Newspaper Page Text
Page 4 - Wednesday, July 26, 2023
The Jenkins County Times
j enkinsc ountytimes .com
So, I missed the citizens’
meeting last Monday
because I was being
grandpa. Because the two-
year-old got his feelings
hurt, I decided to take him
for pizza and arcade games.
When I picked him up the
excitement was boundless.
The six-year-old wanted
to go, how hard could a 2-
and 6-year-old be? Oh my!
I wondered why Lauren
kept asking,” you sure
you can do this Geepaw?”
Girl, I own four businesses,
this ain't nothing, I said.
Famous last words.
We get to Nona Picci and
I swear y'all I got drunk
there in the late eighties.
That was the bar on 301
that had a wooden fence
around it. It had to be cause
i had deja vu. Anyway,
Jude couldn't eat but three
pieces of pizza because
he was so excited about
playing games. Jett had to
bang the metal plates and
play waiter. But he did eat
two pieces that I had to
cut up and blow on. Did I
say we have all spoiled the
children?
So, we finished eating
and got to the arcade.
Thank goodness I had
plenty of one-do liar bills!
I think at one point Jude
even snapped his fingers
and said, “I need money
old man.” I also realized
Jett was oblivious, so I
didn't give him money. He
was just fascinated with
the bells and whistles.
But then it happened. Jett
announces for the world
to hear,” I gotta go to the
bathroom Geepaw!” Now,
I won't embarrass him here,
I'm waiting till he brings
his first girlfriend home to
meet Geepaw but let's just
say, there's a lot of water in
little baby bodies.
At 8:30 we decided to go
get ice cream. Y'all know
my bedtime is 9 right? I
was beat y'all. These kids
wore me out. Which is the
excuse I used when Jude
was amazed, he beat me
at air hockey. We got our
ice cream and I'm glad
they elected to eat it there;
I would have never gotten
ice cream out of the car.
As I'm putting Jett in the
car seat he says,” I want
mommy.” I said, “me too
son, me too”. That ride
back to Millen was the
longest thirty minutes of
mine and Jett’s lives. Jude
was asleep in the back seat
and Jett was talking to dead
people, I think.
There was craziness
coming from his car seat,
I'm telling ya. Then he
begins singing,” I want
Mommy!” And whining a
bit. I asked,” Jett do you
ever ask for Geepaw?” Oh,
the honesty of children,”
nope” he replied. He sang
his mommy song halfway
to Millen before I finally
said,” Jett hush. I'm all
you got right now and I'm
trying my best to get you
home.”
Did we have fun? Yes.
Did I drop those babies off
and say to their dad,” I’m
good for about two weeks!”
As I ran for the door! That’s
all for now, take care!
John Paul Hearn, Superintendant
Jenkins County School System
Several years ago, before I was even in the field of education, I attended a pre-planning
breakfast with Renee’. I think it was the year that she was the JCES teacher of the year. In
his speech that morning, Dr. Hayward Cordy mentioned a book called Good to Great by Jim
Collins. Part of his reference was a quote from the book that said, “Be a plow horse, not a
show horse.” Ever since that day I always said I needed to read that book. Fast forward over
20 years and I finally picked that book up. I wish I had read it much sooner.
If you have never read the book, I recommend it. The first sentence of the book smacked
me right upside the head. “Good is the enemy of great.” When I stop and think, how many
times in my life have I settled for good? Disclaimer here. I would not want to change
anything about my life even if I could because I love my family I have been blessed with
and I am super excited about my role in our school system. However, I can’t help but think
about how my family may be better off if I had never settled for good. Collins says, “Few
people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”
One area Collins discusses is discipline. Now this is not discipline in the sense of
punishment, rather it is self-discipline in our thoughts and actions. As a part of my study
on this, I veered off to find a good definition of discipline. Webster's dictionary defines
discipline as follows, “to train or develop by instruction and exercise especially in self-
control.” That sounds like last week's discussion on that space between stimulus and
response where we get to choose how we respond.
I watched an interview with former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. He says
that without discipline you give up under the slightest of circumstances. Tyson goes on to
define discipline as doing what you hate to do but do it like you love it. World and Olympic
Champion swimmer and record holder Michael Phelps says there were many days he didn’t
want to get out of bed and train. But he did anyway. Phelps said the “greats” in any walk of
life do things when they don’t always want to and that is what separates them.
I am a huge college football fan. Right now, I am enjoying life because my beloved
Georgia Bulldogs are the current two-time defending national champions. They didn’t get
to this point by luck. Nor did they get there because they were motivated each day. They
got there through self-discipline. Players and coaches alike will tell you that each of them
makes a conscious decision each day to work hard to better themselves and their team.
