Lawton Galloway, 90, resident of Clayton Georgia, passed away on November 20th, 2021.
He was born in Rabun County Ga and was the son of Fred Ray Galloway Sr. and Annie Mae Speed Galloway.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife Shirley Kilby Galloway; Four brothers, Floyd Galloway, Carl Galloway, William Maynard Galloway, Fred Ray Galloway; and two sisters, Lucy Cannon, Dorothy Ezell.
Lawton is survived by three daughters, Shirl Gabrels, Reneta “Skeet” Hollifield (Ed Hollifield) both of Clayton, Georgia, and Valerie Loudermilk (Carl Loudermilk) of Demorest, Georgia. One sister Verena Burnette and a brother Burnell Galloway. He is also survived by five grandchildren, nineteen great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren.
Lawton was a retired foreman from Rabun County Metal Products. He was a member of Battle Branch Baptist Church for many years. He loved gardening and spending lots of time with his family.
The family will receive friends at Battle Branch Baptist Church on Saturday, November 27th at 2:00 pm with a memorial service to follow at 3:00 pm with Pastor Madison McCrackin Officiating.
In lieu of flowers memorials can be made to Battle Branch Baptist Church P.O. Box 483 Clayton, Ga., 30525.Hunter Funeral in Charge of arrangements.
ATLANTA — The Georgia House passed the new congressional map along party lines 96-68. It now joins the state’s legislative map awaiting Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature.
While the Senate approved the map on Friday, the House Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee held its final hearing on Saturday, setting the stage for today’s debate before the vote.
Democratic lawmakers slammed Republicans for rushing the process and weakening minority voting power by dividing Cobb County into four districts. Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s 14th District now dips down from the Georgia-Tennessee line to include Austell and Powder Springs in south Cobb County.
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, a Democrat, is now in a district that goes from northeast Cobb County and stretches north into Dawson County and other Republican strongholds.
Rep. Matt Wilson (D- Brookhaven)
“What you did was intentionally target incumbent women and women of color to dilute their power and silence their voices, “ said Rep. Matt Wilson (D- Brookhaven).
Republicans defended the map as part of a large, complicated puzzle with shifts in population growth.
The 2020 census showed Georgia’s growth came in urban areas, while rural parts lost residents.
Rep. Jan Jones (R-Milton), Speaker Pro-Tempore, told fellow lawmakers the 6th District was connected to areas with decreased population.
“The districts touching it (6th District) could not escape, and those not touching it required changes that it and all other districts could not escape,” Jones said on the House floor.
Democrats expect to challenge the maps in court based on issues such as the speed of the process and the state’s changing demographics.
“Georgia has changed; a million people moved into Georgia in the last 10 years,” Rep. James Beverly, House Minority Leader. “Large people of color moved into certain regions.”
House Speaker David Ralston believes the map will withstand legal challenges.
Georgia House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge)
“I’m assuming that there will be lawsuits galore, quickly,” Ralston told reporters after the vote. “That’s fine. There were (lawsuits) the last time, and they were all dismissed.”
Shortly after the map passed, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported McBath will run in the 7th District against fellow Democrat Rep. Carolyn Bordeaux. Also announcing she’ll seek the 7th District seat was Democratic state Rep. Donna McLeod of Lawrenceville.
The General Assembly swings back into action for the 2022 session on Jan. 10.
This article appears on Now Habersham through a news partnership with GPB News
Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski presents a closing argument to the jury during the trial of Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and William "Roddie" Bryan, at the Glynn County Courthouse, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga. The three men charged with the February 2020 slaying of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, Pool)
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (GA Recorder) – The lead prosecutor in Monday’s closing arguments accused the three white defendants of chasing Ahmaud Arbery because he was Black, a decision that led to his shooting death on a Brunswick-area street Sunday afternoon in 2020.
The Glynn County murder trial is set to resume Tuesday with the state’s prosecutors expected to present a two-hour rebuttal following a day where the attorneys for father and son Greg and Travis McMichaels repeated claims of self-defense while making a lawful citizen’s arrest. Meanwhile, their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan’s attorney, distanced Bryan from the McMichaels’ decisions to bring their guns with them as they chased Arbery in their pickup trucks.
