The Paper December 25, 2014

CMYK Thursday, December 25, 2014

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Villages are Chalmers family tradition. 3B

Finalists for Jefferson manager picked

By LEANNE AKIN

lakin@clickthepaper.com

The City of Jefferson has narrowed its selection for city manager to two from nine initially interviewed for the position.

Ben C. Andrews III, the community development director of Americus, and Jason Tinsley, the county administrator for the Wayne County Board of Commissioners, are the finalists, according to Mayor Roy Plott, who had previously announced that 59 had made application for the city manager’s job.

“Both of the individuals are very dynamic,” said Plott, who noted that either of the men would make a good city manager for Jefferson. He said plans are being made to have the finalists in town the week of Jan 5, 2015, to tour the community, talk with department directors and be interviewed by the city council.

City council gets committee recommendation of Ben Andrews and Jason Tinsley from field of nine Andrews has worked for the city of Americus in the southwestern county of Sumter since 2010. He manages an annual budget of approximately $500,000 and oversees the staff of the Community Development Department, Cemetery Department and Transit Department and works closely with the Downtown Development Authority and the Tourism Council.

Andrews was selected as one of the top four members of Rural Leader Magazine’s inaugural “40 under 40” class and he is an active member of the Americus Rotary Club.

In his letter to Plott and the city council, Andrews said, “I am a creative thinker, skilled at coming up with innovative but practical

solutions to various challenges. I excel in a collaborative working environment, but can also work independently.

“I am excited at the prospect of working for a city that has experienced the growth that Jefferson has over the past decade. With my experience, drive and enthusiasm, I will contribute to the city’s continued growth and success,” said Andrews.

Tinsley has served as county administrator of Wayne County in southeast Georgia since March of 2013. He was previously assistant county manager and finance director of Habersham County.

He earned a Master of City Management (MCM) from East Tennessee State University

Commissioner Yates honored for leadership

LeAnne Akin The Paper

Merry Christmas

Santa Claus brought smiles to 100 youngsters who attended the recent Braselton Rotary Club’s Christmas party for children for whom Rotarians and supporters shopped for holiday gifts.

Identified through Jackson County Holiday Connection, the children talked with Santa, enjoyed pizza, hamburgers and cookies and got their faces painted.

They were also entertained by a magician. Rotarians held a reverse raffle to raise money to make Christmas brighter for families. Funds will also go toward the club’s scholarship program.

By LEANNE AKIN

lakin@clickthepaper.com

Braselton police cruiser struck by FedEx truck Officer and truck driver hurt in Friday mishap While writing a citation to a driver stopped along Interstate 85 at mile marker 127 on the morning of Dec. 19, Braselton Police officer Christopher M. Earls’ patrol car was struck by a Fed Ex 18-wheeler which was pulling two trailers.

Because of departmental policy that requires traffic stops be conducted from the passenger side of the vehicle because of safety concerns on busy Interstate 85, Earls escaped serious injury.

According to his report, Earls’ vehicle was pushed toward him and he struck his

See MISHAP, 4A

in Johnson City, Tenn.

“I am confident that if given the opportunity, I would be a productive member of the city team and the greater Jackson County community,” said Tinsley in a letter to Plott and the council.

Assistant City Manager Priscilla Murphy is serving as interim city manager until the successful candidate comes onboard. On Monday, she said the city is operating efficiently and effectively and she will continue to lead operations in the meanwhile.

Plott said the selection committee that included himself, Jackson County manager Kevin Poe, Braselton Town Manager Jennifer Dees, Jefferson councilmen Don Kupis and Mark Mobley, andJefferson Police Chief Joe Wirthman worked very closely together in narrowing down the candidates.

“We were of the same mind,” said Plott. “It was a good process.”

Courtesy of West Jackson Fire Department

Interstate 85 was partially shut down after a FedEx tractortrailer struck and demolished a police cruiser on Dec. 19.

Jackson County District 3 Commissioner Bruce Yates received an award of appreciation in recognition of his eight years of service on the Jackson County Board of Commissioners.

The engraved plaque read “in recognition and appreciation for his dedicated service to the citizens of Jackson County through his determination, leadership and commitment to improve and enhance the quality of life in our community.”

Yates took office on Jan. 1, 2007 and will conclude his second term of office at year’s end.

At the Dec. 15 board meeting, Yates introduced Ralph Richardson Jr., who will assume the District 3 post on Jan. 1, 2015, and he shared best wishes to Richardson and the board.

“It’s been quite an experience with ups and downs,” said Yates, who expressed his thanks to the citizens for allowing him to serve them for eight years.

Late last week, Yates said he was pleased with what the commission has been able to accomplish – “more than ever has been accomplished in the West Jackson area than ever before.”

He said he takes pride in the parks, especially Hoschton Park, developed in cooperation with the City of Hoschton and the Jackson County Board of Education, and the remodeling and enhancement of West Jackson Park with more parking and amenities. And the improvement to and development of parks and other recreational facilities also occurred around the county.

“We were also very fortunate on the west side to develop Lewis Braselton Parkway to bolster economic development and enhance traffic flow since, for years and years, Zion Church Road was

Commissioner Bruce Yates the second most traveled road in Jackson County,” said Yates.

In other transportation improvements which took place thanks to coordination with the Georgia Department of Transportation, Yates said re-routing Gum Springs Church Road and putting in the new traffic signal has enhanced safety near Gum Springs Elementary and West Jackson Middle schools. The traffic signal at Highways 124 and 332 is also a point of pride.

Working with Braselton, the widening of Highway 53 is now under way.

See YATES, 2A

Strategic visioning session held

Braselton officials envision growth on the horizon

By FARAH BOHANNON

fbohannon@clickthepaper.com

Rope Roberts, Georgia Power’s Region Economic Development Manager, joined Town Manager Jennifer Dees, Mayor Bill Orr, Planning & Development Director Kevin Keller, Downtown Director Amy Pinnell and Braselton Town Council members for an economic development planning and visioning session on Dec. 16.

At the beginning of his talk, Roberts asked each person what they thought economic development meant.

Mayor Orr said that economic development must be done correctly, and it must be meaningful as well as deliberate. There must be goals and a purpose while striving for success, he said.

Pinnell mentioned it is important for the town to sustain its historic charm while welcoming growth.

Roberts mentioned bringing new jobs to the town.

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“Your community is finite,” said Roberts.

“Right now, we took a snapshot today. Let’s say we had a barrel of water. If the water being poured into the barrel was really the external dollars coming into your community, all of the water in the barrel moving around inside of it would be the dollars going from one place to another in your town. Each barrel is a different size, depending on the community. The concern with this is that there are leaks in the barrels, meaning the dollars do not stay there, they leak out and go somewhere else.”

Roberts gave the examples of Braselton residents purchasing alcoholic beverages elsewhere, shopping online or even shopping at the Mall of Georgia, where he said takes most of Northeast Georgia’s money.

“How would you all manage those ‘leaks’ as a council?” asked Roberts.

Roberts segued into Georgia Power’s recipe for success that can be used for any community of any size. To make it easy to understand, Roberts presented these ingredients as

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a triangle, with the biggest ingredient on the bottom. The list of ingredients gets smaller as the ingredients make their way to the top.

The first one is leadership, Roberts said.

He mentioned that every single successful community has strong leadership.

“Good leadership makes a positive difference,” said Roberts. “Leaders are elected, appointed or volunteered, and they are not afraid to change. Leaders provide a proper atmosphere. They want to get things done, they have purpose, develop a direction, maintain a focus, foster consensus and formulate strategies.”

The idea of formulating strategies brought Roberts into the next ingredient for a successful community who manages “leaks,” which is actually strategy.

“Begin with the end in mind,” said Roberts.

The strategies formed within a group of leaders must be motivating as well as deliberate. Roberts said that “getting it done” is important as well when it comes to strategy, and that the leaders who plan to implement

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the strategies begin with the end in mind and do not sit back and expect things to happen on their own.

The next ingredient for success is services — examples include water, wastewater, electricity, roads, Internet and other big-ticket law planning items. These are the services that distinguish a community. Roberts brought up the idea of millennials and how their impact will change how the idea of “services” as an ingredient for success will change.

“Out of my seven children, four of them are millennials,” said Roberts. “None of them own a home as of right now because they want to live where their jobs are. They want the flexibility to move. I have a daughter who is a frequent traveler. Half of the year she lives in Colorado and the other half all over the world. What if you do not offer a place where these people can work? Where will the millennials live once the boomers die

See BRASELTON, 2A

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The Paper | Thursday, December 25, 2014

South State Bank donates $1,000 toward Gause documentary film South State Bank’s Jefferson office donated $1,000 to the World War II Foundation to support the production of a documentary honoring a local hero.

The documentary will chronicle Jefferson native Damon “Rocky” Gause’s escape from the Japanese in World War II. “We are thankful to be able to help tell this amazing story of survival about a local hero,” said Wayne Garrison, vice president, South State Bank. “When we heard about the documentary, we wanted to be a part of it and I encourage other companies and local individuals to support bringing this incredible story to life.”

Donations can be made by check or online at www. wwiifoundation.org/donate.

Donors will be recognized in the credits of the documentary film when it airs nationally on PBS stations in 2015.

For The Paper

South State Bank donated $1,000 to the World War II Foundation to support the production of a documentary honoring hometown hero “Rocky” Gause. Pictured left to right are Cary Carter, son of Ruth Gause Carter; Ginger Gause, granddaughter of Rocky Gause and Ruth Gause Carter; and Wayne Garrison, South State Bank vice president.

YATES

Continued from 1A Yates, at right with fellow Jackson County Board of Commissioners, said he is pleased that there have been expanding employment opportunities as well as ecomomic development enhancements across the county.

He said he expects to see great strides in the development of Jackson County because the commission had helped to lay the groundwork for prosperity.

“I still think west side is underserved with EMS stations, no compactors and no health department,” said

BRASELTON Continued from 1A

off? If you are tracking only the elderly, how will that affect your community? If you are not prepared to provide for the millennials, then be prepared to embrace what will happen.”

Providing services for new generations is important.

That leaves the remaining two ingredients for success—effective marketing and rewards.

Other happenings from the planning and visioning session included a talk by Keller who discussed the 2030 Comprehensive Plan as well as economic development issues and opportunities. He provided the group with a future development map that divided Braselton into the following character areas: residential, commercial, public/institutional, industrial, park/ recreation/conservation, mixed use, transportation/ communication/utilities and water bodies. Keller also provided the group with a packet that included detailed descriptions of each of these character areas and answered questions.

Yates, who notes there are still areas were focus is needed.

“I hope more people get involved in government. i would like to see more

Prior to describing each character area in detail, Keller discussed a major trend—most recent commercial development has been auto-oriented, focused on interstate activity.

The issues include a strong desire for more diversified goods and services and a perceived lack of higherend shopping, the fact that the historic area of town has seen little commercial investment as compared to other parts of town, gateways at Interstate 85 exits need visual improvement and the town website could be improved and expanded.

Opportunities include historic downtown’s potential growth, the addition of sidewalks, streetscapes and a town green, large numbers of visitors to Chateau Elan and Road Atlanta, the forthcoming Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton, development interests at the northeast quadrant of I-85 and Highway 211 and the market demand to foster more walkable activity centers. There is also the opportunity of the existing tax allocation district helping to fund capital improvements.

The session ended with a roundtable discussion where the mayor and council members shared ideas

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interest and concern and actual involvement,” said Yates. “That’s what I have tried to emphasize through the years.”

and visions for the future of Braselton.

Council member Peggy Slappey said she believes preparation for growth is key. She also mentioned that Braselton should be on a list of walkable cities since the downtown area is so easily accessible on foot. She also shared that she sees the town being even more walkable in the next few years, instead of just within the downtown area.

Mayor Orr said he believes there will be astronomical growth in the next few years.

“I want Braselton to be a town where people desire to live,” said Orr. “I want people to choose our town because of all the great things we have to offer.”

Councilman Tony Funari mentioned that he is not opposed to a higher-end

townhome community to hopefully attract a younger age demographic. Councilwoman Rhonda Stites agreed, and said that Braselton needs a better mix of ages.

“Younger people desire a vibrant downtown area,” said Stites. “We have a great vision and are definitely going in the right direction, but we do not have the events and happenings like some cities.”

After that comment, Roberts asked the group what cities they look to as a model.

