Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 5C
Commerce woman receives citizenship
BY MICHAEL
JAMES HINKLE
(Hinkle teaches a citizen
ship class in Jackson County.
He wrote this article to rec
ognize Literacy Month in
September).
ON TUESDAY, July
28, 2009, Mrs. Esmeralda
Orozco stood proudly with
tears of joy in her eyes as
she raised her right hand and
nervously but meticulously
pronounced each and every
word of the long awaited
Oath of Allegiance to the
United States of America at
the United States Citizenship
and Immigration Services
(USCIS) Building in Atlanta.
The event was especially
gratifying and memorable
for Mrs. Orozco because she
was the final member of her
immediate family to become
an American citizen. Her
husband took the Oath of U.S.
Citizenship 13 years earlier
and their three children were
all born in the United States
of America. For the Orozco
family, this auspicious occa
sion represented the culmina
tion of over 17 years of per
sonal sacrifice, hard work and
assimilation. More impor
tantly, she had realized her
dream of having one family,
under God, indivisible with
the same U.S. Citizenship,
justice, and liberty for all.
As a dedicated mother and
homemaker Mrs. Orozco
never once lost sight of
her dream of becoming an
American citizen. While at
home, she took a number of
different self-study English
language courses that pro
vided basic vocabulary and
grammar. Then, in 2006,
she seized the opportunity to
ameliorate her English lan
guage skills by matriculat
ing in the Lanier Technical
College sponsored Adult
English as a Second Language
(ESL) and U.S. Citizenship
Class held Wednesday eve
nings, 6:00-9:00 p.m. at the
Jackson County Campus in
Commerce.
Mrs. Orozco was the fifth
student from the class to suc
cessfully challenge and pass
the U.S. Citizenship Test dur
ing the previous two years.
Mrs. Elva Sandoval, Mr.
Oscar Pena, Mr. Rigoberto
Sandoval, and Mrs. Rosa
Huizar were the other four
students to accomplish the
goal. Both Mrs. Orozco
and Mrs. Sandoval contin
ue to attend the Wednesday
evening classes in order to
improve their command of
the English language and
to further assist classmates
realize their dreams of U.S.
Citizenship.
Esmeralda Orozco was born
in Zacatecas, Mexico, an area
dominated by small farms and
cattle ranches. Most families
were very humble and strug
gled daily to satisfy their basic
needs. During Esmeralda's
childhood, there were few
opportunities to pursue a for
mal education. As the fourth
in a family of six children,
Esmeralda spent most of her
time helping with the house
hold chores and working the
fields with her parents and
siblings. At the age of 19,
Esmeralda married her child
hood sweetheart, Jose Manuel
Orozco, and the newlyweds
moved to California to start a
new life together.
The couple was soon
blessed with three healthy
sons. Esmeralda recalls how
pleased she was to give birth
to her children in the United
States of America. Even
though initially times were
financially difficult, the cou
ple preferred to work multiple
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ESMERALDA OROZCO
jobs rather than ask for public
assistance. No matter how
trying the times, they always
filed and paid their state and
federal income taxes while
aspiring to be conscientious
and responsible U.S. citizens.
The Orozco family moved
to Commerce over six years
ago in search of a safer liv
ing environment and a more
financially lucrative future.
Like so many other immigrant
parents, Esmeralda and Jose
Manuel have made countless
sacrifices through the years
so their children could have
a better quality of life, educa
tion, and employment oppor
tunities. Their three sons:
Gerardo, Ricky and Jonathan,
are all currently students in
the Jackson County School
System. The three have aspi
rations of attending college
and/or a technical school
upon high school gradua
tion. Esmeralda and Jose
Manuel are extremely proud
and appreciative of their suc
cess in breaking the cycle
of poverty that they endured
by giving their children the
opportunity for a better life in
America.
The day Mrs. Orozco took
the Oath of Allegiance to the
United States of America she
was accompanied by 1 Mother
jubilant foreign born immi
grants from 45 different coun
tries. A verbatim copy of the
oath they all took that day is
as follows: “I hereby declare,
on oath, that I absolutely and
entirely renounce and abjure
all allegiance and fidelity to
any foreign prince, potentate,
state, or sovereignty, of whom
or which I have heretofore
been a subject or citizen; that
I will support and defend the
Constitution and laws of the
United States of America
against all enemies, foreign
or domestic: that I will bear
true faith and allegiance to
the same: that I will bear
arms on behalf of the United
States when required by law;
that I will perform noncom
batant service in the Armed
Forces of the United States
when required by law; that I
will perform work of nation
al importance under civilian
direction when required by
law; and that I take this
obligation freely, without any
mental reservation or purpose
of evasion; so help me God.”
Founder’s
Corner
by
Buhl Cummings
VISIT...As I often do from
time to time, I recently took a
walk to observe our students
in class, having lunch in the
cafeteria, and playing on the
playground. When I came
back to the office I said to my
wife, “You know honey, I
thank the Lord for all the
great kids He has sent to
ACS."
Our faculty and staff have the
joy of working with these
students everyday. It is really
like one big happy family.
If you would like to see ACS
in action, please come for a
visit. We think you will like
what you see.
ATHENS
CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
“Affordable Quality Education Since 1970”
K3-12TH CALL (706) 549-7586
www.athenschristian.com
A foreign bom person, like
Mrs. Orozco, may acquire
U.S. Citizenship through a
process known as naturaliza
tion. In order to become
a naturalized United States
Citizen, one must be eighteen
years of age, a legal permanent
resident for five years, a per
son of good moral character,
and have a working knowl
edge of the English language.
Once these basic require
ments are satisfied, applicants
must submit a completed
Form N-400 (Application for
Naturalization) along with
$675 in application fees. Next,
the regional office of U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) will pro
cess the application and con
tact the prospective applicant
with an appointment for the
initial interview. This part
of the process could take six
months to a year to accom
plish.
