About The Jenkins County times. (Millen, Ga.) 2023-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 27, 2023)
Page 6 - Wednesday, December 27, 2023 The Jenkins County Times jenkinscountytimes.com ADULT EDUCATION STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN CHRISTMAS PARTY Gail Lans, parent; and GED students, Alexcia Lans and Devyn Wherry. By Annette Cobb, Special Contributor to The Times On December 13, 2023, GED students from the Jenkins County Adult Learning Center participated in the Adult Education Christmas party at Southeastern Technical College in Swainsboro, Georgia. Greetings were given by Susan Cross, Executive Director of Adult Education and Delorice Poole, Career Services Specialist. Students from Swainsboro, Vidalia, and Millen enjoyed a day of fun watching Christmas movies and participating in Christmas games and other activities. Prizes were given to the winners of each game. Everyone enjoyed a table full of delicious Christmas goodies! Speakers Announced: Georgia Cotton Commission Annual Meeting January 31, 2024 Special to The Times The Georgia Cotton Commission is pleased to announce the guest speakers at the Commission's 2024 Annual Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, January 31, 2024, at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center. The annual meeting is held in conjunction with the UGA Cotton Production Workshop conducted by the UGA Research & Extension Cotton Team. The UGA Cotton Production Workshop will feature breakout sessions where attendees will leam the latest technical production strategies from the researchers whose projects are funded by the Commission's research program. The Georgia Cotton Commission Annual Meeting will follow the breakout sessions and feature speakers from several industry organizations. The program speakers are Micah Brown, Staff Attorney, National Agricultural Law Center; Bmce Atherley, Executive Director, Cotton Council International; and Jim Davis, CEO, Southern Cotton Growers. • Micah Brown received his Juris Doctor, graduating cum laude, from the University of Arkansas School of Law. While in law school, he worked as a law clerk for the Office of the Arkansas Attorney General. During his second year of law school, Micah began working at the National Agricultural Law Center as a research fellow. After graduating law school in May of 2020, he joined the Center full-time. At the Center, his primary areas of research are finance and credit, commercial transactions, secured transactions, federal crop insurance, and foreign ownership of agricultural land. • Bmce Atherley has served as Executive Director of Cotton Council International (CCI), the export promotion arm of the cotton industry, since 2015. CCI works to make US cotton the preferred fiber for mills, manufacturers, brands, retailers, and consumers around the world. Before coming to CCI, Atherley had a 30-year career in consumer marketing and general management with companies including General Mills, Heinz, and Wrigley. He has degrees from Bucknell University and the University of Virginia. • Jim Davis will begin his new role as CEO of Southern Cotton Growers on January 1, 2024. A 5th generation cotton, com, soybean, wheat, and cattle producer from New Market, Alabama, he been transitioning into the CEO role since October 2023 after serving the industry for over 30 years as the Southeastern Member Services Representative for the National Cotton Council. Jim holds a B.S. degree in Animal & Dairy Science, Pre-Vet from Auburn University. Following the Annual Meeting speakers, the Commission will host lunch where sponsors will be recognized, door prizes will be given away, and awards will be presented. The meeting, production workshop, and lunch are open to not only cotton growers, but anyone interested in the cotton industry. The UGA Cotton Production Workshop breakout sessions will be repeated after lunch. There is no charge to attend. Pre-registration is requested to help with meal plans. Register online at www. ugatiftonconference.caes.uga.edu or call (229) 386-3416. Thank you to our sponsors: Deltapine/Bayer Crop Science - Stoneville/BASF Farm Credit Associations of Georgia -John Deere Phytogen/Corteva Agriscience Ag America Lending - Agri Supply - Americot, Inc.- NexGen - Armor Cotton Carden & Associates - Cargill Cotton - CNI - Custom Ag Formulators - Georgia Farm Bureau GreenPoint Ag - The KBH Corporation - Kelley Manufacturing Co. - Lasseter Tractor Magnolia Loom - Newton Crouch - Nutrien Ag Solutions - Olam Cotton Rainbow Plant Food/Timac Agro USA - R.W. Griffin - SePRO Corporation - Staplcotn Syngenta - Synovus - Tama USA - Tidewater Equipment/CASE-IH Triangle Chemical Company - Triangle Insurance - Valent USA - Valley Irrigation Vantage Southeast - Zimmatic Irrigation OSSOFF Continued from page 4 fight and bring the REPORT Act to the floor for a vote. NCMEC is eager to see this timely legislation become law because every child deserves a safe childhood.” I have heard from child welfare experts and local leaders across the state about this growing concern, who have noted that