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A less risky Thanksgiving

By
Andy Miller
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This year’s Thanksgiving holiday features one enormous difference from last year’s:

Vaccinations.

Fortunately, the Covid-19 vaccine became available earlier this year, and by now, about half of Georgians have received the shots.

Vaccinations have significantly lightened the mood around the country in regard to the virus, though Covid cases have begun to rise again.

Two-thirds of Americans plan to see family or friends from outside of their household for Thanksgiving, regardless of vaccination status, according to this week’s Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

Credit: Kaiser Health News

Less than a third (31%) consider seeing friends or family for Thanksgiving as a large/moderate risk, compared to 64% this time last year, the poll found.

The nation’s top infectious disease expert has weighed in the new, less dangerous climate.

If you and your family members are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, it’s OK for you to ditch the masks this holiday season when you’re around each other, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN Sunday.

But Fauci also said that if you are traveling or are unaware of the vaccination status of the people around you, then you should wear a mask in those situations.

Still, there are many families navigating tough personal decisions around the topic of vaccines.

A recent survey by the Harris Poll found that 42% of vaccinated respondents had canceled at least one event or travel plan they had with people because they weren’t inoculated, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Times article also said that in a recent discussion on Twitter about banning unvaccinated relatives from holiday gatherings, several people declared themselves staunchly “no vax, no snax.”

Fauci

For those planning a Thanksgiving gathering, experts advise that when it comes to people with young children not yet eligible for the vaccine, you can reduce the risk by making sure those around the kids are vaccinated.

Also, if you’re in public indoor places and not vaccinated fully, wear a well-fitting mask over your nose and mouth, according to the CDC and the Georgia Department of Public Health. People who are fully vaccinated should wear a mask in public indoor settings in communities with substantial to high Covid transmission.

Other tips include:

  • Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water aren’t available.
  • If you are sick or have symptoms of Covid-19 or the flu, don’t host or attend a holiday gathering.
  • Get tested if you have symptoms of Covid-19 or have had close contact with someone who has the virus.
  • If you are not fully vaccinated for Covid and must travel, follow the CDC’s recommendations.

How about the bird?

For those of you, like me, who plan to fry a turkey for Thanksgiving, here are some safety tips from experts (I don’t count myself one, though it’s a family tradition).

On the safety checklist is setting up the fryer far enough away from the house. Another big safety reminder is making sure that the turkey isn’t frozen when it descends into bubbling peanut oil.

But there are plenty of other potential pitfalls. Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.

The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences points out that some of the most serious injuries are caused by faulty or misused equipment, like unstable fryer stands, uninsulated pot handles and/or fry pots that have been overfilled with oil.

Filling the pot too full of oil can cause the oil to spill over when the turkey is placed in the pot. In addition to creating an oily mess, spillovers at cooking temperatures can cause severe burns.

Whole turkeys require about 3 minutes per pound to cook. To be sure your bird is safely cooked, the temperature must reach at least 165 degrees in the thickest part of the breast. Some cooks prefer the innermost part of the thigh to reach 180 degrees.

You may be nervous about lowering a 12-pound turkey into 8 gallons of bubbling oil in a pot suspended over an open propane flame. That’s understandable. Fortunately, there are now electric fryers available that take some of this guesswork out of the process.

GSP: Best and worst times to travel this Thanksgiving holiday

By
Staff Report
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This was the scene early Wednesday, Nov. 24, along I-985 at Jesse Jewell Parkway in Gainesville. Traffic is expected to significantly increase around noon Wednesday as travelers start heading home for Thanksgiving. (GDOT 511)

If you’re hitting the road this Thanksgiving, pack your patience. The Georgia State Patrol has released a list of best and worst times to travel and, starting at noon today, traffic is expected to slow.

This travel time chart, compiled by the transportation analytics company INRIX, shows the Daily Worst and Best Times to travel. According to AAA, Thanksgiving is one of the busiest holidays for road trips and this year will be no different even during the pandemic. Drivers around major metro areas must be prepared for significant delays, especially Wednesday afternoon.

 

The Georgia State Patrol and other law enforcement agencies will be out in full force over the Thanksgiving holiday. The 102-hour holiday travel period begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 24, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 28.