Former Navy Seal Jocko Willink says that discipline will beat motivation every time.
You may be asking what all of this means. You may be saying we won't have a Navy Seal
or an Olympic swimmer or a college national champion from Millen. I believe we will. But
whether someone is a national champion or a teacher or a carpenter or a farmer or whatever
they choose to be in life, our job is to prepare them to be as successful as they possibly can
be.
And I believe that begins with not settling for “Good.” Our kids in Jenkins County deserve
the absolute best we can give them every single day. That means giving them the best
possible facilities we can afford for them to learn in. It means giving them the best possible
facilities we can afford for them to compete in. It also means I must give them the best of
me every single day. It’s not always easy, but it's always right. Let’s defeat “good” this year.
By Joe Brady, Editor
for
The Times
Bipartisan legislation supports institutions
fundamental to hometown communities
Lett
To Tin
Letters to the editor of The Jenkins County Times are welcomed and encouraged.
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Special
to
The Times
New legislation to
support local newsrooms
and local advertisers
has been introduced in
the 118th Congress. The
Community News &
Small Business Support
Act was introduced by
Congresswoman Claudia
Tenney (NY-24) and
Congresswoman Suzan
DelBene (WA-1), both
members of the Ways and
Means Committee.
The bipartisan legislation
supports two institutions
critical to sustaining
hometown communities:
local news organizations
and small businesses.
Much like the Local
Journalism Sustainability
Act, which was introduced
in the 117th Congress,
the Tenney-DelBene
Act makes refundable
tax credits available to
local newspapers of up
to $25,000 per journalist
in the first year and up to
$15,000 per journalist in
the next four years.
The Act also makes
non-refundable tax
credits available to local
businesses that advertise
with local newspapers of
up to $5,000 in the first
year and $2,500 in the next
four years.
America’s Newspapers,
along with other leading
media organizations, has
led the call for support of
the local news industry
through legislative efforts.
All current members of
America’s Newspapers
will qualify for the tax
credits proposed under
the Tenney-DelBene Act.
National news outlets are
not eligible for these tax
credits.
“Thank you to
Congresswoman Tenney
and Congresswoman
DelBene for their
dedication to both
local news and small
businesses," said Dean
Ridings, CEO of America's
Newspapers. “We could
not have imagined having
such strong congressional
advocates, from both
sides of the aisle, in our
comer. In addition to the
congresswomen, we would
also like to thank all of
the organizations that
have supported America's
Newspapers in these efforts,
including the News/Media
Alliance, the Rebuild Local
News Coalition, dozens of
state press associations and
mor
“I am proud to be
part of the America’s
Newspapers team that
worked hard to make this
happen,” said Cameron
Nutting Williams, regional
publisher, and chief
revenue officer of Ogden
Newspapers. Williams,
who serves as president
of America’s Newspapers,
said this legislation will
benefit local newspapers
across the country, as
well as their advertisers.
“When newspapers are
shuttered, that hurts
local communities, leads
to citizens being less
informed by credible
sources and hurts Main
Street businesses. This
legislation will provide
much-needed support
to local newspapers and
businesses.”
Hometown news, unlike
national media, is non
partisan and fundamental
to the fabric of our
local communities. The
Community News & Small
Business Support Act:
• Brings back
local jobs to community
newsrooms.
• Strengthens Main
Street businesses.
• Increases access
to infomiation that reflects
hometown values.
“As the former owner and
publisher of the Mid-York
Weekly, a local weekly
newspaper, I understand
how essential it is to support
local newspapers and
provide our communities
with locally sourced news,”
said Tenney, the bill's
sponsor. “The Community
News and Small Business
Support Act ensures that
local newspapers can
continue to deliver vital
news stories that matter
most to our communities
while allowing for our
small businesses to grow
and our communities to
stay informed. I am thrilled
to introduce this bill
alongside Congresswoman
DelBene and will continue
to advocate for local
newspapers and small
businesses.”
“In today’s digital world,
access to trustworthy and
reliable news is more
important than ever. Local
journalists and newspapers
play a critical role in
increasing involvement
in civic institutions,
identifying government
corruption and decreasing
polarization. Yet, this
industry is struggling more
than ever to keep the lights
on,” said DelBene, the
bill's original cosponsor.
“The legislation we are
introducing today would
provide much-needed
support for newspapers
so local journalists can
continue their invaluable
work.”
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issue 21 July 2023 is published weekly by on Wednesday
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