Newspaper Page Text
Page 4 - Wednesday, February 14, 2024
The Jenkins County Times
jenkinscountytimes.com
0 0 0
EAGLE NOTES
Continuing from last week, technology is making advancements at a pace never
seen in the history of the world. If you have a smart phone, it can do all of the tasks
that used to take a truck load of equipment. And to think, the first iPhone was not
released until 2008. So, in 15 years we have gone from the first smartphone to
what we have today which is basically a supercomputer that puts the world at your
fingertips. Just last night I used Google maps to look at a street level view of the
Great Sphinx and Pyramids in Egypt.
As a school system we are striving to prepare our students to be able to thrive
in this new world. Last week I was walking around school and stepped in the ag
shop. That is an area where technology is also taking my leaps and bounds. I talked
with some students who were programming a laser engraver to engrave something
on a block of wood. They were knowledgeable and told me the whole process of
programming. So I asked Mr. Bennett to tell me a little about that technology and
how it's used in class.
The laser engraver, as well as the 3-D Printer, CNC Router and CNC Plasma were
all purchased through Capital Improvement monies sent by the State Legislature
when we moved into the new building. Many don't think of Agriculture as being on
the cutting edge of advanced technology, but more and more these days, we are
seeing people in the field of Agriculture that spend more time behind a computer
than behind the wheel of a tractor.
The biggest hurdle to getting all this fabulous technology in the Agriculture
Department at once is that we must learn how to set it up and use it all. It was
similar to Christmas morning when you unpack all your toys and then have to read
the directions and there's always "some assembly required". Since there is only one
of me, I tasked students with reading the directions and using some old-fashioned
problem solving to figure out how these machines worked. To this day, that's what
we continue to do. Students that want to use the newest technologies are pointed
in the right direction to get started, and are helped along the way, but for the most
part, they are creating their own knowledge about how these machines operate.
Each Friday in class, we work on what we've called Foundational Friday. It's
an opportunity for our students to build a foundation in problem solving skills, new
knowledge, and a little bit of grit when things aren't as easy as they seem to be. If
the students want to use the laser engraver to make a wooden plaque with their
favorite athletes name and jersey number, they have to determine how to start the
machine, make sure it's connected to the right IP address, import the image they
wish to make, center the plaque in the workspace, line up the laser with the center,
and size the image to fit the wood they have selected before hitting the "play button"
and starting the machine.
This is one of the many areas where the Jenkins County School System is preparing
our students to be successful upon entry in the workforce. Agriculture Education
doesn't just teach farming, but it also exposes students to various technologies and
gives them an opportunity to learn skills that will make them valuable employees.
If you are ever free on a Friday and would like to see all of the many projects our
students are working on during Foundational Fridays, let me know and I’ll take you
on a tour.
Letter from
Jon Burns
The past week has been a positive and productive
one under the Gold Dome, as we worked together to
advance several key priorities and policy solutions
forward in the House of Representatives. We also had
the pleasure of meeting with a number of constituents,
advocacy groups, friends and important organizations traveling to Atlanta to make
their voice heard.
On Monday, we welcomed many of our great friends and constituents from back
home for Effingham Day at the Capitol. I had the privilege of speaking to the
group and seeing so many friends and familiar faces in the crowd. Later in the day,
we had a productive meeting with Dr. Yancy Ford, our Effingham County School
Superintendent, and our school board members to get updates and hear about
the exciting progress being made in the district. I want to especially thank Kim Her,
Troy Allen, Brooke Jenkins, Becky Shea and Susan Kraut for making the day such
a great success.
On Tuesday, we had the opportunity to address the Georgia Hispanic Chamber
of Commerce. I talked about the tremendous success our state has had over
the past ten years as the number one place to do business, our job creation and
economic development projects, and the tax cuts we are continuing to deliver
for families. That success is certainly driven in large part by the more than 1.1
million Latinos who call our state home, and the countless job creators and
entrepreneurs who help fuel that success. That evening, we met with the Georgia
Forestry Association. Georgia has the number one timber industry in the country,
with more than 22 million acres of private timberland accounting for $3.9 billion in
exports. As an agribusiness man with a timber operation myself, I know firsthand
how important our forestry industry is to our state, and we are continuing to
support it every day under the Gold Dome.