During the interview, a
local USCIS Officer will test
the applicant’s ability to read,
write, speak, and comprehend
the English language. Most
foreign born applicants find
the initial phase of the inter
view extremely difficult due
to their limited English lan
guage proficiency. Applicants
are given a total of two oppor
tunities to successfully nego
tiate the process before they
must resubmit their applica
tions and pay an additional
$675 application fee. Once
the applicant successfully
passes the initial phase of
the interview, he or she will
be required to take the U.S.
Citizenship Test consisting
of 10 questions on United
States history and govern
ment. Each applicant must
answer six of 10 questions
correctly in order to pass the
U.S. Citizenship Test. The
10 questions are randomly
drawn from a standard list of
100 questions published by
the USCIS.
Finally, if the applicant
correctly answers six of the
10 questions, he or she will
be invited to take the Oath
of Allegiance to the United
States of America during a
ceremony conducted by the
USCIS. Immediately fol
lowing the ceremony, the
applicant will receive an
original copy of Form N-550
(Certificate of Naturalization)
documenting his or her U.S.
Citizenship.
Based on detailed accounts
by Mrs. Orozco and the four
students who preceded her,
the USCIS Officers consis
tently treated all applicants
professionally, fairly, and
with total respect through
out each phase of the natu
ralization process. All five
students further commented
on how thoroughly impressed
they were with the swearing
in ceremony at the USCIS
Building in Atlanta.
In memory of
TERRY
BUTLER
July 21,1967-Sept. 22,2005
Those we have held
in our arms for a
little while, we hold
in our hearts forever
Death leaves a heartache
no one can heal.
Love leaves a memory
no one can steal.
Gone yet not forgotten
Although we are apart
your spirit lives within us
forever in our hearts.
Pop, Old Woman,
Travis, Tori & Jessica
TALENT WINNERS NAMED
The winners of the Hoschton Talent Stampede are: Paige Williams, first place; Dawn
DeWitt, second place; and Bill Boswick, third place. They will perform at the Hoschton
Scarecrow Fest on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 1:30 p.m., at Towne Center Stage. Also per
forming will be Hailey Smith, harpist, and Lynn, Lilly and Victoria Mulvey. The judges
for the competition were Tammy Evans Yonce, music instructor at Gainesville State
College; Ryan Langford, Braselton Community Choir director; and Leah Nelson, sale
representative for The Paper. Shown are (L-R): Lynn Mulvey, Hailey Smith, Dawn
DeWitt, Bill Boswick, Paige Williams, and Lilly and Victoria Mulvey.
Trying to make sense of it all
O NE DAY last week I had to call in
sick to work. I was running a low
grade fever and had a terrible ear
ache. I awoke that morning feeling absolutely
horrible. My ear was pounding and my head
was hurting. I found that I had an ear
and sinus infection.
The whole time that I had a fever,
my little dogs didn't leave my side. If
I sat down, they were up in my lap. If
I went to the kitchen, they were right
at my feet. They somehow knew that
I wasn't well.
I have always heard that dogs have
a sixth sense. It is a truly amazing
concept that baffles even the greatest
scientific minds. It is a proven fact
that many dogs can sense cancer, sei
zure disorders, and oncoming vertigo attacks
in humans.
At one time we had a chocolate lab named
Miss B. She lived outdoors because she didn’t
like being inside. When my husband came
down with the flu, the dog stood outside of
the door pawing at the glass trying to get in.
When I finally gave in, Miss B made a b-line
straight to our bedroom. She jumped up on the
bed and put her head on my husband's arm.
She did not leave his side until his fever was
completely gone.
Just a few months ago, I viewed a program
on the Discovery Channel discussing the topic
of dogs and the sixth sense. Cameras were set
up inside of a lady’s house and car. When she
left the house to go somewhere, her little dog
would go to its bed and sleep. The very minute
that she would get into her car to return home,
the dog would automatically jump up, go to
the window and wait there until she arrived.
Scientists have found that other
animals besides dogs have proven
to have a sixth sense as well. When
Indonesia was hit by the tsunami in
2004, not one animal carcass was
found. Animals were reported having
acted strangely as they abandoned
their homes and moved to higher
ground just before the devastation
ever took place.
In 1975, the strange behavior of
animals led officials in a Chinese city
to evacuate. A couple of days later
a massive earthquake took place. In turn, the
signals given by the animals saved thousands
of lives.
So how did the good Lord go about wiring
animals so differently from humans? Did he
provide them with hearing beyond human
capacity? Did he give them a sense of smell
far better than ours? Maybe he gave them the
ability to feel seismic waves that our bodies
cannot detect.
With all of the studies that have taken place,
no one can seem to explain this strange phe
nomenon. I guess it is part of the fact that the
Lord gave some more sense than others.
Sherri Stephens is a South Jackson resi
dent.
Relay for Life raises money for cancer society
THE 2009 Relay for Life in Jackson County
raised $168,108 for the American Cancer
Society.
The relay had 42 teams participating, as well
as 187 cancer survivors.
The “top dozen” fund-raisers were: Jefferson
First Baptist, $12,290; Wayne Farms, $10,565;
Commerce School Systems, $10,514; White
Plains Baptist, $9,895; Mitsubishi Digital,
$8,727; Maysville Elementary, $8,121; Berea
Baptist, $5,758; Bright Beginnings, $5,207;
Mindy’s Militia, $5,207; St. Paul’s First
Baptist Church, $4,926; Robbie's Rawls -
CanSurvivors, $5,323; Jackson Electric
Membership Corporation, $4,478.
For more information on the Jackson County
Relay for Life, go to www.relayforlife.org/
jacksonga.