Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2009
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 5A
Best advice I ever received
I TAKE some plea
sure in the thought
that the advice I am
going to tell you
about is not for me
alone. Chances are
that you and most of
your friends and fam
ily can benefit from
it, too. If this advice
is for you - and you
take it to heart - most
of your friends and
family will be very grateful.
On the other hand, if it is for
your friends and family - and
they take it heart - you will be
very grateful. It is a win-win
situation.
That rather vague and con
fusing paragraph is proof pos
itive that I need to take my
“best advice” to heart. Before
I tell you what it is, let me set
the stage.
Walking in the woods,
reading poetry, perusing
non-fiction books (including
Scripture), and listening to the
wisdom of ordinary human
beings got me to thinking.
The more I thought, the more
I realized I need to pay atten
tion to the advice with which
I am being bombarded.
T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) is
one of my mentors. Eliot was
one of the most important
poets of the 1900s. He ana
lyzed the culture of his time.
“Where shall the world be
found, where will the word
resound? Not here; there is
not enough silence.”
It occurred to me that when
Eliot wrote that, he was ana
lyzing our times as well as
his own.
Richard Foster, author of
Celebration of Discipline,
also made a contribution to
this epistle. “Our fear of being
alone drives us to noise and
crowds. We keep up a con
stant stream of words, if they
are inane.”
(I am not defining “inane”
for your benefit, but mine. I
wonder how many words I
speak every day and
write each week that
are “empty, lacking
significance, mean
ing, or point.”)
Foster, a Quaker,
uses Scripture to
make his point. He
refers to his leader
who “went up into
the hills by himself’
and “in the morning,
a great while before
day, rose and went out to a
lonely place. . . .”
Said Foster: “Seeking out
a solitary place was a regular
practice for Jesus. So it should
be for us.”
He added that “the purpose
of silence and solitude is to be
able to see and hear.”
I am also indebted to Richard
McFall. Richard is pastor of
Corinth Baptist Church, about
two miles from where Shirley
and I live. In late December he
challenged his flock to read a
chapter of Proverbs each day
to start off the New Year.
Shirley is a member of the
flock and attends Corinth
fairly regularly. I am not a
member of that flock (I am a
Methodist), but with Shirley’s
urging, I attend occasionally.
However, I decided (again
with Shirley’s urging) to read
a chapter in Proverbs every
day. What Proverbs has to say
contributed to the best advice
I ever received. For example:
“Whoso keepeth his mouth
and his tongue keepeth his
soul from trouble.” (Come to
think about it, I’ve never been
in any trouble over anything I
didn’t say.)
“He that hath knowledge
spareth his words, and a man
of understanding is of an
excellent spirit.”
“Pleasant words are as a
honeycomb, sweet to the soul,
and health to the bones.”
“Even a fool, when he hold-
eth his peace, is counted wise;
and he that shuteth his lips
is esteemed a man of under
standing.” (Oh, oh!)
The preacher of Ecclesiastes
gets in on the act, too. “There
is a time to keep silent and
a time to speak.” (And it is
a wise person indeed who
knows the difference.)
Other famous persons put in
their two cents’ worth:
“Well done is better than
well said.” - Benjamin
Franklin.
“Silence is deep as eternity;
speech is as shallow as time.”
- Carlyle
“Let your speech be better
than silence, or be silent.” -
Dionysius
“A silence, like a poul
tice, comes to heal blows of
sound.” - O. W. Holmes
And several anonymous
individuals put me in my
place:
“It is better to be silent and
thought a fool than to speak
and remove all doubt.” (Oh,
oh again!)
“A minute of thought is
worth more than an hour of
talk.”
“A good listener is a silent
flatterer.”
This bit of advice came
from a Vent in The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution: “Before
you speak, ask yourself: ‘Is
it kind? Is it necessary? Is
it true? Does it improve on
silence’?”
