WHY ALL THE FAMINE?
Someone recently commented on what they thought was happening and suggested reading St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verses 6 and 7. "And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars ... nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines, pestilences and earthquakes." That says it all.
4TH DISTRICT HIT HARD BY STORM
At approximately 6:00 p.m. Saturday, May 24, the predictions of the weather forecasters came true. I had closed all my blinds and was holding my breath in fear of the worse. Suddenly, a sound came across my yard like the hooves of a thousand horses. I took refuge in my bathroom and was so scared I began to cry. In less than 15 minutes, the sound ceased. I walked slowly to my living room and looked out, expecting my deck to be gone. The sound I heard was hail about the size of a quarter. My deck and yard were white with layers of ice. I checked to see if my carport sustained any damage and found it okay. Several of my plants took a beating, but they'll come back. Surprisingly, my tomato plants survived. A special salute goes out to all the firefighters who came to help and to Liberty Regional Hospital for sending two ambulances. A special thanks is in order for the Red Cross, which sent a truck full of supplies for the needy. Thank you to Mac Andrews, representative of the Woodmen of the World, for donating $500 to the Red Cross Relief Fund. Thank you to the deputies that came and blocked off traffic in areas that had downed live wires. Thank you to the many neighbors who pitched in to help remove trees, limbs and debris. Thank you, Coastal Electric employees, for getting our electricity back on in a timely manner. Thanks to Clenton Wells, road department director and his two employees, Damarus Roberts and Albert Anderson, for trees from the roadway. Thank you to all the POA officers who helped. Thanks also to the business that supplied two empty roll-off containers located at our fire department for limbs and debris. This was a tragic event, but it proved what good neighbors we have. Woodland Lakes got hit pretty hard also. I never made it to Seabrook to see what happened there. However, I did notice that nearly all the trees taken down by the hail and storm were completely hollow inside. Several were completely uprooted. It will take weeks for everyone to get back to normal. A tree on county property fell against my cyclone fence, destroying two sections. I consider myself very lucky, having seen the devastation all over Lake George and Woodland Lakes. Too bad the disaster didn't receive better publicity. People needed to see all the devastation in person to believe how bad it was.
HOW REFRESHING
Having to deal with businesses, whenever something breaks or doesn't work, is a real nightmare. Everyone is getting so independent. You call an establishment and state your problem only to be told the correct person can't see you for a week, or someone will be sent to your home the next day, and then the worker never shows. I had a broken water pipe once and called every plumber in Liberty County to no avail. I ended up getting one in Richmond Hill who never showed up. Now mind you, I had cut my main water valve off, so I had no running water at that time. I explained this to the plumbing company. They promised to send someone the next day. Nobody ever showed up or even had the courtesy to call. When I called back, the excuse was, "We had several emergencies." Well, I think having to do without water is certainly an emergency.
I knew I was in store for more of this treatment when I discovered the day after the storm that my computer was down. I called Quinn's in Hinesville and asked if I could bring the modem in to be fixed. Judy answered my call and without hesitation said to bring it on in. The technician, Lisa, went right to work trying to track down the problem. The modem was fine, so it seems that my surge protector worked. Lisa gave me a new phone cord to try when I got home. I also unplugged the phone cord from my surge protector and plugged it directly into my phone jack and viola! Lisa would not take any payment for her time or the phone cord. It is truly refreshing to deal with a professional business for a change. I went Saturday and bought a new surge protector from Judy. I also appreciated Dave Gulliver of Gulliver Roofing for coming out and checking my roof for hail damage. My conversation with Dave was refreshing and his survey of my roof was thorough. His crew came Tuesday and repaired my roof in a timely and professional manner. Another thank you goes out to Ken Dawson of American Fence Company, who arrived when he said he would and fit me in with another Lake George customer to save me money on repairing 16 feet of fence damaged by the storm.
REMINDER
Don't forget to come out to PoJo's tomorrow for the big outside yard sale. Bring your lawn chair and hang out with us. This sale takes place the first Saturday of each month, and it costs only $10.00 to reserve your spot.
