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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 5A
One thing leads to another
Charter continued from 1A
THERE ARE
teachable moments
and there are teach
able moments. There
are good teachable
moments and - unfor
tunately - there are bad
teachable moments.
The bad ones have a
way of slipping up on
us. They start out to be
good - (oh so good!)
and wind up being bad
-(oh so bad!).
We get caught. One way or
another, we are found out. It’s not
always another person - police
man, teacher, mother or father,
wife or husband, girlfriend or boy
friend, friend or next-door neigh
bor - that catches us.
Our conscience did it. A little
voice inside reminds us that were
not brought up that way. It's not
what we learned in Sunday school
and church.
No, I’m not talking just about
infidelity, armed robbery, drug
trafficking, fraud, income tax eva
sion and things like that. They do
happen.
So do the little things: little
white lies, gossiping, skipping
class or work, not doing our best,
drinking too much.
You are right. Drinking too
much is not a little fifing; it can
kill.
Flip Wilson used to say, “The
devil made me do it.”
I believe we know when we
do wrong. We only make matters
worse when we play the blame
game. “It’s uh me, it's uh me,
oh Lord, standing in the need
of prayer!” Denial is an exercise
in futility. Didn’t I read
somewhere that our sins
will find us out? I have
found that be true.
So what’s a body to
do when temptation
gets through his block
ers and tackles him with
a resounding jolt? The
only thing that works for
me is to pick myself up
out of the gutter, brush
off the dirt and grime,
thank the Lord for that
old mathematical formula of 70
times 7, and set foot on the jour
ney again.
That’s how we turn a bad teach
able moment into a good teachable
moment. We don’t do that bad
stuff anymore; we have learned
our lesson and been forgiven.
I didn’t mean to get off on that
tangent this morning, but some
times the frustrated preacher rises
up, takes over, and gets carried
away. On his behalf, I apologize.
Unless, of course, what he said is
a good teachable moment. Then, I
am pleased.
Anyway, what I started out
to say was that a teachable
moment always leads to a teach
able moment and that teachable
moment leads to a teachable
moment and on, and on, and on
... until we transfer to the next
world.
In other words, we are the whole
of all the teachable moments -
good and bad that we have expe
rienced throughout our lives. It
helps a great deal if little children
are exposed to the good moments
early. Then they stand a pretty
good chance of avoiding the bad
ones later on.
Man, the frustrated preacher is
persistent, isn’t he!
Let me try one more time to tell
you how one teaching moment
leads to another.
This one landed in our front
yard four weeks ago. There must
have been at least two-dozen of
them. Out of nowhere, they just
appeared. It had been a year since
I had seen them.
I stood at the window and
watched them feed on worms that
an overnight rain had washed up
on the driveway. Shirley came
walking down the hall and I said,
“Come look at the harbingers of
spring.”
“They are robins,” she said.
I could tell that she wasn’t real
familiar with “harbinger.” So we
discussed the word, and as we
did, I realized I needed a refresher
course. I opened the Dictionary
to the H’s. See how one teach
able moment is leading to another
teachable moment?
Harbinger: “a person sent ahead
to provide lodging.” It occurred to
me that the robins in our front
yard were sent ahead - not just
to get the early worm - but to
check out nesting sties. Now that
the leaves are off the trees, we see
several places where they lived
and raised families last year.
Here are some other definitions
of harbinger: “one that pioneers in
or initiates a major change; pre
cursor; something that presages
or foreshadows what is to come;
forerunner.”
If you think about it, all of
us are harbingers of something.
What we’ve been harbingers of
in the past is a pretty good indica
tion of what we’ll be harbingers
of in the future. We are teachable
moments every second. Someone
is watching us ... and listening.
Frightening, isn't it?
We are more than harbingers;
we are also precursors. The trou
ble - or opportunity - of look
ing up words in the Dictionary
is that you then have to look up
the words that define the word
you were looking up in the first
place. That’s how one thing leads
to another.
Precursor: “one that precedes
and indicates the approach of
another.”
We don’t need somebody to
teach us that we are harbingers
and precursors. Like the robins,
we just know for some reason or
other. We are in tune with Nature
and just feel deep down that we
are pioneers and forerunners and
we are initiating change.
We are unique individuals, dif
ferent from every other individual
on the face of the earth. Therefore,
we have something to say and
something to do that nobody else
in the world can say or do. And
that is awesome !
So we are harbingers - of some-
fifing. The robins on our front yard
were harbingers of spring. And
what a welcome they were!
My wish for all of us is that we
will be harbingers of hope and
happiness, and precursors of a
brighter future, for those we come
in contact with today.
Virgil Adams is a fanner owner/
editor of The Jackson Herald.
virgil
adams
Authority to collect fees on undeveloped lots
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
MORE THAN 400 owners of
developed but un-built-upon lots
in subdivisions like Traditions of
Braselton will soon face a new
monthly fee.
