ATLANTA — As the Christmas and New Year’s holidays rapidly approach, Georgia State Patrol (GSP) troopers and Motor Carrier Compliance (MCCD) officers across the state are preparing for the back-to-back holiday weekends.
They will conduct high visibility patrols on the heaviest travel days to remind motorists to drive safely.
This year’s Christmas holiday travel period begins Friday, December 22, at 6 p.m. and ends Tuesday, December 26, at 11:59 p.m. The New Year’s holiday travel period gets underway on Friday, December 29, at 6:00 p.m. and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, January 2, 2024. Both are 78 hours long.
“The Georgia Department of Public Safety would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. We want to encourage all motorists to make safety their top priority when traveling on Georgia’s roadways,” says Col. Billy Hitchens, Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety (DPS).
Before hitting the road, Hitchens advises drivers to conduct a “pre-trip inspection” of their vehicles. He also urges motorists to obey the speed limit, wear their seatbelts, and ensure children are properly restrained.
“Do not drive impaired or distracted and please be patient as you travel,” he says.
AAA estimates over 115 million people will journey 50 miles or more away from home from December 23 to January 1, a 1.8% increase compared to 2022.
Santa is gearing up for the trip around the globe to deliver all the presents the elves have worked on all year.
You are probably frantically wrapping Christmas gifts; grocery shopping; and washing the Christmas china.
Reminders
Here are a few reminders as we go into the weekend to make sure you cover everything:
Batteries – There is nothing more disappointing than a new toy or gadget and there are no batteries. Stock-up! And if you are giving a gift that requires batteries, include them!
Milk & Cookies – Don’t forget the essentials for Santa. It is also nice to have carrots for the reindeer.
Check the gifts under the tree – It is easy to forget someone. Be certain everyone has a gift or two. Now is the time to check!
Water your Christmas Tree – Safety! With all the gifts under the tree, it is easy to forget to check the water level.
Check your grocery list twice – You don’t want to forget an item for that special Christmas Breakfast or Dinner.
Money is always a great gift – If you are short on time, don’t stress! Money is always a great gift!
Take time to read the Christmas story – It is important to recognize why we celebrate the Christmas season.
Do something nice for someone you don’t know – Make a special effort to do something nice for someone in a store or drive-thru. It will bless them but also you.
Take some deep breaths – slow down and enjoy the season. It will be gone before you know it.
Choose a Christmas Eve Service to attend. We’ve chosen a few below to help out.
Clarkesville First United Methodist Church – Sunday, December 24, 10:00 a.m. ONE Sunday morning service; 4:00 p.m. Family Christmas Eve Service in the Connection; 5:00 p.m. Birthday Party for Jesus; 6:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m. Christmas Eve Services in Sanctuary.
First Baptist Cornelia – Sunday, December 24, 6:00 p.m. Candlelight Christmas Eve Service
The Torch – Saturday, December 23, 7:00 p.m. in Demorest and Dahlonega; Sunday, December 24th 5:00 p.m. Demorest & Dahlonega
The most important part of the Countdown to Christmas is to remember to be kind to those around you; listen to what is being said; speak with intentional love and understanding; and remember Whose Birthday we are celebrating.
White County Office of Public Safety’s Fire Services Division graduating class
Fourteen students graduated from the White County Office of Public Safety’s Fire Services Division. It is their second class of Emergency Medical Technicians.
The ceremony, which was held on December 18th at the Cleveland Worship Center in Cleveland, Georgia, celebrated the completion of training for 14 EMT Students. With the completion of 290 hours of classroom instruction and 36 hours of clinical training, students completed the Georgia EMS and Trauma governed Psychomotor Exam. The next step for the graduates is the National Registry Emergency Medical Technician Certification.
The Training Academy
Beginning in August of 2023, the White County Fire Services Training Academy held classes at White County’s Emergency Operations Center. Led by Firefighter and Paramedic Shad Sosebee under the direction of Fire Services Training Captain Lanier Swafford, the majority of the graduates are White County Firefighters wanting to continue their education to better respond to medical-related calls.
