“The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17

Fear and Deceit planted weeds
In the soil of my heart.
The seeds sprouted and weaseled through.

I never put a hoe at their base,
Or dug their roots out of the dirt.
Their stumps strong, blooms
Beautiful, offering nauseating nectar.

Like a honey-bee in Spring, I paused
Over each bud, harvesting its opinion.
This nectar, I stored, held onto,
Believed the sickening feeling.

Fertilizer slipped
Through my ngers, my tears provided

The moisture required.
This weed lacked nothing. I gave it permission
To climb, bloom and loom over me
Till I believed it to be a true fruit tree
Who might bear beauties to nourish me.

Limbs reached and roots dug deeper,
Deeper; I lived with this weed
Planted by Fear, by Deceit.
But I did not see it as such. It filled
Its slithering form.
This Manchineel spread sap and
seeds
My hands held no weapons against.

Roots wrapped tight to force belief.
Limbs stout like titanium triggers on guard.
Father wraps his hands around it;
The stump ran deep, cut at the base.

Root shoots pulled out, left trenches.
Poison washed away, scattered soil, hollow heart.
But grace fills trenches; love grants healing.

According to Editor-in-Chief Hannah Cauthen, “The Chimes is a student-produced literary magazine which gives students, faculty, and alumni the opportunity to see their work published and admired.” Cauthen says that reconstruction is an appropriate theme because “Shorter itself has gone through many periods of reconstruction.” The following poem is a work taken from the 101st edition of The Times.

Students who watch the popular TV series “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” empathized with Kim Kardashian-West after the recent breach in her security.

Senior communication arts major Cheyenne Frady believes the event is taking a toll on the Kardashians’ emotional well-being.

“What happened to Kim Kardashian is truly shocking,” Frady said.

“I will not be surprised if the Kardashian family and other celebrities begin to take even more security precautions because of what she had to go through.”

The thirty-five-year-old reality television personality, businesswoman and model Kim Kardashian-West was the most recent celebrity to be the target of violence during a recent visit out of the country.

Senior linebacker Jevaris Jones is nally being recognized for his stellar play on the field. He was named the Rising Hawk of the Week after his performance against West Florida Saturday when he amassed 13 total tackles, two pass breakups, a recovered fumble and a blocked field goal.

These types of impressive numbers are becoming the norm for Jones, who has logged at least 10 tackles in five of the seven games he has played in this year. He now has 57 solo tackles on the season, which leads the Gulf South Conference and puts him second in all of Division II. He also has 10 tackles for loss and three-and-a-half sacks, which both lead the team.

In addition to earning local accolades, this high level of play has also attracted the attention of the National Football League. A scout from the Buffalo Bills was present during practice recently and talked to Jones several times.

The Atlanta Falcons have gotten off to a good start this season.

After their win over the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, a close loss to Seattle and a win over Green Bay, the Falcons are proving they can contend with top-tier teams.

The Falcons fell to the Seahawks 26-24, where they lost a 7-point lead in the closing minutes of the game. With the loss, the Falcons fell to 4-2.

During the game, quarterback Matt Ryan was hit multiple times. It seemed as if he was hit every time he dropped back to pass in the first half. Ryan finished the game with 335 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception.

Julio Jones was held for zero receptitions by Seahawks’ cornerback Richard Sherman in the first half. It was during the second half that the Pro-Bowl receiver broke open the game, racking up seven catches for 139 yards and a touchdown.

The Falcons’ offense has become one of the most efficient in the NFL during the first five games of the year. They are first in every offensive statistic.

Ryan threw for 503 yards against the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 2. In addition, Jones had 300 yards receiving and one touchdown against the Carolina Panthers. Devonta Freeman rushed for 152 yards on 14 carries against the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 26.

With these three offensive weapons playing successfully for the Falcons, the team looks to be a real contender for the Super Bowl. Senior Shorter Hawks quarterback Devante James believes the Falcons’ hot start will put them in Super Bowl 51.

James said, “The offense is running too smoothly not to be legit. And with the offense clicking like this, why wouldn’t we be in the Super Bowl this year?”

The diverse group of Shorter men and women who make up their respective golf teams have been working hard to achieve the same level of success they have enjoyed in previous years. Consisting of nine men and eight women, the teams’ goal for this season is to focus on their game and improve in all areas.

“Every person on the team is very talented,” said junior pre-med major Brandon Brookins. “The key to our success this season will be for everyone to focus and strive to improve in not just one area, but all areas.”

The teams have scheduled practices and workouts every week.

“We have practice every day,” said freshmen business management major Hannah Pope. “One day we will hit on the range and work on our short game and the next day we will play either nine or 18 holes with each other.”

Along with practices and workouts, members of the golf teams have to be prepared mentally in order to succeed.

“Golf is all mental,” said Brookins. “You do have to have some form of a golf swing but you must be mentally sufficient to succeed in this sport.”

