Sheriff allowing former investigator time to heal before going jail

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July 14, 2021

Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell is giving one of his former investigators time to recover from injuries before booking him into jail on a DUI charge.

The Georgia State Patrol arrested and charged Chance Oxner on June 28 with DUI less safe after he wrecked his county-issued patrol vehicle on Camp Creek Road. GSP Post 7 Commander Donnie Sadler said at the time that Oxner would be booked into jail when he was released from the hospital.

Oxner was released from Northeast Georgia Medical Center last week, according to the sheriff’s office.

“The Sheriff is allowing him to heal enough to actually be booked in,” says Lt. Matthew Wurtz. “This is not uncommon for him to allow after a serious accident with injuries and several major surgeries.”

On the night of the accident, Oxner reportedly told the investigating trooper that he took Ambien and drank wine before driving. According to Sadler, Oxner blew a .052 “with a partial blow of air” on the alcosensor test the trooper administered at the hospital. Based on the timeline provided by the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, that was more than three hours after the accident. Oxner refused to consent to the trooper’s request for a blood-alcohol test, Sadler said.

According to the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, the wreck happened at 10 p.m. the night of June 28. The Georgia State Patrol and EMS were dispatched to the scene at 11:22 p.m. Asked about the timelines, Lt. Wurtz says he not sure why there is such a large time span.

“I know that GSP was requested as soon as possible, as with any crash with injuries. I do know that Chance was unable to get to his in-car radio due to the damage from the wreck, so I’m sure that had a lot to do with it.”

Oxner was not on duty when he wrecked, according to the sheriff’s office.

The day after the accident, the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office announced that an internal investigation determined Oxner had violated several of the department’s policies. He was fired the same day after nearly 22 years on the job.

Oxner’s arrest the morning after the wreck was his second within a year. The 52-year-old now-former investigator was arrested and jailed last July after an altercation with his son. They were both charged with battery.

Group claims critical race theory being taught in White County schools

By

Dean Dyer, WRWH Radio

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July 14, 2021

CLEVELAND — Is the teaching of critical race theory and social justice being injected into White County Schools? A group, Citizens for Transparent Education, says that it is. They met Tuesday night in Cleveland at The Sunflower Restaurant to discuss how they will confront local school officials about it.

A spokesman for the group, James King, says, “Once the citizens of White County realize that critical race theory is not a threat to White County, but is actively in the schools now, they will express their concern.”

Experts in critical race theory say it’s about acknowledging how racial disparities are embedded in U.S history and society. Critics argue it is designed to divide and alienate people and bring about communist rule.

White County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Laurie Burkett says the group’s accusations are not true.

“I’m super proud of our school district, and I’m super proud of our teachers and what we teach, we will always teach the Georgia Standard of Excellence straight from the department of education,” Burkett says. “That is what we teach in our schools, that is what we teach in our classrooms every single day, and we will continue to do this.”

Citizens for Transparent Education points to meetings held over the past year by a group of school officials who were identified as “Warriors for Social Justice.” Dr. Burkett said the group simply met to talk about current events and express their feelings. “It had nothing to do with students or curriculum — it was our teachers just processing what was happening in the world.”

Even so, King says his group has a plan of action, “I intend to present this information to the board directly at the July 27 meeting and, hopefully, they will respond in a way that the parents will find acceptable and reassuring moving forward,” he says.

RELATED

Georgia school board limits race topics educators can teach

Georgia among 47 states seeing rise in COVID infections

By

Andy Miller

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July 14, 2021

COVID cases as of July 13, 2021 — Northeast Georgia's Franklin County has reported 59 new COVID cases and five COVID-related deaths since July 1. In Habersham, three people died with the virus in June. At least 18,592 people in Georgia have died with COVID-19 since the outbreak began in March 2020. (Source: GA Dept. Public Health)

Georgia’s color-coded county map has begun to show shades that reflect an uptick of COVID cases.

And the state’s graph that tracks daily infections has turned upward after a June bottom.

The state, along with 46 others, has seen an increase in COVID infections over the past two weeks, according to New York Times data. Georgia’s 143 percent rise over the last two weeks exceeds the U.S. average of 94 percent.

