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THURSDAY. MARCH 4. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 7A
Obituaries - Continued
bus ride home from Atlanta.
When asked why he fell in
love with Peggy and not
Patsy since they looked just
alike, he said, “He just knew
she was the only one for
him.” Soon, Ottis was drafted
a second time and once again
served his country. He was
stationed in Virginia. So, he
and Peggy moved to Virginia
where they made many
friends and sweet memories.
After their time in the
Army was up, Ottis and
Peggy lived in Canton where
they raised their three chil
dren. Ottis worked for Lock-
heed-Martin in Marietta for
41 years. Throughout the
years, they attended both
Hopewell Baptist Church
(Clayton) and Indian Knoll
Baptist Church where they
were blessed many times to
see souls saved including
their own children and many
of their grandchildren.
Pallbearers will be Bo
Page, Jonathan Turner, Jake
Pendergraft, Johnathan
Welsh, Brandon Ward, Sam
Moldenhauer, Dewayne
Fendley and Darrell Fendley.
Funeral services are
scheduled for 2 p.m., on
Wednesday, March 3, 2021,
from the Chapel of South
Canton Funeral Home with
Rev. Michael McPherson,
and Rev. Jason Phillips offi
ciating. Interment will follow
at Georgia National Ceme
tery.
The family will receive
friends from 11 a.m. to 2
p.m., Wednesday, March 3,
2021 at South Canton Fu
neral Home.
South Canton Funeral
Home, dedicated to the fam
ilies we serve, 770-479-3377.
Online condolences may be
made to the family at
www.thescfh.com
Robert Johnson
Robert Earling Johnson,
81, of Canton, passed away
Thursday, February 18, 2021
at Northside Hospital Chero
kee. He was born November
3, 1939 to Herman Gus and
Ruth Hazel Johnson in
Woburn, Massachusetts.
Robert is survived by his
wife, Barbara Jean Johnson
of Canton, Georgia; daughter
and son-in-law, Patricia and
Larry Childs of West Point,
Georgia; daughter, Carol
Leonard, Merrimack, New
Hampshire; son and daugh-
ter-in-law, Robert and An
nette Johnson II of Amhurst,
New Hampshire; son,
Richard Johnson of Merri
mack, New Hampshire;
grandchildren, Alex Johnson
of Nashua, New Hampshire,
Ian Johnson of Amhurst,
New Hampshire, Brandon
Johnson of Merrimack, New
Hampshire; great-grand
daughter, Kynleigh Childs of
West Point, Georgia; sister,
Ruth Barry of Silver Springs,
Florida; brother, Brian Cobb
of Lake City, Florida. Sev
eral nieces, nephews, and
other relatives survive. He
was preceded in death by his
brother, Herman Earl John
son.
A Celebration of Life will
be held at 2 p.m., Saturday,
April 17, 2021 at Clearview
Chapel; South Davis Road;
Lagrange, Georgia 30241.
A second celebration is
being planned for Grace Fel
lowship of Nashua in
Nashua, New Hampshire.
Arrangements are en
trusted to the staff of Roper
Funeral Home and Crema
tory.
Online condolences may
be made at www.roperfuner-
aalhome.com.
Tim Hitt
April 13, 1965 -
February 23, 2021
Mr. Tim Hitt, 55, of
Jasper, passed away Tuesday,
February 23, 2021 at Pied
mont Mountainside Hospital.
Tim is survived by his
mother, Faye Hitt of Jasper;
nephew, Matthew Hitt of
Jasper; niece: Jessica Pendley
of Jasper.
He is preceded in death by
his father, O'Neal Hitt and
brother, Danny Hitt.
Funeral services
were held at 2 p.m. Friday,
February 26, 2021 at the
Chapel of Cagle Funeral
Home, with Rev. Keith Cook,
Rev. Greg Long and Rev.
Gerald McPherson officiat
ing.
Interment followed at
Sunrise Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers: Troy Carver,
Caroll Parker, Ronnie Mor
ris, Matthew Hitt, Levi Plum
mer, and John Brooks.
Honorary pallbearer: Donna
Young.
Cagle Funeral Home is
honored to serve the Hitt
family.
Michael Smith
Michael Lee Smith, 49, of
Fairmount, Georgia passed
away Wednesday, February
24, 2021 at his home. He was
born December 15, 1971 to
Gordon and Patricia Smith in
Covington, Georgia.
