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Some states forge ahead with COVID-19 booster shots for all adults

By
Laura Olson
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Federal health officials are expected as soon as Friday to expand access to COVID-19 booster shots to all American adults. Some states are jumping ahead, but Georgia hasn’t yet.

WASHINGTON (GA Recorder) — Federal health officials are expected as soon as Friday to expand access to COVID-19 booster shots to all American adults.

But some states aren’t waiting for a green light from D.C.

At least six states already have opened up eligibility for the boosters from Pfizer and Moderna beyond the categories specified by federal health agencies: anyone 65 and older, as well as those 18 to 64 with underlying health conditions or who are at higher risk because of their workplace.

Those states instead have told adult residents that they can seek another shot as long as they meet the other part of the federal rules—they must have received their second Pfizer or Moderna shot at least six months ago. (Anyone who received the one-dose shot from Johnson & Johnson already can receive an additional dose at least two months later under the federal rules.)

Maine became the latest state to expand booster eligibility on Wednesday, joining Colorado, California, New Mexico, West Virginia and Arkansas. New York City officials also have encouraged all adults who meet the timing requirements to seek another shot.

“With Maine and other New England states confronting a sustained surge, and with cold weather sending people indoors, we want to simplify the federal government’s complicated eligibility guidelines and make getting a booster shot as straightforward and easy as possible,” Maine Gov. Janet Mills said in Wednesday’s announcement.

As state officials did in Colorado and New Mexico, Maine officials are justifying the action by simply determining that all of their adult residents live or work in high-risk settings, in order to align with the federal rules.

“Because disease spread is so significant across Colorado, all Coloradans who are 18 years of age and older are at high risk and qualify for a booster shot,” stated the Nov. 10 executive order from Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.

Determining who exactly needs to receive a booster dose has been contentious.

Georgia’s Department of Public Health still recommends boosters of the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines for people 65 or older. Others recommended for a booster are people 18 or older who work in long-term care facilities, have underlying medical conditions or live in a high-risk setting.

Pfizer initially sought to offer booster doses to all American adults, and the Biden administration proclaimed in mid-August that it would launch a national booster campaign by Sept. 20.

But vaccine experts who advise the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended narrower eligibility requirements, expressing skepticism that the available data shows a need for everyone to receive another dose. The CDC’s vaccine panel declined to recommend including employees at higher risk of exposure to the virus at their workplace, but the top CDC official added them back in the agency’s official guidance.

Polis has been critical of federal health officials, saying during an appearance Sunday on the CBS show “Face the Nation” that he has “been very frustrated with the convoluted messaging” from the CDC as well as the FDA.

During a press briefing Wednesday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who heads the CDC, sidestepped a question about the states that are forging ahead of her agency on booster-shot policy.

“FDA is currently evaluating data on the authorization of booster doses for all people over age 18,” she said. “As we’ve done before, CDC will quickly review the safety and effectiveness data and make recommendations as soon as we hear from FDA.”

Walensky added that those who are currently eligible for a booster shot are encouraged to seek one as soon as they can.

The New York Times has reported that the FDA is aiming to authorize booster doses of Pfizer’s vaccine for all adults as early as Thursday. A CDC panel that crafts vaccine recommendations is scheduled to meet Friday.

Georgia Recorder Editor John McCosh contributed to this report.

GHSA mulling new Class A setup

By
Todd Holcomb
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The Georgia High School Association’s reclassification committee will consider a proposal today that could bring Class A public and private schools together again, competing for the same championships for the first time in 10 years.

The plan, proposed by reclassification members Steven Craft and Jasper Jewell, calls for Class A to reorganize into divisions of large and smaller schools rather than public and private schools.

Change is necessary because the GHSA next year could be down to about 25 Class A Private schools that field football teams. Ten Class A private schools have announced this month their intentions to leave the GHSA for another association, and more departures are possible.

“Clearly, something has to be done in Class A due to the shrinking number of private schools,” GHSA executive director Robin Hines said Wednesday. “There’s not enough to fill a 32-team bracket in football. That in itself lends itself to needing some type of change. What that is and what it will look like, I couldn’t tell you.”

Lakeview Academy on Wednesday became the latest GHSA member to announce that it will move to the Georgia Independent School Association next year.

A Class A Private school in Gainesville, Lakeview has been a GHSA member since the early 1970s. It played its first varsity football game in 2007. Lakeview’s departure leaves the GHSA with 24 football-playing private schools in Class A.

Lakeview head of school Dr. Kirsty Montgomery stated in a Wednesday email to the school community that the decision was made Monday.

Craft, also the athletic director of Fulton County Schools, described his plan as a conversation starter only. Any decision would require the approval of the GHSA’s executive committee, which meets next month.

“There will be lot of conversation on how to fix our issues with single A,” Craft said. “Every option needs to be on the table and discussed. We owe it to all member schools to have meaningful state championship experiences.”

