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Page 6 - Friday, April 14, 2023
The Jenkins County Times
thejenkinscountytimes.com
There is a rich
anthropological history
in the Ogeechee River
basin. Archeological
artifacts indicate human
habitation at least 10,000
- 12,000 years ago. The
Ogeechee and Canoochee
rivers’ importance as a
thoroughfare for trade and
commerce, as well as a
source of potable water and
plentiful fish, continued
for centuries. More than
simply a recreational area,
it was the main, or only
source, of fresh food for
some residents, as late as
the mid-20th century.
In an effort to preserve
the history of the area,
Ogeechee Riverkeeper
launched an oral history
project in 2016. Audio files,
transcripts, and images
are available through
the Special Collections
at Georgia Southern
University.
Listen to the stories of
the river.
This one is by Larry Lucas
front 2016.
I just had a natural thing
for swamps. I mean, I knew
swamps from the time I
was a kid, I guess growing
up in the rural south. If we
was ever in the swamp lost
I would climb a tree. I look
for pine tops. If you see
pine tops, it’s dry land. So I
go back down, we head for
the pine trees. Sometimes
there’d be a hammock or
something, so you’d climb
another tree and look for
pine tops again. If you
see cypress, you know
it’s swamp. If you see
pine trees, oaks, hickory,
anything you know, it’s
dry land. But don’t get ‘em
mixed up with gum trees,
‘cause gum trees grows in
the swamp, tupelo, gums,
and all grow in the swamp.
This next story is by
Shirley Daughtry from
2016 also.
I went one time to a
cane grinding at my aunt’s
farm. And that to me was
very entertaining. It was a
social occasion. The mule
walks around and it grinds
the cane and the juice pours
out and everyone has cane
juice to drink. Sugar cane is
not any longer a cash crop
around here.
My dad was a fisherman.
Every Wednesday
afternoon. In fact, all
townsfolk would close
shop early on Wednesday
afternoon and go fishing.
... the Ogeechee River, as a
young person, I always felt
close to it. It was clean, we
ate the fish, we swam, we
got water in our mouths.
Do you have a story you
would like to share with
our readers about the
Ogeechee? Send it to me
at: Uncle Rogers Tales of
the Ogeechee @The Times
Newspapers, 125 North
Main St. Sylvania, Georgia
30467.
Gardening with Talmadge
By Talmadge Fries, Peonies Never Go
Special Contributor
im tiMrs Out of Style
Peonies are always a
classy flower. Did you
know peonies can live for
100 years? Their beauty
never goes out of style. You
can plant peonies and your
children and grandchildren
can enjoy blooms from the
same plant.
Peonies are considered
timeless beauties.
When selecting your
peonies to plant, there is
a wide variety to choose
from, here are a few of the
most colorful and hardy.
Queen Victoria is a
beautiful white peony. It is
a bloom fit for a queen and
is hardy in our area.
Red Charm is a vibrant
red color. It is very
beautiful and has a tall stiff
stem, which makes it good
for vase arrangements.
Coral Summit is a peachy
pink color. It is a soft color
bloom that adds softness to
your garden.
Ozark Beauty is a light
lavender colored bloom.
The bloom is like a rose
and it has strong stems
which makes it excellent in
vase arrangements.
Peonies like full sun and
well-drained soil. They
like at least a half day of
sun. remove spent blooms
from the plants as well as
dead foliage. A general
garden fertilizer is good
for Peonies. Do not allow
Peonies to dry out, drought
will harm the plants.
As always, join your
local garden club for a
wealth of information and
fellowship.
Federal prosecutor named as First
Assistant US attorney for Southern
District of Georgia
Tara M. Lyons has been appointed First
Assistant U.S. Attorney, effective April 9.
Lyons currently serves as the Deputy Criminal
Chief and assistant US attorney. She is a 20
year veteran prosecutor.
As first assistant US attorney of the Southern
District of Georgia, Lyons will join Criminal
Division Chief Patricia Rhodes and Civil
Division Chief Shannon Statkus.
Man killed on bicycle in Richmond
County arrested years ago
A man who traveled to Augusta from
Colorado five years ago, planning to have sex
with an underage teenager, was killed while
riding a bike Monday night. The Richmond
County Coroner’s office says 54 year old
Richard Mennemeyer was pronounced dead at 8:54 p m. Mennemeyer was living in
Colorado when he thought he had arranged to have sex in Augusta with a 14 year old girl.
