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6A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, March 2,2022
Nonprofit hopes to grow faith-based support
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
With only eight homes and 47 children
in need of foster placement in Dawson
County, the lack of available resources
means many of those youth will likely be
placed somewhere else, said Rebecca
Davidson with the Division of Family and
Children Services.
Christian nonprofit Promise686 wants to
nurture more support for foster children
and vulnerable families in Dawson County
through local churches starting this year.
Felt needs
More support is needed in the county so
that families can safely be maintained and
reunified, said Autumn Cromer with
DFCS’s Foster Parent Recruitment divi
sion.
“It increases the cost of foster care with
additional transportation costs and increas
es the time that a child has to sit in a car, as
FAM
FAMILY ADVOCACY MINISTRY
Because children need families
prornise686
Photo submitted to DCN
well as diminishes the chances of reunifi
cation,” Davidson said about out-of-county
placements.
Cromer explained that case managers
can also feel the long-distance strain that
children and families experience.
“When children reunify with their fami
lies,” said Cromer, “the support systems
they build (such as a therapist, school and
friends) are not local, meaning once again
they restart on building these systems that
are so crucial to children maintaining in
their homes with their parents.”
Nonprofit's goals
Promise686 was formed by members of
Johns Creek-based Perimeter Church with
the goal “to set the lonely in families” as
based on God’s promise in Psalm 68:6.
The nonprofit works across multiple
counties in Georgia to mobilize churches
to care for vulnerable children and families
through various serving opportunities, said
Ty Bryant, Promise686’s vice president of
engagement.
In 2018, Promise686 launched a minis
try model called Family Advocacy
Ministry. The approach is designed to give
churches the tools to support biological
families in crisis as well as foster and
adoptive families.
This approach emphasizes that every
church can do something to care for at-risk
kids and their families, the Promise686
website states. For some congregations,
this might look like praying and raising
awareness around vulnerable children’s
needs.
Other churches may choose to minister
to families by meeting various physical,
emotional, and spiritual needs. This could
look like people bringing families weekly
meals, taking children to medical appoint
ments or mentoring those children.
Effective FAMs could also help church
members become trained to provide
respite care (short-term planned or emer
gency temporary care provided to care
givers). Likewise, FAMs could recruit
church families to consider fostering and/
or adoption.
For more information about Family
Advocacy Ministries, please visit https://
promise686.org/fams/.
Tink may be a
showrunner,
but I run the
Rondarosa
So much happened in the last couple of years that
you probably don’t remember this snapshot from our
lives so I’ll remind you.
Two years ago, Tink flew to Vancouver to oversee the
writing and the production
of a hit Hallmark show,
“When Calls The Heart.”
In the time that Tink has
embedded himself in the
life and friendships of the
South, he has come to love
it mightier than any man I
have ever known who was
not bom of this dirt. I, the
land, the Rondarosa, and the animals are his heart.
A car arrived to pick him up for the 90-minute drive
to the airport and, as he left, the graveled dust spewing
behind the black SUV, I thought “There goes our
heart.”
It was to be for three months — but, two weeks later,
while we chatted by video, an alert popped up on his
phone: the borders of Canada had been closed.
“Tighter,” Mama would have said, “than Dick’s hat
band.” Whatever that means.
For nine months, home was a deep longing for Tink.
His sadness grew daily.
Church folks prayed for his release as a prisoner of a
viral war. One church even had a special prayer for him
where people fell into the altar and prayed for his
return.
In the grocery store, a woman approached one day,
“Please, tell Tink that we are prayin’ for him.”
“Y’all need to be prayin’ for me,” I retorted comical
ly. “Tink is sitting in a high-rise, luxury, air-conditioned
condo, overlookin’ Vancouver and I’m at home, bush
hogging the pasture in 100-degree weather!”
The Lord is good. He didn’t send Tink home prompt
ly but He rewarded him with sky-high ratings and a
renewal for another season. (The new season premiers
March 6 on the Hallmark Channel.)
Because he was mostly quarantined in the condo and
not on the set, he made a decision: this summer, he’d
stay home and run the show. He’d conduct writing,
oversee production — with a litany of problems — and
edit by video.
Halfway through the summer, I was thinking that a
plane ticket to Vancouver, for one of us, was a pretty
good idea.
My nerves frayed. I built the house we live in several
years before we married. It’s two stories but it’s a very
open plan so his meetings interrupted my writing. His
problems disturbed my thinking. One actor got a sore
throat which required rewriting three days’ of shooting.
(Note here: no farmer ever stayed in bed over a sore
throat.)
Once, the show’s horse wrangler had an accident
while driving a set of horses, pulling a wagon.
Lortunately, the injuries weren’t life threatening.
The three-hour time difference meant constant calls
until 10 p.m. It was trying. Almost as trying as cutting
the pasture by myself.
But there was good. Tink’s on-screen titles are
“Executive Producer” and “Written By...” In contract
and with some 200 employees, it is “Showrunner”.
That means he oversees the decisions from writing to
casting to props to locations.
He is Big Man on set. Though, they wisely gave the
checkbook to someone else. Tink doesn’t care a lot
about adding and subtracting.
When Tink has been away, running a show for a few
months, he comes back different than the sweet, under
standing, immensely thoughtful man he was when he
left. Lor the first couple of weeks, he acts like he is
boss of the Rondarosa and not me.
This does not go over well with you-know-who.
Then, we have to have THE conversation. “You are
the Showrunner on When Calls The Heart but here, on
the Rondarosa, I AM THE SHOWRUNNER.”
This year, because he worked from home, we didn’t
need to have that conversation. He was the Showrunner
in his office only. I was the Showrunner of the rest of
the Rondarosa.
For now and always.
