About The Lee County ledger. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1978-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2006)
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.