More than 99% of all Covid-19 deaths in June were among unvaccinated people

Public health experts are worried that because of the highly contagious delta variant of the virus, the national trend is more than a temporary blip.

“I think this is a regional, if not national, surge related to the delta variant,” Amber Schmidtke, a microbiologist who analyzes COVID in Georgia, said Tuesday. “We’re seeing cases rise in [counties] with low vaccination rates.”

She said conditions are ripe in Georgia for a surge similar to that in Missouri. A COVID outbreak in southwest Missouri (and neighboring northern Arkansas) has become the nation’s biggest, driven by the delta variant, NPR reported.

Springfield, Mo., emergency physician Dr. Howard Jarvis said the COVID-19 patients he’s seeing recently are younger than ever, CNN reported. And all the COVID patients admitted to his hospital during this surge are people who have not been vaccinated.

“If they’re sick enough to be admitted to the hospital, they are unvaccinated. That is the absolute common denominator amongst those patients,” he said.

CDC Director Walensky recently at Dalton clinic. (Credit: WABE)

More than 99% of all Covid-19 deaths in June were among unvaccinated people, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC director.

It’s difficult to determine how widespread the variant is in Georgia, where so little testing for it is being done. But the CDC says delta accounts for more than 50 percent of cases nationwide.

Over the past week, states that have fully vaccinated more than half of their residents have reported an average COVID case rate that is about a third of that in states that have fully vaccinated less than half of their residents, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas are the only states to have fully vaccinated fewer than 35% of their residents. Average daily case rates in each state were among the 10 worst in the country last week.

Georgia’s rate is slightly higher, at 37 percent.

Tammi Brown of Chatham Public Health gets vaccinated. (Photo: Savannah Morning News)

The national increases are “clearly a trend that reflects what happens when you have large numbers of unvaccinated people in the face of a new highly contagious variant and have largely stopped all community-level mitigation efforts,” said Dr. Harry Heiman, a public health expert at Georgia State University.

“National case and hospitalization numbers are clearly going up, as are the numbers of both in Georgia,” he said.

“But you really need to look at the local level to understand what is going on, and there you can see that both across the country and in Georgia, cases and outbreaks are occurring among people who are unvaccinated in areas with lower vaccination rates.”

The increases, Heiman said, “should be a powerful wake-up call to our state leaders that we need to both intensify our outreach and engagement to increase vaccination rates, ensure that adequate testing and contact tracing are in place, and re-institute community level mitigation, targeted to communities with low vaccination rates and high risk for COVID.”

Georgia reported Tuesday 1,200 people testing positive for COVID (including those from antigen tests), along with 19 deaths and 109 hospitalizations due to the disease. Those numbers are far lower than those recorded in other surges.

”I do think we will probably see a continued increase of this variant,” Schmidtke said, adding that she hopes any resulting surge will not reach the levels seen this past winter.

Delta variant Q&A

Strawberry Pecan Pretzel Salad

By

Margie Williamson

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July 14, 2021

Strawberry-Pecan-Pretzel-Salad-1 — This fluffy dessert is another option for a strawberry pretzel dessert salad. (Photo The Gunny Sack)

One of my favorite holiday dishes at our family gatherings is the Pretzel Strawberry Dessert, a.k.a. Pretzel Strawberry Salad. I first had it at a dinner party I attended while out in Orange County, California, on a teaching assignment. It was served as part of the meal, but I also ate it for dessert. I might have had a third helping that time . . .

The salad/dessert/side dish is a layered dish with toasted pretzels on the bottom for the crust, a cream cheese and cool whip mixture in the middle layer, and a strawberry jello with strawberries for the top layer. I’ve always thought it was perfect. At least, it was until the year I tried to save some calories and fat grams by using low sugar/low fat products. The top layer literally slid off the the dish. Needless to say, I have not been asked or allowed to bring it again.

Perfection, by virtue of the definition, means that something can’t get any better. It means that the object is SO perfect that nothing added or done differently would make it better. And that’s what I thought about the Pretzel Strawberry Dessert, a.k.a. Pretzel Strawberry Salad.

