Electonic's 'vampire loads' sucking us dry?

by Jennifer L. Johnson


To Adam Platto, conserving energy is as easy as opening a window. He has slept with his window open at night - instead of running the air conditioning - since the hottest stretch of summer passed.

"I try to be conscious of consumption," Platto said.

To conserve energy, he runs appliances like the dishwasher and dryer during off-peak hours and turns up the thermostat during the day when no one is home.

He also unplugs his cell phone and shaver chargers when they're not in use.

Platto doesn't know it, but he's killing vampires.

Electronic devices suck power from the outlet even when the machine is turned off, and energy experts are starting to point to that so-called "vampire load" as the next place to save energy.

"Anything that lights up or has a clock on it - like a VCR - is drawing power," said Bonnie Jones, public relations director for Jackson Electric Membership Corp. "Even though your computer is in sleep mode, it's costing you money."

Libraries across the state now allow patrons to check out the Kill A Watt Energy Detector Toolkit and calculate the annual costs of running home appliances.

The hand-sized gadget is plugged in between the outlet and any appliance or power cord and measures how much energy the machine uses. Officials with the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority and the library system hope curious people like Platto visit their local libraries to take advantage of the detector, which may encourage Georgians to decrease their energy use.

"That's genius," said Platto, who moved to Athens over the summer. "Now that I know that they have this thing, I'm going to go get a library card just out of curiosity."

To Platto, saving money is a side-benefit to conserving, but for other people it's the main goal.

Sean Watson doesn't pay any attention to his carbon footprint, but he'll conserve if he sees the cost benefit. (He also recycles, just because.)

"I'm pretty loaded up on energy-saving tips because of friends who are into it," said Watson, 24. "But we try to turn lights and other things off because we're also very poor."

Since taking steps to reduce the cost of powering their apartment, Watson and his roommates have seen their electric bill drop from about $150 a month to $100. He attributes the savings to learning about vampire load.

Watson and his roommates now use a power-strip for their TV and gaming systems that can be switched off easily, and unplug any appliance they don't use every day.

The library's Kill A Watt detectors come with energy-saving tips, operating instructions and directions to download the "appliance efficiency tracker" from www.gefa.org. The tracker is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet formatted to calculate the results with the aid of your monthly electric bill.

"Heating, cooling and water-heating are the majority of your power bill," Jones said. "People need to be measuring how much power their HVAC system is using, their water-heaters and washers, dryers, refrigerators and freezers, if they have them."

Most people who have borrowed the Kill A Watt detectors read about the idea in newsletters from the library or Jackson EMC.

A woman whose husband had wondered for years about how much energy it took to operate their stove recently came in to borrow a detector, said Mazie Bowen, a librarian at the Athens-Clarke County Library.

"He was really excited to find out," Bowen said.

The detector measures the energy efficiency of individual appliances by the kilowatt-hour and, with the help of the spreadsheet, estimates the cost of operating the appliance by the hour, day, week, month and year.

"It's so much different when you can see it, when it's right there in your face," Platto said.

The three big-ticket energy-consumers - refrigerators, freezers and dishwashers - can cost several hundred dollars a year to operate. Smaller items like toasters, blenders and cell phone chargers combined can use as much power to run as your refrigerator.

"Everyone talks about creating renewable sources of energy," Platto said. "But why don't we just conserve what we have?"

Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Monday, September 28, 2009

Healing Place in danger of closing its doors again

Photo by David Manning

by Jennifer L. Johnson

The letter on Casey Minish's desk came from an incarcerated man in Hall County who needs drug and alcohol treatment.

The fact that the inmate doesn't have the money to pay wouldn't normally bother Minish.

But now, the thing standing between the man and addiction treatment is cash, and that fact does bother Minish.

"If we have the money and the bed available, we do not turn anyone away because they don't have the money," said Minish, executive director of The Healing Place. "The problem is that I do not have the funds to take him in."