Medical-related emergencies make up 65% of calls responded to by White County Fire Services. The school was also available for firefighters in surrounding counties. The following departments also had participants in the class:
Gainesville Fire Department
Union County Fire Department
Chief Michael LeFevre addressing the graduates.
Major accomplishment
White County Fire Service’s EMS Lead Instructor, Shad Sosebee, shares about the class: “I consider this a major accomplishment for each of these graduates. They have been hard at work since August and their efforts are already paying off.” Sosebee continues, “We are pleased to have a 100% pass rate for the Psychomotor Exams. The students are now eligible to obtain their National Registry of Emergency Medical Technician certification. Many students already tested and passed the exam.”
Benefits to Community
David Murphy, Director of White County Public Safety, comments: “This is a major triumph for White County to receive 14 more highly trained first responders who can provide lifesaving medical services to the citizens they serve.” Murphy continues, “None of this would be possible without our dedicated staff and community partners who have worked together to make this class a success.”
Graduating Class of Fall 2023
Emergency Medical Technician
Brian Aina
Christopher Fairholt
Brian Faith
Randy Galavan
Lon Gilbert
Carson Harrell
Candace Humphrys
William Lapree
Bo Medlock
Dustin Mowrey
Jason Ravan
William Sexton
Kevin Sims
Terry Sosebee
Before the conclusion of the ceremony, a special recognition took place for one of the graduating members.
Recognition of Bo Medlock
On November 20, 2023, Bo Medlock, his father Jim, and some friends set out on a deep-sea fishing trip. During the trip, Jim experienced a medical emergency where he began going in and out of consciousness. 911 was called and Bo began assessing his father. Once back at the dock and awaiting the ambulance’s arrival, Jim went into cardiac arrest. Bo administered CPR on his father until first responders arrived. After several resuscitation attempts, Jim regained a pulse. After a lengthy hospital stay, Jim returned home and is expected to make a full recovery.
During the ceremony, Jim was called on stage to present his son, Bo Medlock, with a Lifesaving Commendation Award.
Sarah Marsha Knight, age 71, of Gainesville, entered rest Friday, December 22, 2023, at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Gainesville.
Ms. Knight was born in Gainesville on August 13, 1952, to the late George Cleburn & Mary Francis Eberhardt Patterson. She retired as a bookkeeper and was a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Gainesville.
Left to cherish her sweet memory, brother, Tommy (Lillie) Patterson; sister, Celeste (Drew) Sayre; a number of other relatives also survive.
The family will hold services at a later time and date.
Please sign the online guestbook or leave a condolence at www.wardsfh.com.
Ward’s Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Gainesville, is honored to serve the family of Sarah Marsha Knight.
Deana Noelle Neese, 23, of Cannon, passed away on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, due to injuries sustained in a car accident in South Carolina.
Deana was a ray of sunshine to all who knew her. She was well known for her love of kids and her service to them in her profession as a child advocate. Deana was born in Commerce in 2000 to Rachel Stephens and Dusty Neese. She attended East Jackson High School and graduated from Foothills in 2018. After graduation, she attended Athens Technical College and enrolled in early childhood classes. She went on to work at World of Kids in Commerce, Bright Promises in Hartwell, and finally as a child advocate at Northeast Georgia Council on Domestic Violence. Her career choices showcase her adoration for children. So many families were touched by her life.
Some of Deana’s favorite things were her family, friends, all things Disney, and her cats. She was passionate about her role as a child advocate. Her love of church was evident in all the churches she regularly attended and served in her community. Deana also developed a love of theatre and recently joined the Hart County Community Theatre where she acted in A Christmas Story.
Deana was preceded in death by her maternal grandfathers, Kenny Crenshaw and Dean Stephens; maternal great-grandparents, Bill and Faye Whitmire; paternal grandparents, Joel and Nina Neese; paternal uncles, Perry (Big Pig) Neese and Walt Neese. She is survived by her mother, Rachel Stephens; father, Noelle (Dusty) Neese; sister, Madisyn Neese; brothers, Dustyn Neese, Matthew Neese, and Nathaniel Neese; maternal grandmother, Wanda Crenshaw; boyfriend, Will Grey. She is also survived by a host of uncles, aunts, cousins, and numerous families whose lives were impacted by her.
