“Children make our lives fun.” – Ernie Craven, Clarkesville, GA
Is He like Santa Claus to you?
I remember as a boy receiving the Sears Roebuck catalog in the mail. The thicker it was, the more excited we all became. The arrival of the catalog for me marked the starting of the Christmas season. I loved sitting on the sofa with pencil in hand and flipping through the pages. “I want this…oh! I want that… Wow! Look at this… look at that…” My sister and I used to fight over whose turn it was to gaze upon the many items and wish and dream of the possibilities.
Sometimes, our prayer life can be the same. It’s like we are giving God a check list of catalog items to make our lives better. “God, I need this. Its found on page 920 of the Sears Roebuck catalog.” Some of you may not even know what the Sears Roebuck catalog is! It was the “booster chair” of the 60’s when you visited grandma’s and couldn’t reach the table.
Prayer is not intended for a litany of desires. Prayer is intended to communicate with God; to get to know God better and learn His ways; and to change us inside to out. Most answers to prayer actually start with a change in us. Either God changes the way we see our situation or He changes our direction or He changes our circumstance.
Prayer is a means to praise and thank God for all that He is allowing us to use of His. The house you live in – His; the car you drive – His; the clothes you wear – His; the money in your pocket – His. It is all on loan to us. Shouldn’t we thank Him repeatedly for the use of it? Think about it, if you didn’t have a car to drive, and your neighbor said, “Drive my car,” not only would you be grateful, you’d probably take extremely good care of it, and thank your neighbor regularly for its use.
Prayer gives us redemption. We go to God to renew ourselves. We seek forgiveness for the mistakes we make. We ask for guidance and direction to prevent us from committing the same error again. Prayer keeps us “right” with God.
As you pray today, consider what you are asking of God. Is He like Santa Claus to you? Or are your prayers an instrument to allow God to change YOU so that God can change the circumstances around you. He is looking for willingness, faithfulness, and obedience. Will His eyes fall upon you?
PC lacrosse to defend title
Demorest, GA – Piedmont College Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach Emily Jacquette has revealed the 2015 schedule for her Lady Lions who will look to defend their 2014 USA South Regular Season Title. Piedmont has not lost a contest in USA South regular season play since March of 2013 having gone 8-0 in league play during 2014.
Fans of the Green and Gold won’t have to wait long to see the 2015 version of Piedmont women’s lacrosse as the girls from Demorest open the season with five straight home games coming in just about a week’s timespan. The year kicks off with a team new to the schedule as Hendrix College, a member of the Southern Athletic Association, comes to Walker Athletic Complex on Friday, February 20.
The Warrirors are a second-year program having made their debut in 2014 with a 4-10 record and one of two SAA foes in the first three games for PC in 2015 as Piedmont plays host to the Stormy Petrels of Oglethorpe University on February 24. On February 22, PC will host another team new to the slate with Rhodes coming to Walker Athletic Complex for the first time.
Rhodes is another second-year program but fared far better than the Warriors of Hendrix in its debut going 8-4 and posting a 3-4 record against teams shared as common opponents with Piedmont in 2014. The Lynx are coached by Brice Queener who was drafted into Major League Lacrosse by the Rochester Rattlers playing two seasons before moving over to the Hamilton Nationals, a team he helped to the MLL finals in 2011.
As one of the teams traveling the furthest to Demorest in 2015, Alma College out of Michigan brings a 13-6 record from last season and a conference runner-up finish with them to Walker Athletic Complex in what’s sure to be the most anticipated matchup of the five-game game homestand to open the year.
With its contest at Piedmont scheduled for February 26, Alma returns its top three scorers from last season including All-Conference performer and top scorer Tracy Gallihugh who came up just one shy of 90 goals in 2014.
The 5-game homestand is wrapped up with a visit from first-year program in Hanover College, another program from the Midwest traveling nearly 500 miles to play on the turf at Walker. With the contest set for February 28, Hanover comes in under the direction of first-year Head Coach C.J. Durham who recently wrapped up her graduate assistantship at Stevenson University in Maryland.
On March 2, the Lady Lions will finally hit the road traveling to face the Panthers of Birmingham-Southern College for the first time in program history.
Coach Jacquette shares ties with the Alabama-based institution having started the program in 2009 spending two seasons at the helm earning an 18-9 overall record at the helm. PC will face the Panthers at night under the lights in Birmingham with the opening draw set for 6:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Central.
PC stays on the road for its next three contests opening conference play with a challenging Thursday-Saturday trip to Greensboro College and Ferrum College. Both teams finished in the USA South top four last season and figure to be mainstays amongst the league’s best again in 2015.
After one more road challenge in conference play against Methodist on March 14, Piedmont returns home for its first USA South battle in 2015 at Walker Athletic Complex playing host to Meredith College in a rematch for the ages after last year’s conference championship game. The two had to go to overtime to decide a winner before the Avenging Angels would come out on top though it was PC who earned the league’s regular season crown with an 8-0 mark.
