Hello Habersham 2015

HELLO Habersham Habersham County’s 2015 Guide to People and Places

An annual publication of

The Northeast Georgian in partnership with the Habersham County Chamber of Commerce1

A New TREND in experiencing the finest hospitality!

county

Beautiful Northeast GeorGia

You’ll love the journey!

Apple Blossom BBQ Mountain Laurel Festival Hills of Habersham Bike Ride Chattahoochee Mountain Fair Taste of Clarkesville Big Red Apple Festival Christmas in Cornelia

Apr. 17-18 May 16 Oct. 10 Sept. 4-12 Sept. 26 Oct. 10 Nov. 26 Jan. 1 May 29 June 26 July 17-18

Friday Night Summer Concerts in Cornelia

032715-144399

habershamchamber.com

2

HabersHam CHamber of CommerCe habchamber@windstream.net 706-778-4654

Why choose

Habersham?

O

Sandra Veal/Special

One deep breath of our fresh mountain air and you will begin to understand why my family is proud to call Habersham County home. Then, after you meet a few of our local residents you’ll probably start pondering relocating your family. My community is a place where firm handshakes and the true spirit of community exist and thrive. It’s a community where people look you in the eye, ask how you’re doing and mean it.

During the last three years, our seven municipalities, board of education, hospital, two local colleges, chamber of commerce, development authority and county government have exhibited unprecedented team spirit highlighted by our Habersham Archway Partnership. This collaborative effort of Habersham County working in unity to move

forward makes our community a great place to operate or start a business. International and local businesses find a supportive framework to stimulate and support economic development.

With two four-lane highways connecting Habersham to I-85 and rails that run through the heart of our county, we are definitely connected. We also have a 90-acre airport industrial park. Our public school system, with a variety of programs serving a diverse student population, is one of the best in the region. We also have strong private school options for education.

Each of Habersham County’s seven municipalities – Alto, Baldwin, Clarkesville, Cornelia, Demorest, Mt. Airy and Tallulah Falls – has its own distinct personality. Heritage tourism, lively festivals, fine dining, outdoor recreation and fine arts are available here. Clarkesville, the county seat, and Cornelia, the commercial center, are both designated Georgia Main Street communities. Piedmont College and North Georgia Technical College support a ready workforce and are active community partners.

Why choose Habersham County?

Because, nestled in the magnificent foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it’s a wonderful place to call home and raise a family. And our community offers a lifestyle and supportive business environment that’s on the 50-yard line of the good life!

Alan NeSmith Publisher

Northeast

Veterinary hospital 7 Days a Week

It all starts here.

On Call for Emergencies Full Service

Animal Hospital

Whether you are entering college for the first time or going back to finish a degree, Piedmont offers small, convenient, day and evening classes at our Demorest and Athens campuses.

Undergraduate and Graduate Programs >> BA, BS, BSN, and BFA in Arts & Sciences, Business, Education, and Nursing & Health Sciences

120 Pet Care Court, Cornelia (Across from Hampton Inn) www.nevethospital.com

>> MBA and MSN degree programs >> Master’s, Specialist, and Doctoral programs in Education

706-778-1900

144874

Boarding ◆ day Care ◆ grooming

piedmont.edu 3

The Scrubs Boutique

PROUD TO BE A PART OF THE

Community

MOnday - Friday 10 a.M - 7 p.M. SaTurday 10 a.M. - 4 p.M.

Come see our New

Spring/Summer

SHOP. HOST. EARN.

ColleCtioN

initials-inc.com

State Farm® Providing Insurance and Financial Services

Duane Hartness, Agent

hartnessinsurance.com

Readers’

Choice 2015

Brittany Mintz, Store Owner

032415-144876 HH2015-143388

1094 Historic 441 Highway 1/2 Mile North of RaceTrac Demorest, GA 30535 706-776-2246

691 Historic Hwy 441 N., Suite #10, Demorest, GA 30535

(706) 754-0095 TheScrubsBoutique10@gmail.com

You’re expecting. We deliver.

The physicians, certified nurse midwives and nurse practitioners at the Center for Women’s Health provide the most advanced and complete women’s healthcare in Northeast Georgia.

We offer women the following services:

4 Comprehensive obstetrical care 4 High-risk obstetrics 4 Perinatal services 4 3D/4D obstetrical ultrasound 4 Gynecological care including well woman exams

We provide a wide range of services and are proud to deliver our tender care and babies at the Women and Children’s Pavilion at Northeast Georgia Medical Center.

at

at

151 Professional Drive, Baldwin

706-776-7470

Also seeing patients in Gainesville, Dahlonega and Braselton. longstreetclinic.com/women

4

Contents Lifestyle

6 Buying, eating local movement thriving in Habersham

by Donald Fraser 8 PCAH’s First Steps

educates new families

by Kimberly Brown

History

10 Wallenda Memories Rise Up

By Phil Hudgins

Economic Development 12 Habersham Chamber of

Commerce Celebrates 75 Years

by Christina Santee 16 Citizen engagement key to Downtown Master Plan success

Faith

Recreation/Sports

Arts

by Mary Beth Horton

18 North Georgia Soccer Association making its mark

by Zack Myers

About the cover Mariah Hope [Dover] is a Habersham County-based artist who says art isn’t something she does, but something she “must do.” She translates and expresses her love of Northeast Georgia through line, form, shape and color. She grew up on creek banks, rope swings, and horse back, played in corn fields, berry patches and cow pastures. After studying at Piedmont College she traveled across the United States and Europe. She has now returned to her home to rediscover the inspiration of her youth.

Sandra Veal/Special

26 Barbara Brown Taylor ‘God is in this moment’

by Kimberly Brown 30 Piedmont College arts enrich community

by Kimberly Brown

Education

36 LiFT program lifts students to achieve academic success

by Christina Santee 40 Independent school the right choice for many Habersham familes

by Kimberly Brown

Municipalities Alto 48 Baldwin 49 Clarkesville 50 Cornelia 51 Demorest 52 Mt. Airy 53 Tallulah Falls 54

Relocation Guide

Relocation Guide 56 Post Offices 56 Schools and Colleges 56 Recreation Guide 56 Elected Officials 56 Emergency Contacts 57

Miscellaneous

Why Choose Habersham? 3 Fast Facts 62 Hospitals and Health Care 60 Habersham County Map 45 2015 Habersham County Festivals and Special Events 58 Church Directory 55

Business

Business Directory 55 Index of Advertisers 62 5

Buying,

eating

local movement thriving in

Habersham

By Donald Fraser Photo/Submitted

Lifestyle

K

Eggs are one of many products offered through the Internet-based farmers’ market Northeast Georgia Locally Grown. The market originally served Habersham, Rabun and White counties and has now expanded to Hall County, with a Gainesville pick-up site.

Knowing, and buying from, local farmers is growing on Habersham County residents as outlets for farm fresh produce flourish in the region.

The Georgia Farm to School program is helping the younger population learn to understand, and appreciate, healthy meals. Kids become connected to local farmers and they learn about agriculture and gardening. Just as important, many community members – in addition to farmers, including chefs, parents, local business and school leaders and teachers, as well as nutrition and health care services employees – are learning from the program, as well.

Maggie Van Cantfort, who used to manage the Clarkesville Farmers Market, is now coordinator for the Farm to School program.

“It’s growing. It’s expanding a lot,” Van Cantfort 6

said. “In 2013, the program was only at Wilbanks [middle school]. Now it’s at all three middle schools.”

The program also works with all school nutrition directors and Habersham Central High School’s culinary arts and agriculture programs.

The program has grown into Rabun County, with taste testing in some of the schools. “We have also installed a community garden,” Van Cantfort said.

The Habersham County school system was selected in December 2012 to serve as a farm-to-school pilot program for Northeast Georgia. As part of the program, the school system receives support and resources from Northeast Georgia Food Bank and Georgia Organics, Van Cantfort said.

The two organizations applied for a grant to fund associated activities, including school gardens,

taste-testing local produce and training workshops for cafeteria staff and teachers.

“We are in the third year of a three-year grant,” Van Cantfort said. An application for another round of funding is in the works, she said.

Taking root community-wide is the Soque River Watershed Association’s “Northeast Georgia Locally Grown” program, which connects consumers with farmers following sustainable production techniques through an online market.

“We’ve expanded the market to Gainesville,” said Justin Ellis, SRWA executive director. “We grew by 60 percent last year and expect to grow as least as much this year.”

The SRWA received a small grant to do some marketing, Ellis said, which should also contribute to having more customers. “It used to be word of mouth,” Ellis said.

“We’ve added at least a half dozen farmers,” Ellis said, “and the number of farm products has grown dramatically.”

In February, the slowest month of the year for customers, “we have 60 customers a week. In June and July, I don’t know what it will be.”

Also significant on the farm-totable scene locally is the Habersham canning plant, located on the campus of the former Fairview Elementary School on Fairview School Road.

The county-operated plant was previously located in Clarkesville, but was reconstituted under the Habersham County school system and reopened

Photo/File

Northeast Georgia Locally Grown volunteers help sort orders for the weekly pick up.

Photo/File

In season, Cornelia offers a weekly farmers market near the Highway 441 United Community Bank office. during the 2014 canning season.

During that inaugural year, more than 17,464 cans and jars were processed. Compare that usage figure to 2010, when 9,375 jars and cans were processed. In 2013, a partial canning season, 6,464 cans and jars were processed.

In 2010, the cannery had 248 visitors using the plant. In 2014, 776 area residents took advan-

Photo/File

Among the many popular items Steve Whiteman, of Trillium Farms, sells are micro-greens. tage of the cannery.

Local farmers markets are increasingly popular as an increasing number of people take greater interest in tracing their food from the farm to the table and seek quality foodstuffs.

Clarkesville and Cornelia have farmers markets and Demorest and Baldwin are studying establishing locations.

7

PCAH’s First Steps educates new families

By Kimberly Brown

Kimberly Brown/Staff

Lifestyle

P

Prevent Child Abuse Habersham First Steps Director Tari Ramos gives information to Jessica Sudduth of Cleveland, who gave birth to Jacob Eli on Feb. 21 at Habersham Medical Center in Demorest.

Prevent Child Abuse Habersham (PCAH) seeks to prevent child abuse before it starts, by educating families and stopping the cycle of child abuse.

Likely the first PCAH program parents will experience is First Steps, a parenting support and education program provided to all families of newborns at Habersham Medical Center in Demorest.

Tari Ramos has been PCAH’s First Steps director since 2005. She said there are about 400 births per year at HMC, and her goal is to visit most of those new mothers.

“We see all new moms,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if she’s a first-time mom or seventh-time mom. It doesn’t matter if she’s on any kind of assistance or if she’s a wealthy mom. We see everybody.”

A recent First Steps visit was to Jessica Sudduth, 29, who lives in Cleveland and who gave birth to Jacob Eli at HMC on Feb. 21. Sudduth also has 5-year-old and 3-year-old sons, so she has been a First Steps mom before.

8

As part of her routine visit, Ramos gave Sudduth a baby T-shirt with the slogan “This side up,” to remind her to let the baby sleep on his back. She also received a 12-month calendar so she can track Eli’s milestones; a resource guide; insurance information; a children’s book; tips for the dad or friends who will be helping; and a DVD about colicky babies and shaken baby syndrome, called “A Period of Purple Crying.” Sudduth also received a purple baby hat donated by Bumbleberry in Clarkesville.

Sudduth said she appreciates the First Steps visits. “[Ramos] gives some really good information,” she said.

Ramos said the mothers are “always very welcoming.”

“I’ve been doing this 10 years, and I think I’ve had two moms not want to see me in those 10 years,” she said. “I’m not interviewing them or checking up on their parenting skills. I’m just sharing information, being friendly and helpful. They’re very receptive.”

Ramos said there is a correlation between First

Steps and PCAH’s Parents as Teachers (PAT) program (see box). Since she sees all new mothers in the county, she keeps her eyes open for those “who may have special needs” which can be met by PAT. Several years ago, she met with parents who unexpectedly had a Down syndrome child.

“They were lost,” she said. “So I referred them to Parents as Teachers. … I’ve had young moms I refer to PAT. It just depends on their situation.”

HMC obstetrics nurses Teresa Dodd and Lisa Chastain love the First Steps program.

Dodd said new mothers can be overwhelmed with information, but if they receive it from different sources, they seem to absorb it better.

“And I think [Ramos] has more interesting ways of handing [information] to them,” Dodd said. “We’re tickled to death to have First Steps at our hospital.”

Chastain sees First Steps from two perspectives: She gave birth at HMC, and was a First Steps mom for three of her four children, and she is an OB nurse. Her favorite tip Ramos passed on is shushing softly in the baby’s ear to quiet the baby.

“A lot of people bounce [the baby] and shush, but to get close to their ear and just say ‘shhhhh.’ It really works,” she said.

For more information about PCAH, visit online preventchildabusehabersham.org.

Other PCAH programs include: Parents As Teachers is a home visitation program serving children birth through kindergarten. Since 2008, PAT has served 165 families and 252 children. The program focuses on “decreasing child maltreatment and helping create healthy family norms as parents learn to be their child’s best first teacher.”

Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children Training seeks to “change society values and behaviors towards child sexual abuse.” PCAH has trained 1,178 adults in the county, and it has the goal of training 1,637 – 5 percent of the adult population. One adult trained in the program can help protect 10 children from child sexual abuse.

Hope and Healing Habersham is a facilitated support peer group for adult survivors of child sexual abuse. PCAH is currently “working to grow this program and help our community know it is an available resource for adult survivors of child sexual abuse.” * Information provided by Jennifer Stein, president of the PCAH board of directors.

9

Wallenda

memories

T

rise up

By Phil Hudgins/CNI News Service

History

T

Ted Smith/Special

German-American high-wire artist Karl Wallenda walks across Tallulah Gorge July 18, 1970 at the age of 65. Eight years later, Wallenda fell to his death while attempting a skywalk between the two towers of the 10-story Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was 73.

Thousands of people were standing shoulder to shoulder, their eyes on one small man, their sweat commingling on this hot July Saturday.

Eddie Stowe was there as a news reporter, jotting down notes. Johnny Solesbee, retired publisher of The Northeast Georgian, was taking photographs.

The Rev. James Turpen was talking to God: “Lord, just keep them feet a-walkin’, and bring him on across.”

Ted Smith was thinking: “He’s got a long way to go.”

It was July 18, 1970, and Karl Wallenda, the Great Wallenda, was taking his first step onto a steel cable stretched across Tallulah Gorge, about 700 feet of air separating him and the rocks below.