“Silence is golden.” I don’t
know who said that first. Of
course, everybody does not
agree with it. Samuel Butler,
for example, had this to say:
“Silence is not always tact,
and it is tact that is golden, not
silence.”
Well, I guess it is time to
share with you the best advice
I ever received. Some of you
have figured it out by now.
I am going to say it anyway,
and I am not going to use any
tact.
Virgil, SHUT UP!
Virgil Adams is a former
owner/editor of The Jackson
Herald.
JCCHS to host Feb. 7 baseball camp
JACKSON COUNTY Comprehensive High
School will be hosting its 2009 Panther baseball
camp on Saturday, Feb. 7 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
for grades 1-7.
All campers will receive fundamental defensive
and hitting instruction from head coach Tommy
Fountain and the JCCHS baseball coaching staff,
as well as current and former JCCHS and college
baseball players.
The cost of the camp is $25. For further
information, please contact Tommy Fountain at
770-530-8975 or tfountain@jackson.kl2.ga.us.
You may also sign up by sending a check for $25,
your child’s name and age, parent name, phone
number, address, email address, and t-shirt size
to JCCHS Baseball Booster Club, PO Box 794,
Braselton GA 30517. All checks should be made
payable to JCCHS Baseball Booster Club.
Jefferson debates scrolling signs
BYANGELA GARY
JEFFERSON LEADERS debated Monday
night whether or not businesses should be allowed
to display signs with scrolling messages on them.
A proposed amendment to the city’s sign
ordinance on the matter has been discussed by
the Jefferson City Council since December. The
council was set to take action on the proposal
at Monday’s meeting, but decided to postpone a
vote until the February meeting.
Some council members are concerned about
whether scrolling messages on signs would create
a safety hazard for motorists.
“We want people to be able to get their message
across, but we don’t want to have a public safety
hazard,” Mayor Jim Joiner said.
The current ordinance does not address this
issue and two businesses in the town already have
scrolling messages on their signs. The council
members agreed to take a look at these signs
before taking action at the February meeting.
“It’s time to decide what we want before it
becomes a whole set of problems,” Joiner said.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business Monday, the council:
•approved a request from Harvest Chapel
Ministries to rezone 1.129 acres at 2106 Old
Pendergrass Road from O-I to C-2 to sell the
property to a developer who plans to locate a
Dollar General store on the site.
•approved a request from MRH Two LLC to
annex and rezone 16.5 acres on Washington Street
for business, commercial and office use.
•approved an update to the 1998 water and
sewer revenue bonds to save the city approxi
mately $195,000. The town’s bond counsel said
the city can get a better interest rate for these
bonds.
•named Roy Plott as mayor pro tern for this
year.
•appointed all current department heads to
serve another year.
Banks continued from page JA
that is in houses in subdivisions. If you own
land out in the county, you haven’t seen the
values drop. The values are going down where
developers are trying to unload lots.”
Potential borrowers will have to be able to
back up their statements of income.
All of the banks are requiring two years of
income tax returns and two months of check
book records.
“They are very strict on loan-to-value,”
added Trapnell. “All those 100-percent loans?
There aren’t many anymore. You have to have
at least 10 percent equity.”
Bruce said lenders are “pulling IRS tran
scripts to make sure people are filing their
income taxes” and looking at other liquid
assets.
“They want to see you have some money to
fall back on,” she said.
Rates last week ranged from 4.625 percent
for 15 years and 4.825 for 30-year loans up to
5.125 percent. Generally, bankers say it takes a
reduction in a rate of one percentage point to
justify a refinance.
“One point is the minimum,” said Williams.
“You’ve got to weigh the fees and the closing
costs, but on a sizeable loan, it would make a
difference.”
Just how long the rates will stay down is
anybody’s guess. Bruce said she has a list of
customers holding out for 4.5 percent.
Rates change without notice and change sev
eral times daily. Bruce said that the rate did dip
to 4.5 percent “for an hour and a half’ during
which time she managed to close one applica
tion and lock in the rate on another.
