The Madison County High School Cowboys football coaches stand behind Deshawntee “Ironhead” Gallon, Rashad Guyton, Keldrick Williams and Tevin Roundtree on National Signing Day. Gallon signed a letter of intent to play football for Georgia Southern. Guyton, Williams and Roundtree all signed to play for Valdosta State University. Parents, teachers, mentors and friends all showed up to wish the fellows well.
Greene Publishing, Inc. Photo by Bryant Thigpen, Feb. 1, 2012
By Jacob Bembry
As the younger man approached, he could smell the burning leaves and hear the rake, which gathered the leaves into the pile with a whooshing sound. Under foot, he could hear the crackling of the small branches, which had fallen from the trees. They gently broke beneath soft footfall. The crisp autumn air felt good. It was just a tad chilly but the closer he got to the fire, the warmer he became. The fire provided warmth and comfort. The younger man was now in a comfort zone and he stood beside the old man who kept sweeping the leaves onto the fire.
The younger man realized his whole world had been a world of comfort. While he did not live in a house with crystal chandeliers or drive an expensive car, he did know comfort. He had a roof over his head and a vehicle to drive back and forth to work in. The fare set before him at mealtime was always sumptuous and he enjoyed every morsel that he put in his mouth. He was well clothed, whether he was well dressed or not. His shoes protected the soles of his feet, even though a soul had not had to be sold to pay the price for them.
“Thank you, God, for all your blessings,” the younger man said silently as he reached over to offer to take the rake from the older man. The old man gave up the rake without a struggle and watched the younger man take up his battle against the leaves.
The old man had been responsible for much of the comfort the young man knew. He had taught him also to step out of his comfort zone and to stand up for the things he believed in. Like his father, the son believed in God, family and country.
Have you stepped out of your comfort zone today? Or are you content to feast on God’s blessings while there is a famine in your soul? Let God take you out of the comfort zone.
Today, is a day to wear red in support of the movement for women to take charge of heart health. It’s National Heart Month and this year the American Heart Association will focus on raising awareness to the fact of heart disease in women. Heart disease traditionally thought to be a man’s disease, it is the No. 1 killer of women.
In the past, many of the major cardiovascular research studies were conducted on men. Results of clinical studies underway may help clarify the gender differences that affect diagnosis and treatment of women with heart disease.
According to the AHA, both men and women may present “classic” chest pain that grips the chest and spreads to the shoulder, neck or arms. But, often women may have a greater tendency to have atypical chest pain or to complain of abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, nausea and unexplained fatigue. These symptoms are overlooked and often dismissed.
Knowing your numbers is an important part of keeping your heart healthy. The American Heart Association recommends the following:
Total cholesterol — Less than 200 mg/dl
LDL (bad) cholesterol
• Low risk for heart disease — less than 160mg/dl
• Intermediate risk for heart disease — less than 130 mg/dl
• High risk for heart disease – less than 100 mg/dl
HDL (good) cholesterol – 50 mg/dl or higher
Triglycerides – Less than 150mg/dl
Blood pressure – Less than 120/80 mmHg
Other recommendations to reduce your risk include daily exercise, eating a balance diet, stop smoking and visit your doctor.
Work on healthy eating habits, it is one of the best things you can do to combat heart disease. There is a lot of confusing information out there about how to eat well. In a quick summary, increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables; they are high in nutrients and fiber while low in calories. Eat more whole grain foods, to be sure you are getting whole grains, read the ingredient labels and look for the words “whole-grains.” Choose lean meats and poultry without skin and low fat dairy foods.
For more information about National Heart Month go the American Heart Association’s website at www.americanheart.org For more information on healthy eating habits, contact the Madison County Extension Service.
The University of Florida Extension – Madison County is an Equal Employment Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap or national origin.
Larry Leonard Lee, 58, of Tallahassee, passed unexpectedly on Sunday, January 29, 2012, in Tallahassee. A Quincy native, Larry had been a longtime Tallahassee resident and a truck driver for Gulf Atlantic Culvert Company. He was a deacon and member of the Male Chorus at New Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, where his funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Viewing visitation is from 2-7 p.m. Friday at Tillman of Tallahassee (850) 942-1950.
