May 18, 2018

May 18th - May 31st, 2018

AthensNowal.com E-MAIL: info@athensnowal.com ADVERTISING: Ali Elizabeth: 256-468-9425

See Our Listings Inside this edition...

Pages 25 - 32

Collin Daly For Limestone County Commissioner

Special Feature

By Ali Elizabeth Turner

Alfa Insurance Ribbon Cutting And Grand Opening...

On Tuesday, May 22 at 3 p.m., Bill Perkins is opening the doors to his new digs at Alfa Insurance...

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The Daly Family

Special Feature Terry Persell For Limestone County License Commissioner...

Terry Persell was born and raised in Limestone County, and graduated from Clements High School in 1980. As a junior, he actually....

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From The Vets' Museum When I Grow Up...

As we travel through this journey called life, many people will pass in and out of our lives.

There are a special few people that make an impact and help mold and shape your life...

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May 18 - May 31, 2018

When Collin Daly was a child, he saw firsthand how his dad, then Limestone County Commissioner Gary Daly had to deal with the headaches and negatives that come with being an elected official.

As a result of seeing what his dad went through, Collin never wanted any part of politics. Collin was born and raised in Continued on page 15

The Refreshing Of The AthensLimestone Hospital Foundations Wellness Center

By Ali Elizabeth Turner In 1999, the Athens-Limestone Hospital made a forward-thinking move, and that was to open up a Wellness Center. Since then, the Continued on pages 17

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The Wellness Center has the only indoor heated laps pool in the area

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May 18 - May 31, 2018

Publisher’s Point Publisher / Editor Ali Turner

Copy Editor

Sullying A Celebration

Yvonne Dempsey

Graphic Design

Jonathan Hamilton

Web Design Teddy Wolcott

Contributing Writers Janet Hunt D. A. Slinkard Lisa Philippart Lynne Hart Anna Hamilton Rosemary Dewar Sandra Thompson Eric Betts Deb Kitchenmaster Roy Williams Jackie Warner

Publisher’s Point . . . . . . . . 3 All Things Soldier . . . . . . . 4 Special Feature . . . . . . . . . 5 Calendar of Events . . . . . . . 6 Special Feature . . . . . . . . . 7 What Makes Ronnie Roll . . . 8 Slinkard on Success . . . . . . 9 From The Vets' Museum . . 10 Clean and Green . . . . . . . 12 Cooking With Anna . . . . 13 The Millennial Mind . . . . 14 Cover Stores . . . . . . . . 15 & 17 Health and Fitness . . . . . . 16 Learning As A Lifestyle . . . 18 Horse Whispering . . . . . 20 Mental Health Minute . . . 21 Alternative Approach . . . 22

May 18 - May 31, 2018

Odds have been defied once again in a little country the size of New Jersey. Its name is Israel, and on Monday, it turned 70. Additionally, the United States Embassy was moved from Tel Aviv (which is a lovely, yet manufactured, modern city) to Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the country. There were, and are, grand birthday celebrations going on throughout the nation, and throughout this week, leading up to the feast of Pentecost.

I have had several friends and acquaintances, who are there for the festivities, send emails and video clips, and I would have loved to have joined them.

And of course, there have been bloody “protests” that were also manufactured as part of this week’s reaction to a presidential promise.

For decades, there has been a law on the books to move the embassy; Donald Trump is simply applying it in the form of the intention of its framers.

Let’s recap a bit: In 1995, the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act was passed, calling for the move to be completed by 1999. Interestingly, 1996 was the 3,000th year celebration of King David’s triumphal entry into the city.

In 2017, the 1995 decision was re-confirmed in the form of the 2017 Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act. In a word, our lawmakers believe Israel has the right to invite us to have our embassy in their capital, and we have the right to be there.

Now, it is a part of history.

So, what about the “protests,” and Israel’s response to them? Supposedly the protests are emanating from those who want a two-state solution, but here is the harsh truth. “Palestine,” which is a manufactured nation—there’s that “M” word again – doesn’t want a twostate solution. They want

a one-state solution which does not include Israel on any level. The attempts on the part of Israel to broker a two-state solution with a shared capital have been rejected by the hodge-podge of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Palestinian Authority, and in the days of Yasser Arafat, who was from Egypt, the Palestine Liberation Authority. Those attempts were made in 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, and reportedly in 2014. In addition, Benjamin Netanyahu has asked them recently to return once again to the negotiating table, but they refuse.

According to Hamas Facebook sites, the call went out to the “protestors” a few months back to breach the border and infiltrate Israel

during this week; and the intent was not to protest, it was to commit jihad. You can see them for yourself. The operations have been billed as “return rallies,” but they are anything but. Aaron Klein said, in a piece he wrote on May 14, “Hamas has a long and sordid history of using civilians, including

children, as human shields, and that is just what it is doing today. It is indisputable that Israel’s borders are being attacked and that we are witnessing an orchestrated, terrorist-sponsored, violent campaign in which civilians and Hamas jihadists alike are trying to overrun the borders of a nation-state.

Israel says Hamas jihadists have been instructed to wait behind civilian protesters and approach the border once a breach has been identified.” Fascinatingly, Aaron, who is Jewish and has dual American-Israeli citizenship, is so well-respected, even in Gaza, that once they came and helped him fix a flat tire when he was in this supposedly disputed territory.

Then, there is the issue of the baby who was supposedly killed by the heavyhanded use of tear gas on the part of the IDF as they were trying to disperse the violent crowds. It is not at all uncommon for jihadist mothers to use their children as part of their concept of jihad; the death of a martyr is the only sure way to heaven, according to their understanding of the Islamic faith. Quoting further from Klein’s May 14th article: “A Gazan doctor has admitted – off the record: otherwise, of course, he’d be killed – that the baby died of a pre-existing medical condition.”

Another way of looking at it comes from the words of a very wise old man: “There will be peace in Jerusalem when they love their own children more than they hate ours.” Meanwhile, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

From my perch, while the death of the baby is tragic, the attempt to murder people at a birthday party defies comprehension. And I say with a full heart, “Happy Birthday, Eretz Israel,” and President Trump, thank you for having the courage to uphold the decades-old wishes of our elected lawmakers.

Ali Elizabeth Turner Athens Now Information & Inspiration 256-468-9425 ali@athensnowal.com Website: www.athensnowal.com

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All Things Soldier

A True Hero’s Next Adventure?

by Ali Elizabeth Turner Alek Skarlatos became an undisputed hero on both sides of the pond when he and two friends foiled a jihadist attack on a train bound for Paris in the summer of 2015. Alek and his friends were featured in the movie, The 15:17 to Paris, which was directed by Clint Eastwood. Eastwood felt that no one would be better portraying their stories than the guys who were there, and we talked about it in a previous edition of Athens Now. Alek’s fame increased when he became a contestant on Dancing with the Stars during the 2015 season, and he and his dance partner Lindsay Arnold came in third. In 2016, Alek and his friends Spencer Stone and Anthony Sadler appeared on an episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Alek served in the National Guard from 20122017, finishing his military career as a specialist.

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He served in Afghanistan; and his awards, both as a result of the train incident as well as from Operation Enduring Freedom, are the French Knight of the Legion of Honor and

the United States Army Soldiers’ Medal. After leaving the Guard, he was in demand all across the country for public speaking engagements.

Now Alek has announced his candidacy for the position of Douglas County Commissioner in the State of Oregon. Alek is from Roseburg, located in the western part of the state, and if elected wants to do all he can to bring jobs to the county, which like ours is in a rural area.

He also is hoping to bring his county industrial jobs for skilled-trade workers.

“I’ve travelled all over the world, and there’s no place I’d rather live than Douglas County, honestly,” he says. Alek is running for the slot vacated

by Republican Gary Leif, who is seeking a seat in the Oregon State legisla-

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ture.

