If you’re looking for a burst of energy in your life that coffee can’t seem to fulfill, it sounds like you could use a little Ranger in your life.
Meet Ranger, a 2-year-old mutt at the Habersham County Animal Shelter who loves to play. (Photo: HCACC)
Meet Ranger, a 2-year-old mutt at the Habersham County Animal Shelter who would be the perfect addition to a family who loves to spend time outdoors and play, a home with other dogs, or a companion someone who wants to train for that 5K they’ve been meaning to get around to. Ranger is full of energy, and he’d thrive in a place where he could get his zoomies out!
Ranger was found stray in Clarkesville before the shelter took him in, where he’s been hoping to find his fur-ever home since the beginning of March. Habersham Animal Care and Control Director Madi Nix says Ranger is a silly, goofy pup looking for a long-term playmate.
Ranger loves squeaky toys, wrestling and his best friend at the shelter, Dixie. He has a big smile and a big personality— but what he’d love most is to be part of your family.
If you’re interested in adopting Ranger or any of the other animals at the Habersham County Animal Shelter, please call the shelter at (706) 839-0195 to set up an appointment. You may also visit them in person Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. to Noon & 1-5 p.m. or on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Check out their Facebook page for more information.
Ona Belle Shirley Buchanan, age 85 of Mt. Airy, Georgia went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, March 19, 2022.
Born in Alto, Georgia on September 14, 1936, she was a daughter of the late John F. & Ethaline Gailey Shirley. Ona Belle was a self-employed poultry farmer for many years. In her spare time, she enjoyed flowers, bird watching, gardening, & viewing her favorite game shows on the Game Show Network. Most of all, she loved spending precious time with her family, especially keeping her grandchildren. Ona Belle was a member of the B.C. Grant Baptist Church.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, William “Willie Buck” Buchanan; brothers, Leonard Shirley & Cedron Shirley; sisters, Angie Pritchett & Mary Stephens; daughter-in-law, Mary Lynn Carpenter Buchanan; as well as great-grandchildren, Amberlynn Gulick, Rowan Gulick, & Kaitlyn Gulick.
Survivors include her children, Randy Buchanan of Alto, GA; Debbie & Rod Chaffee of Las Vegas, NV; Brian & Eva Buchanan of Cleveland, GA; grandchildren, Britain & Zach Oxner, Angel Watkins all of Mt. Airy, GA; Miranda Watkins of Fort Myers, FL; great-grandchildren, Kendalyn Oxner, Natalie Oxner, Josh Hulse, Nathan Yates, & B.J. Till; several nieces, nephews, other relatives, & friends.
Funeral services are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, 2022, at Hillside Memorial Chapel in Clarkesville with Rev. Terry Rice officiating. Interment will follow in the B.C. Grant Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 1:00 p.m. until the service hour on Wednesday, March 23, 2022.
As spring approaches, black bears are beginning to make their way out of their dens. The Appalachia Georgia Friends of the Bears is asking the public to do their part in keeping them safe.
The AGFB says they have already received reports of adult male and teen black bears that are out and about in Georgia. They say that solitary females and mothers with older cubs will soon begin to make their way out, and are expected around March to mid-April. Mothers with their babies will follow, coming out mid-April to early May.
As those bears make their way out, the AGFB asks Georgians to help them save a bear’s life by removing attractants from their environments. Attractants like birdseed, hummingbird feeders, pet food, livestock food, greasy barbecues, smokers, fish cookers and other wildlife foods can be accessed by black bears.
The intentional and unintentional feeding of bears teaches them to approach homes and people for food, which they say is a recipe for human-bear conflict. Trash access is credited with approximately two-thirds of human-bear conflict. In addition, it destroys the bear’s teeth, digestive tracts and results in a slow and painful death.
The AGFB asks Georgians to minimize attractants and the availability of food rewards throughout yards and neighborhoods for the region’s estimated black bear population of 3,000.
They ask residents to store garbage in a sturdy building, or place it in an approved bear-resistant trash receptacle. They also recommend only putting trash outside on the day of pickup. They say that if trash is stored outside for multiple days to fester in the heat, it will result in a larger odor signature for bears. The more the signature, the greater the distance for it to travel on the wind. You can help reduce this signature by cleaning your trash can and rinsing off any food and drink residue from containers.