He had instead been communicating with undercover law enforcement.
He was charged in March 2017 in Augusta and in 1999 of Sexual assault on a child in
Colorado.
Statewide manhunt underway
A man convicted of murder 30 years ago has escaped from a minimum security facility
in northeast Atlanta this week. A statewide manhunt is underway for 51 year old Charles
Edward Smith. Smith had been on parole since 2021 and walked away from the Atlanta
Transitional Center early Wednesday morning.
Powder Springs PD buys groceries for veteran
Three police officers with the Powder Springs Police Department recently came across
a man who was visibly struggling. The man revealed that he had not eaten in quite some
time and his VA check was not expected for another three weeks. The officers quickly
pooled some money and went grocery shopping for him.
According to estimations, the veteran had lost more than 50 pounds because he could not
afford food.
Shooting at Atlanta Chik-fil-A leaves 2 people dead
Two people were killed in an apparent murder-suicide at an Atlanta Chik-fil-A. The
victims were identified as a 56 year old man and a 39 year old woman who police say
were in a domestic relationship. Both died at the scene. The shooting allegedly unfolded
in the drive thru lanes. Investigators say the man shot the woman while she was in the car
and then turned the gun on himself. No other injuries were reported.
GA attorney general launches investigations into cybercriminals across
state
The FBI has infiltrated a worldwide band of cybercriminals who were hacking personal
bank accounts. The FBI is providing GA prosecutors with leads to go after cybercriminals
in the state. The cybercriminals have been running a virtual market place of stolen data,
called the Genesis Market, the FBI has since shut it down.
The stolen data allowed online thieves to assume the identities of malware victims and log
into personal sites.
GA lawmakers pass a $32.4 billion in 2024 budget
Not everyone is happy with the $32.4 billion spending plan in the 2024 fiscal budget. The
budget anticipates $17.9 billion in federal funding, bringing the funds to more than $55.6
billion. Governor Kemp initially proposed the budget. The budget funds the Quality Basic
Education for Georgia schools and allocates $229 million to help school districts pay
for a 67% increase in employer contributions for employees’ monthly health insurance
premiums.
However, the University System of Georgia is concerned about it’s budgeted $3.1 billion
in state funds, which is an additional $66 million decrease in state funding. University
officials also say that a 10% budget reduction in 2021 due to the pandemic has not been
restored. The 2024 budget kicks off on July 1.
Former Savannah pastor will serve prison time for child molestation
Alfonza McClendon, SR, a former Savannah pastor will serve 25 years in prison and life
on probation for child molestation and statutory rape. He was convicted of molesting two
children between 2013 and 2017. The molestation happened when McClendon was pastor
of the First Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church.
Brier Creek attends Hornet’s
Nest event
By Dess Smith,
Special Contributor
far
The Times
Members of the East
Fall Line Region and
the Little River Chapter,
Georgia Society Sons of
the American Revolution
traveled to Elijah Clarke
State Park to participate
in their Annual Heroes of
the Hornets' Nest Event.
We arrived at 9:00 am and
quickly set up 3 of our
cannons, 2-6 pounder Field
Guns and 1-6 pounder
Mortar. Beginning at
10:00 am, we fired a
1 round volley of all 3
cannons and then at 11:00
am and 12:00 noon. In
between the cannon fire.
Compatriot Steve Burke
and his assistant presented
his traveling trunk to the
on lookers. At 12:00
noon, approximately 150
participants were treated
to a fantastic lunch at the
park recreation center by
the "Friends at the Park".
The afternoon program
consisted of an update on
the Kettle Creek Battlefield
by Compatriot David Noble
and individual SAR, DAR
Chapters and organizations
presenting 96 Wreaths to
honor those Revolutionary
War Soldiers who died
during the War. At the
end of the event a 3 round
alternating volley was fired
by the Elijah Clarke Militia
using their flintlocks and
the Brier Creek Artillery
using their 3 cannons.
Then Taps was played by
the bugler.
