Recent articles in the Athens Banner-Herald:
After 75 years, Winterville Church's key player stepping down
Candidates want councilmen to work together
In crisis, store manager knew what to do
Mar 30, 2011
Dec 28, 2010
Recent Articles
Here are links to some of my recent articles from the Athens Banner-Herald and local-only community websites under the helm of Patch.
Athens Banner Herald:
Senior center plans may hit funding snag
Council weighs raises vs. library
Winterville ponders next move for building
Libraries hit by cutbacks
Big plans taking shape at Sandy Creek
Food bank starts fight with fans
Text-to-give new option for donation
Pet Food Bank's namesake dies
Masada owner thrilled that it's the right weather for leather
Oconee Patch:
Proposed Epps Bridge Centre might grow
Lawrenceville Patch:
Bridges over 316 planned for Collins Hill, Hwy 20
Athens Banner Herald:
Senior center plans may hit funding snag
Council weighs raises vs. library
Winterville ponders next move for building
Libraries hit by cutbacks
Big plans taking shape at Sandy Creek
Food bank starts fight with fans
Text-to-give new option for donation
Pet Food Bank's namesake dies
Masada owner thrilled that it's the right weather for leather
Oconee Patch:
Proposed Epps Bridge Centre might grow
Lawrenceville Patch:
Bridges over 316 planned for Collins Hill, Hwy 20
Sep 29, 2010
Council weighs raises vs. library
By Jennifer L. Johnson - jennifer.johnson@onlineathens.com
Published Wednesday, September 29, 2010
WINTERVILLE - City councilmen are considering whether to provide annual raises for city employees or allocate more money to the local library, a hotly debated question that came up after they'd already adopted next year's budget.
Under the current economic conditions, the council's two-member finance committee opted not to give 4 percent raises, a perk that's not based on performance but had become customary for the past several years, Councilman Mark Farmer told colleagues at a meeting last week.
Doing away with the raises doesn't mean that city employees aren't doing a good job, according to Councilman Rob McNiff.
But some council members were angry that the changes made to the budget were not discussed earlier this month, when city leaders voted to accept the budget.
"In the 10 years that I've been on (the) City Council, we've discussed every comma and semicolon that's been changed," said Councilman Kenneth Tweedell. "I can't believe nobody brought this to our attention."
The $4,000 that would have gone to raises instead was allocated to the Winterville Library, part of the Athens Regional Library System, which is absorbing a $53,000 drop in state funding this year and anticipates another $50,000 budget cut next year.
"I'm on the (Winterville) library board of directors. I know we need money at the library," said Bob White. "But not at the expense of city employees. These people work their hearts out for the city, and we need to pay them fairly."
The council reviewed what the city already contributes to the library - including the $18,000 that's already budgeted, electricity costs and insurance - to figure out if the city should contribute more money.
Although Winterville can't legally amend the $513,757 operating budget after it has been adopted, line items and dollar amounts within the budget can be adjusted, meaning city leaders could cut library funding and reinstate the raises.
The council will revisit the issue at an agenda workshop set for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Published Wednesday, September 29, 2010
WINTERVILLE - City councilmen are considering whether to provide annual raises for city employees or allocate more money to the local library, a hotly debated question that came up after they'd already adopted next year's budget.
Under the current economic conditions, the council's two-member finance committee opted not to give 4 percent raises, a perk that's not based on performance but had become customary for the past several years, Councilman Mark Farmer told colleagues at a meeting last week.
Doing away with the raises doesn't mean that city employees aren't doing a good job, according to Councilman Rob McNiff.
But some council members were angry that the changes made to the budget were not discussed earlier this month, when city leaders voted to accept the budget.
"In the 10 years that I've been on (the) City Council, we've discussed every comma and semicolon that's been changed," said Councilman Kenneth Tweedell. "I can't believe nobody brought this to our attention."
The $4,000 that would have gone to raises instead was allocated to the Winterville Library, part of the Athens Regional Library System, which is absorbing a $53,000 drop in state funding this year and anticipates another $50,000 budget cut next year.
"I'm on the (Winterville) library board of directors. I know we need money at the library," said Bob White. "But not at the expense of city employees. These people work their hearts out for the city, and we need to pay them fairly."
The council reviewed what the city already contributes to the library - including the $18,000 that's already budgeted, electricity costs and insurance - to figure out if the city should contribute more money.
Although Winterville can't legally amend the $513,757 operating budget after it has been adopted, line items and dollar amounts within the budget can be adjusted, meaning city leaders could cut library funding and reinstate the raises.
The council will revisit the issue at an agenda workshop set for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Kids, officer talk about who not to talk to
Officer Jimmy Fulcher talks to kids at the Winterville Library's Stranger Danger presentation. Photograph by David Manning.
By Jennifer L. Johnson - jennifer.johnson@onlineathens.com
Published Thursday, September 23, 2010
WINTERVILLE - Nine-year-old Beatrice Carrillos and her sisters didn't come to the local library to talk to a police officer.
But when they arrived at the Winterville Library after school Tuesday, they ran into Officer Jimmy Fulcher, there to teach children age-old lessons about avoiding strangers and finding a police officer for help.
"I thought police officers were only there to arrest bad guys," said Beatrice, who came with sisters Elena, 10, and Rosie, 6, to use the computers at the library. "I didn't know that the police can help you with people you don't want to talk to."
Invited to talk by library branch manager Julie Carnes, Fulcher, a 31-year veteran officer, delivered the half-hour "Stranger Danger" presentation to a dozen preschoolers last week and to Winterville's older kids this week.
"Learning about strangers was one of my mom's biggest things," said Carnes, who organized the presentation with the Winterville Police Department a few weeks ago. "Kids should have this information and know what to do, from toddlers right on up to more mature kids."
Fulcher answered questions about his uniform and let some kids touch his badge, just so they'd know what a real one looks like.
Librarian Julie Carnes reads a book to kids about police officers before introducing Officer Fulcher at the Winterville Library. Photo by David Manning.
All the kids knew that they aren't supposed to speak to strangers, but most couldn't define one.
"If you've never seen anybody before, they're a stranger," Fulcher said. "Even your librarian was a stranger to you at one time. Yes, you know her now and know that she's here to help you, but when you first met her, she was a stranger."
Eight-year-old Hope Painter has a clever answer if a stranger asks where she lives, she said.
"I wouldn't tell him (the truth). I'd say 'Michigan,' " she said.
"Well, now, there's an idea," Fulcher said. "It would take them a really long time to get to Michigan, wouldn't it? But you don't want to tell them anything. Remember, we don't talk to strangers."
It's a lesson that Hope's mother, Deborah Painter, has taught her two daughters since they were old enough to talk. Painter brought Hope and Emma, 11, back to Winterville after seeing a flyer for the "Stranger Danger" talk at the library the day before.
"I wanted the girls to hear the presentation, just in case there's anything I missed or didn't think about before," Painter said.
Emma and Hope stay close to their mom in public, but also aren't allowed to answer the front door at home.
That's a good practice, according to Fulcher. He recommends kids tell their parent or guardian whenever someone knocks on the door, even if they know who it is.
"If they're not supposed to be there, don't open the door," Fulcher said. "If you're home alone and you get scared, call the police. We never have a problem coming to help scared boys and girls."
When police officers respond to 911 calls, they always arrive in patrol cars and wear badges, Fulcher said. It's OK to ask to see the badge before opening the door, he added.
Like adults who contemplate how they would respond in a perilous situation - like a mugging - Fulcher had the children run through their own danger scenario: A stranger tempting them with the trinket all kids want these days.
"You've got your own Silly Bandz at home and you should tell strangers that," Fulcher said. "That way you can be safe and get more Silly Bandz from your parents."
The library hasn't yet scheduled another "Stranger Danger" talk, but will if program planners find interest.
For more information about free programs at your local library, visit the website www.clarke.public.lib.ga.us.
