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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL Moving beyond mediocrity - intentionally (Part 1) Part 1: Last week, this column gave two examples of build ing an intentional culture. Conversations with readers during the week increased my sensitivity to “inten tionality,” stimulating me to explore this concept further. Can improvement happen without intentional effort? Maybe slight improvement can occur casually, but I doubt that any organization could approach excellence without conscious, willful choice. I saw a friend this week that I’ve not seen in some time. I complimented him on his trim look and asked if he’d been intentionally working to lose weight. He said, “I’ve started running. I’ve found I can eat anything I want!” He had no idea I was work ing on a column dealing with deliberate improvement. But what a great example Does sex offender law apply to me? Dear Mr. Rockefeller, I was convicted of a date-rape in Kansas, served my sentence, and was released from supervision in 1975. While I am ashamed of what I did, I have lived an honorable life since then, but I am worried that the sex offender reporting stat ute applies to me - does it? Dear Reader, I pray that your victim has escaped the life-long terror to which you have damned her. However, you have, apparently, tried to atone for your sin and we need to look at how the law views you. The applicable statute was designated as “HB 1059”; it is comprised of 42 pages of text, so I can not address it its entirety. The intent of the legisla ture was to protect our chil dren from sexual predators; however, some questionable nuances may have to be interpreted by judges. For instance, the statute refers to a “sexually vio lent offense,” with respect to the sex offender report ing requirements for prior offenses from other juris dictions. However, a “sexu ally violent offense” is unde fined. Thus, courts will have to decide if “rape” is one; although it was defined as one by the repealed statute, suggesting that rape will still be considered a “sexu ally violent offense.” The legislature’s general intent was two-fold. First, it increased penalties for cer tain crimes; second, it tight ened sex offender reporting requirements for sex offend ers and tightened super vision of “violent sexual predators.” Penalties were dramatically raised, with some minimum mandatories being raised to 25 years, the potential application of the death penalty being extend ed beyond murder cases, and those sentenced to life in life in prison being required to serve 30 years prior to parole eligibility, as opposed to 14. With respect to report ing requirements of the new statute §42-1-12, sex offend ers' are divided into two categories -certain sexual “deadly sin” crimes (violent personal offenses defined by §l7-10-6.1) and a hodge podge of other sex offenses (as primarily defined in a new statute §l7-10-6.2), especial COUNCIL From page 1A agreeing to allow the relo cation of a billboard on the site on Washington Street where the New Hope Baptist congregation is building a new church. The Council and the audi ence applauded for the 11- 12-year old boys baseball team, which recently won a he offers! He clearly had envisioned a more desirable future state - one where he could both eat extensively and be slim. And he has taken steps nec essary to bring that vision to fruition. What a great example of how we human % Dennis Hooper Leaders Building Leaders dhooper2@juno.com beings create in two steps. First, there is the mental creation. We acquire an idea for an improved result that we’d like to create, and we con sider options that have a high probability of success in achieving that outcome. Then there is the physi cal creation. An object at rest will remain at rest ly if committed against a minor (false imprisonment, for example, can qualify). Curiously, with respect to statutory rape, there may be a problem, as there are contradictions with when an offender under 21 years old is required to report. Regardless, there is the potential for a judicial over ride of the reporting require ments for some convicted under §l7-10-6.2, and who have no prior sex offense convictions; there does not appear to be an override for crimes defined by §l7-10- 6.1. In your case, we have to look at the time require ments for prior con victions trigger ing sex offender Jim Rockefeller Columnist ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.com classification. If you were convicted of a “criminal offense against a minor” you would have to report if con victed on or after July 1, 1996. Instead, rape being a “dangerous sexual offense,” you are a sex offender if convicted on or after July 1. Lastly, if rape is a “sexually violent offense” (it probably is considered such), you need to report if subject to only some type of imprisonment or supervision on or after July 1, 1996. As you can see, none of these apply to your situation. What does this mean? While you might need to seek declaratory relief in Superior Court, it appears you are “not” a sex offender as defined by §42-1-12 and, therefore, also not subject to the harsh restrictions of §42-1-12, as widely reported in the media. Even so, to be safe, you