The high school swim season kicks off this Saturday Nov. 8, at 9:30 am at the Ruby C. Fulbright Aquatic Center in Clarkesville.
The Hawaiian Luau themed meet will host 17 high school and middle school teams with over 425 swimmers. Teams from TFS and Habersham Central High School will be among those competing.
The Cornelia City Council will hold a called meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 12:15pm. Click here for details.
Fayetteville, NC – The USA South Athletic Conference has released its 2014 All-Conference awards in volleyball with a pair of veteran Lady Lions making the prestigious list. Piedmont’s JENNIFER OPPER and KAITLIN NORMAN both earned spots on the listing released earlier today by the conference office in Fayetteville.
Norman’s All-Conference nod is the third straight for the Good Hope native and fourth Conference honor overall in her collegiate career as she was also named an All-Freshman honoree in Piedmont’s last year as a Great South Athletic Conference member in 2011. Having made 3rd team All-USA South in her sophomore year and taken 2nd team honors last season, Norman earned her way onto the 1st team All-Conference listing in this her senior season after another banner year in which she eclipsed the 1,000 kill mark in her collegiate career.
One of the most dominant hitters that Piedmont has ever seen, Norman was in the top ten amongst all USA South players in both total kills (238) and kills per set (2.43) and ranked 8th in the league in hitting percentage. Norman’s value to the Lady Lions can be pointed to directly as she ranked 11th in the league accounting for almost three points per set and close to 300 overall on the season, 13th best amongst the league.
As a former Great South Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, JENNIFER OPPER’s All-Conference selection also comes in this her senior season along with teammate KAITLIN NORMAN as Opper hit just shy of .300 this season after having already crested that mark twice in her four year career. Leading her team in attack percentage and placing in the league’s top four in that category, Opper was an Honorable Mention on this year’s All-Conference listing after having been named to the list in 2013 as well marking her second straight All-USA South nod.
Opper led the team in hitting percentage this season and was also a feared force at the net defensively as well as one of the smartest blockers around the USA South. Her 63 total blocks placed her in the top 12 in the league in that category while her 51 block assists put her 11th among all volleyball players in the USA South, but it comes as no surprise as Opper has ranked in the top 15 in those categories in each of her three seasons that Piedmont has been a USA South member and led the conference in block assists last season.
Having earned the #3 seed out of the South Division by virtue of going 11-5 in league action, the Lady Lions posted a 10th straight season with 20 wins or more having taken victories in their final two regular season contests to do so in 2014. Earning a spot in the USA South Championship field, Piedmont will travel up to Martinsville to play the #2 seed out of the North Division in Averett University on Friday afternoon with first serve at 3:00 pm.
Should the Lady Lions win their quarterfinal contest with the Cougars, a date with preseason and now tournament favorite Maryville College will likely await in the semis should the Scots be able to win their opener vs. the final seed out of the North Division, Greensboro. Piedmont’s representative on the All-Sportsmanship Team was newcomer KATIE SPADAFORA.
The 2014 USA South Volleyball All-Conference Team:
First Team
Nicole Barringer, Averett
Kelsey Handel, Maryville
Karlie Long, Meredith
KAITLIN NORMAN, Piedmont
Hannah Shields, Averett
Chelsea VanDyk, Covenant
Liz Widenhouse, Greensboro Second Team
Mallory Bonee, Maryville
Cassidy Hayes, Methodist
Megan Mansfield, William Peace
Ginny Moore, Covenant
Schuyler Moore, Covenant
Elizabeth Pattison, Meredith
Mary Kate White, Maryville Honorable Mention
Hannah Blaylock, Meredith
Chloe Carlson, Covenant
Katie Chancellor, LaGrange
Morgan Hall, Maryville
Karly Klimas, Methodist
Rachel Kozemko, Maryville
JENNIFER OPPER, Piedmont
Sarah Smoot, Averett
Carson Williams, William Peace
All-Sportsmanship Team
Leslie Fulton, Averett
Laura Scott Tomlin, Covenant
Jessica Turner, Ferrum
Breana Baker, Greensboro
Bobie Wilson, Huntingdon
Sterling Ancrum, LaGrange
Sarah Crumbly, Mary Baldwin
Lauren Bonee, Maryville
Jasmine Aguinaldo, Meredith
Maggie Harris, Methodist
Tori Blevins, N.C. Wesleyan
KATIE SPADAFORA, Piedmont
Meghan Luffman, William Peace
Carter King ran for 41 yards and caught 4 passes for 67 yards in the Eagles’ game against the Spartans. The #2 seed Eagles host the first round of the NCISAA playoffs Saturday at noon.
