2 - April 2020
From the Publisher
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hhh! Spring, welcome to the mountains! We are ALL so glad you have arrived. Thank you for bringing the green leaves, blooming plants, warmer temps and blue skies! Another winter in the books and behind us. That makes me happy. Isn’t it amazing how spring brings hope and peace, ironically so does Easter and this is the month that we hunt eggs, attend sunrise services to worship Jesus, the ultimate offerer of peace and hope. I will never forget learning the truth about the Easter bunny. After a frustrating morning, my mother answered my question about Santa with… no and there’s no bunny or fairy. Talk about devastated! Truth is I was probably too old to be asking anyway. Both of my parents made sure that I did know about Jesus and that I knew how much He loved me (John 3:16). That He lives and that He is coming back for those who accept Him. That promise from John chapter 14 verse 3, is all I need. I share God and His Love for us because I care for you. The Cornona Virus has surely impacted our lives beyond what I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime. The panic whether real of imagined, justified or a gross overreaction has changed the way we live each day to some degree. I’ll admit I’ve bought some extra paper towels and disinfectant and spent a little more at the grocery store, just in case. We will get through this and maybe take some lessons from it. Hand washing is a good practice to employ, pandemic or not. So stay calm, use common sense, good hygiene and be kind to others, we are all in this together but Heaven knows, we are not alone. (Joshua 1:9) Be sure that you get out and enjoy spring, sit on the porch, listen to the birds and spread joy everywhere you go. If you plan to attend an event on our calendar please call ahead to be certain it is still happening, at press time there were many changes. Wash your hands,
Tracy Georgia Mountain Laurel Mailing: PO Box 2218, Clayton, Georgia 30525 Office: 2511 Highway 441, Mountain City, Georgia 30562 706-782-1600 • www.gmlaurel.com
April 2020 • Volume Seventeen • Issue Four
Publisher/Editor - Tracy McCoy Assistant Editor - D’Anna Coleman Art Director - Dianne VanderHorst Graphic Designer - Lucas McCoy Office Manager/ Account Executive - Cindi Freeman Account Executive - Melynda Hensley Photographer/Writer - Peter McIntosh
Contributing Writers: Susan Brewer, Steve Jarrard, MD, John Shivers, Emory Jones, Rev. Joey Thompson, Jan Timms, George Banschbach, Lorie Thompson, Liz Alley Barnett, Joel Hitt, James W. Hurt Jr., Peter McIntosh, Stephen Arbitter DVM, Dick Cinquina, Dr. Amanda Peleski PHD Copyright 2016 by Rabun’s Laurel Inc. All rights reserved. The Georgia Mountain Laurel Magazine is published twelve times per year. Reproduction without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. The publishers and editors are not responsible for unsolicited material and it will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication subject to GML magazine’s right to edit. Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, photographs and drawings. Every effort has been made to assure that all information presented in this issue is accurate, and neither Laurel magazine or any of its staff is responsible for omissions or information that has been misrepresented to the magazine. The Georgia Mountain Laurel maintains a Christian focus throughout their magazine. Rabun’s Laurel, Inc. reserves the right to refuse content or advertising for any reason without explanation.
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In This Issue Arts & Entertainment 10 14
Cover Artist - Nona Stephens North Georgia Arts Guild
A Taste 22 26 28 28
Bon Appetit The Family Table Farmhouse Market Lake Burton Clayton Farmers’ Market
Affairs to Remember 32
Mountain Happenings Event Calendar
Faith in Christ 38 40 42 43
R4G-Rev. Joey Thompson River Garden Life is a Blessing A Secret Place of Safety in a Dangerous World
Health & Wellness 44 48
Live Healthy & Be Well Mental Health Initiative
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Why You May Need A Consumer Protection Attorney
Mountain Homes 54 58
Living is Great in the Woods of Sky Valley Details. Authenticity. Livability, on Murray Cove Road
Outdoors 62 64 66
Adventure Out Hitt the Outdoors PAWS for Life
Life & Leisure 67 68
By the Way Life in Tiger, 1972
Yesterdays 70 72
Moonshining in Rabun County The Gift of Twins
Cover Artist
Nona Stephens Capturing the Essence of a Moment on Canvas
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ona Stephens is a landscape artist who exhibited an interest in art at the early age of six, entering a Christmas coloring contest of a local department store in her hometown of Forrest City, Arkansas. She won first prize for girls. As fate would have it, her future husband won first place for the boys’ division, although they did not meet until she was fifteen. They have now celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary and reside in SauteeNacoochee, Georgia. She received her BA degree in interior design, graduating magna cum laude from Brenau University. She later studied for three years with classically trained artist, Chris Didomizio of Atlanta, and has also studied in workshops with noted artists Don Demers, Gregg Kreutz, Gil Dellinger, Robert Johnson, Roger Dale Brown, the late Timothy Thies and Ken Auster, and others. “An admitted traditionalist, I prefer to work in oils. I strive to capture a special light effect of the moment or the serenity of a landscape. Although I use many photos, sketches, and en plein air field studies, I love to spend time sitting quietly absorbing the nuances, and the way the scene “feels on your skin.” My plein air studies serve as inspiration for larger studio paintings. When painting, I sometimes feel “in the zone” losing all track of time and place and feel transported back to the sights, smells, and sounds of the scene being captured on the canvas, and many times the painting seems to take over and demand a life of its own, “talking” to me, adjust this here, add there. When the painting stops talking, I know I have finished the painting.” Nona explains. A couple facts that I found very interesting were that Nona uses her father’s old walking cane in the studio as her Mahl stick when working on a tedious part of a painting. She hooks it to the top of the painting to steady her hand. Talk about metaphors for
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living and it brings a little bit of her father into her work. Being left handed Nona enjoys our magazine and many others by reading from back to front, to do so allows her more control over the pages. Since 2006, she has sought more en plein air or outdoor painting, and states “Mother Nature is the toughest, and perhaps the most rewarding instructor.” While painting on location she is not only recording the scene in front of her, but also mentally recording the smells of the earth, sounds of water, wind, and birds. There have been unusual instances while painting. Once a raccoon played “peek-a-boo” from under the little bridge she was painting from, and another time she recounts, “I finally saw the 12 foot alligator just across the pond that made my heart stop.” When she paints in the studio from the studies done en plein air, all those sights and sounds come flooding back. She prefers painting with soothing, nonobtrusive classical music, because she states, “I have a running dialog with my painting. I prefer no distractions of music with a beat or lyrics, or I would not be able to hear my painting talk to me! I love to get “in the zone” and lose myself in the process.” In the early years she would not sell her paintings and explains, “I am usually very emotionally tied to what I paint, and found it difficult to bring myself to sell that “piece of myself”, or record “of my existence”. I began selling my art when I discovered a particular painting had so much emotion attached to it that I had to get away from it. One painting was done after 9-11, and another of a maritime disaster. I discovered sharing my art with others had pleasure in itself.” In reference to her painting style, she prefers the much more subtle colors of nature, and fleeting moments of light, especially at sunrise or sunset, and loves the challenge of capturing the “atmosphere”. She marvels, “it is true, everything has a season. So many times an ordinary scene explodes with life and drama in a certain light. I strive to find the magic moment, and may go back many times to a particular scene to study the light patterns at different times of day.” Her paintings are referred to as being serene, soft, and calming. Her painting style would be described as representational with a touch of impressionism. But she confirms her painting style is not something she is complacent with. “I will never stop learning on this quest to study about art and painting, or striving at the very least produce a painting which satisfies me. Brush, paint, and canvas have a way of bringing you to your knees. But I love the challenge. As for a philosophy of life, there isn’t enough time in a lifetime to learn all that I want to learn, and I will always be a student of nature, light, and the artists before me. My reverence for the scenes I paint is why I long to try to capture the essence of the moment on canvas, and make that moment a journal and record of my existence, but more importantly, to give voice in some small way to help protect the beauty of this earth we live in.”
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Nona and her husband Charles, a photographer, opened Skylake Galleries in 2018, not only to showcase their own work but the work of other select artists. The Gallery also shows select pottery, sculpture, wood turnings. In the antique side of the Gallery you will find antique furniture, china, architectural artifacts, antique linens and lace, and much more. You’ll find their gallery at the entrance to Skylake Nature Preserve in Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia. We are pleased to have Nona on our cover this month and will be featuring her husband Charles’ photography this summer. It is a nice drive to Skylake Galleries and you will be most impressed by the work of all of the artists on display. The gallery is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10:00 – 5:00 or by appointment. You’ll find it on your GPS by entering 122 Sautee Trail, Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia. For additional information about her work, other artists or upcoming events please contact Nona at the gallery by calling 706-878-7470 or 706-878-5949. Portions used with permission from www.nonastephens.com
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North Georgia Arts Guild
Terri Johansson – Shimmering Beneath the Surface By Susan Brewer
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or Terri Johansson, the interplay between light and glass have become central to her life’s journey. For more than fifteen years, her fused glass panels have been fed from the energy of her warm attachments: both from the people she meets in her travels to sandy, beachy places – and her loveable dog, Lola, and her husband and forever best friend, Anders.
Her fused glass panels have received a lot of attention over the years. In 2018, she won “Best Booth” and the “People’s Choice” awards at one show, the Painted Fern Art Festival, which is held every year in Clayton at the Civic Center. She will be at this year’s Celebrate Clayton the last weekend in April in a booth in front of Reeves Hardware Store at the intersection of Main and Savannah Streets. Some works speak in a visual language about rootedness, of being whole. They take viewers on a journey to look beneath the surface of the ground to see the roots of a tree in addition to its trunk and branches and crown. Her vision takes us beneath the waves of the ocean to see living creatures and corals there.
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She does ‘action-glass’ pieces – curling waves – that are always in demand. Portraits of full moons are something new she now enjoys doing. When backlit, they glow blue in the dark. She illustrates the four seasons in pieces that are so popular that she’s begun doing installations. She did a portrait of a dog, Casey, in glass enamel and glass powder. It was a commission for one of her collectors. Terri explains about the commission, “She wanted a portrait of their sweet dog—not in oils or acrylic—in glass! Oh, I don’t know about that, I told her. That’s way out of my comfort zone. I thought I may have to do ten to get it right. I ended up sending her the only one I started – in glass enamel and glass powder.” Too cute it was, or is, too! She has her “trail” pieces, works that pull viewers into them. These warm, embracing worlds are brought to life so completely. “I feel like I’m there in the scene when I look at your work,” is the reaction Terri hears at shows. It takes a lot of patience to do the number of layers required to create these works. A base of clear glass is the canvas. The paints are sifted powder of fine grains to larger, gravelly chunks as well as glass in pieces, fragments that are joined together. During firing, layers bake in a kiln, then are layered and fired again, and again—from three up to twenty-two times. Terri was born in Iowa, and her husband is from a world away, Sweden. They met in St. Augustine, Florida. They live in a house that Terri designed and they built on an intercoastal waterway. From that place – whether inside or out – they witness the spectacle of ever changing light and color of this wet, living world. They also own a cabin in the North Carolina mountains. Husband, Anders, helps Terri by assembling metal stands supporting the body of the glass to rock or wood bases. The firmness of the metal contrasts with the fragile glass. Tragically, over the course of two years Terri has had to witness the destruction of $6,400 worth of work. Wind on more than one occasion caused losses and a tragic accident took place, too; these were heartbreaking. It is the nature of glass, its fragility, that conveys something about Terri herself. She’s tough, but fragile. There hasn’t been a time when she hasn’t been an artist. And throughout her lifetime, her love of living systems in nature has taken hold and not let go. Her Facebook page in February posted a saying by Seth Godin paraphrased here: Art is what the soul of the artist shares with you. The person who makes it has overcome resistance and ignored the voice of doubt to make something worth making. The risk in the making is worth taking.
