Newspaper Page Text
SHINING
LIGHT
Car show boosts funds
given through Riley
Nuce scholarships.
See page 1B
COUNTY
REPORTER
ONE DOLLAR
www.pikecountygeorgia.com
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2023
PIKE'S PEEK
Don't miss the
Concord Bike
Parade July 4
Every July 4, young
sters in the Concord
area get ready for the
Children’s Bike Parade
through downtown by
decorating their bikes
and proudly wearing
red, white and blue.
This year’s event will
be held Tuesday, July 4
with lineup in front of
the Concord City Hall
starting at 9:45 a.m.
“Please wear your
most patriotic clothes
and pets are welcome
and encouraged,” said
parade organizer Che-
rie Holmes. “All types
of bikes, trikes, scoot
ers and wagons are
welcome and we loved
to see them decked
out with patriotic
decorations. Please do
not bring motorized
vehicles, motorcycles,
etc. Refreshments will
be served after the
parade at the pavilion.”
Prizes will be award
ed for three different
age categories, includ
ing 1 to 3 years old, 4
to 8 years old and 9 to
13 years old.
Ricky Skaggs, Callista Clark to
play Freedom Festival June 25
SPECIAL PHOTO
Above left, Pike County’s Callista Clark has toured the U.S. and
overseas and she will return home to perform June 25. Above
right, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder will also perform at
Freedom Festival in Zebulon which is hosted by Christ Chapel.
BY RACHEL McDANIEL
news@pikecountygeorgia.com
The Freedom Festival
June 25 at Christ Chapel
Community Church will
feature Pike’s own Callista
Clark as well as County
Music Hall of Famer Ricky
Skaggs and Kentucky
Thunder in concert.
“This will be a family
fun night! We will have
food trucks, kid activities,
concert and fireworks,”
said pastor Billy Smith.
“We have our hometown
girl Callista Clark and the
legendary Ricky Skaggs
and Kentucky Thunder
who will put on a phenom
enal concert. The gates
will open at 5 p.m. You
will need to bring a chair
to sit in.”
Callista started sing
ing and playing music as
a young girl and can now
play eight instruments.
Callista Clark made
waves with her first album
Real to Me in 2021 and
her debut single It’s Cause
1 Am hit the top 17 for
Country Radio. She was
on Billboard’s 21 under 21
list two years in a row and
was the youngest to be
named one of CMT’s Next
Women of Country for the
Class of 2022.
See FREEDOM FEST page 3A
Charges filed
in death of
disabled man
On May 19, 2023
deputies from the
Pike County Sheriff’s
Office responded to
a report of a person
who was un
responsive at
681 Whitfield
Walk. Depu
ties located
a male, 40
years of age,
in the base
ment of the
residence. He
was deceased
and was iden
tified as Den
nis Robert
son. He was a
handicapped
person who
required
special care
for his condi
tion and was
unable to
take care of
himself on a
daily basis. The inte
rior of the residence
was noted by inves
tigators to be filthy
and unkempt. It was
determined that Rob
ertson was primarily
kept in the basement
by his caregivers,
Michael Hammond
and Fauri Parker. The
preliminary investi
gation revealed the
victim had
spent a large
amount of
his time
inside of one
room in the
basement in
which the
door had
been modi
fied to lock
from the out
side, thereby
containing
him.
Michael
Hammond,
46 years
of age, and
Fauri Parker,
59 years of
age, were
arrested
and charged
with neglect of a
disabled adult. The
investigation cur
rently continues into
the death of Mr. Ham
mond.
See DEATH page 3A
LAURI PARKER
South Atlanta Daylily Club in full bloom
The South Atlanta
Daylily Society bloomed
big as they hosted their
first AHS sanctioned
show and Daylily Festi
val less than a year after
the group was founded
in Pike County. The
Daylily Festival brought
around 750 visitors
to Sunny D Farms on
Wednesday, June 7 as
the First Baptist Church
Griffin Ukulele Ensemble
provided live musi
cal entertainment and
many food trucks and
vendors filled the lawns.