probably should consider hiring an attorney, particu larly if you are being threat ened with arrest. Warner Robins attorney Jim Rockefeller is the for mer Chief Assistant District Attorney for Houston County, and a former Florida State Attorney. Owner of Rockefeller Law Center, Jim has been in private practice since 2000. E-mail your comments or confidential legal questions to ajr@rockefellerlawcenter. com. closely-fought county tour nament. They also authorized put ting out bids for a new air conditioning unit at the rec reation gym, and officially accepted two grants from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. $15,000 will be made avail able for Big Indian Creek renovations, and another $15,000 will go for the Public Safety Training Center for the Perry Police and Fire Departments. until acted upon by an out side force. If you don’t do something differently, you should not expect a different result. In my coaching, I find that most people are stronger at one step than they are the other. Some are terrific idea generators, but sometimes fall short when it comes to execution. Others are quite action ori ented, able to make things happen, but they need guid ance from inspiring vision aries. Because of this tendency for each of us to be better at one of the two aspects of creativity, I strongly encour age collaboration! As Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, record ed in Ecclesiastes 4:9, “Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one; they get a better return for their labor.” (New Living Translation) CRACK From oaae 1A Dykes said. Dykes said police found $1,400 in cash and a con tainer with about 50 grams of crack cocaine. Dykes said offi cers also found 7.3 grams of powder cocaine, a bag of marijua na and several small bag gies used to pack age crack. CARSON Carson was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana (less than 1 oz.), traffick ing in cocaine, obstruction of an officer, driving with out a license and failure to use his headlights. On Tuesday, about 1:32 a.m., police approached a suspicious male in the area of Rosenwald and Whipple streets. When Officer Quirdsha Gilliam went to talk with him he attempt ed to run. Officer Eric Barnett was able to subdue the indi vidual, Cedric Demond Holmes, 31, 705 Ash Street, Perry. Holmes reported- HOLMES ly had a plastic bag in his hands containing three cookies of crack cocaine, totaling 70 grams. Dykes estimated Holmes had about $6,000 of crack and $572 in cash on his per son. Holmes was charged with obstruction of an officer and trafficking in cocaine. Both Holmes and Carson remain in the Houston County Jail without bond. Total Cancer Care Now Available in Hawkinsville Board-certified physicians offering: Medical oncology * Hematology 4 Radiation oncology *CT scauning/biagbag Generic counseling 4 WeEnm and nutritional services MS Hfllß i 8188 GEORGIA CENTER FOR TOTAL CANCER CARE at The Don $. Moddodt Cancer Treatment Canter Located on the campus of Taylor Regional Hospital 760 341 Boulevard * Hawkinsville 6A t 31036 * (478) 783*4022 LOCAL So I encourage leaders to work jointly with their lead ership teams to seek inten tional improvement. The key is “intentional.” It is so easy to be comfortable with “good enough.” But comfort with “good enough” leads to mediocrity, not excellence. Excellence requires an intentional intervention, not just drift ing along with what’s cur rently happening. I recently heard a leader I respect, as he was pon dering some changes in his organization, saj', “I hate mediocrity!” His comment contributed to my energy to write this column. So what can a leader do to move beyond mediocrity? My quick, one-word response is “reflect.” Insist that your leadership team, individu ally and collectively, reflect on what currently exists and consider what might lead to better outcomes. ,‘llll|B^^BE|sSP&^j'»|^^^.£^^* > ‘ .*>>.. '■s ' ** 111 H * 3*UNIfORM SHOP 50% Off ,„ E W& (Already Discounted Items, Cherokee Unisex Scrubs & Dansko Shoes NOT Included) JULY 26th - AUG. 4th BUY 1 get 1 FREE Shirts Select Shoes just $19.99 Clearance Rack - EV ERYTHING SB.OO Hours: M-F Bam-6pm Sat 9am-lpm CLOSED Sunday 1544 Watson Blvd. Warner Robins, GA (478) 328-9977 Here are a couple of spe cific thoughts. First, what are the five top results areas that you mea sure in your organization? Do you have the results for the past several years posted prominently so that every one in your organization can see the trends? Are the behaviors that lead to those results also posted? Next, does each member of your organization know what is expected of him or her in contributing to those results areas? Are the procedures he or she is to follow clear? Is someone following up with each individual, provid ing either affirmation for a job well done or corrective guidance toward a known methodology that will work better? Oh, there is so much more to explore! Be sure to look for this column next week, and we’ll continue! Perry Police Officer James Balli is pictured with • the crack cook ies, con tainers and cash found during a traffic stop Monday morning. PPD Perry Police Capt. Heath Dykes shows the 70 grams in broken crack cookies. 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