In 2021, the electric vehicle market expanded substantially in Georgia. (stock photo)
Despite overall U.S. auto sales increasing just 3% last year, electric vehicle sales in the Southeast jumped 48%.
That’s one finding of an update to a report on electric vehicle transportation in the region.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy released the update last week.
The organization’s Stan Cross said Georgia ranks tops in the region for electric vehicle manufacturing jobs and charging development.
There are now 3,630 electric vehicle ports in Georgia, a 63% jump from last year.
“If you drive an EV in Georgia, you are having increased access to charging,” Cross said. “But that charging is typically centered in and around the metropolitan area.”
Cross said federal funding expected later this year could help expand charging development.
The report also highlights the recent pledge by electric vehicle maker Rivian to build a $5 billion manufacturing plant east of Atlanta, promising 7,500 jobs.
There already are 10,250 electric vehicle manufacturing jobs in Georgia, according to the report.
“Competition among Southeastern states for EV manufacturing investment and jobs is heating up,” Cross said. “State policymakers and regulators would be wise to enable the most robust EV market possible.”
Last year, Gov. Brian Kemp announced the establishment of the Electric Mobility and Innovation Alliance to help grow the electric mobility ecosystem in the state.
Despite these developments, the Southeast is still catching up with other regions of the country in terms of transportation electrification, Cross said.
Walter Avery Camargo, born on July 18, 2005, in Demorest, went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.
He is survived by his parents, Amanda D. Camargo of Clarkesville and Pedro Camargo of Demorest and grandparents, Joel and Josaphina Camargo of Demorest. He left behind many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
Avery was an amazing son who loved everything about life, especially his family and friends. He never met a stranger and touched everyone’s life in his own special way. Avery will be greatly missed.
A Spanish Funeral Mass will be held at 10 am, Thursday, March 17, 2022, at
St. Marks Catholic Church.
An English Funeral Service will be held at 2 pm, Thursday, March 17, 2022, in the Chapel of McGahee – Griffin and Stewart Funeral Home with Pastor John Conley and Rev. Kathy Nicholson officiating.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 12:30 until the service hour on Thursday.
Avery’s parents ask for everyone to find a way to celebrate his memory instead of sending flowers.
Those in attendance are asked to please adhere to the public health and social distancing guidelines regarding COVID-19.
Patricia Ann McFry, age 85 of Gilbert, Minnesota, went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, March 13, 2022.
Born in Saginaw, Michigan on January 09, 1937, she was a daughter of the late William & Ellen Jarvinen Sederlund. Patricia was a retired educator with over 20 years of dedicated service. She was an active member of Lakeland Baptist Church.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Harry McFry and was the last surviving member of her immediate family.
Survivors include her children, Trudy & Darryl Lundquist of Cornelia, GA; Joseph McFry of Gainesville, GA; David McFry of Gilbert, MN; 4 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren & great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at a later date in Gilbert, Minnesota with interment to follow in the Lakeside Cemetery in Biwabik, MN.
Georgia currently has no law providing all workers with paid leave to care for a new child, a seriously ill family member or for their own serious illness.
Many working Georgians do not have a single paid sick day from their employers, but that could change if House Bill 1517 passes.
Democratic legislators filed the bill on March 3, 2022, with the hope of creating the Georgia Family Insurance Act.
If passed, the act would create a family and medical leave insurance fund where both employees and employers jointly contribute, rather than putting the burden on employers alone.
Individuals could draw from this fund when they need time to care for a new child or in case of any family or medical emergency.
Women make up 48% of the state’s workforce, and they are nearly 12 times more likely than men to leave their jobs to care for children. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed even more people into caregiving roles that keep them from earning income.
The Georgia chapter of 9to5, National Association of Working Women is an organization that advocates for economic justice issues.
Director Mica Whitfield said the state needs policy solutions that strengthen the workforce because many women must make tough decisions between caregiving and returning to work.
HB 1517 is not only good for business but it’s also good for public health in general, she said.
“Georgia currently has no law providing all workers with paid leave to care for a new child, a seriously ill family member or for their own serious illness,” she said, noting that 80% of Georgia voters support an insurance plan to provide paid leave.
Nearly three in 10 workers in the South do not have a single paid sick day, Whitfield said.
