The Christmas decorations are up and the lights will be lit in downtown Clarkesville this evening.
The city will host its annual holiday event from 5:30-8 p.m. Friday, December 2.
There will be live music on the downtown square, the lighting of the town’s Christmas tree, a cookie crawl (more on that in a minute), a live Nativity, free photos with Santa, and marshmallow roasting and hot chocolate.
Boxes for the cookie crawl are $5 apiece and may be purchased at the celebration. Then, fill your box by visiting 12 merchants around town to pick up your cookies.
If you can’t make it to Clarkesville to celebrate Christmas this evening, there will be another opportunity to enjoy the town’s Christmas spirit. New this year, Clarkesville is hosting a Candlelight Christmas Walk beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 19.
The walk will begin at Norton Realty at 855 Washington Street and end in downtown Clarkesville. Listen to carolers at several locations before reaching the square for hot chocolate and more Christmas activities.
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Clarkesville will light it's downtown Christmas tree during a community Christmas celebration on Friday, Dec. 2 from 5:30-8 p.m. (nowhabersham.com)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 01: Former U.S. President Barack Obama campaigns for Georgia Democratic Senate candidate U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) at a rally December 1, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. Sen. Warnock continues to campaign throughout Georgia for the runoff election on December 6 against his Republican challenger Herschel Walker. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(GA Recorder) — Sen. Raphael Warnock’s reelection bid received a late boost Thursday from former President Barack Obama, who urged supporters to show up once again in force at the ballot box despite the lower stakes in this year’s runoff.
“Some folks are asking, ‘Well, if Democrats already have control of the Senate, why does this matter? What’s the difference between 50 and 51?” Obama said. “The answer is ‘a lot.’”
Keeping 51 seats, he said, would give Democrats “more breathing room on important bills,” blocking one person from holding up as has happened with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin III.
And it would help Democrats going into the next election cycle when the map favors the GOP, blocking Republicans from building a filibuster-proof majority that Obama argued would free them up to pass a national abortion ban.
“That one vote in the Senate could make all the difference,” Obama said. “But there’s one more reason, and it’s the biggest reason. Fifty-one is better than 50 because it means Rev. Warnock will keep representing you.”
The popular national Democratic figure’s spirited speech at the Pullman Yards entertainment venue in Atlanta marked Obama’s second Georgia visit in about a month. He stumped for Georgia Democrats in late October as part of a five-state midterm swing, although Warnock is the only Democrat running statewide who emerged from the state’s Nov. 8 election.
Supporters cheer for Sen. Raphael Warnock at the Pullman Yards in Atlanta. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
Former First Lady Michelle Obama also weighed in for Warnock this week, recording robocalls urging supporters to turn out once again in what is still a close race.
Obama also peppered the crowd with quips about Republican challenger Herschel Walker, as he did in October.
“Since the last time I was here, Mr. Walker has been talking about issues that are of great importance to the people of Georgia, like whether it’s better to be a vampire or a werewolf.
“This is a debate that I must confess I once had myself – when I was seven. Then I grew up,” Obama said.
Obama also used his speech to urge people not to tune out due to frustration over the pace of change, evoking the memories of the late Georgia Congressman John Lewis and 106-year-old Atlantan Ann Nixon Cooper, who lived long enough to cast a ballot for Obama.
“If Ms. Cooper didn’t get tired, then I can’t be tired. If John Lewis – even in his 70s – wasn’t tired, I’ve got no excuses – I can’t be tired. And if I’m not tired, you can’t be tired,” he said.
‘You deserve a senator who actually lives in Georgia’
Warnock has made his runoff campaign about competence and character, featuring some of his Trump-endorsed challenger’s more bizarre campaign comments in a new TV ad. And he’s made appeals to voters from both parties, a nod to the split-ticket voting seen at the top of the ballot in Georgia last month.
“I believe in my soul that Georgians know that Georgia is better than Herschel Walker,” Warnock said with one of his biggest applause lines of the night Thursday.
“You deserve a senator who cares enough about the people to actually know the issues. You deserve a senator who will tell you the truth. You deserve a senator who actually lives in Georgia.”
The incumbent has kept a busy schedule since he finished nearly 38,000 votes ahead of Walker but fell short of the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff.
Before the rally with Obama, Warnock spent the afternoon at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, where the Black Law Student Society held a campaign event for him on campus. The sitting senator has been a familiar sight at college campuses as he tries to rally the state’s youngest voters to the polls.
‘That means you don’t know no stuff either’
Walker has kept a lower profile during the four-week runoff, and he’s avoided mainstream reporters’ questions at his campaign events, where the press is kept at a distance.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham stumps for Herschel Walker in Woodstock on Dec. 1, 2022. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
At an event Thursday night in Woodstock, Walker did not take questions from reporters but did a live spot with Fox News host Sean Hannity with the crowd in the background.
Walker was joined by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Woodstock, along with Congressman-elect John James of Michigan, retired Marine Corps Col. Ghannon Burton, and former Trump spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was listed as an attendee but did not speak.
Graham echoed Obama as he sought to convince the crowd to turn out and make sure their loved ones do the same even though the Senate will remain under Democratic control regardless of Tuesday’s result.
