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Health benefits of fasting

By
Tracy Backer, RN
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Health fads, including diets, come and go. One of the more recent is intermittent fasting. It has gained much popularity in recent years as an effective way of losing weight.

During this time of Lent, many Christians practice fasting as part of this holy observance. In addition to weight loss and spiritual strengthening, are there other health benefits? Let’s take a closer look.

In a 2018 US News and World Report article, the results of a study by Harvard and Duke were discussed. The results indicated that embracing dietary restrictions from time to time might reinvigorate cells and promote healthy aging. The study linked longevity to changes in the mitochondrial networks, which are structures within our cells responsible for producing energy.

In addition, studies performed by the USC Longevity Institute show a diet that mimics fasting may activate the immune system, making cancer cells more vulnerable to attack by the immune cells and more sensitive to chemotherapy.

According to a 2022 Verywell Health article, research shows that fasting may slow the progression of multiple sclerosis by decreasing inflammation and altering gut bacteria.

Recently, Healthline reported that several studies have found fasting may improve blood sugar control, especially useful for diabetics and those at risk of developing the disease, by reducing insulin resistance. Reducing insulin resistance allows insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream to the cells more efficiently, keeping your blood sugar levels more steady.

Other studies have shown the psychological effects of fasting can lead to negative emotions, such as irritability, but also positive psychological experiences, such as elevated mood and a sense of reward and accomplishment.

To stay healthy while observing fasting avoid intensive exercise and stay hydrated. Eating enough protein and keeping a balanced diet when not fasting can also minimize irritability and fatigue. Diabetics who struggle with maintaining stable blood sugar, those with kidney disease or who are breastfeeding, are underweight, or those recovering from surgery or illness should avoid fasting from all food and drink and should contact their healthcare provider before attempting even short-term fasting.

In summary, fasting may provide short and long-term health benefits for healthy people as well as physiological and spiritual benefits when done in a healthy way. Fasting can be another tool in our toolbox, so to speak, to enhance our physical and spiritual well-being.

For more information on fasting, the National Institute on Aging’s website is an excellent resource.

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Tracy Backer is a Registered Nurse with 39 years in the medical field specializing in critical care nursing. Her health columns appear regularly on Now Habersham. She may be reached at [email protected]. For more health-related content, click here.

People on streets of Plains not ready to let go of ‘Mister Jimmy’ after Carter enters hospice

By
Ray Glier
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President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalyn frequented Atlanta Braves games for many years. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

PLAINS (GA Recorder) — The first media caravan arrived here late Saturday after the news Jimmy Carter would forgo any medical intervention, and the family used the word “hospice” to describe his treatment going forward. The 39th president, the only one from Georgia, is 98 years old. People here dread the inevitable.

The townsfolk are shaking their heads in dismay at the sudden clamor. Some are perturbed. This is “Mister Jimmy,” one tough son of a gun, and the 700 people that live in this middle Georgia hamlet are fairly certain the obituary of their hero is being rushed.

“We’re not expecting to let him go any time soon,” said Jan Williams, a member of Carter’s church who has known the former president many years. “If the word ‘hospice’ wasn’t used would you all be here?”

“This is a rehearsal for y’all,” said George Williams, her husband, as if to say the media was getting organized for something not immediately imminent.

Jan Williams said Carter has been in and out of the hospital in recent months, but word “leaked” that he was being discharged and it prompted a statement from The Carter Center about his deteriorating health.

The number of SUVs ferrying media into town outnumbered the number of pickup trucks along the railroad tracks cutting through downtown Tuesday. At least four tents have been set up by TV stations. Reporters with microphones and cameras crowded the wooden walkway in front of the shops.

Business in the shops was brisk with the swelling crowd. Peanut ice cream at Bobby Salter’s place was the leading small-town treat of the day.

Still, the town was not ready for the attention.

“It feels a little too early for this,” said Stephanie Young, who owns Southwest Trophy & Gifts.

One store worker leaned forward across the counter and whispered, “This is so premature. He’s tough. He might hang on a while.” She declined to give her name without her boss’s permission.