That is until my friend, Teresa Brown, brought a brand new dish to a recent ladies’ gathering. Teresa has already been featured here with her Ritz Cracker Pie recipe. It was an amazing recipe. This time the menu for the gathering called for all salads. Teresa dug into online sites and Pinterest, looking for some kind of fruit dessert salad. What she found was the Strawberry Pecan Pretzel Salad. It took that pretzel dessert I already loved, lightened it up a bit, and brought in more crunch by adding pecans.

This is the perfect summer dessert . . . easy to make; cool and light to eat with a pleasing combination of both sweet and crunchy. I enjoyed it so much that I’ll be taking it to the next family gathering. I think they’ll forgive me for what I did to the other pretzel strawberry dessert, and I’m hoping, they’ll forget my transgressions from all those years past. Or, at least that’s my dream!

Strawberry Pecan Pretzel Salad

This serving of salad was garnished with extra diced strawberries and pecan and pretzel pieces. (Margie Williamson/Now Habersham)

Prep time 15 minutes

Cook time 7 minutes

Total time 22 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup crushed pretzels
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
3 cups diced strawberries
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups cool whip (or use whipped cream)

Instructions

Mix together crushed pretzels, chopped pecans, brown sugar and melted butter.
Spread mixture on a large baking sheet with sides and bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool and then break it into small pieces. Set aside.
Dice strawberries and set aside.
Beat together softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla.
Fold in the cool whip. Cover and store in the fridge until serving.
Before serving, add the diced strawberries and sugared pretzels and pecans into the cream cheese mixture and mix well.
If desired, garnish with fresh strawberries before serving.

Teresa found this recipe on Pinterest and changed it slightly. Teresa’s recipe came from The Gunny Sack.

Serving the community: First Presbyterian Church of Cleveland’s free lunch

By

Hadley Cottingham

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July 14, 2021

(Photo: First Presbyterian Church Cleveland GA, Facebook)

When Melody Thomason and members of the First Presbyterian Church of Cleveland saw a need for food in their community, they came together to meet their community where they were… with a free hot lunch.

“With the pandemic and everything going on, we wanted to do something,” Thomason says, “And this was something that we could do, and it seemed like everything came together to do it.”

The church, located on Main Street in Cleveland, decided that their centralized location and willingness to serve could benefit the community. Thomason tells Now Habersham that White County doesn’t have the free food resources it needs to support citizens looking for a meal, so the church organized a program that provides a free hot lunch to anyone who needs it on the first Monday of each month.

“Somebody said, ‘how are you going to make sure it’s people that need to be there?’ And we said from the start, anybody that comes is fine,” Thomason says. “If people just need to go somewhere to eat with somebody, that’s fine too. We’re just hoping to give somebody a meal and a good word.”

The church’s goal is to provide food and support to those in their community, no matter their stories. While it’s easier for congregations to support those they see on a weekly basis, Thomason says that reaching out to those in the community with need is just as important as serving those they already know. This hot meal program is their first step in building a relationship where they can serve their community in the spaces they need it.

“We’re looking to fill a need and then build relationships with people and just do what we can do,” Thomason says.

Thomason is hopeful that in the next few months, as COVID-19 precautions lift, the church will be ready to open its doors to the public and have lunch inside rather than offering to-go bags and sharing meals at picnic tables near the church’s parking lot. But for now, those outdoor conversations are the beginnings of a new way for the church to serve others.

The church will offer its next free hot lunch on August 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the First Presbyterian Church of Cleveland’s parking lot.

RELATED

Free dinner and groceries at Cornelia UMC, Saturday July 17th

Truett McConnell University turning 75

By

Trent Crawford

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July 13, 2021

Cleveland Council — Truett McConnell University's Dr. David Drake, right, receives a proclamation from Cleveland Mayor Josh Turner recognizing Truett's upcoming 75th anniversary on July 23, 2021. (Trent Crawford/wrwh.com)

CLEVELAND – The Cleveland City Council has approved a resolution designating July 23 as Truett McConnell University 75^th Anniversary Day.

During their meeting, Monday night, Cleveland Mayor Josh Turner read the resolution recognizing 75 years of contributions made by the school.