“The bottom line here is this is the last election of the 2022 cycle. What does it matter if there’s 50 versus 51? A hell of a lot,” he said. “If it’s 50-50, we have the same number on the committees, we share the same amount of money. If it’s 51-49, they’re in charge of everything.
Walker delivered a speech in his typical freewheeling style and hit his familiar talking points — if elected, he will be tough on America’s enemies and work to eliminate “wokeness” from schools and the military. He sought to characterize Warnock as a wolf in sheep’s clothing interested only in personal gain and out of touch with average Georgians.
“I remember he was on the podium saying to be a senator, you got to know some stuff,” Walker said. “I’m going to tell you, he don’t know no stuff. I’m going to tell you all the stuff he don’t know. All the things he voted for — they told Joe Biden that he was headed in the wrong direction, and all of a sudden, Sen. Warnock voted with him 96% of the time. That means you don’t know no stuff either.”
Walker’s campaign has been beset by allegations of past impropriety, including domestic abuse, lying about his business bona fides and paying for former girlfriends’ abortions despite a public anti-abortion stance. In recent days, he has come under fire for allegedly claiming a homestead exemption in Texas applicable only to primary residences while running for office and voting in Georgia, and a Daily Beast story published Thursday details new allegations of abuse from a former girlfriend.
Herschel Walker speaks to supporters in Woodstock, Dec. 1, 2022. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Polls continue to show a tight race. In an Emerson College poll released Thursday, Warnock had a thin lead, 48.7% to 47.3%, with 4% undecided. When the undecided voters were asked which candidate they were leaning toward, Warnock’s lead grew to 51.6% to Walker’s 48.4%.
The early vote totals look promising for Warnock, with Black and female voters, who typically lean Democratic, turning out in greater proportions than white or male voters. Voters between 18 and 24 are also outperforming past runoff turnout so far.
“Warnock’s base lies with voters under 50 – a 55% majority support him for re-election – whereas Walker holds a similar 55% majority among voters over 50,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling. “The early vote breaks for Warnock by about 29 points, 63% to 34%, whereas those who have yet to cast their ballot break for Walker by eight points 52% to 44%.”
The Senate runoff conjures up memories of the 2020 election when Warnock and Sen. Jon Ossoff’s wins handed Democrats control of the narrow chamber. But this time, the stakes are not quite as high after Senate Democrats were able to defy the odds and retain the 50 seats needed for majority status.
Still, interest in the outcome remains high. Some early voting locations in metro Atlanta have reported two hour or longer wait times as Georgians turn out in the abbreviated early voting period. By Wednesday, more than 1.1 million people had cast a ballot, which is about 16% of the state’s voters.
Election day is this Tuesday. Friday is the last day of early voting.
U.S. Supreme Court (photo courtesy States Newsrooms)
WASHINGTON (GA Recorder) — The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday it will hear oral arguments in February over a legal challenge by six Republican-led states to the Biden administration student borrower relief plan.
Until the arguments are heard and the court issues a ruling, the $400 billion Biden plan is on hold due to a nationwide injunction ordered in the lawsuit by the six GOP-led states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina.
The Supreme Court declined to lift the order from the lower courts but decided to fast-track arguments for the case.
In November, the Department of Education announced it was extending the pandemic-era pause on federal student loan repayments while legal battles are fought over it in the courts, so borrowers, for now, won’t be on the hook for payments.
“We welcome the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case on our student debt relief plan for middle and working-class borrowers this February. This program is necessary to help over 40 million eligible Americans struggling under the burden of student loan debt recover from the pandemic and move forward with their lives,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
“The program is also legal, supported by careful analysis from administration lawyers. President Biden will keep fighting against efforts to rob middle class families of the relief they need and deserve.”
In a statement, Mike Pierce, the executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, which advocates for student debt cancellation, also said the Biden administration’s debt relief plan is legal.
“Once again, the credibility of the Supreme Court rests on its ability to recognize what we all know to be true: canceling student debt is legal and necessary to secure the financial futures of 40 million Americans,” he said.
“We remain confident that the President’s right-wing opponents will not bait him into becoming America’s student debt collector and will keep fighting in and out of court to keep his promise to cancel student debt.”
But the top Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, called the student debt relief plan a “bailout,” and said that she expects the Supreme Court to strike down the plan, much like the lower courts.
“President Biden’s proposal is illegal, and I’m glad to see the Court will soon have the chance to ensure not one taxpayer dollar is used in support of this student loan scheme,” Foxx said. “After multiple failures in lower courts to push forward with this illegal bailout, one fact remains clear: The rule of law will never bend to the will of this administration—not for one second.”
Applications for program held
The White House has contended its program is legal and is holding on to applications for it already filed, although the Department of Education stopped accepting new applications following a second decision from a federal judge in Texas who separately ruled the program was unlawful.
The administration had asked the court to vacate the injunction in the case brought by the six states. The court said a decision on that would be deferred until it hears arguments in the case.
“The Clerk is directed to establish a briefing schedule that will allow the case to be argued in the February 2023 argument session,” the Supreme Court said in its order issued Thursday.
In mid-November, the unanimous ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis issuing the national injunction came after the states argued that the loan relief program threatens those states’ future tax revenues and that the plan by the Biden administration overrode congressional authority.