“Troopers and Motor Carrier Officers will be patrolling interstates and secondary roads throughout the state to reduce traffic crashes, and deter unsafe driving behaviors,” said Georgia Public Safety Commissioner Colonel Chris Wright. He encourages motorists to make sure their vehicles are ready for the road, obey safety regulations, and “travel with patience.”

The Georgia Department of Public Safety offers these travel safety tips for those heading out on the road this holiday weekend:

  • Obey the posted speed limit. When you exceed the speed limit, you reduce the amount of available time needed to avoid a traffic crash.
  • Do not drive impaired (this includes alcohol and/or drugs/medication). Designate a sober driver, call a taxi, rideshare service, friend, or family member to help you get home safely.
  • Do not follow too closely behind the vehicle in front of you. Allow sufficient space between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you, usually a car length apart, so that you have plenty of time to stop your vehicle when traffic stops suddenly.
  • Buckle Up! Make sure everyone in the vehicle wears a seatbelt and that children are properly restrained in the appropriate child safety seats. Georgia law requires children under the age of eight to be in either a car seat or booster seat.
  • Pay attention to the road. Limit your distractions. Never use electronic devices to text or surf the web while driving. The Hands-Free Georgia Act prohibits all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving.
  • Plan your trip. Minimize the number of stops towards your destination, pack meals, extra snacks and drinks, as well as an emergency roadside kit.
  • Do not leave children and pets in hot cars. Regularly check the back seat and back floor area for children and animals, each time you exit your vehicle.
  • Stay alert of your surroundings and show common courtesy to other motorists and pedestrians on the roads.

During the 2020 Thanksgiving holiday, the Georgia State Patrol investigated 659 crashes, resulting in 370 injuries. Statewide, there were 23 fatal crashes, resulting in 24 deaths.

In addition to crash investigations, Troopers and Officers arrested more than 290 people for driving under the influence, while issuing over 11,400 citations and nearly 13,400 warnings.

English toffee cookies

By
Mitzi Oxford
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A friend who owns a catering business shared this recipe with me and it sounds delicious. I believe I’ll add these English Toffee cookies to my holiday baking rotation.

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/3 cups toffee bits (8 oz pkg)

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Add eggs; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in toffee bits.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Do you have a family favorite cookie recipe to share? Please drop me a line at [email protected] Happy Thanksgiving and happy baking!

King Richard

By
Justin Hall
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King Richard is a film that defies the conventional biopic formula by giving us a sense of nuance in its structure and ultimately becoming more and more engrossing as it progresses. It also features Will Smith at the top of his game in a role that tests his merits as an actor.

Smith stars as Richard Williams living in Compton with his wife and five daughters. Two of them are named Venus (Saniyya Sydney) and Serena (Demi Singleton). Richard raises the two girls with an iron fist, destined to mold them into great tennis players by saying he made a 78-page plan for their lives and drilling the mantra of “If you fail to plan, you can plan to fail” into their heads.

Richard comes under intense scrutiny for his unorthodox methods on how to train Venus and it leads to a number of confrontations with their next-door neighbor and even the police. Nevertheless, he remains steadfast in his pursuit.

Eventually, Richard is able to find a coach for Venus in the form of Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal) who wants to shape Venus in a way that seems to be somewhat conflicted from how Richard molds her. These two get some scenes of exchanges where both men are playing a tug of war over Venus’ athletic destiny.

King Richard centers around the journey that both girls take in order to reach superstardom, but Serena’s journey is sketched in and her story doesn’t go as far into detail as her sister’s.

Going into it, I thought King Richard had the potential to be a by-the-numbers biopic, but Smith’s performance makes it stand out due to being just as focused and committed as his real-life counterpart. He refuses to compromise on anything that could stand in the way of his daughter reaching for the stars, but he also makes a lot of enemies in the process due to his uncompromising methods. It’s a driven, unflinching portrayal of a man who loves his daughters and wants a better life for them than what he had. He’s got a shot at an Oscar.

Another theme is the sense of togetherness the family has. Even though they’re bonded by the hope that Venus and Serena will make it in the world of tennis, they’re also grounded in terms of allowing their daughters to enjoy the game and not be so wound up in the spirit of competitiveness. This is a movie that knows equally as much about the importance of family as it does the importance of tennis.

Game, set, and match to this movie. It’s one of the year’s best.

Grade: A

(Rated PG-13 for some violence, strong language, a sexual reference, and brief drug references.)