Skarlatos feels that being able to serve as county commissioner would provide him an opportunity to stand up for values he believes in, as well as to represent a younger generation. “I think the political climate has led a lot of younger people to become interested in politics, myself included,” Skarlatos said. “I just hope to move Douglas County in a better direction.”

Supporters have described Alek as “humble and impressive,” “exceptional,” as well as someone who is a Constitutionalist. Detractors don’t care for the fact that Skarlatos is a Republican and a supporter of President Donald Trump.

Cynics are trying to claim that he is using his role in

averting a crisis for his own purposes, and that he couldn’t possibly care for his county. His former National Guard unit is backing him, and it appears he has a good chance of winning, although it’s early in the race.

For my part, here is something that I think is a plus, and not something Alek is mentioning: he is a trained sniper. When I was in Iraq, I got the chance to get to know snipers, one of whom became like a son, and if there is one thing they are able to do, it is to be patient. They do well in the most dreadful of surroundings, and they are fiercely loyal to their battle buddies. I say, “May Alek Skarlatos do well in this race,” and to him, I say, “Thank you for your service, wherever that takes you.”

May 18 - May 31, 2018

Special Feature

Alfa Insurance Ribbon Cutting And Grand Opening

by Ali Elizabeth Turner On Tuesday, May 22 at 3 p.m., Bill Perkins is opening the doors to his new digs at Alfa Insurance. The Alfa office is located at 14945 E. Limestone Road, Suite G, and Bill shares it with one other agent, two claims adjusters, and two customer service reps. This is both a ribbon cutting as well as a grand opening, and all of the Alfa crew hope you will come and celebrate with them.

Light refreshments will be served.

Bill has always had a heart to serve, and did so honorably during the Desert Storm era, which was part of his nine year stint in the Army, and then as a pastor.

Most recently he ministered at Central Church of Christ in Athens, and when he resigned that position last November, all he knew was that he wanted to continue to serve God and our community, but he had no plan as to the “next step.”

Bill told me that it was important to his family to stay in the area, and he made me laugh at a recent Chamber of Commerce Coffee when he announced to the group, “For 15 years I have sold ‘fire insurance,’ and I still am!” Discussing that further, he told me that insurance was a good way for

him to keep doing what he has always done, and that is, help people. He had looked into various agencies, and there was no one who began to compare with Alfa. “It was a natural transition,” he said.

Bill feels that insurance and preaching are really quite similar because they deal with many of the same things, such as preparing for everything life brings, including death. “We all have an expiration date, and I want people to be prepared spiritually as well as financially,” he said. One of the things that impressed Bill about Alfa is the freedom agents are given to let their light shine. When he has gone to training seminars at the Alfa headquarters in Montgomery, as well as at local district meetings, they pray before sessions, and they pray before meals. “I liked that, and I felt right at home,” he said.

According to Bill, “Not all insurance companies are created equal,” and Alfa is famous for their customer service. “Customers deserve more than 15 minutes, he said, and added, “A lizard is not going to be the one who delivers your check to you. It’s me you are dealing with.” They also have some-

one in the office Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. If you call, you are going to connect with a human being.

As someone with a shepherd’s heart, there is another element of customer service that stands out to Bill, and it is this: Alfa’s policy is that if someone passes away, as soon as the Montgomery headquarters receives the death certificate, within 24 hours a benefits check is cut, and the agent handdelivers it to the beneficiary. “It’s kind of like the Bereavement Team,” I said, making a reference to the difficult job in the military of informing families that they have lost a loved one. “Exact-

ly,” he said.

Alfa has been around since 1946, and primarily serves the states of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.

With affiliate companies, the same exemplary service for which they are famous is extended to a total of 11 states. In Alabama, there are about 450 agents, and Bill says, “They are the best in the business.”

The group started as a way to serve the farmers of Alabama by providing fire in-

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surance for Farm Federation members in Lee County.

They still take care of farmers, but their excellent reputation for service, strength, and stability has caused them to grow into the urban market, and now Alfa has more than 1 million policies in place. Their property, casualty, and life insurance companies and policies have an A rating with A.M. Best Company, which is the “go-to” ratings group for insurance companies. Alfa is also privately held, which means that they are free to focus on meeting the needs of policy holders as well as their agents and employees, and not have to bend to the whims of stockholders or investment trends.

Another aspect of the Alfa corporate culture that was attractive to Bill is how

they give back to the community. They are heavily invested in improving the quality of life in our state.

Some of the agencies to whom they give are the Alabama Athletic Association, United Way, and Goodwill Industries. They give away millions of dollars in scholarship awards, one of which is known as the Rural Medical Scholars Scholarship Program, which targets the medically underserved areas in our state and beyond.

If this is what you are looking for in an insurance company as well as an agent, then come and join Bill Perkins on May 22, and be a part of this Chamber of Commercesponsored ribbon cutting and Open House. See you there!

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Calendar of Events Athens-Limestone Public Library Book Clubs

Enjoy reading? Like discussing books with others? The Athens-Limestone Public Library offers two book clubs each month. Join in with the Third Thursday Book Club every third Thursday of the month at 9:00 a.m. for coffee, baked treats, and good conversation. Various genres are read. You’re also invited to join the Mystery Book Club every 4th Thursday at 6:00 p.m. for tasty treats and an even tastier mystery! Books are available from the library. For more info, check at the Circulation Desk or call 256-2321233.

We're Looking For a Few Good Yards for the Month of June!

If you know of a gardener whose yard is exceptional (no professionally maintained yards, please) and would like to have them recognized, the Limestone County Master Gardeners would like to know, check out the website link http://mg.aces.edu/ limestone/were-looking-for-a-few-good-yards/ and/or provide the information and a picture to tlt_brown@charter.net.

Business Beautification Award Nominations

The Athens-Limestone Beautification Board is seeking nominations of businesses, industries, churches and other public buildings in Athens and Limestone County with lovely, well-tended landscaping (large or small) to be considered for a Beautification Award. Anyone can provide a nomination and businesses may nominate themselves. Nominations can be made by calling 256-233-8000 or email KALBCares@gmail.com.

Nomination deadline is June 1st.

Summer Concert Series: Tina Swindell and the Valley Cats Live May 18

Presented by Athens-Limestone County Tourism Association.

Performance will be on the steps of the Limestone County Courthouse, Marion Street side. 6:00PM-8:00PM, free to the public - bring camp or lawn chair.

Limestone County Sheriff's Rodeo May 18 & 19

Limestone County Sheriff's Arena, AL-99 on the right past the Elm Street intersection. 8PM. Advance tickets at LimestoneSheriffRodeo.com or the gate Child: $10; Adult: $15.

Amvets and Vietnam Veterans of America present a

Swamp John's Fundraiser Meal May 19th

11AM - 2PM. 17915 W Elm St Athens, AL 35611 Page 6

4th Annual Eli's Block Party May 19

Lindsay Lane Baptist Church, 1300 South Lindsay Lane in Athens. 9:00AM-2:00PM with Sam Memmolo, host of "Two Guys Garage" and "Motorheads Garage", live music with Dean and more! elisblockparty.org for more information or to register.

AMVETS Saturday Game Day May 19

American Veterans Post 21, 22769 Black Road in Athens.

Starting at 3:00PM with a variety of games including billiards, board games, card games, trivia, concessions and more. All are welcome - Veterans free; $5.00 general admission. For more information: 256-444-2793 or www.AmVetsAL21.com

Vietnam Veterans' of America Spaghetti Dinner May 21 Chapter 511. 17915 W Elm St, Athens. 11am-1pm and 5pm-7pm with musical entertainment from 5pm - 7pm. 256-232-0029.

Roarin' Twenties Mystery Dinner Theatre May 31

Traditions of Athens. 22171 Traditions Way in Athens. 6:00PM8:00PM with production by Frank Travis benefiting Training Mature Minds scholarships. $15.00 per person; $50.00 per table.

