IPA (~L- ,TH1E0.. AS NES Ja.. FLTUSA- JNAY2,20 The search for the perfect Christmas present Qt" ""- "b"' ' Leign Ann Norris, a fifth grade teacher at Central Hamilton Elementary, is delighted with her Christmas present from one of her students, Kaelin Monds. She often goes the ex- tra mile for her "kids," as she calls them, and he went the extra mile for her present. (Staff Photo) To Leigh Ann Norris, a very special teacher, Every Christmas someone has a story about the search for a gift for someone spe- cial. This is the story of the search for your present. My nephew, Kaelin Monds, wanted to get you some- thing special that would re- mind you of something that you love. He knew that you love horses as much as he does. He saw my tiny gold earrings, which are horses with a blanket of roses on their backs. I had purchased these a' the iKentucky Derby Museum Gift Shop this past May on Derby Day. I went online and searched their web site only to find nothing. I called the gift shop at the- Kentucky Derby and the clerk, Teresa, looked high and low for a pair of the earrings. She re- membered them being in 'the shop during Derby week. WVhen she called me back she said she had found a pair that was of the same material and made in the shape of a jockey with a hat and boots. I told her, "No, they will not do, my nephew has his heart set on getting his teacher something with a horse on it." I thanked her graciously and hung.up the phone. Two hours later she called back and said she had figured out a way to get me the earrings. She had con- facted the company in''Cali-i fornia and told them the sto- ry about Kaelin and his teacher. The company mailed a special delivery package to me for Kaelin's teacher and it arrived Thursday morn- ing, Dec. 8. Mrs. Leigh Ann Norris, you are a very special teacher. You have made an impression on your stu- dents. This student had me CL31~ajii7-j ! 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A note from the company expresses one wonderful word: Enjoy! There was no charge for the earrings. This spirit of generosity and love and giving from complete 'strangers across the, United States reminds me of that wonderful quote from the Editor of New York Sun, 1897, in which he told Virginia O'Hanlon about the Spirit of Santa Claus. This parable supports the spirit of Christmas and with that fa- mous quote, I will insert your name. "Yes, Mrs. Leigh Ann Norris, there is a Santa Claus and he exists in the love and generosity and de- votion that abounds us in our lives and the lives of those around us. Thank God! Ten times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood." SAlas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! Lillian R. Johnson and Kaelin Monds Early Learning Coalition February meetings The Early Learning Coalition of Florida's Gateway has several meetings scheduled.in February. The Coalition oversees the state and federal funding for all school readiness pro- grams birth to age five for the following coun- ties: Hamilton, Colum- bia, Lafayette, Union and Suwannee. The Executive/Fi- nance Committee Meet- ing will be held on Mon- day, Feb. 6, at 3 p.m., at the Coalition office. A Board Meeting will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 9 a.m., in the Columbia County School Board Office, S.O.S bldg., Room 130, Lake City, Fla. Community participa- tion is encouraged. If any persons) interested in attending this meet- ing has a disability re- quiring special assis- tance, contact Heidi Moore at 386-752-9770. Help trees resist pests Insects and microorgan- isms are abundant. This is a natural and beneficial state, since insects and microor- ganisms are key compo- nents in nutrient recycling, decomposition, plant suc- cession, natural pest con- trol, and wildlife habitat. "A landscape without in- sects and microorganisms would be a very unhealthy environment," notes Peter Gerstenberger, senior advi- sor for safety, compliance and standards for the Tree Care Industry Association. "A healthy property is a functioning ecosystem with young, mature, and even dead trees." Periodic outbreaks of de- structive tree insect pests, as well as diseases, occur as part of natural fluctuations in ecosystems. The actions of homeowners make these outbreaks more severe or lessen their impact locally. To promote a healthy land- scape and to prevent pest outbreaks, take steps to en- sure diversity and vigor. Many property owners have lots with just a single or a few trees. Others have small backyard woods, which have become an im- portant component of the urban environment. Small woodlands with a mix of tree species are often less susceptible to pest outbreaks than woods with a single species. A diversity of tree ages also reduces the risk of pest outbreaks. As with species diversity, age diversity in- creases the complexity and stability of the ecosystem. A natural balance of organisms is more likely to develop as age diversity increases. For example, potential pests of young trees could be regu- lated by parasites and preda- tors already well established on older trees. The first clues of a tree health problem may be symptoms like yellowing needles or leaves, thinning foliage or dieback on upper limbs. These problems may be caused by insect pests or disease pathogens; or they may arise from "abiotic" fac- tors like soil problems, con- struction damage, drought, pollution, or herbicide in- jury. A professional arborist can examine your trees to find the source of the problem. They can also recommend treatments, including thin- ning dense woods, planting new trees, correcting soil de- ficiencies, increasing water and nutrients, or pest man- agement. Homeowners who would like a professional arborist to assess their trees should contact the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA), a 