THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2025 - PAGE 5A
Social
Iree giveaway program
now underway in Comer
The Perch, a non-prof
it community center in
Comer, was recently
awarded $100,000 to
plant and maintain tree
cover in Comer, increas
ing community access to
nature while also helping
to take care of our envi
ronment. The Perch will
implement this project
in partnership with the
Comer Community Mar
ket, the City of Comer
and the Comer chapter of
Tree City, USA.
As a result of this fund
ing, residents in Comer
and the immediate sur
rounding areas will have
access to improved green
spaces and a community
orchard. There will also
be an opportunity for
community members to
get free trees to plant on
their own property.
The grant will fund na
tive shade trees and fruit
trees. A “wish list” is be
ing compiled at the Com
er Community Market on
Saturday mornings from
9 a.m. to noon, and com
munity members are in
vited to stop by and add
their names to the list.
Trees will be available in
the fall.
“Trees help keep com
munities cooler during
the summer, and help
the ground absorb more
rainfall during severe
storms,” said Corina
Common, manager of
the Comer Community
Market. “Trees can also
increase access to fresh
seasonal fruit and be a
great way for people of
all ages to connect to
nature and for our com
munity to be more resil
ient.”
“This feels like an espe
cially important time for
the collective tree health
of our community,” she
continued. “Big trees are
falling in storms, power
companies are clearing
around lines and summer
days are so very hot. As
a community, we can be
mindful about what we
plant in our yards and
make our streets better
for us, nature and future
generations.”
This project is part of
the Rooting Resilience
Kel-Mac Saddle Club
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1 -
From left, Jim Cumming, scholarship sponsor, and Valerie Puryear, scholarship chair, stand
with scholarship recipients Kyra Barber on User Friendly, Nicole Galloway on Flash, and
Kallie Casey on Can I Be a Cowgirl during the Kel-Mac Saddle Club horse show in May.
Kel-Mac Saddle
Club awards scholarships,
announces upcoming events
Three young equestrians were each
awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the
Barbara Reilly Cumming Memorial
Scholarship Fund during the May Kel-
Mac Saddle Club horse show.
Nicole Galloway, Kallie Casey and
Kyra Barber received the awards for
their dedication and involvement in Kel-
Mac.
• Galloway, who has shown with Kel-
Mac for more than 10 years, is current
ly enrolled in a medical assistant pro
gram and plans to continue pursuing her
horsemanship goals.
• Casey, also a longtime Kel-Mac par
ticipant, is enrolled at Georgia Military
College and hopes to share her equestri
an knowledge with others.
• Barber has shown with the club for
four years and plans a career in equine
dentistry and chiropractic care.
The scholarship honors the late Bar
bara Cumming, a vital member of the
Kel-Mac Saddle Club for 40 years. An
accomplished horsewoman, Cumming
helped organize club events, horse
shows, trail rides and camping trips. Do
nations to the scholarship fund can be
sent to Kel-Mac Saddle Club, PO Box
5474, Athens, GA 30604.
ABOUT KEL-MAC SADDLE CLUB
The Kel-Mac Saddle Club is Georgia’s
longest-running saddle club and hosts
four family- and beginner-friendly horse
shows each year, along with monthly
trail rides, camping trips, and educa
tional workshops. All contributions to
the club’s programs are raised through
shows and sponsorships.
Program, led by River
Network and funded by
the Urban and Commu
nity Forestry Program
of the Forest Service, an
agency of the U.S. De
partment of Agriculture.
Rooting Resilience sup
ports community-based
forestry projects by fund
ing programs and offer
ing technical guidance to
local organizations and
Indigenous communities,
helping build resilience
against climate change.
This program is specif
ically meant to increase
trees in communities that
are marginalized, under-
served and overburdened
by pollution and underin
vestment.
To learn more about
how this program will
benefit Comer, visit
the Comer Community
Market on Saturdays be
tween 9 a.m. and noon,
at The Perch located at
1914 Madison St. More
information can also be
obtained by contacting
treesincomer@gmail.
com or farmersmarket-
comer@gmail.com.
Remaining 2025 show dates include
Sept. 20 and Oct. 25, which will fea
ture the annual horse and rider costume
contest. Shows are held at the Morgan
County Agricultural Center, 2380 Ath
ens Highway (U.S. 441), Madison, GA
30650.
The events are open to riders of all
ages and experience levels. Classes are
$12 each and include hunter, western,
gaited, trail obstacles, ranch riding,
ranch reining, dressage on the rail, hal-
ter/showmanship, and “small fry” class
es.
General admission is free, and food
and drinks are available from on-site
concessions.
Over the past 49 years, Kel-Mac has
raised more than $170,000 for charitable
causes, including:
• Georgia Equine Rescue League
•ReDux Equine Rescue
• Sweet Olive Rescue
• Morgan County Empty Stocking
Fund
•Barbara Cumming Scholarship Fund
Equestrian facilities at state and local
parks, such as Hard Labor Creek, A.H.
Stephens, and Heritage Park
UPCOMING EVENT
Join Kel-Mac for a Meet & Greet Trail
Ride on Oct. 4 at the scenic ReDux Res
cue Farm. To reserve your lunch or for
more information, contact Sharon Wood
at bullet2525@aol.com.
