Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2008
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PACE 5A
Social
VOS’ '•i < h 'r 'WHii r
SCOUTS COLLECT FOOD FOR FAMILY CONNECTION
Members of Banks County Cub Scouts Pack 106 collected food to donate to
Banks County Family Connection for the holidays. Shown on Monday night,
Dec. 15, presenting the food to Family Connection are: (first row, L to R) Domi
nic Zoeckler, Cody Dodge, Jacob Henderson, John Puckett, Austin Anderson
and Mark Bonds; (second row, L-R) Chris Bonds, Ashton McDonald, Dakota
Reems and Jacob Sanders; (third row, L-R) Michael Gallagher, Robbie Dick
ens and Trey Brown; and (fourth row, L-R) Perry McDonald, Scout leader, and
Robin Trotter, Banks County Family Connection director.
Photo by Sharon Hogan
Poinsettias bring holiday decorations to life
Poinsettias embody the
holiday spirit and help cre
ate the most festive displays.
The challenge is deciding how
many poinsettias to buy - what
color, leaf shape, plant size and
form. There are so many. These
holiday classics offer tradition
al red, strong white, creamy
white, light pink, solid pink,
bright orange-red, deep purple-
red and various marbled or
speckled flowers. Despite per
sistent rumors to the contrary,
poinsettias are nonpoisonous
and safe around children and
pets.
Buying the best plants is easy
if you follow these tips:
•Look for fully colored and
expanded bracts (the colored
portions of the plant - the
actual flowers are the yellow
centers). Avoid plants with too
much green around the bract
edges. This is a sign that the
plant was shipped before it was
mature enough.
•Choose plants with dense,
rich green leaves all along the
stem. Poinsettias should be
well-branched and propor
tioned with the container, about
two and a half times
the height of the pot.
•Check the leaves
for possible “hitch
hikers.” One com
mon pest on poinset
tias is the silverleaf
whitefly. These tiny
flies live on the un
derside of the leaves,
sucking the juices.
This is the giveaway:
when the insects ex
crete the plant's juic
es, they drop a “honeydew” on
the leaves below. So, don’t buy
plants with sticky leaves and
black dots on the undersides.
•Examine the roots. White
and light tan roots that have
grown to the sides of the pot
are signs of a healthy plant.
Brown roots, or few roots, may
be a sign of disease.
•Don’t buy plants with weak
stems, few bracts, or any signs
of wilting, breaking or droop
ing.
•Once they’re home, place
poinsettias wherever your
decoration plan calls for them.
They’ll last about three weeks
in fairly dark places. Don’t
put them near cold
drafts or excessive
heat or near appli
ances, fireplaces or
ventilating ducts.
•Water poinset
tias only when the
soil feels dry to the
touch. Don’t let
them wilt, though,
or the leaves could
drop. Overwatering
is a common cause
for poinsettias dy
ing. Always remove a plant
from any decorative container
before watering, and let the
water drain completely.
•Don’t fertilize them dur
ing the blooming season. This
will cause them to lose some of
their quality.
If you would like to learn
how to care for your poinset
tias and continue enjoying
them after the holidays, read
next week’s article. I will ex
plain in that article how to care
for them throughout the year
and bring them back into their
bright colors next year.
Bob Waldorf is the Banks
County extension agent.
Welborn, Shockley to wed Jan. 10
MR. SHOCKLEY AND MISS WELBORN
Kenneth Welborn, Demor-
est, announces the engage
ment and forthcoming mar
riage of his daughter, Cory
Lisa Welborn, to Jonathan
Phillip Shockley, son of
Phillip and Angela Shock-
ley, Lula. The bride-elect is
also the daughter of the late
Juanita Welborn.
Miss Welborn is the
granddaughter of Danny
and Bobbie Barton, Corne
lia, and the late Jim Smith,
and Bill and Mary Lindsey,
Troy, Ala.
She attended Habersham
Central High School, Mt.
Airy, and North Georgia
Technical College, Clarkes-
ville. She is employed in the
billing department of Mans
field Oil, Gainesville.
The future groom is the
grandson of Homer and
Ruby Shockley, Lula.
Mr. Shockley is a 1999
graduate of East Hall High
School and is employed as
a truck driver at Fieldale
Farms Corp., Toccoa.
The wedding is planned
for 3 p.m. Jan. 10, 2009, at
Fairfield Baptist Church,
Demorest.
All family and friends are
invited to attend.
Adult learning center plans announced
The Banks County Adult
Learning Center will be closed
to students December 22 - Janu
ary 4.