“Only a few whispers of excitement could be heard from the jam-packed audience,” said Stowe, a native of Habersham County. “However, spectators cheered loudly when Wallenda stopped halfway across in a planned stunt, his balance pole wavering from side to side.”

10

Karl Wallenda autographed this ticket for Ted Smith of Cornelia.

Twice, the 65-year-old Wallenda interrupted his journey of nearly 1,000 feet and stood on his head, one time for “the boys in Vietnam,” he said.

But then, something unexpected happened. About two-thirds of the way across, Wallenda, who had been wired for sound, hesitated. “My slipper’s stuck,” he said, or something like that, said Turpen, who’s prayed

Ted Smith/Special

Karl Wallenda successfully crossed Tallulah Gorge in July 1970. hundreds of people through ordeals as pastor of Tallulah Falls United Methodist Church for 56 years. One of Wallenda’s slippers apparently had hung up on a cable burr. But he got it loose and walked on.

“That was an anxious moment,” Turpen said.

Smith, of Cornelia, who owned the Cornelia Motel at the time, had secretly stuck one of his business cards in each end of the Great Wallenda’s 46-pound balancing pole.

“I got him to autograph those cards for me,” he said.

The 1970 wire-walking event was held to raise money to build an amphitheater in the area, Smith said.

But only about $25,000 was raised, and the theater idea never got off the ground. Crowd estimates varied, but Smith guessed 10,000 to 15,000 spectators. About 5,000 of them actually bought $5 tickets.

And now, Nik Wallenda, 36, says he wants to duplicate his greatgrandfather’s feat. But although plans to commemorate the 1970

event with the grandson didn’t materialize for 2015, Rabun County officials are still planning to host the Sky Walk Celebration this summer.

Folks are reminiscing about the great skywalk nearly 45 years ago.

“I don’t think the significance of the event had registered with me until I began approaching the gorge area on 441…,” Johnny Solesbee said. “I had never seen that many people in one place like that in my life. They were everywhere.”

Fortunately, he said, he and Stowe had front-row seats, near the edge of the gorge, within 10 feet of the

This program details the events of the day that Karl Wallenda’s walk across Tallulah Gorge. end of the cable and away from the mass of perspiring bodies that sardined themselves around the gorge.

“I guess the thing that stood out about that walk was how dang easy Wallenda made it look,” Solesbee said. “Just a Saturday afternoon stroll across the gorge on about a two-inch cable.”

11

Habersham County Chamber of Commerce

By Christina Santee

Photo/Submitted

Celebrates 75 years

Leadership Habersham program going strong in its 25th year

Economic Development

F

Habersham County is recognized annually on Habersham County Day at the Capitol by Senate and House chambers in February.

Pictured, Habersham and state representatives join together in Atlanta for the fourth Habersham County Day at the Capitol in 2015.

Founded in 1940, the Habersham County Chamber of Commerce has played a vital role in Habersham County and its successes over the last 75 years.

Its mission? To “be vital to existing businesses, promote economic development and enhance the quality of life in Habersham County,” said Chamber President Judy Taylor.

And the chamber has done just that.

The chamber was officially chartered Aug. 18, 1947, as the Cornelia Chamber of Commerce. Its charter was amended April 22, 1970, when it became known as the Habersham County Chamber of Commerce Inc. Nestled toward the southern end of the county in Cornelia, Taylor said the chamber is comprised of more than 600 business members and 900-plus member representatives.

The chamber’s vision, she said, is “to be recognized as the advocate for local businesses in Habersham County, serving as the local support for a business12

friendly environment and promoting tourism.”

John Foster, a three-time past chamber chairman from 1964-65 and in 1969, said that vision is just as relevant today as it was back then.

“The vision of the chamber should be just as strong as it’s ever been,” he said.

Foster said the chamber, to this day, continues to enhance the standard of living for the community – “economically, culturally” and through tourism.

Although formerly known as the Cornelia chamber, Foster said the organization underwent a name change as supporters “felt like we needed to work together in the community for the better of the entire county.

“I think that’s the proper way it should function,” he said, which it has over past decades.

Although originally located on North Main Street in downtown Cornelia, the chamber now operates off

Historic Highway 441 next to the Habersham County Veterans Wall of Honor, still within Cornelia city limits.

Today, the Habersham County Chamber of Commerce continues pursuing growth within Habersham County and its seven municipalities.

Networking continues to be a major focus of the chamber, as it holds regular opportunities to promote businesses. Ten “Business after Hours” events are scheduled each year the fourth Thursday of each month, January through October. Chamber members host these at their businesses to highlight and promote their companies, while new members have the opportunity to introduce themselves and their business. “Business before Hours” was started in 2012, for those members whose schedules do not work with the after-hours events.

The chamber also holds several seminars and workshops, including the Business Resource Center Lunch & Learns, Existing Industry meetings and trainings, which also serve as networking opportunities. Groups such as the LEADS Networking Group and Power Networking Lunch also put networking at the forefront of its itineraries.

The Habersham Professional Women’s Organization SOAR, chartered in 2012, provides a networking opportunity for female business owners, executive management and other professional women. SOAR stands for women strong in their work ethic showing leadership and professionalism; objective in their decisions; active in their community and respected by colleagues, family and friends.

SOAR also serves as a support group for women who share similar challenges and issues and promotes economic development through training and sharing.

Leadership Habersham, now in its 25th consecutive year, annually accepts 25 participants looking to get traditional leadership training and expand their knowledge of Habersham County’s government and infrastructure.

The program “is intended to groom leaders for Habersham County,” Taylor said. Being in its 25th year, that speaks to the effort’s success, she said.

The group also takes trips to businesses across the county, where they get a behind-the-scenes look at the innerworking of the company and develop bonds with fellow entrepreneurs.

“We have graduates all the way from state-level jobs

BRICK OVEN PIZZA • HOAGIES PANINIS • SALADS

Insurance Stinks! ...UNTIL YOU NEED IT!

5 $30 or more

$ off

Not to be combine with any other deal or discount.

Not accepted after 4 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays

Monday: Buy 1 Get 1 Free 12” Pizza Tuesday: 16” 2 Topping Pizza W/Craft Beer $25 Wednesday: 1-One Topping Slice with Soda $5 2-Two Topping Slices W/Bottle Beer $10 Thursday: ½ Off Draft Beer & Habersham Wine

Real People.

Real Pizza.

Real Good!

NOW OFFERING Gluten FREE Pizza

Hours: Mon.-Thurs: 12pm-9pm Fri-Sat: 12pm-10pm Sunday: 12pm-9pm

7275-B South Main St., Helen www.villagetavernpizza.com • 706-878-0199

• HOME • AUTO • BOAT • BUSINESS • MORE

770-535-6645

Thompson Bridge Road • Gainesville, GA hartsmith-insurance.com • quotes@hartsmithins.com AN INDEPENDENT AGENT, THAT CAN HELP YOU GET THE COVERAGE YOUR BUDGET NEEDS.

13

Photo/Submitted

The Habersham County Chamber of Commerce sponsors annually the Youth Leadership effort at Habersham Central High School. Serving more than 100 students each year, the chamber assists participants with a trip to the Capitol during the legislative sessions, in addition to sponsoring a year-end graduation banquet for both students and their parents. Pictured are the 2014 Youth Leadership graduates.

If you think you can’t afford it...

See Carolyn!

SAMUEL B. Jewelry

Fine Jewelry for All Ages • Gold • Diamond • Silver• Gemstones Engagement Wedding Sets

to local leaders in both government occupations and business and industry,” Taylor said.

The chamber also provides leadership programs, for both youths and adults, that encourage advancement in the future leadership of Habersham County.

Sponsoring programs such as the STAR student/ STAR teacher, academic excellence, partners in education, among others, help the chamber positively impact Habersham.

The Business Resource Center – a partnership among North Georgia Technical College, Piedmont College and the chamber – provides free assistance and services in

Brand New!

Sterling Silver Genuine Gemstones

Bracelets & Charms

104 Market Center (across from new Walmart) • Cornelia, GA

706-778-0245 14

Hours: Tues-Fri 10-6 | Sat 10-5

032715-147292

Best Jewelry Store 3 years in a row

areas of market research, business plan development/ expansion, leadership, technology recommendations and marketing to business owners, operators and employees, municipalities and nonprofit organizations in Habersham, Banks, Rabun, Stephens and White counties.

The chamber also has ongoing involvement in community development, governmental affairs, agribusiness, marketing, special events, finance, tourism, economic development, technology and fundraising.

For more information, call 706-778-4654, visit the chamber online at habershamchamber.com or send an email inquiry to habchamber@windstream.net.

Come Visit Georgia Power Lakes and Recreation Areas Come visit Georgia Power lakes and recreation areas. No matter where you live, you probably aren’t far from a Georgia Power lake, campsite, hiking or picnic area.

To learn more or to make reservations, call 888-GPC-LAKE (888-472-5253) or visit georgiapowerlakes.com.

One Source Solution For Your Workplace & Ministry Needs HOLCOMB’S OFFICE SUPPLY & CHRISTIAN PRODUCTS 484 Town Centre Drive • Cornelia, GA Phone: 706-778-4173, 1-800-451-7580 Fax: 706-778-2404

www.holcombsoffice.com

Because a Better Living Environment, leads to a Better Life.

A

re you looking for a fantastic senior living community?

H THE HOLBROOK Live Active, Live Well, Live Life!

Independent Senior Living on Purpose Stress-Free Living Environment Wonderful Dining Experiences Full Kitchens & Washer/Dryers Pet-Friendly ASSISTED LIVING COMMUNITY

DogwooD Forest oF gainesville 3315 Thompson Bridge Road. Gainesville, Ga. 30506

147319

770-531-7800

www.dogwoodforest.com

The Holbrook of Lake Lanier 3319 Thompson Bridge Road, Gainesville, Ga. 30506

678-207-2345

www.holbrooklife.com 15

Citizen engagement key to Downtown Master Plan success

By Mary Beth Horton/Special

D Photo/Submitted

Downtown Clarkesville is alive and well and looking forward to a bright future, according to the recentlyrevealed Downtown Master Plan, led by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government.

The devastating fire that happened in the historic square in early 2014 served as a catalyst for the city of Clarkesville to facilitate rebuilding and strengthening the downtown area.

“Our city officials realized that beyond rebuilding just the burned properties, there was an opportunity to create a vision for the future of the entire downtown,” said Clarkesville City Manager Barbara Kesler.

“To set the vision for that future, a cooperative effort between the city Clarkesville, Clarkesville Main Street and the residents of Clarkesville had to be established.”

Through the Georgia Downtown Renaissance Partnership, the city selected the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia to lead this process.

Clarkesville participated in the Partnership’s threephase master planning process, which asks and answers the following questions: Who are we as a downtown? Where are we going? How will we get there?

In each phase, citizen engagement was essential to the process. Stakeholders throughout the community were all asked to help answer the question, “Who are we as a downtown?”

Through a series of surveys, focus groups, interviews

16

A view of the potential streetscape enhancement on the square shows the addition of greenery and extension of brick sidewalks. and town hall meetings, the input from more than 800 interested residents and business people was gathered.

The second phase involved consolidating the input, finding recurring themes, sorting the issues and putting them into a vision.

Finally, the third phase involved “doing.” In this stage, projects were divided into short- and long-term goals and members of the community were asked to help champion a strategy and implement the plan.

This February, the city and Main Street presented Clarkesville’s Master Plan to a standing-room-only crowd.

“The presentation included rebuilding options for the fire-damaged side of the square, streetscape make-

Photo/Submitted

Local business owner Joey Duncan serves as moderator for a public input process during the town hall meeting last August.

overs and other major redesign projects as well as short- and long-term projects aimed at promoting and revitalizing downtown Clarkesville,” said Mary Beth Horton, Main Street manager. “Members of the community introduced projects for which they have taken initiative.”

The effective collaboration with the community has resulted in the city of Clarkesville being named one of the recipients of the Four for the Future awards, as selected by Georgia Trend magazine and the University of Georgia’s Public Service and Outreach.

“The Four for the Future award recognizes four communities that have worked across the public-private sector on local issues in ways that will lead to improved quality of life,” Horton said.

Clarkesville is scheduled to receive this award in April at the annual awards luncheon in Athens. In addition, the city and its work on the Downtown Master Plan will be featured in the April issue of Georgia Trend magazine.

According to both Kesler and Horton, the success of this Master Plan and the future of Clarkesville is in

Forest Lane

the hands of the citizens.

Keeping a healthy relationship across the public/private sector and fully integrating the community into the process results in significant change everybody can feel good about, Horton said.

The renovation of the Mary Street Park building into community space is one of the projects of the Master Plan.

Photo/Submitted

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1938

Mini Mart & Pawn Shop

Serving Habersham County Since 1980 Firearms, Ammunition, Hunting & Fishing Gear, Electronics, Car Audio, Yard Equipment, Storage Buildings, Jewelry, Sporting Equipment, Musical Equipment & Instruments, Guitars

706-778-0140

Hours: 9 a.m. till 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday

032814-65645

We Sell Hunting and Fishing Licenses 2811 Level Grove Rd., Cornelia, GA 30531

Wild Berry Cottage Clarkesville tasting room & gift shop

Featuring Cartecay Vineyard Wines, Georgia Winery and Mercier Apple Ciders

032715-147547

Women’s Simply Southern & Come see our New Selection of Southern Bell Shirts available Fripp & Folly Men’s T-Shirts Washington street, DoWntoWn Clarkesville, ga. 30523 Open 5 days a week | Tues- saT 10am - 6pm | wildberrycOTTagegifTs.cOm | 706-391-8016

17

North Georgia

Soccer

Association making its mark

By Zack Myers Photo/Submitted

Rapids Futbol Club U19 girls’ throw the ball in from the side after an opponent knocked the ball out of bounds.

H Zack Myers/Staff

Rapids Futbol Club held a fall season kickoff event in September 2014, where it brought in Atlanta Silverbacks players to put the young athletes through drills. Shown, Silverbacks player Brandon Poltronieri speaks to a group of kids at the end of a clinic session.

18

Habersham County has seen the rise of a youth soccer association over the last 20 years, which has seen thousands of kids fall in love with a game that is gaining popularity on a daily basis in the United States.

In 1995, Wade Rhodes founded the North Georgia Soccer Association (NGSA) after his 12-and-under recreation department team wanted to continue playing together. The only problem: the Habersham County Recreation Department didn’t offer the opportunity to kids over 12.

“After 12 years old, there was no soccer at the rec department or the middle schools,” Rhodes said.

“There wasn’t even a [junior varsity] team (at the high school), but for some reason, they had a varsity team and all those kids hadn’t played since they were 12.”

