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Page 4 - Wednesday, August 9, 2023
The Jenkins County Times
j enkinsc ountytimes .com
For anyone who has ever owned a dog, you understand the phrase, “man’s best friend.”
My family loves dogs, and we have one or nine. Yes, we actually have nine dogs. And yes,
they are a best friend for all of us. When Taylor moved off to Athens for college, we got her
a nice little Golden Retriever she named Benson. Benson grew and grew until he became a
102-pound dog who thinks he should still sit in your lap. And he generally does when you sit
down. He is a loving and affectionate dog, and he is a fierce protector of Taylor.
A couple of years ago, Benson developed a large lump on one of his front paws. A biopsy
revealed that it was a cancerous Mast Cell Tumor. This was devastating for Taylor. The two
of them are inseparable. Our vet began to discuss options. The tumor was so large that he
wasn’t sure he could effectively remove it with surgery and be able to close his paw back
up. In the meantime, Renee contacted a friend from high school that is an exotic animal vet,
and he said there was a new drug called Stelfonta. It is a medicine that a veterinarian injects
directly into the tumor, and it basically kills the tumor and a small amount of adjoining flesh.
We discussed this with our vet, and he had not heard of or used the medicine since it was
new. But he said he would check it out and see. And he did just that. He called his vet friends.
He called the vet school at UGA. He developed a plan and said he would try it. The process
of the tumor dying, and the foot healing was a good two months or so. Once his foot healed,
you could not tell anything had happened, and his bloodwork showed he was cancer free.
Recently he went in for the third time for that treatment in the same paw. He has never had
a minute's trouble with anything else or developed any tumor anywhere else. Prior to this
medicine, a common course of treatment would be to amputate the limb because of the size
and location of the tumor. I believe we have one of the best vets taking care of Benson. He
cares for Benson and wants what’s best for Benson.
But here’s the purpose of my story. For the successful treatment of Benson’s paw, our vet
had to do something he had never done before, let alone never even heard of before. But as is
the case with doctors and veterinarians, when they hear of something that has shown positive
results, they don’t discount it just because they have never done it that way. They take the
scientific route and investigate and make an informed decision based on evidence.
Imagine if we all did that. What if we all did what was best, even if it is not familiar? So
many times, I am guilty of getting into a rut and doing things that are familiar. Doing things
that are easy. And you remember what Jim Collins said, “Few people attain great lives, in
large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.” My challenge continues to be this.
Collectively, let’s commit to becoming great as a school system and as a county regardless
of how uncomfortable it causes us to get.
So, I celebrated a first, Saturday morning, the first birthday of Miss Lillie James
Johnson and while I can boast that I am a seasoned entertainer and host, I have never
been privy to a child’s first birthday. Now, for those of you who may remember,
The Pines has been the venue for hundreds of parties through the Mulkey’s and
right on down to me.
If that patio could talk, I’m sure it could tell stories. Of course, I have not
entertained in several years and y’all, that patio sure looked it. The stones were
gray/black, the flower beds were home to weeds, flowerpots stacked up neatly in
a comer and dust over everything that was standing still. How were we ever going
to pull this off?
Well, thanks to Joshua who dedicated last Friday to working in the yards, Oh, did
I mention that the yard man had decided to quit, without a notice? We go through
more yard services than Carter has liver pills, I’m sure. And there was that one guy
who decided my day lilies were in the way and mowed them down, complete with
their labels. Yeah, I was kinda obsessed with daylilies. Jerry Messex didn’t have
anything on me and Vic Mulkey!
Anway, the big day arrived, and I must admit, thanks to Sam and Joshua, the patio
was shining like a new penny. Gone was the bar, set up in the far comer, punch
and tea had taken its place. Gone were the elaborate food tables full of catered
food from Christy and Amber. They were replaced with peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches. Well, we will call them finger sandwiches!
Instead of eating from dainty toothpicks, I was served grapes from the dirty hands
of young master Jett and played tea party with cold water that one of Mason and
Danielle’s sons promptly doused over his head!
As the guests left and I finally settled in my chair for the hour before I had to
report to the auction house I took a moment and reflected on the events of the day. I
don’t know how many cucumber finger sandwiches I have consumed on that patio,
but I can tell you, they don’t beat peanut butter and jelly! That’s all for now, take
care!
