lobbed over the outer wall exploded in the compound and bullets rained down.

The guard was wound-ed in the left leg from shrapnel. He said he was lying on the ground,

Matthew StrotherNews Editor

Despite many factors in national higher education, LaGrange College president Dan McAlexander praised growth and expansion at the univer-sity during the president’s breakfast Thursday morning.

Traditional undergraduate gradu-ation experienced about 8 percent growth since 2009, when he came on board, McAlexander told the group of supporters and community leaders gathered in Turner Hall.

“We are thrilled with that and think that shows an increased honoring of our reputation,” he said. “We are excit-ed by that number.”

Giving to the LaGrange College fund also has increased, despite eco-nomic downturns the last few years. The last two years, the college has broken records in annual giving.

The college has seen “remarkable growth in that time and we are so grateful that during times of challenge, you all, and our friends, our faculty and our staff, and board of trustees have stood with the college through-out,” McAlexander said. “One of the things I’m most thrilled about is the sacrifice our faculty has made to make that happen and our staff has made to make that happen.”

Faculty and staff gave to the fund at a more than 90 percent rate, despite cutbacks and not having raises.

“I’ve served in higher education my entire life. I’ve never heard of anything approaching that,” McAlexander said of the giving rate.

The college also is expanding its offerings with courses like Asian stud-ies and exercise science. It also plans to roll out online course offerings by summer.

The college has signed an agreement with The Learning House, “a leader in online delivery,” McAlexander said. It hopes to offer the courses as an alter-native and implement as a supplement with traditional classes.

McAlexander also credited decisions made before he took office in 2009

See LIBYA | 2See GIFT | 2

See COLLEGE | 2

SportSLaGrange High’s softball team snares a big win....... 9

Friday, September 14, 2012

NatioNACLU sues Georgia in KKK litter program fight ...... 4

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50 cents daily | $1.50 WeekendVol. 169 • No. 517 •12 pages

LC president praises growth, changes through local support

Matthew Strother | Daily NewsLaGrange College president Dan McAlexander praised an 8 percent growth in traditional undergraduate graduation rates over the last three years during his Thursday morning president’s breakfast. Growth and changes at the college are underway due to tremen-dous local support, he said.

‘Bringing Ages Together’ health fair is SaturdayStaff Report

The ninth annual “Bringing the Ages Together” community health fair is scheduled for Saturday at Mackey-Wilson-Jennings Funeral Home in LaGrange. Prior to the fair, which is from 1 to 5 p.m. on East Depot Street, the American Kidney Fund is sponsoring free kidney test-ing. The tests will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Warren Temple United Methodist Church at 416 E. Depot St.

The health fair also will offer free blood pressure and blood sugar tests, HIV screening and other free tests at St. Paul Baptist Church at 205 Union St. West Georgia Health is sponsoring the health

screenings and District Four Health Services is sponsoring the HIV testing.

West Georgia Health also is sponsoring “Ask the Doc” with local health care providers from 1 to 5 p.m. at St. Paul Baptist.

The afternoon festi-val will include a fish fry and fried biscuits, live entertainment and bingo, along with a raffle with chances to win a laptop computer and other door prizes. Proceeds from the raffle benefit the Georgia Diabetes Coalition.

Local nonprofit organi-zations will be at the fair to give out information on their programs.

For information on the fair, call the funeral home at (706) 882-6612.

US consulate attack in Libya said twin operation

Recipient: Shoebox gift can change a life

Matthew Strother | Daily NewsRenan Perdomo, right, at Lafayette Christian School talks about how receiving a gift of school supplies from Operation Christmas Child when he was a child in Honduras changed his life to Gabe Walker of Samaritan’s Purse. The school will act as a drop-off loca-tion for shoebox donations.

Lafayette Christian School drop-off point for shoebox gifts

Purple downtown promotes Alzheimer’s walkBarbara HeniginStaff Writer

Purple is the color used in association with Alzheimer’s disease. This morning, LaGrange’s town square was festooned with purple to help generate awareness of this disease and to promote the 2012 Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

Individuals from many of the local health care organizations were on hand to get the job done. Susan Burdick, executive director of Vernon Woods Retirement Community, Paige Cason of Home Helpers, Josh O’Neal of West Georgia Health System, Becky Bryan and Christi Howard of Compassionate Care Giving, and Linda Mason Barber, a registered nurse and assistant professor at Georgia Baptist College of Mercer University, all were eager to work to get the word out about this devastating disease and this year’s walk.

Alzheimer’s is responsible for much more than just memory lost. Symptoms of the disease increase over time until a person with the disease has major

Barbara Henigin | Daily NewsPaige Cason, left, and Susan Burdick set to work trimming a tree in the square. The purple is meant to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s disease and the Sept. 22 Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

Barbara Henigin | Daily NewsGetting ready to decorate the square are, from left, Linda Mason Barber, Becky Bryan, Paige Carson, Josh O’Neal, Susan Burdick and Christi Howard.

See ALZHEIMERS | 2

personality changes, loses the ability to communicate, loses control over normal bodily functions and finally dies. There is no cure for this disease and it is not part of the normal aging process.

The walk this year will take place at the Vernon Woods Retirement Community.

“I am real excited because this is our third annual walk and it is getting bigger and bigger each year,” said Burdick.

Barber, whose mother suffers from mild dementia and whose cousin is debili-tated with Alzheimer’s, said the disease is widespread among the population.

“Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that is pro-gressive and affects many in our aging population. One person every 68 seconds is diagnosed with having Alzheimer’s Disease,” she said. “By decorating this area in purple we are trying to raise community aware-

ness. This disease affects both the individuals and their families.”

Barber said that funds raised from next week-end’s 2012 Walk to End Alzheimer’s will be used to help fund local programs that assist the families and caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients in Troup County. She said local help lines and support groups are valuable for the families and caregiv-ers of Alzheimer’s patients. A family’s burden may be lessened when they can obtain help and information concerning this disease.

The LaGrange 2012 Walk to End Alzheimer’s starts 9 a.m. Sept. 22. Walkers may participate as individuals or may be part of a team. The walk will be about two miles long and will take place on the Vernon Woods Retirement Community’s grounds.

Information on the aware-ness walk at Vernon Woods is available at www.alz.org/walk or by calling Christina

Vogler, the district’s event coordinator, at 706-327-6838, ext. 5532.

More information con-cerning Alzheimer’s Disease

is available at www.alz.org/georgia and www.alzheim-ers.gov. The Alzheimer’s Association has a 24-hour help line at 1-800-272-3900.

CollegeFrom page 1

GiftFrom page 1

n Public SafetyLocal2 - Friday, September 14, 2012

Local weatherFriday SundaySaturday

High 82Low 6110 percent chance of rain.

High 84Low 6320 percent chance of rain.

High 84Low 6120 percent chance of rain.

Rainfall ExtremesIn downtown LaGrangeLast 24 hours 0Month 1.05Year to date 34.85

Yesterday at LaGrange-Callaway Airport

High 81Low 61

West Point Lake Levels7 a.m. yesterday

626.96 ft.24-hour change

-0.08

Circulation Customer ServiceCall our 706-884-7311 Ext. 210 - or-Use our Web Site 24 hours a day:

www.lagrangenews.com

Complaints - Missed PapersPaper Delivery Monday- Friday by 5:00 PMWeekend (Saturday 7:00 AM) Regular office

hours Monday - Friday 8:00 AM- 5:00 PM

• To subscribe• To report a missed paper• To make a payment• To request a vacation stop• To report a delivery problem• To inquire about your bill

Please call all home delivery complaints andconcerns with our Customer Service Representative,call 706-884-7311 Ext. 210. We will dispatch to yourcarrier information daily, during service hours. Ouroffice in LaGrange is closed on weekends and callsmay not be answered until Monday. To resolvecontinual service problems Contact MichaelIannacone- 706-884-7311 Ext. 209.

481509

Victim assaulted in morning robberyPolice say the owner of Alpha

1 Bail Bonds at 922 Hill St. was assaulted after he walked in on a robbery of his business early Thursday.

The owner went to the busi-ness before 5 a.m. and went in the front door, leaving his wallet and a money bag with about $6,000 on a table inside. As he walked back to his office, he noticed a number of items on the floor and was met head-on by an unknown person who knocked him down.

The victim said he never actu-ally saw the person take his wallet and money bag, but both were missing. He also didn’t see which way the person ran. The victim himself ran outside, in fear of another person inside his business, and called 911. He had minor injuries after the incident.

Police were able to recover a fingerprint of the suspected robber. Anyone with any addi-tional information on this inci-dent was asked to call LaGrange police at 706-883-2603, Crime Stoppers at 706-812-1000 or at www.facebook.com/lagrange.police. Tips also may be submit-ted via text at 847411, key word LAGRANGE.

Shotgun ‘brought trouble

for family’A woman in the 100 block

of Whitaker Street turned in a Remington Arms double-barreled shotgun to police on Thursday. The woman said the gun had been in her fam-ily for more than 40 years and she didn’t want it anymore. The woman said the gun had brought trouble for her family and she believes it was involved in an incident 45 years ago.

Man allegedly assaultedA Martha Street man told

LaGrange police he was in his house when a woman and two men came inside and beat him up and threatened him with a revolver. The three accused the victim of being a child molester.

The victim told police he has never molested children. He was beaten with a police baton and “breaker bar” tool, police said, and was treated at West Georgia Medical Center for his injuries. The victim fled to a neighbor’s house and when he went back to his house, all of his clothes were missing.

Lost laptopA man told LaGrange police

he was in Kroger on Thursday when he had his HP notebook computer in his shopping cart.

The man didn’t realize until 30 minutes after leaving the store that he’d left the $200 computer behind.

Thefts• The manager at CVS at

1597 Hogansville Road said the store had refunded $70.06 to a woman on Thursday who had returned some store-brand vita-mins. The manager later discov-ered on video where the woman had initially taken the vitamins from the store without paying.

• A woman in the 100 block of Sir Lancelot Drive said some-one she knows took a $285 class ring that belonged to her.

• An employee of Sassy Class at 322 S. Davis Road said some-one stole about $420 in items from the business.

ArrestAlan Bryce Wood, 25, of Upper

Big Springs Road was charged with methamphetamine posses-sion with intent to distribute, open container and carrying a concealed weapon after a deputy said he had a knife and two bags of suspected meth on him, and scales, cash and an open bottle of beer in his vehicle.

Guilty pleasThe following people pleaded

guilty in Troup County Superior Court:

Roy Turner Jr., 33, of LaGrange, aggravated assault and simple battery; four years’ imprisonment and three years’ probation.

Dwon Lamar Harris, 31, of LaGrange, driving with a sus-pended license, reckless driving, DUI, obstruction, marijuana possession and possession of cocaine with intent to distrib-ute; eight years’ imprisonment and two years’ probation.

James Edward Hardnett Jr., 48, of Valley, Ala., possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, DUI; 24 months in the Troup County Correctional Institute and three years’ probation.

Jim Thomas Sargent, 28, of LaGrange, burglary; two years’ imprisonment and eight years’ probation.

Herman Denard Armour, 32, of Eustis, Fla., trafficking cocaine and possession of a fire-arm during the commission of a crime; 10 years’ imprisonment.

Teresa Jean Whatley, 34, of LaGrange, methamphetamine possession; two years’ imprison-ment and three years’ probation.

Jajuan Markese Roberson, 19, of LaGrange, theft by receiving, theft by taking and reckless con-duct; three years’ imprisonment

and five years’ probation.Christopher Benjamin Scott,

37, of Greenville, cocaine pos-session with intent to distribute; 10 years’ imprisonment.

