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Northeast Georgia firefighter recovering after suffering heart attack while on duty

A Rabun County volunteer firefighter is recovering from surgery after suffering a heart attack last week while fighting a brush fire.

64-year-old Gordon Van Mol collapsed Saturday at the fire on Burns Lane in Lakemont. Rabun County Assistant Fire Chief Justin Upchurch says Van Mol was found “pulseless and not breathing.”

“His fellow firefighters immediately began CPR while an automated external defibrillator (AED) was retrieved off of the fire apparatus,” says Upchurch. “The AED was applied and Gordon was delivered three shocks, with the third bringing about a return of circulation.”

When EMS arrived, Van Mol was still unconscious but had a pulse and was breathing on his own. EMTs transported him to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville where he ultimately was put on a ventilator and taken to the cath lab.

Upchurch says Van Mol regained consciousness Sunday and on Monday, November 29, underwent surgery to implant a defibrillator.

“This type of call truly highlights the advantage of quick CPR and having an AED in close proximity during sudden cardiac arrest,” he says. “We are truly thankful for our personnel on scene, for Habersham and Hall County providing assistance at the intersections to expedite his arrival to the hospital, and for all the thoughts and prayers for Gordon and his family that we have received.”

Rabun County Fire Services is a combined paid and volunteer fire department with approximately 160 personnel. Upchurch credits both the paid and volunteer staff for helping Gordon on the scene.

Adopt-A-Pet: Alpha Dog and Hazel

The Habersham County Animal Shelter is experiencing one of its most heartbreaking seasons, the surrenders of pets that comes before the holidays. As the shelter starts to fill up with these surrenders, now is the perfect time to consider adding a new member to your family to make special winter memories with.

Alpha Dog was one of over 150 cats rescued from a hoarding case in Clarkesville, and a few months ago, he was skin and bones. Now, he’s growing healthier and happier every day. (HCACC)

No tree is complete without a cat asleep under it, and no snow day is just right without a dog having the best day ever alongside you.

Meet Alpha Dog

Meet Alpha Dog, a sweet adult male cat looking for his fur-ever home.

Alpha Dog was one of over 150 cats rescued from a hoarding case in Clarkesville, and has grown stronger and happier ever since the Habersham County Animal Shelter took him in.

“I was skin and bones, and I wasn’t feeling well at all when I came to the shelter,” he says. “Now that I’ve been somewhere safe for a few months, I’m starting to put on weight and feel more comfortable meeting new people.”

Since he came to the shelter, Alpha Dog has gone from a rugged-looking street cat to a fluffy, charming cat looking for a loving family to call his.

“I’m finally getting healthy,” he says. “Now, I’m ready to find my family.”

Meet Hazel

Hazel might look grumpy, but she’s friendly as can be with humans and dogs, especially her friend Pogo. (HCACC)

Meet Hazel, an adult female terrier pit mix with the cutest grumpy face.

Hazel might look grumpy, but she’s friendly as can be with both humans and other dogs. She likes to explore outside and play with her friend Pogo, but more than anything would love to be part of a family.

“I’d describe myself as an old soul,” Hazel says. “I appreciate the little things, sunshine, new smells, pats on the head— all those parts of the day that make life special.”

Hazel has been at the shelter since early October and would like to have a home of her own for the holidays.

“Relaxing with my human or warming my belly by a fire sounds like the perfect way to spend a winter day,” she says. “I hope I spend this Christmas with people who love me, not alone at the shelter.”

Click here for more Now Hab Adopt-A-Pet features.

If you’re interested in adopting Alpha Dog, Hazelor any of the other animals at the Habersham County Animal Shelter, please call the shelter at (706) 839-0195 to set up an appointment. 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.

High fire danger continues across North Georgia

File photo

It’s another high fire danger day in North and Central Georgia. The National Weather Service issued the alert effective Monday afternoon and evening, November 29.

Relative humidities of 25% or less can be expected for four or more hours and winds will be northwest to west at 5 to 10 MPH with higher gusts, particularly during the afternoon.

The dry, windy weather conditions combined with dry fuels such as leaves and grass increase the danger of outdoor fires spreading.