Craft would recommend applying the 3.0 out-of-zone multiplier to the Class A schools’ enrollment before dividing the schools. If that’s done, virtually all football-playing private schools would land in the Class A upper division, leaving the lower division predominantly public.

The plan also would allow Class A schools to petition to move up into higher classifications. That could be viewed as a safety valve for public schools that still aren’t eager to face the private schools in state playoffs and meets.

In 2011, about 30 smaller public schools threatened to pull out of the GHSA if not allowed to compete for their own state championships. The GHSA split Class A into public and private divisions beginning with the 2012-13 academic year. The GHSA essentially made Class A two classifications in 2020 by giving private and public schools eight regions each. Before, they shared regions but split for the playoffs.

The nine other GHSA members that have announced they are joining GISA next year are Deerfield-Windsor, Tattnall Square, Stratford Academy, Mount de Sales, First Presbyterian, Heritage of Newnan, George Walton Academy, Strong Rock Christian and St. Anne-Pacelli.

St. Anne-Pacelli, a GHSA member since 1960, and Lakeview are the only ones among the 10 with no previous sports association with GISA. Both this week cited a new GHSA rule that redefined private school’s attendance zones, making it harder for transfer students to get immediate athletic eligibility. St. Anne-Pacelli also pointed to the GHSA’s decision to raise the enrollment ceiling for Class A schools to 585 from 525.

“This forces our student-athletes to compete against even larger schools than we are already competing against,” Black said. St. Anne-Pacelli has 293 students, according to the data the GHSA used to classify its schools this year.

Also today, the GHSA will hear appeals from an expected 23 schools requesting to change regions within their assigned classifications. Among those expected to appeal are Central Gwinnett, Discovery and Osborne from the highest classification and Seckinger, the newest Gwinnett County high school that’s scheduled to open in 2022. Seckinger is seeking to move from Region 6-4A, made up primarily of DeKalb County schools, into 8-4A, which includes schools from Hall, Clarke and Oconee counties and the surrounding areas.

Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily. To sign up for GHSF’s free email newsletter click here.

Watch the Skies: Longest partial lunar eclipse in centuries

By
Tyler Penland
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The talk of the sky this coming week is a partial lunar eclipse. This isn’t some ordinary eclipse, though, so if you don’t mind being up very late Thursday, Nov. 18 (or very early Friday, Nov. 19) it’s definitely worth checking out.

The last partial lunar eclipse occurred over North Georgia back in May during the wee hours of the morning. Clouds obscured most of it but only about 25-30% of the moon was even covered. The last total eclipse came all the way back in January of 2019 when beautiful, albeit cold, weather allowed great visibility.

This upcoming eclipse will look much closer to the 2019 total than the partial early this year. In fact, it will very nearly be a total eclipse itself. At maximum eclipse, a whopping 97% of the moon will be immersed in Earth’s shadow. This will leave the tiniest sliver still illuminated by the sun. Even that sliver will be dimmer than usual since it will be solidly in the Earth’s penumbral shadow, the part of the shadow that still receives some light from the sun.

Penumbral lunar eclipse illustration with positions of Sun, Earth, and Moon in space
Source: timeanddate.com

During most partial eclipses where significantly smaller portions lie inside the Earth’s umbra the moon never really takes on the reddish tint you see during a total eclipse. This won’t be the case this time. With the exceptionally large percentage totally eclipsed the moon should appear almost as a strange diamond ring in the sky with a hint of bright light on the edge of a red disc. This red tint is caused by sunlight shining through the Earth’s atmosphere and refracting towards the moon. You are essentially seeing all the sunrises and sunsets on the Earth being reflected on the moon’s surface at once!

This will be an especially long eclipse, the longest in hundreds of years, in fact. From the time the moon enters the penumbra to the time it exits will take just over 6 hours. It will spend 3 hours and 28 minutes partially eclipsed by the umbra, the longest of this century. This is because the eclipse is occurring at apogee when the moon is farthest from the Earth. This is also the point in its orbit when the moon is traveling the slowest, hence why it takes so long to traverse Earth’s shadow. In comparison, the total lunar eclipse this past May that was visible from Asia and the western US lasted an hour less time than the upcoming one will.

Enjoy Now Hab’s exclusive “Watch the Skies” feature Sundays on nowhabersham.com.

Thursday night/Friday morning is the time to head outside. Locally, the moon will begin its penumbral phase at 1:02 AM but this won’t be noticeable with the naked eye for a while. It will begin the partial phase a bit over an hour later at 2:19 AM. The moon will reach greatest eclipse with 97% of its surface covered at 4:03 AM and exit the partial phase at 5:47 AM. It will finally exit the penumbra some 6 hours after it started at 7:03 AM.

Local sunrise occurs at 7:13 AM so the entire eclipse will be visible, and at maximum eclipse, the moon will still be high in the western sky.