THINGS TO JOT DOWN
• Throughout June, you can pick your own blackberries at Bamboo Farms on Highway 17. Charge is $3.00 a pound.
• At 6 a.m. June 10, commercial and recreational shrimp season opens. Half-inch or larger cast nets can still be used until March 1, 2009, when minimum mesh size will be increased to 5/8 inch.
• June 15 is Father's Day.
• June 21 is the first day of summer and the day of the big Community Fest in Lake George.
• June 27 is the 68th Annual Coastal EMC meeting to be held at the Midway Middle School Gym. This year they will be giving away a 2004 Honda 4-wheeler.
HOTTER THAN A PEPPERCORN
Last year and again this year, our famous Vidalia onions are hot as fire. I called Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin's office at 800-282-5852 and asked why this is happening. They suspect that some of our farms that grow Vidalias are crossing them with foreign onions that grow quicker and produce earlier. Every call they get, the agriculture commissioner's office is asking what farm the onions were purchases from. They also are looking into where our grocery stores are buying the onions, so they can track down the farms that are crossbreeding and request they return to traditional growing practices. If you know what farm yours came from, call this toll-free number and report it.
GARDEN REPORT
A touch of the tropics in a landscape setting is always a pleasure, especially when it comes at an unexpected time. My giant Cassia tree caught everyone's attention last October, a month when most plants are shedding their flowers. Not the Cassia. It bloomed the entire month of October and I had 14 people stop by to ask the tree's name. Its brilliant yellow flowers with unique centers just blow you away. I want to try and propagate some cuttings so I can plant them all over my property. I thought I'd have to root the cuttings in soil, but according to the Internet, you peel back the bark on your cuttings and "worry" the cut, then place the cuttings in water. That should be easy enough. Believe me, this plant is worth every penny you spend on it. It grows fast, especially if you layer newspapers (black print only) around the base, then cover with pine straw. This traps moisture near the root so you don't have to water as often. After it reaches a height of 10 to 20 feet, it takes care of itself. I know of several other people in Lake George who have this plant and I hope they will try this rooting procedure also.
Someone recently commented on what they thought was happening and suggested reading St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verses 6 and 7. "And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars ... nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines, pestilences and earthquakes." That says it all.
4TH DISTRICT HIT HARD BY STORM
At approximately 6:00 p.m. Saturday, May 24, the predictions of the weather forecasters came true. I had closed all my blinds and was holding my breath in fear of the worse. Suddenly, a sound came across my yard like the hooves of a thousand horses. I took refuge in my bathroom and was so scared I began to cry. In less than 15 minutes, the sound ceased. I walked slowly to my living room and looked out, expecting my deck to be gone. The sound I heard was hail about the size of a quarter. My deck and yard were white with layers of ice. I checked to see if my carport sustained any damage and found it okay. Several of my plants took a beating, but they'll come back. Surprisingly, my tomato plants survived. A special salute goes out to all the firefighters who came to help and to Liberty Regional Hospital for sending two ambulances. A special thanks is in order for the Red Cross, which sent a truck full of supplies for the needy. Thank you to Mac Andrews, representative of the Woodmen of the World, for donating $500 to the Red Cross Relief Fund. Thank you to the deputies that came and blocked off traffic in areas that had downed live wires. Thank you to the many neighbors who pitched in to help remove trees, limbs and debris. Thank you, Coastal Electric employees, for getting our electricity back on in a timely manner. Thanks to Clenton Wells, road department director and his two employees, Damarus Roberts and Albert Anderson, for trees from the roadway. Thank you to all the POA officers who helped. Thanks also to the business that supplied two empty roll-off containers located at our fire department for limbs and debris. This was a tragic event, but it proved what good neighbors we have. Woodland Lakes got hit pretty hard also. I never made it to Seabrook to see what happened there. However, I did notice that nearly all the trees taken down by the hail and storm were completely hollow inside. Several were completely uprooted. It will take weeks for everyone to get back to normal. A tree on county property fell against my cyclone fence, destroying two sections. I consider myself very lucky, having seen the devastation all over Lake George and Woodland Lakes. Too bad the disaster didn't receive better publicity. People needed to see all the devastation in person to believe how bad it was.
