Sherril “Papa” Fry, 83, of Clarkesville, passed away Sunday, March 30, 2025, at his residence, surrounded by his family.
A simple man with a servant’s heart, Sherril was born February 23, 1942, cultivated a spirited life of family, faith, fast cars, and fresh air. He started the “fine art” of making moonshine at the ripe age of 8, barefoot, high in the hills of Habersham. His youth was non-traditional, to say the least. “Family” included his wife Rosalie, four children; Mary, George, Randall, and Cole, as well as the friends that life sent his way. In Sherril’s latter years, NASCAR on television was a common Sunday afternoon pleasure.
Sherril was the son of the late Calvo and Margie Smith Fry. He is survived by his wife Rosalie Hallford Fry of Clarkesville, Daughter Mary Fry of Hollywood, and sons George Fry of Clarkesville (wife Susanne), Randall Roy Fry of Clarkesville, and Brent Cole Fry of Carrolton, grandchildren of Clarkesville Jacey Fry Hutchins and Autumn Fry, and great-grandchild Maya Anne Auzon. He is also blessed with siblings Meryle Fry Rodriguez of Demorest (husband Charlie), Linda Sue Skelton of Demorest (husband Paul), Shelby Jean Herris of Villa Rica, Bruce Fry of Clarkesville, and the late Alton Fry, senior (wife Ruth). Scovill has also been affected by the influence of the presence of Sherril. He retired after serving 30+ years at the factory with perseverance and dedication. He had a community of people who maintained the respect and balance of the “old ways” by bartering and trading. These people became lifelong friends and, in turn, family.
He attended Macedonia Baptist Church, where his lifelong faith had taken root. Following his Granny Fry’s footsteps, he did more than warm a pew. Sherril knew that he could feed people, and when people visited his garden, they would leave with more than fresh vegetables to enjoy for Sunday dinners. They would leave with food to be canned for the winter and a nostalgic experience to share with their household.
Beyond NASCAR races, Sherril was well known in his younger years for his red ’57 Chevrolet. Fast cars were needed for “effective transportation.” He would frequently be seen wearing his warn boots untied, and it was discovered that his boots were united for a reason. Sherril could outrun the revenuers faster barefooted, so he would sport his boots with untied laces, and at any moment, his boots could be kicked off.
Sherril was often sighted driving in a worn truck with a hunting dog in tow. He loved squirrel hunting and fishing. He would shoot and skin a squirrel in a fluid motion. He enjoyed squirrel dumplings and fried squirrel meat rolled in flour. The outdoors was his sanctuary: fresh air filled his lungs with adrenaline from decades of hard work.
Rows of tomato cages, bushels of green beans, mounds of crook neck squash tell the story of a man who has lived close to the Earth, bound with is ken folk, indebted to his savior, and lifted by his family as a man who evokes change. The clean-shaven, black flat top, overall/white t-shirt-wearing, calloused-hands and barefoot man is called Sherril Fry, who loves deeply and will encourage you to cultivate a future for yourself.
While his story lives on, he abides with our Heavenly Father. He passed away at home, surrounded by his loved ones, on March 30th, 2025, at the ripe old age of 83.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM, Thursday, April 3, 2025 at Macedonia Baptist Church. Interment will follow the service in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 from 5-8 PM.
Flowers are accepted or memorials may be made to the MDS Foundation at mds-foundation.org.
An online guestbook is available for the family at HillsideMemorialChapel.com.
Arrangements are in the care and professional direction of Hillside Memorial Chapel, Clarkesville, Georgia.
An online guestbook is available for the family at HillsideMemorialChapel.comHillsideMemorialChapel.com.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visits El Salvador’s massive Terrorism Confinement Center where the Trump administration sent hundreds of Venezuelan deportees. (Secretary Kristi Noem/X)
WASHINGTON (States Newsroom) — A federal judge in California on Monday blocked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from terminating the temporary protected status of more than 350,000 Venezuelans next week.
The order does not apply to a separate group of 250,000 Venezuelans who are set to lose their status in September.