While you are checking out the eclipse, be sure to check out the nearby Pleiades which will be just above the moon.

As always, watch the skies!

Cleveland police chief urges drivers to ‘drive defensively’ following multiple accidents

By
Dean Dyer, WRWH Radio
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Following three separate auto accidents in Cleveland within a quarter-mile of each other, in less than 24-hours, with two of those at the same intersection Cleveland Police Chief Jeff Shoemaker is calling on drivers to be more defensive while driving.

The three accidents, one Tuesday and the other two on Wednesday morning were on the Appalachian Parkway did not result in serious injuries,

Shoemaker says there were common factors that led to these and other crashes, “ the primary contributing factors we are seeing are red-light violations, stop sign violations, following too closely in rear-end type collisions and failure to yield right of way to other traffic when you are primarily turning left onto another roadway,” said Shoemaker.

The two accidents that occurred Wednesday morning were within 30 minutes of each other and occurred at the intersection of South Main and The Appalachian Parkway.

Chief Shoemaker said there are things you can do to help avoid a collision, “We would encourage our drivers to drive defensively and be on the lookout for actions other motorists are taking and try to avoid them when possible. When you come upon a traffic signal obey the signal, don’t try to beat the yellow light through the intersection. Use that yellow light as an opportunity to slow down,” he said.

Travis McMichael defends shooting Arbery, testifies he feared for his life

By
Stanley Dunlap
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Travis McMichael speaks from the witness stand during his trial Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga. McMichael, his father Greg McMichael and their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, are charged with the February 2020 death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, Pool)

(GA Recorder) — Ahmaud Arbery’s killer testified during his murder trial Wednesday that he feared for his life when he fired the fatal shots, ending a five-minute chase of the 25-year-old Black man through a suburban Glynn County neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020.

In Travis McMichael’s four-hour testimony, he repeated that he reacted to the “totality of circumstances” of Arbery being spotted several times at the construction site of a new home in the Satilla Shores neighborhood combined with concerns about property crime. That prompted him and two other white men to chase an unarmed Arbery, leading to the younger McMichael firing three shotgun blasts that day.

Travis McMichael is set to return to the stand Thursday for more cross-examination by prosecutors as he, his father Greg McMichael, and his neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, face potential life sentences in the murder and kidnapping of Arbery.

A couple of weeks after Travis McMichael first encountered Arbery, he says he relied on his training he received while serving in the U.S. Coast Guard when responding to his frantic father alerting him that Arbery was in the suburban Brunswick neighborhood.

Travis McMichael reacted by getting into his pickup truck while carrying his shotgun, picking up his father who was also armed with a gun and going to search for the man suspected of entering the unoccupied house.

Travis McMichael said he drove up next to Arbery a couple of times to calmly ask him what was going on before he noticed Arbery’s demeanor in a third encounter.

“(I said to him) ‘Hey what’s going on, stop a minute, stop a minute, I want to talk to you’ at this point,” Travis McMichael testified. “He’s still running and I noticed at this point he was looking very angry.

“It wasn’t what I expected with me just coming up and talking to him,” Travis McMichael testified. “It was clenched teeth, closed brow. He was mad which made me think, something’s happened.”

Travis McMichael also distanced himself from Bryan, who authorities say attempted to run Arbery into a ditch multiple times after joining in the pursuit in his black pickup truck. Bryan recorded the viral video that spurred widespread outrage and eventually the arrests of the three men charged with Arbery’s murder.

On the stand, McMichael disputed reports that he and his father coordinated with Bryan to try to corner Arbery inside the neighborhood, as he said he drove up and down several streets trying to get to Arbery.

Bryan’s cell phone footage of the chase and shooting became the turning point in the case after local prosecutors had declined to prosecute anyone in the killing. Outside prosecutors and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over weeks after the killing, resulting in the arrest of the three men after they were initially cleared based on their claims of trying to make a citizen’s arrest.

Travis McMichael said he made eye contact with Bryan, but he wasn’t aware who was driving the black truck that Arbery was “interacting” with during the chase. Prosecutors say Bryan struck Arbery several times with his truck, forcing Arbery into a ditch and blocking him from leaving the subdivision.

Travis McMichael testified he saw Arbery run from the black pickup truck in his direction and he became more afraid as his truck blocked his view of Arbery. He said if Arbery had simply jumped into a ditch and run into a yard instead of getting close enough to struggle with him, he would have let him go and the police could have taken over.

“He was in a jog, like a running back ready to bolt and move in any way he wanted,” Travis McMichael said. “As Arbery approaches, I’m pretty sure that he’s going to attack.”

Jason Sheffield, Travis McMichael’s defense attorney, had his client describe how Satilla Shores had been on edge since 2019 because of property crimes committed in the neighborhood. Cobb County Assistant District Attorney Linda Dunikoski contradicted that claim, saying that in 2019, there was only one reported home burglary and several break-ins of unlocked vehicles in the neighborhood, none of which were connected to Arbery.