Jimmy Carter, after all, is the longest-living president. Ever.

Another downtown worker said, “We hear he had a good day Monday,” she said. These are not rumors, she said. After all, the president has lived here for decades, and close friends and family stay informed.

There is good reason people here are reluctant to think “Mister Jimmy” will be gone shortly. Many recalled a storm that swept through town with such ferocity it brought down trees and thick limbs and thrust a pine needle into a brick on the side of a building. Carter, in his 90s, was out the next day helping with the cleanup.

The people here marvel over his resilience against melanoma on his brain and liver seven years ago, as well as bruising from several falls more recently. They are not accepting he will not be with them much longer.

At the Carter compound just outside of downtown, where the president and his wife Rosalynn Carter have lived full time for decades, Paulk’s Landscaping service was spreading fresh pine straw on the grounds, a familiar ritual when spring is close.

The red wagons full of eight tons of peanuts rumbled through downtown to scales. Carter was a peanut farmer before he was elected Georgia’s governor in 1970 and president of the United States in 1976. The wagons are still clearing peanuts out of the warehouses from the fall harvest.

If not for the flock of media, it would be business as usual.

“Vultures,” one woman said along the storefronts.

Still, the people who live here could brush away their annoyance to talk about “Mister Jimmy.” One lady handed out LeeAnne’s Oatmeal Lace Cookies and other sweets to media members parked on the benches downtown. They chatted about life in Plains and forgot they were annoyed, which was in keeping with the former president’s charitable spirit.

“We have a lot of pride here that President Carter is from Plains,” Young said. “A lot of pride. I promise you there is never going to be another president like him and all he has done for people in this country and around the world. With him, it was always ‘What can I give back.’”

Now, the people want to give back.

At Carter’s church, Maranatha Baptist, where he taught Sunday school, Lana Varley of Perry tried to peer through the stained glass windows, searching for a way inside. She drove 56 miles Tuesday, hoping there might be a prayer service or candlelight vigil.

“I’m Catholic. In times like these, we light candles,” she said.

Varley met Carter at the ribbon-cutting of a new restaurant in downtown Plains five years ago. “I got to shake his hand,” she said. Her reverence was clear.

Carter’s boyhood home, the farm where he was raised, welcomed a steady stream of visitors last weekend, almost 500, according to a National Park Service guide. Some of the traffic had to do with the Presidents’ Day holiday, but there is heightened interest in Carter with the weekend’s hospice announcement.

Plains is a respite from the sometimes coarse tone of today’s American politics. There is no rage, no hijinks, no willful abandoning of principle, which is more reason why there is some disdain for the rush on downtown by outsiders. It is spoiling their intimate moment in some ways.

It’s still a small town, no matter that one of its residents was once the leader of the free world. All the shops downtown were closed promptly at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Luther Perry, who was selling walking sticks downtown, said he was a “crackhead” in Marietta before he moved back here to his hometown. “Plains saved my life,” he said.

Jan Williams said there are plans being made for the inevitable. It will be organized and fit for a king, she says.

She, among others, isn’t ready to bid farewell just yet. The Carter family has farmed in this community for more than 100 years, and the story continues for the people here, never mind the noise from outsiders.

Sports betting bills gain momentum as Georgia Legislature weighs options

By
Stanley Dunlap
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FILE - There is optimism among Georgia legislators that sports betting could be legalized this year so that wagers can be placed through similar options as the Georgia Lottery, which offers online apps and kiosks for placing bets.

(GA Recorder) — Georgia House and Senate committees are lining up in favor of sports bettors this week as they consider bills that range from making it legal to place a wager while attending a game to putting money down by phone or via kiosks at restaurants or bars.

The most expansive sports betting proposal is sponsored by Republican Sen. Billy Hickman and would legalize sports gambling and horse racing. His legislation advanced through a Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee on Monday with an 8-1 vote.

The three sports betting plans on the move so far have some significant differences. While none of the bills would clear the way for casinos to open, Hickman’s bill would allow up to three horse racing tracks to be licensed. The bills’ sponsors also disagree on whether Georgia voters should decide whether sports betting must be approved by a statewide ballot referendum.