Treasuring Larry’s legacy and love are his devoted wife, Johnnie Levingston-Lee; son, Dale (Montessa) Lee; daughters, Sharon Young and Jonquil Pompey; brothers, Ronnie (Laurice), Anderson, Lorenzo (Janice) Taylor and Edgar (Portia) Lee; sisters, Clander Pete, Phyllis (Harold) Davis; Claretha (Jimmy) Neal; mother-in-law, Mrs. Inez Levingston; four grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Larry’s parents, Edgar and Alfredia Taylor Lee preceded him in death.
Robert L. Thomas, 64, a member of Mt. Zion AME Church of Madison, a retired carpenter and Vietnam veteran died Saturday, January 28, 2012, in Madison.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, February 4, 2012, at Mt. Zion AME Church on Dade Street in Madison, with burial following at Jeslamb AME Church Cemetery. Visitation from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, February 3, 2012, at the Ganzy Funeral Home (850-973-3267)
He leaves to cherish his precious memories, only child, Reuben Lamar Thomas (Camilla) of Boston, Mass.; also, two granddaughters Uniqua and Essence (Pebbles) Thomas; as a daughter, Angela Jonas; as granddaughters, Octavia and Arlesia Jonas; as a grandson, Thaddeus Thompkins, all of Augusta, Ga.; a brother, Amos (Bill) Thomas of Madison; sisters, Clemie Grandberry (David) of Orlando and Lillie Mae Thomas of Madison; and former wife, Janie Thomas Bell of Madison.
By Lynette Norris
Greene Publishing, Inc.
You can’t hire educators for the 21st century using 50-year-old hiring policies, Renee Gordon told the Rotary Club in her presentation on education reform that left everyone with a lot to think about.
Gordon, whose background is that of a research scientist in chemistry and polysynthetics, worked as a recruiter and corporate “head-hunter” for over 20 years. She is now the chief talent scout for E Squared, a corporation focused on recruiting effective educators and building winning teaching teams at the building level.
As a K-12 Human Capital Management expert, Gordon says that one of the most important things when recruiting/hiring educators is “looking beyond the resume and the college transcript.”
Additionally, about 99 percent of schools use what she described as a passive recruiting method; teaching positions are advertised, and the school’s choices are limited to whoever responds to the ad and submits a resume. If schools want good teachers, they will first have to go find them, says Gordon, and then, they cannot limit the interview to what is on a piece of paper.
“One of the first questions I ask is, ‘when did you realize you had to teach?’” she said. Teaching, she believes, is not a job, not a profession, but a calling. Educators are called to teach, just as ministers are called to preach. This is how schools get the right people, she says, the ones with the necessary passion for their work.
Gordon also feels that she has a calling for her own work with E Squared. “God has called me to do this.”
A second question she looks at is the teacher candidate’s level of involvement with children. A third is how did the candidate pay for college. A person who has accrued several hundred thousand dollars in debt from high-interest student loans is not a good bet; the person will very likely leave for more money elsewhere, starting the recruiting/hiring process all over again.
The second part of recruiting good people is retaining good people, so paying teachers what they are worth is important.
As a mother of four sons, one of whom is a high-functioning autistic, Gordon has also had plenty of experience as a parent with the school system, not all of it positive. “If we say that education begins at home, then we have to change the way parents are treated,” she said, “and currently, parents are mostly discouraged from being involved in their children’s schooling.”
If schools are to succeed, parents cannot be pushed aside and regarded as annoyances. One of the signs of a successful school system is a successful and robust Parent-Teacher Organization, where educators are accessible partners to parents, and parents are highly involved in their children’s education. Another sign is school board meetings held at convenient times that allow parents and citizens to attend, “not at ten o’clock in the morning.”
In building her case for a newer approach to educator recruitment and the need for education reform, she added that 7000 students a day – 1.5 million a year – drop out of school. In terms of costs to the economy, it means that America is losing the race. Currently, about 75 percent of America’s 18 to 23-year-olds are ineligible for military service because they cannot pass the entrance exams, they have no high school diploma, they cannot pass the physicals, or they have had run-ins with the law.
Every dropout costs the community roughly $260,000 during his lifetime, either through public assistance costs or incarceration costs.
Failing schools also cost communities because the quality of the school system is the first thing corporations will look at before deciding whether or not to locate offices there.