Photo by David Manning.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Thursday, September 23, 2010
Winterville ponders next move for building
By Jennifer L. Johnson - jennifer.johnson@onlineathens.com
Published Thursday, September 16, 2010
The committee charged with restoring the Winterville High School building and turning it into a senior center will hold a workshop with city officials later this month to figure out how to proceed now that they've won a $500,000 state grant for the project.
The grant money awarded last week is roughly one-third of what it would take to complete the project, according to committee members.
In applying for the grant, city leaders agreed to spend sales tax money to extend a sanitary sewer to the school building and its adjacent 450-seat auditorium. Some officials now want to wait until November - when they will know whether voters agree to extend a 1 percent sales tax - before they accept the grant.
The city could reject the grant and not build the sewer, but even with the $500,000, Winterville still would need about $174,000 to finish the senior center in the school building.
To close that funding gap, the restoration committee may form an official nonprofit to apply for grants and solicit donations. The nonprofit foundation also could oversee community resources such as the school and auditorium, Carter-Coile Country Doctors' Museum and the Winterville Depot.
"Right now, we're looking into models of how other small communities function under umbrella nonprofit foundations to manage their civic programs," said Jo Mercer, who sits on the restoration committee. "Nothing is certain. We're simply exploring the options - and there are many."
Citizens may attend the workshop, which will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 27 in the Winterville Depot.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Thursday, September 16, 2010
Published Thursday, September 16, 2010
The committee charged with restoring the Winterville High School building and turning it into a senior center will hold a workshop with city officials later this month to figure out how to proceed now that they've won a $500,000 state grant for the project.
The grant money awarded last week is roughly one-third of what it would take to complete the project, according to committee members.
In applying for the grant, city leaders agreed to spend sales tax money to extend a sanitary sewer to the school building and its adjacent 450-seat auditorium. Some officials now want to wait until November - when they will know whether voters agree to extend a 1 percent sales tax - before they accept the grant.
The city could reject the grant and not build the sewer, but even with the $500,000, Winterville still would need about $174,000 to finish the senior center in the school building.
To close that funding gap, the restoration committee may form an official nonprofit to apply for grants and solicit donations. The nonprofit foundation also could oversee community resources such as the school and auditorium, Carter-Coile Country Doctors' Museum and the Winterville Depot.
"Right now, we're looking into models of how other small communities function under umbrella nonprofit foundations to manage their civic programs," said Jo Mercer, who sits on the restoration committee. "Nothing is certain. We're simply exploring the options - and there are many."
Citizens may attend the workshop, which will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 27 in the Winterville Depot.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Thursday, September 16, 2010
Aug 23, 2010
Scouts expanding girls' horizons
By Jennifer L. Johnson - t.jennifer.johnson@onlineathens.com
Published Monday, August 23, 2010
From left, Inkeria Harris, 13; Perrin Aycock, 13; Ilaina Burns, 15; and Lizzy Ratajczak, 13, pose outside Buckingham Palace during a 12-day trip to England through the Girl Scout Destinations program.
Perrin Aycock gets grief from some of her guy friends about being a Girl Scout, but that hasn't deterred the 13-year-old.
Through Girls Scouts, she meets new people, serves her community, learns interesting stuff and - best of all - travels.
"Girl Scouts do way more than just sell cookies," Perrin said. "That's just how we raise money to do cool stuff."
Perrin and three other local Girl Scouts just returned from England, where they toured London and celebrated the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts' 100-year anniversary at a weeklong camp in Yorkshire.
The trip was part of Girl Scout Destinations, a program that hosts trips in this country and abroad to show girls ages 11 to 17 different cultures, experiences and people. The trips range from two-day jaunts to three-week excursions, but each is designed to develop leadership skills, build confidence and teach girls about themselves and the world around them.
After attending the centennial celebration with 7,000 other Girl Scouts from all over the world, Perrin and her friends will help to plan for the U.S. Centennial Celebration in Savannah in 2012.
"It's not only about going to the camp, it is about bringing the centennial back here," said Lizzy Ratajczak, 13. "We didn't know anything about what we would be doing before we got there. We'll be able to help plan some things better now that we've done them."
While at Harewood House in Yorkshire, the girls did some traditional camping - swimming, horseback riding and fencing - but they also snowboarded indoors, shopped in nearby Leeds and tried their hands at tai chi.
"We met people from Portugal, Singapore, Taiwan and Bangladesh," Lizzy said. "I now know people from like 30 different countries. That's really, really cool."
Not all destinations are rugged. Some trips are for girls interested in science, space, social activism, business, education or filmmaking. No matter the focus of the trip, each program helps girls build leadership skills, learn valuable lessons and prepare for their future.
Although Columbus State University freshman Emily Rose Cochran, 18, is going off to college, she hasn't left her scouting days behind. Cochran is hoping to apply what she learned this summer at the Oxford Leadership Youth Program, a weeklong self-development course for Girl and Boy Scouts at Oxford University in England, as an adult member on her campus.
"The leadership program was awesome," Cochran said. "I would like to return to Oxford in the future through a study abroad program in college."
The travel opportunities Cochran had this summer- including a trip to Brazil last week - will help shape her future, said her mom, Jency Showker.
"When they go to something like this, the girls have a physical goal, a place where she can see her future," said Showker. "Emily now has something to strive for. That's priceless."
The experience is invaluable, but the trips can cost anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars.
Local Girl Scout councils may provide financial help, and the national organization gives tips on how individual girls can raise money to help pay for their travels.
"If this is something very important to you, then you need to be a part of making that happen," said Jen Cole, Perrin's mom and troop leader.
Both Perrin and Lizzy raised money for their England trip on their own by baby-sitting and selling cookies.
Ilaina Burns sold 8,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies - more than any other girl in the state - which paid for her trip to England.
"It could have been a lot more expensive, but she really earned it," said Ilaina's mom, Aymie.
When the girls were younger, their activities were planned for them. Now troop members - not their adult leaders - make the plans for most of the projects they do.
"You want to gradually release responsibility to the girls because the goal is for the girls to lead themselves," Cole said.
"Just the self-confidence they get from being prepared for the world is invaluable," Burns said. "Whether it's planning a trip to Build-a-Bear or England, it gets them prepared and makes them realize that they can do things."
To participate in the Girl Scout Destinations program, a girl has to be a Scout, but she need not belong to a troop. Girls can participate in scouting on their own online, and attend Girl Scout functions on their own.
"The whole community benefits from Girl Scouts," said Betsy Connell, assistant program director for the older girls of Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia. "The Girl Scout Destinations especially introduce the girls to new experiences, new places, new girls and new leadership skills. It is so beneficial to the girls and everyone they touch."
Find out more about the program at www.studio2b.org/escape.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Monday, August 23, 2010
Published Monday, August 23, 2010
From left, Inkeria Harris, 13; Perrin Aycock, 13; Ilaina Burns, 15; and Lizzy Ratajczak, 13, pose outside Buckingham Palace during a 12-day trip to England through the Girl Scout Destinations program.
Perrin Aycock gets grief from some of her guy friends about being a Girl Scout, but that hasn't deterred the 13-year-old.
Through Girls Scouts, she meets new people, serves her community, learns interesting stuff and - best of all - travels.
"Girl Scouts do way more than just sell cookies," Perrin said. "That's just how we raise money to do cool stuff."
Perrin and three other local Girl Scouts just returned from England, where they toured London and celebrated the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts' 100-year anniversary at a weeklong camp in Yorkshire.
The trip was part of Girl Scout Destinations, a program that hosts trips in this country and abroad to show girls ages 11 to 17 different cultures, experiences and people. The trips range from two-day jaunts to three-week excursions, but each is designed to develop leadership skills, build confidence and teach girls about themselves and the world around them.
After attending the centennial celebration with 7,000 other Girl Scouts from all over the world, Perrin and her friends will help to plan for the U.S. Centennial Celebration in Savannah in 2012.