Find more at “Terri Johansson Art,” and on her Instagram feed, @terrijohanssonart, or email her at terrijohanssonglassart@gmail.com. Susan Brewer has been writing articles featuring North Georgia Arts Guild members since April 2017. Email your comments/questions to her at sbrewer991@gmail.com
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Finding Art
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Bon Appétit Where Are Those Eggs?? By Scarlett Cook
e have finally gotten used to the “new time” and warmer weather is teasing us but spring will come. And with spring comes Easter; a time of new beginnings and sunrise services. A time of everyone getting together so that new clothes are admired as are the smells coming from the kitchen. As soon as lunch has been eaten, everyone wants to hunt Easter eggs. You did dye them, right? When my children were small, we went to my in-laws for Easter lunch. My father-in-law, to get a jump on the “hunt”, decided to hide the eggs before going to church. After lunch the girls were so excited to hunt eggs. After a few minutes of not finding any, the adults searched too. But only a few colored broken egg shells were found. It seems the family dog – a small Boston bull terrier – had eaten all 24 eggs. Needless to say no one could be around the dog for several days. So that was the year the girls still talk about because there were no eggs.
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Pork Roast Serves 6 – 8 1 (5 – 6 pound) Boston butt pork roast 1 1/2 Tablespoon salt 1/2 Teaspoon Italian seasoning 1 Teaspoon garlic powder 1 Teaspoon pepper 2 Cups water 1/4 Cup white vinegar 1 Onion, chopped 4 Garlic cloves 1/4 Cup hot sauce – or to taste Preheat oven to 375˚. Place roast in a foil lined roasting pan. Sprinkle roast with salt, Italian seasoning and pepper. Pour water and vinegar into roasting pan. Add onion and garlic. Drizzle hot sauce over roast. Bake for 3 1/2 hours or until tender. Remove roast from pan, cover with aluminum foil and let roast rest for 10 minutes. This recipe can be made the day before and reheated in a 300˚ for 30 minutes.
Broccoli Slaw Serves 6 – 8 2 (12 ounce) Packages broccoli slaw mix 1 Cup mayonnaise 1/2 Cup sugar 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar 1 Small red onion, chopped 1/2 Cup dried cranberries or cherries 4 Bacon slices, cooked and crumbled 1/2 Cup toasted chopped pecans Rinse slaw mix and drain well. Stir together mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar in a large bowl; add slaw, onion and cranberries. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Sprinkle with bacon and pecans just before serving.
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Carrot Soufflé Serves 6 1 (16 ounce) page of baby carrots 3 Large eggs 1 1/4 Cups sugar 1/2 Cup sour cream 1/4 Cup butter, at room temperature 1/4 Cup plain flour 1 1/2 Teaspoons baking powder 1/4 Teaspoon cinnamon Preheat oven to 350˚. Lightly grease an 8” square pan. Cook carrots in boiling water to cover 20 – 25 minutes or until tender. Drain well and let cool. Process carrots and eggs in a food processor until smooth. Add sugar, sour cream, butter, flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Process until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared dish and bake 55 – 60 minutes. Make Ahead Spoon Rolls Makes 2 dozen 1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast 1 Teaspoon sugar 2 Cups warm water – 100˚ - 110˚ 4 Cups self rising flour 1/4 Cup sugar 3/4 Cup butter, melted and cooled 1 Large egg, lightly beaten Pinch of salt Preheat oven to 400˚. Coat 2 muffin pans with baking spray. Combine yeast, teaspoon of sugar and water in a large bowl; let mixture stand 5 minutes. Stir in flour, sugar, butter and egg just until blended Spoon mixture into muffin pans filling them 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. This batter can be made ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator for up to one week. And for dessert the easiest recipe!
Donut Stacks Serves 8 16 Miniature powdered sugar donuts 2 Tablespoons butter, softened 1 Pint any flavor ice cream Toppings – chocolate syrup, whipped cream, toasted pecans, sliced strawberries Cut donuts in half horizontally. Spread cut sides with butter. Place on a lightly greased baking dish. Broil donuts 3 – 4 minutes or until brown. Place 4 donut halves on each serving plate. Top with a scoop of ice cream. Serve with toppings. This recipe can be changed to use any size or kind of donuts and ice cream.
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The Family Table
Breakfast For Supper, And Chocolate Cake
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By Lorie Thompson
am extending an official “I’m sorry” to anyone who made my Impossible Buttermilk Pie as written in the March 2020 issue. I left out the buttermilk from the recipe! It was in the photograph, and I mentioned that it needed to be of great quality, but I failed to list it in the ingredients. I had dinner at my friend Jane’s home just after the March magazine hit the stands, and she asked why Impossible Buttermilk Pie did not have any buttermilk in it? Oh boy, was I embarrassed! Please add 1 Cup of whole buttermilk to the recipe. I have my moments in the kitchen when things don’t always go as planned. Just ask any of my family about “Alligator Surprise,” and they will gleefully tell you of my kitchen failures. April is gardening time at my house. As the days grow longer, Mountain Man and I stay outside later each evening. We eat later and with less time to prepare the food. Simple and lighter fare becomes the Spring norm. One of our favorite late evening meals is a simple Omelet. In 15-20 minutes, we are at the table with this satisfying meal. Let me share the secrets to making the perfect omelet.
When you cook a dish with only a few ingredients, the quality of each component is important. (I say this every month!) Yard eggs are best, alongside good butter, cheese, and ham. Serve the omelet on top of crusty toast with creamy avocado to elevate this ordinary omelet to a gourmet meal. Prepare your fillings. Chop your choice of ham into small cubes. I used a couple of slices of a 24-month, aged ham from Benton’s Country Hams. Dr. John Woodard told me about Benton’s Bacon and Hams, and he was right! It is worth the effort to find them. Use a ripe avocado. Cut it in half and remove the pit. Using a spoon, remove the avocado out of the peel and place it in a bowl. Add the juice from 1/2 of a lime, salt, and a little crushed red (or black) pepper. Mash with a fork. Chunky is good. Prepare the toast of your choice. Slice or wedge tomatoes and sprinkle lightly with salt. Prepare serving plates with a bed of arugula or spring greens.
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To prepare the omelet, break the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Using a wire whisk, whip the eggs until they are light and frothy. (2-3 minutes and don’t skimp on this.) Prepare your pan by melting over medium-low heat 2T of good quality unsalted butter. Using the right-sized skillet is essential to the success of the omelet. For two people, use four large eggs and a 10” nonstick skillet. If you are making a two-three egg omelet, use an 8” pan. Lightly salt and pepper the eggs. Using a silicone spatula gently push edges of the eggs in toward the center of the pan as they begin to set, allowing the space along the edge to refill from the liquid eggs. Don’t scramble! A gentle nudge with the scraper from the outside edge pushing in toward the center is all you need. As the eggs begin to firm up (3-4 minutes), sprinkle in the ham and cheese. The eggs will continue to cook even after being removed from the heat. Don’t overcook them! Use low heat and a gentle touch. As the eggs begin firming up, fold one edge of eggs in toward the center. Roll omelet out of the pan and onto a plate to complete the roll. Spread a slice of the toast with the Avocado and place it on top of the arugula. Place one half of the omelet on top of the toast alongside the salted tomato wedges. Enjoy! My beautiful Daughter-in-Love, Charli, has a birthday coming up. I am making her a Flourless Chocolate Cake. This cake is quick and easy to make, but tastes like a restaurant-quality dessert. Once again, there are only a few ingredients in this cake, so it is important to use the best ingredients you can find. Good quality, semi-sweet chocolate is key. Allow four eggs to come to room temperature. Turn the oven to 350 degrees and pre-heat. Prepare a springform 9-inch pan by buttering and then wrapping the exterior in aluminum foil to prevent any leaks during cooking. Melt 7 oz of chocolate along with 7 oz of unsalted butter. You can do this in a double-boiler on top of the stove or in the microwave, stirring every 10 seconds. I have a very thick
saucepan and melt this directly over a very low flame on my stovetop. When melted, stir until it is smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Separate four eggs with yolks in one bowl and whites in another. Place 1/2 C of sugar into the yolks and lightly mix with a mixer until the sugar is incorporated, and the yolks are frothy. Add to the yolks the cooled chocolate, a pinch of salt, 1 t of vanilla. Add 1 Cup of Almond Flour and lightly stir until incorporated. Beat the egg whites with a mixer using the whisk attachment if you have one until they are foamy. Slowly add 1/2 C of sugar and continue to beat on high for 5-7 minutes or until they are shiny and thick. (egg whites should be at room temperature when making meringue) Gently fold 1/3 of the meringue into the chocolate mixture, keeping as much volume as possible. Continue folding until they are all incorporated.
continued on page 29
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Farmhouse Market Serves Fresh, Tasty Food to “Grab” By John Shivers
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arm-to-table dining is a popular epicurean pastime these days, and Rabun County is the state’s farm-totable capital. Chef Vince Scafiti at The Farmhouse at Waterfall Club has taken that concept to new heights. More recently, the same diversity and quality foodstuffs are now also available through the “Grab n Go” features of The Farmhouse Market on Lake Burton.
Looking for appetizers for a cocktail party? Check out the creative assortment on The Farmhouse menu. Do you need party and sandwich platters, entrees, side dishes, salads, or breakfast selections? Catering from The Farmhouse Market offers everything you need to make any event, any meal a smashing success.
The inclusion of local, farm-fresh ingredients is just one of the attractions of farm-to-table dining, and now those same highly desirable qualities are right at your fingertips for both food to take home for your own personal meal, or catered in quantities.
Whether it’s a special holiday or just a run-of-the-mill Tuesday evening, The Farmhouse Market has the solution to your menu needs. Whether it’s a family night supper, an intimate dinner party, large corporate luncheon, or something in between, give them a shout out. While they have many menu selections in stock, ready for you to “grab n go,” contact them in advance to make custom selections in the quantities you need. There’s a strict six-person minimum on custom orders.
Think fast and definitely fresh. Think familiar dishes you’ll love… family favorites and crowd pleasers. The Farmhouse Market makes entertaining so easy, you’ll do it more often and wonder why Chef Scafiti didn’t conceive The Farmhouse approach before now.
For more information on The Farmhouse Market, located at 5 Jones Branch Road, just west of the Charlie Mountain Road intersection on Highway 76 west, check the website www. farmhousemarket-lakeburton.com or call 706-782-4646 or email Chef Scafiti at vince@vincesfarmhouse.com.
Clayton Farmers’ Market to Open in May
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”-Margaret Mead
A
s Spring rolls around each year, we at the Food Bank of NEGA get excited about working, once again, with The Clayton Farmer’s Market. For the past few years, many of our local farmers have shared their time and talents with our community on Saturday mornings from May through October in the parking lot in front of The Teaching Kitchen. We are happy to welcome them back in 2020!
Farmer’s markets are thriving all over the country. Here are a few reasons why we in the NEGA mountains should come out on Saturday mornings to support our neighbors who work so hard to bring us nutritious and delicious food… Taste the Freshness of the Season Support Family Farmers Nourish Yourself Discover Variety…the Spice of Life Know Where Your Food Comes From Learn Cooking Tips, Recipes, and Meal Ideas Connect with Your Community As we book classes and chef dinners, we will also be adding special Farmer’s Market Days to our calendar. In the past you may have come to The Garlic Festival, Harvest Festival or Winter Market. Those fun events will return this year and we will be adding more! Please stay tuned to our Food Bank of NEGA Teaching Kitchen Facebook page for details and thank you for supporting YOUR local farmers!
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Pour into the prepared pan—Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. The edges should be solid, and the middle should jiggle. The cake will puff up like a soufflé. It will fall as it cools to create the dense, gooey cake. Place on a rack and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Remove the sides of the pan and serve with whipped cream, berries, and shaved chocolate. Wow them! April is a great month for new beginnings. Celebrating Easter and Spring brings joy. The “greening up” offers a promise of renewal in nature. Make this April a time of renewal in your life. Enjoy being outside. Go to bed early and wake up early. Change-up your dinner routine and try out new recipes. Take a day off work and go somewhere new. Make breakfast for supper, and eat chocolate cake. May April bring you beautiful flowers, time with those you love, and wonderful meals followed by chocolate cake! May God bless you.