A federal judge in Missouri originally rejected the six-state lawsuit, ruling that those states lacked legal standing to pursue a case on the grounds that they will be harmed in the future.
However, the appeals court found that in Missouri, that state had shown likely injury, as a major loan servicer — Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, known as MOHELA — that is based in the state would lose revenue because of the debt relief program.
“Due to MOHELA’s financial obligations to the State treasury, the challenged student loan debt cancellation presents a threatened financial harm to the State of Missouri,” according to the three-judge appeals panel. “Missouri, therefore, likely has legal standing to bring its claim. And since at least one party likely has standing, we need not address the standing of the other States.”
In late August, President Joe Biden had announced he would cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for Pell Grant borrowers and up to $10,000 for all other borrowers with an income of less than $125,000 for an individual and $250,000 for a household.
The program would only apply to current borrowers, not future ones, and income levels for the 2020 and 2021 tax years would be considered. Student loan borrowers who have private student loans would not be eligible.
More than 43 million Americans have student loan debt, and the Federal Reserve estimates that the total U.S. student loan debt is more than $1.76 trillion.
Across the state, voters have been turning out in droves to cast ballots ahead of Georgia’s December 6 Senate runoff.
Five days of state-mandated early voting ends at 7 p.m. Friday, December 2. As of the close of polls on Thursday, December 1, state election officials reported 1,472,515 of the state’s 7,006,998 active registered voters had already cast ballots.
That’s a statewide voter turnout of 21%.
Many counties across the state are outpacing that turnout, considered extremely high for a runoff election. In fact, this runoff has shattered Georgia’s previous early voting records, far exceeding turnout in runoffs in 2018 and 2016, state election officials say.
“While some counties are seeing more voter turnout than they anticipated, most have found a way to manage voter wait times,” says Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “I appreciate the election officials and workers across Georgia who are doing their level best to accommodate our record turnout.”
In Northeast Georgia, Rabun County and Towns currently have the highest turnout rates at 33.9% and 32.8%, respectively. Habersham is the next closest in the region, at 28.4%.
Habersham County election officials report that from November 28 to December 1, 8,111 of the county’s 28,534 active registered voters had cast early in-person and mail-in ballots. They began processing the absentee mail-in ballots Friday morning. They will continue “day to day until complete,” a notice from the Habersham County Elections Board states.
Early processing of ballots is allowed under State Election Board rules, but the ballots can not be tabulated until election day. Habersham County Election Supervisor Laurel Ellison says her office will begin tabulating the ballots at 1 p.m. on December 6, but they will not release any reports until after the polls close at 7 p.m. that day.
Ballot processing and counting will take place at the Habersham County Elections Office in the county administration building in Clarkesville. The public is welcome to observe.
Fire swept through a single-wide mobile home in Gillsville on the night of Dec. 1, 2022. (Kimberlie Ledsinger/Hall County Fire Rescue)
Hall County fire investigators are working to determine what caused a fire that burned two residents out of their mobile home Thursday night.
Around 10:20 p.m. Hall County Fire Rescue was dispatched to a fully involved single-wide mobile home fire on the 4600 block of Three Bridges Road in Gillsville.
“Upon arrival, flames were visible, coming from inside the home, spreading quickly to the left side,” says HCFR spokesperson Kimberlie Ledsinger.
Firefighters attacked the bulk of the fire immediately and were able to extinguish it from the interior and exterior. A primary search was completed, and no one was found inside the home.
Ledsinger says no one was injured. The American Red Cross was notified to help the displaced residents. The Hall County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.
The Georgia Department of Transportation has closed one northbound lane of Interstate 85 near Commerce due to a wreck.
The crash occurred Thursday around 9 p.m. on the bridge over the North Oconee River that was undergoing maintenance. Transportation officials say contractors are on the scene assessing the damage. The outer lane will remain closed through Friday, impacting the morning commute.
According to GDOT, traffic will be reduced to one lane from around mile markers 144 to 145 in Jackson County. Drivers are advised to expect delays and use navigation apps to avoid the work zone.
Law enforcement officials will be monitoring traffic in the area.
NASCAR fan favorite Chase Elliott, left, speaks during the NASCAR Awards on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Chase Elliott simply can’t be beat when it comes to his grip on NASCAR ‘s title as fans most popular driver.
Not even with a late social media push by Ryan Blaney to end Elliott’s reign.
In a season in which he won five races and finished fourth overall, Elliott added another victory Thursday night. At the season-ending awards ceremony at the Music City Center, the National Press Association declared Elliott winner of the fan-decided most popular award for a fifth consecutive year.
Elliott had a message for Blaney, who surprised him by campaigning for the award on social media. Blaney also had fun with Elliott, whose tweets featured videos that included accusing the driver sponsored by Hooters of thinking parmesan garlic chicken wings are “too spicy.”
“I got a pretty good laugh,” Elliott told Blaney during the awards show. “But if you need a trophy or need to borrow it, you know where my room’s at.”
Elliott’s run as NASCAR’s most popular driver started in 2018, the first year of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s retirement. Earnhardt had won the most popular award every year since 2003, the season Bill Elliot, the man known as “Awesome Bill From Dawsonville” in Georgia, asked for his name to be removed from the ballot after winning 16 times.