Costume optional. RSVP by May 23 to 256-444-3255.

Athens Saturday Market Jun 2

A state-certified farmers' market. Enjoy fresh produce, baked goods, music, art, and crafts at the Green Street pavilion, 409 West Green Street in Athens. 8:00AM to 12:00PM.

Color Run for Dyslexia Jun 2

Athens Recreation Center. 270 U.S. Highway 31N in Athens.

9:00AM. Raising funds for the October appearance of Dyslexia Awareness Advocate Nelson Lauver to speak at Athens State University about "throwaway kids". Information and Registration at ItsYourRace.com

2nd Annual Ardmore Spring Clean Saturday Jun 2

United Pest and Turf Control is seeking volunteers to help pick up litter within the city limits. Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful will provide volunteers with trash bags, litter grabbers, safety vest and gloves. A recycling trailer from Athens-Limestone Recycling center will be a Jones Drugs. To volunteer or more information: 256-423-7378.

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May 18 - May 31, 2018

Special Feature

Terry Persell For Limestone County License Commissioner

by Ali Elizabeth Turner Terry Persell was born and raised in Limestone County, and graduated from Clements High School in 1980. As a junior, he actually got a job driving the school bus! No stranger to hard work, after high school he worked on a farm where they raised hogs, corn, and wheat. He worked for the Bobby Terry Company, and married Shelia in 1983. They quickly had three kids, Blake, and then the twins, Christie and Matthew. Life was busy and good. In addition to working full-time, Terry and his brother Lynn built houses.

In 1987, Terry was hired by Steelcase, and spent 17 years in production. In 2004, he was promoted to being what was known as a zone leader. He had a squad of 5-8 people for and to whom he was responsible, and it was there that he really began to learn the leadership skills that he feels are needed for stepping into the role of License Commissioner.

Terry was on the Limestone County School Board from 1992-1996, and was the representative for the Elkmont area as well as West Limestone.

In 2009, Terry began to work in the Shipping Department at Steelcase, and again was promoted to zone leader in 2011.

He has kept that position from 2011 to the present. In both positions as a zone leader, he took a number of classes in leadership and management.

The classes covered several topics, including increasing production, conflict resolution, and what they called the “5-s” approach to increasing output and quality of life at work. They are – sort, shine, standardize, straighten, and sustain, and I’ll explain how he wants to make those skills transferable and applicable to the Limestone County license office.

The “sort” is a reference to

May 18 - May 31, 2018

is on Poplar Creek Road, and is known as Popular Place. On Sundays, it serves as a church.

The rest of the time it is available for rental for family reunions, receptions, bridal and baby showers, and in Terry’s own case, his kick-off reception for his run for License Commission was held there.

Terry says, “My professional

and political experiences have prepared me to now serve as your License Commissioner.

When elected, I will work effectively to streamline and ensure quality service, to make the best use of technology, and to guarantee a friendly and professional experience for all citizens of Limestone County.

Please go vote in the Republican primary on June 5, 2018!”

The Persell Family having a place for everything and everything in its place, and Terry will tell you that he learned how important sorting is from his years at Steelcase.

“Shine” has to do with making things brilliant and keeping the office presentable. “Standardize” means making sure transactions are being made in a way that is consistent. “Straighten” is keeping everything in order, and “sustain” means making sure everything is done according to procedure, using a systemized approach.

“My priority is getting things done efficiently,” Terry told me, “and I am always going to be looking for better ways to do things.” One of the things that Terry learned, when he took the conflict resolution unit at Steelcase, was that you have to be willing to hear about a problem from all sides, and do your best to get the full picture before you take any corrective actions. He also wants to make sure that everyone is cross-trained, that anyone can do any job in the office.

I asked Terry, “Why are you running?” He quickly replied, “I like serving the people of Limestone County.” He went through about a 3-week period of soul-searching and prayer, as well as conferring with his family. “I was about 95% sure that I was going to do it, but my kids sealed the deal,” he said.

Shelia was already on board, but when his kids told him “he had to run,” that was it. He was also careful to express his gratitude to his parents, Eugene and Janice Persell, for the excellent work ethic and desire to serve God and others with integrity and hard work.

Another set of experiences that served to prepare Terry for the License Commission position was being a member of the Limestone County Cattleman’s Association. It is one of the many ways he has been able to meet and connect with people in the community.

Terry and Shelia are also small business owners. There is building in Clements just off Hwy 72 near Seven Mile Post Road. It

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What Makes Ronnie Roll

Getting 2018 Grads Ready To Enjoy The Ride

by Ali Elizabeth Turner It was one of those unpredictable May Monday mornings—beautiful and exceptionally clear, with storms on the way. Once again we shook our heads at how the year had flown; indeed, how time seems to be flying by at warp speed, Mr. Zulu!

The weekend had been fruitful, and at the Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful-sponsored community Trash Attack, Mayor Ronnie, a woman, and her son managed to pick up six bags of trash in 90 minutes.

“There were whiskey bottles, all kinds of junk,” said the mayor, and I think it was particularly annoying that that stuff had been pitched out near the cemetery. I know from experience that littering is something that gets under his skin. In fact, the very first time I interviewed him, which was in the old City Hall building, I

met him outside as he was picking up litter off the City Hall lawn.

“So many things are happening this week,” said the mayor. Monday was the beginning of Rodeo Week, as well as political forum prior to the June 5th primary election; Tuesday was the Chamber Coffee as well as the rodeo street dance; Thursday is the Slack Rodeo; Friday is the Special Needs Rodeo in the morning; and then Friday night and Saturday night are the main event—The Limestone County Sheriff’s Rodeo.

“It’s graduation,” Mayor Marks said, marveling that May is here. “The 2018 group has been great,” he added, referring to the soonto-be-graduating Mayor’s Youth Commission. One of the things about which Mayor Marks is most pleased is that the idea of a

commission is catching on around the state. There have been several mayors who have contacted him about the “how-tos,” and he hopes to be able to share with more of them at the annual League of Municipalities meeting for which he was preparing. He is honored that he has been asked to be on the League’s Executive Committee.

It is encouraging that other entities also have youth commissions, including the Sheriff’s Department, the Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Tom Sisk of the Limestone County schools – all have a vision for preparing our kids to lead well.

I asked Mayor Ronnie, “What is your favorite thing to teach?” “Government,” he said quickly. “It’s not theirs, though,” he chuckled. What were the Youth Commission’s favorite ac-

tivities this year? “They really enjoyed going out to Leak City, learning about firefighting, and gas leaks,” he said. High Cotton Arts also sponsored hands-on events that brought out their creative streak. In addition, they worked for a day at

Lowe’s, where they learned how to give customer service, as well as scan in inventory. They “went to jail” for the day, which hopefully will keep them out of there, and they loved the shooting range, learning about what it is like to be a police officer. “There are always certain things that make their eyes sparkle, and other things, not so much,” the mayor said “It’s always tough to say goodbye, and I love it when they come back to visit,” said Mayor Ronnie. “We asked them to critique us as well as themselves, and that process is going on right now,” he added. “It’s graduation time, and that means, as we have been saying, ‘it’s time to enjoy the ride.’” He then showed me a quote by Danny Kaye that sums it all up: “Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.”

Then there were only two things left to do: pray, and then Ronnie rolled.

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May 18 - May 31, 2018

Slinkard On Success

What Will You Be?

by D. A. Slinkard

D.A. Slinkard is the manager of the Athens Staples store We live in the greatest nation known to man!

We really do! I mean seriously think about all of the opportunities that exist in our country! We have so many people throughout the world who would give anything to make it to the free world, including their life. We have so many people who are willing to try anything to make it to the United States of America, yet too many of us aren’t satisfied with where we are.

I think about my great-grandparents and the difference in who they were compared to who we are today. Big difference in the way they lived their life versus the way we live ours; and if you don’t believe me, I want you to think about indoor plumbing.

