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SRWA Event tally shows significant increase

By
Michelle Wetherbee
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Participants eat dinner on a table made from repurposed wood from the mill.

It was all over but the counting. In the Soque River Watershed Association (SRWA) offices today the tallies were in from the Fall fundraiser held at Historic Habersham Mills on Saturday. Close to 150 people feasted on a carribean themed dinner under the glowing lanterns in the old Mill. A terrace overlooking the Soque was the perfect seat to listen to local musicians. A silent auction offered art, gift certificates, baskets and much more. Tours of the historic property gave attendees the chance to see the recently completed renovations and hear about the plans for the full property. An exhibition of the “Soque River Days” project was staged in the former post office and general store. Justin Ellis, SRWA executive director, said it was one of the best events they have had. “It is rare to showcase a historical landmark like Habersham Mill for an event,” he said. “Everything exceeded our expectations and we were able to introduce the community to the mill owners.

The event brought in $9,172.00 and organizers say that it is about $3,000 more than the event has produced in the past. The funds will be used to support and develop the SRWA programs. The mission of the SRWA is to work together with individuals and organizations to protect and restore Habersham County’s Soque River, its tributaries and watershed. For more information about the programs or to join and support go to https://www.soque.org.

Be wary of winter forecasts

By
Joy Purcell
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Add some pink to your orange and blue

By
Joy Purcell
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Pink isn’t a color you associate with football but tomorrow night in Habersham County it will be.

The HCHS Varsity football cheerleaders are sponsoring a “pink out” for Friday night’s game between the HCHS Raiders and the North Forsyth Raiders of Cumming. The “pink out” is in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

HCHS Cheerleading Coach Kathy Daniel says, “We are are asking people to at least add a little pink to their orange and blue if they don’t want to just wear pink.”

Daniel says the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) will be taking donations at the gate for the Habersham Relay for Life. The annual relay raises money to support cancer research.

Tomorrow is the Radiers’ second to last game of the season. Game time is 7:30pm at Raider Stadium in Mt. Airy.

Locate sex offenders before you Trick or Treat

By
Joy Purcell
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The Habersham County Sheriff’s Office is urging parents to visit the county’s sex offender registry before sending their children Trick or Treating tomorrow night. Sheriff Joey Terrell says his office has asked registered sex offenders in Habersham to turn off their outside lights and not distribute candy to children but, Terrell says, the county can’t enforce that. He says, “We asked them, but we can’t make them.”

Parents are urged to steer their children clear of homes occupied by sex offenders. You can find that information online at www.communitynotification.com or by clicking here.

Meanwhile, the Cornelia Police Department says the hours for door-to-door Trick or Treating in Cornelia tomorrow are from 6-10pm.

Clarkesville has no set hours, but if you want to participate in Trick or Treat on the Square the hours are 5-7pm.

For more information on Halloween Happenings in Habersham click here.

Injured HCHS student recovering in Atlanta

By
Joy Purcell
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Habersham Central High School senior Lindsey Brown is now at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta recovering from injuries she sustained in a car wreck on Oct. 20. Brown was moved to Shepherd from Northeast Georgia Medical Center yesterday. Her family tells Now Habersham that the trip to Atlanta “went well.”

Brown’s mother, Alice Roland Brewer, says Lindsey is “worn out” from therapy. Brown is receiving a variety of therapeutic treatments at the Shepherd Center including speech, occupational and physical therapy. Brewer says her daughter already has shown signs of improvement since arriving at the Shepherd Center on Wednesday. “She is so brave and such a fighter.” Brewer says, adding that doctors have told them Lindsey could be released to come home as early as Nov. 19.

Brewer, a teacher at Habersham Central High School, says her family remains deeply touched and grateful for the outpouring of community support and prayers they’ve received since Lindsey’s accident.

The 18-year old Brown was critically injured when her pick-up truck crashed on Hwy. 365 near Belton Bridge Road in Lula last week.

NGTC XC makes nationals

By
Joy Purcell
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Jubilant NGTC Cross Country Team members and Coach Sam Stovall celebrate their 2nd place finish at Regionals in Macon on Oct. 25. The team now heads to Nationals in Lubbock, Texas, on Nov. 8.

Clarkesville, GA – The NGTC cross country Lady Wolves are heading to Nationals. The team placed 2nd in the GCAA Conference Championship held in Macon on Oct. 25. It was hosted by Central Georgia Technical College.

Runner Reese Bowles of Jefferson took top honors crossing the finish line in first place with an NGTC school record of 20:36.62 for the Women’s 5K. She was followed closely by teammate Hailey Budd who came in third with a time of 21:09.66. There were 37 runners in the race. Other Lady Wolves’ times at Regionals were:
Kimberley Zahm, Bethlehem (12 – 23:22.84)
Brittany Schmidt, Loganville (18 – 24:19.63)
Shani Minter, Macon (22 – 25:47.62)
Shannon Garrett, Dahlonega (27 – 26:50.29)

Darton College won the meet; also participating were Oxford College of Emory, South Georgia College, Gordan State College, and Central Georgia Technical College.

