Newspaper Page Text
Page 4A, The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Loblolly, Slash and Longleaf
Seedlings Available
The species of trees high
lighted this week is the lob
lolly pine, the slash pine and
the longleaf pine.
Loblolly pine is the leading
commercial timber species in
the southern United States. It
is a medium to large tree 90-
110 feet in height and 24 to 30
inches in diameter. The bole
is long and cylindrical and
the crown, though open, is
denser than longleaf or slash
pines. It can be found on a
very wide variety of sites but
make its best growth on those
soils with deep surface layers
having plenty of moisture but
poor surface drainage, and
fine textured subsoils. On
favorable sites growth can be
rapid. Loblolly is intolerant
of shade, though not as much
so as slash and longleaf pines.
Loblolly is a major source of
lumber and provides a large
percentage of the wood pulp
used for paper production in
the South.
Slash pine varies from 60-
100 feet in height and averag
es about 2 feet in diameter. In
virgin forests the species was
found in depressions, around
ponds, and on low sites with
an abundance of moisture
largely because of its relative
sensitivity to fire. With the
advent of fire control slash
pine has invaded drier sites
in combination with the more
fire resistant longleaf pine. It
quickly seeds disturbed sites
and its rapid juvenile growth
make it very aggressive on
abandoned land. Slash pine is
a valuable source of wood for
the timber and pulp industries,
and its copious gum produc
tion is valued in the naval
stores industry.
Longleaf is perhaps the
most distinctive of the
southern yellow pines. Its
long, clear bole, open crown,
long needles clustered at the
ends of the branchlets, and
large silvery buds identify
longleaf from a distance. It is
a medium to large tree, 80-
120 feet in height and 24-30
inches in diameter. It grows
best on deep, well-drained,
acid, sandy soils, although it
can tolerate a variety of sites.
Longleaf pine is very intoler
ant of shade. Its first few years
are characterized by little or
no above ground growth. A
dense tuft of needles is all that
appears above the soil surface.
This “grass stage” continues
until the root system is suf
ficiently established to support
rapid above ground growth.
Trees in the grass stage are
surprisingly resistant to fire
damage, as are the thick-
barked mature trees. Longleaf
produces valuable lumber and
is one of the two species with
major roles in the naval stores
industry.
If you are interested in
Facts About Masonry
By J.M. Rhodes
Member of Chehaw Lodge 701
Leesburg, Georgia
A MASON IS A MAN
OF IDEALS
Every Craftsman, when
he first entered the lodge in
search of its truths and its
way of life, and before he
had taken a half dozen steps,
uttered the words which
expressed his faith in Deity.
In those words, he professed a
faith in the Supreme Creator
of all mankind; he professed
a covenant with Almighty
God. AS surely as day fol
lows night, and as surely as
summer follows winter, so it
follows that, to meet his chal
lenge, a Mason must be a man
of ideals, high ideals.
One of these is integrity,
the unimpeachable practice
of honesty. To a Mason there
is no such thing as part-time
integrity. It is a matter of
full-time responsibility, every
minute of his working hours.
A man of integrity is a man
of one loyalty, a loyalty to
God, to his fellowman, and to
himself. These three loyalties
are one and the same; they are
inseparable. A man cannot be
honest with God unless he is
honest with his neighbor and
honest with himself. Integrity
must be ideal for him who
would be a Master Mason.
Rectitude of conduct is
another ideal, which con
cerns itself with undeviating
adherence to moral standards
and unimpeachable behavior.
Masonry teaches us to de
velop and practice the highest
degree of self-discipline, both
mental and physical. Irre-
The Lee County Ledger
Established August 24, 1978
lcledger@bellsouth.net
P.O. Box 715 (124 4th Street) Leesburg, Georgia 31763
(229) 759-2413 USPS 470-310
Official Organ of Lee County
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Lee and surrounding counties $17.00 year
Elsewhere $22.00 year
Publisher Derryl Quinn
Editor Jim Quinn
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(USPS 470-310), is published weekly for $17.00 per year in
Lee and surrounding counties, and $22.00 per year else
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Street, Leesburg, Georgia 31763. Periodicals postage paid
at Leesburg, GA. POST MASTER: Send address changes
on Form 3579 to, P.O. 715, Leesburg, GA31763.
