Newspaper Page Text
Page 4 - Friday, May 19, 2023
The Jenkins County Times
thej enkinscountytimes .com
Just off
the
Paved
Road
Carmen Bennett,
Columnist for
The Times
516A Soule Hall, UGA
My youngest daughter, Adeline, will be
a freshman at UGA in the fall and I am
completely floored by the whole roommate
selection process. There’s an online
roommate portal called “the Dawg House”
and you enter your profile information, and
it sends you potential compatible matches.
I think it’s all hogwash. I discouraged
both my girls from living with high school
friends in college because I believe the
entire point of moving away for college
means finding new friends and making new
connections. That doesn’t mean ditching
your high school friends, but it does mean
you shouldn’t leave college with the same
group of friends with which you left high
school. Living with people
just like you don’t grow
you as a person. This whole
“Dawg House” business just
makes me roll my Gen X
eyes.
Picture this. The
University of Georgia.
1995. A junior dirt road
Agriculture major from
the foothills meets her new
college roommates. Arooj, a
Muslim Pakistani pre-med
major with an unhealthy
obsession with JFK, Jr.,
Rhonda, a vegetarian UGA
softball pitcher from New
Jersey and Rebecca, a
painfully shy rule follower
with perfectly coiffed hair,
from Atlanta. Together,
we looked like that “gang
photo” you may have seen
floating around social media with the yak,
the duck, the lamb, and the llama. This was
before students took surveys to increase
the likelihood of a compatible roommate
match. Back then, you just requested a
dorm, and you got what you got! Looking
back all these years later, I’m so very
thankful to have gotten who I got.
We learned so much from each other.
Rhonda, the Jersey girl, taught me how to
stick up for myself. I remember her telling
me that southern manners were fine and all,
but manners shouldn’t translate into letting
people push you around. Our senior year,
I was waiting for my MAT scores to come
and when I went to the mailroom to get
them, the girl
slammed the see CARMEN page 8
window shut
I've never wanted to be in a gang moie
than ihis one.
TRINITY EPISCOPAL
CHURCH^^^^^
Sunday's 10:30 a.m.
Letters To The
EDITOR
Letters to the editor of The Jenkins County Times are welcomed and encour
aged. These are pages of opinion, yours and ours. Letters to the editor voice
the opinions of the newspaper s readers. The Jenkins County Times reserves
the right to edit any and all portions of a letter. Unsigned letters will not be
published. Letters must include the signature, address andphone number of the
writer to allow our staff to authenticate its origin. Letters should be limited to
400 words and should be typewritten and double-spaced or neatly printed by
hand. Deadline for letters to the editor is noon on Wednesday. Email Letters
to the Editor to: thejenkinscountytimes@gmail.com
Dear Editor,
May is Teacher Appreciation Month in Georgia, but teachers deserve our deepest gratitude
year-round. As a former teacher, I know teachers show up every single day for their students,
bringing their energy, passion, and professionalism to the classroom.
The job is harder than many will ever known but I know they work tirelessly to provide
the best possible education for Georgia’s 1.7 million students. Our teachers were called to
do the work, and we as Georgians are fortunate, they answered that calling. I know success
in education does not originate at the state level or in the district office. It starts in our
classrooms.
Our teachers have my continued commitment to make decisions in support of them and
their students. With deepest gratitude,
Richard Woods
State School Superintendent
Dear Editor:
In 1962 President Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Police Officers Memorial Day
and the calendar week in which May 15 falls, as National Police Week. Established by a
joint Resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to
those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety
and protection of others, and is also a collaborative effort of many organizations to honor
America’s law enforcement personnel, who at the risk of their own life save the lives of
other people, and do their work so sincerely that they make sure no life suffers, even if they
have to give up their own.
I salute the courage of all our law enforcement personnel! Thank you for all you do to
make our cities, counties, and states in America a safer place to live! You are very much
appreciated!
May God bless and protect you always.
Margaret D. Evans
Sylvania, GA
I have told y’all I need a
vacation. Well, obviously
I’m not the only one. Last
Thursday I could hear Sam
in his office, doing what
he does best, selling ads.
Well, when he’s not talking
fast that is. Now, you can
believe it or not, but our
office is noisy. Well, if you
knew who worked in it,
you wouldn’t be surprised.