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of the Northern District of California said the groups that brought the suit against the Trump administration are likely to succeed in their claims. He noted that Noem’s decision to vacate the temporary protected status for Venezuelans was not only arbitrary and capricious, but would harm the TPS holders, cost the U.S. billions in economic loss and harm public health and safety in U.S. communities.
DHS did not immediately respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment.
Program for immigrants in danger
TPS allows nationals from countries deemed too dangerous to return to remain in the U.S. Those with the status have deportation protections and are allowed to work and live in the U.S. for 18 months, unless extended by the DHS secretary.
Under Biden administration orders, protections were extended until October 2026 for two groups of Venezuelans, one initially assigned temporary protected status in 2021 and another in 2023.
Chen’s order applies only to the group who first gained status in 2023. The 2021 group is also challenging the Trump administration’s revocation of their status, but that group’s status is in place until September.
Chen noted that the Trump administration “failed to identify any real countervailing harm in continuing TPS for Venezuelan beneficiaries.”
Chen was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011.
Gang activity cited
The groups who brought the suit against Noem represent TPS holders from Venezuela.
The groups argued that Noem’s decisions to vacate the 2023 protections and end TPS for Venezuelans were arbitrary and capricious.
They also argued that the Trump administration violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause, arguing that the decisions to vacate the extension and terminate protections “were motivated, at least in part, by intentional discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or national origin.”
Noem cited gang activity as her reason for not extending TPS for the 2023 group of Venezuelans.
The Trump administration has invoked the Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport any Venezuelan national 14 years or older who is suspected of having ties to the Tren de Aragua gang. A federal judge has placed a temporary restraining order on use of the wartime law.
‘Classic example of racism’
In his order, Chen said that while attorneys on behalf of the Trump administration argued that there is the threat of the Tren de Aragua gang, “it has made no showing that any Venezuelans TPS holders are members of the gang or otherwise have ties to the gang.”
Chen also rejected the Trump administration’s argument that Noem had the legal authority to vacate the extension of protections.
“The unprecedented action of vacating existing TPS (a step never taken by any previous administration in the 35 years of the TPS program), initiated just three days after Secretary Noem took office, reverses actions taken by the Biden administration to extend temporary protection of Venezuelan nationals that have been in place since 2021,” he wrote.
In granting the nationwide pause, Chen noted the groups had a strong claim under the equal protection clause because Noem has “made sweeping negative generalizations about Venezuelan TPS beneficiaries.”
“This is evident not only in what she said, but also in the fact that she decided to take en masse actions against all Venezuelan TPS beneficiaries, who number in the hundreds of thousands,” he said. “Acting on the basis of a negative group stereotype and generalizing such stereotype to the entire group is the classic example of racism.”
This is not the first time the Trump administration has tried to end TPS designation for certain nationals. During Trump’s first term, DHS tried to end TPS for Haiti, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Sudan, but the courts blocked those attempts in 2018.
The Demorest City Council will meet for its work session at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. for its regular meeting on Tuesday, Apr. 1. (Jerry Neace/NowHabersham.com)
The Demorest City Council will discuss upgrading the downtown pavilion and an amendment to the fire inspection ordinance during its regular meeting on Tuesday, April 1.
The city is considering upgrading the pavilion located in the downtown area next to the post office. The council and staff will discuss the cost related to those improvements.
The council will be considering the second reading of an amendment to the fire inspection ordinance. According to Fire Chief David Scheurer, the amendment would shorten the time for businesses to come into compliance. This would ensure safety for residents and visitors that frequent the businesses.
Other business
The city council will also revisit its alcoholic beverage ordinance. Piedmont University has events throughout the year that serve alcohol from time to time. The ordinance previously stated that alcohol vendors that served inside the city limits must have a Demorest pouring license. The council will consider changing the ordinance to recognize any pouring license that is issued by any city in Habersham County as well as a pouring license issued by the county.
The Demorest City Council will hold its work session at 6 p.m. and its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Both meetings will be held in the Demorest Municipal Conference Room located at 250 Alabama Street in Demorest.
The Tigers have been in the playoffs 29 years in a row, a remarkable streak. Few programs will ever have a streak like this. Now, Commerce has decided to go in a ‘new direction’ with incoming coach Lenny Gregory, who won the State championship while at Collins Hill. The staff is loaded with some of the best coaches in the state, and the new multi-million dollar fieldhouse shows that they’re looking to push the program into a much larger spotlight.
