Your Hometown Newspaper Devoted To The Progress Of Gilmer County

VOL. 137 • NO. 46 • U.S.P.S. NO. 630-280 November 15, 2012 EST. 1875 • CONSOLIDATED 1916 • 50 CENTS

Veterans salutedwith parade,serviceSee Gilmer Living 1B

Home Depot project at Build an Ark See Around Town 1D

Bobcats headedto state playoffsSee Sports 1C

Kids learn up-close on Veterans Day

Photo by Michael Andrews

Sky Soldiers team member David McKinney, left, gives Caroline Ott, her brothers Clayand Carter Ott, in background, and Ben Jones, right, a lesson on how a U.S. Army Hueyhelicopter works during the Veterans Day lunch held at the Ellijay Lions Club Friday,Nov. 9. The ‘copter, which flew over downtown Ellijay and was on display outside theLions Club Friday, was used in combat during the Vietnam War. See Gilmer Living formore photos of this year’s Veterans Day in Ellijay.

Vets honored for doing ‘whatever it takes’by Mark Millicanmarkmillican@timescourier.com

Henry “Perk” Umphreysaw the dead bodies float-ing in the water and lyingon the beach at Normandyand knew he could be next.“I didn’t think we’d ever

get ashore,” said Umphrey,89, as his face clouded atthe memory of being in the

initial assault of OmahaBeach on D-Day — June 6,1944. “We lost so manymen that day just gettingashore.”As part of the First Army,

he had already beeninvolved in the NorthAfrica/Sicily campaign.And as a survivor of D-Day,he soon found himself inthe Battle of the Bulge.

Umphrey and dozens ofother veterans gatheredFriday morning at FirstUnited Methodist Churchfor breakfast and a briefprogram before joining theannual Veterans DayParade where he wasgrand marshall. An ensu-ing ceremony on the

3 Gilmer men arrestedin chicken fight raid From Staff Reports

Law enforcement offi-cers from three agenciesdescended on an OldHighway 5 South loca-tion Saturday night andraided a chicken fight inprogress, authoritiessaid. Three Ellijay menwere arrested.

Charged by the GilmerCounty Sheriff’s officewith being party to acrime for aggravated cru-elty to animals were Jef-fery Patrick Hunter, 54,of 5348 Old Highway 5South; Jose MatiasRomero, 46, of 728Mulkey Road; andDomingo Trejo Garcia,

23, of Orchard Road. Thecharge is a felony in allthree cases, a sheriff’soffice spokeswoman said.Hunter and Romero

were released on $5,000bonds Monday, accordingto the spokeswoman.Garcia remained in jail

Early voting costs local cities thousands

by Mark Millicanmarkmillican@timescourier.com

A Georgia law thatrequires cities and coun-ties to provide the con-venience of early votingbefore an actual electionday is costing smallermunicipalities thousandsof dollars, local officialssay, with only a few vot-ers taking advantageanyway.In the case of East Elli-

jay, only 10 voters cameto City Hall to cast bal-lots early in the recentelection regarding Sun-day alcohol sales, but thecity had to pay three pollworkers a total of $3,160,said Mack Wood, codeenforcement officer.“There should be some

kind of limit because ofthe size of the cities,” hesaid, noting that theearly voting period hadbeen cut from 45 daysdown to 21 days. “We hadto sit three people there(at City Hall) for threeweeks to vote on this, andwe had 10 votes cast inthe three-week period.But by state law, we’vegot to sit there. We didn’thave to do it from 7-to-7(a.m. to p.m.), it was onlyfor the time that (CityHall) was open.”Wood said the city also

paid $1,500 to GilmerCounty Election Manag-er Gary Watkins as anindependent supervisor“to keep the controversyout” of the balloting.Wood said he would

