V

oters are being asked

to determine wheth-
er the state Constitu-
tion should be amended
with regard to the manner
of establishment of charter
schools and controversy
reigns over whether the
state should have this ad-
ditional measure of author-
ity to approve these new
schools against the wishes
of local ofcials.
As it stands now, local of-
cials bear the initial respon-
sibility for approving or dis-
approving applications for
charter schools within their
school district. If that appli-
cation is not approved, an
appeal can be made to the
state Board of Education,
which currently has the au-
thority to overrule the de-
cision of local ofcials and
grant approval of the char-
ter school.
If the referendum, which
will appear on the Nov. 6
presidential ballot, is ap-
proved, the Constitution
will be amended to allow
charter school applicants
who are disapproved at the
local level to appeal to the
Charter School Commis-
sion, a state agency that
was originally established
W
ill Sanders, the
Spalding County
resident who has
fled a federal lawsuit against Spalding County and each
individual county commissioner, intends to move forward
with the legal case despite ofcials initial action to revise
the emergency management ordinance that Sanders said
has the potential to violate residents Constitutional rights.
Sanders said he fled his action on Aug. 10, due to the
overreaching and intrusive powers allotted to one single
person the chairman of the board or their designee to
access your property without your consent or a search
warrant, and the provision that allowed the chairman of
the board to suspend the sale of guns, gas, alcohol and
bullets.
He said he views the original emergency management
ordinance as a direct afront to civil liberties granted to
United States citizens, specifcally the Second and Fourth
Amendments of the Bill of Rights that in part grant the
right to bear arms and protection against unlawful search
and seizure of property.
THE FIRST EVER GET A GRIP PHOTO CONTEST :::
SEPT 27 - OCT 11, 2012 ::: VOL. 02 NO. 20
WWW.THE-GRIP.NET ::: FREE
Sky Design presents branding
presentation to city commissioners
CoNt. LAWSUIT, P. 11
CONTACT US
770-229-3559 | PO Box 2251
Grifn GA 30224
Jessica Williamson Gregory,
Publisher; jessica@the-grip.net
Display advertising:
ryan@the-grip.net
770.584.7677
Story ideas/submissions:
sheila@the-grip.net
WWW.THE-GRIP.NET
FOLLOW:
THEGRIPNEWS
FACEBOOK.COM/
THEGRIPNEWS
Last week in pictures:
Clockwise starting above: UGA Grifn Campus PGRCU has
a tailgate luncheon to promote diversity; Grifn Spalding
County Schools held a "Pirate Poetry" night on Sept. 18;
Motorcyclists ride under the American fag on Hwy. 362
for the 14th Annual tab Run on Sept. 23.
Get a grip
on a $50 gift
certificate from
your favorite
locally-owned
business or
restaurant!
to help us promote locally-owned businesses,
take a picture of yourself in or around your favorite
business or restaurant holding some sort of sign (it
doesn't have to be fancy) that describes why you
love that place in one word. Get creative, because
the most interesting photos & words will be chosen
for front-page publication in a November issue
of the Grip and win a $50 gift certifcate to their
chosen place! Right: Grip publisher and 'stache studio co-
owner Jessica Gregory chose 'stache studio because she thinks
painting (and all art, really) is therapeutic. (Though she's not
really entered in the contest because that would be unfair.)
Details: One entry per
person, please. Post
your pictures to The
Grip's Facebook page by
October 31. Then tell
all your friends to go
"like" your post because
that will play a part in
choosing the winners!
(Local businesses, don't
be ashamed to encourage
your patrons to take those
pictures!)
C
ity of Grifn ofcials say no immedi-
ate change will be forthcoming as
a result of correspondence by the
Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF)
requesting the city cease to allow a pub-
lic prayer prior to Board of Commissioner
meetings.
According to City Manager Kenny Smith,
two letters from FFRF President Annie Lau-
rie Gaylor have been received the frst
on July 24 by Commissioner Joanne todd,
who in 2011 served as commission chair-
woman, and the second on Sept. 5, ad-
dressing the citys lack of response to the
FFRFs frst request to cease the practice.
the initial letter in part states, Citizens
of all religions or no religion are compelled
to come before you on important civic
matters and to participate in important
decision afecting their livelihood, their
property and, quality of life. these citizens
should not be made to feel ofended, ex-
cluded or like political outsiders because
the local government they support with
their taxes imposes religious ritual at civil
government meetings. Local government
should not be in the business of perform-
ing religious rituals, or exhorting all citi-
zens, regardless of beliefs, to participate in
a Christian prayer, or even asking citizens
to show deference or abstinence to this
ritual.
Upon receipt of the frst letter, todd for-
warded it to Smith, who in turn conducted
an informal poll of the commission mem-
SHEILA A. MARSHALL :::
Staf writer; sheila@the-grip.net
SHEILA A. MARSHALL :::