All that to say, on the field, will be a different story.
Losing an all-time RB trio of Jaiden Daniels, Tysean Wiggins, and Jacari Huff, along with defensive mainstays Jermiah Mintz and Mac Mullis, among others, leaves some major holes to fill. The team will also move to a different offensive scheme – which is a drastic change for the Tigers. Here’s the 2025 schedule released by Commerce:
Check out these other area high school football schedules for 2025:
With the deadline fast approaching, the Habersham County Tax Assessors Office is seeing an influx of applicants coming to the office to apply for their property homestead exemption. One property owner said that as of 11:15 a.m. Monday, March 31, the wait to turn in their application was 25 minutes.
Property owners, Tuesday, April 1, is the last day to apply for the homestead exemption and the property valuation freeze in Habersham County. If you recently bought your home or have never applied for a homestead exemption, tomorrow is the last opportunity for it to be applied to this year’s tax bill. The April 1st deadline applies to all 159 counties and corresponding cities in Georgia.
According to Habersham County Tax Assessors Office Deputy Chief Appraiser Amy Garmon, the applicant must own the property and occupy the home as their primary residence to qualify for a homestead exemption. The applicant can not have a homestead-exempted property at any other location. Also, the applicant’s driver’s license address must match the property address of the homestead property they are applying for.
In addition to the statewide homestead exemption. Habersham County offers a valuation freeze for homestead properties that must be applied for separately. The freeze exemption applies to those properties that qualify for a homestead exemption up to five acres.
65 and older exemptions
Habersham County also offers two homestead exemptions for those 65 and older.
The first is age-based: You must turn 65 on or before January 1 for the year you are applying for the exemption. This is not income-based and, according to Garmon, can save the property owner around $300.
The second exemption for property owners 65 and older is income-based. The property owner must turn 65 on or before January 1 for the year they are applying for the exemption and have an income of less than $12,000 per year, excluding social security and self-contributed retirement income.
Applicants must bring their prior year’s income tax returns when applying for this exemption. Those who no longer file income tax returns must sign and file an income affidavit.
According to Garmon, this exemption generally cuts the property tax bill in half because it pays all the school taxes on the home and all the land. However, it does not pay school taxes on storage buildings, sheds, etc.
Veterans/Firefighters
Veterans and un-remarried surviving spouses of a veteran are eligible for homestead exemptions. Also, a surviving spouse of a firefighter killed in the line of duty is eligible. Property owners that fall in these categories could benefit significantly each year on their property tax bill as long as they have applied with tax assessor’s office.
To apply for a homestead exemption in Habersham County, you can go to the Habersham County Tax Assessor’s Office in the Administration Building at 130 Jacob’s Way in Clarkesville. You can access the homestead exemption form at habershamga.com.
For those property owners not in Habersham County, check with your local county Tax Assessor’s Office for more details on applying for homestead exemption. According to Garmon, the Tax Assessor’s Office will receive the applications until 5 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. After that date, any qualifying applications will be added to the 2026 tax bill, not the 2025.
Cities
For Habersham County, all of the cities have opted in to HB 581. By opting in, the cities will now offer the statewide floating homestead exemption in addition to their existing exemptions.
Cities offer similar homestead exemptions as the county for those property owners inside city limits that are separate and apart from county exemptions. Exemption amounts vary from city to city.
In order to receive a city’s homestead exemption, property owners must apply at their local city hall. The application deadline for cities is also April 1.
(States Newsroom) — The decades-old federal law protecting the privacy of individual health information is threatened by multiple lawsuits that seek to throw out a rule restricting disclosure of information in criminal investigations, including for those seeking legal abortion and other reproductive health care.
In one of the cases, the Texas federal judge who has been at the center of several anti-abortion court battles appears to question the constitutionality and legality of the health privacy act in its entirety.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act — or HIPAA — established in 1996 to protect the privacy and security of patient health information, includes some exceptions under limited conditions, such as law enforcement investigations. But after the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal abortion rights in 2022 and more than a dozen states passed abortion bans, advocates worried that such records could be used by state officials and law enforcement to investigate and prosecute patients seeking an abortion and those who help them.