Tudoras Deon Henderson, 33, of LaGrange, marijuana posses-sion with intent to distribute and cocaine possession with intent to distribute; two years’ imprisonment and eight years’ probation.

Jerome Bell, 44, of LaGrange, battery under the family vio-lence act; two years’ imprison-ment and three years’ probation.

Lamorous Vandrez Williams, 28, of LaGrange, selling cocaine and selling marijuana; 24 months in the Troup County Correctional Institute.

Jeffrey Herbert Williams, 47, of LaGrange, methamphetamine possession and theft by receiv-ing; 24 months in the Troup County Correctional Institute, five years’ probation and sub-stance abuse treatment.

Quintarus Lopez Moss, 23, of LaGrange, selling marijuana; two years’ imprisonment and three years’ probation.

Jana Lee Connelly, 27, of West Point, four counts of theft; one year imprisonment and four years’ probation, plus 100 hours of community service and com-pletion of drug court.

with positive growth on campus. He said the transforma-tion of the library, addition of the Gulley Gateway pedes-trian bridge and parking spaces that just opened when he arrived have opened the campus up more for students.

“It’s been a wonderful transformative experience,” he said.”… It’s students’ first impression of the college now. That wonderful landmark, the bridge, and that technologi-cally advanced new building.”

The college will be undertaking a renovation of Price Theater with a matching grant from the Callaway Foundation, transforming it into an arts campus “that will be absolutely stunning.”

The positive changes have come with challenges and setbacks, however.

“We headed into the future with tremendous strengths to build on. We’ve not gotten there easily,” McAlexander said. “We’ve faced some really, really significant pressures. In addition to just the usual economic pressures from the greatest recession in 70 years, we have faced some real challenges in the state.”

The college’s graduate education programs all focus on teacher education, which all rely on state funding. Those funds were cut the first year McAlexander was in office.

“Then teachers started being fired because of the cut-backs,” he said. “… So a program that we had put a lot of love and care in and built a reputation had to deal with the disappearance of a population.”

The college has continued to move forward despite the

cutbacks, McAlexander said, but other cuts and sacrifices have been necessary. The college closed its Albany campus because of reduced enrollment and the loss of business support, but McAlexander said the college is now more closely focusing on its main campus.

Despite national media stories that have questioned or condemned the benefits of higher education, McAlexander said results show the college’s students are going on to better careers and success. He said the liberal arts focus, especially, is often questioned. He countered that the most successful scientists have a liberal arts background, because “that’s where they learn to ask questions.”Matthew Strother may be reached at mstrother@lagrangenews.com or 706-884-7311, Ext. 229.

Mississippi after meeting his wife, who was a missionary, in Honduras. The couple were living in Honduras until his wife became pregnant, came back to the U.S. for a checkup and told to remain because she was sick. Perdomo applied for his visa to come to the United States, when he was approved, his daughter was two months old.

After seeing a presentation on Operation Christmas Child in his church in Mississippi, Perdomo real-ized it was the program that had changed his life as a child. After being approached by Samaritan’s Purse, the group that runs Operation Christmas Child, he agreed to tell his

story to others.At Lafayette Christian School

Thursday, groups of people inter-ested in the project listened to Perdomo’s story. The school will operate as a drop center for shoe-boxes filled with simple gifts to send overseas to needy children.

This is the 14th year the school has worked with Operation Christmas Child, said Wanda Peterson, LCS business manager, who got the school involved in collections. Peterson said that, for her, Operation Christmas Child is a full season, and LCS head-master John Cipolla said it’s a year-round job for Peterson, who started the program at the school, which

now collects almost 3,000 boxes a year.

The school’s goal this year is to collect a full 3,000 boxes. Although it’s approached the number in the past, collections have dropped slight-ly in recent years, likely due to the economy, Peterson said.

LCS and Samaritan’s Purse repre-sentatives were asking any people, groups, churches, business or orga-nizations that wanted to be involved in preparing and donating boxes to spread the word. The school will act as an official drop off for gifts Nov. 12 to 19.

For more information on the pro-gram, go to samaritanspurse.org/occ.

AlzheimersFrom page 1

LibyaFrom page 1bleeding and in excruciating pain when a bearded gunman came down the wall and shot him twice in the right leg, screaming: “You infidel, you are defending infidels!”

“Later, someone asked me who I was. I said I was the gardener and then I passed out. I woke up in hospital,” said the guard, who spoke to The Associated Press from his bed at a Benghazi hospital. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals and reprimands from his employers.

The witness account came as protests of the obscure film, “Innocence of Muslims,” continued in the Middle

East.An angry throng broke into the U.S. Embassy in Yemen,

and clashes between security forces and demonstrators near the fortress-like embassy compound in the heart of Cairo left nearly 200 people injured and two police trucks burned.

Speaking at his Benghazi office, el-Sharef, who was run-ning the Interior Ministry’s operations room commanding security forces in the city during the attack, gave the most detailed account to date to come out of Libya of what hap-pened the night of the attack.

Many homeowners spend countless hours and dollars every year controlling ugly and unwant-ed weeds in their lawns. Summer weeds, including crabgrass and dandelions, are probably the two most common and troublesome warm weather weeds that grow in Troup County.

During winter, our lawns can become infested with cool weather weeds that can be just as bothersome as warm weather weeds. September, however, is the best time to take action to prevent these winter weeds from germinating and growing and becom-ing a nuisance later.

Winter annual weeds, such as bluegrass, chick-weed and henbit begin to emerge from seed as tem-peratures begin to cool in the fall. During winter, they have a slow rate of growth. As the tem-peratures begin to rise in March, winter weeds start to grow and develop rapidly.

Winter weeds can cause dam-age to the turf in addition to destroying the beauty of the lawn. They compete with the turf for available sunlight, soil mois-ture and plant nutrients. Even though your lawn appears dor-mant, turfgrass roots continue to grow even in winter and weeds interfere with this growth.

In late spring, as the weather begins to warm, large mats of winter weeds begin to die. This can have a detrimental impact on warm season grasses, such as Bermuda grass and zoysia

grass, by disrupting their normal spring green-up process.

The turfgrass may become severely stunted or have large dead areas. Dead areas can then easily become infested with sum-mer annuals, especially crab-grass, in addition to being more susceptible to insects, diseases

and environmental stress-es.

Keeping your lawn healthy and properly main-tained during the growing season will help reduce weed populations. Make sure it receives appropriate amounts of fertilizer and water. Mow at the correct height for the turf species and remove no more than one-third of the leaf blade at each cutting. These prac-

tices will increase the effective-ness of using chemical herbicides for weed control.

Pre-emergent herbicides, which prevent weed seeds from germinating, are applied in the early fall prior to the germination of winter weeds to reduce their populations. Post-emergent her-bicides control weeds after they have germinated from seed and are used on an as-needed basis.

Remember, if you are over-seeding fescue lawns, pre-emer-gent herbicides cannot be used since they will also inhibit the germination of the fescue grass seeds. Weed control options are more limited when planting fall fescue lawns. If overseeding, you will need to wait several weeks after the fescue seed has germinated and then treat win-

ter weeds with a post emergent weed killer.

Use a fertilizer spreader to distribute the pre-emergent her-bicide granules uniformly, and follow the recommended rate on the label. Make sure the appli-cation of the pre-emergent her-bicide is made before rain is expected, or else water the prod-uct in thoroughly.

Poor control of weeds often results from the lack of rain or

supplemental watering within 7 days after pre-emergent applica-tion. Do not mow or disturb the soil in any way during or following the first week after the preemergent application. Doing so will reduce its effectiveness.

Remember, the control of win-ter weeds is best accomplished by applying pre-emergent herbi-cides combined with appropriate cultural practices. This will help prevent them from becoming

established in the lawn. Always read pesticide labels and follow all safety precautions.

Randy Drinkard is a techni-cal writer for The UGA Center for Urban Agriculture and ANR Agent for Troup/Meriwether Cooperative Extension. The Troup County Extension office is located at 114 Church St., and can be reached at 706- 883-1675, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ExhibitsOngoingLegacy Museum

on Main at 136 Main St. hosts the exhibit “Bubbling Up Business: Bottling Industry of Troup County and Area.” Bottles from area bot-tling plants loaned by local collectors comprise part of the exhibit. The museum is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. 706-884-1828.

Jill Philips: Student, Teacher and Painter with the Visual Artists Alliance of LaGrange and Donna Jackson, iron works art-

ist, runs until Sept. 29 at LaGrange Art Museum. The exhibit combines the giant garden insects of metal worker Jackson with the out-of-door artistry of Philips, and showcases local talent from the VAAL. Works are available to purchase with proceeds benefit-ting LAM. Admission is free. Opening reception is Sept. 7 from 7 to 9 p.m with a private VIP curator’s circle reception at 6 p.m.

EventsFridayVendors sell fresh pro-

duce, cheeses, honey,

boiled peanuts and other items at Callaway Gardens Farmer’s Market from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Gardens’ Robin Lake Beach in Pine Mountain. Admission is free to the market through the beach entrance.

The Moonl ight Ballroom Dance Club hosts a beginner meren-gue dance lesson and a couples ballroom dance is 7 p.m. at the LaFayette Christian School Gym at 1904 Hamilton Road. Cost is $20 per couple. Dress is upscale casual. 706-884-5857

SaturdayLocal growers sell

produce, cheeses, baked

goods, plants and other locally made items at Market on Main from 8 to 10 a.m. in the park-ing lot behind Carmike Theater.

Local vendors sell homegrown and home-made foods and products at Glass Bridge Road Farmer’s Market from 8 to 10 a.m. at the pavil-ion across from Loyd

Presbyterian Church, 550 Upper Glass Bridge Road.

The New River Band performs country music at 7 p.m. at the Active Life center on Ragland Street. Admission is $5.

Listings for ‘In our community’ are present-ed for events happening in the next three-day period, space permit-

ting. To submit an item, email it to mstrother@lagrangenews.com, fax it to 706-884-8712 or drop it by our office at 105 Ashton St. For more information, call 706-884-7311, Ext. 229. A weeklong listing appears in the weekend editions.

RandyDrinkardCounty Extension Agent

n In Our Community

Community Friday, September 14, 2012 - 3

481545

Troup County Board of Commissioners

PUBLIC NOTICEIn accordance with O.C.G.A. 50-14-1 the

Troup County Board of Commissioners announces changes to the meeting schedule. The Board Work Session scheduled for

Friday, Sept.14, 2012 has been canceled. The Board will hold their regular meeting on Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. in

the Commission Meeting Room on the fi rst fl oor of the Troup County Government Center, 100 Ridley Avenue; LaGrange.

Harris Gilliam Sr.11/18/1935-9/16/2011

A memorial service in his honor is

being hosted in the New Harmony CME Church, 129 Adams Road, West Point,

GA on Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 1 p.m. A potluck

family gathering will immediately

follow in the Fellowship Hall.

Questions can be directed to Justina Gilliam at (617)

501-9515.

ADDRESS: 1106 Troup St., LaGrange, GA 30240DATE OF OFFENSE: 3/17/12 • TIME: 2:55 hrs

PLACE: 803 New Franklin Rd., LaGrange, GA 30240

DISPOSITION: 12 months Probation, 30 days SCRAM Unit, DL suspended, DUI School, ASAM Eval to follow

treatment, $25 Publication Fee, Surrender motor vehicle tags, $1,527 fi ne, 30 days community service,

minimum 12 months probation

DUI CONVICTION

NAME: Barrington Marable

Prevent winter weeds in lawns now

Lady Grangers support HOPE for a Day

SubmittedLaGrange High Lady Granger softball player Shelby O’Neal escorts Janice Westbrook, with Ashley Harris, her son Nicholas Harris and the smiling Mary Turnbough looking on during a recent game where the team came out in pink to support the cancer survivors and promote the HOPE for a Day walk Sept. 29. Harris tossed the first pitch for the game.

