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PAGE 8B PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 26. 2020
• Weddings
• Birthdays
• Anniversaries
• Students
• Reunions
• People of Interest
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Vann House Rangers will host tours through cabin restoration
December visitors can view Christmas decorations on a guided house tour
Explorers of history
should not be unsettled by the
orange construction fencing
visible inside the Chief Vann
House. The two-story log
cabin hosting the Vann
Kitchen/Workhouse Exhibit
is receiving a full exterior
restoration that includes new
roofing shingles (cedar
shakes), windowsills, faux
chinking, and log beams to
replace rotten ones.
This restoration is organ
ized by the Department of
Natural Resources and made
possible in part by a generous
donation from Friends of the
Vann House, an auxiliary of
the Whitfield-Murray His
toric Society. Construction is
being carried out by TCC
General Contracting, LLC.
The cabin will be closed until
construction ends, hopefully
January of 2021.
During construction,
guests can visit our museum,
tour the antique log cabins in
our 19th century Cherokee
Farmstead exhibit, take a
guided tour of the Vann
House and walk our 1-mile
nature trail to the historic
God’s Acre Moravian Ceme
tery.
Even though the Vann
House is NOT hosting the
Candlelight Tours event in
2020, Friends of Vann House
volunteers will once again
work with staff to decorate
the historic plantation home
for an early 19th century
Christmas celebration.
Guests who visit the Vann
House in December will see
it decorated in its finest yule-
tide majesty that will surely
awaken the holiday spirit in
even the grouchiest grinch.
The museum’s winter
schedule will begin in De
cember and hours of opera
tion will change until spring.
From December 3rd until
March 28th, staff will host
tours Thursday - Saturday, 9
a.m.-5 p.m., with the last tour
starting at 4 p.m. each day.
The museum and Vann
House will be closed Sunday
through Wednesday. To ac
commodate social distancing,
tours will be held every half
hour with a maximum of 6
people per tour. Call for de
tails, 706-695-2598.
Visit us online at gas-
tateparks.org/chiefvannhouse
. Admission is $5.50-$6.50
per person.
The two-story log cabin hosting the Vann Kitchen/Workhouse Exhibit is receiving a
full exterior restoration but the historic site remains open.
Georgia set for second election recount, unlikely to probe mail-in signatures
By Beau Evans
Staff Writer
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia election officials
are gearing up for another re
count of the roughly 5 mil
lion ballots cast in the state’s
presidential election this
month following a request
over the weekend by Presi
dent Donald Trump’s cam
paign.
State law allows Trump,
who lost Georgia by fewer
than 13,000 votes to Presi
dent-elect Joe Biden, to seek
a recount due to the narrow
margin. The election results
were certified last Friday
after a statewide audit of
every ballot that included a
hand recount.
The upcoming recount
will run ballots through scan
ners rather than by hand and
must wrap up before several
counties hold state and local
runoff elections on Dec. 1,
said Gabriel Sterling, the
election systems manager in
Secretary of State Brad Raf-
fensperger’s office.
That process will not in
volve inspecting or matching
signatures on absentee ballot
envelopes, which Trump’s al
lies have called for to weed
out any potential instances of
mail-in voter fraud - though
so far no evidence has been
presented of such widespread
fraud in Georgia.
State law and privacy con
cerns currently bar the close
level of signature scrutiny
that Trump and his Republi
can supporters in Georgia
want, Sterling said at a news
conference Monday. He also
noted the initial verification
steps were open for both po
litical parties to watch, but
neither did so.
Absent specific fraud evi
dence or a court order, Ster
ling said state officials see no
recourse to inspect signatures
on absentee ballot envelopes
at this point.
“We anticipate that we
will continue to follow the
law and follow the process as
we have done from the be
ginning,” Sterling said. “So
far, we have not seen any
thing widespread.”
Amid various fraud
claims, Republican allies of
Tramp have homed in on
mail-in signatures as the best
way to test the election’s in
tegrity as the president still
refuses to concede defeat.
Gov. Brian Kemp, U.S. Sens.
David Perdue and Kelly Lo-
effler, U.S. Rep. Doug
Collins and the Georgia Re
publican Party have all
pushed for more comprehen
sive signature verification.
“We as [Georgia Republi
cans] will never give up on
the fight to make sure that
every lawful vote is counted
and every unlawful vote re
jected,” state GOP Chairman
David Shafer wrote Monday
on Twitter.
But moves to scrap absen
tee ballots by inspecting en
velope signatures could face
tough prospects in Georgia
after a federal judge last
week rejected a restraining
order sought by a Tramp ally
to halt the election’s certifica
tion until signatures could be
verified further.
Loeffler’s and Perdue’s
Democratic runoff oppo
nents, Jon Ossoff and Rev.
Raphael Warnock, have
slammed the two Republican
senators for sowing distrust
in Georgia’s election system
despite the election results’
certification last week.
Meanwhile, Raf-
fensperger has urged state
lawmakers to tighten Georgia
law on verifying signature
matches when the General
Assembly next convenes,
which currently would be the
regular legislative session set
for mid-January. The gover
nor so far has not called for a
special session before the
runoffs.