The Healing Place is a multipurpose facility in Athens that serves men not only with substance abuse problems, but also men who need emergency overnight shelter and, usually later, transitional housing.

Shelter Manager Evan Conner turns away four or five men a night because the 12 available beds fill up quickly.

The faith-based drug and alcohol recovery program includes the 90-day residential program, help finding a job and housing, and ongoing support after the person returns to the community to live a life of sobriety.

Some, like 28-year-old Conner, complete the program and are allowed to stay and work with the men who arrive later.

"I've been through four other treatment programs before this," Conner said. "I learned more in two weeks at this place then in five years at those others."

The program costs $1,050, but as many as 85 percent of the clients don't have the money to pay, according to Minish. Most go through the program at little or no charge, even though it costs the nonprofit about $4,000 per client.

That might no longer be possible, according to organizers. The Healing Place only has enough money to remain open for another month and a half.

This isn't the first time The Healing Place teetered on the brink of closing. The organization lost its home in February 2008, but donors and community helped the organization get back on its feet.

As with many nonprofits, charitable donations are down due to the economy, and that money pays 95 percent of the cost to operate The Healing Place, Minish said.

Even its thin slice of government funding is shrinking.

A state Department of Community Affairs grant usually supplies the group with $20,000 to $30,000 a year. This year, The Healing Place received $5,000.

"We need general operating expenses," Minish said. Rent and utilities for the organization's building on West Broad Street run about $4,000 a month and so far this year, the organization is $26,000 in the red.

Minish is the only paid employee at The Healing Place; programs, including the shelter and transitional housing, are staffed by former clients who have chosen to continue living and working at the shelter.

"If the doors of The Healing Place close, there are 25 men that are going to be back on the streets," said Minish.

One of those men is Dwayne Waldrop, who has been at The Healing Place for more than a year.

"This place is changing people's lives on a daily basis," said Waldrop, 28. His parents found the program after he was arrested on drug charges last year and given the choice of prison or rehab.

"If this place closed its doors, I'd be up under a bridge somewhere," he said.

More than a place to live, residents say The Healing Place is a positive environment for addicts to work on their sobriety.

"The program gave me more insight on my life," said Darren Williams, 40, who completed the treatment program on Friday. "Not just from my past addiction, but what I would need for my future to stay clean and have a successful life."

Fifty-two-year-old Mike Conner of Rutledge joined the treatment program in late August after going through several secular rehabilitation programs.

"I was hitting rock bottom, I was homeless, I had burned all the bridges," said Conner, whose son is the shelter manager. "I came here and they took me right in. They treated me with nothing but love and respect."

Eighty percent of homeless people in Athens are men, and more than half of homeless people admitted to having a substance abuse problem in a January survey, to Evan Mills, community development specialist at the Athens-Clarke Human and Economic Development Department.

"I don't know what will happen to Clarke County if we don't continue to operate," said Healing Place board President Jerry Kiser.

Right now, the board of directors is appealing to the organization's mailing list and speaking to UGA classes and local churches about what the nonprofit does.

"This place has the ability to help people," Evan Conner said. "It's helped me."

Contact the Healing Place at (706) 369-0603.

Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Sunday, September 27, 2009

Council making plans for historic renovation

Photo by Richard Hamm

by Jennifer Johnson

WINTERVILLE - City leaders have taken the first step toward renovating the historic Winterville High School - finding out just what's inside.

The Winterville City Council recently agreed to spend $1,440 for an asbestos inspection of the old Winterville High School and auditorium, which the city bought for $1 this summer, as leaders make plans to renovate the historic buildings.

"Until we do an inspection, we don't have any idea what we're dealing with," said City Councilwoman Mary Quinn.

A group of citizens and government officials is overseeing the renovation of the two buildings after the city purchased them from the Clarke County Board of Education in June. The committee arranged for an environmental hazard testing company to take samples of various materials around the buildings located on North Church Street.