Health officials under former President Joe Biden’s administration enacted a HIPAA rule to keep health information private when the patient was in a state with legal access, and the care was obtained legally. In order to release information related to this type of care, the entity subject to HIPAA rules must sign a document stating it is not released for one of the prohibited purposes.
“These cases may have been prompted by this newer rule, but they threaten more broadly the entire HIPAA system on which we all rely when accessing medical care,” said Carrie Flaxman, senior legal adviser for Democracy Forward, a nonprofit legal organization.
Two lawsuits seek to rescind that most recent rule, while another brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton goes a step further, asking the court to remove the general rules established in 2000 about how much health information can be disclosed to law enforcement.
“The threats to the 2000 privacy rule would be a seismic shift that could erode patients’ trust entirely in their providers and dissuade them from wanting to seek out health care and be transparent about their symptoms,” said Ashley Emery, a senior policy analyst for the nonprofit Partnership for Women and Families. “A law enforcement officer could pressure a psychiatrist to share patient notes from therapy sessions without a subpoena, without a warrant, if the 2000 privacy rule is invalidated.”
The state of Missouri sued to rescind the Biden rule in January, and the state of Tennessee filed a similar action the same day that 14 other Republican attorneys general joined as plaintiffs: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia. All but three of those states either heavily restrict or outright ban abortion, and if the lawsuits are successful, records kept by doctors and pharmacists in other states could be subpoenaed.
All of the lawsuits are filed against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is now under Republican President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The Trump administration has so far followed the direction of the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which calls for the most recent HIPAA rule to be rescinded.
Amarillo judge ordered briefing on HIPAA’s constitutionality and legality
Three cases are still in motion, including one with a physician as the plaintiff. Dr. Carmen Purl, the sole owner of Dr. Purl’s Fast Care Walk In Clinic in Dumas, Texas, sued HHS because she said the rule creates a conflict with the laws requiring her to report child abuse.
“I consider both a pregnant woman and her unborn child to be human persons, and both are entitled to medical care and deserve the protection of the law,” Purl said in court documents. “I believe … that elective abortions harm patients’ health and public health.”
The location of Purl’s clinic puts her in the judicial district that has only one federal judge — U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee. Most federal cases are assigned randomly to a group of judges in a district, but since Kacsmaryk is the only one, many advocates and attorneys have accused law firms like Alliance Defending Freedom, who is representing Purl in the case, of “judge shopping,” or finding a plaintiff in a certain area for the purpose of putting it in front of an ideologically friendly judge.
On Dec. 22, Kacsmaryk granted an injunction blocking enforcement of the rule against Purl while the case proceeds, and he is still considering whether to permanently block the law.
As part of the decision, Kacsmaryk also ordered the parties to submit briefs explaining how recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that delegate more authority to Congress over administrative agencies “affect the constitutionality or legality of HIPAA and HHS’s authority to issue the 2024 rule.”
Kacsmaryk presided over a lawsuit in 2023 brought by a group of anti-abortion doctors seeking to revoke the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs commonly used to terminate pregnancies in the first trimester and to treat miscarriages. Kacsmaryk ruled in favor of removing its approval, but the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overruled him in 2024.
Purl added that she thinks gender-affirming care is harmful to children, never medically necessary and a matter of concern for public health, though she has never treated a child with gender dysphoria. In the process of providing routine medical care, she said she could learn that a child was being subjected to gender-affirming treatments or procedures that could constitute child abuse, and she would be obligated to report it.
Purl’s clinic has fewer than 20 employees, and she has been licensed to practice family medicine in Texas since 1986. In that time, she said she has treated many patients who have been victims of abuse and neglect, and estimates she has personally treated more than 100 pediatric patients who were victims of sexual abuse.
“I have treated hundreds of girls under the age of consent who were either pregnant or reported sexual activity. During my career, I have delivered babies from mothers as young as 12 years old,” Purl wrote.
Purl said she has responded to Child Protective Services investigations between 10 and 12 times, and she fears that providing full, unredacted patient records in response to an entity such as CPS would violate the 2024 rule and subject her and the clinic to civil and criminal penalties, which often means hefty fines.