Greenville, S.C., Decatur and Suwanee were the three most discussed model cities due to their calendars being chock-full of events, large choices in dining, a variety of sleek apartments and condominiums and much more.

Jefferson is ranked at the top of a list of 20 Georgia cities with the most improved crime rate, according to Safe Choice Security, a marketing company handling independent marketing for Monitronics Monitored Security Systems.

Monitronics lays claim to being the nation’s secondlargest residential security provider and touts being an industry leader in alarm monitoring and security services.

Statistics cited by the company had Jefferson’s 2012 crime rate at 16.47 compared to a rate of 57.82 for 2007. In its disclaimer, the company says its “rankings are determined by national crime statistics published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Our rankings are only as accurate as the local population and crime statistics officially released by the FBI.” On its blog, the company says Jefferson “is a small town that’s nearly right in the middle of everything” -- just minutes from two hot spot towns as well as being just a few miles from Lake Lanier, Jefferson can see a lot of through traffic from those traveling across the state or headed to go up the east coast down I-85.

“The town has grown at a steady pace over the past five years and at one time had one of the higher crime rates in the area, but thanks to hard work by the local police department and community, Jefferson has seen the overall crime rate take a massive decline while the city has crown, with an overall dip of just over 70 percent,” says the blog.

Contacted about the ranking, Jefferson Police Chief Joe Wirthman said, “We strive as a police department to provide the best service for our citizens and visitors to our community. We are proud that due to the diligent work of the men and women of the police force and our civilian employees we have been able to being our crime rate down and maintain a safe and secure community.

“We are a state certified agency -- one out of approximately 15 percent in the state -- with a strong community policing philosophy,” said Wirthman, who credits the very strong support the department has enjoyed from the city manager, mayors

and council members as well as from many local leaders, school board and the business community.

Wirthman said the department’s our policies, procedures and training and the goodwill created with the community will hopefully aid in preventing tragedies such as those involving other law enforcement agencies.

Waynesboro was in the second spot.

Commerce ranked No. 4 just behind No. 3 Auburn.

According to Safe Choice Security, Commerce “has plenty of natural attractions in the general vicinity, including being just miles from some state parks, Lake Lanier and even minutes from the University of Georgia. Commerce’s crime rate wasn’t all that high to begin with based on our data points provided by the FBI, but it was high enough to raise a few eyebrows. The local police department has done an excellent job over the past five years of bringing the overall crime rate down over 50 percent. Most notably, the local police department and community have seen the violent crime rate decline by over 60 percent since 2007 and is a big reason that Commerce made it into the top five of our list of the most improved cities in Georgia.”

Also on the list was Alpharetta, Dallas, Bremen and Adel with Winder ranked No. 9 followed in order by Sandersville, Holly Springs, Pooler, Hinesville, Cartersville, Doraville, McDonough, Canton, Rincon, Clarkston and Acworth.

About Winder, the company says, “Winder is one of the lucky towns that also happen to have a beautiful state park within its borders, Fort Yargo State Park. Located just outside a college town and near the University of Georgia, Winder gets the benefits of being near a large University but misses out on the sometimes craziness of being a college town. Even with that however, Winder’s crime rate was a bit higher than you’d like at the start of our data set, but thanks to the hard work of the local police department and the community they’ve seen the overall crime rate drop nearly 45 percent. Winder’s hard work has paid off and is why they finished within the top 10 of our list of most improved cities in Georgia.”

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The Paper | Thursday, December 25, 2014

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Workout Anytime comes to Braselton with options for fitness memberships

By FARAH BOHANNON

fbohannon@clickthepaper.com

In January, Braselton will welcome a new place for its residents to get fit and stay fit for an affordable price.

Workout Anytime, a growing fitness center chain has branched out to Braselton, off Spout Springs Road in the Publix shopping center.

As of right now, there is a $0 enrollment fee, so it is crucial to join as soon as possible before this offer expires.

There are no contracts, and there are two membership levels available -- $15 a month for a basic membership or $25 a month for a premium membership, which includes unlimited tanning, hydro-massaging and guest passes.

The gym is set to open in early January, just in time for those who want to get into shape as a New Year’s reso-

lution. They are in presales, so joining is possible before the gym even opens.

The Braselton location is owned by Randy Clevenger as well as Paul and Lynn Jackson. The trio already owns clubs in Milton and Cumming, so they are seasoned owners who are ready to meet Braselton residents and help them to get fit.

“We will have state-of-theart Matrix equipment in this gym,” said Paul Jackson.

“The gym is open 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

This has been an extremely rewarding business venture for us. We are able to provide people with a quality place to work out without breaking the bank.”

Jackson said they decided to open a club in Braselton because there was not much competition in the area in terms of fitness, so they be-

lieve it will thrive. He also mentions the rapid growth in Braselton, and how more and more people are flocking to this town to live, work and play. He said he was shocked at the number of neighborhoods that are in the area now as opposed to a few years ago, so the plan is to get the word out to Braselton residents about this opportunity.

“The demographics are great in this area, and we received a great deal on a location. The location is ideal — adjacent to a grocery store, restaurants, a nail salon and much more. Also, each club is individually owned, so they each have their own personal touches. Owner presence is important to us,” said Mrs. Jackson.

The owners have not always been a part of the fitness industry. In fact, Clevenger’s

at 6:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve. On Christmas, celebrate the reason for the season.

Worship service on Dec. 28 will be at 11 a.m.

Hoschton United Methodist Church is located at 12 Mulberry St., and Bell Avenue behind City Square. Contact Pastor Marvin Mason at 706-654-1422. sss

more traditional service of carols, Communion and candlelight.

Arbor Pointe Church is located at 115 Towne Center Parkway in Hoschton. Find out more at www.arborpointe.org or listen to the worship messages on iTunes. sss

CHURCH NEWS Cross Pointe Mill Creek is a church in the community for the community that meets at Mill Creek High School on Sundays at 9:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. with programming for all ages. Come experience a church where you and your family will feel at home and make a powerful difference in our community. You can find out more information at www.cpmillcreek.org or facebook.com/cpmillcreek The Rev. James Merritt is lead pastor. sss Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Flowery Branch invites you to worship with us on Christmas Eve at 5 p.m. in Holy Communion and the candlelight service. The church is located at 7049 Spouts Springs Road, in an over 100-year-old little white painted church home with a red door, converted and blessed into a sanctuary. Father Bill Humble, the Rector of Holy Trinity, leads the regular Sunday services at 10:30 a.m. in the Divine Liturgy.

There is a free clothing shop for those in need which is open every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. At this time of the year, anyone who has new or slightly used winter clothing for all age children, men and women, especially coats, warm hats and gloves is encouraged to donate those items. Please help us help those in need.

For more information about the Holy Trinity Anglican Church family and its outreach programs, visit www. holytrinityflowerybranch. org and Holy Trinity Anglican Church on Facebook. sss Hoschton United Methodist Church will hold a candlelight service

Truck, man struck by pipe Davis Street was partially closed at Highway 124 on Dec. 16 just before 2 p.m. after a bushhog operator mowing grass on a parcel of land struck an Atlanta Gas Light line.

Braselton Police were called to a medical call and arrived the find a man laying on the ground.

A piece of pipe flew out from under the mower, busted the windshield of a pickup truck which was exiting from A Flea An’tique, struck and injured the passenger in the truck and then busted out the rear window.

West Jackson Fire Department personnel also responded to the scene.

Arbor Pointe Church is planning two very special Christmas Eve services, and you’re invited. The 6 p.m. service - “They Brought Their Gifts” - is geared toward children and families, and the service will include collecting baby items for the Hope Resource Center in Jefferson.

(Bring unwrapped baby items such as diapers, wipes, bath supplies and baby food.) A nursery is provided for children under 2.

The 11 p.m. service is a

Christmas Camp at The Children’s Place at New Liberty United Methodist Church will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. Bring a Friend Day allows currently enrolled children to bring a friend to camp for free plus new families interested in visiting The Children’s Place at New Liberty United Methodist Church’s Christmas Camp can drop by for a reduced rate of $20. The New Year’s Eve party will include a Christmas cookie bakeoff and a bounce house and more fun. Call 706-8702838 for details about required paperwork.

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Bring One for the Chipper Dec. 26 - Jan. 3 Recycle Your Christmas Tree!

LOCATIONS • Arcade City Hall • Commerce at Lanier Tech • • Hoschton at the Depot • • Jackson County Transfer Station • • Jefferson Civic Center • • Talmo - Across from the fire department •

Drop-Off areas will be marked with caution tape designating where your tree(s) should be placed.

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Have a Safe & Happy Holiday Season

Farah Bohannon The Paper

Workout Anytime is opening in January in the Publix shopping center on Spout Springs Road. Pictured, from left to right: Randy Clevenger (co-owner), Paul Jackson (co-owner), Lynn Jackson (co-owner) and Brandon Jones (sales representative). career is in insurance while Jackson is in the airline business. Mrs. Jackson was previously involved with real estate until she became the official “overseer” of the clubs they have opened. She travels back and forth between their clubs to check in and ensure everything is running smoothly. They have been a part of the business side of Workout Anytime for the past five years and hope to open more clubs in the future since it has been a successful business venture for not only them, but for the company itself. It is growing rapidly and will hopefully continue to do so. Clevenger and the Jacksons were members of Workout Anytime before they decided to open their own clubs, which is how they found out about opening

their own franchises.

Workout Anytime will have certified personal trainers available at the fitness center. The trainers will be able to work with their clients one-on-one or even in small groups. They will also be available to instruct members how to use machines if they are unsure of how to use them. There will be no group fitness classes or childcare available. Since the gym is open 24 hours a day, the worry of rushing to work out before the gym closes is not there —hence the name, Workout Anytime. Jackson said that this type of gym is perfect for anyone.

“People who work odd hours can come in in the middle of the night and work out,” said Jackson. “Moms can come in in the evenings

after their husbands are home and the kids are asleep.

Workouts can be done at any time of day, and it is easy to get in with the convenient swipe card that can stay on a keychain.”

Jackson said he realizes there are other gym chains that offer this perk of working out anytime, but members cannot beat the incredible prices, high-quality equipment, lack of contracts, hospitable owners and more.

This is what the Jacksons and Clevenger say they hope to bring to Braselton.

For more information about Workout Anytime in Braselton, visit www.workoutanytime.com/locations/ flowery-branch or www. facebook.com/WOATBRASELTON.You can also call 678-960-4130.

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The Paper | Thursday, December 25, 2014

OBITUARIES Annie Blanche Cartledge Andrews

Died Dec. 17, 2014 Annie Blanche Cartledge Andrews, 86, of Commerce, died Wednesday Dec. 17, 2014.

She was the daughter of the late Joseph Harrison and Lola Mae Chapman Cartledge. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Lee Andrews.

Survivors include her brothers, Willard Cartledge of Commerce and Paul Cartledge of Nicholson Services were held Friday, Dec. 19, 2014, at Commerce Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Craig Topple officiating. Interment followed in the Grey Hill Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to Commerce Presbyterian Church, 89 University Drive, Commerce, GA 30529 or Christian City, 7300 Lester Road, Union City, GA 30291.

Ivie Funeral Home, Commerce The Paper, Dec. 25, 2014

Andrea Christine Christensen

Died Dec. 16, 2014 Andrea Christine Christensen, 45, died Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.

A native of California, she was a daughter of the late Larry Adkins and was the mother of the late Melissa Christensen. She was employed by NGDC. Funeral services were held Friday, Dec. 19, 2014, in Smith Memory Chapel with Pastor Rod Zwemke officiating. Burial was in the Georgia National Cemetery.

Survivors include her husband, Jeffery Christensen; children, Christopher Adkins, Brandon Young, Amanda Ferry, Danielle Fowler and Erica Christensen; mother, Diana Cordero Adkins; brother, Larry Adkins Jr.; sister, Victoria; and two grandchildren.

Smith Funeral Home, Winder The Paper, Dec. 25, 2014

William Edward Dorion

Died Dec. 20, 2014 William Edward Dorion, 64, of Winder, died Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014.

Arrangements are being handled by Lawson Funeral Home, 4532 Highway 53, Hoschton, GA 30548, www. lawsonfuneralhome.org, 706-654-0966.

The Paper, Dec. 25, 2014

James C. Dyer

Died Dec. 19, 2014 James C. Dyer, 77, of Lilburn, diedFriday, Dec. 19, 2014.

