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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL Grandparents have power, too Dear Mr. Rockefeller, My co-workers and I enjoy your col umn very much. We are all grandparents. Someone in the group asked if I would e-mail you with a few con cerns . . . What is Georgia Law regarding grandpar ents’ rights concerning visi tation? Dear Reader, In today’s society, grandparents are probably one of a child’s most precious and under appreciated resources. Unfortunately, in many fami lies, grandparents are thrust aside in anger over separa tions or battles over child support. What a shame! In acknowledgment of the importance of grandparents, the Georgia Legislature has provided some legal muscle for grandparents’ rights. One such reference you will find is at O.C.G.A. §l9-7- l(b.l), concerning the rights of “third party” relatives, including grandparents, where there is evidence of “deprivation” (like both par ents being dead) or “aban donment” of a minor child. The guts of this stature provides that defined rela tives (or any other qualified adult) can be awarded cus tody of their grandchildren if such an award “is for the best interest of the child or children and will best pro mote their welfare and hap piness.” So, any relative can file an action seeking cus tody of a child, if they can show the child is in some condition of deprivation. As stated in a previous column, grandparents also have rights to adopt their grandchild and/or can seek What are corns and calluses? Corns and calluses are caused by the friction or pressure against the skin. The affected are in which the friction takes place causes the skin to thicken. Skin also gets caught between bone and shoe or bone and ground builds up when a bone is not in the normal position. In either case, the outer layer of the skin thickness protects unusual pressure experienced by the foot. Although, the appear -311C6 Ox corns and calluses are not pleasant looking, they are not harmful. However, severe corns and calluses may become infected destroying healthy tissue or affecting the foot movement. Corns and cal luses can be controlled. Corns vs. calluses: Where do they form? Corns can range form a slight thickening of skin to a painful hard bump that grows on top of a toe joint. Hammertoes are usually the location of where corns form. Toes that curl under cause corns to grow on the tips of the toes. When shoes rub against your toe, corns may develop at the end of the toe. Corns can also grow between the toes most commonly between the first and second toes. Calluses spread on the outer edge of a toe or heel or the bottom of the foot. A cal lus that occurs at the bottom of the foot sometimes is due to a problem with the metatarsal. Metatarsal is a long bone at the base of a toe near the ball of the foot. A pinch callus WR Area Chamber announces Spanish business seminar Special to the Journal The Hispanic American Center for Economic Development and Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce announced this week they would hold for the first time the “How To Start Your Own Business” seminar in Spanish. The seminar is set for Sept. 21 from 6-8 p.m. at the Warner Robins Chamber of Commerce. The chamber is located at 1420 Watson Blvd. in Warner Robins. The cost is free. According to a release, in this seminar you can learn the basic steps and begin the process of getting your busi ness registered in the state of Georgia. Business registration organization, licenses and guardianship in probate court. The latter is usually done as a temporary/volun tary measure (such as a par ent being sent overseas on a military mission) or where both parents are dead. Guardianship is a common and inexpensive means of addressing custody issues, since the necessary forms are available from the local probate courts. Adoption is the “nuclear” option, in that it forever terminates paren tal rights. It can involve a voluntary surrender of parental rights or it can be done forcibly, but only if the parent is truly “unfit.” Jim Rockefeller Columnist Applying the traditional principle, “best interests of the minor child,” the “gold” standard for any issues con cerning a child’s welfare, cus tody, and visitation, a grand parent (and specifically only a grandparent) can file an “original” (that means ini tiated by the grandparent) action, or a motion to inter vene in an existing court action, seeking “reasonable visitation.” A grandparent can only file for this once every two years and cannot do so if the parents are not “separated” and the minor child lives with both par- The Stay Well Company Corns -'iSmii m % \ j> 'HHn''' I ’■ The Stay Well Company Calluses may grow along the outer edge of the heel or the big toe. Instead of spreading on the outside of the foot some calluses press up into the foot. A callus may form a central core or plug of tissue where pressure is greatest. Dr. Jokhai Columnist The Foot Doctor Employer Identification numbers are some of the topics that will be explained, according to the release. This seminar will be con ducted in Spanish by a rep resentative if HACED. Those interested are asked to call in advance to register. Call Gabriela Marulanda of HACED at 770-457-6770 Ext. 2229 or e-mail her at gmarulanda@haced.org or Assessing Your Leadership Skills -SBS/person ents. This statute does