With Hickman’s bill, up to three horse racing tracks could be sanctified. Hickman said sports betting and horse racing could bring new jobs to rural Georgia.

“We already have horse racing in Georgia,” Hickman said at the Feb. 14 committee hearing. “It’s legal in Georgia. There’s what we call bush tracks in rural Georgia. What this would do is put it under a lottery and there would be sanctioned tracks.”

Gambling expansion in Georgia is often criticized for introducing an addictive product to the state at the expense of some people’s mental health and families that can least afford to lose money. Opponents also complain the sport of horse racing has a sordid history of mistreating animals and fatally injuring some under the guise of competition.

At a Feb. 14 hearing, Peggy McCarthy, a volunteer with the Georgia Pet Coalition, asked legislators to remove horse racing legislation, saying the industry is losing its popularity in other states and often relies on getting a cut of revenue from casinos and government subsidies.

Once the horses are no longer able to compete on the race track, it usually means finding a program that can take care of them for the remaining 20-30 years of their lives.

“Everyone within the industry and outside of the industry agrees that the funding has not kept up and vulnerable horses will be left without a safety net (and) be vulnerable to slaughter.” McCarthy said. “Georgia can already not handle the current number of unwanted and neglected horses and will be easily overwhelmed by the additional influx.”

The three bills would create new betting commissions under the Georgia Lottery to oversee regulations and licenses that would fund college HOPE Scholarships and preschools. Georgia has generated $26 billion for education from scratch-offs, Powerball, and other games since 1993, when it sold its first lotto tickets.

On Tuesday, a House committee heard from online sports betting supporters and opponents during a public hearing on GOP Rep. Marcus Wiedower’s bill.

On Thursday, a Senate panel is expected to hear from Athens Republican Sen. Bill Cowsert on his sports betting referendum that proposes to legalize sports betting statewide. Cowsert’s legislation would require support from Georgians voting on a constitutional amendment, and a portion of the revenue would go toward needs-based scholarships.

In Cowsert’s bill, the state legislature would create a gaming corporation to oversee the licensing of sports betting kiosks in bars and restaurants, as well as online wagering.

For the past couple of years, the majority of legislators in both chambers have supported expanding legalized betting options, but none of the bills have been able to clear both chambers despite the push from professional sports franchises, casinos, and the horse gaming industry.

Last year, a House bill that included legalizing casinos, as well as horse race betting, stalled on the backstretch when a 34-17 Senate vote fell shy of the two-thirds majority required for a statewide ballot.

This week, Wideower amended his plan to boost the state’s take by setting the amount licensees would be required to pay to 20% of their adjusted gross income. Wideower expects north of $100 million in new revenue for education in the first year should his proposal pass.

Hickman cited a memo written by former Georgia Supreme Court Justice Harold Melton that argues that state lawmakers can avoid a state referendum if sports wagering is handled by the Georgia Lottery and horse racing is treated like other sports betting events.

Within the first year of legal sports betting, Georgia could reap more than $300 million in revenue based on national projections, Hickman said.

In September, Pew Research Center reported that one-in-five American adults had bet on sports within the last 12 months, with little variation based on educational level, income, or political affiliation.

Proposed Georgia House mental health reforms aim to increase access to beds, caregivers

By
Jill Nolin
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House Speaker Jon Burns stood with a bipartisan group of lawmakers Tuesday to announce this year’s mental health bill. (Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder)

(GA Recorder) — A bipartisan group of lawmakers intends to build on last year’s major behavioral health bill with another wide-ranging measure that advocates celebrated as proof of sustained energy behind efforts to improve access to care in Georgia.

The 51-page bill – HB 520 – was filed Tuesday and boosted by House Speaker Jon Burns at a press conference. It comes as dozens of other bills focused on mental health-related issues have been floated this session.

“We said (last year) that this would be a multi-year effort,” Burns, a Newington Republican, told reporters. “Today, we begin the next chapter of our ongoing commitment to better mental health care in Georgia.”