Only about 43% of Black workers and 25% of Latino workers have access to any paid parental leave, and many people of color cannot afford to take advantage of the unpaid federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 even when eligible, said Ife Finch Floyd, the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’s senior economic justice policy analyst.
“The FMLA is only applicable for businesses with 50 or more employees, so some small businesses are not required to offer unpaid leave,” Floyd said. “There is also a requirement of 1,250 hours a year that an employee must work to qualify for FMLA leave, so some low-wage workers may not meet the hour requirement.”
Floyd said another piece of proposed legislation, House Bill 510, which is sponsored by five Republicans and one Democrat, would create a state earned income tax credit that would also support economic justice for women as well as families in the low-income demographic.
“We see this as a way to help families bolster their wages,” Floyd said. “It would lower their tax liability and ultimately make sure that they can target those wages to cover the essentials that they need for their family.”
Crossover Day, March 15, 2022, is the day any bills before the Legislature must pass the House or Senate to stand a chance of passing this session.
This article appears on Now Habersham in partnership with GPB News
The Habersham County Board of Education is scheduled to meet for their regular monthly meeting on Monday amid the county’s discussions of ESPLOST 6, which will be on the ballot this May.
The BOE will award the Peach State Credit Union’s “Extra Mile” and “Service Above Self” awards for school system teachers and staff that go above and beyond for students. They will also present their monthly school attendance trophies.
The board is scheduled to approve personnel recommendations as retirement announcements come in, which typically arrive as the county approaches the spring according to Superintendent Matthew Cooper.
At the Board of Education’s Thursday work session, the board and superintendent discussed the upcoming ESPLOST, and will likely continue their conversation as they move through their “community education and outreach” phase of their ESPLOST schedule.
Spring is full of blooming flowers, sunny days, and those cute, wobbly baby animals taking their first steps into the warm air. But those baby animals don’t start and stop with fawns, colts and lambs. Kittens start to “spring” up as the season changes, too.
Habersham County Animal Care and Control (HCACC) Director Madi Nix begs the community every year to spay and neuter their pets; it’s a simple surgery that saves dozens of lives. As the weather warms up, Nix and her staff start receiving multiple pregnant cats and sick, abandoned kittens for intake nearly every day.
“We beg every year,” Nix wrote in a Facebook post after processing multiple pregnant cats just last week. “Please do not wait until they become pregnant, have kittens, or the number of cats becomes overwhelming to you before action is taken. It’s overwhelming to us as well.”
HCACC in conjunction with Planned PEThood, a metro Atlanta nonprofit, have put on three free veterinary clinics for the community to help provide free and discounted spay and neuter to pet owners in Northeast Georgia. These clinics are helping with the problem, but it hasn’t been solved.
The number of feral, abandoned and outdoor cats in Habersham County that are unaltered and are breeding continue to overwhelm shelters. And while some members of the public want to help those cats, feeding them without making sure they aren’t breeding is just as irresponsible, according to Nix.
“If you feed- please don’t let them breed,” Nix says. “Turn in the one cat that shows up. We can help! … Their lives depends on us being proactive. Together. Community and Animal Control.”
She says the pregnant mothers and their kittens have slim chances of survival, and that the community has to be proactive in ending the problem.
This newborn kitten, which fits in the palm of Nix’s hand, has a slim chance of survival as “kitten season” begins. (Madi Nix/HCACC)
“Yeah, kittens are cute, but … the chance of this baby making it to see adoption age coming into a shelter is slim. And not because of Euthanasia,” Nix says. “Babies this tiny can’t handle the stress and germs [of an animal shelter]. Neither can their mothers. And who wants to foster a feral cat with newborns?”
They have a slim chance of survival in feral cat colonies, too. But the ones that do survive have more kittens, and more kittens, and the cycle continues. Kittens end up abandoned, mothers get ill, and HCACC is doing the best they can to save them.
“Today, we will let you call us names, berate us and call us useless and murderers, remind us that we are here to do as you say- since we are public servants,” Nix says. “All while we hold in our hands little lives- so they have a chance to know what a kind touch is- and pray that their lives will change for the better. Starting now.”
If you need help finding a way to spay or neuter your pet, contact the shelter so they can help. Nix says it’s the most impactful way to save lives.
“If you need help, please reach out, before it’s them that suffer the consequences for our human actions,” she says.