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OX, NOW AS LONG
AS THERE ARE NO
BiG SPLASHES.
Tom Lambert
purchasing either one of these
species or any other species
offered please contact the
Georgia Forestry Commission
in Lee County at 759-3011.
UAU-TDONS. COIM
proachable behavior and de
meanor are important not only
among ourselves but, even
more so, when we are in the
world at large. Rectitude of
conduct is most assuredly an
ideal of every Master Mason
Temperance is another ideal.
Defined Masonically, it means
the practice of moderation,
of balance in our daily living
habits, and in our thinking as
well. Have you ever heard a
man say about another, “He
has a one track mind,” or, “
He’s all warped in doing this
or that,” or “All he can think
of is such and such”? Is it
not more commendable to
regulate oneself and act with
a sense of discretion and bal
ance? The ideal of temperance
challenges us to avoid being
extremists, to the detriment of
ourselves as well as the other
fellow with whom we come in
contact.
Another ideal is the one we
call tolerance, that quality
of respect for another man’s
point of view, opinions,
beliefs, practices or habits. In
short, a sympathetic under
standing for the other man’s
mode of living, his creed,
and his philosophy, is most
becoming to a man of good
judgment, we Masons believe.
Sometimes we hear the criti
cism made of an otherwise
intelligent person that he is
opinionated. This is a serious
indictment, for it suggests a
lack of vision, a blindness
in the heart as well as in the
mind. (More next week)
Looking For Classmates
Lee County High School
Classes Of 1969, 1970, 1971
are planning a class reunion
for Saturday, Oct. 01, 2005.
Hors D’oeuvres and a DJ
will be provided. Cost is
$35.00 per person, $70.00 per
couple and payment must be
received no later than Friday,
Sept. 16, 2005.
Class of 69 please contact
Denise “Richardson” Bell
229-759-9372
Class of 70 please contact
Pam “Shaver” Hayes 478-477-
1085
Class of 71 please contact
Suzanne “Rivers” Purvis 229-
759-9291
We look forward to seeing
you there!
Larry Gills
Open Letter
To The School Board
A few weeks ago, some tal
ented young men represented
Lee County in the World Se
ries of Baseball. It has come
to my attention that these
young men were charged with
unexcused absences. If started
after Labor Day, as has been
tradition, they would not have
been absent. This is beside
the point. My son represented
Lee County in many VOCA
outings and was never charged
with an unexcused absence.
These boys represented Lee
County Youth Baseball. The
county spends lots of money
for these kids to play and you
are telling them it not impor
tant to succeed.
Once again our elected of
ficials are showing our young
people a fine lesson, no matter
how hard you try to succeed
there is always someone to
burst your bubble and knock
you down.
Thomas Jackson
The University of Georgia • Cooperative Extension Service
br d
B&i a
m S’" " Qj.4
Stink Bug
Damage in Cotton
Doug Collins, Lee County
Extension Coordinator
P utting J^nowledae to\Vork’1
Popping open quarter-sized bolls is the best way
to determine the level of stink bug damage.
Stink Bug Damage
in Cotton
At this point in the growing
season, the stink bug is the
most serious insect threat to
cotton. Stink bugs reduce both
yield and fiber quality.
Since the boll weevil was
eradicated in Georgia, many
spray applications to cotton
have been eliminated. This
resulted in the emergence of
stink bugs as a major pest in
cotton.
There are two methods to
determine the threshold for
infestation or damage. The
threshold for infestation is one
stink bug per six feet of row.
Dr. Phillip Roberts, Univer
sity of Georgia Cooperative
Extension Service cotton en
tomologist, says that a grower
or scout may shake cotton
plants and not find an average
of one stink bug per six feet
of row, but still have enough
damaged bolls to warrant
spraying.
Mashing quarter-sized
bolls between the thumb and
forefinger to pop them open is
the most reliable method for
determining the threshold for
spraying. Bolls are susceptible
to stink bug damage up to
25 days of age. Stink bugs,
however, prefer bolls about
12 days old. At this stage, the
bolls have a diameter similar
to that of a quarter. Look for
damage in the boll, includ
ing stained lint and wart
like structures on the inside
surface of the boll wall. These
wartlike structures appear 48
hours after the stink bug has
fed on the boll. If at least 20
percent of the bolls are dam
aged, treatment is called for.