One sign of getting older is when you start to use terminology that the kids of today do not know or understand. When was the last time you heard someone say they were going to use the “outhouse”?

For you millenniums out there, the outhouse is where people used to have to go when they had to go...number two. It really wasn’t that long ago when people had to go outside if they were going to find some relief.

Although we live in the greatest country known

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to man, we still have people saying that life isn’t fair, and they demonstrate their ability to be real crybabies. With many people, they live in the land of excuses, not the land of opportunities, and we have done the damage to ourselves.

Each generation tries to do more for their kids, and we have gone from a robust generation to a generation comprised of sissies. We have par-

people are willing to hunt. I think this best epitomizes our society in that everyone wants to make sure they get their piece of the prize, but the majority of the people are unwilling to pay the price. There are hunters and there are gatherers; the question becomes – what are you? For the person who is not finding success, this could be because they are waiting on someone else to make it happen for them. ticipation trophies for showing up; we have all of these awards so no one feels left out. We want everyone to feel like winners, but the reality of life is that there will be losers.

We live in this great country, yet the realization is that everyone wants to eat but far few

Can you imagine if Henry Ford would have waited; what if Thomas Edison would have waited?

How far behind would our society be? Seriously, think about what life would be like if Al Gore hadn’t "invented the Internet?" Families would not be ignoring each other at dinner time with

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their phones out. Sometimes our inventions hurt us just as much as they help us. News alert – Al Gore didn’t really invent the Internet.

We live in the greatest country known to man and at some point in time, we must stop doing the same routine over and over. If we repeatedly do the same thing, we will keep getting the same results we have always gotten. When will we say that enough is enough with the way things are and change how it is going to be from here on out? When are we going to go from merely wanting to eat to becoming the actual hunter? Every one of us have the same opportunities to make a choice, and every day we make that choice. Some people make a choice that moves them closer to their dream, while oth-

ers make the choice to make an excuse.

There will always be bad or difficult things that happen to each one of us, but what matters most is how we respond.

I had major surgery in March, and I can tell you my mindset is that this is merely a minor setback for a MAJOR comeback. Sure I could think negative, and I could be all doom and gloom with the world around me…but what good does that do?

How enjoyable would this article be if all I did was talk about how bad life is? We have enough negativity in the world, just turn on the news; but we can make positive change in our lives one day at a time. It all starts with the decisions we make daily, will you be the bug or will you be the windshield?

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From the Alabama Veterans’ Museum

Memorial Day Program

by Sandra Thompson, Director, Alabama Veterans’ Museum

The Alabama Veterans Museum will again host a Memorial Day program on May 28. It will be at the Limestone County Event Center at 11:00 a.m. It is with great pleasure that I announce our special guest speaker for this event – Brigadier General Robert A. Rasch, Jr. Brigadier General Robert (Rob) Rasch is the Deputy Program Executive Officer for Missiles and Space, Program Executive Office (PEO) Missiles and Space, Redstone Arsenal, AL. He is responsible for the development, production, fielding, and life cycle management of the Army’s missile and space related systems.

BG Rasch assumed his current duties in September 2016. Prior to this position, BG Rasch served as the Military Deputy to the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM), Redstone Arsenal. Prior to that he was Chief of Staff to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA/ALT)), Washington D.C., where he served under Honorable

elors of Business Administration (BBA) in Management Information Systems. He later received a Master of Science in Computer Science from Northwestern University and a Masters of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College.

Heidi Shyu within the Army Secretariat.

BG Rasch has served in a variety of Infantry, Systems Automation, and Acquisition assignments including 3/504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in the 82nd Airborne Division (Rifle Platoon Leader, Mortar Platoon Leader and Company Executive Officer) and later commanding D Co/1-15 Infantry (Mechanized) in the 3rd Infantry Division. After graduate school, he served as a Senior Projects Officer at the Battle Command Battle Lab – Fort Leavenworth, and then in the 19th Theater Support Command, Republic of Korea as the Combat Service Support Automation Management Officer.

His previous Acquisition assignments include: Chief, Knowledge Base Engineer and later Assistant Program Manager for the DARPA Future Combat Systems Command and Control (FCS C2) program; Product Manager for the Army’s One Semi-Automated Forces (OneSAF) constructive simulation program at the Program Executive Office

Brigadier General Robert A. Rasch, Jr. for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI); and Project Manager for the Army Integrated Air and Missile Defense (AIAMD) Program, part of the Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space prior to moving to Washington DC to assume du-

ties as the Chief of Staff for ASA(ALT).

BG Rasch entered the Army through the University of Georgia ROTC Program in 1989, where he was commissioned as an Infantry Second Lieutenant. He graduated Georgia with a Bach-

His military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit with 1 oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with 4 oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, Army Achievement Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, National Defense Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal with 2 Battle Stars, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Kuwaiti Kuwait Liberation Medal, Saudi Arabian Kuwait Liberation Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Ranger Tab and Senior Parachutist Badge.

Brigadier General Rasch is married to the former Shawndell Mann from Sebring, Florida. They have two children -- a daughter, Darby, and a son, Michael.

We are still seeking information on our veterans who have passed since last Memorial Day. Please contact Sandy at 256-771-7578 if you have any further information.

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May 18 - May 31, 2018

May 18 - May 31, 2018

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Clean and Green

Remember The 4th R – RESPECT

by Lynne Hart Executive Coordinator - Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful

There are some amazing recycling stories, and there are amazing people who recycle.

Our favorite people are those who understand that there are human beings handling their recyclables once they leave them in the bins or trailers. These are the people who are careful to place the correct items in the correct bins and educate themselves on what is and is not recyclable. Yes, the 13 employees who handled over 5 million pounds of materials last year truly appreciate these recyclers.

If you are one of those described above, THANK YOU! There are some frustrating stories we can also tell.

Stories about people stuffing cardboard trailers with household garbage, mattresses, and furniture. Someone once stuffed a television set into the newspaper slot at one of the trailers causing a real problem when employees struggled to remove it. A good rule of thumb is to always remember the person who will handle your

items after you leave them.

In other words, remember the 4th R – RESPECT. Here are a few of the items the center sees on a routine basis that ARE NOT recyclable: • NO swimming pools or pool liners • NO child riding toys or any molded plastic. BOTTLES AND JARS ONLY. • NO lawn furniture • NO medical waste, urinesoaked pads, or diapers (yes, we’ve gotten lots of those)

Best Practices

• NO kitchen, bathroom, or yard trash • NO mattresses or household furniture • NO household hazardous waste As we all know, a few thoughtless people can ruin a good thing for the majority.

One example of that would be the recycling trailers that were at Owens School. There are many good people who used these trailers on a routine basis. Even after the school was closed due to the construction of Sugar Creek Elementary, it was not the re-

Location of Community Collection Centers • Athens Recycling Center • Athens Bible School • Ardmore High School • Ardmore Police Station • Cedar Hill Elementary • Clements High School • East Limestone High School • Elkmont High School • Johnson Elementary • Piney Chapel Elementary • West Limestone High School

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is serviced 16 times per week. Since the trailers are heavily used on weekends, it may appear that they haven’t been serviced

by Sunday evening. When we have high winds and people forget to close the compartment doors, items blow out. When we have heavy rains, sometimes there are puddles around the trailers. These things cannot be controlled by the center staff, yet complaints are received from unhappy people.

Trash left at Recycling Center and Collection Centers cycling center’s intention to remove those trailers. Sadly, these trailers were consistently abused by people stuffing garbage in them and using the area surrounding the trailers as a dumping ground for items that were clearly not recyclable.

tary because of the abuse. It was not possible to justify the time and expense of cleaning them out nearly every week they were serviced.