Funeral services were held Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014, at Walnut Fork Baptist Church in Hoschton with Dr. Archie Norman officiating.

Interment followed in the church cemetery.

Lawson Funeral Home, Hoschton The Paper, Dec. 25, 2014

Charles Robert Ford

Died Dec. 19, 2014 Charles Robert Ford, 83, of Jefferson, died Friday, Dec. 19, 2014.

Born in Girard, Penn., he was a son of the late Loyal and Cecil Reynolds Ford.

He served his country in the United States Marine Corps, and was an entrepreneur associated with Kentucky Fried Chicken for some 20 years. He was a member of Galilee Christian Church.

Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Carolyn Gilley Ford; daughters, Kay Gibbs of Florida and Lisa Murphy of Lawrenceville; sons, Thomas Ford of Raleigh, N.C., and Robert Ford of Pennsylvania; eight grandsons; and one great-granddaughter.

Funeral services were held Monday, Dec. 22, 2014, in the chapel of Evans Funeral Home with Minister Nick Vipperman officiating.

Memorials may be made to the Wounded Warriors Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675.

Evans Funeral Home, Jefferson The Paper, Dec. 25, 2014

Myrtle Palmer Fouche

Died Dec. 20, 2014 Myrtle Palmer Fouche, 85, of Nicholson, died Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014, at Comer Health and Rehab.

Born in Nicholson, she was a daughter of the late Oscar and Annie Sue Barnett Palmer. She was of the Baptist faith and was a homemaker. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Willard Fouche; and son, Dennis Fouche.

Survivors include her children, Connie Wilkes and David Fouche, both of Jefferson, Cathy Brain, Rhonda Fouche, Stanley Fouche and Tim Fouche, all of Nicholson, Cindy Rogers of Athens and Becky Skelton of Braselton; brother, John Palmer of Nicholson; sisters, Linda Middleton of Orange Beach, Ala., Ruby Borkman of Alpharetta and Lottie Moore of Clearwater, Fla.; daughterin-law, Lynn Fouche of Nicholson; 23 grandchildren; and 21 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held Monday, Dec. 22, 2014, in the chapel of Little-Ward Funeral Home with the Rev. Terry Smith and the Rev. Kevin Page officiating. Interment was in the Howington Cemetery.

Little-Ward Funeral Home, Commerce The Paper, Dec. 25, 2014

Scotty Howard

Died Dec. 18, 2014 William “Scotty” Scott Howard, 54, of Winder, died Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014.

Born March 12, 1960, he was a member of The Winder First United Methodist Church.

Survivors include his parents, William Ellis and Mary Nell McDonald Howard; son,

Christopher Scott Howard of Winder; daughter, Lesley Kay Howard of Jefferson; sisters, Wanda Gail Long of Watkinsville and Cindy Howard Stephens of Statham; and grandchildren, Emmi Howard, Thomas Howard, Mallory Kate Howard, KayLee Hollis and Addison Kerr.

Funeral services were held Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014, in Smith Memory Chapel.

Memorial donations may be made to The Winder First Methodist Church Men’s Fellowship Education Fund.

Smith Funeral Home, Winder The Paper, Dec. 25, 2014

Sarah Jo Kiley

Died Dec. 17, 2014 Sarah Jo “Jody” Kiley, 86, of Winder, died Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014 after a period of declining health.

She was preceded in death by granddaughters, Monika Harris and Jessica Harris. She was a daughter of the late Hubert and Cora Bell Baird Stover. She was a member of Carl First Baptist Church and had resided in the Carl community for the past 54 years.

A homemaker, she leaves behind to treasure her memory, her loving husband of 70 years, E. M. “Buck” Kiley; sons and daughters-in-law, Steve and Nina Kiley of Auburn, Mike and Mary Kiley of Winder, Dennis Kiley of Harbins community and Jeff and Lori Kiley of Carl; daughter, Sandy Harris of Wilsonville, Ore.; nine grandchildren; 11great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.

A funeral service was held Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014, in the chapel of Carter Funeral Home with the Rev. Tom Ham and Mr. Bill Banks officiating. Interment was in the Carl Cemetery.

Carter Funeral Home, Winder The Paper, Dec. 25, 2014

She graduated from Winder High School in 1939 and received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Georgia in 1942.

The following year, she married George Thompson Jr., who died in 1960 as a result of an automobile accident.

In 1967, she married Lewis H. Montgomery of Monroe, who died in 1996.

Her life focused on her work with children as a Scout leader, kindergarten teacher at the First United Methodist Church and later as an elementary school teacher at both Winder Elementary and Monroe Primary School, where she was honored as Teacher of the Year.

She was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Winder and the Sunbury Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) for more than 69 years. Her favorite hobby was playing bridge with her friends. When JoAnn celebrated her 90th birthday in February 2013, her great-grandchildren described her as patriotic, smart, competitive, beautiful and loving. Her family was her treasure.

She was also preceded in death by her brothers, George Smith and Dala Smith; and grandson, George Thompson IV. Survivors include her children and their spouses, Anne and Bob Pledger of Lakemont, Carol and Bob Franks of Rabun Gap, Chip and Shadie Thompson of Winder, Tommy and Connie Thompson of Lakemont, Dwain and Mary Montgomery of Cartersville and Deedra and

Buddy Leach of Monroe; 13 devoted grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held Monday, Dec. 22, 2014, at the First United Methodist Church of Winder with burial following in Rose Hill Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Winder (280 N. Broad St., Winder, GA 30680), the Lake Rabun Foundation (P.O. Box 114, Lakemont, GA 30552) or the Sunbury Chapter of the DAR (P.O. Box 664, Winder, GA 30680).

Smith Funeral Home, Winder The Paper, Dec. 25, 2014

Helen Louise Sheridan

Died Dec. 18, 2014 Helen Louise Sheridan, 86, of Maysville, died Thursday, died Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014.

She was the daughter of the late Jess Daniel and Dollie Smith Shubert. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Charlie Sheridan; and brothers, Dwayne Shubert and Bill Shubert.

Survivors include her sons, Danny Sheridan of Maysville and Tommy Sheridan of Centerville; daughter, Ann Gordon of Maysville; brother, J.T. Shubert of Maysville; sisters, Annie Lou Hasting of Royston and Mary Orgeron of Crossville, Tenn.; five grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

Services were held Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014, at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church with the Rev. James Duncan officiating. Interment was in

MISHAP

Continued from 1A head on the door frame while his left side and left leg struck the running boards.

The officer then fell down the hill. He said after regaining his balance, he was able to see the tractor-trailer rolling down the side of the interstate in the grass and he reported the wreck which involved the truck overturning and trapping the driver inside.

Earls requested a Georgia State Patrol trooper, a medical unit and a heavy duty wrecker and then ran to the driver after seeing that the driver he had stopped was not injured. The tractor-trailer driver said he was OK.

JoAnn Smith Thompson Montgomery

Died Dec. 19, 2014 JoAnn Montgomery, 81, remembered for her beauty, her love for her family and her passion for spending time at her log cabin in Lakemont, died Friday, Dec. 19, 2014.

Born on Candler Street in Winder on Feb. 8, 1923, she was the daughter of the late Herschel and Denta Smith.

Memorial Park Cemetery.

Ivie Funeral Home, Commerce The Paper, Dec. 25, 2014

Marie J. Sullivan

Died Dec. 18, 2014 Marie J. Sullivan, 89, of Flowery Branch, formerly of Chicago, died Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014 at Northeast Georgia Medical Center with her family.

Memorial services will be held at a later date at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Flowery Branch.

Born Jan. 15, 1925, in Steger, Ill., she was a daughter of the late George Edward and Loretta Marie Bauters Chenard. She attended Prince of Peace Catholic Church and was retired from Mars Candy Company, where she was in quality control.

She was also preceded in death by her husband, John Bernard Sullivan; brother, George Chenard; and sister, Betty Raymond.

Survivors include her son and daughter-in-law, John B. and Ruth Sullivan of Quito, Ecuador; daughters and sons-in-law, Maureen and Tom O’Shea of Flowery Branch and Patricia Ann and Armando Lopez of Villa Park, Ill.; nine grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews; and many friends and neighbors.

Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Northeast Georgia, 2150 Limestone Parkway, Gainesville, GA 30501 (770-219-8888).

Memorial Park South Funeral Home, Flowery Branch The Paper, Dec. 25, 2014

Barrow County Emergency Services arrived and handled extrication of the Fed Ex driver who was transported by helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center while Officer Earls was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center by Braselton Police Capt.

Michael Steffman.

■■ A box of opened mail was turned over to Braselton Police on Dec. 20 at the security gate of Chateau Elan. Reports show that two female dropped off the box of mail which they said they found in a sewer drain on Northern Oaks Drive. The mail was for several addresses on Crimson King Drive, Forrest View Drive, Tee Drive, Autumn Maple Drive, Golf Club Drive, Northern Oaks Drive, Weeping Oak, Legacy Maple and Mountain Oak. The mail was turned over to investigations and the postmaster was contacted.

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Thursday, December 25, 2014

forum

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Personalized letter to Ol’ Saint Nick Dear Santa, I hope this letter finds you well. The countdown to your annual trek around the world is now down to hours.

I bet you are one busy man.

Santa, I was in a toy store the other day and there are so many games, toys, puzzles, wheeled devices and video games. I bet that sleigh of yours is pretty heavy.

I think back on the Christmases of my childhood, when you brought things like metal trucks, wooden blocks and BB guns. Those were the days.

I think back on things I played with until they were absolutely worn out, like the service station for my Hot Wheels cars and the Radio Flyer wagon.

There were years when things came in great boxes.

When we got tired of playing with the toys, we played with the boxes.

Santa, I wish you and your elves could fix up a magic elixir that would make folks get along better.

When I look at problems here and around the globe, it seems like the bottom line is folks don’t get along with one another. It just seems to me that we could eliminate a lot of skirmishes in the world if people just had a little more kindness in their hearts. You’ve set a pretty good example of that and I thank you for it.

I wish it would start with kids. I saw a kid kick his mama in a store the other day. I hope you were watching and bring him a sack full of coal. I don’t know if the environmental gurus will let you bring coal anymore.

The other old standby, a bag full of switches, seems to have also gone into unacceptable territory. Whatever the misbehaving kid item is these days, this boy could use it.

A lot of parents are there, too. Folks who do mean

Harris Blackwood things to kids set a poor example for everyone. Once again, we are in bad need of that aforementioned magic elixir.

Santa, I know a lot of folks need an extra touch this year. A lot of folks need things like jobs, improved health, a warm place to live or even a little more food on their table. I don’t know if you can deliver that, but maybe some of us can step up and help them.

I just wanted to say thank you for all the joy you’ve brought to me over the years. I’m sorry about crying my eyes out in that picture with you about 51 Christmases ago. You do have a very strong presence and I was a tad uncomfortable until I got to know you better.

In those days, you were mighty kind to help my mama when she had a sick husband and two little boys who wanted presents under the tree. I’m much obliged to you.

Be generous to the nice folks who read my column in the newspaper. I have folks who tell me what I put on paper each week makes them smile or remember a good time in their lives.

Spreading a little joy is something I learned from watching you and I appreciate you setting such a good example for all of us.

Your friend, Harris Harris Blackwood is a Gainesville resident whose columns appear weekly.

Spreading a little joy is something I learned from watching you.

Letters policy Send letters to editor@clickthepaper.com; fax, 706658-0177; or P.O. Box 430, Hoschton, GA 30548.

Please include name, hometown and phone number.

Letters should be limited to 300 words on one topic and may be edited.

The First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

P.O. Box 430 Hoschton, GA 30548 9924 Davis St., Suite 8, Braselton, GA 30517 www.clickthepaper.com

Publisher Charlotte Atkins General Manager Norman Baggs Editor LeAnne Akin

Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree!

It was late in the summer of my parents’ lives that I was born into a family with three children well on their way to being grown and done with home.

Life had been a struggle for Mama and Daddy en route to completely escaping the poverty of their Appalachian childhoods.

They were married for 12 years before they owned their first lamp (I have and cherish that piece of earthly gain) which was acquired through the generosity of a church congregation that pooled its money and bought it for them.

By the time I arrived, life had smoothed quite a bit for my parents who were earnest, hard-working and steady. For $1,000 in the 1950s, Daddy had purchased seven acres of land with a small river that ran through it and a brooking stream that ebbed sweetly and gently through the pasture. With the help of friends, he built a small, sturdy brick house with concrete porches and walls, determined that it would last the test of time and Southern humidity. It has.

