About The Jenkins County times. (Millen, Ga.) 2023-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 2023)
Page 4 - Wednesday, August 23, 2023 The Jenkins County Times j enkinsc ountytimes .com Letters to the editor of The Jenkins County Times are welcomed and encouraged. 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 Unsigned letters will not be published.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 and phone 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 John Paul Hearn, Superintendant Jenkins County School System I love watching sports. Really, I think it’s that I love watching people compete. I don’t have a lot of “favorite” teams. It's pretty much the Georgia Bulldogs. I grew up loving them and I reckon I always will. And I cannot wait until the first Saturday in September to be back between the hedges in Sanford Stadium cheering on the two-time defending National Champions. But outside of UGA and Jenkins County Athletics, I am just a fan of great athletes competing, and I will watch just about anything. I can remember when I was in high school and in the years after I graduated there was a basketball player who went by the nickname MJ. He is known by most as the GOAT. He is Michael Jordan. I remember watching the court go dark. The song Sirius by the Alan Parsons Project began blaring and spotlights began lighting up the court. And then the introduction of some of the greatest basketball players ever. Pippen (the only player to be on all six of the championship teams with MJ), Rodman, Grant, Kukoc, and Kerr to name a few. It was a spectacle. I am not even an NBA fan, but I am a huge fan of fierce competitors and of those individuals who have an insatiable appetite to be great. Those competitors are relentless. Last week I talked about Grit. Grit is that personal attribute where one has unyielding courage in the face of hardship. This week we are going to discuss another word, RELENTLESS. It is defined as oppressively constant. If you have been outside much over the last few weeks, the heat has been relentless. Tim Grover is an elite trainer in both the physical and mental realm. He has trained many famous athletes, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are a couple of them. In his book he talks about the relentless nature of the players he trained. He said Michael Jordan spent countless hours alone in a gym practicing the game winning shots. He practiced them so much that they were instinct to him. He didn’t have to think. You could just get him the ball and he would make the shot. Jordan once said this, “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” You see, Michael Jordan was relentless. He 3-peated as a world champion with the Chicago Bulls twice. Six total championships. He didn’t give up when times got rough. He didn’t give up in the face of failure. He was relentless and he pressed forward. GREAT. That is where we are headed. I have been sharing about how Jim Collins’ writing has influenced my vision for where we are headed in the Jenkins County School System. Jim Collins has written several books supporting the theme of Good To Great. In his book Built To Last, Collins says an organization must have a set of core values and a purpose that remains constant over time, but it must also have a relentless drive for progress. As a school system we must have that inner relentless drive to see our students succeed. Not just some of our students, ALL of our students. And we must instill that same relentless drive in our students. They CAN DO IT. I'll leave you with an example of what relentless drive to succeed looks like in a classroom. Students take the Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS) test each year along with several other subjects and grade levels in Georgia. Only 10 schools in the state of Georgia scored higher than our 8th grade science students this past spring. Not districts, schools. Our 8th grade science students were 11th in the state out of all schools in Georgia. So, last week I did this thing. I decided to join the gym and get a trainer. Now, I must admit, I have never had a trainer in my life, unless the PE coach counts in school. I didn’t really know what to expect, it wasn’t what I got however! So, when I meet Cody for the first time, I see this young twenty something well fit young man. I’m thinking, “ok, if I could only look like that!” So, after he asked me what I expected from a trainer, “to be as buff as you I did in fact reply,” he asked if I had any health problems, he should be aware of. Y’all, the look on his face when I told him that I had heart problems was priceless. I could tell he was thinking, “have mercy, what have I gotten into?” But, not to be daunted, he pulls a chair to the middle of the floor and shows me how to do squats. Now, did I mention that I chose my gym time when no one else would be there? I can’t take too much embarrassment. And y’all know how them gym freaks look at the rest of us. So, I do squats. That wasn’t so bad. Then Cody moves me to a rubberband thing. I kid you not, it looked like a huge rubberband that he wanted me to stretch over and over. Now, this wasn’t hard until