Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016
THE COMMERCE NEWS • THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 13A
Gardening the easy way: raised beds
There are many advan
tages to establishing a
raised bed vegetable
garden. These beds are
well-suited to growing veg
etables from carrots and
potatoes to beans and
corn. The lack of com
paction and rocks in the
soil allow for a more-pro
lific and attractive crop.
They are also well-suited
to meet the needs of gar
deners with back prob
lems or other physical limitations.
Additionally, vegetable gardening in
a raised bed versus in a traditional
garden has shown increases in
vegetable production of up to 200
percent.
Raised bed gardens
can be built at four to six
foot widths so you can
sit on the sides of the
bed and reach into the
middles to pull weeds or
harvest the crops. This
also reduces the space
required between rows
as long as you consider
the mature size of plants
to avoid crowding. They
should be planted close
enough to other plants to shade
out weeds.
To build sides for a raised bed,
you should use untreated lumber,
pavers, “snap-together” frames, or
brick. If you use treated lumber, be
sure to place a sheet of polyethe-
lyne plastic between the lumber
and the soil to keep any preserva
tive from entering the garden soil.
A well-constructed bed should
be at least lfoot tall and no wider
than four or six feet, but can be
as long as desired. Mark off the
intended surface area with twine,
build the walls to the planned
height, and fill the bed with a light
weight soil. Incorporate compost
into the bed at a rate of 2/3 soil to
1/3 compost. After the first crop
year, take a soil sample from the
garden area and have it tested to
determine what nutrients are low.
As you prepare to build your
raised bed garden, plan to plant 100
square feet or less per person in a
household, and grow the easiest
crops if this is your first year garden
ing. As you develop your gardening
skills, add more difficult crops such
as small fruits and perennial vege
tables, and add more area to your
garden dimensions.
When selecting your plants,
keep in mind several suggestions.
Plant bush beans for early pods,
or pole beans for a later crop with
more flavor. Early cabbage variet
ies produce small heads that taste
great cooked or in salads. Try pur
ple or one of the new white cauli
flower varieties that don’t require
blanching. In heavy soils, try half-
long varieties of carrots. Grow the
disease-resistant long, slender
cucumbers for salads. Plant both
leaf lettuce and head lettuce for a
season-long crop. Plant summer
squash on the edge of the gar
den so the plants can spread on
unplowed ground. Grow corn in
square blocks rather than in long
rows to improve pollination and
insure all of the ears develop well.
To stretch out the work and the
harvest period, stagger the plant
ings of your vegetables so they are
maturing throughout the growing
season to provide you with a con
tinuous supply of fresh vegetables.
Bob Waldorf is the Banks Coun
ty extension agent.
Lula approves liability insurance carrier for 2016-17
BY SHARON HOGAN
The Lula City Council approved the city’s
yearly liability insurance bid for Fiscal Year
2016-2017.
City manager Dennis Bergin present
ed the two bids, at the April 18 meeting,
received and the council unanimously
approved a bid of $37,490 from Glatfelter
Public Practice. A bid of $36,857 was
received from GERMA.
The council discussed some of the
options from each provider and one point
made by Bergin was the GIRMA (Geor
gia Interlocal Risk Management Agency)
policy only covered actual replacement
cost and the Glatfelter policy covered full
replacement cost.
“This is a big deal if you are talking about
an expensive piece of equipment,” Bergins
said.
The council had budgeted $39,000 to
cover the cost of the liability insurance.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at the monthly meet
ing:
•the council recognized the Yard of the
Month winners for April. They included:
Anita Collins, Cobb Street; Betty Toole, Hem
lock Court; James Winkler, Belton Bridge
Place; Liza Porras, Waterford Glen Court;
and Edwin and Joanne Cash, Toombs Street.
•Bergins advised the new bathrooms in
the downtown area were almost complete.
He said there were probably 10 punch items
to be corrected.
•Bergins reported on the status of the
Lula Depot purchase. “There is an issue with
ownership, in name only” he said. “The ball
is in LABA’s (Lula Area Betterment Associa
tion’s) court now.”
• Mayor Milton Turner reported the Street-
scape II project was over 90 percent com
plete. “I have received a lot of positive com
ments on this,” Turner said.
•Bergin advised the pre-construction
meeting with Higgins Construction for the
Pine Street sewer replacement project was
set for April 19.
•the council unanimously approved the
state-wide mutual aid agreement with Hall
County.
•a discussion was held on the city’s
upcoming 40th Annual Lula Railroad Day
event set for Saturday May 14. Turner said
he planned to ask a former football player
living in Lula to be the grand marshal for
the annual parade. The parade will be held
at 10 a.m. with line-up at 9 a.m. Bergin said
there were 33 art, crafts and food booths
registered so far and the entertainment slots
were almost full.
• Bergin told the council that he had been
in contact with a representative with Norfolk
Southern Railroad about the status of the
Cobb Street Bridge. He said Norfolk South
ern wants the now closed bridge to go away,
but they are willing to discuss the city’s posi
tion on the bridge issue. “You need to hear
all the options before making a decision,”
Bergin said to the council. “We need to hear
from Lucky (Chandler, city attorney) and
continue the negotiations.”
•the street committee, comprised of
council members Lamb Griffin and Vince
Evans, set a meeting for 9 a.m. on Monday
April 25, to discuss the engineering proposal
for the Victoria Lane culvert project and the
bid process for street resurfacing.
• the parks and festivals committee, com
prised of council members Griffin and Gar
nett Smith, set a meeting for 9 a.m. on Friday,
April 22, to discuss the new bathroom oper
ations and the Lula Railroad Day Festival
and parade.
• Turner reminded everyone that the City
of Lula would be hosting the quarterly Hall
County Joint Municipal Association meeting
at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, April 25, at the Lula
Depot. A catered meal will be served.