If you’re interested in adopting, fostering or donating to the Habersham County Animal Shelter, please call the shelter at (706) 839-0195. You may also visit them in person Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. to Noon & 1-5 p.m. or on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Check out their Facebook page for more information.
Mike Collins, who is running for Georgia’s 10th congressional district, says he’s a “pro-Trump” Republican. But he’s up against a Trump-endorsed candidate. (Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder)
Hundreds of candidates just cut a check and filed paperwork to be on the ballot in Georgia this year.
Six of them are touting the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, whose fixation with Georgia has driven a wedge within the GOP and handed Democrats a rallying point and potential opening.
Trump has endorsed in five statewide races, following through on his vow to work to defeat Gov. Brian Kemp after the governor refused to go along with Trump’s plans to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. He has instead backed former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, whose first video ad featured Trump speaking directly into the camera about how Kemp “let us down.”
The former president has also endorsed former Democratic state Rep. Vernon Jones in an east Georgia congressional district with a heavy GOP lean.
Donald Trump speaks at the 2021 North Carolina Republican Party convention in Greenville. The former president is scheduled to speak at a rally in Commerce in Banks County, GA on March 26, 2022. (photo courtesy States Newsroom)
Trump is planning to come later this month to campaign in Commerce on behalf of his slate of preferred candidates. His oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has already stumped for Perdue in Tifton and Cumming. The former president’s involvement has political observers eying the state’s May 24 primaries as a test of Trump’s grip on the Republican party.
But some competitive Republican candidates are framing themselves as an “America First” or pro-Trump candidate even when they are up against the former president’s favored candidate.
Mike Collins, a Jackson Republican, is running to replace Congressman Jody Hice, who is the Trump-endorsed candidate for secretary of state. He pulled up to the state Capitol this week to qualify in a bright red big rig emblazed with his conservative bona fides: “Pro-life. Pro-gun. Pro-Trump.”
But Collins isn’t the Trump-endorsed candidate in the race. That candidate is former Democratic state Rep. Vernon Jones, who received Trump’s blessing shortly after exiting the governor’s race.
Collins, who is the son of a former Georgia congressman, clearly doesn’t see himself as being at a disadvantage.
“Donald Trump had (Jones) fall for the art of the deal. That’s all there was to it,” Collins told reporters Wednesday. “Vernon Jones negotiated his own way out of the governor’s race. I believe Donald Trump would have endorsed the guy to run for dog catcher if that’s what he wanted just to get rid of him.”
And then there are statewide Republican candidates, like the governor, who are trying to survive the primary while in Trump’s crosshairs.
“Look, I’ve said this about 500,000 times over the last two years: I can’t control what other people are doing in politics, whether it’s my opponent, whether it’s people that are endorsing him,” Kemp said Thursday when asked about Trump endorsing Perdue. “I’m focused on doing what Georgians want. I’m focused on making our state the greatest state in the country to live, work and raise our families.”
In the lieutenant governor’s race, Trump endorsed Jackson Republican state Sen. Burt Jones after making clear last summer he would not be backing Senate President Pro Tempore Butch Miller for the role. Trump condemned Miller’s “refusal to work with other Republican Senators on voter fraud and irregularities in the State.”
Miller presided over a vote on the state’s controversial election law last year after Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan boycotted the debate. Duncan, a vocal Trump critic who has urged his party to look to the future, decided not to run for another term.
Miller downplayed the significance of the endorsement last week.
“I believe that Georgians have the mindset and the ability to make their own decisions,” Miller told reporters. “And with no disrespect to anybody involved, I’m going to work hard, and things are going to go well for Butch Miller and my candidacy.”
Trump has also endorsed former University of Georgia star running back Herschel Walker for U.S. Senate, who is the frontrunner in the GOP primary to decide who will challenge U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock in the fall.
Trump-backed Georgia Congressman Jody Hice for Secretary of State after the incumbent, Brad Raffensperger, drew his ire. Trump’s insistence that Raffensperger “find” the votes needed to change the election outcome is under investigation by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.
And then late Friday, Trump endorsed Patrick Witt for state insurance commissioner. Witt, who assisted with Trump’s legal effort to reverse the 2020 election results, has challenged Commissioner John King, who was appointed by the governor.
