Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 2. 2023 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 7A
Rural Georgians suffer more
from mental health issues
PHS students beat national ACT average
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - Most calls
from Georgians to a national
mental health crisis hotline
launched last year have come
from rural areas of the state,
particularly counties in
South Georgia, a state mental
health official said Thursday.
The comparatively large
volume of calls from rural
Georgians to the 988 number
since the hotline went live in
July 2022 dovetails with a
significantly higher number
of suicides reported in rural
Georgia, Ashley Fielding, an
assistant commissioner with
the state Department of Be
havioral Health and Devel
opmental Disabilities, told
members of the Georgia
House Rural Development
Council meeting at Georgia
Southern University in
Statesboro.
Suicides in rural Georgia
have increased by 66% in the
last 20 years, she said.
Fielding suggested the
higher number of rural Geor
gians experiencing mental
health issues who reach out
to the hotline is due to the
combination of a lack of
mental health-care resources
in rural counties and the
stigma rural residents feel
about seeking help.
“Anecdotally, we know
access to outpatient services
is limited in rural Georgia ...
(and there’s) a reluctance to
accept and reach out for
care,” she said.
Fielding said her agency
has stepped up during the
last two fiscal years with
$6.2 million for mental
health crisis mobile response
teams. This year’s budget
also includes $10 million for
the crisis center in Dublin
and $7 million for the center
in Augusta, she said.
The department also is
using $2 million to conduct a
statewide listening tour to
hear from farmers and faith
leaders on how mental health
issues are affecting their
communities.
Friendship Force to welcome group from San Antonio;
invites new members to find out more about club
By Mary Ellen Johnson
Publicity Chair
Friendship Force
The Big Canoe/North
Georgia Friendship Force is
an active organization in
North Georgia with about 50
members. We belong to
Friendship Force Interna
tional, a worldwide group
united in promoting global
understanding across the bar
riers that separate people - A
World of Friends is a World
of Peace.
Through home-hosting
and meaningful travel expe
riences, participants learn
about other cultures, develop
a better understanding of our
world, and discover our
shared humanity. The world
conference in Dubrovnik,
Croatia was held in early Oc
tober and attended by several
of our members.
The 2023 Meetings have
been held at the Beach Club
in Big Canoe, Fuego’s in
Marble Hill, the Windermere
Clubhouse in Gumming, pri
vate homes near Gumming
and Ellijay (Carter’s Lake),
the Golden Palace restaurant
in Gumming, the Canton Ice
house, the Farewell Party for
San Antonio at the Beach
Club, and the upcoming Hol
iday Party at a private home
in Canton.
We welcome visitors to
our meetings - let Bob An
derson, Membership Chair,
know you are coming to get
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Saturday, Nov. 4th
9 a.m. to ?
Four Mile
Baptist Church
Four Mile Church Road
(off Hwy. 53 E.)
Marble Hill
Proceeds benefiting the church
(Rain Date November 11th)
National Average
Pickens High’s Average
English
18.6
19.4
Mathematics
19.0
20
Reading
20.1
21.2
Science
19.6
21.6
Composite
19.5
20.6
By Jennifer Wilson
Communications
Specialist
Pickens School District
Pickens High’s class of
2023 beat the national av
erage on the ACT, with the
district’s highest scores in
science. Pickens High’s
class of 2023 recorded an
average composite score of
20.6, compared to the na
tional average of 19.5.
“Pickens High students,
parents, community and
business members should
be proud of our ACT
scores,” said Superintend
ent Dr. Travis Thomas.
“Being college and career
ready is one of our goals to
have every student en
rolled, enlisted, or em
ployed upon graduation.
We will continue working
hard to ensure every stu
dent has access to a strong
education that will open ACT scores mirror its
doors to a successful fu- strong SAT results released
ture.”
The ACT is taken in lieu
of or along with the SAT,
and the Class of 2023’s
earlier this fall.
South Cherokee/Jasper
Driver Improvement Clinic, Inc. #2102
1623 East Church Street* Jasper, Georgia 30143
NEW DRIVER EDUCATION
(30/6 Joshua’s Law)
DEFENSIVE DRIVING
(6 Hour Course)
DUI-RISK REDUCTION
(20 Hour Course)
Registration/Assessments
Tuesdays & Thursdays 11am to 7pm
All Classes meet Georgia State Requirements
CLASSES FORMING NOW
www.SouthCherokee.com 706-692-1632 or 770-928-3679
The Friendship Force group in San Antonio welcomes
Big Canoe ambassadors on an earlier visit. Now the San
Antonio ambassadors will visit here.
a pass into Big Canoe
(bobanderson48@wind-
stream.net).
Some of our members had
a wonderful time in San An
tonio last fall, and our Club is
hosting 14 members of the
San Antonio Club for 5
nights November 1-5. They
will stay at homes in Big
Canoe, Gumming, Bent Tree
and Lake Arrowhead. Small
group dinners will be held at
other homes in the area on
Sat. night, Nov. 4. Activities
include a Welcome and
Farewell Party, the Booth
Museum, the Funk Museum,
Chateau Meichtry, Bigun’s
BBQ, Gibbs Gardens, South
ern Museum of Civil War &
Locomotive History, the Var
sity at Town Center, Kenne-
saw Mountain
Battlefield/Museum, a pon
toon boat ride at Big Canoe,
and catered dinner (Southern
fare) and music by Bill
Pound at the Farewell Party.
There will also be a free
morning for hosts’ and am
bassadors’ individual activi
ties. Besides the hosts, day
hosts spell the home hosts
when needed. It will be a
busy 5 nights with plenty of
delicious food in the beauti
ful north Georgia fall!
An Inbound Journey from
the Tallahassee Club is
scheduled for May 2024, and
2 Outbound Journeys for
Calgary, Canada June 2024
and Salt Lake City Sept.
2024, and possibly an Open
World hosting in Fall 2024.
Saturday
November 4
Downtown Tate
1. Handmade Arts & Crafts 9 a.m. till 4 p.m.
2. Restored Tate Depot 9 a.m. till 4 p.m.
3. Tate Day Parade 10 a.m. till 11 a.m.
4. Load Buses for Marble Quarry Tours
(11 a.m. till 3 p.m. $5.00)
Historic Tate Gvm
1. Bigun’s BBQ lunch 11 a.m. till 2 p.m.
($10.00 call 770-735-2564 for reservations)
2. Cake Bake-Off Tasting 11 a.m. till 1 p.m.
3. Drawings 3 p.m.
Tate Elementary School
Only full time marble school in America
(1:00 p.m. till 3 p.m.)
ETC is requesting
bids for Landscaping
and Mowing at our
properties across our
service area including
Polk County Tennessee, Fannin, Gilmer,
Pickens, Cherokee and Dawson counties
in Georgia.
To receive a comprehensive bid package
please contact Frankie Rigdon, ETC VP
of Operations by email: frankier@etcnow.
com or phone: 706-697-5557.
Bids will be accepted between October
15, 2023 to November 15, 2023.
D0NT VOTE CRAZY.
MONEY!