Staf writer; sheila@the-grip.net
CoNt. PRAYER, P. 11
indie crafts, local art, and quirky home decor
Tc Makcr: Markc/
part hippie, part hipster, and part crazy aunt pearl
:|achc :|ad|c
ll6 :. :h|h :/. ::: gr|a, ga
cj Baadmadc, Ucgc|cd, aad
T|a|agc cr da||qac ccd:
aa:|gac|||c.ccm
grand opening oct. 13. vendor move-in oct. 1-12.
770.229.6599
SHEILA A. MARSHALL :::
Staf writer; sheila@the-grip.net
G
rifn's branding ini-
tiative is now past
the initial stage of
creating a new logo and
brand identity. Sky Design
presented its concepts to
the city commissioners
during their workshop on
tuesday, September 25.
"I am proud to say that our
city commissioners have
been extremely supportive
of this efort and are truly
enthusiastic about where
this brand will take us.
Now that we have a brand
that has their approval,
we can start working on
implementation," said Kira
Harris-Braggs, Grifn Main
Street Director.
City Manager Kenny
Smith said, "I thought the
commissioners received it
well...we're moving forward
and will begin phasing in
Sky Design's suggestions
as we have the budget."
Smith went on to say that
some of the suggestions
can be done at little to
no cost to the city, such
as website redesign and
digital letterhead, and
those will be implemented
frst.
New business cards and
stationary will be reordered
as they need replacing.
two of Sky Design's
main suggestions, hiring
a marketing director and
placing way fnding signs
at main corridors entering
the city limit and within the
downtown area, may have
to wait for allocated funds
in future budgets.
"We have some money
allocated for signage in
this year's budget, but we'll
have to phase most of that
in as budget allows," said
Smith.
the planning and
development department
will meet with steering
committee members next
week to discuss further
implementation of the
branding initiative.
"We will start working
immediately on developing
a strategic plan for
launching and infusing it
into the fabric of the Grifn
community. We want to
do this in way that is cost
efective and as seamless
as possible, Harris-Braggs
said.
JESSICA GREGORY :::
Publisher; jessica@the-grip.net
Wisconsin group opposes prayer
conducted prior to city BoC meetings
Spalding man moving forward with
emergency management suit
The letter "i" in Grifn's new
logo represents citizens of
the community, while
the connected
"f"s represent
bridging the
community.
CoNt. CHARTERS P. 2
Local, state ofcials disagree on issue
of charter school accountability
O
ne crucial question
that remains unan-
swered in the fght
over the charter school ref-
erendum is how funding
will be provided for what is
expected to be a signifcant
increase in the number of
state charter schools that
will established throughout
Georgia.
As far as how the funding
works where they'll get
the money there are a lot
of unanswered questions.
I have no idea where they
think the money is going to
come from, if it's not from
every other (state) budget,
whether it's transportation
or education, said Grifn-
Spalding County School
System Director of Finance
Ryan McLemore. origi-
nally, the state money was
going to follow the child,
as well as the local money,
but that didn't go over well,
so they backed away from
that. How are they going to
fund a whole new level of
government bureaucracy,
with a parallel school sys-
tem that has no local con-
trol without detriment to
every other department
that's underfunded and still
experiencing cuts?
According to McLemore,
underfunding of Georgia's
public education system is
at the core of the issue.
He explained that edu-
cation funding is the only
portion of the state budget
that is stated in law and is
constitutionally-mandated
fully outlined under the
Quality Basic Education Act.
However, he said that de-
spite lawmakers willingness
to amend the Constitution
in favor of state charter
school creation, the legally-
required state funding for
education has been cut by
$1.1 billion annually.
It's been well underfund-
ed since the mid-1990s, but
we're not doing so well, so
they want to create this
parallel system, instead, he
said.
McLemore said that al-
though funding has been
drastically cut, other state
mandates, such as teacher
certifcation, class sizes or
testing, remain in place.
the hypocrisy of it is we
have all the rules and law,
but they take a billion dol-
lars and criticize when they
don't get what they expect,
he said. For us, it's slap in
the face because they say,
'It's not your money. We're
not going to take your
money.' If it's not coming
from us, you're still directly
funding a parallel school
system.
Supporters of eforts to
amend the Georgia Con-
stitution to allow for the
formation of state charter
schools say it is necessary
due to the long-term fail-
ures of the public school
system.
Gov. Nathan Deal's Di-
rector of Communications
Brian Robinson said, Every
child in Georgia deserves a
free education in a public
school. there are schools
that have failed generation
after generation to educate
children. For parents whose
children are trapped in fail-
ing schools, we need to be
able to give them an op-
tion.
He said opponents of
the Constitutional amend-
ment who argue that pub-
lic schools will lose funding
