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THURSDAY. MARCH 31.2022 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 11A
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Local vet offers advice to pet owners
By Dr. Lyn Lewis, Wayside Animal Hospital
Pickens County Library announcements
Pickens Grab & Go Location
A temporary library location called Pick
ens Grab & Go is open to the public inside
Mountain Education Charter High School
(located at 339 West Church Street) while the
Pickens County Library building is closed for
renovation and expansion. At Pickens Grab
& Go, library patrons can check out and re
turn materials, place and pick up library
holds, request interlibrary loans, pay fines,
browse the library’s collection, and access
Wi-Fi and printing services. Visit sequoy-
ahregionallibrary.org/pcl-project for more in
formation, including up-to-date service hours
for Pickens Grab & Go. [If space allows,
please keep reminding your readers of Grab
& Go.]
Celebrate Fine Forgiveness Week
Have you been putting off visiting your li
brary because of fines? Sequoyah Regional
Library System is offering a fine forgiveness
program in honor of National Library Week
(April 3-9). During this week only, visit any
Sequoyah library, tell a staff member that you
wish to take advantage of fine forgiveness,
and be forgiven a certain amount in overdue
fines per library card. Some fees may be ex
cluded.
Weekly Storytimes
April 6, April 13, & April 20, 10:30 a.m.
Join Miss Crystal at Pickens County
Recreation Department (1329 Camp Road) in
classroom #1 for storytime! Enjoy tech-
themed stories on April 6, “duck” into story
time on April 13, and get hipping and
hopping on April 20. There will be a themed
craft to go along with the stories! Children
must be accompanied by an adult. To register,
call 706-692-5411 or visit
calendarwiz.com/sequoyahreglib
Pickens Library Meet-&-Greet April 7, 4
p.m.
This National Library Week, connect with
your library. Drop in for food, fun, and gifts
while experiencing technology the library of
fers! This is your chance to view a large scale
version of the floor plan for our upcoming
renovated and expanded Pickens County Li
brary building! Registration is not required.
www.sequoyahregionallibrary.org
Pickens County Library, 100 Library
Lane, Jasper, 706-692-5411
Pickens Grab & Go, 339 W Church St,
Jasper, 706-692-5411
Citizenship audit finds 1,634
noncitizens attempted to
register to vote in Georgia
Common Eye
Problems in Pets
So in a typical day I see
some skin problems, some
gastro-intestinal problems,
and arthritis issues, but I
cringe when I see a chart with
the words “check eye.” No
two words strike fear into my
heart like check eye. With the
other conditions listed above
I typically know what I am
getting involved in, but not
with eyes. Eyes can go from
bad to really bad fast and can
be a nightmare to manage.
So, this week we will talk
about common eye disorders
and maybe I can learn not to
fear the words.... “Check
eye.”
Two of the most common
conditions I see are conjunc
tival infections and corneal
ulcers.
These two different infec
tions can look exactly alike
but have very different reper
cussions. A conjunctival in
fection is an infection of the
outer lining that surrounds
the eye. It can be very
painful, causes squinting, wa
tery eyes with a lot of mu
cous, and redness. The
eyeball itself is not affected.
We tend to treat this with an
tibiotics and topical steroids
to decrease the swelling. A
corneal ulcer, on the other
hand, is one of my potential
nightmares. The cornea is the
clear outer layer of
the eye and is very thin,
about as thick as your finger
nail. Since this area is clear it
is really hard to see the ulcer
on its surface. The ulcer can
grow very fast and can perfo
rate through the cornea caus
ing the eye to rupture. This
problem requires a lot more
care; we treat with special an
tibiotics and even surgery to
remove any dead tissue. We
have to monitor these pa
tients about every three days
to make sure it is healing and
not getting worse. Unfortu
nately, owners usually don’t
realize their pet has an ulcer
until it is very advanced,
which also complicates
things.
Another common problem
we see is Glaucoma. People
also get this disease. With
this condition, fluid that is
produced in the front of the
eye is unable to drain behind
the lens. This leads to
swelling of the eye that is
very painful. We can manage
this disease with medications
but unfortunately it is incur
able. Glaucoma can present
in young animals as well as
the old.