Chad Posick, a criminal justice professor at Georgia Southern University, said that although it’s unusual for a defendant to testify at a murder trial, Travis McMichael and his lawyers likely felt it would be important for him to take the stand because of the high-profile nature of the case.

Still, some of Wednesday’s testimony might not pass muster for jurors, such as Travis McMichael’s claim he was so concerned about the safety of his father who suffered heart attacks, a stroke and had hip surgery, yet brought him to tag along for the chase which ended with Greg McMichael standing in the bed of the truck holding a handgun.

“You’re saying in one breath that you’re so concerned about an individual and not putting them in harm’s way but what you did was take explicit action to put that person in harm’s way,” Posick said.

And even with training from the Coast Guard, the circumstances leading up to Arbery’s death were not grounds for the McMichaels or Bryan to “be chasing people down and arresting them or using force against citizens,” Posick said.

It should have been left up to police to handle, Posick said.

Wood stove may be to blame for house fire in Demorest

By
Staff Report
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A wood stove may be to blame for a house fire that broke out Tuesday night in Demorest. The residents told firefighters the stove was burning in the area where the fire originated, says Habersham County Emergency Services Director Chad Black.

(Red Bird Media)

The residents said they looked out the back of their house at 1322 Cannon Bridge Road and saw fire. At 7:13 p.m. they called 911. When county, Demorest and Cornelia firefighters arrived, the 1500 square foot single-family structure was approximately 50% involved, says Black.

“Due to [the] amount of involvement, personnel went into a defensive operation of fire attack. All occupants were able to get out with no injuries reported,” he says.

Firefighters contained and extinguished the blaze at the home located next to the Grateful Head Salon in Demorest.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating to determine the exact cause of the fire.

This is at least the second house fire to displace Habersham County residents in the past week. On Friday, November 12, a house fire forced Mount Airy residents from their home after it sustained heavy fire and smoke damage.

Habersham County and Demorest firefighters work to knock down a house fire that broke out November 16, 2021, at 1322 Cannon Bridge Road. (Red Bird Media)
(Red Bird Media)
(Red Bird Media)
(Red Bird Media)
(Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)

Early voting in county commission runoff election begins

By
Staff Report
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(NowHabersham.com)

Early voting starts today at 8 a.m. for the Habersham County Commission runoff election. Ty Akins and Jason Hogan are facing off at the polls after the November 2 election in a 4-person race where no one took more than 50% of the vote.

Akins received 48% of the vote to Hogan’s 24%. They were the top two vote-getters among the candidates which also included Mike Adams and Locke Arnold.

The winner of the runoff will join the Habersham County Commission as the District 5 commissioner, succeeding Tim Stamey who resigned from the commission earlier this year for health reasons.

Habersham County voters who registered by October 4 of this year can vote in the runoff, regardless of if they voted in the special election or not.

Early voting will take place November 17-19, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday voting will occur on November 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and advance voting will begin Monday, November 22 and go through November 24 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

All early and advance voting will take place in the Ruby Fullbright Aquatic Center in Clarkesville.

On election day, voters may report to their usual voting precincts to cast their ballots in the runoff, including the South Precinct which is still temporarily housed in the Cornelia Community Center on Wyly Street.

Mail-in absentee ballots are now available, but due to Georgia’s new voting laws, they may only be requested up until 11 days prior to an election. The deadline to apply for a runoff absentee ballot is 5 p.m. Friday, November 19.

Voters may request an absentee ballot through the Habersham County Elections Office by calling 706-839-0170 or by visiting the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page. Online applications may be returned by mail, fax, email, or in person at the elections office.

Those 65 or older or disabled who voted absentee in the November 2 special election will automatically receive a runoff ballot, according to Habersham County Election Supervisor Laurel Ellison. Anyone else who voted absentee will have to request a runoff mail-in ballot if they plan to vote absentee again.

The deadline for returning absentee ballots is 7 p.m. on election night, November 30.

Georgia Republicans release a congressional redistricting map, adding another likely GOP seat

By
Stephen Fowler
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(Credit: GPB Lawmakers)

Republicans in the Georgia legislature finally unveiled a joint redistricting map that would drastically alter Atlanta’s northern suburbs to create another likely Republican seat — for now.

According to an analysis of the proposal released at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning ahead of redistricting committee meetings that begin at 1:30 p.m., Democrat Lucy McBath’s suburban Atlanta district morphs into a solidly Republican seat that stretches from Marietta and Sandy Springs all the way to Dawson County.

In 2018, McBath flipped the 6th Congressional District, once held by former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and has been a top target for Republicans.

After McBath won by nine points in the 2020 election, the potential new district features an environment that voted for former President Donald Trump by about 15 points. An analysis of the district lines show the dramatic shift comes from adding in conservative strongholds of Forsyth County, Republican parts of Cherokee and Gwinnett County and Dawson County.