In her closing statement, Cobb County senior assistant district attorney Linda Dunikoski pressed that Arbery’s race as a factor for the defendants after spotting a “Black man running down the street” of the Brunswick neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020.
Until Monday, references to the racial tensions that pervade the case were largely kept out of the courtroom save for requests by Bryan’s attorney to bar Black pastors from comforting the Arbery family in the courtroom.
Travis McMichael testified last week that a neighbor tipped his father off about seeing Arbery in the Satilla Shores neighborhood after Arbery had previously been on a home construction site several times. The McMichaels say the neighborhood had been on edge about property crimes going back to 2019.
Dunikoski countered that after five minutes of being chased and cornered by the McMichaels and Bryan, Arbery’s only offenses that caused his pursuit were being a “looky-loo” several times at the home that was under construction and being Black.
McMichaels and Bryan reacted based on speculation instead of immediate knowledge that Arbery committed a crime that might have justified an attempted citizen’s arrest.
“They shot and killed him, not because he was a threat to them, but because he wouldn’t stop and talk to them,” she said.
Jason Sheffield, Travis McMichaels’ attorney, denied that Arbery was targeted due to his race. He also referred to the McMichaels questioning a homeless white man about whether he was involved in burglaries within the subdivision.
Defense attorneys argued Monday that enough evidence existed to suggest that Arbery was not just trespassing at the construction site on neighbor Larry English’s property, but could reasonably be suspected of burglary.
Arbery was not linked to any property crime in the neighborhood.
“We can all sit here right now and say what the state has said from the very beginning and what Travis himself recognizes: If he had only stayed home that day. If he just sat on the couch and fallen asleep with his kid that day,” Sheffield said. “Travis told you there’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t think that exact same thing. But the law allows a citizen to make a citizens’ arrest.”
Russell Covey, a Georgia State University criminal law professor, said it’s been obvious that race is front and center leading up to and throughout the trial.
Bryan’s cell phone video showing the last moments of Arbery’s life ratcheted up national calls for justice after it depicted the shooting of an unarmed Black man in a racially divided coastal Georgia community. In response to the outrage, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over a case where initial prosecutors agreed a citizen’s arrest was justification.
The jury makeup has been criticized for only having one Black member in a case where race permeates the proceedings, even as Gough declared during selection he didn’t believe the case was about race.
Even after the state trial is over, the McMichaels and Bryan are due to stand trial in federal court on Feb. 7 on charges of murder and attempted kidnapping as well as a federal hate crime statute.
“It’s the ghost that’s been haunting this trial,” Covey said. “I can’t imagine that anybody could spend five minutes in this courtroom and not be aware that race is not an issue here.”
Greg McMichael’s attorney Laura Hogue said Arbery is not a victim, but rather a 25-year-old who made bad decisions that led to him showing up to Satilla Shores wearing shorts and “no socks to cover his long, dirty toenails.”
Hogue drew those gritty details from a medical examiner’s testimony earlier in the trial.
There can be little doubt that Arbery knew why the McMichaels were trying to detain him after being spotted by a neighbor near the open unsecured construction site, she said.
“A beautiful teenager with a broad smile and a crooked baseball cap can go astray,” Hogue said. “He can deteriorate and lose his way and years later he can begin creeping into a home that is not his own and running away instead of facing the consequences.”
Dunikoski denied that Arbery posed a threat. According to the McMichaels attorneys, Arbery would not have been shot if he had gone a different direction at the end of the chase.
A central question for the jury is whether the McMichael’s claims of self-defense during their confrontation with Arbery are justified.
“Three on one, two pickup trucks, two guns,” Dunikoski said. “Mr. Arbery, nothing in his pockets, not a cell phone, not a gun, not even an ID. They want you to believe that he was a danger to them.”
If you are the initial unjustified aggressor, you don’t get to claim self defense, she said.
“If you’re committing a felony against somebody you don’t get to claim self defense,” Dunikoski said.
Meanwhile, Bryan’s attorney also sought to distance his client from the McMichaels by saying Bryan did not know the McMichaels were carrying guns until the chase was ending.