Lorie Thompson is a REALTOR at Poss Realty in Clayton, Georgia. Her expertise in her industry is second only to her culinary talents. Lorie is a dynamo in the kitchen. Honestly if she prepares it, it will likely be the best you’ve ever had! Lorie and her husband, Anthony (Peanut), make their home in the Persimmon Community. She is the proud mother of Joe Thompson and Kendall Thompson.
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Mountain Happenings
April and May, 2020
STEPHENS COUNTY April 2nd Sip-n-Stroll Downtown Toccoa Info: 706-898-5777 May 2nd Toast of Toccoa Downtown Toccoa Info: 706-282-3309 The Ritz Theater Toccoa Info: www.ritztheatretoccoa.com April 4th - Cherry Cherry April 11th Southern Gospel Music: The Homeland Boys April 16th Friends of the Ritz Presents: Dad’s Garage April 18th Night at the Ritz: Fleetwood Max May 2nd - Steve Elvis Petty May 7th Night at the Ritz: Edgar Loudermilk Band May 9th Southern Gospel Music: Georgia HABERSHAM COUNTY April 4th Photos with the Easter Bunny Mauldin House, Clarkesville Info: 706-754-2220 April 4th Easter Egg Hunt First United Methodist Church Clarkesville Info: 706-754-2677 April 4th - 5th Clarkesville Gun Show Habersham County Fairgrounds Clarkesville Info: 706-754-2220 April 17th and the third Friday of each month through September Friday Night Live Downtown Clarkesville Info: 706-754-2220 May 2nd and each Saturday through September Clarkesville Market Place (Farmers’ Market) 555 Monroe St. & Greene Plaza Clarkesville Info: 706-754-2220
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May 16th Summer Kickoff Concert: Sawyer Brown Main Street, Cornelia Info: 706-778-8585 May 16th Mountain Laurel Festival On the Square, Clarkesville Info: 706-754-2220 Habersham Community Theater Clarkesville Info: 706-839-1315 www.habershamtheater.org April 9th - 12th, 16th - 19th “The Odd Couple” - Female Version May 28th - 31st, June 4th - 7th “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” Grant Street Music Room Clarkesville Info: grantstreetmusicroom.com April 25th - Tire Fire May 9th Lefty Williams Band Reunion WHITE COUNTY April 4th Magical Easter Eggstravaganza Babyland General Hospital Cleveland Info: 706-865-2171 cabbagepatchkids.com May 2nd WineFest Habersham Winery, Helen Info: 706-878-9463 May 9th Helen’s 50th Celebration Sping Bierfest Festhalle, Helen Info: 706-878-1908 May 21st White County Business & Health Expo Truett McConnell University Cleveland Info: 706-865-5356 May 23rd Bavarianfest Festhalle, Helen Info: 706-878-1908 SNCA Sautee Nacoochee Info: 706-878-3300 April 2nd - 4th Outdoor Painting Weekend May 15th - 16th Fiber Festival May 23rd - Pig Out & Pickin BBQ May 30th Sautee Community Contra Dance
Hardman Farm State Historic Site Sautee Nacoochee Info: 706-878-1077 April 11th Natural Egg Dying April 11th, May 23rd Farm Animal Fun Day Emory Jones Book Signing RABUN COUNTY April 9th Easter Egg Hunt Rabun County Recreation Dept. Tiger Info: 706-782-4600 April 11th Easter at the Farm Hillside Orchard Farm Lakemont Info: 706-782-2776 April 24th - 26th, May 1st - 3rd North Georgia Community Players present “Four Old Broads” Dillard Playhouse Dillard Info: 706-212-2500 Rabun County Civic Center Clayton Info: 706-982-9432 April 18th Casino Night! May 23rd Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson Tribute May 30th 8th Annual Fur Ball Info: 570-780-2435 Tallulah Gorge State Park Tallulah Falls Info: 706-754-7981 April 4th - 5th, 11th - 12th White Water Releases April 10th Sunset Easter Egg Hunt April 18 - 19th, 25th - 26th May 2nd - 3rd, 9th - 10th, 16th - 17th Aesthetic Water Releases May 2 and each Saturday through October Clayton Farmers’ Market Covered Bridge Shopping Center Clayton Info: 706-490-3837
TOWNS COUNTY April 18th GET OUTDOORS! Expo Towns County Recreation Center Young Harris Info: 706-896-4966 April 20th Estate Planning Workshop Towns County Chamber Conference Room, Hiawassee Info: 706-896-3451 May 2nd Flea for All Towns County Recreation & Conference Center, Young Harris Info: 706-896-4966 May 9th Safe Boating Classes Old 911 Center, Hiawassee Info: 770-316-8703 Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds Hiawassee Info: 706.896.4191 georgiamountainfairgrounds.com April 11th - May 16th A Blooming Affair at Hamilton Gardens Info: 706-970-0011 May 16th Georgia Mountain Eggfest May 24th Georgia Mountain Fair Rodeo UNION COUNTY April 3rd - 4th Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival Union County Schools Fine Art Center Blairsville Info: gamountainstoryfest.org April 4th and each Saturday Live Music Series Paradise Hills Resort and Spa Blairsville Info: 706-754-7483
April 18th and the 3rd Saturday of the month thru October Cruise-In on the Square Car Show Downtown Blairsville Info: blairsvillecruisers.com
April 17th Junior Appalachian Music Program Student Concert
Cowee School - Arts & Heritage Ctr. Franklin Info: 828-349-1945
April 25th, May 23rd English Country Dance Series
May 16th - Mountain Heart Band
April 18th Blue Jean Ball, SAFE Fundraiser McDowall Acres, Blairsville Info: 706-379-1901
May 9th Friends and Family Day
April 23rd Trout Dinner Fundraiser Meeks Park, Blairsville Info: 828-837-5414 May 23rd - 24th Spring Arts, Crafts & Music Festival Downtown on the Square Blairsville Info: 706-754-5789
Peacock Performing Arts Center Hayesville Info: 828.389.2787 thepeacocknc.org April 4th - Legacy Motown Review April 18th Song Writers Showcase 30 May 2nd - High South
May 23rd Memorial Day Parade Downtown on the Square Blairsville Info: 706-754-5789
May 22nd - 24th, 29th - 31st “Last Round-Up of the Guacamole Queens”
CLAY COUNTY, NC
April 3rd - 5th Springtopia 2020 Altered Frequencies Franklin Info: 828-342-8014
April 11th Easter Egg Hunt Hayesville Info: 828-389-3704 John C. Campbell Folk School Brasstown Info: 828-837-2775 April 3rd - Ted White Junior. Appalachian Music Program Student Concert April 4th, 18th May 2nd, 16th Contra & Square Dance April 7th and each Tuesday Tuesday Night Contra & Square Dance April 10th - Stringer’s Ridge April 11th - Easter Egg Hunt
MACON COUNTY, NC
May 1st - 2nd Franklin FFA Rodeo Macon County Fairgrounds Franklin Info: 828-524-3267 May 8th - 10th Mother’s Day Gemboree Robert C. Carpenter Community Building, Franklin Info: 828-349-2090 May 23rd Airing of the Quilts Downtown Franklin Info: 828-524-5676
May 16th and the 3rd Saturday SEBA Jam May 23rd Cowee Valley Pottery Festival Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts Franklin Info: 866-273-4615; 828-524-1598 GreatMountainMusic.com April 3rd - 4th A Glimpse of His Last Days April 5th - Golden Dragon Acrobats April 17th An Evening with Clint Black April 18th - Hotel California A Salute to the Eagles April 24th - Jordan Feliz April 25th - Ray on My Mind The Music of Ray Charles May 1st - Crowder May 8th - The Booth Brothers May 15th - The Malpass Brothers May 22nd - Crystal Gayle Highlands Performing Arts Center Highlands Info: 828-526-9047 April 11th - Puccini’s Tosca May 1st Trout Fishing in America Concert May 9th Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda May 21st - 24th, 28th - 31st Highlands Cashiers Players “Unexpected Guest”
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Love that Kicks Fear Out By Rev. Joey Thompson of Clayton Baptist Church
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ear is a powerful weapon. Fear is used as a means to get things done all of the time. We all have our fears. Fear can be a good thing. A (healthy) fear of electricity can help keep you alive.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, fear can be a weapon that paralyzes us. Some would say that it is scary just to look at the news anymore. People are afraid of what will take place with: The Election, Coronavirus, Social media drama, and Stock market. We face fears that are legitimate and illegitimate. Legitimate fear boils down to just one: fear God. “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” - Ecclesiastes 12:13. He is God. Being afraid of failure, heights, spiders, writing this article, or clowns (not a fan) can be understandable but not legitimate. Now, fear of your teenage son’s driving may be legit. We call that wisdom. No matter what the future may hold, we are preparing for the future everyday whether we realize it or not. We can either face the days ahead with fear or with hope. How do we prepare for the days ahead in light of the challenges ahead that tempt us to despair with fear? 1 John 4:16 helps us to understand what gets rid of fear: “perfect love casts out fear…” We know human love is not perfect. People fail one another all of the time. So, if I am going to not live in fear, how do I attain this perfect love? Let’s look at 1 John 4 again. “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been
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perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.” - 1 John 4:15-19 ESV To put it another way, the way to conquer fear is to have perfect love. How do we get perfect love? From the only One who is perfect: God. How do we get God? We get God through knowing God first has us. How did God do that? He sent His son Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life to die on a cross to pay the penalty for our sin. When we place our faith in Jesus, we have a relationship with God who is love because now all of our sins are forgiven. So now, I have no fear. Do you mean that this is all I have to do to get rid of fear? Of course not. We still live in a fallen world. 1 John 4 tells us to abide in His love. Again, this is speaking of relationship. So, each time fear rises in our hearts, we can remember Jesus’ words: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” - John 15:9 So how do I abide in the love of Jesus every day? Prepare yourself daily in every way. Your Action Plan: Spiritually: If you are not a believer, enter into a personal relationship with Jesus today. If you are a believer, raise the bar on your personal walk with Him. Invest time with God daily in His Word and Prayer. Take advantage of the many opportunities such as finding and joining a church to be a part of. Join a small group Bible Study. Share the good news about Jesus with someone daily. Physically: Eat and drink with a view of health for His glory Rest Exercise Emotionally: Solid, godly relationships Counseling - someone in the Body or a trained counselor That Day: What we do not want to fear is something we will all have to do: stand before God one day. John called it the day of judgment. We can say that we will stand before God one day, not with fear, but with confidence. Why? Because we will be with the One who kicked out fear: Jesus who loved us and gave His life for us. Revelation 15 says that we will make music and sing in His presence. Then, Our Conductor will lift His baton with nail-pierced hands… No Fear, just love.