The refinance activity is a welcome change
for the lending institutions.
“We refer our people to our mortgage depart
ment,” said Williams. “They are very grateful
(for the activity). They’ve gone through a very
dry period.”
School breakfast continued from page JA
time,”NorthJacksonElementary
School principal Kathy Elrod
said of the breakfast proposal.
Thirty percent of Jackson
County School System students
eat breakfast at the schools,
Oliver said.
With the economic downturn,
more families are also receiving
free meals at the schools. Oliver
predicted additional families
will be eligible to receive free
and reduced meals this school
year.
Superintendent Adams said
the longer elementary school
day would also allow fourth
and fifth graders to have recess.
Currently, pre-K through third
grades are given recess.
“Right now, our instructional
day is so tight, that we can’t do
it,” Adams said.
However, one West Jackson
Primary School parent expressed
concerns about lengthening
school days — especially as the
pressure from federal and state
mandates grows.
Adams admitted that students
are more challenged now in the
classroom.
“We need additional instruc
tional time for the things we’re
asking the kids to do,” he said.
Teresa Strickland, elemen
tary curriculum coordinator for
the school system, said third
through fifth grades already
struggle to get all instructional
time in every subject each day.
“Those kids — fourth and
fifth — really need that time to
socialize a little bit and break up
the day, just so they come back
refreshed,” she said.
Otherwise, students are
allowed to socialize during
lunch or during P.E. — which
is offered on alternating days
for some students, Strickland
said.
West Jackson Intermediate
School principal Diane Can-
said fourth and fifth grade
teachers want recess during the
school day, because after recess,
students return to the classroom
focused on learning.
System officials also want
to get students home earlier in
the afternoon. Some students
get home around 5 p.m., and
the district is aiming to have
students home around 4:30 p.m.
at the latest.
“None of this is definite,”
Adams said. “We’re very much
in the investigative stage.”
District officials plan to visit
other area schools that serve
breakfast in classrooms — such
as Barrow and Hall counties
— and report back to a transpor
tation committee reviewing bus
changes for the county school
system. The next meeting date
will be announced later.
offering spring sports
Humane Society continued from page 1A
County park and rec.
THE JACKSON County Parks and
Recreation department will be offering several
programs in the coming months, including
T-Ball, baseball, fast pitch and soccer.
Registration for each will run through Feb.
21.
For more information, including dates and
ages call 706-367-6350 or to register online,
visit activenet. active. com/j acksoncntyparksan-
drec.
Jackson County Parks and Recreation is
also offering adult basketball every Sunday,
starting January 25 thru February 22 (except
Feb. 15) from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. at the West
Jackson Primary School gym for ages 16 and
up. Cost is $3 per person per game played.
Jackson County Parks and Recreation also
plans to hold a 3 on 3 basketball tournament
on February 15th at the West Jackson Primary
School gym. Cost to participate is $40 per
team.
For more information, call 706-367-6350.
ber to date. All of these accomplishments are due
to the tireless and selfless efforts of Jackson
County citizens,” she said. “While we have
a core group of about 20 people who make
all of this happen each year, from rescues to
fundraisers, the number of adoptions could
not have happened without one of our key
volunteers - Teresa Brown. We do vet checks
and home visits as part of the process for all of
our adoptions, and sometimes deliver the ani
mals 60-70 miles away. Teresa has facilitated
probably 90 percent of our adoptions so these
accomplishments would not have been pos
sible without her.”
There is plenty of need for help for people
interested in volunteering, whether or not they
can make the member meetings. Anyone inter
ested can check the web site at www.hsjc.com
and fill out the volunteer application. HSJC also
has a foster home application on-line for those
interested in becoming a safe haven for an ani
mal (or two) until an adoption is possible.
For more information, visit the web site at.
www.hsjc.com or call 706-367-1111.
CASH
CALL AND COMPARE
PER GRAM
706-369-0000
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