Dr. David Drake, TMU’s Director of Alumni and Church Relations was at the meeting. He told the council that on July 23, the day that Truett McConnell became an institution, they will have a brief ceremony on campus to recognize that. He added that it will be a year-long celebration.

Mental health called Georgia’s ‘next pandemic’ as substance abuse rises

By

Jill Nolin

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July 13, 2021

With the eviction moratorium set to end after this month, state Rep. Sharon Cooper said she worries about the mental health and substance abuse challenges that might follow. (Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder)

ATLANTA (GA Recorder) — Mental health advocates are warning of a coming mental health and substance abuse crisis on the heels of a pandemic that brought isolation to many and heartache to those who lost loved ones to COVID-19.

“We’re looking at this – as mental health – as being the next pandemic,” said Abdul Henderson, executive director of Mental Health America of Georgia.

“Because a lot of people will emerge with untreated issues, and if they don’t have the access or the ability to seek care – and that can come through the lack of transportation, lack of employment, lack of housing, all these other structural societal issues – it can really blow up in our face if we’re unprepared.”

Georgia now ranks last in the nation for access to mental health care, according to a report from Mental Health America that looks at access to insurance and treatment, quality, the cost of insurance, and other factors.

Jeff Breedlove, chief of communications and policy at the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse, called the recent rise in substance use “the epidemic within the pandemic.”

Henderson, Breedlove, and other advocates outlined a list of proposed solutions at a Monday press conference at the state Capitol, including plans to ramp up early identification initiatives, grow the state’s workforce for mental health and substance use disorder professionals, and increase efforts to integrate mental health care with medical care.

They are pushing for legislative changes for when lawmakers return to Atlanta in January and for state officials to utilize federal coronavirus relief funds as a step toward addressing what they say is an emerging crisis.

“We are asking our legislators, our local leaders, our leaders in our companies and communities to vote for mental health in the legislative 2022 session,” said Kim Jones, executive director of the Georgia chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Health. “It is the year to make something happen.”

The group’s call for action comes as many Georgians start to venture back out to restaurants, concerts, and other public settings they avoided when the coronavirus upended life last spring, even as new variants now pose new potential risks. Others are heading back to the office after a year-long absence, and young students are preparing for a return to the classroom after a year of virtual learning. The return to quasi normalcy has left some feeling anxious.

But for many, the pandemic has also left lasting scars. Nearly 21,500 people have died from COVID-19 in Georgia, leaving scores of families and friends coping with their grief.

The looming end of the eviction moratorium later this month could bring fresh economic hardships to those hanging on the edge. Jobless Georgians are also no longer receiving the extra $300 a week in federal unemployment over concerns it was a disincentive for people to go back to work.

“I have worried about how many will become homeless when that edict is lifted because of the loss of income,” state Rep. Sharon Cooper said at Monday’s press conference. “But even if they have survived and they find they can go back to their job and they don’t get evicted – you know, worry just tears all of us apart.”

The Marietta Republican has her own worries about the potential fallout, including more people likely seeking care, resorting to drugs and alcohol, or turning to suicide.

Cooper touted a measure passed earlier this year that paves the way for broader use of telehealth beyond the pandemic when people turned to the videoconferencing format to consult their doctor or check in with their therapist. Lawmakers also boosted funding for mental health earlier this year, but about $32 million of the cuts made last summer to the state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities remain, according to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.

Cooper said Monday she is meeting with stakeholders to iron out plans for next session. But she did point to a bill she filed this year that would empower law enforcement to help connect someone in distress with a physician for an emergency examination without having to charge them with a crime.

“If someone is obviously mentally ill, why do they have to be charged with a crime so that when they do get help, and they get back on their feet, they are now dealing with a criminal charge?” Cooper said.

State Rep. Gregg Kennard, a Lawrenceville Democrat, heads a ministry that works with those wrestling with addiction and mental health challenges. People often abuse drugs and alcohol because of an untreated mental health diagnosis, he said.

“The largest mental health service provider in our state is Georgia state prisons,” Kennard said at the press conference. “So, our county jails and our prisons are filled with folks that we have not properly given them access to mental health care. One could make an argument that we have criminalized mental health.”