“Georgia Republicans, the NRA, and the Republican Party have made eliminating Lucy McBath from Congress their top priority, and they are attempting to do so in a remarkably undemocratic process,” McBath campaign manager Jake Orvis said in a statement. “GA 6 had to change the least of any district in the entire state. It is disappointing to see Republicans in the state legislature attempt to suppress the hundreds of thousands of voters represented by Rep. McBath.”

Credit: Georgia Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office

 

The Republican House and Senate proposal for Georgia’s 14 Congressional districts, released Nov. 17, 2021, would flip the 6th Congressional District to likely Republican control.
Credit: Georgia Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office
The other large change is to the Gwinnett County-based 7th District currently held by Carolyn Bourdeaux, the only Democrat to flip a House seat in 2020. The 7th would become a very safely Democratic district that includes Johns Creek and much of Gwinnett County. Bourdeaux is technically drawn out of this district, but U.S. representatives are not required to live in the district they represent.

The new lines could pit McBath and Bourdeaux against each other in a bitter primary battle, should McBath opt to not keep her current seat in the 6th and attempt to run for the 7th instead.

Republican changes to the 2nd District in Southwest Georgia could also draw further scrutiny and a potential lawsuit, after Rep. Sanford Bishop’s seat appears set to go from being majority-Black to just over 49% Black by adding in Republican-leaning precincts in Muscogee County, all of Thomas County and a mixture of voters in north Houston County while jettisoning Crisp County.

Most Cobb County voters will want to pay attention to the proposals, as the new lines will likely add another representative to the mix: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose Northwest Georgia District 14 expands to include Democratic areas of Powder Springs and Austell.

The 10th District, which will have a new representative following Rep. Jody Hice’s run for secretary of state, moves northward to include all of Athens-Clarke County and other surrounding areas, while the 9th Congressional District dips into Gwinnett County.

Georgia’s population has grown by more than a million residents over the last decade, predominantly through nonwhite voters moving into metro Atlanta. While the maps that are drawn are designed to last the entire decade, Georgia’s demographic and political shifts could make some of the current Republican-held seats more vulnerable to competitive races later this decade.

Public comment on the maps began Wednesday afternoon.

This article appears on Now Habersham through a news partnership with GPB News

Runoff commission candidates discuss platforms, goals for Habersham

By
Hadley Cottingham
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The runoff election between Habersham County Commissioner hopefuls Ty Akins and Jason Hogan begins today, and both candidates sat down with Now Habersham to share a deeper look at their campaigns and hopes for the county.

Akins received 48 percent of the vote to Hogan’s 24 percent in the Nov. 2 special election, but due to not receiving more than half of the vote in an election between four candidates, the election went to a runoff.

The winner of the runoff will join the Habersham County Commission as the District 5 commissioner, succeeding Tim Stamey who resigned from the commission earlier this year for health reasons.

Ty Akins

Ty Akins is a Habersham County business owner, and serves on the Habersham County Development Authority and Habersham, Banks and Rabun Joint Development Authority. He believes his awareness of development, business and budgeting make him the best fit for the District 5 commissioner seat.

Akins’s main focuses of his campaign are business opportunities and communication with Habersham’s citizens. He says that knowing the needs of citizens is important, especially when it comes to development. He referred to development and annexation that’s happened around the county, mainly in Baldwin, that blindsided many residents and left them frustrated.

Akins thanks attendees at November’s Habersham County GOP meeting for their support, and shares some of his goals for the county. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)

“You’re not going to make everyone happy, but I think they [citizens] just like the opportunity to speak, listen and be heard,” Akins says. “Nobody likes stuff sprung on them, that’s just not respectful of the people that you live with.”

 

He says that his hope as a commissioner would be to continue informing the public of discussions happening at the county level, as well as making sure citizens have an opportunity to voice their thoughts.

“People get busy and they don’t always have an opportunity to go to every planning meeting and every zoning meeting, so I think what Bruce Palmer started with the town hall is a great opportunity,” Akins said. “It’s an opportunity for feedback from the community and also tell them what’s going on.”

Akins says that while he doesn’t plan to instate any new programs or events to make sure the community and the county’s governing body are working together and listening, he says that he is available to hear citizen concerns.

“[That’s] the very nature of my job and what I’ve chosen to be involved with over the years,” he says. “I’m out seeing people anyway over the course of my day, and I have an open door right here in Downtown Clarkesville.”

Akins is hopeful to further business development in the county. He says that it should be easy for businesses to come to Habersham in order to take some of the county and state’s tax burden away from homeowners.

“We need it [development],” Akins says. “Our tax base is heavily residential, and we want more of that burden on businesses. As a business owner, I don’t say that lightly.”

He says that business development isn’t just important for tax purposes, though. From his own experience, he knows how important it is for families to stay together, and that children who have grown up in the Habersham community should have the opportunity to stay in the county.