Staff report

HOPE for a Day is ramping up in LaGrange.

Signs and donation buckets are all over town and this week brought the Lady Grangers soft-ball team onto the field in Pink. LaGrange High School teacher and breast cancer survivor Ashley Harris tossed out the first pitch.

Harris was joined by two other faculty members from LaGrange High: Mary Turnbough and Janice Westbrook, who are both survivors. Activities for HOPE for a Day continue through September, including a bake sale this weekend at the Piggly Wiggly at Roanoke and Vernon roads and an art show at the Cochran Gallery.

Survivor Carly Byrd has a mixed-media piece in the show, along with many others touched by breast cancer. The pinnacle of the activities is the 10-mile HOPE for Day walk on Sept. 29, which will end at the square with the now-traditional pink water in the fountain and tons of pink ribbons.

Funds for HOPE for a Day remain in the local area to pro-vide support for those with breast cancer or to ensure more screen-ings are done early.

More details and pictures are available on www.bfflhopeforday.org.

SubmittedWinter annual weeds, like henbit, actually begin to emerge from seed as temperatures begin to cool in the fall.

State/Nation4 - Friday, September 14, 2012

Farley is an approximately 1 year old Collie mix. Farley is neutered, current on vaccines and ready for a new home. He is very sweet and playful. If you would like to meet Farley, stop by the City of Lagrange Animal Shelter located at 1390 Orchard Hill Rd., Mon-Fri 10 to 5 and Sat 10 to 2 or call 706-298-3606.

If you have questions about donations, volunteering or general information you may call the Humane Society offi ce, which is located in the Animal Shelter, at 706-298-3608 Mon-Fri, 11 to 3.

If you are missing a pet or have found a stray animal please call the animal shelter at 706-298-3606 or email them at lagrangeanimalcontrol@yahoo.com.

A good friend iswaiting for yourloving care.

PET OF THE WEEK PET OF THE WEEK PET OF THE WEEK

ACLU sues Georgia in KKK litter program fightKate BrumbackAssociated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit Thursday against the state of Georgia on behalf of the Ku Klux Klan, saying the state violated the group’s right to free speech by denying its application to join a highway cleanup program.

“The fundamental right to free speech is not limited to only those we agree with or groups that are inof-fensive. The government cannot pick or choose who is protected by the Constitution,” said Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the ACLU Foundation of Georgia. “There will always be speech and groups convey-ing hateful messages that are distaste-ful to some. That is why the First Amendment protects free speech for all.”

The lawsuit was filed in Fulton County Superior Court and names the state and various state agencies and officials. It asks the court to force the state to issue an Adopt-a-Highway per-mit to the KKK; to issue a permanent injunction preventing the state from denying the KKK such a permit; and to declare that the state wrongfully denied the group’s application and vio-lated due process.

The International Keystone Knights of the KKK in Union County applied in May to the state’s “Adopt-A-Highway” program, hoping to clean up along part of Route 515 in the Appalachian Mountains. The state program enlists civic groups, companies and other volunteers to pick up trash, and the groups are recognized with a sign along the road they adopt.

Transportation Department officials denied the group’s application in June after meeting with lawyers from the state Attorney General’s Office and consulting with Gov. Nathan Deal. The agency said at the time that the program is aimed at “civic-minded organizations in good standing.”

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Sam Olens said Thursday the state hadn’t seen the lawsuit.

“Promoting an organization with a history of inciting civil disturbance and social unrest would present a grave concern to the department. Issuing this permit would have the potential to negatively impact the quality of life, commerce and economic development of Union County and all of Georgia,” transportation officials said in a state-ment in June.

The statement went on to explain that motorists who drive past signs promoting the KKK or who see mem-bers picking up trash could be distract-ed — creating a safety issue — and that the section of highway the group wanted to adopt is ineligible because of its 55 mph speed limit.

Similar groups in other states have won legal battles after initially being turned down for highway cleanup pro-grams.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 rejected Missouri’s attempt to turn down a controversial group’s applica-tion, saying membership in the pro-gram cannot be denied because of a group’s political beliefs. In Kentucky, the transportation department accept-ed a white-separatist group’s contract to participate in the state’s highway cleanup program, fearing an unsuc-cessful legal battle.

Curtis Compton | Atlanta Journal-Constitution | MCTKnighthawk, left, April Hanson, center, and her husband Harley Hanson, right, members of the International Keystone Knights Realm of Georgia, perform a traditional Klan salute along the portion of highway they want to adopt allowing them to put up a sign and do litter removal near Blairsville, Georgia, on Sunday, June 10, 2012. Harley Hanson, the Exalted Cyclops of the group, said “how can you say beautiful mountains and streams if trash is piled up on the side of the road.”

Strike talks in Chicago move toward end gameCHICAGO (AP) — More than 350,000 students

remain out of their classrooms as bargaining to end Chicago’s teachers strike dragged into Friday ahead of an afternoon union gathering where a vote could stamp approval on any deal.

Rank-and-file teachers prepared to return to the streets for morning rallies to press the union’s demands that laid-off instructors be given first shot at job open-ings and for implementation of a teacher evaluation system that does not rely heavily on student test results.

Contract talks pushed on for more than 15 hours Thursday with little word of progress until negotiators called it quits close to 1 a.m. Friday. Chicago School Board President David Vitale said the two sides had worked past the contentious evaluations issue — though he didn’t elaborate — and had begun crunching num-bers on financial matters.

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said

the two sides had many “productive” conversations but she declined to describe the talks in detail. She and Vitale said they hope students can be back in class Monday.

“It was a long day. There were some creative ideas passed around, but we still do not have an agreement,” Lewis said.

The union called a meeting Friday afternoon of some 700 delegates who would be required to approve any contract settlement with a majority vote. The meeting could be used to present an agreement or merely to update union members on where the negotiations stand.

The strike by more than 25,000 teachers in the nation’s third-largest school district has idled many youths and children, leaving some unsupervised in gang-dominated neighborhoods. It also has been a potent display of union power at a time when organized labor has lost ground around the nation.

School district officials said the main sticking points remained the evaluation system and the union’s demands that laid-off teachers get top consideration for rehiring. The district worries that could result in principals being forced to hire unsuitable teachers.

The union says using student test scores to evaluate teacher performance is unfair, arguing that poor test results can be the result of poverty, hunger and other conditions beyond their control. Under an older pro-posal by the district, the union estimated that 6,000 teachers could lose their jobs within two years.

An offer made late Wednesday included provisions that would have protected tenured teachers from dis-missal in the first year of the evaluations. It also altered categories that teachers can be rated on and added an appeals process. A spokeswoman said late Thursday that the two sides have held 35 meetings over 90 hours on the teacher evaluations issue.

Ga. to cut archives access and lay off state workersBill BarrowAssociated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — The State Archives in Morrow will open by appointment only and its employees will be laid off because of budget cuts sought by Gov. Nathan Deal, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced Thursday.

The move takes effect Nov. 1. The facility hous-es a range of historical records used by amateur and professional histori-ans, genealogy research-ers, librarians, students, attorneys, instructors and others.

The secretary did not say how many state employees will be let go or when their jobs will end. Because state law gives Kemp discretionary control over his budget,

the layoffs are not sub-ject to any civil service review.

Kemp said he believes the moves will make Georgia the only state in the country without an accessible archive that has regular hours.

Deal has ordered every state office to reduce spending by 3 percent for the remainder of the current budget year, which runs through June 30, 2013, and again in the following year. That totals almost $733,000 for Kemp’s office.

Kemp emphasized that those aren’t the first reductions in recent years. “These cuts do not eliminate excess in the agency, but require the agency to further reduce services to the citizens of Georgia,” he said.

A Deal spokesman

noted that the governor’s order applies even to his own office.

“Outside of educa-tion funding, everything is on the table,” Brian Robinson said. “All agen-cy heads face tough deci-sions, but it’s part of what we have to do to protect and best serve Georgia’s taxpayers.”

Both Kemp and Deal are Republicans elected in 2010.

Kemp said he sought to preserve other func-tions of his office: main-taining corporate records, running elections and overseeing professional licensing boards.

“We have tried to pro-tect the services that the agency provides in sup-port of putting people to work, starting small businesses, and providing public safety,” he said.

Fed’s bold plan still might not jolt slow economyMartin CrutsingerAssociated Press

WASHINGTON — No sooner did the Federal Reserve unveil a bold plan Thursday to juice the U.S. economy than it dangled the prospect of doing even more.

Investors celebrated by sending stock prices jump-ing.

Economists were less impressed. Many won-dered how much the Fed’s action would help.

Chairman Ben Bernanke himself urged everyone to keep expectations in check.

“I personally don’t think that it’s going to solve the problem,” Bernanke said at a news conference. “But I do think it has enough force to help nudge the economy in the right direction.”

The Fed’s move to buy $40 billion a month in mortgage bonds — the heart of its plan — might do little to spur borrow-ing and spending because rates on mortgages and other loans are already just above record lows.

The bond purchases, and the Fed’s signal that more help might be need-ed, pointed to just how weak the U.S. economy remains three years after the recession ended. The economy is still strug-gling to emerge from damage caused by the 2008 financial crisis — the worst since the Great Depression.

The Fed’s plan raises questions about the limits of its own power. Even with its intervention, the Fed foresees unemploy-ment remaining as high as a recession-level 6.8 per-cent as late as 2015.

Still, the Dow Jones industrial average shot up more than 200 points Thursday, reaching its highest point since the start of the Great Recession nearly five years ago. The Dow is now with-in 625 points of its all-time high.

It ended the day at 13,540.

The dollar fell. Oil prices topped $98 a barrel for the first time in four months. And gold climbed 2 per-cent to the highest level since February — $1,772 an ounce, a gain of $38.

In the face of persistent-

ly high unemployment and slow economic growth, the Fed said Thursday that it would:

— Buy $40 billion a month in mortgage bonds indefinitely to try to lower long-term interest rates, encourage home buying and get people to borrow and spend more. It’s the Fed’s third bond-buying program. If job growth doesn’t improve much, the Fed will continue its bond purchases and take other steps.

— Likely keep its bench-mark short-term rate at a record low near zero through at least mid-2015. That’s six months longer than the Fed had previ-ously planned.

— Probably hold inter-est rates low even well after the economic recov-ery has strengthened.

The mortgage bond purchases are unlikely to boost home sales much, even if they manage to lower mortgage rates fur-ther. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is already 3.55 percent, barely above the record low of 3.49 percent.

Home sales remain depressed in part because would-be buyers can’t qualify for loans unless they have stellar credit or can produce hefty down payments.

“If you get a 2 percent mortgage but you’ve got to put 30 or 40 percent down, is that going to encourage people to buy a house?” says Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at Channel Capital Research.

Still, Bernanke main-tained that the Fed can help further, even with rates already ultra-low. He’s argued that the Fed’s first two rounds of bond purchases, in which it bought more than $2 tril-lion in bonds, saved 2 mil-lion jobs and accelerated growth.

By comparison, President Barack Obama’s $862 billion stimulus pro-gram created nearly 2.7 million jobs, according a study by former Fed Vice Chairman Alan Blinder and Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.

At the same time, Bernanke cautioned that the Fed alone can’t invigo-rate the economy. It needs help from Congress.

“Monetary policy, as I’ve said many times, is not a panacea,” he said, refer-ring to the Fed’s handling of interest rates. “We’re looking for policymakers in other areas to do their part.”