The Appalachia Georgia Friends of the Bears is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to reduce human-bear conflict through proactive educational outreach programs, increase public awareness about coexisting with black bears, the use of humane bear deterrents, and advocacy. Visit BearWise.org and agfriendsofthebears.com for more information on reducing Human-Bear Conflict.
Joshua Daniel Carroll, age 33, of Alto, passed away on Saturday, March 19, 2022.
Mr. Carroll was born on November 8, 1988, in Demorest. He worked at Townsend Tree Service and was of the Christian faith. Joshua enjoyed life and loved his family.
He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Ron and Linda Carroll.
Survivors include his mother and dad, Leslie Carroll Lewallen and Danny of Alto; father, Quinton Lewallen of Toccoa; former wife and friend, April Dale of Alabama; son, Mason Carroll of Toccoa; daughter, Ansley Carroll of Alabama; brother, Shelton Lewallen of Toccoa; sister, Tara Lewallen of Clarkesville; and paternal grandmother, Betty Payne of Toccoa.
The family will receive friends from 12-3 pm on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, at McGahee-Griffin & Stewart Funeral Home.
Those in attendance are asked to please adhere to public health and social distancing guidelines regarding COVID-19.
The Outfit is a crime drama that may be considered old-fashioned, but its cast and execution of its script may distort expectations and in this instance, that’s a good thing.
It stars Oscar-winner Mark Rylance as Leonard Burling, an English tailor, or should I say, cutter, who owns a shop in Chicago in 1956.
Leonard is an expert of his craft and we know it’s a craft because he makes it thoroughly clear in one of his narrations. He knows what to do with each suit, how long it takes to make one, the process of satisfying his customers and even hoping to teach his skills to his assistant (Zoe Deutsch).
His shop is turned upside-down when two gangsters (Dylan O’Brian and Johnny Flynn) show up wanting Leonard to guard a briefcase containing a personal item that might help them win a war against another crime family. From then on, Leonard’s shop goes from being a sanctuary to a prison.
The movie wisely and unexpectedly avoids turning into an action picture with a lot of violence and instead, becomes more cerebral as Leonard tries to figure out how he’ll survive this ordeal.
There’s also talk of a rat within the unit that visits the shop. Is Leonard the rat? Or is it his assistant? The movie proves especially effective at being more audacious with plot threads such as this one.
Rylance’s performance really sells this movie just like one of his suits. He’s in total command of every scene with a calm, matter-of-fact sensibility even when a situation might erupt into violence. He’s also existential in his approach to the character by giving us a story behind his reasons for leaving England complete with a tragedy that feels genuine, but also might suggest something sinister underneath. His work should garner another Oscar nomination.
As for the plot, there’s a lot of fudging in its structure that might frustrate some audiences while leaving others pleasantly surprised. I was in the latter.
The Outfit isn’t entirely original, but like a good suit, it fits and Rylance knows how to sell it like a good tailor should. Excuse me. He prefers the term cutter.
Grade: A-
(Rated R for some bloody violence, and language throughout.)
On the morning of November 26, the Baldwin Fire Department found themselves on the scene of a fire at Fieldale Farms that could have been fatal— that they were completely unprepared for. Almost four months later, they’re looking at the problem again from a new angle: how area agencies can come together to make sure they can take care of an incident like that one.
On that November morning, the Baldwin Fire Department was contacted by Fieldale Farms to address a fire at the plant by a knock at the door. While they were prepared to deal with a small fire, what they came upon was something much more dangerous; a 4,700-ton capacity storage bin full of soybeans that had started to smolder.
“We got the call about 6:30 in the morning, went over there and then we had to call a full commercial assignment because it was more than what two people could handle,” City of Baldwin Assistant Fire Cheif Shaun Benfield said. “We got over there, and then one of the [Fieldale] maintenance workers and one of the supervisors met us there.”
He says that the Fieldale employees and fire department had to review the company’s MSDS sheets, which document what hazardous materials are on scene, while they tried to figure out how to attack the fire.