online child sexual abuse continues to run rampant but remains underreported in Georgia. Earlier this month in a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, I pressed FBI Director Christopher Wray to address sextortion schemes targeting children online amidst a reported 700% increase in their frequency since 2021 in Georgia. In September, myself ana Blackburn launched an inquiry with Attorney General Merrick Garland about the FBI’s capacity to investigate and respond to crimes involving child sexual abuse and exploitation, highlighting a June 2023 report to Congress in which the DOJ cited an international threat assessment demonstrating that “the growth in online child sexual exploitation is outpacing our ability to respond.” ALLEN Continued from page 4 entrepreneurs by expanding access to programs that offer training and resources to individuals seeking to start their own business. With Startup Act language included, entrepreneurs and future entrepreneurs will relate to the resources they need to grow a business, create jobs, and strengthen our economy. I also participated in a Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee hearing entitled: "Protecting Workers and Small Businesses from Biden’s Attack on Worker Free Choice and Economic Growth." The Biden Administration’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has systematically stripped employees of their rights and small business owners of their livelihoods through decisions on secret-ballot elections, independent contractors, and joint-employer status. During the hearing, we discussed my legislation, the Employee Rights Act, and how it will help fight back against this overreach and instead protects workers’ rights and privacy, as well as empowers entrepreneurs and independent contractors. The House of Representatives passed the Conference Report to accompany H.R. 2670, the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with my support. The NDAA authorizes annual funding levels for the U.S. Armed Forces and sets expenditures for the Department of Defense (DOD). As our nation continues to face threats from foreign adversaries across the globe, we must prioritize military readiness and ensure our Armed Forces are equipped with the tools necessary to protect the homeland. Despite its shortcomings, this legislation provides a well-deserved pay increase to our service members, secures critical funding for Fort Eisenhower and the Savannah River Site, and includes important conservative victories. Specifically, the Conference Report to accompany H.R. 2670: • Secures critical funding for operations and construction at Fort Eisenhower and the Savannah River Site • Provides a 5.2% pay raise for our servicemembers, the largest increase in over 20 years • Enhances military readiness by investing in capabilities to counter China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea • Prohibits teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the military • Prevents funding from being used for climate change programs The House also passed H. Res. 918, with my support, which explicitly empowers the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the Committee on the Judiciary to continue their ongoing impeachment investigations into President Biden’s involvement in his family's shady business dealings with foreign entities. I had the privilege of announcing Lakeside High School students Iziq Thomas, Jerry Fan, and Kunsh Sharma have been selected as the winners of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge for Georgia’s 12th District. The students were chosen for their work developing Circa, a software application designed to aid users in achieving balance in various aspects of life, with a particular focus on mental health. As the winner of this year's App Challenge, Circa will be featured on the U.S. House of Representatives' website and displayed in a U.S. Capitol exhibit. Additionally, the students are invited to Capitol Hill for the #HouseOfCode celebration where they will be given the opportunity to demo their app for Members of Congress CUSTOM EMBROIDERY Celestine Hutley owner/operator ^ 478-299-2354 “ £ 3 H C/5 3 220 Landrum Drive g ^ Millen, Georgia 30442 ^ pn Room 610 W Logan Oglesby with Kristin McLamb Logan helps decorate the tree Aged to Perfection Jenkins County Senior Center Are You On Santa’s Team?? By Lee Wilson, Special Contributor for The Times The other day at the Senior Center, we had a box of candy canes that were given to us. Someone asked how the candy cane first came about. Well we did a little research and found out the “Legend of the Candy Cane”. One dreary evening in November a stranger rode into town. He stopped his horse in front of a lonely empty store. The windows were boarded shut and the door was locked. The man looked at the store and smiled and then said “It will do”. For many days and nights, the man worked long hours inside of the building. The townspeople could hear the banging of a hammer and the sound of a saw. They could smell the sweet clean scent of new lumber and the deep oily smell of fresh paint. But