What's the difference? There were two articles in the March 14 edition of the Courier about two drug busts. The one in Ludowici was charged with a "felony" for possession of marijuana, but the one in Walthourville was charged with a "misdemeanor" for possession of marijuana. What's up with that?
We need to do more: In a January 2005 article in the Savannah Morning News, these stats were published after a crack down on blight in the city of Savannah: 163 vacant buildings were secured, 105 blighted houses were demolished, 1,986 overgrown lots were cut, 5,054 housing violations were addressed. We're working our tails off out here in the 4th district to do something about all the blight, but aren't getting very much cooperation from our zoning office. Letters have been written but no follow- ups have happened. The junk piled up across the street from me is still there, even though two months have gone by. The couple was given 30 days from Jan. 17 to clean it up. Why has there been no follow up or fines? The property across from Woodland Lakes is still littered with trash and an old trailer. I even gave the code enforcer the name and phone number of the owners, yet nothing has been done. Is the code enforcer being allowed to do his job or not? We need some answers.
Dogwood Festival: The 31st annual Dogwood Festival will take place tomorrow in Jesup from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from noon to 5:50 p.m. on Sunday. More than 150 artists and craftsmen will be set up. Lots of food, activities for children and entertainment await you and your family.
April 15 deadline to file: Even if you meet the qualifications for not having to file an income tax return (watch for a story on this) you must file a return if you want to receive the rebate that Pres. Bush has promised us. The senior center in Hinesville offers free AARP help filing on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Take your Social Security statement and proof of any other income you may receive. Couples will receive $600 if they qualify, whereas singles will receive $300. I went on Tuesday of this week. My mom and I arrived at five minutes to 9 a.m., the hour that they published in the paper and found 29 people ahead of us. When I questioned this, I found out that they allowed people into the building as early as 7:30 a.m.!! By noon, they told about 10 of us that we needed to leave, as they would not be able to get to us. We were told to come back next Tuesday. We left very frustrated after spending three hours sitting there. Believe me, next Tuesday I'm going to be sitting on their doorstep at 8 a.m.
A lot happening in April: On April 5, vendors will be set up in the parking lot of PoJo's in Midway (next to Ida Mae & Joes) to sell yard sale stuff. Lots of bargains and fun and a place to mix and mingle with friends. It only costs $10 to set up and sell your stuff.
April 11-13 will be the Blessing of the Fleet in Darien. April 12 is the Great American Clean Up at Woodland Lakes. April 19 will be the Great American Clean Up in Lake George. April 26 is the Art Festival at Midway Gallery, located on Martin Drive in Midway.
Planting time: Well, the weather was so nice this week that I just had to get in my garden and get busy. I pulled weeds and worked the ground. Then I planted 12 celebrity tomato plants, seven banana pepper plants, 10 Rutgers tomato plants, two eggplants, one big bertha red bell pepper, two hills of cucumbers and a paper towel that I had scraped grape tomato seeds onto. Placing seeds on a paper towel works great, because when you cover the paper towel with about an inch of soil, then wet it, the towel will slowly decompose and this will germinate the seeds. I still have carrot and okra seeds to plant and I'd like to find some Brandywine tomato plants or seeds. Then my garden will be complete. My elephant garlic is now starting to bloom, so they will need harvesting soon. I want to plant my "red" castor bean seeds around the perimeter of my garden, to keep out critters. Right now my five fig trees are putting on fruit, my pear and two peach trees are full of blossoms, my pink grapefruit is full of blooms again, and a few of my eight loquat trees have some fruit that made it through the winter. I still haven't seen any blooms on my apple tree as of yet. I also have a key lime, Satsuma tangerine, an orange tree and a pomegranate tree that have yet to bear. I also have a Fuyu and native persimmon tree that haven't bore yet. My elderberry garden should have plenty of berries this summer. I mulched them with newspaper and leaves. I picked the last of my kumquats, 20-1/2 pounds and have given two one-gallon bags, containing 4-1/2 pounds each, to two friends who live on Colonels Island. I still have almost two whole gallon bags left. I plan to have plants to sell at PoJo's on the April 5. I will be extricating the seeds from some of the over-ripe kumquats and planting them.
Contact me: My editor shared with me the name of a caller, Val Duncan, who needed to know where I got my information on appealing your tax statement. The number that was shared with me to call you is not a valid number. Please call me at 884-7555 and if you get my voice mail, I will probably be in my garden. So just leave your message and a correct number so I can call you back.
Helpful hits: Every Spring, people need to change batteries in clocks, flashlights and smoke alarms. Once a month, if you have a septic tank, you should flush a box of septic treatment into your septic system. Every three months, you should vacuum your refrigerator coils. A life-saving hint is to code into your cell phone the initials I.C.E. (in case of emergency). Suppose you suffer a stroke or heart attack or a bad fall and the emergency people check your cell phone and find this with your loved one's phone number coded in. Upon calling that number, they can find out what medications you are on and offer help. Carrying your cell phone on you 24/7 (by your bedside at night) can assist you in case of emergency. Rinsing your showerhead every six months in vinegar will keep it functioning properly. Wash your lint guard in your dryer under hot water with soap, to remove fabric softener build up. Don't throw out stale bread or meat scraps. Put them out for the birds. Shore and water birds are meat eaters. I had seven grackles on my deck this week, eating Cheese Puffs that my mom shared with me. The grackles loved them! Now is the time to mix your sugar water and put out your hummingbird feeders. Mix one cup sugar with four cups water. Keep refrigerated.