When Calls The Heart is one of the Top 5 dramas in
television. Please tune in on Sunday nights to watch on
the Hallmark Channel.
Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of What Southern
Women Know About Faith. Visit www.rondarich.com to sign
up for her free weekly newsletter.
A few Mexican favorites for March
I absolutely love
chicken tortilla soup.
For years I didn’t know
how much I loved it,
since the soup I got at
most restaurants was
definitely lack luster.
Most versions I tried
were watery, bland, and
the chicken was overcooked. Then, I
made my own version at home.
Suddenly, tortilla soup was on my
top 10 list when it came to Mexican
cuisine. Don’t be put off by the long
list of ingredients — the soup is easy
to pull together, and the rewards are
great. Feel free to use cooked rotis-
serie chicken, or leftover chicken.
Enjoy!
Chicken tortilla soup
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• Vi onion, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and
minced
• 1 Vi teaspoons garlic powder
• 3 teaspoons taco seasoning
(recipe follows)
• 1 can fire roasted diced toma
toes, with juices
• 4 ounce can of green chilies,
with juices
• 1/3 cup Monterey Jack
cheese, grated (more for serv
ing)
• 1 can black beans, drained
and rinsed
• 1 avocado
• 10 tortilla chips, crushed
(more for serving)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 3 chicken breasts, cooked and
shredded (recipe follows)
• 1 Vi cups frozen com kernels,
thawed
• 1 Vi salt
• 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
• Fresh avocado, chopped
• Sour cream (optional)
In a Dutch oven, heat
oil over medium-high
heat. Add carrots,
onion, celery, and red
bell pepper and cook
until vegetables are very
soft, about 8-10 min
utes. Add garlic powder,
taco seasoning, fire
roasted tomatoes, and green chilies.
Remove from heat and cool the veg
etables slightly. Transfer to a blender
and puree the mixture. Add the avo
cado and cheese and puree until very
smooth. Add half of the black beans
and the tortilla chips and pulse a few
minutes. Pour mixture back into
Dutch oven. Add chicken, remaining
black beans, com, broth and water.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cook on medium-low for about 30
minutes. Ladle into bowls and top
with chopped avocados, cilantro,
sour cream, more cheese and tortilla
chips.
Perfectly poached
chicken Breasts
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken
breasts
• 1 bay leaf
• Vi onion, cut into chunks
• 1 teaspoon salt
Place chicken breasts, bay leaf,
onion and salt in a saucepan. Cover
with cold water and bring to a boil.
Cover and reduce heat to a simmer
until chicken is just cooked through,
about 15-20 minutes. Remove from
heat and test for doneness. If chicken
isn’t quite done, just leave them in
the liquid for a few minutes as they
will continue cooking. Discard liq
uid and solids, and shred or chop the
chicken.
Once you see how easy it is to
make your own taco seasoning, you
won’t buy those little packets again.
Most are loaded with unsavory and
unnecessary ingredients. Just mix
some up and store in a jar in your
spice cabinet. For every 1 pound of
ground meat, use about 2-3 table
spoons of the taco seasoning. You
can also sprinkle some on chicken or
meat and grill to make fajitas.
Taco Seasoning
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon smoked or regu
lar paprika
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• Vi tablespoon black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a jar.
What is not to like about fried
dough? Sopapillas are such a deli
cious treat and are the perfect ending
to a Mexican dinner. These are easy
to make, so don’t be intimidated.
Serve them hot with a sprinkling of
powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar
or dip them in honey. Yum!
Sopapillas
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil or
butter, at room temperature
• % cup warm water
• Oil for frying
• Powdered sugar or cinnamon
sugar
• Honey
In a large bowl, whisk together
flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in
coconut oil or butter with a pastry
cutter or a fork. Gradually add warm
water and then knead the dough in
the bowl for 2 minutes. Form into a
ball and cover with a damp towel or
plastic wrap. Let rest for 25 minutes.
Roll out dough. Begin heating 2
inches of oil in a Dutch oven until
temperature is 375-degrees. Cut the
dough with a pizza cutter or a knife
into 25-30 squares. Fry the dough, 3
or 4 pieces at a time until golden
brown, about 30 to 60 seconds. Flip.
ADLEN ROBINSON
Columnist
Gainesville man faces child molestation
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
One man was recently
booked into jail on one count
of child molestation, a felony.
Travis Michael Houston,
34, of Gainesville was arrest
ed by the Dawson County
Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 18,
2022.
He’s been accused of com
mitting the offense against a
minor under the age of 16
sometime between Dec. 22,
2020 and Feb. 8, 2021.
According to the DCSO war
rant, he touched the minor’s
genital area with his hands.
He was released on Feb. 20,
2022 on a $55,200.00 bond.
charge
Houston
Meet our little dairy cow looking boy, Stone! This
sweet dog would be perfect for families with high
energy children to run and play and rough house with.
The toughest thing when it come to Stone will be
finding him a home where he gets enough exercise.
He is a high energy boy and he will need a high
energy family to match.
Stone is super friendly to all friends, furry or
not. He does well with other dogs, however, we
always recommend a meet and greet first to ensure
compatibility.
Stone is approximately four years old and weights
60 pounds.
706-265-9160
STONE
Dawson County Humane Society
a no kill shelter
Doggy Spotlight
For more information contact the 706-265-9160 | 633 Martin Rd, Dawsonville
Dawson County Humane Society Adjacent to the Rock Creek Sports Complex
Visit our RESALE SHOP & BOUTIQUE All proceeds benefits
Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. | 54 S. Lumpkin Campground Rd. the Humane bocietv
ANH Collision
Specialists
706-216-0992
103 Industrial Park Road,
Dawsonville
Bradley M. Maple
CPA, PC
706-216-2362
2390 Thompson Rd • Ste 100
Dawsonville