Memorial services to honor Deana are planned for Saturday, December 23, 2023, at 2:00 pm, at Foundation Church, formally known as Center Grove Baptist Church, in Pendergrass. Pastor John Wood will be officiating. Instead of flowers, please make donations in Deana’s name to Foundation Church’s food bank. A special thank you to Ward’s Funeral Home in Gainesville for their assistance.
You may sign the online guestbook or leave a condolence at www.wardsfh.com.
Ward’s Funeral Home & Cremations Services, Gainesville, is honored to serve the family of Deana Noelle Neese.
Student debt relief activist rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 30, 2023. The Supreme Court stuck down the Biden administration’s student debt forgiveness program in Biden v. Nebraska. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(GA Recorder) — The holidays aren’t cheap, and neither is a college degree. And for the first time since the pandemic, more than 1 million Georgians might need to factor in the cost of student loan payments into their budgets as they prepare to celebrate.
Loan payments paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, kicked back in this October, creating a new monthly expense for more than 15% of Georgians.
Georgia ranks No. 3 in the nation for student loan debt after the District of Columbia and Maryland, with the average borrower more than $41,000 in the red for their diploma, according to the Education Data Initiative.
In all, 1.6 million Georgians owe $68.6 billion in student loans, and just over half of them are 35 or older.
An October Pew study found that the resumption of payments could affect states differently. People in states where the total outstanding federal loan balance makes up more than 10% of total personal income can be at particular risk, and in Georgia, federal student loans make up 13.3% of state personal income, according to Pew.
“State personal income is kind of a tricky measure, but basically, it sums up all of the money that residents receive from work, investments, business, from owning business and property, and kind of benefits from employers or the government,” said Melissa Maynard, project director of the Fiscal 50 project at The Pew Charitable Trusts.
That measure matters for state governments, said Maynard, because it helps them think about their revenue forecast.
“And if there are changes to their residents’ income, that can signal future changes to either the tax revenue or the spending side of the budget ledger,” she said. “So just to put it another way, by looking at outstanding student loan balances as a portion of state personal income, we can kind of see how the overall loan burden per state compares to the amount of individual resources circulating within the state.”
Student debt reduces household spending and business growth, according to the Education Data Initiative.
Each time a consumer’s student debt-to-income ratio increases by 1%, their consumption declines by 3.7%, the initiative finds, and people with debt loads greater than $30,000 are 11% less likely to start a business.
The data tracks how much borrowers owe but not where they came from, so it may be that the state’s high amount of debt reflects its population and demographic growth, said Spencer Orenstein, an officer with the student loan initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts.
“Georgia is a state that has had a lot of population growth, with Atlanta being a highly growing area with a lot of jobs attracting folks with college educations to that area,” he said. “So just to point out that some of this population could be folks who maybe got their degree out of state and moved to Georgia for job opportunities.”
Another potential factor for Georgia’s higher than average debt rate is markedly less inspiring.
“We do know that certain populations tend to have higher student loan debt. This often includes borrowers of color,” Orenstein added. “And with Georgia and the south having larger populations of color, that is probably one reason that would explain having a higher student loan amount than some other states.”
According to the Education Data Initiative, Black college graduates nationwide owe an average of $25,000 more than white grads. With average monthly payments of $250, higher than any other racial group, Black borrowers were the most likely to tell pollsters they were putting off buying a home or were working extra hours because of their debt.
Orenstein said there is some encouraging news in Georgia’s student loan data: about one in five Georgians are enrolled in income-based repayment plans, which he said can significantly lower monthly payments.
“Georgia is also one of the highest states when it comes to borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans, and I think this is really important because I think this is something that is likely to mitigate the potential impact both on statewide finances, but most directly on people’s household budgets, because income-driven repayment plans make student loan payments a lot more affordable by linking a borrower’s monthly payment to their income.”
Pickleball players compete in the Southern Pickleball Association's Candy Cane Classic at Rhythm & Rally in Macon, Ga., in December 2023.
(Credit: Jason Vorhees/The Telegraph)
It’s Dec. 16, and the parking lot of the Macon Mall has not been this full for years. But it’s not because of holiday shoppers — people have come from as far away as Wisconsin for Southern Pickleball’s Candy Cane Classic.
