Friday, August 8, 2008


 www.greenepublishing.com



Diewpoints & Opinions


The Madison Enterprise-Recorder 3A


 WEBB

 cont from page 1A

 and outstanding pitching
 to pull off the improbable
 by winning three straight
 games on Thursday to fin-
 ish the day 4-1 and make it
 to the Gold Bracket on Sat-
 urday
 On Friday, the coach-
ing staff gave the girls a
well-deserved beach and
rest day
 On Saturday, the brack-
 ets were shuffled and the
 Bullets would have to win
 six straight games to bring
 home the first National ti-
 tle ever for the state of
 Florida. Unfortunately,
 Team Worth from Ten-
 nessee outscored the Bul-
 lets in the final inning 3-1.
 The Bullets ended the
 year with an impressive
 71-14 overall record, and
 they are expected to be a
 top contender in the World
 Series next year.
 You can follow the Bul-
 lets by visiting the team's
 website at: home.com-
 cast.net/ -thebullets.
 Coach Evans said the
 12 and under team had
 been playing together for
 the past two and a half
 years, beginning as a 10
 and under team, and then
 moving to 12 and under.
 "In January, we'll be mov-
 ing up to the 14 and under,"
 he said.
 "Our goal was to be the
first," said"Evans. "I'm
sure the girls can pull it
off," he said before enter-
ing into the Series.
 The girls' overall
record since they began
playing together two and a
'half years ago, is an ex-
rtivemely.~ impressive. 58-4 ,
"And they bat an average of
about .400 each," said
Evans. "Most teams play a
limited number of players
at the plate, but these girls
are consistent and they
can hit the ball all up and
down the line."
 He said that the girls
practice at least one day
per week. "We've been
playing tournaments
about every other week-
end," he added. "We're
hoping to get in at least
one more to ready for the
series." He added that he
was informed that no team
from Florida has ever won
the series in Panama City,
so coming in seventh is the
best the state of Florida
has ever done in the Series.


pension Service
;,:,Diann Douglas -
 f go~lum .,


 Stay Hydrated In

 This Summer Heat

 I was just thinking last week, the heat and humidity
has not been oppressive this summer. Of course, sum-
mer is not over and if you thought the heat and humidi-
ty hasn't been too bad so far, this week of high tempera-
tures and a heat index over 1000 has reminded me we do
live in Florida where the summers are hot. During
these periods of high temperatures, you need to be cau-
tious about dehydration which can lead to serious com-
plications. Water, an essential nutrient, is the. best
choice to keep hydrated during summer heat.
 Consuming water throughout the day is especially
important in our hot Florida weather. In normal every-
day activity, you may lose 8 to 12 cups of water per day;
this loss needs to be replaced. Experts suggest men
need 12 cups of fluids daily and women need about 9
cups. Many factors, however, play a role and may in-
crease the need for more water. Exercise, hot weather,
caffeine and alcohol will increase fluid loss, which
means you need to increase your intake of fluid.
 Nutritionists recommend most of your fluid needs
should be met by drinking water. To ensure an adequate
amount, drinks at least 8 cups of water each day The
rest of your fluid requirements can be met from other,
sources beverages, 100% juice and milk. Even fruits
and vegetables contain water. Be aware, however, caf-
feinated beverages and soda do not increase your body
fluid because the caffeine in these drinks acts as a di-
uretic and actually causes a water loss.
 Keeping hydrated is as simple as drinking plain wa-
ter from the tap. Drink water throughout the day to
maintain a fluid balance. Getting an adequate daily in-
take of water is as important to a balanced diet as eating
a variety of foods from all of the food groups. Commu-
nicating for Good Health suggests the following:
 Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning
before you have a cup of coffee.
 Carry water bottles wherever you go, drink from it
frequently
 For every cup of caffeinated coffee, tea or soda,
drink a cup of water.
 Choose decaffeinated coffee, tea or soda.
 In a restaurant, order a glass of water with a
lemon.
 Drink a glass of water before each meal or snack.
 If you are outside working or exercising, carry a
bottle of water and be sure to take a drink often.
 For more information on eating right, contact the
Madison County Extension Service.


