Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 26. 2020 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 3B
Church News
Prof, of mental health law to speak at Mt. Light
Submitted by Mountain
Light UUC
Being concerned with the
health and safety of our
beloved community, Moun
tain Light UUC now live-
streams our Sunday services
on Zoom.
However, for those who
prefer gathering in person,
we have limited seating
available in our sanctuary
(on some Sundays) to watch
the worship program on our
monitors.
If you would like to re
serve a seat, please visit our
website (mluuc.org) for more
information on how to attend
during the COVID-19 Pan
demic.
On Sunday, November
29, our presenter will be Dr.
Micah E. Johnson, an assis
tant professor in the depart
ment of mental health law
and policy at the University
of South Florida. His teach
ing focuses on substance
misuse, psychological
trauma, and social inequality.
Mountain Light UUC,
2502 Tails Creek Road (GA-
282 West), in Ellijay, wel
comes guests of all faiths,
ethnicities, and gender iden
tifications.
Our worship service be
gins at 10:30 a.m. Join us at
10 a.m. for fellowship.
Mountain Light
An Accepting Community
with Open Hearts & Minds
2502 Tails Creek Rd.,
Hwy 232 W • Ellijay, GA
Dress: Casual
Sundays'Fellowship 10 a.m.
•Service 10:30 a.m.
www.mluuc.or^
UNIVERSALIS!
UNITARIAN
CHURCH
Local groups work together to get 500
boxes of food to the hungry
Continued from Church Page
bulk pickup, and another for
individual, drive-through de
livery. Pallets of food where
retrieved by a number of vol
unteers to make deliveries to
community organizations,
such as the Pickens and
Gilmer Senior Centers, the
Boys & Girls Club, ACES
and the Burnt Mountain
Center. A number of area
ministries were benefited by
this event as well, including
the Timothy House, the
Cowboy Church, and the
Jericho House in Helen,
among others.
Throughout the after
noon, some 500 boxes were
given out to families and in
dividuals directly, as traffic
was directed through Mt.
Zion by local law enforce
ment, in the same fashion as
thousands have driven
through in the past several
months for COVID testing at
the church by the Public
Health Department. When it
looked as if some boxes
might be left over, a church
bus was loaded with food
which was then taken to sev
eral area apartment com
plexes and handed directly to
those in need. One elderly
resident received her box
with tears in her eyes, saying
how she had just been pray
ing about how, with her com
promised health, and no one
to assist her, she was going
to get groceries for her next
meal.
Secretary of Agriculture
Sonny Perdue has repeatedly
called the Farmers to Fami
lies Food Box program—the
Trump administration’s flag
ship hunger relief initiative
during the pandemic—a
“win-win-win” that benefits
farmers, distributors, and
food-insecure families in one
fell swoop. Advisor to the
President Ivanka Trump, has
stated, “Across the country, I
have seen firsthand how the
Trump Administration is fu
eling millions of American
families through the Farmers
to Families Food Box Pro
gram. President Trump’s
commitment to extend this
impactful program is ensur
ing healthy and nutritious
produce, dairy and meat will
continue to reach our Na
tion’s most vulnerable com
munities while supporting
our farmers.”
After leaving its precious
cargo at Mt. Zion, the same
truck which brought the
blessing of these $40 dollars
worth of groceries to so
many families of our com
munity, left to pick up an
other shipment from
elsewhere in Georgia to de
liver food boxes to the hun
gry in the Bronx, in New
York City
Minister’s Column - Continued from Church Page
the skins of animals and cov
ered their nakedness.
Throughout the Old Testa
ment, the Jews who wor
shipped God were required
to offer animal sacrifices
unto the Lord. They would
bring the mandatory sacri
fices to the Priest each year
to be offered to the Lord.
The writer of Hebrew
teaches that these sacrifices
didn’t do away with their
sins, but only covered them.
Once again, we see where
God covered man’s naked
ness/shame from sin,
through the sacrifice of ani
mals. And as their sacrifices
were presented to God in the
temple, they had to remem
ber the sins which they had
committed that year.