They’ve also come to play in the world’s largest indoor pickleball facility.
John Roberts was recently hired to manage the new facility called Rhythm and Rally.
“You know, 650 players are here, and it stretches the gamut of certainly the Southeast,” Roberts said. “But we probably have 30 to 40 of that number that are your quintessential snowbirds on their way south.”
Inside the mall, competitors battle it out on 32 courts covering two floors of an old Belk department store. The pickleball facility is just part of an overall plan to bring new life to an old mall and establish the city as a destination for the growing sport.
When the Macon Mall opened in 1975, it was a million square feet — at the time, the largest in Georgia. But years later, as indoor malls fell out of favor, Macon’s development shifted to the northern suburbs and most retailers moved out, hurting an already struggling neighborhood.
Alex Morrison is the Executive Director of the Macon-Bibb Urban Development Authority as well as Director of Planning and Public Spaces.
“For an entire generation of Americans, the mall was their town center,” he said. “That was their downtown.”
And that was bad for downtown Macon where storefronts stood empty, and many buildings fell into disrepair. But in recent years, Macon’s downtown has experienced a massive resurgence with hundreds of new lofts, restaurants, and retail stores.
“Now it’s shifted back the other way,” Morrison said. “But this [mall] infrastructure is still here,”
Pickleball is just part of an overall plan to transform the mall property and, ultimately, the neighborhood. The city is also putting government offices in vacant storefronts and opening a new 12,000-seat amphitheater in the spring where it’s already booked bands like ZZ Top and country singer Jason Aldean.
Pickleball player Jill Vanderhoek serves the ball during a Monday evening in November on one of many pickleball courts at Macon’s Tattnall Park. (Credit: Josephine Bennett/GPB News)
The pickleball facility also plays into Macon’s passion for pickleball, a sport that’s been growing thanks to the conversion of a large outdoor tennis facility in 2017.
On a warm November night, all 26 pickleball courts in Tattnall Park teemed with players, including Jill Vanderhoek, who’s only been playing for two years but is already taking home gold medals. She said the city’s investment in pickleball infrastructure made that possible.
“It’s really built something special between the access of being able just to pick up the sport,” she said.
“Being able to come out and learn and get better, and then the courts — like, we have real courts. You don’t necessarily see that sort of investment in other places.”
There are now more than 70 public courts in the city. Low fees to play make pickleball accessible there.
The sport also has cheerleaders like Paul Midkiff, the president of the Macon Pickleball Association. Considered one of the fathers of Macon’s pickleball scene, he started playing in 2017. The former Catholic high school teacher now spreads the gospel of pickleball at Tattnall Park, where he teaches Pickleball 101 to those just starting out.
“I was the tennis player that didn’t want to play pickleball,” Midkiff said. “Thought it was kind of beneath me. But got on the court, played for about 2.5 hours, went home, took a shower, went to Dick’s Sporting Goods, bought two paddles and some balls because I wanted to play the next day and I wanted to teach it to my friends.”
When Midkiff said first took up the sport, the players he met were mostly retirees. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, pickleball exploded in popularity as people looked for opportunities to go outside and many younger players picked up rackets.
“I think if we went back and look at the demographics 20 years ago, the average age of a pickleball player is in the low 30s,” Midkiff said, “and it’s dropping dramatically.”
According to USA Pickleball, it is the fastest-growing sport in the nation. There are thousands of courts and even pickleball franchises dotting every state, and its popularity shows no signs of slowing.
For John Roberts, who runs Rhythm and Rally at the mall, Macon’s all-in approach to the sport could put the city on the map just like The Masters Tournament did to another Georgia town.
“It’s been our ambition — and it’s one that I think is now legitimately in our grasp — to make pickleball to Macon what golf is to Augusta and have this be the premier pickleball location,” Roberts said, “at least in the Southeast of the United States … if not the country.”
This “go big or go home” approach is reflected in the number of courts in the city. And at the rate people are playing pickleball in Macon, it could just get there.