John B. “J.B.” Stephens

By
Now Habersham
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John B. “J.B.” Stephens, age 90, of Alto, passed away on Wednesday, November 24, 2021.

Born on September 27, 1931, in Bogart, he was a son of the late Gaynell Stephens Bailey. Mr. Stephens worked at Propes Furniture for several years where he was a piano technician that tuned and rebuilt pianos. He also worked with Fieldale Farms and later retired from Deep South. He enjoyed NASCAR and drag racing, but most of all, he enjoyed Horseshoes, in which he won the State Championship five times. Mr. Stephens was a member of Mountain View Baptist Church in Gainesville/Oakwood.

In addition to his mother, he was preceded in death by his infant son, Jeffrey Scott Stephens and great-grandson, Caden Tolbert.

Survivors include his daughters and sons-in-law: Bonnie and Jerry Luke of Cornelia, Connie and Jimmy Shirley of Mt. Airy, and Hope and David Kelley of Baldwin; grandchildren: Josh Luke (Meg), Zach Luke (Marissa), Brittany Hanes (Joshua), Jason Shirley (Cassie), Paige Wheeler (Justin); and great-grandchildren: Lily, Benjamin, Nolan, Cooper, Cy, Beckett, and Asher.

Funeral services are scheduled for 11:00 am on Monday, November 29, 2021, in the Chapel of McGahee-Griffin & Stewart with Rev. Clarence Reynolds and Pastor Kenny Kilby officiating. Interment will follow in Mountain View Baptist Church Cemetery, 3723 Old Flowery Branch Road, Oakwood, Georgia 30566.

The family will receive friends from 4-8 pm on Sunday, November 28, 2021, at the funeral home.

Flowers are accepted or donations may be made to Mountain View Baptist Church Cemetery Fund, c/o Bobby Brown, 3780 Mountain View Road, Gainesville, Georgia 30504 or to the charity of one’s choice.

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.

Edna Arrowood

By
Now Habersham
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Edna Arrowood, age 74, of Clermont, entered heaven Wednesday, November 24, 2021, at the Bell Minor Nursing Home with her sister by her side.

Edna was born in Jefferson, GA on May 18, 1947 to the late Gurlin & Nervie Grindle Smith. She worked in the poultry industry for a number of years and was of the Baptist faith. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bobby Arrowood.

Survivors include her sister, Margie Teal; close friend, Sherry Ledbetter.

A memorial service will be held privately with family & close friends.

Please share online condolences and memories with the family at www.wardsfh.com.

Ward’s Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Edna Arrowood.

Public health officials encourage safe gatherings this Thanksgiving

By
Hadley Cottingham
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With Thanksgiving nearly here and friends and family coming together to celebrate the holidays, the District 2 Public Health Office encourages gathering safely this holiday season to protect yourself and others.

“Many families will be a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated family members,” District 2 Public Health Information Officer Natasha Young tells Now Habersham. “We encourage all family members who are eligible to become vaccinated. Anyone who is unvaccinated should wear a mask indoors, and any families that have a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated persons should consider having their gatherings outdoors if the weather permits.”

The D2PH continues to encourage handwashing and social distancing, and also recommends that gatherings take place in open-air spaces. They suggest opening windows or doors to increase air circulation during indoor gatherings.

“If anyone is showing signs of illness, they should stay home,” Young says. “Additionally, if a person is already fully vaccinated, they should consider getting their booster dose prior to travel.”

Flu shots are also highly encouraged— the D2PH office says that protecting loved ones from both COVID-19 and the flu during flu season is incredibly important. If you haven’t received your flu shot or COVID-19 booster (or initial doses), you can safely get both the flu and COVID-19 vaccinations together.

“It is important for all of us to protect those we love, our friends and family, from infection,” Young says. “Get vaccinated, wear a mask when in public places, stay home if you are ill, and practice good hand hygiene and safe food preparation.”

How Georgia’s redistricting process sets the playing field for 2022 and beyond

By
Stephen Fowler
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The political and demographic tides of Georgia may have turned in Democrats’ favor over the past decade, but the Republican-led redistricting process has allowed the GOP to ride the waves of power a bit longer.

Georgia voters elected two Democratic U.S. senators in the January 2021 runoffs, narrowly picked President Joe Biden in November 2020 and flipped two suburban U.S. House seats to Democratic lawmakers in the past four years, but state government is still dominated by Republicans.