"It's not only about going to the camp, it is about bringing the centennial back here," said Lizzy Ratajczak, 13. "We didn't know anything about what we would be doing before we got there. We'll be able to help plan some things better now that we've done them."
While at Harewood House in Yorkshire, the girls did some traditional camping - swimming, horseback riding and fencing - but they also snowboarded indoors, shopped in nearby Leeds and tried their hands at tai chi.
"We met people from Portugal, Singapore, Taiwan and Bangladesh," Lizzy said. "I now know people from like 30 different countries. That's really, really cool."
Not all destinations are rugged. Some trips are for girls interested in science, space, social activism, business, education or filmmaking. No matter the focus of the trip, each program helps girls build leadership skills, learn valuable lessons and prepare for their future.
Although Columbus State University freshman Emily Rose Cochran, 18, is going off to college, she hasn't left her scouting days behind. Cochran is hoping to apply what she learned this summer at the Oxford Leadership Youth Program, a weeklong self-development course for Girl and Boy Scouts at Oxford University in England, as an adult member on her campus.
"The leadership program was awesome," Cochran said. "I would like to return to Oxford in the future through a study abroad program in college."
The travel opportunities Cochran had this summer- including a trip to Brazil last week - will help shape her future, said her mom, Jency Showker.
"When they go to something like this, the girls have a physical goal, a place where she can see her future," said Showker. "Emily now has something to strive for. That's priceless."
The experience is invaluable, but the trips can cost anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars.
Local Girl Scout councils may provide financial help, and the national organization gives tips on how individual girls can raise money to help pay for their travels.
"If this is something very important to you, then you need to be a part of making that happen," said Jen Cole, Perrin's mom and troop leader.
Both Perrin and Lizzy raised money for their England trip on their own by baby-sitting and selling cookies.
Ilaina Burns sold 8,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies - more than any other girl in the state - which paid for her trip to England.
"It could have been a lot more expensive, but she really earned it," said Ilaina's mom, Aymie.
When the girls were younger, their activities were planned for them. Now troop members - not their adult leaders - make the plans for most of the projects they do.
"You want to gradually release responsibility to the girls because the goal is for the girls to lead themselves," Cole said.
"Just the self-confidence they get from being prepared for the world is invaluable," Burns said. "Whether it's planning a trip to Build-a-Bear or England, it gets them prepared and makes them realize that they can do things."
To participate in the Girl Scout Destinations program, a girl has to be a Scout, but she need not belong to a troop. Girls can participate in scouting on their own online, and attend Girl Scout functions on their own.
"The whole community benefits from Girl Scouts," said Betsy Connell, assistant program director for the older girls of Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia. "The Girl Scout Destinations especially introduce the girls to new experiences, new places, new girls and new leadership skills. It is so beneficial to the girls and everyone they touch."
Find out more about the program at www.studio2b.org/escape.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Monday, August 23, 2010
Jul 6, 2010
Engaged!
As any first grader will tell you, the Fourth of July is Independence Day, a day when Americans celebrate the beginning of our great democracy.
This year, I celebrated the beginning of a freedom the likes of which I've never know. I truly feel like I can fly, because a man that I'm madly in love with asked me to start a life with him by asking one very important question.
I said yes, of course! (Dropped my coffee cup and everything!)
On the morning of July 4, Jeffrey and I got breakfast at Big City Bread here in Athens, got coffee at Jittery Joe's and headed down to Bear Hollow Trail, a free zoo-ish nature walk in ACC Leisure Service's Memorial Park. After taking in a few black bear cubs, owls, deer, a woodchuck, and two American Bald Eagles (perfect on Independence Day!), Jeffrey and I stopped above the adult Black Bear enclosure. There, after some sweet kisses and even sweeter words, Jeffrey got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.
I couldn't be any happier!
Jun 22, 2010
200,000 blows against hunger
By Jennifer L. Johnson - news@onlineathens.com
Published Friday, June 18, 2010
Hundreds of volunteers work Thursday to pack enough food for 200,000 meals at the Classic Center during the annual Methodist conference. Photo by Richard Hamm.
The crash of a gong reverberated through the Classic Center every 15 minutes Thursday, causing the crowd to cheer.
They knew the sound meant another 5,000 children would be fed.
In town for the annual meeting of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, volunteers from across the state worked to package 200,000 meals for hungry children Thursday.
Sponsored with an anonymous $50,000 donation to the feeding group Stop Hunger Now, teens and adults crowded around long tables and worked in an assembly line to measure and package dehydrated meals that will go next week to feed school children in Nicaragua.
"It's a tremendously efficient way to carry out our mission to God's hurting people," said Lance Sligar, a convention delegate from Norcross.
Sligar participated in one of five two-hour packing sessions when 100 to 300 volunteers at a time boxed up 40,000 meals each session.
The prepackaged meals of rice, vegetables, soy protein and chicken flavoring include 21 essential vitamins and minerals chosen especially for malnourished people.
Each reusable plastic bag provides servings for six people, has a shelf life of three to five years and costs about 25 cents to make.
Each time a pallet of 5,000 meals was ready to be carted to a waiting truck, event organizers banged a gong, but volunteers' cheers quickly drowned out the sound.
"Each time I hear the gong, it makes me want to do more, go faster," said Ariana Allison, 15, who came with an enrichment program at her Atlanta high school to participate.
Stop Hunger Now tried to inspire that kind of enthusiasm.
"What we're trying to do here is create a sense of excitement," said founder and President Ray Buchanan. "When these people go back to their church, they'll want to work to end hunger abroad and in their own communities, and that's how we're going to change the world."
About 90 percent of the meals Stop Hunger Now packages go to schools, while the remaining 10 percent gets distributed in disaster areas. The organization already had more than 1.5 million packaged meals on the ground in schools in Haiti before the country's devastating earthquake in January. Those meals were immediately distributed to victims, along with 4.5 million more the group was able to send in the first few weeks following the disaster.
Each organization that receives meals from Stop Hunger Now is vetted by the group in a four-month process that ensures shipments will reach the people the group has agreed to feed, according to program coordinator Mickey Horner. Adequate storage and access to clean water also is necessary because the food is dehydrated.
The Methodist conference gave the opportunity for a massive Stop Hunger Now project, but local people and churches already work to feed people here.
"There are several churches and organizations here in Athens that feed the hungry in their own backyard," said John Page, associate pastor at Athens First United Methodist Church. Page worked over the past six months to pull together volunteers and resources for the event. "Hopefully, this will help connect them to the need to feed the hungry internationally, too."
While the Methodists packed meal boxes for three of Thursday's sessions, Athens locals manned the other two shifts.
Betty King, 64, learned about the project from HandsOn Northeast Georgia and drove to Athens from her home in Lexington.
"I was thinking of how many thousands of meals we were making, and it's just amazing," King said. "I packaged food before in Oglethorpe County, but I've never seen anything like this."
Holly Haynes, 32, came with 30 volunteers from Grove Level Baptist Church in Maysville after her youth pastor told her about the event.
"There are a lot of children that are going to be fed now," said Haynes, who has two young daughters at home in Baldwin. "As a mother, that's a good feeling."
Thursday's event was the largest that the Raleigh, N.C.-based hunger relief group has hosted in Georgia in its 12-year history. Smaller events at churches and Rotary clubs with around 40 volunteers have sent 10,000 meals to schools and disaster areas across the world. Stop Hunger Now plans to open an Atlanta facility by summer's end that will help local groups raise the money for the packaged meals.
"We could package a lot more meals mechanically, but the only way we're going to end hunger is to create a movement," Buchanan said. "These volunteers now have the beginnings of an education that can make a big difference at home and abroad."
Stop Hunger Now plans to hold another packaging event at next year's conference in Athens, though it may be the last for the Methodist conference if organizers determine the Classic Center isn't big enough for the group.