Vaccine mandates: Some Georgia hospitals move ahead

By

Andy Miller

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July 13, 2021

Trinity Health announced employees at its 91 hospitals would be required to be vaccinated. The Michigan-based Catholic health care system has three hospitals in Georgia including St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens (shown here), St. Mary’s Good Samaritan in Greensboro, and St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in Lavonia.

The Piedmont Healthcare system will require doctors, hospital leaders, and new employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19 by Sept. 1, the Atlanta-based nonprofit organization said Monday.

Other employees at Piedmont facilities will be required to get COVID shots “in the near future,’’ Piedmont said in a statement.

“It’s important to consider that vaccination is a leading factor in patients and team members feeling safe within a health care setting, as shown by research we conducted,’’ said the statement from Piedmont, a fast-growing system with 11 hospitals in the state. “Moreover, it is in keeping with our peers from other leading health systems throughout the United States.’’

While Piedmont’s size and geographic reach magnify the impact of its decision, it is not the first system operating in Georgia to take the step of requiring employee immunizations.

Last week, Trinity Health announced that employees at its 91 hospitals would be required to be vaccinated. And Trinity, a Michigan-based Catholic health care system, has three hospitals in Georgia.

Workers at the three facilities, St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens, St. Mary’s Good Samaritan in Greensboro, and St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in Lavonia, will face the mandate to get COVID shots. The requirement also applies to St. Mary’s medical staff offices and outpatient facilities.

The Piedmont and St. Mary’s moves appear to be the first such announced worker vaccine requirements at Georgia hospitals, industry officials say.

The majority of St. Mary’s employees are already vaccinated, Dr. Jason Smith, chief medical officer of St. Mary’s Health Care System, said in a statement Monday.

“For those who are not vaccinated, we are holding town halls, team huddles and answering questions to address their concerns,’’ Smith said. “The majority of our colleagues and providers are supportive. We want those who are concerned to know we are listening but also that getting vaccinated is safe, effective and the right thing to do to protect the safety of our patients and our communities.’’

Trinity Health announced the policy last week for its 117,000 employees nationwide in an effort “to stop the spread of the virus and keep all patients, colleagues and the broader communities safe.’’

Employees at Trinity Health must meet a series of rolling deadlines, with most locations requiring they submit proof of vaccination by Sept. 21.

The number of hospitals and health systems requiring COVID-19 vaccination for employees is growing. Here’s a recent list from Becker’s Hospital Review.

From Rome News-Tribune

Hospitals nationally have begun to mandate the shots since a federal court rejected a lawsuit by employees who challenged the vaccination requirement at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas.

More than 150 employees who did not comply with the Texas system’s vaccine mandate were fired or resigned.

“Exemptions are available for religious or health reasons and must be formally requested, documented and approved,’’ Trinity Health said in a press release last week. “Employees who do not meet criteria for exemption and fail to show proof of vaccination will face termination of employment.’’

Using persuasion if possible

Hospitals should require workers to get vaccinated for COVID, Dr. Mark Ebell of the University of Georgia College of Public Health told GHN recently. “It’s about protecting the patients,’’ he said. Ebell noted that hospitals’ legal right to compel employees to get flu shots has been recognized for some time.

Still, many hospitals here and across the nation lag in their rates of vaccinated workers, an investigation by WebMD, Medscape and Georgia Health News found. Several had more than half of their workers unvaccinated, federal health data show.

Some hospitals have hesitated out of fear that some workers will quit, which is a concern because there is already a widespread labor shortage.

And others may be waiting until the vaccines get full authorization from the FDA, Dr. Carlos del Rio, an Emory infectious disease expert, said last week on GPB’s Political Rewind. Once that approval comes, “I can see many health care systems will move on to mandating the vaccine.’’

del Rio

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for the vaccines months ago. But the agency has not yet given them full approval. The review process that could lead to such approval has started for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Most workers have heard the message

Trinity Health estimates nearly 75% of its employees have already received at least one dose of the vaccine.

“We feel it is important that we take every step available to us to stop the spread and protect those around us — especially the most vulnerable in our communities who cannot be vaccinated, including young children and the more than 10 million people who are immunocompromised,” Trinity Health President and CEO Mike Slubowski said in a statement last week.

