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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Bone problems serious matter
Stress on the bones in
your heel and ankle
is increased when
incorrect heel movement
strains tissue. Over time,
excess strain may change
the structure of your foot,
causing damage and heel
pain.
In addition, the effects of
arthritis can damage bones
(and joints) or injury from
a direct blow, causing pain.
Treatment goals include
reducing abnormal stress
on bones.
Here are some bone prob
lems to be aware of:
Heel Spur
A heel spur is a bony out
growth at the base of the
heel bone near the plantar
fascia.
When you stand a spur
may cause pain on the bot
tom of the heel. As with
plantar faciitis, the pain
may decrease after standing
What to do when building
a new home goes wrong
Dear Mr. Rockefeller,:
We are in the process of
building our home and the
contractor who poured our
foundation made so many
mistakes, we are going to
have to pay extra. We are
withholding final payment
because of this and he has
threatened to sue us - What
are our rights?
Dear Reader: Far more
people today seem to be
building their own homes.
Consequently, construction
complaints seem to have
risen. Your situation sounds
very similar to what I have
heard from some of my cli
ents. Let’s break this down
a bit.
From your question, it
sounds to me like you are
acting as your own “general
contractor” meaning that
you are taking responsibil
ity for making sure that
everything in building your
new home is done correctly.
You have your own plans,
you are obtaining permits
and you are directly hiring
and paying the subcontrac
tors.
This contrasts with where
a GC is hired to run the
construction project. In
this situation, as the proj
ect moves long, the GC
has a “draw” to pay each
of the subcontractors and
buy materials, although the
homeowner would be asked
to approve each draw based
on the extent of comple
tion on the entire project.
If your complaint is with
a GC, my analysis would
be a little different, as a
GC contract will probably
be more detailed and have
fixed damages and manda
tory arbitration clauses;
whereas a subcontractor’s
contract may be rather
informal. For this reason, a
dispute with a GC is more
dependent on the specific
terms of the agreement.
Certain professions have
the unilateral right to place
“liens” on property or goods
over disputes. General con
tractors or subcontractors
have the right to do so;
were on placed on your
home, once it is completed,
you would have to either
pay the lien or “bond” it to
litigate the claim in order
to close on the construction
loan.
Hence, the threat to sue
is something you need to
worry about, since the lien
can be placed against your
home without even the
necessity of a lawsuit being
filed. This means that a con
tractor has quite a bit more
legal ammunition than you
have.
Your rights are basic
to any contract. I have
described contract rights
in prior columns; here, I
would like to concentrate
on satisfactory performance
and remedies. There is a
difference between techni
cal performance, where you
lay any old foundation, and
satisfactory performance,
such as to laying a quality
foundation for a project.
With home construction,
quality is usually tightly
or walking a short time. The
pain you feel is not from the
spur itself. Your heel hurts
because the spur pinches a
nerve or
pressure
against
the
plantar
bursa.
If the
bursa
becomes
inflamed
(buritis),
it may
squeeze
the plan-
Dr. Jokhai
Columnist
The Foot Doctor
tar fascia.
Hagland's Deformity
This bony outgrowth
develops on the upper back
of your heel bone. “Pump
Bump” is the nicknamed
given to the problem which
you may feel pain where the
edge of your shoe rubs the
Achilles tendon.
controlled by detailed writ
ten specifications of what
will be built, how used,
and with what materials.
Hence, a well-written con
tract will provide a clear
roadmap defining specific
performance.
Obviously, I don’t have any
written subcontract from
your situation to examine,
so I can’t really comment
on whether or not your
foundation was satisfacto
rily poured. And, if there
was not a
detailed
contract,
the qual
ity of per
formance
may be
hard to
prove and
might
require
expert
testimo
ny.
V,
*IA
Jim Rockefeller
Columnist
Assuming it was not sat
isfactorily poured, what are
your remedies? Naturally,
you can withhold pay
ment, as you have done.
This would place the next
move on the subcontrac
tor. If no lien or lawsuit is
filed by the subcontractor,
you could chose not to sue;
or you could sue (directly
or counterclaim) for “dam
ages.”
This could be for the
“completion cost” of the
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Stress Fracture
A crack in the heel bone,
usually behind or below the
subtalar joint is known as
stress fracture. You may feel
pain during extended activi
ties and when you touch the
injured area.
Sever’s Disease
Sever’s Disease (calcaneal
apophysitis) is an inflam
mation in the area between
the sections of bone that
make up the heel. This
problem usually occurs in
young people whose bones
have not yet fused and fully
matured.
