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PAGE 5B PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. APRIL 8. 2021
Church News Continued
tion gift basket that will be overflowing with
items you can bid on for yourself, or give as
a great gift.
After your shopping experience, take a
break and visit the Heavenly Coffee Shop.
Hot coffees will be for sale from a new
Jasper business JAX Coffee Company. And
to curb your sweet tooth, you can purchase
single serve homemade cookies, scones, and
muffins
This event is for the entire community and
open to the public. It’s the first 2021
fundraiser for the Big Canoe Chapel
Women’s Fellowship and they hope to see
many satisfied shoppers. Your spending goes
to a very good cause: all proceeds benefit
charities in Dawson and Pickens counties.
The shopping event is open Thursday-Satur
day April 8th-10th from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. at the
Big Canoe Chapel Broyles Center. For more
information about Books and More, please
contact Pat Papke at 630-802-1865 or Judi
Schoeler at 315-415-5185. Information on
Big Canoe Chapel or the Women’s Fellow
ship can be found on the website: www.big-
canoechapel.org
Communion & foot washing
Rev. Michael Spurr Jr. and Trinity Baptist
Church invites everyone to our Communion
and foot washing service Sunday, April 18,
at 11 a.m.
Everyone is welcome and especially or
dained preachers, deacons and pastors.
Jesus told His disciples to “do this in re
membrance of Me.”
Trinity Baptist Church is located at 1566
Thompson Rd. Dawsonville Ga.
Continued: Minister’s Corner
Continued from Page IB
Sports betting for Georgia fails
foolish man who built his
house on the sand: and the
rain descended, the floods
came, and the winds blew
and beat on that house; and it
fell. And great was its fall." -
NKJV
Thank God for His Word.
I have learned through the
years that God is faithful to
perform His Word in our
lives. However, we must do
our part so that we can re
ceive the promises and power
of God from the Living
Word.
As Jesus teaches in the
verses from Matthew 7, we
must become true disciples
of Christ. It’s not about re
ceiving instruction only.
After we hear or read the
Word, we must follow
through and apply what we
know. If we are willing to
submit to and implement
scripture to our daily lives,
God’s grace will empower
us.
You will know for certain
that God’s Seed is taking root
in your heart because it will
become easier to live it. This
part is essential for believers
to know. Why? In this life,
we will encounter storms as
Jesus mentions in the above
April 4 - April
10
April 4 th:
On this day in 1983, the
late Lorenzo Charles lifted
the North Carolina State
Wolfpack to a national cham
pionship by dunking away
the Phi Slamma Jamma crew
of the Houston Cougars.
With the score tied at 52 and
time running out, Dereck
Whittenburg heaved a des
peration shot that fell short.
Luckily, Charles was there to
snatch the ball and slam it
home before the buzzer. The
sophomore forward’s heroics
extinguished the heavily fa
vored Coogs, 54-52. The
“Cardiac Pack” claimed the
crown following a tourna
ment run filled with several
heart-pounding finishes.
April 5 th:
On this day in 1989, Los
Angeles Dodgers pitcher,
Orel Hershiser, witnessed the
end of his scoreless innings
streak. Hershiser surrendered
an RBI-single to Cincinnati
Reds first baseman, Todd
Benzinger, in the bottom of
the first. Barry Larkin scored
the run; Orel was tagged with
the loss and the Dodgers
dropped a 4-3 decision. Her-
shiser’s string of 59 straight
innings without allowing a
run remains a major league
record.
April 6th:
On this day in 1974, the
New York Yankees played
their first home game at Shea
Stadium, the ballpark of their
crosstown rivals, the Mets.
Yanks’ third baseman, Graig
verses. If we do not hide
God’s Word in our hearts
through application, when
storms hit our lives, we won’t
be spiritually strong enough
to endure them.
Storms do more than de
stroy; they will also expose
the weak places in our walk
of faith. Even though storms
and trials can be devastating,
they are very much a part of
living in a fallen world.
Therefore, we must do every
thing that we can to utilize all
that God offers to us so that
we can be prepared for them.
This brings us to the rea
son for this devotion. When
life turns ugly and you find
yourself shaken by terrible
events, do you feel close to
God? Be honest with your
self as you answer that ques
tion. If you do not feel as
though God is near you dur
ing storms, it’s not that God
has abandoned you. Psalm 46
states that God is a very pres
ent Help in trouble.
To be prepared for storms,
according to Jesus in
Matthew 7, we must be doers
of His Word and not hearers
only. God’s Word definitely
has the power to hold you
and I when strong winds tear
Nettles, hit the game’s only
home run, a two-run shot
with two outs in the bottom
of the fourth. Center fielder,
Bobby Murcer, went two for
four with an RBI-single in
the seventh. Murcer also
scored a pair of runs while
starting pitcher, Mel Stottle-
myre, threw a complete
game. Every New York run
came unanswered as the Yan
kees defeated the Cleveland
Indians, 6-1.