“Even though this is the be
ginning of a new calendar year,
we are only halfway through
our year at the center,” director
Sharon Clark said. “Since the
fiscal year began in July 2008,
we have served 98 citizens of
Banks County, and nine of these
have earned their GED. The
nine people who have earned
their GEDs so far this year are to
be commended for taking a big
step toward a better future. We
congratulate these nine GED
recipients and look forward to
awarding many more GEDs in
the remaining six months of fis
cal year 2009.”
Clark also encourages those
who are unemployed to take
time to further their education.
“We all are feeling the effects
of the economic recession, and
in hard times like these, a com
mon response is to stay home,
save money, and implement the
strategy of just holding out until
things get better,” she said. “If
you have been laid off and are
having trouble finding work,
why not use this down-time to
increase your employability
once hiring starts back?”
“According to the U.S. Census,
people who have a high school
diploma or GED earn an average
of $10,000 more per year than
those who do not. The Banks
County Adult Learning Center is
here to help you get that GED,
so that you can increase your
chance of getting a job, move
up in the job you already have,
or enroll in specialized training
to keep your job skills up with
current job market demands.
We also offer programs to help
people develop the reading, lan
guage, math, and reasoning skills
necessary for success in college,
as well as in the workplace.”
Beginning in January, 2009,
the Banks County Adult Learn
ing Center will be an official
Work Ready testing and training
site. The Work Ready program
assesses an individual’s practical
skill levels in math, language,
reading, and locating informa
tion and produces a certificate to
prove the individual’s skill lev
els. The Work Ready program is
also linked to an extensive data
base of job descriptions and the
required skill levels for each of
the jobs listed.
“So, if you are applying for a
specific job, you can look that
job up in the database, note its re
quired skill levels, and complete
the Work Ready assessments to
determine your individual skill
levels,” Clark said. “After you
complete the assessments, you
will be issued an actual certifi
cate showing your skill level. If
your skill levels match the re
quired levels for the job you are
seeking, you will have a certifi
cate to assure your prospective
employer that you can do the job.
If your individual skill levels are
assessed to be below the require
ments for the job you are seek
ing, the Work Ready program is
linked to Key Train, which offers
gap-training to help you get your
skill level up to the job’s required
levels.”
For more information about
Georgia’s Work Ready program,
go to www.gaworkready.org or,
call the Banks County Adult
Learning Center at 706-677-
4302, after Monday, January 5,
for more information.
Registration/Orientation for
Winter Quarter will be held on
the following dates:
•Tuesday, January 6, 2 - 5
p.m.
•Thursday, January 8, 2 - 5
p.m.
•Tuesday, January 13, 5 - 8
p.m.
•Thursday, January 15, 2 - 5
p.m.
Griffins win in hay contest
Two Banks County Farm
Bureau members placed in the
2008 Georgia Farm Bureau
Quality Hay Contest.
William Griffin recently won
second place and Westly Grif
fin won fifth place.
The awards were presented
during the 70 th annual Georgia
Farm Bureau Convention on
Dec. 8
William Griffin won a mois
ture meter donated by Bleckley
County Farm Bureau member
Whipple Simpson. Westly re
ceived a gift basket from Geor
gia Farm Bureau’s Commodi
ties Department.
All hay samples entered in
the contest were analyzed for
nutritional content using the
Relative Forage Quality test
ing method at the University of
Georgia. Georgia Farm Bureau
sponsors the annual contest to
encourage superior hay pro
duction in the state.
Founded in 1937, the Geor
gia Farm Bureau Federation is
the state’s largest general farm
organization. The organiza
tion has 158 county offices.
Its volunteer members actively
participate in local, district and
state activities that promote
agriculture awareness to their
non-farming neighbors. GFB
also has 20 commodity advi
sory committees that give the
organization input on issues
pertinent to the major com
modities grown in Georgia.
The Banks County News
HOLIDAY
AD DEADLINE
Classified and Display Ads
12 Noon,
Friday, Dec. 26
for the Jan. 1 publication
Main Street • P. 0. Box 920
Homer, Ga. 30547
(706) 677-3491 or (706) 367-5233
/
4
Jacob loves our new & improved
Women & Children Services
(at least that's what we think this face means)
For mother and child, Athens Regional offers so much.
From Pediatric Services and Great Expectations classes to our technologically
advanced Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and beautiful, new 32-room
Mother-Baby Unit, we've anticipated your every need. We also have the
area's newest Labor & Delivery department with a luxurious thirteen-bed
Labor, Delivery and Recovery Unit managed by the most experienced
nurses around.
Call for a tour, we think you'll like it as much as Jacob. v
CAM-
www.armc.org