Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL Remember to rekindle romance in long-term relationships QUESTION: My wife and I love each other very much, but we’re going through a time of apathy. We just don’t feel close to each other. Is this normal, and is there a way to bring back the fire? DR. DOBSON: This happens sooner or later in every marriage. A man and woman just seem to lose the wind in their romantic sails for a period of time. Their plight reminds me of sea men back in the days of wooden vessels. Sailors in that era had much to fear, including pirates, storms and diseases. But their greatest fear was that the ship might encounter the dol drums. The doldrums were an area of the ocean near the equator characterized by calm and very light shifting winds. It could mean certain death for the entire crew. The ship’s food and water supply would be exhausted as they drifted for days, or even weeks, waiting for a breeze to put them back on course. Well, marriages that were once exciting and loving can also get Geese aren't such high fliers Canada geese are flying over our house, low and loud and black against the white sky of near-winter. In our front yard, my dog picks up on their rude honking and spots them flapping heav ily overhead. She barks and gives chase, although they are easily out of her reach vertically. “Knock it off, Patches,” I tell her. “You don’t want to associate with that gaggle. Just look at those poor crea tures, the result of millions of years of design by commit tee; anatomically awkward; with bird brains and Oprah egos. Pay them no mind at all.” Our little dog, realizing she won’t be able to bring down - or join - the flock, skids to a stop on the mat of dead maple leaves that is our yard and watches Branta canadensis and its brethren get their bearings and head off to the ... northeast? Patches looks up at me as if to ask: What gives here? Isn’t winter coming on? Shouldn’t migratory fowl that call Canada home be mapping out a southerly route to the HICKS From page 4A calendar to motivate you to do what’s right or best for you?” The coming of a New Year is a helpful time to reflect on what we like and dislike about how things are going in our lives. And all of the items in the list above are worthwhile goals. But is January Ist any more significant than any other day of the year to make important commit ments to improve ourselves and our relationships with others? We ought to be about the business of making the right decisions - even making changes - throughout the year, without needing a new year to move us to action. After all, I think we’d all agree that our health, rela tionships, finances and other responsibilities don’t all of a sudden become more deserv City of Centerville 2006 SPLOST PROJECT REPORT The City of Centerville, in accordance with O.C.G.A. 48-8-122, publishes this SPLOST project report for 2006. NAME OF PROJECT: Centerville City Hall Original estimated cost of project: $2,035,000.00 Current estimated cost: $2,143,100.00 Amount spent on project prior to 2006: $1,605,637.00 Amounts expected to be spent in 2007: $ 467,012.00 The City of Centerville will use the proceeds from the tax in excess of the estimated cost to fully fund the project and the project is not behind schedule. The city does not anticipate any surplus funds. caught in the romantic dol drums, causing a slow and pain ful death to the relationship. Author Doug Fields, in his book Creative Romance, writes: “Dating and romancing your spouse can change those pat terns, and it can be a lot of fun. There’s no quick fix to a stag nant marriage, of course, but you can lay aside the excuses and begin to date your sweetheart.” In fact, you might want to try thinking like a teenager again. Let me explain. Recall for a moment the crazi ness of your dating days the coy attitudes, the flirting, the fantasies, the chasing after the prize. As we moved from court ship into marriage, most of us felt we should grow-up and leave the game-playing behind. But we may not have matured as much as we’d like to think. In ißb®- ”* Florida coast? “Calm down, girl,” I tell her, “and give thanks they were out of your reach. You wouldn’t Glynn Moore Columnist glynn.moore@morris.com want to chomp down on an imposter, would you? Those critters were Canada geese by evolution but not by resi dence.” I remembered talking with our newspaper’s out doors editor, Rob Pavey, who told me why the geese fly so low over my house. They are as American as us - Southerners, in fact - being the offspring of waterfowl that were introduced into the state decades ago to make up for the dwindling migrants from Canada. In fact, he said, those geese reside at ponds and lakes in my