For the first time since 2020, both the Indians and Lady Indians came out with a win on the same day. The boys secured their first win of the season, and the girls their third on Monday at The Orchard against Barrow Arts & Sciences Academy.
For the Indians, it also marked their first victory in four seasons. The Indians took a 141-164 win over BASA thru the 6-hole event. Canon Brooks was one stroke off the lead, carding a 34. Henry Bowman and Kalvin Ngov both scored a 35, Tate Turpin had a 37, Jedd Thomas 38, and Will Greene a 40. Jack Thomas carded a 41, as did Hunter Bell.
The Lady Indians won their 7-hole event with a 70-82 score. Mallory Higgins was the low medalist for the third time this season, as she finished with a 34. Hannah Lundy and Raegan Duncan tied with a 36, and Madeline Martin posted a 40.
The golf teams host Stephens County on Thursday again at The Orchard.
Georgia Republicans are backing legislation that would have the Georgia Supreme Court appoint panels that would oversee complaints filed against county prosectors for allegations of misconduct. (Stanley Dunlap/Georgia Recorder)
(GA Recorder) — Georgia’s GOP-controlled House passed controversial legislation 98-75 late on Tuesday’s Crossover Day that would establish oversight boards that could remove district attorneys deemed to neglect select prosecutions.
Dallas Republican Rep. Joseph Gullett’s House Bill 231 would require the Georgia Supreme Court to appoint five-member investigation panels and three-member hearing panels that will determine disciplinary consequences for prosecutors who decline to prosecute low-level offenses.
Among the grounds for removing district attorneys and solicitor generals are willful and prejudicial misconduct or being found to have mental or physical disabilities that impede their abilities to prosecute cases.
The Senate advanced a similar bill last week, with Republican lawmakers supporting the measures opposed by prosecuting and district attorney associations.
Democratic legislators have questioned the necessity of an oversight committee that can target the discretion prosecutors already have to determine the merits of cases and pointed out that district attorneys can already face disciplinary measures if they have breached duties.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is pursuing a probe of former President Donald Trump, has complained the legislation is an overreaction.
“Their prosecutorial discretion is vital to allowing our locally elected D.A.’s to examine the specific facts of each case when deciding if and how to prosecute, and that’s threatened under this bill,” Rep. Dar’shun Kendrick, a Lithonia Democrat, said.
Gullett defended the measure by stating that the state Supreme Court would review any disciplinary action related to complaints filed and subsequent panel decisions.
“This is not a partisan issue in my mind regarding who’s acting in bad faith as a D.A.,” he said hours before Monday’s deadline for legislation to advance to the opposite chamber. “This is vitally important to communities who have district attorneys who are bad actors and not prosecuting cases or doing things illegally, and ultimately just bringing really, really bad light to their offices.”
Jerry Ralph Stover, age 62, of Demorest, Georgia, went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, March 04, 2023.
Born in Stephens County, Georgia, on June 29, 1960, he was a son of the late Paul Edward Stover & the late Alma Kathryn Franklin. Jerry was a saw miller and worked with Mize Lumber Company for many years. In his spare time, he enjoyed being outdoors, fishing, camping, & dirt track racing. He also had a passion for making music with his guitar and showing other family members how to play. Jerry was also an avid Georgia Bulldogs fan. He was a member of Chopped Oak Baptist Church.
In addition to his parents, Jerry was preceded in death by his grandson, Jeremiah Harris; brother, Terry Lee Stover; sisters, Brenda Kay Stover & Mary Ann Knight.
Survivors include his loving wife of 30 years, Cathy Diane Frady Stover of Demorest, GA; daughters, Kathy Copley (Tracy) of Clarkesville, GA; Crystal Stowe of Eastanollee, GA; Teresa Amick (Travis Smith) of Westminster, SC; Kimberly Bost (Thax) of Seneca, SC; brothers, Randy (Sandra) Stover of Clarkesville, GA; Jimmy (Linda) Franklin of Mount Airy, GA; sisters, Sherry (Larry) Franklin of Mount Airy, GA; Donna (Brian) Winkler of Clarkesville, GA; Linda Campbell & Sue Stone, both of Anderson, SC; grandchildren, Halie & Andrew Harris, Christian & Cory Churchwell, Kaitlin & Alyssa Ramey, Camron Cutshall, Logan & Gracyn McIntyre, Thaxten & Cuyler Bost, Colton & Caleb Smith; great-grandson, Liam Ramey; father-in-law, Corbin J. Frady of Clarkesville, GA; sister-in-law, Debbie Stover of Clarkesville, GA; brothers-in-law, Doug (Wanda) Frady; Larry (Faye) Frady all of Toccoa, GA; Jimmy Frady, & Michael Frady; both of Clarkesville, GA; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives, & friends.