He demanded that the front door be wide enough

Ronda Rich to bring a casket through for it was back in those days that rural Southerners practiced bringing home their dearly departed to sit up with the dead. Only one casket ever entered that door and, as irony would have it, it was so small that it would have fit through any door. I was five when my infant six-month-old nephew died of instant pneumonia.

In front of the large picture window that Daddy had placed in the living room, the small blue casket was placed with sprays of flowers and potted plants placed all around it. It was early January when that sadness pushed its way into our lives. Only 10 days earlier, the Christmas tree had set where the baby lay in repose.

The picture window.

That is the key to this story of Christmas for it was

there that our Christmas tree was placed, lights — always the big bulb, multicolored lights — glimmering brightly to show that our home was celebrating Christmas. By the time I was eight or so, Mama was tired and completely unenthused about any additional work outside of the normal care and feeding of her family. I understand. She still managed to put up the Christmas tree but sometimes it was only a week before Christmas before it went up.

Little brought me more joy than our Christmas tree.

I remember many times that I smiled while looking at it from the den where I watched television or passing through the living room.

Though all my trees now — we put up three — have white lights, I wish I had one like that tree back then with its big, colored lights and tinseled icicles.

When I was nine, I took over the Christmas tree in order to get it up as soon as Thanksgiving ended so we could enjoy it for a month.

Mama would set the tree in the stand — sometimes a live one that we cut down on our property — then I

would decorate it. I would continue that tradition until I graduated from college and was living hundreds of miles away.

My love for Christmas trees continues. We have one in the bay window of the kitchen, one in the foyer at the bottom of the staircase and one in our bedroom.

“That tree is so great that it should have its own website,” Tink said about the bedroom tree that is tall and laden heavily with silver and iridescent ornaments.

It glistens like a diamond.

“It is the most beautiful tree I’ve ever had in my life,” he said. “Nothing compares.”

His grin grows wide when he sees me drag the ornaments boxes down from the attic. “Yay! The Christmas tree.”

As in the days of my childhood, I put it up early — the day after Halloween.

And I still smile at the sweet joy of a Christmas tree.

Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of several books.

Sign up for her newsletter at www.rondarich.com. Her column appears weekly.

Smile! Celebrate! It’s Christmas time Ah, Christmas. That one word brings a smile to the face of millions of people, young and old alike.

The word brings with it hope, joy and spirit.

Many who celebrate Christmas Thursday will wake up early and spend the time opening gifts with their children, significant others, parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins and best friends.

They will put together anything that needs to be assembled, put batteries into whatever requires them and play and sing-a-long with the Christmas songs that we all are accustomed to hearing this time of year.

For me, Christmas is stressful enough as it is. This season, it is no different. As usual, I’ve waited until the last minute to get the gifts my closest loved ones will enjoy. But, I’m fortunate

Charles Phelps enough to have them around for another year of celebration.

That in of itself causes me to celebrate and is the best gift I could ask for.

If you had asked me 13 years ago if I felt that way, I would’ve said, “No, it isn’t good enough.”

But, like so many, I found out what it was like to lose a loved one during the holiday season.

It is something I think about every year. It isn’t a distant memory. Today marks 13 years since my stepfather’s death, but I can still remember the time as if

it were yesterday.

The change was something it took my mom and I several Christmas seasons to figure out. But, as the time has passed, so to has the sadness that comes with it.

Christmas was my stepfather’s favorite holiday.

Every season, I smile every time I think about him decorating the house, hanging lights on the roof, or putting the reindeer and Santa Claus out in the front yard.

Like many, he would take all the time right after Thanksgiving to make sure all the decorations were just right for everyone to see.

But, there was also another reason the sadness went away. In 2007, my niece was born. She turned 7 years old yesterday. Hard to believe how fast time passes.

I’ll never forget a conversation my mom and I shared

after her birth, for what we felt had been taken away from us during the Christmas season in 2001, God gave us something back in return six years later.

Sure, it can make it difficult to buy for a child whose birthday is so close to Christmas, but gosh, what a joy she has been. Christmas, like my stepfather, is her favorite season (for obvious reasons).

I know Thursday I will see her rummage through the gifts Santa Claus left under the tree. She will tear open the wrapping and packaging and may play with the toys for only five minutes, but it is a joyous occasion now to see not only her, but my family smile on this special day.

Charles Phelps is sports editor of The Paper. He can be reached at cphelps@ clickthepaper.com

Traditions of Three Kings Day Christmas celebrants realize that the holiday season does not end on Dec. 26 or even Jan. 2. For many people, Christmas and New Year’s Eve are merely a prelude to the real celebration to come on Three Kings Day. Three Kings Day, or Día de los Très Reyes, is celebrated on Jan. 6 to honor the wise men who visited and brought gifts to Jesus Christ.

Also known as the Epiphany, the holiday marks the end of the Christmas season for many practicing Chris-

tians.

Very little is known about the kings, or magi. These kings, who are only mentioned once in the Gospel of Matthew, are never named. The story says they hail from the “east” and are guided to the manger by a mysterious light in the sky. They begin a journey to bring gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn king. Unbeknownst to many, the popular song “The 12 Days of Christmas” actually marks the 12 days following Christmas, ending on the

Feast of the Epiphany, and not the 12 days preceding Christmas Day. Many traditions are associated with the Epiphany.

Celebrants in Mexico serve Rosca de Reyes, an ovalshaped cake that symbolizes a crown. The cake has a small doll inside that represents baby Jesus and the hiding of Jesus from King Herod’s troops. Herod ordered his soldiers to seek out and murder all male infants born in Bethlehem in retaliation of the prophecy that a messiah would come

and become the new King of Jerusalem.

Roscas can be made with dried and candied fruits to symbolize the jewels that adorn real crowns. Whoever receives the plastic doll in his or her slice of cake is expected to throw a party on Diá de la Candelaria (Candlemas Day), which occurs each year on Feb. 2.

Unlike in the United States, where gifts are typically exchanged on Christmas Day, much of the Latin community exchange gifts on the eve of Jan. 6.

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The Paper | Thursday, December 25, 2014

CMYK Thursday, December 25, 2014

Sports

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Love-Struck: Brianna Love leads Lady Panthers to victory over Madison County; boys falter, lose by 19

BY CHARLES PHELPS

The Lady Red Raiders started the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run to snag the lead at 38-34. Gaudlock and Love scored the Lady Panthers’ next eight points to tie the game at 42-42.

Gaudlock scored the go-ahead free throw to put the Lady Panthers ahead 44-43 with 33.7 seconds left in the game.

Love added the final two points of the game on a pair of free throws.

“We just got her (Love) back (on Saturday),” McCutcheon said about Love. “Having her back, it makes a difference. It really does.

“She has proven herself this year. She has stepped up. She has been a leader.”

cphelps@clickthepaper.com

DANIELSVILLE – Jackson County Lady Panthers’ head coach Julie McCutcheon said she was glad last week ended as illness plagued her squad and key players missed time during the team’s three-game road trip against Morgan, Elbert and Madison County.

They dropped the first two games against Morgan and Elbert, but salvaged a 46-43 victory last Saturday in Madison County.

Brianna Love scored a game-high 19 points in the win including 17 in the second half.

Ashlyn Loudermilk added 11 points and Destiny Gaudlock chipped-in eight points including five in the fourth quarter.

“They are exhausted,” McCutcheon said. “It definitely showed up in the third and fourth quarter.

“We played OK in the first half, but I could tell (the) sluggishness. Our chemistry is off because of the rotations that we had to use (last week).”

The Lady Panthers started the game on a 7-0 run and ended the first quarter with an 11-7 lead.

The Lady Red Raiders caught fire in the second quarter, putting together a 7-0 run of their own and cutting the Lady Panthers’ lead to 17-16 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Love made her presence known as she scored 11 points, hitting three free throws to tie the game at

Charles Phelps The Paper

Jackson County’s Brianna Love puts up a shot.

24-24. She also connected on a 3-pointer and helped the Lady Panthers hold 34-28 lead entering the final quarter.

Madison County 47, Jackson County 28 The Panthers trailed 9-5 after the first quarter, but scored 15 points in the second quarter to snag the lead at 20-18 over the Red Raiders.

However, all momentum ceased as the Panthers managed only eight second-half points vs. the Red Raiders’ 29 points.

Stephin Fogarty scored a team-high eight points for Jackson County. All of his points came in the second quarter.

“You can’t score 28 points and expect to win,” Jackson County head coach Chuck Butler said. “You’ve got to put the ball in the hole.

“We knew the half-court trap they were trying to run. We made some adjustments. We felt like we got some good looks.

We were right around the basket. We couldn’t hit them.”

SWIM, DRAGONS, SWIM: Jefferson takes Riverside meet Bartoletta, Porter have strong showings

Doug Chellew The Paper

The Jefferson Dragons’ swim team finished first in last Thursday’s meet at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville. Camille Porter won two individual race, as did Haley Bartoletta.

BY CHARLES PHELPS

cphelps@clickthepaper.com

GAINESVILLE – The Jefferson Swim Dragons strong 2014-15 campaign continued last Thursday at Riverside Military Academy.

Behind the Lady Dragons’ stellar 159-point performance, Jefferson won the overall competition with a score of 231 points, 67 points ahead of Riverside.

The girls’ closest competition was the Commerce Lady Tigers, who finished with 65 points, 94 behind the Lady Dragons.

Junior Camille Porter the led the Lady Dragons’ dominant performance as she took first-place finishes in the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard backstroke. She also helped the 200-yard freestyle relay team take first.

Porter qualified for the state meet in both the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard individual medley. The state meet

takes place at Georgia Tech on Feb. 6-7.

Freshman Haley Bartoletta finished first in the 100 and 200-yard freestyle races and, like Porter, was on the winning 200-yard medley relay team.

She qualified for state in both the 100 and 200-yard freestyle races.

Sophomore Bree Hanson won the 50-yard freestyle and finished second in the 100-yard flystroke The boys’ squad was led by senior Jacob Musgrove’s firstplace finish in the 100-yard freestyle race. He also finished third in the 200-yard individual medley.

Musgrove will compete in the 200-yard individual medley at the state meet.

Freshman C.J. Guzman won the 500-yard freestyle.

Zeke Williamson and Austin O’Kelley finished in the top seven of the 100-yard freestyle.

The boys’ 200-yard medley relay team qualified for state

East Jackson basketball downs cross-town rival Commerce

BY KYLE FUNDERBURK

sports@clickthepaper.com

COMMERCE – What began as a highlight film for the Commerce Lady Tigers’ Asia and Mya Jones, quickly became the “Libbi Lance Show.”

Lance outshined the Jones sisters, who combined for 29 points, with 21 points of her own en route to the East Jackson Lady Eagles’ dominant 59-37 win over the Lady Tigers last Saturday.

“She’s the heart and soul of our team,” East Jackson head coach Matthew Gibbs said about Lance. “We’ve had some lean years and she’s really become a leader and people have got on board with her.”

The Jones sisters began the game with a dominant run as they combined for 14 points to give the Lady Tigers a 14-6 lead.

With some sharpshooting by Lance, the Lady Eagles quickly got back into the ball game. A buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Treasure Wright gave East Jackson 15-14 lead going into the second quarter and they never looked back.

“Their length and athleticism at the top of

that 2-3 zone is tough to play offense against when your guards are a little undersized,” Gibbs said. “But, after we decided to be strong with the ball and take care of it a little more, it was a lot more beneficial for us.”

Mya Jones snapped East Jackson’s run at 15-0 a couple minutes into the second quarter, but the Lady Tigers found no answer for Lance who helped the Lady Eagles stretch their lead out to 28-20 at halftime.

Despite the high-scoring first half, the third quarter was low-scoring as the Lady Eagles managed only seven points, but it was enough to take a 35-24 lead into the fourth quarter.

Lance took over by scoring 10 of the team’s final 24 points and boost the Lady Eagles to victory.

“We are really starting to learn our strategy and learn what we’re trying to do as a program,” Gibbs said. “Credit to Commerce, they were undermanned and they played a heck of a game. Those twins are great players, but we were able to execute a game plan.”

See east jackson, 2B

as well.

“This was kind of hard on the swimmers because it was so fast,” Jefferson head coach Lane Guzman said. “They didn’t get to rest between events. They went right from (one) event to another.

