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Fact of the Week - Before 1883, communities in America set their own time by setting their clocks to noon based on
when the sun reached its highest position in the sky.
• Opinions
• Community
Views
• Good Old
Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
March 11,2021
From the Staff
Even if 60,000 people want kittens,
there are never enough homes
Do you know 60,000 people that cur
rently want a kitten? What about 11,167
people who would want a dog?
If your one single cat or dog isn’t
spayed or neutered, that’s how many
people would be needed to provide
homes for your animal’s offspring.
Remember learning in school that 1 +
1=2? Well for dogs and cats one male
dog plus one female dog can equal as
many as 12 or 15 puppies. Take that
number and multiply by two (because an
unspayed dog can have two litters of
pups each year) and that number in
creases to 24 or 30. And then in six
months’ time, each of those pups can
start having their own litters of puppies
and the problem of overpopulation goes
into overdrive.
The Humane Society of the United
States estimates that one un-spayed fe
male dog and her offspring can produce
11,167 puppies per year. One un-spayed
female cat and her offspring can produce
60,000 or more kittens in their lifetime.
That is the heart of the challenge for any
animal control program.
1.5 million of the 6.5 million of the
cats and dogs who enter shelters annually
are euthanized (670,000 dogs and
860,000 cats) each year, according to The
American Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals.
Each day 70,000 puppies and kittens
are bom in the United States compared
to just over 10,000 human babies.
The best thing you could do for your
pet AND our community is spay or
neuter your pet. To that end, Be-Paws We
Care is sponsoring SNIP - Spay/Neuter
Initiative Pickens. SNIP is a low cost
spaying and neuter certificate sale. For
just $35 for any cat and $45 for any dog,
you can get a certificate to have your pet
spayed or neutered. Certificates may be
purchased on Saturday, March 20th from
9:30 a.m. until noon at the Pickens Room
in the Pickens County Administration
Building, 1266 E. Church Street.
And that’s not all. The certificates, re
deemable at Georgia Animal Project in
Ball Ground, includes a rabies vaccina
tion, post operative pain medicine for
your pets and a nail trim. Low income,
military and senior citizen pricing will
also be available.
But spaying and neutering isn’t just
about huge numbers. It’s always about
just one - your own personal pet. Spaying
your female pet will help her live longer.
Spaying your kitten when she is 3-6
months old will virtually eliminate the
risk that she will develop mammary can
cer. Neutered dogs don’t develop testic
ular cancer, which is common in older
dogs who haven’t been neutered. They
also have a lower risk of pancreatic can
cer, and their life expectancy is increased
up to 18%.
Neutered pets are better behaved.
Neutered dogs and cats are less likely to
behave aggressively and less likely to en
gage in territory-marking behavior such
as spraying urine in your house (unfortu
nately our editor’s neutered cat didn’t get
that memo). And spaying or neutering
doesn’t affect a dog’s instinct to protect
home and family. A dog’s personality is
formed more by genetics and environ
ment than hormones.
Neutered pets are happier at home,
don’t go into heat and won’t gain weight
from being spayed or neutered.
Spaying and neutering benefits your
pet medically and behaviorally. It’s truly
a lifesaver.
So for anyone who doesn’t have their
pet spayed or neutered yet, come to Be-
Paws We Care’s Certificate Sale Sat
urday, March 20th and take the first
step to protecting your pet and our com
munity from contributing to the world’s
pet overpopulation problem.
Tell us your thoughts with a letter to the editor. E-mail to news@pickensprogress.com
See letter submission guidelines on the Letters to the Editor page or call us 706-253-2457.
Ponderings of a Simple Man
By Caleb Smith
A Spring
in my Step
Winter is always a diffi
cult time for writing articles.
The weather is dreary and
cold and I, much like a bear,
spend most of it curled up in
side, empty bags of Cheetos
spread around me. You can
only write so many articles
about napping and snacking
before people start getting
concerned about your wellbe
ing.
After all, after a certain
point, laying around all day
and eating junk food by the
fistful becomes dangerous to
your health. Luckily how
ever, my wife has resisted her
more murderous impulses so
I have stayed as healthy as I
was when the winter began.
Much like the bear I refer
enced earlier, I have begun to
stir from my seasonal slum
ber. Warmer weather and
blue skies have had me star
ing through the window for
hours on end, whimpering
slightly. Eventually the
whimpering gets on my
wife’s nerves so she relents
and lets me back inside.
I really need to look into
hiding a housekey some
where on the front porch for
when she lures me out with a
donut and slams the door be
hind me.
Or I could not fall for the
obvious trap of a random
donut laid on the railing....
Nah, definitely the key
thing.
Despite my reluctance to
leave the hollowed out hole I
have worn into the couch, I’ll
admit that I’m getting excited
for spring. I’ve already begun
shopping for seeds online and
wistfully looking at pictures
of new lawn mowers.
Unfortunately, my wife
has told me in no uncertain
terms that frivolous pur
chases are out of the ques
tion, especially for items that
we both know I’m never
going to use, so I guess the
seeds are out.