Funeral services are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 08, 2023, at Hillside Memorial Chapel with Rev. Billy Burrell & Rev. Tony Goss officiating. Interment will follow in the Chopped Oak Baptist Church Cemetery, with Rev. Chris Webb officiating at the graveside.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon on Wednesday, March 08, 2023, just prior to the service.
Meth and marijuana agents say they seized in a drug bust in Elbert County on Feb. 28, 2023. (ARDEO)
Two suspects are behind bars as the result of a drug investigation spanning several Northeast Georgia counties. During the multi-jurisdictional investigation, law enforcement took into evidence nearly $117,000 worth of methamphetamine and marijuana, officials say.
Officers arrested Connie Fowler, 54, of Elbert County, and charged her with selling methamphetamine, trafficking meth, and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. They also arrested Richard Drake, 40, of Madison County, and charged him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Drake and Fowler were arrested after law enforcement executed a search warrant on a residence in Bowman. During their search on February 28, agents seized approximately 3.16 pounds of methamphetamine with an approximate street value of $107,400 and 1.03 pounds of marijuana worth around $9,380. They also seized a handgun and $52,010 in cash, says Special Agent in Charge Trent Hillsman of the GBI’s Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office (ARDEO).
Agents booked Fowler and Drake at the Elbert County Jail. A judge denied Fowler bond and set Drake’s bond at $30,000, online jail records show. As of Monday, March 6, both suspects remained in jail.
ARDEO conducted the investigation with assistance from the sheriff’s offices in Elbert, Franklin, and Hart counties. The Department of Community Supervision and Drug Enforcement Administration also helped. Hillsman says the case remains under investigation.
Banks County firefighters found two men inside this burning mobile home on Hwy. 51 South in Lula. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. (Banks County Fire and Emergency Services)
Autopsies are being conducted to confirm the identities of two men found dead inside a burning mobile home in Banks County. Banks County Coroner Mark Savage says the men’s names and cause and manner of death will not be released until confirmed by the state medical examiner’s office. Both men were in their 30s, fire officials say.
Investigators are working to determine what caused the fire.
Around 8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 3, Banks County Fire and Emergency Services units responded to a reported structure fire at 4664 Highway 51 South. Banks County Fire Chief Steve Nichols says the single-family residence was approximately fifty percent involved when they arrived.
Several people were home at the time of the blaze and advised firefighters two more occupants were still inside. Nichols says firefighters made an aggressive interior attack and rescue attempt. They found one of the men in a bedroom off the main fire area.
“The victim was removed, and resuscitation efforts were started with no success,” says Nichols. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
After they knocked down the fire, firefighters found the second man dead in the room where the fire started.
While at the scene, a Banks County firefighter suffered a shoulder injury, overexertion, and heat-related illness. EMS transported him to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, where he was expected to be treated and released.
No other injuries were reported.
Firefighters remained on the scene through the early morning hours Saturday. An active investigation is underway to determine what started the fire and how the men died. The Banks County Fire Department, coroner and sheriff’s office, and state fire marshal’s office are involved in that investigation.
The mobile home sustained heavy fire damage. The American Red Cross is helping the residents who were displaced.
Fire investigators are trying to determine what caused a small single-story house south of Flowery Branch to catch fire on Monday.
Around 1:10 p.m. on March 6, Hall County Fire Rescue (HCFR) units responded to a report of a residential fire in the 6300 block of Snelling Mill Road. They arrived to find smoke coming from the back of the house.
Crews managed to prevent the flames from spreading into the attic. They knocked down the fire within 20 minutes of arriving on scene, says HCFR spokesperson Kimberlie Ledsinger.
“All residents were accounted for, and no one was injured on scene,” says Ledsinger.
The cause of the fire is unknown. The Hall County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.