William “Roddie” Bryan, right, sits with his attorneys before the start of closing arguments to the jury. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, Pool)
It was mere seconds before the shooting that Bryan realized McMichaels were armed, and he cooperated with police, including letting them know he recorded the pursuit, attorney Kevin Gough said during his closing Monday.
The prosecution has painted Bryan as a willing participant in trying to corner and run Arbery off the road during the chase, saying he repeatedly bumped him with his pickup truck during the chase.
“Had Roddie Bryan stayed in bed today, if Roddie Bryan had stayed on his front porch, would Ahmaud Arbery be alive today?” Gough asked. “And the state’s theory, and I’m not saying it’s the case, but if the theory is these men, vigilantes harbouring some ill-will, what difference does it make if Mr. Bryan is there? Mr. Arbery can’t outrun bullets.”
The closing arguments come after the state called about two dozen witnesses to the stand, including multiple police officers and investigators who interacted with the McMichaels and Bryan.
With TFS out for the Thanksgiving break, the Indians and Lady Indians were in action Monday evening at the Andy Landers Basketball Tournament. Facing off with the Purple Hurricanes, the girls blew past Monroe Area. Meanwhile, the boys earned an easy win over Monsignor Donovan Catholic school.
GIRLS
Charlie Cody (photo by Austin Poffenberger)
The Lady Indians rebounded with a 72-44 win over Monroe Area. TFS went up 20-9 in the first, and led 39-20 at the half. The lead grew to 26 points going into the final quarter.
The scoring distribution was as good as its been this season. Denika Lightbourne and Veronaye Charlton both had 17 points apiece, and Kailyn Neal followed with 13. Haygen James had 8 points, Molly Mitchell had 7, and Macy Murdock and Breelyn Wood both had 4 points. Allie Phasavang rounded out the scoring with 2 points.
The girls are now 2-2 on the season.
BOYS
The Indians also ran away in a blowout win, taking their fourth straight win to open the season. The boys won 63-39 over Monsignor Donovan. Anfernee Hanna continued his impressive season with a team-high 16 points. Charlie Cody followed with 13 points in the win.
The Habersham County Senior Center is strapped for volunteers for their Meals on Wheels program, which provides food to senior citizens who cannot go out and get the food they need on their own.
According to Habersham County Meals on Wheels Program Specialist Teri Lewis, the program lost around 20 volunteers last year due to fear of contracting COVID-19, but Lewis assures potential volunteers that Meals on Wheels has COVID-19 safety precautions in place to protect volunteers and senior citizens.
Habersham County’s Meals on Wheels program currently delivers to 160 people and distributes more than 3,500 meals monthly, with six daily delivery routes plus two additional frozen meal delivery routes on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Lewis says that without Meals on Wheels, the seniors they serve would “very much suffer from lack of nutrition and contact with people.”
“Many of our clients have no family in the area, so we are often the only people they see,” Lewis says. “We are helping folks to be able to stay in their home, versus going to a nursing home that is very expensive.”
People who volunteer with Meals on Wheels can volunteer as little or as much as they’d like, and Lewis says a usual route only takes about one hour to an hour and a half to complete.
Meals on Wheels isn’t just providing food and friendship to seniors, volunteers with the program can also help seniors get access to the resources they need.
“In addition to the nutrition we are providing, we are doing a wellness check and resource referral for those that might need it,” Lewis says. Those resources range from heating assistance to legal help.
The program needs more helping hands; volunteers are essential to keep the program running. During the holiday season, where many citizens are looking at joining volunteer organizations and donating their time to help others, Habersham County’s Meals on Wheels program could use that help.
“People like to give back to their community and feel that they help make a difference locally,” Lewis says. “As our population ages with boomers retiring we expect to see more need in the future.”
Anyone over 18 years old who wants to get involved with Meals on Wheels should contact the Habersham County Senior Center at (706) 839-0260 and ask to speak with the volunteer coordinator. Volunteers will be required to undergo a background check and fingerprinting, which costs $47.50— the fee is optional for volunteers to pay.
Volunteers will use their own vehicle and gasoline to complete deliveries and can partake in orientation and a practice run for their route.
“Without them [volunteers], there would be no Meals on Wheels program,” Lewis says. “They are vital to our service and we are grateful to those willing to serve.”
If you are 65 or older, live in Habersham County and are in need of assistance, you are eligible for Meals on Wheels.