Political bickering in Washington is chill-ing economic growth. If Democrats and Republicans can’t reach a budget deal by year’s end, $600 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes will kick in — a threat designed to force the two parties to compromise.

If they fail, the draconi-an measures would likely send the economy over a so-called fiscal cliff as the higher taxes and spending cuts took effect.

Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group, thinks the parties will reach a compromise after the election, avoid the fis-cal cliff and give consum-ers and businesses confi-dence to spend more.

“Once you have greater clarity (about govern-ment policy), then I think people will take advantage of the lower interest-rate environment” engineered by the Fed, he says.

Baumohl predicts the economy will grow 3.2 percent next year, double what he expects for 2012. The Fed itself is less opti-mistic: It foresees growth of between 2.5 percent and 3 percent next year after growth of no more than 2 percent this year.

David Jones, chief econ-omist at DMJ Advisors, says the Fed’s action Thursday reflects its frus-tration over chronic high unemployment.

“The Fed is putting the pedal to the metal and pushing the accelerator down to the floor board,” Jones says.

But he says the Fed is reaching a point of dimin-ishing returns after nearly four years of aggressive efforts to help the econo-my. Its latest actions might trim a mere 0.1 percentage point from the unemploy-ment rate over the next year and boost growth by a modest 0.2 percentage point, Jones says.

In the short term any-way, the economy might actually receive a bigger boost from Apple’s new iPhone 5.

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US braces for more violence from anti-Muslim filmWASHINGTON (AP) — The

Obama administration was caught by surprise by the feroc-ity of the Sept. 11 attack against the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the ambassa-dor and three other Americans. Now it is bracing for another potential eruption of violent demonstrations in parts of the Muslim world after Friday’s weekly prayers — traditionally a time of protest in the Middle East and North Africa.

Angry demonstrations over an anti-Islam video already have occurred in Egypt and Yemen, and officials theorize that well-armed Libyan extremists hijacked a similar protest in Benghazi, where several Libyan security guards also were killed. The U.S. put all of its diplo-matic missions overseas on high alert, and Secretary of State

Hillary Rodham Clinton deliv-ered an explicit denunciation of the video as the administra-tion sought to pre-empt further turmoil at its embassies and consulates.

“The United States govern-ment had absolutely nothing to do with this video,” she said before a meeting with the for-eign minister of Morocco at the State Department. “We absolutely reject its content and message.”

“To us, to me personally, this video is disgusting and rep-rehensible,” Clinton said. “It appears to have a deeply cynical purpose: to denigrate a great religion and to provoke rage.”

U.S. officials said they suspect that the attack at the Benghazi consulate, which had also been the target of an unsuccessful attack in June, may have been

only tangentially related to the film.

They also stressed there had been no advance warning or intelligence to suggest a threat in Libya that would warrant boosting security, even on the 11th anniversary of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“As we did with all of our missions overseas, in advance of the September 11 anniversary and as we do every year, we did evaluate the threat stream and we determined that the secu-rity at Benghazi was appropri-ate for what we knew,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

The intelligence leading up to the attacks will be examined to “see if there was any way of forecasting this violence,” as in any violent incident, House Intelligence Committee member

Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said in an interview Thursday. But he said the focus now “has to be on finding out who is responsible and bringing them to justice.”

President Barack Obama, speaking a campaign event in Golden, Colo., also vowed that the perpetrators would be pun-ished.

“I want people around the world to hear me,” he said. “To all those who would do us harm: No act of terror will go unpun-ished. I will not dim the light of the values that we proudly present to the rest of the world. No act of violence shakes the resolve of the United States of America.”

As of Thursday morning, there was no intelligence indi-cating that what happened in Benghazi was planned, accord-ing to two U.S. officials briefed

on the investigation into the attack. Intelligence officials said they believe it’s more likely that the attack was “opportunistic or spontaneous,” with militants taking advantage of the demon-stration to launch the assault. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation publicly.

There is also no evidence that the attack was tied to 9/11, one of the officials said. But the Libyan-based militant group Ansar al Sharia is the lead-ing suspect for carrying out the violence, possibly with help from al-Qaida’s main African-based offshoot, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. The officials said it may be hard to deter-mine definitively which group was responsible, because many militants are members of both.

Cuba says its ready to negotiate Gross fatePaul HavenAssociated Press

HAVANA — A senior Cuban diplomat said Wednesday her country is prepared to negotiate a solution in the case of a jailed American contractor, but is await-ing a U.S. response.

Foreign Ministry official Josefina Vidal also rejected allegations by the wife of 63-year-old Maryland native Alan Gross that her husband’s health is failing after more than 2 1/2 years in custody.

“Cuba reiterates its willingness to talk with the United States government to find a solution in the case of Mr. Gross and continues to await an answer,” Vidal, who heads the ministry’s Office of North American Affairs, said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.

She gave no details. It was the first time a Cuban official has hinted that a specific proposal has been made and indicated that the ball was in Washington’s court.

Previously, senior officials in President Raul Castro’s government have raised the case of five Cuban agents sentenced to long jail terms in the United States, though they have not spelled out publicly that they are seeking an exchange.

U.S. officials say privately, however,

that Havana has made it increasingly clear they want a quid pro quo, something Washington has repeatedly rejected.

Jared Genser, a Washington-based attorney for the Gross family, said in a telephone interview he knows of no active proposal that the Cuban government has put forward for his client’s release.

He said American officials had long made clear to the Cubans that trading Gross for the Cuban agents is a non-starter.

“My definition of a proposal is some-thing that is specific and actionable,” he said.

Genser challenged Vidal to publicly name a date, time and location where the Cuban government would willing to meet with U.S. officials to negotiate a release.

Gross’s wife, Judy, traveled to Cuba and visited her husband in custody several times last week. She said upon her return to the United States that she feared he would not survive his ordeal.

Gross, who was obese when he was arrested in December 2009, has lost more than 100 pounds in custody. His wife and lawyer say he also suffers from arthritis and has developed a mass behind his right shoulder blade that is not believed to be cancerous.

Olivier Douliery | Abaca Press | MCTReligious groups and familiy members hold a vigil outside the Cuban interests Section in Washington, D.C., November 14, 2011, in support of Alan Gross, the U.S. contractor who has been imprisoned in Cuba for two years.

Topless photos of UK’s Kate draw royal scrutiny

LONDON (AP) — A French magazine on Friday published what appeared to be photos of Prince William’s wife Kate sun-bathing topless at a private house in southern France, prompting a strong con-demnation from the royal family.

Officials said the royal family was considering legal action for a “gro-tesque and totally unjusti-fiable” invasion of privacy in the same country where William’s mother Princess Diana died while fleeing paparazzi.

The couple was “sad-dened” by the use of the photos, which appear gen-uine, royal officials said.

The revealing pictures of Kate in Closer, a popu-lar gossip magazine, were blurry and shot from a distance. The publication claimed they were taken

on a guesthouse terrace in France where the cou-ple vacationed earlier this month.

The first major press incident involving William and Kate brought back memories of Diana being hounded by paparazzi in France in the hours and days before her fatal car crash there in 1997.

Royal officials, who demanded anonymity in line with palace policy, condemned the decision to publish the images.

“Their Royal Highnesses had every expectation of privacy in the remote house. It is unthinkable that anyone should take such photographs, let alone publish them,” a St. James’s Palace official in London said. “The inci-dent is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the

life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so.”

The palace official said representatives of the cou-ple were consulting with lawyers.

“We feel a line has been crossed with their publica-tion,” the official added.

William and Kate, now formally known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were touring the Far East and South Pacific to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee when the photos were published.

No major British pub-lication carried the pho-tos, including Rupert Murdoch’s top-selling U.K. tabloid The Sun, which last month ran photos of a naked Prince Harry cavort-ing in a Las Vegas hotel room.

US judge rules in favor of Legion in will dispute

VATICAN CITY — A U.S. judge has thrown out a lawsuit contesting the will of an elderly widow who gave some $60 million to the Legion of Christ, the dis-graced Roman Catholic religious order.

But Judge Michael Silverstein of Rhode Island Superior Court found evi-dence that the woman, Gabrielle Mee, had been unduly persuaded to change her trusts and will and give the Legion her money, detailing the process by which the Legion slowly took control of her finances as she became more deeply involved in the movement.

Pope Benedict XVI took over the Legion in 2010 after a Vatican investi-gation determined that its founder, the late Rev. Marcial Maciel, had lived a double life: he sexually molested semi-narians and fathered three children by two women. The pope ordered a whole-sale reform of the order after finding serious problems with its very culture, and named a papal delegate to oversee it.

The Maciel scandal has been par-

ticularly damaging for the church given that the Mexican-born priest was held up by Pope John Paul II as a model for the faithful, admired for his perceived orthodoxy and his ability to bring in money and new seminarians.

It was that high esteem that attracted Mee, a devout Roman Catholic, to the Legion in the first place, Silverstein wrote in his Sept. 7 order throwing out a lawsuit filed by Mee’s niece contesting the will.

The niece, Mary Lou Dauray, had alleged that Mee was defrauded by the Legion and unduly influenced by its priests into giving away her fortune. Mee’s late husband was a one-time director of Fleet National Bank.

Silverstein, however, ruled that Dauray had no standing in the case. Dauray’s attorney, Bernard Jackvony, said his cli-ent was considering an appeal.

Legion spokesman Jim Fair said Friday the order was pleased with the ruling and believed it would prevail if it is appealed.

President Obama’s weakness in for-eign policy is a contributor to the events of the last several days in the Middle East. Though he gave the order to take out bin Laden (who wouldn’t?), and though he attacks suspected terrorists with drones, this president has never-theless conveyed to the world that he believes in a diminished world role for the United States.

He believes in a more modest United States — remember those bows — because he comes from an intellectual tradition that is hostile to American power. His pastor and mentor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, expressed a common leftist view when he said after 9/11 that the attacks represented “America’s chickens coming home to roost.” Mr. Obama’s one-time green jobs czar, Van Jones, was of the same school, showing up at a radical leftist rally on September 12, 2001 and, amid the drum circles and curses, heaped on the nation that had just suffered an attack of unprecedented savagery and joined in the denunciations of the victim. “It’s the bombs that the government has been dropping around the world that are now blowing up inside the U.S. borders.”

As if the U.S. were in the habit of bombing nations just to throw its weight around, or for the sheer joy of dominat-ing and hurting others. In fact, of the

last six wars in which the United States was involved (Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya), four were undertaken to rescue Muslims and the other two (Afghanistan and Iraq) had the side benefit of liberating Muslims — to what end remains an open question.

President Obama, the so-called fact-checkers’ indignant deni-als notwithstanding, did apolo-gize for the United States. The Washington Free Beacon reminds us that he told a French audience that, instead of “celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet com-mon challenges, there have been times when America has shown arrogance and been dismissive — even derisive.” In Turkey, he said that America was still “working through” some of the darker periods in our past.

At the Summit of the Americas, Mr. Obama confessed, “While the United States has done much to promote peace and prosperity in the hemisphere, we have, at times, sought to dictate our terms.”

Speaking at the National Archives, the president offered that “Unfortunately all too often our government made deci-sions based upon fear rather than fore-sight, and all too often trimmed facts

and evidence to fit ideological predispo-sitions. Instead of strategically applying our power and our principles, too often we set those principles aside as luxuries that we could no longer afford. In other words, we went off course.”

Faced with an anti-American tirade from the little Marxist of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, Obama defended himself, not his country, by saying “I’m very grateful that President Ortega didn’t blame me for things that happened when I was three months old.”