Michael is survived by his
wife, Cheryl Marie Little of
Fairmount; brothers and sis-
ters-in-law, Jeff and Susan
Smith of Conyers, Timmy
and Connie Smith of Coving
ton; sister and brother-in-law,
Sabrina and Dan Wardell of
Loganville; brother and sis
ter-in-law, Buddy and
Stephanie Smith of Texas;
sister, Melinda Johnson of
Oxford; mother-in-law,
Rosemary Little of Fair-
mount. Several nieces,
nephews, great-nieces, great-
nephews and other relatives
also survive.
He was preceded in death
by his father, Gordon Smith
and his mother, Patricia Hug
gins.
A Memorial Service will
be held at 11 a.m., Saturday,
March 6, 2021 at Waleska
Church of God of Prophecy;
127 Dry Pond Road; Canton,
GA 30114
A second memorial serv
ice will be held 11 a.m., Sat
urday, March 13, 2021 at
West End Baptist Church;
455 South Cherokee Road;
Social Circle, GA 30025.
Arrangements are en
trusted to the staff of Roper
Funeral Home and Crema
tory.
Online condolences may
be made at www.roperfuner-
alhome.com.
Past Obits
back to
2011 can be
searched on
our website
pickensprogress.com
Georgia Ducks
J Unlimited
Ducks Pickens County
Unlimited Chapter
31st Annual
Fundraising Banquet
March 21, 2021
GA Mountains Hospice
70 Caring Way
Jasper, GA
Single Tickets $60
Couples $100
Greenwings $40
Contact Tommy Lathem at 770-547-7071
or Royce Latty at 706-889-6368
Grant Notice
The Technical College System of Georgia's Office of Adult Education is
requesting grant applications from eligible organizations interested in
offering Integrated English Literacy & Civics Education Services. These
Federal Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act grant funds are used
to provide services to eligible individuals who are adult (16+) English
language learners, including professionals with degrees and credentials
in their native countries. TCSG will hold a virtual technical assistance
Q&A for all interested applicants on March 16 from 10-11:30 am. Visit
https://tcsg.edu/adult-education/for more information.
TCSG is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate on the basis
of race, color national origin, sex, age, or disability.
STicket Cost:
$50 per person or
S250 per Table = 6 Tickets
Masks required in building
& Social distancing will be
maintained
BE A HERO BRUNCH
©
Saturday, March 27th @nam
Chattahoochee Technical
College 100 Campus Dr.
Jasper, Ga 30143.
"Comedian Ken Kington
"Amazing Food
"Silent Auction
"Supporting Kids in Pickens,
Gilmer & Fannin Counties
To reserve your tickets
call 706-253-2582 ext. 2 or
email crasco@bgcng.org
BOYS & GIRLS
OF NORTH GEORGIA
Do I ever not say “It’s a
busy week?” Well, this one
was. All committees and
members are pushing to get
ready for Crossover Day,
which will be on Monday,
March 8. It’s the day a bill
must pass the House and
cross over to the Senate for
them to review. I have the
honor to serve on the Rules
Committee that reviews
each bill in depth to recom
mend for a vote on the
House floor or not. It takes a
lot of time each day, but this
group really looks at each
bill and evaluates it and its
effect on Georgians.
Our communities are
very pro-law enforcement
and appreciate the sacrifices
that these folks do in keep
ing us safe. Legislation to
stop local governments from
defunding the police, HB
286, passed on the House
floor Wednesday 101-69.
There was at least an hour
debate on the bill, mostly
from those wanting the abil
ity to cut police budgets.
Slashing police budgets puts
our most vulnerable at risk.
I'm proud that we have
passed this important meas
ure to keep our families safe.
The use of the internet to
do business and care for
Georgians continues and
grows, and we are having to
make some changes in the
law to allow it. The Georgia
Telehealth Act will further
Report from the Capitol
By State Representative Rick Jasperse
the advancements made in
Telehealth by including sev
eral specific measures to in
crease access to Telehealth
in our state - authorizing a
healthcare provider to offer
Telehealth services from
home and patients to receive
Telehealth services from
their homes, workplaces, or
schools. There were other
measures voted on where
courts, counselors, profes
sional boards, and business
boards can use the internet
to conduct their business.
House Bill 442 was also
passed by the House this
week, and this legislation
highlights the prevalence of
social media in today’s soci
ety. Currently, Georgia’s
child custody laws require
one or both parents to be re
sponsible with decision
making authority for a
child’s education, health, ex
tracurricular activities, and
religious upbringing. HB
442 would require parents to
also include social media
management in their joint
parenting plan. As technol
ogy and social media have
evolved, they have become
much more customary in our
children’s daily lives, and
this bill would allow our
child custody laws to remain
relevant with the ever-
changing technology in our
world.