MORE: Northeast GA 5-Day Forecast

Please refer to your local burn permitting authorities before doing any outdoor burning. If you do burn outside, use extreme caution.

Area firefighters have responded to multiple grass and brush fires in recent days, including one in the median of GA 365 in Cornelia.

Firefighters extinguish a grass fire that burned a patch of grass in the median of GA 365 in Habersham County the day before Thanksgiving. (nowhabersham.com)

Amanda Ann Jones Kelley

Amanda Ann Jones Kelley, age 81, of Clarkesville, passed away on Friday, November 26, 2021.

Born on November 12, 1940, in Franklin County, she was a daughter of the late Jess C. and Agnes Faye Hembree Jones. She enjoyed gardening, being with family, her puzzle books, the Senior Center, and donating to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Mrs. Kelley was a member of the Red Hatters and Silver Sneakers. Mrs. Kelley was of the Holiness faith.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Arthur Kelley; sons: Larry Gene Kelley, James Earl Kelley, and Johnny Lee Kelley; daughter, Brenda Lee Newsome; sons-in-law, Darryl Wilson and Ricky Southers; granddaughter, Lori Kelley; and 16 brothers and sisters.

Survivors include her sons and daughter-in-law, Johnny and Teresa Kelley of Mt. Airy; son, Timothy McCluskey; daughters and son-in-law: Colleen Hyde of Cornelia, Ruby Wilson of Summerville, SC, Arlene and Tim Chitwood of Clarkesville, and Robin Kelley of Lula; 17 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and 1 great-great-grandchild.

Funeral services are scheduled for 1:00 pm on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, in the Chapel of McGahee-Griffin & Stewart with Rev. John Reeser officiating. Interment will follow in Leatherwood Baptist Church Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 10:00 am until the service hour on Wednesday at the funeral home.

Flowers are accepted or donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105.

Those in attendance are asked to please adhere to the public health and social distancing guidelines regarding COVID-19.

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.

Paid leave, a tax cut for the rich and more in Biden’s social policy bill could get cut

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated President Joe Biden’s social spending and climate bill would spend about $1.7 trillion over 10 years. Budget analysts project another roughly $500 billion in tax breaks, putting the total cost at about $2.2 trillion over a decade, higher than earlier estimates from the White House

WASHINGTON (GA Recorder) — Congressional Democrats cheered on the floor of the U.S. House after approving President Joe Biden’s massive social spending and climate bill.

But a major struggle lies ahead in the coming month in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats cannot lose any votes within their party if they are to send the so-called Build Back Better measure to Biden’s desk.

That gives any individual Democratic senator virtual veto power over the bill—and some are already declaring what they won’t accept.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the bill would spend about $1.7 trillion over 10 years. Budget analysts project another roughly $500 billion in tax breaks, putting the total cost at about $2.2 trillion over a decade, higher than earlier estimates from the White House.

The measure already has been the subject of months of negotiations, intended to make peace between moderates skeptical of the legislation’s price tag and progressives who are frustrated that it doesn’t go further in addressing longstanding problems with child care, health care, immigration and other policies.

Any changes made in the Senate will mean the bill must return to the House for another vote before it could be signed into law—and its cost will increase or decrease as well. And time is running short, with the number of session days dwindling as the end of the year approaches.

Here’s more on the proposals in the House bill that are most likely to disappear once the Senate gets to work:

Paid leave

Biden’s initial proposal called for 12 weeks of paid leave for parents and other caregivers who need to take time away from work to take care of a new baby or another family member, or to recover from an illness.

That new benefit was scaled back to four weeks, then removed from the bill entirely — before four weeks of paid leave was added back into the final House version.

But paid leave, which is popular among Americans, faces significant opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin III, (D-W.Va.), who has said for weeks that he does not support including a new national paid leave program in the bill.

Manchin has said he doesn’t believe that such a program should be created through the reconciliation process, which is what the evenly divided Senate will use to pass the legislation by simple majority.

He’s also said he prefers a paid leave program that’s funded by contributions from both employers and employees, and Manchin has expressed concerns about the solvency of a new benefit program.