A 74-year-old Mt. Airy man accused of committing sex crimes against a teenaged girl is out of jail on bond. On Monday, James Henry Kinney was released from the Habersham County Detention Center after spending five days behind bars.
Sheriff’s investigators arrested Kinney on November 18 and charged him with one count of child molestation and one count of sexual battery. They began investigating the case a day earlier when school officials alerted them that the student was a victim of “online crimes,” jail records show.
According to the arrest warrants, Kinney allegedly sexually abused the girl sometime between May 1 and September 11 of this year when she was fifteen years old.
Saturday, thousands turned out for the City of Gainesville’s annual Jingle Mingle and Lighting of the Chicken, where the city offers free holiday fun for attendees and officially starts the Christmas season with the lighting of a 25-foot chicken.
People from all over Northeast Georgia and surrounding communities attended the event for food, drink and shopping deals on the Gainesville square. Attendees also took part in free family activities, from pictures with Santa and the Coca-Cola bear to carriage rides and hot cocoa, all activities were available to everyone at no cost.
The city offered free carriage rides through the Historic Downtown Gainesville Square. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
As the sun went down, the city came to life with Christmas magic, from glowing trees and Christmas lights to snow falling from lamp posts. Once the city fell into darkness, it was time for the main event: the lighting of the chicken.
As the sun went down in Gainesville, holidays lights made trees and lamp posts glow as bubbles resembling snow fell onto attendees gathered at the Jingle Mingle. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
Gainesville is the poultry capital of the nation, and to honor the chickens and workers that have contributed to the city’s success, the city lights a 25-foot metal chicken in lieu of a tree. This annual event is a community favorite, and one of the most well-attended events of the year.
Janice Wood (left) and Amy Hendrix (right) of Gainesville show off their Christmas apparel as they spend time with friends and family. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
Before the lighting of the chicken, City of Gainesville Mayor Danny Dunagan addressed the crowd, thanking everyone for attending the city’s event. Dunagan said this year’s crowd may be the biggest yet. After last year’s virtual lighting, citizens seemed excited to get back to enjoying city events and holiday traditions.
The chicken will stay alight through the holiday season, and visitors can see the chicken in all its 25-foot, glowing glory in Downtown Gainesville until the end of the year.
The chicken is lit, it’s Christmas in Gainesville! (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)Brenau University junior music major Lainie Ewers performs “Let it Snow” after the city lights up the chicken. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
Habersham County’s animal shelter is full of loveable, adoptable animals just waiting to find their homes for the holidays.
Bandits, a senior male cat available for adoption at the Habersham County Animal Shelter, is affectionate, sweet, cuddly and would love to have a warm place to call home. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
This week, Now Habersham is featuring Bandits the cat and Patton the dog, two animals who were rescued by Habersham County Animal Care and Control from dangerous situations. While they might have come from bad places, these two animals love people and would be happy to be part of someone’s forever family.
Meet Bandits
Bandits, a male senior cat, was rescued from a hoarding case in Clarkesville. He may be old, but he’s far from grumpy.
“Being held is the highlight of my day,” Bandits says. “I love to cuddle and give kisses. The place I’d be happiest is with a laid-back person— or a family— that would like to have a snuggle buddy while they watch TV.”
Bandits is very affectionate, and would really like to be adopted by someone who likes to cuddle. He’d also like a home where he can get his paws on some good, filling meals.
“I hear there’s a holiday coming up where all people do is eat turkey, and that’s the kind of holiday I’d love to celebrate,” he says. “I’m a little thin, and chowing down on some turkey in a nice, warm house full of sleepy people would be the best way to spend the day.”
Bandits was rescued from a Clarkesville hoarding case and is hoping to find his home for the holidays— somewhere warm, with humans that love to cuddle and lots of food for him to eat. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
Meet Patton
Patton, an adult male pit bull mix, is a former stray available for adoption at the Habersham County Animal Shelter. (Habersham County Animal Care and Control)
Patton, a young male pit bull mix, was found a stray in Cornelia. You’d think Patton might be a little nervous around humans after being on the streets— but he’s just the opposite.
“I can’t wait to find my home,” Patton says. “I love people, and I am so ready to get to have a family of my very own.”