John Paul Hearn, Superintendant
Jenkins County School System
By Joe Brady, Editor
for
The Times
Across the Pond with Tyler
Lett*
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By Tyler Busch,
Podcast Director & Writer
for
The Times
Folks, it pains me to say
that my adventures across
the pond have come to
an end but I have made
the most out of it all, no
regrets. This past week, my
parents and I took a coach
bus tour of Scotland. We
covered hundreds of miles,
beginning in Glasgow, then
drove to Edinburgh and
up to the highlands with
many stops in between. All
of us passengers were in
awe of how these coach
bus drivers maneuvered
these buses on the many
tight, narrow roads (the
British don’t believe in
giant highways). It was
my first time doing a bus
tour and it was good, but
we were definitely on the
go constantly. I did enjoy
looking out and seeing
rural Scotland but wishing
it was a little warmer
and sunny. The Scottish
weather did not disappoint;
it was cool, cloudy and
dreary. Yesterday, however,
was our “sunniest day”. I
am looking forward to the
Southern sunshine again,
just not the heat wave part.
Our first night in
Scotland was spent in
Glasgow, where we had
a welcome dinner with
our tour group. Early the
next morning, we were
up and out, on our way
to Edinburgh. Along the
way we stopped at Stirling
Castle and saw the Kelpies.
The Kelpies are a pair of
giant metal sculptures of
horses. The sculptures
are roughly a decade old
while Stirling Castle was
hundreds of years old. The
roads may be just as old
as the castle. We then got
to Edinburgh later in the
day and went to a Scottish-
themed dinner. The
following day we went to
Edinburgh castle and took
a self-guided tour of the
royal family’s yacht, the
Britannia.
Walking on the yacht,
you feel like you are on a
cruise ship. Surprisingly
though, the ship was not
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extremely glamorous.
It was very nice, no
argument there, with
lots of room for the
royal family and their
friends. What was cool
about it was that you
did step back in time. I
went by the bedrooms
of Prince Philip, the
Queen, and now King
Charles slept in. I also
got to see the main
dining room, and saw
the bed that Charles
and Diana slept on
(maybe Camilla slept
on it too??). I also
saw a couple pictures
of the queen wearing
pants!! Now, I have
always seen pictures of
the Queen wearing her
traditional queen attire, but
never have I seen images
of her in “casual attire”.
These particular pictures
were from the early 1980s.
The next morning, we
left for the hills, literally.
On the way to our hotel
outside of Inverness, we
stopped at St. Andrews.
There I saw the North
Sea, a part of the famed
St. Andrews golf course,
and walked by the cafe
the current Prince and
Princess of Wales met at.
For lunch we stopped at
a mountain resort town,
called Pitlochry (and
were about 30 miles from
Balmoral castle). It went
from driving through thick,
green forests (like driving
through North Georgia)
then becoming wide open
grasslands. It was like that
all through the Highlands,
along with the many sheep
and cows (in particular
highland cows, not Texas
longhorns).
The next day we went
to see the Loch Ness
monster. Unfortunately, I
have to report I didn't see
the monster but the lake
itself was nice and eerily
calm. The boat we rode
on looked like it came out
of the movie Jaws, just no
sharks. It was interesting
to learn about the various
reasons and creatures
Loch Ness supposedly is.
I support the theory that
it's some creature from the
Jurassic period. You can’t
go to Scotland and not see
its unofficial mascot. What
do you think it is, do you
think it's real or fiction?
The following day, we
drove back to Glasgow and
on the way drove through
the highlands for our final
time and made a pit stop
at Glenfinnan (the Harry
Potter bridge).
Today, we flew back
to London where both
our journeys began. My
parents and I are both ready
to be home so wish us luck
for safe travels home. It has
been an amazing six weeks
abroad in the UK and I
would do it all over again. I
got everything I wanted out
of this trip and am excited
to share with you all about
it. I can say I am not a fan
of the weather here and not
so much the food either but
I did try several new things.
I am very thankful for the
opportunity and happy it
all came together. I would
highly recommend to
anyone to do this in college,
it's worth every penny. Go
and explore!
See you all very soon.
REALTOR®
Jessica Herrmann
C: 912-536-6149
O: 912-489-0067
jessica@greatgarealty.com
986 GRIMM AVENUE, MILLEN, GA
.Jenkins County Times
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Jake Gay Reporter
Tyler Busch Podcast Director/Reporter
THE JENKINS COUNTY TIMES
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