Two people were seriously wounded in two separate shootings in Athens over the weekend.
The first shooting occurred Saturday, March 4, around 6:38 pm. in the 100 block of Thumpa Avenue. Officers from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department (ACCPD) responded to the location in reference to a discharging firearms call.
“Shortly after the call, ACCPD was notified that an 18-year-old male arrived at a local hospital with a life-threatening injury,” says Lt. Shaun Barnett.
The wounded teen has been identified as Cameron Isaiah Cannon. Police determined his injuries were related to the incident on Thumpa Avenue. No arrests have been made.
Anthony Brown (ACCPD)
Around 12:16 a.m. on Sunday, March 5, Athens-Clarke police responded to another shooting in the 100 block of Northview Drive.
When officers arrived at that scene, they located a 24-year-old man who had been shot. EMS transported the wounded man to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
As a result of the ongoing investigation, police arrested Anthony Brown, 19, of Athens, and charged him with aggravated assault.
Both shootings remain under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Athens-Clarke County Police Department at (706) 613-3888.
A bill to put legal sports betting to a vote failed in the Georgia Senate Monday.
(GA Recorder) — Georgia voters will likely not get the chance to vote on a plan to legalize and regulate sports betting after a proposal to amend the state’s constitution fell short in the Senate.
Athens Republican Sen. Bill Cowsert’s Senate Resolution 140 received a majority of votes Monday – 30-26, but not enough to meet the two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment. Monday is Crossover Day, the final day for a bill to move from one chamber to the other without being grafted onto another bill.
The loss represents strike two for expanded gambling in Georgia this year after a more expansive Senate bill failed last week. A sports betting House bill by Watkinsville Republican Rep. Marcus Wiedower could still receive a vote. That bill does not call for a constitutional amendment and could pass on a simple majority.
Cowsert said the money could do a lot of good for the state’s higher education system by extending the HOPE Scholarship to students based on need.
“We’re not changing admissions requirements here,” he said. “We’re just saying for the kids that can’t afford it, white kids, African-American kids, Asian kids, Hispanic kids, Georgian kids who don’t have enough money to get a college education, we’re giving them a hand up.”
Sen. Bill Cowsert. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Most of the Senate’s Democrats agreed.
“I hear from the high school counselors who work with young people who are seeking post-secondary education, and they come down, and they say, there needs to be needs-based scholarship money,” said Atlanta Democratic Sen. Nan Orrock. “And I don’t demean the child, the young student who hasn’t achieved the standards that we’ve set for HOPE.”
It was Cowsert’s fellow Republicans who sealed his bill’s fate – 23 of the chamber’s 33 Republicans voted no to the plan, compared with only 3 of the 23 Democrats.
Acworth Republican Sen. Ed Setzler said the potential harms of promulgating gambling addiction outweigh the boon to students.
“The benefits here, or $50 million in the scale of a budget the size of the state of Georgia’s, and even compared to our lottery program, this is a very small amount of money by comparison, as a benefit weighed against the corrupting value that gambling has,” he said.
The General Assembly Monday gave final approval to an amended plan for this year’s $32.5 billion budget.
Tyrone Republican Sen. Marty Harbin said Georgia voters would likely be swamped by ads from pro-gambling groups and not be able to make an informed decision if the plan came to a public vote.
“Our citizens will see a constitutional amendment on a ballot. And what they are doing, they are believing this, that we have approved this and that we are wanting their approval on it,” he said. “But the sad thing about it is that they don’t have the information that you and I have been able to have at all the meetings and all the stuff that’s gone on. And we’re going to put this on for them to vote on.”
Cowsert said letting voters decide would be the fairest way to settle the question that has been simmering in the Legislature for years.
“I don’t get why it’s wrong to let the people of Georgia vote on this issue,” he said. “We’re not little mini dictators up here dictating what the policy will always be. There are certain issues that we have a contract with the government, and that’s called our constitution, and we can’t change it unless two-thirds of us – bipartisan agreement – think it makes sense to let the people decide, and then the majority of the citizens of Georgia say this is what we want.”
Lawmakers will weigh in on dozens of bills in a marathon day of rapid-fire voting that will likely go late into the night. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
(GA Recorder) — It’s crunch time under the Gold Dome.
