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Page 4A - The Lee County Ledger, Thursday, December 13, 2001
Georgia Forestry Commission Report
Selecting & Caring For A
Real Holiday Tree
Choosing a real tree for the holi
days is a fun outing and easy to
do. In most households, the holi
day season doesn't begin until the
family goes to the local lot or tree
farm to pick out a Christmas tree.
Then, we decorate it! Gifts are
wrapped and placed underneath
it. The scent, aroma, and the real
tree itself are an integral part of
family unity as well as the holi
day season itself. This tradition
continues as more than 37 million
families celebrate with a real
Holiday tree.
The tree should have a fra
grance and rich green color.
Branches should be pliable and
bend without much resistance.
Freshness is most important in
selecting a tree from a retail lot.
Take hold of a branch and gently
pull your hand toward your body,
allowing the branch to slip
through your fingers. Most of the
needles should stay on the tree.
Lifting and dropping the tree
should not result in a shower of
green needles. Brown needles
that have shed the previous year
are okay.
If you purchase the tree from a
tree farm, none of this is neces
sary. They usually let you watch
or perform the harvest. Many
times you can find a farm that you
and your kids can actually cut the
tree.
Once you've chosen your tree,
keep it in a sheltered, unheated
area to protect it from the wind
and sun until you are ready to
decorate it.
Before you set it up, make a
fresh, straight cut across the base
and place the tree in a tree stand
that holds a gallon of water and
keep it filled. A tree will absorb
as much as a gallon of water or
more within the first 24 hours and
one or more quarts a day thereaf
ter. Water keeps the needles from
dying and dropping and keeps the
branches from drooping. Check
it at least twice each week. Water
also keeps the tree fragrant.
Be sure to keep your tree away
from heat - fireplaces, heat vents
or heaters, and television sets.
Precautions such as these will
Newborn Hearing
Screening Reaches 91
Percent Of Babies,
Says Public Health
Ninety-one percent of babies
born in Georgia during the third
quarter of 2001 were screened for
hearing loss before they left the
hospital, according to a report just
released by the Georgia Depart
ment of Human Resources Divi
sion of Public Health and the State
Advisory Committee on Newborn
Hearing Screening. This year al
most all birthing hospitals in
Georgia began screening new
borns for hearing loss, using new
equipment purchased by Public
Health with part of the state's to
bacco lawsuit settlement funds
and a grant from the Appalachian
Regional Commission. Fewer
than 30 percent of the hospitals
were screening all their newborns
in 1998.
"I am proud that Georgia has
expanded its hearing screening
program so quickly," said Geor
gia First Lady Marie Barnes, a
strong supporter of the program.
"I have seen how big a difference
early detection can make in a
child's life. If hearing loss is de
tected, parents and care givers
know right away to find alternate
ways to teach language and other
skills and the child does not lose
that critical time from birth to
three years old when most of all
brain development occurs. All of
Georgia's families benefit from
this program."
"This is great news," adds
American Family Radio, heard
in Leesburg at 90.3 PM, will air
more than 30 Christmas specials
during December. In addition,
AFR will be playing Christmas
music 24 hours a day through
Christmas Day.
Included will be many musical
specials by a host of Christian art
ists including Phil Keaggy, Darko,
Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Glad,
The Le6 County Ledger
‘EstabCisfecC August 24,1978
P.O. Box 715 (124 4th Street) Leesburg, Georgia 31763
(229) 759-2413 USPS 470-310
Official Organ of Lee County
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Lee and surrounding counties $14. 95 year
Elsewhere $19. 95 year
Publisher Derryl Quinn
Editor Jim Quinn
Layout and Design Tricia Quinn
(USPS 470-310), is published weekly for $14. 95 per year in
Lee and surrounding counties, and $19. 95 per year else
where by at its offices at the May Office Building, 126 - 4th
Street, Leesburg, Georgia 31763. Periodicals postage paid
at Leesburg, GA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes
on Form 3579 to, RO. 715, Leesburg, GA31763.
O
Printed On
Recycled Paper
MEMBER OF GEORGIA
PRESS ASSOCIATION
help preserve the unique beauty
and tradition that only a real tree
can provide.
The Georgia Forestry Commis
sion wishes everyone a "Very
Merry & Safe Christmas."
