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PAGE 12A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JANUARY 21.2021
We have a winner!
Zoey Ivy was the winner of the January 14th coloring
contest. She won a free ice cream from Lollidrops. See this
week’s contest on page 5A.
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Specifically, the Governor is
proposing $1.2 billion over
the next few years to public
education and $1,000 to go
towards educators to ensure
schools can reopen safely.
Additionally, the Governor
called for increased invest
ment in rural broadband in
frastructure, to expand
high-speed internet access to
communities such as ours.
These proposals will be
examined in closer detail
when members of the Senate
and House Appropriations
Committees meet to examine
the state’s current and pro
jected budgetary needs.
“Budget Week” is one of the
most important times of any
legislative session, perhaps
none more important than the
one we are about to witness.
If you ever have any ques
tions about any of the legisla
tive proposals we take up,
progress on COVID-19 vac
cinations or any budgetary
items, please feel free to con
tact my office.
Sen. Steve Gooch serves
as the Senate Majority Whip.
He represents the 51st Senate
District which includes Daw
son, Fannin, Gilmer, Lump
kin, Union and White
counties and portions of
Forsyth and Pickens coun
ties. He may be reached at
404.656.9221 or via email at
steve.gooch@senate.ga.gov.
Alzheimer’s Association
to host statewide virtual
caregiver resource fair
Atlanta - The Alzheimer’s
Association, Georgia Chapter
is hosting a statewide Care
giver Resource Fair, a virtual
three-hour program that will
help Alzheimer’s and demen
tia caregivers find local re
sources and talk to experts
who can explain and give
more insight to the many pro
grams available in the state of
Georgia. The event is
scheduled for Saturday,
January 30 at 9:30 a.m.
The three-hour program
will include speakers from
The Georgia Council of
Community Ombudsman,
The Georgia Hospice and
Palliative Care Organization
of Georgia, The Area Agen
cies on Aging, Elder Care At
torney and Legal Specialist,
as well as representatives
from the Alzheimer’s Associ
ation.
“The Association is ex
cited to host this virtual event
for caregivers, especially
during this difficult time of
living in a pandemic”, added
Buffy Hankinson, Program
Manager, Alzheimer’s Asso
ciation, Georgia Chapter.
“The topics that will be dis
cussed are often some of the
most asked about programs
and services by caregivers
throughout Georgia, so this
resource fair will give people
a unique opportunity to learn
about multiple programs in
one format, added Hankin
son.”
To learn more or to regis
ter, please call 800-272-3900
or visit
http://bit.ly/CRF2021.
In addition to the Care
giver Resource Fair, the
Alzheimer’s Association,
Georgia Chapter hosts free
virtual education training
monthly. To learn more, visit
alz.org/Georgia.
More than 16 million fam
ily and friends, including
540,000 in Georgia, provide
unpaid care to people with
Alzheimer's or other demen
tias in the United States. To
help family caregivers navi
gate the current complex and
quickly changing environ
ment, the Alzheimer’s Asso
ciation has also offered
additional guidance to fami
lies at alz.org/COVID19
•Alzheimer’s disease is
the fifth-leading cause of
death in Georgia.
•More than five million
Americans are living with the
disease, including 150,000
Georgia residents — a num
ber estimated to grow to as
many as 190,000 by year
2025.
•More than 16 million
family and friends, including
540,000 in Georgia, provide
unpaid care to people with
Alzheimer's or other demen
tias in the United States.
•In 2019, friends and
family of those with
Alzheimer’s in Georgia pro
vided an estimated 615 mil
lion hours of unpaid care, a
contribution valued more
than $8 billion.
Middle school essay and high
school art contestants sought
Are you a middle school
student who likes to write?
Are you a high school stu
dent who likes to draw? If
so, then enter the 2021 Geor
gia Farm Bureau Middle
School Essay and High
School Art Contests for the
chance to win some great
cash prizes.
The Georgia Farm Bu
reau (GFB) Essay Contest is
open to all public, private
and home-schooled 6th, 7th
and 8th-grade students
statewide. The 10 GFB dis
trict winners of the essay
contest will receive $100
each and compete for the
state prize of $150. The win
ner of the Pickens County
Farm Bureau Essay Contest
will receive a $25 Visa gift
card.
The GFB Art Contest is
open to all public, private
and home-schooled students
in 9th through 12th grades.
The 10 GFB district art con
test winners will receive a
cash prize of $100. The 10
GFB district art contest win
ners will compete for the
state prize of $250 cash.
Two state runners-up in the
art contest will each receive
$ 150 cash. The winner of the
Pickens County Farm Bu
reau Art Contest will re
ceive a $25 Visa gift card.
GFB’s Certified Farm
Markets are the focus of
both contests. Middle
school students entering
the essay contest are being
asked to discuss how GFB
Certified Farm Markets
and agritourism in general
benefit farmers and con
sumers. High schoolers en
tering the art contest
should draw a scene de
picting one of the almost 80
GFB Certified Farm Mar
kets located across Georgia
or a crop grown at a GFB
CFM such as apples, beef,
blueberries, Christmas trees,
eggs, peaches, pecans,
pumpkins, strawberries, or
vegetables.
