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Suspect arrested in $40K mulcher theft

By
Joy Purcell
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An arrest has been made in the theft earlier this month of a heavy piece of machinery that was stolen from the side of I-985 in Hall County. The FECON mulcher head, valued at $40,000, was recovered Friday at property on Paddock Lane in Dawsonville just across from the suspect’s residence, according to Hall County investigators. The stolen equipment was returned to its owner on Friday, as well.

Photo of the man suspected of stealing a $40K mulcher from a worksite on the side of I-985 in Hall County. He was later identified as Richard Alvarez of Dawsonville. Deputies arrested him one week after the theft. (Photo: Dawson County Sheriff’s Office)

According to Hall County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer BJ Williams, a GPS tracker on the equipment pinged at the suspect’s address. Investigators issued an arrest warrant for 35-year-old Richard Jonathan Alvarez. He turned himself in at the Hall County Jail on Sunday, April 24, Williams says.

He’s charged with a single count of felony theft by taking.

Alvarez is accused of stealing the mulcher from the side of I-985 southbound at Falcon Parkway in Hall County on April 17. The owner told authorities he had been working in the area and stored the equipment on elevated forklifts.

The GPS tracker on the mulcher pinged at the Texaco Food Mart on War Hill Park Road in Dawsonville Sunday afternoon, April 17. The owner of the store was able to provide some still photos of the man officials referred to as a suspect along with equipment on a flatbed trailer.

On April 20, investigators began circulating the photos through social media along with a description of the suspect. Four days later, Alvarez was taken into custody. As of Monday morning, April 25, Alvarez remained in the Hall County Jail on a $27,700 bond.

 

Richard Hank Jones

By
Now Habersham
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Richard Hank Jones, age 71, of Lula, entered heaven Monday, April 25, 2022, at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Gainesville.

Richard was born April 23, 1951, in Gainesville to the late Tex & Violet Autry Jones. He was self-employed as a carpenter and loved working with wood. He was a member of Center Grove Baptist Church in Jackson County and was preceded in death by his wife, Bonnie Lavoie Jones; son, Lester Holmes; brother Royce Jones.

Left to cherish his memory, daughter, Bonnie (Randy) Abernathy; son, Michael (Cristy) Jones; daughters, Mechelle Martin & Kelly Holmes; grandchildren, Megan Jones, Jacob Jones, Mitchell Abernathy, Kaleigh Shuler, Skylar Abernathy, Jason Broome, Tyler Broome, Scott Morris, Darian Holmes, Alannah Holmes & Jonathan Holmes; 1 great-granddaughter, Londyn; sisters, Rosa Evans Smallwood & Gail Norrell; a number of other relatives also survive.

Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at the Center Grove Baptist Church with Mr. Randy Ragan officiating.

Please share online condolences with the family at www.wardsfh.com. Ward’s Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Richard Hank Jones. The family asks in lieu of flowers contributions would be appreciated to help them to offset expenses.

Pete Hughes

By
Now Habersham
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Pete Hughes, age 75, of Mt Airy, Georgia, passed away on Saturday, April 23, 2022.

Mr. Hughes was born on February 14, 1947, in Murphy, North Carolina. He was a son of the late Robert Lee Hughes and Julia Lee Hughes. He was a member of Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Commerce, Georgia, and was a retired Communications Contractor. Mr. Hughes was a veteran and served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam.

In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his sisters and brother; Christine Worley, Rebeca Worley, Ruth Hughes and Bruce Hughes.

Survivors include his loving wife of 40 years, Rhonda Haynes Hughes of Mt. Airy, Georgia; sons and daughters-in-law; Jody Glenn Hughes and Leah Ferguson Hughes of Baldwin, Georgia; Jason Alan Hughes and Leslie Henson Hughes of Blairsville, Georgia; Ross Allen Hughes and Brittany Pease Hughes of Alpharetta, Georgia; Justin Peter Hughes and Samantha Loggins Hughes of Cleveland, Georgia; daughter and son-in-law, Angela Nichole (Nikki) Nix and Raymond Nix of Blairsville, Georgia; grandchildren, Cori and Addison Hughes, Taylor Hughes Vonier and Dalton, Hannah and Hunter Hughes, Katie Nix Young and Jonathan, Kelsey and Karley Nix, Chandler and Abigail Hughes and Gage Hughes; great-grandchildren, Jenson, Judah and Ben Young and Vann Vonier; brother and sisters-in-law, Robert Lee (Bobby) Hughes and Loretta Hughes of Pinelog, North Carolina and Reba Hughes of Murphey, North Carolina; cousins, Diane O’Donohue Mattox and Rick O’Donohue; other relatives and friends.

Funeral services are scheduled for 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, in the Chapel of McGahee-Griffin and Stewart Funeral Home with Rev. Terry Rice and Rev. Blake Carter officiating. The service will be live-streamed on the Facebook page of McGahee-Griffin and Stewart Funeral Home.

The family will receive friends from 4-7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, at the funeral home.

Flowers are accepted or donations may be made to the following: Wounded Warrior Project at https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org Pete Hughes, age 75, of Mt Airy, Georgia, passed away on Saturday, April 23, 2022. or Disabled Veterans at https://secure.dav.org.

An online guest register is available and may be viewed at www.mcgaheegriffinandstewart.com.

McGahee-Griffin & Stewart Funeral Home of Cornelia, Georgia (706/778-8668) is in charge of arrangements.

25 NEGA student-athletes earn Positive Athlete honors

By
Now Habersham
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Twenty-five Northeast Georgia high school athletes have been selected as members of the 2021-22 class for Positive Athlete for the Northeast Georgia Region. Two area coaches – Lowell Hamilton of Tallulah Falls and Wesley Adams of North Hall – were also honored.

Franklin County High School was named Most Positive School.

Positive Athlete America, started by former UGA football player and Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward, awards scholarships to high school student-athletes based more on their character than their athletic performance. The organization seeks to recognize athletes who have overcome difficult circumstances, given back to their schools and communities, or manifest an infectiously positive attitude.

Positive Athlete Georgia has to date awarded more than $100,000 in college scholarships. Athletes or coaches are nominated by parents, coaches, teachers, administrators, or fans.

The Positive Athlete America website lists seven characteristics of a positive athlete that are considered for inclusion: an optimistic attitude, encouragement, servant leadership, a heart for others, admitting mistakes, giving 100% effort, and putting the team first.

Brian Carter of BLITZ Sports contributed to this report

Roads Less Traveled: R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

By
Tyler Penland
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Earth Day 2022 was celebrated this past Friday. A day dedicated to celebrating and protecting the beautiful planet we are so lucky to live on. For me, it has always been a day to hit the trail and take at least a short hike. With real life in the way, I was limited to just a very short hike along the Blue Ridge Parkway this year. Unfortunately despite the beauty around me, I saw something that made me angry: disrespect.

On the day of the year set aside to protect our planet, there were people destroying it instead. A group of obnoxious college students was tearing down limbs to throw off the beautiful rock face as well as tossing their own belongings (sports equipment) off the side as well. This place, perhaps my personal favorite in the world, was being disrespected by people who should know better.

If you spend enough time on the trails you will inevitably find these types of people; those who simply don’t care enough about the beautiful world we have to respect it. Whether it is litter, graffiti, or even walking off-trail over sensitive vegetation there are many things that are simply infuriating to lovers of nature.

Graffiti on a rock outcrop in Linville Gorge, NC

The “leave no trace” initiative is one I personally take seriously. When you head out into the woods leave it just like you found it, if not even a little bit better. I have gotten into the habit of taking a trash bag with me when heading out on popular trails to try and remove some of the litter that lines the edges of these places cherished by so many.

During the height of COVID, many trails and parks around the Blue Ridge Mountains were shut down due to the mass amounts of trash and damage being done by those who put no thought into their actions.

We could all stand to learn something from this, so let’s learn it from a bridge.

When the famed Blue Ridge Parkway was built back in the 1930s, one section remained unfinished until the 1980s. When engineers decided to build a bridge over the Linn Cove area of Grandfather Mountain they took special care to build the bridge in such a way it would not damage the surrounding areas any more than necessary. What resulted was an engineering marvel. Built from pre-assembled parts this bridge blends in with the mountain almost seamlessly, and its footprint is nearly nonexistent in the surrounding mountainside.

This bridge is what we should all be like: blending in seamlessly.

Despite my anger with the disrespect, the sunset didn’t seem to mind as it put on a dazzling show. The first touches of spring are just reaching the higher elevations of the Southern Appalachians, with dogwood blooms and red leaf sprouts tinging the brown trees.

So remember, next time you are out enjoying nature remember to “leave no trace”. As the bumper sticker says: respect your mother.

Have a great week, and perhaps I’ll see you on the trail.

GA Dept. of Labor to host Spring Resource and Job Fair

By
Now Habersham
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The Georgia Department of Labor will host a multi-employer spring resource and job fair for Hall, Hart, Banks, and Habersham counties on Thursday, April 28, 2022, from 12 pm until 3 pm. The event will take place at the Gainesville Career Center, 2756 Atlanta Highway Gainesville, GA 30504. Jobs will be available in several fields, including food service, retail, corrections, social services, healthcare, janitorial/housekeeping, factory and assembly work, direct caregivers, fire & water restoration services, and educational and community resources.

Over twenty companies are currently participating, with more expected to sign up. These include Kubota, Avita, Lee Arrendale State Prison, Goodwill, Koch Farms, Taco Bell, Sherwin Williams Distribution. Interested employers should register on employgeorgia.com.

Employers in need of assistance or wishing to confirm attendance should contact Kacy Simon at 770-718-2813 or [email protected].

Job seekers wishing to attend the event do not need to be registered ahead of time.

If inclement weather occurs, the Spring Resource and Job Fair will be rescheduled for Thursday, May 5, 2022, from 12 pm until 3 pm.

For more information about this event, email [email protected].

Habersham County School Board schedules called board meeting Tuesday

By
Joy Purcell
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The Habersham County Board of Education will hold a called meeting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, April 26 to discuss personnel.

The meeting will take place in the board meeting room at the Habersham Schools Administrative Office Building located at 132 Stanford Mill Road in Clarkesville.

Beryle Martin Clark

By
Now Habersham
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If you are reading this I guessed I kicked the bucket. How far I kicked it I don’t know, but I died on April 22, 2022.

I was born to Clifford and Betty on September 28, 1965, and was raised in Habersham County for the most part. I also lived in Galesburg, Illinois, and Greenwood, South Carolina.

I leave behind a husband, William Clark, of Alto, who was not always perfect, but he was perfect to me. He married me knowing I was sick when most men would look the other way, and did take care of me. What an amazing man!

I was blessed with two wonderful children: Jeffery Martin, of Statham and Heather Gallo Alarcon, of Eastanollee, and they gave me 6 amazing grandchildren: Christian, Celestino (CJ), Nevaeh (Legs), Jada (Bugzy), Serentiy (Sam) and Jaxon. My heart overflowed with love from them. Then, my daughter-in-law Nicola is a good egg, she knows I loved her too and Scott Antrim, who was considered a son.

And my family; brother, Ralph (Fonda) Martin is a good man and I loved him so, and I have Robert (Joanna) Martin, Malinda (Joe) Vetrano, Tiny Martin and Nita Martin who helped take care of me while I was sick. Judith (Len) Garrison and my niece (Des Head) Desteny Wallace and several nephews and a couple of nieces. Then the sisters who were not by blood, but were always sisters; Lori Cameron, Susie Wade and the late Olga Johnson. Most people are lucky to have one best friend, I was blessed with three.

Most of all I never lost my faith in our Lord, people, yes.

Private services will be held.

An online guest register is available and may be viewed at www.mcgaheegriffinandstewart.com.

McGahee-Griffin & Stewart Funeral Home of Cornelia, Georgia (706/778-8668) is in charge of arrangements.

Bobby Joe “Joey” Smelcer, Jr.

By
Now Habersham
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Bobby Joe “Joey” Smelcer, Jr., age 51, of Cornelia, Georgia passed away on Monday, April 18, 2022.

Mr. Smelcer was born on April 7, 1971, in Habersham County, Georgia to the late Bobby Joe Smelcer, Sr. and Peggy Maney Smelcer.

Survivors include his daughter, Makayla Smelcer; and son, Aaron Smelcer, both of Cornelia; sister and brother-in-law, Lisa and Todd Harper, of Cornelia; he is also survived by the mother of his children, Tina Kimberly Smelcer and her son, Austin Tench, of Commerce; and numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Monday, April 25, 2022, at the Whitfield Funeral Home, South Chapel with Rev. Terry Rice officiating. Interment will follow in the Yonah Memorial Gardens

The family will receive friends from 12:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., on Monday, April 25, 2022, prior to the service at the funeral home.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Whitfield Funeral Homes & Crematory, South Chapel at 1370 Industrial Boulevard, Baldwin, Georgia 30511. Telephone: 706-778-7123.

Michael Dale Murray

By
Now Habersham
-

Michael Dale Murray, age 59 of Demorest, Georgia went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, April 21, 2022.

Born in Demorest, Georgia on January 15, 1963, he was a son of the late JoAnn Carlan Taylor & Duncan Taylor. Dale was a graduate of Habersham Central High School, Class of 1981. He was a veteran, having served his country proudly in the United States Air Force. He worked as a cabinet installer for Pantherwood, Inc. with over 40 years of dedicated service. In his spare time, Dale was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed camping, fishing, and football. He also loved watching old Westerns, especially “Gun Smoke.” Most of all, Dale was a devoted husband, dedicated father, and devoted Papa. He was of the Baptist faith.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his grandparent, John & Magnolia Nix Carlan; aunts, Linda Abernathy, Manolia Bowden, & Myra Bohannon; & uncle, Jerry Carlan.

Survivors include his loving wife of 39 years, Sandy Webb Murray of Demorest, GA; daughters & sons-in-law, Candi Rae & Chris James of Demorest, GA; Kady Jo & T.J. Burgess of Anderson, SC; Mandy Green & Clay Cantrell of Mount Airy, GA; sister, Donna Murray Seay of Cornelia, GA; grandchildren, Conner Burgess, Bo Burgess, Madison Green, Haygen James, Meghan Green, Hailey Burgess, & Handley Rae James; mother-in-law, Gladys Webb of Mount Airy, GA; aunt, Arlene Whiting of Demorest, GA; several other relatives, & friends.

Funeral services are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Monday, April 25, 2022 at Hillside Memorial Chapel with Rev. Kenneth McEntire & Rev. Chad Parham officiating. Interment will follow in the Hollywood Baptist Church Cemetery with full military honors provided by the Grant Reeves Honor Guard.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. & 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Sunday.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that all donations be made in memory of Michael Dale Murray c/o Peach State Federal Credit Union, P.O. Box 1199, Cornelia, GA. 30531

An online guest registry is available at www.HillsideMemorialChapel.com

Arrangements by Hillside Memorial Chapel, Clarkesville, Georgia. (706) 754-6256

Starting new traditions in a new world

By
Jenna Shaw
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We had to create new Easter traditions for the first time in forty years. The question was, Where to start?

For many during the pandemic, most, if not all, family traditions were put on hold. Now, as we emerge from those circumstances, some of us are finding that new traditions have to be established.

For me, things will never be the same as it was before the pandemic. We have lost three family members and moved the matriarch of our family into an assisted-living facility. In the past, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas were always celebrated with a mass of people at my grandmother’s house. My grandmother, who has three daughters, married a man with five children. I think they officially lost count of all the grandkids and great-grandkids this year. And we never knew who else would be there, because Grandmother would invite those at church who had no place to go to join us. There was never a question of if we would celebrate with everyone . . . only what time we would do so.

Holidays that were once filled with extended family, special food, and grandma’s house are now over. On top of family members passing away, my grandmother’s house was sold. Our nuclear family has been forced to re-think and re-work how we celebrate and what traditions we want to pass on to new generations.

This Easter was our family’s first Easter in this brave new world. Grandmother’s Easter celebrations were special because of the people, the food, and the fellowship. (The forty years of children’s Easter Egg hunts didn’t hurt either.)

So, this year, while modeling our Easter after Grandmother’s, we added a new tradition that is uniquely ours. Our family’s first annual Easter Chopped competition was held this year.

“What is an Easter Chopped competition?” you might ask. Good question! Lucky for us, my brother and I married two people who love to cook. My brother purchased random ingredients (see list below) that my sister-in-law and husband were tasked with turning into delicious desserts for our enjoyment. And, yes, there was a prize (a chocolate bunny) to be awarded to the winner. The results were . . . interesting, bordering on good.

My sister-in-law, Yeisa Williamson, came out the winner after a false start. With two selections in the judging she took both first and last place. The deconstructed strawberry/raspberry cheesecake with trail mix crust was questionable at best but she received extra points for it because it looked good. While my husband, Benjie Shaw, made a beautiful cake layer cake which had a ton of ingredients added to it, he says, “Could have been better.” The winning dish was a hard-shell white chocolate bunny stuffed with ground up trail mix and brownie goo. While not all desserts were necessarily edible, good times were had by all.

This Easter was a great Easter; it was also a sad Easter. Hopefully next year will be just as great and a little less sad as we settle into our new traditions.

Everything Everywhere All at Once

By
Justin Hall
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I’ve been a film critic for almost 16 years, and in that span of time, I’ve seen all different kinds of movies. However, I don’t think I’ve seen anything that has left me simulatenously spellbound and baffled as Everything Everywhere All at Once. That’s unquestionably the most conventional thing I can say about it.

To call it audacious would be selling it short. To call it enigmatic would be selling it short. To call it unique and perplexing would be, well, you know. I could give anybody a test on this movie after they’ve seen it and they’d flunk every question and you know what? In this case, that’s to the movie’s strengths.

I’ve only seen it once, so I can’t say that I have it figured out, but I will take this test and hope to pass. But first, let me catch my breath.

The movie stars Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang, who owns a laundromat business along with her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan from The Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). They’re being audited by the IRS after failing to file their taxes correctly.

Once they arrive to sort the mess out with their auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis), Waymond’s consciousness is taken over by another entity known as Alpha Waymond and he tells Eveyln that there’s a multiverse which is created by choices humans make. Sadly, no multiple versions of Spider-Man show up.

The people who exist in this multiverse have learned something called “verse-jumping” which allows people to take the skills and memories of their other counterparts in these multiverses. Here’s where everything (no pun intended) goes loony.

Evelyn learns that the existence of the multiverse is being threatened by the presence of a woman named Jobu Tupaki (Stephanie Hsu). Tupaki has learned the ability to experience all universes at once.

Writer/directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinhert give us a series of bizarrely hilarious images including one universe where people have hot dogs for fingers, a raccoon that learns how to cook and even a sequence where two rocks have an existential conversation about the nature of reality and humanity. How does this figure into the plot? I don’t know and I don’t care.

About halfway through, I gave up attempting to make sense of any logical connections and allowed this movie to be an assault on my senses, but it was a welcome assault.

In an age where just about every movie flaunted on screen leaves us starving for imagination and originality, Everything Everywhere All at Once provides us with a three-course dinner and dessert.

The movie provides a genuine blast of kinetic energy with some outrageous and thrilling martial arts scenes and then blows our minds with some philosophical ideas that are sprinkled with irreverent humor. This has more laughs in it than any comedy I’ve seen in recent memory.

Now, I’ll ask that if you plan on seeing this movie and fail the test of understanding it, good. If you passed, you’ve disappointed me.

Grade: A

(Rated R for some violence, sexual material and language.)

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