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“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do
not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
—Joshua 1:9
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Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
August 18,2022
From the Staff
We love seeing local support
for people who need it
Over the years we’ve covered dozens
and dozens of fundraisers for people
going through hard times, just like the
one being held this weekend for a local
barbecue caterer who underwent triple
bypass surgery. Another area business
owner is hosting a benefit this Saturday
to raise money for the man’s medical
bills (See story on page 2A).
It’s always warmed
our hearts to see the com
munity rally around the
people who really do
need help, and we want to
encourage everyone (in
cluding ourselves) to take
time to donate what they
can to people or causes
that could use some sup
port — and also to thank
the good folks who make
these things happen.
We’ve covered every
thing from fundraisers like the one this
Saturday - an event with raffles, food,
and music - to barbecue fundraisers like
one of our Good Vibes series intervie
wees hosts, to dinner plate fundraisers,
motorcycle rides, 5k runs/walks, and on
line fundraisers through GoFundMe and
other platforms. People get creative and
put so much thought, time and energy
into trying to give a helping hand, be it
getting up early to cook, make plates, get
the bouncy house, clean up trash, organ
ize forms and applications, or give up
their free time on weeknights or week
days.
These fundraisers are usually (but not
always) organized by family and friends
who have had loved ones fall on hard
times. The list of tragic events and sce
narios is a long one - unexpected medical
issues or accidents, overwhelming med
ical bills, a house fire that destroys every
thing, the loss of a loved one and funeral
expenses, unexpected homelessness, loss
of job or income, single moms who can’t
afford basic needs, and the list continues
to lengthen.
On several occasions we’ve seen such
an outpouring of support from the com
munity that the campaign reaches or ex
ceeds its goal. Even if the goal isn’t met,
when we interview the
person or people the
fundraiser was set up for
there are almost always
tears. Speaking with
someone going through
tragedies most of us can’t
imagine is one of the
most difficult parts of
being a reporter. The per
son’s pain and suffering is
raw, but the gratitude they
express for people who
donated their time,
money, or supplies to help is palpable.
They cry, and we usually cry too.
We’ve all heard it’s impossible to un
derstand something unless you go
through it yourself. This is true, but it’s
not impossible to empathize and show
compassion — and while it’s not every
one, most people want to help people
who need it. GoFundMe has raised $15
billion since its launch in 2010. Their
fundraisers are not limited to campaigns
for people going through hard times, but
it still goes to show that people give. (In
terestingly, two Georgia cities ranked in
GoFundMe’s top 10 for most generous in
the country - Marietta, Ga. ranked # 2
and Alpharetta, Ga. ranked #5. Florida
has four cities in the top 10).
Pickens County cities didn’t make the
most generous list, but we’d stand behind
our community’s generosity any day of
the week.
It s warmed
our hearts
to see the
community
rally around
the people who
need help
Tell us your thoughts with a letter to the editor. E-mail to news@pickensprogress.com
See letter submission guidelines on the Letters to the Editor page or call us 706-253-2457.
Senior Moments
Psycho squirrels
By Mary Migliaro
Some of you may recall
an article I wrote some time
ago about my “squirrel
wars.” I was able to vent
about how they seem to be
taunting me in an effort to
drive me mad. Well, now I’m
sure they are because I have
a few that are clearly psycho
squirrels.
What do I mean? These
squirrels are going above and
beyond anything I have ever
seen or heard about. I have
spent more time doing re
search on how to thwart
them, only to have them
overcome obstacles I place in
their path.
For example, it seems
they like the nectar in my
hummingbird feeder that
hangs from a pole on my
deck railing.
I found one clinging to the
pole and tipping the feeder so
he could drink the nectar! Re
search said to grease the pole
with petroleum jelly to make
it too slippery for them,
which I did. When they could
not get to it, they started
sucking the spilled nectar
from the deck until it finally
dried up. The strategy works
but now I have to go out
every couple of days to
grease it again when the sun
melts it off.
It turns out they also have
been trying to chew through
the line that holds up the reg
ular birdfeeder. It is squirrel-
proof but that hasn’t stopped
them from doing it. More re
search let me know that they
hate tin foil and that when
they try to chew through it,
it’s a lot like when we get a
bit of metal on our teeth and
it’s not pleasant. Now the top
of my squirrel-proof feeder
looks like a TV antenna.
I think that they really just
like the attention. Like a tod
dler, they will do anything
(good or bad) to get my atten
tion. Several times they have
come up to the French door
glass and tried to jump into
the house only to bang the
glass. They do this multiple
times and I think it’s because
they are high on the nectar
sugar!
The list goes on and on.
