Newspaper Page Text
Page 10 - Wednesday, December 20, 2023
The Sylvania Times
thesy lvaniatimes .com
Camping in Georgia during
the winter
As I have said in many of my articles, camping is one of my family’s favorite things to do
during the spring, summer and especially in the winter. The cooler weather makes for a really
nice camping trip. Perfect time to build a fire while camping.
This week, I want to highlight some of the best places in Georgia to camp. Take time to
immerse yourself in a peaceful and quiet outdoors setting this winter. The parks of Georgia offer all types of campsites
that are open year-round to accommodate everything from tents to 40-foot rigs. All campgrounds offer bath houses
with hot showers to keep you warm. There is no better feeling in taking the family and your pet to enjoy the beautiful
landscape and celebrate the holidays at some of these popular locations. Here are my top three locations.
1. Mistletoe State Park
This park is the merriest of campgrounds. Get in the spirit with a seasonal walk and easy access to Clarks Hill Lake
in Appling, Georgia with one of the Southeast’s largest lakes. Mistletoe State Park has fully equipped cottages and a
campground offering spectacular views over the water. Make plans to stay and enjoy the campfire with hot cocoa with
the family.
2. Red Top Mountain State Park
Red Top Mountain State Park visitors will enjoy many new upgrades at this Lake Allatoona destination. The campground
now offers some full hook-ups, ADA improvements, power upgrades, waterline replacement and cable. A new yurt
village welcomes “glampers,” and 20 new cottages offer screened porches with pretty views. Additional improvement
includes new comfort stations, a new playground, renovated beach area with accessible pathways, and picnic sites. Not
to mention excellent fishing is available.
3. General Coffee State Park
General Coffee’s Heritage Farm is a great place for the family to learn about 19th-century farm and pioneer life. The kids
will love the barnyard animals including goats, a donkey, and mule. After a day at the park, you'll want to relax overnight
at the quiet campground, cabins, or historic Burnham House. Your
family will enjoy this campground just as much as our family did.
The parks listed above, are just a few of the wonderful
campgrounds available in Georgia. Always remember, you do
not have to go far to have a special memory making trip with the
family. Georgia is always at your beckon call.
I would like to wish all of my favorite fishing buddies out there a
very Merry Christmas and a terrific New Year.
A word from Senator Jon Ossoff
Dear Georgians,
My bipartisan bill to protect children from online sexual
abuse and exploitation has passed the U.S. Senate.
With the help of Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)’s bipartisan
REPORT Act would strengthen the national tipline
run by the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children (NCMEC)
to collect reports of
online exploitation
and would require
evidence to be
preserved for a longer
period, giving law
enforcement more
time to investigate
and prosecute crimes.
My bipartisan
bill will ensure tech
companies are held
accountable to report
and remove child
sex abuse material
and to strengthen protection for kids online, at a time of
such division in Congress, we brought Republicans and
Democrats together to pass this urgent legislation to protect
kids on the internet.
“In today’s technological age, children have become
increasingly vulnerable to online sexual exploitation,” said
Senator Blackburn. “There is an urgent need to address
loopholes in reporting these crimes and to equip the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and
law enforcement with the resources they need to adequately
respond. I thank Senator Ossoff for his bipartisan partnership
in this effort, and I look forward to the REPORT Act’s swift
passage out of the House and to the President’s desk.”
The bill would also require websites and social media
platforms to report crimes involving Federal trafficking
and enticement of children, which they are not currently
required to do. The legislation would also increase fines for
companies that knowingly and willfully fail to report child
sex abuse material on their site. The tipline received over 32
million reports last year.
“The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
(NCMEC) is proud to celebrate Senate passage of the
Revising Existing Procedures on Reporting via Technology
(REPORT) Act today. We thank Senator Blackburn and
Senator Ossoff for their continued leadership on online child
safety issues. The passage of the REPORT Act is a critical
step in the right direction as we continue to combat the rise
of online child sexual exploitation,” NCMEC President
& CEO Michelle DeLaune said. “NCMEC applauds the
hard work by Senator Blackburn, Senator Ossoff, and all
the Senate co-sponsors to pass the REPORT Act. We look
forward to continuing our work with Senator Blackburn and
Senator Ossoff to ensure the safety of children online, and
we encourage House Leadership to join the fight and bring
the REPORT Act to the floor for a vote. NCMEC is eager to
see this timely legislation become law because every child
deserves a safe childhood.”
I have heard from child welfare experts and local leaders
across the state about this growing concern, who have noted
that online child sexual abuse continues to run rampant but
remains underreported in Georgia.
Earlier this month in a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
hearing, I pressed FBI Director Christopher Wray to
address sextortion schemes targeting children online amidst
a reported 700% increase in their frequency since 2021 in
Georgia.
In September, myself and Blackburn launched an
inquiry with Attorney General Merrick Garland about
the FBI’s capacity to investigate and respond to crimes
involving child sexual abuse and exploitation, highlighting
a June 2023 report to Congress in which the DOJ cited an
international threat assessment demonstrating that “the
growth in online child sexual exploitation is outpacing our
ability to respond.”
The
Farm Wife
at
Two Pennies
Farm
Nancy Baker
Silver, Brass, and
Iron Bells
In my middle school growing up it was the fashion
to pin a bunch of silver jingle bells to the hem of our
uniform skirts the last two weeks before Christmas.
There were approximately 15 girls per class and all
of them jingling like horse drawn sleighs. The nuns
(Catholic school) must have had the patience of saints
or they were wearing hearing protectors under their
veils. I don’t remember them ever complaining about
the noise or telling us to take them off. How did they
get any teaching done in those two weeks with half the
class jingling like reindeer?
I have some real reindeer bells, they’re brass, and
last Christmas, in an effort to be festive, I tried tying
them to the cart of my pony, Storm. He didn’t mind
them, but I had to stop after a quarter of a mile and
take them off because I couldn’t stand the noise. This
year I wanted to buy Venus, my horse, a Christmas gift
and discovered there is horse jewelry: rhythm bells,
trail bells, mane bells. Rhythm bells are like a giant
necklace with beads and bells that help the horse and
rider maintain a proper gait. Trail bells are to warn
wildlife and other folks that you are on the trail, and
are usually attached to the bridle. Mane bells clip to
the horse’s mane and look very pretty. Just about any
type of metal bells can be used to make these.
I spent a good bit of time going down that internet
rabbit hole before reason took over. Rhythm bells are
beautiful, but why would I buy them for my riding
horse if jingling makes me jumpy? Besides, one of the
pleasures of horseback riding is being able to listen to
the sounds of nature.
There are two bells on the property that are important.
My big goat, Derby, wears a brass Swiss goat bell.
The sound of it carries into the house, but after all
these years I’ve grown accustomed to the sound and
don’t really hear that bell unless it sounds different.
I can tell if she’s gotten out of her pen or if she and
Golly, her son, are rough housing too much, or if they
are in any kind of distress just by the tempo of the bell.
The other important bell is the antique No. 2 cast iron
farm bell off the side porch. I sometimes lose Hubs on
the property. Instead of wearing myself out searching
for him I just ring the bell and he knows to come see
what’s up.
If, as Zuzu says in “It’s A Wonderful Life,” “Every
time a bell rings an angel gets its wings,” is a true
statement, then lots of angels are indebted to Two
Pennies Farm for their wings. And I don’t mind a bit.
YOUR ALL AROUND PRINT SHOP
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THE POLAR EXPRE.
'TJKT'T’Y"
HER OF COMMERCE
Reindeer
Call: (478) 982-5595
Hotdogs
Popcorn
w Drinks
Candies
staff . 53
Frida
6