Now his son is continuing the tradition with this latest victory, meaning either an Elliott or Earnhardt has won the Most Popular Driver award for 32 straight years. Chase Elliott said he understands and appreciates fans continuing a family tradition of rooting for an Elliott.
“Dad had a great connection with the fans and beyond him, I look at the connection as really an extension of his career and my uncles and my grandfather and just kind of the path and the work ethic that they had to, to be able to get to where they did and to achieve the goals they did,” Chase Elliott said.
Chase Elliott held off his three rivals for the Cup championship even if he lost on the track to eventual Cup champ Joey Logano. Ross Chastain and Christopher Bell also were among the top 10 vote-getters. Others receiving votes included Blaney, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr.
The most popular driver award was first presented in 1949, to Curtis Turner, at the end of NASCAR’s inaugural season. The award has been administered by the NMPA and presented annually by the organization since 1983, and it is the only major NASCAR award determined solely by a fan vote.
Joseph “Joe” Scott, Jr., age 80, of Cornelia, passed away on Wednesday, November 30, 2022.
Born on January 4, 1942, in Banks County, he was the son of the late Joe Scott, Sr. and Charity Moss Scott. Mr. Scott retired from Cornelia Veneer after 35 plus years of service. In his spare time, he enjoyed working in his garden and also enjoyed flowers, old cars, guns, and listening to music. He especially loved his family and his church family at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he sang in the choir.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister, Maggie Gibson; first cousin, Mildred Moss; and son, Tony Scott.
Survivors include his loving wife of 60 years, Connie Swilling Scott of the home; daughters Sandra Wilson Holloway of Stone Mountain, Beverly Scott of Los Angeles, California, Maria Scott (Michelle) of Cornelia, and Pamela Hardeman (Charles) of Commerce; daughter-in-law, Denene Scott of Lawrenceville; grandchildren, Tinisha Combs, Darius Maxwell, Joshua Scott, Selethia Gregory (Steven), Amberly Evans (Jarrell), Nyah Williams, Hannah Scott, Ryan Taylor (Jaylene), and Erin Taylor; a host of great-grandchildren; a very special, treasured cousin, within the home, Joyce Latner; special friends, Marvin and Ben; first cousin, Ralph Beckham; Kenny Pettijohn; and a host of other relatives and friends.
Mr. Scott will lie in state from 8:30 am until the service hour of 2 pm on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, in the Chapel of McGahee-Griffin & Stewart. Rev. Ann Nicely will officiate. Interment will follow in Level Grove Cemetery.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Democratic Sen. Pat Leahy of Vermont at the U.S. Capitol going into lunch with Senate Democrats prior to a vote on an agreement to end a looming rail strike on Dec. 1, 2022. (Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON (GA Recorder) — The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to codify an agreement the White House brokered between rail unions and freight companies in order to avoid a catastrophic rail strikeOett but fell short of enough votes to include paid sick leave for workers.
The Senate backed the rail deal on an 80-15 vote and rejected the House-passed sick leave proposal 52-43, despite pleas from independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Sixty votes were required for passage.
The bill imposing the agreement now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk. Senators also rejected 25-70 a proposal by Alaska Republican Dan Sullivan and Arkansas Republican Tom Cotton to extend the cooling-off period for talks to continue.
Sanders called out railroad companies for refusing to give their workers paid sick leave and penalizing those who do take time off, calling the practices “barbaric.” He voted against codifying the September agreement.
“I gotta say that they are maybe the worst case of corporate greed that I have seen,” Sanders said of the freight rail carriers. “These guys are making record-breaking profits, giving their CEOs huge compensation packages.”
But Democrats said the looming rail strike had the potential to upend U.S. shipping and commerce just before the holidays, and Biden on Monday called for Congress to impose the agreement.
“The Senate cannot leave until we get the job done,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, said ahead of the votes Thursday.
“Working together, we have spared this country a Christmas catastrophe in our grocery stores, in our workplaces, and in our communities,” Biden said after the Senate vote.
“I know that many in Congress shared my reluctance to override the union ratification procedures. But in this case, the consequences of a shutdown were just too great for working families all across the country. And, the agreement will raise workers’ wages by 24%, increase health care benefits, and preserve two person crews.
“I have long been a supporter of paid sick leave for workers in all industries — not just the rail industry — and my fight for that critical benefit continues.”
Buttigieg and Walsh to the Hill
With the cooling-off period ending soon, giving the unions the authority to strike starting Dec. 9, Biden sent U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh to Capitol Hill to brief Senate Democrats on the railroad labor deal ahead of the vote.
The Senate Republicans who joined a majority of Democrats in backing paid sick leave included Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Mike Braun of Indiana, Marco Rubio of Florida and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who is currently on the campaign trail in advance of the Georgia runoff election, did not vote. Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, did not vote because he tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday morning and is currently isolating.
Senators said they had to act. “We need to figure out a way to get this working,” Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, said, adding that it would be devastating to workers and the economy if the strike were to occur.
Sen. Joe Manchin III expressed concern about Congress setting a precedent by intervening in a rail strike, but ultimately said he would vote for the agreement. Following the briefing he attended with Walsh and Buttigieg, he said he felt the deal was fair.
“It’s still the best proposal out there, and it’s what we should be voting for,” Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, said.
Manchin voted against giving workers seven days of paid sick leave.