April 7th:
On this day in 1956, the
Philadelphia Warriors bested
the Fort Wayne Pistons in
five games to win the NBA’s
10th championship. Three
different Philadelphia play
ers, Joe Graboski, Paul
Arizin and Tom Gola, each
posted a double-double. Gra
boski led the Warriors in
scoring and rebounding with
29 points and 16 boards.
Arizin logged 26 points with
13 rebounds while Gola
recorded 16 points and 15
boards. The 99-88 win gave
Philadelphia its second
championship in franchise
history and its last until 1975,
when the club became
known as the Golden State
Warriors.
April 8th:
On this day in 1969, the
Montreal Expos, major
league baseball’s very first
Canadian-based franchise,
took the field for their first
regular season game. The
Expos came out on the win
ning end by edging the New
York Mets, 11-10, at Shea
Stadium. Right fielder, Rusty
Staub, keyed the Expos of
fense, going two for three
at our lives. Consequently, if
we want to be certain that
we’re spiritually strong
enough to stand in trying
times, we must obey God’s
Word.
God doesn’t want us to
suffer total loss because of
the storms of this life. We
may suffer physical loss and
pain, but we are to remain
strong and unmoved spiritu
ally. This is what God’s Word
offers to every believer who
will obey it instead of only
hearing it.
We have to make God’s
Word the foundation of our
life. As we do, the enemy
won’t be effective to shake
our faith and cause us to
doubt God’s love or power.
Storms will come. Neverthe
less, we can be spiritually
ready when they do. Choose
to be strong and prepared so
that you can defeat the Devil,
and win.
Asa Dockery is a resi
dent of Ellijay, and is 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.
with two RBI’s and a solo
homer in the eighth. Staub
scored twice while left
fielder, Mack Jones, went
two for four with a two-run
RBI-double in the sixth. Dan
McGinn and Coco Laboy
added home runs of their
own, with Laboy’s going for
three runs.
April 9th:
On this day in 1913,
Ebbets Field hosted its first
major league baseball game
when the Brooklyn Superbas
welcomed the Philadelphia
Phillies. The game’s lone run
came courtesy of the Phils in
the top of the first. Tom
Seaton got the start for
Philadelphia and tossed a
complete-game shutout, al
lowing only six hits and
striking out six batters in the
1-0 victory.
April 10th:
On this day in 1913, the
New York Yankees made
their major league debut fol
lowing a 10-year run as the
New York Highlanders. The
Yankees traveled to Griffith
Stadium to take on the Wash
ington Senators, but lost, 2-
1. New York held a one-run
lead for most of the game,
but Senators right fielder,
Danny Moeller, knocked in a
pair of seventh inning runs
that made the difference.
Walter Johnson took the
mound for Washington and
had eight straight scoreless
innings before going the dis
tance.
with us on uplifting our com
munity through meaningful
policy objectives,” the Rev.
James Woodall, state presi
dent of the Georgia NAACP,
wrote in a statement.
Senate passage of sports
betting had begun building
momentum for the legislation
in the House. It marked the
first time in a decade of try
ing that supporters of legal
ized gambling had gotten a
bill through either of the two
chambers.
But the tide appeared to be
turning by Wednesday morn
ing, when Sen. Jeff Mullis,
chief sponsor of the sports
betting measures, took to the
Senate floor to complain that
House Democrats were
blocking his legislation.
“They are leaving tens of
By Jennifer Paire
Contributing Writer
At least 60 youngsters -
from toddlers to teens - re
united with 2,000 Easter
eggs and a dapper Easter
Bunny this past Sunday in a
nearby churchyard. It created
a nostalgic vision after a
two-year delay of the spring
time tradition.
Similar scenes played out
across north Georgia during
Eastertide 2021, framed by
sunny skies and warmer
temps, meticulously cut
grass and one to two genera
tions of watchful adoration.
A website devoted to
recording Easter egg hunts
and celebrations, eastereg-
ghuntsandeasterevents.org,
reported there were egg
hunts scheduled in almost
every state this year although
the author also cautioned that
many planners were "waiting
until literally the last minute
to get the word out."
“I didn’t have questions
from parents at all” about the
modestly promoted hunt,
said Children's Minister Nic
hole Hall. “I think people
were just ready to be able to
come out and have fun to
gether. It was nice to be part
of that again.”
This particular church
distributed its eggs on the
soccer field cordoned into
three squares to promote dis
tancing in the open air. The
hunters, ranging in age from
toddler to teen, free ranged
and collected the hundreds of
eggs in 20 minutes tops. A
church volunteer with four
small children of her own
packed the first 1,000, while
Hall, the church's interim
minister and wife and two
more volunteers gathered to
pack remaining eggs with in
dividually packaged Skittles,
Twizzlers, Kit Kats, Jolly
Ranchers, bubblegum,
marshmallow eggs and Rice
Krispies Treats as well as
jewelry and small toys.
"It was fun getting the
Easter eggs," chirped Henry
Oh, 7. "I saw the Easter
Bunny. He did one of my fa
vorite dances, The Floss."
The dapper Easter Bunny,
perhaps equally excited to be
back in service, worked the
crowd and the cameras,
strutting and dabbing, high
flying and hugging. It
crouched on the ground to
greet wary toddlers, making
peace with those a few years
older who hadn’t encoun
tered a giant rabbit in real
time. Parents tried every
trick in the book hoping to
catch a full-on smile.
A toddler, picture perfect
in her yellow romper,
squealed and approached the
Easter Bunny holding a large
orange egg out in both
hands.
millions of dollars on the
table for need-based [schol
arships] funding for people
who really need it,” said
Mullis, R-Chickamauga.
Rick Lackey, an Atlanta-
based real estate developer
behind three proposed casino
resorts scattered across Geor
gia, suggested sports betting
failed because the legislation
didn’t include legalizing
casino gambling.
He said casinos would
bring in far more tax revenue
for need-based scholarships,
health care and other uses the
state might have for gam
bling proceeds than sports
betting. Also, online sports
betting wouldn’t create jobs,
while casinos would generate
thousands of temporary con
struction jobs and permanent
“Easter Bunny, you’re
pretty cool,” said one grand
mother after her brood wan
dered off. “May I please
have my picture taken with
you?”
“This was the first time
I’ve seen adults taking self-
ies with the Easter Bunny,”
said Hall, whose family of
four spent the hour before
the hunt distributing the eggs
in dewy, pollen-laced grass.
Without the additional
games and crafts offered at
previous hunts, many adults
were freed up to enjoy all as
pects of the day.
“This was the first time
I’ve seen adults taking self-
ies with the Easter Bunny,”
said Hall, whose family of
four spent the hour before
hunt time distributing the
eggs in dewy, pollen-laced
grass. "I had more time to
see everything and watch my
jobs after mixed-use casino
resorts open for business, he
said.
“It’s like comparing
penny pitching to Black
jack,” Lackey said.
Lackey pointed out that a
constitutional amendment to
legalize sports betting, casi
nos and pari-mutuel betting
on horse racing is still alive
in the Georgia House for con
sideration next year.
But Stephens said he’d
rather see the General As
sembly pursue sports betting
first.
“Sports betting is sup
posed to be the easy one,” he
said. “It would give us mo
mentum as we move into the
other stuff.”
daughters enjoy.”
Young and old lingered,
sometimes returning to the
Easter Bunny more than
once.
“Here, Easter Bunny,”
said one adoring fan, an
early elementary-aged boy
who had returned to offer the
Bunny a butterfly ring. The
bunny feigned excitement
and made heart-shaped
hands. “Thank you Bunny, I
love you.”
Hall spotted her own
daughters, Riley, 10, and
Amelia, 8,giving away some
of their eggs to younger chil
dren, including a very small
latecomer.
“It was awesome to see
the random acts of kindness
in a simple Easter egg hunt.”
JAre you one of the 100?
Join us for our Blue Dress Campaign 2021
Wbat do you do? It’s easy!
Call NGFP at 706.253.6488 and let us know you're on
f board.
k Decide if you want to be a team of one or many,
i There is no wrong way.
^ Start collecting money.
*
*
Celebratory Tea May 7,20212:00-4:00 pm
Holly Hill Manor, Talking Rock, GA
Purchase your ticket for $25.00 to the
Celebration Tea by going to
www.NGFPartners.org and following the links.
Start looking for you blue dress or ensemble.
Awards for:
* Most money raised.
* Most striking and unusual blue ensemble.
Continued from Sports Pase
Gartrell: On moving the
All-star game
punitive measures towards MLB.
Taxpayers have long balked at using pub
lic money and resources in construction and
maintenance of private professional sports fa
cilities, so would that funding be prohibited?
All professional athletes pay income taxes
in every state in which he or she plays. Could
those tax rates be adjusted?
Most professional sports franchises take
advantage of tax breaks and enhanced ex
emptions in the cities, counties and states
where they reside. Could those tax incentives
be revoked, reduced or eliminated?
MLB’s decision to move its all-star game
from Atlanta is a historic decision, but simple
physics reminds us that for every action,
there’s an equal or greater reaction. How sig
nificant will the reaction be though?
■+\
This week in
*** V
Sports History
by Ethan Swiech
Continued from Pase IB
Big week for Pickens soccer
busy last week of the soccer season. The
teams will travel to Union County on Mon
day, April 12, SE Whitfield on Wednesday,
April 14th and N. Forsyth on Thursday, April
15th and then have the last home game of the
season on Friday, April 16th.
Way to go PHS soccer.
At right, Junior Francisco Santos (#11)
beats out the pair of Bobcats for the ball.
Easter 2021: Egg hunts and bunnies reunite
In a last act of exuberance, the Easter Bunny photo-
bombed the Oh family of four, posed together in their
Easter finest. Pictured are Dan and Renee Oh and their
children Henry, 7, and Maria, 5.