2018 will be a breakout year for all of Troup County! Just riding around town, you can see all the new construction going on here:

1. New schools

2. New hotels — several of those

3. New places to eat — three pizza places in last 90 days

4. New Hobby Lobby

5. New Durham Sporting Goods store

6. Tire company being built bringing 1,000 jobs down the road

7. A new sports bar on West Point Road is being built right now

8. The Thread is going to put us on the map

Yes, be proud of our community because we have good things going on!

One thing I would like to see is for people to stop throwing trash on the roadside. I worked on the first Trash Bash on West Point Road years ago. Asking law enforcement to give tickets to people for throwing trash out on the road may be the answer. If I see someone throwing trash out, I will get their tag number, time and call it in. My dare to you is do it, the law needs our help.

Thinking of you

Thinking of you! What is the most important thing you have? Your health, is that not correct? For the year 2018 take time for you to keep your health! Yes, it is up to you, not your doctors. They can help, but you must take care of yourself. We have a couple of killers named high blood pressure and blood sugar problems. Now I am not saying I have all the answers here, but I hate to see people not take the time to put these two killers off for 20 or 40 years. Get a watch that will tell you how many steps you have made for the day.

Dare a friend to walk with you. It is harder to miss when you will let your friend down. Join a gym. Do not waste your money — use the gym. You will save money if you make a great effort. My drug store bills have gone from $570 to $165, so for this old penny pincher, that is $4,860 a year in savings or a very nice vacation for two people. Not to mention you feel better and want to do more things. I have a younger friend who called other day. He feels there is no hope. I told him my story about beating diabetes, and he is going to start walking.

There is hope! If you want to make it happen, please take care of your health for the year 2018.

Jerry Johnson is President of First Realty of LaGrange.