Newspaper Page Text
Page 4A, The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Lightning Damage to Trees
A number of thunderstorms
traversing the state have
resulted in an increasing num
ber of homeowners seeking
advice on what to do about
trees struck by light
ning, according
to the Georgia
Forestry Com
mission.
Chief Ranger
Tom Lambert of
the Lee County
Forestry Unit, said
the extent of dam
aged to a tree struck by
lightning is determined by
the voltage of the lightning
in relation to the moisture
content of the area struck and
the species of the tree.
“Total damage to the tree
is not always immediately ap
parent, “Lambert said. “Only
a minimum of repair work
should be done until the
growing season following the
damage.” He explained that
immediate treatment is not ad
vised because it is usually too
early to determine whether
or not the tree will die;
the result could be
treatment wasted
on a dead tree.
However,
some immediate
treatment might
include removal of
shattered limbs, hang
ing bark, and splinters.
Wood exposed after dead
bark has been removed may
be treated with tree-wound
dressing to retard infection.
However, tree experts do not
agree on the merits of using
tree- wound dressings.
If you have any questions
regarding the health of your
trees due to lightning damage
The University of Georgia • Cooperative Extension Service
Pruning Roses
Doug Collins, Lee County
Extension Coordinator
Putting TCnowledge toWork l
Make pruning cuts on the canes of bush-type
hybrid teas a quarter-inch above outward facing
buds.
Pruning Roses
Valentine’s Day is the tradi
tional time for pruning roses.
With the unseasonably warm
weather we are experiencing,
roses are already putting out
new foliage. It would probably
be a good idea to go ahead
and prune hybrid tea roses
now.
Bush-type hybrid teas
should be pruned as follows:
Select four to six healthy,
strong canes. Remove all
other canes at the graft union.
Prune the remaining canes
back to two to two and a half
feet high. Make the cuts a
quarter inch above an outward
facing bud. The cut should
slope downward from the
point above the bud. Remove
any diseased wood and any
branches growing lower on
the canes or toward the inside
of the cluster of canes.
Climbing-type hybrid teas
should be pruned by remov
ing any unhealthy or unthrifty
canes, including any that are
old and spent. Don’t prune the
remaining canes back - doing
so may cause the rose plant to
revert to a bush-type form.
The old-timey type climbing
roses should not be pruned
now. Wait until after the
rose has bloomed and then
remove the canes that have
borne blooms, leaving just the
current season’s new canes.
These will bear next year’s
blooms.
For more information, call
the Lee County Extension Of
fice at 759-6025 or email me
at collinsd@uga.edu.
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
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Lee and surrounding counties $17.00 year
Elsewhere $22.00 year
Publisher Derryl Quinn
Editor Jim Quinn
Layout and Design Zan Twiggs
Advertising Manager Tina Maples
(USPS 470-310), is published weekly for $17.00 per year in
Lee and surrounding counties, and $22.00 per year else
where by its offices at the May Office Building, 124 - 4th
Street, Leesburg, Georgia 31763. Periodicals postage paid
at Leesburg, GA. POST MASTER: Send address changes
on Form 3579 to, P.O. 715, Leesburg, GA31763.
(“(pi)?)
Printed On member of Georgia
Recycled Paper press association
Tom Lambert
or some other source of injury
please contact the Georgia
Forestry office in Lee County
at 759-3011.
Thanks For
Support
We would like to extend
our thanks to everyone that
participated in making the
16th Annual Hunt for patients
from Shepherd’s Spinal Center
a success.
Special thanks to Lee
County High School students
Rachel Cox, Zack Fender,
Kayla Hobbs, Sarah Jeffcoat,
Paige Varner and Darton Col
lege student Juston Burson.
Sincerely,
Patsy Hobbs
. .
*■ 'A f/T?':;.'- y 'Y" r ;
Facts About Masonry
By J.M. Rhodes
Member of Chehaw Lodge 701
Leesburg, Georgia
(THIS IS FROM THE
SHORT TALK
BULLETIN)
MASONIC MATURITY
With my grateful appre
ciation I proudly salute the
incoming and outgoing sym
bolic representatives of the
trinity of Wisdom, Strength
and Beauty, and all Officers
and Brothers of this Lodge.