This article comes to Now Habersham through a partnership with GPB News
The single-engine plane went down Thursday evening, Dec. 21 on Lanier Islands Parkway at Pine Cone Drive. (Source: Google Maps)
A plane crash inside the Lake Lanier Islands Resort Thursday evening claimed the life of a Georgia man. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office has identified him as Howard Lee Joe, 60, of Dunwoody.
Authorities say Joe was piloting a single-engine aircraft that crashed on Lanier Islands Parkway near Pine Cone Drive.
A caller notified Hall County 911 of the crash around 5:15 p.m. on December 21.
Officials say Joe was the only person onboard the airplane. No one on the ground was injured.
Federal investigators were called to the scene and are investigating the cause of the deadly crash.
William Howard McKie, Jr., age 65, of Cornelia, passed away on Wednesday, December 20, 2023.
Born on September 29, 1958, in Carnesville, he was a son of the late William Howard McKie, Sr. and Sara Jordan McKie. Mr. McKie was employed with Peachtree Windows and Doors for many years and later retired from Kubota Manufacturing. In his spare time, he enjoyed riding his motorcycle, vegetable and flower gardening, and day trips. He especially valued time spent with his family, whom he loved dearly, especially his grandchildren. He was of the Christian faith.
In addition to his parents, Mr. McKie was preceded in death by a brother, Robert Andrew “Andy” McKie.
Survivors include wife of 44 years, Connie Tomlin McKie of Cornelia; daughter and son-in-law, Jessica McKie Tisdale (Ricky) of Alto; grandchildren, Raelynn Tisdale and Colton Tisdale both of Alto; brother, Donald McKie of Commerce; father-in-law, Thurlow Tomlin of Cornelia; sister-in-law Jill Garland (Gregg) of Toccoa, special cousin, Mary McKie of Nicholson; numerous nieces, nephews, other cousins, relatives and friends.
Graveside services are at 2 pm on Saturday, December 23, 2023, at New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery, with Rev. Robert Nix officiating.
The family will receive friends from 5 pm until 8 pm on Friday, December 22, 2023, at the funeral home.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to the Wound Care Center of Toccoa for the great care Mr. McKie received.
Flowers are accepted, or donations may be made to the Habersham Humane Society, P.O. Box 1442, Clarkesville, Georgia 30523.
Emergency personnel await the Georgia State Patrol’s investigation of a three-vehicle wreck Thursday afternoon on Ga. 15 at Ga. 17 Alternate (Talmadge Drive) in Hollywood. (Rob Moore/Habersham County)
A Habersham County man has been charged in connection with a three-vehicle wreck that sent him and another driver to the hospital on Thursday. Troopers charged 80-year-old Charles Stockton with failure to obey a traffic signal following the wreck at GA 15/US 441 and Talmadge Drive.
According to the Georgia State Patrol’s preliminary crash investigation, Stockton was driving a Chevrolet C150 pickup truck north on Hwy. 441 when he ran the red light at the intersection. The pickup struck a Toyota RAV4 that was crossing the highway. The pickup then struck a GMC C4C work truck that was also crossing the intersection.
(Jerry Neace/NowHabersham.com)
Habersham County EMS transported Stockton to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville with serious injuries.
The crash also seriously injured the RAV 4 driver, Vera Mercer, of Clarkesville. An ambulance transported her to NGMC in Demorest for treatment.
The driver of the commercial truck, 82-year-old Bobby White, was not injured, according to troopers.
Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa investigated the crash along with GSP’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team (SCRT) and State Motor Carrier Compliance Division (MCCD).
The wreck disrupted traffic for more than two hours as law enforcement investigated and tow trucks cleared the wreckage.
Dr. Monica Harn, Ingrid Hinkley, Ashley Powell, and Amanda Gomez staff Piedmont University's Speech and Language Clinic. The clinic is located in the medical building previously owned by Dr. Jim Hamilton and Dr. Ed Hendricks on Demorest-Mt. Airy Highway.
In the heart of Habersham County, Piedmont University shines in the field of communication and swallowing disorders. Piedmont University’s Speech and Language Clinic is renowned as the only clinic of its kind in the region. The clinic is a state-of-the-art facility, providing cutting-edge, research-based care to patients of all ages. Affiliated with Piedmont University, the clinic ensures that individuals seeking its services benefit from the latest advancements in speech and language therapy.