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Life is a Blessing – Lemons Suck By Tracy McCoy
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hen I started writing Life is a Blessing in 2004 my plan was to share Jesus, that’s always my plan. Life was good when I started, it’s still good, but there have been a lot of bumps in the road. Those bumps, some big and some small, have at times left me feeling like life is not always a blessing. The sicknesses, deaths, recession leading to some really tough days, all of these have often made it hard for me to write this column. The joy of my salvation and relationship with Jesus are what get me out of the bed, on my feet and on into each day. I start out good. This prayer has circulated on social media and via e-mails and it pretty much sums it up. “Dear God, so far today, I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped. I haven’t lost my temper. I haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or overindulgent. I’m very thankful for that. But in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed… from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot more help. Amen.” Hard times make me grumpy. Injustices make me lose my temper and when I lose my temper I can be nasty. Human nature makes me selfish and Heaven knows it doesn’t take much to make me overindulge! Life happens and it isn’t always easy, in fact sometimes it stinks! I have a very good friend and a very good son who have both taught me that you have to grab the good things when they come and let go of the bad ones. Max Lucado says, “Life is going to give you lemons, but you don’t have to suck on them.” Jesus said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden (carrying burdens) and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” While I agree with Max I have been known to carry my “lemons” around and chew on them for too long. I wanted to know more about what Jesus said. I have heard this verse hundreds of times but when you dig in it gets even better. First the word “take” used in this verse is the word airo, which means a conscious decision to invite Jesus into the harness with you. A harness or yoke was used when a load was too hard for one ox to pull. The farmer would harness two animals together and they would work together to carry the load. The word yoke here is the Greek word zugos, which describes
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the very harness I just described. A yoke made the animals inseparable. As a result they were stronger and their combined strength made their task easier. So Jesus is saying you don’t have to do this alone, I will walk every step with you. Meek and lowly in heart means humble and gentle. Reverend Charles Spurgeon said this in a sermon from 1859 on this passage of scripture. “The word lowly means, “near the ground.” So is Christ’s heart. We cannot be so low that he will not stoop to reach us. I would just set out the lowliness of Christ’s heart in this way. Christ is “lowly in heart;” that is, he is willing to receive the poorest sinner in the world.” Jesus is the one you can trust to come alongside you no matter where you are, to offer His never ending love. The quote from the book of Matthew goes on to say “you will find rest for your souls.” I need rest, I long for peace and I know where to find it. Jesus has never failed to find me when I am off on my own path sucking lemons. He extends His hand to me and I come back into “yoke” with him and I find that my burdens are so much easier or even non-existent. “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Pastor Daniel Passini explains it like this, “The burden was no longer to maintain 600 plus laws and all the extras, but to love God with all your heart, your soul and your mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Do these and you will fulfill all the others.” Accepting Christ is easy, so easy many miss it in their pursuit of perfection. Pastor Passini goes on to say “Don’t over complicate your walk with the Lord. Master loving God, and loving people. Live by Christ’s spirit that lives inside of you everyday. Follow the master, for his yoke is easy and his burden is light.” I am grateful that even though hard times come, I have a Savior who never leaves me. When I accepted His gift of eternity I became yoked together with Him and that will never change. I am a continuous work in progress, I fail and I fall and I get off track but like a child I know to run to my Father when life gets scary and hard. You can do the same. Maxlucado.com danielpassini.org January 30th, 2015 The Spurgeon Archives (The Meek and Lowly One) July 31, 1859
A Secret Place of Safety in a Dangerous World by George Banschbach
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hroughout the Bible we are told of a loving, all seeing, all knowing God. He loves everyone, everywhere equally the same. He loves all men, women, and children of every race, language, color and creed. As the children’s song teaches us, “red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight”. And that includes YOU. No one is left out. For example the apostle John tells us that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Foe God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
Who is this great God? He is known by four names in the first two verses of Psalm 91. “He who dwells in the SECRET PLACE of the Most High shall abide under the SHADOW of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my REFUGE and my FORTRESS; my God in Him will I trust.” The four names are Most High (GOD), The Almighty (GOD), the LORD and My GOD. First, Most High or EL ELYON means Supreme God, God of gods, creator of all other gods and the One to whom all other gods must bow. Then, the Almighty is the all powerful God, EL SHADDAI, also known as the many breasted one. This means He has unlimited and infinite resources to save, help and supply the needs of those whom He loves. Whether it is food, clothing, shelter, safety or anything else required to give and sustain life, we can all come to Him and He will always have enough. Next, the Lord or ALL POWERFUL GOD, is a loving Father, Redeemer, and Friend who infinitely desires a personal and intimate relationship with each person in His creation. Finally He is known as MY GOD or ELOHIM, the Creator God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), the First and the Last, and the ever faithful God always faithful to His covenant. Everyone who has ever lived on this earth has been invited to come to His SECRET place and to hide themselves from the storms of life. His is a place of safety and security, a FORTRESS and a REFUGE, from all the troubles and stresses of life. It is a place where the enemies of our soul cannot find us, a place where evil cannot penetrate or invade. It is a secret place of peace and rest. It is not only a place, but it is a person. JESUS offers perfect safety and peace in HIM. The invitation from JESUS goes out to the whole world, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.” It is an invitation to DWELL with Him and “ABIDE under the SHADOW of the Almighty.” His shadow will be a covering or safety net for us and our families. His shadow speaks of His presence hovering over us as a protection. On a hot day isn’t it refreshing to find a tree we can rest under and catch a cool breeze and perhaps even catch our breath. Yet He beckons us to dwell and abide with Him. JESUS said, “If you ABIDE in Me and MY words abide in you, you will ask what you desire; and it shall be done for you.” In Him there is not only safety, peace, and rest, but there is also PROMISE and HOPE for the future. In Genesis Joseph invited his entire family, his father, 12 brothers, their wives, and children to come and live close to him in safety, 66 people in all. “You shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and herds and all that you have. There, close to me, I will provide for you lest you and your household and all that you have come to poverty…” The word poverty means to be utterly impoverished or brought to total destruction. This is a fate that no one would want for themselves or their family. There is only one safe place for us. It is not found in a religion, but in a close intimate relationship with our Loving and All Powerful God, living near to Him where He can provide for and protect us and our families. The Bible says, “draw near God, and He will draw near to you” and “cast all your anxiety (or care) on Him because He cares for you.” All this is offered to us in a personal relationship with the Son of God. Jesus Christ is standing at the door of your heart saying, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him…” However there is no doorknob on the outside of our hearts. We must open our hearts and invite Him in. Have you ever hoped for or wished that there was a safe place, a place of refuge, for you and your family? A place where you all will be safe from such things as the Corona-Virus, and other deadly diseases such as cancer, aids, or a myriad of many others to numerous to mention. Or how about finding a place of safety when tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis or wild fires threaten us? There is just such a place of safety and peace from whatever life throws at us. But we must come into His presence and hide OURSELVES in the safest place of all, in the SECRET PLACE of the MOST HIGH, in Christ in God. He loves you and declares that, “… the one who comes to ME, I will by no means cast out.” He is waiting for you. Will you please come and be safe in Jesus?
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“Live Healthy and Be Well” Coronavirus Basics and Prevention
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Stephen Jarrard, MD, FACS
ou must realize that our articles are written at least a month ahead of time. Last month we mentioned that we hoped by the time you read that article, that Coronavirus would be under control. As it is now time to write the next article in advance, we see that this topic is very much part of the daily news cycle and is causing much concern. Therefore, the topic of this month’s article will be some basic information about Coronavirus, and prevention techniques – which are virtually the same for all communicable diseases. I truly hope and pray that by the time you are reading this, it will be out of the news, and not still a topic of daily conversation.
The current Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) is of worldwide concern and has been spreading sporadically since the first case was reported in early December of 2019 (China). It is caused by a new version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and was first identified in the Wuhan Province of China – initially tied to an open-air market there that sold live animals as well as seafood. As of March 1st, 2020, more than 88,000 cases have been confirmed in 67 territories, of which 8,000 were classified as serious. A little over 3000 deaths have been reported worldwide, most being in China. As of this writing, only one death has been confirmed in the United States (Washington State). Some good news is that over 42,000 people have had the disease and recovered. However, due to modern technology and the ease of international travel – the risk of further spread is high until it is brought under tighter control. You may see COVID-19 referred to as a “novel” virus – meaning “new” as it has not been seen before and is not known to be a mutation of another known virus. The virus primarily passes from one person to others via respiratory droplets produced from the airways during coughing or sneezing (just like influenza). The droplets are in the air only a short time, but may live on surfaces such as metal, glass, or plastic for up to 9 days at room temperature. Infection occurs when someone comes into contact then somehow rubs or touches their mucus membranes, such as rubbing their eyes, nose, or mouth. The live virus on surfaces can be killed with disinfectants and cleaning solutions.
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The time between exposure and symptom onset is typically about 5 days but can take as long as 14 days. Flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath may herald the onset, and it has been known to progress to GI symptoms such as diarrhea, as well. Complications may include progression to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and sepsis - requiring more intensive treatment in a hospital. Those at higher risk, as with most diseases of this type, include the elderly and frail, those with compromised immune systems, those who already have chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, and especially those who have some pre-existing compromise to their respiratory systems – such as smokers and those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We have not yet seen any cases in Georgia, and rest assured the Georgia Department of Public Health, as well as the CDC in Atlanta, are monitoring this situation very closely. Updates are being provided daily, and as physicians, we are being kept well informed about this condition. There is currently no preventive vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19, though intensive research is ongoing. Current efforts for those confirmed to be infected are aimed at managing symptoms and supportive therapy. Isolation of those known or even suspected of being exposed or infected is also an important part of this management protocol. The CDC has developed a viral DNA test which can
be used to confirm the disease by examining respiratory secretions of those suspected – but currently only those people who meet certain criteria are being tested. The criteria used to justify testing is 1) those with symptoms who within the previous 14 days had contact with a confirmed COVID-19 patient, and 2) those with symptoms who within the previous 14 days have returned from travel to China. Just know the “common flu” is much more likely to effect you than Coronavirus, so if you do not meet the above criteria and feel like you have flu-like symptoms – you more than likely may have influenza A or B, which can still make you very ill, but is of much less concern. Recommended preventive measures that we must all follow include basic hand washing with soap and water, maintaining distance from people who are sick, and if you are in a high risk category, maybe avoiding crowds or crowded places for awhile until all this passes. Places which put people at risk for exposure to any illness include crowded sports events, long airline flights, long trips on cruise ships, and the like. While we are not telling you to “not do” these things, just use caution and know that crowds and crowded places pose higher risk. Have you ever noticed people who are ill not covering their coughs or sneezes, or just using their hands and then touching things (door handles, table tops, etc.)? Of course we all have, and this is how disease spreads. We really do enjoy hearing from you with any questions, concerns, or ideas for future columns and/or health and wellness related issues for the Georgia Mountain Laurel. Please send an email to rabundoctor@gmail.com, or call us at 706-782-3572, and we will be sure to consider your input. This and previous articles can be found on the web at www.rabundoctor.com in an archived format. If you use Twitter, then follow us for health tips and wellness advice @rabundoctor, and on Facebook see the page rabundoctor. Until next month, live healthy and be well!