This month, the GOP-led Georgia General Assembly approved redistricting maps that overhaul a suburban congressional seat held by a Democrat to favor conservative voters in Atlanta’s northern exurbs, even as the maps shifted more districts to metro Atlanta Democrats in the state legislature.

Barring successful legal challenges or any mid-cycle realignments, these maps will control Georgia’s politics for the next 10 years and have a profound impact on how the swing state will be governed and what types of candidates will run.

While statewide elections have essentially been a competitive 50-50 split recently, the new boundaries approved for state and federal lawmakers are not as competitive, possibly leading to more races being decided in lower-turnout primaries and the potential for more extreme candidates to take office.

Every state and federal lawmaker will be on the ballot except Sen. Jon Ossoff. Georgia has played a pivotal role in national politics, and with control of the U.S. House and Senate on the line, the 2022 midterms will be no exception.

Here are some of the most notable changes to district lines, candidate decisions and other factors now that the redistricting special session is complete.

U.S. House

Currently, Georgia has eight Republican and six Democratic representatives in the U.S. House, but that number is destined to change. The new congressional map takes the 6th District, represented by Democrat Lucy McBath, and turns it into a conservative stronghold by moving the seat northward to include Cherokee, Forsyth and Dawson County voters. In turn, the 7th District represented by Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux shrunk its footprint to just part of Gwinnett County and Johns Creek, creating a safely Democratic district.

McBath quickly announced she would be running in the new 7th District, noting that, technically, there is no incumbent since Republicans did not include Bourdeaux’s home in the new boundaries. But the law does not require members of Congress to live where they run or represent, so Bourdeaux has also said she will run for reelection in that district.

This sets up a potentially messy primary between two sitting Democratic lawmakers unless one ultimately decides to switch to a different office or not run.

In the 6th District, several existing Republican candidates live in the Cobb and Fulton portions, leaving open a possibility for a candidate more familiar to Forsyth County voters to have a strong showing in a primary.

Rich McCormick, the 2020 GOP nominee for the 7th Congressional District, has indicated he will run again but will announce which seat he will vie for soon. He currently lives in the new 9th Congressional District but is close to the border of the 6th District, which includes parts of the old district he ran for last year.

Rep. Andrew Clyde of the 9th District said Tuesday morning on Voice of Rural America that he would run for reelection in the 9th after fellow Republicans drew his home into the new 10th District, which is open because of Jody Hice’s run for secretary of state.

While the contours of other U.S. House districts will change, the competitiveness of the races will not by very much. In the new congressional map, the closest district would be Southwest Georgia’s 2nd District, represented by Sanford Bishop, which would favor Democrats by about 10 points.

On average, a Republican congressman from Georgia would win with 61% of the vote in their district while a Democratic representative would capture 72% of the vote, meaning districts with Democratic U.S. House members have Democrats more heavily packed into them than Republicans are in Republican districts.

State Senate

The Georgia state Senate map takes two more rural Republican districts that will be vacated by lawmakers running for higher office and moves them into Democrat-heavy areas in metro Atlanta, while shifting the boundaries of Sen. Michelle Au’s Johns Creek-based district to become conservative-leaning and majority white.

Sen. Bruce Thompson (R-White) is running for labor commissioner, so Republicans moved his Bartow and Cherokee-based seat to north Fulton County. State Rep. Josh McLaurin (D-Sandy Springs) quickly announced he would run for the new seat.

Sen. Tyler Harper (R-Ocilla) is running for agriculture commissioner, and so, due to population loss in South Georgia, his district is moved to Gwinnett County. State Rep. Beth Moore (D-Peachtree Corners) announced she would run for the new seat as well.

Democrats objected during the special session to the new boundaries for Au’s district, which shifts from majority-nonwhite to majority-white but keeps its percentage of Asian voters.

An analysis from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project finds only one of the 56 new districts is competitive.

State House

Republicans in the state House created a map that primarily takes advantage of retirements to shed a few seats of their majority and shift more districts into metro Atlanta. New vacant House seats would be created in conservative-leaning Forsyth County and Democratic parts of Cobb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Rockdale counties.

One set of incumbent Democrats in Gwinnett County are paired against each other: Rebecca Mitchell and Shelly Hutchinson in Snellville. Republican Rep. Gerald Greene (R-Cuthbert) now sits in Rep. Winfred Dukes’ (D-Albany) district and Rep. Philip Singleton (R-Sharpsburg) is now in a South Fulton-based, Democrat-heavy district under this new map.