The scramble for Congress to pass a rail deal came after the president directed Congress to adopt the agreement between rail workers and operators that the White House helped facilitate in September, which was based on recommendations from an emergency board that Biden established in July.
Biden, calling himself “a proud pro-labor president,” said while that he was supportive of the unions, he could not let the dispute create an economic disaster.
September deal
In September, four of the 12 rail unions voted against endorsing the deal, voicing their opposition to a lack of paid sick leave. All 12 unions — representing 115,000 freight rail workers — need to agree on a contract, and if one doesn’t agree, workers represented by the others don’t cross the picket line.
The House on Wednesday voted to pass the agreement, and separately added seven days of paid sick leave though workers wanted more. Railroad workers are not currently guaranteed a single paid sick day. Rail companies refused to agree to paid sick leave.
The House strategy could have averted a possible rail strike that would potentially cost the U.S. economy more than $2 billion per day, while also sympathizing with union members’ request for sick leave.
The agreement the White House helped facilitate would give workers a 24% raise over five years, from 2020 to 2024; one additional personal day; and some protection from the rail carriers’ punitive attendance policies so that workers can take time off for medical needs without fear of discipline. The White House suggested to the unions that they withdrawal their request for paid sick leave.
The Association of American Railroads, which is the trade group that represents the railroad companies, urged the Senate to pass the September agreement, and reject Sanders’ push to include paid sick leave.
“The Senate must now act quickly to implement the historic deals reached at the bargaining table and already ratified by eight of twelve unions,” AAR CEO Ian Jefferies said in a statement.
“Unless Congress wants to become the de facto endgame for future negotiations, any effort to put its thumb on the bargaining scale to artificially advantage either party or otherwise obstruct a swift resolution would be wholly irresponsible and risk a timely outcome to avoid significant economic harm.”
But Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, criticized freight owners and called out the use of Precision Scheduled Railroading. PSR is a method of running a railroad to streamline rail operations.
“This is an industry that has been wildly profitable,” Warren said. “They’ve doubled their profits during the pandemic, they’ve done $125 billion in stock buybacks, and they’ve cut the workforce by 30%, and the way they have been so profitable is by doing something they call precision scheduling, which means in fact, every single worker has to be available roughly 365 days. That leaves no room for people to get sick, for people to get injured.”
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement that the agreement from the White House fell short, and urged Congress to “do the right thing by passing paid sick days for rail workers.”
“To be clear, rail companies could do the right thing today and grant workers paid sick leave,” she said. “But they’ve refused, putting profits over people. That’s how we got here.”
Funeral services are scheduled Saturday for former Habersham County Commissioner Earl Roberts.
Roberts, who served on the commission for 11 years in the 80s and 90s, passed away Wednesday, November 30. He was 87.
A native of Habersham County, Roberts retired after twenty years in the U.S. Navy. He also worked at the Georgia Department of Corrections and worked as a builder and developer, according to his obituary.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 3, at the Whitfield Funeral Home’s North Chapel in Demorest. Visitation will be held at the funeral home prior to the service.
Roberts’ wife, Barbara Turner Roberts, passed away in 2020. They are survived by their three children.
The Habersham County Commission voted Thursday to approve county employee pay raises and new hires for the recreation department. Combined, the two measures will cost the county close to $1.3 million in new salary spending.
As expected, the three-block vote led by commission chair Bruce Palmer led the way for the passage of the measures. Commissioner Dustin Mealor moved to approve the county’s new pay tables, Akins seconded the motion, and Palmer cast the deciding vote.
Commissioners Bruce Harkness and Jimmy Tench were not present at the meeting, something sources say Palmer had been made aware of, but he refused to reschedule the meeting.
Akins made the motion to approve seven new positions for the county recreation department, seconded by Mealor, with Palmer again casting the deciding vote.
Just last week, Akins had voted with Harkness and Tench to table the measures until mid-December to allow themselves and the public more time to review the proposals. Two days later, right before Thanksgiving, Palmer called the December first meeting.
While the recreation department proposal was straightforward, the pay raises are more complex.
Commissioners voted to approve four new pay tables, down from six, drawn from a pay study conducted earlier this year by Evergreen Solutions of Florida.
In its study, Evergreen concluded Habersham’s existing pay tables were 4.6% below the market minimum, 10.6% below the market midpoint, and 14.4% below the market maximum based on surveys from 18 counties in Northeast Georgia.
The study was not limited to similarly-sized counties with similar tax bases. It included the more urban areas of Dawson, Forsyth, and neighboring Hall County, which is nearly five times the size of Habersham, with a tax base over four times greater (see below).
(Data source: Hall and Habersham County websites and financial documents)
Uneven playing field
It’s long been suggested that Habersham County competes with Hall County for employees. That may be true, but so do other counties. In turn, Hall County competes with Forsyth and Gwinnett counties.
For small rural counties like Habersham, attempting to offer their employees salaries similar to those they could get in larger markets may be noble, but is it sustainable?
A review of the tax tables above shows Habersham collects $8 million less a year than Dawson County, which has a smaller population but a broader tax base. Likewise, Habersham collects significantly less than Hall and Forsyth.