HOW REFRESHING
Having to deal with businesses, whenever something breaks or doesn't work, is a real nightmare. Everyone is getting so independent. You call an establishment and state your problem only to be told the correct person can't see you for a week, or someone will be sent to your home the next day, and then the worker never shows. I had a broken water pipe once and called every plumber in Liberty County to no avail. I ended up getting one in Richmond Hill who never showed up. Now mind you, I had cut my main water valve off, so I had no running water at that time. I explained this to the plumbing company. They promised to send someone the next day. Nobody ever showed up or even had the courtesy to call. When I called back, the excuse was, "We had several emergencies." Well, I think having to do without water is certainly an emergency.
I knew I was in store for more of this treatment when I discovered the day after the storm that my computer was down. I called Quinn's in Hinesville and asked if I could bring the modem in to be fixed. Judy answered my call and without hesitation said to bring it on in. The technician, Lisa, went right to work trying to track down the problem. The modem was fine, so it seems that my surge protector worked. Lisa gave me a new phone cord to try when I got home. I also unplugged the phone cord from my surge protector and plugged it directly into my phone jack and viola! Lisa would not take any payment for her time or the phone cord. It is truly refreshing to deal with a professional business for a change. I went Saturday and bought a new surge protector from Judy. I also appreciated Dave Gulliver of Gulliver Roofing for coming out and checking my roof for hail damage. My conversation with Dave was refreshing and his survey of my roof was thorough. His crew came Tuesday and repaired my roof in a timely and professional manner. Another thank you goes out to Ken Dawson of American Fence Company, who arrived when he said he would and fit me in with another Lake George customer to save me money on repairing 16 feet of fence damaged by the storm.
REMINDER
Don't forget to come out to PoJo's tomorrow for the big outside yard sale. Bring your lawn chair and hang out with us. This sale takes place the first Saturday of each month, and it costs only $10.00 to reserve your spot.
THINGS TO JOT DOWN
• Throughout June, you can pick your own blackberries at Bamboo Farms on Highway 17. Charge is $3.00 a pound.
• At 6 a.m. June 10, commercial and recreational shrimp season opens. Half-inch or larger cast nets can still be used until March 1, 2009, when minimum mesh size will be increased to 5/8 inch.
• June 15 is Father's Day.
• June 21 is the first day of summer and the day of the big Community Fest in Lake George.
• June 27 is the 68th Annual Coastal EMC meeting to be held at the Midway Middle School Gym. This year they will be giving away a 2004 Honda 4-wheeler.
HOTTER THAN A PEPPERCORN
Last year and again this year, our famous Vidalia onions are hot as fire. I called Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin's office at 800-282-5852 and asked why this is happening. They suspect that some of our farms that grow Vidalias are crossing them with foreign onions that grow quicker and produce earlier. Every call they get, the agriculture commissioner's office is asking what farm the onions were purchases from. They also are looking into where our grocery stores are buying the onions, so they can track down the farms that are crossbreeding and request they return to traditional growing practices. If you know what farm yours came from, call this toll-free number and report it.
GARDEN REPORT
A touch of the tropics in a landscape setting is always a pleasure, especially when it comes at an unexpected time. My giant Cassia tree caught everyone's attention last October, a month when most plants are shedding their flowers. Not the Cassia. It bloomed the entire month of October and I had 14 people stop by to ask the tree's name. Its brilliant yellow flowers with unique centers just blow you away. I want to try and propagate some cuttings so I can plant them all over my property. I thought I'd have to root the cuttings in soil, but according to the Internet, you peel back the bark on your cuttings and "worry" the cut, then place the cuttings in water. That should be easy enough. Believe me, this plant is worth every penny you spend on it. It grows fast, especially if you layer newspapers (black print only) around the base, then cover with pine straw. This traps moisture near the root so you don't have to water as often. After it reaches a height of 10 to 20 feet, it takes care of itself. I know of several other people in Lake George who have this plant and I hope they will try this rooting procedure also.