After a slow start, lawmakers have shifted gears in the ramp-up to a key legislative deadline Monday, when a bill must clear at least one chamber to have the smoothest path to the governor’s desk.
Lawmakers will weigh in on dozens of bills in a marathon day of rapid-fire voting that will likely go late into the night. Many of the measures will sail through with little discussion, but several controversial bills poised for a vote – like a proposed ban on some gender-affirming care – is sure to spark bitter debate.
The Senate’s agenda has been set by the gatekeeping rules committee, which has teed up nearly more than 60 bills for a potential vote. Over in the House, that chamber’s agenda-setting committee will push out piles of bills for lawmakers to vote red or green on throughout the day.
Here’s a rundown on some of the higher-profile bills Georgia lawmakers are expected to settle this Crossover Day.
Culture clashes
The Senate is scheduled to vote on a bill that would ban doctors from performing some gender-affirming procedures for transgender minors.
Sen. Carden Summers’ Senate Bill 140 seeks to bar surgical and hormone therapy for gender dysphoria while still allowing puberty blockers.
Transitioning to another gender can be more difficult after puberty when the body takes on characteristics of the gender assigned at birth. Transgender youth often describe distress at the changes puberty brings.
Child welfare attorney Tom Rawlings, left, and Sen. Carden Summers present a bill dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
Summers, a Cordele Republican, framed his bill as a compromise that would allow children experiencing gender dysphoria to effectively hit the pause button on puberty while not undergoing irreversible procedures until they are adults.
Transgender advocates call the bill a politically motivated attack on young trans people. They argue that gender-affirming surgery is rarely ever performed on minors and that puberty-blocking drugs offer no help to transgender teens who have already started puberty, while hormone treatments can.
A similar bill by Gwinnett Republican Sen. Clint Dixon, which would also ban puberty blockers, is not scheduled for a vote. Neither is a religious freedom bill authored by Acworth Republican Sen. Ed Setzler.
LGBTQ advocates were heartened last week when another Summers bill compared to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation failed in committee.
Lady Luck
When it comes to legally betting money in Georgia, the state lottery is the only game in town.
For decades, members of the state Legislature have tried to change that, but they’ve always come up short.
That losing streak continued last week when the Senate shot down a plan from Statesboro Republican Sen. Billy Hickman that could have led to legalized sports betting and horse racing in Georgia.
But there’s still time left on the clock, and a true gambler is nothing if not optimistic.
Sen. Bill Cowsert. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
Athens Republican Sen. Bill Cowsert has offered a path to legalized sports betting through an amendment to the state constitution. His bill setting that up is on the schedule Monday.
A constitutional amendment presents a more difficult path to victory – rather than a simple majority in each chamber, it must win two-thirds votes in both and then earn the approval of voters in an election.
Cowsert may be betting that the absence of horse racing and the fact that the ultimate choice will be in voters’ hands will convince more lawmakers than Hickman was able to.
Another gambling bill penned by Watkinsville Republican Rep. Marcus Wiedower passed a House committee and could get a full vote if House leadership allows it.
Wiedower’s bill is also limited to online sports betting but does not call for a constitutional amendment.
More 2020 election fallout
Republican lawmakers have revived several proposals that grew from the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
Senate Bill 221 is the most controversial election bill so far. It advanced through a Senate Ethics Committee after a flurry of amendments and doubts were raised about its legal status. The bill would prohibit counties from providing absentee drop boxes, expands opportunities for dubious mass eligibility challenges, and adds ballot security measures.
Sen. Max Burns, a Sylvania Republican who sponsored the legislation that cleared the committee hurdle before Monday’s Crossover Day, has said that the bill builds upon the 2021 voting law overhaul by improving ballot security and better ensuring that ineligible voters aren’t still on the voter rolls.
Macon Republican Rep. Dale Washburn’s plan to ease rising home prices by curbing local regulations quickly collided with county leaders.
His bill would change the way new homes are built and the ability of local governments to regulate everything from the color of a home’s exterior to the amount of vinyl siding to whether a home can be built on a concrete slab.
More specifically, the bill attempts to make homes more affordable for first-time buyers by limiting local government restrictions on architectural and design standards for single-family homes that measure 1,200 to 2,500 square feet and meet the state building code minimum.