This year’s proposal is focused on growing the behavioral health workforce – partly by expanding a loan repayment program – while sizing up the state’s crisis bed needs and taking steps to pry loose aggregated health data from state agencies to better inform decision-making in the future.

Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver and Rep. Todd Jones. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder 

“There is not a week that goes by when we literally have at least one or two Georgians contact us personally and say, ‘my son, my daughter, my cousin – what am I supposed to do?’” said Rep. Todd Jones, a South Forsyth Republican and the bill’s co-sponsor.

“They can’t find a bed. They can’t find a critical illness bed. They can’t find a place for them to go or to step down. We need to address this, and we need to study this,” he said.

The bill also proposes changes meant to chip away at barriers to housing, such as barring local housing authorities from rejecting an applicant who has a criminal record, and it calls for a pilot program to do behavioral health screenings in county jails. Two seats for peers, who are people in recovery, would be added to the state’s reform-minded behavioral health commission.

It attempts to fix elements of last year’s bill, such as a program for assisted outpatient treatment through the courts that has been slow to take off.

The measure would also create two task forces: one that would take a crack at “reviewing and building a continuum of care to ensure access to and appropriate use” of the state’s behavioral health system and criminal justice system, including a study of current inpatient bed capacity, and another that would look at the impact of behavioral health on Georgia’s homeless population.

And it would look at ways to modernize the state’s licensing requirements in hopes of identifying and removing barriers to employment as lawmakers try to shore up the behavioral health workforce.

“We know that workforce deficiencies are at the heart of many of the problems all our businesses and all our social services are facing this year and will for the immediate future,” said Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, a Decatur Democrat and the bill’s co-sponsor.

Oliver said the results of a recent study that looked at what the state reimburses providers for behavioral health services through Medicaid, including children’s psychiatric care, could help shape next year’s spending plan that takes effect this summer.

“We know that of the 600 intensive psychiatric beds for children, over half of them are taken by children of other states because Georgia’s reimbursement rate is simply lower,” Oliver said.

Leading advocates for a broad coalition that rallied behind last year’s bill said Tuesday they were encouraged by what they were hearing but were still digging into the details.

When the new bill was filed Tuesday, “In honor of SDR7” was written beside the bill sponsors’ names. Ralston represented District 7. (Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder)

 

Jeff Breedlove, chief of communications and policy with the Georgia Council for Recovery, called the focus on workforce essential so people can access care when they need it.

“This system is being transformed, not tweaked,” Breedlove said. “They are trying to fix a system that was broken over decades, and it’s going to take several sessions to get us to where we want to be.”

Kim Jones, executive director for NAMI Georgia, said it’s also key that lawmakers rethink those Medicaid reimbursement rates for providers.

“The rate studies that have come out have shown that we are far below where we need to be here in the state of Georgia to make sure that beds are available for Georgians and not people from out of state,” Jones said. “We are hopeful and confident that all of that will be addressed.”

Georgia still ranks near the bottom when it comes to access to mental health treatment, according to Mental Health America. But last year’s law was widely seen as a promising first step toward better connecting Georgians with the mental health and substance use disorder treatment they need.

The late House Speaker David Ralston, who was a key driving force behind last year’s bill, died in November. When the new bill was filed Tuesday, “In honor of SDR7” was written beside the bill sponsors’ names. Ralston represented District 7.

“While we missed him dearly, we are proud to continue the work he inspired,” Burns said.

Total Fitness will remain open, county officials say

By
Staff Report
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(NowHabersham.com)

Habersham Medical Center had planned to permanently close the doors to its community fitness center on Wednesday, but that won’t happen. Instead, hospital administrators have agreed to continue operating Total Fitness until March 3 to ensure a smooth transition to the county.

Habersham County will assume operations on March 6.

The county’s decision to take over Total Fitness came as a surprise to many. Monday night, commissioners voted to table the matter until their March meeting.

Joint press release

On Tuesday afternoon, commission chair Ty Akins announced in a joint press release with county manager Alicia Vaughn that the county will create a full-time position for someone to oversee Total Fitness. They touted the benefits of keeping the facility open.

