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THURSDAY. APRIL 8. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 9A
Pickens HOSA students attend
State Leadership Conference
HOSA SLC students that attended the conference virtually here at PHS. Grant Hooker, Amber Bragg, Heather
Vincent, Kami Jones, Makayla Odum, Chloe Imbriano, Brooke Quarles, Cassidy Wiman.
PHS HOSA 2020-2021 / Leadership team: President Heather Vincent, VP-
Makayla Odum, Secretary Amber Bragg, Reporter Grant Hooker.
By Grant Hooker
PHS HOSA Reporter
PHS HOSA is a student
led organization that pro
vides students with the op
portunity to develop as
leaders as well as future
healthcare professionals.
One of our major opportuni
ties this year was to study
and prepare for the State
Leadership Conference
(SLC) provided by Georgia
HOSA.
On March 3rd, students
kickstarted SLC by learning
the chemistry and science
behind everyone’s favorite
dessert— ice cream. Dr.
Maya Warren, an ice cream
specialist and scientist,
shared her personal journey
that led to her unique career
as well as the untold secrets
behind the ingredients and
production of ice cream. On
March 4th, HOSAmembers
virtually participated in
many informational work
shops and watched the
Opening Session as GA
HOSA’s State Leadership
Conference began. On
March 5th, SLC was in foil
swing as students engaged
in several educational pro
grams and seminars includ
ing, “Opioids and the
Brain,” where students
learned about opioids, its ef
fects, and the harm that fol
lows opioid abuse. Other
programs allowed members
the exceptional opportunity
to engage in resume build
ing as well as making home
made hand sanitizer with
Mercer Pharmacy school-
virtually of course. On
March 6th, SLC came to a
close as competitors in each
competition were ranked
against opponents from all
over the state of Georgia.
Three PHS HOSAmembers
placed in the top 10. These
members are Grant Hooker
who placed 3rd in the Re
search Poster Competition,
Brooke Quarles placed 5th
in Cultural Diversities and
Disparities in Healthcare,
Heather Vincent placed 10th
in Medical Math. Congratu
lations to these finalists!
Thank you for your support
as PHS HOSA continues to
grow students who will be
come future health profes
sionals.
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor:
It is more than a bit discon
certing to learn that so many
people have decided not to
take the Covid vaccine.
Who knows what the long
term affects of the drugs are?
Nobody! But there is always
speculations about possible af
fects of anything. There are
the same doubts for any new
life saving drugs.
In fact, pick anything, vir
tually any subject and I guar
antee you I can find negatives.
If you live in that world of
searching for the negatives,
you are living a rather pes
simistic life style.
My wife and I had the two
Moderna vaccines early. No
after affects other than after
the second shot we woke up
with some flu like symptoms,
but no fever and gone by
noon, nothing later.
It appears that the Johnson
& Johnson, Pfizer and Mod
erna are proving to be safe.
There has been some concern
from Europe about As
traZeneca vaccine with the
possible risk to young people
in causing clots.
Frankly, if enough people
do not take one of the vaccines
we will never irradicate this
vims. So please do not take the
selfish route. Get the vaccine.
Besides, getting the vaccine
beats getting covid and ending
up in the hospital or even
worse, God forbid, in the
morgue. If you spread the
virus to someone you love,
how are you going to feel?
Right now the CDC reports
this past weekend that you can
now travel safely IF you have
been vaccinated. If enough
people get vaccinated we have
a great chance of irradicating
this terrible virus pandemic.
We can eliminate a global pan
demic the same way we did
with Polio. If you have been
vaccinated, congratulations
and on behalf of the USA
thank you.
Thanks,
C. Ray Smith
Veteran
Rep. Clyde responds to MLB
moving All Star Game
Rep. Andrew Clyde re
leased the following statement
on Friday, April 2nd, 2021:
"Obviously, Major League
Baseball is against election in
tegrity. Commissioner Robert
Manfred made this clear with
his recent decision to relocate
the 2021 All-Star Game and
draft out of Georgia because
of our state’s new election in
tegrity law.
In his statement, Commis
sioner Manfred says he en
gaged in multiple 'thoughtful
conversations' regarding the
new law, but it is clear he has
not done his research on S.B.
202. If he had, the Commis
sioner would know that nearly
every state in the country al
ready requires I.D. or signa
ture verification to vote. In
fact, this is a basic requirement
in democracies across the
globe.
The claim that S.B. 202
disenfranchises voters not
only defies basic logic, but has
been proven false. Again, this
is something Commissioner
Manfred would know if he
bothered to do even a basic
amount of research.
Free, fair, and secure elec
tions ensure the government
stays accountable to the peo
ple, which has resulted in the
U.S. becoming the most pros
perous nation in the world.
MLB has directly benefited
from these freedoms for more
than 100 years, and this re
sponse is Little League.
I am deeply disappointed in
MLB's anti-election integrity
stance. Georgians deserve and
believe in election integrity. If
MLB does not, we don't need
the All-Star Game or draft in
our state."
— Rep. Andrew Clyde
(GA-9)
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