You may be wondering,
“Why did God have to sacri
fice innocent animals guilty
of nothing, to cover man in
the beginning?” “Why did
God continue to allow ani
mals to be sacrificed
throughout the old
covenant?” God was making
a way for the soul of man to
be redeemed through the
shedding of innocent blood-
hence, animal sacrifice. God
was also paving the way for
Jesus, the Lamb of God, to
one day come and offer
Himself and shed His inno
cent blood for the sin of man.
Under the old covenant,
there was always a remem
brance of sin but that ended
when Jesus gave His life for
all people on the cross at
Calvary. The blood of Jesus,
who is also called the Lamb
of God, not only took away
our sins, but His blood has
also purged our conscience
from dead works so that we
are free to serve God.
Through Jesus’ sacrificial
death, our sins they are also
forgotten. We don’t have to
live with the memory or con
sciousness of our past sins
that we have repented of.
God tells us in His own
words in Hebrews 10 : 16 -
18, "This is the covenant that
I will make with them after
those days, says the Lord: I
will put My laws into their
hearts, and in their minds I
will write them," then He
adds, "Their sins and their
lawless deeds I will remem
ber no more." Now where
there is remission of these,
there is no longer an offering
for sin. -NKJV
Have you made Jesus, both
Savior and Lord of your life?
If so, then God has promised
to remember your past sins
no more. He won’t throw
them up to you ever again,
no matter what. If you have
not made Jesus your per
sonal Savior and Lord, then
know that you are still in
your sin and you will live
with the memory of them
until you turn your heart to
the Lord.
God ended animal sacrifice
for the atonement of man’s
sin on the cross of Christ. No
longer would God require
His people to offer animals
because He offered Jesus,
once and for all, as the Lamb
who was slain to take away
the sins of the world. Al
though Jesus was man, He
was also innocent, without
sin, thus He was character
ized as the Lamb of God.
God knew what He was
doing all along. Now, we can
trust Him to complete His
work in us.
[Pastor Asa Dockery of
World Harvest Church North
and a published author who
has been writing devotions
for more than 11 years. Asa
is also the host of Keys to
Kingdom Living Television
program. ]
CONTINUED FROM SPORTS PA GE
7th and 8th grade Nettes
21 apiece when Maddie
Mooney hit the game win
ning three point shot with
only 20 seconds remaining in
the contest. Pickens' defense
would hold on to win the
game.
In the most recent contest,
the 8th Grade Pickens Nettes
defeated the Dawson Lady
Tigers 39-37 in a tough game
on the road. The Dragonettes
started with the hot hand
scoring 17 points in the first
quarter to take a 17 to 6 lead.
The Lady Tigers had a strong
second quarter scoring 16
points to Pickens' 8 points.
The Nettes led at the half 25-
22. Dawson County con
trolled the third quarter
scoring 9 points and holding
Pickens to 3 points. Going
into the fourth quarter, Daw
son led Pickens 31-28. The
Nettes' strong defense al
lowed them to even up the
score at 37 points late into
the fourth quarter. With 27
seconds left in the game,
Brylee Deering stole a
perimeter pass and found El
lison Steinhauer running to
the rim for the layup which
would prove to be just
enough to win the game. The
final score was 39-37 in
favor of Pickens. Emmie
Moore led all scorers with 16
points while Ellison Stein
hauer added 13 points. Pick
ens improves to 4-1 overall
on the season.
Got a cool hobby?
we love to hear from local people who
have found unique forms of recreation
news@pickensprogress.com
Winter sports spark new worries
for COVID-19 spread in Georgia
By Beau Evans
Staff Writer
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia public schools
are grappling with how to
host indoor winter sports
safely as the COVID-19 pan
demic flares up across the
state and throughout the U.S.
Fresh off worrying about
football season, school dis
tricts are prepping to play
close-contact sports like bas
ketball and wrestling in gym
nasiums, which health
experts say pose far greater
risk for spreading the virus
than outdoor stadiums.
Left largely to decide their
own rules, the state’s roughly
180 school districts are tak
ing cues from the Georgia
High School Association
(GHSA) to give guidance on
mask-wearing, keeping safe
distances between players
and limiting spectators to a
small fraction of the fans
who normally attend games.