To enter either contest,
students should contact their
county Farm Bureau for an
official entry form and com
plete contest rules. County
Farm Bureau contest win
ners will be entered in GFB
district competition. All en
tries must be officially sub
mitted by a county Farm
Bureau to the Georgia Farm
Bureau home office.
All entries must be
received at local county
Farm Bureau offices by Feb.
26, 2021; county Farm Bu
reaus must submit their
county winners to GFB for
state judging by March 12.
Essays will be judged on
how well the essay topic is
addressed, adherence to
standard English grammar
rales, and use of primary
and secondary sources for
research pertaining to essay
topic referenced in the essay.
Artwork must be on 8.5 x
11-inch white paper and
should be created in the col
ors black, white and gray.
Contestants may use a vari
ety of media to create their
artwork including graphite,
charcoal, pastel, chalk, col
ored pencil, pen-and-ink,
ballpoint pen or mixed
media appropriate for print
ing.
Drawings will be judged
on 1) how well the artwork
represents modem agricul
ture found in the artist’s
county or Georgia and 2)
artistic merit.
For more information,
contact Pickens County
Farm Bureau office at 706-
692-6457 or visit
www.gfb.ag/21artcontest
and www.gfb.ag/21essay-
contest.
Founded in 1937, Geor
gia Farm Bureau is the
state’s largest general farm
organization. Its volunteer
members participate in
local, state and national ac
tivities to promote agricul
ture to their non-farming
neighbors. GFB offers its
members a wide variety of
benefits, including insur
ance, but enrollment in any
of the member benefits is
optional and not a require
ment for membership.
Counseling
Individual, Couples and Family Therapy
with Adults, Teens and Children
Robin W. Dunn M.S.
Licensed Professional Counselor
Over 30 years experience helping people live better
770-548-1966 • 505 Cove Rd. • Suite 3 • Jasper
www.robinwdunnlpc.com
2021 session begins at state house
By Sen. Steve Gooch
R - Dahlonega
On Monday, January 11,
2021, members of the Senate
and the House officially
gaveled in to begin the 2021
Legislative Session. The new
session brings with it many
familiar motions and proce
dures, including formally
electing our President Pro
Tempore, Secretary of the
Senate, and Sergeant at
Arms. All members of the
General Assembly, both new
and returning, were also offi
cially sworn in to begin their
new terms in office. In the
Senate, we have eleven mem
bers who will be experienc
ing their first session with us
and I am looking forward to
getting to know them all as
work to make Georgia as
great as it can be.
While there were many
similarities between this ses
sion and others I have expe
rienced, new protocols have
been introduced as a result of
the ongoing COVID-19 pan
demic that has drastically
changed the way we do busi
ness at the Capitol. To start,
all members of the General
Assembly and Capitol staff
are required to undergo
COVID-19 testing twice a
week. For those who test pos
itive, a robust contact tracing
program has been imple
mented to mitigate exposure
of the virus. Additionally,
seating in our committee
rooms has been spaced out in
order to socially distance
committee members and new
procedures have been intro
duced to promote fewer
crowds on the Senate floor.
I’m happy to report that test
ing and tracing has been
working as intended and we
are confident these measures
will reduce the risk of an out
break while we are in ses
sion.
Importantly, we are con
tinuously working to get the
COVID-19 vaccine to those
in the most need. First, it is
important to note that there
are currently two different
COVID-19 vaccines avail
able in Georgia: Pfizer and
Modema. Both are proven to
be effective and require two
doses, but they differ in that
Pfizer requires the doses
being administered three
weeks apart and Moderna re
quires 28 days. Right now,
Georgia is receiving 120,000
doses of the COVID-19 vac
cine each week and they are
being deployed in three dif
ferent phases. We are cur
rently in the first (Phase 1),
and doses are being adminis
tered to healthcare workers,
employees and residents of
long-term care facilities, first
responders, and adults aged
65 and above. We will then
move to the next phase which
will include non-healthcare
essential workers, followed
by the final phase which will
include those between the
ages of 16-64 with preexist
ing medical conditions. If
you fall into any of the
groups that make up Phase 1,
I encourage you to find a
COVID-19 Vaccination Site
near you and follow addi
tional guidance from the
Georgia Department of Pub
lic Health’s website.
On Thursday, we heard
the annual State of the State
Address delivered by Gover
nor Brian Kemp. This speech
highlighted a few of the Gov
ernor’s main budget priorities
for the upcoming budget
cycle, with a particular em
phasis being placed on areas
impacted by COVID-19.
Save Big Money
by subscribing
to the Progress
706-253-2457 or PickensProgress.com
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with a creative chef-driven
menu, a full cocktail bar,
our signature mules, and
features beer and wine
from Georgia.
(706) 253-3440
OLDMULEHOUSE.COM
2 North Main Street
Jasper, Ga 30143
Open at I I a.m.Wed-Sun
closed Mon&Tues