Changing times

The time changed this morning, and although I’m writing this column in advance I’m sure I’ll have waked up sleepy and unhappy.

I hate Daylight Saving Time and I’ve never seen the benefit of it. It seems as if the government takes away an hour of citizens’ sleep every year and keeps it for months.

Some people say it benefits the farmers, but how? If you work in the fields all day, what difference does it make whether you start later and work later? It’s still the same amount of time regardless of what time the clock says it is.

Same thing with the supposed energy savings. You can turn the lights on in the morning if it’s dark then, or you can turn them on earlier in the evening if that’s when it’s dark. What is the difference?

And then I saw Friday on the CBS Evening News a story that said the number of serious heart attacks goes up 6 to 10 percent on the first three days after the time changes in the spring. That seems like a pretty clear indicator of the strain some people feel when they lose sleep and get that weird jet-lagged feeling.

Also, the same story said that economists say sleep-deprived traders make costly mistakes on Wall Street the following Monday. The cost was once estimated at $31 million.

But to be fair, the story also said that once people have adjusted to the change they are likely to be better drivers in daylight and have fewer fatal accidents.

Either way, I don’t suppose I have any choice in whether the time changes and I’m going to try to have a better attitude about it this year.

And don’t forget, change the batteries in your smoke alarms if you haven’t already.

Data Center: Several months ago, I reported in this column that Tift Regional Medical Center was planning to build a data center on Madison Avenue near the Oncology Center. Now those plans have come to fruition with the announcement this week that TRMC will break ground this spring on a $9.3 million building. When completed the data center will add another 10 jobs to the hospital’s information technology staff, and a local company, Jones Construction, will build the center.

The center, which TRMC’s assistant vice president and chief information officer Guy McAllister said will be “the most premier facility of its kind south of Atlanta,” is needed in response to federal mandates concerning health systems security. Construction is expected to take about 12 months, with another two months required for “commissioning” the new facility.

Unemployment rate: Tift County’s unemployment climbed by 1.8 percent points in January and now stands at 13.0 percent. This is the highest I can ever remember the unemployment rate being, and we can only hope that the recovery being seen in other parts of the country will come our way soon.

Surrounding counties are also feeling the pinch: Turner County is up from 12.9 to 14.4; Worth County, up from 11.0 to 12.9; Berrien County, up from 13.7 to 14.1; Irwin County, up from 14.5 to 16.8; and Cook County, up from 13.7 to 14.5.

Is your business moving or opening for the first time? Call me at 382-4321, ext. 1903.