“My son graduated high school here and has a job right here in Habersham, and he’s looking for a house,” Akins says. “I think that’s what a lot of folks want, . . . if you have a good relationship with your kids and want them to get educated and have an opportunity right here and stay near their family, . . . you should have that opportunity.”

Jason Hogan

Hogan works with government authorities every day in his job with the Rabun County School System, where he works as director of maintenance and facilities. He’s no stranger to water and sewer infrastructure, which he works with on a day-to-day basis, and is also experienced when it comes to using government funds and working with the county board of education to keep Rabun’s schools running.

Hogan tells Habersham GOP meeting attendees about his hopes to help the Habersham Medical Center become an institution with more resources, where locals can confidently get medical care. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)

“One of my biggest things is trying to get good relationships between the cities, county and board of education,” Hogan says. “We’re all divided by districts, but we have one big line around Habersham County. If we can work together, we can accomplish a whole lot more.”

 

Hogan’s biggest focus of his campaign is working with all the county’s entities to create a plan for development. He hopes to bring everyone together to discuss each city’s zoning, infrastructure, roads, school capacity and needs to create a plan that will support development, instead of needing to fix issues created by development.

“If we took a map and drew out where all the water is, where all the sewer is, what are all the capacities— to my knowledge nobody’s ever done that,” Hogan said. “How can you start on anything if you don’t know where what you have to work with is?”

He says one of the biggest development needs in the county is for the hospital.

“What I’ve heard for the last 20 years of my life is ‘don’t go to Habersham, they’ll let you die,’ and I don’t like hearing that,” he says. “That’s a huge employer, it’s a huge benefit to the county.”

Bringing in more medical care to the county is important to Hogan. He believes helping the Habersham Medical Center expand its resources, as well as bringing in more specialists to the area so that citizens can get medical care in their county instead of traveling to Gainesville, Athens and Atlanta, will help the county and its citizens.

He says this wouldn’t just keep people who need medical care in Habersham, it would create jobs in the county for healthcare workers, help the county maintain control over the hospital and bring more business to the county, both from people receiving medical care in Habersham and healthcare workers spending more time and money in the county.

“Am I the best candidate? I don’t know,” Hogan says. “That’s going to be left up to the voters, but I will not disappoint [them] if I’m elected in.”

Get out and vote

Both commissioner candidates encourage Habersham’s citizens to get out and vote, even if they didn’t vote in the Nov. 2 special election.

“It is a right, over the years, people didn’t have the right to vote, so exercise that right,” Hogan says. “I’ve always heard people complain ‘oh, I can’t stand this president,’ or ‘I can’t stand this governor,’ typically the first thing I ask them is ‘did you vote?’ and surprisingly, a lot of them say no, and then I say ‘then you have no right to complain.'”

Early voting begins today, Wednesday, Nov. 17, and runs through the 19, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday voting will occur on November 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and advance voting will begin Monday, November 22 and go through November 24 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

RELATED: Early voting in county commission runoff election begins

“I would encourage anyone to go out and vote again,” Akins says. “Tuesday the 30 is election day, and I’ve been encouraged by people who have brought it up to me and said they’d be sure to go out and vote again, and I’m looking forward to serving the county in yet another way.”

Election day in the runoff is on Nov. 30.

How the Level Grove Road closure affected a local florist

By
Hadley Cottingham
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(Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)

The closure of Level Grove Road has been inconvenient for those commuting through Cornelia, and nearby residents have grown frustrated with the construction outside of their homes and apartments, but for businesses on Level Grove Road, the closure has caused loss of customers, revenue and merchandise.

L&D Florist in Cornelia sits on Level Grove Road, right next to the road closure. The business is currently only accessible through Wayside Street, or when traveling west on Level Grove Road. Customers have to take a detour to reach the establishment, which has caused issues for the business.

The florist posted to social media in mid-July, when the road work began, reminding customers that they would remain open during the road closure. “We just wanted you to know – because here at @landdflorist we love our customers,” the florist wrote. (L&D FLorist/Facebook)

“They [customers] do not know the extended routes that they must take to get here, and while yes, there are several options to arrive at our destination, usually their GPS just shows them Level Grove Road,” Says Angie Sampsell, floor manager at L&D Florist. “They don’t understand how to get the alternate location routes, or that there are other ways to get here other than [Level Grove], so they just don’t come.”

Sampsell says that some customers have assumed that they were closed due to the Level Grove construction, while others just haven’t been able to figure out how to access the storefront. Not only has L&D Floral lost customer business due to customers not being able to get to the shop, but delivery drivers have struggled to bring merchandise to them.

“Truck drivers don’t have a way to turn around, and they don’t know the additional routes to get here,” she says. “Once they get here, they can’t get back out onto the four-lane [highway], but most of them can’t get here.”