Property owners prop up Habersham County’s budget. To provide these pay increases, three of the county’s commissioners have already proven their willingness to raise taxes. Commissioners Palmer, Ty Akins, and Dustin Mealor passed a millage rate increase this year on already higher reassessments, essentially handing Habersham property owners a double tax.
In an economy where many were already struggling due to inflation, it felt to many like a slap in the face.
Those tax increases added $3.3 million to Habersham County’s coffers. The bulk of that money will be used to pay for the pay raises and new hires.
The county has already obligated itself to over $400,000 in new spending to cover higher salaries and benefits for senior management.
Habersham County’s Chief Financial Officer Tim Sims is one example.
On January 25, 2021, Sims was hired at $90,000 a year. Just over a year later, on March 17, 2022, he was given the title of chief financial officer and an annual salary of $125,594. In addition, commissioners agreed to add Sims and newly-hired Human Resources Director Ann Cain, as well as EMS Director Jeff Adams who has been with the county for years, to the senior retirement management plan at 15% of their annual salary.
Based on the proposed pay tables the county commissioners approved Thursday, Sims has already maxed out of his salary range for a job he has held less than a year.
Employees at the low end of the pay scale will not see such sizeable increases, if they see any at all.
No guarantees
In creating the pay tables based on the Evergreen Study, Habersham County administrators reclassified multiple positions and developed the new minimum, midpoint, and maximum salaries for those positions.
Below are the proposed pay tables and reclassifications that were given to commissioners to consider last week. These are the positions and pay ranges they voted on. It’s important to note there is at least one error contained in these tables. Now Habersham brought the matter to the county’s attention, and county clerk Brandy Clark confirmed with HR director Cain that the ‘Finance Director’ position should be listed as ‘Chief Financial Officer.’
While these tables lay out a road map for future starting salaries and incremental increases, they do not point out exactly who is going to get what now. Ensuring an equitable distribution of raises from the bottom up was one of the things commissioner Bruce Harkness said he hoped to achieve had the chairman given them more time to study the plan.
Absent that review, Now Habersham decided to delve into the numbers more closely to determine how Habersham compares to similar population groups and Hall County.
By the numbers
To conduct our comparative analysis, we studied wage surveys the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) compiled from Hall County and Habersham in 2020 (the most recent publicly available data for both counties in the DCA database.)
In the table below, if the starting salary and the maximum salary are the same, that is the salary for that position at the time of the survey.
In this comparison from 2020, Habersham County was, on average, 17.1% lower in salaries compared to Hall County. However, in some positions, Habersham’s salaries were significantly less, while two of them paid more.
(Source: GA Dept. of Community Affairs)
The next table compares the 2021 salaries for Habersham’s Population Group, according to DCA. The population group of 25,000-49,999 includes approximately 22 counties, including Habersham, White, Stephens, Dawson, Hart, and Lumpkin counties. In this sample, Habersham County exceeds salaries for the population group by about 6.5% overall in this sample set.
In this table, the Habersham County Manager’s salary is 19.5% higher than the average starting salary of a County Manager within the population group. The maximum salary is 2.2% lower than the average salary for a County Manager within the same group. However, an EMT for Habersham County has a starting salary 0.3% less than their counterparts in other counties of a similar size. The same EMT has a maximum salary of 20.6% less than EMTs in similar size counties.
As you look at the table overall, Habersham County actually fairs much better in salaries for most positions when compared to other counties within their population group.
(Source: GA Dept. of Community Affairs)
The next table compares the Habersham County 2022 DCA Salary Survey that was submitted before June 30, 2022, and the Evergreen Solution Salary Study. The Evergreen Study exceeds the Habersham County salary survey salary ranges by an average of 21%.
This sample demonstrates that the Evergreen Study will increase starting salaries, on average, by 15.4% and maximum salaries by 27.2%.
The reality is that starting and maximum salaries vary drastically depending on the position. Two positions in this sample stand out where their salary range increases substantially.
Firefight/EMTs starting salary will increase by 30.9%, with their maximum salary increasing by 76.3%. Also, the Emergency Management Director’s salary range has the same effect. That position’s starting salary will increase by 67.4%, and the maximum salary will increase by 53.3%.
In these two instances, the current salary range is below Evergreen’s recommended range. How will this be addressed? If the employee is at the maximum of their current salary range, will that individual go to the maximum of the new salary range? In this scenario, that could be a pay raise of $28,791 for the Firefighter/EMT. If there are three Firefighters/EMTs that meet this criterion, that could cost the county $86,374.
The same situation exists for the Emergency Management Director. If that individual is currently at the maximum salary, will that individual go to the maximum salary of the new recommended table? If so, then that individual would receive a pay raise of $46,742.
If very many of these situations exist throughout the recommended classification schedule, the vast majority of employees will not receive raises, and a select few will receive significant raises.
This last table compares the Hall County 2020 DCA Salary Survey to the Evergreen Salary Study as presented. In this comparison, the Evergreen Salary Study exceeds Hall County by an average of 6.5%. The Evergreen Salary Study brings Habersham County salaries more comparable to salaries in Hall County and, in some cases, vastly exceeds salaries of comparable positions.
However, the Hall County data is dated for a true comparison.
One fact remains, if catching up with Hall County was the intent, this study closed the gap by only a little bit. Hall County salaries may have gone up by as much as 10%, if not more, since 2020. If that is the case, lagging behind Hall County salaries will always be an excuse for poor retention and recruitment.