Roughly 2,800 people attend the conference each year, and organizers are using every available space in the Classic Center and its adjacent building.
"We're happy to be in Athens for this conference. The city is so receptive, and we hope in some small way we can be a blessing back to the community," Page said.
Information about organizing your own Stop Hunger Now event can be found at www.stophungernow.org/Atlanta.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Friday, June 18, 2010
Published Friday, June 18, 2010
Hundreds of volunteers work Thursday to pack enough food for 200,000 meals at the Classic Center during the annual Methodist conference. Photo by Richard Hamm.
The crash of a gong reverberated through the Classic Center every 15 minutes Thursday, causing the crowd to cheer.
They knew the sound meant another 5,000 children would be fed.
In town for the annual meeting of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, volunteers from across the state worked to package 200,000 meals for hungry children Thursday.
Sponsored with an anonymous $50,000 donation to the feeding group Stop Hunger Now, teens and adults crowded around long tables and worked in an assembly line to measure and package dehydrated meals that will go next week to feed school children in Nicaragua.
"It's a tremendously efficient way to carry out our mission to God's hurting people," said Lance Sligar, a convention delegate from Norcross.
Sligar participated in one of five two-hour packing sessions when 100 to 300 volunteers at a time boxed up 40,000 meals each session.
The prepackaged meals of rice, vegetables, soy protein and chicken flavoring include 21 essential vitamins and minerals chosen especially for malnourished people.
Each reusable plastic bag provides servings for six people, has a shelf life of three to five years and costs about 25 cents to make.
Each time a pallet of 5,000 meals was ready to be carted to a waiting truck, event organizers banged a gong, but volunteers' cheers quickly drowned out the sound.
"Each time I hear the gong, it makes me want to do more, go faster," said Ariana Allison, 15, who came with an enrichment program at her Atlanta high school to participate.
Stop Hunger Now tried to inspire that kind of enthusiasm.
"What we're trying to do here is create a sense of excitement," said founder and President Ray Buchanan. "When these people go back to their church, they'll want to work to end hunger abroad and in their own communities, and that's how we're going to change the world."
About 90 percent of the meals Stop Hunger Now packages go to schools, while the remaining 10 percent gets distributed in disaster areas. The organization already had more than 1.5 million packaged meals on the ground in schools in Haiti before the country's devastating earthquake in January. Those meals were immediately distributed to victims, along with 4.5 million more the group was able to send in the first few weeks following the disaster.
Each organization that receives meals from Stop Hunger Now is vetted by the group in a four-month process that ensures shipments will reach the people the group has agreed to feed, according to program coordinator Mickey Horner. Adequate storage and access to clean water also is necessary because the food is dehydrated.
The Methodist conference gave the opportunity for a massive Stop Hunger Now project, but local people and churches already work to feed people here.
"There are several churches and organizations here in Athens that feed the hungry in their own backyard," said John Page, associate pastor at Athens First United Methodist Church. Page worked over the past six months to pull together volunteers and resources for the event. "Hopefully, this will help connect them to the need to feed the hungry internationally, too."
While the Methodists packed meal boxes for three of Thursday's sessions, Athens locals manned the other two shifts.
Betty King, 64, learned about the project from HandsOn Northeast Georgia and drove to Athens from her home in Lexington.
"I was thinking of how many thousands of meals we were making, and it's just amazing," King said. "I packaged food before in Oglethorpe County, but I've never seen anything like this."
Holly Haynes, 32, came with 30 volunteers from Grove Level Baptist Church in Maysville after her youth pastor told her about the event.
"There are a lot of children that are going to be fed now," said Haynes, who has two young daughters at home in Baldwin. "As a mother, that's a good feeling."
Thursday's event was the largest that the Raleigh, N.C.-based hunger relief group has hosted in Georgia in its 12-year history. Smaller events at churches and Rotary clubs with around 40 volunteers have sent 10,000 meals to schools and disaster areas across the world. Stop Hunger Now plans to open an Atlanta facility by summer's end that will help local groups raise the money for the packaged meals.
"We could package a lot more meals mechanically, but the only way we're going to end hunger is to create a movement," Buchanan said. "These volunteers now have the beginnings of an education that can make a big difference at home and abroad."
Stop Hunger Now plans to hold another packaging event at next year's conference in Athens, though it may be the last for the Methodist conference if organizers determine the Classic Center isn't big enough for the group.
Roughly 2,800 people attend the conference each year, and organizers are using every available space in the Classic Center and its adjacent building.
"We're happy to be in Athens for this conference. The city is so receptive, and we hope in some small way we can be a blessing back to the community," Page said.
Information about organizing your own Stop Hunger Now event can be found at www.stophungernow.org/Atlanta.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Friday, June 18, 2010
Jun 2, 2010
Good grades earn swims
By Jennifer L. Johnson
news@onlineathens.com
Published Saturday, May 29, 2010
The last local students walked out of the schoolhouse doors this week, but they shouldn't put away their report cards just yet.
Those good grades still can make a big splash at local pools.
The Athens-Clarke Leisure Services Department rewards students in kindergarten through 12th grade for their school-year work by giving them free swimming passes for the community pools opening this weekend.
The pools at Bishop Park and Memorial Park will open for Memorial Day weekend starting today. The East Athens Community Center, Lay Park and Rocksprings Park pools will open Tuesday for the regular summer season.
Admission costs $1 per person, and individual season passes cost $20.
Leisure Services' good grades reward program has been around since 2006, but not many people know about it, according to Myla Neal, administrator of the department's recreation division.
"We don't usually have as many kids as should be taking advantage of this," said Neal, who supervises all the pools' operations. "The most we've ever had taking advantage of the program is about 25 kids a year."
All children who live in Clarke County - whether they go to public or private school - can earn swim cards. Even home-schoolers can get in on the action.
"Because home-schoolers don't have the grades that public school kids have, their parents have to call us so we can work something out," Neal said. "We want all the kids who want to swim to be able to use the swim cards."
Getting a swim card is easy. All kids have to do is bring their final report card to one of the five pools in Clarke County on the first day they want to swim. The pool clerk will review the grades, determine how many free swims kids get and give each student a punch card. Kids swim for free until their swim card is punched out.
Figuring out how grades translate into free swims is a little trickier this summer, because the Clarke County School District changed its grading system in the past year. Instead of A's, B's and C's, some report cards have their equivalent - E's, M's, and P's.
A report card with all A's or E's gets a free summer pool pass with unlimited swims. A report card with all A's and B's (or all E's and M's) is good for 16 free swims, and a report card with all A's, B's and no more than two C's (or P's) is good for eight free swims for the summer.
Kids can bring their report cards at any time during the summer season for their free swim card.
For more information about the report card reward program, visit the website www.accleisureservices.com/aquatics.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Saturday, May 29, 2010
news@onlineathens.com
Published Saturday, May 29, 2010
The last local students walked out of the schoolhouse doors this week, but they shouldn't put away their report cards just yet.
Those good grades still can make a big splash at local pools.
The Athens-Clarke Leisure Services Department rewards students in kindergarten through 12th grade for their school-year work by giving them free swimming passes for the community pools opening this weekend.
The pools at Bishop Park and Memorial Park will open for Memorial Day weekend starting today. The East Athens Community Center, Lay Park and Rocksprings Park pools will open Tuesday for the regular summer season.
Admission costs $1 per person, and individual season passes cost $20.
Leisure Services' good grades reward program has been around since 2006, but not many people know about it, according to Myla Neal, administrator of the department's recreation division.
"We don't usually have as many kids as should be taking advantage of this," said Neal, who supervises all the pools' operations. "The most we've ever had taking advantage of the program is about 25 kids a year."
All children who live in Clarke County - whether they go to public or private school - can earn swim cards. Even home-schoolers can get in on the action.