As of right now, they still haven’t received all of their Christmas merchandise, which should all be out on the sales floor by now. The retailer’s staff is doing the best they can to keep customers coming and orders flowing, but it has been difficult.

“Obviously, you do the best that you can,” Sampsell says. “You try and give directions, whether it’s a customer or a vendor, you’re trying to help them navigate, but then you’re spending a lot of extra time on the phone giving directions and instead of working on the business.”

Sampsell says she wishes the city had reached out to businesses over the course of the project to give them updates, and she says a map highlighting alternate routes for her to share with delivery drivers would have helped them avoid some of the issues they have had over the past 4 months.

While the process has been frustrating, and the retailer has lost business, time and sales over the course of the past few months, they’re hopeful that business will return to normal after the road reopens at the end of the month. Until then, Sampsell wants the community to know that even amidst the road closure, they are still open for business.

“We are open, we are here and we’re happy to serve the community,” she says.

Prosecution rests in trial over the killing of Ahmaud Arbery

By
Associated Press
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Ahmaud Arbery’s mother Wanda Cooper-Jones reacts to autopsy photos entered into evidence during the trial of Greg McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, and a neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan in the Glynn County Courthouse, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga. The three are charged with the February 2020 slaying of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, Pool)

Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday in the trial of three white men charged with chasing and killing Ahmaud Arbery after the jury saw graphic photos of the shotgun wounds that punched a gaping hole in his chest and unleashed bleeding that stained his white T-shirt entirely red.

Prosecutors called 23 witnesses during eight days of testimony. They concluded with Dr. Edmund Donoghue, the state medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Arbery’s body, followed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s lead investigator in the case.

Donoghue testified that Arbery was hit by two of the three shotgun rounds fired at him. He said both gunshots caused such severe bleeding that either blast alone would have killed the 25-year-old Black man.

The first shot at close range tore through an artery in Arbery’s right wrist and punched a big hole in the center of his chest, breaking several ribs and causing heavy internal bleeding, Donoghue said. The second shot missed entirely. The third shot fired at point-blank range ripped through a major artery and vein near his left armpit and fractured bones in his shoulder and upper arm.

“Is there anything law enforcement or EMS could have done to save his life at the scene?” prosecutor Linda Dunikoski asked.

“I don’t think so. No,” Donoghue replied.

Donoghue performed an autopsy on Feb. 24, 2020, the day after Arbery was slain. The jury saw close-up photos of his injuries, which included several large abrasions to Arbery’s face from when he fell facedown in the street following the third gunshot. Photos of his clothing showed his T-shirt turned red with blood. Cellphone video of the shooting shows it had been white.

Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski shows a photo of the bloody tee shirt with a large hole in it during Dr. Edmund R. Donoghue testimony, during the trial of Greg McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, and a neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan in the Glynn County Courthouse, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga.
Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski shows a photo of the bloody tee shirt with a large hole in it during Dr. Edmund R. Donoghue testimony, during the trial of Greg McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, and a neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan in the Glynn County Courthouse, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga. (Credit: Pool photo)

Asked by the prosecutor how Arbery was able to fight back after sustaining such a severe chest wound from the first gunshot, the medical examiner called it a “fight or flight reaction” that raised his heart rate and blood pressure while sending adrenaline coursing through his body.

Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley said defense attorneys would begin their cases Wednesday.

Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck after spotting him running in their neighborhood. Their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan joined the chase and took cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery. All three men are charged with murder and other crimes.

The McMichaels told police they chased Arbery suspecting he was a burglar after security cameras recorded him several times inside a home under construction, five houses away. Defense attorneys say the younger McMichael fired his gun in self-defense after Arbery tried to take it from him.

Prosecutors say they chased Arbery for five minutes to keep him from leaving the Satilla Shores subdivision outside the port city of Brunswick. The chase ended when Arbery, trailed by Bryan’s truck, tried to run around the McMichaels’ truck as it idled in the road ahead. The video shows Travis McMichael confronting Arbery and then shooting him as he throws punches and grapples for the gun.

Greg McMichael, center, listens to his attorney Bob Rubin, right, during his trial in the Glynn County Courthouse, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga
Greg McMichael, center, listens to his attorney Bob Rubin, right, during his trial in the Glynn County Courthouse, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga. (Credit: Pool photo)
Robert Rubin, one of Travis McMichael’s attorneys, noted that the medical examiner wrote in his report that Arbery died from wounds “sustained during a struggle for a shotgun.”

“Were you aware that Mr. Arbery had his hand on the gun?” Rubin asked Donoghue, who answered that he was.

Despite the gunshot to his right wrist, Rubin said, “nothing prevented Mr. Arbery from holding the gun with one hand and swinging and punching with the other hand.”

