Thumbs Up! July 3, 2017

Organizers, all of them, of the Albany High School walk-through are to be commended for giving alumni a chance to gather and stroll the halls one last time. While friends and memories are made all through the years of school, there simply is nothing as memorable as high school. The consequences — both good and bad — of choices made as a teenager moves into young adulthood more often than not set one’s direction in life. From friends to sweethearts to academics to extracurricular activities, all go with the high school graduate in one way or another. For those who were able to come together for the walk-through, there is no doubt memories, again both good and bad, came flooding back. Not every walk down memory lane — or hallway — is a good one, but an occasional stroll can bring back the things that made the walk well worth it.

Town hall meetings are held fairly regularly in various locations throughout Albany. For whatever reason, attendance is predictably low. Such was not the case at a Fight the Blight/Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful meeting held at Mt. Olive Community Outreach Center on May 4. More than two dozen residents attended, and at least one was certainly glad she did. Sudie Roney has lived in the same house for 52 years, a home that has been in her family even longer. She filled out an application to have her house painted and that is what happened. On June 19, volunteers pressure washed the house. Rain delayed the painting, but not for long. On June 27, the painting was done, again by volunteers, and all because Roney chose to attend a town hall meeting.

Thanks to an anonymous donor, the United Way of Southwest Georgia was able to hold a second mothers-to-be workshop recently. Sixty mothers-to-be were invited to attend, all selected by their health care providers. Each attendee was over the age of 18 and living at or below the poverty level. Most were first-time pregnancies. Topics of discussion and information included prenatal care, post natal care, diet, vitamins, breastfeeding and contraception. Added to the normal anxieties about pregnancy, child birth and baby care is the fact that some of the ladies who will soon be mothers are still displaced from January’s storms. There are still storm survivors living in motels and even more living with family members and/or friends. To the anonymous donor, thank you. To the donors of diapers, breast pumps and other baby items, thank you. To the speakers and health care professionals, thank you. And, to the United Way, thumbs up!

Summer is here and programming at all branches of the Dougherty County Public Library System is in full swing. In June there were activities, performances, workshops, story times and more. The 2017 Summer Reading Challenge has something for all ages from toddlers to adults and there is still time to participate. when the library reopens, go see what is happening this month. By the way, teenagers, there are special activities and book selections just for you!