“So, considering that, they did really well. Some of the kids had some drops in time.”

Guzman said the boys’ 400-yard freestyle relay was “milliseconds” from qualifying for state.

Commerce was led by Samantha Davidson’s wins in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke.

Kate Massey finished first in the 100-yard flystroke and second to Porter in the 200-yard individual medley.

Anna Caroline Hardy finished second in the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke.

Dragons take Tommy Warren Duals at Oconee Co.

BY COLIN HUBBARD

sports@clickthepaper.com

WATKINSVILLE – Cross-town rivals Jackson County and Jefferson showed up last Saturday at Oconee County High School to show their respective might in the 12th annual Tommy Warren Duals wrestling meet.

After eight hours of fierce competition, it was the Jefferson Dragons, winners of 13 consecutive state championships, who came away with the victory over second-place finishing Clarke Central High School and thirdplace finisher North Hall High School.

The Jackson County Panthers finished in a respectable fourth place after losing to Jefferson in the final match of the day.

As a team, the Dragons didn’t lose a single match. In their last match of the day against the Panthers, the Dragons were quickly down 3-0, but ended up with an easy victory over the Panthers, 57-15.

“We had some good matches and good competition,” Jefferson head coach Doug Thurmond said. “A lot of people in this area are really talented.

“We worked really well as a team today. I was really proud about how they worked to-

gether. A lot of times, kids have to pick each other up as far as matches go, so they did really well today.”

Jefferson’s Mitch McGee finished the day undefeated, a perfect 5-0 after his hardfought battle against Jackson County’s Luke Gonzalez.

“Luke wrestled me pretty tough,” McGee said. “He is a strong guy. There is always room for improvement, but I was pretty satisfied with how we did on the day.

“We have some more tough matches coming up, so I am really looking forward to that.

But, overall we did a really good job.”

The Panthers took on CCHS early in the day and lost a heartbreaker by one point.

In their second to last match, the Panthers were up early on North Hall, but after a couple of tough matches, the Panthers found themselves tied 35-35 with one wrestler to go. They lost the final match by five points to the Trojans, who escaped with a 40-35 win.

“I think we wrestled pretty well today,” JCCHS assistant head coach Roger Powers said. “We lost to Clarke Central and North

See wrestling, 2B

LOCAL sports

local sports

local sports

Jackson County Hall of Fame nominations

Region 8-AAA football honors

Basketball action this weekend

Jackson County athletic director Adam Lindsey will be accepting Hall of Fame nominations for the 2015 class of the Jackson County Comprehensive High School Athletics Hall of Fame until Jan. 1, 2015. E-mail nomination forms to alindsey@jackson.k12.ga.us. For more information on the by-laws/eligibility requirements for nominees and committee members, visit jcpantherathletics.com and click the Hall of Fame tab.

Jefferson quarterback Evan Shirreffs was named Region 8-AAA Co-Offensive Player of the Year. Teammates Sammy Williams, Dontae Wilson, Trent Sorrells, Kendrick Robinson, Tradd Porter, Caleb Chandler, TJ Skelton, Dalton Hill were named to First Team - All Region 8-AAA. Jackson County’s Jacob Lewis, Caleb Smith, Griffin McElvery, Micah Vincent and East Jackson’s Taylor Murphy, Cole Walden and Michael Seagraves all made First Team - All Region 8-AAA squad as well.

Commerce High School and Jackson County are competiting in a tournament hosted by Commerce this Saturday and next Monday. East Jackson plays host to Mountain View High School on Saturday. The Jefferson Lady Dragons compete in Charleston, S.C., from Saturday through next Tuesday. The Mill Creek Hawks compete at the West Forsyth Christmas Tournament, boys compete at 1 p.m. and the girls at 7 p.m.

2B

sports

The Paper | Thursday, December 25, 2014

Bulldogs, Wilson run past Dragons in Jefferson; Young out with injury

Doug Chellew The Paper Colin Hubbard The Paper

Jefferson took first place last Saturday at the Tommy Warren Duals.

WRESTLING Continued from 1B

Hall by a combined six points.

“Against Clarke Central, they were getting the pins and we were getting the decisions, so that makes a lot of difference when it is all said and done. We won more matches against them, but we couldn’t seem to get the big bonus points as the matches went on. We fought hard today and came close, but not close enough.”

The Panthers knocked off Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, 41-25, and Salem High School, 64-6, to finish with 188 points on the day.

EAST JACKSON Continued from 1B

East Jackson 65, Commerce 50 A huge first-half margin for the Eagles proved to be the difference in their win over the Tigers.

The Eagles led 31-16 at halftime, but the Tigers played them a lot closer in the second half.

However, the Eagles didn’t allow the Tigers to get within 12 points en route to a sweep over their cross-town rival for the 2014-15 season.

East Jackson’s Drue Drinnon was nearly unstoppable as he accounted for 28 points.

Most of his 28 points came on drives through defenders and three-point shots taken under a lot of duress.

He scored 10 of his team’s 17 first-quarter points, including 3-pointer while being

Jefferson’s Chris Nable goes up for a layup against the Morgan County Bulldogs.

BY CHARLES PHELPS

cphelps@clickthepaper.com

Two bright spots on the day for the Panthers were Gonzalez and Conner Crump.

Gonzalez finished the day 4-1 after losing to McGee in his final match.

“I was expecting to go undefeated today, but getting four out of five wins is pretty good,” Gonzalez stated. “The match against McGee was very intense. It was by far my hardest match of the day.

“As a team there are some areas where we need to improve. I feel like we are getting pinned a lot more than we should, but overall I think we did pretty well today.”

Seven out of eight Panthers finished with four wins or better, including two going undefeated.

fouled. He made the free throw to complete the four-point play.

Defensively, Commerce was held to just seven points in the quarter.

The second quarter was much of the same as the Eagles continued to expand their lead until it became 31-16 at halftime.

Commerce managed to outscore East Jackson in the third quarter, 19-17.

Drinnon continued to pace East Jackson with a seven-point quarter, but he was joined

by Sydney Henderson, who added six points.

East Jackson held a 48-35 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Eagles outscored the Tigers 17-15 in the final quarter.

“I thought they fault back really well,” East Jackson head coach David Boyd said.

“Give Commerce a lot of credit for fighting back.

“We tried to get them to turn the ball over a bit, but they handle the ball very well and they made some shots.”

Doug Chellew The Paper

Jefferson’s Jaclyn Coleman wrestles for the ball with a Morgan County Lady Bulldog.

JEFFERSON – When the defending state champion Morgan County Bulldogs come into town, you know it’s going to be an uphill battle and hard work to pull out a victory.

For the Jefferson Dragons, the task became harder than expected as the team’s lead scorer, Roc Young, didn’t play due to a hand injury.

The Dragons lost Adrian Turpin last week to a season-ending patella tendon injury.

With injuries to two key players, the region-rival Bulldogs ran past the Dragons, 6747, last Friday in Jefferson.

Chris Nable led the Dragons’ scoring with 18 points. Gavin Corbin added 12 points. Kendrick Robinson and Hunter Thompson combined for 11 points.

The Dragons played only seven players against the Bulldogs.

“Except for the turnovers, I was really pleased with the effort,” Jefferson head coach Bolling Dubose said. “We just didn’t take care of the basketball.

“We take care of the ball, we’re not going to win, but it would have ended up being a 12, 14, 15-point game. You stay within 15 of these guys, you’ve had a good night, especially when you’re missing your best player.”

The Bulldogs were led by Tookie Brown’s 21 points. He scored 19 in the first half.

Stacion McClelland added 12 points, all of which came in the fourth quarter on four 3-pointers. Jailyn Ingram added 11 points and Al Reed dropped 10 points.

The first 4:17 of the game was scoreless until Thompson connected on a free throw to give the Dragons a 1-0 lead.

Brown answered with his first two points of the game to give the Bulldogs the lead for a moment, but Nable connected for three points and Jefferson sat with a 4-2 advantage.

However, the Bulldogs closed the quarter with a 10-0 run, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Brown to give them a 12-4 lead.

The Bulldogs’ fast-paced offense got hotter in the second quarter as they scored 29 points.

Brown scored 12 points in the quarter and the Bulldogs led 41-21 at halftime.

“I thought the first quarter, we did exactly what we wanted to do,” Dubose explained.

“We’re taking care of the ball. We’re slowing the game down.

“Even with some turnovers that we had, they were missing some shots because they couldn’t get their hands on the ball. We (were) doing a good job.” Dubose continued.

“Then, the second quarter, the guys decided ‘We need to pick it up, so we can catch up.’

You can’t pick it up with these guys. You want to run with them, they get in their shooting rhythm. They love running with the ball.

They’re big. They’re quick. They scored 29 points in the second quarter because we let them play their game, instead of us taking them out of their game.”

Nable and Corbin combined for 11 of the Dragons’ 17 second-quarter points.

By the end of the third quarter, the Dragons’ deficit shrunk to 16, behind Nable’s sixpoint third-quarter performance.

Jefferson’s rally fell short as McClelland scored 12 points as part of the Bulldogs’ fourth-quarter performance.

Corbin, Nable and Thompson combined for 14 points in the final quarter.

Dubose said he hopes to have Young back after the Christmas break is over, but he told the team, “You play with who you got.”

“I thought the effort was good,” Dubose said. “We rebounded the ball better than I thought we would. We just didn’t take care of it. We just had way too many turnovers.

“But, they (Morgan County) are a great team. They’re not the defending state champions, with two major college prospects for nothing.”

Lady Bulldogs 51, Lady Dragons 47 Jefferson’s Abbie Franklin scored a teamhigh 16 points, 10 in the second quarter, in the Lady Dragons’ four-point loss to the Morgan County Lady Bulldogs.

Freshman McKenzie Tyner scored eight points, six in the second half.

The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The Lady Dragons didn’t find the hoop until 4:30 left in the quarter as Franklin connected for two points and helped cut the deficit to 12-7 to end the quarter.

The Lady Dragons kept the shooting going as they scored 17 second-quarter points behind Franklin’s 10. Hope Forrester added five points in the quarter as they snagged a 24-20 halftime lead.

The Lady Bulldogs outscored the Lady Dragons 20-10 in third quarter to take a sixpoint lead into the fourth quarter.

The Lady Dragons got to within one point, 48-47, when Maddie Dills hit her only shot of the game, a 3-pointer with 49 seconds left in the game.

With 32 seconds, the Lady Dragons failed to convert free throws into points and missed two shots in the final 10 seconds down 49-47.

The Lady Bulldogs came up with the rebound and Pumpkin Brown put the game away by hitting two free throws.

Brown scored a game-high 18 points. Tot Davis matched Franklin with 16 points.

You can’t pick it up with these guys. You want to run with them, they get in their shooting rhythm. They love running with the ball.

They’re big. They’re quick.

They scored 29 points in the second quarter because we let them play their game, instead of us taking them out of their game.

Bolling Dubose Jefferson boys’ basketball coach

Shirreffs, Skelton lead East squad to victory in FCA East-West Football Classic

BY DAVID THACKHAM

The Paper Regional Staff

GAINESVILLE – As quickly as Evan Shirreffs’ final high school football game began, it had ended with a performance worthy of any All-Star contest.

The Jefferson senior threw for 269 yards, including two second-half touchdowns, to lead the East squad to a comprehensive 28-3 victory last Friday at City Park Stadium in the second annual FCA East-West Football Classic.

East Hall’s Juwan Merritt scored the go-ahead touchdown from a yard out on his team’s second drive of the night before Shirreffs found fellow Jefferson standout TJ Skelton and Banks County’s Austin Segars for twin scoring grabs to break open a late lead.

Shirreffs, who has offers from Virginia Military Institute and Columbia University, said he’ll add the night’s performance on his highlight reel.

“We had some rhythm going,” he said, surrounded by West and East players alike. “It was a bit nerve-wracking at first, but after that, we got to know the guys and have friendships I don’t think I’ll ever forget.”

The game was the culmination of a week’s worth of practices, speakers and camaraderie orchestrated by the local chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. After years of hard-nosed competition between the schools, players said they enjoyed getting to compete with old adversaries.

Merritt (4 rushes, 17 yards) finished off a six-play, 60-yard drive for the East squad with his 1-yard rush into the end zone in the first quarter.