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Mental Health Initiative
First Steps by Dr. Amanda Pileski, PHD
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he Mental Health Task Force of Rabun County met for the first time February 13th, and the following community members attended: (Pictured from left) Jennifer Deslich, with FUNdamental Therapy Services; Jessica Robinson, Rabun County Sheriff’s Office; Beth Pelaccio, MSW with Accountability Court; Beth Black, LPC, ATR-BC Owner of Family Art Therapy Center; Tammy Wilbanks, Rabun County Schools Social Worker; Cathy Vinson, with Rabun County Family Connections; Jessica Ward, RCMS counselor; Irene Bynum, Chamber of Commerce Vice-Chair and Member of the Executive Committee; Sheriff Chad Nichols; Mandy Pileski, PhD; Kent Woerner, commissioner; Sunny Volano, LPC; Laura Lane, Rabun County Family Connections; Scott Crane, commissioner; Grant MacDonald, Victory Home and retired substance abuse counselor; Caroline Wallis, executive director of FAITH. The meeting focused on discussion of mental health concerns identified by various board members, data collected from a Needs Assessment, upcoming reduction of funding for DBHDD (Dept. of Behavioral Health and Disability Services), and presentation of a proposal for expanding psychological services in Rabun. Needs Assessment Results A Needs Assessment online survey was circulated via social media in January to identify how Rabun County residents feel about mental health services in the county. There were over 200 responses and 65% reported difficulty acquiring mental health services in Rabun County. Respondents specifically asked for increased services for the following: school aged children, substance abuse treatment, trauma treatment, and group therapy. Respondents were asked about their insurance providers to determine if any additional insurances need to be accepted by providers. It seemed respondents with Alliant and Humana have the most difficulty finding providers in Rabun who accept their insurance. Finally, the most common reason for inability to receive services in Rabun was “lack of providers”, endorsed by 90 respondents. State Funding Reduction for Mental Health Services Members of the Task Force discussed upcoming budget cuts for mental health services. Specifically, DBHDD will
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experience a 4% cut this year and 6% next year. According to an Atlanta Journal Constitution article in February 2020, this will equate to 34.3 million this fiscal year and $46 million next year. All of this is occurring as the need for mental health services in rural areas of Georgia are increasing. In Rabun County, it is especially upsetting to realize that in the almost 20 years since I left Rabun County (graduate of 2001), we regressed in providing mental health services. Joseph Davis, former mental health professional in Rabun, indicated via social media, “State, federal, and third party funding tanked around the year 2000. At that time, Rabun had a robust mental health clinic which averaged 300 clients and seven full and part-time staff, including an RN and part-time psychiatrist.” Psychological Services Proposal February 25th, I presented a proposal for expanding mental health services to the Rabun County Board of Commissioners. The proposal was to essentially establish a mental health center presence at the Rabun County Health Department building in the vacant lower level area. The plan would support clinicians remaining independent practitioners. They would share county space where they commit to accept insurance rates at their regular fee and receive ½ standard fee subsidized by a nonprofit for those without insurance. Currently, it is uncertain if this would be an independent, new non-profit or an extension of another mental health non-profit from the metro Atlanta area. Sunny Volano, LPC and I have an upcoming meeting scheduled to discuss options with the Atlanta organization, and the Task Force will provide future updates on the model selected by the board. Benefits of the Proposed Model This plan would address issues identified in the needs assessment about lack of knowledge and visibility of services in Rabun. Services would be affordable for individuals of all socioeconomic backgrounds, and a training program would be established to recruit and retain more clinicians in the Clayton area. Clinical consultation at the center will ensure quality care and better collaboration with DFCS, Rabun County Schools, and the Sheriff’s office. Finally, this will also reduce costs to taxpayers by decreasing psychiatric rehospitalizations, incarcerations, and drug related problems.
Limitations of the Proposed Model While I am excited about the opportunity to contribute to more mental health services in Rabun, I am also realistic and want community members to also hold reasonable expectations of what this small private/non-profit combination model can offer. This is NOT a psychiatric ER. It is NOT a place to refer people for same day appointments. Evaluations will be scheduled per availability. If there is interest in having a “crisis” hour available for triage services and true mental health emergencies, there will have to be funding established to pay clinicians. Additional Thoughts As someone reminded me today, it is common to receive criticism when advocating for change – even when it seems overall positive. I want to emphasize that I am approaching this from a “rising tides lift all boats” perspective, and I truly believe this is a program that can benefit all other providers, organizations, and individuals in the community. There is a major shortage of mental health services in Northeast Georgia and the greater tri-state area – so, I truly do not believe this model will negatively impact other practices. My hope is for this collaboration to improve services, our professional development as colleagues, and maybe even allow us to make a larger impact at the state level via advocacy and partnership with other organizations and politicians.
Franklin, North Carolina
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Why You May Need a Consumer Protection Attorney By: James W. Hurt, Jr.
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inancial injuries are much like physical injuries in that they can disrupt your life and sometimes lead to more serious problems. Often, people don’t realize the extent of their issues until it is too late. Declining credit scores, exorbitant credit card fees, threats of bankruptcy, lawsuits, and even criminal charges may all be lurking just around the corner. This is why it is so important to keep tabs on your financial health and recognize when you may need to enlist the help of a consumer protection attorney. Have you tried to reduce or consolidate your debt by using a Debt Settlement or Debt Adjustment Program? Debt Settlement companies are prevalent in the debt adjustment industry, promoting themselves as an alternative to bankruptcy, a faster way to get out of debt, and a better alternative to traditional debt management plans. In reality, many of these companies end up helping consumers ruin their credit and get sued. Once the consumer signs a contract with the debt settlement company, they are instructed to stop paying their credit card bills, and instead pay the money into a holding account of their debt settlement company. Once there are sufficient funds in the account, the debt settlement company will, in theory, contact the consumer’s credit card companies and negotiate a lump sum settlement of the debt for some amount less than the full amount owed. What debt settlement companies don’t tell you is that you may be sued by your credit card company for failing to pay your bills. Or, your debt may be charged off and sold to a junk debt buyer. These junk debt buyers will often file derogatory entries on consumers’ credit reports, make harassing collection calls, and file lawsuits to collect. And finally, in the event that a debt settlement company actually settles a credit card debt, the consumer will most likely be penalized by the IRS showing the amount of charged off debt as income! It’s a no-win situation for consumers. Are debt collectors harassing you? If you are the victim of unlawful debt collection practices, you have a right to make it stop. Consumer protection laws are in place to protect you against unlawful collection practices and illegally filed lawsuits. Collection agencies can be very aggressive and may harass individuals when trying to collect. A few important items to note are: Debt collectors cannot call you before 8:00 am or after 9:00 pm; Debt collectors cannot call your friends, neighbors, or relatives about your debt; Debt collectors cannot call you at work if you ask them to stop; Debt collectors cannot threaten to have you arrested or criminally prosecuted; Debt collectors cannot send false information to credit bureaus. Are you being sued over a debt by a company you’ve never heard of? If so, you may be facing a third-party debt collector or a junk debt buyer. It is important for you to understand that your action or inaction can have a serious impact. If you don’t respond in a timely manner, the collector may get a judgment against you and potentially be able to take money out of your paycheck or bank account! There are many of these companies cropping up out there, so if you have received any correspondence regarding the collection of a debt from someone other than your credit card company, you should take immediate action.
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Are there errors on your credit report? Georgia law protects consumers from banks, lenders, and credit reporting agencies that report incorrect credit information. It also protects consumers from institutions who use credit reports for impermissible purposes and fail to fix errors on credit reports. There are numerous inaccuracies that may show up on your credit report including: incorrect name or address, incorrect Social Security Number, debts that have been discharged in bankruptcy, and loan or credit card payments that were applied incorrectly. Reviewing your credit report regularly will alert you to any of these types of inaccuracies. Incorrect or outdated credit reports may affect your ability to qualify for credit cards, loans, and insurance. It may also affect the interest rates you pay, and in some instances, keep you from getting a job. You have the right under Georgia law to receive a free credit report twice annually by following the instructions at www.annualcreditreport.com. If you haven’t checked yours lately, I urge you to log on and pull your reports from all three reporting agencies today. James W. Hurt, Jr. (Jimmy) is the principal and managing partner of Hurt Stolz, PC, a consumer protection and personal injury law firm serving the state of Georgia from Athens and Clayton offices.
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Service Pros “Always render more and better service than is expected of you, no matter what your task may be.� Og Mandino
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Living is Great in the Woods 0f Sky Valley By John Shivers
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hat’s your definition of the good life when it comes to a home? Would you like living almost on top of the world, surrounded by rugged woods, with a view that will forever distract you from the humdrum? How about if all you had to do was bring your clothes and move right in? At 1690 Ridgepole Drive in Sky Valley, GA, a 3,632± square foot home on three levels is waiting for its next owner and it’s fully furnished. Just move right in and start living. Two covered porches on the main level and a third covered porch off the upper level give plenty of sitting and looking room. The rocking chairs are just waiting for you, and there’s a partially-fenced yard. On those days when it’s too cold to go outside, the home’s numerous large windows bring the views in to you! There’s plenty of natural light every day of the year. The window coverings, designed to maximize that view, go with the home. This rustic country cabin built in 2003 and beautifully-maintained, features four oversize bedrooms with the master suite on the main level. Three full baths and a powder room serve all three levels, and some of the bedrooms open onto the covered porches. Just think about waking up with nothing to do but enjoy those exceptional views. What a way to live! Outside this parcel that includes four additional lots within easy distance of the Sky Valley Resort complex, the Clubhouse, golf course, playground, pool, and tennis courts provides
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still more great living opportunities. The City of Sky Valley provides recycle, garbage pickup and water. The home is on a paved street and native stone lighted gateposts bid you enter the paved drive and turnaround area adequate for several vehicles to park. Landscaping is mostly natural, with some low maintenance plantings around the house itself. On the uppermost level, two bedrooms, a shared spacious full bath, and an office/ reading nook make living in this home a dream. On the main level, the great room is fantastic in size, as is the adjacent dining area and a dream of a cook’s kitchen opens to the great room. A laundry room/mud room with outside entrance is also just steps from the kitchen. Custom kitchen cabinets with solid surface tops and a full complement of stainless appliances from refrigerator, double ovens to microwave and dishwasher, make meal preparation a pleasurable time. The cook is never shut away from the action, and the family is never far from the food! A native-stone masonry fireplace anchors one end of the great room, and the home’s vaulted ceilings only add to the hominess. The interior is a wood-lover’s dream, with wood floors and tongue and groove ceilings accented with beams for that rustic, country look. Interior décor includes paint colors borrowed from the natural outdoor palette of grey-greens, accented with natural wood trim. On the lower level, a second living area and game room anchor one end of the spacious, daylight basement with many windows and access to the outside. Another bedroom and full bath complete this level. Reach the home from Clayton by taking Highway 441 North through Dillard. Turn right on Highway 246 and travel four miles to caution light. Turn right onto Old Mud Creek Road, continue right onto Sky Valley Way, the resort entrance, then right onto Ridgepole Drive. 1690 is on your right. If you’re ready to move on up to the good life on top of the world, check out MLS #8714800. Contact Poss Realty Agent Sarah Branch at 404-788-6884, or at the office at 706-746-5962.
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Details. Authenticity. Livability, on Murray Cove Road By John Shivers
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tanding proud and beautiful on one of Lake Burton’s most sought-after home locations, the New England Cape Cod custom home at 5057 Murray Cove Road is a study in hues of gray and white James Hardi® shakes and horizontal siding, Pella® windows, brick wainscot, native stone, and architectural shingles.
The result, thanks in large part to the home’s creator, is a house as eye-stopping as it is comfortable and inviting. The finished product is a work of art within itself, which testifies to the talents of the home’s owner, who just happens to be a retired home designer and renewed artist, with over 35 years of experience. The extras found in this home that was a labor of love are so numerous, it’s difficult to know what to tout first. When the homeowners found the .73± acre lot with its unique configuration, the designer had to bring every talent she possessed into creating a home that would marry seamlessly to the site. As a result, the owners built backwards. First, was the two-car garage, with the spacious apartment above that serves today as the guesthouse and artist studio. The lakefront boathouse was
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next, still incorporating the architectural integrity of the three-part master plan. Last was the main house, and when it was complete, all who saw it went, “WOW!” The five bedrooms, plus a loft area and four and one-half baths aren’t unique for many lake properties. But in this case, these basic amenities in the home in a cove are only the beginning, a palette of details and accents that make this house a home, and the home a comfortably functioning work of art. Within the 2,652± square foot home – there’s also half that much square footage± again in the environmentally conditioned unfinished basement – ceilings of ten feet and more crown rooms finished with such top drawer elements as: shiplap walls and ceilings… wood flooring and eight-foot five-panel Craftsman doors throughout… expansive custom kitchen cabinetry with lighted glass uppers, a 72 square foot marble-topped kitchen island. Wolf® 48-inch professional range, double ovens, and microwave, subzero refrigerator, JennAir® wine cooler and Kohler® porcelain farm sink. The home’s baths include Restoration Hardware elements, top of the line fixtures with all the imaginable amenities, more custom cabinetry, and marble floors. There’s a walk-in tiled laundry room with ironing board, and an environmentally conditioned clothes closet. All bedrooms have remotecontrolled ceiling fans. The latest in spray foam insulation, state-of-the-art Internet accessibility, remote controlled thermostats and indoor/outdoor lighting, and security surveillance cameras only enhance the home’s livability potential. All of the structures enjoy breathtaking lake views. The adjacent two-story guest house that sleeps four includes an 835± square foot apartment over a 728± square foot two-car environmentally conditioned garage that’s deep enough to store a boat. Finishes are complementary with the main house. Built on two levels, the two-stall 1,792± square foot boathouse continues the overall architectural theme and has automatic boat lifts. Up top is an open-air entertainment area with Internet access, kitchenette, and the promise of some great party opportunities. Be sure to note the distinctive New England-inspired cupola topped with a fish weather vane. A 10 kW propane generator supplies backup power to all three structures. The main house, the ultra-private outdoor brick patio with fireplace, and the boathouse have networked music. Brick and stone walls surround the property that extends for approximately a half acre up the mountain behind the house. If a three-dimensional work of art would work for your next home, contact Agent Julie Barnett at Harry Norman, REALTORS® Luxury Lake and Mountain at 404-697-3860 or at the office, 706-212-0228.
