Newspaper Page Text
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Cutting support risky
Dear Mr. Rockefeller,
My wife and I have been
divorced for 10 years.
For the past several
years, I have been paying
more child support than
required. I want to stop;
what happens if I do?
Dear Reader, My family
law clients often seem not
to understand how divorces
work. The purpose of having
a final decree is to ensure
there is an
enforce
able court
order,
in the
absence
of the
divorced
spouses
being able
to reach
an agree
me n t
Ij^l
Jim Rockefeller
Columnist
between themselves. They
can pretty much do what
ever they want - less or
more child support, less
or more visitation - even
if not exactly as written in
the final decree. However,
once they turn to the law,
the final decree becomes the
relevant starting point for
their respective rights and
responsibilities.
It is commendable for
you to voluntarily pay more
child support than actually
required; you are thinking
like a father and not a law
yer. Every parent should do
as much as possible for their
children; court-ordered child
support is just a bare mini
mum. Hence, my first com
ment would be that if you
can afford to pay the extra
child support, you should
continue.
Legally, you can stop pay
ing more than the required
amount, but your ex-wife
probably could sue you for
an increased amount of child
support (raising that “bare
minimum’’ you legally have
to pay), since, presumably,
you earn more money than
10 years ago. Additionally,
the new guidelines might
increase your exposure - you
will need to consult with an
attorney about this to know
for sure.
My suggestion, then,
would be that you might
want to seriously consider
continuing to pay the extra
child support. The hassle
and expense of forcing her
to file a lawsuit may, in the
end, get you to the same
Nerve problems serious issue
Nerve problems: Passing
signals between your brain
and your feet, nerves are
bundles of special fibers that
act like electric wires.
When a nerve is pinched
by inflamed tissue or swol
len vein- some or all of the
signals can’t travel their
complete route. As a result,
you may
feel pain,
numb
ness, or
tingling in
your heel.
Even
a nerve
pinched in
your back
may send
abnormal
signals
(referred
W
Hf «
Dr. Jokhai
Columnist
The Foot Doctor
pain) to your heel. Reducing
pressure on the affected
nerve are some types of treat
ment goals for this problem.
Tarsal Tunnel
Syndrome
This syndrome occurs
when the nerve running
behind your anklebone,
within the tarsal tunnel, is
pinched by inflamed tissue,
a swollen blood vessel, or a
tumor.
In your heel you may feel
burning or stabbing pain.
These symptoms may also
shoot into the front of your
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
-SBS/person
iSHi zj&'-WSbM
place you are now.
Dear Mr. Rockefeller,
My daughters were taken
away from me by DFCS.
Since May, I have had a
full-time job and a stable
place to live (I live with
my boss) and he is will
ing to let my kids and me
to live with him. What do
I need to do?
Dear Reader, Although it is
commendable that you have
made strides in your life,
if the situation was serious
enough that your daughters
were taken from you, a mere
seven months of having a
job MAY not be enough for
you to get them back. Please
take my response to heart,
and understand that I am
trying to be honest and not
hurtful.
Think about this - your
job, and your home, are both
dependent on a man with
whom I can only assume you
are involved in some type of
relationship. Before giving
you back your daughters,
DFCS will want to see that
you are standing strong,
on your own, as opposed to
being in such a potentially
vulnerable situation. What
happens to you if you have
a falling out with your boss?
Where would you live, where
would you work? What would
happen to your babies?
Also, we see much in
the news about protecting
children from abuse and,
in particular, from “sexual
predators.” Statics suggest
that maybe as much as 95
percent of all child molesta
tion occurs in situations like
you propose, where girls (or
boys) are living with strange
adults. If I were you, I would
not want to invite your chil
dren into your current living
arrangements.
It seems you are making
progress, but you have a bit
more to travel before you are
likely to get your children
back.
Keep it up and that day
will soon come!
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@rocke feller lawcenter.
com.
foot or up the leg.