Rhodes made an attempt to join the Lanier Soccer Association in Gainesville, but the club lacked field space for new affiliate members, so Rhodes created the NGSA. The first year, the NGSA had somewhere around 30 kids so they just played with all kinds of age groups mixed together. That number quickly grew to 100 and called for age divisions.

After graduating from Piedmont College, Ric Wallace and Scott Borchers got involved with the pro-

Rapids Futbol Club U19 girls send a corner into the box after the ball rolled past the end line.

Photo/Submitted

ly 400 players who play indoor in the winter season.

Rhodes and current Executive Director Jeff LeBarbera see the numbers increasing and the fields available to them overflowing. The pair agrees field space is an ever-growing necessity.

“We definitely need field space. We’re growing like crazy,” LaBarbera said. “We’d love to have more space.

It’d be great to have a soccer complex – a bigger one

032715-148234

gram. Both attended Parkview High School, where they won state championships before playing for Piedmont. The two, according to Rhodes, started the select program, which is a step above the rec program.

Then, NGSA began seeing further success.

“We grew into Rabun County, Stephens County and had a few kids from White County,” Rhodes said. “We got in the middle schools, South [Habersham] and North [Habersham]. Then they got a JV team at the high school for the boys and girls.”

Not long after implementing the middle school and JV teams, Wallace took over as the varsity boys coach at Habersham Central High School. Since then the club has continued to grow even more.

In the fall of 2014, NGSA merged with the Georgia Mountain Soccer Association (GMSA), which was in White County, making it one club from the rec level all the way through the select level. The merger brought with it a new name.

“We didn’t want to give up our name and they didn’t want to give up their name, so we called it Rapids Football Club (Rapids FC),” Rhodes said.

Now, Rapids FC sees around 1,000 kids grace its fields each year from ages 4-18, not counting the near-

19

– where we have more fields. We’re going to continue to grow in the next few years. The sport continues growing in popularity, not just here, but in the state and the nation. It’s here to stay and I wish people would embrace it more.”

Over the last 20-plus years, the club has embraced the game. The kids in the county and its surrounding areas continue to embrace it. Since 1995, the club has seen more than 65 of its alumni move on to play at the college level on scholarships. Two players accepted full-ride scholarship offers to Temple University. Others have attended schools like Presbyterian College, Carson-Newman University, Truett-McConnell College, Emmanuel College and more.

For more information, call 706-754-0191.

Zack Myers/Staff

Rapids Futbol Club hosts summer youth camps. Shown, from left, Kale Borchers, Cole Borchers, Ian Borchers, Trinity Moon and Chloe Vinson hone their soccer skills at camp June 16, 2014.

David & Katie’s

York’s GaraGe — 60 Years —

Amish Food, spice And Grocery store

Large Assortment of Gluten-Free, Non-GMO Items Tennessee Mountain

JOEL ALEXANDER

Sub cOMbO

Honey $899 $500Everyday!

QuArT

969 Historic Homer Hwy Homer, GA 30547

Automotive & Diesel Repair

706-677-3646 cell : 706-654-6370

586 Wayside St. NW Cornelia, GA 30531

706-778-4831

3 Year / 100,000 Mile Transferables, Nationwide Parts & Labor Warranty

Best Biscuit

Best Ice Cream

Customer surnilday appreCiation

9 1 Half Off ap

day

EvErytHing from OPEn to ClOSE 7AM-10 pM

(Excluding $5 Buck Lunch)

11- 4 pM dAily

1498 Historic Hwy, 441 north 1081 Main Street north 154 Hwy 441 Bypass Clarkesville, Ga

20

Cornelia, Ga

BalDWin, Ga

Wilbanks 3399 Hwy 365 BalDWin, Ga

147764

146573

Photo/Submitted

“Where the Locals Eat” 365 Days a Year

Cassidy Sullens clears the ball out of the Rapids Futbol Club U19 girls’ box to end a scoring threat from the opposing team.

Breakfast • Lunch • Catering • Private Dining Room

147764

Check for

INTERNAL MEDICINE Brent Archer, MD Scott Barrett, DO Richard Blatt, MD Shane Bussler, MD Paul Chenard, MD Meghan Cook, MD Richard Gomez, MD Carol Hector, MD Hillary Morgan, MD Birju Patel, MD Bradley Pierce, MD Mini Shivprasad, MD Sean Sumner, MD Jeffrey Terry, MD Roberto Villanueva, MD HEMATOLOGY/ONCOLOGY Andre Kallab, MD Padma Nadella, MD Christina Saurel, MD Saloni Tanna, MD

ENDOCRINOLOGY Matthey Harris, MD Jennifer John-Kalarickal, MD Eniki Mack, MD Cacia Soares-Welch, MD Archana Swami, MD NEPHROLOGY Mark Kats, MD Laura Shepherd, MD Kim Tran, MD PULMONOLOGY Craig Brown, MD Wesley Head , MD Thomas Murray, MD Joseph West, MD RHEUMATOLOGY Sylvia Dold, DO Tracy Lovell , MD Alok Sachdeva, MD CARDIOLOGY Robert Ferguson, MD

DAILY

706-754-7067

specials!

Hours

Monday-Friday: 6 a.m.-2 p.m.

Saturday: 7 a.m.-11 a.m.

Sunday: 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

We Deliver

Proudly taking care of Northeast Georgia for over 60 years • Bone Densitometry • Cardiology • Chemotherapy • Clinical Research • CT Scans • Diabetes Education • Laboratory Services • Mammography • MRI • Concierge Medicine /DirectCare

• Nuclear Medicine • Nutrition Services • Physical Therapy • Pulmonary Function Testing • Retail Pharmacy • Sleep Medicine • Ultrasound • General • Vascular • X-ray

NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS For more information, please call 770-536-9864.

1240 Jesse Jewell Pky, SE, Suite 500 | Gainesville, GA www.ngdc.com 21 21

BEST PEDIATRICIAN

READERS’ CHOICE

Garrick K. Bailey, MD, of the Center for Pediatrics at The Longstreet Clinic, P.C., has been voted the best pediatrician in the area for the second consecutive year!

The Center for Pediatrics has been providing pediatric care to families across Northeast Georgia for nearly two decades. Services include: • High-quality, compassionate medical care for newborns to adolescents • Modern office building in Baldwin • Board-certified physicians • On-site laboratory • Electronic medical records • Saturday hours available in Gainesville

Schedule your appointment today!

Call 706-776-2368 FOLLOW US ON...

155 Professional Drive • Baldwin, GA 30511

www.longstreetclinic.com/pediatrics 22

Family Practice & Pain Care Management 1070 historic hwy 441 Suite D and E Demorest, Ga 30535

Dr. paraMvir SinGh, M.D. Interventional Pain Physician

Mon-Thur 8 a.M.-5 p.M. Fri 8a.M.-3 p.M.

Accepting new pAtients

706-778-3912 706-778-9220 706-776-6259 (F)

Full Scope Family and Pain Management Office We accept most insurances including Medicaid and Medicare.

032715-148237

Dr. ravin TalaTi, M.D

MyFaMilyDocGa.coM

“Our Family Serving Your Family”

Since

1936

“serving the families of our community for over75 years” 175 VFW Post Rd, PO Box 725 • Cornelia, GA 30531 • 706-778-8668

147625

23 23

Welcome to the neighborhood...

Unique Sweetness!

Thank you, my dear family of God of Habersham County. I am humbled and blessed to serve you. All the glory, honor, power & praise goes to our God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ.

— Servant of Most High

We offer special occasion cakes and wedding cakes, cookies, pies, candies and anything else you can dream up.

115 Commerce Parkway • Cornelia

• Pies • Candies • Cookies •

706-894-2590 sugartopiasweets.com

Hours: Mon - Thurs 5:30 am - 10 pm, Fri 5:30 am - 8 pm Sat 8 am - 6 pm, Sun 1 pm - 5 pm

www.LordandHope.com

Real Estate & Construction • On site management • Daily Access 6am-10pm • Standard and climate control units • Unit sizes 5x5 and up 3288 B.C. Grant Rd. • Cornelia

Hulsey’s

Cornelia, GA 706-776-6000

Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710

Hal Dowdy, Agent

lonestarstorageproperties.com kembricks.com

TS PAR

HIGGINS

State Farm® Providing Insurance and Financial Services

706-776-5997

SER VIC

E

Sales & Service

572 N. Main St., PO Box 233, Cornelia GA 30531-0233 Bus: 706.778.1112 hal@haldowdyagency.com

Residential | Commercial | Rentals

Don Higgins State Lic. #GCI000026

Kleinert

D. Higgins State Lic. #GC1000127

Affordable.

Fashionable.

Comfortable.

EyECarE

706-776-1403

Furniture, Mattresses & More

Dr. Keith Kleinert, O.D. 366 Hwy 441 Bypass, P.O. Box 26 Baldwin, GA 30511

248 Main St. North. Cornelia, GA 30531

WhiStle top BreW Company

Wanda Daniel

Store Manager

HARDSCAPE & MASONRY SUPPLIES

m-th 1-7 | F-Sat 1-9 | Sun 1-4

craft beverages Largest selection oft Geo rgia!

Cornelia

706.776.9556

146626

in Northeas

248 north main St.

706.776.0333

Doctor of Optometry

706-778-6929

032615-148233

Cornelia

• Celebration Cakes • Layer Cakes •

530 Wayside St., Cornelia, GA • 706-778-2255 oldcastle.com • wanda.daniel@oldcastle.com

Four locations to serve you: Cornelia, Lawrenceville, Macon, Tyrone

Opt2mist Vapor Shop

CouchPotatoFurniture.net

In The Cornelia Post Office Plaza.

L&D Florist

Leyta Cantrell Owner & Designer

498 Level Grove Rd. Cornelia, GA 30531

706-778-2245

www.landdf lorist.com

Shop 10,000 Sq. Ft. Large Selection of New & Used Items

opt2mistvaporshop.com 706-778-7755

24 700 Business Hwy. 441 • Cornelia

Monday - Thursday 10-6 Friday 10-8 • Closed Sunday 186 D. Cannon Bridge Rd. Cornelia, Ga. 30531

706-778-0223

Tons of T-Shirts spoiledrottenboutique09

BUDGET TIME!

474 Town Centre Drive Cornelia 706-778-0506

032615-148253

Mon-Fri 10 to 6 Sat 10 to 4

Come visit us and stay awhile!

CUsToM FrAMinG

LoCAL ArTisT PrinTs

Mattress Sale!

1/2 Price

THe HoLLoW LoG 117 Highway 441 Bus. Cornelia, GA 30531 Ken & JAnie Morris jamorris@hemc.net

PHone: (706) 778-4281 1-800-927-0718 FAX: 706-776-1868 www.thehollowlog.com

GenerationS Furniture 254 Main Street North Cornelia, Ga. 30531

706-778-6316

Building relationships for generations

Complete Alternator, Generator, Battery & Starter Sales & Service Diesel • Farm • Industrial • Marine • Foreign Phone: (706) 778-5656 1000 Star Place Fax: (706) 776-1953 Cornelia, Georgia 30531

www.Starautoelectricga.com

Express Care of Habersham

• UPS Shipping • Copies • Fax • Notary Service • Local Authors and Artists • Special Orders • Gifts

Get in. Get out. Get better.

Chet R. Baker, FNP Family Nurse Practitioner

We Buy Gold 401 Cornelia Plaza Drive North Main Street Cornelia, Georgia 30531

130 B Magnolia lane Cornelia, ga 30531 inside TiM’s PharMaCy

255 Habersham Village, Cornelia 706-778-5559

Jerry & Glenda Boling

Phone: 706-776-3070

www.exPressCarehaBershaM.CoM

www.Kadaydles.com

(706) 778-4563

Text expresscare to 310-945-2912 for faster service

Baldwin Number 1 in Auto Collision!

Fully Equipped, Trained & Qualified

Family Rest Your One Stop Auto Collision Shop Got Questions? Call us

Wilbanks Body Shop

1065 Willingham Avenue

263 Willingham Avenue • Baldwin

706-778-0350

BAldWin

706-778-2951

Assistance with Claims, Towing & Rentals

auRant

hours:

Mon-Wed 5AM-8pM thurs-fri 5AM-9pM sAt 5AM-11pM

Demorest Full service upscale salon Keratin, Extensions, on-site bridal, etc.

101 Demorest Square Suite H Demorest, Ga

(706) 776-7281

www.Southern-Glam.com

Public Welcome Bargain Books • Local Authors • Convenience

10% off * New location Fall 2015 375 Georgia St.

Must Present Ad

booksTore

M-Th 8-6, Fri 8-3 • Downtown Demorest • 706-776-0013

25

Barbara Brown Taylor: ‘God is in this moment’

By Kimberly Brown

Bestselling author and Piedmont College professor Barbara Brown Taylor is shown speaking at Piedmont College in Athens.

David Price/Special

26

T

Teacher. Preacher. Author. Leader.

Wife.

Through the years, Barbara Brown Taylor has had many careers and titles.

Taylor, 63, lives on a farm near Clarkesville with her husband, Ed Taylor. She was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta in 1984, and she served as priest at Grace-Calvary Episcopal Church in Clarkesville from 1992-97.

When she left Grace-Calvary, Taylor joined the staff of Piedmont College in 1998 as the Butman Professor of Religion and Philosophy. She has been a speaker at Emory, Duke, Princeton and Yale universities, as well as the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. And she has been a prolific writer, author of 13 books and many lectures. Her latest book, “Learning to Walk in the Dark,” was featured on the cover of TIME magazine’s April 28, 2014 issue.

Taylor’s impact has long been recognized. In 1996, during her time at Grace-Calvary, she was named one of the 12 “most effective” preachers in the English-speaking world

by Baylor University. It is likely this event which led to her resignation from Grace-Calvary, because it brought scores of people to the tiny church to hear Taylor preach.

According to the April 28, 2014, story in TIME by Elizabeth Dias, “The congregation [of Grace-Calvary] was soon anything but small and intimate. The perfection unraveled, and it became clear that Taylor, despite her prowess in the pulpit – or because of it – could no longer lead her flock.”

Taylor joined the staff at Piedmont

David Price/Special

College and the accolades continued. In 2012, she was named one of the 100 Most Influential Georgians, and in 2014, she was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by TIME magazine.

For all her honors and career in public speaking, Taylor shies away from the attention. About “Learning to Walk in the Dark” being featured in TIME, Taylor called the notice the article brought “embarrassing,” though, she said, she’s become good friends with Dias.

032715-147836

Barbara Brown Taylor is shown at a book signing held at the Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art at Piedmont College in Demorest.