Sanders Monument Company
Producers of high quality monuments and markers
1484 Halcyondale Road
Sylvania, GA 30467
(912)425-7870
(912)451-6382
Kenneth & Stacy Sanders
Owner/Operators
C. "com
sandersmonument.com
STDs are on the rise; health officials
hope an old drug will help the fight
Special
to
The Times
U.S. health officials
released data Tuesday
showing how chlamydia,
gonorrhea and syphilis
cases have been
accelerating, but doctors
are hoping an old drug
will help fight the sexually
transmitted infections.
Experts believe STDs
have been rising because
of declining condom use,
inadequate sex education
and reduced testing during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Millions of Americans
are infected each year.
Rates are highest in men
who have sex with men,
and among Black and
Hispanic Americans and
Native Americans.
“Sexually transmitted
infections are an enormous,
low-priority public health
problem. And they’ve been
a low-priority problem for
decades, although they are
the most reported kind of
infectious disease,” said
Dr. John M. Douglas Jr., a
retired health official who
lectures at the Colorado
School of Public Health.
To try to turn the tide,
many doctors see promise
in doxycycline, a cheap
antibiotic that has been sold
for more than 50 years.
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention is
drafting recommendations
for using it as a kind of
morning-after pill for
preventing STDs, said Dr.
Leandro Mena, director
of the agency’s STD
prevention division.
The drug is already
used to treat a range
of infections. A study
published last week in
the New England Journal
of Medicine showed
its potential to prevent
sexually transmitted
infections.
In the study, about
500 gay men, bisexual
men and transgender
women in Seattle and San
Francisco with previous
STD infections took one
doxycycline pill within
72 hours of unprotected
sex. Those who took the
pills were about 90% less
likely to get chlamydia,
about 80% less likely to
get syphilis, and more
than 50% less likely to
get gonorrhea compared
with people who did not
take the pills after sex, the
researchers found.
The study was led
by researchers at the
University of California,
San Francisco and built on
a similar French study that
saw promise in the idea.
“We do need new
approaches, new
innovations” to help
bring sexually transmitted
infections under
control, said Dr. Philip
Andrew Chan, who
is consulting with the
CDC on the doxycycline
recommendations.
Mena, of the CDC, said
there is no sign the STD
trend is slowing.
Mississippi had the
highest rate of gonorrhea
cases, according to 2021
CDC data released Tuesday.
Alaska saw a sharp increase
in its chlamydia case rate
that allowed it to overtake
Mississippi at the top of
that list. South Dakota had
the highest rate of early-
stage syphilis.
And Arizona had the
tragic distinction of having
the highest rate of cases
in which infected moms
pass syphilis on to their
babies, potentially leading
to death of the child or
health problems
like deafness and
blindness.
Using an
antibiotic to
prevent these
kinds of infections
won’t “be a magic
bullet, but it will
be another tool,”
said Chan, who
teaches at Brown
University and
is chief medical
officer of Open
Door Health, a health
center for gay, lesbian and
transgender patients in
Providence, Rhode Island.
Experts noted the CDC
will have many factors to
weigh as it develops the
recommendations.
Among them: The drug
can cause side effects like
stomach problems and
rashes after sun exposure.
Some research has found it
ineffective in heterosexual
women. And widespread
use of doxycycline as a
preventive measure could
contribute to mutations that
make bacteria impervious
to the drug, as has happened
with antibiotics before.
Nevertheless, the San
Francisco Department of
Public Health in October
became the first U.S.
health department to issue
guidance about doxycycline
as an infection-prevention
measure. And some
other clinics have been
recommending antibiotics
to patients who may be at
higher risk.
Derrick Woods-Morrow,
a 3 3-year-old artist and an
assistant professor at the
Rhode Island School of
Design, is an early adopter.
Woods-Morrow said he
isn’t a fan of condoms
— they can break and
sometimes people slip
them off during sex. But he
wants to stay healthy.
About a decade ago, he
started taking an anti-viral
medication before sex to
protect himself from HIV
infection. Five years ago,
a doctor told him about
research into whether
doxycycline might protect
people from other diseases.
“I thought it was
probably in my best interest
to protect myself, and my
partners as well,” he said.
He said it’s been a positive
experience and that he
hasn’t tested positive for
chlamydia, gonorrhea or
syphilis while using it.
“I feel like it’s a tool to
sort of take back the sexual
freedoms that someone
may have lost and to really
enjoy sex and interactions
with people with a piece of
mind,” he said.