The Athens-Limestone Recycling Center is a not-forprofit operation under the umbrella of Keep AthensLimestone Beautiful. Our plant manager, Ruby McCartney, works hard to run a tight ship. It is difficult to do that when employees spend half of their time sorting garbage out from the recyclables and hauling trash that is truly not the responsibility of the recycling center. The trash that is sorted out from these trailers often ends up in the recycling center’s dumpster, which costs the center each and every time that dumpster has to be serviced.

The most used trailers are located at East Limestone High School. The number of trailers has increased from two to eight! As hard as the center tries to accommodate the needs of each community, there are still people who are not happy. There have been recent complaints that the trailers at East Limestone are never serviced. The truth is, each trailer is serviced at the very beginning and at the end of each week. This means that with eight trailers in that location, the area

Sadly, the decision had to be made to remove the recycling trailers from Owens Elemen-

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Ruby and all of her staff appreciate true recyclers who use the bins and trailers as they were intended.

• Break down your cardboard so the trailers will not overflow.

• Do not place items that cannot be recycled in or around the trailers/bins • Close the lids after placing your recyclables into the community collection center trailers.

• Report abuse – provide tag number and time of day and what you witness Thank Center Staff The staff at the recycling center work hard and sometimes the complaints are all they hear. If you see center staff when using any of the collection centers, let them know they are appreciated.

Your positive comments will make their day!

Become a Fan

(256) 233-8728 KALBCares@gmail.com www.KALBCares.com May 18 - May 31, 2018

Cooking with Anna

It’s Party Time!

by Anna Hamilton

Are you already celebrating? Have you put your party invitations in the mail? Are you sure you have enough asparagus? That’s right everybody, it’s National Asparagus Month! Get ready to get your green on!

May is a beautiful month. Flowers are blooming.

Birds are singing. Vegetables are starting to come up in your garden. One of my favorite springtime veggies is asparagus. You can broil it, you can grill it, you can

roast it, you can eat it raw in salads, and today we are putting it in a delicious spring celebration soup.

This lovely soup is packed full of fresh vegetables and herbs. Not only is it super yummy, but it is also friendly on your waistline since bikini season is coming up. So, get your invitations sent and celebrate National Asparagus Month with this great soup!

Spring Vegetable Soup What You Need:

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth 2/3 cups uncooked orzo 1 large uncooked carrot, diced 1 1/2 cups uncooked asparagus, sliced diagonally in bitesize pieces 1 cup frozen green peas 4 medium uncooked scallions, sliced 1/3 cup dill, fresh, chopped 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

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1 cup spinach Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring broth to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat.

Add orzo and carrots; boil 7 minutes.

Add asparagus and frozen peas. Boil until orzo and vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in scallions, dill, lemon juice, salt and pepper

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The Millennial Mind

A Spitting Image

by Rosemary Dewar Cultivating your character is more significant than you realize. Those you chose to guide and support you will determine your stability and success. Individuality is priceless. A compromise of your most precious attributes will dilute your accomplishments.

Wears Prada, Andy (Andrea) is manipulated by her boss, Miranda, to point of isolating herself from every precious person and value she has. Just when someone thinks they know you and that they’ve made you what you are, the conversation resembles something like this:

When developing a vision for your future success, the ability to adapt and correct is vital. As you learn, what you know and what you think you know will leave you the most vulnerable. It is kind of like walking across a bridge over a vast ravine, and you get that unsettling feeling in your stomach before reaching solid ground again. What your bridge is made out of will determine whether you will fall victim to the weaknesses you know you have, or have triumph over them. Nothing exposes weakness like growth and success, and nothing wreaks like self-sabotage and capitulation. To trade integrity for social-safety can only lead to defeat.

Miranda: I can see a great deal of myself in you. You can see what people want, and what they need, and choose for yourself.

Andy: I don’t think I’m like that. I couldn’t do you what you did.

Miranda: But you already did.

Andy: I didn’t have a choice.

Miranda: Oh no, you chose. You chose to get ahead. You want this life, those choices are necessary.

Andy: But what if this is not what I want. I mean, what if I don’t want to live the way you live.

Miranda: Oh don’t be ridiculous, Andrea, everyone wants this. Everyone wants to be us.

Misery loves company.

If they only see what they want in you as a reflection of themselves, it will hinder you; if they see you, it benefits you both. Philosopher Aristotle stated, “My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake.”

No one else is quite like you. That’s valuable because what you have to contribute cannot be duplicated. No one says something the way you can communicate it, and no one can perceive the way you observe information. What you have to offer is essential sim-

ply because cannot be done by anyone else but you. Anything that discounts your individuality will slowly make the most exquisite things about you irrelevant. No matter how much you look like someone else, sound like someone else, act like someone else, you’re not. No one will start where you begin, and no one will end where you finish.

That priceless core you carry and strive to preserve is so pure that it cannot come from you.

It is so ideal that it is above your capability to curate, or even imagine it. The Judeo-Christian perspective asserts that the likeness you are made in is God’s, and God’s alone. A piece of an infinitely superb essence is finitely expressed through you. It can gradually either be nurtured or forfeited by

every choice you make.

When a society collectively agrees to ignore or override the most valuable underpinnings of the human condition, such as life, order, purpose, integrity, coherence, destiny, etc., the will to do good by one another is utterly lost.

Aristotle also asserted, “The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.”

Voiding these foundations makes it impossible to extract the best out of our days of chaos.

A step taken without honor is a step backward. Once actuated, the outcome is warped.

It will not result in anything effective, but will create a loss of reason and direction. For the sake of your individuality, cultivate decency.

Success is a magnet for looters (No matter how miniscule the advancement). People will see what you have to offer, and take every advantage of it. Those that when to lead you can aim to make you a clone in order to live vicariously through you.

They cannot be you, and you cannot be them.

In the movie The Devil

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May 18 - May 31, 2018

Cover Story

Collin Daly For Limestone County Commissioner

by Ali Elizabeth Turner continued from page 1

Elkmont, and worked on his grandfather’s farm as well as for Huntsville Utilities. He has worked for Limestone County Water and Sewer Department since 2003 and is running for Limestone County Commission Chairman.

I asked Collin, “So, how did you get from ‘never wanting any part of it’ to running for the commissioner’s seat?”

“Well, it started with people coming to me and asking me to consider running,” Collin replied. He went on to tell me that even though he was resistant at first, it wouldn’t leave him alone, even if he had a better idea than most of what he was getting himself into. He came to the point where he had “counted the cost” and then disaster struck; his wife Penny was diagnosed with melanoma.

They got through that, and then the whole family said, “You gotta run!” “It was the hardest decision I have ever made,” said Collin, “because I wanted to serve people and do the right thing, but I didn’t want to put my family through what I had gone through.”

The decision having been made with the support and urging of his family, Collin set forth explaining “the why” regarding his decision to run, and fleshing out his vision for the county should he get elected. His “why” is his kids. “My kids are going to be my age in 20 years, and I don’t want them inheriting a big tax debt because we didn’t use our resources well,” he said. “The county is 17.8 million dollars in debt, and we need to reduce that debt while finding a way to grow well. I want things to

May 18 - May 31, 2018

grow as well as be beautiful,” Collin added. “We have to find ways to create new revenue,” he said.

“We have to create an opportunity to draw people,” Collin said. “It’s more than the 4,000 new Toyota jobs, it is having a community where people will want to raise their children because it is in such a good county,” he said, and added, “With unity we can work through adversity. We have got to work together, no

matter how different we are.”

There are things that are Collin’s “hot buttons,” and that would be the shape the roads are in and cutting wasteful spending. Collin is also concerned that the county use the land they already own rather than try to buy more. “L&S is an eyesore, and it’s time we put that land to good use,” he said. He wants to make what he calls a county-wide “business-friendly environment.”

As a small business owner himself, Collin understands that some of the tax incentives that have been part of the contracts with the major corporations that have chosen Limestone County for their base of operations have been a good move. “But,” he asked me,

“What can we do for the small business owner, the people who are local and have no desire to be anything else?” He also wants Athens to be able to keep its special charm, and not just get swallowed up in Huntsville’s westward march.