On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of speaking to the Georgia Agribusiness
Council about the importance of agriculture and the policy initiatives we have been
working on to support our state’s number one industry. I was especially proud
to recognize the Georgia Farmer of the Year, Effingham's own Bruce Redmond!
From passing the Georgia Farmland Conservation Act to investing in our farmers
markets to working on legislation this year to ban foreign adversaries from buying
Georgia farmland, we are taking a strong stand to support the backbone of our
economy and our rural communities in Georgia.
On Thursday, we passed out of the House three pieces of great legislation—HB
1015, 1019, and 1021. Taken together, these bills will accelerate the state income
tax cut from 5.75 percent to 5.39 percent, double the homestead exemption from
$2,000 to $4,000, and increase the child tax deduction from $3,000 to $4,000 per
child. These priorities will deliver significant relief to taxpayers across the state,
put more money back into their pockets, and continue to boost our economy as
the best state in the country to live, work and raise a family—and I look forward to
quick passage by the Senate and signature by Governor Kemp
We will continue our busy schedule and work on behalf of every citizen in the
state of Georgia next week. Thank you for all that you are doing to support us
each day during session, and as always, if there is anything our office can assist
with, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Best,
Speaker Jon Burns
(1
■araiiiaitsiisMlS
By Joe Brady, Editor
for
The Times
I don’t know if I’m the only one, but sometimes, I just don’t like people. There’s a
movement going on in our quaint little hamlet that bothers me. People have become very
mean to one another, and I can’t explain why. I have folks spreading rumors and lies about
my businesses, yet they owe me money. We have folks that are getting offended by movies
like “The Help” yet obviously have never seen it.
Get offended at “Song of the South” but “The Help?” child please, give me a break. We
have folks taking offense at the photos of former mayors at city hall and want them
relocated. When did it become the responsibility of everybody else to tiptoe around with
our feelings?
We even want to blame others for our own shortcomings. I mean, my competition had
the audacity to report to the police that our newspaper was covering theirs up at the
newsstands. Really?, (Go to jail for covering papers?) I admit I had to laugh at that one.
Don’t blame me for your business not being viable any longer.
Y’all we simply must take some responsibility. It’s like at Church. I was on a committee
that prepared light refreshments every Sunday after Church. When I first started, it was
cookies and a beverage. One Sunday I even served ice cream sandwiches. Anyway, on
Easter we would usually go all out with finger sandwiches, cakes, and mimosas. I did
mention I was at Church, right? A few months back there was a meeting held with the
committee and it was decided that we would start planning our refreshments with the
diabetics and gluten free folks in mind. Now in my day, if you had diet restrictions the
average person in the street didn’t know it. You either brought something from home
to enjoy or you just went home instead. I mean, I can’t eat pork but if I’m somewhere
that serves it, I just eat everything else. I don’t act like a baby about it. As the meeting
was winding down I said, “folks I’m gonna resign from this group. Because, I’m making
a gesture, not feeding you lunch. I’m not catering to all these special diets.” I haven’t
regretted my decision.
In short, we should just rise up and start saying, “grow up.” A bestselling book and play
offend you, grow up! Just because you have a business in Millen doesn’t mean everybody
should patronize you, grow up! Our newspaper is outselling yours 2 to 1, grow up! Can’t
have peanuts? Don’t expect the host to provide something else, walk on by that bowl and
grow up! Pictures of dead guys can’t hurt you, find a candidate we can all support and
their photo can be honored with other mayors. And don’t forget. Grow Up! That’s all for
now, take care.
A Word from Senator John Ossoff
Ossoff introduces
bipartisan bill to help
rural veterans
Last Wednesday, Feb. 7, Sens. Ossoff, Susan Collins
(R-ME), and John Thune (R-SD) introduced the Rural
Veterans Transportation to Care Act to help more
veterans in rural areas get transportation to VA health
facilities and access the health care benefits they’ve
earned.
Sens. Ossoff, Collins, and Thune’s bipartisan bill would expand eligibility to
the VA’s Highly Rural Transportation Grant Program (HRTG), which provides
grant funding for Veteran Service Organizations and State Veterans Service
Agencies to provide veterans transportation in eligible counties. The VA’s Highly
Rural Transportation Grant Program is currently only available to counties with
fewer than 7 people per square mile. The bipartisan bill would expand the VA’s
definition to ensure more counties are eligible for the grant program, helping more
veterans living in rural areas get transportation to the VA or VA-authorized health
care facilities. The bill would also increase the maximum amount of funding grant
recipients are eligible for from $50,000 to $60,000, or up to $80,000 for grantees
to purchase an AD A compliant vehicle. “As I’ve sat down with veterans in rural
areas across Georgia, one of their key concerns is lack of transportation,” Sen.