“like to start agroundswell” to try and

get legislators to addressthe requirement and itsattendant expenses,which he believes mostsmall cities do not budgetfor.“It’s just not feasible or

practical to make (smallcities) stay open threeweeks (for early voting),”he said.Ellijay Mayor Al Hoyle

said both cities need to“get with our legislators”about the issue.“I see the need for

that,” he said a couple ofdays after the election.“In big cities, you seelines (of people who voteearly). But in little citieswhere you’ve got 800 reg-istered voters, and what’sEast Ellijay got — 300 or400, maybe? — you don’tneed (early voting) openthat long. The stateneeds to change that lawand base it on size.”Ellijay had 725 active

registered voters for theelection period and EastEllijay had 230, ChiefRegistrar Nelda Spiressaid on election night.Hoyle said close to 60

people voted in the three-week early period. CityClerk Sharon Spivey saidthe city paid $3,618 topoll workers over thethree-week early votingperiod, and will also payWatkins $1,500 to super-vise their election.

Ralston: ‘Struck a fair balance’

Speaker of the GeorgiaHouse of RepresentativesDavid Ralston (R-BlueRidge), said the only

complaints his office hasheard about early votingcame a couple of yearsago.“First of all, I think

early voting is very popu-lar with the public, andthat’s who we serve,” hesaid on the Monday afterthe General Election. “Ithink people utilized thatthis year in record num-bers … I have not heardany complaints this yearfrom local elections

by Michael Andrewsandrews@timescourier.com

Public utilities in GilmerCounty will be taxed at arate lower than thedesired 38 to 40 percentthis year, confirmed chiefappraiser Richard Lamb.The sales ratio used to

determine public utilityad valorem taxes is 36.69percent, said Lamb.Though that could mean aloss in utility tax revenue

for the county, the chiefappraiser said he feels for-tunate for the ratio to bethat high given the cur-rent real estate market.

Lamb added thatvalues of public utilityproperty generallyincreased last year, so it isnot known, yet, whetherany utility tax money willbe lost.“I’m not so sure it’s a tax

loss because utility valuesincreased –– more trans-

formers, etc. They are con-stantly making improve-ments,” said Lamb. Each year, the Georgia

Department of Revenuereviews county tax digeststo determine if parcelswere assessed at least 36percent of fair marketvalue. Last year, too, utili-ty company property ––including that whichbelongs to power and tele-phone companies, rail-roads and water and gas

We have an increased need for blood products. The AmericanRed Cross has lost hundreds of Blood Drives due to the storm.

Ellijay Community Blood DriveThursday, Nov. 15 • 12–6pm

Ellijay Lions Club1729 South Main St. • Ellijay, GA

In this issue...National/State Roundup .........2AEditorial...................................4AChurch News/People...........6–7AObituaries................................8ALive Bluegrass Music.............11AEllijay Every Day.....................11APink Tea Party........................12AFarm City Week......................13AGilmer Living ...........................1BCar Couple ..............................2BTV Guide..................................3B

Legals..................................4–7BSports..................................1–3CFocus on Education .............4–6CHealth & Fitness ...............7–10CLocal Author ..........................11CThe Upside ............................12CArrests ..................................13CAround Town ............................1DCalendar/Puzzles/Movies.......2DClassifieds...........................4–7DDixie Divas...............................7D

by Ryan R Reesrrees@timescourier.com

Seventy-five percent ofregistered Gilmer Coun-ty voters cast ballots inthe Nov. 6 presidentialelection with 81 percentof them voting for Gov.Mitt Romney over Presi-dent Barack Obama.The county registrar’s

office reported that11,087 of the 14,825 eli-gible voters participatedwith 699 of them filingabsentee ballots.Romney collected

8,926 votes to PresidentObama’s 1,958 or 18 per-cent in county voting. President Obama was

re-elected by a 51 to 48

Countygoes forRomney

News briefs and deadlinesGHS football send-off

The Gilmer Touchdown Club would like to invite every-one to a community send-off at the intersection of High-land Crossing and Eller Road at 2:45 p.m. as the GilmerHigh football team leaves for their state playoff gameversus Marist.Come out and show your support for all of the Bobcats’

hard work that went into their 8-2 season as they facetheir toughest test of the year.Kickoff at Marist is set for 7:30 p.m.