“We need to protect what we have,” Collin said.

Collin said something that intrigued me, and that is that respect is earned, not automatically granted because of a position. “I have to earn

respect,” he said, “and I will work sunup to sundown to do it.”

Another concern of Collin’s is infrastructure. “If we are going to handle the increase

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in our county population, we have to improve our infrastructure, all of it, not just the roads,” he said. Given his dad’s legacy, Collin knows it’s important to “leave the

campground in better shape than you found it.” “I want the next chairman to come behind me and say, “He did a great job.”

What Collin has enjoyed the most about “politickin’” has been getting out in the community and building relationships. “Whether or not you vote for me, I will serve you to the best of my ability.

I have met a lot of wonderful people who love this county, and I will think of you as a friend always,” he told me. That being said, Collin hopes that you will give him a chance to serve Limestone County as its Commission Chairman, and respectfully asks that you vote for him on June 5.

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Health and Fitness

Menopause Does Not Cause Weight Gain

by Janet Hunt

Janet Hunt is a Certified Personal Trainer and can be reached at 256-614-3530 to schedule an appointment.

As you age, maintaining your usual weight becomes more difficult. Many women gain weight around the time of menopause.

But, weight gain isn’t inevitable. You can change this trend by paying attention to healthy eating habits and leading an active lifestyle.

What causes menopausal weight gain?

Hormonal changes during menopause might make you more likely to gain weight around your middle than around your hips and thighs. However, hormonal changes alone don’t necessarily produce menopausal weight gain. Instead, the weight gain is usually related to aging in general, as well as lifestyle and genetic factors.

For example, muscle mass typically diminishes with age, while fat increases. Loss of muscle mass decreases the rate at which your body uses calories, which can make it more challenging to maintain a healthy weight. Therefore, if you continue to eat as you always have and don’t increase your physical activity, you’re likely to gain weight.

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Genetic factors might also play a role in menopausal weight gain. If your parents or other close relatives carry extra weight around the abdomen, you might as well.

Sometimes factors such as the stress of children leaving or returning to the home, divorce, the death of a spouse, job loss or change, or other life changes might change your diet or exercise habits and contribute to menopausal weight gain.

How risky is weight gain after menopause?

Menopausal weight gain can have serious consequences for your health.

Excess weight increases the risk of heart disease,

type 2 diabetes and various types of cancer, including colorectal cancer and breast cancer. Increased weight can affect your joints and your ability to move, your quality of sleep, and so much more.

What’s the best way to prevent weight gain after menopause?

There’s no magic recipe for preventing or even reversing menopausal weight gain. Simply stick to tried and true weightcontrol basics:

as jogging, for at least 75 minutes a week. In addition, strength training exercises are recommended at least twice a week. If you want to lose weight or meet specific fitness goals, you might need to exercise more. If you need assistance with a good exercise program, talk to a certified personal trainer.

•Eat less. To maintain

your current weight, you probably need about 200 fewer calories a day during your 50s than you did during your 30s and 40s. To reduce calories without skimping on nutrition, pay attention to what you’re eating and drinking. Choose fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Opt for lean sources of protein. Visit www.myplate.gov or talk to a registered dietician. Keep a food diary for several weeks. This is a great tool to help you eat healthier.

•Surround yourself with friends and family who will support your efforts to eat a healthy diet and increase your physical activity. Better yet, team up and make the lifestyle changes together.

Remember, successful weight loss at any stage of life requires permanent changes in diet and exercise habits.

•Move more. Aerobic activity can help you shed excess pounds and maintain a healthy weight.

Strength training is important, too. As you gain muscle, your body burns calories more efficiently, which makes it easier to control your weight. For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends moderate aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, for at least 150 minutes a week or vigorous aerobic activity, such

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May 18 - May 31, 2018

Cover Story

The Refreshing Of The Athens-Limestone Hospital Foundations Wellness Center

by Ali Elizabeth Turner continued from page 1

center has been a major player in giving the people of our area strong options in their pursuit of improving their health by increasing their level of fitness. In anyone’s world, prevention is always going to be a better option than treatment, both in terms of financial savings and quality of life.

The Wellness Center has been well-used, and as such, has been in need of refreshing. That project has been on-going since Blake Lane took over as Director of the facility in 2014, having come to Athens after working at the Madison Wellness Center. Blake has a Master’s degree from Auburn, and has worked in exercise physiology and health marketing. His move to Athens was the next step in his career, one he was glad to make.

“My vision when I got here was to modernize,” Blake told me. “We needed new equipment, and even though there was still some that still worked fine, no matter how often we cleaned it, it still looked worn and stained.

Same for the carpets. So, we got to work,” he said.

The first thing that happened on Blake’s watch was to paint and get new floors. Then he set to work on securing new equipment. Most of the equipment is made by Precor and Cybex. They got new treadmills, spin bikes, and replaced strength equipment.

Another improvement was to get new carpet throughout, made for high-traffic use, and designed in squares that can be individually popped up and replaced.

“The pool was a priority,” Blake told me. “The guts were from 1999, and now there is much better technology,” he said. They made

May 18 - May 31, 2018

several upgrades, and have someone who has made the pool their “baby,” cleaning and checking it routinely so it can stay ready for every client, whether you are someone who needs to be hoisted into the pool via a therapy chair, or someone who is there to pound out several laps in the comfortably-heated lap pool.

There is also a hot tub, which is quite popular.

One of the things that sets the Wellness Center apart is that every employee either already has a bachelor’s degree or is “working on it,” as Blake said.

“This is a medical-based facility, and we need people who know what they are doing,”

he added. One of Blake’s passions is helping employees of the hospital itself improve their health. The health care field is stressful, with long and sometimes unpredictable hours, and medical professionals are not immune from some of the things that plague the general populace, including obesity, diabetes, and car-

diovascular issues. The Huntsville Hospital system will give a free membership to the Wellness Center for any hospital employee, and it is good at any of the other hospital wellness facilities. The cafeteria at the hospital has also started to offer healthier meal options.

“Doctors that work crazy hours can work out here ei-

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ther before or after their shift,” Blake told me, which leads to one of the best of the improvements, the 24/7 access, which just went into effect.

“Now everyone can use the facility whenever they want, and we are excited about the expanded weekend hours,” Blake said. During the week the pool is available 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., on the weekends

gate; the pool will be locked; there will be cameras and key card access for everyone, beginning at the front door.

Blake’s goal and vision is to have the cleanest facility, with the best trained staff, the most amenities and the greatest opportunity to help the community improve its health of any center in North Alabama. To that end, the

it is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, and 1-5 p.m on Sundays.

The front desk is staffed from 8 a.m.-noon on Saturdays.

The 24/7 access has been made possible in part by new software, which helps to keep track of the nearly 4,000 members at the Wellness Center.

“There has been big growth in the last year, mostly because of word-of-mouth advertising,” said Blake. “That’s the best kind,” I returned. The new access will include a security

Athens-Limestone Wellness Center has a Silver Sneakers program, affordable personal trainer packages, and play care available MondayFriday, 8 a.m.-noon, and then 3:30-7:30 p.m. They have nearly 50 classes per week— everything from spin classes to water fitness to yoga, all designed for any skill level.

Memberships start at $45.00 per month, with unlimited access. Come and take a tour of a ground-breaking facility that has stood the test of time, has been renovated to better serve you, and is ready to help you on your health journey, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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Learning As A Lifestyle

Do You Know Your Strengths And Weaknesses?

by Eric Betts Assistant Director, Curtis Coleman Center for Religious Studies and Ethics at Athens State University Gallup, a widely recognized research and polling company, has found that so few in the global workforce and in nonprofit organizations ever get the opportunity to serve in the area of their strengths. Marcus Buckingham, through his research with Gallup, has developed a concept that has served business, non-profit, and religious leaders around the world; it is called Strengths Based Leadership. They have discovered that the most effective leaders are those who lead from their strengths.