not designate what is meant by “parent” if the child is bom out-of-wedlock and/or if the parents live together and are not married. This sounds simple enough; except for one little problem . . . the Constitution. The relationship between a par ent and child is deemed a “fundamental right” and, therefore, “due process” pro vides that this bond cannot be disturbed without a find ing, by “clear and convinc ing” evidence (which is just a shade less than “beyond a reasonable doubt”), of a par ent’s unfitness. Essentially, the Constitution requires that to initiate a case using this statute, a parent has to be proven as much of a nightmare as if an adoption were sought; it is not clear to me what type of right a grandparent has to inter vene in an existing court case (such as a divorce). So, as you can see, a grand parent has quite a few legal tools to cement a relation ship with a child. Much can be accomplished voluntarily, however, involuntary legal action carries with it a very high burden. I hope this answers your questions . . . Good luck! Warner Robins attorney Jim Rockefeller is the for mer Chief Assistant District Attorney for Houston County, and a former Assistant State Attorney in Miami. Owner of Rockefeller Law Center, Jim has been in private practice since 2000. E-mail your comments or confi dential legal questions to ajr@rockefellerlawcenter. com. Bu t , what you are proba bly asking about is O.C.G.A. §l9-7-3; this stat ute spe cifically addresses grand parent visitation. call Frank Feild (Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce) at 478-922- 8585 or e-mail him at ffeild@warner-robins.com. All-You-Can-Eat Shrimp-$10 95 /Catfish-$9 35 Friday & Saturday spm -10 pm 1-79 Ixtt 139 * 967*9877 33470 F. Dennis Hooper Certified Leadership Development Coach Building leaders and organizations of excellence (478) 988-0237 dhooper2&}jiin».com LOCAL Building future leaders in your organization Have you built a suc cessful business? Do you have a reputa tion of exceeding your cus tomers’ expectations? Have some of your big dreams been met? If “yes,” then congratulations! Many entrepreneurs find that after years of hard work, their tenacity and creativity finally starts to pay off. The company has grown. Sales are up. The number of employees is increasing. Relationships with reliable customers are strong. So, where do you go from here? Are you ready to expand? Maybe you’re ready for a new challenge in your life! Or maybe you’d like to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Have you built the lead ers necessary to take your company into the future? If not, how can you make up for lost time? As a leader of an organi zation, here’s how you can build future leaders, and make “building future lead ers” a norm in the organi zation. Believe that building future leaders is valu able. This is where most organizations fail. They either haven’t thought about it, or they’ve never “gotten around to it.” Or they believe that focusing on today’s “real work” is more important. You can probably cite sev eral reasons for not spend ing time and energy on building future leaders. I maintain that none are jus tifiable! Studies indicate that improving the qual ■ . r '■ ■iyJi M .. . 'f: 1 %0 til t* in micpiikucpM Come by the dealers® a ! 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No successful leader built skills by attending classes. Oh, teaching some particu lar topic is fine, but that’s not how leaders generate competency. Assessment tools are com mercially available. Select one that you will use for evaluating current leader ship skills. Encourage your future leaders to focus on enhancing their strengths. Most of them will also want to address their limita- Subscribe today Call 987-1823 THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2006 ♦ tions. ' With each of your direct reports, decide on two or three specific attributes that they’ll ■ improve. Identify action steps that will provide opportunities for growth. Make leadership devel opment a priority in the organization. In the con text of your vision for the organization, express why “leadership development” is a necessary contributor. After you build your lead ership development plan, insist that each of your direct reports generate theirs. Provide lots of encour agement and account ability. The Center for Creative Leadership advis es that building leaders requires bosses to provide challenge and support. Building awareness and skills does not occur by wishing it so. Studies show that 70% of all development occurs right there on the job, but the boss needs to be a major contributor. Expect leaders to build future leaders. Build into the performance evaluation process an assessment of how each leader has devel oped those individuals under his or her authority. After several years of including “building the capacity of the organization” as part of each person’s assessment, you’ll find that the expecta tion has embedded itself in the culture. From this point forward, the future of leadership in the organization is assured. You can reach Dennis Hooper at dhooper2@juno. com. People will see that you are com mitted to personal growth. No mat ter how much you preach about sel f • develop- Best Cooks In Perry! Hi \ Stop by one ot these locations wr to pick up your pin. 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