The world has looked to the United States in vain for leader-ship on Iran’s nuclear program. It has found a feckless and incompe-tent leader, whose delayed sanc-tions have had zero impact on the regime’s pursuit of nuclear weap-

ons. Obama’s claims to have “isolated” the Tehran regime are belied by the non-aligned summit held there last month. The Obama Administration couldn’t even persuade the U.N. Secretary General to skip the conclave. That’s not soft power — it’s just soft.

President Obama has also signaled to the world his weakness by a willingness to risk “disastrous” (his own Secretary of Defense’s word) reductions in defense spending because his priority is increas-ing taxes on top earners.

Obama believed that America would be more popular with Himself at the helm. He can polish his Nobel Peace Prize, but the mobs in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya suggest the shallowness of that particular vanity.

Even if the U.S. is better liked in some quarters, we are not respected. Cuba, the communist basket case in our backyard, has been holding an American citizen, Alan Gross, since 2009. Gross was a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development, and was distributing computers to members of Cuba’s Jewish community when he was arrested and charged with espionage. He has been rotting in a Cuban jail for the entire Obama presidency, while Obama offered an “outstretched hand” to the regime in the form of eased travel restrictions and other blandishments.

Even this week, the president has been weak in his response to the mob violence in Egypt. While promising to bring Ambassador Stevens’ murderers to justice, he said not a word about the Muslim Brotherhood government in Cairo failing to protect our embassy.

The mobs, like the contempt shown by Cuba, are Obama’s chickens coming home to roost.To find out more about Mona Charen and read features by other Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

Mona CharenContributing Columnist

Opinion

EDITORIAL BOARD JohnClark, publisher, Ext. 239,

jclark@heartlandpublications.com ――――――――

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kbrown@heartlandpublications.com

Kevin EckleberrySports Editor, Ext. 232

keckleberry@lagrangenews. com

Roland Foiles II Production Manager

6 - Friday, September 14, 2012

Obama’s dangerous weakness

What’s wrong with Romney?

As I have previously written, I believe Mitt Romney will win in November because

of the terrible econo-my. However, Romney should be leading President Obama by twenty points. What’s wrong with Romney?

For starters, Mitt Romney is one of the most incon-sistent politicians I have ever seen. To say he is a flip-flopper is an under-statement.

This past week he has been talking about what he has in common with Obama’s health care program. I thought he was vehemently against the president’s health plan.

When it comes to defi-cit spending, taxes, gay rights, and abortion, he has been all over the board. At times I hon-estly don’t think he truly knows what he believes.

The Republicans, in my opinion, chose the wrong candidate. They should have put Congressman Paul Ryan at the top of the ticket. At least Ryan has some consistency to his candidacy.

One thing I liked so much about Ronald Regan was his consistency. I never had any doubts about Reagan’s core val-ues. The question is does Romney have political convictions he is willing to fight for?

Another Romney prob-lem is that Americans in general cannot, on a per-

sonal level, relate to a man who makes $30 mil-lion a year. When Romney portrays himself as just one of the guys, he has absolutely no credibility.

As I have stated, I like rich people. During my thirty-three years in the United Methodist ministry, some of my best members were very wealthy. In fact, I got along better with them than I did with the middle class. I have no problem what-ever with Romney’s

money. I applaud the fact that he has prospered monetarily.

Again, however, he does not connect with the mid-dle class. My cousin who lives in Atlanta is voting against Romney for that reason. He is not voting for Obama. He is voting against Romney.

If the Republicans can-not beat Obama, a weak candidate, then how will they beat a strong candi-date like Hillary Clinton in 2016? Again, Romney should win in a landslide over Obama.

Romney’s religion will hurt him with some evan-gelicals. Being an evan-gelical Christian, I believe we are saved by the grace of God. Works will not save us. Mormons believe in works righteousness- pure and simple. No true evangelical can accept this.

Larry Summerour of Troup County is a retired pastor who enjoys political com-mentary

Larry SummerourContributing Columnist

Foreign policy at forefront is a Mitt Romney hurdleSteve PeoplesAssociated Press

BOSTON — With protests at U.S. embassies and four Americans dead, Mitt Romney is suddenly fac-ing a presidential election focused on a foreign policy crisis he gambled wouldn’t happen.

It did — and at a bad time for the GOP hopeful. Momentum in the race is on President Barack Obama’s side and Republicans are fretting over the state of their nominee’s campaign.

To shift the trajectory, Romney’s plan boils down to this: Spend big money on TV and work harder.

It’s unclear how long this round of Middle East unrest will last, and Romney’s aides concede the former businessman may struggle to gain a political advantage should anti-Amer-ican violence continue deep into the fall.

Untested on the international stage and with limited foreign policy expe-rience, Romney staked his entire rationale for his candidacy on the notion that he can fix the nation’s dour economy given his decades of work in the private sector. He dou-bled down on that strategy when he chose as his running mate House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, a 42-year-old Wisconsin con-gressman with little international affairs experience.

Then, the unrest in Egypt and Libya flared, and Romney accused Obama of apologizing for America, his first statement mischaracteriz-ing events in Cairo before all the facts were known, including that a beloved U.S. ambassador to Libya had died. Romney drew criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike.

Clearly mindful of his foreign policy vulnerabilities, Romney on Wednesday sought to get back to his comfort zone: the economy.

Romney’s bobble was the latest in a series of recent missteps. He stum-bled through a summer trip abroad that had been intended to show he could lead on the world stage. Then, he became the first Republican since

1952 to accept his party’s nomina-tion without mentioning war, giv-ing Democrats an opening to criti-cize and raising eyebrows among Republicans. Romney also took heat for actor Clint Eastwood’s rambling convention appearance.

And, with his massive amounts of ad money failing to break open the race, some Republicans have expressed worry that Romney may be starting to let the campaign get away from him. Others are pushing him to explain more clearly what he would do as president.

“Romney’s campaign got hung up on the question of ‘Are you bet-ter off than you were four years ago?’ His message should be, ‘I can make you better off and here’s how,’” said Republican pollster John McLaughlin. He pointed to Romney’s pledge to create 12 million new jobs as president and added: “We need to hear specific goals and a reasonable expectation of how to get there.”

Polls nationally and in key states show Obama slightly ahead, and the clock is ticking down on opportuni-ties for Romney to seize momentum. With the pressure on, he is trying to gain the upper-hand by intensifying television advertising and engaging more with voters.

“Mitt Romney is the ultimate pres-sure player,” said GOP strategist Phil Musser, a senior adviser to Romney’s 2008 campaign. “The higher the stakes, the more on the line, I can’t think of an instance where he didn’t rise to the challenge.”

Romney is devoting valuable hours preparing for a series of debates in October that have suddenly taken on new significance; twice in the last week he has holed up with advisers and Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, who plays Obama in the sessions.

“There are only a few major events left that can shift the dynamic of this race,” said Charlie Black, an infor-mal Romney adviser. “He is right to spend that time preparing for the debates.”

Obama had barely accepted the nomination last week when Romney unleashed a $4 million-plus blizzard

of new TV ads in the most competi-tive states. The Republican expanded his footprint into Democratic-leaning Wisconsin in hopes of blazing more paths to reaching the 270 electoral votes needed for victory. He also started advertising on cable televi-sion networks that cater more to female viewers as he looks to narrow Obama’s advantage among women.

Expect even more in the coming days as Romney dips into his huge cash stockpile. At the end of August, Romney, the Republican National Committee and state parties were sit-ting on a combined $169 million. It’s expected to be more than Obama and his team, which hasn’t yet released their cash figure. Romney has spent less than $79 million on television advertising, compared to Obama’s $219 million. Combined with Romney allies’ help, the GOP side actually has outspent Obama and his allies so far.

Over the past week, Romney has hit the campaign trail energized and animated.

“I love America! I love you! I love the work you do!” Romney shouted to an audience of 3,000 in Virginia Beach, Va.

With a pithy line, he sharpened his criticism of Obama’s handling of the economy.

“He has a campaign slogan, which is ‘Forward.’ I think ‘Forewarned’ is a better term,” Romney said at a Florida fundraiser.

And in Ohio, Romney struck an empathetic tone as he sought to con-nect with voters struggling with a tough economy.

“These are real families. These are real people,” Romney said. “I was with a miner who said, ‘Please help me keep my job.’”

Observers have noticed a change in the candidate who struggles to con-nect with his audiences and is tagged by critics as less than charismatic and even out of touch.

“He’s turned into a different person,” said Lillian Glass, a Los Angeles-based body language expert. “He’s become more passionate, more emotional, more dynamic, a com-municator.”

n Church CalendarChurch Friday, September 14, 2012 - 7

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Weekly programsWednesdaysTrinity SDA Church Prayer and Bible Study Center at

710 Jenkins St. holds community prayer and Bible study at 7 p.m. Pastor Walter Gordon, 706-812-0760

Hogansville Church of Christ, 4885 Mountville Road, holds a study on the book of Revelation at 7 p.m. with speaker J. Robert Brooks. 706-637-6476

St. Paul CME Church, 250 Lower Glass Bridge Road, hosts Bible study at 7 p.m.

ThursdaysCelebrate Recovery, a faith-based recovery program,

meets at 6 p.m. with a fellowship meal and worship at the welcome center of First Baptist Church on Church Street. 706-884-5631

Immanuel Ministries and Worship Center at 75 Patillo Road holds Bible study at 6:30 p.m.

True Life Christian Ministries, 500 S. Lee St., hosts Bible study at 7:30 p.m. for adults and youth.

FridaysTrue Life Christian Ministries, 500 S. Lee St., hosts

movie night from 7 to 9 p.m. Sylvia Cameron, 706-402-6670

SaturdaysTrinity SDA Church Prayer and Bible Study Center at

710 Jenkins St. holds a free Bible study from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Pastor Walter Gordon, 706-812-0760

Upcoming eventsToday

Joy Night starts at 7 p.m. at Rising Grove Baptist Church, 209 E Crovat St. The speaker will be Sister Perdue.

Leete Hill United Methodist Church hosts revival ser-vices at 7:30 p.m. with speaker the Rev. Jairo Gay of Louise Methodist Church. Evelyn King, 706-884-1520

SaturdaySaint Peter’s Catholic Church hosts its annual yard

sale 8 a.m. to noon at the church, 200 Lafayette Parkway. Furniture, house wares, collectibles, baby boutique, sport-ing equipment, linens and more are available.

The Elect Ladies,Connie Neal of Leverette Hill Baptist Church and DeTamera Perkins of Faith Believers Ministries, host an event to encourage, uplift and empower women in ministry with Dr. Tanda Joy Canion of Assembly of Truth in Atlanta from 10 a.m. to noon at Best Western/LaFayette Garden Inn Banquet Elm Room at 1513 LaFayette Parkway.

SundayAsbury United Methodist Church, 4320 Youngsmill

Road in Hogansville, celebrates its 184th homecoming at 11 a.m. Former church pastor Wayne Hester is guest speaker. The Dulcimer group from First United Methodist Church of LaGrange provides special music. Dinner to fol-low service.

Confidence Missionary Baptist Church Celebrates the sixth Pastoral Anniversary of Pastor Michael and Brenda Jackson at 10:30 a.m. with the Rev. Tracy Neal and and at 2:30 p.m. the Rev. Craig Thornton and Mount Beulah Church Family.

Ward Chapel C.M.E. Church, 140 North St., hosts its annual youth day program at 3 p.m.

ThursdayEagles Nest Cathedral, 1306 E. 10th St. in West Point,

hosts Serving the Servant celebration at 7 p.m. with guest

speaker Dr. Tanda Canion of Assembly of Truth Family Worship Center in Atlanta. Guest choir and dance team is of Kingdom Faith Ministries of Columbus.