The samples will be analyzed in a lab to identify any problems with the materials in the building.

"This is step one of where we have to go," said Bob White, chairman of the rehabilitation committee.

Next up, the committee will solicit quotes from architects, who will have to incorporate in their plans how to deal with any asbestos or other hazardous material that turns up in the inspection, according to White, who works at the physical plant at the University of Georgia. Those proposals likely will be due in November or December.

The cost of architectural work could range from $125,000 to $167,000, according to White, but actually completing the work may run $1 million to $1.5 million.

"Let's face it - it's going to be expensive," he said. "When you get into historic preservation, it gets real expensive."

In the meantime, city leaders will do what they can to improve the property. A fence and cracked asphalt behind the school will be removed and recycled in the next few days.

"We're trying to make it look better for the community and the environment," White said. "Hopefully, just for the cost of 20 or 30 pounds of grass seed."

Next month, locals will get a chance to tell city officials how they'd like to see the space used.

"We're in the research stages," White said. "We need to find out what the community wants to do with these buildings."

Committee members warn that the buildings can't be used for just anything - no school or a day care - because both buildings have lead paint, and removing all the paint isn't practical, he said.

Suggestions may be sent at any time via the city clerk at winterville@charter.net.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Nonprofit seeks new zone class

by Jennifer L. Johnson

WINTERVILLE - A nonprofit organization working to build a planned community for developmentally disabled people may ask the city of Winterville to create a new zoning class.

The would-be developers of Sycamore Ridge are working on a proposal for a new zoning district for Winterville, a class they are calling an "assisted residential district," said Planning and Zoning Commission member David Dreesen.

Sycamore Ridge representatives met with Dreesen and the city engineer to ask about how best to present their proposal, which is on the agenda for the commission's Oct. 5 meeting, said Dreesen.

"We're currently working with the Winterville Planning and Zoning Commission about zoning requirements," said Nicholas Harris, executive director of Sycamore Ridge. "Once the land has been zoned in the appropriate category, we'll be ready to move forward with developing."

Organizers met with the Planning and Zoning Commission early this month and proposed the city rezone the land under the "professional limited commercial" class, the type of zoning for places like doctor's offices and private schools.

Planning commissioners voted unanimously to reject the proposal because they didn't see the development - which plans to provide jobs for its residents in a garden center, artist market and café - as a private school, as organizers had suggested.

The developers decided not to appeal to the city council, and instead will propose the city create the new district.

The group plans to close on an 87-acre tract of land stretching from Parkview Drive across to South Main Street in Winterville on Dec. 31.

The development hinges on the zoning and closing the contract, said Harris. If everything goes according to plan, some housing and vocational programs for the first set of residents would be up and running within 16 months of closing on the land.

At a hearing in August, Winterville residents worried that rezoning the entire 87 acres would leave the city with no control over the type of commercial business that might go there if Sycamore Ridge fails.

Though some people expressed concern about traffic, Sycamore Ridge has not received any calls or e-mails from opponents.

"It's a collaborative effort," said Harris. "We're trying to meet the needs of the community, and the community is trying to meet the needs of Sycamore Ridge."

The organization has been receiving calls from families with questions about admission requirements, people interested in serving on the board and professionals looking for jobs.

"The residents of Winterville have been very, very open to us," said Harris. "We've tried very hard to address their concerns without jeopardizing the true mission of what Sycamore Ridge is all about."

The next Planning and Zoning Commission meeting is at 7 p.m. Oct. 5 in Winterville City Hall.


Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Saturday, September 19, 2009

"Nota Bene, Latin for "note well," is Phi Theta Kappa's honors anthology. It recognizes outstanding writing of Phi Theta Kappa members and demonstrates to the literary public the academic excellence and commitment to scholarship found at two-year colleges. The first issue of Nota Bene was published in 1994; it has been published annually ever since.