“Many of those who use Total Fitness do so in combination with other opportunities in the aquatic center building, including walking laps and swimming – activities that are not readily available outdoors during inclement weather or cold temperatures,” the release states.

Habersham Medical Center opened Total Fitness in 1996. It was housed at Piedmont University (née Piedmont College) before moving into the Habersham County Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center near Clarkesville. Earlier this month, the hospital decided to close Total Fitness to save money. It’s now donating its gym equipment to the county.

Commissioners voted unanimously to accept the donation during their meeting on February 20.

The news that the county is moving forward with plans to take over Total Fitness is welcome news to its approximately 550 members. Many of those members have spent the past several weeks calling and writing letters to hospital and county officials urging them to keep the facility open.

It ‘gets them out of bed’

It’s an emotional topic for many, who rely on the Total Fitness program for wellness, staying fit, and social connections. Several of them addressed commissioners before a standing-room-only crowd at the courthouse Monday night.

Total Fitness member Peggy Berry says the fitness and wellness center is what gets some seniors in Habersham County ‘out of bed.’ (Jerry Neace/Now Habersham)

Peggy Berry said the activities at Total Fitness and the recreation department are what get some seniors out of the bed in the morning.

“The members of Total Fitness are family. They know each other. They know when somebody hasn’t been around for a while,” Berry told commissioners.

Fighting back tears, Berry added, “In short, they care about each other.”

Carol Perkins said she and her husband have led very active lives and started going to Total Fitness in 2006 when it was still at Piedmont College. It has been an integral part of their lives ever since.

“Total Fitness and the Rec. Dept. working together provides the only place around here where we can walk and run, indoors or outdoors, safely. The Aquatic Center provides a place where people of all ages come together to exercise and have healthy fun,” said Perkins.

In their press release, Akins and Vaughn said they heard similar concerns from numerous county residents.

Carol Perkins addresses expressed her strong support for keeping Total Fitness open during the Feb. 20, 2023, Habersham County Commission meeting. (Jerry Neace/Now Habersham)

Ironically, it was Akins who made the motion Monday night to table the matter until March so that details and questions about how the county might manage Total Fitness could be worked out. Commissioner Dustin Mealor seconded the motion.

The motion carried 4-1, with county commissioner Bruce Palmer casting the dissenting vote.

Habersham County Parks and Recreation Director Brooke Whitmire, for whom commissioners approved several new positions last year, said she did not have the staff to run the fitness center.

Position will be ‘advertised but not filled’

Asked by Now Habersham who voted to create the new position and when, Palmer clarified that the job “will be advertised but not filled” until the commission votes to approve creating and filling the position at their March meeting.

“That way, we can move on keeping the fitness center open without a lapse in service if approved by the commissioners,” Palmer says. He adds, “This position has been discussed in great detail. The base salary for this position is only around $18 per hour.”

“Adding expenses is never something we as commissioners take lightly,” says Akins. “But when faced with eliminating services that complement and enhance the fitness offerings available to our residents at a facility designed to promote their wellbeing, we feel we have an obligation to keep these opportunities available.”

It was standing room only at the Habersham County Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. People packed into the hearing room and hallways to protest the hospital’s decision to close Total Fitness. The day after the meeting, county commissioners heeded their call to keep the fitness center open. (Jerry Neace/Now Habersham)

Vaughn says the county is reaching out to key members of Total Fitness who have spoken publicly about the transition.

“We hope to meet with them soon to get their feedback about how to structure membership fees and other aspects of operations moving forward,” Vaughn said on Tuesday. “They are obviously passionate, and we want to engage with them to harness that positivity to benefit all involved.”

She says keeping the fitness offerings available through the Habersham County Parks and Recreation Department is something the county can do without a lot of added financial impact.

Driver charged with DUI after head-on collision on Habersham Mills Road

By
Staff Report
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The Georgia State Patrol says Katherine Melton of Clarkesville was driving this Acura TL eastbound on Habersham Mills Road when she passed in a no passing zone and struck a westbound van head-on Monday evening, Feb. 20, 2023. (photo by Red Bird Media)

The Georgia State Patrol has charged a 27-year-old Clarkesville woman with DUI in connection with a head-on collision Monday evening in Demorest.

