Finally, Old Man Winter is taking a break and allowing us to thaw out this week. There has been ice in our goldfish trough for two weeks straight! I must admit, however, that I prefer the cold weather over hot, but it does seem to come with some drawbacks.

I am starting to understand my granddaddy’s method of predicting the weather now. If his knees ached, it meant rain was on the way. When his back hurt, a storm was brewing, and aching hips meant we could expect frost the following morning. An ear ache was a sure sign that the wind was going to howl, and aching fingers predicted cold weather was moving in to stay awhile.

I used to laugh about those “wives’ tales”, but as I get older I am starting to suspect that Granddaddy may have passed down his weather prediction network to me! Ouch!!!

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“Well done” to all who had a part in the Martin Luther King Jr. activities held this week. I know that a lot of effort went into the planning of the events and all involved are deserving of a round of applause.

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Happy birthday this week to: Jessica Aaron, Joanne Sharpe, Anna Griffin Herrington, Valerie Hall, Georgia Lee Dudley, Jackie Burke, Lisa Williams, Dallas Washburn, Daniel Rhodes, Mike Reeves, Sarah Moncrief and Dale Wiggins.

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Celebrating wedding anniversaries are: Mr. and Mrs. Ray Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Ivy Reid and Mr. and Mrs. J.D. Kent.

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Military Active Duty List: PV2 Jeremy Johnson, U.S. Army, 59th Quartermaster Company, Ft. Carson, Colorado; Ronnie Perryman, Charlie Troop, 108th Calvary Division, 4th Platoon, Afghanistan; Lance Cpl. Adam Lanier, U.S. Marines, 8th & I Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.; E-4 Sr. Airman Roy Davis, U.S. Air Force, RAF Molesworth, United Kingdom; Lance Cpl. Patrick Barnette, U.S. Marines, Baharia, Iraq; Sgt. Adam Demshar, 44th Signal Battalion, Baghdad, Iraq; Cpl. Lee Ogden, U.S. Marines, Camp Pendleton, CA; E5 Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric B. Kelsey, U.S. Navy, NSA Naples, Italy; Senior Airman Charles F. Woods, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, GA; Stuart Burrus, U.S. Air Force, Osan AFB, Korea; SPC 4 Travis D. Motes, 1st Calvary Division, T. Hood, Texas; Capt. Donald Slade Burke, 735th Air Mobility Squadron Detachment 1 Commander, Richmond Royal Australian AFB, Richmond, Australia; Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard III, 48th Brigade, 118th Field Artillery, Iraq; Petty Officer 3rd Class Jamie A. Yager, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps Base Hawaii; Petty Chief Officer Andy D. Crosby, U.S. Navy, Elroy Destroyer, Norfolk, Va.; Stephanie Crosby, R.N., U.S. Navy, Lafayette Destroyer; Jimmy Cooper, U.S. Army National Guard, 878th Engineering Battalion Augusta, Persian Gulf ; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Iraq; SPC. Daniel Stuart, 18th MEDCOM, 121 General Hospital, Seoul, Korea; Jeffrey Sweat, U.S. Navy, USS Kauffman, MM3 59/EDivision, A-Gang, Norfolk, Va.; Cpl. Larry Lamont Clark, U.S. Marine Corp, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Bagdad, Iraq; Khan Young, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, Persian Gulf; Robert Milton Jr., E-3, U.S. Army, Ft. Stewart, Hinesville, Ga., Mission Kuwait; Arnold R. Mosley, 2nd Lt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and Debra A. Mosley, Tech. Sgt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and SPC Charles “C.J.” Amerson, U.S. Army, Camp Adder, Iraq.