"Because home-schoolers don't have the grades that public school kids have, their parents have to call us so we can work something out," Neal said. "We want all the kids who want to swim to be able to use the swim cards."
Getting a swim card is easy. All kids have to do is bring their final report card to one of the five pools in Clarke County on the first day they want to swim. The pool clerk will review the grades, determine how many free swims kids get and give each student a punch card. Kids swim for free until their swim card is punched out.
Figuring out how grades translate into free swims is a little trickier this summer, because the Clarke County School District changed its grading system in the past year. Instead of A's, B's and C's, some report cards have their equivalent - E's, M's, and P's.
A report card with all A's or E's gets a free summer pool pass with unlimited swims. A report card with all A's and B's (or all E's and M's) is good for 16 free swims, and a report card with all A's, B's and no more than two C's (or P's) is good for eight free swims for the summer.
Kids can bring their report cards at any time during the summer season for their free swim card.
For more information about the report card reward program, visit the website www.accleisureservices.com/aquatics.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Saturday, May 29, 2010
Cycling safety course created
A cyclist with Clarke Central High School’s cycling team rides last month in Athens. Photo by David Manning.
by Jennifer L. Johnson
news@onlineathens.com
Published Monday, May 31, 2010
Lots of people learn to get around on two wheels by the time they're 6 years old, but that doesn't mean their bicycling education should end there.
A group of University of Georgia graduate students have created an online bike safety course for BikeAthens, a group that advocates for alternate transportation.
"Bikes are different than cars because they're human-powered and small, but they're vehicles under Georgia state law, and they need to operate under the same traffic laws cars do," said BikeAthens co-chairman Brent Buice.
A spring semester project brought together three grad students in the university's learning, design and technology program, where students are expected to create Web-based instructional materials for real-world clients.
A BikeAthens board member had heard about the project requirement and thought the work could meet a BikeAthens need.
"A bike-safety module seemed the most valuable thing for the community, because there was nothing out there that we could find, even on a national level," Buice said.
The free safety course - 36 slides of biking do's and don'ts - incorporates videos, text and interactive quizzes to teach viewers about situations they might encounter while riding in urban areas like Athens.
"Essentially, these are defensive-driving techniques for cyclists," Buice said.
The online course teaches riders how to do a 30-second safety check of a bike before riding, how to turn left in risky conditions and how to navigate safely around parallel-parked cars.
Students Clayton Shaw, Nicole Goddard and Julius Gantt polled riders on BikeAthens' e-mail listserv and Facebook page about trouble spots around town, places they find difficult to navigate.
"What we did was give them some ideas about the sort of things we were interested in, in general," said BikeAthens board member Jason Perry. "After that, the students came up with a lot of the safety information on their own."
The two groups got together to film riders in several locations over a two-day shoot, and BikeAthens helped tweak some of the information before the students turned in the project.
The students got an A, and the community got a good safety resource, Perry said. The safety course now is available for free on the BikeAthens' website, blog and Facebook page.
"I think this has been a win-win situation, because the students are getting real- world, résumé-ready, portfolio-ready work, and we're certainly getting a product that we couldn't have afforded had we paid for it in the market," Buice said.
The group plans to advertise the course in a UGA publication that is given to all incoming freshmen and transfer students at summer orientations.
"Athens tends to be a much more bike-friendly place than where these kids are coming from," Buice said. "Because Athens is so dense geographically, and because there are so many destinations that can be reached by foot or by bicycle, you see a lot more students using bikes. We want to be sure that all these new bikers use them safely and legally."
Buice would like to see the online course incorporated into a larger bike safety class for kids and adults that the nonprofit could hold at its permanent location. BikeAthens houses its bike repair and recycle program at its Chase Street warehouse, but the group needs more room, and is looking for an in-town spot with plenty of space to fix up bikes and become a teaching facility for new and experienced riders.
To take the free online bike safety course, visit www.bikeathens.com.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Monday, May 31, 2010
May 2, 2010
Spring Chicken
The morning light jittered on my knees as if it too were nervous about what my father would say. I expected his booming voice to carry bad news, bad news about Mom and yesterday’s doctor’s appointment. Even I knew that your lips are only supposed to turn blue when you’re cold. I expected Dad’s brisk, so-what attitude he seemed to share only with his family. I didn’t expect him to speak so softly. So… tentatively.
“Your mom’s gonna have to go on a diet,” I heard him say. We turned onto the road that would wind through the rich people’s neighborhood where I was daily deposited. “1200 calories. 1200 for the entire day,” he said as he thrust the car forward. I didn’t have more than a moment to process his dismissive, “You and I can go through that in a sitting,” remark before words, louder, more staccato, burst from his lips. “It’s because of her heart.”
I’d heard my father fling the phrase “heart for shit” during a fight they’d had about disciplining us kids, but thought it was probably a new insult Dad had conjured up for the week, right along-side “bitch-face.”
“Your Mom’s no spring chicken,” Dad said in his usual abrupt manner. “She was old when she had you.” Mom was a full decade younger when she’d had me, and yet, I knew that most kids my age didn’t cling to porcelain sinks to watch their parents apply Rogain to the roots of graying locks. But my mother wasn’t in a wheel chair. She didn’t have aging spots or deep creases in her skin. She was six or seven years older than Dad, but she wasn’t old.
Dad took my silence as his cue to drive his point home and prompted me to imagine what my life would be like if she died. The very thought made me depressed and panicky, and I, for once, considered it a blessing to have arrived at school. I can still hear the screeching of the window scraping the metal casing as it was forced down and his loud voice calling out to me after the car door snapped shut, “She’s old enough that she could kick it before you even get out of high school.”
I don’t remember what school was like, or if I hugged my mom particularly hard that night when she came through the back door in a flurry of commotion that I always associated with her. What I do remember was waking up in a fright in the middle of the night after dreaming of her death.
I softly crept down the hall, avoiding the noisy planks of wood far older than my mother would ever be, if what my father said was right. I eased open the door to my parent’s room, flooding light into the inky blackness, tensely waiting for the rise and fall of my mother’s chest. I clenched my teeth from the force of my silent plea, willing my mother to awaken so that I could confess to her my worry. The possibility that my father would wake up instead manifested itself as the aching chill that settled in just above my shoulder blades, pressure worse than any book bag crammed with school books could ever have been.
It was, of course, my father who stirred. His rumble in the darkness made me start, and the floorboards beneath my soles screeched in time to his words. Though he’d asked me what I was doing, and I knew the question would come, I only replied, “Nothing,” and scurried back into my room, praying that Dad wouldn’t lumber the few feet to the open door. I can still hear the wood bend under his weight, and see the shadow that was cast on the wall. My father’s frame filled the doorway, casting an even more intimidating shadow. He halted only a moment before coming in and settling himself at the end of the bed, repeating his question only after flicking the tip of his nose with his curled index finger.
“Why?” he asked, anger rising in his voice when I admitted I was checking on her. Even though it was too dark to see, I thought I could feel his face redden from the force of holding back his first response. He didn’t immediately speak, and that wasn’t like my father. When he got upset, he exploded. This, I knew, was something different. He jerked his hands back from his knees as if he wanted to wrap them around something, somebody. I saw my father do that in arguments when my mother made a point he couldn’t deny and baited him to disagree.
“If she dies, she dies.” He said it harshly, as if he wanted to beat the meaning into me, but knew it would do no good. “She’s old and there’s nothing you can do… there’s nothing we can do.”
I might as well have seen him sobbing for all the clarity I found there in the darkness. In that one moment, I understood his anger and frustration. My father was afraid—afraid she would die. He had tried to talk about it, tried to share with the wrong person. Suddenly, my strong, aggressive father was stripped away and, in his place, was left a man weak and flawed. When I crawled out from the covers and wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders, I could almost swear he shook.