Mail-in voting looks to
continue taking center stage
in Georgia with runoff elec
tions for the state’s two U.S.
Senate seats that have drawn
intense interest across the
country scheduled to be held
on Jan. 5.
Nearly 800,000 absentee-
ballot applications already
have been sent out for the
runoffs, meaning next month
Canned Food Drive
November 11th- December 4th
t CAKES
t chocolate!!!
Rice • Canned Fruit • Dried Beans • Canned Juices • Oatmeal
•Peanut Butter • Canned Tomatoes • Canned Vegetables •
•Canned Soup • Ground Coffee • Canned Tuna • Cooking Oil •
• Boxed Milk • Pasta Sauce • Mac & Cheese • Cereal •
• No Glass Containers •
Let’s turn the table on HUNGER this Holiday Season!!!
will likely see similar mail-in
voting numbers to the 1.3
million absentee ballots cast
in the Nov. 3 elections amid
the COVID-19 pandemic,
said Ryan Germany, general
counsel in Raffensperger’s
office.
Georgia’s two Senate
runoff races are poised for
high turnout due to their
unique importance. Wins by
both Democratic candidates
over the Republican incum
bent senators would give De
mocrats control over the
White House and Congress
for at least the next two years.
Ahead of the runoffs,
State Election Board mem
bers on Monday extended
temporary rales put in place
for the Nov. 3 elections that
allow counties to install ab
sentee-ballot drop boxes and
scan absentee ballots a week
before Election Day.
Both the drop boxes and
early scanning helped coun
ties manage the unprece
dented flood of mail-in
ballots for the general elec
tion and look to do so again
for the runoffs, Germany said
Monday.
“That is something I think
all voters in Georgia will ap
preciate,” Germany told
members of the election
board.
The election board on
Monday did not take up a
proposed rale aimed at crack
ing down on potential out-of-
state voters who may try to
register to vote in Georgia for
the runoffs amid recent ru
mors and reports of non-resi
dent voters possibly
attempting to do so.
Republican leaders in
cluding Shafer and Collins
have pressed Raffensperger
to clamp down harder on
voter residency requirements,
while largely Democratic-
aligned observers argue
tougher rales could disen
franchise poorer Georgians
and those in more fragile liv
ing situations.
Germany said Raf
fensperger’s and Attorney
General Chris Carr’s offices
have agreed to send out an
official bulletin advising
county elections boards on
specifics of Georgia’s resi
dency requirements and ver
ifications, rather than pass
any new rales on the matter.
“We think that will ac
complish the purpose that we
want,” Germany said.
Early voting for the Sen
ate runoff elections starts
Dec. 14. The deadline for
Georgia voters to register for
the runoffs is Dec. 7.
2021 Citizen of the Year
nominations sought
The Pickens County Chamber of Commerce is accepting
nominations for the 2021 Pickens County Citizen of the Year
Award.
This award is sponsored by ETC Communications LLC
and will be presented at the annual Chamber Winter Ball.
•Candidate must have a minimum of three years of con
tinued service, volunteerism, and philanthropic dedication
that enhances the quality of life in Pickens County.
•Candidate is a current resident and has lived in Pickens
County a minimum of five years.
•Candidate has exceptional ethical qualities and strives to
improve and preserve the community.
• No anonymous or self-nominations accepted.
If you would like to nominate a potential candidate, please
mail, email or hand deliver nominations to the Pickens Cham
ber at 500 Veterans Memorial Blvd., until 12 p.m. on Friday,
December 4th.
40th North Georgia Toy Run
The 40th annual North Georgia Toy Run will be held on
Sunday, December 6th. The event is a 45 mile ride. Everyone
is asked to bring two toys. For information call 770-479-
8254.
Families Anonymous
Families Anonymous is a group for relatives and friends
concerned about the use of drags or related behavioral prob
lems. It is a recovery program offering support to people
whose lives have been affected by a relative’s or friend’s use
of mind-altering substances or related behavioral problems.
Weekly meetings on Wednesdays at King of Kings
Lutheran Church, 45 Appalachian Circle, Talking Rock (1
mile north of Jasper Walmart) from 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Bring a lunch. For more information call 706-276-1850 or
mkc@etcmail.com
Heat a panini press or skillet to
medium high heat.
Spread the mayonnaise on both sides
of the bread. Lay the slices down on a
clean work surface. Place the sliced
turkey breast on top of one slice of bread.
Add the fresh thyme leaves, then the cran
berry sauce and finally the provolone
cheese.
Cover the sandwich with the other
slice of bread.
Transfer the sandwich to a panini press
or hot skillet. Press together gently to help
the whole sandwich stick together. Cook
it until the bread is crisp and golden and
the cheese is melted, about 3-4 minutes.
Slice the sandwich in half and serve
immediately.
Have a recipe you would like to share with the community?
Send it to areinhardt@pickensprogressonline.com
Leftover Turkey
Panini
Not sure what to do with your leftover
turkey? Try this Thanksgiving twist on a
panini.
2 slices sliced sourdough bread about 1/2
inch thick
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
3 ounces turkey breast
2 tablespoons cranberry sauce
1 slice provolone cheese
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves