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About The Advocate-Democrat. (Crawfordville, Ga.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2024)
PAGE 4 THE ADVOCATE DEMOCRAT, Crawfordville, GA, Friday, March 29, 2024 EOA Energy Assistance for Cooling For Ages 65 + Those ages 65 and up and those medically homebound (life-threatening illness) can begin calling the Taliaferro Family Connection office on Thursday, April 4 to schedule an appointment. Bills with a credit of $1,000 or more will not be eligible to receive an energy payment. NO EXCEPTIONS. Household Size Total Gross Annual/Yearly Household Income 1 $0 - $29,713 2 $0 - $38,856 3 $0 - $47,999 4 $ 0- $57,142 5 $0 - $66,284 6 $0 - $75,427 7 $0 - $77,141 8 $0 - $78,855 9 $ 0 - $80,570 10 $0 - $82,284 11 $0 - $83,998 12 $0 - $85,713 Please bring the following items needed to apply • Picture Id for all household members 18 years and older • Social Security card for all household members • Proof of income for past 30 days for all household members • Most recent electric/gas bills (PLEASE NOTE - DO NOT COME TO THE APPOINTMENT WITHOUT ALL OF YOUR PAPERWORK. INCOME, ELECTRIC/ GAS BILLS HAVE TO BE CURRENT. Please call Taliaferro Family Connection office beginning April 4 at 706-456-1250. Friday June 7 8-10 PM OBC Oconee Brewing Company Doors Open at 6:30 PM The Burch Food Truck will be open. From Atlanta, Georgia. Troubadour Project faithfully recreates the music of some of the greatest rock classics from the 1970's, Seamlessly blending the iconic sounds of Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Led Zeppelin, ELO, Peter Frampton, Supertramp, The Eagles and more, each performance is a tapestry of rock history- Ticket Prices: General Admission: $75 Table for 4: $400 Table for 8: $1000 Limited Tickets! All proceeds from this event oenifit Circle of love Center, an emergency safe shelter and resource center for domestic violence victims and their children. Learn More & Purchase Tickets: www.COLinc.org Ash sentenced to 20 years for kidnapping Jaquin Ash pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping in front of Superior Court Judge Terry N. Massey on Monday, April 1. He entered a non-negotiated plea, which meant that both the State and his attorney argued for what the proper sentence should be before Judge Massey sentenced him. The charge stemmed from an incident in September of 2023 in which Ash pushed his girlfriend into the trunk of her car following an argument. Ash then drove off at high speed. The victim, while trying to turn on her flashlight, started recording the terrifying ordeal. The video showed her screaming for Ash to let her out of the trunk. She then managed to pull the emergency escape latch and jumped out when Ash slowed down. She was knocked unconscious by the fall and Ash can then be heard stopping and telling her to get up. The State, represented by Assistant District Attorney Blayne May, presented this video in support of his argument for the maximum sentence. He emphasized that Ash was already getting a benefit, as his plea to kidnapping meant that his maximum sentence was twenty years, instead of the mandatory life imprisonment sentence that Ash would be facing if convicted of kidnapping with bodily injury. After hearing from both sides, Judge Massey sentenced the defendant to twenty years with the first fifteen to be served in prison. Oconee Regional Humane Society 1020 Park Ave #101, Greensboro 706-454-1508 We are open Tuesday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 3 p.m and by appointment. Calling all Greene County Action Daycare & Child Development students for a fun day in the park If you attended Action Daycare or Child Development in Siloam, GA or Greensboro, GA from 1972 to the early 2000, you and your immediate family are invited to come and share in the fun. WHEN:Saturday, May 4, 2024 WHERE:Siloam, Georgia Community Park TIME:10:00AM to 5:00PM UNITY COLORS:Blue T-Shirt If you would like a personalized Greene County Daycare T-Shirt, please contact Tia Derrico @ 706-818-8670 There will be Free Food, Games and Prizes You are welcome to bring your own tents and chairs. (Tailgate style) Looking forward to seeing you all there. COME ONE, COME ALL, LET’S HAVE A BALL!!! Toombs Circuit Record Clearing & Community Resources Event Assisting individuals with restricting and scaling (expungement) of criminal history resolved out of McDuffie, Wilkes, Lincoln, warren, Taliaferro & Glascock Counties. Limited to the first 100 applicants! Registration is required. Saturday, June 29th | HAM- 3PM Augusta Technical College - Thomson Campus 3134 W. Bypass Rd p Thomson GA 30824 GEORGIA JUSTiCF. PRO! FLIT HOUI AUTFtl INC >KITY MakTFtt COUNTr sH’jRiFFsomce / ■K-- ■* CK YMLhLtp4WH(.>>.n|0gnnbi4lrtviC.-4pFlkj<lOT nn»n (he q R code** wtiei-r Xpp'kiM'pnj ttfi MltmlHta Fn ptrwn n (H ■‘■.'tOufhe-Co. Sftwiffi'OlfiteiTSl Futile Wc-ty Drive, Trwm»nt GA. 3U-1H ZiSAraSrt* prtv*. Wathmjierv •Wlmo Le. SfitF.Tf 5 Office: LfilGA.BAWtrrtnEMl, GA 3UBZE -Tilure^rfrCi, Jf. C-wf-irC-A JMJ1 ’ C-ii-holY to ShtrilTi QflkcW E Mail JtrDrt, GiUor* GA 3MID *UrtC4ln Cb, Jlwwi Off*K m Svt*l. IkWlftWi 4# H411 Completed appiiTtfionf jJid questions cjn Ite luMnittcd byent^n no McDuHr.c Oeputy She*iH ftjr*V WhUf ieW -H 0 J rry.WHHflews? I hcmOMTJHMflrjIOV. Civil Criminal Wills & Probate Auto Accidents • Divorce • Business & Corporate • Family Law • Real Estate • Personal Injury • Trial Practice E j. Boswell T Law Office Law Office of E. J. Boswell P. O. Box 357 201 N. East Street, Greensboro, GA 30642 0:706-454-0032 F: 706-454-0035 If the Okefenokee isn’t worth saving, what is? By Dink NeSmith W ith a nod to William Shakespeare, the question is “To mine or not to mine?” If you are talking about the Okefenokee, I have made my opinion dear. The humongous blackwater swamp is a treasure, and nothing—absolutely nothing—should be attempted that wil risk harming our irreplaceable gem of nature. But it ain’t that simple. One of the first rules of journalism is to follow the money. And while money talks, big money screams. Those big-money screams under the Gold Dome are keeping our leaders from saying, “Twin Pines Minerals, take your draglines elsewhere. The Okefenokee is too valuable to prostitute for titanium or any other minerals,” But, oh, no. Tire Alabama miners have done their best to pave a route to Trail Ridge, the eastern lip of the Okefenokee, with dollars, a bunch of them. An army of Twin Pines lobbyists and strategic campaign contributions have tamped down efforts of the General Assembly to do what millions believe is the right thing—save the swamp. If the Okefenokee isn’t worth saving, what is? Where is Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) board on this? If that governor-appointed group isn’t our stalwarts for protection of the environment, who—pray tell—is? Back when this Twin Pines proposal surfaced, I made a personal appeal to each board member. One DNS board member replied, “You’d be surprised how little we get to decide? 7 Duh, Under DNR’s organizational umbrella is the Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division (EPD). That unit granted a “draft permit” but left the matter open until after an April 9 deadline for a 60-day public-comment period. Already more than 100,000 have commented. (You can comment by going to TwinPines.Comments# dnr.ga.gov.) 1 am an eternal optimist. But short of a miraculous change of attitude, Twin Pines is going to get what it bought. Why? The big money and lobbyists have helped the General Assembly find an excuse to say no—invasion of private property rights. Twin Pines owns the property and presumes the right to gouge and drain enormous holes in Trail Ridge next to the Okefenokee. In addition, our leaders appear to believe the miners’ will-do-no-harm scientists rather than independent experts who are waving the warning flags. Whom would I trust? It wouldn’t be Twin Pines Minerals or its scientists. Now about private property rights. 1 am a private property owner. I want my rights, too, but there are commonsense restrictions. For example, I cannot do something on my property that will harm my neighbor’s property. The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is Twin Pines’ neighbor, in a big way, all 438,000 acres. The fear is that mining will have a negative impact on the swamp’s hydrology. Simply, nearby deep digging will drain too much water for ecological sustainability. Want a private-property-rights analogy? I am an advocate of the First Amendment which gives you and me the right to voice our opinions. That’s what I’m doing right now. However, there are some commonsense restrictions. We cannot shout “fire” in a crowded theater if there’s no fire. We don’t have the right to libel or slander someone. 1 add, “Your freedom of speech ends within a quarter-inch of my nose.” As for private property rights, Okefenokee’s “nose” is the boundary line separating Twin Pines and the swamp. Remember cartoonist Walt Kelly’s Okefenokee philosophical possum, Pogo? Pogo mused, “We have met the enemy, and he is usIf Georgians give up on protecting the Okefenokee Swamp, truer words have never been spoken. dnesmith@cninewspapers.com (For more commentaries visit www.dinknesmith.com.) Anyone questioning the Okefenokee Swamp's irreplaceable beauty and theneed to protect it should read Don Berryhill's and Wayne Morgan's book, Okefenokee Swamp Wild & Natural, Don's writing and Wayne's photos say it all.
