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“Guard against the posture of pretended patriotism.” George Washington
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Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
April 6,2023
Let s move: Humans not
designed to sit all day
Our staff is comprised of what we’d like
to call a diverse group of physiques. A few
people are now fairly fit gym regulars who
used to be pretty overweight. A few of us
used to be small but now want to work on
their weight. One person has stayed more or
less the same over the years.
Despite us all looking different, the thing
that makes us the same is that getting up and
moving around is good for everyone. This
past week we implemented intermittent five-
minute walks during our work day. The ini
tiative began after one of us
heard about a Columbia Uni
versity study that found taking
five-minute walks every 30
minutes could offset the risks of
sitting for hours on end. People
who sit all day are at much
higher risk of diabetes, heart
disease, dementia, and cancer
than people who move.
And probably like a great
deal of modem professions, newspaper em
ployees are mostly sitters — square in front of
a computer for most of the day.
In the study, middle age and older adults
were asked to sit for eight hours. Some
walked, some didn’t. Researchers measured
glucose levels every 15 minutes and blood
pressure every half hour. For the walkers,
blood sugar spikes after meals were reduced
60 percent, and blood pressure went down a
few points. People also generally just felt bet
ter - physically better and in a better mood.
“This is a wonderful way to improve your
metabolic profile,” said exercise researcher
Loretta DiPietro from the Milken Institute
School of Public Health. “Stop sitting around
all day. The human body was not designed to
sit around all day.”
We’ve just started our experiment, but al
ready we all enjoy getting up and walking
(even if it can disrupt workflow). It’s nice to
walk around the block and see what’s hap
pening outside. Our reporter likes to pick
flowers she comes across. Our editor found a
morel mushroom in a location he won’t re
veal. You see things on foot you just don’t in
a car, and get a different perspective of some-
According to the
American Heart
Association,
sedentary jobs
have increased 83
percent since
1950.
thing that’s usually whizzing by from the
window. We all feel more active and it puts
us in a better mood.
The walks have brought our general health
into perspective, too. Despite Americans’ ob
session with dieting we keep getting bigger
and we keep sitting for longer periods of
time. According to the American Heart Asso
ciation, sedentary jobs have increased 83 per
cent since 1950. Data from the National
Institute of Health found that the average of
fice worker sits up to 15 hours a day (yikes),
which would include commut
ing time, time in the office, time
on the couch after getting
home. We also know that there
are a lot of retired elderly peo
ple who spend the majority of
their day sitting.
Based on data collected
between 2017 and 2020, 41.9
percent of adults in the U.S. are
obese - and this doesn’t include
the over 30 percent of us who fall into the
overweight category. That’s a striking num
ber - over 70 percent of us (double yikes) are
not in the normal weight range. We agree that
BMIs aren’t the best way to determine how
overweight we are, but anyone with two eye
balls can see that our weight is a problem.
We’re not arguing we need to look like su
permodels (and again, every single one of us
in this office has been overweight) - but,
overall, we’re just not healthy as a society.
We get there are some factors like genetics,
poverty, and issues with access to healthy
food for some communities, but by and large
we’re responsible for our health.
The good news is we can start small with
a few very short walks a day. We recently in
terviewed a local elderly man who walked
across the country to support Alzheimer’s re
search. Now he’s back in town and he walks
every single day, and encourages other to do
so.
The jury is still out on how effective our
walking experiment will be, but there aren’t
any downsides we can think of. Moving
more and a little more often is way better than
not moving at all.
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
Fat Boy
Slip-N-Slide
Many years back, during
my misspent youth, I worked
in construction for a number
of years. This is pretty much
just a fancy way of saying
that I used to go to job sites,
not long after I got my li
cense, and picked up after the
builders.
Working with so many
skilled craftsmen, I learned a
great many things. I learned
the spacing you have to have
between joists, how many
inches a set of steps must rise
over a set distance, and most
importantly, I learned that I
hate physical labor.
It wasn’t so bad during
fall and early spring. Mild
weather and low humidity
made for a pretty pleasant ex
perience. But, as anyone
raised in Georgia knows, we
have summer approximately
360 days of the years.
If you want misery, try
lugging a bunch of lumber up
a hill in 98% humidity. And
make no mistake, the lumber
always wound up at the bot
tom of the hill somehow.
Pressure treated wood be
comes slicker than a politi
cian’s smile in that sort of
weather, which usually re
sulted in it sliding off my
shoulder and into my head
about the time I got to the
top.
I would, of course, drop it
and use a couple of words I
wasn’t supposed to know,
and it would inevitably slide
back down to the bottom.
Georgia red clay was af
fected by the humidity.
Throw in a few summer
showers and you had a bona
fide fat boy slip-n-slide.
Nothing quite wakes you
up like reaching the top of a
hill with a couple hundred
pounds of wood on your
shoulder and realizing your
feet are now level with your
shoulders. It is, in a word, in
vigorating.