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Adventure Out Siler Bald, N.C. By Peter McIntosh
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n this adventure we’re revisiting a mountain top I first wrote about in the summer of 2007. Our destination is Siler Bald, just across the state line in North Carolina. This is one of my favorite hikes because the trail is a nice gentle ascent, except for the last 1/4 mile, and the views from the top are unparalleled. We get to the top of Siler Bald by hiking a couple of miles on the Appalachian Trail. From the trailhead at the Wayah (pronounced why-a) Crest picnic area, you ascend through the picnic area. There are men’s and women’s privies located here. A short distance past the picnic area, this lead trail intersects the Appalachian Trail and a road bed. Look for the AT (2 X 6 inch white) blazed trail ascending at some steps and continuing gently upward in a southwesterly direction. In about ¼ mile the trail turns to the right, crossing over a small bridge consisting of two split logs and from there begins to climb, still gently, moving westward along the north side of the mountain. At ½ mile, there’s a nicely flowing pipe spring on your left. The trail continues westward and upward through a stand of beautiful hardwoods with numerous varieties of wildflowers
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adding a splash of color to the forest floor. Slowly the footpath begins turning to the left and soon your traveling eastward along the spine of a ridge. The trail moves off the spine to the south side of the ridge and continues, still eastward and almost level now, before coming to a grassy opening (a wildlife food plot maintained by the forest service) with a side trail on your right ascending moderately to the top of the mountain. Across the open area, the AT continues southward for 4 miles before crossing U.S. 64 at Winding Stair Gap. There is also a blue blazed trail which descends about 4/10 of a mile to the Siler Bald Shelter with a privy and a spring. For us it’s onward and upward to the top of the mountain. This spur trail is also part of the grassy food plot so you’re out in the open as you ascend. The higher you go, more and more of the spectacular scenery comes into view. And since many birds love the edges between forest and open areas, this hillside is a great place for birdwatchers. Stopping to admire one our feathered friends is a great way to catch your breath without admitting you may be slightly out of shape. A little further, a little further, whew, Siler Bald, 5,216 feet above sea level. So, with our heart rates back to normal, let’s look around. (a compass and a Nantahala National Forest Map would be fun to have at this moment) The mountain just to the north with the antennas is Wayah Bald, the lake below you to the west is Nantahala Lake with Hickory Knob behind it. To the east is the town of Franklin, you can see it at night, and the Cowee Mountains. To the south you can see Albert Mountain, Ridgepole Mountain and Standing Indian. This is a great spot to stay and watch the sunset and hike out in the twilight with the aid of a headlamp. Happy Hiking! And now here I goem with an April poem: As the springtime unfolds, what could be finer, Than a mountaintop hike in North Caroliner. A nice gentle ascent, along the AT, To spectacular views, a wonder to see.
A gifted photographer, great conservationist and outdoorsman, Peter McIntosh was a natural choice to write our Adventure Out column. We are extremely grateful to have Peter in our magazine. He is a very kind and caring fellow using his talents to help many local charities. To see more of Peter’s photos or if you have a question or comment: www.mcintoshmountains.com
Getting there: From U.S. 441 and U.S. 64 in Franklin, go west on U.S. 64 for just less than 4 miles and turn right at a sign that reads LBJ Job Corps. Almost immediately after that right turn, go left on N.C. 1310, just past Loafer’s Glory convenience store. There’ll be another sign for the Job Corps facility. Go a little over 9 miles up to Wayah Crest where the AT crosses the road. Just past the trail crossing, look for a road on the left leading to the parking area for the Wayah Crest Picnic Area.
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Hitt the Outdoors
The Amazing Appalachian Trail By Joel Hitt
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ecently it occurred to me, I’ve been writing nature stories for the Laurel magazine coming up on two years. In that period I do not recall mentioning the AT at any point. That omission probably is related to surgery I had that prevented me from doing much walking... anywhere, much less on the AT. Now, I’m ready to go! So, just after the new year began, I decided to take my dog to walk a couple of hours on the AT, and I want to talk about that. But first, here is preliminary information on the AT historically. The Appalachian National Scenic Trail was initiated by a forester, Benton MacKaye, in 1922 (notice the century point approaching). The trail was officially completed in 1937. To support the Trail, the Appalachian Trail Conference was formed and still exists today. The AT stretches uninterrupted from Mount Katahdin in Maine to its endpoint at Springer Mountain, Georgia. The trail terminates (or begins...your choice!) on the border of Fannin and Gilmer counties. Of course, we all hear of the “through-hikers,” those stout folks who hike all the way “through” from Georgia to Maine. My respect goes out for these folks. But by far, most users of the AT are day-hikers, with many overnight or weekend hikers. The easiest way to gain exposure to the AT, if you don’t care to go solo, is to find a group to hook up with. If you have some interest in identifying plants, trees, and animals, consider some of the excellent groups you can hook up with: Georgia Forest Watch, Georgia Native Plant Society, Georgia Botanical Society, to name some groups I have the highest respect for. The AT is a marvelously maintained trail that enables us to observe the interconnections of species. In the more humanpopulated areas, we have damaged these relationships, and the ecological setting they require to be sustained. When I go off on a hike, I am reminded of what we can do to help repair some of the damaging effects nature has incurred from the human population. Sometimes sheer overpopulation of humanity can be and is damaging to the natural world. But also humans in smaller numbers can be damaging to nature by how they choose to use their space. A good walk along the AT can be a call for us to take home some ideas and reintroduce them to our own areas where we live. My little hike with Brady in early January came about when I heard and saw lots of announcements, ads, and chatter, about looking forward to “the coming of Spring!” What? We had hardly finished the holiday season! I felt like that message, overdone, is not healthy for our psyche. It’s almost as though we have to “endure” the current winter season (in Georgia, mind you!) and wait patiently for Spring before we can be active again! What a horrific message, I thought! Suddenly I realized what I needed to
Brady at the AT trailhead. He’s about as stiff as the rock to his left. He’s already seen the AT waiting for him, and he’s raring to go!
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do! Break out, that’s what! So in the second week after New Years, I turned to Brady and gave him an offer he could not refuse: “Wanna go out in the truck and go on a hike?” Brady, hears that sentence as, “Wanna go....truck.... hike?” All of these are trigger words, after which he is ecstatic, with his border collie legs acting as four bouncy springs. He won’t settle down until I open the front door for him to dash to the truck, leaving me behind. And yet, I hold the keys. This outing was terrific, despite an overcast and slightly foggy morning with a temperature in the mid-30’s. We did an outand-back in about two hours, starting from the trailhead of the AT on US 76 (on the Rabun/Towns county line) hiking north. When I returned to the vehicle with Brady, I had an “exercise high,” and I got to see a score of my favorite trees, boulders, and winter overlooks. The absence of leaves opens up the forest nicely for more distant views. Cost of admission: $0.00! Outlook toward Spring: “Eh! It will get here soon enough, but let’s live through everything that winter has to offer first!
This is the best opening for looking east toward the peaks back in Rabun.
And one other statistic of the morning was amazing to me. “Number of hikers seen during our two-hours out-andback:” Zero! I couldn’t believe it! Only my dog and I were out there in the wonders of nature the second week of the new year. I thought, “Those folks heard an announcer saying little phrases like: “Rain possible,” “stay inside,” “bundle up.” So that is my story of how Brady and I went out on the AT the second week of January and had an inspiring hike full of one event after another, ending up with each of us relaxed and at peace. But out of a sense of honesty, I should add that I did feel quite cold on the outside...however, I felt very very warm on the inside! To contact Joel, 404-784-6346, or email him at joelhitt@gmail.com
Winter is a good time to practice tree ID by tree bark alone. You can’t cheat by peeking at the leaves! This is the common Northern Red Oak, common at this latitude only above 2000 ft.
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Spring Vaccination Clinic May 2, 2020 9am – 12pm By Stephen Mark Arbitter DVM, Rabun Animal Hospital
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et’s get our pets protected. The volunteers and staff at Rabun Paws 4 Life have worked hard to make this service available twice a year. Having participated myself in rabies clinics for 27 years, from vet school to the present, Rabun Paws 4 Life staff and volunteers have made this biannual clinic one of the most efficient, safe and cost effective I have ever seen. While the states of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina require only rabies, for many boarding and grooming facilities the USDA requires additional vaccines. This clinic offers not only the rabies, but also other core vaccines. Let’s all work to make Rabun County a safe and pet friendly community. The Spring Vaccination Clinic will be held May 2nd from 9am – 12pm at the Rabun County Arena at 100 East Boggs Mountain Road, Tiger, Georgia. For more information call the shelter at 706-782-5422. Visit our shelter at 261 Boen Creek Road, Tiger, GA 30576. Call us for information, or to report lost/missing/found animals in Rabun County 706-782-5422. Donations for the care of our animals are always appreciated. Mail to PAWS 4 Life – PO Box 216, Clayton, GA 30525
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By the Way... Seeing Eye to Eye with A Pig By Emory Jones
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eople who know my pet pig, Cunningham, know he is very civic-minded. For a pig, I mean. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when he trotted up a few weeks ago toting a little brochure from the Saginaw School for Seeing Eye-Pigs.
Cunningham relocated the smell of those pig pellets and headed towards the feed mill with Otis still valiantly trying to keep up. I felt sorry for Otis because outBecoming a seeing eye pig has long been one of running a pig is harder than people think. Plus, it had to hurt Cunningham’s dreams. However, a recent trip to Cherokee when he banged into that temperature sign at the bank. had inadvertently depleted the funds I’d put back for his By the time I caught up with everybody, the pig pellet truck was continuing education. Still, it’s hard to put a pig off, so leaving, and Cunningham was pulling Otis around in a circle instead of telling the truth, I convinced him a do-it-yourself while the poor man kept fishing in his pants pocket for one of the mail order course would be a much better option. piggy treats he keeps there for Cunningham. That puzzled me. Since he could board at home, he agreed. So, we made a little harness out my wife, Judy’s, umbrella, the tablecloth and some old bailing wire. Cunningham and I practiced hard, with him leading me around the yard blindfolded. That didn’t end well, but once the meds they gave me at the emergency room kicked in, everything soon got back to normal.
“Why are you giving Cunningham a treat,” I asked? “He liked to have killed you.” “Treat, my petunias,” said Otis! “I’m just trying to get him to hold still long enough for me to kick his butt!” I couldn’t keep from laughing because Cunningham still had one of that camper lady’s hair-curlers dangling from his ear.
For his final exam, I decided to give Cunningham a “real world” experience. My cousin, Otis, can see fine, but he’s been blind drunk enough that I thought he’d be a good candidate for the test, so we picked Otis up and headed for town. At first. Cunningham led Otis up and down the sidewalk like a pro. Then the breeze shifted, and, as I explained to the Sheriff’s deputy, that’s when Cunningham caught wind of the peppermint flavored pig pellets they were unloading over at the feed mill on Cemetery Street. Quicker than you can say greased pig, Cunningham broke into a sprint. Since Otis had inadvertently caught his hand in the bailing wire, he had no choice but to sprint along, too. Now Cunningham suffers from dichromatic colorblindness—he gets that from his mama’s side—so he was unable to tell the cross-walk light was red, and so, dragged poor ole Otis into on-coming traffic. A big-rig waiting to turn left blew his air horn just as a pickup pulling a camper slammed on the breaks behind him. When a bewildered woman wearing curlers opened the camper door to see if they’d arrived at Unicoi, Cunningham panicked and dragged Otis inside that camper with her. A whole lot of shaking went on, but I guess the lady’s husband didn’t notice. Because when the light turned green, he hit the gas. As I said in my written statement, that’s when the lady pushed them out the door with her broom. For the record, it was a very big broom for a camper that small.