Democrats could gain as many as six seats on paper, but a difficult national environment for the party could translate into down-ballot troubles.

Statewide

The political maps for state and federal lawmakers don’t affect statewide races like governor or secretary of state, but there are still implications. Democrats are hoping to build on the 2018 election cycle that saw Stacey Abrams come within 55,000 votes of becoming governor, and are preparing for her likely rematch against Gov. Brian Kemp.

Some Republican lawmakers and candidates continue to question the 2020 election outcome and demand a so-called “forensic audit” of the results that were counted three separate times. In the January 2021 U.S. Senate runoffs, this in part led to a noticeable drop off in votes across Georgia in conservative strongholds.

Some are worried a repeat could happen in 2022, especially in places that do not have competitive local races to energize voters to the polls.

With fewer competitive races and seats available to them, Democrats must make choices about which candidates to support in primaries and what resources to put behind candidates and districts that seem impossible to win.

This article appears on Now Habersham through a news partnership with GPB News

Fire damages garage and apartment in White County

By
Dean Dyer, WRWH Radio
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Firefighters battle fire on Nonquit Drive Tuesday. (Photo: W.C. Fire Service)

White County Fire officials say there were no injuries as a result of a residential fire Tuesday.

White County Fire Chief Seth Weaver said the fire at 125 Nonquit Drive east of Cleveland heavily damaged a garage and apartment attached to the residence at the location. Other areas of the home received smoke and water damage.

Fire units were dispatched just before 3 p.m. and when they arrived found fire and smoke coming from the building, plus there was a woods fire adjacent to the home. The woods fire burned about an acre, with the flames being fanned by the wind.

According to Chief Weaver, there is nothing suspicious about the fire but the State Fire Marshalls office is investigating to determine the origin.

Quarterfinal previews

By
Todd Holcomb
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Here’s a preview of Northeast Georgia area teams still in the hunt for a championship title. The quarterfinals of the GHSA State Football Championships kick off Friday. Check out Now Hab’s NEGA Area Scoreboard on our sports page for updates.

MORE: Review Round 2

Class 5A
Calhoun (10-2) at Clarke Central (10-2): This is a rematch of a 2020 second-round game, also played in Athens, that Calhoun won 33-14. Calhoun’s Christian Lewis passed for 217 yards and three touchdowns in that game. Now a senior, he was at his best last week, completing 29 of 50 passes for 447 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-42 victory over Ware County. Wide receivers Cole Speer (10-201-1) and Quin Smith (6-117-1) gave the Gators fits. Another Calhoun win would put the Yellow Jackets in the semifinals for the first time under Clay Stephenson, who became coach in 2019, or since they moved out of Class 3A. Clarke Central has won nine straight after an 0-2 start (lost to Buford and Oconee County) and is in the quarterfinals for the third time in four seasons. Clarke’s most recent semifinal was in 2009. This Clarke team, which throws for only 74.4 yard per game, is far more run-oriented than recent ones. In the second round, William Richardson rushed for a career-high 205 yards and three touchdowns in a 24-7 victory over Starr’s Mill. He has 930 yards rushing on the season.

Class 4A
North Oconee (9-3) at Bainbridge (9-3): Both teams were 1-3 after the fifth week of the regular season, but they come into this week’s game as region champions with eight-game winning streaks. North Oconee has held six of eight opponents in the streak to a touchdown or less, including Spalding in a 37-0 victory last week. Khalil Barnes scored on a 53-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage, and the Titans led 23-0 at halftime. Rodrick Finch and Dominic Elder added rushing touchdowns in the second half. Bainbridge had 436 yards of total offense in a 48-7 second-round victory over Northwest Whitfield. Kennan Phillips ran for 136 yards and two touchdowns, and Bo Smith was 11-of-17 passing for 255 yards and three scores. Phillips has rushed for 687 yards and Smith has passed for 1,970 yards this season. Bainbridge limited Northwest Whitfield to minus-4 yards rushing on 20 carries and 242 total yards. The Bearcats have held five of eight opponents to eight points or less during their winning streak. Bainbridge is in the quarterfinals for the third time in four seasons. North Oconee is making its first appearance since 2014.