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School – Rabun Gap finished the regular season with a hard-fought 27-22 win at home against Camden Military Academy on Saturday.
The Eagles scored twice in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead. However, the Spartans responded with two second quarter scores and led 15-14 at the half. Carter King took a pass on the second play of the second half 49 yards to set up Dallas Earnhardt’s one yard run. Earnhardt hit Niko Harrell on a 20 yard pass for his second touchdown of the game to give the Eagles a 27-15 lead. Camden added a touchdown run of 39 yards to pull within five points. The Eagles defense came up with several big stops late in the game to preserve the win.
Harrell finished with 4 catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 41 yards. King also had 4 catches for 67 yards. Earnhardt finished 11 of 18 for 159 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 36 yards and one touchdown. Aaron Appleton led the defense with 15 tackles and one for a loss. Gavyn Jones added 8 tackles and one for a loss. Danny Xu came up with 7 tackles, one for a loss, and one sack. Linus Williams had 7 tackles, one for loss, and one pass break-up. Carter King also recorded 7 tackles and one pass break-up.
Rabun Gap (9-2) earned the #2 seed and will host #7 seed Village Christian on Saturday, Nov. 8, at noon in the first round of the NCISAA playoffs.
SALY PHONGSAVANH, age 91, of Cornelia, Georgia, passed away on Wednesday November 5, 2014.
NANCY GAYLE ARIAIL HUMPHRIES, age 67, of Cornelia, departed this good earth to her heavenly home on November 5, 2014.
The mood was electric inside the Habersham Central High School Gymnasium this morning as the HCHS Raiders were awarded the High 5 Sports Team of the Week trophy by Fox 5 of Atlanta. A pep rally celebrating the honor was broadcast live on the television station’s morning news show Good Day Atlanta.
The Raiders received the award for topping High 5 Sports’ TOW online poll. The team received 9,871 votes. Their closest competitor in the 5-team poll was the Tucker Tigers who claimed 2,883 votes.
The High 5 trophy comes on the heels of a big victory Friday night when the Raiders won their first football game in two years against the North Forsyth Raiders.
Photos by Johnny Bailey
Bond was set today for a Cornelia woman charged with vehicular homocide in connection with a fatal motorcycle accident last month in Hall County.
A Hall County Magistrate set bond at $20,100 for 64-year old Ruby Marie Marshall. Marshall is charged in the death of Jerald Freeman of Cornelia. The 47-year old Freeman died Oct. 7 in a motorcycle wreck on Pea Ridge Road within miles of his home in Habersham.
The initial investigation by the Georgia State Patrol indicated Freeman accidentally ran off the road, but after further investigation authorities now say a Kia driven by Marshall allegedly crossed over the center line forcing Freeman’s motorcycle off the road. Freeman was thrown from his motorcycle as it traveled down an embankment into a ravine. His brother discovered his body the next day. Troopers say Marshall left the scene without calling for help or rendering aid. She was arrested by state troopers on Oct. 30 in Dahlonega.
Sources tell Now Habersham someone came forward with information that led to Marshall’s arrest.
Marshall is charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, failure to maintain lane, reckless driving and failure to stop at the scene of an accident. She remains in the Hall County jail.
A committal hearing for Marshall is set for Nov. 17 in Hall County to determine if there is enough evidence for probable cause which must be established for the courts to move forward with the case.
First-degree vehicular homicide carries a minimum three-year prison sentence with a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Jerald Freeman was the owner of About Time Tree Service in Cornelia and also worked as a skydiving instructor in Atlanta. He was a 1985 graduate of Habersham Central High School in Mt. Airy and a 1987 graduate of Truett McConnell College in Cleveland.