“As our club is only
11 months in existence,
holding an AHS sanc
tioned show in such a
short time is unheard
of. We are honored to
have such an energet
ic, fun and enthusiastic
group of daylily lovers
uniting to pull off a
world class event,” said
Matthew Stafford, vice
president of South
Atlanta
Daylily
Society.
“Next year
is going to be
even bigger
and better!”
There
were a
total of
159 day-
lily scapes
exhib
ited in the
show and
they were
judged
by Joann
Stewart, Gail Knight
and Bruce Alsup. The
Daylily Show itself was
attended by 217 visi
tors from near and far.
Best in Show honors
went to James Riddle
for Fairhope Favender
Tower. The People’s
Choice Award was
selected by visitors
to the show and was
earned by Jonathan
McDaniel with Topguns
Her Majesty.
The Best in Section
for Division 1, Section
PHOTOS BY RACHEL McDANIEL
More than 750 people visited the Daylily Festival hosted by
Society at Sunny D Farms. Below, Torin Kelley earned a red
1, Group F was Carry’s
Twilight Bite by Mat
thew Stafford. The Best
in Section for Division
1, Section 2, Group T
was Tidewater
Elf by James
Mullins. The
Best in Sec
tion for
Divi
sion 1,
Section
3, Group C
was Canary
Heights
by James
Mullins.
/ PIKE COUNTY JOURNAL REPORTER
the South Atlanta Daylily
ribbon in the youth division.
Jonathan McDaniel earned the
People’s Choice Award with
Topguns Her Majesty.
The Best
in Sec
tion for
Division
1, Section
4, Group B was Bob
on My Mind by James
Mullins. The Best in
Section for Division 1,
Section 5, Group D was
Double Yellow Cream
Puff by James Mullins.
The Best in Section
for Division 1, Section
6, Group R was Red
Icicles by Jack Brock.
The Best in Section for
Division 1, Section 7,
Group F was Fairhope
Favender Tower by
James Riddle. The Best
in Section for Division
1, Section 8, Group T
was The Hunter by An
gelina Ward. The Best
in Section for Division
1, Section 9, Group 3
was SEEDF1NG by Jack
Brock. The Sweep-
steaks was earned by
James Mullins. Mat
thew Stafford earned
the SADS Award with
Carry’s Twilight Bite.
The inaugural Day-
lily Festival and Show
included more than 20
arts and crafts vendors
with many flowers and
daylily items as well as
five food trucks.
The South Atlanta
Daylily Society meets
every third Thursday
of the month at 7 p.m.
at The Country Estate
- Williamson at 447
Rivers Road in William
son. To find out more,
follow the club on Face-
book at South Atlanta
Daylily Society, Inc.
“Save the date. The
second annual South At
lanta Daylily Festival will
be held Thursday, June
6, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m.,” said Stafford. “Ven
dor spots are available
and are already filling up
extremely quickly. Con
tact me at 706-333-3563
or email sadsdaylilies@
gmail.com.”
PHOTO BY APRIL WHEELESS
PCHS Pirates alum Blake Parrott
is the new head coach of the base
ball team. He is pictured with his
son Grayson and his fiance, PCHS
softball alum Marley Stowers.
Blake Parrott
takes helm
of Pirates
baseball
The Pirates baseball
program was set on a strong
course by coach Don Hanson
who recently retired after
20 years of coaching the
team and his assistant coach
Blake Parrott will now take
the helm. Coach Parrott is a
Pike County High School and
Pirates baseball alum who has
been an assistant coach for
seven seasons and helped the
team as they earned six back-
to-back region championships
and two state championships.
“We all are committed to
making each student athlete,
not just the best player, but
the best person they can be.
We realize they all are not go
ing to get drafted and become
a professional athlete, but
they will one day become
husbands, fathers and con
tributors to society and that
is what we want them to be
most successful at. Baseball
is a game of life and teaches
us how to respond to failure.
We say all the time that we
either win or we learn. I just
hope that we are teaching
them what is the most impor
tant thing in life and that it
isn’t winning a game, but win
ning at life is putting God first
in all that we do,” said Blake.
See BASEBALL page 3A