27

Barbara Brown Taylor, who lives in Clarkesville with her husband Ed Taylor, is a bestselling author of 13 books. Taylor was formerly a pastor of Grace-Calvary Episcopal Church and is now Butman Professor of Religion at Piedmont College in Demorest.

Submitted

“It was my five minutes of fame,” Taylor said. “I live in Habersham County and I teach at Piedmont College, because I want to be free to do my work without a lot of distractions. I’m grateful for the honor, but I’m very glad the public has a short attention span.”

When asked about her biggest accomplishment in life, Taylor said, “Staying married for 30 years.”

However, she added, she’s thankful she has had “the luxury of doing more than one thing for a living.”

“I love it that I’ve had three or four careers that

HEALTHY AND

Local & Long Distance Moving & Storage We Come to You Anywhere in the USA We Handle Your Move froM Start to finiSH • Free Estimates • Modern Equipment • Loading & Unloading • Full Packing Service Available

Professional Drug Free Staff • We Carry Workmans’ Compensation • Criminal Employee Background Checks • Licensed & Insured NC-T4230

locally owned & operated

USDOT-907394

LAWNS

TREES & SHRUBS • FLOWERS & GARDENS Natural Fertilization Service Weed and Pest Control Affordable and Competitive Quick Friendly Local Service Environmentally Friendly Safe for Children & Pets

Call today

Save 50% on your First Application!

706-839-6683 • 877-659-6683

CALL FOR A FREE LAWN EVALUATION!

www.mountain-movers.com menonthemove@windstream.net

28

BEAUTIFUL

*On your Bio Green plan right now

706-968-8312 • timk@biogreen.com

Tim Kilgore, Bio Green North East Georgia • biogreen.com

I’ve loved,” she said. “I love my current career of teaching very much.”

About her various careers and titles, Taylor said, “If I were asked to choose my career right now, I’d say, ‘let me teach undergraduates.’ But if somebody said I had to retire (from teaching), then I’d say I was a writer.”

How does such a noted theologian stay grounded in herself and in her faith? She finds God everywhere.

In her 2007 book, “Leaving Church,” Taylor writes, “I know plenty of people who find God most reliably in books, in buildings, and even in other people. I have found God in all of these places too, but the most reliable meeting place for me has always been creation.”

She reiterates her philosophy, that you can find God in everything and every moment.

“Everything I’ve read, everything I’ve studied, probably everything I’ve preached, comes down to the Divine is present in this moment, in this situation, in that person,” she said. “Pay attention.”

Ashley Williams/Special

TheOutdoorDepot.com 250 John W. Morrow Jr. Pkwy Suite 200 Gainesville, GA 30501

Free Consultation for new patients.

Good Living and Affordable Prices

Ages 55 and Better!

®.

Call for more information on braces and Invisalign

Orthodontics for Children and Adults www.cantrellortho.com

145833

Holly R. Cantrell, D.M.D., M.S., P.C. 108 Highland Avenue 706.778.5093 Cornelia, GA 30531 Fax: 706.776.2708

032814-64418

Green a Unique Mountain Senior Village Community One & Two Bedroom Apartments You must be income eligible

Cornelia, Georgia | Call Dana for info 706-894-1315 ext. 2

29

Piedmont College

arts enrich community

By Kimberly Brown

Kimberly Brown/Staff

Arts

F

Piedmont College students Jacob Passmore and Brittany Sharer play a father and daughter in the Piedmont production of “Hush: An Interview With America,” in the college’s black box theater.

From its theater department to the Mason-Scharfenstein Museumof Art, Piedmont College offers opportunities for the community to enjoy the arts while students learn.

Theater Department Chairman Bill Gabelhausen began teaching at Piedmont College nine years ago, when the department was housed in Daniel Hall. He said the department then consisted of three full-time faculty and nine theater majors.

“When the Swanson Center for the Performing Arts and Mass Communications opened, the theater department witnessed extreme growth,” he said. “We currently have four full-time professors, two adjunct professors and 52 theater majors and minors.”

30

David Price/Special

The Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art hosts receptions for visiting artists such as Sloane Bibb of Alabama.

Five Locations to Serve You! Cornelia, Baldwin, Commerce Clayton & Cleveland

706-778-1717 032715-148249

Each year during its theater season, the Piedmont College Theater Department puts on four shows including comedies, musicals, classical plays and serious dramas. These include performances in the 350-seat proscenium auditorium and its black box theater.

Gabelhausen said plays are chosen to be “first and foremost learning experiences for our students.”

“Combining this learning tool with a desire to educate, enlighten and entertain our audiences, we strive to serve both Piedmont College and the community at large,” he said. “It is my sincere hope that by bringing this live art form to the stage, we are enriching the community with new insights, fond memories and challenging new ideas.”

He said theater is collaborative, and the Piedmont faculty and student body “truly work together to produce high caliber theater with a purpose.”

“As the department chair of theater, I count myself blessed to work within such a creative, enriching and collaborative environment,” he said.

Piedmont graduate Jeremy Bishop benefitted from the theater department, though he was a music major.

www.pritchetttiresales.com pritchetttire@windstream.net

ZAP

Zack Presnell

Supervisor/Technician Locally owned & operated

–– ServiCeS ––

Cooling ■ Heating 7336 Hwy 115 E Cleveland, Georiga 30528

(706) 219-1709

State licensed & fully insured We serve Habersham & White Counties “Satisfaction Guaranteed”

Handcrafted, Bottled & Aged in Georgia!

— —

— — —

Outliving your retirement Cost of longterm care Disability Income “Bitsy” Demore* Insurance sdemore@aic invest.com Leaving a legacy Funding College 401K Rollovers

PO Box 608 • 632 West Louise Street Clarkesville, GA 30523

706-754-0074

Michael Demore

800-977-7617 | Fax: 706-754-1836 mikeydemore@ yahoo.com

Carlos Lovell - Master Distiller

Tours offered: 1st Tuesday and 3rd Friday of each month 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

HH2015-147957

—

...

*Bitsy Demore is a Registered Representative. Securities offered solely through Ameritas Investment Corp. (AIC).

Member FINRA/SIPC. AIC, NAIFA, and DeMore Financial Services are not affiliated. Additional products and services may be available through Bitsy DeMore, DeMore Financial Services, or NAIFA, that are not offered through AIC.

1896 Dicks Hill Parkway Mt. Airy, Georgia www.LOVELLBROSWHISKEY.com

032615-144400

Concerned About

Introducing LOVELL BROS. Sour Mash Whiskey Home of Georgia’s Only Authentic Sour Mash Whiskey

31

Bishop graduated from Piedmont College in 2007 with a music degree, but he performed in many Piedmont College theater productions, giving him a strong theater background. He is now in his third year teaching theater at Habersham Central High School.

“I did about two shows a year while I was a student [at Piedmont],” Bishop said. “It was really the experience of doing a lot of different types of shows, from Shakespeare to Greek to musicals to things like Tennessee Williams. I got a real broad section of theater and theatrical experience.”

He said Piedmont College gives any student who wants to audition for a part the opportunity.

“It’s a merit-based system,” he said. “If you do the best at the audition, you’re going to get the part.

Between music and theater, I had enormous opportunities to do shows, operas, all kinds of stuff. It was really great as far as getting experience.”

Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art

David Price/Special

Kimberly Brown/Staff

The Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art host receptions for visiting artists such as Sloane Bibb of Alabama.

Located in a 100-year-old building in downtown Demorest, the Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art opened in September 2011.

Director Daniel White said the building was renovated, but the original brick walls were retained and the original floors re-milled and reinstalled to make it a museum environment, including HVAC, security and lighting.

The museum’s collection primarily comes from Dr. Bill Mason, a 1957 Piedmont College graduate, and his partner, Bob Scharfenstein. Mason died in November 2014.

“He was a champion of philanthropy, giving and collecting art,” White said of Mason. “They considered these paintings and artworks their children. They went all over collecting these items through auctions

Celebrating 20 Years

Restaurant & Bakery Voted Best BBQ- RiBs in the 2015 Habersham County’s Readers’ Choice Awards

143387

Eat-In • Take-Out • Catering

3551 Camp Creek Rd. • Mount Airy

Hwy 365, MM#40 Anderson Village, Alto 706-776-2267

Open

Sun. & Wed. 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Th. Fr. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Genuine Hickory Smoked BBQ & More Since 1994!

www.mickeypiggsbbq.com

32

BLAIRSVILLE • CLARKESVILLE • CURRAHEE

W W W.N O RTHGATECH.EDU

706 754 7700

aduate. t...A Gr n e d u t ery s v h SACSCOC Accredited E . . h Associate Degree, Diploma & Certificate Programs ay. d h Small class sizes offer more one-on-one instruction ery h Hands-on training with advanced technology & equipment Ev h Transferability of credits allows for more educational opportunities

North Georgia Technical College is an Equal Opportunity Institution.

WE SHIP •

Nikki Cross and Allison Erbele

Free parking at the chocolate factory

Come in and satisfy your sweet tooth • A wide assortment • Made fresh daily • Handmade chocolates • Chocolate covered strawberries

*We also offer a great assortment of sugar free chocolates.

2 locations to serve you!

8651 N. Main St., Helen • 8078 S. Main St., Helen 706-878-2443 • 800-524-3008 • hanselandgretelcandykitchen.com

33

David Price/Special

Kimberly Brown/Staff

Jacob Passmore and Pearl Oppenheimer portray Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in a recent Piedmont College production of the Shakespeare tragedy. over the years, so they really felt like Piedmont would be a great home.”

White said a museum like Mason-Scharfenstein is “very rare” for a college the size of Piedmont.

“It shows the strong vision the administration has,” he said. “They really think big. For our size, it’s a special thing to have.”

White said one of the main goals of the museum is stewardship of the collection.

Under New Ownership Spaces Now Available for Quality Dealers 20,000 sq. ft. of Antiques & over 100+ dealers

mile from arkesville

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

583 Grant St. Clarkesville, Georgia

706-839-7500 34

David Price/Special Piedmont senior history student Augusta Gailey of Gainesville, an assistant at the Piedmont College Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art in Demorest, looks over an exhibit of Japanese pottery.

Through a conservation fund, the museum is in the process of restoring paintings and having works reframed, working with the Atlanta Conservation Center.

The Mason-Scharfenstein Museum is a teaching museum. Art students at Piedmont College “have an opportunity to work in a museum environment, and allows them to be immersed in art,” White said.

The museum consists of two floors of art donated by Mason and Scharfenstein, as well as an alumni gallery where special shows are displayed.

When choosing artists to show in the museum, White

691 Historic Hwy 441, Suite 4, Demorest, GA 30535

706.754.1590 www.ADVINS.com

PERRY GAS

PRoPAnE GAS Sales & Service

032415-147800

said, “Emphasis is given to artists we’ve never shown before, or a kind of art we’ve never shown before. We try to bring in artists we feel the students not only want to see, but need to see.”

The visiting artists interact with Piedmont’s art students, which ties the shows in academically, White said, and art majors use the display space for their capstone projects.

“Everything leads up to their student show,” White said.

“They have to do an artist’s statement; they have to do a body of work; they have to defend the work in front of art faculty. It can be an involved and extensive process.”

Like the theater and athletics departments, White said the museum is considered “a bridge to the community.”

“While the community can’t sit in the classroom, they can come to the museum, go to the theater, or go to baseball or basketball games,” he said. “It’s a way for us to be part of the broader community.”

The community is invited to engage with Piedmont College through its plays in the Swanson Center and the Mason-Scharfenstein Museum.

See piedmont.edu for museum hours and upcoming plays.

Large Selection of

Certified D iamonds

Serving all of Habersham, White, Banks, and parts of Rabun, (Lake Burton), Stephens, Hall & Lumpkin Counties

706-778-2171 ... 24 Hour Voice Mail

toll-free phone 1-800-468-2171 FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED SINCE 1968 accepting all major credit cards

135 M.L.K. Jr. Drive, Cornelia • email: perrygas@windstream.net

Familiar. Friendly.

Like Family.

We hope you’ll continue to make us your first choice. We certainly appreciate your business.

GIA Educated Appraiser on Site 1000’s of Diamond & Gemstone Semi-Mounts Available | Estate Jewelry

Covered Drive-Thru Pure Quality-Always

Financing available 1 Year Free Layaway Available

706-754-0101

032615-146590

Hwy 441 Clarkesville, Georgia

1020 Jesse Jewell Pkwy

770-532-2592

35

LiFT program lifts

students

to achieve

academic

success

By Christina Santee Christina Santee/Staff

Education

T

Habersham Central High School sophomores, from left, Madison McEntire 15, of Mt. Airy and Jenna Buie, 16, of Baldwin, study math problems during the after-school LiFT program, during which paid and volunteer tutors offer students assistance in subjects such as math, Spanish, English, art, etc.

The LiFT program, an after-school tutoring effort at Habersham Central High School (HCHS), is doing just that for the many students taking advantage of the service.

The program, sponsored by Habersham County United Way (HCUW) in partnership with Habersham County Schools, assists students after school for an hour and a half in several academic subjects they may struggle with.

“It’s to give kids the understanding they can be successful at school and if they need the extra help there’s somebody there …,” said Bonnie Loffredo, former HCUW executive director and current LiFT tutor.

Loffredo said LiFT was started three years ago in 2012, after a HCUW board president read in The Northeast Georgian about HCHS’s graduation rate. “… And how there were so many kids that weren’t graduating,” she said, before ultimately encourag36

ing the board to figure out how a difference could be made for the better.

However, because there was no program in place for HCUW to plug into, Loffredo said HCUW created its own.

“It really is true that 99 percent of the kids that are taking classes at the high school … they intellectually can get it, but a lot of them can’t follow what the teacher is saying,” she said. “And if you hit a bump like that and you don’t have anyone to help you, you can just get further and further behind until you feel it’s hopeless.”

The result of LiFT? Improved grades and increased participation in class.

First-year HCHS teacher Bradley Johnson, who teaches 10th- and 11th grade math, said those results can be seen among students in classes such as Spanish, English, math, science, art, etc.

706-839-1475

Join our

Frequen Washer t card pr

ogram

• Longest & Full/Flex Car Wash Tunnel with soft cloth foam brushes in Northeast GA • 1 of 5 Mobil 1 Lube Express locations in GA • Open 24/7 Automatic Touchless Car Wash available • Daily Specials for Senior Citizens, Military and Ladies Day on Thursdays MENTiON ThiS AD AND Liberty Car Wash Mobil1 rECEivE A DiSCOuNT Lube Expresss Car Wash & Detailing|Oil Lube & Filter Service

358 West Louise St., CLARKESVILLE, GA

146040

“I’ve never heard of a program anywhere else like this,” he said. “It’s an awesome after-school program – it’s great.”