Despite the fact we all
have phones on our desks,
it just seems easier to yell
our questions. You’ll hear,
“need more news for page
four!” Or sometimes you
just hear Debbie holler out,
“Ugghhh!” Then we have
Bam who whenever you
get within earshot, starts
telling you what she’s
done since you last walked
up that way. Or, when
somebody comes in that
she knows, you hear a one
sided conversation cause
God help you if you try to
get a word in.
So, as Sam gets off the
phone, I hear him talking
with Tyler about a podcast
that needs to be done. The
two discuss the paper that
Jake is busily labeling in
the back just for our Jenkins
County folks. I mean y’all,
Sam had picked up the
papers that morning and
had unloaded them just a
short hour ago from his car.
Then silence. I look up
and Sam is standing in
my office doorway. He
says, “when were you
gonna remind me?” I get a
puzzled look on my face; I
know I do. “What are you
talking about?” I ask. “You
know what I forgot to do
today?” Well, home boy, I
can’t begin to tell you, is
what I want to say, instead
I say, “I couldn’t tell you!”
“The papers! I’ve got
to go pick up the Jenkins
County papers!” I looked
dumbfounded at the crazed
expression on his face.
“Sammy, have you had a
stroke? I mean you were
just discussing the paper.
Jake is back there labeling
them!” Now y’all know
you need a vacation when
this happens.
Sam goes back to his
office, mumbling under
his breath about getting
confused. I would say so! I
watched him for the rest of
the day just in case. Until
I did something just as
wacky, but we’ll save that
for another time. That’s all
for now, take care!
Upcoming Dates in School
May 26 - Last Day/Early Release/
Graduation
Tara Cooper
Superintendant
Jenkins County School
System
What better time to
encourage students and
teachers than the month
of May? Fun events are
packed in between testing.
Banquets and awards
are celebrated during
the day and the evening.
Some students are still
participating in sporting
events and parents are
still carting some around
with late suppers and later
bedtimes. It’s an exhausting
time for all of us!
This is a time that
students are struggling with
coursework and staying
motivated, and words
of encouragement will
help motivate and even,
hopefully, inspire them.
In fact, research studies
investigating the power
of verbal encouragement
found that students
receiving encouragement
from school staff and
parents reported they
felt more empowered to
complete their assignments
and make better decisions
regarding their academic
performance.
Words of encouragement
are statements that help
students know that they
can do anything that they
put their mind to. Specific
wording is better than
throwing out generic
statements like “You can
do it” or “You'll be fine.”
Students who typically do
well in school but seem to
be experiencing unusual
difficulty with schoolwork
may be excitedly
anticipating the end of
May! Asking the student
how things are going in
their life before offering
words of encouragement
can also give you further
insight into how to
optimize your words.
Any time during the
school year discussing
an obviously stmggling
student between the
teacher and the parent is
another way to detemiine
exactly what kind of
encouragement the student
would most benefit from
hearing. Emphasizing that
succeeding at school does
not mean never making
mistakes is important for
our youth to hear. Everyone
makes mistakes. That’s
how we learn and grow.
It is avoiding making the
same mistake that gets you
closer to your goals.
Nelson Mandela said, “It
always seems impossible
until it’s done.” Isn’t that
the truth? On those days
when our staff and students
(and parents!) just don’t
think the end is ever going
to come, it does. And we are
almost there. Please share
a word of encouragement
for a school staff member,
a parent, or student in the
next couple of weeks as we
wrap up the school year.
These words are especially
important right now! You
know that “starting” is
rarely the problem, it’s
the “finishing” that brings
the weariness. Lifting one
another up in the month of
May will help us all finish
strong!
We look forward to
another Honor’s night.
Field Day, our first Three-
Year-Old Academy, the
Senior/Kindergarten
walk, an Elementary
Chorus Concert, the End
of Course and summative
assessments, and all of the
other activities in between
that are happening next
week!
.Jenkins County Times
Proudly covering Jenkins County’s news, sports, and community events
Sam Eades Publisher
Joe Brady Editor
Sam Eades Advertising Sales
Debbie Heam Admin/Layout and Design Executive
Sarah Saxon Admin/Legals/AP Correspondent
Brad Asbury Sports Editor
Jake Gay Reporter
Tyler Busch Podcast Director/Reporter
THE JENKINS COUNTY TIMES
issue 11 May 2023 is published weekly by on Friday
for $35 per year by THE JENKINS COUNTY TIMES,
425 Hwy 25 S • Millen, Ga. 30442. Periodical
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offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
THE JENKINS COUNTY TIMES, Millen GA 30442
Phone: (478) 401-5007
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