State troopers say Katherine Danielle Melton was driving an Acura TL eastbound on Habersham Mills Road when she passed another vehicle after exiting a curve. The Acura did not have enough distance to complete the pass and struck a westbound Grand Caravan driven by Rebecca Winchell, 67, of Gillsville.

Habersham EMS transported Melton to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville with serious injuries, according to officials. Winchell and a teenage passenger in her van sustained minor injuries. An ambulance transported them to Habersham Medical Center in Demorest for treatment.

Driver Rebecca Winchell of Gillsville, GA, and a teenage passenger in this van sustained minor injuries in the head-on collision. (Red Bird Media)

The wreck occurred around 6:22 p.m. near Habersham Mills Complex Drive and shut down Habersham Mills Road for more than an hour.

In addition to DUI, the investigating trooper charged Melton with failure to exercise due regard and passing in a no passing zone.

Kathleen Bennett Ball

By
Now Habersham
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Kathleen Bennett Ball, age 70, of Lavonia, entered rest Monday, February 20, 2023, with her family by her side at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Gainesville.

Kathleen was born July 17, 1952, in Kansas to the late Jerry & Mary Parsons Hoover. She worked with Dekalb County Government up until her health started declining. Her family was her world, she loved her family with everything within her, and she will be missed dearly. She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Ball.

Left to cherish precious memories, daughter, Cassandra Laws; son, Douglas Bennett; grandchildren, Cash Laws, Dalton Laws, Makayla Bennett, Hailey Bennett & Brayden Bennett; great-grandchild, Salem Bennett; brothers, Gerald Hoover & James Hoover; and a nephew also survive.

You may sign the online guestbook or leave a condolence at www.wardsfh.com.

Ward’s Funeral Home of Gainesville is honored to serve the family of Kathleen Bennett Ball.

David Earnest Porter

By
Now Habersham
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David Earnest Porter, age 72, of Cornelia, passed away on Monday, February 20, 2023.

Born on August 24, 1950, in Cornelia, he was a son of the late James Thomas Porter and Dorothy Hogsed Porter. Mr. Porter was a U.S. Army veteran and was a retired Coach, Assistant Principal, and Physical Education teacher. During his career in education, he was employed with Habersham County School System and also in Cartersville. Mr. Porter was a member of Level Grove Baptist Church and a former member of the Cornelia Kiwanis Club. In his spare time, he worked with the Recreation Department, was a builder and Jack of all trades, and was an avid sports fan.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister and brother-in-law, Rosa Jean and Vernon White, and a brother-in-law, Bill Barden.

Survivors include wife, Judy Parker Porter of Cornelia; sons and daughters-in-law, Adam Porter of Cornelia, Jake Porter (Jennifer) of Clarkesville, and John David Porter (Carla) of Cleveland; daughter and son-in-law, Amy Kinney (Heath) of Mt. Airy; grandchildren, Lindsey Wood, Ayden and Easton Brooksher, Sutton, Reece, Maggie and Ellie Kate Porter; great-grandchildren, Luke, Porter, Kreed and Gatlin Wood; brother and sister-in-law, Tommy Porter (Lassie) of Demorest; sister, Jane Barden of Cornelia; several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services are 2 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2023, in the Chapel of McGahee-Griffin & Stewart, with Rev. Terry Rice and Mr. Ricky Kimsey officiating. Interment will follow in Level Grove Cemetery. Interment will follow in Level Grove Cemetery with full military honors provided by the U. S. Army Honor Guard and the Grant Reeves Veteran’s Honor Guard.

The family will receive friends from 6-8 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, at the funeral home.

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.

Treated sewage spills onto highway, causing brief traffic shift in Baldwin

By
Staff Report
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A Waste Away worker cleans up a sewage spill from alongside GA 365 South at Kudzu Hill. Baldwin police narrowed traffic in the area to one lane during cleanup. There were no immediate threats from the spill, they said. (NowHabersham.com)

Southbound traffic on GA 365 in Baldwin was briefly disrupted when treated sewage spilled onto the highway.