In a response filed by HHS in December, before Trump’s second term began, the department said the rule does nothing to prevent Purl from reporting suspected child abuse, and denied the other harms Purl said she would incur.
“Given the nature of her medical practice, Dr. Purl is highly unlikely to ever encounter a conflict between her obligations under state law and under the Rule,” the department said in court documents.
AGs from ban states are testing newly enacted shield laws
The Texas case led by Paxton has been on hold since February, after the U.S. Department of Justice asked the court to delay scheduling until the new administration could determine how to proceed. U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, a Trump appointee, ordered the parties to file a status report by May 1.
Attorneys general in states with abortions bans have already attempted to prosecute providers in other states for prescribing abortion pills via telehealth and prosecute women who obtained an abortion in another state without the consent of a male partner. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed an extradition warrant for a doctor in New York for prescribing and mailing abortion pills to residents of the state.
New York is one of 17 Democratic-led states that has a shield law to protect providers and patients from out-of-state legal actions for reproductive care and gender-affirming care, and the state government has so far refused to comply with Louisiana’s law enforcement efforts.
The coalition of states that joined Tennessee’s lawsuit claim the privacy rule harms their ability to investigate cases of waste, fraud and abuse, and “sharply limits state investigative authority.”
Chad Kubis, spokesperson for Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, told States Newsroom via email that the office could not comment for this story because of the ongoing litigation.
“The final rule will hamper states’ ability to gather information critical to policing serious misconduct like Medicaid billing fraud, child and elder abuse, and insurance-related malfeasance,” the complaint says.
Attorneys at Democracy Forward have asked the courts to allow the clients they are representing to intervene as defendants in all four cases, arguing that the new administration is likely to either not defend the cases at all or defend them inadequately. They are representing the cities of Columbus, Ohio, and Madison, Wisconsin, as well as Doctors for America, an activist organization of physicians and medical students. None of the judges have ruled on their motions yet.
Partnership for Women and Families filed an amicus brief with 23 other advocacy organizations to support upholding the rule.
“We can’t count on the Trump administration to defend this regulation, given its longstanding record of hostility toward reproductive health and rights,” Emery said.
It’s possible the new leadership at HHS will rescind the 2024 rule, Emery said, but the lawsuits alone are concerning enough because of the threat posed to privacy protections. That’s part of the goal, said Emery and Flaxman — to present the threat and sow fear and intimidation in patients and providers. And the method of launching multiple lawsuits in various jurisdictions fits a pattern that has been observed in the fight for abortion rights, Emery said.
“Anti-abortion extremists’ legal campaign against HIPAA’s reproductive health privacy protections is designed to test out different legal venues and arguments to obtain the most favorable outcome possible,” she said.
Doctor who has been investigated before says intimidation tactics have an effect
Indiana OB-GYN Dr. Caitlin Bernard knows what it’s like to be the target of an investigation, and said she’s still in court fighting new attempts to instill fear in doctors and patients.
Bernard was an abortion provider in Indiana before the state enacted its ban in August 2023. She reported in 2022 that she had provided a medication abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled to Indiana from Ohio when the state briefly had a ban in place. She was accused of violating patient privacy laws and investigated by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, and the state licensing board fined her $3,000 and reprimanded her for the incident after Rokita asked the board to revoke her license to practice medicine. She was not found to have violated patient privacy and kept her license.
“Now my case is held up as an example of what can happen to you if you speak out about abortion bans,” Bernard said. “I’ve spoken to many physicians across the country who are intimidated by that. They say, ‘Look at Dr. Bernard and what happened to her.’”
Now, Bernard is part of a lawsuit against the state to categorize terminated pregnancy records as medical records in state law that cannot be released to the public. Indiana has historically treated abortion reports as public record with certain details redacted, but Bernard said with the ban in place and so few people qualifying for its limited exceptions, that policy should change. The records include demographic information like age, ethnicity and education level, as well as information such as diagnoses and the date, location and physician who provided care.
“It also includes the county, so you could imagine in these very small counties, somebody could absolutely figure out who that person is,” Bernard said.
