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Find an easy guide to local businesses and services in
this week’s edition of the Pike County Journal Reporter.
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PIKE COUNTY
JOURNAL
ONE DOLLAR
www.pikecountygeorgia.com
WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2021
PIKE'S PEEK
Charity Disc
Golftourney
planned
A Charity Disc Golf
Tournament to benefit
a Williamson resident
will be held starting at
2 p.m. Saturday, July
31 at Benson Hilley
Park in Williamson.
The fundraisin
event will include live
bands on city’s stage
in the park, inflatables
and games for local
children and more.
For more informa
tion about the fund
raiser, call 770-227-
8380.
Qualifying for
council seats
upcoming
Qualifying for coun
cil seats in Williamson,
Zebulon and Concord
will be held in the
coming weeks.
The city of William
son is holding a spe
cial called election on
Sept. 21 for the office
of Post 5 city council
member to fill the un
expired term of Brenda
Bennett who resigned
May 6. Qualifying for
the Post 5 seat will
be held from 8 a.m. to
4 p.m. from Monday,
Aug. 2 to Wednesday,
Aug. 4 at Williamson
City Hall.
The city of Wil
liamson will also hold
a general election on
Nov. 2 for the Post 2
and Post 3 council
seats. Qualifying for
those posts will be
held from 8 a.m. to 4
p.m. Monday, Aug. 16
to Tuesday, Aug. 17 at
Williamson City Hall.
See QUALIFYING page 2A
Concord Postmaster retiring after 23 years
BY RACHEL McDANIEL
news@pikecountygeorgia.com
After more than 23
years with the U.S. Postal
Service, Concord Post
master Evelyn Thomp
son has announced her
retirement. A celebration
in her honor will be held
at 10 a.m. Friday, July 30
and everyone is invited
to stop by and wish her
well in her retirement.
She plans to spend more
time with her husband
Marcus Thompson,
her daughters Porsha
Thompson and Jasmine
Brown and enjoy baking
in her kitchen.
“She’s not just a Post
master who tells people
to do the work. She is a
hard worker herself and
she looks out for her
carriers and clerks. She
loves her community and
she loves cooking and
baking cakes and bring
ing food for her friends
at work. Everyone in the
community knows her
really well and she’s a
minister at her church,
Fellowship Missionary
Baptist Church. She
plans to spend more time
with her husband and do
a lot of baking.”
Evelyn started off in
Thomaston and super
vised at Peachtree City
for a short time before
serving the rest of her 23-
year career in Concord.
Jessica Bennett has
worked with her since
2017.
“She and my dad grew
up together and she
encouraged me to work
here at the post office.
She’s a very hard work
ing, very personable
person. She loves every
body and is always doing
something sweet for
someone,” she said.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
At right, Concord Postmaster
Evelyn Thompson is retiring
after 23 years with the U.S.
Postal Service. A celebration
of her retirement will be held
at 10 a.m. Friday, July 30 at
the Concord Post Office.
PHOTO BY DONNA KENNEDY
Wade Walker practices his swing during the Baseball Camp hosted by the Pirates baseball team.
Pirates baseball team hosts camp
Young baseball play
ers 5 to 13 years old
took part in the baseball
camp hosted by the Pike
County High School Pi
rates baseball team.
A total of 77 students
took part in the camp
and learned the funda
mentals of baseball such
as hitting, pitching, field
ing and base running.
PCHS Pirates baseball
players ran each of the
stations the young play
ers went through.See
page 2A for more photos
from the camp.
Pastor’s motion on deaf resources
highlights ‘tremendous need’
SPECIAL PHOTOS
Above, John Blackmon (center) of Meansville Baptist Church
addresses the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention about the
need for resources to minister to deaf citizens. Below, pastor
John Blackmon, his wife Cheryl and their two children Lillie Jo
and Josiah Blackmon live in Meansville.
BY SCOTT BARKLEY
Baptist Press
John Blackmon’s fa
ther-in-law couldn’t hear
the message, but its bold
ness and life-changing
capability rang through
loud and clear two weeks
before he died.
Blackmon’s wife,
Cheryl, had already been
praying for and sharing
the gospel with her father
before she and John
married 12 years ago.