Not to mention the reason
that my breakfast these days
usually consists of an ibupro-
fen smoothie.
Needless to say, the sum
mer I turned 18, I immedi
ately found a desk job where
I happily spent the next
decade enjoying such luxu
ries as air conditioning, in
door plumbing, and food that
didn’t come out of the back
of a windowless van. I know
I know, I got spoiled.
But lately I’ve been think
ing about going back into the
construction industry. With
my college degree and prior
experience, I might be able to
move up in the trade. My dad
is pretty sure he can get me a
job sweeping out houses
under construction. It’s a
long shot, but we all need to
have dreams.
Just as long as there aren’t
any hills.
[Caleb Smith is a resident
of a ramshackle cabin on an
undisclosed mountain top.
He can be reached at jcaleb-
smith90@yahoo.com.]
Are we
getting it
straight?
If you spot an error
let us know
dpooI@pickensprogress.com
WEATHER
By William Dilbeck
HI LOW RAIN
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March
31
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April
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April
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April
03
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(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30i43
(706) 253-2457
www.pickensprogressonline.com
DAN POOL
Publisher/Editor
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Other Voices:
Don’t be afraid to discuss uncomfortable topic
during Sexual Assault Awareness Month
By Joyce Dorian
Prevention & Education
Coordinator
North Georgia Mountain
Crisis Network
Sometimes because a cer
tain topic feels uncomfort
able it can be avoided. Often
these topics are horrible
things we hope never happen
to ourselves, anyone we
know and anyone we don’t
know. However, the potential
pitfall of not having some of
these uncomfortable conver
sations is not properly edu
cating and raising awareness
of how to prevent and what
to do in the worst-case sce
nario.
The uncomfortable topic I
am referring to is sexual as
sault, and I shine the light on
this because April is Sexual
Assault Awareness Month.
According to RAINN (Rape,
Abuse & Incest National
Network), the nation’s largest
anti-sexual assault organiza
tion, there are on average
over 293,000 victims (age 12
or older) of rape and sexual
assault each year in the U.S.
What may be surprising to
some is that nearly 85% of
these victims knew the per
son who raped or assaulted
them.
At North Georgia Moun
tain Crisis Network
(NGMCN) we are here to
provide a myriad of support
for the victims. This can in
clude conducting the sexual
assault exam at our private,
safe, secure, and calm exam
room with our dedicated
staff.
This includes a specially
trained SANE nurse to con
duct the exam as well as a
specially trained advocate to
be there for the victim
through their journey of re
porting the event through
their healing process. We
have helped clients with tem
porary and permanent hous
ing, counseling, doctor
exams, filing for Victim’s
Compensation and much
more.
NGMCN is dedicated to
making a very horrific and
difficult experience easier
and to make sure the victim
knows that we are there for
them in as many ways as we
can be.
In addition to helping the
victim through their experi
ence, NGMCN is dedicated
to education and prevention.
You might see one of our
staff at various events around
town. We’d love for you to
come by and say hello when
you see us.
There are a few tips about
Sexual Assault Prevention
that we’d like to share with
everyone.
• Be Assertive - Some
times in an attempt to not
hurt someone else’s feelings,
it may be possible for another
to misunderstand what you
really mean. While it is
wrong, some confuse passiv
ity, lack of firmness and even
not protesting enough as con
sent.
2. Don’t Be Afraid of
Hurting Someone Else’s
Feelings - Trust your in
stincts. If something doesn’t
feel right, trust that. You may
be concerned about how
someone else might feel or
how it might look to others
but remember that you can
always explain later.
3. Pay Attention to the
Red Flags - If you see some
thing you are not sure about,
honor that and avoid it.
4. Check in With
Friends - Let friends know
where you are, where you
might go and do, and run it
by them. Check in with
friends often and have a plan
in place if one of your friends
does not check in.
5. Be Careful About
Your Drink - Don’t drink
anything from someone you
don’t know. There are covers
that can go over drinks to
prevent someone from slip
ping something in it.
6. Have a Safety Plan in
Place with Your Friends -
Have a pre-arranged code
word or phrase with your
friends. If something is not
feeling right, instead of need
ing to explain it then, use
your pre-arranged phrase that
lets your group know that
there is a safety issue and it is
time to quickly leave. You
can explain all the details
when you are safely away
from the scene.
Most importantly if you or
someone you know is raped
or sexually assaulted, it is not
yours or their fault. You de
serve help and support. You
can call the NGMCN 24/7 at
706-632-8400 or 1-800-33-
HAVEN.
Talking Rock
Town Council
Meeting
April 6
The work session
will begin at 5:30
p.m. and the Meet
ing will begin at 7
p.m.
Talking Rock Town Hall
4675 Hwy 136 W
Talking Rock, GA. 30175
(706) 253-5515
townclerk@
talkingrockga.com
Don't delay.
File today.
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April 18.
PM 6
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IT 104
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