Patton loves attention, whether that’s listening to you speak, playtime, scratches or cuddles, he can’t wait to be part of it. He says that he’s excited for all those things to be part of his life, and he hopes that day is just around the corner.
“I’ve never known what home is like, having a safe place to go at the end of the day, and it’s going to be so exciting when I have one,” he says. “I’ll be right here at the shelter, waiting for my forever family to pick me up and take me there.”
Patton may have been a stray, but he loves humans. He hopes that he can find some people to love on soon, and hopes he can be part of someone’s forever family. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
If you’re interested in adopting Bandits, Patton 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.
Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski presents a closing argument to the jury during the trial of Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and William "Roddie" Bryan, at the Glynn County Courthouse, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga. The three men charged with the February 2020 slaying of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, Pool)
None of the three white men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery had cause to make a citizen’s arrest when they saw him in their neighborhood, according to a prosecutor, who said Monday in closing arguments that the defendants decided to pursue him “because he was a Black man running down their street.”
Closing arguments before a disproportionately white jury began after 10 days of testimony that concluded last week, not long after the man who shot Arbery testified he pulled the trigger in self-defense.
Prosector Linda Dunikoski told the jury on Monday the defendants had no evidence Arbery had committed crimes in their neighborhood, but instead acted on assumptions based on neighborhood gossip and speculative social media posts.
“All three of these defendants made assumptions, made assumptions about what was going on that day and they made the decision to attack Ahmaud Arbery in their driveways because he was a Black man running down their street,” Dunikoski said.
“They shot and killed him. Not because he was a threat to them. But because he wouldn’t stop and talk to them.”
Defendant Travis McMichael sits next to defense attorney Robert Rubin, during his trial at the Glynn County Courthouse, Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga. (Credit: Pool photo)
Arbery’s killing became part of a larger, national reckoning on racial injustice after a graphic video of his death leaked online two months later. Though prosecutors didn’t argue that racism motivated the killing, federal authorities have charged all three men with hate crimes, alleging that they chased and killed Arbery because he was Black.
Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael grabbed guns and pursued Arbery, 25, in a pickup truck after spotting him running in their neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase and recorded the video of Travis McMichael opening fire as Arbery threw punches and grabbed for his shotgun.
Defendant Gregory McMichael looks on during his trial at the Glynn County Courthouse, Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga. (Credit: Pool photo)
No one was charged in the killing until Bryan’s video leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police. All three men face counts of murder and other charges.
Defense attorneys say the men suspected Arbery had burglarized a house under construction and intended to hold him until police arrived. Security cameras recorded him inside the home five times between October 2019 and the day Arbery was killed. None of the videos showed him stealing or damaging anything.
Dunikoski said the McMichaels and Bryan chased Arbery for five minutes, using their trucks to cut him off, run him off the road and otherwise prevent him from fleeing. And she repeated Greg Michael’s words to local police after the shooting that Arbery was “trapped like a rat.”
Defendant William “Roddie” Bryan looks on during his trial at Glynn County Superior Court in Brunswick, Ga., on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. (Credit: Pool photo)
Bryan recorded Travis McMichael standing with a shotgun outside the driver’s side door of his idling truck when Arbery approached on foot, then ran around the passenger side. They met in front of the truck, which blocked the camera’s view when Travis McMichael fired the first of three shotgun blasts. The video shows Arbery punching him and grabbing for the gun as two more shots are fired, then Arbery turns to try to run again before falling facedown in the street.
Dunikoski noted Arbery never threatened the McMichaels during the chase, and he carried no weapons.
“You can’t bring a gun to a fistfight. It’s unfair, right?” the prosecutor said.
She said it was Travis McMichael who attacked Arbery — first with his truck, then by pointing a shotgun at him as Arbery ran toward him.
“They can’t claim self-defense under the law because they were the initial, unjustified aggressors,” Dunikoski said, “and they started this.”
Arbery had enrolled at a technical college and was preparing to study to become an electrician like his uncles when he was killed. The McMichaels told police they suspected Arbery was a burglar because security cameras had recorded him several times in the unfinished house on their street.
This article appears on Now Habersham through a news partnership with GPB News
The likely new Congressional map in Georgia drastically alters the boundaries and partisan makeup of the 6th Congressional district.