According to Buckingham and the research he has conducted with Gallup, strengths involve those unique qualities that a person is born with. The research that was done found that most leaders are not as effective as they could be because they are operating outside of their strengths or are not able to regularly exercise them. Many have mistakenly confused ability with strengths.

Buckingham dispels the notion that whatever a person is good at doing is strength; a person can be good at doing something and feel emotionally drained or miserable doing it.

Those mentally and emotionally draining activities are actually weaknesses. The less you can do of those draining activities and

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the more you can engage in those emotionally and mentally stimulating activities, the closer you are to becoming the best leader you can be or the best in your profession.

Strengths are reflected in what drives a person, what they are passionate about, what gives them energy and enthusiasm, what they look forward to, and what they enjoy doing. A leader is most effective and at their very best when they operate from that dimen-

sion of their strengths.

It is true that one can be successful by matching ability with hard work, but they will never be the very best they can be until they discover how to operate within the realm of their strengths, and do less of what is not their strength. Additionally, Buckingham says a strength is something that makes you feel good after you have done it, and this should have little to do with how you feel when a person congratulates you on a job

well done. A strength is something that makes you feel good afterward whether a person gives you praise for a job well done or not. It represents those engagements that give you more energy and you feel compelled to do again to recapture the experience. The key to understanding this is to analyze what activities give you energy which causes you to feel “pumped up,” and what drains your energy so that you can’t wait for it to be over.

find out how much they played to their strengths.

They will first capture in real time those activities that they found were in the realm of their strengths. Then, they

Within a group setting, a leader should be able to help spread out responsibilities along this line.

Find out what a person’s strengths are; what drains one person may give energy to another.

will clarify which activities were helpful and why. Lastly, it is suggested that one needs to confirm those strengths that they have clarified, and allow those to dominate time and attention.

Buckingham recommends every leader or professional take up a three-fold challenge in the arena of strengths; these include: capturing, clarifying, and confirming. It is suggested that over the course of a week, they should

All are encouraged to write down, on two separate pages, the words “I loved it,” and “I loathed it.” Under the “I loved it” section, the following should be one’s experience when engaged in a particular activity: “I felt powerful, confident,

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natural, and on fire.”

“That went smoothly.”

“I feel wired.” “I felt authentic.” “That was easy.” “That was awesome.” “When can I do this again?” Whatever

activities made you feel this way are considered your strengths.

Write down those activities. Under the “I loathed it” section, one would look for the following mindsets: “I felt drained.”

“Time is going by so slowly.” “I can’t concentrate.” “This is frustrating.”

“How much longer?” “Why can’t the new guy do this?” These would be your weaknesses. Try to pass these activities along to those who enjoy them, and do more of what are in line with your strengths. When leaders discover their strengths, they then become the best in their field; and to the degree that they help others to discover the same, their organization becomes the very best at what it does and, in many cases, the best in that field.

May 18 - May 31, 2018

May 18 - May 31, 2018

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Horse Whispering

Pass The Salt, Please

by Deb Kitchenmaster My dad handed me a priceless gift in October of 1988, sitting in a wheelchair on the front porch watching his farm machinery being auctioned off. Six months prior he was handed a report, he chose to believe, of the length of days he had remaining before saying a final good-bye to his family and friends. He had six months to get his house in order (as he put it) and get right with God. The auction was part of that order and the getting right with God happened as his heart opened to LOVE and RECEIVED salvation from Jesus who gave His life for him.

The “gift” that Dad handed me that October day was when he looked at me and said, “I worked years to get all that equipment. In just a few hours it’s gone. You know you can have ALL this stuff, but if you don’t have your health, none of this matters.” Dad had chosen a lifestyle of smoking cigarettes for twenty years only to replace that choice with the choice of chewing tobacco. Lifestyle and environment were factors to the overall health of beloved Dad, not to mention the connection between believing and living.

A friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. Research led her to a connection with vitamin D deficiency. What a simple, inexpensive dietary need. The use of vitamins A & D together has a synergistic effect as vitamin A contributes to the absorption of vitamin D in

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send signals throughout the horse’s body. Have you noticed all the “creating” going on inside at a cellular level? What a CREATOR! Abba Father, Savior, and Comforter!

Substances that are transported by salt include: glucose, amino acids, and other nutrients that cannot make it across the membranes. The more salt there is in an area, the more water will be

choice is important to a horse because the horse KNOWS instinctively when salt is needed. Another dietary health provision would be access to loose free-choice 12/12 mineral (calcium/phosphorus). These minerals, along with salt, allow the horse the possibility of balancing the ad-

the body, and vise versa.

That was one piece of information she wished she had known about prior to her decline in health.

Horses have health concerns also. As domesticated animals, they look to us for their diet, lifestyle, and environmental needs. As vitamin D is necessary for optimum health to us, salt is to the optimum health of equines. More than 4 out of 6 exercised horses do NOT get adequate intake of salt from a salt block alone. It is ideal to offer salt free-choice in a loose form. Salt deficiency is rare in horses that are offered free-choice loose salt. One nutrient that horses KNOW when they are low on is salt, and they will seek it out – perhaps licking a sweating arm, for example, as sweat contains salt. Simple solution: provide free-choice loose salt in stall or pasture.

Why is salt important?

Because of the important role it plays in the nervous system by facilitating the movement of signals throughout the system! When a signal moves through a neuron

(a nervous system cell), it is creating what is called an action potential. An action potential is simply, yet powerfully, creating an extremely positive charge that moves from cell to cell. What happens inside a cell when an action potential starts? Salt, which is stored OUTSIDE the axon (a part of the cell), is pumped INTO the axon, while potassium is pumped OUTSIDE the axon, creating a voltage charge! This voltage charge creates the impulses that allow the cells to

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drawn to that area. Ac- renal system, endocrine cess to clean; fresh water system, metabolism, and is vital for your horse! By blood sugar. regulating the content of If symptoms of Cushing’s salt in the kidneys, digesdisease or laminitis show tive system, and cellular up in your horse, please fluid, the horse regulates consider looking at salt how much water is present intake and accessibility in those areas. Most feeds (loosely). in the horse’s diet contain little salt, usually less than Pass the salt, please.

0.1%. Two tablespoons Your NEIGHbor, equal one ounce. Horses Deb Kitchenmaster need at least this amount Corral Connections daily in their diet. There www.corralconnections.com will be times that a horse 256-426-7947 will need two to three times this amount. This Animal B.E.S.T. practitioner is the reason loose free- horsinaround188@gmail.com

May 18 - May 31, 2018

Mental Health Minute

Mental Health Awareness Month

by Lisa Philippart, Licensed Professional Counselor

“The pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow. For every challenge encountered there is opportunity for growth.”

- Unknown

Each year, millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental illness. During May, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the rest of the country are raising awareness of mental health. I am proud to serve on the Board of Directors for NAMI Huntsville, where we fight stigma, provide support, educate the public, and advocate for policies that support people with mental illness and their families. This year, NAMI will promote the theme of “Cure Stigma.”

Let’s look at the facts from a NAMI report published in 2015: • Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. — 43.8 million, or 18.5% — experiences mental illness in a given year.

• An estimated 26% of homeless adults staying in shelters live with serious mental illness, and an estimated 46% live with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders.

• Approximately 20% of state prisoners and 21% of local jail prisoners have “a recent history” of a mental health condi-

May 18 - May 31, 2018

tion.

• Only 41% of adults in the U.S. with a mental health condition received mental health services in the past year. Among adults with a serious mental illness, 62.9% received mental health services in the past year.

• Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., the 3rd leading cause of death for people aged 10–14, and the 2nd leading cause of death for people aged 15–24.