Waste Away owner Matt McKay says approximately a half yard of solid waste from the Baldwin treatment plant spilled out of a roll-off dumpster.

“It was a little too wet, so, when we hit the brakes, it came out of the can,” McKay says.

The spill was reported shortly after 12 noon. According to McKay, there were two small spills in the area of Kudzu Hill Road and BC Grant and Duncan Bridge roads.

Baldwin police and Demorest firefighters responded to the call. They narrowed traffic in the area to one lane as crews worked to clean up the mess. Both southbound lanes were reopened within several hours.

Police said they notified Haz Mat, but because the sewage was treated, McKay says they did not respond.

“We just cleaned it up with our own vac truck,” he says.

State lawmaker renews effort to divert 17-year-olds to juvenile court system

By
Jill Nolin and Stanley Dunlap
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Going through the juvenile system would grant eligible 17-year-old defendants more privacy than in state superior court – where records are usually available for public inspection – and place them in a more rehabilitation-focused setting. (Source: Google Maps)

(GA Recorder) — Georgia is one of three states where a 17-year-old who is accused of a crime stands for trial alongside adults in state superior court.

A bipartisan proposal would instead send many of these older teens to juvenile court, where Rep. Mandi Ballinger argues they should be – and where she says many people likely already assume these 17-year-olds are going.

“They can’t even sit on the jury that might convict them in that court, but they still are adjudicated in that court,” Ballinger told reporters.

Alabama changed its policy in the 1970s, and other nearby states, like North Carolina, have made the change more recently.

“There are a lot of neighboring states that have recently raised the age because as science has progressed, we’ve been able to prove definitively and scientifically that those brains just aren’t developed,” Ballinger said.

Ballinger, who is a Canton Republican, has been a passionate advocate for what’s known as “raise the age” for several years. She chairs the House Juvenile Justice Committee and has said getting the measure passed this year is a top priority. She filed the bill Thursday.

Going through the juvenile system would grant these 17-year-old defendants more privacy than in state superior court – where records are usually available for public inspection – and place them in a more rehabilitation-focused setting.

But this year’s attempt to keep 17-year-olds out of adult prisons comes at a time when lawmakers under the Gold Dome are in a tough-on-crime mood. Proposals are on the move that would impose mandatory minimum sentences for gang recruiting and other crimes, add bail requirements for more offenses and create a way to punish local prosecutors accused of being soft on crime.

Ballinger has tried to address any hesitation with new concessions. Her proposal would not apply to 17-year-olds who commit a gang-related crime or who are not first-time offenders. It also would not apply to 17-year-olds accused of committing the most serious offenses, like murder.

“There’s just kind of the perception of the criminal element that they’re criminals and they need to be punished harshly. But actually, the science really doesn’t bear that out. Over 90% of 17-year-olds that are adjudicated in juvenile court will never see the courthouse again on a criminal matter,” Ballinger said.

Her proposal will also run into long-standing practical concerns. The influential Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, for example, is opposed to the measure partly because of the strain it would put on staffing. Sheriff’s deputies are often the ones who transport young defendants to juvenile detention centers across the state, in addition to their other transport responsibilities.

Terry Norris, executive director of the association, said his group estimates the financial impact on sheriffs’ offices to be about $1.5 million based on 5,206 reported arrests for 17-year-olds in 2020.

Norris said a sheriff told him a recent trip took a deputy an hour and 45 minutes one way.

“If you look at that part of it – and nothing else – it is a problem,” Norris said. “Our staffing is really not capable of taking on any more transports.”

Ballinger’s proposal would create a 12-member implementation committee that would dig into the costs and other logistical impacts of absorbing eligible 17-year-olds into the juvenile justice system.

The new age cut-off would take effect in January 2025, but only if funding for the implementation is included in that year’s budget.

But sheriffs have other concerns, too.

“You’ve got older, streetwise people – I’m not calling them children; I’m calling them people – that are going to be mixed with a younger group, which is, in our estimation, not healthy for the younger group,” Norris said.