The women’s golf team has participated in three tournaments so far.

“Tournaments are super serious,” said Pope. “I really enjoy them though because I get the chance to practice and play in a competitive environment.”

The women finished 7th, 13th, and 8th at the three tournaments.

Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump seemed to be addressing each other rather than the issues in America during their recent debate on Oct. 9 debate.

They were both making personal accusations about each other’s track record.

Trump took the route of accusing Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton. Trump brought in four women who supposedly had sexual relations with Clinton while he was in office.

In short, Trump’s act seemed to put a black eye on his campaign, especially for the American people.

Many students on campus feel that Trump’s actions were a low blow to the presidential campaign, while other students feel that the presidential election is becoming a show rather than something of meaning.

Hillary Clinton’s side of the debate pinpointed Trump’s recently released tax returns. During 1995, Trump reported a $916 million loss because of financial failures, according to the New York Times. The loss allowed him to pay the lowest amount of taxes for an 18-year period.

Trump’s un-American act has angered American people. NBC noted that the American people feel as if Trump’s lack of tax payment makes them feel he is above every middle and low class citizen in America.

But the lack of tax payment doesn’t stop the fact that Clinton stooped down to Trump’s level and made personal accusations. The personal accusations by both candidates took focus away from the important issues facing America.

As the presidential election approaches, there are students who may vote and there are students who may not vote during the 2016 election based on their feelings toward the candidates.

In America’s history, there hasn’t been an election quite like this one. Both Trump and Clinton are under heavy scrutiny from the public eye.

President Obama is leaving and our nation is entering a new era in the White House. This year’s election has the possibility of changing America forever.

If Trump is the president, then our nation would have a business model with questionable character. His comments about women and autism are offensive and distasteful.

Reports of clown sightings locally and in the Southern region are causing controversy as menacing clowns terrorize young Americans, according to nytimes.com.

Senior communication arts major Caleb Britt said the recent clown appearances had him more cautious about his Halloween night ventures.

“I was riding downtown on Broad Street with some friends and saw a clown leisurely walking past people on the sidewalk,” Britt said.

Since the first sighting in Greenville, S.C., last August, clown sightings have been reported in more than 20 states including North Carolina, Alabama and Georgia, according to buzzfeed.com.

Initial reports from children said these clowns were trying to lure them into the woods.

Junior education major Remel Williams said the sole reason for rapid growth of the clown epidemic is social media.

Junior nursing major Jasmine Crump said she was worried for her family members in Florida as the storm skirted the Florida coastline.

Hurricane Matthew started to hit areas of the Southeast, the Caribbean and Haiti on Sept. 28, and the storm continued to have an impact until Oct. 10.

“When I heard that the storm was drifting towards Florida, I immediately called my mother to make sure she was okay, but thankfully the storm didn’t damage the area where I live,” said Crump.

According to Weather.com, Hurricane Matthew rewrote history as the first Category 5 storm in the Atlantic since 2007.

While some schools went without being affected by the storm, the same can’t be said for Flagler College. According to flagler.edu, with much of the campus underwater and a lack of power-supply, the school had to close campus for five days. Sophomore Caleb Branham said his girlfriend had to evacuated her campus due to flood waters.

Hurricane Matthew’s flood waters caused $1.5 billion in damages to more than 100,000 homes, businesses and government building, according CNN.com.

Several Hawks helped promote WinShape Camps during the foundation’s national recruitment week so students could explore job and leadership opportunities in the ministry field.

Junior youth ministry major Tyler Parham served as a team time leader for WinShape this summer.

“WinShape has given me the opportunity to go out into many communities and share the message of Jesus Christ to hundreds of kids across the southeast,” Parham said.

Parham has grown in other areas throughout his experience working for WinShape. He encourages everyone who is willing to pour themselves into serving at WinShape.

At WinShape, campers participate in a range of activities including rock climbing, athletics, water events, worship and Bible studies on a daily basis throughout their stay.

For those interested in working or attending a WinShape Camp, they should prepare to have the summer of a lifetime. However, the summer of a lifetime goes far beyond just fun in the sun.

A teenager almost died recently at the local Coosa Valley Fair when the ride he was on malfunctioned.

The traumatic incident has local students questioning the safety of fair rides. Many rides are assembled within hours of arrival to the fair sites then disassembled and moved each week to other locations.

Sophomore communication arts major Taylor Slade was one of the attendees of the fair the night the scare occurred.

“I definitely did not feel safe on the fair rides,” said Slade. “I kept riding because I had spent the money to be there.”

The mishap has raised local concern regarding how safe these attractions are for fair participants.

According to coosavalleynews.com, 13-year-old Brayden Cooper faced a traumatic experience when the door to his ride came open while he was in the air.

On Oct. 5, Cooper was riding the Zipper when the incident occurred. As the door of his caged car came open, his harness was released. At the time, Cooper was 30 to 40 feet in the air, according to coosavalleynews.com.