About The Georgia post. (Knoxville, Crawford County, Ga.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 28, 2013)
Page 2 Thursday, NOVEMBER 28,2013 THE GEORGIA POST &THE BYRON BUZZ mm, h imtmnt The Medical Center of Peach County Part of Central Georgia Health System I \ _ etfOUEUCE' DEE HENRY Fitness Instructor, Personal Trainer & Motivational Speaker m January 12,2014 @ 3:30pm Health & Fitness Seminar Byron municipal Complex: 401 Main St. Byron, g.a. Door Prizes DOOI'S Open @ 3pm Local Vendors A New Year, A New Resolution! Let’s Stop Making Promises We Can’t Keep! Advance Tickets are $10 each or $15 at the Door You must have a ticket to attend. Call: (843) 367- 6373 www.deezercise.com Shop small businesses Saturday By KYLE JACKSON The deficit in Washington is growing—and I’m not speaking about our na tion’s floundering finances. The trust-deficit between Americans and policymak ers is distressingly large— with only 19 percent of Americans, according to an October Pew poll, who say that they have faith that the government will do what is right just about always or most of the time. Thankfully, Americans have not lost all hope. They still have faith in some institutions—generally those that they feel truly protect freedoms and preserve livelihoods, like the military and small businesses. In fact, when it comes to job creation and the economy, Americans value the opin ions of small-business owners more than any other institution—likely because small-business leaders across the nation have re mained committed to hard- work, to job-creation and to building communities, while many in Washington have become preoccupied with less noble endeavors. Even as the economy has limped along and small- business owner confidence has waned, our faith in the men and women of Main Street has not faded, but remained constant; this is for good reason. In the face of economic struggles, many small employers, instead of laying people off, have cut their own salaries to keep their full complement of employees. Others have dipped into savings or taken out second mortgages to keep their doors open or to avoid cutting back employee hours. These are no small feats, but they largely go without acknowledgement or recog nition. So when an oppor tunity to thank these men and women for their daily sacrifices arises, we should take it. We find such an op portunity on Small Business Saturday. The campaign to “shop small” on the Saturday after Thanksgiving started in 2010 as little more than an effort to give small busi nesses—many struggling to get out of the red after a long recession—a much needed shot in the arm. But in the three years since, Small Business Saturday has be come a powerful movement to give back to the brick- and-mortar establishments that line our Main Streets and keep our communities vibrant. The concept is simple: Instead of sitting at home and ordering online or “one-stop-shopping” at the nearest “big-box” store, put on your boots and coat and take a walk through the small and independent establishments in your com munity. Make Main Street ground zero for your holiday shopping. Many local busi nesses around the county will be offering special deals and discounts (link to NFIB page) throughout the day to encourage shoppers and to commemorate the day, so the incentive to “shop small” is all the greater. It’s strange to think that doing something so mod est-shopping at an in dependent business—can have such a big impact, but research on last year’s event showed that consumers who were aware of Small Busi ness Saturday spent a total of $5.5 billion with indepen dent merchants that day- higher than earlier estimates of anticipated spending. Indeed, even the President and his family did their part last year, patronizing a local bookstore and giving its holidays sales a boost. The biggest incentive to shop small, is that in doing so, you are not only helping to keep small businesses op erating, you are making your community stronger. It’s likely when you purchase a product or service at a local store or restaurant, you are helping to pay the salary of a neighbor, a friend or a fam ily member. You are helping to keep the people in your town or city employed so that they can support their families. Most importantly, you are demonstrating the value that you place on the small-business people who, by providing you and your community with unparal leled products and services, work hard to keep your trust each and every day. During times like these, we could all benefit from boost in our faith—faith in the future, faith in our coun try, faith in our economy. Show your faith in America by starting your holiday season in a small business and “shop small” on Small Business Saturday. ### Kyle Jackson is the Georgia state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s leading small-business association. He lives in Atlanta. Caution urged with all your holiday cooking Atlanta - Insurance and Safety Fire Com missioner Ralph Hudgens urges Georgians to use caution with holiday cooking, and when they heat up leftovers on the stove after the holidays are over. “We’ve had 15 fatalities in Georgia so far this year in which the cause of the fire was cooking-related,” Hudgens said. “Over the years we have seen many fires caused by a stove that has been accidentally left on.” “In this type of fire, a person may come home from work, put something on the stove, then fall asleep in front of the TV while waiting on their dinner to warm up,” Hudgens said. “If neglected, a stove can heat a pan to the point that the metal melts.” Hudgens suggested the following tips for cooking safety: Always set a timer when cooking, so you won’t forget to turn off the burners or oven. If a pan catches fire, cover it with a lid immediately and turn off the burner. Don’t fight a grease fire with water, as it may make the fire worse. Wear tight-fitting sleeves when cook ing. Loose clothing can contact a burner and ignite. If this happens, remember “stop, drop and roll.” Stop where you are, cover your face with your hands, and roll over to smother the flames. Never use a cooking stove to heat your home. Install an adequate number of smoke alarms. Most fatal fires start between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., while the family is asleep. The advance warning of a smoke alarm may mean the difference between life and death. Nine out of ten fire victims are already dead before the fire department is even called, mainly from smoke and toxic gases. Deer hunters should review for 2013-2014 season changes SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. (Nov. 25,2013) - More than 300,000 hunters pursue the most popular game animal in Georgia, the white-tailed deer. As a reminder to hunters, there was a regulation change in the number of available days to take deer of either sex depend ing on the type of equipment used and the area of your hunt, beginning Dec. 1. During the period of Decem ber 1-25,2013, hunters should make special note of the follow ing regulations: Archery equipment may be used for either sex statewide. Firearms and primitive weapons maybe used for deer of either sex in counties with antler restrictions (including Dooly, Hancock, Harris, Ma con, Meriwether, Montgomery, Randolph, Talbot, and Troup Counties) and certain metro- Atlanta counties (including Forsyth north of Ga. Hwy. 20, Fulton south of GA Hwy 92, Gwinnett, and Rockdale). Archery, shotguns and muzzleloading firearms may be used for deer of either sex in that portion of Forsyth County lying south of GA Hwy 20. Hunters using firearms or muzzleloaders in areas not detailed above may take bucks only. Why were the number of fire arms either-sex days reduced? A few factors went into this decision, including the decline in the number of fawns that survive into fall and an increase in doe harvest rates. These factors warranted regulatory changes to reduce the doe har vest. For more information on this change, visit www.eregula- tions.com/georgia/hunting/ why-fewer-either-sex-days/. Georgia offers more than 90 state-operated wildlife manage ment areas (WMAs) for the public’s use. State-managed public hunting lands are fund ed through a combination of state license fees and matching federal funds from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services’ Wildlife Restoration Program. Hunt ers account for $977 million in retail sales in Georgia each year with a $1.6 billion ripple effect and almost 24,000 iobs. Hunters are allowed a season bag limit of 10 antler less deer and two antlered deer (one of the two antlered deer must have a minimum of four points, one inch or longer, on one side of the antlers). Special regulations apply to archery-only counties and ex tended archery season areas. Counties in the Metro Atlanta area (Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Rockdale counties) offer either-sex archery deer hunt ing Sept. 14-Jan. 31. To pursue deer in Georgia, hunters must have a valid hunt ing license, big game license and a current deer harvest record. If hunting on a WMA, a WMA license is required. Licenses can be purchased online at www.gohuntgeorgia. com/licenses-permits-passes, by phone at 1-800-366-2661 or at a license agent (list of agents available online). For more information on deer hunting seasons, regula tions, licenses and WMA maps, visit www.gohuntgeor- gia.com/hunting.