T-C schedule for ThanksgivingThe Times-Courier will have regular deadlines for

news and advertising for its Thursday, Nov. 22, issue. Allpaper drops and boxes will be filled on Wednesday, Nov.21. Papers will also be mailed on Wednesday, but due topost office closings on Thursday, routes and P.O. boxeswill receive their papers on Friday.a The Times-Courier office will be closed on Thursdayand Friday, Nov. 22-23, so our staff can enjoy the holidaywith their families. The paper will reopen Monday, Nov.26, at 8:30 a.m. Have a happy and safe Thanksgivingfrom the publishers and staff of the Times-Courier.

Christmas story deadline Dec. 7

“Twas the night before Christmas and all through thehouse …”Actually, the Times-Courier is looking for more original

writing than the fabled poem above for its annual Christ-mas Story Contest. With Christmas less than six weeksaway, a deadline for submissions has been set for Friday,Dec. 7 at 5 p.m.The first-, second- and third-place stories will be pub-

lished, and as many others as space allows, in the Dec. 20edition of the Time-Courier. The first place winner willreceive $35, second place $25, and third place $20.Entries should be 500 words or less and typewritten, if

possible. Artwork may be submitted with stories, but itwill not be judged as part of the contest.Stories can be submitted via email by sending them to

tceditor@timescourier.com, or they can be mailed to theTimes-Courier,P.O. Box 1076, Ellijay, GA 30540. You mayalso drop them by our office at 47 River Street. Pleaseinclude name, address and phone number with allentries.

See Voting page 3A

See Romney 5ASee Utilities page 5A

See Chicken page 3A

See Vets page 3A

Public utilities to be taxed atlower rate than desired

Tuesday.Lt. Calvin Wilson of the

sheriff’s office saiddeputies responded to adispatch from GilmerCounty 911 after a com-plaint call was receivedSaturday.“Numerous officers

responded due to the sizeof the crowd, includingofficers from the East Elli-jay Police Departmentand the Georgia StatePatrol,” said Sheriff StacyNicholson in a release.“Upon investigation by

Gilmer County detectives,it was determined to bean active chicken fightingevent.”The location was a

metal building onHunter’s property, accord-ing to information in therelease. Investigators dis-covered a chicken fightingpit and “met with approx-imately 25 to 30 peopleand observed four fightingroosters — three of whichwere deceased and oneseverely wounded.”“Only those linked

directly to the chickenfighting were arrested atthis time, but the investi-gation continues and

more arrests may beforthcoming,” Nicholsonstated.Phone numbers for

Hunter and Romero couldnot be found.

officials. No one fromGilmer County hascalled me to complain.We revisited early vot-ing (after) hearing a lotof complaints after the2010 election cycleabout the expense(because) that’s whenwe were at 45 days. Andso we cut it by morethan half. We did add ina Saturday because Ithought that was help-ful to the public. So wedid respond when therewere significant con-cerns over expense, andI think we struck a fairbalance.”

He also said citizensneed to be aware thatrequests for changes invoting at the state levelare scrutinized andapproved at a higherlevel.“What people may not

understand is any timeyou make changes toelection laws here inGeorgia — becausewe’re still covered by theVoting Rights Act — theDepartment of Justice inWashington (D.C.) has toreview those and theyapproved ours,” heexplained. “One of thethings that went intoour thinking in 2011was that to shorten thetime period more — or toless than 21 days —

would be such a sub-stantial change in thelaw that we didn’t havea high comfort level thatwe could get thatapproved by the feds.They did, and I think itstruck a fair balance,and that’s kind of wherewe are.”Ralston was renomi-

nated for House Speakeron Monday by theRepublican Caucus, saidtop aide Marshall Guest.“I’m not sure what the

Democratic Caucus isgoing to do,” Ralstonsaid. “But the (Republi-cans) have asked me tobe the standard bearerfor the party on openingday in January, and I’mhonored to do that.”

square and luncheonwere also sponsored by theEllijay Lions Club.It was a continuation of

the honor bestowed uponveterans from the nightbefore, when around 320vets and family membersattended a Gilmer CountyVeterans Appreciation Din-ner sponsored by theRotary Club. Keynotespeaker Major Gen. PhillipR. Anderson called theheroic climb up a cliff byArmy Rangers on the Nor-mandy coast — with Ger-man troops firing machineguns and tossing grenadesdown on them — the firstvital step in “seizing backEurope” from Axis powers.Anderson said veterans

“signed a blank check tomake the ultimate sacri-fice” when they swore toprotect the United Stateswith their lives. He calledVeterans Day “a time ofpersonal reflection” forthose who served, andnoted a debt of gratitudemust also be shown to thefamilies who serve withthem from back home.