Firefighters from multiple agencies came together to tour the Baldwin Fieldale plant. (Habersham County Emergency Services/Facebook)
“We didn’t have the resources here in Baldwin or in Banks County … to handle it,” Benfield said. The plant in Baldwin sits on the border of Habersham and Banks Counties.
He says that after realizing they couldn’t handle the situation, Fieldale had to call in a contracted company to handle the safety issue. But that left the city of Baldwin wondering what they would do— or what they could do— if this happened again.
That’s what sparked arranging a late-February walkthrough of the facility with the Baldwin Fire Department, Cornelia Fire Department, Habersham County Emergency Services and the Banks County Fire Department to better understand the facility and build game plans to put out fires should they arise. Fieldale pays millions of dollars worth in taxes to Banks County, the City of Baldwin and Habersham County.
“After the incident that had happened earlier, … we felt like there needed to be some pre-planning on our part,” Habersham County Emergency Services Fire Cheif Jeffrey Adams said. “We pre-plan all of the commercial buildings [for emergency services] in the county, and the cities do it with their commercial buildings as well, just to have an idea ahead of time of what issues we may need to mitigate.”
But this is the first time either Baldwin or Habersham can remember ever touring the facility— and this is the first time either has been familiarized with the plant. Both Benfield and Adams say they don’t know why it took Fieldale this long to bring in first responders to help them develop a plan, but they’re glad that it happened.
“We do we feel better than we did,” Benfield said. “We know a little bit more information on how to handle a smaller incident, and they [Fieldale] are more aware of if a larger incident is to happen, they actually have someone on standby that can come in to handle that hazmat situation.”
Adams says he feels “much better,” following the walkthrough, and that Fieldale “stepped up,” to make sure emergency services had the information they needed.
(Habersham County Emergency Services/Facebook)
“Just knowing the layout— it’s a massive structure and setup and operation that they have there,” he said. “I think the incident that happened before was kind of a blessing, in that it gave us an opportunity to get together and wrap our hands around everything before something bad happened.”
But even with their combined efforts, Benfield says the situation brewing in that soybean bin was ripe for an explosion, and if an explosion of that size did happen, it’s not something local first responders could handle.
“Long story short, we’re not able to handle if that thing was to, say, explode. We don’t have the resources in this county to handle that,” Benfield said. “It’s a lot. Their safety manager assured us that if there was an explosion, the building would contain … the explosion.”
The incident wasn’t the major fire-related incident local first responders attended to at the Baldwin plant, either. In 2017, a Fieldale employee was burned in a feed mill explosion and fire.
But Benfield does want citizens to know that they, the other local fire agencies and Fieldale are doing everything that they can to make sure they can keep citizens safe in the wake of everything they learned.
“Just know that we’re doing our best,” Benfield said. “They’re [Fieldale] doing their best to make sure that it doesn’t happen, and then we’re a little bit more prepared if something were to happen to get it mitigated pretty quickly.”
While most hobbies and extracurricular activities that Tallulah Falls’ students are involved in are school-based, some find a niche beyond the TFS campus. For sophomore Kenneth Henderson of Alto, his passion takes him to motor racing courses all over the state.
Henderson competes in the U.S. Legend Cars series, a subsidiary of Speedway Motorsports. While it might be unusual for a high schooler to be involved in car racing at such a level, it’s something he’s been at for quite some time.
“I have been racing for nine years now,” says Henderson, who can trace back his love for the sport to a precise moment. “When I fell in love with racing, I remember the day very specifically. I was with my dad watching the Daytona 500 and I asked about my favorite driver, Jeff Gordon, and how he got started. It was a very small car named quarter midgets, basically a small go-kart with a modified motor. I wanted to do it so badly, so when I begged my parents they finally gave in. When I turned six, I started racing.”
Henderson’s racing career has seen him win three championships (two in the past five years) and precisely 27 races to date in quarter midget, bandolero, and legend car races. His latest championships include The Furious 5, which is a series mostly on road courses, and the Winter Flurry Championship, which is a mix between road courses and oval racing.
He raced in his first professional race at age 12, and until entering the Pro Division had never finished outside of the top-5 in points in any division since his rookie year at 6 years old.