Because of their outstanding performance both on an individual level as well as a team, the Lady Wolves will be traveling to the National Championships hosted by South Plains College in Lubbock Texas on Nov. 8. This is the first time the NGTC Women’s Cross Country Team will be competing at the national level; the NGTC Men’s Cross Country Team qualified for the first time in 2013. The men’s team did not make the cut this year.

“The girls worked hard and persevered through ups and downs this season,” said NGTC Cross Country Coach Sam Stovall. “Our training has really paid off and we are headed to the nationals with a healthy, competitive team.”

For more information on the NGTC Cross Country program, contact the NGTC Athletic Director Sherry Seal at sseal@northgatech.edu or visit www.northgatech.edu.

Sophia Lyn Bowles

By
Staff Report
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(NowHabersham.com)

SOPHIA LYN BOWLES, age 51, of Ila, Georgia, passed away on Tuesday, October 28, 2014 following a series of extended illnesses.

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Lady Lions claim share of title

By
Joy Purcell
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Demorest, GA – The Piedmont College women’s soccer team sent their seniors out with another 1-0 win knocking off USA South foe Covenant College earlier tonight at Walker Athletic Complex. By doing so, the Lady Lions force a share of the USA South Regular Season Championship and claim their first regular season title of any kind since becoming a NCAA Division III member back in 2003.

Honored prior to kickoff were the Lady Lions’ three seniors graduating this year as veterans Kelsey Schaffernoth, Shayna Rogers, and Nikki Means all played what will be their second to last home game at Walker Athletic Complex earlier tonight. The three are the only senior class in the program’s NCAA Era to boast two conference tournament titles, two NCAA National Tournament appearances, and a conference regular season title as well.

The only score of the contest came with just minutes remaining in the first half as substitute Erin Bright forced an errant pass from the Covenant back to take a deflection and slip past the oncoming Scots keeper Lucy Johnson who was coming out to claim the ball. The goal was scored in the 43rd and would stand as the eventual game winner with Piedmont holding on for yet another 1-0 win in 2014, the 6th such victory this season for the Green and Gold.

Playing against a high pressure attack from the Scots, the Piedmont back four, led by senior Kelsey Schaffernoth, absorbed the pressure throughout the night allowing less than a handful of clear cut chances. On one such occasion, junior goalkeeper Michaela Gardner was up to the task making a brilliant first half save diving to her right on a near post shot to parry the ball out of bounds for a corner.

Gardner would go on to make five saves on the evening in total as the entire Piedmont team was able to get the ball down and play to keep possession in order to stifle the Covenant attack. Along with Schaffernoth, seniors Shayna Rogers and Nikki Means did their part as well in the midfield and up top respectively.

Means had a chance blocked away by the Covenant defense in the second half while Rogers looked to have played Kristen Newstrom in for a possibility to make it 2-0, but her shot was stopped by a diving Lucy Johnson who made seven saves on the night.

Piedmont outshot the Scots 11 to seven on the night, and also held the edge in corners, six to two. The first half goal would be all that the Lady Lions would need to claim the 1-0 result with their 13th shutout, a new NCAA Era record for the Green and Gold. For Gardner, the shutout is her 8th solo clean sheet of the season with all but one of those coming against USA South competition.

With the win, Piedmont wraps up the regular season at 14-4-1 and also improves on last year’s performance in conference play winning ten games in league action for the first time since becoming a USA South member in 2012. Finishing at 10-1-1 in the USA South, Piedmont clinches a share of the USA South Regular Season Championship along with Meredith College, but will take the #2 seed after tiebreakers due to the Avenging Angels’ 2-0 win over PC back in September.

The Lady Lions will now be set up to face the #7 seed in the league championship tournament, North Carolina Wesleyan College, in the quarterfinals which will be hosted right here at Walker Athletic Complex on Saturday, November 1st. Kickoff time will be 2:00 pm, and the match will be carried over the Mane Event Broadcasting Network with live stats and live video provided.

Volleyball falls to Emory

By
Joy Purcell
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Atlanta, GA – Coming off a close, tough loss to Maryville just 24 hours ago, the Piedmont College Lady Lions dropped their second straight match to Emory University Wednesday in Atlanta, 3-0. The Lady Lions now sit at 18-12 overall with two matches remaining before the USA South Conference Tournament.

Piedmont kept it close early on in the first set, down by only three at 10-7, but Emory reeled off 10 straight to take a commanding 20-7 lead en route to a 25-10 first set victory. The Lady Lions jumped out early and had the advantage over the Eagles 11-7 in the second set, but Emory chipped away at Piedmont’s lead and won 25-15.

The third set was the closest of all ending 25-19 with the Lady Lions staving off elimination at match point three times before dropping the set. In the match, the Lady Lions were held to a .000 attack percentage with 20 kills and 20 errors.

“With Emory being ranked 6th in the country at the Division III level, it did nothing but help our program to learn from this experience,” Head Coach Sid Feldman said. “I feel great about how we did tonight. We did not get pushed around and we made some impressive plays.”

With the Lady Lions earning 20 kills, that marked the second lowest total of the season, and Kaitlin Norman had a team-high 5 kills while Jennifer Opper and Taylor Cramsey both contributed 4 kills. Emory recorded 38 kills as a team which was the second lowest total Piedmont has given up in a loss in 2014.