Robin Hines, the GHSA’s
executive director, said hun
dreds of high-school football
teams have nearly completed
their seasons with only a few
games being canceled each
week, in part due to COVID-
19 measures like limited
locker-room interaction for
players and fewer fans in the
stands.
That success, as well as
few disruptions for the in
door volleyball season dur
ing the fall, give Hines
confidence Georgia’s nearly
3,000 schools will be able to
safely hold athletic competi
tions no matter what punches
COVID-19 may throw.
But sports like basketball
and wrestling still feel trou
bling, Hines acknowledged,
because closed gyms have
diminished air circulation
that could create hospitable
grounds for coronavirus.
“We feel good about
where things have gone so
far, but as it gets colder and
we move indoors, that’s cer
tainly cause for concern and
we’ll take a close look at
things,” Hines said. “Every
one’s going to have to meas
ure the risk-reward factor as
they go.”
For basketball season,
which starts this week, the
jump ball has been nixed so
that visiting teams take first
possession to start the game
and a coin toss decides over
time possession. Players on
the bench must sit six feet
apart, and referees’ whistles
will either be electronic or
have cloth coverings to block
spit from spraying onto the
court.
Wrestling matches will
see fewer teams competing
in the same gym, with dual
tournaments to take place in
several gyms instead of the
usual one site. Sectional tour
naments will be eliminated
entirely.
Mats should also be sani
tized frequently.
Despite the optimism,
public-health experts are
wary of the risks indoor
sports could pose for Geor
gia, particularly as COVID-
19 cases begin climbing
again.
Positive cases have crept
back up in recent weeks from
a daily average of just under
1,200 cases on Oct. 1 to an
average of nearly 2,400 daily
cases as of Thursday. Hospi
talizations from the virus
have also increased this
month.
As of Thursday, nearly
400,000 people had tested
positive for COVID-19 in
Georgia. The virus had killed
8,569 Georgians.
Gyms hosting close-con
tact indoor sports represent
“the riskiest place for spread
ing the virus to others,” said
Dr. Mark Ebell, an epidemi
ology and biostatistics pro
fessor at the University of
Georgia’s College of Public
Health.
The risks are even greater
since high-school sports in
volve younger people who
may not show any symptoms
of COVID-19, increasing
chances they could uninten
tionally carry the virus home
to more vulnerable family
members like parents and
grandparents, Ebell said.
“I think it would be irre
sponsible to proceed with
these sports, especially with
spectators who would often
be in higher risk groups,”
Ebell said.
At least one school dis
trict, DeKalb County, has de
cided to postpone winter
sports indefinitely for the
2020-21 school year, though
athletes are still allowed to
train, according to a district
spokeswoman.
And while wrestling is
still on for Savannah-
Chatham County schools,
district officials only recently
reversed an earlier decision
to cancel the season over
health concerns, a district
spokeswoman said.
Elsewhere, many of the
state’s largest school districts
are crafting plans to reduce
the virus’ spread as much as
possible this winter, hoping
to let student athletes hit the
court and the mats with min
imal disruption and health is
sues.
In particular, many large
districts plan to ticket fans
electronically so they main
tain a strict cap on attendance
and drastically reduce how
many people will be allowed
in school gyms.
Gwinnett County Public
Schools, the state’s largest
district, is poised to cap win
ter sports attendance at 150
fans — far fewer than the
typical 2,300 people Gwin
nett’s school gyms typically
hold, according to district
spokesman Bernard Watson.
Cobb County schools
have pledged to shrink gym
attendance to 30% occu
pancy through digital ticket
ing and pre-issued passes,
with families of players,
cheerleaders and pep-band
members getting first dibs at
tickets, according to the dis
trict’s new rides.
Macon schools likewise
aim to restrict gym atten
dance to 100 people, way
down from the typical 1,000
to 1,200 fans that the larger
gyms can pack, said Bibb
County’s Hester.
“We’re trying,” Hester
said. “But the best you can
do may not be good enough
in this environment without a
vaccine.”
Even with all those pre
cautions, there appears to be
little oversight from state ed
ucation or public-health offi
cials to ensure that Georgia
student athletes and their
fans do their best to fight off
COVID-19 outbreaks while
playing sports this winter.