House Bill 218 would
allow reciprocity for any
state’s weapons carry license
as long as the holder carries
according to Georgia’s laws,
and the bill would limit the
Governor’s emergency pow
ers in regards to seizing or
prohibiting the possession
and sale of legal weapons
and ammunition. My neigh
bor Rep. Mandi Ballinger
from Canton was the spon
sor of this bill, and I was a
cosigner.
Our Special Committee
on Election Integrity held
many additional meetings
this week. There was a lot of
meeting time dedicated to
public comment and listen
ing. At weeks’ end the com
mittee passed House Bill
531. That legislation moved
to the Rules Committee, and
we passed it out for a floor
vote on Monday, March 1.
This bill includes several
provisions - including an ID
requirement on absentee bal
lots, outlining the processing
of absentee ballots, and
transparency measures for
poll watchers.
In a short article you
can’t cover everything, so if
you want more information
or to comment on work
that’s going on or want more
detail on what we have
passed, please ask. I keep a
weekly summary I can send
you. My Capitol office num
ber is 404-656-7153, my
home 770-893-2039, and
my email address is
rick.jasperse@house.ga.gov.
Please contact me anytime.
Plants of the Southeast
Beech, Fagus grandifolia
Photo/Linda Lee
The Beech leaf blades are prominently notched at the
edges, and there will be a series of straight, parallel veins
on each side of the midrib.
By John Nelson
University of
South Carolina
The Beech - It's my fa
vorite tree. Has to be! Every
thing about it is interesting,
and all its parts are attrac
tive. I first learned about
this tree when I was a tiny
undergraduate student: my
first botany class. Our field
trip was to the wild and mys
terious Congaree Swamp
(now Congaree National
Park), where this tree is
common along the bluffs
that border the floodplain.
There we learned that it is
sometimes called "initial
tree", a reference to the prac
tice of carving one's initials
into the bark, which is very
smooth. Coming upon one
of these trees in deep woods
can be a sort of historic ex
perience in a sense, espe
cially if old initials, dates —
and short messages— can be
read from the bark. Some
times, on really old trees, the
trunk will bear testimony to
a long-forgotten message.
Of course, depending on the
age of the tree, and the en
graving (and spelling) skill
of the carver, the written tes
timonies may or may not be
easy to read.
Beech trees are a native
species from eastern Canada
and the upper Midwest south
to Texas and northern
Florida. They like to grow
on "high" ground, and are
frequently seen with a vari
ety of oaks, often in situa
tions that ecologists or
botanists might refer to as
"rich" woods.
The trees can indeed
become large, up to 100'
tall (or taller) and with a
trunk diameter of 3' or so.
Really big, old individuals
that are encountered tend
to be hollow inside. And,
they are subject to wind-
throw in strong storms.
The wood of this tree is
relatively light in weight,
and pale in color. In the
United States, it has been a
major industrial source of
clothespins. In fact, it turns
out that the world's largest
clothespin industry was for
a good long while located
in Richwood, West Vir
ginia (where my Mom and
Dad went to High
School!). Clothespins now
seem to be a relic of the
past, and whenever you do
see them, they tend to be
plastic and brightly col
ored.
Anyway, the Beech tree
boasts additional features
which also help make it one
of the easiest learned and re
membered trees of North
America. Its leaves unfurl in
the spring, somewhat silky,
and eventually a bright,
beautiful green. The leaf
blades are prominently
notched at the edges, and
there will be a series of
straight, parallel veins on
each side of the midrib. The
leaves turn a sort of pale yel
low in the fall, and remain
attached to the twigs all win
ter long, eventually becom
ing a sort of silvery tan. Very
attractive. If all those fea
tures aren't enough, check
out the winter buds. They
are prominently pointed and
shiny brown. No other tree
has buds quite like these.
One or two last things.
The flowers are tiny and
unimpressive, segregated as
male and female. The female
flower will eventually form
a small, somewhat spiny
husk, and when the little dry
fruits are ripe, will split
open, dropping small, hard,
3-angled nuts down to the
ground. Critters love them.
And a certain brand of
baby food (and chewing
gum) was named after them.
© JohnNelson2021
[John Nelson is the re
tired curator of the A. C.
Moore Herbarium at the
University of South Car
olina, in the Department of
Biological Sciences, Colum
bia SC 29208. As a public
service, the Herbarium of
fers free plant identifica
tions. For more information,
visit www.herbarium.org or
e m a i 1
johnbnelson @sc. rr. com.]
Active, Reserve, Retired & Honorably Discharged
Some Join the
RIlrfM ©dips LiilH©
For more information on the
Marine Corps League,
what it does, and how you can
join, call 706-253-0459 (voice mail)
or email usmcl280@gmail.com.