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I skipped by Prince and Rosalie’s house, slowing down in case my friend Anita, who lived next door, was outside. Prince was old as dirt and sat on the porch looking off into space. Mrs. Rosalie sat beside him with her face squished up like a dried apple, her disapproval of me apparent even from the road. For what, I was never sure. It was probably because I would ask to use her phone when I was playing at Anita’s house and wanted to see if I could stay longer. Anita didn’t have a phone so Flora, her mother, would tell me to go over and use Rosalie’s. I’d climb the rickety steps and give a little wave to Prince. I’d knock on the screen door and Mrs. Rosalie would stand there looking at me, her mouth turned down, her nose crinkled like she smelled something bad. “Yes?” she’d say without opening the door. Lordy, I hated to even ask, but in my most polite voice I would say, “Um, could I please use your phone to call my mama?” She’d stand there unmoving, thinking about it. Finally, she’d sigh real loud at the huge inconvenience I was causing her, unlatch the door and point to the black phone on the little table in the hall. I was always sure not to touch the lace doily underneath and tried to not take up too much space in her miniscule house. Still, somehow, I always managed to disappoint Mrs. Rosalie. One time she told me my shoelaces needed attention. She said this in a manner that implied I wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Sure enough, I looked down and one of my sneakers had come untied. It was dirty and rebellious in contrast to my other shoelace that was tied in a neat, crisp bow.
Life in Tiger, 1972 By Liz Alley Barnett
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hen I was a little girl and the days were hot and long, when the attic fan daddy had installed in the hallway was not pulling enough air to cool our little house, I’d set out through the back of the house, the screen door slamming behind me, walking with purpose to Ed Roane’s store. How old was I then, seven or eight? Young I know, back when in Tiger, Georgia the only requirement for kids to wander around town was to tell their mama where they were going and to be home before dark. I crossed the backyard and jumped the creek that led to Daddy’s garden. I passed by big stalks of corn and twirly vines of cucumbers. Sometimes, if he wasn’t being too lazy, Ole Blue, our hound dog, would come with me on my jaunts. Ole Blue had a bad reputation; he was ornery and he even snapped at my Granny Garland one time, with her as sweet as the day is long. Ole Blue bit most anybody that came in our yard that he didn’t know, sometimes the ones he did know as well. One time Sheriff Chester York pulled up in the yard and called for Daddy to come outside. I wondered if Daddy had hit the sauce too much the night before and got into some kind of trouble. All of us kids were draped over our furniture like a pack of cats and jumped up to stick our faces in the panes of the picture window. The front door was open and we could hear everything Sheriff York was saying. “Jack, Ole Blue done gone and bit somebody and they came up to the jail to tell on him,” he said. “Who was it?” Daddy asked. Sheriff York said “Well, it don’t matter who, and you know this ain’t the first time.” Daddy stayed quiet. “I reckon this time you need to tie him to a tree for ten days, maybe that’ll teach him he can’t just go around biting everybody.” Daddy said okay and that was that. He took a rope and tied Blue to the tree that held the tire swing in our side yard, while he and Sheriff York discussed if the fish were biting on Burton. Ole Blue acted like he could care less and flopped down in the dirt, not the grass, just to show how little it all meant to him. As soon as Chester was out of sight, Daddy said “ y’all go on and untie him” and we did. So, although I loved Blue, I wanted him to behave and not get us into any trouble. I glanced down at him barely trotting beside me, his long tongue dangled like he was going to pass out from thirst. I noticed all the ticks on him sucked up like brown marbles all over his back. I’d have to tell my sister Lynn and we’d get our sticks and try to get some of them off, even though it was near impossible.
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As I approached Anita’s house, I looked for her dog, Minnie Pearl. I’d need to jump on Blue’s back if we saw Minnie Pearl and she commenced to barking, cause Blue would surely want her to know he was boss of Blair Street, actually of Tiger in general, dog wise. I didn’t see Minnie Pearl or Anita, so Ole Blue and I continued up the road. I hoped Mrs. Effie wasn’t sitting on her porch today, she could be a little irritable but mostly she was nice to me. She was definitely not a fan of Ole Blue. Mr. Gordon, her husband, was very sweet and I heard the sound of his hoe hitting the dirt in his garden and looked over to see the top of his hat moving slowly between the rows of corn. At Mr. J.D. and Mrs. Mary’s house I paused on the sidewalk as Mrs. Mary banged out “Count Your Many Blessings” on her piano. The front door was open and I could see her feet pumping the pedals as she played. Mrs. Mary’s music made me think of Mr. Frank, our song leader at church who lived up the street. I liked Mr. Frank. He was loud and boisterous and one Sunday, when he held his arms up for us to stand, his pants hit the ground. He just smiled, pulled them up and kept right on going. I guess it was a blessing he wore boxers. I didn’t have any money, so Blue and I took a right and went over to Tiger Elementary where I’d go to school one day. Right now, I went to Lakemont, but when I made it to 5th grade, I
could walk to school and not have to catch the bus to Lakemont. I thought about this for a minute. I’d sure hate to leave Mrs. Lassie, my first-grade teacher; she gave me a dime for learning to count to one hundred. I wouldn’t hate to leave Mrs. Eller who gave out paddlings so easy.
didn’t pay me any mind. Finally, I walked over and knocked him with my foot. He looked up at me with his big, droopy eyes so red they looked like they were going to fall out of the sockets and I took this to mean that he was sorry. I sat beside him and ate the ridge off the Reese cup. Then I ate the top chocolate off but not the bottom, it was too thin. I plopped the rest in my mouth, let it melt and then I washed the whole thing down with a chug of R.C. When I finished, I took the bottle back into Roane’s and Mr. Ed gave me another nickel. I put this one in my shoe to save for later. “Life sure was good,” I thought.
At the baseball field by the school, I checked the ditches for coke bottles to turn in so I’d have money to spend at Roane’s Store. I got lucky and between the bushes were at least five bottles, that’d be enough for a Reese and an R.C. Cola. “Gosh,” I started thinking as I put the bottles in the pouch I’d made from my shirt, “do I want a Reese or do I want some Golden Flake I wanted to take “the new road” home, but I wasn’t supposed to potato chips?” I’d have to think about that. do that, too many cars could hit me my mama said. So, I headed At the store, which took me a while to get to because I kept back down Blair Street, but this time I cut across my Aunt Ellie having to stop and shore up my shirt with all the bottles, I Blair’s backyard, since our driveway and hers connected. At the walked in the back door, past the big ring of hoop cheese and top of the hill I heard a train whistle. There’s no train in Tiger so the fly strip above it full of flies, to the front counter where I sat I knew what that meant. It was time for Petticoat Junction and I the bottles down. “Well lookie here,” Mr. Ed said, “looks like could hear the train coming down the track from the T.V. in our you’ve been a bottle huntin’.” I shook my head yes. “Well now,” house. I started to skip, the sugar from the Reese and the R.C. in Mr. Ed counted, “five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, thirty.” full effect. Ole Blue even picked up his pace when he saw we He counted a nickel for each bottle and I nodded my head were close to home. again. “Alright then, put ‘em back yonder in the case,” and I hauled them to the back. Then, I stepped on the crate beside the drink cooler and opened the door. I leaned in with my feet dangling in midair. I reached past the Orange Crush and The Grapette to the R.C. Cola. I jumped off the crate and clicked the lid off with the opener attached to the side. I went to the big glass candy cabinet and talked out all the choices in my mind. “Should I get penny candy instead?” I wondered. Gosh, I didn’t know. Finally, when I could stand it no longer I got the Reeses, my favorite. I walked over to the counter and showed them both to Mr. Ed. “All right then honey,” he said. As I left the store, I heard him singing, “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should.” Mr. Ed didn’t smoke, he just liked singing that. Outside, Ole Blue was waiting. He was in the shade licking his…well, you know what, and I said, “stop that Blue!” But he
Inside, my brothers and sisters: Chip, Lisa, David and Lynn were laying shoulder to shoulder on the floor. Lynn jumped up and we commenced to walking on Chip, Lisa and David’s backs and then their butts where we’d do the twist. They’d giggle and moan and tell us which direction to go. On this day, in Tiger, Georgia, all was right with the world.
Liz Alley was born and raised in Rabun County in the city of Tiger. She loves to write. She is an interior designer specializing in repurposing the broken, tarnished, chipped, faded, worn and weathered into pieces that are precious again. She is the mother of two daughters and one granddaughter. She divides her time between her home in Newnan and Rabun County.
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Radiators, Embalming Fluid and High Speed Chases: Moonshining in Rabun County By Dick Cinquina
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oonshining is Rabun County’s oldest industry. And at one time it probably was the county’s largest. Rabun County also held the distinction of being the moonshine capital of Georgia.
85 gallon still in Warwoman
Poverty has been a fact of life in mountainous Rabun County throughout much of its history. The Depression of the 1930s made the problem of rural poverty even worse. Distilling whiskey out of corn or apples was a way for subsistence farmers to make badly needed money. For many, moonshining was an economic necessity. It became a way of life. Every Hollow Had a Still Moonshining was concentrated in the remote Persimmon area of western Rabun County and near the Chattooga River in the county’s eastern reaches. However, an investigator for the Rabun Sheriff’s Department said in a 2000 interview, “There is not a hollow in this county where there hasn’t been a still at some time in the past and some of them have stills now.” And consider a resident’s recollection in a Clayton Tribune article about moonshining. “In 1952, I was a senior at college and taking a chemistry class. When we got to the chapter on distillation, the professor said, ‘Everybody from Rabun County is dismissed from this chapter. They already know more about it than anybody else.’ ”
A small still could produce five to 10 gallons of whiskey from one load of mash. But some industrial-size stills were active in the area. A 1973 newspaper article read: “A 4,320-gallon still full of mash was dynamited by Cutting down a still on Black’s Creek, Mountain City law enforcement agents from Georgia and North Carolina on Tuesday…the officers set five explosive charges around the apparatus and blew it up… The still beer created a small stream of smelling suds as it flowed through the woods.” Radiators and Embalming Fluid Many old-timers took pride in the whiskey they made. But a lot of the stuff was undrinkable if not dangerous. In a 2004 Clayton Tribune article, a retired revenue agent said he never saw a still that did not use a car radiator, during a career in which he shut down hundreds of stills between 1969 and 1979. Your car’s radiator is filled with antifreeze. It is toxic. In addition to the problem of lead poisoning due to soldered parts in homebrew stills, the greatest danger is what went into the liquor. Embalming fluid, rubbing alcohol, wood alcohol, paint thinner, formaldehyde and bleach are a few of the extra ingredients that have been detected in Rabun County moonshine. Noted Rabun County moonshiner Semmie Free, commenting two decades ago on the then-current state of whiskey-making said, “The don’t make nothin’ right no more…all this old stuff they make it out of now, hell, it’d kill a snake.” Deputy Harley McCall with moonshine still
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Fruit Jar Station Fruit jars were commonly used for bottling moonshine. To give law enforcement clues about who was moonshining, merchants were required to report large sales of Mason jars and sugar, a key component of whiskey making. A Clayton grocer reported that prior to this requirement in the 1950s, nearly two-thirds of his business involved jars and sugar. Oral history has it that large quantities of Mason jars typically were unloaded at the train depot in the tiny village of Tiger. It might be coincidental but Tiger was dotted with apple orchards, and apples were used for making moonshine brandy. Whatever the reason, the Tiger depot was commonly known as Fruit Jar Station. Fast Cars and Helpful Neighbors The relationship between Rabun County moonshiners and law enforcement was generally benign. In fact, it seems that moonshiners routinely expected to be caught. A state agent quoted a county moonshiner as saying, “My job is making liquor. Your job is to catch me.” But this is not to say that moonshiners did not run. They did. In fast cars. Many of the cars used by haulers or runners were 1939 and 1940 Fords. They were known to be fast and were souped up to make them faster. It was said that some Fords could hit 150 miles per hour in second gear. Neighbors were helpful in protecting runners by watching out for the law. In a 1973 interview, a moonshiner said, “If I was coming through Persimmon and the law was after me, they (neighbors) heard me coming. The families got out and would pull cars in the road to block them (the law).”