Remembering the fallen and missing

On a crisp, sun-splashedFriday on the square twodays before Veterans Dayproper, Mark Pettit attend-ed the ceremony with thetheme of “Freedom —Whatever It Takes.” Hisfather, the late Morris Pet-tit, was on the “tip of thespear” during the Battle ofthe Bulge. He was capturedby German forces andspent time in a POW camp.“I don’t know if I could

put it into words,” Pettitsaid when asked whatattending the Veterans Dayobservance ceremonymeant to him. “When hebegan sharing his experi-ences later in his life, itopened my eyes up to notonly what he did, but somany others.”Pettit said his father told

the family that just beforehe was captured the soldier

sharing the foxhole withhim was killed while “tak-ing tremendous fire” fromGerman machine guns asthe enemy came bearingdown on them.“Dad said the man had

just received a picture of hisnewborn son a few daysbefore he was killed,” saidPettit, becoming emotional.“That’s the kind of sacrificethose guys made so we canenjoy this today. It’s a smallthing for me to be standinghere.”Steve Chance, a member

of the Marine CorpsLeague detachment basedin Jasper, said he was “over-whelmed” at the turnoutand esprit de corps amongattendees.“I was just telling a friend

of mine who is a Marine —this enthusiasm wasn’tthere when our guys cameback from Vietnam,” herecalled, then looked atschoolkids gatheredaround. “But having thesechildren here today leavesan impression on them. Itteaches them somethingthey can’t find in a book.”Students also played a

role in the dinner and cere-mony on the square, per-forming as part of GilmerHigh’s band and choral pro-grams, and also the CivilAir Patrol. A Huey helicop-ter, one of the standardworkhorse aircraft for the

Army and Marines duringVietnam, punctuated theceremony after heraldingits arrival with increasinglynoisy rotor blades beatingthe air.The most poignant

moment of the Rotary Clubdinner was when the NorthGeorgia Honor Guard per-formed a “missing man”ceremony where a tablewas set on stage with noone sitting in the chairs.Members placed a ball capwith military branch desig-nation at the empty placesettings, and many in theaudience bowed their headsas “Taps” was played.Anderson noted veterans

throughout American’s his-tory have “clearly found acause greater than them-selves.”“The valor that defined

warriors from previous gen-erations continues today,”he said of men and womenserving in Iraq andAfghanistan. Umphrey replied he was

“amazed” when asked howhe felt about the turnout byveterans and those whohad organized the events tohonor them.“I’m also amazed we still

have this many people leftwho served in World WarII,” he said while scanningthe room. “We’re dying outfast — today means a lot tome.”

One ofm yfavo r i t eparts offall iswatchingl e a v e ss w i r lb e h i n dmy car asI drived o w nc o u n t r yroads. I cannot help butsmile at the sight of theblowing mass of orange,brown and scarletstirred up in my wake. Then my eyes drift to

the roadside and a dif-ferent expression stealsover my face as I amconfronted with litterleft behind not by treesbut by the carelessnessof people. Whether inad-vertently allowed toblow out of truck beds ordeliberately tossed fromcar windows, discardedpieces of Styrofoam,candy wrappers, fast-food restaurant bagsand aluminum cans marthe landscape. I am always saddened

to see garbage lining theroadsides in my commu-nity, and unfortunately,there have been timeswhen I’ve had similarexperiences with trashon local trails. I remem-ber feeling particularlysickened while on awalk along Holly Creekduring the summer. Irecall seeing numerousabandoned items, rang-ing from solitary shoesto grocery bags to dia-pers, left in the creekbed or along the water’sedge. I was disgusted bythe obvious disrespectprevious visitors hadshown for the beautifulsetting, as well as thetravelers who would fol-low after them.