The 2020 election is still a big issue for many conservative voters. No evidence has been produced to support Trump’s claim that the election was rigged, but a January ABC News/Ipsos poll found 71% of Republicans say they believe Trump was the rightful winner.
“It’s a very important issue for Republican voters, not just here in Georgia, but across the country,” said Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a scion of the Trump movement. “They really feel like there was a lot of election fraud in the 2020 election. I believe that myself. That’s why I objected on Jan. 6 to Joe Biden’s Electoral College votes, but I think it is something that’s important to them, and President Trump’s endorsement, it’s pretty heavy, carries a lot of weight.”
Greene, who was endorsed by Trump in 2020, spoke with the GeorgiaRecorder after a Georgia Faith and Freedom Coalition event in January. At the same event, Walker placed less emphasis on Trump’s role and said conservative Georgians are more concerned about the status quo under Biden.
“The biggest key is what happened in this administration, you see all the things that are happening right now, inflation the way it is, crime the way it is, and different things they are saying,” he said. “I think that’s the problem is all the things that are happening now.”
Spaceport Camden’s proximity to Cumberland Island helped stir opposition to county officials’ plans to launch rockets from the mainland. Camden voters overwhelmingly rejected the spaceport in a March 8 special election, adding another roadblock to the project. (National Park Service)
(GA Recorder) — The long journey to launch rockets off the Georgia coast is running low on fuel as Spaceport Camden opponents brace for a final push from county officials to salvage their plans.
Camden County’s spaceport project suffered a new setback Thursday as the Georgia Supreme Court refused to block the certification of Tuesday’s special election in which Camden residents overwhelmingly made it clear they don’t want the spaceport to be built.
However, the court order leaves open the door for Supreme Court justices to determine whether the constitutional law intended to protect against runaway governments should have applied to the spaceport petition that argued it’s a dangerous and unsustainable project.
Spaceport opponents say they’re concerned that the county commission will take another route, such as having a spaceport authority or an investor to complete a deal with Union Carbide Corp. for the former industrial site.
County Administrator Steve Howard said on Friday that the private sector is showing interest in building a spaceport that will comply with federal licensing requirements.
“They have indicated their renewed interest in having their own spaceport,” Howard said in an email. “Camden’s future remains bright!”
In December, after years of planning and review and a $10 million investment from the county, the Federal Aviation Administration approved an operator’s license allowing up to 12 commercial rocket launches annually.
Nevertheless, opponents were able to collect enough signatures to trigger Tuesday’s special in which 72% of the just under 6,000 ballots cast were in opposition to the project, which blocks the county from finalizing its agreement with the chemical manufacturer for 4,000 acres of property.
Megan Desrosiers, president and CEO of coastal environmental organization One Hundred Miles, said the election results should send a powerful message to local officials that they should stop wasting taxpayers’ money on plans to shoot off rockets toward sensitive barrier islands.
“Camden County wasn’t being transparent with what they were doing and it caused the people in Camden County and the elected officials to split,” she said. “This referendum, I hope, brings people back together and really clearly communicates to the elected officials in Camden County what the values of their constituents are.”
“As long as (county officials) have it in their heads that they’re in the right and everybody else is wrong, they’re going to keep pushing the spaceport, and they’re going to do so by every means possible,” Desrosiers said.
Several days before the special election, the County Commission called its own special meeting to select members to serve on the spaceport authority.
Republican state Rep. Steven Sainz, who represents Camden, said he will introduce legislation early next week with a sunset to terminate the authority, created in 2019 by legislation he sponsored.
Sainz issued a stern warning to commissioners before Election Day that the authority is meant to help attract companies interested in working in Camden.
“I will not stand aside and see that this piece of legislation created a few years ago be utilized in a way that allows the county to ignore the votes of my constituents, my voters and neighbors as well,” he said in a Facebook video.
Camden officials hail the project as a regional economic driver that will create well-paying jobs in the aerospace industry.
Dr. Timothy Joseph Temple, age 78 of Cleveland, passed away Friday, March 11, 2022.
Born in Abilene, Texas on November 12, 1943, Tim was the son of the late Arthur Joseph Temple and Christine Ray Temple. He was a graduate of Abilene High School and earned a B.A. in Religion from Bob Jones University; M.A. in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary, and later completed his Doctoral Studies. Tim served as pastor of Grace Church in Wichita Falls, Texas 1968–1978 and Pastor of Abilene Bible Church from 1978 to 2009. In 2010 Tim continued his ministry of service and loving care for others at Ted Dickey Funeral Homes in the Dallas metroplex area until moving to northeast Georgia in 2018. In addition to his pastoral experience, Tim has spoken in Christian camps, youth retreats, and Bible conferences throughout the United States and Central America. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Bible Memory Association, Gospel Workshop for Children, and CAM (Central American Missions) International. He has been involved in the ministry of Walk to Emmaus since 1995 and the Kairos prison ministry since 2005. Tim was a 30 year member and Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International.
In addition to his parents, Tim was preceded in death by sisters Joy Temple Ross, Hope Temple Dakel and Susanna Temple Peters, as well as niece Christine Ross.
Survivors include his wife Janice Riddle Temple of Cleveland, son Joe Temple (Darby) of LaGrange, daughters Nancy Temple Carr (Spencer) of Cornelia and Adrienne Temple Dagley of Farmersville, Texas, brother Philip Temple (Judy) of Greenville, South Carolina, sisters Faith Temple Scarborough (Walter) of Allen, Texas and Joanna Temple Hutchcraft of Athens, brothers in law Lynn Dakel of Richardson, Texas and Greg Peters (Susan) of Lakemont, grandchildren Cody Dagley, Valerie Dagley, Anna Dagley, Temple Carr, Ray Carr, Shands Temple and Sloan Temple, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM, Monday, March 14, 2022 at Hillside Memorial Chapel. Interment will follow the service in Hillside Gardens Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home prior to the service from 12:00 PM until 2:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Habersham Rotary Scholarship Fund, c/o Spencer Carr, P.O. Box 999, Clarkesville, GA 30523.
Norma Jean Perry Partain, age 80 of Cornelia, passed away on Sunday, March 13, 2022.
Born on March 9, 1942, in Mount Airy, Georgia, she was a daughter of the late Lawrence Perry and Kathryn Riggins Perry. Norma Jean worked in the field of office administration until her retirement and was a member of Level Grove Baptist Church. She was a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Ms. Partain enjoyed playing the piano, singing, being at the beach, and was a very meticulous housekeeper!
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by the father of her children, Gene Partain; and an infant brother; Virgil Ray Perry.
Survivors include her daughters and sons-in-law, Lisa and David Nicholson of Cornelia and Kellie and Glenn Sosebee of Gainesville; grandchildren, Nathan and Morgan Nicholson of Gainesville, Seth and Andrea Nicholson of Winder, Allie Nicholson of Cornelia, Lincoln and Landon Sosebee of Gainesville; great-grandchildren, Riggs and Boone Nicholson; sister, Judy Perry of Cornelia; brothers and sisters-in-law, Roy and Kathy Perry of Demorest, Stanley Perry and Pat Perry of Demorest; along with several extended family and friends. Special thanks to her long-term caregivers, Funmi Pratt and Marie Aifuwa, Beverly Defevers and Carrie Bennett.
Funeral services are scheduled for 2:00 pm Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in the chapel of McGahee-Griffin & Stewart Funeral Home with Dr. Brian James officiating. Interment will follow in Yonah Memorial Gardens with Rev. Terry Rice officiating at the graveside.
The family will receive friends on Tuesday from 12:00 noon until the service hour.
Flowers are accepted or memorials may be made in her memory to Level Grove Baptist Church, P O Box 416, Cornelia, Georgia, 30531.
Author’s Note: Way back in 2015 and 2016 I wrote a series of articles for Now Habersham titled Roads Less Traveled. As an avid hiker and landscape photographer, I used this column to provide hiking information and as an outlet to share my photography with the world. By mid-2016 I was so busy with work and forecasting, the column fell to the wayside. These days I don’t find myself any less busy. But now with a nearly 1-year old, I have had the joy of sharing the outdoors with him on a few hikes so far and find myself with perhaps a little more time to head outside. Over the coming months, as we head into spring and summer and our attention turns to outdoor living, I’ll be re-sharing some of those old adventures with you as well as some new ones.
Let’s start with a new one.