Monthly day rides and camping trips
are also planned throughout the year. For
full details, visit Kel-Mac on Facebook,
Instagram or kel-mac.com.
News
JACKSON
SISU of Georgia
Submitted photo
A $8,790 Jackson EMC Foundation grant to SISU of Georgia will help it provide education
al, therapeutic, nursing and family support services for children. At the check presentation
were, from left to right: Jennifer Agnew, lead teacher, classroom 1 of SISU of Georgia; Carla
Brewer, family services coordinator for SISU of Georgia; Jana Hutson, principal of SISU
of Georgia; Blythe Hammons, executive director of SISU of Georgia; David Lee, Jackson
EMC Gainesville district manager; Phillippa Lewis-Moss, Jackson EMC Foundation board
member; Megan Denington, occupational therapist at SISU of Georgia; and Kenny Lump
kin, Jackson EMC Foundation representative.
Rep. Mike Collins’
PERMIT Act passes the
House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee
On July 25, House Transportation and
Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water
Resources and Infrastructure Chairman
Mike Collins (R-GA) announced that H.R.
3898, PERMIT Act, had passed the Trans
portation and Infrastructure Committee.
H.R. 3898, the Promoting Efficient
Review for Modern Infrastructure To
day (PERMIT) Act, is led by Water Re
sources and Environment Subcommittee
Chairman Mike Collins and Committee
Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and in
corporates many separate proposals that
had been previously introduced by Col
lins and other T&I Committee members.
The provisions included in this combined
legislation provide reforms intended to
strengthen the permitting process for per
mit seekers and holders, while providing
clearer instruction and standards for per
mitting agencies.
“The PERMIT Act delivers much-need
ed reform to the Clean Water Act that will
overhaul permitting processes and reduce
burdens on permit seekers. As we enter a
JEMC Foundation awards
$24K to agencies serving
Madison County residents
The Jackson EMC Founda
tion board of directors award
ed a total of $101,633 in grants
for organizations during its
recent meeting, including
$24,593 to organizations serv
ing Madison County.
Grants awarded to county
organizations included:
• $8,303 to Love. Craft Ath
ens, which serves adults with
developmental disabilities for
its music therapy program for
residents in Clarke, Jackson
and Madison counties.
• $8,790 to SISU of Geor
gia, Inc., Gainesville, which
serves children through in
novative educational, ther
apeutic, nursing and family
support services for its Thera-
suit program for residents
in Banks, Hall, Jackson and
Madison counties.
• $7,500 to Mercy Health
Center, Inc., Athens, which
provides healthcare services
for underserved residents
in Barrow, Clarke, Jackson,
Madison and Oglethorpe
counties to cover lab fees.
Jackson EMC Foundation
grants are made possible by
the 221,697 participating co-
operative members who have
their monthly electric bills
rounded to the next dollar
amount through the Operation
Round Up program. Their
“spare change” has funded
Region, state see slight
rise in May unemployment
The Georgia Department of Labor an
nounced Thursday, June 26, that unem
ployment increased slightly in all 12 of
Georgia’s regional commissions in May.
“Georgia’s strength isn’t measured in
single months — it’s proven over time,”
said Georgia Labor Commissioner Bar
bara Rivera Holmes. “Even with slight
unemployment increases throughout
Georgia’s regions in May, most of our
metropolitan areas are showing lower
unemployment than a year ago. That
resilience reflects our modern, adaptive
workforce, which is what keeps Georgia
the No. 1 state for business in today’s
new era witli a renewed focus on domestic
energy production and growth, this legis
lation delivers the tools that our country
needs to build faster, smarter and safer,”
said Collins. “When I was appointed as
Chairman of the Water Resources and En
vironment Subcommittee, I put myself on
a mission to make our government more
efficient and productive for the American
people. Witli Chairman Graves’ leader
ship, and all members who introduced
proposals, I am proud to say that we are
doing just that witli the PERMIT Act.”
“This bill will unleash America’s power
to build by cutting red tape, streamlining
permitting processes, and providing reg
ulatory certainty, all while continuing to
protect clean water,” said Graves. “The
legislation does not overhaul or roll back
the Clean Water Act; it instead makes
targeted reforms to the law informed by
on-the-ground feedback. I want to thank
Chairman Collins and my other Commit
tee members for their excellent work and
contributions to this legislation.”
2,054 grants to organizations
and 437 grants to individuals,
putting more than $21.7 mil
lion back into local communi
ties since the program began
in 2005.
Any individual or chari
table organization in the ten
counties served by Jackson
EMC (Clarke, Banks, Bar-
row, Franklin, Gwinnett, Hall,
Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison
and Oglethorpe) may apply
for a Foundation grant by
completing an application,
available online at jack-
sonemc.com/foundation-ap-
ply. Applicants do not need
to be a member of Jackson
EMC.
competitive, global marketplace.”
Highlights from the Northeast Georgia
Regional Commission area include:
• The unemployment rate was up two-
tenths to 3.1% over-the-month, The rate
was 3.3% one year ago.
• The labor force was down 1,116 over-
the-month and down 1,241 over-the-
year, to 346,924.
• The number of employed was down
2,033 over-the-month and down 566
over-the-year, to 336,022.
• Initial claims were down 129 over-
the-month and down 82 over-the-year,
to 930.