Henderson won the Chase Elliott Most Improved Driver Award at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2017. He has raced with several drivers that compete in ARCA racing, including Corey Heim, Drew Dollar and Dillon Murray. He has also raced against NASCAR drivers Garret Smithley, Chandler Smith and Chris Buescher.
That success has come with consistent buy-in and love for the sport. Henderson has no real offseason in racing Legends, as he keeps with it throughout each calendar year.
“I usually race in the winter on a monthly basis, but during the summer it is weekly,” adds Henderson.
Though his time commitment to racing is significant, he continues to win both on the track and in the classroom.
“The sport has taught me a lot about life, such as everything is not always fair, and the value of hard work,” adds Henderson. “Hard work pays off even if you fail, because when you fail, you learn.”
Henderson, who mostly enjoys watching the ISMA Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship, has goals to pursue racing indefinitely.
“My long-term goal with racing is just to enjoy cars, and enjoy driving,” states Henderson.
Governor Brian Kemp signed HB 304 into law Friday, which will temporarily suspend gas taxes in Georgia among soaring prices.
“Today, I signed HB 304 to temporarily halt collection of the state gas tax and ease the burden consumers are feeling at the pump,” Kemp said. “We can’t fix everything that Washington has broken, but we are doing our part to lessen the impact on your wallet.”
The bill moved quickly through the House after its proposal on March 9, the House’s 150 district representatives passing it through unanimously, and Thursday, the state Senate voted 55-0 to approve it.
The suspension will be in effect until May 31, when the governor will have the option to renew it.
Economic impact
Georgia’s gas tax is 29.1 cents per gallon for gasoline and 32.6 cents per gallon for diesel.
Georgia’s pump prices have dipped slightly in recent days but remain near record highs. A gallon of regular gasoline set the average Georgia driver back $4.24 on Thursday, down from $4.26 on Wednesday, but the same gallon of gas would have cost $2.73 this time last year when the pandemic still curtailed travel below past years.
If the bill were in effect Thursday, Georgians would pay about $59.25 to fill a 15-gallon tank rather than $63.60.
“The 29 cents is not going to completely solve the suffering of our citizens, but it’s a start, and it’s a statement,” said Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, a Rome Republican and sponsor of the bill in the Senate. “And we will have to fill it in with the rainy day fund, but it’s raining a big storm on our citizens right now.”
The suspension is projected to cost the state treasury between $300 and $400 million.
Partisan posturing
Kemp says that gas prices have recently increased because of “Putin’s despicable actions” in invading Ukraine, but also blamed the Biden administration for “hamstringing domestic energy productions.”
That partisan tone carried over into the debate in the Senate where Republicans sought to pin the blame on gas prices on President Joe Biden and Democrats tried to deflect it.
“I also believe we should all come together during a war and leave politics out if it weakens our United States,” Hufstetler said. “But I also have to point out that the Keystone XL pipeline would have transported 830,000 barrels, over double what we were importing from Russia. It was canceled on day one of the Biden administration, and the developer gave up in June of last year. Dakota Access Pipeline has had court fights ordering it shut down and has been in a constant fight. It’s hard to finance these companies when they’re worried about the long term.”
Atlanta Democratic Sen. Nan Orrock begged to differ. The White House only controls drilling on federal lands, Orrock said, and oil companies decided on their own not to drill.
“I applaud the comments of the chair, that our conflicts on domestic issues should end at the shores, and we support our president and his leadership on the questions facing the globe around Ukraine. Putin’s ravaging that nation, illegally and unlawfully, from his autocratic perch over there in the Kremlin, we should all continue to be on the same page, backing our president. That is a time honored approach in this country, and I urge us all not to step across that line of seeking to make political capital against the administration on the question of Ukraine and this global crisis that has been fomented by a man named Putin, someone that we’ve seen lifted up and elevated and praised by the former president, if people will recall.”
Gas prices have been rising along with other consumer goods before the Ukraine invasion, said Cumming Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal, which he said is due to Biden’s “radical left” policies.