Sept. 29Bethlehem Baptist Church, 1111 East 10th St. in West

Point, hosts the 2012 Walk to Live and Live to Walk fun-drasier at 10 a.m. Registration is $10. Takeesha Pittman or Leshae Billingslea, 334-768-2292

Sept. 30Faith Believers Ministries, Inc., 201 Handley St., hosts

a ministerial license ceremony for DeTamera Perkins at 3 p.m. with special guests Bishop Frank McLeod of God’s House of Prayer Holiness Churches in Auburn and Camp Hill, Ala.

Oct. 7Ebenezer Presbyterian Church hosts its 175th anniver-

sary at the corner of Johnson and Main streets with 10 a.m. fellowship with light refreshments and viewing of historical memorabilia and 11 a.m. worship followed by lunch.

Oct. 14Mountville United Methodist Church hosts its 184th

homecoming service at 11 a.m. The Rev. Kerry Wright, church pastor, will deliver the sermon, followed by a covered-dish lunch in the fellowship hall.

Oct. 28Callaway Baptist Church hosts the second annual Max

New Memorial Choir Sing is 5 to 7 p.m.To submit an item for the Church page, email it to

mstrother@lagrangenews.com, fax it to 706-884-8712 or drop it by our office at 105 Ashton St. For more informa-tion, call 706-884-7311, Ext. 229.

Cedarcrest refurbishes bell

The 85-year-old bell from United Congregational Church on Juniper Street has been refurbished and mounted outside its new churhc, Cedarcrest Community Church at 2380 Roanoke Road. The bell will call the community to Sunday morning service. Harold Cobb, left, and Rurel Waldrop stand with the bell.

Submitted

Local8 - Friday, September 14, 2012

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KEVIN HARVICK The turnaround hasn’tbeen mind-altering, but Harvick’s

three top-15 runs with Gil Martinatop the pit box have bore witness

that he’s actually on the trackand competitive.

KYLE BUSCH “Meltdown” isabout the best word to describe

the No. 18’s performance in theRichmond transfer race. A 16th-

place showing yanked Busch out ofhis Chase wild card spot.

Four Turns

Sprint Cup Standings

Nationwide Standings

Truck Standings

Throttle Up/Throttle Down

Tracks on Tap

DRIVER (WINS) POINTS BEHIND1. Denny Hamlin (4) 2012 —2. Jimmie Johnson (3) 2009 -33. Tony Stewart (3) 2009 -34. Brad Keselowski (3) 2009 -35. Greg Biffle (2) 2006 -66. Clint Bowyer (2) 2006 -67. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1) 2003 -98. Matt Kenseth (1) 2003 -99. Kevin Harvick 2000 -12

10. Martin Truex Jr. 2000 -1211. Kasey Kahne (2) 2000 -1212. Jeff Gordon (1) 2000 -12

^ CHASE FOR THE SPRINT CUP ^13. Kyle Busch (1) 774 —14. Carl Edwards 747 -2715. Marcos Ambrose (1) 735 -3916. Ryan Newman (1) 734 -4017. Paul Menard 731 -4318. Joey Logano (1) 678 -9619. Jeff Burton 647 -12720. Jamie McMurray 640 -134

DRIVER (WINS) POINTS BEHIND1. Elliott Sadler (4) 936 —2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (4) 935 -13. Austin Dillon (1) 906 -304. Sam Hornish Jr. 886 -505. Justin Allgaier (1) 841 -956. Michael Annett 799 -1377. Cole Whitt 737 -1998. Mike Bliss 691 -2459. Joe Nemechek 605 -331

10. Brian Scott 599 -337

DRIVER (WINS) POINTS BEHIND1. Timothy Peters (2) 528 —2. James Buescher (3) 522 -63. Ty Dillon (1) 519 -94. Parker Kligerman 507 -215. Justin Lofton (1) 497 -316. Joey Coulter (1) 484 -447. Matt Crafton 483 -458. Nelson Piquet Jr. (1) 454 -749. Ron Hornaday 436 -92

10. Jason White 416 -112

Compiled and written by Matt Taliaferro.Follow Matt on Twitter @MattTaliaferro or

email at Matt.Taliaferro@AthlonSports.com

■ Richard Petty Motorsports announced onMonday a crew swap with its Nos. 9 and 43teams effective for the Chicagoland Speedwayevent this weekend. Crew chief Mike Ford and the former No.43 crew have been reassigned to Marcos Ambrose’s No. 9group. In turn, crew chief Todd Parrott and the former No. 9crew will now man the pit box for driver Aric Almirola.

Ambrose is currently 15th in the Sprint Cup point standingswith one win (Watkins Glen) and eight top 10s. Almirola is 22ndin the standings with zero top 5s and two top 10s.■ When Jeff Gordon arrived on the NASCAR scene in whatwas the Busch Series in 1990, the baby-faced 21-year-old

sported a thin mustache and a mullet. Havingquickly disposed of the look in time for his full-

time debut on the Cup circuit in 1993, Gordon’sclean-shaven, media-friendly and wholesome style becamethe mold that the majority of up-and-comers in the sport havebeen cut from since.

However, Gordon stated last weekend that if his team couldpull a come-from-behind Chase berth, he’d bring the mustacheback. Turns out, Gordon wasn’t kidding. On his Twitter feed onSunday morning, the four-time champ said, “So as many of umay have heard, I made a statement that if we made the ChaseI wud bring back the stache. I’m a man of my word.”

Clint Bowyer

1. Denny Hamlin Hamlin slips ahead of Jimmie Johnson thanks to having the strongest car for a third consecutive week (despite the fact he didn’t win). He also gets a hat tip for those four regular season victories.

2. Jimmie Johnson Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus are bringing the car that they dominated and won with at Dover and Indianapolis to Chicago. My thought is it goes three-for-three this season. You heard it here first.

3. Brad Keselowski Drove to a quiet seventh at Richmond, his ninth top-10 showing in the last 10 races. This kid is for real, people, and his time is now.

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Give him props for the consistency throughout the regular season. Now the question becomes whether this team and its driver can deliver in crunch time or get passed by the heavy-hitters.

5. Jeff Gordon Gets a huge bump up the rankings this week after being Mr. Clutch the last three weeks, with finishes of third, second and second. Now we’ll see if they have any gas left in the tank.

6. Clint Bowyer One win per season is impressive and all, but multiple victories rachet a team and its driver up the “keep an eye on” list. Bowyer and the 15 bunch are there — and at just the right time.

7. Greg Biffle Lest we forget about the “Regular Season Champion” — that is, if there were one. When is NASCAR going to at least acknowledge that achievement? At the least, an “Atta boy!” would do.

8. Matt Kenseth Kenseth’s standing takes a hit based more on what others have done as opposed to the performance of his No. 17 team. That said, there are still questions how this team will do in the Chase.

9. Kasey Kahne Many are looking at Kahne as a nice darkhorse Chase pick. It’s hard to argue with those types, especially when you consider that his two wins this year have come on Chase tracks (Charlotte, Loudon).

10. Martin Truex Jr. Was once again strong, but failed to cash in. Make no mistake, this team has performed admirably this season, but if you can’t finish out a race, how can you finish out a championship?

11. Kevin Harvick Showings of 15th, fifth and 10th since the crew chief swap. Can Harvick be this year’s Tony Stewart?

12. Tony Stewart Speaking of Stewart, his fourth at RIR was his first top 10 in over a month.

13. Kyle Busch Will be interesting to see if this team comes out firing or packs it in after a failed Chase bid.

14. Marcos Ambrose Has averaged an 8.8-place finish over the last six weeks. Will a new crew chief improve that?

15. Ryan Newman Eighth-place finishes at Michigan and Richmond bookend two weeks worth of crashes.

Just off the lead pack: Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, Sam Hornish Jr., Mark Martin, Paul MenardASP, Inc.

By MATT TALIAFERROAthlon Sports Racing Editor

Clint Bowyer was able to stretchhis final tank of fuel to win Satur-day’s rain-delayed Federated AutoParts 400, but the true spotlightshone on a four-time Cup championand a young driver long on promise,yet short on playoff results.

With 10 of 12 positions forNASCAR’s Chase for the SprintCup clinched (and another all but as-sured to Kasey Kahne), Marcos Am-brose, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards,Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano and RyanNewman dueled for a second wildcard qualifying spot into the sport’sversion of a postseason playoff.

As expected, the battle came downto Busch and Gordon as the lapswhittled away and rain showers dot-ted the area.

Truth be told, none of those vyingfor a Chase bid seemed willing orable to stake his flag. That is, untilNewman claimed the lead on lap300, shortly after the event’s secondin-race yellow flag for rain. Newmanled for 13 laps until Bowyer madewhat turned out to be the race-win-ning pass on lap 313. Newman fadedto an eighth-place finish.

All the while, fortunes werechanging for Busch and Gordon.

Each a lap down earlier in the race,the two worked their way back ontothe lead lap. With Busch holding a12-point lead over Gordon in thestandings entering the race, the Hen-drick Motorsports driver could sneakinto the Chase by either winning out-right or finishing 13 spots ahead ofBusch. And while never a threat towin — at a track he had recordedfour victories in the previous sevenstarts — Busch seemed firmly incontrol of his own destiny.

That changed when Busch’s crewchief, Dave Rodgers, left him ontrack when a caution flew for rain onlap 275. Gordon and a host of othershit pit road, and with four fresh tires,outran those who elected not to pitwhen the race resumed. When Buschfinally made his final stop, a droppedlug nut hampered the team’s effort.Already mired in the field, the team— driver included — seemed tocome unglued.

And as Busch’s No. 18 sagged,Gordon’s No. 24 unexpectedlysurged.

“We just flat out missed the setupat the beginning,” Gordon said.“Luckily, Alan (Gustafson, crewchief) and the engineers got togetherand found the tools that we could uti-lize to make the car better. Thebiggest thing is that rear bar — wejust had to get rid of it. We did that.

We cut the chain. Our car reallystarted coming to us right then. Wefinally got some drive-off (the cor-ners).”

Gordon’s charge began on lap 283,on fresh tires and back on the leadlap in 14th place. Gordon sliced hisway through the field over the final117 laps, finishing second when heran out of laps while running downBowyer.

Busch, meanwhile, slumped to afinishing position of 16th, doominghis playoff hopes.

“We missed. That’s it,” a dejectedBusch stated. “Plain and simple.”

Denny Hamlin, who led 202 of theevent’s first 281 laps, will lead thefield of 12 drivers into the Chase.Hamlin’s four victories in the series’26-race regular season were goodenough for the top seed.

Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewartand Brad Keselowski — each withthree wins — line up second, thirdand fourth, respectively, headinginto the GEICO 400 at ChicagolandSpeedway. Greg Biffle and Bowyer,with two wins apiece, are fifth andsixth.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (one win), MattKenseth (one), Kevin Harvick andMartin Truex Jr. round out the top10. Kahne’s two wins and Gordon’sone victory will not carry bonuspoints as wild card entrants.

Let the Chase Begin

1

2

3

4

BREAKTHROUGH SEASON MichaelWaltrip Racing’s inauspicious debut in2007 — highlighted by a fuel additivecaught by NASCAR prior to the Day-tona 500 — is long a memory now.For the first time, MWR qualified a carfor the Chase. In fact, it qualified two:The Nos. 15 and 56 of Clint Bowyerand Martin Truex Jr., respectively. Toput an exclamation point on theachievement, Bowyer scored his sec-ond win of the season at Richmond. Itmarked the first time a driver hadrecorded multiple Cup victories for theorganization in the same season.