Patients of all ages
The Clinic serves patients of all ages, providing treatments for a wide variety of reasons, such as articulation and speech, language literacy, voice and resonance, fluency, and social communication, to name a few of the services provided. The Clinic’s affiliation with Piedmont University ensures that patients receive the very latest research-based care available.
Dr. Monica Harn, Ph.D. CCC-SLP, specializes in child speech and language disorders and school-based service delivery. Her arrival from southeast Texas three years ago has prompted a change in curriculum to include an undergraduate and graduate Speech Pathology program.
“When I came to Piedmont, my job was to build the curriculum for the undergrad, the grad, and to establish the clinic,” Harn explained. “When I interviewed and saw the space, I could see how perfect it could be for a Speech Clinic.”
The Clinic is located in the former office of retired physician Dr. Ed Hendricks in Demorest, Georgia.
Two years ago, Piedmont University had three students in the program. Today, 30 students have an opportunity to get a Bachelor’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders, and for those who start the program at Piedmont, a Master’s degree in a 4 plus 1 year program. For students, this is important because it takes less time to pay for an education, and for the community, it puts highly trained individuals in the field to serve.
The team members
Ingrid Hinkley, MA CCC-SLP, joined the team in January of 2023 as the Director of Clinical Education. Hinkley specializes in adult speech, voice, and swallowing services. Amanda Gomez, MS CCC-SLP, came on board as a Full-time Clinical Supervisor to specialize in pediatric speech, sound disorders, and neurodiversity-affirming practices. Office Manager, Ashley Powell, is the glue that ties this powerful team of women together. Powell received her BA in Psychology from Piedmont University.
Dr. Monica Harn, left, discusses strategy with Ingrid Hinkley.
Harn speaks with great passion for the opportunities this clinic offers to the community.
“We are offering support for all ages. For any communication disorder, swallowing disorder, speech, language, voice, cognitive communication, or dementia, we have a program to give the help a client needs.” She added that there are plans to bring a part-time clinical person and another faculty member. “The idea is we continue to grow both the students and expertise to be able to serve the community.”
The clinic launched in August 2023
This past August, the clinic was launched with tremendous hopes of growing the client population and educating the public on what is being offered. Office hours are accommodating, beginning at 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with additional evening appointment hours available.
Ingrid Hinkley talked with Now Habersham about who the clinic is for and how to know if someone or you need the provided services.
“Intuitively, many parents will recognize that something isn’t quite right with their child. Maybe they are not beginning to talk, struggling with reading or identifying colors and numbers. It never hurts to call and get an evaluation,” Hinkley commented. “The evaluation is confidential. No one is going to call the school or pediatrician’s office. And many times, there isn’t a problem at all. But early intervention is so important when there is a problem.”
The Speech and Language Clinic is working with school-aged children as well as with those who need services at the Senior Center.
Very little cost
Evaluations are $100 but are also covered for those who need assistance. There is a one-time $10 material fee, which can be waived for someone on Medicaid, or there is an income scale. Other than that, the clinic is at no cost to clients, which makes the program extraordinary for the community.
“Having our students out in the community is such an important part of the program,” Harn stated. “When you factor in the no cost to the client, it shows such an investment of Piedmont University in this community.”
Ingrid Hinkley demonstrates Endoscopic voice & swallowing equipment
Elective services are available to improve overall speaking skills, modify an accent, develop broadcasting skills, and improve speaking rate and the melody of speech.
The state-of-the-art endoscopic voice and swallowing assessment sets the clinic above all others in the region. It gives the ability to view what may be the root cause of swallowing difficulties.
Looking to the future
Letting people know what services are available to them and how to get those services are key elements for the team at Piedmont University’s Speech and Language Clinic.
“We had a grand opening with a ribbon cutting by the Chamber of Commerce. But, there is so much more to getting the word out there,” Hinkley commented. “We have only begun to scratch the service of what we can do for the people of our community.”
If you are interested in the services provided or receiving an evaluation, call the Speech and Language Office at 706-776-0121, located at 4020 Demorest-Mount Airy Highway, Demorest, GA.