“This is the response, in large part, if not most part, to fiscal policy and energy policy, both of which are being driven by the radical left,” he said. “I support this legislation, but I’m concerned that it won’t be enough, because this legislation ends in May, and I have zero confidence that this administration will get this problem under control by the end of May.”
Decatur Republican Sen. Emanuel Jones decried the tenor of the debate, but he also got in some jabs at the other side.
“What was supposed to be a simple, bipartisan bill really turned into the radical right trying to make and score political points with something that we all wanted, and that is trying to save money for the average Georgian. Somewhere along the way, we seem to have lost sight of that, because I heard mentioned the Keystone Pipeline that’s owned by the Canadians. They failed to mention that that pipeline, three quarters of it’s already been built, stretching down from Canada, Alberta, all the way down to Illinois. They also failed to mention that the XL portion of that pipeline, which hasn’t been built, the oil is still being shipped down in those refineries in Texas by trucks.”
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan did not weigh in on the partisan debate, but he did express gratitude when the vote was tallied.
“On behalf of 11 million Georgians, thank you,” he said.
This article has been updated with additional information
The crash happened around lunchtime at the intersection of US 441 Business and GA 105 in Cornelia on Friday, March 18, 2022. (nowhabersham.com)
Habersham EMS transported three people to the hospital following a wreck Friday afternoon in Cornelia. It happened around noon at the intersection of US 441 Business and GA 105/Cannon Bridge Road.
According to Cornelia police, 69-year old Jose Zendeja of Clarkesville was driving southbound on US 441 in a silver Mercury Marquis. As he turned left at the light into the Habersham Hills Shopping Center, Zendeja pulled in front of oncoming traffic. A black Chevy Sonic struck the Marquis.
A couple from Lawrenceville was traveling in this Chevy Sonic, police say. (nowhabersham.com)
The Sonic was driven by 51-year-old Ieda Vincint of Lawrenceville.
Police say both vehicles were carrying passengers. Henry Vincint, 61, of Lawrenceville was traveling in the Sonic. Flavia Zendeja, 71, of Clarkesville was riding in the Marquis.
Habersham E911 dispatched first responders to the scene, advising them of possible entrapment.
“Cornelia Fire arrived on the scene to find three subjects complaining of injuries but [they] were not trapped in the vehicle,” says Habersham County Emergency Services Capt. Matt Ruark.
Habersham EMS transported Jose Zendeja to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Ruark says the Vincints were taken to Habersham Medical Center in Demorest with non-life-threatening injuries.
Here’s a look at some of Georgia’s latest health headlines to keep you informed about what’s happening around the state.
House mental health bill runs into Senate turbulence
March 18, 2022
Broad consensus is apparent among state lawmakers that more should be done to ensure health insurance companies are following a federal law requiring behavioral health benefits to be on par with physical coverage. But one high-profile proposal to ramp up enforcement of the 14-year-old federal law is already running into questions in the Senate over whether it is too far reaching.
Research shows new reasons to watch for ticks in Georgia
March 17, 2022
A virus unknown until a little more than a decade ago is circulating among lone star ticks in Georgia, Emory University scientists say. Heartland virus was first identified in Missouri in 2009 in two severely ill individuals. More than 50 cases of Heartland virus have been identified in people from 11 states in the Midwest and the Southeast, the CDC says. Many required hospitalization and a few people who had pre-existing medical problems have died.
Medical marijuana production bill passes state Senate
March 15, 2022
Lawmakers tried to revive Georgia’s medical marijuana program Tuesday as the state Senate unanimously passed a bill to quickly issue business licenses this spring. The Senate voted 52-0 to approve a measure that would jump-start cannabis oil production by authorizing six companies to manufacture and sell the medicine to registered patients. Licenses would be issued by May 31, according to an amendment approved on the Senate floor.
Trucking industry the hardest-hit by pandemic in Georgia
March 8, 2022
Nearly 8,000 employees in the Georgia trucking industry have died of COVID-19, making it the hardest-hit industry in the state during the pandemic. New data assembled by the Georgia Department of Health for WSB-TV shows that 7,707 employees identified as having jobs in the transportation or moving materials occupation had died of COVID-19 as of Sept. 2021.