Georgia is one step closer to a new congressional redistricting map that bucks political and demographic trends to give Republicans another seat in the delegation.
With a 96-68 vote, the Georgia House voted Monday to send the GOP-backed proposal to Gov. Brian Kemp before the end of the special session.
The new map removes Democratic precincts in DeKalb County from Georgia’s 6th Congressional District and adds in heavily conservative parts of Cherokee County, all of Forsyth County and Dawson County, stretching the formerly suburban seat nearly 80 miles north of Atlanta and making it all but impossible for incumbent Rep. Lucy McBath to win.
The neighboring 7th District’s geographical footprint shrinks to include part of Gwinnett County and parts of Johns Creek to create a Democrat-dominated seat. That will likely see incumbent Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux face a primary challenge, as McBath announced she will be running in the new 7th District.
The law does not require U.S. House representatives to live in the district they represent, and current 9th District Rep. Andrew Clyde, a Republican, is also drawn out of his current seat and into the newly vacant 10th District.
This year’s redistricting process is the first time that the federal government does not have to pre-clear changes in Georgia and other jurisdictions with a history of discriminatory changes, but Republicans contend their proposals still comply with the law.
“We don’t draw maps to protect incumbents — an individual who happens to be sitting in the seat,” House redistricting chair Rep. Bonnie Rich (R-Suwanee) said. “We draw maps for the people or the voters or the districts.”
Overall, the new boundaries are likely to elect nine Republicans and five Democrats, while eight Republicans and six Democrats were elected in 2020.
Democrats, nonpartisan redistricting groups and voting rights advocates have objected to the GOP-dominated mapmaking process, arguing that Georgia’s new political boundaries violate the Voting Rights Act and were not created in an open and fair manner.
Rep. Matthew Wilson (D-Brookhaven), who is running for insurance commissioner, citing the lack of public town hall meetings in many of the state’s most populous communities, said Monday that Republicans’ claim of a transparent process “is tantamount to lipstick on a pig.”
“Now we have the map, and we can juxtapose the end result with the words we heard all summer and into the fall,” Wilson said. “And the truth now is quite clear. You’ve been saying one thing — but doing another.”
Georgia has grown by more than 1 million people in the last decade, almost entirely via a surge of Black, Asian and Hispanic people flocking to Atlanta and its surrounding counties. The new map does not add a new majority-minority congressional district, even as the state is on track to be a majority-nonwhite state, if not already.
Boundary lines for the state House and state Senate passed during the special session will create additional districts that will favor Democrats, but the minority party objects to where and how those seats are drawn. Lawsuits over all three maps are all but certain once the governor signs them into law.
“The majority party had an opportunity — indeed, an obligation — to implement a fair and transparent participant process to work across party lines on maps that are equitable for all Georgians,” Minority Leader James Beverly (D-Macon) said. “Instead, they chose the process of closed doors, locked gates, closed processes to deter participation in the democratic process.”
House Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones (R-Milton) said changes to specific congressional districts cannot be viewed in a vacuum, noting each new boundary “is a piece of a large, complicated and changing population puzzle.”
“That puzzle, the state of Georgia, has seen shifts in population growth that drove changes in congressional maps rippling east, west, north and south,” she said. “And yes, the 6th was short by a mere 657 persons, but the districts touching it and those not touching it required movements that the 6th and all other 13 congressional districts cannot escape.”
This article appears on Now Habersham through a news partnership with GPB News
Susie Stanley Holland, age 78 of Alto, Georgia took her heavenly flight home on Saturday, November 20, 2021, at her residence following an extended illness.
Born in Alto, Georgia on April 03, 1943, she was a daughter of the late J.C. & Beulah Wade Stanley. Susie retired from Mount Vernon Mills with over 20 years of dedicated service. In early years, she enjoyed trips with her husband as he drove a truck across the country and in later years adventures of traveling with the ladies from her church. Most of all, Susie loved her family tremendously, especially enjoying time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She attended Cornelia Congregational Holiness Church.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Eugene Holland; brothers, George Meeks & Donald Stanley; and a sister, Geraldine Free.