Active children between
the ages of 8-12 years of age
are most often affected by
Sever’s disease.
When dealing with this
disease you may be forced
to limp or to walk on your
toes due to the back of your
heel hurting.
Next: Nerve problems.
foundation, repair costs,
and/or ancillary damages,
like the delay in the project,
cost overruns, storage costs,
interest, etc.
However, keep in mind .
. . while you may have the
right to sue, it may not be
practicable to do so. Hence,
if the subcontractor is not
“bonded,” has no insur
ance, nor any assets to sue
over, you might not collect
on any judgment.
Warner Robins attorney
Jim Rockefeller is the for
mer Chief Assistant District
Attorney for Houston County,
and a former Assistant State
Attorney in Miam i. Owner of
Rockefeller Law Center, Jim
has been in private prac
tice since 2000. His website,
www.rockefellerlawcenter.
com. offers more answers
to your legal questions and
archives of past articles.
E-mail your comments or
confidential legal questions
toajr@rockefeller lawcenter.
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Custom SJramim/
918 Carroll Street • Perry, GA
478-987-4079
LOCAL
More about ‘servant leadership’
Two weeks ago, I invit
ed readers to join me
at Wesleyan College
to hear Bill Turner, retired
executive from Synovus
Financial, speak about his
book A Journey Toward
Servant Leadership.
This column is taken from
notes I made during his pre
sentation, supplemented
with information from the
book.
Turner opened his
remarks by explaining that
he embraced servant leader
ship because it transcends
all religions. Every person
wants to be loved and to feel
appreciated. The responsi
bility of a servant leader is
to create an environment of
appreciation and growth, so
that each person can excel
and be recognized for his or
her contribution.
Turner believes the begin
ning of servant leadership
is a desire to love. The will
ingness to serve, by provid
ing opportunity, skills, and
resources, comes from that
intent. The devotion to being
a servant leader attracts
people who care, and their
commitment makes the phi
losophy work.
If you hire people smaller
than you and repeatedly tear
them down, it won’t be long
before you have an orga
nization of little thinkers.
However, if you hire people
bigger than you and repeat
edly build them up, it won’t
be long before it’s an organi
zation of giants!
Turner explained that he
turned away from the tra
ditional model of leadership
because it drives people to
make excuses for incomplete
or inadequate performance.
Further, it causes people to
claim credit for good things
that happen, even when they
are not directly responsible.
Everyone tends to “but
ter up” the traditional boss.
Early in his career, Turner’s
experience with being at the
top of the traditional organi
zation was that it was lone
ly. He never knew if people
really liked and appreciated
him or if they just sought his
favor to enhance their own
position. Everyone’s focus
seemed to be on pleasing the
boss, not on doing the right
thing for the employees and
customers.
All this special focus on the
leader cre
ates temp
tation to
yield to
the six
deadly
“Ps.”
Pride.
Do you
have a
hard time
admitting
you don’t
know
(>
k k
Dennis Hooper
Leaders Building
Leaders
something, or that you’ve
been wrong? Do you fight to
win every argument?
Prejudice. Are there peo
ple you look down on and
think are inferior?
Position. Do you want
the choice position at func
tions? Do you want to be
recognized?
Popularity. Do you act in
ways to seek approval from
others or act in different
ways with different crowds?
Possessions. Do you
judge yourself or others by
their clothes, jewelry, cars or
houses? Do you act as if you
possess the people in your
organization?
Power. Do you fight to be
in control? Do you use power
to coerce others?
Turner said that he chose
the route of servant leader
ship because it leads away
from these death-generating
Clearly, The Lighting Store is where
to go for Christmas Lights. Clearly.
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“Ps” and leads toward the
life-instilling “seven Cs.” It
all begins with a commit
ment to love and ends with
creating an environment
where each person can grow,
contribute, and excel.
Commitment produces
caring. Caring produces
compassion. Compassion
produces communica
tion. Communication pro
duces creativity. Creativity
produces common vision.
Common vision produces
community.
Turner explained that
transitioning from tradition
al leadership to servant lead
ership requires persistence.
It is a long-term process,
and leaders will be tested
with all forms of resistance.
Turner strongly encouraged
deferring to the skills of oth
ers in areas where you are
deficient. Servant leadership
emphasizes collaboration,
trust, empathy, and contin
uous growth and improve
ment.
Dennis Hooper is a cer
tified leadership develop
ment coach who helps lead
ers build organizations of
excellence. E-mail him at
dhooper2(tvjuno.com or
phone him at 478-988-0237.
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