The Georgia High School Association’s board of trustees voted 13-0 on March 16 to support reducing the number of classifications to six beginning in 2024-25 and to put the proposal on the executive committee’s agenda for April 11, when the plan could be adopted.
The goal is to reduce schools’ travel to competitions and to appease state lawmakers who have crafted a bill that would burden the GHSA with paying for schools’ travel that exceeds 75 miles.
A school’s classification is determined by enrollment. With fewer classes, regions would have more schools in them, and those schools more likely would be closer geographically. Smaller regions are more likely to isolate schools geographically.
The six-class plan comes with a caveat: The board still wants to retain separate divisions in Class A, the classification for smaller schools, those with around 600 students or fewer. Doing so effectively would mean seven classifications and 56 regions, not actually six with 48. There have been 64 regions since 2020 and eight champions in most sports since 2016.
GHSA executive director Robin Hines said Wednesday that 56 regions would address travel effectively while maintaining competitive integrity.
“What you’ve got to do is create a balance between trying to solve travel issues while maintaining a legitimate competitive balance that can be skewed by one school being so much larger than another that it creates a big advantage, which is the point of having classifications in the first place,” Hines said.
The GHSA currently has public and private divisions of Class A, each with eight regions. For the next two academic years starting this fall, the GHSA has abolished the public-private split and created a Class A with Division 1 for larger Class A schools and Division 2 for smaller schools. Wednesday’s board proposal to maintain those divisions shows their popularity with smaller schools, some with around 200 students that now won’t compete for championships against schools twice their size.
The six-class plan can’t go into effect until 2024-25, as the GHSA ratified reclassification for the next two academic years in January, but the board’s plan sends a message to the legislature. SB 328′s travel requirements would’ve been impossible financially for the GHSA, according to Hines and GHSA president Glenn White, who presides over the board.
“I want good communication with our legislative bodies and our senators and representatives, and what the board of trustees has done today is demonstrated that they (lawmakers) are being heard,” Hines said. “Unless we want to go to four classes, we can’t solve everybody’s travel issue, but this goes a long way toward addressing it.”
The board also voted to support a proposal to change the definition of an out-of-district student as it pertains to determining a school’s enrollment and classification. It would allow any student entering a feeder school of a high school in grades kindergarten through fifth grade not be counted as an out-of-district student. The GHSA places a 3.0 multiplier on out-of-zone students as a way to mitigate perceived competitive advantages of schools that get a significant number of schools outside their school zones.
“The argument is that if children come to you in elementary school, or some maybe in pre-K or kindergarten, they’re really your kids,” White said earlier this week.
The board also supported allowing public and private schools to select any one public-school service area within their county to count as their attendance zones for purposes of reclassification. This wouldn’t apply to athlete eligibility.
The board has the power to make bylaw changes, including one to reduce the number of classes, without executive-committee approval, but chose against it Wednesday.
“The board doesn’t need to vote on something with this much gravity by themselves,” Hines said. “They feel the entire committee needs to chime in, but I stress this: The Board of Trustees strongly recommends these proposals and is unanimously behind them as I am as executive director.”
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John Keeton Hughes II, age 78, of Alto, passed away Thursday, March 17, 2022.
Born on August 16, 1943, he was a son of the late John Keeton Hughes, Sr. and Ruth Hagemann Hughes. Mr. Hughes grew up on a farm in Henderson, Tennessee and lived in Conyers, Georgia for many years. He was a United States Navy Veteran and a member of Solid Rock Baptist Church in Maysville. He was quite the character, with a big booming voice and a larger-than-life presence that filled the room. Mr. Hughes was honest, kind-hearted, and genuine, and once you met him, you never forgot him. He was a jack of all trades, carpenter, and a storyteller who was always joking around.
He is survived by his loving wife of 49 years, Karen Smith Hughes of Alto; son, John Keeton Hughes, III; daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and Mike Farriss of Nashville, Tennessee; granddaughter, Lizzy Farriss; brothers, Bobby Hughes and John K. Hughes, Jr.; sisters, Ruth Ann Mitchell and Carol Curry; step-mother, Judy Hughes of Henderson, Tennessee.