Opening draw against Meredith on March 21 is set for noon in Demorest.
Four days later, Piedmont travels south to face LaGrange College in USA South action, a team that the Lady Lions defeated 23-1 in 2014. Highlights of the contest can be seen on Piedmont’s YouTube channel and fans will again be able to watch the Lady Lions’ home contests live on the Mane Event Broadcasting Network as well.
On March 27, Piedmont hosts Huntingdon College, the team against which the Lady Lions capped off a perfect USA South regular season record against with a 19-6 win on the road. The game will be Piedmont’s final USA South contest of 2015 as well, but will not be the final regular season game for PC who has trips remaining on the docket to Berry (March 31) and Sewanee (April 8) as well as a home game against Centre College on April 3.
Centre won last year’s Southern Athletic Association regular season crown with a perfect 7-0 mark, but it was Sewanee who upended the Colonels in the SAA Championship Game with an 11-8 decision that handed the Tigers the tourney title. Both teams will provide stout tests for Piedmont in its final three games of 2015 as the Lady Lions will then prepare for the USA South Championship Tournament set to take place April 17-18 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
For the complete 2015 Piedmont College women’s lacrosse schedule, click here.
Piedmont 4th in President’s Cup Standings
Representatives from the women’s side of athletics at Piedmont received last year’s Presidents Cup trophy at a women’s soccer game this fall after PC claimed the 2013-14 crown. Piedmont sits in 4th place in the first standings released by the league this year, the same spot the school found itself in this time last year before rallying to overtake the top spot.
Fayetteville, NC – The USA South Athletic Conference has released its first President’s Cup Standings of the 2014-15 Academic Year with the Fall Standings coming out earlier today with Piedmont College in 4th place overall out of the 14 member institutions (including Christopher Newport who is an associate member for football only). Piedmont stood in 4th place at this time last year as well before using a surge of momentum in the spring of 2014 to overtake the top spot in the Women’s President’s Cup Standings and the second spot in the Overall Standings.
The USA South Athletic Conference Presidents Cup symbolizes the league’s top men’s and women’s athletic program each year. The Presidents Cup is awarded by a points system where the first place team in each sport will be awarded the number of points that corresponds to the number of schools that sponsor teams in that sport. The second place team receives one point less than the first place team and so on, down to one point for the last place team that competes.
The awarding of an Overall Presidents Cup began at the conclusion of the 1978-79 season. Following the 2004-05 season, the Conference presented separate Men’s and Women’s Presidents Cups in lieu of an Overall Cup. The following year the Conference reinstated the Overall Cup along with the Men’s and Women’s Cups.
This year will mark the tenth the USA South will present an Overall, a Men’s and a Women’s Presidents Cup. Currently, Maryville College has the lead in the overall and men’s cup standings while Meredith College has the lead in the women’s cup standings.
Three Piedmont fall athletic teams improved on their finishes from a year ago with men’s soccer moving up from 8th to 7th, men’s cross country moving up from 3rd to 2nd, and women’s soccer forcing a share of the league’s regular season title after finishing 2nd in 2013. Women’s cross country slipped two spots to finish 5th after posting a 3rd place finish last season and volleyball also dropped from 2nd in the South Division in 2013 to 3rd this season.
Piedmont is ranked 4th in the overall Presidents Cup Standings, 8th in the Men’s Presidents Cup, and 4th in the Women’s Presidents Cup. Fans can view the entire Presidents Cup Standings below and find out more about the award including past winners by visiting USASouth.net.
HMC soon to be smoke-free
Demorest – On January 1, 2015, Habersham Medical Center will become a smoke-free and tobacco-free campus. According to Jerry Wise, president of Habersham Medical Center, “Most hospitals in our area are already designated as smoke-free campuses which means smoking, and the use of all tobacco products, is prohibited anywhere on the hospital grounds. This initiative will provide a healthier, safer and cleaner environment for our patients, visitors and employees.” Wise adds, “Even if you don’t smoke, the consequences of second-hand smoke from those who do can cause many chronic disorders including coronary heart disease, stroke and cancer, so we have to take the necessary steps to protect everyone’s overall health.”
Habersham Medical Center is offering a smoking cessation program for employees who are smokers. Wise states, “We realize that it may be difficult for our employees who are trying to quit smoking, but we will make sure they have the resources they need during the transition to a smoke-free campus.”
The medical center will also offer patients who smoke with a list of available resources to quit and inpatients will be treated for their tobacco addiction during their hospital stay. “We look forward to everyone’s support and cooperation as we move towards a smoke-free campus at Habersham Medical Center,” concludes Wise.
Ruptured water main leads to boil advisory
A water boil advisory remains in effect for residents along Chase Road in Cornelia. The advisory was issued by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division Tuesday, November 18, after a 10-inch water main that feeds Chenocetah Water tank ruptured.