The Citation Scholarship, a stipend of $1,000, is given to the author of the Nota Bene manuscript considered to be the most outstanding of all entries.

Four authors receive the Reynolds Scholarship Awards, stipends of $500 each. These awards are endowed by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. They honor the memory of the late Donald W. Reynolds, founder of the Donrey Media Group."
--- From the Phi Theta Kappa Nota Bene Web site.

September 30, 2009:
"Members whose literary works were selected for the 2009 edition of Nota Bene, Phi Theta Kappa's literary honors anthology, are announced this week.

Nota Bene is distributed internationally to community college leaders and community college libraries.

"We congratulate our 2009 Nota Bene honorees and their colleges," said Phi Theta Kappa Executive Director Rod A. Risley, who serves as Founding Editor of the honors anthology.

"At a time when writing skills are neglected, Phi Theta Kappa is proud to provide a platform to nurture creative writing and effective communication. Nota Bene, which will be distributed internationally, will showcase outstanding writing by community college students and emphasize the opportunities for excellence found at community colleges," said Risley.

Jennifer Johnson of Georgia Perimeter College received the Citation Scholarship of $1,000 for the entry judged best overall, her short story, The Act of Salvaging.

Reynolds Scholarships of $500 each were awarded to:

Mariangela Jordan, Greenville Technical College, South Carolina, for her poem, English 101. Jordan's poem History was also selected for the 2009 edition.

Jandra Oliver, Nashua Community College, New Hampshire, for her poem, Future Memory. Oliver's poem Sorting Socks will also be included.

Jared C. Silvia, Valencia Community College, Winter Park Campus, Florida, for his short story, Uncle Benny. Silvia's short story, The Boxer, was also selected.

Linda Sirois, Bay de Noc Community College, Escanaba Campus, Michigan, for her essay, Terva Paikka. Sirois' essay, A Few Words about Algebra, was also selected.

Members and their submissions chosen for publication include:

Brittani Alexander, Glendale Community College, Arizona, Mae - short story

Gabriel Dietz, Butte College, California, God, Man and the Mysterious Force - research paper

Alison Green, Illinois Valley Community College, Illinois, The Platte City Rabble-Rousers - short story

Anthony Heyward, Borough of Manhattan Community College, New York, Granddaddy - essay

Mitzi Kay Jackson, Wayne County Community College, Downtown Campus, Michigan,
Long Way to Go - poem

Linda Lyons, Pima Community College, Arizona, Beginnings - essay

Jennifer L. Miller, Butte College, California, Note to the English Teacher - poem

Alison Ann Springle, Bucks County Community College, Newtown Campus, Pennsylvania, Holiday Wish - poem

Kaitlin Williams, College of the Desert, California, Back Alleys - poem

James A. Yarrow, Santa Ana College, California, For a Rainy Day - poem "

--Press release from Phi Theta Kappa



The Act of Salvaging, a story I wrote about a year ago, was selected as the 2009 Nota Bene Citation Award.

I'm over the moon!

If ever I needed any encouragement to continue writing, this is it. Just when I needed it.

A story at every stop on Winterville tour

Photograph by Tricia Spaulding


By Jennifer L. Johnson | news@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 12:31 am on 9/5/2009

WINTERVILLE - When trains carrying soldiers to a Civil War hospital in Union Point stopped at a station like the one in Winterville, they sometimes left the dead behind to make more room for the living.

John Schroeder was left behind.

Though the Confederate Army made an effort to return dead solders to their families, Schroeder is buried between four unmarked graves and an air-conditioning unit behind Winterville United Methodist Church on the town square. The graves aren't visible from the church parking lot or the road, and there are no signs letting visitors know they even exist.

Mary Quinn can't wait to show people where they are.

"There's a story everywhere you turn here," said the longtime Wintervillian.

Quinn would know - she's learned the depth of the city's history through research and interviews with the families who call Winterville home.