Class 2A 
Rabun County (11-1) at Thomasville (11-1): This game matches the two top-rated teams in Class 2A (No. 1 Rabun County, No. 2 Thomasville). These schools, located 325 miles apart in opposite corners of the state, have met just once in football, a 38-24 victory by Thomasville at home in the 2019 quarterfinals. Rabun County is in the quarterfinals for the seventh consecutive season but still seeking its first state title. The star of the show for the Wildcats is four-star QB Gunner Stockton (committed to Georgia), who threw for 444 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 60 yards and three TDs in a 56-7 victory last week against Jeff Davis, which had given up just 54 points all season. Stockton, who has 53 TD passes this season and just one interception, has 13,492 career passing yards and needs 411 more to break Trevor Lawrence’s state record of 13,902. Thomasville, in its fourth quarterfinal in five seasons, advanced with a 42-16 victory over Heard County last week. Shannen White was 8-of-10 passing for a season-high 252 yards and four TDs, giving him 1,595 yards and 19 TDs for the season. Ricky Fulton rushed for 59 yards and has 766 for the year. Malik Harper leads the Bulldogs in rushing with 1,051 yards and 19 TDs.

Class A Private
Prince Avenue Christian (11-1) at First Presbyterian (10-2): Third-ranked Prince Avenue Christian, the defending state champion, is in the quarterfinals for the 10th time in 11 seasons. Aaron Philo was 21-of-25 passing for 368 yards and four touchdowns in a 52-0 victory over Brookstone last week. The sophomore has thrown for 3,422 yards for the season, second only to Rabun County’s Gunner Stockton. Bailey Stockton had five receptions for 146 yards, putting him at 1,080 for year. He caught two touchdown passes and scored on a 45-yard interception return. The Wolverines held Brookstone to 52 total yards on 38 plays. No. 9 First Presbyterian defeated Mount Vernon 31-0 last week to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2012. Griffin Green ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns, putting him at 1,100 yards for the year. Jackson Moore scored on a 22-yard reverse and a 68-yard pass from Jakhari Williams, who passed for 142 yards. Williams, also a sophomore, has thrown for 1,700 yards this season. Prince Avenue won the two previous meetings, beating First Presbyterian in first-round games in 2014 and 2015.

 

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Tallulah Falls sweeps tournament games for second straight day

By
TFS Athletics
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The Tallulah Falls varsity basketball teams against took a pair of wins in the Andy Landers Thanksgiving Tournament, as both the girls and boys won for the second straight day.

GIRLS

The Lady Indians have their first 2-game win streak of the season after beating Hart County, 59-38. It was a dominating effort from the opening tip, as TFS went up 23-2 after just one quarter of play. The girls edged Hart by 6 points in the second (18-12) to take a commanding 41-14 halftime lead.

Macy Murdock (photo by Austin Poffenberger)

Hart County battled back with a 13-12 third quarter advantage, but that only got them within 54-26 heading into the final quarter. Hart again outscored TFS, 13-6, but the Lady Indians cruised to a 59-38 final.

Once again, the Lady Indians got contributions from several players, as 8 different players scored points in the win. Veronaye Charlton led with 21 points, while Denika Lightbourne had 13. Molly Mitchell had 8 points, Macy Murdock and Haygen James both had 5, Allie Phasavang had 3, and both Barrett Whitener and Miracle Bain had 2 points.

TFS is now 3-2 overall on the season, and will return to the court next week after Thanksgiving break.

BOYS

The Indians came out on the right side of a thriller, securing a 54-50 victory over Alcovy. For the boys, it means a fifth straight win to open the season. Though Anfernee Hanna led in scoring with 24 points, it was truly a complete team win, as several players had outstanding performances.

The Indians are 5-0 on the season, and are in action next week.

Biden opens oil reserve to relieve high gas prices—but it won’t be immediate

By
Jacob Fischler
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President Joe Biden said he coordinated the release of the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a complex of four sites along the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coasts, with leaders in Japan, South Korea, India and the United Kingdom, which would also release their own reserves. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)

(GA Recorder) — As gasoline prices spiral ahead of the big holiday travel season, President Joe Biden authorized the release of a record 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Tuesday—complicating his administration’s goal to transition to cleaner energy sources.