The strongest opposition to House Bill 517 comes from local government officials who do not want to be restricted when it comes to setting design and zoning standards for their communities and who raised concerns about the bill opening up the construction of substandard homes.
Another housing bill sponsored by Washburn has more momentum after clearing a House committee last week.
That measure would limit a local government’s ability to issue a moratorium on building new homes to a maximum of 180 days. The measure included exemptions for state of emergency declarations, natural disasters, or when the local government has contracted with a third party to complete a study on public utilities.
In addition, the bill would allow local governments to waive “impact fees,” which are tied to costs for public infrastructure on residential housing under 2,500 square feet.
Tutelage Tokens
Late last month, Cumming Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal notched a win for the school voucher movement when his bill aimed at extending tax subsidies for private school scholarships to nearly all Georgia students was approved by the Senate Education and Youth Committee.
He’s hoping to chalk a bigger W on Monday when the bill is scheduled for a full Senate vote.
Vouchers are an oft-debated topic under the Gold Dome. They allow parents of public school students to pull their kids out of school in exchange for a share of the money the state would have spent on their education to be used to enroll them in a private school.
Dolezal’s plan would offer $6,000 a year to families of children enrolled in public schools.
Proponents say vouchers help families without a lot of money get their children out of schools that are not meeting their needs. Opponents say such measures only help relatively well-off families and funnel state money to schools that are not accountable to public scrutiny.
If the bill passes and receives Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature, Georgia will join a growing number of Republican-led states to offer universal vouchers, including Iowa and Utah, whose governors signed similar bills this year.
Georgia Right to Life President Ricardo Davis, right, leads a demonstration outside the Georgia Capitol. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
They can’t all be winners.
Monday is Crossover Day, the deadline for bills to move from one chamber to the other without extreme legislative maneuvering. Many measures will be left in the dust when time runs out, despite the earnest efforts of politicians, advocates and lobbyists.
Other bills – like proposals for more abortion restrictions as Georgia’s law is being tested in the courts and, on the other end of the political spectrum, gun safety measures – appeared to stand little chance from the start.
But dim legislative prospects didn’t stop champions for those causes from trying.
After the U.S. Supreme Court upended the federal right to abortion access, anti-abortion advocates were eager for Georgia to go further than the six-week ban passed in 2019 when Roe v. Wade was still the law of the land. This session was the first one held since Roe was overturned last summer.
As the days before Crossover Day ran short last week, a group of protesters from a coalition of anti-abortion groups showed up at the state Capitol to call out Marietta Republican Rep. Sharon Cooper, chair of the House Public Health Committee.
The group of ultra-conservative activists tried to press Cooper to hold a vote on a bill that would extend legal personhood to a fertilized egg, effectively banning all abortions. Currently, state law grants personhood to a fetus at about six weeks.
Georgia Right to Life President Ricardo Davis called on the 20-plus protesters assembled to try to speak with Cooper.
“What we are here to do is, as citizens, in particular as constituents in her district, we are appealing to her to allow the people’s voice be heard and allow the representatives to vote on the legislation,” he said.
Cooper has said previously that lawmakers should “sit back and wait and see” what the state Supreme Court does before considering more abortion-related policies. House Speaker Jon Burns has said the same. A court hearing is set for later this month just as the session wraps up.
Democrats, for their part, came into the session ready to push for a repeal of Georgia’s six-week ban. They filed bills in both chambers early in the session, just days after what would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and vowed to keep the issue on the front burner. Those bills have not received a hearing.
Atlanta Democratic Rep. Shea Roberts, the bill’s sponsor in the House, rejected predictions that Democrats would spend this session playing defense on abortion.
“We will not play defense on this. We’re going to stay present and make sure that they know we are not going away because it’s too important,” Roberts said shortly after filing her bill in the House.
Rep. Shea Roberts (far right), Democrats and abortion rights advocates held a press conference in late January to unveil a proposal to repeal Georgia’s six-week abortion ban and protect access to the procedure. (Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder)
Gun safety advocates push modest reforms
Folks in red Moms Demand Action t-shirts have been a regular sight in the state Capitol, calling on legislators to back measures they say will reduce gun deaths.
Rep. Michelle Au, a Democrat from Johns Creek, has been at the forefront of the effort, sponsoring bills aimed at instituting universal gun sale background checks and three-day waiting periods for gun purchases, as well as making it a misdemeanor to leave a firearm where a child can access it.