Survivors include her daughter & son-in-law, Suzanne Holland Harrison & Charles Harrison of Alto, GA; sister & brother-in-law, Janell & Melvin Thompson of Lula, GA; grandchildren, Makesha Cook Murphy & Paul Murphy of Southport, NC; Makayla Cook Holcombe of Habersham County; great-grandchildren, Kaveri Holcombe, Daylen Holcombe, & Jaeyli Holcombe all of Alto, GA; Zeke & Winter Murphy of Southport, NC; special niece, Salena Thompson Roach of Lula, GA; many nieces, nephews, other relatives, & friends.
Funeral services are scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Friday, November 26, 2021, at Hillside Memorial Chapel in Clarkesville with Rev. Scott Ledbetter & Rev. Anthony Cook officiating. Interment will follow in Yonah Memorial Gardens.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 11:00 a.m. until the service hour on Friday.
Hatler Hilton Smith, age 87, of Cornelia, GA, passed from this life on Sunday, November 21, 2021.
Born in LaFollette, Tennessee, on April 4, 1934, he was the son of the late Hatler Payne Smith and Mildred Hilton Smith. Hilton graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy in 1956; and received his Master’s of Education from Emory in 1960. Hilton earned his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Georgia State University in 1984.
He served as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force with the 78th Tactical Fighter Squadron (and Hilton always said if he told us any more, he’d have to shoot us).
Hilton was a career educator, beginning as a high school history teacher in Atlanta. He soon was giving in-service demonstrations on how to conduct history simulations to teachers in the Atlanta area. Always on the cutting edge of educational ideas and trends with his eyes firmly on student empowerment, Hilton was instrumental in the development of the Downtown Learning Center, an alternative high school program with an emphasis on inquiry-based learning for at-risk youth. This experience was excellent preparation for the work that most fully enveloped his passion for teaching and learning: his years-long involvement with Foxfire. He spearheaded the Foxfire Program for Teachers which led to the formation of Foxfire Teacher Network groups in many states as well as abroad. He continued to teach the Foxfire Approach to prospective teachers as part of his work at Piedmont College where he taught many courses and served as chair of secondary education for quite a number of years. His retirement in 2019 concluded 60 years dedicated to education. It was Hilton’s firm belief that only through an educated citizenry would our democracy continue to grow and flourish.
No obituary for Hilton Smith would be complete without mention of his love for music. He was a jazz aficionado who played both bass and trumpet in his youth. He often reminisced about his days as a member of the “Singers and Swingers”. His collection of albums attests to his lifelong love of music, particularly jazz.
Hilton is survived by his wife, Sara Alice Tucker, son, Mark Hilton Smith and wife, Gina Schmidt Smith of Alpharetta; daughter, Deidre Ann deLaughter of Athens; son, Betrand Howard Smith and wife, Kymberly Smith of Helen; stepson, Jason Shane Rodgers and wife, Ji Hye Rodgers of Seoul, South Korea; stepson, Michael Blair Rodgers and wife, Danielle Rodgers of Denver, Colorado; and stepdaughter, Jennifer Quillin Stille and husband, Jeremy Stille of Cornelia.
Hilton and Sara are blessed with sixteen grandchildren:
Anthony Smith, Lauren Kilbourn, Emily Kilbourn Scott, Charlotte Kilbourn Jordan, Anna Marie Smith, Charles Hilton Smith, Emma Grace Smith, Mary Shannon Smith, Emerson Hilton Rodgers, Oliver William Rodgers, Elliott Hudson Rodgers, Owen Thomas Rodgers, Eleanor Holland Rodgers, Sawyer Charles Stille, Sutton Ryan Stille and great-granddaughter, Bailey Allen Smith.
At Hilton’s request, “a convivial gathering of family, friends and former students” will be held on Sunday, November 28, 2021, at the home from 2-5 PM. Please honor Hilton’s dedication to health and long living by observing all social distancing guidelines for the prevention of Covid 19. For those unable to attend on Sunday, there will be another celebration of Hilton’s life around his birthday in the spring.
For those wishing to contribute in Hilton’s memory, please make a donation to The Foxfire Fund: https://www.Foxfire.Org, Donate | Foxfire, or PO Box 541, Mountain City, Georgia 30562 USA