Johnson, whose classroom provides the backdrop to after-school tutoring in math, said the program enables the one-on-one learning time students may not otherwise have during class.

Not only is that time “powerful in learning,” he said, but allows teachers to build more personal relationships with the students to better guide them in their studies. “… It makes it easy for them to learn, too, when you can [bond] with them outside” of the regular classroom-type setting, Johnson said.

The after-school tutoring sessions are held Mondays and Wednesdays, which attract dozens of students.

Johnson said several of his own students attend the sessions.

“They can come any time they want if they feel like they need extra help,” he said.

Johnson said transportation is also provided for those students who stay, whose parents or guardians are unable to pick them up from school later in the

www.libertycarwashlubeexpress.com

Landscape, Maintenance & Irrigation

shookslandscape@windstream.net

T: 706-778-0989 - F: 706-776-1732

032715-144403

Northeast Georgia and Atlanta’s Document Solution Headquarters Visit us on the web at: www.duplicatingproducts.com

Gainesville

2305 Centennial Drive SE, Gainesville

800-633-8659 or 770-532-9932

Atlanta

2576 Lawrenceville Suwanee Rd., Bldg. 1, Suwanee

678-376-2562

hills

• Assistance with all daily activities • Medication administration • RN available 24 hours a day • Three home cooked meals a day • Social activities including exercise program, church services and other events • Other services include an on-site hair salon, housekeeping, laundry and 24 hour access to staff.

Family owned and operated with over 27 years experience

504 Historic 441 North, Demorest 30535

032715-146596

"Assisted living at its best"

706-839-7016

Please call anytime to set up a tour of our facilities. We look forward to speaking with you.

• EMERGENCY ROAD SERVICE • OFF ROAD RECOVERY • LOCK OUT SERVICE • HEAVY DUTY TOWING 37

Christina Santee/Staff

Former college professor and current LiFT tutor Delores Anderson of Demorest, right, assists Habersham Central High School sophomore Shakayla Camp, 16, of Cornelia, with a math-related question prior to taking a make-up examination after school during a LiFT tutoring session.

Dining , Shopping, Art MuSic & recreAtion clarkesvillega.com

38

day. But the effort doesn’t stop there.

HCUW Executive Director Richard Williams “Billy” Boyd said the program has expanded during the 2014-15 school year to include students at Habersham Ninth Grade Academy.

“The exciting thing is that kids already plugged into [the LiFT program] at the ninth grade academy, when they move across the street to the high school, they’re already acclimated and used to how it works, so it’s [encouragement for] them to continue using it” through 12th grade, Boyd said.

Boyd said funding by HCUW pays for the afternoon tutors involved in assisting participating students.

Currently, Loffredo said the program involves three paid tutors and one volunteer – teachers and even a retired college professor. She said the program serves, on average, 40-50 students Mondays and Wednesdays. But there’s no telling how many students have been “LiFT-ed” academically over the last few years.

“We wanted to make that difference,” Loffredo said, and a difference is exactly what they have made.

Residential

ViVian’s Homes CommeRCial

788 Hwy. 441 By-pass • Baldwin, Georgia 30511 Vivian Schoonmaker 706-778-1688 • 877-366-5511 • fax 706-778-1625

vivians@vivianshomes.net

C

MPASS

PEST MANAGEMENT

Protecting What You Value Most Call now for a free estimate

HH2015-143389

“[HCUW] recognized that the school system could not save our students alone. This and other efforts seem to be working, as our graduation rate at Habersham Central has steadily increased over the last few years,” said Habersham County School Superintendent Matthew Cooper.

Cooper said although the program was already in place when he assumed his role with Habersham County Schools, he remembered being “pleasantly surprised” when he heard of the “fantastic opportunity” available to students. Cooper said the school system’s role in the partnership is to recruit students who will benefit from the program and to provide the facility for students and LiFT staff to meet.

“I have observed the LiFT program in action and believe that it is very beneficial to our students,” he said. “… The LiFT program is a wonderful example of how students’ lives can be changed when the school system and community work together as one team.”

For more information on or to get involved in the LiFT program, call HCUW at 706-778-0620 or HCHS at 706-778-7161.

30 Years In Business

• Termites • Ants

706.778.1073

• Roaches • Spiders

• Silverfish • Rodents

www.cpestman.com Visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cpestman

Northside Cafe

American • Italian • Cajun John T. Cope, M.D.

J. Terry Greene, M.D.

“Board Certified Internal Medicine Specialists”

Josh F. Gastley MSN, FNP-C

- Complete physical & wellness exams - Treatment of acute and chronic illnesses - Adult immunizations - Bone density screening - Lab services available in-house - Sleep study interpretation Accepting New Patients

Monday-Friday

Gluten-free items Live Music every Thursday 5-8 p.m.

Monday thru Saturday 11am-8:30pm Sunday 11:30am-3pm

Call 706-754-5511 590 Historic Hwy 441 N. | Demorest, GA 30535 Monday through Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

DAILY SPECIALS

032715-147954

706-865-0612 671 Helen Hwy. Ste. 7, Cleveland 39

Independent school Habersham families

the right choice for many

By Kimberly Brown

Photo/Submitted

Education

H

Shown are pre-k through fifth-grade students at The Little School in Clarkesville.

Faith Christian Academy of Habersham

Accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission, Faith Christian Academy of Habersham (FCA) is a nondenominational Christian school located in Mt. Airy.

The school serves 35 students in kindergarten-12th grade, with a 4-year-old, half-day pre-kindergarten program beginning fall 2015.

FCA Principal Ansley Green said FCA offers an individualized and interactive curriculum catered toward the needs of all students, both academically and spiritually. FCA also offers part-time enrollment for homeschooled students; classes meet two-five days per week with a hybrid option for ninth-12th grade students.

In addition to academics, FCA offers athletic programs throughout the school year, an afterschool enrichment program until 5:30 p.m. each day and weekly chapel services. Students also complete monthly service projects.

Green said families, teachers and students work together “to create a well-rounded education for students, whether enrolled full-time or part-time, begin40

E. Lane Gresham/Special

Tallulah Falls School seventh grader Davis Jennings of Clarkesville is shown in a candid moment during class.

ning in pre-k until high school.”

“One of the greatest traits of Faith Christian Academy is its passion for teaching and learning,” Green said. “At FCA, students experience a top-notch education bound by faith, wisdom and service.”

Applications for admission to FCA are accepted year-round. For more information about Faith Christian Academy of Habersham, visit fcahabersham.com or call 706-778-3360.

Marie Nease/Wingdreamer Photography

The Little School

Located in Clarkesville, The Little School was established nearly 20 years ago.

Today, TLS serves preschool through fifth-grade students. Director Wendy Jackson said TLS has nearly 100 students from Habersham and surrounding counties.

“Each day, TLS focuses on academics, community and faith as the pillars of the school curriculum,” Jackson said. “TLS students graduate with a strong academic foundation and a love of learning, which will follow them throughout their education.”

The Little School offers art, world cultures and languages, music, technology, and physical education weekly. TLS has “strong partnerships with Tallulah Falls School and Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, allowing students the opportunity for TLS-only scholarships,” Jackson said.

TLS is accredited with quality by the Georgia Accrediting Commission. The school is a member of the Georgia Preschool Association and the Georgia Independent School Association. The Little School is also in the process of becoming accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools.

“The hopes and dreams we have for our students is evident in everything we do at TLS,” Jackson said. “Ev-

An aerial image of Tallulah Falls School showcases the newly-renovated upper school academic complex. ery decision we make is dictated by whether it is the right decision for our students. TLS is a very special place, a unique school with a special mission.”

For information about The Little School, visit tlsacademy.com or call 706- 754-8894.

Tallulah Falls School

Tallulah Falls School, located in Tallulah Falls along the Habersham/Rabun county line, was founded in 1909 by the Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs. It is the largest of the independent schools in Habersham County, serving 425 students.

The mission of TFS is “both the elevation of intellect and the development of character for every student,” said Larry A. Peevy, TFS president and head of school.

“This adds depth to our learning environment that separates us from most college prep schools.”

TFS operates as a coeducational day and boarding school for sixth-12th grades. The school offers “an excellent learning environment for students,” Peevy

Insuring the most important things in life... Life...

Home... Health...

Business... Auto... Medicare Products

Civil Engineers & Land Planners Let’s Work Together

Your success is our success.

Let us help provide you with the very best and most economical solutions for your project.

PO Box 331 155 Clarkesville

706-894-2331 678-267-3690

(FAX) 678-267-3731

www.jmsmithengineering.com

237 Helen Hwy., Cleveland 138 Market Corners Dr., Cornelia

706.865.3420 706.778.2136

www.jackbradley.com 41

Photo/Submitted

Trinity Classical School pre-k students, Sam Belk and Clara Russell color and learn words.

TCS students in kindergarten-fourth grade learn via the Charlotte Mason method of education, and students are transitioned into classical education in grades five and six.

Tallulah Falls School

said, which includes challenging academics, a caring faculty, clubs, an athletics program and organizations.

TFS utilizes an individualized approach. Each student receives a laptop computer and classrooms have SmartBoard technology. The entire campus has wireless Internet access. The high school offers 16 collegelevel classes, taught by college-certified faculty.

“TFS graduates are regularly accepted to many of the finest colleges and universities in the country and are awarded an average of $4 million in scholarships each year,” Peevy said. “Tallulah Falls School is a national leader in need-based financial aid, and the school’s innovative tuition freeze program makes a college preparatory education very affordable for all of our families.”

For information about Tallulah Falls School, visit tallulahfalls.org or call 706-754-0400.

The Torch Christian Academy

The Torch Christian Academy in Demorest is a school that is unlike any other, said Director Carrie Akers.

“A Christian education is something that will benefit your child throughout his or her life,” Akers said.

Serving helen the best steak and seafood for over 50 years

PAUL’S SteAKhOUSe eSt 1965

• prepared • motivated • successful

live Band every Friday & Saturday at 8 p.m.

Casual dining, friendly staff, cozy atmosphere

Country and good old rock & roll

Open 7 days a week 4-10 p.m.

On the river in DOwntOwn helen, GA

706-878-2468

visit paulssteakhouse.com to see our full menu

42

The Torch Christian Academy in Demorest serves students preschool through fifth grade. The school, located at The Torch Worship Center, offers music, physical education, art, and students participate in a weekly chapel, which includes praise, worship and a devotion. Shown are The Torch Academy third-grade students Addy McCoy, Jaylan Garrison and Anna Reese Akers.

Photo/Submitted

For more information about the Torch Christian Academy, visit thetorchchristianacademy.net or call 706-778-4063.

Habersham County parents and their children have a variety of educational options. In addition to a public school system which educates about 7,000 students in 14 schools, Habersham County has five independent schools.

Trinity Classical School

Trinity Classical School is a Christian school located in Harvest Christian Church in Clarkesville.

TCS is accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission for grades K-5, 6-8, and 9-12, and the school also has a pre-k.

Old Clarkesville Mill

• Lending • FREE Checking • FREE ATM

Indoor Mini-Storage

706-839-7500

HH2014-148274

* Lighted * Key Pad Entry * Climate Controlled *

anywhere

Old Historic Highway 441 North, Clarkesville

• Online Banking • Experts to guide

you through the banking process

Southern Bank & Trust is locally owned and operated and PROUD to call Habersham County, Georgia our home. SB&T is committed to banking our local community...

111 Southern Bank Drive, Clarkesville, GA 30523

Member FDIC

706.754.0001

032615-145822

“Partnering with parents to teach children is an honor and something we do not take lightly.”

The Torch Christian Academy offers students “a challenging curriculum with Christian values infused throughout all lessons,” Akers said. The Torch Christian Academy uses the A Beka curriculum, along with the Sadlier-Oxford for math and Handwriting without Tears. The school offers music, physical education, art, and students participate in a weekly chapel, which includes praise, worship and a devotion.

Students also participate in outreach programs by going into the community to “make a difference, big and small,” Akers said. “TCA is not only an education, it’s an experience; one that will last a lifetime.”

www.sbandt.com 43

Trinity’s faculty and staff are “very committed to the students they are privileged to serve and the students learn in a very calm environment, making TCS a very pleasant place to study, learn and grow spiritually,” according to school literature.

TCS employs the Charlotte Mason method of education for kindergarten through fourth grade, and students are transitioned into classical education in fifth-sixth grades. Classical education considers that students go through three phases of learning: In grades K-6, students excel at memorization. Seventh and eighth graders are more argument-oriented, and ninth through 12th graders become independent thinkers and communicators.

TCS’s Headmaster Glenn Jones said, “It is great to work in a Christian school where students can be taught Christian values and morals and have parents very involved in their child’s education. Students are in smaller classes and get much more individualized work. We have the freedom to educate the whole child.”

For more information about Trinity Classical School, visit trinityclassical.org or call 706-754-7686.

Faith Christian Academy students Addey Ayers, Zackary Ram and Morgan Ward learn about the Kalimba (an African thumb piano), in LeAnne Nicholson’s music and theater class. FCA lower school students experience two “outlet” classes each day, which may include art, music, P.E., health, Spanish, and/or technology.

Est. 1831

44

Custom

layaway AvAilABle

The ArT of fine Jewelry 140190

Classic Worship Services 8:30 and 11:00 a.m.

Celebration Worship Service 9:00 a.m.

277 Madison St., Clarkesville

706-839-1718

repairs

clarkesvillefirstumc.org 1087 Washington St. 706-754-2677

Dr. Laura Worthy www.millcreek-vet.com

DesiGns

United Methodist Church

Veterinary HospitaL

hans Allwicher, Goldsmith

706-894-1288

186 C Cannon Bridge road, Cornelia, GA 30531 jewelryexpressions@hotmail.com

144387

Clarkesville First

Join us at

149837

Photo/Submitted

• Grooming • Dentistry Dental radiology • Diagnostic Imaging • Therapeutic laser • Surgery and more • Therapuetic Diets • We Accept Care Credit

45

Open

16 !!