Gainesville High’s Mikey Gonzalez (9-of-18 passing, 66

yards) had an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jackson County’s Caleb Smith waved off late in the second for an offensive pass interference flag that knocked the West team back to a 3rd and 25. West Hall’s Bradley Hodgson knocked home a 31-yard field goal from the right hash to score his team’s lone points of the game soon after.

Despite going 8 for 17 in the first half, Shirreffs built up a head of steam to enter the half and picked up three consecutive first downs before picking out Skelton (seven receptions, 199 yards) from 47 yards out for his first score.

His next bomb to Skelton spanned 61 yards down the middle of Bobby Gruhn Field and set the East team at the 11-yard line. Two plays later, Riverside Military Acadmey’s Brandon Grant (10 rushes, 57 yards) was wriggling into the end zone for a 21-3 advantage. Shirreffs completed 16 of 27 passes on the night.

If the West squad was expected to quit after that, North Hall’s Bobby Mendenhall never got the message, The linebacker burst through the East squad’s defensive line on the ensuing extra point, breaking the night’s unwritten rule to not block any of the kicks.

“We got to have a little fun out here,” Mendenhall said with a big grin plastered on his face. “We’re not here to give up.

That’s the West side spirit here. This squad had fun.”

Shirreffs picked up his final score with just 1:10 remaining when he found Banks County’s Segars from 24 yards out with man coverage on the left edge of the end zone.

After a West win in last year’s inaugural East-West Classic, the series is now tied 1-1.

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CMYK Thursday, December 25, 2014

features

3B

RandoM Rants in Rhyme

By Dr. C.B. Skelton

Commercializing Christmas season Back in the time of the great depression with our economy in deepest recession, there was no such thing as “mach-speed,” and no one felt a pressing need to get ahead of one another.

You treated your neighbor as you would your brother.

The USA then was a true Christian nation and Christmas was a time for celebration of God’s having sent the greatest gift of all – His only Son – to ransom mankind from his fall.

An apple, an orange, one toy, a raisin cluster and “must-have” clothes were all most parents could muster.

But times are more affluent, and Madison Avenue never misses a chance to “pitch” something to you.

Starting at Halloween, it reaches a crescendo the day after Thanksgiving when they “bribe” you to go to what’s called “Black Friday” with its “buggy bump” where merchants try to boost sales and get the jump on competing merchants and their own “bottom line,” in hopes it will be “in the black” this time.

They feature “loss-leaders” to get you in the door but they’re usually gone when you get to the floor.

It’s not exactly the old “bait and switch” game.

They do sell a few at the price they claim, but it’s mostly a gimmick to pack the store where they hope to sell you something more.

Many of these stores have crawled on the isthmus of refraining from using the word, Christmas.

It’s time for Christians to stand up and shout, “This is not what the season’s about!

Gift-giving is good, but should not obscure the message of love so awesome, so pure that God up in Heaven loved everyone of us on the earth that He sent HIS OWN SON! © 2014, cbs

Dr. C.B. Skelton is Poet Laureate for Barrow County and official poet for the City of Winder. He is the author of five published books and has created a CD of 11 of his religious songs. For information or to purchase, contact him at 770-867-9868, doc2skelton@gmail.com or www.docskelton.com

Bring One for the Chipper Christmas is here and the tree will soon be shedding all over the family room. Now what to do?

Many take their trees out to the back and make a wild animal habitat, but for those without room or those who discourage those wild animals from settling in, load the tree into the truck or car and bring it along to Bring One for the Chipper.

Keep Jackson County Beautiful will have locations for drop off at the Arcade City Hall, in Commerce at Lanier Tech Center as well as at the Hoschton Depot and Talmo Depot. The City of Jefferson’s Community Center is also a drop-off location and on Saturday, Jan. 3, the first 50 people will receive a seedling sponsored by the Jefferson Heritage Tree Council and the Jefferson Main Street Program.

Trees can be dropped off at unmanned sites beginning Dec. 26 and ending on Jan. 3, 2015. Trees will be picked up and shredded on Jan. 5 or 6.

The 2014 Bring One for the Chipper project netted more than 500 trees shredded by Jackson EMC. The mulch was used at the Jackson County Courthouse in KJCB’s Sheltering Hands Garden.

Bring One for the Chipper is Georgia’s annual Christmas tree recycling program, now celebrating more than 20 years of treecycling. In addition to local sponsor Jackson EMC, statewide sponsors included The Home Depot, The Davey Tree Expert Company and WXIA-TV. Numerous local sponsors and volunteers also make contributions and provide in-kind services across the state.

The Chipper program involves hundreds of Georgia communities and thousands of volunteers. Since its inception, the program has recycled an estimated 6 million Christmas trees.

The mulch from these trees has been used for playgrounds, local government beautification projects, and individual yards. You can support the Chipper program by bringing your cut Christmas tree to a designated drop-off site or volunteering with your local coordinator to collect trees.

For more information on county locations or about Keep Jackson County Beautiful, contact Susan Trepagnier at 706-708-7198 or strepagnier@jacksoncountygov.com For information on the Jefferson location or the Jefferson Main Street Program, contact Beth Laughinghouse at 706-3675714 or blaughinghouse@cityofjeffersonga.com

Christmas trees will be chipped and the mulch will be utilized.

Farah Bohannon The Paper

Jack Chalmers shows off the chapel he purchased in Helen 33 years ago which launched his hobby of villages gracing his home and enriching the lives of family and friends.

Houseful of holiday tradition Chalmers’ village hobby was inspired by beautiful church

By FARAH BOHANNON

fbohannon@clickthepaper.com

Jack Chalmers, Braselton resident, former minister and Northeast Church’s senior activities coordinator, is all about traditions. He says the excitement of his upcoming holiday traditions is one for the books and will never be forgotten by his children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren for years to come.

Chalmers has turned a passion and hobby of his into a tradition that can be enjoyed by people of all ages — an impressive display of porcelain and ceramic holiday homes that have been strategically arranged around his home to make beautiful villages with the support of his wife, Shirley.

In fact, nine years ago when his beautiful Braselton home was in the building process, Chalmers requested an extra room off of the kitchen and dining rooms that would specifically serve as a room for his holiday homes. The homes have lights in them, and Chalmers has re-wired everything so that the tiny structures are turned on and off with a simple flip of a switch. He has since expanded into the kitchen and dining room.

The homes actually stay up yearround not only because they would

Farah Bohannon The Paper

Inside their Braselton home, Shirley and Jack Chalmers are surrounded by small villages which generations of the family enjoy.

See TRADITION, 4B

Farah Bohannon The Paper

Members of the Braselton Yarners Group recently completed nine sets of dolls with their clothes in a box. The dolls are going to children in the community this Christmas. The group also donates hats, doll sets, lap throws, baby clothes and blankets and prayer shawls are made upon request.

Braselton Yarners share talents

By FARAH BOHANNON

fbohannon@clickthepaper.com

The Braselton Yarners Group is always looking for ways to share with others. This joyful group of women has no limitations when it comes to giving as well — their desire is to help anyone and everyone who is in need of it, no matter what.

The Yarners Group started a little over five years ago by current president Betty Billard, a retired DeKalb County teacher who was searching for a social outlet post-retirement.

She formed the Yarners Group, which has been a huge success. Originally gathering at Braselton Library, the group outgrew the library conference room space and relocated to a larger spot at New Liberty United Methodist Church. These ladies have bonded with one another and share a love for helping others. Billard says they will always welcome new members as well, and knowledge for knit-

ting or crocheting is not required.

“A lot of us are either retired or at home alone most of the time,” said Billard. “This gives us girls a chance to socialize, network and create some beautiful things together. We donate our projects to various charities or people in the community who are in need.”

The most recent project the Yarners Group took on has been doll clothing. Billard and her friends received Next Generation dolls, which are knock-off American Girl dolls as donations and even purchased a few of them with coupons for affordable prices. Next Generation dolls are very inexpensive as opposed to American Girl dolls and look almost identical. Billard says she orders doll dresses off eBay for only a few dollars, and adds embellishments to them such as sparkly designs, shiny

See YARNERS, 4B

4B

features

The Paper | Thursday, December 25, 2014

Friends support library

For The Paper

On hand for the donation of $4,000 were Friends of the Braselton-West Jackson Library board members Dorothy Drake, Judy Aldridge, president Dan Aldridge, Piedmont Regional Library director Beth McIntyre, Debbie Iglesias, Hector Iglesias, Marilyn Deal and Braselton Library manager Bev Adkins.

YARNERS

Friends of the Braselton-West Jackson Library gave an early Christmas present to Piedmont Regional Library System with the Dec. 11 donation of $4,000 for the purchase of e-books.

Patrons of the Braselton Library are prolific readers of e-books. According to the most recently complied statistics, for the month of November 2014 Braselton Library ranked first out the 10 libraries in the Piedmont System in the number of e-books circulated at 452. Over the past several years, Braselton Library has consistently ranked first or second every month in e-books circulated in the Piedmont Regional System. To support the interests of the patrons of Braselton Library, since the summer of 2012, the Friends group has donated more than $24,500 for the purchase

e-books purchased of e-books.

In addition to the increased readership in e-books at the Braselton Library, the Friends group has also taken note of the increased population in Braselton of the 55+ age group.

To support these patrons, earlier this year the Friends group donated $4,500 to the Braselton Library to enhance the library’s collection of large print books.

A list of the most recently acquired titles of large print books that are available for check-out at the Braselton Library can be viewed on the Friends website: braseltonfriends. prlib.org by clicking on the 2014 Christmas newsletter.

TRADITION

Continued from 3B

Continued from 3B

ribbons and much more.

The dolls come in a variety of races.

The Yarners Group members will donate the dolls as presents to girls who may not receive many Christmas presents due to financial or family problems or anyone who is in need. The dolls are placed into beautiful, feminine boxes complete with several outfit options, hair accessories, purses, jewelry, shoes and even a tiny Bible.

Some outfits are completely handmade.

“The possibilities are endless,” said Billard. The ladies have a lot of fun making the dolls look “glamorous” and enjoy offering multiple outfit choices for them. The girls who receive these dolls will have a variety of outfits that range from fancy to casual.

The Yarners Group has also taken on a project of making warm hats for cancer patients as well as anyone who needs one during the colder months. One member’s nephew serves in the military, so a large batch was sent overseas that fit perfectly underneath helmets to keep heads warm and cozy.

Gail White, an avid Yarners Group member, also mentioned that Peace Place is dear to the group’s heart, so they frequently donate to the shelter which serves women and children of Jackson, Banks and Barrow counties impacted by domestic violence.

“I am so grateful to be a part of this group,” said White. “Not only do I get to socialize with other ladies, I have opportunities to give back and donate to the less fortunate or to someone who just needs a gesture of love.”

Billard said, “We care about the people in our community and we use our skills to help others whenever we

Farah Bohannon The Paper

This is one of the creations from the Braselton Yarners’ “Doll in The Box” meeting being shared with local children this holiday. can. We have a variety of places that we donate our hats, doll sets, lap throws, baby clothes and blankets.

Prayer shawls are made upon request.”

Hamilton Mill United Methodist Church, New Liberty United Methodist Church, Peace Place, Newborns In Need, area pregnancy centers, local oncology offices, iServe Ministry, people who request items, nursing homes and veterans are among the recipients of the group’s handiwork.

Billard says that the Yarners Group is much more than just a club; it is a ministry.

She says it is a ministry that has grown in the handful of years it has been active and continues to grow. The group meets every Tuesday at New Liberty Church at noon and are always welcoming new members.

“We give free lessons to those who want to learn how to knit and crochet,” said Billard.

take ages to construct and dismantle, but because they are so special and deserve to stay up all the time. Chalmers said he cleans the homes regularly because they do collect dust.

This hobby began when he was visiting Helen 33 years ago and fell in love with a beautiful church at a little shop — and it was all history from there.

This church is located at the very center of the village.

The homes are displayed on long, white shelves that outline the top of the room so little hands do not touch, but the houses are still in a place where they can be admired. The homes in the dining room and kitchen are exhibited on top of the cabinets. The homes are not simply placed in random spots as Chalmers has them perfectly aligned to where they actually resemble a village. There are churches, a fire station, a city hall building, a bed and breakfast, lodges, homes, lighthouses and much more.

The areas surrounding the homes are sprinkled with little figurines enjoying Christmas time in their village as well as snow-covered trees, street lamps, horse-drawn carriages, carolers, a firefighter rescuing a kitten from a tree and even Santa Claus.