“Your mom’s gonna have to go on a diet,” I heard him say. We turned onto the road that would wind through the rich people’s neighborhood where I was daily deposited. “1200 calories. 1200 for the entire day,” he said as he thrust the car forward. I didn’t have more than a moment to process his dismissive, “You and I can go through that in a sitting,” remark before words, louder, more staccato, burst from his lips. “It’s because of her heart.”
I’d heard my father fling the phrase “heart for shit” during a fight they’d had about disciplining us kids, but thought it was probably a new insult Dad had conjured up for the week, right along-side “bitch-face.”
“Your Mom’s no spring chicken,” Dad said in his usual abrupt manner. “She was old when she had you.” Mom was a full decade younger when she’d had me, and yet, I knew that most kids my age didn’t cling to porcelain sinks to watch their parents apply Rogain to the roots of graying locks. But my mother wasn’t in a wheel chair. She didn’t have aging spots or deep creases in her skin. She was six or seven years older than Dad, but she wasn’t old.
Dad took my silence as his cue to drive his point home and prompted me to imagine what my life would be like if she died. The very thought made me depressed and panicky, and I, for once, considered it a blessing to have arrived at school. I can still hear the screeching of the window scraping the metal casing as it was forced down and his loud voice calling out to me after the car door snapped shut, “She’s old enough that she could kick it before you even get out of high school.”
I don’t remember what school was like, or if I hugged my mom particularly hard that night when she came through the back door in a flurry of commotion that I always associated with her. What I do remember was waking up in a fright in the middle of the night after dreaming of her death.
I softly crept down the hall, avoiding the noisy planks of wood far older than my mother would ever be, if what my father said was right. I eased open the door to my parent’s room, flooding light into the inky blackness, tensely waiting for the rise and fall of my mother’s chest. I clenched my teeth from the force of my silent plea, willing my mother to awaken so that I could confess to her my worry. The possibility that my father would wake up instead manifested itself as the aching chill that settled in just above my shoulder blades, pressure worse than any book bag crammed with school books could ever have been.
It was, of course, my father who stirred. His rumble in the darkness made me start, and the floorboards beneath my soles screeched in time to his words. Though he’d asked me what I was doing, and I knew the question would come, I only replied, “Nothing,” and scurried back into my room, praying that Dad wouldn’t lumber the few feet to the open door. I can still hear the wood bend under his weight, and see the shadow that was cast on the wall. My father’s frame filled the doorway, casting an even more intimidating shadow. He halted only a moment before coming in and settling himself at the end of the bed, repeating his question only after flicking the tip of his nose with his curled index finger.
“Why?” he asked, anger rising in his voice when I admitted I was checking on her. Even though it was too dark to see, I thought I could feel his face redden from the force of holding back his first response. He didn’t immediately speak, and that wasn’t like my father. When he got upset, he exploded. This, I knew, was something different. He jerked his hands back from his knees as if he wanted to wrap them around something, somebody. I saw my father do that in arguments when my mother made a point he couldn’t deny and baited him to disagree.
“If she dies, she dies.” He said it harshly, as if he wanted to beat the meaning into me, but knew it would do no good. “She’s old and there’s nothing you can do… there’s nothing we can do.”
I might as well have seen him sobbing for all the clarity I found there in the darkness. In that one moment, I understood his anger and frustration. My father was afraid—afraid she would die. He had tried to talk about it, tried to share with the wrong person. Suddenly, my strong, aggressive father was stripped away and, in his place, was left a man weak and flawed. When I crawled out from the covers and wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders, I could almost swear he shook.
And Jesus Said “Hey Dad”
Melba Smith failed to see the irony
In the carpenter’s house aflame.
She wept and glared,
Alternately, as you laughed
And blamed you for damage
Probably caused by an aged hand
Sending too many prayers.
You rocked on your heels,
Fingertips sheathed in denim,
And looked across the parking lot—
Past the red trucks and church buses—
Shaking your head at thoughts
Only you would share at the scene.
Your lips to God’s ears,
And everyone in-between,
“And Jesus said, ‘Hey Dad,
I can fix this.
It’s what I do.’
And as you know,
Through Christ,
All things are possible.”
Published in Creative License, 2008.
In the carpenter’s house aflame.
She wept and glared,
Alternately, as you laughed
And blamed you for damage
Probably caused by an aged hand
Sending too many prayers.
You rocked on your heels,
Fingertips sheathed in denim,
And looked across the parking lot—
Past the red trucks and church buses—
Shaking your head at thoughts
Only you would share at the scene.
Your lips to God’s ears,
And everyone in-between,
“And Jesus said, ‘Hey Dad,
I can fix this.
It’s what I do.’
And as you know,
Through Christ,
All things are possible.”
Published in Creative License, 2008.
Waiting
A sea of brown uniforms swallowed her whole,
And Grace drowned in memories of Johnny.
The band seemed inches from her,
But no sound could mask the pounding in her ears.
Before she had the time to flee, a solider—
A ladies man, Giraulo—fixed his gaze on her.
He stopped her, called her his fire-haired fox
And smiled with deep brown eyes that
Didn’t remind her of Johnny’s blues,
The color of the hydrangeas in the orphanage yard.
Joe didn’t know of Johnny. He didn’t know
Her pain. He might have been a solider, Grace knew,
But he’d not be her hero.
Joe’s olive skin was too dark to be her angel’s.
Johnny, who fell from the sky
Along with the rest of his unit.
She had walked into Johnny’s arms the day she turned 18
And left the orphanage behind.
She walked into Joe’s arms the day she tried to let go.
Joe rode the bus, four hours to, four hours from, Tacoa
To see her nose freckle in the sunlight if only for an hour.
Four Sundays later, Joe came back to Ft. Bragg,
New Mrs. Grace Giraulo in tow.
On the eve of Joe’s deployment,
She lay in her marriage bed, and dreamed of fair-haired Johnny.
Joe would be in the wilds of the Philippines,
His only comfort the thought
of returning to the wife he’d left at home.
Grace tossed and turned, sick with the thought,
Sick with herself.
In the winter months, when the sweltering Filipino jungle
Was the only thought that kept her warm, Grace tread
On swollen feet, pacing at the gate of his family’s home.
Early Christmas mornings, after the orange and hard candy
That were her only presents,
My grandmother had paced before the gates of the orphanage,
Waiting for the man who’d abandoned her
And her siblings and promised to return.
Months gone from the oppression and despair of
that place, Grace stood at gates,
Waiting for Johnny to return from war.
Waiting to be wed.
Hers was a life defined by waiting. Waiting
For her father, for Johnny, for Joe.
The spring came and went, and Grace
Found something to live for.
She thought of Johnny and thought of Joe
While gazing at cotton fields she did not have to pick.
For the first time in her years, her life began,
Slowly. Though I believe to this day,
Grace, Long dead, still waits,
Disappointment and rejection did not meet her
At the gates when Joe returned.
And the husband found
Not only the wife he’d left behind,
But the child he would call his own,
Fair-hair, blue eyes and all.
2008
And Grace drowned in memories of Johnny.
The band seemed inches from her,
But no sound could mask the pounding in her ears.
Before she had the time to flee, a solider—
A ladies man, Giraulo—fixed his gaze on her.
He stopped her, called her his fire-haired fox
And smiled with deep brown eyes that
Didn’t remind her of Johnny’s blues,
The color of the hydrangeas in the orphanage yard.
Joe didn’t know of Johnny. He didn’t know
Her pain. He might have been a solider, Grace knew,
But he’d not be her hero.
Joe’s olive skin was too dark to be her angel’s.
Johnny, who fell from the sky
Along with the rest of his unit.
She had walked into Johnny’s arms the day she turned 18
And left the orphanage behind.
She walked into Joe’s arms the day she tried to let go.
Joe rode the bus, four hours to, four hours from, Tacoa
To see her nose freckle in the sunlight if only for an hour.
Four Sundays later, Joe came back to Ft. Bragg,
New Mrs. Grace Giraulo in tow.