Years

Your Jewelry Design Source WE HAVE

107 LaPrade St., Clarkesville, Ga. 30523 706-754-1247 Tues-Sat 10-5:30 artfullbarn@gmail.com artfullbarn.com

Custom Picture Framing  Art Supplies  Pottery  Comics Fine Art  Graphic Novels  Model & Hobby  Toys Games  Puzzles  Bird Seed & Feeders

Leather, Seed Beads, Gemstrones, Tools and Findings 706-499-5336

bumbleberry yarn & gifts

Located on the

Clarkesville 706-754-0462 www.shopbumbleberry.com

www.abeadgarden.com CLARKESVILLE SQUARE abeadgarden@gmail.com

FULL BAR ★ PRIVATE ROOM ★ DAILY SPECIALS ★ CATERING SERVICES ★ FREE WI-FI ★

706-839-1907

345 West Louise St. (Hwy 441)

DOLLAR DAZE

Graenett

Located inside Clarkesville Lanes

Bowl for $1 a game every Tuesday

SMtuSriC rooM

Tuesday $1 Lanes Open 7 Days A Thursday Week! coLLege days Full Bar Available Ask about our Leagues 706.754.3541

friday niGht Karaoke

706-754-3541

583 Grant St., Clarkesville

Check our website for upcoming shows.

grantstreetmusicroom.com

583 Grant Street, Clarkesville

“This is more than just country cookin.”

Bogard’s

Family

Marketeria Grill

Breakfast • M-fri • 6 a.M.-9:30 a.M.

ConvenienCe GroCery Store

Meal-To-Go

706-754-2787 • elizabethandco@yahoo.com

“In Network Benefits” For Many Insurance Plans

N

OPRA

R

The Orthospinology system is a painless spinal correction which restores body balance and reactivates the body’s natural healing ability.

IC

46 46

On The Square 1419 Washington St., Clarkesville, GA For information on booth rentals, please call or email us:

No Cracking, Popping or Twisting the Neck

I

854 Washington St, Suite 100 Clarkesville, GA 30523-6031 Bus 706 754 4131 Fax 706 754 7647 matt.mixon.gtot@statefarm.com www.mattmixon.net The greatest compliment you can give is a referral.

ORTHOSPINOLOGY is the answer

SP

Agent

• Vintage • Antiques • Primitives • Shabby Chic • Collectibles • Clothing • Gifts

3226 Hwy 17 & Hwy 105 | Clarkesville | 706-754-4800

CT

Matt Mixon

Sun 11-3 / M-W 11-8 Th-SaT 11-9 706-754-0808

• Fishing Tackle & Live Bait • Homemade Candies Owners: • Lottery • Fresh Produce Wayne & Cindy Allen • Classic Bottle Sodas American Owned & Operated

TE

(706) 839-1445

Clarkesville

Feeds Family of 4 (1 Meat, 2 Sides & Bread) Mon-Fri

7 days • 6 a.m.-8:30 p.m.

R

Tallulah Falls, GA

DoWnToWn

24

95

CHI

110 Main Street

$

E CEN

OF NORTH GEORGIA, INC.

Dr. Bo Rochester

706-839-1005

147309

• Meats smoked daily • Gourmet Burgers • Fresh Catfish • Locally grown Fried Green Tomatoes • Domestic and Craft Beers • Homemade Desserts

Open Thursday, Friday, Saturday FULL BAR

Kelly, Dr. “Bo”, 475 S. Washington St., Ste C, Clarkesville Jessica (Across from McDonalds) call us for the spinal health of it

Clarkesville 706.754.4144

Woods

www.WoodsFurnitureInc.com

Since 1961

Cloud Electric DC Power Products Batteries & Accessories

FURNITURE, INC.

Gifts for Every Occasion Accessories and Furniture for Every Room Historic Downtown Clarkesville Voted “Best Furniture Store in Habersham County”

cloudelectric.com 120 C Clarkesville Plaza, Clarkesville, GA 30523

706.839.1733

AuthorizeD ShiPPing Center

Unique Lodging Exceptional Dining Dinner Tues - Sat

Bus: (706) 391-4757 Cell: (706) 491-6178 Fax: (706) 617-6103

Reservations Recommended

Deborah Gayle Holcomb

Gayle Holcomb Agency Inc. 1937 Robertson Loop Road Clarkesville, Ga 30523

President

www.farmersagent.com/dholcomb

dholcomb@farmersagaent.com

Pr dP ro nd an od du uccee olllla Ho H We

Don

’t Sell the MoSt... We Sell

ganeic Or Produc Fruit le b & Vegeta

Tires,Wheels & Automotive Service Truck Retreading

eS th e B

t

5923 Hwy. 115 Clarkesville

Glen-Ella Springs Bed and Breakfast Restaurant Meeting Place

Firm Services

Enjoy another great day in Clarkesville!

6

thE

Downtown Clarkesville, GA

tasteofclarkesville.com

www.facebook.com/tinycitizensboutique n7

Ope

s

Day

SteakS Seafood PaSta b

b

Readers’ Choice Award 2015 Best Fine Dining in Habersham County

Customer Pickups and Deliveries available

706-499-6828

LoadsofFunInflatables@yahoo.com www.LoadsofFunInflatables.com

th

Saturday September 26, 2015

Clarkesville, GA

Bounce Houses, Bounce /SlideUnits, Wet or Dry Slides, Obstable Courses

ExpEriEncE

annual

706.754.0234

Rentals including:

11am - 9pm Sunday

Tax, Bookkeeping & Payroll Services Audit, Review & Compilation Services New Business, Individual & Business Tax, Estate Planning P.O. Box 1330 327 D. Monroe Street Clarkesville, Ga. 30523 Phone 706-754-5814 Fax 706-754-9069

1344A Washington Street, Clarkesville, GA

706-839-1811

032715-147557

www.TheAtticRestaurant.com

On Oldest Faemof the Businessilyes-Owned Habershamin

HawgWildBBQ.com monday - Saturday

Certified Public Accountants

Baby Gift Items Baby Registries 1335 Washington Street

706-754-6241 1-800-352-5190

DUNCAN & KITCHENS, LLC

www.duncankitchens.com

New Boutique Brand Clothing for Boys and Girls up to Size 8

Since 1947

706 -754-7295

www.glenella.com

Joe Kitchens, CPA Joey Duncan, CPA, ATA, ATP Grant Gunter, CPA

706-754-5326 Gift Baskets hproduce@mail.com

293 Monroe Street Clarkesville, GA 30523

11am - 3pm

check our nightlyy specials!

sunday brunch!

515 Grant St.

6 99

L unch $ deals

All Priced at

Clarkesville, GA 30523

706-754-4323

Roots N’ Remedies

The New!

WELLNESS & NUTRITION * Hot New Health Trends * Ayurvedic Method Promoting Mind, Body & Soul * Energy & Libido Supplements * International Herbs, Teas & Spices * Farm 2 School Educational Partner * Locally Made Products & Rare Imported Gifts * Private Consultations — Habersham County’s Healthy Hub — Tune in to the Roots N’ Remedies Show Saturday at noon WCHM 96.7 FM

706-754-6898 Open Mon-Sat

On the Square 1436 Washington St. Clarkesville, GA rootsnremedies.com • infornr@yahoo.com

47 47

Photos/Emily Thomas

Alto Originally called Lulah City, Alto was incorporated in 1895, and the name is derived from an Italian word for “High.” Alto lies partially in Habersham and partially in Banks County.

One square mile in size and 1,395 feet above sea level, it has a population of approximately 1,1172 [2015] people.

Alto is home to Lee Arrendale State Prison and adjacent to the 2,800-acre Wilson Shoals Wildlife Management Area for hunting, fishing, hiking, bird watching and picnicking. Each June, the city has a “Spring

48

Fling” festival with a parade, arts and crafts booths and food vendors.

Contact Information

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 215, Alto, GA 30510 Location: 162 Grant St., Alto, GA 30510 Phone: 706-778-8035 Fax: 706-778-3357 Email: altocityhall@windstream.net Audrey Turner, mayor

P.O. Box 100, 540 North Main Street, Cornelia, Georgia WCON is your North Georgia home of the

Continuous Country

The Best Local Sports www.wconfm.com www.facebook.com/wcon993

Photo/Megan Studdard

Baldwin The city of Baldwin was incorporated Dec. 17, 1896, on 250 acres along the Banks/Habersham County line, resting on the Appalachian Continental Divide and was originally known as Stonepile because of a large pile of stones that once stood in the center of town.

The stone structure was erected and left behind by the Cherokee Indians who once roamed these lands in abundance. The stone piling’s significance to the Cherokee and why they left it remains a mystery and is now forever lost.

Baldwin was named

after Joseph A. Baldwin, an Atlanta-Charlotte Air Line Railroad official.

Baldwin’s city limits contains some 4.5 square miles and are located along two major arterial routes: U.S. Highway 441 and state Route 365 – both of which are divided four-lane highways. Baldwin’s 2015 population is 3,279.

Baldwin is home to the Habersham County Airport.

The airport offers a 5,500feet paved runway at 1,447 feet above sea level.

Contact Information

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 247, Baldwin, GA 30511 Location: 130 Airport Road, Baldwin, GA 30511 Phone: 706-778-6341 Fax: 706-776-7970 Cell: 678-343-3859 Website: cityofbaldwin.org Jerry Neace, mayor

49

Photos/Emily Thomas

Clarkesville Clarkesville, the county seat of Habersham County, received its charter in 1823. The city was named for Gen. John C. Clarke, governor of Georgia in 1819 and 1821, or his father, Gen. Elijah Clarke, a Revolutionary War hero, according to various versions of the city’s history.

Clarkesville was an early tourist spot for Georgia, but long before Clarkesville became a

50

tourist spot, Cherokee Indians inhabited the area.

Around 1540, Spanish explorer De Soto is thought to have passed through what would become the city of Clarkesville.

It would be many years later, but still long before Clarkesville was created, that white settlers began living in the area.

After the charter was granted in 1823, the city was surveyed and laid out. Streets were named for presidents Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, and for Benjamin Franklin and gener-

als Greene, Wayne and Marion of the American Revolution.

Clarkesville attracts new residents each year and has a vibrant downtown, with a full slate of events to entice residents and visitors. The current population is 1,726 [2012].

Contact Information Mailing Address: P. O. Box 21 Clarkesville, GA 30523 City Hall: 123 N. Laurel Drive Clarkesville, GA 30523 Phone: 706-754-4216 Fax: 706-754-9316 Website: clarkesvillega.com J. Terry Greene, mayor

TUESDAY 1/2 Price pizza 3-9 p.m.

WED - Trivia Night THUR - Open Mic Themed Weekend Dinner Specials SUNDAY BRUNCH VICE BAR

135 Grant St., Clarkesville, GA

706.839.1300

FULL SERPEN O

NDAY TUEAMS-SU LOSE C to 11

Cornelia

Cornelia was first a settlement around 1860. It was situated near the old boundary line between the Cherokee and Creek Indian tribes. In 1872, workers of the CharlotteAirline Railroad (later Southern Railway) invaded the virgin forest. A roadbed was cleared and graded, and tracks were laid from Gainesville to Toccoa. In 1882, the Blue Ridge and Atlantic Railroad opened a line that extended northward from the Charlotte-Airline to Clarkesville and Tallulah Falls. The Tallulah Railway, as it came to be called, carried passengers

and freight from Cornelia to Franklin, N.C. The Big Red Apple monument stands on the railway depot grounds in downtown Cornelia. The replica of the North Georgia apple is constructed of steel and concrete and was molded in Winchester, Va., in 1925.

Cornelia is a pleasant, picturesque small town at the gateway to the North Georgia mountains. It is located at the juncture of U.S. Highway 441 and state Route 365 and has a population of 4,100 [2015]. Cornelia

Noah Britton/Special is adjacent to Lake Russell in the Chattahoochee National Forest. Within the city limits, visitors will find numerous attractions, such as the historic Cornelia Community House.

The restored railroad depot in the center of town is available also for public and

private events.

The Chenocetah Tower is the last rock-constructed, working fire lookout tower in the east and has been preserved through a cooperative effort between the U.S. Forest Service and local citizens’ groups.

Contact Information Mailing Address: P. O. Box 785, Cornelia, GA 30531 City Hall: 181 Larkin Street • Cornelia, GA 30531 Phone: 706-778-8585 • Fax: 706-778-2234 Website: corneliageorgia.org, explorecornelia.com James C. “J.C.” Irby, mayor

P. O . B o x 8 7 9 111 Cross Street Demorest, GA 30535

Phone Fax Email Website

706-776-5213 706-776-1577 jwardtax@windstream.net joywardaccounting.com

51

Photos/Noah Britton

Demorest Founded in 1889 as a “model town,” Demorest is about 1,345 feet above sea level and has approximately 1,959 residents [2012].

The “model” for Demorest was temperance, consequently making, serving or giving away alcoholic beverages was prohibited.

Town founders ensured enforcement through the Demorest Home, Mining & Improvement Company, which purchased the 3,500 acres that would become Demorest. Both the town and company were named for William Jennings Demorest, an internationally-known alcohol prohibition leader.

Land deeds stipulated violat-

52

ing temperance rules meant forfeiting land back to the company.

According to Sarah Gillespie Fenner’s “Early History of Demorest” in “The Heritage of Habersham County 18172000,” Demorest initially saw rapid industrial growth, including 10 factories making items such as saddle trees and folding bathtubs.

The city once had two small lakes, De-

morest and South Lake, built to provide waterpower for the factories. Hotels accommodated visitors and a small steamship carried passengers across the lakes.

Demorest was shaken by the Great Depression of 1892, including the bankruptcy of the Demorest Home, Mining & Improvement Company and failure of many other businesses.

The city did not regain industry, but the founding of Piedmont College in 1897 was a bright moment.

The college campus has seen improvements in recent years, including the Arrendale Amphitheater and the Swanson Center for Performing Art and Communications.

Downtown Demorest is now home to the MasonScharfenstein Museum of Art featuring a permanent collection of more than 100 paintings and rotating exhibits open to the public. The Johnny Mize Athletic Center and Museum, named for the Baseball Hall of Famer and former Piedmont player Johnny Mize, features memorabilia from his career. The 2015 population is 2,000

Contact Information Mailing Address: P. O. Box 128 Demorest, GA 30535 City Hall: 579 Georgia St. Demorest, GA 30535 Phone: 706-778-4202 Fax: 706-776-6316 Rick Austin, mayor

Photos/Noah Britton

Mt. Airy Town of Mt. Airy Founded in 1874 by a railroad promoter, Mt. Airy is located at the highest point between New Orleans and New York. The site, with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Northeast Georgia, is located at an elevation of 1,545 feet.

Originally a resort town filled with summer cottages and hotels during the glory days of railroad travel in the 1800s and early 1900s, the town hall is located on the site of the former Monterey Hotel.

In 1877, Swiss Colony was founded and then in 1878, the first school was established. Tourism declined

in the 1920s but remnants of the era are seen in the few historic buildings that remain.

Due to the decrease in train travel and the burning of the Monterey Hotel, tourism began to decline in the 1920s.

Today, echoes of the past may be found in the residences, churches and other buildings that remain from

its heyday as an exclusive resort town.