Brethren: I love our Lodge
and at the end of the day it
is good to feel that we have
helped some Brother, that
we have accomplished some
Masonic groundwork. And
I freely admit I don’t have
trouble sleeping at the end
of my busy day. My biggest
problem is trying to find time
to sleep.
As always in Freemasonry,
the election and subsequent
installation of officers is a
time for both acknowledg
ment and hope. The Brothers
who have served deserve our
deepest appreciation, for they
have taken time and energy
from their offices and their
homes to apply their efforts
toward the goal of Free
masonry. The friends and
families of these dedicated
Freemasons have witnessed
their labors for the Craft and
have encouraged them in their
endeavors. They realize-as
do the officers themselves-
-that to serve self only, is
to enter a origin of egotism
and vanity. Only by giving
of ourselves can we better
ourselves. Only by loving
can we be loved. Such men,
such officers become the very
symbolic stone and mortar of
our Order. They serve beyond
Poor Rix’s Almanac
by Rix Quinn
You can buy Rix’s latest
report “How News Stories
Can Help You Solve Prob
lems” for 49 cents from the
“Amazon Shorts” section of
Amazon.com.
Dear Poor Rix: It’s really
cold in my town. What can I
do for fun this time of year?
- Don
Don, it’s cold because it
is winter. If it were hot, we
would worry that there’s a
hole in the ozone layer. But
the ozone layer is invisible, so
it would be really hard to find
the hole.
For winter amusement,
many people ski. That’s fun if
you like to go downhill really
fast. Poor Rix does not ski,
because he is going downhill
fast enough already.
In icy weather, it’s unwise to
water ski. Not only is it hard
to stay up, but falling on a
frozen lake is quite painful.
If you hate cold weather
sports, you might go to an
indoor boxing match or bas
ketball game. (Sometimes you
can see both events at once.)
Yes, cold weather can be
brutal, but just think how
tough our ancestors had it
B.C. (before central heating).
Houses got so cold at night,
folks invented windows just
so they could close them.
And think about long winter
travel before cars. What if
your wagon wheel fell off?
What if your horse ran away?
Or, what if you got stuck out
side in the snow, and your CD
player broke?
Don, Poor Rix is convinced
winter is like a bad date. It’s
cold, it’s unpleasant, and it
seems like it lasts forever.
Poor Rix offers bad answers
to good questions. E-mail him
at rixquinn@charter.net.
(c) 2006 DBR Media, Inc.
The Savvy Senior
the call of duty and set an
example for those follow
in their footsteps. Our full
acknowledgment and deepest
gratitude go out to those who
lay down their present tasks to
go on to new responsibilities
or who take a well reserved
respite.
This sense of acknowl
edgment for past service is
joined to a new hope for those
who take up the work of the
Fraternity and accept the du
ties attached to the Masonic
office. These new officers
we greet with fraternal well
wishes and confidence that
they will sustain the drive,
direction and accomplishment
of those Brethren who have
preceded them. This does
not mean only those Brothers
who have just held the post of
authority, but also that long
line of Brethren who have
served since the Constitution
of the Lodge was drafted and
recognized.
These men and officers—
past and present- represent
Masonry at its finest. Each
man is a leader among men.
Each has a special talent, an
ability to do his job well. They
meet challenges that go far
beyond simply serving as offi
cers at Stated Meetings. They
give guidance and inspiration.
They make the wheels turn.
They accomplish real benefits
Our Masonic achievements
do not end here, for out of
this service comes a sense of
personal fulfillment, fine fel
lowship and mutual endeavor
that improves and strengthens
both leaders and workers.
(By Bro. Hugo Thomas)
Special to the Ledger
by Carol Martin
People age 65 and older take
more prescription and over-
the-counter medicines than
any other age group. Older
people as a group tend to
have more long-term, chronic
illnesses such as arthritis,
diabetes, high blood pressure,
and heart disease.