Ashley Emery, senior policy analyst at Partnership for Women and Families, said the lawsuits take aim at a deeply needed line of defense against abortion criminalization, and said it will disproportionately affect immigrants, people of color and low-income populations. Trust is already low between marginalized people and health care providers, Emery said, and this would further erode that trust.
“These challenges to HIPAA are designed to take protections away from patients and try to allow anti-abortion politicians to have more control, and I think that power deficit is really important to note, and it should be very chilling,” she said.
Medical Unit Leader discussing the medical plan with a firefighter on the fire line (U.S. Forestry Service)
As firefighters continue to battle the Big Ridge blaze in Rabun County, recent precipitation has helped crews better contain the fire’s spread, the U.S. Forestry Service announced Monday, March 31.
The Big Ridge Fire received 0.25 inches of rain as of 7:00 a.m. Monday, with an additional 0.5 to 1 inch expected. While the rainfall will not fully extinguish the fire, it is providing a crucial window for firefighters to establish containment lines where terrain allows.
Structure protection specialists from the Georgia Forestry Commission continue to work with communities near the fire along Warwoman Creek to assess risks and offer support where needed.
Fire activity and containment efforts
Due to the rainfall, little fire activity is expected Monday, March 31. On the northern edge of the fire near Sky Valley, flames have quieted as firefighters have successfully contained that section. Crews are now scouting direct containment lines east from Rabun Bald to Coldspring Gap.
On the fire’s southern perimeter, crews completed a containment line from Dan Gap to Walnut Fork yesterday and are focusing on strengthening and holding that line today. Efforts to construct secondary containment lines are also continuing.
Investigation ongoing
The U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations team is seeking information about the cause of the Big Ridge Fire. Authorities urge anyone who was in the area on March 22, 2025, and noticed suspicious activity to contact the Georgia Forestry Commission Arson Hotline at 1-800-428-7337.
Weather conditions
Today’s forecast calls for a high of 70°F with a minimum relative humidity of 50%. Winds from the south will blow at 5-10 mph, with gusts up to 20 mph. Tonight, Monday, March 31, winds will shift to the northwest, increasing to 10-20 mph with gusts reaching 35 mph. Conditions will become drier and warmer on Tuesday.
Evacuations and closures
No evacuations have been ordered at this time. However, a closure order remains in effect for areas surrounding the Big Ridge Fire.
Death of a Unicorn is a horror comedy with a unique premise, but it allows itself to unravel in unsatisfying ways. If anything, it doesn’t really have enough faith in its story and ends up squandering its potential.
Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega star as Elliot and Ridley Kintner, a father-daughter duo who are on their way to the home of Elliot’s boss. On the way, they hit a unicorn. They decide to take the unicorn with them and discover it has magical powers, such as clearing Ridley’s acne.
Richard E. Grant, Tea Leoni, and Will Poulter play the family of aristocrats who find the unicorn and decide it can cure Grant’s cancer, which it does. As a result, Grant has his doctors do some further experiments and milk the unicorn for all its worth.
It isn’t long before these characters find out there are other unicorns out in the wilderness who want to hunt them down and extract their retribution on the humans. Admittedly, the other unicorns do get some degree of carnage, but it shows a surprising amount of restraint for an R rating, except for a few scenes, which are a welcome distraction from all the exposition that occurs in between.
The movie tries some satire on pharmaceuticals and capitalism, but whatever point it wants to make is not delivered interestingly. It’s made pretty clear that the magic is being used for exploitation, but it’s a little too on the nose instead of choosing its delivery in a more subtle fashion.
It has clear elements of Jurassic Park and Frankenstein, such as tampering with nature’s gifts and not considering the consequences. Rather than wanting to go down a more daring road, Death of a Unicorn is content with cliché and a muddled story with little suspense or intrigue.
Rudd and Ortega do good work in individual scenes but don’t get a chance to flex their comedic muscles. There’s probably only one laugh in the entire film, which comes at the climax.
This movie lacks an intriguing script and is repetitive with its supposed scares. Unicorns are magical, but this movie is not.
Grade: C-
(Rated R for strong violent content, gore, language and some drug use.)