Heritage tourism sites include the Mt. Airy School Building and Eastview Cemetery, with gravestones dating from the 1800s. The cemetery offers a beautiful mountain view of Currahee Mountain to the east, beyond the Lake Russell Wildlife Management Area.

Mt. Airy hosts a number of events, includ-

ing the annual Cities Day celebration held in April, featuring cars, arts and crafts, parade and other entertainment. The town’s population is 1,282 [2015].

Contact Information Mailing Address: P.O. Box 257 Mt. Airy, GA 30563 Town Hall: 869 Dick’s Hill Parkway Mt. Airy, GA 30563 Phone: 706-778-6990 Fax: 706-776-6792 Website: townofmtairy.com Gary Morris, mayor

53

Tallulah Falls

Tallulah Falls, founded Oct. 7, 1885, is situated in Habersham and Rabun counties.

The town is about 1,570 feet above sea level and has a population of just under 169 [2015]. The town was a popular resort in Victorian days, with visitors from the hotter, southern part of Georgia coming to town on the Tallulah Falls Railroad.

One of the primary attractions of Tallulah Falls is Tallulah Gorge State Park. The gorge is two miles long and about 1,000 feet deep.

54

Tallulah Gorge has six waterfalls: L’Eau d’Or (also known as Ladore, 46 feet), Tempesta (76 feet), Hurricane (96 feet), Oceana (50 feet), Bridal Veil (17 feet) and Sweet Sixteen (16 feet).

The Tallulah River runs through the gorge, and several times a year, Georgia Power opens the dam for kayakers and aesthetic releases. The park has overlooks on the north and south rims. A suspension bridge sways 80 feet above the rocky floor of the gorge, and a smaller bridge crosses the river at the Short Line Trail.

Exhibits in the park’s Jane

Hurt Yarn Interpretive Center highlight the rich history of this Victorian resort town, as well as the rugged terrain and fragile ecosystem of the area.

With swimming, camping, hiking, biking, kayaking and state park-sponsored events and classes, there is an abundance of activities to enjoy. The town hosts its own free outdoors bluegrass music in the spring and summer every year.

Emily Thomas/Special

Contact Information Mailing Address: P. O. Box 56 Tallulah Falls, GA 30573 Town Hall: 255 Main Street Tallulah Falls, GA 30573 Phone: 706-754-6040 Fax: 706-754-3779 Carl Seaman, mayor

Call “The Insurance Lady”

Judy D. Bryson, C.I.C.

All Types of InsurAnce

• Auto • Home • Business • Mobile Home • Life

149 Quality Foods Shopping Center, Cornelia

706.776.7331

Church Directory Baptist

Antioch Baptist Church of Mt. Airy 2175 Antioch Church Road Mt. Airy, Ga. 706-754-2687 antiochbaptist-mtairyga.net

Southern Baptist

Bethlehem Baptist Church 624 Hwy 197 North Clarkesville Clarkesville, Ga. 706-754-4870 bbcofclarkesville.org Clarkesville Baptist Church 1287 Washington Street Clarkesville, Ga. 706-754-9187 facebook.com/clarkesville. baptistchurch Habersham Baptist Church 506 Old Habersham Mills Road Cornelia, Ga. 706-754-4054

Hazel Creek Baptist Church 243 Hazel Creek Church Road Mt. Airy, Ga. 706-778-5347 hazelcreekbaptist.org

Pleasant Hill Baptist Church 1294 Pea Ridge Road Cornelia, Ga. 706-499-9492 phbc4jesus.com

Hills Crossing Baptist Church P.O. Box 1142/3569 Toccoa Hwy Clarkesville, Ga. 706-754-6206

Refuge Baptist Church 2138 Double Bridge Road Clarkesville, Ga. 706-839-1463 refugebc.com

Level Grove Baptist Church 157 Old Level Grove Road Cornelia, Ga. 706-778-6371 levelgrove.com Mt. Carmel Baptist Church 988 Historic Hwy 441 North Demorest, Ga. 706-754-1407 Mud Creek Baptist Church 3048 Mud Creek Road Cornelia, Ga. 706-778-6266 facebook.com/mudcreekbaptist

Christian and Missionary Alliance

Central Alliance Church 3311 Camp Creek Road Mt. Airy, Ga. 706-778-8421 centralalliancechurch.org

Episcopal

Grace-Calvary Episcopal Church 260 East Green Street Clarkesville, Ga. 706-754-2451 grace-calvary.org

Lutheran

Grace Lutheran Mission Congregation 1121 Hwy 441 North Demorest, Ga. 706-754-6696 graceclarkesville.com

Non Denomination

Habersham Church of CHRIST 326 Double Bridge Road Connector Mt. Airy, Ga. 706-778-7840 churchofchristhabersham.org

Presbyterian

First Presbyterian Church of Clarkesville 181 Jefferson Street Clarkesville, Ga. 706-754-2935 FPCCGA.org

Business Directory Habersham County Sheriff’s Office 1000 Detention Drive Clarkesville, Ga. 706-754-6666 Fax: 706-839-0500 jterrell@habershamga.com habershamsheriff.com Prevent Child Abuse Habersham P.O. Box 812/353 Chattahoochee Street Cornelia, Ga. 706-778-3100 pcah@hemc.net preventchildabusehabersham.org Sonshine Christian Bookstore 105 Market Centre Drive Cornelia, Ga. 706-894-1987

A Picture is Worth A 1,000 Words!

Weekend Breakfast Bar Bountiful Country Bar • Hickory Smoked Meats on the Buffet • • FlameKist® Steaks available as menu items • • Private Dining Room Available • • Call ahead for large parties • Western Sizzlin Cleveland 1963 Tom Bell Road • Cleveland 706-348-1997 • westernsizzlincleveland.com

55

Settling In Habersham Relocation Guide Requirements and resources for new residents vary by geographic location – Habersham has seven municipalities – please refer to specific city or town for details.

Utility company contacts are below: Electricity: HEMC (Habersham EMC) P.O. Box 25 Clarkesville, GA 30523 706-754-2114 Fax 706-754-1460 Georgia Power Co. P.O. Box 786 Cornelia, GA 30531 706-776-4134 Fax 706-776-4119 Natural Gas: Atlanta Gas Light Company 24 Hour Customer Service/ Emergency Service 800-427-5463 4271 Mundy Mill Road Oakwood, GA Phone: 770-994-1946 Telephone, Internet Service and Cable Television: Windstream Communications 2000 Communications Blvd.

Baldwin, GA 30511 1-800-347-1991

Post Offices Alto Post Office 706-778-7764 Baldwin Post Office 706-778-2751 Clarkesville Post Office 706-754-4614 Cornelia Post Office 706-778-4714 Demorest Post Office 706-778-8479 Mt. Airy Post Office 706-778-8323 Tallulah Falls Post Office 706-754-6011

56

Schools and Colleges

Public schools Habersham County Board of Education 132 Stanford Mill Road P.O. Box 70 Clarkesville, GA 30523 706-754-2110 habershamschools.com Superintendent: Matthew Cooper Habersham County Schools oversees 14 public schools – eight elementary, three middle, a ninth grade academy [which includes the county’s Alternative School] and one high school.

A listing of the county’s independent school option can be found on Page 40 Colleges North Georgia Technical College Highway 197 North Clarkesville, GA 30523 706-754-7700 northgatech.edu Piedmont College 165 Central Ave. Demorest, GA 30535 706-778-3000 piedmont.edu

Recreation Facilities

The Recreation and Aquatic Center has two swimming pools – a recreational pool and an eight-lane fitness pool. Open swimming is allowed daily per the current pool schedule. Two indoor gymnasiums, a fitness and exercise room and two meeting rooms are available. Outside, there are four tennis courts, two football fields and multiple soccer, baseball and softball fields. All county facilities are available for rental by contacting the Parks and Recreation Department at 706-754-3650.

Contact Information Habersham County Parks and Recreation Department

Ruby C. Fulbright Aquatic Center Fenton Morris, director email: fsmorris@habershamga.com 120 Paul Franklin Road Clarkesville, GA 30523 Phone: 706-754-3650/706-7543651 Fax: 706-754-5841

Elected Officials

Habersham County Board of Education Dr. Robert Barron, chairman, 706499-3621 Don Corbett, vice chairman, 706599-0363 Rick Williams, 706-754-9576 Pat Taylor, 706-499-7075 Russ Nelson, ***-***-**** P.O. Box 90 Clarkesville, GA 30523 Phone: 706-754-2110 Website: habershamschools.com Habersham County Commission Andrea Harper chairman, 706-968-0284 Victor Anderson, vice chairman, 706-499-7328 Sonny James, 706-839-7095 Natalie Crawford, 678-644-9829 Ed Nichols, 706-499-5119 555 Monroe St., Unit 20, Clarkesville, GA 30523 Phone: 706-839-0200 Fax: 706-754-1014 Email: commissioners@ habershamga.com Website: co.habersham.ga.us District 10 Georgia House Rep. Terry Rogers Capitol address: Coverdell Legislative Office Building, Suite 501 Atlanta, GA 30334 404-656-0177 Terry.Rogers@house.ga.gov District Address: 2403 New Liberty Road Clarkesville, GA 305323 706-754-0706

District 28 Georgia House Rep. Dan Gasaway Capitol Address: 612 Coverdell Legislative Office Building Atlanta, GA 30334 404-656-0326 Dan.Gasaway@house.ga.gov District Address: P.O. Box 700 Homer, GA 30547 706-677-5015 Georgia 50th District Sen. John Wilkinson 321-B Coverdell Legislative Office Building Atlanta, GA 30334 404-463-5257 John.wilkinson@senate.ga.gov U.S. House of Representatives Rep. Doug Collins P.O. Box 907908 Gainesville, GA 30501 202-809-2285 U.S. Senate Sen. David Perdue Washington D.C. Office B40D Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-3521 Fax: 202-228-1031 Sen. Johnny Isakson isakson.senate.gov/contact.cfm 131 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Tel: 202-224-3643 Fax: 202-228-0724 One Overton Park, Suite 970 3625 Cumberland Blvd.

Atlanta, GA 30339 Tel: 770-661-0999 Fax: 770-661-0768

Dial 911 Non-Emergency Dispatch: 706.778.3911 Public Safety Administrative Offices Georgia State Patrol Toccoa Post.............................. 706-282-4531 Georgia State Patrol Gainesville Post................... 770-535-6922 Central Communications/911 Center......................... 706-778-3911

Habersham County Emergency Management Agency/Emergency Operations Center.................... 706-778-9500 Habersham County Fire Department......................... 706-754-2822

4411 Old Hwy 441 North Alto, Ga 30510 706-778-0381

danddtaxservices@gmail.com

GeorGiA dept of correctionS Arrendale State Prison Come join our 2023 Gainesville Hwy South TEAM! Visit www.gdcjobs.com Alto, Georgia 30510 for current job openings.

phone: 706-776-0652 fax: 706-776-0616 E-mail: mayfim00@dcor.state.ga.us

145091

In case of emergency,

022415-143385

Accounting & Tax Services

Habersham Medical Center........................................ 706-754-2161 Habersham County Sheriff’s Office................................ 706-754-66 Habersham County Animal Care and Control............ 706-754-3533 Georgia Department of Natural Resources Emergency Operations Center......................................................1-800-241-4113

Crisis Numbers Drug Abuse Hotline...............................................1-800-662-HELP Habersham Circle of Hope .......................................706-776-3406 (24-hour hotline) 706-776-4673 or 800-33-HAVEN (a shelter for battered women and their children)

Hillside Memorial Chapel is celebrating 38 years of service to the Habersham County community.

Our family taking care of your family in time of need.

Samuel & Brent Tolbert 5495 Highway 197 South, Clarkesville GA

706-754-6256

hillsidememorialchapel@windstream.net | Obituary News Line 706-754-2800

148880

Georgia Poison Control Center............................. 1-800-222-1222

www.hillsidememorialchapel.com

57

2015 Festivals and Events For details on the events below, visit clarkesvillega.com, explorecornelia.com or habershamchamber.com

April 4 – Tallulah Falls Opry House, bluegrass jam every Saturday night through November, downtown Tallulah Falls 4 – Pictures with the Easter Bunny Mauldin House Gardens, Clarkesville 17 – Clarkesville’s Friday Night Live, music in and around downtown 17 – Friday Night Flicks, “Big Hero 6,” Cornelia City Park Amphitheater 17-18 – Cornelia Apple Blossom BBQ and Brews Festival, Cornelia City Park 25 – Magical Gardens of Mauldin - Mauldin House Gardens, Clarkesville

May

1 – March of Dimes Walk for Babies 1 – Friday Night Flicks, “Paddington”, Sam Pitts Park, Clarkesville 2 – Dinner and a movie, “Back to the Future II,” Habersham Community Theater, Clarkesville 15 – Clarkesville’s Friday Night Live, music in and around downtown 16 – 53rd annual Mountain Laurel Festival 29 – Cornelia Summer Concert Series, Gina Gailey, Cornelia City Park Amphitheater

June

5 – Friday Night Flicks, “Annie,” Cornelia City Park Amphitheater 6 – Alto Spring Fling 12-14; 18-21 – Habersham Community Theater, “Southern Hospitality,” Clarkesville 19 – Clarkesville’s Friday Night Live, music in and around downtown 26 – Cornelia Summer Concert Series, Cornelia City Park Amphitheater, details TBA

July

4 – Glorious Fourth of July, Demorest 17 – Clarkesville’s Friday Night Live, music in and around downtown

58

Sandra Veal/Special 17-19 Cornelia Summer Concert Series, music and art in the park, Cornelia City Park Amphitheater, details TBA

August

30-Aug. 2 1 – Back to School Bash/Friday Night Flicks, Ruby C. Fulbright Aquatic Center, Clarkesville Aug. 6-9 – “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying” - HCT, Clarkesville 7 – Friday Night Flicks, “Cinderella,” Sam Pitts Park, Clarkesville 14-16 – Northeast Georgia Antique Car and Truck Show, Habersham County Fairgrounds, Clarkesville 21 – Clarkesville’s Friday Night Live, music in and around downtown

September

4-12 – Chattahoochee Mountain Fair, Habersham County Fairgrounds, Clarkesville 26 – 6th annual Experience a Taste of Clarkesville, downtown Clarkesville

October

10 – 28th Annual Big Red Apple Festival 10 – Habersham Chamber of Commerce Hills of Habersham Bicycle Ride 24 – Clarkesville Kiwanis Zombie Fun Run 31 – Trick-or-Treat on the Clarkesville square

NORTHEAST Exterminating Co

GEORGIA

Locally owned and Operated for over 50 Years

Simply the best Licensed • Certified • Insured / Residential • Commercial • Industrial

November

FREE ESTIMATES • SENIOR DISCOUNTS • SERVICE GUARANTEED

26 – Jan. 1 – Christmas in the Park, light display, Cornelia 28 – Small Business Saturday, shop local day

December

David Burrell Owner • 706.778.6613 • 580 Stoneycypher St. 1329 washington street • clarkesville, ga • 30523 Located just south of the square in Downtown Clarkesville

TBD – Christmas in Mt. Airy TBD – Tree lighting in downtown Demorest TBD – Tree lighting in downtown Baldwin 4 – Christmas in Tallulah Falls 5 – 2015 Habersham County Christmas Parade, Cornelia 12 – A Downtown Clarkesville Christmas 16-20 – Christmas in Cornelia, ice skating, visits with Santa, Christmas market, Cornelia City Park, Cornelia Community House

• installation & service Banners, Yard signs, & vehicle graphics • carved, routed, & demensional signs • lighted signs, architectural signs & ada • artistic rendering & design services •

706.754.6351

ovsigns.com Find The

“Hard To Find”

JOIN THE FAMILY CO R N E LIA

CL AR K ESVI LLE

1472 Highway 441 North

468 West Louise Street

706-776-3114

706-754-2233

What a Pharmacy was Meant To Be

TM

1667 Willingham Avenue, PO Box 910

706-778-7174 Baldwin, GA 30511

Member FDIC. ©2015 United Community Bank | ucbi.com

59

Photo/Submitted

Photo/Submitted

Hospitals and healthcare Local residents have access to an award-winning medical facility to serve their healthcare needs.