Plantar Nerve
Entrapment
Entrapment occurs when
one or a tight or inflamed
planter fascia pinches more
branches of the plantar
nerve, usually. You may feel
burning or shooting pain
from your heel into the arch
of your foot.
Low back problems
A low back problem such
as arthritis or a bulging
disc may place pressure on
the sciatic nerve, causing
referred pain in your feet. In
one or both heels you may
feel numbness or shooting
pains.
THERMAL SIDING &
REPLACEMENT WINDOWS
0
SIMON TON'
WIND O W 3
IV< «>!*# fjtlattji*
F. Dennis Hooper
Certified
Leadership Development Coach
Building leaders and
organizations of excellence
(478) 988-0237
&
CedarMAX
lotSQfrOOQ
H! '& ' H
929-2701
37722
dhooper2(fl)juno.eom
Who owns your leadership development system?
A ny routine work
repetitively accom-
JL JLplished in your orga
nization is a system. You
may call it a method or a
process.
If you execute the process,
method, or system the same
each time, you are assured
of having an outcome that
you expect, and hopefully
one that serves the organi
zation well.
If you wanted to improve
one of your systems, you’d
likely go to the person in
your organization who you
consider to be the “owner”
of that system. You may not
use that particular word to
describe that person, but
there is probably someone
you consider to be the most
responsible individual for
making that system deliver
the outcome you desire.
For example, you likely
have someone who oversees
your accounting system.
You probably have someone
who makes sure all your
human resources systems
meet legal guidelines.
If you have a complex
manufacturing process, you
probably expect a process
engineer to specify safety
and operating procedures.
You probably assign a proj
ect engineer or manager
to oversee the planning
i i
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LOCAL
and execution of each new
undertaking.
So this article asks, "Who
in your organization is your
system owner for leader
ship development?” That is,
who do you hold account
able for ensuring that the
future leadership needs of
your organization are being
generated today?
I real
ize that
many
who
read this
column
will not
easily
answer
this
ques
tion.
Maybe
you
Dennis Hooper
Leaders Building
Leaders
don’t currently have a sys
tem of leadership develop
ment. Many organizations
unintentionally overlook
putting energy into building
the leadership skills they’ll
need in the future.
Why? It’s usually not been
a conscious decision. It’s
just that everyone is put
ting their time, energy, and
knowledge against meeting
the current needs of their
customers.
If that’s true for you, I
ask you to consider iden
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tifying an individual who
you will ask to investigate
creating a leadership devel
opment system.
One short-term advan
tage that I’ve seen when
organizations focus on
developing future leaders is
an improvement in other
current systems. And that
typically leads to improved
results in every measurable
area.
The long-term advantage,
of course, is that the orga
nization is never forced to
hold back on growth oppor
tunities because of lack of
leadership. As situations
present themselves, several
individuals are available to
lead the effort to expand the
organization in that area.
You might wonder what
characteristics you should
look for in selecting a sys
tem owner for leadership
development. I recommend
someone who enjoys learn
ing and who naturally sup
ports the success of oth
ers. It should be a strong
individual who already is
respected, because he or she
will have to overcome the
inertia of never having had
any organized system for
personal growth.
When I work with an orga
nization to install a leader
ship development system,
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I ask for such a person to
serve as my internal ally,
and I spend significant time
training this individual. He
or she provides support and
accountability, not only to
the initial individuals par
ticipating in this process,
but also to the decision
maker who authorized the
installation of this system.
We generate an expecta
tions document that forms
the basis for ’the relation
ship between the organi
zational leader, the system
owner, and me.
It outlines the expected
outcomes, the guidelines,
the resources, how progress
will be reported, and the
consequences for the indi
vidual and the organiza
tion. If you would like to
see a one-page sample of
such an agreement, please
contact me.
Dennis Hooper is a cer
tified leadership develop
ment coach who helps lead
ers build organizations of
excellence. E-mail him at
dhooper2(fnjuno.com or
phone him at 478-988-0237.
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