•Turner also announced that the city’s
Annual Spring Clean-Up Day for bulk waste
collections is set for Monday, May 2.
Announcements
Author Janet
Holmes to
speak Saturday
Maysville Public Library
is having an author signing
on Saturday, April 23, from
11 a.m.-1 p.m. Janet Holmes,
author of “Chemo Chic and
Clueless,” will be talking
about her book, life, and can
cer. She is a cancer patient,
author, makeup artist and
motivational speaker.
“With faith, humor, and
encouragement she details
her life with cancer and the
beauty industry while hilari
ously following the winding
and turning course of medi
cal science,” states Chyrrelle
Nance, library manager.
Light refreshments will be
served by Ganache Bakery
and Bistro.
Benefit
planned for
Dan Boling
Mercy Tree, with special
guest Rebecca Mason, will
sing at a benefit singing for
Dan Boling on Saturday,
April 30, at Homer Baptist
Church, located at 5026 Hwy.
441 South, Homer.
A love offering will be
taken for Boling, who suf
fered a spinal cord injury fol
lowing a farm accident and
is now paralyzed.
Author to visit
Nicholson
Public Library
The Nicholson Public
Scholarships For Seniors
A Banks County High School senior will be given the “Shawn Smith
Memorial Scholarship” on May 12 with funds raised through a recent gun raf
fle. The drawing for the gun took place April 15 at Country Boys Sports where
the rifle was purchased. The winner was Bryan Wood. Shown are (L-R) Joel
Stewart, Kerry Stevens and Will Ramsey.
Library will celebrate Earth
Day with Frances Kwiatkow-
ski’s reading her book, “The
Kingdom of Longleaf,” On
on Saturday, April 23, at 1
p.m.
“The Kingdom of Long-
leaf” is a children’s book
sharing the unique ecology
of the Longleaf pine forest
and its inhabitants. Follow
ing the presentation, signed
copies of the book will be
available for purchase.
Light refreshments will be
provided.
On Tuesday, April 26, at
6:30 p.m., a Monarch Butter
fly program will be presented
by students from the UGA
Monarch Lab. Topics cov
ered will include habitat and
migration.
Organizers state that this
is a family program and will
especially benefit science
students. Each family that
attends will receive a packet
of milkweed seeds to plant
to help save endangered but
terflies.
Language
tutorials
free at libraries
Learning a language is
free with program at public
libraries
The Piedmont Regional
Library System offers the
Mango Languages online
language-learning system at
no charge to its patrons.
The Piedmont Region
is one of the most active
regions in the state to use
the program since the ser
vice began in July 2016.
Mango is free for all
library patrons and can be
accessed anywhere with an
Internet connection. Each
lesson combines real life
situations and audio from
native speakers with sim
ple, clear instructions. The
courses are presented with
an appreciation for cultur
al nuance and real-world
application by focusing on
the four key elements of
language learning: vocabu
lary, pronunciation, gram
mar, and culture.
Mango offers access to
60 foreign language cours
es and 17 English cours
es taught completely in
the user’s native language.
Some courses are just for
fun, like “Talk Like a Pirate.”
Each month, a specific lan
guage is highlighted. For
example, in April, learn
Shakespearean English
to help in English class.
May is the month to begin
learning Spanish so we all
can celebrate Cinco de
Mayo in style. Mango can
be accessed at the library
remotely, or even on-the-
go with apps for iPhone®,
Android™, Kindle® and
Nook®.
“We are so proud of our
patrons,” McIntyre said.
“Since we joined the grow
ing list of libraries across
the country that offer
Mango, statistics show our
patrons at the top of the
activity list. Some people
need to learn a second
language for business or
travel. Others want to learn
for personal or profession
al development. No matter
the reason, learning a lan
guage should be fun. With
Mango, it definitely is.”
To learn more about
Mango, stop by public
libraries in Banks, Barrow
or Jackson counties and ask
for an introduction. Library
card holders can access
Mango free through the
library website at prlib.org.
Recycling
Day coming
up Saturday
A Recycling Day will be
held in Jackson County on
Saturday, April 23, from 8
a.m. to noon in front of
the Jackson County Road
Department.
Items being accepted will
include electronics, paint
(first five gallons are free,
after that each gallon will
be $2) used auto oil and
batteries, household batter
ies, florescent light bulbs,
hardback and softback
books, used clothing and
household items and eye
glasses.
Expired or unused drugs
will also be taken for dispos
al (needles will not accept
ed), as well as documents
for shredding (two boxes).
A Jackson County deputy
will be present to collect
the drugs handed in.
Window Sale!
• Eight 4000-Series Windows
• True Slope Sill • Capping
• SolarZone • Argon Gas
•PAYMENT BASED ON 7.99% A.P.R. UNSECURED LOANS. TERM LENGTH
LISTED IN AD. CREDIT APPROVAL REQUIRED. A BANC APPROVAL REQUIRED.
EQUAL PAYMENTS PER MONTH.
15 MOS.
FINANCING
AVAILABLE
Courage to QUIT
Courage to QUIT is a 4-session program designed to
help you quit using tobacco products.
Each class covers a new topic. Participants create a quit
plan and learn tools for getting through withdrawal,
avoiding triggers and handling stress.
Tuesdays, May 17,24,31 & June 7
5:30-6:30 pm
$30 deposit/participant*
Hjf iiru&aw-
wISQAJx$. aL.,
“Simply the Best for Less
706-408-6168
- Local Owners,
Stewart & Vicki Hulfmasler
www.WindowWorldAthens.com • 1875 Commerce Road, Athens
Call 706.475.1029 to register
or visit www.athenshealth.org/calendar
Athens Regional
CAL CENTER
* Due upon registration.
Refunded if all four classes are attended.