he had me move my hands closer together. Oh my heavens, y’all, that thing bout killed me! So, have I mentioned we had thirty minutes together? Y’all that was the longest thirty minutes of my life! In addition to squats and rubberbands, he had me do weights. After every exercise Cody would ask, “you, okay? You don’t feel like you’re gonna die, do you?” Uhyes sir, Mr. Fitness man, I died fifteen minutes ago!” Have you ever heard people grunting in the gym during workouts? Well, I was granting, crying, calling my Mama, you name it! When Cody said, “Ok, we’ll see each other next week.” I almost wept with joy. But y’all, it wasn’t until I crawled into bed that night that the real tears began. Help me Sweet Jesus! Y’all my legs hurt so bad I couldn’t stand it. I mean they hurt when I straightened them when I lifted them. And everything in between. I sent Cody a text that read, “I’m calling George Sink, I know you assaulted me.” What’s that old saying, no pain, no gain? What will be in store for me Tuesday? That’s all for now, take care! By Joe Brady, Editor for The Times Connections Church of Millen to CHECK OUT OUR for their parents to send their children to.” Connections Church is also starting a career/college-aged group similar to Connect Students. The ages in this group will range from 18-24. The church serves people from Jenkins, Emanuel, Screven, and surrounding counties. You can find the Connections Church on Facebook, online, and on Instagram. Their Sunday Gathering is at 11 a.m. so come and check them out if you, your family, or someone you know is looking for a church home. Daily Specials ON Facebook (478)982-2390 537 East Winthrope Ave. Millen, Georgia 30442 build new home By Tyler Busch, Podcast Director & Reporter far The Times Connections Church of Millen was started in 2015 by local pastor, Jeremy Lindsey. He has been in Millen his entire life. Pastor Jeremy states, “God began to stir in my heart back in 2015, as I was a traveling evangelist in the area, and stirred in me to plant a church to reach the younger generation that seemed to not be in churches around here.” He continues saying, “we started with a small group in my house in 2015, and then in 2016 we began having night services in the old elementary school cafeteria.” Today, Connections Church has its service inside the Jenkins County High/Middle cafeteria. The church is currently building its own sanctuary. Jeremy says, “the new church will be located off of highway 17 going out of town past the recreation department” It will sit on property the church bought in 2019. He also stated, “if this is what God wants us to have we will raise the money in 60 days and in those 60 days the amount raised was double that.” Construction was supposed to start in 2020, but was delayed due to the pandemic. The site is currently being cleared and leveled in preparation for the new Connections Church. The construction of the new church is being funded fully by donations. Jeremy states “we looked at several places on Front Street but that it was going to cost a lot to get them up to code, property/land in Millen, but we knew that God wanted us to be centrally located in town.” He also stated “at one time we had more people from outside Millen attending church than from Millen/Jenkins County.” The project’s name is called “here to stay.” The meaning behind it as Pastor Patrick Irvan states, “We want everyone to know we’re not just a noble church, bouncing around and can leave at any moment.” He continues saying, “We are here to stay in Jenkins County/ Millen and know that people have a home to come and learn about Jesus.” The new building will sit on 14 acres, half in Millen city limits, and the other half in the county. There are several events/gatherings throughout the week Connections Church has including Connect Groups as well as Men and Women ministries. They also have active kids and youth ministries. Their Connect Kids ministry is led by Lindsey Doolittle and their youth program (Connection Students) is led by family pastor Patrick Irvan. Connection Students serves students between grades 6-12. Patrick describes his job saying, “My job is to take care of that age group (and whatever He tells me to do) and that the youth are the future of our church.” He also states, “Our success is measured by the youth.” The program brings in volunteers/ speakers to talk with the students on their level as well as having small groups. Patrick says, “We talk about the issues they're dealing with in middle/ high school and navigating these things in a godly way, but also to play games and be a safe place REALTOR® Jessica Herrmann C: 912-536-6149 O: 912-489-0067 jessica@greatgarealty.com 986 GRIMM AVENUE, MILLEN, GA .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/Reporter/AP Correspondent Brad Asbury Sports Editor Jake Gay Reporter Tyler Busch Podcast Director/Reporter THE JENKINS COUNTY TIMES issue 25 August 2023 is published weekly by on Wednesday for $35 per year by THE JENKINS COUNTY TIMES, 425 Hwy 25 S • Millen, Ga. 30442. Periodical postage pending at Millen, GA and additional mailing offices. 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