MEANWHILE... Could 2012 be achanging of the guard in NASCAR?Probably not, but while upstart MWRfinds both of its full-time drivers inthe playoffs, traditional NASCAR pow-erhouses Richard Childress Racing(Kevin Harvick) and Joe Gibbs Racing(Denny Hamlin) have only one each.Stewart-Haas Racing (Tony Stewart)and Penske Racing (Brad Keselowski)have only one team in, as well, whileRoush Fenway Racing enters GregBiffle and Matt Kenseth. Above thefray, Hendrick Motorsports finds allfour of its teams in the Chase.

PERFECT RECORD Since its incep-tion in 2004, only one driver hasmade NASCAR’s Chase for the Cham-pionship in every season. JimmieJohnson, with five Chase titles, hasaveraged a 2.25-place finish in thestandings in those eight years. He’salso won a series-best 20 Chaseraces in that time.

YOUTH MOVEMENT Four of the top-10 finishers in Friday’s Nationwide raceat Richmond were aged 22 or younger:Austin Dillon (22) was sixth, Ty Dillon(20) seventh, Ryan Blaney (18) ninthand Darrell Wallace Jr. (18) 10th.

The Chase for the Sprint Cup qualifiers: (upper row, from left) Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr.,Jimmie Johnson. Bottom row: Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth. (Photo by ASP, Inc.)

Championship field is set after Clint Bowyer wins in Richmond

SPRINT CUP SERIESTrack: Chicagoland SpeedwayRace: GEICO 400Location: Joliet, Ill.When: Sunday, Sept. 16TV: ESPN (1:00 p.m. EST)Layout: 1.5-mile tri-ovalBanking/Turns: 18 degreesBanking/Tri-oval: 11 degreesBanking/Backstretch: 5 degrees2011Winner: Tony StewartCrew Chief’s Take: “Negotiating asmooth entry into Chicago’s sweepingturns sets the car up for a good exit,which is where the passing is going totake place. Chicago is all about handlingon the track’s surprisingly weatheredsurface. Racing at night normally in-creases grip on a cool track surface, butChicago’s bumpy ride doesn’t guaranteethat. It’s close to Kansas, but thanks toa back ‘straight’ with a really gradual,almost unnoticeable curve, it’s unique inits own way. I don’t really think thatcurved back straight makes any differ-ence at all in terms of setting the car up,although it makes the exit of Turn 2 andthe entry to Turn 3 important.”

NATIONWIDE SERIESTrack: Chicagoland SpeedwayRace: Dollar General 300When: Saturday, Sept. 16TV: ESPN2 (3:00 p.m. EST)July Winner: Elliott Sadler

CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIESTrack: Iowa SpeedwayRace: American Ethanol 200Location: Newton, IowaWhen: Saturday, Sept. 15TV: SPEED (8:00 p.m. EST)July Winner: Timothy Peters

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By Jeff StantonStaff Writer

The Lafayette Christian School Cougars didn’t give themselves long to enjoy last week’s win, which pushed them to 4-0 for the first time in school history.

There is another game to prepare for, after all.

The Cougars will try to make it 5-0 when they travel to Montgomery, Ala. tonight to take on Evangel Family Christian Academy in an eight-man game.

“It’s been a good week,” coach Nick Nehring said before practice on Thursday. “We’ve got a couple of guys banged up a little bit and we’re trying to rehab them.”

Among the players nursing injuries are Riley Jordan and Ethan Pike, and while most of the team remains healthy, Nehring said everyone injury counts on a roster with limited size.

“With a thin roster like we’ve

got, every guy is important,” Nehring said.

Injuries aside, Nehring said the team is ready to go.

“We had a good week, the guys are loose, we’re going to

get out here and kind of polish things up (on Thursday), get on the bus (today) and go play some football,” Nehring said.

The perfect start means a

By Kevin EckleberrySports Editor

The Dawson Street Christian Wildcats have followed the same pattern the past two weeks.

In the first halves of their games against Crown Academy and Westwood School, the Wildcats have stood toe-to-toe with their opponents.

In the second half, though, the Wildcats have been unable to keep pace against teams with much deeper rosters.

Against Crown, the Wildcats lost 43-16, and they were beat-

en 35-7 by Westwood School.“Fatigue sets in,” Dawson

Street head coach Tory McCray said. “They’ve got 50 (players), and we’ve got 15.”

Nearly every Dawson Street player is taking every snap on both sides of the ball, and McCray said that takes a toll, no matter how fit the players are.

McCray said a lot of time is spent on fitness, and that the players are doing the best they can.

“We play iron man football, but we knew we’d be doing

By Kevin EckleberrySports Editor

Clinging to a one-run lead, the Troup Lady Tigers were hoping to create some breathing room in the bottom of the sixth inning against visiting Shaw.

They did that, and a whole lot more.With 10 players coming to the plate,

the Lady Tigers scored seven runs in the sixth to turn a close game into a blowout.

When the final run of the inning scored, Troup had the 9-1 win after the

run rule came into play.It was a big win for Troup, which

improved to 2-4 in Region 5-AAAA and moved into a tie for third with Shaw in the sub-region.

Troup coach Blair Shimandle was proud of the way the players responded after Tuesday’s 5-4 loss to LaGrange.

“It look a lot out of them,” Shimandle said of that loss. “You could tell they were emotionally (fatigued) at practice.”

The Lady Tigers showed no letdown

See COUGAR | 10

See WILDCATS | 10

See TIGERS | 10

Today

Football

Newnan at Troup, 7:30 p.m.

9 - Friday, September 14, 2012

Lady Tigers earn big winTroup third base-man Alex Duncan makes a throw to first for an out during the sixth inning Thursday.

Kevin Eckleberry | LaGrange Daily

News

Wildcats get back to work

Kevin Eckleberry | LaGrange Daily NewsThe Dawson Street Christian School Wildcats will visit Flint River tonight.

Lady Cavaliers cruiseBy Kevin EckleberrySports Editor

Facing a team that had been outscored 54-0 in its previous two games, the Callaway Lady Cavaliers didn’t figure to face much of a challenge Thursday afternoon.

And they didn’t.The Lady Cavaliers used a

17-run second inning to ease past homestanding Coretta S. King High 20-1 in a Region 4-AAA game.

Callaway (11-9 overall) improved to 3-3 in region play with four region games remaining.

“We went out there and took care of business and played the game,” Callaway head coach Nick Drescher said.

The Lady Cavaliers managed

a single run in the first inning before putting it away with the big second inning.

Callaway added another run in the third, and the game ended after three innings because of the run rule.

Brittany Mitchell was 3-for-3 with two triples, two RBIs and three runs scored.

Jessica Siggers was also 3-for-3, and she had a double, a triple, and three RBIs with three runs scored.

Keshonna Terrell was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a team-high five RBIs.

Harley Bonner had a hit and two walks with two RBIs, and Savanna Galloway had a hit and two RBIs.

Galloway started and went the whole way, and she gave up four hits and struck out three.

Panthers continue hot startFrom staff reports

The LaGrange College wom-en’s soccer team continued its early-season success with a 4-0 blanking of Oglethorpe at Panther Field on Thursday.

The Panthers moved to 5-1, with all five wins coming by shutout.

The Panthers broke through for their first goal in the 16th minute.

Mendi Kallam, a junior from LaGrange Academy, delivered a free kick that bounced off the cross bar, and Sydney Dorsey collected the ball and scored her first of two goals.

In the 30th minute, Kellam notched her third goal of the season on a free kick, and the Panthers were up 2-0, which was the score at the half.

Early in the second half, Dorsey scored her second goall to put the Panthers up 3-0, and Brittany Gray capped the scor-ing late in the game with her seventh goal of the season.

Jade Cotton delivered her team-leading fourth assist on Gray’s goal.

LaGrange College visits USA South foe Maryville on Saturday.

Kevin Eckleberry | LaGrange Daily NewsLaGrange College’s Elise Hopson waits for the ball to come down during Thursday’s 4-0 win over Oglethorpe.

Kevin Eckleberry | LaGrange Daily NewsLaGrange College’s Taylor Baldwin advances the ball.

Cougars look to stay perfect

Jeff Stanton | LaGrange Daily NewsLafayette Christian senior center Jesse Stermer grabs an onside kick during practice on Thursday. Stermer is one of two seniors on the team that takes a 4-0 record on the road today to Montgomery, Ala.

LaGrange blanks ColumbusBy Jeff StantonStaff Writer

LaGrange High softball coach Jan Jones felt her team played its most complete game of the season on Thursday, and the result was a 2-0 victory over a Columbus High team that had been red-hot.

Junior pitcher Emily Anderson threw a brilliant one-hitter, Taylor Livingston came through with a clutch two-run single, and the Lady Grangers walked away with the victory.

LaGrange (13-8 overall) remains the only unbeaten team in Region 5-AAAA with a 7-0 record, while Columbus (19-4-1, 5-2 in region play) saw its seven-game winning streak snapped.

“The biggest thing for this game is we came together as a team,” LaGrange head coach Jan Jones said. “We played as a team, all 14 of us. We were in the dugout cheering everybody on. We stayed up on everybody. The energy was there. That was the biggest thing. We felt good the whole game.”

The way Anderson was throwing, she didn’t need much offensive support, and the big single by Livingston gave the team all the offense it needed.

“Emily (Anderson) pitched a great game on the mound,” Jones said. “Taylor Livingston has been struggling at the plate, so it was huge for her as a junior to step up and get that hit. She stepped in there and put the bat on the ball.”

Both runs came in the LaGrange half of the fifth inning.

Lauren Robinson reached first on an error, and Bailey Parker was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second.

A walk to Karsin Spinks loaded the bases to bring up Livingston, who lined the ball up the middle for the two-run hit.

Columbus had its share of base runners

Jeff Stanton | LaGrange Daily NewsLaGrange pitcher Emily Anderson, left, is all smiles and is congratulated by her teammates after the junior hurler pitched a one-hit shutout against region rival Columbus on Thursday at Granger Park. The Lady Grangers won 2-0.

Jeff Stanton | LaGrange Daily NewsLaGrange catcher Makenzie Traylor makes a throw dur-ing Thursday’s game. See LAGRANGE | 10

LaGrangeFrom page 9

TigersFrom page 9

Sports10 - Friday, September 14, 2012

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527136

TodayFootball

Newnan at Troup, 7:30 p.m.Dawson Street at Flint River, 7:30 p.m.

Lafayette Christian at Evangel, 7:30 p.m.

SoccerTrinity boys at LaGrange Academy, 5:30 p.m.

SaturdayFootball

Huntingdon at LaGrange College, 6 p.m.

SoftballLaGrange at Callaway, 10 a.m.

Starr’s Mill vs. LaGrange at Callaway, noonStarr’s Mill at Callaway, 2 p.m.

Central-Fellowship at LaGrange Academy, 1 p.m.

Cross CountryCallaway in Carrollton Invitational

SoccerLaGrange College at Maryville, women

4 p.m., men 6 p .m.

Sports Calendar

Kevin Eckleberry | LaGrange Daily NewsThe Troup Lady Tigers, wearing pink uniforms for breast cancer awareness, huddle during Thursday’s game against Shaw.

against Shaw, though, particularly in the sixth inning when they banged out five hits.

“They were able to come out and finish up strong,” Shimandle said.

The sixth-inning outburst began when Alex Duncan struck out but reached first on a wild pitch.

Hayley Morris made it on when her bunt was misplayed, and Hannah Lane came through with an RBI single to make it a 3-1 game.

After Sidney Green reached on an infield single, Olivia Ivey’s base hit brought in two more runs, and it was 5-1.