One large portion of the homes actually backs up to four stunning paintings that are hung together to create one panoramic view of the Teton Mountains stretching 16 feet across.

The painting is very subtle to not take away from the homes, but Chalmers points out that one side is painted at dusk complete with the moon, while one side is painted as a morning scene.

Janine Pasley, a friend of Chalmers, was the artist behind this masterpiece who actually was 60 years old before she ever picked up a paintbrush. She was a member of Chalmers’ church when he lived in Tucker and was baptized by him, so the painting is very special to his family.

Another portion of these homes is an Atlanta area section, and Chalmers said that these homes are particularly

Farah Bohannon The Paper

Outside the fire house in the Chalmers’ collection of village structures is a firefighter on a ladder getting a cat out of the tree next door to a church. special to him since he is an Atlanta native and because they were passed on from his late aunt, Ramona Swearington. There is a Gilbert’s Grocery Store, general store, Flatiron building, ice cream parlor, Jacobs’ Pharmacy and a handful more.

He said that he did add a few to his aunt’s collection as well as some figurines and a St. Simons Island lighthouse. Others are ones he purchased for himself as well as gifts since he tends to ask for a new house for Christmas and his birthday.

“The children, grandchildren and my great-grandchild look forward to seeing these houses,” said Chalmers.

“This is our tradition. Traditions like this are the ties that keep us looking back and thanking God for the blessings he has given us throughout the years. They remind us of our journey together as a family. That is why I keep this tradition going.”

Chalmers said he resists the temptation to continually purchase more homes, mainly because he is running out of space, and it is a lot of work to keep them clean. However, his family encourages him to add more shelving to display more homes because they love the excitement and happiness this hobby brings the family. Kevin King, CEO of YearOne, and Chalmers’ son-in-law, has already suggested

a place to add another section of shelving. Chalmers called that proof that his holiday home collection is enjoyed by all ages. And perhaps he could add a couple of hot rod car figurines for the village in honor of his son-in-law.

The Chalmers home is a very festive place to be during the holiday season.

The villages are a magnificent sight to see, and there are cuddly stuffed animals that sing Christmas carols, ornaments that each have a unique story, a gorgeous table set with Christmas china and décor and much more.

At 76 years old, Chalmers still keeps his family traditions going strong while his children and grandchildren hold onto them and agree to keep them going for years and years to come.

Traditions like this are the ties that keep us looking back and thanking God for the blessings he has given us throughout the years. They remind us of our journey together.

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CMYK 5B

The Paper | Thursday, December 25, 2014

ENTERTAINMENT

Treat siblings alike even though you only raised one Dear Carolyn: My husband’s (much) younger sister had a child as a teenager when she was not at all able to raise one due to drug problems and other issues.

We became the baby’s legal guardian and raised her as our own.

Earlier this year, at age 15, the child wanted to live nearby with the biological mother, who has gotten herself “somewhat” together.

The child we raised has a sibling, younger by eight years, and the mother only allows us to see them together.

I didn’t raise the younger child as my own and naturally don’t feel the same attachment.

I feel torn purchasing gifts for one as I do for my other children while only getting a token gift for the sibling who lives in the same household.

The biological mother is not being reasonable or flexible in this situation. HELP!! — Unclefather

Carolyn Hax Of course you love the older child as one of your own, and the younger as a “spouse’s” niece/nephew.

Everyone would understand that.

Except a young child. At 7, this sibling would know the elder had lived with you, obviously.

But having that information is not the same as achieving mastery over the hollow feeling of receiving less attention than a sibling.

And of watching this lessthan relegation play out right in your face, repeatedly, especially over holidays.

It’s there, it’s primal and it’s your job as the adult to make sure the younger sib-

ling never receives this burden from you, much less has to carry it alone. If the sister had four more kids, this might be a different answer.

So spend the extra time and effort cultivating a relationship with the younger, and by far the easier part, buy the younger sibling a gift “as I do for my other children.”

It is, to use the standard you set, the only reasonable and flexible thing to do. And, kind — an example as well as a gift.

Dear Carolyn: Upon my parents’ death, my sibling and I very equitably and happily divided our small inheritance equally. Each of us, including our children, were allowed to pick items from my parents’ household they especially wanted. All valuable items were included in the estate, sold and the proceedings were divided equally.

Each of the three grand-

daughters was allowed to pick one ring of my mother’s as a keepsake. She had one we all knew was more valuable than the rest. One of my daughters chose this one, and since she seemed to want it for sentimental reasons, everyone was generous about letting her have it.

We had the ring appraised a few months after the estate was settled and discovered it was worth almost 10 times what we expected; but again, since it was a sentimental choice, no one contested the issue.

Now, however, several years later, my daughter is talking about selling the ring!

I was stunned and told her I felt she was obligated to share the proceeds with her siblings and cousins after taking a slightly larger share for herself.

My daughter says she cannot see any reason she is obliged to share this income.

I am astonished she does not understand this. Am I crazy,

WORKING IT OUT

or does sharing seem like the only right thing to do? — A Disappointed Mom You’re not crazy, your daughter is being obtuse at best or, at worst, greedy. I’m sorry.

Perhaps a clearer explanation will penetrate the selfinterest coating her heart: “Even though having this ring meant you received a significantly larger share of the estate, everyone agreed to it because you seemed so attached to the piece emotionally. Now that you want to sell it, it’s clear there was no attachment.

“Does that mean you owe us all a share of the proceeds? No. Technically, it is yours to do with as you wish. But it does mean you are profiting off our kindness, and it will bother me a lot if that doesn’t bother you at all.”

Dear Carolyn: Is it weird my dad likes to hang out

with my two sisters and me without our significant others, and without his wife and stepson, every once in a while? My husband sure thinks so. My dad never actually says my husband isn’t welcome. I just sometimes know he’d like to do things as a foursome. Thoughts? — C. Among people who spent years living together, rewarding ones, there is comfort and familiarity nothing else can touch. Immediate family, sleepaway campers, college roommates, troops, teammates, even some colleagues.

What’s weird to me is your husband doesn’t get that or doesn’t want to. Sure, if your dad always herds his girls into private conversation, “weird” is back on the table.

But the occasional just-us time with grown kids? That, to me, is a gift.

Chat with Carolyn online at noon each Friday at www. washingtonpost.com.

What do you like about your paper? Send an email to editor@clickthepaper.com, call 706-658-2683, or send a letter to The Paper, P.O. Box 430, Hoschton, GA 30548.

MONDAY & THURSDAY

Great Food in a Casual Family Atmosphere

KIDS EAT FREE! (1 PER ADULT)

5.00 OFF

$

Ticket of $20 Or More. Valid with coupon Mon-Thurs only.

La Hacienda Braselton La Hacienda Commerce 5391 Highway 53 173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd.

706-654-0070 706-335-7458 The Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant.

JANRIC CLASSIC SUDOKU

SOLUTION

2014 Holiday Schedule Jackson County Transfer Station Holiday Hours:

Christmas Eve: 7:30 am – 12:00 noon Christmas Day: Closed New Year’s Day: Closed Have a greaT Holiday!

The Jackson County Transfer Station is located at:

100 Landfill Drive in Jefferson, GA 30549 Phone: 706-367-5253

cmyk 6B

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING 770-535-1199 www.gainesvilletimes.com

The Paper

Classifieds Services

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Firewood FIREWOOD FOR SALE $100 pick-up; load.

678-936-1380 FIREWOOD- Seasoned oak. Cut & split. Free Delivery. 470-208-9530; 678-978-0645 lve msg; 678-622-1477 lve msg

Announcements Notice ATTENTION CLASSIFIED CUSTOMERS The Times Classified Department asks that you verify and proof your classified ad(s) the first day that it is scheduled to print.

If any corrections need to be made, please contact our department, Monday through Friday, before 3pm.

The Times will not be held responsible for any issues that may arise after the first day of publication. classifieds@ gainesvilletimes.com 770-535-1199

Jobs Accounting FULL CHARGE BOOKKEEPER Full time/Part time available. Exp with Peachtree Accounting a must. Position available immediately.

Email resume to lynn@ redoaksanitation .com

Adult Care-Help Wanted Hall County Several positions avail. for supporting people with intellectual and/or physical disabilities. gnstarga@gmail. com www. northstargeorgia. org

Child Care-Help Wanted BABY SITTER needed.

My Home. Flowery Branch area. 8am-?

678-739-6420

Dental Highly experience Orthodontic Assistant needed 2-3 Thursday’s per month. Office just off Browns Bridge Rd. $23/hr. for right qualified, oriented, high work ethic individual.

Email resume to: lealmarilu72@gmail. com

General Sales Agents JOIN THE TIMES TEAM! Professional?

Prepared?

Producer?

We are looking for individuals who will impact our bottom line and provide solid customer satisfaction experience. You will work with a seasoned and award winning staff of dedicated and dependable team builders and team players.

Primary duties include developing new business while working to meet and exceed monthly sales quotas.

A working knowledge of Excel software, advertising layout and design is helpful, but more important is your desire to help our clients succeed. Reliable transportation and a valid driver’s license with good driving record are required.

Must have good written and verbal communication skills with external and internal customers, with a strong customer service/satisfaction drive. Need these skill sets to succeed: commitment, attention to detail, organization, teamwork, and ability to multi-task in fast-paced environment.

Applicants should be experienced in online advertising, familiar with interpreting and explaining metric data, comfortable with softwares and technology, capable of sharing their knowledge with others and excited about selling one of the best news Web sites in the state.

Child Care, Help Wanted Construction Dental Domestic Education Financial General Sales Agents Maintenance Management Medical Misc. Help Wanted Office/Clerical Part Time Help Wanted Poultry Production Professional Restaurant Help Security Technical Trades Truck Drivers Warehouse

*Business Opportunities *Financial *Happy Ads *Lost & Found *Notices *Personals *Situations Wanted

Place your ad today. Call

Services

of Braselton, Chateau Élan, Hoschton and Jackson County

*Home Improvement *Instruction *Landscaping *Misc Services *Painting & Papering *Plumbing *Pressure Washing *Remodeling & Repairs *Roofing *Welding

*Accounting *Adult Care *Carpentry *Catering *Childcare *Cleaning *Computer Services *Construction *Electricians *Firewood *Grading & Hauling *Handyman

The Paper Thursday, December 25, 2014

Jobs Accounting Adult Care, Help Wanted

Stuff *Antiques/Collectibles *Appliances *Auctions *Bicycles *Building Supplies *Cemetery Lots For Sale *Christmas Trees *Coins & Jewelry *Computers *Furniture *Guns *Heavy Equipment *Household Items *Lawn Equipment *Livestock *Misc. For Sale *Musical Instruments *Office Equipment *Pets & Supplies

Classification Index

*Sporting Equipment *Tickets *Wanted To Buy *Yard Sale *Yard Sale - Out Of Area

Homes & Real Estate

Homes - Rental Apartments - Furnished Apartments - Unfurnished Business Property For Rent Condominiums for Rent Duplexes For Rent Houses for Rent - Furnished Houses for Rent - Unfurnished Lake Home for Rent Mobile Homes for Rent *Roommates Wanted Rooms for Rent Vacation Property for Rent *Wanted to Rent

Acreage for Sale Business for Sale Business Property for Sale Condominiums for Sale Farms & Farm Land House for Sale - Hall House For Sale - Surrounding Investment Property Lake Home for Sale Lake Property for Sale Lots for Sale Mobile Homes for Sale Mountain Property Real Estate Wanted Surrounding Counties Vacation Property

Wheels

*All Terrain Vehicles *Antique Cars/Trucks *Auto Parts *Auto & Trucks Wanted *Autos for Sale *Four Wheel Drives *Import Cars *Motorcycles *Sport-Utility Vehicles *Tractor Trailers *Trucks *Vans

Recreation *Boats & Marine *RV’s/Travel Trailers

Apr 2013

Mon. - Fri. 8:30am - 5:00pm

We offer a competitive salary & bonus plan as well as comprehensive benefits package.

Email your resume and letter of interest including salary requirements to: hr@ gainesvilletimes.com No phone calls please.

EOE/M/H

Medical Morningside of Gainesville is accepting applications for Parttime CNA. Must be certified.