The County Commission has a lot of work ahead of them in reviewing and analyzing this data. Ten days was not enough time to address issues and concerns arising from the Evergreen Salary Study.
Commissioners need to understand that employees that don’t get raises will be affected and, in some cases, offended. Also, employees that don’t get raises could look differently at those who do get raises. This could have a negative impact on morale and productivity.
Rushing to a decision in the manner in which they did could have unintended adverse effects on the employees, with retention, and ultimately costing the taxpayers more money trying to fix unintended consequences.
Being fair, just, and equitable in this endeavor was an absolute necessity for all county stakeholders – employees and taxpayers alike. It is unfortunate that commissioners Mealor, Akins, and Palmer chose to rush it through.
FILE - Georgia House Speaker David Ralston turns to his wife Sheree Ralston as the House votes 166-0 for final passage of a sweeping mental health bill on March 30, 2022, at the state capitol in Atlanta. Ralston died Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, in Atlanta, at age 68 after what spokesperson Kaleb McMichen described as an "extended illness." (AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File)
The widow of former Georgia House Speaker David Ralston is running to fill his vacant legislative seat.
Sheree Ralston announced Wednesday that she was running for election in the 7th House District, which covers Fannin and Gilmer counties and part of Dawson County. Gov. Brian Kemp called a special election on Jan. 3 to fill the seat.
“I’m running to complete the unfinished work of my husband, David Ralston, specifically as it relates to mental health reform and protecting the interests of Georgia’s 7th House District,” she said in a statement.
The Republican Kemp quickly endorsed her.
Sheree Ralston, of Blue Ridge, is the executive director of the Fannin County Development Authority.
Conservative online talk show host Brian K. Pritchard announced Monday that he is also running.
Pritchard said in a statement earlier that he intends to run on issues including doing more to stop transgender girls from playing girls high school sports in Georgia.
“We are a republic, not a monarchy,” Pritchard said after Ralston announced Wednesday. “House seats are non-transferable. The seat belongs to the great people in the Georgia 7th District. It’s not up to Atlanta to pick a successor.”
Qualifying for the all-party special election begins Monday and ends Wednesday. If no one wins a majority on Jan. 3, a runoff would be held on Jan. 31.
There will be live music on the downtown square, the lighting of the town’s Christmas tree, a cookie crawl (more on that in a minute), a live Nativity, free photos with Santa, and marshmallow roasting and hot chocolate.
By the numbers: A closer look at Habersham’s pay raises
The Habersham County Commission voted Thursday to approve county employee pay raises and new hires for the recreation department. Combined, the two measures will cost the county close to $1.3 million in new salary spending.
As expected, the three-block vote led by commission chair Bruce Palmer led the way for the passage of the measures. Commissioner Dustin Mealor moved to approve the county’s new pay tables, Akins seconded the motion, and Palmer cast the deciding vote.
Commissioners Bruce Harkness and Jimmy Tench were not present at the meeting, something sources say Palmer had been made aware of, but he refused to reschedule the meeting.
Akins made the motion to approve seven new positions for the county recreation department, seconded by Mealor, with Palmer again casting the deciding vote.
Just last week, Akins had voted with Harkness and Tench to table the measures until mid-December to allow themselves and the public more time to review the proposals. Two days later, right before Thanksgiving, Palmer called the December first meeting.
While the recreation department proposal was straightforward, the pay raises are more complex.
Commissioners voted to approve four new pay tables, down from six, drawn from a pay study conducted earlier this year by Evergreen Solutions of Florida.
In its study, Evergreen concluded Habersham’s existing pay tables were 4.6% below the market minimum, 10.6% below the market midpoint, and 14.4% below the market maximum based on surveys from 18 counties in Northeast Georgia.
The study was not limited to similarly-sized counties with similar tax bases. It included the more urban areas of Dawson, Forsyth, and neighboring Hall County, which is nearly five times the size of Habersham, with a tax base over four times greater (see below).
Uneven playing field
It’s long been suggested that Habersham County competes with Hall County for employees. That may be true, but so do other counties. In turn, Hall County competes with Forsyth and Gwinnett counties.
For small rural counties like Habersham, attempting to offer their employees salaries similar to those they could get in larger markets may be noble, but is it sustainable?
A review of the tax tables above shows Habersham collects $8 million less a year than Dawson County, which has a smaller population but a broader tax base. Likewise, Habersham collects significantly less than Hall and Forsyth.
Property owners prop up Habersham County’s budget. To provide these pay increases, three of the county’s commissioners have already proven their willingness to raise taxes. Commissioners Palmer, Ty Akins, and Dustin Mealor passed a millage rate increase this year on already higher reassessments, essentially handing Habersham property owners a double tax.
In an economy where many were already struggling due to inflation, it felt to many like a slap in the face.
Those tax increases added $3.3 million to Habersham County’s coffers. The bulk of that money will be used to pay for the pay raises and new hires.
The county has already obligated itself to over $400,000 in new spending to cover higher salaries and benefits for senior management.
Habersham County’s Chief Financial Officer Tim Sims is one example.