no one knew who the man was or what he was doing. The mayor hoped he was a doctor to help with the peoples’ ailments. The young wives hoped he was a tailor to make beautiful dresses. The farmers hoped he was a trader in order to exchange their grain for goods. But the children had the strongest wish of all. A wish they dare not tell their parents. A deep quiet secret wish that none of them would say out loud. No one spoke to the man. No one asked if he needed help. They just waited and watched and wondered and wished. There was this one small girl who watched and wondered and waited and wished longer than she could stand. One snowy day she walked up to the store front and knocked at the stranger’s door. “Hello,” she said. “My name is Lucy. Do you need some help?” The man smiled warmly and nodded. Then he opened the door all the way and Lucy stepped inside. A long counter ran down the side of the room. Bare shelves filled the opposite walls. In the back were dozens and dozens of barrels and crates. “Could you help me unpack?” the man asked. Lucy’s heart sank at the sight of all the boxes. What if they were only barrels of nails and bags of flour? Lucy removed her wet boots and hung her coat on a peg. She walked across the rough wooden floor and knelt beside a crate. “Please, open it,” the man urged. Slowly, Lucy put her hand into the box and pulled out an object wrapped in tissue. Round and heavy, it almost slipped through her fingers. Lucy trembled a little as she unwrapped it. It was a glass jar. Lucy gave the man a puzzled look. “Go on,” as he nodded his head. So she unpacked another glass jar, and another, and another until she was completely surrounded by jars of all shaped and sizes. Tall and thin, round and squat, jars with lids and jars without. “Now”, the man said, “for something to put inside.” He pulled over a huge crate stamped with a strange word on it. As Lucy unpacked, her eyes lit up. It was candy. Her favorite candy. Gumdrops! “Try some,” the man said. She popped one in her mouth. Now Lucy could barely unwrap fast enough. Peppermint sticks! Taffy! Lollipops! Chewing gum! Wide-eyed, Lucy looked at the man. “We wished...,” Lucy said. “Yes, I know,” the man said. “And here it is. Welcome to Sonneman’s Candy Store. I am John Sonneman. Soon the store was filled with candies gleaming in their glass jars. Raspberry suckers and tiny lemon drops, brightly colored jawbreakers and long strings of licorice were everywhere. There were pink and white peppermints for church and butterscotch balls for when company came. Then in the very last crate was a candy Lucy had never seen before. There was a red and white striped candy stick with a crook on the end. “What is this?’ Lucy asked. “This, “Mr. Sonneman explained, “is a candy cane. It is a very special Christmas candy.” “Why?’ Lucy asked. Mr. Sonneman then said, “Tell me, what letter does this look like?” Lucy took the candy and turned it in her hand. “J” she said. “Yes,” Mr. Sonneman said. “J is for Jesus who was bom on Christmas day. Now turn it over. What does it remind you of?” Lucy turned the candy in her hand. She peered down intently. “I know!” she said finally. “It’s like a shepherd’s staff.” “Who were the first to find out about Jesus’ birth?” Mr. Sonneman asked. “Shepherds in the field,” Lucy answered, “Watching over their flocks by night.” “But Mr. Sonneman, what are the stripes for?” Lucy asked. Mr. Sonneman’s eyes grew sad. “The prophet Isaiah said, ‘By his stripes we are healed.’ Before he died on the cross, Jesus was whipped. He bled terribly. The red reminds us of his sufferings and his blood.” Mr. Sonneman continued, “The candy is white as well. When we give our lives to Jesus, his blood washes away our sins, making us white and pure as snow.” “That”, Mr. Sonneman said, “is the legend of the candy cane!” “Is it a secret?’ Lucy asked. Mr. Sonneman looked at her for a long moment. “It’s a story that needs to be told,” he said. “Will you help me share it?” It was now the depths of December. The town was whipped round by blizzard winds. For days, the sun hid itself. But every morning Mr. Sonneman and Lucy ventured out. They wore heavy woolen coats and bright hand knit scarves. In their stiff mittened fingers they each held a bag. They went to every house in town. They traveled to every farm in the county. They knocked on every door. In every home, they told the story of the candy cane and left it as a small gift. On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, the sun finally broke through the clouds and Mr. Sonneman’s Candy Store officially opened. The mayor came feeling better than he had felt in days. The young wives came dressed in beautiful smiles. The farmers came eager to trade grain for Christmas gifts. The children ran in dizzy circles. Yes, their wish had come true. Yes, they had come to share in the opening of the candy store. But they shared something more.. .something bigger.. .something better... On that Christmas Eve, they shared the story of the candy cane. They told of the miracle of Christ’s birth, the misery of his death and the mercy of his love.