The University of Georgia • Cooperative Extension Service
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Poinsettia Care
Doug Collins, Acting CEC
Putting Knowledge to^VorkZ 9^
Facts About Masonry
Kathleen E. Toomey, M.D.,
M.P.H., director of the Division
of Public Health. "It also shows
how public and private providers
can work together to make sure
that children reach their full po
tential."
The Georgia legislature passed
a law in 1999 to encourage hos
pitals to have screening programs
in place by July, 2002. The law
also required hospitals and phy
sicians to educate parents and
newborns about the importance of
newborn hearing screening and
followup, and to submit data to
the Division of Public Health
about the number of infants
screened. It established a State
Advisory Committee on Newborn
Hearing Screening to monitor the
state's progress toward the goal of
screening at least 95 percent of
newborns.
"The screening is voluntary, but
fewer than one percent of parents
are refusing this service, which
means our education is effective,"
says Toomey. "We hope we will
be screening 95 percent of
Georgia's newborns by New
Year's Day."
For more information about
newborn hearing screening in
Georgia, or to obtain a copy of the
first annual report on the program,
contact Leslee Pool, coordinator,
Newborn Hearing Screening Pro
gram, 404/463-2192.
Poinsettias will last through the Christmas season if
cared for properly.
Poinsettia Care
Christmas Songs To Air On
American Family Radio
Janet Paschal, Dallas Holm,
Michael Card and many others.
Several of the specials are dra
mas including Birth In Bethlehem,
The Coming of Messiah, One
Bethlehem Night, Joseph,
Emmanuel Has Come, and Rela
tions.
A complete listing of the spe
cials can be found on the web at
afr.net.
Poinsettias have become a
Christmas tradition. Extension
experts recommend that poinset
tias be considered more as long
lasting cut flowers rather than as
house plants. After the blooms
fade, simply discard the plant. It
is not practical for a consumer to
make a poinsettia bloom again.
To maintain a poinsettia's attrac
tive appearance, it needs to be
kept in a friendly environment.
A normal house temperature
around 70 degrees Fahrenheit is
suitable for a poinsettia. A tem
perature a few degrees lower will
make it last even longer. Tem
peratures much lower than 60
degrees Fahrenheit can damage
poinsettias. Keep plants away
from doors and heater vents.
Indirect light in good quantities
will benefit your poinsettia. Heat
ing and airconditioning dries out
the air. This, in turn, dries out
your plants and their soil media.
Check the soil media in the pot
daily. When the media is dry,
water your poinsettia until water
comes out of the bottom of the
pot. If your poinsettia' spot is cov
ered with foil or cellophane.
puncture the foil at the drain hole
in the bottom of the pot to create
a hole through which excess wa
ter can escape. Place the pot in a
saucer to protect furniture.
It is interesting to note that it is
actually the colorful leaves sur
rounding the poinsettia flower
that give it its beautiful appear
ance. This flowering is triggered
by a photoperiod.
Photoperiod is the length of
light and darkness at a time. This
response would occur due to
shortening days and lengthening
nights in nature. Commercial
growers manipulate the photope
riod response by regulating the
light and dark periods the plants
experience in the greenhouse.
Last week. I received a phone
call from a television news re
porter asking about the toxicity of
poinsettias. I looked into the sub
ject, and found that considerable
research had been done on the
subject. The research determined
that the poinsettia has no toxic
ity.
For more information, call the
Lee County Extension Office at
759-6025.
By J.M. Rhodes
Member of Chehaw Lodge 701
Leesburg, Georgia
WHY I AM A MASON
by Rev Louis R. Grant
United Methodist Church
There are some things I don't
remember about the night I took
that step toward a rich and re
warding experience that has en
hanced my life. But there are
some things that I will never for
get. There was a foundation of
trust. . . trust in God as the One
to whom I could look for support
and counsel..trust in a Brother
who could lead me in my blind
ness to the light of understand
ing. I discovered the reality of
prayer as the place to begin be
fore undertaking any task. So I
began the journey that through
the years was to lead me to a new
understanding of myself, my fel
low human beings and God. On
that journey I discovered that I
was not searching for some par
ticular religious creed that would
set me apart from other people. I
was in fact discovering some
great principles that would en
able me to live life at its very
best. Principles like
faith..hope..charity.,
wisdom..beauty..truth. I would
discover that there is a universal
love and respect for all persons
of all religious creeds and beliefs.