According to Dr. Roberts,
pyrethroids provide good
control of green stink bugs,
but only fair control of brown
species. Pyrethroids do, how
ever, control corn earworms
and small fall armyworms.
If brown stink bugs are the
main concern, use an organo-
phosphate. If both brown
stink bugs and corn earworms
need to be controlled, use a
medium rate of a pyrethroid
tank-mixed with a low rate of
an organophosphate.
For more information, call
the Lee County Extension Of
fice at 759-6025.
Why is Economic
Development most
important in a rapidly
growing County?
Special to the Ledger
by Winston Oxford
Executive Director Lee
County Economic Develop
ment Authority
When a community experi
ences explosive residential
growth, with it comes
“The Tax Consumer.” What
is a tax consumer? A tax
consumer is an entity that
locates in a
community,
which costs
that commu
nity more in
government
services than
the entity
pays back in
taxes to that
community.
Single-family
households,
more times
than not, are
tax consum
ers.
Allow me to explain. Now
the statistical data that I am
going to refer to is not exact
because it is practically impos
sible to produce the specific
numbers because of the way
tax assessors offices are
required to maintain this data.
A single-family household
consists of site built houses,
manufactured houses, multi
family houses and apartment
complexes. In Lee County,
the average household has 2.2
school age children. It costs
approximately $1,600 per
year in local property taxes
to educate one child. Other
government services based on
just our Local General Fund
expenditures run approxi
mately $1,800 per year per
household. This includes such
things as fire protection, law
enforcement, recreation, public
works, court system, water/
sewer services, planning/
zoning and administration,
but does not include payments
on infrastructure installation.
Thus $1,600 per kid per year
times 2.2 kids is $3,500 plus
$1,800 equals $5,300 costs of
just some our local govern
ment services per year per
household.
It is my estimation that the
average assessed value of a
single family dwelling in Lee
County is about $90,000.
Now remember, that includes
the half million dollar houses,
the manufactured houses, (one
manufactured housing devel
Winston Oxford
opment in Lee County is lo
cated on 15 acres and has over
130 houses within its boundar
ies) and apartments (some of
which are on our tax digest at
less than $25,000 each). The
yearly local property tax bill
for a $90,000 single-family
household would be about
$1,000. Thus, the costs of
local government services,
including
education,
required
to serve a
local house
hold being
in excess
of $5,300
and local
property tax
receipts from
the average
household at
$1,000, each
“average”
household
“consumes”
over $4,300 per year more
than it “contributes.”
The importance of an ag
gressive Economic Develop
ment program aimed at attract
ing commercial and industrial
investment (neither of which
requires the education of kids
nor requires much in addi
tional government services)
is quite evident. Commercial
entities pay local property
taxes, usually on much higher
assessed values than do house
holds, plus most generate sales
taxes, 3% of which, remains in
Lee County. Commercial and
Industrial entities usually bring
with them company cars and
big trucks which require tags
and taxes to the community on
these vehicles, plus the offer
ing of employment opportuni
ties for area citizens.
It is true however, that
without residential growth,
commercial growth would
have no incentive to come.
It is a delicate and compli
cated balancing act which
local elected officials have to
perform in order to try and
control residential growth,
without slowing commercial
investment and at the same
time supplying the new re
quired government services to
both entities. Growing pains
are sometimes uncomfortable,
just like tax increases are not
popular, although necessary
evils in certain circumstances
like when explosive growth oc
curs in a community.
Letters Policy
The Lee County Ledger welcomes - indeed encourages
- letters from our readers on matters of interest for the com
munity. Have a complaint? See a problem that needs cor
recting? Have the solution to a problem that others haven’t
seen yet? Feel some person or group deserves praise and
isn’t getting it? Please write us and let everyone share in
your viewpoint. We do request that all letters be signed and
accompanied by the writer’s street address and telephone
number. We reserve the right not to print any letter. Letters
not signed will not be printed. Letters must be limited to
no more than two double-spaced sheets. Address your letter
to Editor, The Lee County Ledger, P.O. Box 715, Leesburg,
Georgia 31763 or bring them by our office.