Leadoff hitter Amber Arnold kept the onslaught going with an RBI single, and Hannah Easterwood followed with a double that drove in two more runs, pushing the lead to 8-1.

Two batters later, Duncan came up for the second time in the inning, and her groundout drove in the inning’s seventh run and ended the game.

Troup scored its other two runs in the second inning, with Morris and Lane both scoring after reaching on singles.

Libby Wheeler had an RBI groundout in the inning.

Shaw scored its lone run in the third inning.

Freshman Emily Green got the start and pitched five terrific innings, and senior Taylor Morris threw the sixth inning to get the win.

Morris has recently returned from a broken hand, and Green threw most of the innings in her absence.

“She’s stepped up, she’s worked her tail off, and she deserves everything she’s getting,” Shimandle said of Green.

Troup is off until Tuesday when it vis-its Columbus.

OF NOTE: The players wore pink uni-forms during the game for breast-cancer awareness.

A number of women in the community who have dealt with cancer were honored before the game.

Those people were Diane Guy, Tracy Jones, Carly Byrd, Lynn Smith, Melissa Mathews, Leah Arnold and Lori Cardell Hart. For Shaw, Raquel Falcon was hon-ored.

that going into (the season),” McCray said.

The Wildcats, who beat Arlington 16-15 in their season opener, will look to even their record when they visit Flint River tonight.

It’ll be a tough matchup against a program that has been among the best in GISA over the years and has won multiple state championships.

Flint River has struggled a bit this season, though.

Like Dawson Street, Flint River won its first game before losing the next two, both in blowout fashion.

Still, McCray expects a hard-fought

challenge in Woodbury.“They play hard. They’re well-

coached,” McCray said of Flint River. “They’re not as big as Crown or Westwood, but at the same time, they’re disciplined, and they hit.”

The Wildcats have today’s game and next week’s game against Thomas Jefferson Academy before they begin GISA Region 1-A play against John Hancock Academy on Oct. 12.

“We’re coming along,” McCray said. “It’s a process, and we’re making prog-ress. We’ll just keep going. Hopefully things will be lined up (for region play).”

WildcatsFrom page 9

Jeff Stanton | LaGrange Daily NewsLafayette Christian School quarterback Matt Brown runs during practice.

lot to all of the players, including senior lineman Jesse Stermer, who is in third season of playing football for the Cougars.

“It feels really good. It’s good for our team,” Stermer said. “It’s just been a good experience with good tackling, good hard playing. Everybody has stepped up and raised the bar.”

Nehring said because of the great start, the attitude is positive and upbeat on campus, and a 5-0 start would obvi-ously add to those good feelings.

It won’t be easy, though.“They’re a good team,” Nehring said

of Evangel. “They’ve got good play-ers. They’ve got a good offensive line. They’re well-coached. They’ve got to be one of the better teams we play and we know that going in. I think we have a good chance. We just have to go out and play ball. We’ve been playing for four weeks. We know what our identity is and we know what we want to do. It’s a matter of us going out there, not making mistakes and eliminating turnovers and penalties.”

CougarsFrom page 9

during the game, but Anderson was always up to the challenge.

The Lady Blue Devils got the bases loaded through walks and a hit batter in the fourth inning, but Anderson managed to pitcher herself out of a jam with the help of some nifty field work by her teammates.

In the seventh, Columbus got a one-out double that bounced off the center-field fence, and Anderson hit the next batter to put runners on first and second.

Back-to-back groundouts ended the threat, and the game.

LaGrange will step out of region play for a pair of games at Callaway High on Saturday.

LaGrange will face Callaway at 10 a.m. before play-ing Starr’s Mill at noon.

LaGrange returns to region play on Tuesday against Shaw.

Jones a force for BulldogsATHENS (AP) - Coming off per-

haps the greatest game of his college career, Jarvis Jones could’ve savored all the accolades.

Instead, he wanted to go over what he did wrong.

There wasn’t much to quibble about after the linebacker for No. 7 Georgia demolished Missouri. Two sacks. Two forced fumbles. The first interception of his career, which he almost brought back for a touch-down. He spent so much time in the Tigers’ backfield, he should’ve been wearing gold and black instead of red and black.

Yet, when Jones got in the film room, he didn’t want to look at all those plays.

“People never tell you what didn’t do or how you could have done some-thing better,” he said. “Everybody is patting you on the back and telling you, ‘Hey, you did this good, you did that good.’ But when you watch the film, you’re like, ‘Man, did I really play that bad?’ That’s the way I look at it. How can I improve?”

It’s that sort of attitude that has transformed Jones into one of the country’s most feared defensive play-ers. If the junior has a few more games like he did last week — almost single-handedly ruining Missouri’s Southeastern Conference debut — he could force him way into seri-ous consideration for the Heisman Trophy.

“I never thought about that one,” Jones said this week. “That would be big. I’m not going to do anything outside my team, but I’m going to give it everything I’ve got every time I step on the field. Just to be in New York (as one of the Heisman final-ists) would be a great accomplish-ment for me.”

Georgia (2-0) is a huge favorite in Saturday’s game against Florida Atlantic (1-1), so this might be a good time for Jones to heal up some of his aches and pains. He’s got a strained groin and a bruised shoul-

der. But any time he’s on the field, he’ll be going all out.

Just ask Missouri quarterback James Franklin, who spent much of the night trying to get away from Jones.

“I remember one play, he took off running and I ended up hitting him,” Jones said, describing a single sequence that was actually more of a theme in Georgia’s 41-20 victory. “He got up and was like, ‘Dang, man, why did you have to hit me so hard?’ I thought it was funny.”

It’s not much fun for offensive coordinators, who must account for the 6-foot-3, 241-pound Jones at all times. He’s cut from the mold of Lawrence Taylor, an outside line-backer who can rush the quarterback with both explosiveness and better-than-average strength for size, or peel off to play the run, or show off his speed by dropping into pass coverage.

“He’s got to be ready for challeng-es, because the more plays you make, the more things people are going to try to do things to stop you,” said

Todd Grantham, Georgia’s defensive coordinator. “As we move through the league, there’s a lot of good offen-sive coordinators and coaches. They understand the value of personnel. They’re going to do things to take him out of the game.”

That’s where Jones’ versatility comes in handy.

“It’s good to have complete players like Jarvis,” Grantham said. “Jarvis is not one-dimensional. If he was just a rusher, it would be a little tougher for him. But because he can do multi-ple things, he brings something else to your defense that you can utilize.”

Jones started his career at Southern California, but things didn’t go quite as planned with the Trojans. He did well on the field, until a scary neck injury against Oregon knocked him out for the rest of his freshman sea-son. Then coach Pete Carroll — a big reason the Georgia native signed with a school on the other side of the country — bolted for the NFL. Jones decided to leave, too, winding up back in his home state with the Bulldogs.

Jarvis Jones has been an unstoppable defensive force for the Georgia Bulldogs.

Friday, September 14, 2012 - 11LaGrange Daily News Friday, September 14, 2012 - 3B

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Trinidad Benham Corp., a national leader in the consumer food and non-food prod-ucts industry is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Production Supervisor for our Aluminum Foil Packaging Plant in LaGrange, GA. The ideal candidate will have at least 5 years experience as a Production Supervisor in a manufacturing environment. Experience should include direct supervision of 15 to 25 employees. Responsibilities include production effi ciencies, safety, staffi ng, performance evaluations, employee morale and disciplinary action.

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Equal Opportunity Employer

The City of Hogansville has an immediate opening for

POLICE OFFICER. Must be POST Certifi ed.

Please, apply in person to 117 Lincoln Street

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Steve Spurrier and Johnny Majors probably would not approve.

No. 18 Florida is run-ning the ball early and often, a slow-it-down, ground-and-pound attack featuring senior Mike Gillislee.

No. 23 Tennessee is throwing it all over the field, relying on junior Tyler Bray’s accuracy, arm strength and decision-making skills to direct an up-tempo, often no-hud-dle, offense.

The contrasting styles are working to perfec-tion for the Southeastern Conference rivals. Gillislee helped the Gators (2-0, 1-0 SEC) eke out wins against Bowling Green and Texas A&M. Bray carried the Volunteers (2-0) to victo-ries over North Carolina State and Georgia State.

Whichever teams keeps it going Saturday prob-ably should have a big advantage in the Eastern Division showdown.

“They’re going to want it slow and we’re going to want it fast,” Tennessee coach Derek Dooley said.

Bray leads the league in passing, averaging more than 320 yards a game. He has completed nearly 74 percent of his passes for 643 yards, with six

touchdowns and no inter-ceptions.

The Gators, meanwhile, rank last in the SEC in passing. They prefer to keep the ball in Gillislee’s hands. A former backup to speedsters Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey, Gillislee leads the league with 231 yards and four scores.

He has scored twice in each of Florida’s vic-tories, but also finished last week’s game at Texas A&M with a groin injury. Gators coach Will Muschamp insists Gillislee will be fine for Saturday game in Knoxville, Tenn.

Florida needs him at full speed, too, given the team has unproven backs behind him and an even less experienced quarter-back. The Gators have

had to scratch and claw for each win.

“I told the guys at the end of the game, ‘We’re going to have to win some games like that this year. This is kind of who we are,’” Muschamp said. “I know nobody wants to hear that, but that’s the facts of life. Sometimes you’ve got to put your realistic glasses on and see who you are.”

The grind-it-out Gators are a far cry from Spurrier’s “Fun ‘n’ Gun” teams that revolutionized the SEC. Between 1991 and 2000, the Gators won six SEC titles and played for two more.

If Florida gets back to Atlanta for the first time since 2009, Gillislee cer-tainly will be leading the way.

Sports12 - Friday, September 14, 20124B - Friday, September 14, 2012 LaGrange Daily News

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Can Falcons slow down Manning?FLOWERY BRANCH (AP) - As a defen-

sive coordinator and head coach, Mike Nolan has just one victory in seven tries against quarterback Peyton Manning.

Nolan, in his first season as coordi-nator of the Atlanta Falcons, hopes to change his luck when Manning and the Denver Broncos visit the Georgia Dome on Monday night.

To beat Manning, Nolan knows the Falcons can’t afford too many mistakes. If they do, the four-time NFL MVP will pick Atlanta apart.

“One of the things he does really well is he studies his opponent - not only the looks he gets, but how he can attack your coverages — and that’s what the really good ones do,” Nolan said this week. “They do a lot of homework.”

Manning returned from a 20-month layoff following neck surgery to lead the Broncos to four scoring drives in a season-opening win over Pittsburgh last week.

The Falcons are coming off a 16-point victory at Kansas City in which their defense struggled in the first half, but forced three turnovers and held the Chiefs

scoreless in the second half until the game’s final possession.

Nolan knows that getting turnovers against Manning doesn’t guarantee suc-cess.

When he last faced the star QB in 2009, Nolan was defensive coordinator in Denver, and the Broncos picked off Manning three times — only to lose at home to the Indianapolis Colts.

As head coach of San Francisco in 2005, Nolan watched his 49ers inter-cept Manning twice and still suffered a 25-point defeat.

But Manning’s success against him isn’t causing Nolan to fret. He still plans to disguise looks in his three-cornerback scheme and blitz when the opportunity arises.

“Against all good quarterbacks, you need to mix it up, and I think that’s key,” Nolan said. “You have to use the tools that are at your disposal as a coordina-tor and as a player, and that’s scheme. It gets down to two things — it’s players, by far, but it’s scheme that puts them in position.”

Denver quarterback Peyton Manning will visit the Atlanta Falcons on Monday.

SEC rivals ready for showdown

Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray will lead the Volunteers against Florida on Saturday.