Dave Smith, a consultant with Kearny Street Management in suburban Atlanta, said Slubowski is a “really passionate CEO.’’

“It’s a great public image, to get everyone vaccinated,’’ Smith said. “At a hospital, you’d expect the employees to be vaccinated.’’ But he added that some hospital workers still are opposed to getting a flu vaccine.

Dr. Smith of St. Mary’s added Monday that the hospital leaderships wants employees to know “the vaccine is safe and effective and that they are valued. At the end of the day, it is our sacred duty to protect all those we serve by ensuring our providers and colleagues have the maximum possible protection against COVID-19 before the onset of cold weather.’’

St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital in Greensboro

Recycling may be in Baldwin’s future

By

Hadley Cottingham

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July 13, 2021

trash and recycling — (Photo: Sigmund on Unsplash)

Baldwin is renewing their waste collection and disposal agreement with FC Sanitation, but with an amendment: FC Sanitation gets the right of first refusal when it comes to recycling negotiations with the city.

The city council has previously discussed bringing in more environmentally friendly infrastructure to the city, such as solar-powered streetlights, and brought up recycling to their waste collection provider at their Monday meeting.

Recycling may cost more, but recycling costs fluctuate. Moving forward would require the city and FC Sanitation to enter into more in-depth talks regarding costs and options. If FC Sanitation decides that recycling wouldn’t be the right fit for their services in Baldwin, the city could continue its search for another recycling service. But FC Sanitation seemed to be in favor of the idea Monday night, with a representative telling the council that they’re interested in looking deeper into recycling possibilities in Baldwin.

“We can have these conversations about recycling,” Councilwoman Stephanie Almagno said at the meeting. “We’re thinking about the long-term relationship with the company [FC Sanitation].”

Citizen interest would be one of the most important things in moving forward with a recycling program in the city. Almagno discussed coming together with the City of Alto, who also uses FC Sanitation’s services, to work towards bringing recycling to the waste collection services in their cities.

You can watch a recording of the meeting on the city’s Facebook page.

Life in Motion: A hero’s place

By

Joy Purcell

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July 13, 2021

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office has set aside a place of honor at its Gainesville headquarters for slain deputy Blane Dixon. An Honor Chair, crafted in his memory and bearing his name, now sits in the patrol briefing room.

The sheriff’s office recently unveiled the chair during a ceremony honoring Dixon, who in 2019 was shot and killed in the line of duty. Three men convicted of murdering him were sentenced last week on the second anniversary of his death.

Saving A Hero’s Place, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Texas, built the Honor Chair with help from some of Dixon’s family. A post to the sheriff’s office social media page says the organization’s detailed creations are meant to serve as reminders of the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty.

Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch said Deputy Dixon’s chair will remain in the HCSO briefing room “forever.”

“We’re going to put flags on each side and also a photograph of Blane above it, so every officer that comes through there will remember his sacrifice and his dedication to this county and this community,” said Couch.

“The Honor Chair is placed in the roll call room as a reminder that even though they are not there physically, the Officer will always be with you as you head out to the battles, carrying on the watch.” – Saving a Hero’s Place

Since being established in 2013, Saving a Hero’s Place has built over 147 Honor Chairs for law enforcement officers around the country. The organization is supported through donations. Donors may contribute to the group or a specific project. As of July 13, the nonprofit had raised nearly $1,000 of its $2,000 goal for Deputy Dixon’s chair.

To learn more or to donate, visit Saving a Hero’s Place online.

In the mooood to celebrate!

By

Mitzi Oxford

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July 13, 2021

Cows at Mountain Fresh Creamery (1) — Happy cows at Mountain Fresh Creamery in Clermont, GA. (photo courtesy Mountain Fresh Creamery)

It’s Cow Appreciation Day! How are you celebrating? A glass of cold milk? Cream in your coffee? Butter on your toast? A steak on the grill? Ice cream for dessert? You can thank a cow for all that.

Each year, the second Tuesday of July marks the day highlighting the importance of cows in our lives, not only for the milk and meat that they provide but for the work they do on farms like pulling carts and plows. They are also helpful when it comes to growing things, as their manure can be used as fertilizer or as fuel. Cowhides are used to make products, including shoes, wallets, and jackets.