On the eve of Joe’s deployment,
She lay in her marriage bed, and dreamed of fair-haired Johnny.
Joe would be in the wilds of the Philippines,
His only comfort the thought
of returning to the wife he’d left at home.
Grace tossed and turned, sick with the thought,
Sick with herself.
In the winter months, when the sweltering Filipino jungle
Was the only thought that kept her warm, Grace tread
On swollen feet, pacing at the gate of his family’s home.
Early Christmas mornings, after the orange and hard candy
That were her only presents,
My grandmother had paced before the gates of the orphanage,
Waiting for the man who’d abandoned her
And her siblings and promised to return.
Months gone from the oppression and despair of
that place, Grace stood at gates,
Waiting for Johnny to return from war.
Waiting to be wed.
Hers was a life defined by waiting. Waiting
For her father, for Johnny, for Joe.
The spring came and went, and Grace
Found something to live for.
She thought of Johnny and thought of Joe
While gazing at cotton fields she did not have to pick.
For the first time in her years, her life began,
Slowly. Though I believe to this day,
Grace, Long dead, still waits,
Disappointment and rejection did not meet her
At the gates when Joe returned.
And the husband found
Not only the wife he’d left behind,
But the child he would call his own,
Fair-hair, blue eyes and all.
2008
The Little Mermaid Dates On-Line
First off, my name is Ariel, and I
Have friends who say I’ve got a lovely voice.
I’m looking for a ‘friend’ to make me sigh.
When I find him, the kingdom will rejoice.
I don’t go shoe-shopping or eat sushi,
And, man, am I sick of the color blue.
Slow walks along the beach are not for me,
but there are lots of things I like to do—
like scavenging for old knick-knacks, swimming,
singing with my sisters when dad’s not there.
Honest, what I want more than anything
is a strong man with mussels and dark hair.
So remember, before you give a ring—
for some, having crabs is not a bad thing.
Creative Writing class assignment 2007.
I just like it.
Have friends who say I’ve got a lovely voice.
I’m looking for a ‘friend’ to make me sigh.
When I find him, the kingdom will rejoice.
I don’t go shoe-shopping or eat sushi,
And, man, am I sick of the color blue.
Slow walks along the beach are not for me,
but there are lots of things I like to do—
like scavenging for old knick-knacks, swimming,
singing with my sisters when dad’s not there.
Honest, what I want more than anything
is a strong man with mussels and dark hair.
So remember, before you give a ring—
for some, having crabs is not a bad thing.
Creative Writing class assignment 2007.
I just like it.
Go Put Some Pants On
I can’t fight with you when you’re naked.
It’s hard to explain the idea
That when you’re shrouded,
My words sink in,
Deeper.
Deeper,
To where you can feel them
As I feel them.
Maybe its that your comments
Can be biting.
Likely,
It’s that I’m crazy, like you tell me,
And insecure.
When we fight, I feel
As exposed as you truly are.
I pull on pants and shirts and sweaters,
But I still feel without armor.
Vulnerable.
I don’t know why
I hate it when you aren’t
Covered,
Donned,
Protected.
When you’re bare, it’s like
I’m not getting beneath your skin.
Where I want my words,
My perspective,
To reside.
Published in Creative License, 2007.
It’s hard to explain the idea
That when you’re shrouded,
My words sink in,
Deeper.
Deeper,
To where you can feel them
As I feel them.
Maybe its that your comments
Can be biting.
Likely,
It’s that I’m crazy, like you tell me,
And insecure.
When we fight, I feel
As exposed as you truly are.
I pull on pants and shirts and sweaters,
But I still feel without armor.
Vulnerable.
I don’t know why
I hate it when you aren’t
Covered,
Donned,
Protected.
When you’re bare, it’s like
I’m not getting beneath your skin.
Where I want my words,
My perspective,
To reside.
Published in Creative License, 2007.
The crazy person
Every once in a while
You go into a place
Where you cannot avoid
The crazy person.
I wonder why it shocks us,
Even momentarily,
When the crazy person
Isn’t dressed in ragged clothes
And smells like sweat and street.
Debating in grocery aisles,
Fuming in teller lines,
Teaching classrooms full
Of unsuspecting,
Cornered you’s and me’s.
Do you smile at the crazy person?
Or look up, down, away?
Do you nodd at their left/right/out there phrases
Or pretend not to hear them?
What would be worse?
Engaging them or having them repeat their
There statements?
Sometimes there is
No lesser evil.
2007
You go into a place
Where you cannot avoid
The crazy person.
I wonder why it shocks us,
Even momentarily,
When the crazy person
Isn’t dressed in ragged clothes
And smells like sweat and street.
Debating in grocery aisles,
Fuming in teller lines,
Teaching classrooms full
Of unsuspecting,
Cornered you’s and me’s.
Do you smile at the crazy person?
Or look up, down, away?
Do you nodd at their left/right/out there phrases
Or pretend not to hear them?
What would be worse?
Engaging them or having them repeat their
There statements?
Sometimes there is
No lesser evil.
2007
When Kids Go To Wal-Mart
They run around like banshees,
Lurching, clawing,
For that decibel
Only dogs can hear,
Arguing over Faded Glory
And begging for Sam’s Choice sweet things.
Their parents follow them,
Or leave them in their wake,
As if,
As if, I too
Had birthed beasts
And left them un-caged,
Uncouth,
And as if I had no hearing left.
When I go to Wal-Mart,
I can feel my fallopian tubes
Tie themselves in knots
Taking my body’s instruction,
Preservation of eardrum and patience alike.
It’s no wonder the linoleum
Is scuffed and dirty,
For the wildebeests have had
Their sodas and candies
And, hey—better here than at your house.
Better here,
Where you can share
The wonder that is children
With the rest of us.
2007
Lurching, clawing,
For that decibel
Only dogs can hear,
Arguing over Faded Glory
And begging for Sam’s Choice sweet things.
Their parents follow them,
Or leave them in their wake,
As if,
As if, I too
Had birthed beasts
And left them un-caged,
Uncouth,
And as if I had no hearing left.
When I go to Wal-Mart,
I can feel my fallopian tubes
Tie themselves in knots
Taking my body’s instruction,
Preservation of eardrum and patience alike.
It’s no wonder the linoleum
Is scuffed and dirty,
For the wildebeests have had
Their sodas and candies
And, hey—better here than at your house.
Better here,
Where you can share
The wonder that is children
With the rest of us.
2007
Apr 13, 2010
Planters eager for Marigold Festival to blossom
Rick Marucci and children Noah, 9, and Jamie, 13, plant marigolds Saturday on North Main Street in Winterville. Volunteers helped plant 4,000 marigolds all over Winterville in preparation for the festival May 15. This is the second year of the festival following a seven-year hiatus. The marigolds were grown from seed by Thyme After Thyme of Winterville.
Photograph by Melissa Williamson.
Published Sunday, April 11, 2010
By Jennifer L. Johnson
WINTERVILLE - Last year, a group of citizens longing for the small town's signature event revived the Winterville Marigold Festival, and now they want to leave no doubt that the town really is the City of Marigolds.
Volunteers gathered Saturday to plant 4,000 of the small flowers - some blooming, others not yet showing their color - along Main Street, near the historic train depot, country doctor's museum and in Pittard Park in preparation for this year's festival May 15.
In 2003, a group of long-time volunteers closed the festival after repeatedly asking for new residents to step forward to organize and run the event.
After a seven-year hiatus, some of those new residents joined with longtime locals to stage a comeback festival last year, drawing 4,000 people, a little more than half the number the festival drew in its peak years.
"When we quit doing it, everyone got on the bandwagon to do it again," said Brenda Mercer, who is on the board of the group planning the festival. "We knew they loved the festival, but we needed the volunteers to really do it."
While Marigold Festival organizers lamented a few years ago that they couldn't get new volunteers, a strong sense of community swelled in the festival's absence, making people long for the old days. After last year's successful festival, more volunteers are working to make the event possible this year.