The state Department of
Education does not oversee
athletics, said a spokes
woman, while the Georgia
Department of Public Health
intends to send health guid
ance on winter sports to local
schools - though it’s unclear
if the agency has actually
done so yet.
That lack of leadership
could promote a scattershot
approach to keeping high-
school athletes and their fam
ilies safe that might
contribute to worsening the
virus’ spread in the coming
months, said Dr. Colin
Smith, a clinical assistant
professor of health manage
ment and policy at Georgia
State University’s School of
Public Health.
Schools determined to
hold winter sports should
consider taking more safety
measures than many are set
to do, such as emulating pro
fessional sports by conduct
ing rapid tests multiple times
per week and having student
athletes commit to limiting
their social circles to a small
group of people throughout
the season, Smith said.
“If we cannot convince
people not to do it, there are
things we can do to minimize
it,” Smith said. “But I think
we may be in for some seri
ous problems this winter.”
Continued from Page IB
Sports
History
November 25th:
On this day in 1940, the
University of Michigan re
tired the number 98 that was
worn by former halfback,
Tom Harmon. In three sea
sons with the Wolverines,
Harmon carried the ball 399
times for 2,151 yards and 33
touchdowns. His 33 scores
broke the collegiate mark
that was held by former Illi
nois standout, Red Grange.
The Hoosier State native also
completed 101 of 23 3 passes
for 1,396 yards and 16 addi
tional touchdowns. He be
came a three-time All-Big
Ten First team selection and
two-time All-American as
well. The accolades contin
ued to swell as Harmon won
the conference's Most Valu
able Player and AP Athlete of
the Year awards, both in
1940. He led the nation in
scoring for the second
straight year during the '40
campaign before taking
home the Maxwell and Heis-
man Trophies. Harmon be
came a member of the
College Football Hall of
Fame (1954), Michigan
Sports Hall of Fame (1962),
Indiana Football Hall of
Fame (1974) and University
of Michigan Athletic Hall of
Honor (1977).
November 26th:
On this day in 1917, the
National Hockey League
was officially established
with five new clubs. Long
before the "Original Six"
came on board, there were
the Montreal Canadiens and
Maroons, Toronto Arenas,
Ottawa Senators and Quebec
Bulldogs. This inaugural
campaign ended with the
Arenas winning the Stanley
Cup, capturing the title after
defeating the Pacific Coast
Hockey Association repre
sentatives, the Vancouver
Millionaires, in five games.
November 27th:
On this day in 1997, the
Detroit Lions hosted the
Chicago Bears in a Thanks
giving Day game at the Sil-
verdome. This contest saw
Lions' running back, Barry
Sanders, carry the ball 19
times for 167 yards and three
touchdowns. Detroit over
came a pair of double-digit
deficits and erupted for 45
unanswered points, includ
ing 38 in the second half, be
fore burying the Bears,
55-20. The Lions' 55 points
set the franchise record for a
Thanksgiving encounter, a
mark that still stands. Detroit
also set the club mark for
points scored in a regular
season game while Chicago
set its own franchise record
for points allowed in one
contest.
November 28th:
On this day in 1981, Ala
bama head football coach,
Paul "Bear" Bryant, became
the all-time winningest
coach in college football his
tory, surpassing Amos
Alonzo Stagg. Bryant won
his 315th game following the
Crimson Tide's 28-17 victory
over Auburn in the Iron
Bowl. The Bear retired in
1982 with an overall total of
323 wins in 38 seasons as a
head coach. His record was
eclipsed by Penn State's Joe
Patemo in 2001, but the rest
of Bryant's credentials re
main in tact. At Alabama,
Maryland, Kentucky and
Texas A&M, he claimed 15
conference titles, including
14 Southeastern and one
Southwestern. Bryant also
won six national champi
onships along with 12 SEC
and three AFCA Coach of
the Year awards. He took his
teams to 29 bowl games, in
cluding a string of 24 straight
at Alabama, and won 15,
eight of which were Sugar
Bowls. Bryant accomplished
all of these feats with only
one losing campaign, which
came during his first season
at Texas A&M in 1954, also
known as the "Junction
Boys" season.