By all accounts, June 6, 2017, was a very uneventful day. It was a Tuesday, the last day of my three-day weekend from work. I left my house in search of the beautiful Catawba Rhododendron that adorn the higher elevations of western North Carolina from late May through early June. This was a particularly good year for them, with plentiful blooms on every bush. The problem with these flowers is their lifespan. The true peak of Catawba season lasts for at most a week, but most often just a few days. Wind and heavy rain from summer thunderstorms often cut this peak short.
I left Boone, North Carolina, early in the morning knowing full well I would likely wind up inside one of these storms by afternoon. The higher elevations around the Black Mountain range were my target. My first stop came at Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi where I made my way out the Black Mountain Crest Trail. This tough trail traverses the highest peaks on the east coast, on this occasion I would bag three of the top six: Mitchell, Craig and Big Tom. The trail runs through a classic spruce-fir forest, though the spruce trees have long succumbed to air pollution. In recent years this trail has been the victim of several mass blowdowns, strong winds that down hundreds or thousands of trees over a small area. The photo below was taken in one of these spots before this happened.
My favorite viewpoint from any trail I’ve ever been on sits off the side of this trail but it requires knowing its location to find. Regardless, the views are absolutely phenomenal from both Mt. Mitchell and nearby Mt. Craig. The thick “smoky” haze on this day added some character to the long-distance views. The view below is from the summit of Mt. Craig, the second highest peak on the east coast, looking north/northwest towards Virginia and Tennessee. You can certainly see why they call them the Blue Ridge Mountains.
After returning to the car I buzzed just a few miles down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Craggy Gardens. This spot is one of the most visited locations along the Blue Ridge Parkway, due partly to its proximity to Asheville and also because it is downright gorgeous. It is also one of the best places in the state to see the Catawba Rhododendron bloom. The shot below was taken roadside along the parkway in the Craggy Gardens area.
Shortly after this, it started to rain. Or more accurately: storm. I sat out the storm for around an hour while waiting for sunset that I hoped would turn out nicely. Landscape photography is always tricky, especially in the summertime when these pop-up storms can ruin an afternoon shoot. Fortunately for me, this storm rained itself out fairly quickly and skies began to clear a little as the sun began to go down.
I made my way to the actual “gardens”, a series of meadows completely covered in Catawba Rhododendron. From a distance, this peak looks pink due to the number of blooms for just those few precious days in June. When I arrived at my sunset spot I was actually fairly unimpressed. Plentiful cloud cover was still around and the wind was whipping behind the storm. Temperatures were quite cool, a perk of being over 6,000ft above sea level. I had almost given up on the sunset when something incredible happened. Sometimes a good picture comes from perfect planning, sometimes luck, but most often a bit of both. This time was both. In just a matter of moments, the sun began to shine through a small gap in the clouds near the horizon, bathing the ground in pale orange/pink light.
It would grow brighter as it sunk farther into the gap, shining through that thick haze I had been seeing all day long.
As the minutes passed it would eventually light up the sky in a way I had never seen before, and haven’t been witness to since. In my experience, pink sunsets are pretty rare. Most wind up some mix of yellow, orange and red. This one started off that way, as seen below.
No pictures I took this night captured the beauty of this sunset. The sky was lit up all around and all the way up to straight overhead. The widest angle lens wouldn’t have captured the whole thing. The photo below is my favorite photo I’ve ever taken. It is the closest I came to capturing this sunset. It highlighted the pink fluff overhead and the beautiful meadows of rhododendron below.
This photo is the one I have hanging in my son’s room, to encourage him to always look up and see the beauty around.
Something that has stuck with me about this sunset is that I was the only person there that night. Normally these meadows have numerous people enjoying the sunset, but the earlier rain had run them off. Never underestimate nature, though. Often the best views come behind the storm, a lesson we could all stand to remember.
I’ll see you again next week on the Roads Less Traveled.
Kindergarten registration for the 2022-2023 school year begins next week in Habersham County. Children must be 5 years old on or before September 1 to be eligible to enroll.
Parents should complete the online registration process on the county school system’s website at Kindergarten Registration 2022-2023. The link will be up and running on March 14.
Students currently enrolled in the school system’s Pre-K classes do not need to complete the online registration.
After completing the online application, school personnel will contact parents of incoming kindergarteners to schedule an appointment for a date and time between March 14 and May 27 to complete the enrollment process.
School officials encourage parents to check the county school website at www.habershamschools.com for more information and updates.