"A lot of my volunteers' parents were volunteers a few years ago," said festival organizer Emily Eisenman. "We've got the second generation - maybe even the third generation - helping out this year."
Nine-year-old Elizabeth Dutch is a third-generation volunteer. She came out to help plant flowers and talk about the coming festival.
"I want to go to the festival this year," Elizabeth said. "I went last year and liked the parade the best."
In its heyday, the marigold tradition was as much about preparing for the festival as staging the one-day event. Residents planted batches of marigolds on city property and in their own yards to make sure the yellow and orange blooms were everywhere on festival day. Dorothy Heintz, Elizabeth's grandmother, moved to the area in 1982 and liked that aspect of the tradition.
"This is my favorite job," Heintz said. "Gardening is what I do best."
With the rebirth of the festival last year, volunteers had to plant the flowers twice - once in spring and again after a hard freeze killed the first batch, according to 68-year-old volunteer Randall Covington.
Heintz saw a sign on the Winterville Depot marquee about this year's planting and got details from her neighbor Jack Eisenman, the chairman of the landscape committee for the festival.
Ashley Conner, 23, learned about the planting from a friend at church, and came out to help plant, even though she's never been to the Marigold Festival before.
"It's one of those things where I always wanted to go, but never did make it," Conner said. "Planting the flowers today will keep the festival in my mind."
Conner has lived in the city for 14 years, but you don't have to be from Winterville to love the official symbol.
Athens resident and Master Gardener Jean Colquett has been to several Marigold Festivals in the past, but she's never lent her love of gardening to getting ready for it.
"Marigolds are wonderful flowers because they have very few pests that bother them," Colquett said. "The marigolds we're planting have buds now. They should be beautiful in five weeks, just in time for the festival."
While the Marigold Festival brings the small town together, organizers hope to draw people from outside the community, too.
To help make it easy for outsiders to get there, the city has arranged a free shuttle service through Athens Transit that will take people from Walmart on Lexington Road to the festival and back. Buses will run all day so people don't need to worry about driving to the city, finding a parking spot down the street from the square and walking back.
Although organizers hope for good weather, Eisenman hasn't found that a few dark clouds deter most people on event day.
"The interesting thing is that, even though we threatened rain and we had one shower during the festival last year, it didn't seem to dampen the enthusiasm at all," she said. "The city really loves this festival."
Volunteers interested in helping Winterville prepare for the festival can sign up at www.cityofwinterville.com/ marigold.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Sunday, April 11, 2010
Apr 5, 2010
Winterville Library fundraiser to put pets on parade
Oakley is used to dressing up for special occasions. The dachshund wore his tux last Halloween to the PetSmart in Fayetteville, where owner Ben Mazzucco showed him off. Mazzucco will bring Oakley to the Winterville Doggie Parade on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Ron Wetherbee
By Jennifer L. Johnson - news@onlineathens.com
Published Monday, April 05, 2010
Fido and the family will get the chance to strut their stuff in Winterville - just don't call the parade a "catwalk."
The Friends of the Winterville Library, a nonprofit group working to raise money for the public library, is hosting the Winterville Doggie Parade on Saturday. Dogs and their owners can participate in a costume parade - even without paying - and those who pay an entry fee can compete for prizes.
The $5 contest registration fee and all proceeds from the event will be donated to the Winterville Library.
The fundraiser is the first big event for the Friends of the Winterville Library since the opening of its Front Porch Bookstore in December. The used books sold at the store are modestly priced, from a quarter for mass-market paperbacks to $3 for hardbacks. Things like audio books, DVDs and special collections cost a little more, depending on the item. All the proceeds from sales are donated to the library.
The bookstore - staffed entirely by Friends volunteers - will be open until 4 p.m. the day of the parade.
"Every day, I see tons of people walking by the store with their dogs," said Front Porch manager Ron Wetherbee, who came up with the idea for the doggie costume contest. "We really wanted to get people involved in coming out, enjoying themselves and at the same time, let everyone know that the bookstore is here."
Athens-Clarke Animal Control will have pets available for adoption after the parade, and Athens-based Lucky Dog Agility will let dogs try running an agility course next to the bookstore.
Two-legged family members can get in on the action, too. The folks at Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful will hold a "Scoop-the-Poop Relay," in which contestants of all ages will race to pick up plastic props that look like the real thing.
The Friends will provide plastic bags for poop - the real kind - as well as bowls of water for the visiting dogs.
The event is meant to be low-key and fun, and the costume contest really isn't competitive, according to Friends board member Deborah Goldberg. There will be several prizes in other categories, like the dog who travels the farthest for the event or one for the pooch that's older than the other tail-wagging contestants.
"That way, everybody gets a shot at helping the Winterville Library," Goldberg said. "We're not dog experts. This is a day that's about having fun."
Register for the contest at 9 a.m. Saturday at Front Porch Bookstore on Marigold Lane. The pet parade will make its loop around Winterville Square at 10 a.m.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Monday, April 05, 2010
Mar 15, 2010
Open letter to my classmates
Dear classmates, fellow bus-riders and hall-dwellers,
I know that Spring Break has only just ended, but I would really appreciate it if you would be so good as to stop talking about the past week.
You might find this hard to believe, but the folks around you don't want to hear about how painful every step you take is thanks to that stellar hide-tanning sunburn you fostered in Florida or Mexico. Some of us don't want to watch you carefully inspect your arms and legs in the middle of lectures, and certainly don't want to sit next to you as you peel off strips of your skin and carelessly flick them onto the floor of the bus.
Personally, when you recount your drunken exploits with that guy that Keeli went tailgating with, but Tameka was talking to for a minute——you know, the one with that bleached emo haircut you saw that time at the tanning salon——and how you couldn't remember his name the next morning 'cause you were so "wasted", all I think of is how trashy that sounds.
I don't want to know about how many hot girls you slept with last week, how many beers you drank, or how wild the parties you went to were. I don't want to hear about how sick it was, or how sick you got, and I certainly don't want to hear about the "nasty rash thing on her expletive so dirty I refuse to type it" and how your friend can't pronounce gonorrhea correctly.
Please save these conversations for dorm rooms, facebook posts and text messages. Those of us who don't enjoy getting hammered, buck naked, crazy wild or horizontal with strangers would really prefer to quietly wallow in the misery that the post-Spring Break return to school brings out in all of us.
Thank you,
Jennifer
P.S.—— You should really get that rash checked. Seriously.
I know that Spring Break has only just ended, but I would really appreciate it if you would be so good as to stop talking about the past week.
You might find this hard to believe, but the folks around you don't want to hear about how painful every step you take is thanks to that stellar hide-tanning sunburn you fostered in Florida or Mexico. Some of us don't want to watch you carefully inspect your arms and legs in the middle of lectures, and certainly don't want to sit next to you as you peel off strips of your skin and carelessly flick them onto the floor of the bus.
Personally, when you recount your drunken exploits with that guy that Keeli went tailgating with, but Tameka was talking to for a minute——you know, the one with that bleached emo haircut you saw that time at the tanning salon——and how you couldn't remember his name the next morning 'cause you were so "wasted", all I think of is how trashy that sounds.
I don't want to know about how many hot girls you slept with last week, how many beers you drank, or how wild the parties you went to were. I don't want to hear about how sick it was, or how sick you got, and I certainly don't want to hear about the "nasty rash thing on her expletive so dirty I refuse to type it" and how your friend can't pronounce gonorrhea correctly.
Please save these conversations for dorm rooms, facebook posts and text messages. Those of us who don't enjoy getting hammered, buck naked, crazy wild or horizontal with strangers would really prefer to quietly wallow in the misery that the post-Spring Break return to school brings out in all of us.
Thank you,
Jennifer
P.S.—— You should really get that rash checked. Seriously.
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