“Education affects all of us whether you have a child or not,” she said.
Another very real concern on the horizon is what she referred to as the “retirement tsunami.” 47 percent, or nearly half of all teachers and principals currently working in American classrooms are very close to retirement. By 2014, the state of Tennessee alone will face a shortage of 31,000 teachers.
She then took several questions from the Rotary members about how to best improve the local school system through more involvement, through competition and through more effective hiring processes that get the most effective people into the classroom; the local economy could end up depending on it in the future.
By Nell Dobbs
Guest Columnist
Give thanks! Rejoice! Sing! Study! Walk in God’s way. Teach our children about Him as we sit in our houses! As we walk by the way, when we lie down, when we get up, and write His ways on our doorposts and on our gates. Amen! (I want to do that!)
What a blessing as Chandra Smith and other leaders led the Awana Sparks in a delightful singing of John 3:16.
We sang:
“He’s my Savior, He’s my Savior.
“He is worthy. He is worthy.
“I will praise Him, I will praise Him!
“Allelulia! Allelulia! Allelulia.”
The 29th as Jim prayed earnestly for ill ones memories came of the day 31 years ago when our dad, Dean Agner, died at our sister Di’s and Wayne’s home in Lithonia, Ga. Both Mother and he got sick over Christmas and when they came down, Wayne asked Daddy if they would go home with them and he said, “Ask Mother.” She didn’t want to go, but they did – and they both got worse and worse. Allen seven of us living ones got there and were with him when he died.
Then, on that same day in 1996, our sister Sue’s son, Lee, died at their home in Powder Springs, Ga.
A very touching offertory prayer by Doug Finney.
Worship Choir sang “Amazing Grace” with Shellie Smith singing the last verse – such a comfort “The Lord has promised good to me” and indeed He has kept His promise.
Again, Preacher Hicks blessed us with his wit and message, “God’s Super Bowl.” He mentioned the four downs in a football game as he commented on many of Jesus’ parables:
God looked down
God came down
Jesus laid down His life
Jesus sat down at the right hand of God and makes intercession for us.
Thinking about teaching our children about God’s Way. I gave thanks Sunday for Mike Peacock who opened the door for me at Dollar General and then spoke to me and so I sat in the car and and asked if I remembered him from library days – surely – Barbara’s and Willie’s son and I’m so proud of them and of him. All of us need to keep our children and our schools and our parents in our daily prayers! Amen!
By Kristin Finney
Greene Publishing, Inc.
For almost 90 years, JB Delaughter has called Madison his home. He was born in 1922 and has been in Madison for all but two years of his life. He has worked as a farmer and a pallet maker. He enjoys fishing, peppermints and going to church.
Growing up in Madison, JB attended Madison Training School. While in school he enjoyed playing football and basketball. When he wasn’t in school he was usually working on the tobacco or cotton farms. He worked as a farmer for most of his childhood.
At the age of 14, JB’s mom passed away, leaving he, his two brothers and their dad to care for their home. They cleaned the house and yard and tried to keep things as tidy as possible.
When he got spare time between work and school, JB enjoyed going fishing at ponds in Madison for brim and bass. He and his brothers also enjoyed listening to the radio. Another treat that JB had was getting to buy peppermints from the traveling store.
When he was old enough, JB joined the army. He served in World War II for two years. While in the Army he traveled to France and Okinawa, Japan. After returning home from the war, JB worked as a farmer and other jobs. Then he began work as a pallet maker. It was this job from which he retired.
Anyone interested in being interviewed for this article can call 973-4141 and make an appointment with Kristin Finney, or may drop by Greene Publishing, Inc. any day before noon. Those interviewed must have lived in Madison for a large portion of their life, and be able to recall a few things that have changed since that time.
Casting Call: Vh1 & Ellen Rakieten Entertainment are casting for a new docu-series and looking for mothers and daughters who are pregnant at the same time. Vh1 is interested in documenting your lives if you find yourself and your daughter in this unique situation. If both you and your daughter are outgoing and interested in sharing your stories, please contact the casting team immediately at:mothersanddaughtersExpecting@gmail.com. Please include a brief description of why you should be part of this docu-series and what has happened in your lives since you both found out you are pregnant. Include your phone number, email address and the city/state where you live. Applicants must be 18 years or older.
