Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2023
BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 5A
Receives a blessing while
trying to give a blessing
The boys filed into the room
laughing with each other and check
ing out what was in the cafeteria line
for their Sunday lunch. A group of
adults, strangers to the boys, stood
to the side smiling toward the young
men. The boys came in two groups.
First, the “older ones” ate lunch.
They ranged in age from 15 to 21.
Next, the “younger boys” came in to
eat. Their ages ranged from 8 to 14.
These boys live in a group home
because they are not able to live with
their parents due to abuse. I
t’s not like an orphanage where the children no longer
have parents or family members due to death. These boys
have family but they are not allowed to have their chil
dren.
One of the older boys, who had a full-length leg brace on
and a cast on one arm, came up and sat beside me. He was
finished eating.
I was sitting alone at one of the tables in the cafeteria. I
had walked in with a cane, so maybe he identified with me.
I didn’t ask him how he got his injuries. The boys in this
home come from a world of abuse so I didn’t want to cause
him any pain. I heard someone else ask him what happened
and he, said, “Oh, I’m just clumsy.”
I fear there is a lot more to this young man’s story.
As he sat, I introduced myself and asked his name. I told
him I had surgery last week to repair a tom meniscus. He
shared that he might need s
urgcry too. The brace was solid black and tight on his
leg. The arm cast had been colored solid red with a marker.
We talked a few more minutes and he stood to leave the
cafeteria. I told him I would pray for him that he would
heal fast. He smiled, shook my hand and told me that he
would be praying for my leg too.
When the younger boys came in to eat, three sat at my
table after filling their plate with the Zaxby’s chicken, mac
aroni and cheese, potato salad and rolls we had brought for
their lunch. I asked their ages, 12, 13 and 14. The 12-year-
old was pretty excited about the Zaxby’s chicken fingers.
He said he had been in the home for six months and had not
had Zaxby’s in eight months.
We had goody bags for the boys. It was a happy time,
with some sadness also, to see how the excited the boys got
about Axe body wash and several different kinds of candy
and treats.
As we left the group home, we spotted the boys lounging
around in living room areas, which were brightly decorated
for Christmas. They were playing electronic games, read
ing and talking with each other.
We had taken the lunch and goody bags to the boys in
hopes of giving them a blessing.
We came away being blessed ourselves from these young
men who were kind, appreciative of what we had done for
them and interested in our lives.
Angela Gary is editor with the Banks County News. She
can be reached at angela@maintreetnews.com.
Keeping Poinsettias after the holidays
BY ZACH MCCANN
The poinsettia is a beau
tiful indoor plant that dec
orates many homes dining
the holiday season. Some
may think that the part of
the plant that is bright red,
pink, white or even speckled
is the flower. But, these are
actually the bracts, or mod
ified leaves. The flowers are
the small yellow blooms in
the middle of the bracts.
Once the season is past
and all the decorations are
packed away, you can con
tinue to enjoy the beauty of
the poinsettias throughout
the rest of the year. From
January to March or April,
they need to be kept in a
bright location inside, get
ting about six hours of light,
but not direct sunlight. Plac
ing the plants in direct sun
light may cause the bracts’
color to fade. Poinsettias
live better with tempera
tures remaining between 50
and 70 degrees and should
be kept away from drafty ar
eas or anything that produc
es excessive heat. Excess
heat will cause the bracts
and leaves to yellow and
fall off.
You will need a very
minimal amount of fertiliz
er to keep your poinsettias
healthy. When they are in
bloom, you should not fer
tilize them at all. Watering
is crucial. They can be dam
aged by either getting them
too wet or too dry. They
should be watered when the
soil surface feels dry to the
touch, and water them until
the soil is saturated.
You will need to prune the
poinsettias to a height of 8
inches in March or April,
when the bright colored
bracts begin to fade. Keep
them near a sunny window
and water them on a regular
basis. Once the nighttime
temperatures reach and stay
above 50 degrees the plants
can be set outside, but be
sure to bring them in during
fall when temperatures drop
back down. They will need
to be fertilized more since
they are outside, so feed
them with a complete fertil
izer such as 10-10-10 every
two to three weeks during
the spring, summer and fall.
Sometime in June is a
good time to repot your
poinsettias. Using a soil
mixture with a lot of organ
ic matter in it, transplant
the plants into a pot two to
four inches larger than the
original pot. At the first of
July, prune back the new
growth tips of the branch
es and repeat by mid-Au
gust. Insect pests may be a
problem during the spring
and summer. Some com
mon problem pests will be
the whitefly, mealybugs,
soft scales and spider mites.
Contact the Banks County
Extension Office for up-to-
date recommendations on
controlling these and other
pests.
Although it may be a dif
ficult procedure, poinsettia
plants can be brought back
into flowering next fall. The
bright, colorful bracts are
formed by being kept in a
dark place for a long, con
tinuous period each night.
Beginning on the first of Oc
tober and continuing for the
next 8 to 10 weeks you will
need to keep the plants in
total darkness for 14 hours
straight each night. This can
be done by placing them un
der a large box or inside a
closet. During the daytime,
you will need to move the
plants so they can receive 6
to 8 hours of bright sunlight
each day. Following this
procedure closely should
bring your poinsettias into
full bloom during Novem
ber or December in time for
another Christmas season.
We are always here to
help at the Banks County
Extension office. Ways to
contact us are to call us at
706-677-6230, by email at
zmccann@uga.edu, or to
come by the office at 413
Evans street, Homer, GA.
Zach McCann is the
Banks County extension
agent.