“To expand social programs when you have trust funds that aren’t solvent, that are going insolvent — I can’t explain that, it doesn’t make sense to me,” Manchin said, according to The Washington Post.

Under the House-passed bill, the paid leave program would start in 2024 and would be available to most employed or self-employed workers.

Money would be paid out either through a new federal benefit or through existing state or employer-based leave plans, and those non-federal leave programs would receive some reimbursement from the federal government.

The U.S. is one of only a few countries in the world — and the only wealthy country — that does not have a national paid family leave program.

The four-week benefit in the House-passed bill also is far shorter than what most nations provide, and less than the 12 weeks of unpaid job protection offered to some workers under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Cap on SALT deductions

Senate Democrats across the ideological spectrum oppose a provision in the House bill they consider a tax break for wealthy residents of high-tax states. The measure would lift a cap on the federal deduction people can take for state and local taxes, commonly called the SALT deduction.

The provision was the biggest reason for moderate Maine Democratic Rep. Jared Golden’s vote against the bill in the House, but also needed to win the votes of members like Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Democratic Socialist from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, has railed against the “hypocrisy” of Democrats providing tax breaks to the wealthy.

It’s not only Sanders’ wing of the Democratic caucus that opposes the measure. Sen. Michael Bennet, (D-Colo.), noted in a tweet last week that 70% of the SALT benefits would go to the wealthiest 5% of the population.

“The American people didn’t send us to Washington to cut taxes for rich people,” he tweeted.

But with Senate Democrats led by New Yorker Chuck Schumer — who has many constituents who would benefit from the tax break — the provision may not be completely scrapped, even with members from Sanders to Montana moderate Sen. Jon Tester opposed. Instead, a compromise may emerge, those close to the process in the Senate say.

Sanders and Sen. Robert Menendez, (D-N.J.), are working on language that would limit the new deduction cap to those making more than $400,000 per year.

Immigration

An immigration proposal House Democrats wrote into the bill is in danger more from the Senate’s nonpartisan parliamentarian than opposition from Democratic senators.

The measure would allow people in the United States in violation of immigration laws to retain work permits and be safe from deportation for five years.

Immigration activists had sought more permanent relief, which was included in an earlier draft of the bill that the parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, rejected in September.

Because Democrats are moving the entire package through reconciliation, it must comply with a rule for that process prohibiting provisions that have little impact on the federal budget.

Methane fee

Manchin has reportedly objected to the piece of the bill that would impose a new fee on methane emissions from fossil fuel production.

The proposal would ramp up fees, from $900 per metric ton in 2023 to $1,500 per metric ton in 2025.

Methane is among the most potent greenhouse gases that lead to climate change. Biden and other world leaders pledged at the United Nations climate conference earlier this month to reduce methane emissions by 30% by the end of the decade.

Manchin, whose family has ties to West Virginia’s coal industry, is often out of line with his fellow Democrats on energy issues.

Under pressure from Manchin, the White House dropped another major climate proposal in an earlier version of the bill. That measure would have created a program to reward utilities for reaching clean energy goals and punish those that don’t.

A spokeswoman for Manchin declined to comment.

Already out: Gold-mining royalty

Before the bill even reached the Senate, the House removed a section adding a federal royalty rate for miners of gold and other hard rock minerals. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, (D-Nev.), took credit for getting rid of the measure that would mostly affect gold producers in her state.

Hard rock miners operate on federal lands under an 1872 law that shields them from paying the kind of royalties levied on the oil, gas and coal industries.

The House proposal, authored by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva, (D-Ariz.), would have imposed an 8% royalty rate on new mines and a 4% rate on existing operations, affecting about $5 billion to $7 billion per year.

Environmentalists and fiscal hawks have long sought a royalty rate for hard rock mining, but Cortez Masto objected to the disproportionate effect it would have on Nevada.

A spokesperson for her office called the initial proposal “a nonstarter” for Nevada’s senior senator, adding “Cortez Masto ensured that the House’s original provision was not included in the legislation that just passed the House.”

Two No. 2s win battles vs. No. 1s

(Twitter)

Buford, Benedictine and Thomasville won games between No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams in last week’s quarterfinals, while Hughes and North Oconee made history by reaching the semifinals for the first time. Cedartown and Swainsboro also scratched itches, getting past the third round for the first time in 20 years or longer.