This overturned SUV is one of three vehicle involved in a crash on GA 15/US 441 North in Rabun County on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Jerry Neace/NowHabersham.com)
State troopers say a wrong-way driver collided with another vehicle on Highway 441 in Rabun County. The wreck happened around 8:07 p.m. Friday, March 21, near Rabun County High School at the Tiger Connector. The wrong-way driver was charged after the initial accident investigation.
Steven Shane Keyros, 37, of Commerce, was charged with driving on the wrong side of the road and DUI- less safe. He was released from jail on Saturday, March 22, on a $2,300 bond.
According to the Georgia State Patrol’s preliminary crash report, a Chevrolet Impala was traveling south in the northbound lanes, approaching a northbound Lincoln Navigator head-on. The Navigator’s driver attempted to move to the inside lane to avoid a collision, but the Impala struck the SUV in the rear passenger side.
After impact, the Navigator overturned, and the Impala ran off the road and struck a ditch. Debris from the crash damaged the roof and windshield of a northbound Honda CR-V.
A GSP officer investigates the accident on GA 15/US 441 at Tiger Connector on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Jerry Neace/NowHabersham.com)Three wreckers wait to haul the wrecked vehicles from the scene near Tiger, GA. (Jerry Neace/NowHabersham.com)
According GSP, Keyros was the only occupant in the Impala and the driver of the CR-V was that vehicle’s only occupant.
However, the Navigator had four occupants, including the driver. Two of those occupants were children.
Troopers say the Impala and Navigator drivers reported injuries, but neither driver nor the other occupants were transported to the hospital for treatment.
The wreck shut down one northbound highway lane as troopers investigated the crash, and tow crews cleared the wreckage.
UNG poultry science students and faculty member Dr. Linda Purvis hosted their ninth annual Poultry 101 event for middle and high school students (UNG)
The University of North Georgia (UNG) welcomed middle and high school students to its Gainesville Campus for the ninth annual Poultry 101 event, an immersive program designed to educate and inspire the next generation of poultry industry professionals.
Led by UNG students and faculty member Dr. Linda Purvis, the event provided hands-on learning experiences to prepare participants for FFA, 4-H, and college-level poultry competitions.
Activities included carcass quality evaluation, egg grading, and poultry product assessment—skills crucial for both competitions and future careers in Georgia’s top agricultural sector.
“Georgia’s poultry industry is the No. 1 agricultural sector in the state, and events like this ensure that young minds are equipped with the knowledge and confidence to thrive in this essential field,” Purvis, an associate professor of biology, said. “It’s great to see our students leading and teaching these younger students. This year, we had a great group of students who stepped up and led. It’s exciting to see our own students taking ownership and leading the event.”
UNG students played a key role in mentoring the younger participants. April Cook, a sophomore studying agriculture-avian biology, enjoyed offering guidance for poultry judging.
“The kids were awesome to talk to,” Cook said. “A lot of them had good questions. They really wanted to learn.”
Devin Self, a freshman in agriculture-poultry science, shared how a similar experience during high school influenced his decision to pursue the field.
“I fell in love with it from there,” Self said. “It all drew me in and captivated me.”
For some, Poultry 101 provided clarity on career options. Conner Watson, a freshman whose father works in the industry, noted that the event was especially beneficial for those without direct ties to poultry science.
“Being able to see options around the state that are available for students who have decided to pursue poultry science is very helpful,” Watson said.
The event was made possible through sponsorships from industry leaders, including Mar-Jac Poultry, Fieldale Farms Corporation, Rose Acre Farms, Tyson Foods, Lathem Family Farms, J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., and Chick-fil-A Robson Crossing.
With its continued success, Poultry 101 remains a vital program for fostering interest in an industry that plays a key role in Georgia’s economy.
Georgia Congressman Andrew Clyde said Tuesday he is a “hard no” on the bipartisan debt limit deal. Clyde spoke during a House Freedom Caucus press conference outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (livestream image)
Last week, two government agencies and Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, issued statements refuting claims the Social Security Office in Gainesville would be closing as part of federal budget cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
In last week’s statement, Clyde accused Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia) of deceiving voters and “scaring Americans” through prior statements the senator made insinuating at least five Georgia offices would shutdown.