WAYNE SMITH, age 91, a lifelong resident of Clarkesville passed away Thursday, November 6, 2014 after an extended period of declining health.
Much of northeast Georgia may be watching Barbara Brown Taylor on Oprah Winfrey’s “Super Soul Sunday” show, but there is one person who won’t be tuning in—Barbara Brown Taylor.
The show, which was taped in August at Oprah’s Harpo Studios in Chicago, will be broadcast at 11 a.m., Nov. 9, on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
“I am so phobic about cameras, that meeting Oprah was the only thing that got me there,” said Taylor, who lives on a farm near Clarkesville. “But she is so lovely, so genuine, kind, focused and professional—I made the right choice. She has done so much good in the world that the opportunity to meet her overcame all my other dread.”
During the show, Winfrey and Taylor discuss Taylor’s latest book, “Learning to Walk in the Dark,” which shines a light on traditions that equate dark places with the sinister. After exploring caves, subterranean chapels and other “dark” places, Taylor says that embracing darkness and the unknown can be a transformative spiritual practice. “We talked about the book,” Taylor said, “But really it was more of a conversation about living life, rather than an interview.”
Taylor is the Butman Professor of Religion at Piedmont College, where she has taught since 1998. An Episcopal priest since 1984, she is the author of 12 other books, including the New York Times bestseller “An Altar in the World.” Her first memoir, “Leaving Church,” met with widespread critical acclaim, winning a 2006 Author of the Year award from the Georgia Writers Association.
Appearing on Oprah Winfrey’s telecast is just the latest in a series of national honors for Taylor. Earlier this year, Time magazine and Christian Century both featured her book as cover stories, and Time also selected her as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” for her writing and preaching.
Still, Taylor said she does not plan to watch the Oprah show, lest it bring back the memory of all those cameras. “I can’t even look at myself in the mirror at the gym, so how can I watch this?” she laughed.
(Super Soul Sunday and the Oprah Winfrey Network can be found on Channel 405 on Windstream cable. Viewers who do not receive the OWN channel can watch the show online at oprah.com/supersoulsunday or Facebook.com/supersoulsunday.)
1 Samuel 17:28, “When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”
I can imagine the scene in my head – older brother scolding the younger – “Go away! What are you but a shepherd boy! Go tend to your sheep, BRAT!”
But David was on a mission for God. The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites occupied the other. A champion warrior named Goliath from Gath taunted the Israelites. The Bible tells us he was 9 feet tall! “He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.” (This guy is one bad CAT and nobody wants to deal with him!) Goliath shouted to the Israelites for someone brave enough to come and fight him. If the Israelite wins, the Philistines will be subject to them; but, if he wins, the Israelites will become subject to the Philistines. Saul and his army were terrified. Nobody wanted to take this guy on, and I can’t say I don’t blame them.
David is the youngest of eight boys belonging to Jesse from Bethlehem – three of the sons are in Saul’s army, Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah. For 40 days the taunting had been constant, and daily Saul could not produce someone to fight Goliath. Jesse sent his son David to bring his boys food. When David arrives, it is early morning and he hears the words of Goliath.
“Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” David asks the men.
Eliab, his older brother, overhears the questions and angered by David, attempts to get rid of him. But David hears a word from God. David knows Who he serves. His God can defeat this uncircumcised Philistine!
Some of us can be Eliab’s in other’s lives. The negative, “you can’t do it!” “get out-of-the-way!” “you are incapable!” voices which interfere in the plans God has for people. Some of us don’t want to defeat the giants in our lives because we don’t believe we can.
And then, some of us listen to the Eliab’s of our lives. We listen to those who are the nay-sayers and we buy into the doubt of our abilities to do all things through a mighty, powerful God.
Which are you?
God has a purpose for every one of us. He has a plan. He needs to use our abilities to benefit His Kingdom; but, first and foremost, we have to tune our hearing into Him. Selective hearing – directed toward the Word of God – removes the Eliab’s of our lives. Pray today about what God needs you to do. Ask Him to remove the voices of Eliab in your life.
“There is nothing more beautiful than the love between a father and his daughter.”
(Gerald and Sarah Beth Cody) – Habersham County, Georgia