Because they may have a
number of health problems
or issues at the same time, it
is common for older people
to take many different drugs.
To avoid risk and get the best
results from your medicines,
here are some tips on how
to take medicines safely and
manage them wisely.
If your doctor prescribes a
medication for your condition,
make sure that you find out
as much about it as you can
and that you learn to take it
properly. Ask the following
questions and write down the
answers before leaving the
doctor’s office.
* What is the name of the
medicine and why am I taking
it?
* What is the name of the
condition this medicine will
treat?
* How long will it take to
work?
* How should I store the
medication? Does it need to
be refrigerated?
* Can the pharmacist substi
tute a less expensive, generic
form of the medicine?
* When should I take it? As
needed, or on a schedule? Be
fore, with, or between meals?
At bedtime?
* How often should I take it?
* How long will I have to
take it?
* How will I feel once I start
taking this medicine?
* How will I know if this
medicine is working?
* If I forget to take it, what
should I do?
* What side effects might I
expect? Should I report them?
* Can this medicine interact
with other prescription and
over-the-counter medicines
- including herbal and dietary
supplements - that I am taking
now?
Don’t be afraid to ask ques
tions. Too often, people are
reluctant to do so. However,
remember, you are your own
best partner in your health
care needs. Don’t be shy!
(c) 2006 DBR Media, Inc.
The Baby
Boomer Nester
Special to the Ledger
by Kris Radish
Just like that - there go the
pagan babies and limbo.
Oh, you’ve heard about this,
and it doesn’t matter if you
were raised a Catholic and
have fallen out of your pew
like I have - someone you
knew in grade school hit you
up for a handful of pennies
to save the poor pagan babies
who were stuck in limbo or
in some horrid third world
country.
Pagan babies were, up until
just a few months ago, those
poor unbaptized infants who
died without the sacrament,
and limbo is where they went
to wait for our pennies - or
something like that.
There is and was more to it,
but what I remember is giving
up candy, which would be the
equivalent of a beer now or
some really great red wine,
so that I could get some baby
who was trapped in limbo or
in Africa, or some other place
I could barely imagine, up to
heaven where the poor thing
belonged.
Now this. Catholic Church
officials have decided that
this limbo, a kind of neth
erworld, where, as a child,
I imagined babies crawled
around in black diapers and
ate storm clouds, is suddenly
gone.
I want my money back. All
those pennies and possible
candy bars whipped out of
my hand as if a wild wind
kicked up and ripped it all
away. I want dozens and
dozens of caramel-covered
chocolate bars and all the
Hostess Twinkies I never
swallowed and those ice
cream sandwiches with cook
ie-like tops and bottoms and
those delicious sugar wafers
- especially the black ones
- and I want all the pagan
babies to get free pizza.
Some people won’t think
this is funny, but my inner
child is whining about this.
We even named our pagan
babies, for crying out loud,
and then sent off our pennies
and lifted our eyes up toward
where we thought heaven was
supposed to be and sighed
with joy to think, just think,
about all the babies we had
saved.
The new Pope of the
Catholic Church, Benedict
XVI, called this limbo, “a
theological hypothesis” a few
years ago and now has agreed
to drop the entire notion that
unbaptized babies can’t find a
room at the inn in heaven.
Shoot. If my memory,
which is shaky at best, has
any zoom left, I bet I can
remember actually stealing
to get a few souls to heaven.
Now that’s funny. I am sure I
rifled through my dad’s work
pants and crawled around on
the floor of my parents’ closet
looking for pennies and the
occasional nickel and dime
that would be like a 10-dollar
bill to me today.
I don’t think I ever combed
through a wallet but I bet I
dipped down to the bottom
of my mom’s purse to see if
there was any change down
there.
Hey, it was all for the limbo
pagan baby thing. So that
erases any possible stealing
sin. Don’t you think?
Well, they can say what
they want. All my pagan ba
bies are sitting up in a lovely
cloud eating Snicker’s bars.
(c) 2006 Kris Radish
Dist. By DBR Media, Inc.