Conveniently located in Demorest, Habersham Medical Center is a 53-bed not-forprofit, modern facility providing comprehensive healthcare services for the residents of Habersham and adjoining counties.

Like most hospitals, HMC is committed to ensuring easy access to 24/7 emergency services and inpatient care, but also operates as a full-service healthcare system offering more services than a typical rural community hospital.

Services range from general services to special services, clinical services, prevention and wellness, and long-term care.

Our local healthcare system also helps keep our community healthy financially. As one of the area’s largest employers, HMC employs more than 600 people and contributes more than $84 million into the local economy annually.

More than 40 physicians serve on the active medical

60

staff, representing many specialties including family medicine, gastroenterology, general surgery, gynecology, internal medicine, obstetrics, ophthalmology, orthopedics, podiatry, radiology, sports medicine and vascular surgery.

This professional team of physicians works closely with the medical center clinicians and support staff to provide award-winning care. Known for excellence in patient quality and safety and for stroke care, HMC has earned the Georgia Hospital Association’s elite Circle of Excellence honor as well as awards from the American Heart Association and other national and state organizations.

“Beyond our multitude of services and financial contributions, we also keep striving to reach higher and higher levels of innovative care,” said Jerry Wise, CEO. “When you need health care services, we hope you will choose Habersham Medical Center as your local healthcare provider. Our team works tirelessly to provide quality care that is not only

more convenient and accessible but is also delivered with compassion and personalized patientcentered care.”

Contact Information: Habersham Medical Center 541 Historic Highway 441, Demorest, GA 30535 706-754-2161 tellus@hcmcmed.org habershammedical.com

Prime Care PrimeCare, Habersham Medical Center’s non-emergency primary care clinic, is located inside HMC’s HealthCheck outpatient services department.

Prime Care treats adults and children with minor illnesses and injuries and is a WorkWise provider, offering occupational health services including drug screenings, pre-employment physicals and treatment of workers compensation injuries. Prime Care is an appointment-only clinic, but same day appointments are available.

Hours: 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday; and 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. For an appointment, call 706-754-CARE (2273).

Habersham County Health Department The Habersham County Health Department, located on Scoggins Drive in Demorest, provides services designed to help ensure the health of the public. Appointments are necessary for all programs.

Services include: adult health, including family planning, blood pressure clinic and immunizations; children’s health including immunizations, hearing/vision/dental examinations, general health check; and women’s health including pregnancy testing, presumptive Medicaid, prenatal case management, pregnancy-related services, WIC, teen center and lab tests.

For more information, visit habershamga.com/ health-department.cfm or call 706-778-7156.

Something for everyone!

Event Hall and Fine Shopping

706-754-0052

135 West Green Street

2015 Calendar oF events 032615-147804

Call to Reserve Your Space!

apr

Friday Night Flicks: Cornelia City Park Amphitheater beginning at dusk Big Hero 6

apr

The Cornelia Apple Blossom BBQ & Brews Festival - 2 days of great BBQ & Brews at the KCBS Sanctioned BBQ competition. LOCATION CHANGE: Cornelia City Park on Wyly Street

may

Friday Night Flicks: Sam Pitts Park in Clarkesville beginning at dusk Paddington

may

Cornelia Summer Concert Series Gina Gailey at Cornelia City Park Amphitheater 8:30 - 10:30pm

jun

Friday Night Flicks: Cornelia City Park Amphitheater beginning at dusk - Annie

jun

Cornelia Summer Concert Series TBD at Cornelia City Park Amphitheater 8:30 - 10:30pm

july

Cornelia Sumer Concert Festival Finale at Cornalia City Park Amphitheater (hours & musical guests TBD)

aug

Habersham Back to School Bash Ruby C. Fulbright Aquatic Center

aug

Friday Night Flicks: Sam Pitts Park in Clarkesville beginning at dusk - Cinderella

oct

28th Annual Big Red Apple Festival Downtown Cornelia

nov

Christmas in the Park - FREE Drive Through the Park Spectacular Light Display at Cornelia City Park - Open daily from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day starting at dusk until 11pm

17

(Across from the Attic)

17-18 1

29 5

26

032715-146877

17-18

Tim’s Pharmacy

1

& Gift Shop

A Truly Unique Pharmacy Experience Our independent pharmacy is committed to personal service without chain- style conformity.

•

Convenient Drive Thru •

10

Exclusive Line of Tranquility

26

Large Line of $1.00 Only Products

thru

jan1

Full Line of Orthopedic Products Including Sports Braces

Voted Best Pharmacy Five Years in a Row

Unique Gift Items Available • Specialty jewelry

Kim Kaminski R.PH., Owner

Downtown Manager, at

dec

Christmas in Cornelia - Ice Skating, Hayrides, Visits with Santa, Christmas Market and More, Cornelia City Park & Cornelia Community House

5

All event dates, activities and times are subject to change at any time.

.explorecornelia.com For up to date information and more details on each event, visit

130 Magnolia Lane Cornelia, GA 30531

Mon - Fri 9am-7pm | Sat 9am - 3pm Closed Sundays

Habersham County Christmas Parade Downtown Cornelia 10am

or email at bht@corneliageorgia.org

• Candles and much more

Tim’s Pharmacy

dec

706-778-8585 x 280 16-20

University of Georgia • Baby items Bulldog Gifts & Collectibles • Frames

706-776-DRUG (3784)

For information, contact

Heather Sinyard

032615-144870

•

•

7

We strive to treat you as an individual, not a number.

61 61

Habersham County

FAST FACTS

Land Area – 279 square miles Two Rivers – Chattahoochee and Soque 100-acre airport industrial park

Habersham County Population: 43,300 Seven municipalities/populations: Alto: 1,172 Baldwin: 3,279 Clarkesville: 1,735 Cornelia: 4,100 Demorest: 2,000 Mt. Airy: 1,282 Tallulah Falls: 169 Habersham County Unemployment Rate: 7.5 percent (2013) Median Household Income (2008-2012) - $41,894; Georgia (2009-13) - $45,179 Persons Below Poverty Level (2008-2012) – 18.1 percent Georgia (2009-13) – 18.2 percent

Top Employers: Fieldale Farms - 2,100 Habersham County BOE - 994 Mt. Vernon Mills – 725 Piedmont College – 714 Ethicon – 751 Habersham Medical Center – 671 Lee Arrendale State Prison - 450 North Georgia Technical College - 390 Habersham County – 237 full time/114 part time GlobalTech - 301 Walmart - 280 Windstream - 245 Tencate - 198 Scovill – 173 Lowe’s - 166 Magnolia Windows and Doors – 113 Habersham Metal Products - 110 Navitor – 107 Piedmont Automotive - 65 SteelCell - 43 Engineered Openings - 12

62

Index of Advertisers Advantage Insurers...........................................34 Arrendale State Prison.....................................57 Art-Full Barn, The...............................................46 Athens Regional Medical Center....................63 Attic, The.............................................................47 Betsie Poinsett...................................................61 Bio Green............................................................28 Bobby’s Storage.................................................37 Books With A Peal.............................................25 Bryson & Associates.........................................54 Budget Time........................................................24 Bumbleberry.......................................................46 Carolyn’s Fine Jewelry......................................14 Chiropractic Spine Center................................46 Circle Of Hope....................................................19 City Of Clarkesville.............................................38 City Of Cornelia...................................................61 Clarkesville Classics..........................................61 Clarkesville First United Methodist Church...44 Clarkesville Lanes..............................................46 Cloud Electric.....................................................47 Compass Pest Management............................39 Copper Pot, The..................................................50 Couch Potato Furniture.....................................24 Country Boy Sports............................................33 Crossroads Café.................................................21 D&D Accounting & Tax Service......................57 Dairy Queen........................................................20 David & Katies....................................................20 Demore Financial Services..............................31 Dogwood Forest/The Holbrook........................15 Dr. Holly Cantrell.................................................29 Duane Hartness (State Farm)............................4 Duncan & Kitchens............................................47 Duplicating Products.........................................37 El Jinete...............................................................46 Elizabeth & Company........................................46 Erin London Apparel Inc...................................46 Express Care Of Habersham............................25 Express Med.......................................................35 Farmers Insurance Agency Inc.......................47 Fieldale (Springer Mountain Farms)...............22 Forest Mini Mart & Pawn Shop.......................17 Ga Power Company...........................................15 Gainesville Jewelry...........................................35 Garden Of Beaden, A........................................46 Generations Furniture.......................................25 Glen Ella Springs................................................47 GMS Old Castle..................................................24 Grant Street Music Room.................................46 Green Mountain Village....................................29 Habersham Chamber Of Commerce.................2 Habersham Community Theater......................46 Habersham EMC................................................17 Habersham Primary Care.................................39 Hal Dowdy (State Farm)....................................24 Hansel & Gretel Candy Kitchen.......................33 Hart Smith Company, The.................................13 Hawg Wild BBQ.................................................47 Hayes Automotive..............................................64 Hayes Corner Country Store............................46 Higgins Realty & Construction.........................24 Hillside Memorial Chapel.................................57 Holcomb’s Office Supply...................................15 Holland Produce................................................47 Hollow Log, The..................................................25 Hotard & Hise.....................................................46 Hulsey Towing Service......................................37 Hulsey’s Appliance............................................24 Initials Inc..............................................................4

Ivy Mountain Distillery, LLC..............................31 Jack Bradley Insurance...................................41 James Short Tractors........................................49 Jewelry Expressions.........................................44 JM Smith Engineering.......................................41 Joy Ward Accounting.......................................51 Kadaydles............................................................25 Kembricks Mini Storage...................................24 Kleinert Eye Care...............................................24 L&D Florist...........................................................24 Liberty Car Wash................................................37 Loads Of Fun Inflatables...................................47 Longstreet Clinic, The.............................4, 22, 35 Lord & Hope........................................................24 Magnolia Hills.....................................................37 Main Street Grill & BBQ....................................46 Mark Of The Potter............................................38 Matt Mixon (State Farm)...................................46 McGahee Griffin & Stewart.............................23 Medicine Shoppe, The......................................59 Medlink Habersham............................................9 Men On The Move.............................................28 Mickey Piggs BBQ.............................................32 Mill Creek Veterinary Hospital LLC.................44 My Family Doc....................................................23 Nacoochee Village Tavern...............................13 NE Ga Diagnostic Clinic....................................21 NE Veterinary Hospital........................................3 North Ga Technical College.............................33 Northeast Georgia Exterminating...................59 Northside Café...................................................39 Old Clarkesville Mill Antiques & Mall.............34 Old Clarkesville Mill Indoor Mini Storage......43 Opt2mist Vapor Shop.........................................24 Orchard Valley Signs.........................................59 Outdoor Depot....................................................29 Paul’s Steakhouse..............................................42 Perry Gas.............................................................35 Piedmont College.................................................3 Piedmont College Book Store..........................25 Pritchett Tire.......................................................31 Roots N Remedies.............................................47 Scrubs Boutique, The..........................................4 Shook’s.................................................................37 Snappy Car Wash..............................................21 South State Bank...............................................27 Southern Bank & Trust......................................43 Southern Glam....................................................25 Splashe ...............................................................47 Spoiled Rotten....................................................24 Star Auto Electric...............................................25 Star Tractor.........................................................32 Stew-N-Que Restaurant...................................25 Sugartopia...........................................................24 Sutton Tire...........................................................47 Tallulah Falls School..........................................42 Taste Of Clarkesville..........................................47 Tim’s Pharmacy..................................................61 Tiny Citizens Boutique.......................................47 Tucker’s Country Cooking.................................46 United Community Bank...................................59 Vivian’s Homes...................................................39 WCON..................................................................48 Western Sizzlin...................................................55 Whistle Top Brew Company.............................24 Wilbanks’ Body Shop........................................25 Wild Berry Cottage............................................17 Woods Furniture...........................................19, 47 York’s Garage......................................................20 Zap Services.......................................................31

“Athens Regional’s Heart Team is like a well-orchestrated symphony of life-saving care.”

Matt Fuller Band Director – Apalachee High School

Apalachee High School band director Matt Fuller had a life-changing experience while teaching class recently. Mr. Fuller had a heart attack. He was revived by some quick-thinking students who performed CPR. After Barrow County EMS rushed Mr. Fuller to Athens Regional, he received a life-saving, minimally invasive treatment. Now he’s back doing what he loves without

Please share

missing a beat.

Athens Regional Health System serves Northeast Georgia with the highest standards of emergency & cardiac care. If you or a loved

one experiences chest pain or other symptoms of a heart attack, please call 911 immediately.

with us.

To make an appointment, please call Athens Regional Cardiology at 706.475.1700

See Matt Fuller’s story and share your own at

AthensHealth.org/YourStory

63 63

Baldwin

Has it all!

2015

Dodge Challenger R/T

2015

Jeep Grand Cherokee

2015

Chevy Camaro

2015

Chevy Tahoe

706-776-1144 64

www.hayesofbaldwin.com

HH2015-144880

Automotive Group Hwy 365 Baldwin