Newspaper Page Text
Page 4 - Wednesday, June 28, 2023
The Jenkins County Times
thej enkinscountytimes .com
Just off
the
Paved
Road
Carmen Bennett,
Columnist for
The Times
By Joe Brady, Editor
for
The Times
We spent the better part
of last week moving my
oldest daughter to Dallas,
Texas. She got an amazing
job offer out there and even
though I was hoping she’d
stick around closer and
take a comfortable, albeit
less lucrative opportunity,
it was not to be. It was
wonderful seeing her
so excited and proud of
herself for negotiating the
details of her new job but
it was exhausting moving
all her belongings from
Athens to Dallas. Eating
on the road is no fun. At
first it’s exciting checking
out all the new eateries, but
when you grew up on the
cooking I grew up on, there
ain’t a steakhouse in Texas
that holds a candle to home.
After a while it all tastes
the same. Pete and I made
great time coming back
home from Dallas since
we weren’t pulling a trailer
and we didn’t have to drive
through what felt like a
typhoon like we did going
out. So, we didn’t stop
for lunch. We just kept on
trucking home. Mama had
my favorite “pork chops
with red sauce” waiting for
us when we got there and
I think honestly it was the
best meal I’ve ever eaten.
It is good to be home. It’s
even better to have supper
waiting on you when you
get home.
Most of my friends
know that we live on a
‘family compound” and
it’s not even a normal
compound. I live on a farm
with my inlaws next door
and my parents across the
dirt road. When people
find out about our rather
unique living situation, the
comments range from “this
is a dream of mine” to “I
could never live that close
to family”. The reality
of it is somewhere in
between. I wouldn’t trade
it for a million bucks but
it doesn’t come without its
challenges. Here are a few
examples.
My parents cook supper
almost every night. We
love coming home to a
home cooked meal. As
long as you realize that
sometimes this benefit
is going to come with a
phone call from the old
folks that goes like this,
‘hey get on yer pizza app
thing and order us a pizza.”
Six college degrees and 20
years of tactical military
experience and they can’t
order their own pizza.
But they will be quick to
remind you they can write
in cursive! They will call
you to fix their remote
control, help find their
missing hearing aids, and
to retrieve their cell phone
they accidentally hauled
off to the dump in the trash.
One day a couple years
ago I walked over to the
cookhouse to help mama
get lunch started for the
farm crew. When I came
over nothing was cooking
and instead she was laid
out in her zero gravity
chair fanning herself. She
looked terrible and I said
Mama what in the world
is wrong with you? She
said, I was tryin’ to light
that dang pilot light and I
don’t know what happened
but it just blew fire back
at me and melted my best
wig! It looks like a coon
skin cap! She was right. It
sure did. She kept it and if
you’re fortunate enough to
get a cookhouse invitation,
you REALLY know you’re
a family friend if she pulls
out the coon skin cap and
tells you this story in her
own words.
Generally, all our
meals are eaten out in the
cookhouse, which Daddy
added to the compound
about 5 years ago. It’s
about halfway between the
houses so it’s convenient
See CARMEN page 5
I talk quite frequently
about leaving a legacy. I
think as we get older that
is something we begin
thinking about. How will I
be remembered? I received
something last week that
made me think once again
about this.
Now, the Jewish culture
believes in telling the truth
about a person in their
eulogy. If they were not
so nice, they would tell it.
I remember I had an uncle
who was killed in a bar
room brawl in 1977. But, at
his funeral if a preacher can
preach you into heaven, he
would be there! That man
was a saint! I remember
asking my mother, who are
they talking about? Mama
just laughed. Did I say he
was in a bar room brawl?
That was a good preacher!
So, in this news article I
read, a man’s obituary has
gone viral because his son
wrote a funny version of
a sad tale. In the obituary
the man’s son writes, “dad
loved his family more than
anything else in the world,
except Busch beer, T-bones,
New York strips, prime rib,
shrimp, swimming, poker,
mustang GT’s, men’s
basketball, tank tops, and
his personal copy of Eddie
Murphy’s Raw.”
He also started it with.
‘Dad was a divorcee, father,
grandfather, and proud
owner of a few lots in the
trailer park. He up and
died on us to avoid another
Presidential election.”
I had a friend, Hugh
Clark, who had a recipe
for lemon cheese. He
refused to give that recipe
out because the woman
he got it from swore him
to secrecy. Several years,
before Hugh died, I asked
him for that recipe, you
know, I was thinking now
that she was dead, and he
was like 88, I could get
it. Do you want to know
what he said, “what recipe?
I wish I had a recipe for
lemon cheese.” I could
have cried y’all.