Doug Ammar, executive director of the Georgia Justice Project, said raising the age is another step in the right direction for Georgia’s juvenile court system, which has made significant strides in reducing recidivism after former Republican Gov. Nathan Deal established the Criminal Justice Reform Council.

In Georgia, the juvenile court system has seen an average reduction of 15,000 cases since 2019, when there were more than 60,470 cases in the system, according to the Georgia Judicial Council of Administrative Office of Courts.

Georgia’s state prison system currently houses 43 people who were either 16 or 17 years old when they were incarcerated on a felony charge.

Ammar said most 17-year-olds who are now considered adults face low-level misdemeanor charges such as shoplifting, simple battery or possession of marijuana, which may put them in jail with much older people who are facing more serious criminal charges.

“They are the youngest person there and that is a trauma in its own sense,” he said. “We’re subjecting really young people to a very difficult environment and not because they are a threat to society necessarily, but because they happen to be 17.”

Crossover Day, when a bill must clear at least one chamber to have the smoothest path to becoming law, is just two weeks away.

County recognizes first responders for their selfless service

By
Jerry Neace
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Habersham County commissioners recognized four public servants on Feb. 20, 2023, for their selfless acts in caring for members of the community. Those shown here with county commissioners and county manager Alicia Vaughn, right, are Habersham County E-911 Dispatcher Jaron Loggins, left, Habersham County Senior Dispatcher Kim Fauscett; and Baldwin Police Officers Leta Bowden and Dakota Foster. (Jerry Neace/Now Habersham)

Habersham County commissioners took a moment during their meeting Monday evening to recognize two Baldwin police officers and two E-911 operators for their selfless service to their community.

On December 21, 2022, E-911 Dispatcher Jaron Loggins learned of a call at the 911 center about a homeless man who needed blankets and supplies to keep warm during the cold weather event that occurred during the Christmas holidays. Loggins took his lunch break and met the gentleman at a local business and provided him with the requested supplies, which Loggins paid for out of his own pocket.

On January 26, 2023, E-911 Senior Dispatcher Kim Fauscett learned of a welfare check for an elderly caller who was without power and food at her Baldwin residence. Law enforcement was dispatched to that location and confirmed the woman needed help.

Each of the individuals who were recognized received framed certificates from the Habersham County Commission thanking them for their “outstanding service.” (Jerry Neace/Now Habersham)

Fauscett took it upon herself to pay $350.38 out of her own pocket to pay the past due electric bill to restore the power to the residence. Baldwin Police Officers Leta Bowden and Dakota Foster bought groceries for the woman and set her up with the food bank and other charities to assist her.

“None of these four did these acts for recognition,” said Habersham County Commission Chair Ty Akins. “They all did it because they care and want to make their community a better place.”

During Monday’s meeting, Akins invited the audience to join commissioners in recognizing these individuals for “embodying the true values of public services and caring for their community even when it means personal sacrifice.” He then presented a framed certificate to each of the individuals.

Lumpkin uses four-run fifth to put away 9-3 win

By
TFS Athletics
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Frankie Moree (Austin Poffenberger)

The Indians lost 9-3 on Tuesday night at home against Lumpkin County, as the visitors used a four-run fifth frame to put the game out of reach. TFS committed a season-high 8 errors in the loss.

After going down 2-0 in the third, the Indians got new life on a Frankie Moree 2-out, 2-run home run that brought in Chase Pollock, who had singled to lead off the frame. Lumpkin would regain the lead in the next inning and stretched the lead up to 7-2 by the end of the fifth.

In the home half of the sixth, Danny Grant drove in a run on a groundout to pull within 7-3. Lumpkin tacked on a pair of runs in the final inning to seal the win.

Tallulah Falls struggled to put runners on as the Indians gathered 4 hits and no walks. Moree’s homer was the first for TFS on the season. He also tripled in the game. Caden Walker took the loss on the hill, giving up 2 earned runs across 4 innings and striking out 7.

The Indians are now 2-2 on the season.

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