In prepared remarks, Biden said he coordinated the release from the reserve, a complex of four sites along the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coasts, with leaders in Japan, South Korea, India and the United Kingdom, which would also release their own reserves.

The effort would not affect gas prices overnight, he said.

Republican critics have hammered Biden recently over not moving fast enough to stem inflation and rising prices for energy and consumer goods. But the move highlighting the reliance on oil also comes after Biden and other world leaders at the United Nations Climate Conference pledged to move away from fossil fuels.

The president said the release from the reserve was intended to relieve high prices in the short term, but a strategy to transition to other fuel sources would be more effective in the long term.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm echoed the president’s sentiment to reporters at a press briefing following Biden’s remarks. She said the administration was aiming to provide short-term relief from oil prices that are at a seven-year high.

She said the White House hoped to see domestic oil producers return to their pre-pandemic levels, even as Biden has made climate action a central part of his agenda—which would mean more reliance on clean energy rather than oil.

“We are in a transition, and the transition doesn’t happen overnight,” Granholm said. “This is a short-term strategy to make sure that people are not hurting. And the long-term strategy to make sure that the country doesn’t hurt into the future is to build clean.”

In his prepared remarks, Biden said high gas prices were “a problem, not just here but across the world.”

He blamed oil-rich countries and large companies for not increasing supply.

“This coordinated action will help us deal with a lack of supply that in turn helps ease prices,” he said. “The bottom line: Today we’re launching a major effort to moderate the price of oil, an effort that will span the globe in reach and ultimately reach your corner gas station, God willing.”

Granholm declined to predict when gasoline and home heating prices would fall as a result of tapping the reserve but said consumers should “start to see some tick-down over the next bit.”

A senior administration official told reporters earlier Tuesday that the release of reserve oil would hit markets in mid-to-late December at the earliest.

As Biden’s work with international leaders became public, energy prices have already dropped about 10%, the official said.

The reserve barrels will be released gradually over weeks, Granholm said.

Oil dependence

A move to clean energy would be the best thing to protect consumers from “energy price shocks” caused by a dependence on oil, Granholm, a former Michigan governor, said.

The administration’s recently enacted $1.2 trillion physical infrastructure law, with its funding for electric vehicle charging stations and electric grid upgrades, would help with the transition to clean energy, she said.

The second piece of the administration’s two-pronged domestic spending plan, a $2.2 trillion social spending and climate bill that has passed the House and will soon be considered in the Senate, also includes tax credits to help move the energy sector away from fossil fuels to wind, solar and other sustainable energy sources. But in the short term, the administration is pushing domestic and international oil suppliers to increase production.

“We want to encourage them to increase supply,” she said. “We want supply to be increased, both inside the United States and around the world, so that we can reduce the pressures at the pump.”

The Energy Information Administration, part of the U.S. Energy Department, estimates domestic production was at about 11 million barrels per day over the last 10 months, down from a peak of nearly 13 million in late 2019 and early 2020.

Members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee urged more production of oil, gas and coal to combat high prices last week, just days after the climate conference.

Granholm said the oil and gas industry was 150,000 workers short of its pre-pandemic level. The industry also holds 9,500 permits to drill on public lands and waters that it is not using, she said.

Leases to drill for oil and gas do not always translate to production and can take years to develop.

Last week, Biden tasked the Federal Trade Commission with investigating possible price manipulation for gasoline. Granholm said Tuesday that the price of gasoline was higher than would be expected for the current price of crude oil.

In a statement released through a spokeswoman, Frank Macchiarola, the American Petroleum Institute’s senior vice president for economics and regulatory affairs, said the investigation was “a distraction from the fundamental market shift that is taking place and the ill-advised government decisions that are exacerbating this challenging situation.”

Macchiarola agreed with the administration’s view that the uneven recovery from the pandemic-induced economic fallout has led to demand outstripping supply.

But the executive at the largest oil and gas industry group said the administration’s policies were hurting energy supplies.

“Further impacting the imbalance is the continued decision from the administration to restrict access to America’s energy supply and cancel important infrastructure projects,” he said, likely referring to the Inauguration Day order to cancel the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline,  which would have traversed eastern Montana on its way from the Alberta oilfields to the Gulf of Mexico.

“Rather than launching investigations on markets that are regulated and closely monitored on a daily basis or pleading with OPEC to increase supply, we should be encouraging the safe and responsible development of American-made oil and natural gas.”

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