Cheryl’s mother was a
Christian, but her father
had continued to reject
Christ. John learned
some American Sign
Language (ASL) basics
and joined the task with
his wife, who could speak
in ASL before she could
talk. Ultimately, Cheryl’s
father came to a saving
knowledge of Jesus.
Blackmon, pastor
of Meansville Baptist
Church cited the personal
connection as one of the
reasons he introduced a
motion at the 2021 South
ern Baptist Convention
(SBC) annual meeting last
month that more re
sources for Deaf ministry
be made available for
Southern Baptists.
“The amount of lost
people in this country
who are deaf is abysmal,”
he said. “It’s unaccept
able. We need to be doing
all we can not only to
reach deaf people but re
source and equip others
to reach them as well.”
Blackmon’s motion
called on Lifeway Chris
tian Resources and the
North American Mis
sion Board (NAMB) “to
research and report
on the feasibility of a
partnership to produce
and provide access to
resources for existing
deaf ministries and future
work among deaf people
in the United States.”
Messengers accepted the
motion, which came to
include the International
Mission Board as well as
NAMB. The two entities
will produce a report
for the 2022 SBC annual
meeting in Anaheim.
Blackmon developed
a meaningful friendship
while waiting at micro
phone No. 5 to deliver
his motion as he became
acquainted with Joel
Vancil, pastor of Turkey
Branch Baptist Church in
Springfield, Ga.
See DEAF page 2A
Prayer Walk set for
Saturday, Aug. 7
The annual School
Prayer Walk for Pike
County will start at 9
a.m. Saturday, Aug. 7 in
front of the Ninth Grade
Academy building on
Highway 19 in Zebulon
and all are invited to
attend.
The annual event is
sponsored by the Pike
County Christian Minis
terial Association.
“This is an important
event for our students,
teachers, staff, bus
drivers and school
administration,” said
Prayer Power of Georgia
chaplain Ben Maxedon.
“Please join us as we
walk and ride around
the school campus and
administration build
ings praying for the well
being of all that enter
the campus for the com
ing school year.”
The Prayer Walk will
be held outside so there
is no problem with
social distancing.
“If you have children
in the schools or not,
your prayers are still
needed. This year we
need to have an over
whelming community
turnout,” said Maxedon.
“We look forward to
seeing you at the Prayer
Walk.
PHOTO BY RACHEL McDANIEL / PIKE COUNTY JOURNAL REPORTER
The annual Pike County School Prayer Walk will be held
starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 7 in front of the Ninth
Grade Academy building on Highway 19 south in Zebulon.
State unemployment rate
drops to 4.0 as jobs increase
Governor Brian P.
Kemp recently ap
plauded Georgia’s
unemployment rate
which dropped for the
fourteenth straight
month since April 2020.
The unemployment rate
dropped from 4.1% in
May 2021 to 4.0% for
the month of June. The
national unemployment
average is 5.9%.
“Georgia’s economic
momentum continues
as jobs increase and
our unemployment
rate remains the lowest
of the most populous
states,” said Governor
Kemp. “While the media
and their partisan allies
falsely attacked Geor
gia’s approach to com
batting the COV1D-19
pandemic, protecting
both lives and liveli
hoods during unprec
edented times is paying
off for countless Peach
State families. Our
world-class business
environment is attract
ing jobs and investment
from across the country
and around the world,
and more hardworking
Georgians are re-enter
ing the workforce.”
In Pike County, the
unemployment rate for
May was 2.8, slightly
up from 2.7 in April,
but down considerably
from 7.1 in May of 2020.
For the month of May,
there were 8,912 in the
workforce in Pike with
8,660 employed and
252 unemployed. The
unemployment rate for
surrounding counties in
May was 4.0 in Lamar,
4.5 in Spalding, 5.0 in
Meriwether and 4.0 in
Upson.
The number of jobs
statewide was up 32,800
in June, and up 464,000
since businesses began
shutting their doors due
to COV1D 19.
The labor force
increased 3,000 over the
month to over 5.1 mil
lion, up 178,000 since
April 2020. Georgia’s
employed residents
in June saw a monthly
increase of 8,000, up
592,000 since April of
last year to 4,956,857.
The number of unem
ployed dropped 5,000
from May to June to
208,033, down 414,000
since the beginning of
the pandemic.