Mayor’s Reading Club Day set June 7 in Baldwin
By KARLEE CALDWELL
Baldwin Mayor Stapha-
nie Almagno made a proc
lamation at the city council
meeting last week declaring
June 7, 2024, as Mayor’s
Reading Club Day in Bald
win.
This came after the ap
proval of the Mayor’s Read
ing Club program. The date
for reading club day will
line up with the location
of the mobile library at the
Farmers’ Market for the up
coming summer.
In partnership with the
Georgia Municipal Asso
ciation (GMA), this free
program is an initiative to
allow the City of Baldwin
to design and participate in
events aiming to improve
literacy rates in children
ages 4-11 in the area.
The GMA started this
program with a goal “to
improve literacy skills and
overall success with the ear
ly reading among children
in Georgia cities.”
This program is designed
to allow the mayor, employ
ees, and citizens to volun
teer and read to children
within the community and
highlight the importance of
reading and writing.
This will also include an
effort to raise money for the
addition of a free library sta
tion at the Farmers’ Market
and several reading events.
OTHER
BUSINESS
In other business at last
week’s meeting, the council
approved:
•the second reading of the
Precision Digital SUP Ordi
nance which will allow for
the addition of a business
consisting of a data center,
cryptocurrency mining site,
and high-performance com
puting center in Baldwin.
•the second reading of the
Wrecker Service Ordinance
which highlights changes
made to the policy held with
wrecker companies used
by the city. Some changes
made to the document in
clude an annual review, in
surance requirements from
the towing companies, and
inspection of storage facil
ities as part of the applica
tion process.
•the second reading of the
Bellamy Zoning Ordinance
allowing for the rezoning
of newly acquired land to
expand the owner’s pre-ex
isting auto repair shop. This
parcel of land connects to
his land where his shop cur
rently operates.
•an update to the Ceme
tery Plot Revocation Policy
that provides return options
of a vacant cemetery plot
with Baldwin’s cemetery
that is no longer needed by
its owner.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
•City Offices will be
closed on December 22 and
December 25 in observance
of the Christmas holiday
and January 1 in observance
of New Year’s Day.
•City Hall will be op
erating by drive-through
and appointment only from
Tuesday, December 26,
through Friday, December
29. To make an appointment
with a member of city hall
staff, call 706-778-6341.
Deadline approaching for tax credits to be given
to help youths aging out of foster care system
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
A nonprofit formed to
help administer a new state
tax credit to support foster
children aging out of the
system is working against a
tight deadline.
Fostering Success Act
Inc. has until Dec. 31 to pro
cess $20 million in annual
tax credits the General As
sembly authorized last year.
As of the beginning of this
month, $15 million still re
mained available, said Heidi
Carr, the organization’s ex
ecutive director.
“We’ve been reaching out
to a lot of companies and in
dividuals to get their appli
cations in,” she said. “But
time is running out.”
Under legislation Geor
gia lawmakers passed
unanimously, individual
taxpayers can receive dol-
lar-for-dollar state income
tax credits for up to $2,500
per year contributed to the
program, while married
couples filing jointly can
receive up to $5,000. Cor
porate donations are limited
to 10% of the company’s
annual tax liability.
“They have to pay taxes
anyway,” Carr said. “This
is an opportunity to make a
difference.”
About 700 young Geor
gians age out of the foster
care system each year, most
with no family to return to
after they leave the system.
Carr cited statistics show
ing 97% of those youths end
up living in chronic poverty,
71% of the girls get preg
nant within a year of leaving
foster care, and 81% of the
boys encounter police.
“They don’t have any
where to go back to, so they
end up on the street,” she
said.
Contributions to the tax
credit program will be used
for “wraparound” services
- including housing, food,
and transportation - to help
support these young people
while they attend a universi
ty or technical college. For
mer foster care youths ages
18 to 25 are eligible for the
program.
“We want them to learn a
trade or get a degree,” Can-
said.
Fostering Success Act
Inc. cunently is distributing
funds raised through the tax
credit to 20 nonprofit orga
nizations, with more in the
pipeline for 2024. One of
those is Alpharetta-based
FaithBridge Foster Care,
which has helped kids ag
ing out of foster care enroll
in colleges across the state,
from Dalton State College
in Northwest Georgia to the
College of Coastal Georgia
and Valdosta State Univer
sity.
“Over 50% of foster kids
sign out of foster care at
18,” said John Solberg, vice
president of youth opportu
nities at FaithBridge. “They
believe they can support
themselves, but they can fall
into homelessness and have
other issues because they’re
not mentally or emotionally
prepared for the challenges
of adulthood.”
Applications for the tax
credit to the Georgia De
partment of Revenue are
accepted on a first-come
basis. Once approved, tax
payers have 60 days from
the date of approval to send
Rotary Club sponsors Food 2
Kids Program for schools
The Banks County Rotary Sacks of kid-friendly more information, contact
Club is sponsoring the Food food—enough for at least Becky Carlan at 706-540-
2 Kids Program in the coun- six meals—are handed out 3828.
ty school system. Food 2 every week to childrent. Mail in contributions
Kids is a program that helps ave approximately sev- for the program to: Banks
bridge that gap for some of en to 10 pounds of food— County Rotary Club Food 2
the community’s neediest enough for two days of Kids, P.O. Box 54, Homer,
kids. meals. To donate or for Ga., 30547.
their contribution check or
pay online. Carr said she’s
not surprised the program is
getting off to slow start be
cause the tax credit is new
and a lot of taxpayers aren’t
aware of it.
Thus far, about 100
youths have contacted her
organization for help, she
said.
“We were able to help
some start school in August,
and we have more lined up
for January,” she said. “This
gives them hope. Hope is
something they don’t have
a lot of.”
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