They have jumped on my hi
biscus tree to chew the leaves
off of it. There are numerous
teeth marks on the steel top
of the birdfeeder where they
have tried to get access to the
seed inside as well as the gal
vanized steel trash can where
the seed is stored. So far, they
don’t seem to like that metal
either.
At this point, they are
making me psycho! If any of
you readers have solutions to
use with psycho squirrels,
please let me know. If this
goes on much longer. I’ll be
taken away by the men in
white coats to a padded cell
somewhere!
[Mary Migliaro is a fre
quent contributor to the
Progress as both a columnist
and with a regular parenting
column. She may be reached
at maiymigliaro@aol.com.]
Spot an
error, let
our editor
know:
dpool@
pickensprogress.com
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457
www.pickensprogressonline.com
DAN POOL
Publisher/Editor
Published each Thursday at Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia.
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#lbe H>d)ciol
Almost one-fifth of Georgia women
of reproductive age lack insurance
By Rebecca Grapevine
Staff Reporter
Capitol Beat
ATLANTA - A new report
from the Georgetown Uni
versity Center for Children
and Families has found that
about 20% of Georgia
women of childbearing age
are uninsured.
The rate of uninsured
women between 18 and 44
years old is one of the highest
in the country, putting Geor
gia in 46th place on a na
tional ranking, the report
said.
Almost half of women of
childbearing age who iden
tify as Latina are uninsured,
the report found. That’s
nearly double the national av
erage.
The report comes as Geor
gia policy makers work to ad
dress improve maternal and
infant health.
In 2020, there were 24.5
maternal deaths in Georgia
per 100,000 live births,
slightly above the national
rate. Maternal mortality rates
are particularly high among
Black women, who face a
rate of 41 deaths per 100,000
live births, the report said.
Some women and infants
can get insurance through
Medicaid and the Children’s
Health Insurance Program
(CHIP), so the report also
looked at how well those pro
grams provide infant and ma
ternal care.
The information reflects
the latest federal data, which
is from 2019, before the pan
demic.
Just above three-quarters
of women on Medicaid or
CHIP are receiving timely
prenatal care, putting Georgia
in 30th place. About two-
thirds of new mothers are
getting adequate postpartum
care.
About 12.1% of new
births covered by the pro
grams are low birthweight
(under 2,500 grams), putting
Georgia 48th in the state
rankings.
And just over two-thirds
of Georgia children on Med
icaid and CHIP are getting all
of their recommended check
ups during the first 15
months of life, the report
said, putting Georgia in 21st
place.
“This report not only
paints a bleak picture of ex
isting health coverage gaps
for all women of reproduc
tive age in Georgia, but also
shows how the state’s poor
performance on maternal and
infant health issues could
lead to widening disparities
in health,” said Joan Alker,
executive director of the
Georgetown University Cen
ter for Children and Families.
“The state’s decision not
to expand Medicaid contin
ues to put the health of its
mothers at risk and under
mines the opportunity for
Georgia’s children to get a
healthy start in life.”
Gov. Brian Kemp and
other Georgia Republican
leaders have remained
staunchly opposed to Medi
caid expansion in the state,
citing its costs. Georgia is
now one of 12 states that
have not expanded Medicaid.
“Traditional Medicaid ex
pansion would cause approx
imately 200,000 people to
lose the ability to purchase
health insurance for free,”
Kemp spokeswoman Katie
Byrd said.
The federal government
this week denied Kemp’s
plan to set up a private health
insurance marketplace in
Georgia. The governor’s plan
would have allowed 50,000
uninsured Georgians to pur
chase private insurance, Byrd
said.
Kemp has taken other
steps to improve women’s
health in the state, Byrd said.
The governor supported
bills to expand postpartum
Medicaid coverage from six
months to one year following
birth and create supportive
housing for pregnant women
and new mothers. He also
added funding to the state’s
budget to support mothers
with cardiovascular condi
tions, Byrd said.
The state Medicaid
agency recently announced it
will provide additional fund
ing to safety-net hospitals
Grady Memorial and Au
gusta University Medical
Center to improve health out
comes, Byrd said.
This story is available
through a news partnership
with Capitol Beat News Serv
ice, a project of the Georgia
Press Educational Founda
tion.
WEATHER
By William Dilbeck
HI
LOW
RAIN
August
09
84
67
.12
August
10
77
66
1.11
August
11
82
66
.14
August
12
83
67
.00
August
13
89
63
.00
August
14
83
65
.00
August
15
84
63
.02
Tt
THE OLD
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creative chef-driven menu, a
full cocktail bar, our signature
mules, and features beer and
wine from Georgia.
(706) 253-3440
OLDMULEHOUSE.COM
QO 2 North Main Street
Jasper, Ga 30143
Open at I I a.m.Wed-Sun
Closed Mon&Tues