67-year-old pub- lic and professional re- source on trees and arbori- culture. It has more than 2,000 member companies who recognize stringent safety and performance standards, and are required to carry liability insurance. An easy way to find a tree care service provider in the area is to use the "Locate Your Local TCIA Member Companies" program by calling 1-800-733-2622 or by doing a ZIP code search on the TCIA Web site, www.treecareindustry.org. By Tony Young Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Why not try coon hunting? One pleasant, spring day, a few years back, I met Willie Williams, the gentleman who intro- duced me to, and taught me everything I know about, raccoon hunting (or coon huntin' as we call it). I was at Tallahas- see's Lake Lafayette to do some bass fishing ;from the shoreline when I spot- ted Willie sitting on a five-gallon bucket, fish- ing for speckled perch with a cane pole. When I asked if he was having any luck, Willie said, "They bitin' all right." I rigged up my line with a "jerk-bait" and made my first cast of the day. With just two twitches of my rod tip, the top of the water exploded as a mon- ster largemouth bass in- haled my lure. I gave the old "bucket mouth" five seconds to swim with the bait and reveal which di- rection I needed to set the hook. I pointed the rod tip at the fish while I tightened my line and then reared back. Willie just watched in amazement as I fought and hauled in an 11.5- pounder (my biggest bass to date). I hadn't planned on keeping any fish that day, but this baby was go- ing'on the wall. Within fhe next half- hour, I landed 20 more bass, and all of them weighed between three and seven pounds. After the first five minutes, Willie just put down his pole and kept chuckling with his infectious laugh, the kind of laugh that is genuine and wins friends. Finally, Willie and I de- cided to call it a day, and as we walked away from the shoreline, he offered to let me park my truck.at his place the next time I decided to go fishing, Parking there would shorten the walk to my fishing spot, and I thanked him for the kind gesture. As we trudged up the hill, Willie told.me about his love for coon hunting and said he had some sure-enough coon dogs. "They ain't nothing' like the feelin' that comes over you i\hen you hear your dogs open up on a hot trail," he said. He also said his prized female treeing-Walker coonhound had just re- cently given birth to a lit- ter of pups and asked if I. wanted to have a look at them.. "Sure," I said. There were six.puppies, around a month old - "saddlebacks" with lots of distinctive -black "ticks" on their under- sides. They didn't have much white on them, like a lot of Walkers do, and had only a touch of brown around their faces and rears. Willie said if my wife and I wanted one, we could take our pick. I took him up on the of- fer. My lovely wife, Eliza- beth, picked out a pretty female that took a liking to her immediately. Dakota, as we named her, turned out to be a fine coon dog and a great'pet. Willie had an ulterior motive besides finding this puppy a good home. He had found himself a new hunting buddy to share the coon-hunting tradition. Meanwhile, I had made a good friend, got a great dog and entered the excit- ing world of coon hunt- ing. If you'd like to try coon hunting, you may do so with dogs at night while using a flashlight or headlamp. On private property, with written permission from the landowner, you' may hunt raccoons year-round, but most sportsmen prefer to hunt them during the colder months to reduce the dogs' chances of en- countering snakes or alli- gators. You are only allowed to harvest raccoons, and opossums for that matter, using .22 rimfire firearms (other than'.22C-magnums) or single-shot .410-gauge shotguns with shot no larger than size 6. During the hunt, all firearms must remain unloaded except immediately be- fore shooting treed or bayed raccoons or opos- sums. There are no daily or seasonal bag limits on raccoons or opossums. All dogs used to pursue raccoons or opossums are required to wear collars or tags that identify dog owners and their address- es. Hunting either species by "shining" or using lights from moving vehi- cles, boats or animals is against the law. It also is illegal. to transport wild- trapped live raccoons within, into or from Flori- da. So if you're looking for a new and exciting hunt- ing opportunity, get ahold of a good coon dog, grab your .22, a flashlight and a pair of hip waders and take to the swamps. Here's wishing you a. happy New Year and good hunting. If you can, do like Willie did and in- troduce someone new to a different kind of hunting pass the tradition on. As always, have fun, hunt safely, and we'll see you in the woods! Hamilton County residents named to NFCC honor lists North Florida Community College named the following Jasper and Jennings residents to honor rolls for academic achievement during the Fall 2005 term. President's List fall 2005: Joseph C. Burnett of Jasper, Edelnys Rodriguez of Jasper, Gena D. Wynn of Jasper, Cindy G. Morgan of Jasper, Roberto J. Perez of Jennings and Alexandrea D. Hitson of Jennings. Vice President's List fall 2005: Ritesh N. Patel of Jasper, Heath J. Bembry of Jasper, Dena L. Daniels of Jasper, Patrick B. Mitchell of Jasper, leva R. Smidt of Jennings and Karen S. Herring of Jen- nings. Students earning a grade point average of 3.8. to 4.0 are eligible for the Presi- dent's honor list and 3.5 GPA to 3.79 for the Vice President's honor list. To be con- sidered, students must take at least 12 credit hours during the semester or as part-time students complete a 12-credit hour segment during the term. Outta' the Woods THE JASPER NEWS, Jasper, FL THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2006 DAF 2B9R