Trash is certainly notwhat you wish to seewhen you set out toenjoy Gilmer County’slovely wilderness, and Iurge people to follow the“pack it in, pack it out”concept and Leave NoTrace (www.lnt.org)principles. Littering is not just a

problem of forgetting tothrow things away inthe proper trash recep-tacle. It also speaksclearly of our lack ofrespect and unwilling-ness to care for the envi-ronment. This past week, I

heard from a couple whorecently moved to Elli-jay. They shared howthey felt “dumbfounded”after hearing someonein the local communitydescribe littering as away “to teach the countya lesson” for chargingresidents for garbagedisposal. What a terrible mind-

set. Do the people who

think that way not real-ize that littering isdetrimental to everyonein the community, them-selves included? Do theyhave so little pride intheir community thatthey are willing to fla-grantly cast a shadowon its beauty? In my column last

week, I wrote about theimportance of maintain-ing a positive outlookabout our communityand focusing on itsvirtues. The idea of tak-ing care of the land andhonoring its lovelinessby keeping it clean goeshand-in-hand withthose sentiments. Littering ultimately

has the same outcomeas verbally trashing ourcommunity. It covers up

the positives and makesus lose sight of thethings that make thisarea special and worthliving in or visiting. Please demonstrate

your pride in this com-munity by doing yourpart to keep it clean andcared for. Particularly aswe move into the holi-day season and prepareto discard all the pack-aging, wrapping paperand boxes involved withseasonal gift giving, Iurge you to be mindfulof how you dispose ofyour trash. Take carewhen transportinggarbage and do yourpart to get rid ofunwanted items proper-ly. We are blessed to live

in such a beautiful areaand we should take seri-ously the task of beinggood stewards of theland that has beenentrusted to us.You’re probably famil-

iar with Georgia’sAdopt-A-Highway Pro-gram, which is designedto get individuals andbusinesses involved inthe effort to keep thestate clean and increasecommunity pride whileraising public aware-ness about good stew-ardship and civicresponsibility. With these goals in

mind, I would encourageyou to take this idea astep further by inten-tionally choosing toadopt all of GilmerCounty and working tokeep it pristine and wel-coming. Don’t just focuson sprucing up her road-ways, but look for waysthat you can improvethe community as awhole and spotlight itsmany wonderful attrib-utes.

Do you need a new mindset?

WhitneyCrouch

wcrouch@timescourier.com

TIMES-COURIER • ELLIJAY, GEORGIA THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2012 3A

William C. (Chuck) McCurdy Jr. Attorney at Law

“Call Us TODAY For A FREE Consultation”

(706) 253-7701 Our office is conveniently located in JASPER at 12 North Main Street

(1/2 mile from Hwy. 515) www.mccurdylaw.com

STOP JUDGMENTS AND COLLECTIONS STOP HARASSING PHONE CALLS

WE ARE A DEBT RELIEF AGENCY WE HELP PEOPLE FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY

Wills & Estates • Real Estate • Small Business Incorporation

BANKRUPTCY DEBT RELIEF

Vetsfrom 1A

Votingfrom 1A

Chickenfrom 1A

‘Missing Man’ table

Contributed photo

A "Missing Man" table in honor of POW/MIAs who have not returned from Amer-ica's wars and conflicts took a prominent place on stage at the Gilmer CountyVeterans Appreciation Dinner sponsored by the Rotary Club Nov. 8.

138 Spring Street • Ellijay, GA

Call Chef Janie for Reservations (770) 855-3754

Light up Ellijay Dinner

Enjoy Roast Pork w/Cider Gravy, Sausage Ravioli, Meatloaf with Mushroom Gravy,

Chicken Marsala, Beverage & Dessert

Friday, Nov. 23 •  5–8 p.m. (reservations suggested)

at the Farm Table Restaurant in the

Historic Tabor House

Serving Saturday Dinner in November!

Hunter Romero Garcia

www.wildliferehabsanctuary.org Cougar Lane • Ellijay

706-276-2980

Ellijay Wildlife Rehab Sanctuary