Au announced on Twitter Thursday she had reached a “handshake deal” with House Public Safety Chair J. Collins that he would hear the gun storage bill sometime this session. “We’ll announce the date and time of the hearing as soon as Chair Collins schedules it,” she said. “We thank him for his promise to us, and encourage our gun safety advocates to get ready to bring your voices back to the Capitol when we finally hear #HB161. It’s been a long time coming.”
One bill that did receive a last-minute hearing Friday would create a process for someone to show they are healthy before having their right to own a firearm restored. Today, someone can be involuntarily committed for mental health treatment and then have their rights automatically restored after five years.
The bill, sponsored by Junction City Democratic Rep. Debbie Buckner, found bipartisan support in the House Judiciary Committee but not enough to overcome a push from Cedartown Republican Rep. Trey Kelley to keep the automatic reinstatement after five years in state law.
Opponents labeled Buckner’s bill a “red flag” proposal, a reference to laws that restrict a person’s ability to possess a firearm if they are found to be a danger to themselves or others.
But Buckner – a rural lawmaker and gun owner – countered that her bill expands a person’s rights since they could potentially regain the ability to own a firearm sooner if they can show they are well. And she argued conservative lawmakers “red flagged” her bill by keeping the five-year window intact.
Opponents questioned whether the proposed reinstatement process would put a burden on someone’s constitutional right to bear arms. Buckner’s proposal comes one year after lawmakers did away with Georgia’s requirement to have a concealed carry permit.
Her bill was tabled in committee Friday. Buckner said afterward she wasn’t optimistic about her bill’s chances of making it to the House floor Monday, but it would stay live for next year, the second year of a two-year legislative cycle.
“I do feel that it’s almost like a ticking time bomb, that we are so blessed in Georgia that we haven’t had a horrible, terrible situation, and I hope that holds until we do figure out a way to get it right,” Buckner said Friday.
Margaret Evelyn Bramblett Canup, age 87, of Clarkesville, Georgia, went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, March 5, 2023.
Born in Tiger, Georgia, on March 03, 1936, she was a daughter of the late Walter & Ina Evelyn Free Bramblett. Margaret worked with International Outerwear for over 28 years and later with Piedmont Automotive for many years. In her spare time, she loved working in her yard, especially with her flower garden. Most of all, she enjoyed spending precious time with her family. Margaret was a member of Bible Way Baptist Church.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Wiley Canup; brother & sister-in-law, Floyd & Barbara Bramblett; brother, Robert Bramblett; sisters, Sue Norris & Marie Brewer.
Survivors include her sister, Sarah Ann Wall of Wiley, GA; brother & sister-in-law, Mike & Donna Bramblett of Clarkesville, GA; as well as numerous loving nieces & nephews.
Funeral services are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 07, 2023, at Hillside Memorial Chapel, with Chaplain John Reeser officiating. Interment will follow the service in the Demorest City Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 12:00 noon until the service hour on Tuesday, March 07, 2023.
Jessie McAtee Smith, age 88, of Clarkesville, Georgia, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, March 4, 2023.
Mrs. Smith was born March 3, 1935, in North Carolina to the late Jess and Donnie Wilson McAtee. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, John W. Smith. Mrs. Smith was the last of her immediate family.
Jessie was a member of Hollywood Baptist Church. She had retired from Scovill Manufacturing, having served for several years.
Survivors include her daughter and son-in-law, Vickie and Terry Moody, of Clarkesville; daughter, Ronni Smith, of Clarkesville; grandchildren, Kevin Moody, of Dawsonville; Roxanne Moody, of Clarkesville; Matthew Todd, of Mt. Airy; Michael Todd and his wife, Sandy, of Alto; great-grandchildren, Layla Brinkley, of Clarkesville; and Austin and Justin Moody, of Hall County.
The family would like to extend their gratitude to Carman and Dr. T with Habersham Medical Center as well as the nurses and staff at the Oaks of Scenic View.
Mrs. Smith’s wishes were to be cremated with no formal services planned.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Whitfield Funeral Homes & Crematory, North Chapel at 245 Central Avenue, Demorest, Georgia 30535. Telephone: 706-778-1700.