Both Kait Steele and Xandy Green tallied nine assists which snapped a nine-match streak with both athletes reaching atleast 10 assists. Defensively, Randee Harvel led with 10 digs while Green added 7 in support.

For Feldman, facing Emory means going up against a team under the leadership of his former student-athlete at Georgia, Jenny McDowell, who is in her 19th season at the helm of the Eagles’ program. The Eagles were ranked 6th in the Oct. 21 AVCA Top 25 poll and are now 28-3 overall.

The Lady Lions will have had one of the busiest weeks of the season with a total of six matches in seven days stretching from Sunday through Saturday’s home tri-match to wrap up the regular season. Piedmont will have to win both contests to secure 20 wins before heading into the conference tournament. If the team is able to do so, it will mark the tenth straight season the Lady Lions have hit or eclipsed 20 wins.

The action will begin inside Cave Arena Saturday with Piedmont playing host to N.C. Wesleyan at 12 p.m. and William Peace at 4 p.m. Both matches will be available on the Mane Event Broadcasting Network.

Court consolidation; layoffs and savings

By
Joy Purcell
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Habersham County’s decision to consolidate magistrate and superior court clerk staffs is paying off for taxpayers. Chief Magistrate Gerald Johnson says the move already has saved the county tens of thousands of dollars. But it didn’t come without a price. Two employees lost their jobs.

Clerk of Court David Wall says five magistrate employees were shifted into his office. Three were absorbed into existing operations while two were let go. He says Kathy Ponder was a full-time receptionist who had worked in the magistrate’s office for 11 years. She was laid off along with Nancy Ayers, a part-time contract employee. Wall says Ponder’s position was eliminated because his office already has a receptionist. He says Ayers was near the end of her contract and the work she was doing – scanning documents to create digital images – was nearly complete.

The Habersham County Commission passed a resolution earlier this year mandating court staff consolidation to eliminate duplication of services. Commissioner Andrea Harper says it’s unfortunate jobs were lost but says she’s pleased the move is saving taxpayers money. Clerk of Court David Wall agrees, “I think in many ways it’s beneficial. Beneficial in the sense of being a little more conservative, a little more responsible financially, because we did have duplication of services.” Magistrate Judge Gerald Johnson says he, too, supports the move. “I’m certainly not in a position to take credit for that but by consolidating services into one umbrella under David we were able to streamline the system.”

Johnson says another positive effect of the move is that it allows the former Deputy Clerk of Magistrate Court Kim Campbell to focus more on her duties as Associate Magistrate Judge. She trades off on-call with the chief magistrate.

The layoffs, along with Judge Johnson’s decision to remove the Chief Marshal from his office and place the position under the control of the Sheriff’s Office, have so far saved the county $29,000. Johnson says that figure does take into account his recent request to hire an administrative assistant.

Johnson, who was appointed to succeed former Magistrate Judge Jim Butterworth after he resigned earlier this year, says he and Wall are looking for more ways to save money. That includes exploring options to consolidate software. Magistrate court uses a different system than state and superior courts. Wall says if they’re able to switch to a single provider it could save the county an additional $300 per month or more.

The Habersham County Clerk of Court’s office now oversees operations for three of Habersham’s five courts – superior, state and magistrate. Juvenile and probate courts remain separate. Wall receives a monthly stipend of $600 ($300 each) for overseeing state and magistrate courts in addition to performing his regular elected Constitutional duties as Clerk of Superior Court.

Life in Motion

By
Nora Almazan
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“Enjoying life and all that it has in store for me!” – Justin ‘Bunny’ Reeder, Clarkesville

Godly-Do List

By
Pastor Mike Franklin
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Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

It’s hard to imagine but does God have a “Honey Do” list? When I was a boy, I remember my dad carrying around a list of things to do for my mom on Saturdays. Maybe the grass needed cutting or the gutters needed cleaning or a few pictures needed to be hung. Of course, I was instructed to help. I remember thinking, “when I get married, I’m not going to have a ‘honey-do’ list.” My dad didn’t ask my mom in advance what needed to be done, he just took the list, followed it, and completed it.

God has work for us to do. He has prepared a list in advance of our even opening our eyes in the morning. I often wonder how many of us echo my sentiment as a boy, “I’m not going to have a Godly-do list.”

Every day there are people who need to be loved; people who need to be directed; people who need to be helped; animals who need care and attention; plants and gardens that need to be tended; words that need to be spoken or written. The list is endless; yet, many of us ignore it.

Years ago I was with a pastor-friend of mine. We were heading into Atlanta to minister to the homeless. As we parked the car and were starting to walk, he stopped me and asked if he could pray for our day. “Of course,” I responded. “I’d love for you to.”

He began, “God, thank you that our list is prepared. Help us to complete it.”

I smiled at him. He responded, “God already knows what He needs us to do; we just need the courage and stamina to do it!”

“Amen!”

What is on your Godly-Do List today? Be open to the opportunities God has already prepared for you today. Ask Him to equip you to complete all He has assigned for you today.

 

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