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THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS. WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 13. 2008 - PAGE 7B
Honoring
A Hero
Several mem
bers of the
Jackson County
Volunteers camp
#94 of the Sons
of Confederate
Veterans recently
made a visit to
General James
Longstreet’s
gravesite at Alta
Vista Cemetery in
Gainesville. Camp
members placed
a Confederate
flag on his grave.
Left to right are
Randy Evans,
Mike Bowen, Steve
Satterfield, James
Willis and his son,
C.J. Willis.
'Backyard Bird Count' Set This Weekend
The Great Backyard Bird Count
returns for its 11th season Feb.
15-18. The National Audubon
Society Cornell Laboratory of
Ornithology and the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources’
Wildlife Resources Division invite
everyone to count birds with a
buddy throughout Georgia this
winter.
“Bird enthusiasts of all ages can
share their love of birds with a
friend, a child, a scout troop, a
class or a co-worker, opening new
eyes to the joy of birding and the
fun of creating a unique snap
shot of winter bird abundance
and distribution across the conti
nent," said Tim Keyes, a Wildlife
Resources wildlife biologist and
member of the Atlanta Audubon
Society.
Every pair of eyes is needed and
every bird counts, whether in a
backyard, on a high-rise balcony,
in a park or on any of Georgia’s
publicly owned lands.
In 2007, Georgia ranked fourth
in North America for the total
number of checklists submitted
to the Great Backyard Bird Count
(3,989 checklists). Georgia birders
young and young-at-heart docu
mented 223 species and more
than 280,468 individual birds,
ranking fifth and 10th respectively
in North America. Other rankings
for our state include localities
submitting the most checklists —
Atlanta was sixth with 339 check
lists — and localities reporting the
most species — Savannah ranked
third with 155 species.
People often wonder what
concrete steps they can take to
help wildlife, said Keyes. This is
a great opportunity for birders of
all skill levels to contribute data
to nationwide monitoring that is
an important component of bird
conservation efforts. The Great
Backyard Bird Count is also a
great gateway into other citizen
science programs, such as Project
Feeder Watch, Christmas Bird
Counts and the Breeding Bird
Survey. These counts have the
potential to trigger a lifelong pas
sion for birds.
In 2007, Great Backyard Bird
Count participants from through
out the United States and Canada
made history, breaking records
for the number of birds reported
and the number of checklists.
Participants sent in 81,203 check
lists tallying 11,082,387 birds of
613 species. These millions of
sightings generate what would be
impossible otherwise — continent
wide information about where the
birds are and how their numbers
compare with previous years.
Everyone can participate, from
beginning bird watchers to sea
soned experts. During the count,
bird watchers tally up birds for
as little as 15 minutes or for as
CASAblanca Night Set
For Saturday, March 8
The third annual CASAblanca
Night will be held at 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 8, in the Jefferson
Civic Center.
A buffet, beer, wine and $5,000
in play money are included in
the ticket price of $60. This year’s
ticket also includes a chance to
win a trip to Mexico.
“Friends, music and trivia will
round out a wonderful evening
Nicholson Cub
Scout Group
To Hold Reunion
All former members and lead
ers of Boy Scouts Pack 86 of the
Nicholson area are invited to a
reunion in honor of Hoyt Smith
and G.W. Wilson.
The reunion will be at 2 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 23, at Antioch
United Methodist Church in
Nicholson. Please RSVP to
Sammy Looney by e-mail at
slooney@cadet.com or phone at
770-540-5821.
that supports a great cause," orga
nizers say. “Remember, all pro
ceeds from your ticket will act
as a donation to assist Piedmont
CASA in providing volunteers for
children in foster care."
Tickets are available at PakMail,
the Superior Court Clerk’s office
and Piedmont CASA.
706-354-1539 • Epps Bridge Pkwy.
(Across from Super WalMart)
Headmaster’s
Corner
by
Buhl Cummings
MONEY...Here is a portion of a
note received recently from ACS
parents. “We feel truly blessed to
have our children at ACS and are
thankful for the impact on our
children, not only academically,
but spiritually as well.
We would like to let you know
what an incredible impact Mr.
Brian Cook has had on our son.
He is a freshman and had Mr.
Cook for Economics. Mr. Cook
did an amazing job of teaching
him the value of a dollar. He
taught him many good principles
of dealing with money.”
Thank you, parents, for sharing
this with us.
ATHENS
CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
“Affordable Quality Education Since 1970 ”
K3-12TH CALL (706) 549-7586
www.athenschristian.com
long as they like, keeping track of
the highest number of each bird
species they see together at any
one time. People are encouraged
to report birds from public lands
and local parks, as well as from
their backyards. Participants enter
their numbers online at www.bird-
count.org and can explore sight
ings maps, lists and charts as the
count progresses.
For more than a decade, the
Great Backyard Bird Count has
kept tabs on the ever-changing
patterns of birds in winter. In
2007, the count documented the
westward expansion of red-bel
lied woodpeckers into Colorado
and the Texas Panhandle. The
count also documented the larg
est robin roost to date in Florida,
with more than a million indi
viduals, and continued to track
the meteoric rise of the Eurasian
collar ed-dove.
“This project has become a
major source of scientific infor
mation about North American
bird populations," said Dr. John
Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell
Laboratory of Ornithology. “It is a
classic example of the vital role
citizens and the Internet now play
in understanding our planet."
Participants who want to hone
their bird-watching skills can learn
more from the Great Backyard
Bird Count web site at www.bird-
source.org/gbbc, which offers
identification tips and access to
photos, sounds, maps and natu
ral history information on more
than 500 bird species. People can
also submit photos to an online
gallery showcasing the dazzling
array of winter birds found during
the bird count.
The Great Backyard Bird Count
is a free event, sponsored in part
by Wild Birds Unlimited. Visit
www.birdcount.org to find out
how you can promote the count
in your town and download a free
2008 poster.
Laura Ann Turner To
Marry Jason Greathouse
Chris and Ann Turner of
Braselton announce the engage
ment and forthcoming marriage
of their daughter, Laura Ann
Turner, Statesboro, to Jason Ray
Greathouse of Oakwood, son of
Randy and Barbara Greathouse
of Braselton.
The wedding is planned for
12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 21,
at The Payne Corley-House,
Decatur.
The bride is the granddaugh
ter of Rosie Elliott, Gainesville,
and Jean Turner, Decatur. She is
the great-granddaughter of Mary
Swaim, Gainesville.
MissTurner is a 2004 graduate of
Jackson County Comprehensive
High School. She is an account
ing student at Georgia Southern
University.
The groom is the grandson of
Alice Everson, Braselton.
Mr. Greathouse is a 2001 gradu
ate of West Hall High School.
He is employed at Multicell
Packaging Inc., Lawrenceville.
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