In the No. 1-vs.-No. 2 games, Buford was the only visiting or No. 1-ranked team to win. The Wolves of Class 6A defeated Lee County 27-0. It was a rematch of a 2020 state final, which Buford also won. Buford (12-1) became the first team to shut out Lee County (11-2) since 2007.

Benedictine, the No. 2 team in 4A, beat No. 1 Marist 24-21. It was Benedictine’s first victory over a No. 1-ranked team since beating Greater Atlanta Christian for the Class 2A championship in 2014. Benedictine has won 11 consecutive games after an 0-2 start against out-of-state teams.

Thomasville, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, defeated No. 1 Rabun County 49-24. That put Thomasville (12-1) two victories from its first state title since 1988 while blocking Rabun County’s bid for a first state championship.

The result also ended the high school career of quarterback Gunner Stockton, who set the state record for career touchdown passes and fell about 250 yards short of Trevor’s Lawrence’s career record for passing yards. Rabun County was 46-7 in Stockton’s four years as a starter, including 11-2 this season.

Still alive are Hughes and North Oconee. They’ll be the only two of 32 semifinalists making their first final-four appearances.

Hughes, ranked No. 3 in Class 6A, beat Northside of Warner Robins 48-7. Hughes is 12-1, a winner of 12 consecutive games since an opening loss to Newton.

North Oconee, the No. 5 team in Class 4A, beat 10th-ranked Bainbridge 29-24. North Oconee has won nine consecutive games after a 1-3 start.

Cedartown of Class 4A beat Perry 39-25 to do what even Nick Chubb’s Cedartown teams couldn’t do – reach a state final four. Cedartown’s trip to Carver of Columbus will be the Bulldogs’ first semifinal since 2001.

Swainsboro of Class 2A reached the semis for the first time since its 2000 state championship with a 12-9 double-overtime victory over Northeast of Macon. Ja’Quavious Lattimore blocked a Northeast field goal attempt while Daron Coleman kicked the winning 32-yarder for Swainsboro in the extra periods.

The only more dramatic quarterfinal was probably Carrollton’s 37-32 victory over Westlake in Class 6A. Westlake rallied from a 24-0 third-quarter deficit and led 32-31 late in the fourth quarter, but Carrollton won on M.J. Morris’ 33-yard pass to Bryce Hicks with 41 seconds left. Under new coach Joey King, the Trojans are in the semifinals after losing in the quarters five straight years.

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At least 20 killed on Georgia’s roads over long holiday weekend

Traffic accidents killed at least 20 people on Georgia’s roads over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

As of 6 p.m. Sunday, fatalities were reported in Stephens, Floyd, Dekalb, Henry, Bibb, and Wilkes counties. There were also fatal wrecks in Dalton, Manchester, Rincon, Thomasville, Dublin, Atlanta, Statesboro, Griffin, and Blue Ridge, according to the Georgia Department of Public Safety. A final traffic count is expected in the coming days.

Northeast Georgia fatality

In Northeast Georgia, a Seneca, South Carolina man died Saturday in a motorcycle crash on GA 17 in Stephens County.

Troopers worked several accidents with injuries in Habersham, Rabun, and Hall counties, including a DUI crash in Rabun County that seriously injured two children.

A Hall County deputy was injured in a crash on November 27 in northern Habersham County near Turnerville.

Dangerous start

The holiday weekend got off to a dangerous start with a wreck Wednesday night, November 24, in Habersham. EMS transported a 52-year-old woman to the hospital from that scene. The crash shut down a stretch of the highway in Mt. Airy for more than an hour just as the holiday travel rush was beginning.

A pickup truck from North Carolina overturned in the middle of GA 365 in Mt. Airy on Nov. 24 after being struck by another pickup at the intersection of Cody Road. (nowhabersham.com)

Another wreck Wednesday in Lula injured several people and resulted in one of the drivers being charged with DUI drugs less safe and several other traffic offenses.

Troopers out in force

Georgia state troopers were out in force patrolling the highways during the 102-hour holiday travel period from November 24-28.