We need to do more: In a January 2005 article in the Savannah Morning News, these stats were published after a crack down on blight in the city of Savannah: 163 vacant buildings were secured, 105 blighted houses were demolished, 1,986 overgrown lots were cut, 5,054 housing violations were addressed. We're working our tails off out here in the 4th district to do something about all the blight, but aren't getting very much cooperation from our zoning office. Letters have been written but no follow- ups have happened. The junk piled up across the street from me is still there, even though two months have gone by. The couple was given 30 days from Jan. 17 to clean it up. Why has there been no follow up or fines? The property across from Woodland Lakes is still littered with trash and an old trailer. I even gave the code enforcer the name and phone number of the owners, yet nothing has been done. Is the code enforcer being allowed to do his job or not? We need some answers.
Dogwood Festival: The 31st annual Dogwood Festival will take place tomorrow in Jesup from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from noon to 5:50 p.m. on Sunday. More than 150 artists and craftsmen will be set up. Lots of food, activities for children and entertainment await you and your family.
April 15 deadline to file: Even if you meet the qualifications for not having to file an income tax return (watch for a story on this) you must file a return if you want to receive the rebate that Pres. Bush has promised us. The senior center in Hinesville offers free AARP help filing on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Take your Social Security statement and proof of any other income you may receive. Couples will receive $600 if they qualify, whereas singles will receive $300. I went on Tuesday of this week. My mom and I arrived at five minutes to 9 a.m., the hour that they published in the paper and found 29 people ahead of us. When I questioned this, I found out that they allowed people into the building as early as 7:30 a.m.!! By noon, they told about 10 of us that we needed to leave, as they would not be able to get to us. We were told to come back next Tuesday. We left very frustrated after spending three hours sitting there. Believe me, next Tuesday I'm going to be sitting on their doorstep at 8 a.m.
A lot happening in April: On April 5, vendors will be set up in the parking lot of PoJo's in Midway (next to Ida Mae & Joes) to sell yard sale stuff. Lots of bargains and fun and a place to mix and mingle with friends. It only costs $10 to set up and sell your stuff.
April 11-13 will be the Blessing of the Fleet in Darien. April 12 is the Great American Clean Up at Woodland Lakes. April 19 will be the Great American Clean Up in Lake George. April 26 is the Art Festival at Midway Gallery, located on Martin Drive in Midway.
Planting time: Well, the weather was so nice this week that I just had to get in my garden and get busy. I pulled weeds and worked the ground. Then I planted 12 celebrity tomato plants, seven banana pepper plants, 10 Rutgers tomato plants, two eggplants, one big bertha red bell pepper, two hills of cucumbers and a paper towel that I had scraped grape tomato seeds onto. Placing seeds on a paper towel works great, because when you cover the paper towel with about an inch of soil, then wet it, the towel will slowly decompose and this will germinate the seeds. I still have carrot and okra seeds to plant and I'd like to find some Brandywine tomato plants or seeds. Then my garden will be complete. My elephant garlic is now starting to bloom, so they will need harvesting soon. I want to plant my "red" castor bean seeds around the perimeter of my garden, to keep out critters. Right now my five fig trees are putting on fruit, my pear and two peach trees are full of blossoms, my pink grapefruit is full of blooms again, and a few of my eight loquat trees have some fruit that made it through the winter. I still haven't seen any blooms on my apple tree as of yet. I also have a key lime, Satsuma tangerine, an orange tree and a pomegranate tree that have yet to bear. I also have a Fuyu and native persimmon tree that haven't bore yet. My elderberry garden should have plenty of berries this summer. I mulched them with newspaper and leaves. I picked the last of my kumquats, 20-1/2 pounds and have given two one-gallon bags, containing 4-1/2 pounds each, to two friends who live on Colonels Island. I still have almost two whole gallon bags left. I plan to have plants to sell at PoJo's on the April 5. I will be extricating the seeds from some of the over-ripe kumquats and planting them.
Contact me: My editor shared with me the name of a caller, Val Duncan, who needed to know where I got my information on appealing your tax statement. The number that was shared with me to call you is not a valid number. Please call me at 884-7555 and if you get my voice mail, I will probably be in my garden. So just leave your message and a correct number so I can call you back.
Helpful hits: Every Spring, people need to change batteries in clocks, flashlights and smoke alarms. Once a month, if you have a septic tank, you should flush a box of septic treatment into your septic system. Every three months, you should vacuum your refrigerator coils. A life-saving hint is to code into your cell phone the initials I.C.E. (in case of emergency). Suppose you suffer a stroke or heart attack or a bad fall and the emergency people check your cell phone and find this with your loved one's phone number coded in. Upon calling that number, they can find out what medications you are on and offer help. Carrying your cell phone on you 24/7 (by your bedside at night) can assist you in case of emergency. Rinsing your showerhead every six months in vinegar will keep it functioning properly. Wash your lint guard in your dryer under hot water with soap, to remove fabric softener build up. Don't throw out stale bread or meat scraps. Put them out for the birds. Shore and water birds are meat eaters. I had seven grackles on my deck this week, eating Cheese Puffs that my mom shared with me. The grackles loved them! Now is the time to mix your sugar water and put out your hummingbird feeders. Mix one cup sugar with four cups water. Keep refrigerated.