Winter has not been kind
to my yard. The weeds are
slowly encroaching on more
and more of the house, and
the freezing temperatures and
driving rain has worn my
porch down to the point that
the original wood is showing
through.
You would think that six
coats of stain would be
enough to keep it looking
new, but I suppose applying
them one at a time, with no
prep work before hand, over
the course of a decade re
duces its efficacy somewhat.
Oh well, as the old saying
goes, ‘The seventh times the
charm.”
At least, that’s how the
saying goes around my
house. The number goes up
every year though.
Suffice to say, the next
few months are going to be
busy around the Simple
Man’s household. I have to
fix up my old mower again
(eighth times the charm!), re
stain my porch, and some
how fix my walkway so that
it doesn’t resemble the after
math of a drone strike.
I’ll keep you advised of
the progress. How bad could
all that be?
[Caleb Smith is a long
time, award-winning, colum
nist for the Progress. Look
for his books at the Progress
office or on Amazon.]
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457 FAX (706) 253-9738
www.pickensprogressonline.com
DAN POOL
Publisher/Editor
Published each Thursday at Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia. Entered
at the Post Office at Jasper, Georgia. 30143 as Mail Matter of Second
Class. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE PICKENS
COUNTY PROGRESS, 94 N. Main St., Jasper, GA 30143.
One Year’s Subscription: $39.59 in Pickens County and in Gilmer,
Cherokee, Dawson and Gordon counties; $50.29 in all other Georgia
counties; $59.92 out of state.
Reboot
OTHER VOICES
The Vile Landmines of Friendship and Acquaintance
By Keith Petty
Throughout our lives, we
may be fortunate enough to
have many people in our cir
cles whom we call friends.
Many of those relationships
develop by chance as we are
paired together in school, in
church, in work. Commonal
ity connects us to others, and
we bond.
A majority of friendships
can be best categorized as so
cial friendships or acquain
tances. Niceties are
exchanged at the office. A
fellowship meal is shared
after Sunday worship service.
A card arrives in the mail at
Christmastime. Few friend
ships, however, are of a na
ture that allows for the full
divulgence of self. Trust is
the rarity that makes this so.
As for myself, I am fortu
nate in that reciprocated trust
has been and is the basis of
several important friendships
in my life that vary in dura
tion from a few years to
decades. I am also fortunate
in that I consider immediate
family members as friends.
All of these people bring me
comfort and contentment.
Friendship, nonetheless, is
not always composed of
comfort and contentment.
There are the transitions.
There are the hard times.
There are the losses.
From the days of my
youth and my high school
years, those I considered
friends are still recognized as
such, but in terms of connec
tivity, I only stay in touch
with two people on a regular
basis.
Commonality and trust
have kept us associated, al
beit through social media.
Others with whom I spent
many fond days do not even
offer that tenuous thread as
our evolving lives have ne
cessitated divergence and in
dividuality.
The friendships that have
endured, especially those that
have lasted decades, have
weathered well; but hard
ships and loss have occurred
along the way.
Two of my very best
friends have already passed,
one from cancer and the
other from suicide. I think of
how our friendships might be
today were they still alive,
our bonds further strength
ened by more passing time
and able to withstand any ar
rows; and while true for
those brotherhoods, not
every friendship withstands
upheaval.
Instead, the weight of con
tention, like pressure on a
Belleville spring, triggers a
blast from which only frag
ments remain.
Most everyone has or will
experience the blast at least
once during a lifetime.
Often, it is a moment that
numbs and incapacitates
from the powerful effects of
being blindsided, like a life
long loyal employee who is
suddenly dismissed.
Examination of the frag
ments may entertain gluing
them together into a beautiful
mosaic, an artwork more
beautiful than the original
form; but this is seldom pos
sible, for further examination
reveals the truth of the frag
ments which is that we did
not know the friend for his
true self. All along, his actual
thoughts were ideas incon-
gruent to one’s own set of be
liefs and values. All along,
his allegiance was to ideals
and individuals that render
the potential mosaic inca
pable of ever coming to
fruition.
We move forward with the
ebb and flow of relationships
in our lives. We make
choices, and we realize that
all deaths are not physical. In
recognition, we dance with
the circle of friends that re
main. We put the past to rest;
and in the aftermath, we con
sider what once was in a new
light, not in bitterness or
anger but in gratitude for the
lessons learned and the
chance to renew ourselves to
better.
In homage to halcyon days
of laughter and leisure, we
place a flower on their tomb
and commemorate them for
what they were and for what
they offered in their time.
[Keith Petty Petty teaches
advanced placement litera
ture and composition classes
and British literature classes
at Pickens High School. He
is a freelance writer who
contributes frequently to the
Progress and has been pub
lished in Georgia Backroads
magazine and Share maga
zine.]
WEATHER
By William Dilbeck
HI
LOW
RAIN
March 02
47
37
.00
March 03
61
36
.00
March 04
66
41
.00
March 05
61
41
.00
March 06
54
30
.00
March 07
56
30
.00
March 08
65
33
.00
If you spot a
mistake, let our editor
hear about it.
dpool@
pickensprogress.com
7065-253-2457.
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He says he's not crowing again until they
decide which way to leave the time set."