"The facts that you can find are real limited," she said. "It's the stories you got to get from people."

Quinn will share the stories she's learned when she leads a tour of Winterville's historic district Sunday.

The tour is part of a series organized by the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation to celebrate Athens' designation by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of its 2009 Dozen Distinctive Destinations.

"We really needed to come up with something great to celebrate this," said Amy Kissane, the executive director of the foundation. The tour series continues through this summer and autumn as part of the foundations' Athens Heritage Walk campaign.

"Walking tours to me are the best way to get to know an area because you're with a small group of people, with someone who obviously loves the area," said foundation trustee Amy Andrews.

Andrews helped organize the schedule and works with the amateur historians who are conducting the tours of places like the Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery, the Milledge Circle historic district and the University of Georgia's Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

"With this focus, we wanted to look at some unique aspects of Athens-Clarke County," she said. "Places like Winterville that are a little bit off the beaten path."

Quinn welcomes the opportunity to share stories of her childhood home, she said, and is glad the heritage foundation included Winterville in the historical tours.

"We see it as a perfect opportunity to introduce others to our quaint community," she said.

Andrews wasn't very familiar with Winterville, even though she had attended the city's celebrated Marigold Festival, which was held from 1971 to 2002 and revived this year.

"I didn't even know how it got its name until I started to talk to Mary Quinn," said Andrews.

Georgia Railroad station manager John Winter volunteered his family name when it came time to title the one-mile radius around the wood-and-water stop six miles east of Athens.

When the tour participants gather in the recently renovated train depot to start their tour at 2 p.m. Sunday, they'll hear how Winter and his brothers immigrated from Germany and settled in the railroad town.

Though no descendants of the German immigrant live in the city today, four former Winter family homes will be stops on the tour.

The tour begins in the train depot, and will include a blacksmith shop, the Carter-Coile Doctors Museum, Pittard Park, the Hunnicutt Hotel and several architecturally significant houses in the area that are included in the National Register of Historic Places.

The walking tour also will stop at the city's newest acquisition, the old Winterville High School and its 450-seat opera-style auditorium.

The school has sat dilapidated for about five years, said Quinn. Though they won't get to go inside, tour participants will peek in windows and step over the dedication stone from the graduating classes of 1926 and 1927.

The tour will pass parts of the abandoned railroad that runs parallel to Main Street. The right-of-way is part of a proposed rails-to-trails project to convert 38 miles of abandoned railway into a walking and cycling trail from Athens to Union Point.

"This is a railroad town, where everyday people worked and where they lived," said Quinn.

Tour spaces still are available for Sunday and for a reprise of the same tour, scheduled for 10 a.m. Oct. 10. Registration is $12 for Athens Clarke Heritage Foundation members and $15 for non-members. Registration forms, tour details and schedules can be found online at www.achfonline.org.

Though space is limited, there may be room for last-minute participants who arrive at the train depot on Main Street in downtown Winterville before 2 p.m. For more information, call the ACHF at (706) 353-1801.

Credibility is all in the digging

Being a conscientious reporter is an especially tedious endeavor at the moment.

I'm waiting for a call back from a Civil War historian or a researcher at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw (whomever contacts me first) to double-check the verity of an anecdotal lead involving a dead guy, a railroad line and a defunct (or then-temporary) Confederate Hospital in Union Point, which may also have been called Scruggsville at the time.

Sure, I could shrug my shoulders, say, 'what the hell', and proceed with my story the way it is. 'So what,' I could say. 'A Civil War historian gets bent out of shape because I confused the railroad track that went into a little city in North--

Oh. There. The phone.

Apparently, I had it wrong... good thing I checked.

It took some digging and a few phone calls, but I think it was worth it to retain a reader that might have gotten bent out of shape over fallacies in an anecdotal lead.

Maybe being a conscientious reporter isn't quite as tedious an endeavor as I thought...