My Masonry would let me stand
with my Brothers as an equal no
matter what their theology or re
ligious beliefs.
While Masonry has never been
a religion for me, it has set be
fore me some very high moral
and ethical standards that have
supported my religious beliefs. It
has also confirmed my duty to
“feed the hungry . clothe the na
ked, and support the widows and
orphans.” While it is impressive
to know the extent of Masonry's
charitable organizations and
agencies that work for healing
and health (some say we spend
over $1 million a day ), it is much
more impressive to see a child
walk, or a child see, or a child be
nursed back to health from a se
vere burn. Most would not have
been able to receive such help had
it not been for the benevolent
concern of some Masons.
While this country of ours has
felt the impact of leaders who
have been Masons, much of what
Masonry represents is seen in
those men who have lived the
principles of Freemasonry in their
respective communities. On my
journey I have met some of them.
These were good men who were
better men because they were
Masons. None of them will have
their names in the books of his
tory. but they will always be re
membered by those whose lives
they touched. They are those who
believe that Masonry is not some
thing to commit to memory, it is
something to live. You never hear
it in their boasting..you see it in
their living. So the question
“Why are you a Mason?” can be
answered. It has allowed me to
grow personally., to serve my
God ..to reach out in concern to
my fellow human beings. It has
supported my personal faith and
work as a churchman. Let no one
say you cannot be a Christian and
a Mason at the same time. I know
too many who are both and proud
to be both.
LCMS Seventh Grade Students of the Week for
December 3 - December 7 pictured on the front row
are Justin Karn and Megan Wynegar. Pictured on the
back row are Matt Bagwell and Sarah Jeffcoat.
Tora, Tora, Snip
"Bubba, what do you think they
should do with this John Walker
Lindh?
He's that traitor that became a
Taliban and fought against his own
country?"
"What do I think? That's easy,
real short and quick, a bullet in his
turban! Mike Spann should have
done that when he realized he was
talking to a bearded, beaded eyed,
turbaned Talibanee-American.
Might'a saved his life and the boy's
parents the humiliation and embar-
rasses they will have to go
through."
"Swift justice Bubba?"
"Better than bringing that piece
of California garbage back here to
face an O. J. Simpson jury. They
would set him free and want to
give him a campaign ribbon to
boot."
"You think so?"
"Look what a jury did with O, J.;
twice! They should shoot him or
hand him over to the Northern Al
liance. Either way would solve
the problem. If they asked me I
would prefer giving him to the
Afgans, those folks know how to
treat a traitor. The bullet would be
kept for last, 'cause in the mean
time they would make a Taliban-
she out of em. Let him feel what's
it's like to be a woman among the
Taliban. Then if the Taliban don't
kill him, they will."
"That reminds me Bubba, its be
ing kept a secret but I heard the
marines have already captured
Usama Bin Mohammad Bin
Laden."
"Junior, that can not be true. It
would be all over the news."
"I heard down at the Barber Shop
that when the Marines went into
Afghanistan, that a ultra secret
Marine unit was deployed to cap
ture Usama, it's true."
"I can believe that a ultra secret
team of Marines would be sent into
the White Mountains and Tora
Bora after Bin Laden, but not that
they captured him. That's too big
of a news story."
"Think about it! Why bring him
back and make a myrter out of em,
or take a chance that he would get
an O. J. jury. Just get in there, take
care of him and get out, no one ever
the wiser."
"There's good logic in that Jun
ior. What did they do send in a Seal
Team or some Marine Delta
Force?"
"Kind'a. They sent in a group of
Bill Rodham-Clinton don't ask,
don't tell Marines with their panty
hose in a wad. Now those girls are
a lot meaner than any Delta Force.
Word is, they caught Usama out
riding his horse. Those Marines
made a gelding out'a the horse and
a Taliban-she out'a Usama. Had
to quickly cover him with a Berka,
one of those head to toe robes that
the Taliban make women wear."
"After that and they want to fol
low native custom?"
"No, no nothing like that. It was
the fact that that ole boy made such
an ugly woman, they had to cover
her face!"
Ray Davidson is a syndicated
columnist. He can be reached at
rayd45@aol.com