code: public static List<String> filterEmptyValues( List<String> values ) {
  
  		List<String> result = new ArrayList<> ();
  		for( String s : values ) {
  			if( ! Utils.isEmptyOrWhitespaces( s ))
  				result.add( s );
  		}
  
  		return result;
  	}
docs: Creates a new list and only keeps values that are not null or made up of white characters.
  @param values a non-null list of items (can contain null and "empty" values)
  @return a list of items (never null), with no null or "empty" values