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Assistant Special Richard Dial testifies during the trial of Greg McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, and a neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan in the Glynn County Courthouse, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Assistant Special Richard Dial testifies during the trial of Greg McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, and a neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan in the Glynn County Courthouse, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Brunswick, Ga. (Credit: Pool photo)
GBI agent Richard Dial, who led the investigation into Arbery’s death, showed the jury maps of the neighborhood where the shooting occurred and a drone video tracing what authorities believe was the path of the chase that ended in the killing. Dial also briefly reviewed the cellphone video of the shooting itself.

Bryan’s attorney, Kevin Gough, asked the investigator whether he agreed that Bryan’s video of the shooting was “consistent with someone who was a witness” to the chase rather than participant.

“He wasn’t a witness,” Dial replied. “It would be consistent that he was still pursuing Mr. Arbery, trying to box him in between two different vehicles.”

This article appears on Now Habersham through a news partnership with GPB News

Round 2 previews

By
Todd Holcomb
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The GHSA State Football Championship playoffs continue this week with several North Georgia area teams heading into the second round. Here’s a preview of area teams set to play Friday, November 19.

Class 3A

Stephens County (8-3) at Burke County (8-2): Stephens County is bidding for its first quarterfinal since 2005. Burke County made the quarters most recently in 2017. Stephens County beat No. 9 Rockmart, the Region 6 champion, 27-13 in the first round. It was the Indians’ first victory over a top-10 team since 2008. T.J. Everett rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Cam Lacy had eight receptions for 152 yards, giving him 988 receiving yards. Bryson Turner intercepted two passes, returning one for a touchdown. Burke County beat Mary Persons 48-21 with 681 total yards. Eldrick “Tiger” Williams rushed for 166 yards, giving him 1,006 on the season. Charlie Dorsey rushed for 132. Marshall Flowers passed for 160. This is the first meeting between these teams.

Appling County (10-1) at Cherokee Bluff (11-0): These teams ordinarily rout their opponents, as they did in the first round – Appling County beating Johnson of Savannah 42-8 and Cherokee Bluff beating Greater Atlanta Christian 38-17. Appling lost to Pierce County 20-0 in the regular-season finale but won its other 10 games by 17 points or more. Cherokee Bluff, a Hall County school in its fourth season, has beaten every opponent by more than 20 points except Dawson County (21-14) and North Hall (21-14). Against GAC, Cherokee Bluff RB Jayquan Smith rushed for 305 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries. He’s run for 1,673 yards on the season. Appling County also has a star running back, Jaylen Johnson, who has returned from injury to run for 350 yards over the past three games. He has 15 Division I offers. Appling’s most heavily recruited

Oconee County (10-1) at Crisp County (8-3): Oconee County was the 2020 Class 3A runner-up. Crisp County was the 2019 runner-up. Oconee County beat Adairsville 29-22 last week in a game in which it was favored by 26 points. Jacob Wright threw an 18-yard TD pass to Whit Weeks to break a 22-22 tie early in the fourth quarter. C.J. Jones rushed for 101 yards in the victory, passing 1,000 for the season. Star TE Jake Johnson, an LSU commit, did not play but is expected back Friday. Crisp County, under former Cedar Grove coach Miguel Patrick, has won eight consecutive games after an 0-3 start. Crisp walloped Harlem 41-0 in the first round. Marquise Palmer surpassed 1,000 yards rushing on the season in the game and has 4,128 for his career. This is the first meeting between these teams.

Dawson County (7-4) at Pierce County (9-2): Dawson County beat No. 7 Sandy Creek 36-27 in one of the bigger first-round upsets. It was Tigers’ fifth consecutive first-round win, but they have lost four straight second-rounders. Against Sandy Creek, Zach Holtzclaw threw three TD passes. A three-year starter, he has thrown for 6,857 yards and 67 touchdowns in his career. Pierce County, the defending Class 3A champion, beat Windsor Forest 42-0 last week. It was the Bears’ sixth shutout of the season, third in a row. D.J. Bell has rushed for 1,078 yards in only six games. Pierce passes fewer than five times per game. Dawson County is 7-0 when scoring 20 points or more, 0-4 when not. Pierce is 9-0 when holding teams to less than 20 points, 0-2 when not. This is the first meeting between these teams.

Class 2A

Jeff Davis (10-1) at Rabun County (10-1): This game matches the highest-scoring team in Class 2A (Rabun County, 50.18 per game) against the team allowing the fewest points in the state (Jeff Davis, 5.4). A win this week would put Rabun County in the quarterfinals for the seventh consecutive season. In a 63-14 victory over Pace Academy last week, QB Gunner Stockton passed for 302 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 154 yards and two TDs. He has 13,048 career passing yards, 854 behind Trevor Lawrence’s career record. Jeff Davis, which beat Jefferson County 40-0 in the first round, is seeking its first quarterfinal appearance since 1990. The Jackets run the ball about 90% of the time. They rushed for than 400 yards last week while holding Jefferson County to 67 total yards.

 

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