uREENEg
Publishn, Inc.-I


-~ ~ q2 F


Ramblin's


 I love the
long, lone-
some wail of
a train. I love A r
the swoop of
an eagle, a
plane and 4-
the back-
ward flight -.
of a hum-
ming bird.
The aerial skill of a squirrel at play The
whippoorwill's call at the close of day.
But most of all, I love the written word!
 I enjoyed Sheree Miller's column on
her North to South experience of culture
shock moving from a Northern big city
to a Southern small one. I'm sure most of
our Madisonians think of themselves as
citizens of a major city since Madison is
the largest in the county, as well as hav-
ing a proud and historical heritage which
dates to before the civil war. I'm also sure
the small towns of Greenville and Lee as
well as the county's several unincorpo-
rated settlements are also proud of being
parts of that heritage. Hickory Grove for
example just a church and no stores, en-
tertains the entire county as well as at-
tracting many from far away with its
unique Founder's Day Festival.
 As for those other areas which Sheree
mentioned, I admit many have suffered
from outside influences and are not as
good as they once were. The major one be-
ing the schools and health care, especial-
ly the schools. All of this, in my estima-
tion, are caused when some "bright
minds" with high status in our county's
government persuaded the citizens that
incorporation was the answer to solving
all its problems. Get rid of all the small
schools in the county and let the City of
Madison handle all of it with one excep-
tion- they didn't want the little ones. So,
Greenville, Lee and Pinetta could keep
their elementary schools. Those kinder-
garten through fifth graders would be too
much for Madison to handle, apparently I
don't remember what Greenville did, but
Lee and Pinetta, whose grades were the
highest in the County, joined forces in an
SOS (Save Our Schools) nd fought hard to
save them. But we lost. We were all
promised great new elementary schools,


Bryant Thigpen


By Tyrra B Meserve
Greene Publishing, Inc.
 Bryant Thigpen has been Greene
Publishing, Inc.'s "go-to" man for
over a year now. With duties includ-
ing typesetting, subscriptions and
webmaster for Madison's papers,
Bryant has got a lot on his plate. Add
to his already hectic schedule the


bands was a love that Thigpen devel-
oped early He first traveled with the
singing group, The McCormick
Family. He sang with them for over
a year-and-a-half before joining the
Reflectsons. Playing bass for the
Reflectsons for almost seven years, it


fact that he is the owner and manag- was then time for him to come off
er of a new Christian band and his the road for a while and enjoy married
recent marriage to the beautiful life. Now, Thigpen is the lead vocalist
Samantha Smith, and it is amazing for LifeSong.
that Bryant has enough time left "It is what I have always loved to
over in his schedule to do what he do," Thigpen shared. "That's what I
does best, and that is to sing. most look forward to in the future,
 Bryant grew up in Madison. having a successful family, making
Coming from a family with six chil- Samantha happy, and continuing to
dren, five boys and one girl, church sing, sing, sing!"
was always an important part of the
Thigpen household. Singing with Staff writer Tyrra B Meserve can be
his church groups and Christian reached at tyrra@greenepublishing.com

 a a a I -I


 Madison Academy



 Open House


 August 14th at 5:30pm


Students, Parents, and Community members, you are

 invited to join us for open house,

 We will start with a General Meeting in the Gym.



 First Day of School: August 18


 which we did
 get. However,
 "great
 nd The minds" won
 S again, be-
rhelma Thompson cause certain
 Guest Co u' landowners,
 architects
 and contrac-
 tors joined in
 choosing the
 school sites. Now, instead of a safe site for
 children, those powers influence the un-
 safe sites on Highway 90 and the Mad-
 sion-Valdosta Highway. However,
 Greenville was allowed to keep and reno-
 vate their original safe site. How did it
 happen that they were so lucky?
 Now, Madison, Lee and Pinetta are
 faced with traffic problems and with the
 "new" school system. Teachers don't re-
 ally have time to teach for they musst at-
 tend many meetings and other extra cur-
 ricular events, which has led to "teacher
 planning days," in order to help them
 keep up. This never happened before "in-
 corporation."
 During my generation; and my chil-
 dren's, teachers were teachers. That was
 their only job and they did it well. Be-
 cause they were not burdened with every-
 thing they are today, they could give each
 child the attention he or she needed. I ap-
 preciate more each day the old Lee Ju-
 nior High School which I and my chil-
 dren attended. Also, the old Madison
 High School from which I graduated, and
 the great teachers of that day. Alice Sims,
 who just passed away, was one of those.
 My most sincere condolences to her fam-
 ily
 And now, let's step into the past for a
 moment. Do.you remember Mary Worth
 of the comics who wondered why she al-
 ways wanted a drink of water when she
 had just dried the sink? She was the con-
 summate housewife. How about the
 Katzenjammer kids? Theda Bara. Clara
 Bow and Lionel Barrymore? Babe Ruth,
 Jack Dempsey and Babe Zacharis? The
 Brooklyn Dodgers (Don Burns!) Smoky
 Robinson and Billy Sunday?1 'I do;: and-4
 enjoyed, Sient movies i' sgen-yenar- Q.
 And on that nostalgic note, I bid you
 farewell for now.


i


 -Tlrou


~alFI;S