neighborhood. They wouldn’t recognize Quebec, but they can pick out our cul-de-sac. “Look at them,” I tell ing of our attention because of a date on the calendar. We should commit to work harder to make our marriage work at the moment we real ize the spark seems to be fading. We should make the time to spend with our kids at the moment we realize they have not been a prior ity. We should choose to change a habit when we realize that our health is suffering. If that day is January Ist, great. But so is April 25th and September 3 and any of the other 362 days of the year. Part of me wonders if many of us may be less motivated to change our lives at this time of year because making a New Year’s resolution is just something that every one does. It’s the same story year after year. Millions of us make New Year’s reso lutions, and millions of us break them. If the driving force behind our commitment is less Dr. James Dobson Focus on the Family some ways, our romantic relation ships will always bear some char acteristics of adolescent sexuality. Adults still love the thrill of the chase, the lure of the unattain able, excitement of the new and boredom with the old. Immature impulses are con trolled and minimized in a com mitted relationship, of course, but they never fully disappear. This could help you keep vital ity in your marriage. When things have grown stale between jou and your spouse, maybe you should remember some old tricks. How about breakfast in bed? A kiss in the rain? Or re-reading those old love letters together? A night in a nearby hotel? Roasting marsh mallows by an open fire? A phone Patches. “They’re not in it for the long haul. They haven’t even been off the ground long enough to get their landing gear up.” The black cloud of gigan tic mosquitoes bulges and morphs, but with three times the number of birds usually seen in a formation, cannot arrange itself into a graceful V It is more of a scribbled W, and nothing good ever began with a W (To begin with, it’s the only letter with more than one syllable: three, unless you’re pronunciation impaired, and then two.) “Woof!” Patches suggests, and I agree. “Yes, girl, it is getting cold. Not too cold, of course; just enough to prove that our neck of the planet is tilted away from the sun at 23.5 degrees, creating our seasons, sending our maple leaves to their doom and my rake, and signaling wiser birds that it’s time to pack up for a long flight south. I scan the sky, hoping to see the geese get their act together and work them selves into the classical V formation. By flying in a line, about transformation and more about an annual ritual, then it’s more likely that we won’t succeed. Instead of making a list of New Year’s Resolutions, per haps we should just resolve ourselves to be consciously attentive to the things that matter most throughout the year, and be willing to make positive change at the moment when it is needed. Georgia Family Council is a non-profit organization that works to strengthen and defend the family in Georgia by equipping mar riage advocates, shaping laws, preparing the next generation and influencing culture. For more informa tion, go to www.georgia family.org, 770-242-0001, Stephen @gafam. org. HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA Report on Projects Funded Through Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax Calendar Year 2007 Expenditures Original Current Prior Year 2007 Remaining Committed to Project Estimated Cost Estimated Cost Expenditures Expenditures Funds SPLOST Projects Status 2001 SPLOST Road, Street and Bridge Improvements $55,821,250 $59,478,663 $19,791.098 $13,844,980 $25,842,585 $25,842,565 Ongoing Public-Safety Communications System $12,500,000 $12,505,786 $12,505,786 ' - - Complete Municipal Allocations $16,678,750 $17,572,978 $17,572,978 ; • ; Complete • $85,000,000 $89,557,427 $49,869,862 $13,844,980 $25,842,585 $25,842,585 2006 SPLOST Road, Street and Bridge Improvements $93,160,000 $93,160,000 $432,507 $2,131,661 $90,595,832 $90,595,832 Ongoing Library Improvements $5,225,000 $5,225,000 $0 $414,234 $4.810,766 $4,810.766 Ongoing Jail Addition $4,000.000 $4,000,000 $0 $24,547 $3 975,453 $3,975,453 Ongoing Water & Sewer Improvements $3,000,000 $3,000,000 $0 $0 $3,000,000 $3,000,000 Ongoing Debt Write Off $2,100,000 $2,100,000 $0 $2,100,000 - ; Complete Municipal Allocations $22,515,000 $22,515,000 $0 $3,611,707 $18,903,293 $18,903,293 Ongoing $130,000,000 __ SIOO.OOOjjOQ 1) All 2001 SPLOST projects are currently on budget Improvements to Corder Road and South Houston Lake Road (Bear Branch Road to Perry Parkway) are behind schedule due to design issues with Georgia DOT. All other projects are complete or on schedule for completion, 