Medication experience preferred. Background check required. Apply in person: 2435 Limestone Parkway

Misc. Help Wanted Lead Cleaner & General Cleaners Janitorial, 1st & 2nd Shifts, Full/Part Time Experience helpful but will train. Call and leave Contact info for consideration (800) 224-7302

NOW HIRING!! *Experienced CDL Dump Truck Drivers With Clean MVR. *Experienced Heavy Equipt. Oper. *Experienced Pipe Foreman And Laborers.

Full Benefits package.

Apply in Person M-F, 8 to 4pm.

1364 Candler Road Gainesville, GA *We are a drug free work place.

Part-Time Help Wanted Sawnee EMC is seeking a GENERAL CLERK II Customer Service to assist in high volume call center. Requires high school diploma or equivalency; computer, communication and general office skills.

Minimum: two years of related experience preferred. Position is part-time with flexible hours, to include Saturdays and holidays.

package. Send resume and letter of application to reach our office by January 9, 2015 to: Allan Adams, State Director (Gainesville Business Consultant Position), The University of Georgia, Small Business Development Center, 1180 E. Broad Street, Athens, GA 30602-5412 or email it to sbdcjobs@ georgiasbdc.org. The University of Georgia is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.

WRITER with web expertise Poultry Times based in Gainesville, GA. is seeking an editorial employee for our biweekly national newspaper as well as our daily updated website who can provide creativity in writing and design.

Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree in journalism or related field, prior publication is a plus.

Poultry Times uses InDesign and Microsoft Word software.

To apply send cover letter, resume and/or page design samples to dstrickland@ poultrytimes.com or P.O. Box 1338, Gainesville, GA 30503

Restaurant Help Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton has openings for Full Time Cooks with six months of experience in food service, as well as Short Order Cooks, Nutrition Workers and Cashiers.

A high school diploma or GED is preferred for all positions.

Apply online at: www.

NGHSCareers.com

Applicants must present resume or complete an application prior to 5pm, December 30, 2014. Apply online: www.sawnee.com or application forms are available at 543 Atlanta Highway, Cumming, GA. 30040 or email: Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer of Females, Minorities, Veterans and Disabled. Drug-Free Workplace.

SECURITY - Full & Part-time Gainesville/Jefferson area. Apply online only www.ekgsecurity.com No phone calls please

Production

Technical

Select Staffing NOW HIRING!!

ASSEMBLY POSITIONS Buford, GA •Temporary, 18 months •M-F, 7a-3:30p •Assembly lineassemble power tools •GED or HS Diploma required •Bonuses offered APPLY TODAY! www.selectstaffing.com EOE

FT Certified XRAY Tech Basic IT Position; Medical Receptionist (exp preferred) Positions available.

Send resume to enorton@aaacg.com

Professional

Immediate need for 3 State Certified Waste Water Operator.

Accepting resumes/ applications at 920 Queen city Parkway, Gainesville, 770-533-5094 Pilgrim’s is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Business Consultant The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center, Gainesville office, seeks an experienced management professional with strong marketing and social media skills, and general business background to serve the Gainesville, GA area as a business consultant. Applicants must have a good working knowledge of all the basic business functions to include financial analysis, business research, marketing, and accounting. Candidates must have a Master’s Degree in business or related field. For a more detailed job description, please contact our office at (706) 542-2762. Salary based on experience up to $60,000 with an excellent benefits

We value diversity and always hire equitably.

Security

Trades Need Service Plumber with exp. Must have excellent customer service skills & tools. Must know local plumbing codes. You will be expected to communicate well and have a valid drivers license. We offer Great pay-up to $20/hr to start based on exp.

Company vehicle & phone. Send Resume to Steve@ greenleeplumbing. com

Truck Drivers CDL-A DRIVERS

up to $60,000 yearly Dedicated Account $2,500 Sign-On Bonus Paid Weekly Excellent Full Benefits

text DRIVE to 51893 for info 844-397-8245 aimntls.com/45 DRIVERTUNITY Up to $65,000 yearly Dedicated Account WEEKLY HOMETIME 1-2 Days Every Week $2,500 Sign-On Bonus Paid Weekly Excellent Full Benefits low out-of-pocket costs Paid Flatbed Training Full or Part Time AIM INTEGRATED LOGISTICS text DRIVE to 51893 for info 844-397-8245 aimntls.com/45

*Requires payment in advance.

Stuff Appliances WASHER & DRYER Kenmore. Exc Cond. $250. 770-983-1507 Washer/Dryers Stoves & Refrig.

Mattresses.

Refrig $125-$550.

Washers/Dryers from $125. Stoves $125. We do Appliance & Service Calls! 678-714-0493

Cemetery Lots for Sale

QUEEN SET- Pillow-Top, Brand New! $175. Still in plastic. Free delivery.

678-617-7353

Cedar Springs- 2BR. $725; 1BR $580 770-287-1456 callapartments.com

Pets & Supplies

HOUSES & APTS. Avail in Gainesville & Hall Co. The Simpson Co. 770-532-9911

1 Very Tiny Teacup Long-Hair Chihuahua Female. Parent’s on premises. Ready Dec. 22.

Cash only! $250.

678-897-7332 BOSTON TERRIERPups. 8wks. old. shots & wormed. Ready to go! $300. 770-297-7634; 678-859-0648

Memorial Park Cemetery Rose Garden 2, Lot #220, B#4. Value: $5,175; Asking: $3900. Contact Diane 706-344-2233

Furniture LA-Z BOY CHAIRS. (2) Upgraded fabric & color: Parsley green & champagne beige. Well cared for. Reasonable price. $95 each. 770654-6237 SET OF 4 AREA RUGSShaw. 1 large, 1 Medium 2 runners, matched. $500. 678-778-0196

Misc. For Sale BARBIE DOLLS 4 Gone With the Wind Dolls and 2 Avon Barbies. $100 ea or all 6 for $500. 404-483-7136 MAIN STREET FAMILY STORE Men, women & kid’s jeans $5-$7, Ladies & Mens clothing (casual & dress), shoes & boots, formal wear also Jewelry & household items.

858 Main St., Gainesville, GA 770535-6677 NEW GM STEP RAILS, ext. cab $450; Set of 1992 Oldsmobile Wheels & Tires, $400; New NOS ‘Vette Pace Car Steering Wheel w/ box, $450. 770-654-3694 PIERCE’S PINE STRAW - Open Daily 8am-4pm.

Weather permitting .

We will Not Be Undersold.

Quality For Quality!

1507 Martin Luther King Blvd., Gainesville, GA Across from The Tire Barn. We have Grade #1 for $3.25 per bale picked up. $3.50 bale delivered. New fallen Slash. Long needle avail. 678-617-0403 678-677-6352 POKER TABLE with 8 Leather back Chairs with adjustable seats that lift up & down on rollers. Like New! $1200. 770-532-7134

Recreation

Duplexes For Rent Duplex- 1BR. $625 3BR. $775. In City. Very Nice. 678-617-5073 Pine Forest- Oakwood 2BR/1BA $730/mo. 770287-1456 callapartments.com

Houses For RentUnfurnished

Christmas Love Bundles. CKC Miniature Doberman’ babies. Shots/wormed. $365. Orig $500.

762-448-0750 Christmas Puppies!

Mini Dachshunds. 3 Reds, 1 choc/tan. 3 males, 1 fem. All shots.

Ready for great home.

Pure breed, good temperment. $350. 770823-4963 JackRussell/Chihuahua mix very small breed Pups 8wks old. Tails docked. Good w/kids. $200-250. Call/text 678457-9782 SHI-TZU- Pups, 1 male $300 , 1 Fem. $350. 7wks old. 1st shots & wormed.

706-491-2436 TOY POODLES- CKC M/F, various colors, shots/wormed, $350$400. 706-865-1640

Sporting Equipment HOME EXERCISE GYM 10 stations, 50 body building exercise applications. Made by “Body Solid, Inc.” 83” H X 61” L X 69”W Like New! $495 770-654-6237

Homes-Rentals ApartmentsUnfurnished

26’x26’ dock with 19’x10’ single slip vinyl clad floats wired for electric 40’ gangway all in good condition Oakwood location $2500 Call 678-696-5158

BOAT TRAILER 18ft, single axle. Good cond. $350. 678-617-5560; 770-905-3441 SINGLE SLIP DOCK. Good shape, good wood, 40’ ramp, attached swim deck. $4500. 678-773-0589

4BR/1.5BA- C/H/A. $825/mo + dep.

678-316-6721

Wheels

Apts/Homes. General Property Mgmt.

770-287-1456 www. callapartments.com

All Terrain Vehicles POLARIS 2000 .

Magnum 325, 4x4.

Asking $1300/obo. 770540-5148

No Rent Until January 1st Expires 12/31/14 3BR/2BA Homes Call Sun Homes 888-246-2803 Countrysidelake lanier.com

Autos For Sale CADILLAC 2003 Escalade must see /well kept /good cond. / call 678-926-3020 for more details / price $5900 / blue book $7500 priced to sell $5900.

EHO WAC Oakwood - 2/1.5, yard very safe, H/A $690$740. 678-357-5044

CHEVROLET 2009 Impala $7987 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335

Mobile Homes For Rent

CHRYSLER 2006 300C $6987 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335

3BR/2BA dbl wide $150/per wk. 2br/1ba $135/wk. We pay $100 on utils. No pets. 770289-9142 Gainesville, S/N Hall 1-3BR $85 & up, per wk No app fee 1 week free 770-534-7596

Roommates Wanted MEN- Be$t, Pvt home, Fur Br, All Priv + Xtras, Oakwd 770-530-1110

Rooms For Rent $115/wk. Furnished, all utils & cable. W/D. kitch. 770-561-0781 MYRTLE TERRACES Senior Independent Living Community 1bdrm from $660 2 bdrm from $765 Certain age & income restrictions apply!

Water, trash and electric included in rent Call today for more info 770-538-0928

Boats & Marine

DODGE 2005 Magnum $7987 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335

Import Cars BMW 2009 328i $12,987 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335 KIA 2010 Optima $10,987 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335 KIA 2011 Optima EX. white pearl, Loaded.

34,000 mi. $15,000.

706-973-0613 KIA 2011 Soul $10,987 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335 MITSUBISHI 2008 Eclipse $7987 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335 NISSAN 2006 350Z Coupe. 1 owner, Pearl wht. $10,500. 678-9365374 NISSAN 2007 Altima $9987 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335 NISSAN 2009 Altima SI $12,987 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335 NISSAN 2012 Altima $11,587 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335

NISSAN 2013 Altima $13,987 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335 TOYOTA 1993 Camry.

Low miles. Satellite radio sys, Michelin’s . $2500.

706-949-4688 TOYOTA 2006 Tacoma $10,987 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335

Sport Utility Vehicles 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited X-2 WD, 4 door Silver, auto with hardtop. Jeep replaced motor at 77K currently 126K, been well maintained, excellent cond. $14,500-Call before 8pm 678-8873021

Trucks FORD 1984 F150 XLT 4 x 4 short bed with liner $5,000; 706-216-1718 139K, V8, 4WD. Antique truck going up in value.

REBUILT 351V8 motor 7,000 miles on engine.

Many new parts. Tires good. Dual fuel tanks.

NISSAN 2010 Frontier Ext Cab. $15,278 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335

Vans

NISSAN 2012 Sentra $11,587 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335

DODGE 1999 Caravan - $2,500; 706-216-1718; 137K, auto, 6 cylinders, new water pump, belts, brakes; fairly new tires, very good condition.

NISSAN 2013 370Z Coupe. Blk, MSRP $37,413. Showrm Cond.

2000 miles. Priced below market at $26,500. 770535-9912

DODGE 2012 Caravan $11,987 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335

FORD 2007 Focus. SE. 4cyl, 33mpg. leath seats.

No damaqe. Nice! $4700 obo. 770-289-9093

FORD 2009 Mustang GT Premium, 4.6L V8, 5 spd, 45th Anniversary. 18K miles, torch red, loaded, mint cond., $22,900.

706-754-5514 FORD 2012 Fusion $11,987 All Credit OK Call Carriage Nissan 770-532-6335

Homes & Real Estate Lots For Sale 1 1/16 acre lot, 1/2 wooded, sits between Gainesville and Gillsville. $16,500. 678-463-9186

VOLVO 1996 960 sedan, One of the last rear wheel drives. All options. Exc. cond. Must see and drive, 137k mi., $5000. 678-450-0033

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