Glaucoma affects dogs a
lot more than cats.
There is another disease of
senior pets that I see quite
often in breeds such as Shih
Tzus and Pugs. In fact, one of
my favorite pugs that I see
just got diagnosed with this
last week. The disease is
called Keratoconjunctivitis
sicca (KCS or dry eye). With
this disease the tear glands
begin to lose their ability to
produce tears and this leads
to less lubrication of the eye
ball. This irritates the eye so
the body over-reacts and cov
ers the eye with a black film
which is permanent.
Without treatment the an
imal can go blind in the af
fected eye. A lot of the time
the problem can affect both
eyes. KCS is easy to test for;
we use strips of paper to
measure the eye’s production
of tears. The only treatment is
called Cyclosporine drops.
This stimulates an increase in
tear production once again
lubricating the eye. Unfortu
nately, whatever damage has
been done before treatment is
permanent.
Cataracts are another
problem with our pets. These
are usually a problem in our
senior patients but your ani
mals can be affected as well.
Cataracts can appear very
fast, sometimes in just a few
days. There are also many
causes for cataracts all the
way from high blood pres
sure to diabetes. Once a
cataract forms, no medicine
can make them go away in
our furry friends. I have had
a few clients go to a veteri
nary ophthalmologist and get
a procedure called Phako-
emulsification. With this pro
cedure the lens is broken up
with sonic pulses, removed,
and a new lens is put in its
place.
Well, I could write a book
about all the potential prob
lems in the eye but we have
covered the most common. I
hope everyone understands
that time is critical with eye
problems; a few days can
make the difference between
complete recovery and per
manent issues. If you notice
your pet squinting or the eye
tearing consult your local
veterinarian immediately. It
may look very minor but it
could also be the early signs
of something much more se
rious. Most of the treatments
of the above mentioned prob
lems such as ulcers and con
junctivitis are easily and
inexpensive to treat early on.
But, given a few days these
can become monsters. So
please, see your vet early
with these problems. Maybe
working together we can
lessen my fear of the dreaded
“check eye” appointment.
Coin Club
Group meet
Meets first and third Tues
days of month at 5:30 p.m.
with an auction starting at
6:30 p.m. at the Amicalola
Electric Center’s Dean Cen
ter at 544 Highway 515 in
Jasper. All ages welcome and
you don't have to be a mem
ber to attend. For more infor
mation contact Chris Paire,
cptxaggie@yahoo.com, 678-
770-0118.
Atlanta - Georgia Secre
tary of State Brad Raf-
fensperger has conducted the
first citizenship review of
Georgia’s voter rolls in the
state’s history. The review
found that 1,634 people who
had attempted to register to
vote were not able to be ver
ified by U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services’s
(USCIS) Systematic Alien
Verification for Entitlements
(SAVE) program. Due to
Georgia’s existing citizenship
check procedures, the nonci
tizens identified in the citi
zenship check were placed
into “pending citizenship”
status and were not able to
vote.
“Ensuring that only citi
zens are voting in Georgia’s
elections is key to upholding
the integrity of the vote in
Georgia,” said Raffensperger.
“As liberal states and cities
around the country are
changing their laws to allow
noncitizen voting, I will con
tinue to take steps to ensure
Georgia’s elections are exe
cuted with integrity. Leading
the state’s first citizenship
audit of the voter rolls is an
important part of that effort.”
Raffensperger conducted
the first audit of Georgia’s
voter rolls for citizenship sta
tus in the state’s history. The
audit proved that Georgia’s
citizenship check procedures
are working and are vital to
ensuring secure elections.
The review consisted of
gathering additional data
from the Georgia Department
of Driver Services and the
Department of Homeland Se
curity’s U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services
(USCIS). The review utilized
USCIS’s Systematic Alien
Verification for Entitlements
(SAVE) program.
The search found 1,634
individuals who had at
tempted to register to vote in
Georgia despite not being cit
izens. In total, 2,258 voter
registration applications are
currently in “pending citizen
ship” status. The difference
between the two numbers is
because there were 624
records where the Secretary
of State’s office was not able
to obtain the required infor
mation to utilize the SAVE
verification tool. Those addi
tional 624 applicants remain
in “pending citizenship” sta
tus because the citizenship
check with the Department of
Driver Services at the time of
registration flagged those ap
plicants as non-citizens ac
cording to DDS records. All
2,258 individuals were
placed in pending status and
not added to the voter rolls.