2) All 2006 SPLOST projects are currently on budget and on schedule for completion 11 57944 OPINION "Hfell, marriages that were once exciting and loving can also get caught in the romantic doldrums, causing a slow and painlul death to the relationship. " they can conserve energy the same way a NASCAR driv er saves fuel by riding the bumper of the beer-adver tisement-on-wheels ahead of him. When the lead goose, unaided by such aerodynamic maneuvers, grows weary, he drops back and lets a rested up bird take his place. That tactic is a holdover from their ancestors’ migra tory days, but my suburban geese won’t be flying far enough to need a breather. They might never emerge from their pathetic W before alighting in the next pond. The geese have flown out of sight - and sound. The sky is harsh and lifeless. The sun dives for the neighbor’s fence. Our maples are leaf free, our yard leaf-congested. As autumn fades into win ter, Patches and I migrate indoors. Reach Glynn Moore at glynn.moore@morris. com. j <Pu6Cic Appreciation I % The citizens of Perry thank the individuals and businesses listed below for their civic pride in assisting to expand the City’s Christmas lights Without their partnership, little could have been accomplished. Additionally, a special thank yciu to Ms. Nellwin Moore for her leadership. C \ call in the middle of the day? A long-stem red rose and a love note? There are dozens of ways to fill the sails with wind once more. If it all sounds a little imma ture to act like a teenager again, just keep this in mind: In the best marriages, the chase is never really over. QUESTION: We have a 5- year-old son who has been diagnosed with ADHD. He is really difficult to handle and I have no idea how to manage him. I know he has a neuro logical problem; I don’t feel right about making him obey like we do our other children. It is a big problem for us. What do you suggest? DR. DOBSON: I understand • Perry Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Authority' • Daniel, Lawson, Tuggle & Jerles • America’s Best Inn • Chambliss, Sheppard, Roland & Baxter • Goodroe Realty • Walker Rhodes Tractor • Green Derby • EMICC • Gilmer Warehouse • Edgewood Development • Captain D’s • Garlinda’s Garden • Eagle Burial Vaults • Walker, Hubert, Gray & Byrd • Waites & Waites • Perry Drug Company • Brian Bowen • Pilot Club WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2007 ♦ “Have Cameras, Will Travel" CX . TURNER PHOTOGRAPHY Aerial Chrtceraphv Brad Turner •475>»22-1633cr475-4f4<CsCl FRESH AIR PURIFIERS There’s nothing quite like walking outside and taking a deep breath of fresh, clean air after a thunderstorm. Wouldn’t you like to be able to step back inside and enjoy that same fresh air all the timel We would like to introduce you to Fresh Air by Eco Quest: By duplicating the same processes nature uses to clean the mm air outside, Fresh Air by Eco Quest™ keeps indoor air fresh and clean smelling day and night. Collectively known as SynAirG™, these processes work together synergistically to eliminate smoke and odors as well as kill bacteria, mold and mildew in unoccupied areas. Call NOW for a FREE trial offer! Independent Distributor Elton & Vemeaze Tucker (478) 923-6187 888 (478)923-4111 T~ www.TryFreshAir.com/ehontucker • Glover Mortuary • Charles Andrew & Son • Bank of Perry • Planters First i • Walthall Oil • Kiwanis Club • Coldwell Banker • Security Bank • George Nunn Jr. • Betty Mori •James Katsekis • Anna Pritchett • Christine Hafley • Gwen Free • Ed Beckham • Sam Nunn • Cory Barnett/Travel Center j • Utility Service • Sugarplum Tree your dilemma, but I urge you to discipline your son. Every young ster needs the security of defined limits, and the ADHD boy or girl is no exception. Such a child should be held responsible for his behav ior, although the approach may be a little different. For example, most children can be required to sit on a chair for dis ciplinary reasons, whereas some very hyperactive children would not be able to remain there. Similarly, corporal punishment is sometimes ineffective with a highly excitable little bundle of electricity. As with every aspect of parenthood, disciplinary mea sures for the ADHD child must be suited to his or her unique charac teristics and needs. Dr. Dobson is founder and chair man of the board of the nonprofit organization Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO 80995 (www.family.org). Questions and answers are excerpted from Solid Answers and Bringing Up Boys, both published by Tyndale House. Like Clean water, fresh air is essential to our well being. Now, having the fresh air you want is as easy as pressing a button when, it's Fresh Air by Eco Quest™ k 5A 5^37 154336 57963 37903