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THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 12. 2015 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 5A
Keeping your eyes open for the MOB Squad
Bigun’s Barbeque in Talking Rock was the first “MOB
Squad target”
The purpose of Pickens MOB Squad is to provide sup-
County Chamber of Commerce port and exposure for our local
retail and restaurants. At the
Chamber Membership Breakfast,
a Chamber member’s name is
drawn out of a hat and becomes
the “MOB Squad target” of the
month. The names rotate
monthly between retail and
restaurants.
Bigun’s Barbeque in Talking
Rock was our first MOB, hit
with over 35 members showing
up for lunch on January 22.
Once the business has been
announced, it is up to the MOB-
BERS, AKA shoppers/patrons
(yes, YOU!) to visit those busi
nesses and enjoy a meal or shop!
Of course, it is not mandatory
that you spend money, simply
visiting the selected businesses
to familiarize yourself with what
they offer is appreciated, hoping
that you might feel compelled to
return at another time to pur
chase a product or service.
How can you help? Watch for
the Pickens County Chamber’s
Facebook post and share to help
promote the MOB Squad activ
ity, attend and bring your friends
and family. By joining us at a re
tail or restaurant MOB, you
know your dollars stay in your
community to fund city and
county operations such as roads
and bridges, parks, library, police
and fire departments and more!
Without sales tax dollars, Your
property taxes would have to be
higher to keep the same services
you have currently.
So, join us on February 13
(the day before Valentine’s!) at 4
p.m. at Sacketts Western Wear,
Tack & Feed, 100 Shelby Lane,
for another MOB hit!
Ball Ground media specialist honored
Peking Garfcen
Fine Dining Chinese Restaurant
28 Bill Wigington Parkway
Suite 103
Jasper, Ga 30143
(Kroger Shopping Center)
Tel: 706-253-6828 Fax: 706-253-6808
^ CLOSED ON MONDAYS j{
www.serenitymountainmanor.com
Ball Ground STEM Academy Principal, Dr. Keith Ingram and Media Specialist of the
Year nominee, Anne Nechvatal.
By Larry Cavender
“When I can find books for
nonreaders that they love and
then they tell me they read the
entire book, this is what makes
my fondest memories as a media
specialist,” says Anne Nechvatal
of Ball Ground Elementary
School, or STEM Academy.
Mrs. Nechvatal, a 12-year vet
eran of the education field who
has seven years experience as a
media specialist, was just re
cently nominated as the media
specialist of the year for the
Creekview District in Cherokee
County which is comprised of
Creekview High, Creekland
Middle, Macedonia, Avery and
Free Home Elementary schools
as well as Ball Ground.
Learning of her nomination,
Nechvatal said, “At first I was
very surprised. Then I felt very
Parenting Expert o ffers advice
On curfews and being cool
By John Rosemond
Copyright 2015
Q: My twin boys just turned
13 and are demanding - that is
the right word - later curfews.
They tell us that their curfew,
which is 8:30 on nights when
there is no school the next day, is
“pitiful.” We live in an area
where there’s nothing for kids
that age to do in the evenings but
hang out in small groups or go to
one another’s houses and watch
television or play video games. I
don’t especially want my kids
doing any of that. We don’t have
a video game console and don’t
watch much television at all. And
in our estimation, just hanging
out is a prelude to trouble. We’ve
told our boys that we will con
sider increasing their curfew
until 9 when they turn 15, but
that’s even more pitiful accord
ing to them. They’re both good
kids, by the way. We want to
keep it that way. Your advice
would be greatly appreciated.
A: I doubt Em going to give
advice that you greatly appreci
ate because I tend to agree with
your boys. Seven-year-olds com
pare bedtimes; teens compare
curfews. A teenager’s curfew is
not simply a matter of freedom,
it’s also a marker of how cool
one’s parents are, and having
cool parents is, well, cool. Eight-
thirty on non-school nights for
admittedly good 13-year-old
kids doesn’t amount to much
freedom and it certainly speaks
to very uncool parents.
You might say you don’t care
if you’re cool or not, and you
may even scoff at the idea, but if
the truth were known, you
should want to be cool. Teens
gravitate toward cool parents.
They open up to and confide in
them. They seek advice from
cool parents. Being cool affords
parents the privilege of having a
better sense of what’s going on
in a group of teens. Cool parents
enjoy a huge advantage. I’m not
talking about letting teens do
things they shouldn’t do, such as
letting them consume alcohol.
That’s not cool. That’s stupid and
irresponsible. I’m talking about
being perceived as an adult
who’s approachable, who under
stands, and who, therefore, one
can talk to. Take it from me (my
wife and I were very cool when
our kids were teens), you want
that.
The trick to successfully ne
gotiating the teen years is to rec
ognize and accommodate to the
greatest degree possible a teen’s
overarching desire for freedom
while managing issues such that
the teen is motivated to behave
responsibly. Many parents seem
to think that the way to avoid
problems during the teen years
involves a combination of a
short leash and saying “no” at
least five times a day. That ap
proach, while well-intentioned,
is a recipe for rebellion. I’d say
you’re running that risk with
your boys.
My advice is that you bump
their curfew on non-school
nights to 9 with the understand
ing that if they don’t violate that
curfew for six months it will in
crease to 9:30. From that point,
their curfew will increase by 30
minutes at the end of every vio
lation-free six-month period.
However, if even one of them
violates the current curfew, the
six months at that time begins
over again the next day. The
“one of you equals both of you”
rule forces them to police one
another.
I wish you a successful jour
ney to being cool.
Family psychologist John
Rosemond: johnrosemond. com,
parentguru. com
LIFESAVING 101
DONATE BLOOD!
American
Red Cross
Pickens High School
Blood Drive
Tuesday, February 17th
8:00 am-1:30pm
Old PAC
To make an appointment, please see Mrs. Zuidema in
room 341.
Please eat iron rich foods. Drink plenty of non-caffeinated
Fluids and get a good night’s rest before donating blood.
ALL 16yr-old STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A SIGNED
PARENT CONSENT FORM
PHOTO I.D. REQUIRED
redcrossblood.org | 1-800-RED CROSS
honored especially when I
learned who the other nominees
were.” She added that the other
nominees were excellent media
specialists very deserving of
being honored as media special
ists of the year.
Responding to how she likes
working at the Ball Ground
school, Mrs. Nechvatal said,
“There are a lot of good schools
in Cherokee County, but Ball
Ground is one of the best if not
the best. The kids are great and
the parents are wonderful. Ball
Ground is a very welcoming
community.”
Now in her fourth year at Ball
Ground, Mrs. Nechvatal previ
ously worked at middle schools
in Forsyth and Dawson counties.
She transferred to Ball Ground
because it was much closer to
her home and a much shorter
commute.
Mrs. Nechvatal, whose hus
band, Gerry, is the Economic
Development director for Pick
ens County, is originally from
Minnesota. She moved with her
family to Stone Mountain, Ga.,
when she was four years old. She
now resides in Canton with her
husband and son, Evan, who is a
junior at Cherokee High School
in Canton. Her daughter, Olivia,
is a student at the University of
Georgia.
706-253-8200
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