Something in the way they moooove us

I grew up on a horse farm, so I’ve been around animals all my life, but when my family would travel, I can still remember getting excited when we would pass a pasture full of cows. “Oh, look, cows!” We would point excitedly and ask my Dad to slow down for a better view. If we were on a country road with little to no traffic, sometimes we would even stop, get out and run over to the fence and start our best mooing imitations, hoping for a response.

So what is it about them that attracts us like no udder? We decided to ask the experts at Mountain Fresh Creamery and Glo-Crest Dairy located in Clermont. While it’s not straight from the cow’s mouth, it’s about as close as we could get.

Eliza Jane, Scott, Jennifer, and Layne Glover owners of Mountain Fresh Creamery and Glo-Crest Farm. (photo courtesy of Mountain Fresh Creamery)

The folks who run it, Scott and Jennifer Glover, are outstanding in their field. Scott is a 4th generation dairy farmer. I asked him why we are so fascinated with cows.

“Well, most people probably don’t understand them. They’re big animals, weighing in around 1200+ lbs., and unless you live in the country, most people just don’t see them a lot.”

New calf on the farm (photo courtesy of Mountain Fresh Creamery)

And how could you not love that face?

Holy cow!

Scott had dairy farming in his blood all his life. What started for him as a rented farm and buying about 80 head of cows to milk became a way to make a living for his family. He knew the dairy industry was growing, and he has expanded over the years. In 2011 Glo- Crest dairy farm was joined by Mountain Fresh Creamery.

At the center of this success story is taking care of the cows.

“Their care is our number one priority. They have a nice barn that we keep cool in the summer. At night we turn them out to graze in lush fields. We think of them as athletes, our stars who will produce only if we nourish them and care for them,” Glover explained.

(graphics courtesy of Mountain Fresh Creamery)

Tours and ice cream

The Glovers have also focused on the agri-tourist business. Apparently, lots of folks from here, there, and yonder want to get up close and personal with the cows. The past year of COVID was tough, but the tours are back on schedule, and they stay pretty booked for field trips, personal tours, and family visits. This link will steer you in the right direction to book a tour for your herd.

And while you are there, don’t forget to say hi to Dipsy!

Dipsy is the Mountain Fresh Creamery mascot. (photo courtesy Mountain Fresh Creamery)

We conducted a random survey with kids between the ages of five and seven and asked, “Where does ice cream come from?” The responses will make you laugh till the cows come home.

Four-year-old Ellie pointed to her mom. Cause you know, Mom brings her the ice cream. Six-year-old Jason said, “Well, duh, it comes from the freezer.” After about 14 replies, we finally got a hit from seven-year-old Ethan, “Everyone knows it comes from milk, and milk comes from cows.”

Several varieties of ice cream are offered, including a new flavor that is added each month. (photo courtesy Mountain Fresh Creamery)

If you are planning to hoof it to Mountain Fresh Creamery, don’t miss their ice cream. It gets rave reviews. It’s made from milk that is less than 12 hours old, so it couldn’t get much fresher than that.

“We have vanilla, butter pecan, peach, strawberry, cotton candy, and a special flavor each month,” says Glover, “but chocolate is our best seller.”

The cows say: Eat Mor Chikn

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention Chick-Fil-A, after all, their cow billboards advocating for us to Eat Mor Chikn have been a magical marketing campaign. In the past, you could dress up like a cow, and the popular chain would give you a free meal. The past year has been different due to COVID, and Chick-Fil-A is taking an abundance of caution and will not be participating this year during the Cow Appreciation festivities.

One final thought. It would be udder nonsense to miss celebrating Cow Appreciation Day. They give us so much! But if you do choose to celebrate, don’t wait till it’s pasture bedtime.

The end.

Clarkesville lifts Boil Water Advisory

By

Staff Report

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July 13, 2021

The Clarkesville Water Department has lifted its Boil Water Advisory for customers on Stewart Lane and Circle Drive Lane.

The city issued the alert Monday.

People in the affected areas may now resume normal water consumption.