Which explains why
a lady’s family had her
fudge recipe engraved
on her headstone. Now, I
don’t cook much anymore
but if you want my recipe,
just ask me. I mean, it’s a
recipe for goodness’ sake.
So, when that time comes,
I want my obituary to be
funny. Lord knows. I’ve
appreciated a good laugh
from time to time. That’s
all for now, take care!
A word from
Rep.
Rick Allen
Stopping Federal Overreach
President Biden and
his Administration have
made a constant habit of
sidestepping Congress, the
People's House, to enact
their radical agenda—
costing the American
people billions of their
hard-earned dollars.
In year one, this
administration finalized
more than $200 billion
in new regulatory costs.
Even worse, in 2022, the
administration proposed
more than $1 trillion in
new regulations.
This week, the House
passed H.R. 277, the
REINS Act, which would
curb extreme executive
overreach by requiring
the House and Senate to
approve any major rule
before it would go into
effect.
The House also passed
H.R. 1640, the Save Our
Gas Stoves Act. You may
be curious why such a bill
is necessary, and you are
not alone.
The Biden Department
of Energy has issued a
proposed mle that would
impose more stringent
standards on the use of
conventional cooking
products, such as natural
gas stoves.
96% of the stove models
that the Department
of Energy tested failed
to meet the proposed
standard. If implemented,
this rulemaking
would impact
most gas stoves
on the market—-
Letters To The
EDITOR
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causing
significant market
distortions and increasing
costs for consumers.
That's why I proudly
co-sponsored and voted
in support of H.R. 1640,
which would ensure the
Secretary of Energy does
not implement an energy
standard on cooking
appliances that would
reduce consumer choice or
cause a product to go off
the market due to its fuel
consumption.
;ag
NOT
1677 N Hwy 25
FOR SALE
Millen, GA 30442
Beautifully renovated all brick home. Sits on
almost 3 acres. Open concept
kitchen/living/dining area. New stainless steel
appliances, new granite countertops, brick
fireplace, new HVAC, fresh paint and new
flooring, throughout. Fenced in - Inground pool
with new liner. Large metal shop in back.
Approximately 30 miles from Plant Vogtle, 2
miles from Jenkins County Schools
S 0 U T H L A
REALTY «! PROPERTIES
Tara Cooper, Superintendant
Jenkins County School System
Despite the obstacles
that our students face, they
are (more than) capable of
being successful. To make
a difference in someone’s
life, you don’t have to be
brilliant or rich or beautiful
or perfect. You just have
to care. This is innate - it
is not something new, and
I ask our teachers each
year to build and nurture
relationships with students,
fellow teachers, and staff.
For some of our students,
the success that they
achieve is really a miracle.
I think one of the best
ways to inspire confidence
in our school system is to
celebrate our successes
publicly and loudly with
our parents and our
community. We have 20
tested subject areas that are
state mandated tests. The
elementary school has 8
of those areas. We have
a history in the Jenkins
County Elementary School
of scoring higher than
surrounding counties. This
year we did better in some
areas than others - the
highest scores were in 3rd
and 4th grade Math. At the
middle school - 6th grade
and 7 th grade English
Language Arts scores are
higher than they have
ever been! 7th grade
Math scored better than
the last five years. Eighth
grade Math and Social
Studies both went up this
year as well. And at the
high school - American
Literature, Biology, and US
History all saw significant
increases in the End of
Course tests. We have
not received the state and
RESA area comparisons
yet, but I could guess that
they will look well in
Jenkins County.
So how aFre we
maintaining this
momentum? How are
we consistently outdoing
ourselves and surrounding
counties? I could go to a
teacher with consistent
high scores and say, what
is it that you do in your
classroom that allows
for better retention and
learning of the standards?
And he/she may say - I
spend time reviewing
standards every day before
introducing new ones. I do
a lot of hands-on activities.
The students frequently
have opportunities to
collaborate and work
cooperatively (all of these
are important things) ...but
what they may not say
is - I build a rapport with
my students; my students
know I care about them
and their progress; I
believe in second chances;
and I have a supportive
relationship with my team
of teachers. Those are
the keys. A recent large-
scale review of the factors
associated with student
achievement showed
that teacher-student
relationships outweighed
the contribution of teachers'
subject knowledge, teacher
training, or home effects.
Do you know why I
mentioned that we have
20 tested areas? Because
those 20 areas depend on
every class taught in this
school - beginning with
Pre-Kindergarten. No one
is discounted here. We are
a system and, yes, it takes
us all.
I have never been a
part of a journey of such
rewarding growth as I have
right here in this school
system. We are, frankly,
changing history for
Jenkins County.
.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 17 June 2023 is published weekly by on Wednesday
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