On January 25, 2021, Sims was hired at $90,000 a year. Just over a year later, on March 17, 2022, he was given the title of chief financial officer and an annual salary of $125,594. In addition, commissioners agreed to add Sims and newly-hired Human Resources Director Ann Cain, as well as EMS Director Jeff Adams who has been with the county for years, to the senior retirement management plan at 15% of their annual salary.
Based on the proposed pay tables the county commissioners approved Thursday, Sims has already maxed out of his salary range for a job he has held less than a year.
Employees at the low end of the pay scale will not see such sizeable increases, if they see any at all.
No guarantees
In creating the pay tables based on the Evergreen Study, Habersham County administrators reclassified multiple positions and developed the new minimum, midpoint, and maximum salaries for those positions.
Below are the proposed pay tables and reclassifications that were given to commissioners to consider last week. These are the positions and pay ranges they voted on. It’s important to note there is at least one error contained in these tables. Now Habersham brought the matter to the county’s attention, and county clerk Brandy Clark confirmed with HR director Cain that the ‘Finance Director’ position should be listed as ‘Chief Financial Officer.’
While these tables lay out a road map for future starting salaries and incremental increases, they do not point out exactly who is going to get what now. Ensuring an equitable distribution of raises from the bottom up was one of the things commissioner Bruce Harkness said he hoped to achieve had the chairman given them more time to study the plan.
Absent that review, Now Habersham decided to delve into the numbers more closely to determine how Habersham compares to similar population groups and Hall County.
By the numbers
To conduct our comparative analysis, we studied wage surveys the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) compiled from Hall County and Habersham in 2020 (the most recent publicly available data for both counties in the DCA database.)
In the table below, if the starting salary and the maximum salary are the same, that is the salary for that position at the time of the survey.
In this comparison from 2020, Habersham County was, on average, 17.1% lower in salaries compared to Hall County. However, in some positions, Habersham’s salaries were significantly less, while two of them paid more.
The next table compares the 2021 salaries for Habersham’s Population Group, according to DCA. The population group of 25,000-49,999 includes approximately 22 counties, including Habersham, White, Stephens, Dawson, Hart, and Lumpkin counties. In this sample, Habersham County exceeds salaries for the population group by about 6.5% overall in this sample set.
In this table, the Habersham County Manager’s salary is 19.5% higher than the average starting salary of a County Manager within the population group. The maximum salary is 2.2% lower than the average salary for a County Manager within the same group. However, an EMT for Habersham County has a starting salary 0.3% less than their counterparts in other counties of a similar size. The same EMT has a maximum salary of 20.6% less than EMTs in similar size counties.
As you look at the table overall, Habersham County actually fairs much better in salaries for most positions when compared to other counties within their population group.
The next table compares the Habersham County 2022 DCA Salary Survey that was submitted before June 30, 2022, and the Evergreen Solution Salary Study. The Evergreen Study exceeds the Habersham County salary survey salary ranges by an average of 21%.
This sample demonstrates that the Evergreen Study will increase starting salaries, on average, by 15.4% and maximum salaries by 27.2%.
The reality is that starting and maximum salaries vary drastically depending on the position. Two positions in this sample stand out where their salary range increases substantially.
Firefight/EMTs starting salary will increase by 30.9%, with their maximum salary increasing by 76.3%. Also, the Emergency Management Director’s salary range has the same effect. That position’s starting salary will increase by 67.4%, and the maximum salary will increase by 53.3%.
In these two instances, the current salary range is below Evergreen’s recommended range. How will this be addressed? If the employee is at the maximum of their current salary range, will that individual go to the maximum of the new salary range? In this scenario, that could be a pay raise of $28,791 for the Firefighter/EMT. If there are three Firefighters/EMTs that meet this criterion, that could cost the county $86,374.
The same situation exists for the Emergency Management Director. If that individual is currently at the maximum salary, will that individual go to the maximum salary of the new recommended table? If so, then that individual would receive a pay raise of $46,742.
If very many of these situations exist throughout the recommended classification schedule, the vast majority of employees will not receive raises, and a select few will receive significant raises.
This last table compares the Hall County 2020 DCA Salary Survey to the Evergreen Salary Study as presented. In this comparison, the Evergreen Salary Study exceeds Hall County by an average of 6.5%. The Evergreen Salary Study brings Habersham County salaries more comparable to salaries in Hall County and, in some cases, vastly exceeds salaries of comparable positions.
However, the Hall County data is dated for a true comparison.
One fact remains, if catching up with Hall County was the intent, this study closed the gap by only a little bit. Hall County salaries may have gone up by as much as 10%, if not more, since 2020. If that is the case, lagging behind Hall County salaries will always be an excuse for poor retention and recruitment.
The County Commission has a lot of work ahead of them in reviewing and analyzing this data. Ten days was not enough time to address issues and concerns arising from the Evergreen Salary Study.
Commissioners need to understand that employees that don’t get raises will be affected and, in some cases, offended. Also, employees that don’t get raises could look differently at those who do get raises. This could have a negative impact on morale and productivity.
Rushing to a decision in the manner in which they did could have unintended adverse effects on the employees, with retention, and ultimately costing the taxpayers more money trying to fix unintended consequences.
Being fair, just, and equitable in this endeavor was an absolute necessity for all county stakeholders – employees and taxpayers alike. It is unfortunate that commissioners Mealor, Akins, and Palmer chose to rush it through.