“Senator Warnock has peddled lies and fearmongered Georgia seniors long enough,” Clyde said in a statement on Wednesday, March 26. “Instead of proceeding with caution and confirming a shred of validity to his claims, Senator Warnock recklessly ran with potential lease savings identified by DOGE in order to score cheap political points. The Left’s obsession with vilifying President Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE is out of control. Scaring Americans — in this case, seniors — to distort the administration’s work to expose and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse is irresponsible and reeks of desperation.”
Warnock’s office responded to Clyde’s statement in an email to Now Habersham Monday, March 31.
“The sequence of events is clear: DOGE announced the closure of five Georgia Social Security offices on their own website; the senator brought public attention and caused an outcry; then DOGE backtracked, wiped their website, and claimed they were never closing entire field offices. This sad charade is nothing more than a distraction from this administration’s relentless attack on Social Security and Georgia’s seniors. The Senator will always use his voice to defend Georgia seniors and the benefits they’re owed,” Elena Radding, a spokesperson for Warnock, said.
Earlier this month, DOGE’s website indicated the Gainesville office on Thompson Bridge Road, along with four other locations in Georgia, was being considered for closure as part of a federal cost-saving initiative. DOGE also had suggested closure of the Gainesville office could result in over $1 million in savings to taxpayers.
DOGE released a statement last week insisting this is not the case.
“Social Security is not closing any field sites in Georgia or elsewhere,” DOGE posted on X, formerly Twitter. “The confusion likely arises from the closure of 5 permanent remote hearing sites (PRSs)—single rooms within field sites used for hearings. Since most hearings are now virtual, these PRSs are unnecessary. Field sites remain open, and Social Security has no plans to close any public-facing sites nationwide.”
The Social Security Administration also denied claims offices would close in a news release Thursday, March 27.
“Recent reports in the media that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is permanently closing local field offices are false,” the release said. “Since January 1, 2025, the agency has not permanently closed or announced the permanent closure of any local field office.”
In mid-March, following a protest against cuts by DOGE on the Gainesville square, Clyde would not respond to questions on whether offices would close due to federal cost-saving measures.
“SSA is committed to providing service where people need help and our local field offices are no exception,” Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of Social Security, said last week. “We have not permanently closed any local field offices this year.”
Gas prices in Georgia have remained stable over the past week, with motorists continuing to pay an average of $2.94 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline.
According to AAA-The Auto Club Group, the state average remains unchanged from last week, is one cent lower than a month ago, and sits 38 cents below the price recorded this time last year.
At the current rate, it costs approximately $44.10 to fill up a standard 15-gallon gas tank in Georgia, nearly $7.00 less than a year ago.
“Pump prices saw minimal or no change at the pumps,” said Montrae Waiters, a spokeswoman for AAA-The Auto Club Group. “As gas prices trend lower than last year’s peaks, drivers may feel a sudden sting at the pump with each fill-up as Spring Break rolls in for students across the state. There is still a bright spot for Georgians; we are trending 21 cents below the national average of $3.15.”
National trends
While Georgia gas prices have remained steady, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by three cents over the past week to $3.15. This rise comes as Spring Break travel picks up, pushing demand higher. Gas prices typically climb this time of year, peaking during the summer months. Despite the recent increase, the national average remains approximately 40 cents lower than last year, due in part to weaker crude oil prices and tepid gasoline demand.
According to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand in the U.S. dropped from 8.81 million barrels per day to 8.64 million barrels per day. Additionally, the total domestic gasoline supply fell from 240.6 million barrels to 239.1 million barrels, while gasoline production averaged 9.2 million barrels per day last week.
Oil Market Update
Crude oil prices have seen modest increases in recent trading sessions. As of last Wednesday, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled at $69.65 per barrel, reflecting a 65-cent increase. The EIA also reported a decline in U.S. crude oil inventories, which fell by 3.3 million barrels to a total of 433.6 million barrels. Current crude oil inventory levels are about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year, contributing to the recent fluctuations in gas prices.
While Georgia drivers are currently experiencing a reprieve from rising costs at the pump, the combination of seasonal demand, fluctuating crude oil prices, and inventory levels may lead to shifts in gas prices in the weeks ahead.