Ossoff said. “That’s why I’m introducing this bipartisan bill to ensure veterans
have more access to transportation services that can bring them to VA clinics and
medical centers to get the care they need.” “In Maine - a large, rural state with one
of the highest number of veterans per capita - only veterans living in Piscataquis
County are eligible for this important grant program that provides transportation to
VA and VA-authorized healthcare facilities,” said Senator Collins. “By expanding
program eligibility to include more highly rural areas, this bipartisan bill would
allow veterans in additional Maine counties to gain access to these transportation
services.” “Traveling to and from VA facilities is oftentimes an overlooked
obstacle that veterans in rural communities, like those in South Dakota, face,” said
Thune. “This legislation would provide South Dakota veterans with much-needed
transportation services that would allow them to safely and efficiently utilize
services at VA facilities.” The bipartisan bill is backed by the Veterans of Foreign
Wars (VFW), American Legion, and Disabled American Veterans (DAV). “Our
nation’s 2.4-million veterans living in rural areas face difficulties accessing VA
health care that those living in urban and suburban areas do not. Chief among them
is transportation to the department’s nationwide medical facilities,” said Nancy
Espinosa, DAV National Commander. “The nearly 300,000 veterans living in areas
considered highly rural face even greater obstacles and deserve increased attention
to assistance m accessing VA’s high-quality health care. DAV is proud to support
the Rural Veterans Transportation to Care Act as it would help the VA provide all
rural veterans better access to treatment. We applaud Sen. Ossoff’s leadership in
introducing this important legislation that will nelp ensure our nation keeps its
promises to America’s veterans.” According to the VA, roughly 3 in 10 veterans in
Georgia live in rural areas, and there are roughly 2.8 million veterans in rural areas
acros's the country who are enrolled in and rely on the VA’s health care system. Sen.
Ossoff continues working to improve the health of Georgia veterans.
Two weeks ago, thanks to Sen Ossoff’s bipartisan Access for Veterans to Records
Act the National Archives cleared a backlog of more than 400,000 records requests,
enabling Georgia veterans to more quickly access their records and claim their
benefits.
Last month, Sens. Ossoff and Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced the bipartisan
SCHEDULES Act which would require the VA to establish a time standard
between medical referrals and appointment times at VA hospitals and community
care centers.
In October, Sen. Ossoff also launched an inquiry with the VA into excessive
delays with the VA Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA), which decides whether or
not veterans are entitled to claimed veterans’ benefits and services.
Letters To The
EDITOR
Letters to the editor of The Jenkins County Times are welcomed
nd encouraged. These are pages of opinion, yours and ours,
etters to the editor voice the opinions of the newspaper’s read
ers. The Jenkins County Times reserves the right to edit any and
ll portions of a letter. Unsigned letters will not be published,
etters must include the signature, address and phone number
if the writer to allow our staff to authenticate its origin. Letters
hould be limited to 400 words and should be typewritten and
] ouble-spaced or neatly printed by hand. Deadline for letters
I to the editor is noon on Wednesday. Email Letters to the Editor
I to: thejenkinscountytimes@gmail. com
Phone: (478) 401-5007
Proudly covering Jenkins County’s news, sports, and community events
Sam Eades Publisher
Joe Brady Editor
Sam Eades Advertising Sales
Debbie Hearn Admin/Layout and Design Executive
Sarah Saxon ....Admin/Legals/Reporter/AP Correspondent
BradAsbury Sports Editor
Lori Jones Layout/Design/Front Office/Receptionist
THE JENKINS COUNTY TIMES
issue 49 February 2024 is published weekly by on
Wednesday for $24.95 per year by THE JENKINS COUNTY
TIMES, 125 N. Main • Sylvania, Ga. 30467.
Periodical postage pending at Sylvania, GA
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
THE JENKINS COUNTY TIMES, P.O. Box 1448
Millen GA 30442
Subscription Rates (Includes tax):
1 Year in Jenkins County $24.95
1 Year Online Only $18.00
2 Years In Jenkins County $45.00
1 Year Outside of County $24.95
1 Year Outside of Georgia $42.00
1 day online pass $1.99