Cornelia City Manager Donald Anderson says the line ruptured in a remote, heavily wooded area off of Chase Road. As of 4:30 Tuesday afternoon crews were still cutting trees to access the site.
The ruptured line disrupted water service to homes along Chase Road and affected several subdivisions including Lakeview Heights, Fox Hollow, Red Fox Hollow, and Arbor Gate. Some homeowners were left with no water while others experienced extremely low water pressure.
The EPD says severe drops in pressure can result in water of “unknown quality” entering the water distribution system. Water samples are being tested to check for possible contamination.
As a precaution, water customers whose water was cut-off or slowed by Tuesday’s break are advised to boil water before drinking, cooking or preparing baby food with it. The EPD says water should be boiled for at least one minute after reaching a rolling boil.
The boil advisory is expected to remain in effect until at least Wednesday.
Wilda Juanita Atkins
WILDA JUANITA ATKINS, age 50, of Tiger, Georgia, passed away at The Northeast Georgia Medical Center on Monday, November 17, 2014.
Removing religious holidays from the school calendar
Montgomery County Public Schools in Rockville, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., is removing any mention of religious holidays off the school calendar. Students will still receive the days off for Christmas, Easter, and Jewish holidays but they will be renamed Winter Break and Spring Break.
Two years ago, members of the Muslim community requested to have two of their religion’s holy days added to the calendar, particularly Eid al-Adha. Students are allowed to miss school for religious holidays; but, the Muslim community felt this was not enough. The Board of Education for the Montgomery County Public Schools, in a vote of 7 to 1, chose to remove all religious named holidays from the calendar.
“The best way to accommodate the diversity of our community is to not make choices about which communities we’re going to respect in our calendar and which ones we’re not going to respect,” says board President Phil Kauffmann.
Matt Bush writes in his article for NPR, “Board Decision Revives Discussion About Religion in Public Schools”:
Samira Hussain, a mother of four and employee for the county schools, stated, “Muslim students in Montgomery County have almost a 100 percent graduation rate. And they have been accepted to some of the top universities in the United States, which is a great testimonial to our county’s fine educational system. These are your students, but Muslim students also need to feel a sense of belonging, recognition and respect for their contributions.”
16 other public school systems across the country have already dropped religious mentions on the school calendar.
My mother always told me the two subjects to avoid at all costs in any conversation are religion and politics. When they come up, revert to the weather.
“My goodness it is pouring down rain today!”
This is one of those subjects I find tough to just gloss over and move on. It is debatable by many that our country was not founded on religious principles – particularly Christian. In the last month I’ve read countless arguments for and against such thoughts. When you read the literature of our Founding Fathers, there is little doubt they based their writings on Christ. They were Christian and their strong moral and spiritual convictions are the basis of which formed the foundations of our nation and government.
“While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.” – George Washington — The Writings of Georgia Washington, pp. 342-343.
“Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God … What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be.” –John Adams —Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, Vol. III, p. 9.
“I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.” –Thomas Jefferson, —The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, p. 385.
“The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made ‘bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God’ (Isaiah 52:10).” –John Quincy Adams —Life of John Quincy Adams, p. 248.
Of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, not one was Muslim. We are a nation governed and founded by Christians – not to exclude others – not to persecute others – but on the foundations of God. Slowly but surely we are reversing all that these men believed; all that has worked so well; all upon which we based a nation because we do not want to speak truths but pacify for political correctness.
I live under the rule of the very wise and patriotic Patrick Henry, the man who shouted, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.” —The Trumpet Voice of Freedom: Patrick Henry of Virginia, p. iii.
My Savior, Jesus Christ, wouldn’t have it any other way.
It’s time for believers to become more like our Founding Fathers and reclaim what they fought so hard to obtain. There is a reason so many want to live in our great country, and I believe it is because we were founded under His principles.
Public’s help needed in rock-throwing incident that injured Clarkesville teen
Investigators need your help to identify the person in this photo.
The Towns County Sheriff’s Office is asking for your help in identifying a person of interest in connection with a rock-throwing incident that seriously injured a Clarkesville teenager.
Investigators today released a photo of a subject they call a person of interest in the case.
It happened around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, November 9. Fire and EMS crews responded to the scene after receiving a 911 call saying a rock had fallen from Bell Mountain and struck a subject in the head.
Authorities identify the victim as 17-year old Austin Corneck. He was airlifted from the scene with serious injuries. Corneck has since been released from the hospital.
Anyone with information about the incident and/or the identity of the person in these photos is asked to please call the Towns County Criminal Investigations Division at 706-896-4444.
August Gustave “Gus” Hauser, Jr.
AUGUST GUSTAVE “GUS” HAUSER, JR., age 73, of Demorest, passed away on November 12, 2014.