Furnace made of rock and red clay
High-Speed Chases Police chases could get exciting. In 1955 Sheriff Lamon Green and Deputy Fay Blalock chased a runner speeding down a road to South Carolina. Queen shot the rear tire of the fleeing car, but it kept going. When the driver realized the sheriff was not stopping at the South Carolina state line, the female passenger started throwing fruit jars filled with moonshine out the window. One tire on the sheriff’s car was badly cut but Queen kept going, dodging the flying jars. The chase ended 15 miles into South Carolina at a police blockade. In another memorable chase, Sheriff Queen and his deputy stopped a truck loaded with moonshine at the traffic light on Clayton’s Main Street. The deputy jumped onto the running board of the truck to take the key out of the ignition. However, the driver sped off, knocking the deputy off the truck. The ensuing high-speed chase down Warwoman Road came to an abrupt halt when the truck came to a screeching stop, causing the sheriff to rear-end it. The runner took off, leaving the sheriff behind in his wrecked car. The sheriff commandeered a passing taxi and took off after the whiskey runner. Dust from the road made it difficult to see a logging truck traveling in the opposite direction. The taxi collided with the logging truck, ending the chase at that point. However, the runners were captured later that day in the Sky Valley area with 480 gallons of moonshine.
Sheriff Luther Rickman, Deputy Harley McCall
Widespread moonshining is a thing of the past, but it remains a legacy of Rabun County. So the next time you top off your radiator or fill your Mason jars with strawberry preserves, pause to remember a colorful chapter in the county’s history. Learn more about our history by becoming a member of the Rabun County Historical Society. Membership and complete information about the Society are available at www.rabunhistory.org. Our museum at 81 N. Church St. in Clayton is open 10-2 every Monday and Friday and admission is free. You also can visit us on Facebook. The Society is a not-for-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, making your membership dues and donations fully tax deductible.
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The Gift of Twins by Tracy McCoy
T
here are many bonds that one will never understand unless they’ve experienced them. I think you would agree that you don’t understand the love of a mother unless you have children, you don’t understand a marital bond unless you are married and you’ll never understand twins unless you are one. A bond like none other, twins are deeply connected. Perhaps it is a soul connection that normal siblings don’t have. I cannot explain it, even science struggles to understand what happens when two babies share the same womb. It is unusual to have multiple sets of twins in a school classroom in any given year. In 1952, the Clayton Elementary School second grade class had six! Yes, six sets of twins. The photo here shows these six sets of twins and I am sure some of you know these folks. I recently sat down with “the Mitchell twins”, today known as Beverly Mason and Marilyn Ballew. Stories were told of the mischief these two got into that regular sisters could not have pulled off, and many times they would exchange a grin and quit talking. An inside story not available for print, I assumed. Bev was born first weighing 8 lbs 2 oz and one minute later little 6 lb Marilyn followed. They were the youngest of the eleven children born to Rockaway and Elzia Mitchell. After their birth their father, told Doc Dover, “when they start coming two at a time, it’s time to quit.” To say that Bev and Marilyn are close is a gross understatement. Like most twins one knows what the other is going to say before they say it. “We just know, we can look at each other or nudge with an elbow or exchange a nod and Marilyn knows exactly what I am thinking.” Bev said. “It’s like we always had our own language.” Marilyn added. Identical twins, the Mitchell girls grew up wearing the same clothes and being mistaken for the other quite often. When that worked to their advantage, they certainly used it.
Beverly and Marilyn
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When it came time for them to learn to drive and get their licenses, Bev was ready but Marilyn was not. They had an older brother who was living in Michigan and working in the auto industry like so many other Rabun County men did. He offered to buy the girls a good used car and bring it to them, which he did. A 1960 Pontiac Catalina, white with blue interior. Bev went and took the driving test and got her license and when Marilyn wanted to take the car she just borrowed Bev’s license. Leaning in she told me “If I’d have been killed, they’d have buried Bev.” The two sisters are as close today as they’ve ever been. One knows what the other is thinking and I dare guess feels the others sorrows and joys as if they were their own. Their dad was a twin. He had a sister Roxie and there was another family member a couple generations later who had a set of twins. A very powerful story that these sisters shared was when Marilyn had her first child she had some serious complications during the birth, the physician at the time Dr. Crenshaw told Beverly and Marilyn’s husband “If she makes it through the night, we will transfer her in the morning.” Tears welling up in Beverly’s eyes as she told me this story all these years later is a testament to the seriousness of the situation and the deep bond between these two. The ambulance driver was Charlie Watts and he Back row L to R: Ronnie & Ruth Deal, Nancy and Nettie Dotson, told Bev, “You are doing to ride with us but you have to stay calm no matter what happens.” Dr. Crenshaw stayed in the Don and Vaughn Stancil, Middle row L to R: Alton and Alvin Owens, back with Marilyn pumping bag after bag of blood into her. George and Jim, Front row L to R: Marilyn and Beverly Mitchell Total in 24 hours they gave Marilyn 30 pints of blood. It was a and Martha and Mary Redden Sunday in September and leaf-lookers were trying to get back home to Atlanta while the ambulance raced south to save this mother’s life. When they arrived at the hospital Dr. Crenshaw had to ride back with Charlie to Rabun, leaving Bev with Marilyn. They were able to save Marilyn and her twin sister never left her side. Reader’s Digest published 8 Fascinating Facts about Twins and they had this to say “What sounds like kids’ babbling could actually be cryptophasia, a language developed between twins that only they can understand. Research published in the journal Institute of General Linguistics found that twin babies often use each other to learn vocabulary. The research estimates that up to 40 percent of twins create a private language.” This may lend itself to them having knowledge of what the other is thinking and about to say. They also said that twins bond in the womb, cuddling each other and are seen interacting with each other as early as 14 weeks. According to the article there has been a 76% increase in the natural birth of twins since 1980. They attribute that to women having babies in their 30s and even 40s. Maybe back when mothers were having 8 and 10 children the incidence of twins was greater for that reason they were older when they had them. Elzia Mitchell was 41 when her twins were born. We talked a bit about tendencies we are born with. For instance Beverly loves dogs and always has, where Marilyn doesn’t and never has. (See the photo of them in crib with puppies. Marilyn didn’t want anything to do with those puppies and Bev did.) Teacher and former school principal Peggy Pleasants Thrasher told of one set of twin boys she knew who attended the school she worked at. One of the boys excelled at math, while the other was very gifted in social studies. Well the school system thought it best to separate the boys by putting them in different schools. When the twin who struggled in math had a big test, he sent his brother in his place and the same was true for the one who was a social studies whiz, he took his brother’s test for him. It took school teachers and administration a while to figure the scheme out but it worked for the boys for quite some time. When this story was shared the Mitchell twins exchanged a knowing glance as if that was a tactic they may have been familiar with. Jane Thomason and her sister Jean Turk were twins born in 1942, the daughters of John and Vernice Taylor . The family lived in Jones County until the girls were 1 year old. Jean was born weighing 2 lbs 2 oz and Jane 2 lbs 1 oz. They joined a 5 year old sister Betty. The family moved to Clarkesville, Georgia in 1943. Growing up the girls could not be in the same class at school. The girls’ mother made their dresses from chicken feed sacks. The girls were close to the same size growing up, she would choose different colors and they shared. Jane was always a “Tom-boy” and liked to play sports like basketball and softball. She was chosen friendliest by her senior class. After high school Jane went on to North Georgia Technical School (NGTC) studying accounting. Her degree helped her obtain employment in some very reputable companies around Northeast Georgia. Those jobs allowed Jane to help her sister Jean obtain her college degree and fulfill her dream of being a teacher. The financial assistance that Jane offered her sister was just another example of the lengths one twin will go for another. A selfless and heartwarming gesture for sure. Jane spent the bulk of her time at Clarkesville Mill putting in 39 years before ending up working in the Rabun County Probate Court and the Rabun County Elections office.
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Jane & Jean Jane loved camping, fishing cooking and listening to Gospel music. She enjoyed cooking so much that while in school she won several awards in 4H for cooking. Jean on the other hand did not like to cook. The twins always took vacations together taking their children to places like Disney Land, the Amish country, the beach and more. Jean was diagnosed with cancer in 1989, losing her battle a decade later in 1999. In 1994 Jane began having some medical issues and sister Jean urged her to go to the doctor and have it checked out. “She saved my life by making me go”, said Jane, “because I had cancer too. I had surgery and praise God I am still alive. God has always looked after me and I am thankful.” Today Jane lives in the Wolfcreek community she has two grown sons and one beautiful granddaughter. Mary Lovell and Rose Shirley were born to Jeff and Maggie Holcomb in June of 1922. The girls were not identical twins but did favor in many ways. Mary was quiet and reserved and Rose was very outgoing. Both women worked hard and raised families. They were close like the majority of twins are. Rose and Mary had three other sisters and six brothers making for a large family. Mary and Rose each had six children, neither gave birth to twins but Mary had twin grandchildren. Karen and Keith Lovell were born on June 12, 1970 to Charles and Betty Jo (Bootsie) Lovell. The two were inseparable growing up. In fact in second grade the school suggested putting Keith and Karen in different classes. They did not do well apart so soon Bootsie went to the school and had the kids put back together where they remained until middle school. The twins always had a close connection. “When I went into labor with my son Rhett, Keith got his first kidney stone and had them again when I had my second son, Keaton.” Once Keith and his wife Collette were vacationing and were diving in the ocean. Keith’s eardrum burst. Karen, miles away at home in Rabun County and unaware of Keith’s eardrum, had one of the worst earaches she’d ever had. “If one of us is sick the other knows it cause we suffer too. We’ve always been very close. We could fight and argue but let someone else do something to one of us and they had us both to contend with.” Karen said.
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When the twins were born Charles was working night shift and so Bootie’s brothers (David, Kenneth, Bo or Ronnie) took turns about spending the night to help her with the babies. I talked with Charles about what raising twins was like and he said that he didn’t know until four hours before his twins were born that there were two. Bootsie didn’t know until Keith was born and the doctor said “Here comes another one.” “We had always said we wanted a boy and a girl and we got them both at the same time.” Charles said. When Keith got sick, Karen got it and visa versa. The kids slept with their parents, it was easier that way. Raising two at a time is challenging but a joy at the same time. “They always had each other and were very close.” Charles told me. “Everything we bought, we bought two of. It might be boxes of diapers or a truck and a doll, but one never got anything without the other.” The Lovell’s lives in a trailer park and the landlord put up clothes lines for each trailer. This family’s clothesline was full of diapers! “Keith would always give in to Karen, she figured out how to get what she wanted. Keith was the bigger of the two weighing in at 5 lbs 2 oz and Karen only 3 lbs. Bootsie Lovell would have fought a bear for her little ones. She was a fierce protector and loved her kids with every fiber of her being. The twins and Charles lost her last year and to say that this amazing wife and mom left a void is an understatement. Her love will always be in their hearts and pretty much to know Bootsie was to love her. She was one of a kind. Charles has always been a great father and continues to be part of Keith and Karen’s lives and those of his four grandsons. He would not trade the years he spent raising twins with Bootsie for all the world. Twins are a phenomenon that only Heaven truly understands. This article has made me more thankful for my sisters and brothers but secretly wish I’d had a twin. How would the world handle two Tracy’s? Maybe that’s why God didn’t gift my parents with twins.
Keith & Karen
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