In 2020, Thanksgiving holiday accidents killed 24 people on Georgia’s roads.

John Marion “Turtle” Watkins

John Marion “Turtle” Watkins, age 71, of Lula, passed away on Saturday, November 27, 2021.

Born on September 7, 1950, in Demorest, he was a son of the late John Lamon and Avis Dodd Watkins. He was a United States Army Veteran having proudly served during the Vietnam Conflict. Mr. Watkins was a member of the Grant Reeves VFW Post #7720 and the Habersham County American Legion Post #84. He worked with Stephens Trucking, enjoyed doing mechanics, loved fishing, and was a jack of all trades. Turtle loved his family and was of the Christian faith.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Trenna “Tinker” McGee Watkins.

Survivors include his son and daughter-in-law, Cody and Kayla Watkins of Lula; daughter, Mercedes Angel of Homer; grandchildren, Mea Angel and Emalee Davis; brother, Anthony Watkins of Demorest; nephew, Collin; and niece, Claire.

The family will receive friends from 5-8 pm on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, at McGahee-Griffin & Stewart Funeral Home.

A private family service will be held with burial to follow.

Those in attendance are asked to please adhere to the public health and social distancing guidelines regarding COVID-19.

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.

Toddler-sized coats needed for Head Start coat drive

Mother and drive organizer Samantha Ray and daughter Anna Lisa pose with the 132 coats they've collected so far. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)

When Habersham County Head Start Teacher Tiffany Moss passed away at the beginning of the school year due to COVID-19, she left behind a legacy of love for her students that extended far beyond the classroom.

Samantha Ray is the mother of one of her former students, Anna Lisa, now 6 years old. When Anna Lisa was at Head Start, Moss went above and beyond to show her love in and out of the classroom. Moss made special trips to give Anna Lisa birthday gifts at her home during the summer when they were out of class, kept up with her after she went to elementary school and became a friend to Ray.

Samantha (right) shares memories of Moss, recalling how special and loved she made herself and her daughter Anna Lisa (left) feel. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)

“She was nothing but sunshine even on a cloudy day for her students and for anyone around her,” Ray says.

When Moss passed away, Ray felt like she needed to continue to honor her by giving back to Head Start students the way she did.

“When she passed, I [thought] the best thing that we could do is to give back to the kids at her school because she loved them,” Ray said. “That’s who she lived for.”

Ray started collecting coats to donate to Head Start students, who are often members of low-income families. She has been amazed by how the community has come together to help her mission; a week ago, she reached out to the Habersham community via the Voice of Habersham Facebook group to ask for donations and was overwhelmed by the response.

“I started it last Sunday and within six days I had all of this,” Ray said. “I was absolutely amazed.”

So far, Ray and her daughter have collected 132 coats, 132 pairs of gloves and mittens and more than 56 beanies. One woman donated 93 brand-new coats from a storage unit to Ray, and a new friend she’s made since she started collecting donations purchased matching gloves for the coats.

Ray’s dining room is full of coats, hats and gloves that will be donated to Head Start on Dec. 1 to keep kids warm this winter. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)

Even with all the coats that the Habersham County community has donated, Ray still needs more size 3T to 5T coats to fit the majority of students at Head Start. If you would like to donate, you can reach out to Samantha via email, or drop off coats at Arnold Drug Co. in Cornelia during business hours before Dec. 1.

This isn’t the only time Ray plans to make sure kids have what they need at Head Start. She hopes that in the future, she’ll be able to continue to organize drives to get students everything they need for a safe, comfortable childhood and successful future.

“Give to other people, not just because of the time of year,” she says. “Think about causes in the community. There are so many homeless people around that need blankets or people that you don’t realize may not be getting Christmas, things like that. If you have what you need and you still have money to be able to go out and do stuff, use some of that money to help other people that can’t do anything.”

GSP identifies man killed in Stephens County motorcycle wreck

(file photo)

The Georgia State Patrol has identified the biker killed in a motorcycle crash Saturday in Stephens County as 49-year-old William Pate of Seneca, South Carolina.