The Jackson County Water
and Sewerage Authority voted
Thursday night to enforce a clause
in its contracts with developers to
charge a $10 monthly sewer main
tenance fee on lots that have se wer
connections but have been idle for
three years.
Engineer Fred Alke explained
that when the sewage collection
system is installed in a subdivi
sion, plastic stubs are set in each
yard marking the point where the
house will connect to the county
system.
“Those things get hit by bush
hogs and we've had a couple that
got melted in grass fires,” Alke
said. “When they open, rainwater,
mud, debris, stones get in the sys
tem and head to the (treatment)
plant... In some instances, dirt and
stone will fill up sewer lines, then
you have a massive cleanout.”
The maintenance fee, which
is standard for sewer providers,
according to Alke, covers the
expense of inspecting the stubs
and correcting any problems.
“It should not be a burden on
our other customers to maintain a
lot for the developers,” Alke said.
Collecting the fees at a time
when many developments are in
foreclosure could be a challenge.
For example, the estimated 400
lots on which fees may be assessed
do not include two subdivisions
in Pendergrass that are entangled
in legal maneuvers, according to
Alke,
“Pendergrass Depot is in the
hands of the FDIC. Pendergrass
Townhomes is in litigation bet
ween the foreclosing banks and
the owners,” he said. “We’re a
little sketchy on who the owner
is, whether they (FDIC) become
the owner or they're a government
middleman. The contract talks
about the owner/developer.”
Combined, the two have almost
400 lots.
“Of the others, quite a few are
in Traditions. The rest are spread
out,” Alke noted.
The authority is considering
recording the unpaid charges with
the lots’ deeds, but ultimately it is
possible that unsuspecting buyers,
when they come to the authority
to purchase a water meter, could
find themselves hit with several
months (or years) worth of sewer
maintenance fees the developer
failed to disclose at the time of the
sale. The fee will not be assessed
on lots with unsold and unoccu
pied houses already connected to
the sewer system.
autonomy the system would have
over budget and expenditures, and
would designate a chief financial
officer.
Though charter systems allow
districts freedom in certain areas,
that freedom doesn’t extend
everywhere. A charter system is
not allowed to charge tuition and
open record acts still apply. A
school system may set its own
school policies under a charter
system, but it’s still held account
able to federal laws.
The change is not a decision
to be made by the BOE alone,
but the community would pull
together and decide if becoming
a charter system is right for the
area.
The committee must consider
admission rules and what - if any
- out of district students would be
accepted. If converting to a charter
system, the same diversity in stu
dents must be obtained after the
transition as before. Admission
mles must also address a disci
pline code, rules regarding han
dling complaints from students
and parents and a description of
employment procedures, such as
a salary schedule.
Stokes said that the key for
a successful transition is leader
ship.
“A major shift in leadership
from top down mandates and
monitoring the projects to shared
leadership among the commu
nity, the teachers, the adminis
trators and the board,” she said.
“The shift can happen over time,
but are you really ready to begin
the shift? It’s hard for the public
to understand and it’s even more
difficult for the students to under
stand.”
Stokes went on to say that with
the newfound freedom accom
panied by charter status comes
an influx of responsibility and
accountability expected from stu
dents and teachers.
Across the board, officials
agreed student creativity needed
to be fostered, and a charter sys
tem could be the best way to
do so. During budget crunches,
many of the creative courses are
the first things to be cut, and on
a charter system, members of the
community could come together
to teach certain courses where a
certified instructor would not be
necessary, such as theatre.
If implemented, the change to
a charter system would not take
place for the upcoming 2010-
2011 school year, but officials did
agree that if it made the change, it
would need to be soon.
' '
Dear Brenda, My Baby Fancy Face:
Well Baby, this Friday on March the 19th, it will be 5 years
now that you have been gone. I let you pass away that day
and for that I am so very sorry. I still think of you baby
everyday and night wishing that I still had you here with me.
When I let you pass away that morning, my heart went with
you. I know that you are resting high on that mountain
Fancy Face and I know that you are not hurting anymore
now. Just remember, I love you very much, Fancy Face.
Love
Steve #15
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PUBLIC NOTICE
DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS
OF DISABLED STUDENTS
The Jackson County School System, Department of Special
Education, announces its intention to destroy specific data.
Records will be destroyed that were collected, maintained, or
used in provision of a free appropriate public education for
disabled students in Jackson County Schools. This notice is in
compliance with the system's comprehensive plan for special
education required by IDEA 2004.
Records on students who enrolled in a special education
program for the disabled and whose birthdays are between 06/
02/83 and 06/01/84 are no longer needed for educational
purposes. These records may be needed by the student or
parents for Social Security or other reasons. The system plans
to destroy these records on April 05, 2010, unless there has
been a request for a due process hearing, under IDEA 2004 or
a complaint filed with the Office of Civil Rights.
If you, as the student or parents of the student, desire copies
of these records prior to destruction, contact the office of
Special Education at (706) 367-5151. You will be required to
produce identification or provide verification data.
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