Each day an estimated 18-22 veterans die by suicide.

While these numbers are staggering and sobering, my hope is that we will acknowledge that without a change in public perception, mental health will remain stigmatized.

Stigma is toxic to mental health because it creates an environment of shame, fear, and silence that prevents many people from seeking help and treatment. I challenge you to make changes, every day, in every possible, way to stand up to stigma. Let’s get started:

to share your own struggles with mental health?

If you overhear a conversation or a rude remark being made about mental illness, you can always try to use that as a learning opportunity; gently intervene to kindly express how this affects you and only adds to the stigma.

3. Encourage equality between physical and mental illness. Most people are willing to talk about diabetes, heart disease, or cancer without fear of labeling or disapproval. Those who seek treatment for somatic symptoms are no different than those who seek help with management of psychological symptoms.

4. Show compassion.

Since so many of our homeless population are also struggling with mental illness, the simple act of acknowledgment can not only make their day but also remind passersby of the humanity of those who are suffering.

5. Choose empowerment over shame. If you are struggling with mental illness, choose to lead by example by modeling an empowered life. You own your life and your story by refusing to allow others to dictate how you feel about yourself.

6. Be honest about treatment. The walls are slowly coming down for those who say that they are seeing a therapist or psychiatrist. (We don’t hesitate to acknowledge doctor’s appointments to treat physical ailments.)

Often the skills you learn in therapy are transferrable to everyday life, which can be shared with those who ask.

7. Let the media know when they are being stigmatizing. If you watch a program on TV that has negative comments, story lines, or characters with a mental illness, write to the broadcasting company or to the program itself. If your Facebook feed has any stories where people make ignorant comments about

mental health, you can take the opportunity to educate them.

8. Don’t harbor self-stigma. If you struggle with a mental illness, instead of hiding from this world in shame, but be a productive member of society. You can volunteer at church, spend time with friends, mentor, and become an encouraging parent. You are purpose driven and can show others it is possible to live a meaningful life even while battling mental illness.

For further information on how to “cure stigma,” check out https://www. nami.org, or to get involved locally, https:// www.namihuntsville.org Until next time…. Lisa

Lisa Philippart is a Licensed Professional Counselor, who divides her time between her own private practice in Huntsville and providing personal counseling services at Athens State University.

1. Talk openly about mental health. We don’t hesitate to inquire or discuss physical ailments.

When you ask someone how they are doing, really listen to the answer. An answer other than “fine” is usually the opening of a door to further inquiry.

Your willingness to use words like bipolar and PTSD can be contagious.

2. Educate yourself and others. Are you willing

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The Alternative Approach

Are Alabama’s Regulatory Policies Increasing Bad Health?

by Roy Williams I am so disappointed in the state of Alabama. Our legislators are so far behind the rest of the states that they have failed to protect public health by stating that CBD oil derived exclusively from the hemp plant, which has no THC, is illegal for sale or for personal use in the state of Alabama.

Why is marijuana illegal? Because it contains a substance (THC) that can make the person who uses it high. Hemp, which is very similar to marijuana, contains so little THC that it cannot make you high; however, the oil has been proven to help with many health issues including seizures, sleep disorders, nervous disorders, inflammatory problems, diabetes, and pain. In other countries, it is used in the treatment of several cancers, with some amazing results.

Heaven forbid that the state of Alabama allows an all-natural oil to be sold to the public for their personal use. Please note, there have been no records of anyone ever being hurt or even hospitalized from the consumption of hemp oil. It does not interfere with

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prescription medications and to date, has no known negative side effects.

Just a few weeks ago you may have read my article titled, “Sleeping Like A Baby Again.” In that article, I explained that I could take one hemp capsule at night and sleep like a 19-yearold. Several people came to our store and purchased the hemp oil and reported that they were also sleeping better than they had in years.

Now, I have been informed that it is illegal to sell hemp oil from my health food store or to have it for my personal use in the state of Alabama. You can drive across the state line into Tennessee, Georgia, or Florida and purchase it legally. But, you’re in trouble if you have it in your possession in Alabama.

If you want to use a totally safe, all-natural product to improve your health, then you should probably consider moving out of the state of Alabama. If you wish to have control of your health and be allowed to make your own decisions about your health, then you might consider

moving out of the state of Alabama. If you want to live where the lawmakers are not controlled by large corporations and your politicians are not in the back pockets of big pharma, then you should consider moving out of Alabama.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “conflict of interest”? I thought our legislators were elected and sent to Montgomery to represent the public. Boy, was I ever wrong. Evidence is proving that most of our politicians are only concerned about the large organizations, such as the pharmaceutical industry, that can donate millions to their re-election campaigns.

Conflict of Interest If an elected official has stock in the pharmaceutical industry, wouldn’t it be a conflict of interest for them to help pass legislation that would take away the rights of any organization that might compete with pharmaceutical sales? Isn’t it a conflict of interest for the pharmaceutical industry to hire an

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elected official who helped pass legislation to approve their drugs. Forget what the public wants.

For years we have been educating the public about the dangers of being dependent on the pharmaceutical industry. They admit that their approved drugs, taken as prescribed, are killing over 200 thousand people a year; yet they continue to make allnatural supplements, such as hemp oil or kratom which have no record of causing harm, illegal for you and me.

You know why you must have a prescription to take a drug from your doctor?

Because almost 100 percent of synthetic drugs have a lethal dose and can cause harm even when taken as prescribed. The reason you don’t have to have a prescription to take supplements is because there are no dangerous side effects.

In Alabama, the law states that you must have a prescription to have or use hemp oil. Since it is not a drug and causes no harm,

the only logical reason to force it under prescription status is so the pharmaceutical industry can have control and mark it up ten thousand percent.

Now that this has happened, for you to use this marvelous oil in Alabama, you must go to your doctor, explain why you want a prescription, and hope that he or she doesn’t tell you that their drugs are better and insist that you take them instead. If you are able to convince your doctor that hemp is what you need and he or she writes you a prescription, you will have to pay for the doctor’s appointment.

It will cost you 20 to 30 times more than it did before they took control, and you will have to go back to your doctor, on a regular basis, to get your prescription renewed.

This whole scheme is about nothing but money and control.

Your friend in health, Roy P. Williams

May 18 - May 31, 2018

The View From The Bridge

The Commencement!

by Jackie Warner Jackie Warner

Career Development Facilitator “Impact, Engage, Grow” Community Matters

“They grow up fast so; enjoy them while they are young.” It is the classic statement most parents hear when their children are toddlers. Those before us have experienced how quickly life passes by. You hear it is the little things that you remember and cherish forever. Well, they are right!

3lbs and 14 ounces when she was born, not knowing if she would be okay, but God saw fit for her to be our first little girl, full of strength and attitude.

Fast forward years ahead and we now have a 12th

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grader preparing for graduation this month.

Yes you can say as a mom I am proud and hope I have instilled in her life lessons that will take her down a path much greater than I would have ever imagined. A new beginning will start with college and then a chosen career for our first born. So hard to believe it is here already.

I vow not to be that helicopter parent always on the college campus. I really want her to breathe a little and experience

her new found independence... Of course with a sense of caution that hopefully we imprinted in her mind.

It definitely will be different not having her at home, but when you really think about the true goal of parenting, it is to teach them well and have our babies to be upstanding citizens who contribute positively in our community and world.

Tips for Soon to Be College Parents... How to Release: • Be encouraged… they

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are taking a little of you with them • Don’t worry when they choose to text you and don’t have time to talk • Be a coach and motivator; allow your child to figure it out • Be prepared for your child to embrace change • Discuss finances and set expectations before they leave

Until Next Time, Be Sincere, Kind and Intentional Jackie Warner, Community Outreach Specialist Email: thebridge.us@gmail.com Check out upcoming events: http://thebridgeus.yolasite.com/

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