Pate was fatally injured when the 2020 Harley Davidson he was driving ran off the road, struck a curb, and overturned.

Troopers with Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa were called to the scene of the crash on GA 17 at Whispering Pines at 3:41 p.m. on November 27.

MORE: Driver charged with DUI in Rabun County wreck that seriously injured two children

Pate’s death marked the first traffic-related fatality in Northeast Georgia over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Area troopers have worked multiple accidents with injuries, including two Saturday in Rabun and Habersham counties that sent five people to the hospital.

 

Watch the Skies: Comet Leonard

It’s been a while since we had a comet bright enough to talk about. You have to go all the way back to Comet Neowise in July of 2020 to find the last naked eye comet, and there haven’t been any comets of note since then. While no ground-breaking or incredibly bright comets lurk on the horizon just yet we do have a new comet to keep an eye on during the next couple weeks.

The comet’s official name is C/2021 A1(Leonard). It gets its name from its discoverer: G. J. Leonard who picked it up right about the orbit of Jupiter at 5 Earth distances from the sun (5AU).  It was also the first comet discovered this year hence getting the A1 designation. It was also discovered exactly 1 year from its perihelion, or closest approach to the sun which will occur on January 3, 2022.

Comet Leonard.jpg

A lot of comets are discovered at the 5AU distance because that is the point where it is close enough to the sun for water and methanol to sublimate (turn straight from ice to gas). This increases the inbound rock’s brightness dramatically and the comet begins to develop its tail.  This is where the speed of the comet begins to increase significantly as it gets closer to the sun as well. Comet Leonard is travelling at a whopping 158,054MPH as it falls towards the sun which is extremely fast for a comet. Its speed and angle of orbit will ensure that it never returns to our solar system, though. Once it makes its closest approach to the sun it will be traveling fast enough to be ejected from the solar system, eventually travelling into interstellar space. Leonard won’t be getting particularly close to the sun as far as comets are concerned, with a closest approach outside the orbit of Mercury at around 0.6 Earth distances, or 0.6AU.

So, what can we expect here in Northeast Georgia?

A lot of unknowns exist with every comet. It is highly unlikely that Leonard becomes an overly bright comet, but it has a decent chance to become a naked eye one and a very good chance to be a great binocular and small telescope object. Currently the comet is only visible through small telescopes or a pair of strong binoculars. It will be brightening over the coming days. It is expected to reach a maximum of around 4th magnitude which would make it a naked eye object in good skies and a great binocular/telescope object. Exactly when that happens is hard to pinpoint but stay tuned for any updates as I will pass them along here on Now Habersham.

Unfortunately for us in the Northern Hemisphere, Leonard will be getting lower in the sky in the early morning as it approaches the sun. After December 14-16 the comet will transition to an evening object before eventually dropping below the horizon and becoming visible only from the Southern Hemisphere. I’ve included some star charts below courtesy of www.earthsky.org. The comet’s forward speed will cause it to move fairly quickly in the sky from day to day. More star charts can be found at the link above.

Chart with constellations and tick marks for location of comet Leonard.
The comet’s location on November 30.
Star chart with Arcturus and location of comet in tick marks.
Leonard’s location on December 5.
Chart with Saturn, Venus, and tick marks for comet in twilit sky.
Leonard on December 17, 2021

Hopefully Leonard overperforms the current expectations and becomes a bright comet, but it more likely to become a dim naked eye one over the next 2 weeks.

Check back next week for an update on our quick moving friend and until then keep looking up and always watch the skies!

Charleston teen airlifted to hospital after ATV accident in Stephens County

(file photo)

An ATV accident Saturday in Stephens County seriously injured a Charleston, South Carolina, teenager.

The 16-year-old boy was driving a 2002 Honda ATV “at a high rate of speed” on uneven terrain when the vehicle overturned, the Georgia State Patrol says. The boy was thrown from the vehicle.

The accident happened around 5:13 p.m. at a private residence on South Pond Street.

Paramedics airlifted the injured teen to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville.

The ATV accident was the second serious crash Post 7 troopers were called on to investigate Saturday in Stephens County. Earlier in the day, they responded to a fatal motorcycle wreck on GA 17.