None of these individuals
have cast ballots in Georgia
elections.
Scholarships available
for family research/ history
from Honea-Worley Family
Scholarship Fund
• First place $2,000; second place is $1,000, third $500
• High school seniors only — not required to be
college-bound.
• Applicants need to submit a four-generation family
history where at least one person in the research has
significant ties to Pickens County.
• Research should extend from current person back
through parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.
• More than just dates, places and names, research should
show a story of the people - who they were, where they
came from, their churches, professions, education,
interesting life experiences.
• Documentation, similar to a term paper is required.
Help can be obtained in the Georgia Room at the
Pickens library.
• Works will be judged by an independent panel.
• Deadline is May 2 by noon. Works should be
dropped off at Century 21 Lindsey and Pauley, 25
North Main Street, Jasper
For questions, contact Maria Boling at 770-355-6537
or email mariaboling911 @yahoo.com
This scholarship is managed by
the Pickens Historical Society
for the Honea-Worley families.
“It is our sincere hope every
graduating senior knows and is
proud of their family’s history. ”
Our members will be glad to as
sist anyone preparing works to
enter.
Progress deadlines
News
Submission deadline for news
is 1:00 p.m. Monday
for that week’s paper.
(Articles can be happenings at local clubs,
organizations, schools, churches, etc.)
news@pickensprogress. com
Advertising
Submission deadline for both
display advertising and
classifieds is noon Tuesday
for that week’s paper.
ads@pickensprogress. com
Or call our office at 706-253-2457
EARTHDAY.ORG
Saturday,
April 23, 2022
10 AM to 2 PM
The Bowen Art Center
334 GA Highway 9
Dawsonville, GA
INVEST
IN OUR
PLANET
Electric Vehicle (EV) Car Show
Clean Cities Georgia
FREE Event Parking
Dawson County Junior High
ATTENDEES:
Better Tomorrow Solar • Citizens Climate Lobby
Daughters of the American Revolution
Dawson County UGA Extension & 4-H Club
Dawson County Government • Forest Hills Resort
GA Conservation Voters • GA Forest Watch
GA Interfaith Power & Light • Mountain Honey
Keep Dawson County Beautiful
Sierra Club • Climate Reality Project
Upper Etowah River Alliance
Poster Contest & Exhibition
Juried first by Dawson County Schools
Art Educators; finalists selected by a panel of
Independent Judges
Awards Presentations by Grade:
K- 2, 10:45 || 3-5, 11:00 || 6-12, 11:15
Children’s Crafts & Sing-a-long
Face Painting
Learn About:
Tree Canopy & Reforestation
Eliminating Food Waste
Cutting Carbon Exhaust
Soil Conservancy
Cutting Energy Costs
Clean Water Sources
Reduce/Reuse Plastic
Organic Agriculture &
Gardening
Food Tent & Door Prizes
Auctions & Raffles:
Appalachian Outfitters
Len Foote Hike Inn
Wild Birds Unlimited
The Blue Bicycle
Leilani’s
Gold City Growlers
Fairway Nursery
Forest Hills Resort
Earth Day 2022
T-shirts, bird houses and
canvas bags for sale
At North GA Conservation
Coalition table
https://www.ngacc.org/earth-day-2022
Sponsored by the North Georgia Conservation Coalition, Dr. Bette Holland, Director
nacc2035@amail. com
Donations:
Abbott Creek Nursery
Foothills IGA
Food Lion
Kroger
Publix
Name:
Address:
Print Edition Rates for One-Year Subscription (Sales Tax included)
() $41.17 - Pickens County, Ball Ground, Fairmount, Ranger residents
() $52.30 - All other Georgia county or city residents
() $62.32 - Residents outside of Georgia
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Mail to: Pickens County Progress • 94 N. Main St. • Jasper, GA 30143
jftckfM €mnr;j) — 706-253-2457