are defending a system that
is broken, and that the ar-
gument is, at its foundation,
false.
the amendment ex-
pressly forbids any such
thing taking money away
from public schools, Robin-
son said.
He said should the mea-
sure, which Deal strongly
supports, pass, funding will
come from the same place
it did whenever we had the
Charter School Commission
before.
However, he was unable
to identify the source of
those monies.
that was before Gov. Deal
took ofce, so I don't really
know how it was funded.
I just know it was state
funds.
He went on to say that
education always has been,
and will remain, one of
Deal's priorities.
In 2013 budget, we in-
creased state funding for
education, even though al-
most all other state depart-
ments experienced cuts.
As he (Deal) prepares for
the 2014 budget, he again
is pushing for increased
education funding growth,
even with all other state de-
partments looking at cuts
of three percent, Robinson
said.
But he was again unable to
identify where the funding
for potential state charter
schools would be obtained.
It's just part of our educa-
tion funding, he said. We
don't want to get caught
up in how the bureaucracy
feels about this.
When asked if state de-
partments would experi-
ence budget cuts even
deeper than the antici-
pated three percent in or-
der to fund the new state
charter school system that
would be established if
the amendment passes,
Robinson contradicted his
earlier statement by saying
that the state funding local
school districts currently
receive for public school
students would be divert-
ed to the start-up charter
schools.
the money should follow
the students. the money
will follow the students, he
said, while also clarifying
that local taxpayer dollars
will not be diverted to the
state charter schools.
In response to concerns
that the loss of individ-
ual state student fund-
ing would require school
systems to operate under
greater budget defcits,
Robinson said, Well, they
would also have one less
student to educate.
He explained that schools
will not take a per capita
reduction, but rather a di-
rect deduction of funds to
the local system, meaning
that it would get just as
much money per student,
but funding for transferring
students would go with the
child to the state charter
school.
It's just part of our educa-
tion funding, he said. We
don't want to get caught
up in how the bureaucracy
feels about this.
Pressed further to respond
to questions of whether
state departments would
experience budget cuts
even deeper than the an-
ticipated three percent
in order to fund the new
state school system that
would be established if
the amendment passes,
Robinson fnally conceded
that funding local school
districts currently receive
for public school students
would be diverted to the
start-up charter schools.
the money should follow
the students. the money
will follow the students, he
said.
In response to concerns
that the loss of individ-
ual state student fund-
ing would require school
systems to operate under
greater budget defcits,
Robinson said, Well, they
would also have one less
student to educate.
He explained that schools
will not take a per capita
reduction, but rather a di-
rect deduction of funds to
the local system, meaning
that it would get just as
much money per student,
but funding for transferring
students would go with the
child to the state charter
school.
Grifn-Spalding County
School System Superinten-
dent Curtis Jones said that
could potentially result in
extreme fnancial hardship
for public schools state-
wide.
the student could come
from any grade level at
any school, so that doesn't
mean that I would reduce
by one teacher at any given
school, he said. that also
doesn't mean that I would
use any less buses or school
nutrition workers, because
I still have to provide ser-
vices for the remaining stu-
dents.
GEt A GRIP AND GEt tHE GooD StUFF tHE GRIP SEPt 27 - oCt 11, 2012
TOP STORIES
Gather with family and friends for a
catered event to honor a special life
Haisten McCullough Funeral Home
Westwood Gardens and Mausoleum
1155 Everee Inn Road, Griffin
770-229-4994
www.haistenmccullough.com
Now available to families served by:
2
Some Charter
School Stats
In the 2010-2011 academic
year, Georgia had 162 char-
ter schools in 56 districts.

70 percent made Annual
Yearly Progress as opposed
to 73 percent of traditional
public schools.

More than 35 percent of
start-up and conversion
charter schools were rec-
ognized as Distinguished
Schools by AYP Standards
(19 start-ups and 17 con-
versions).

60 percent of charter high
schools scored above state
and/or national averages on
2011 SAts.
Charter school enrollment:
2004-2005: 16,836
2005-2006: 21,094
2006-2007 26,299
2007-2008: 33,229
2008-2009: 59,409
2009-2010: 66,362
2010-2011: 98,263

2010-2011 Nationally, 3.7
percent of all public school
students attended a char-
ter school. Georgias number
was 5.9 percent.
How the referendum will
be worded on the Nov. 6
Presidential ballot:
Provides for improving student
achievement and parental
involvement through more public
charter school options
- HR No. 1162 -
"Shall the Constitution of Georgia
be amended to allow state or
local approval of public charter
schools upon the request of local
communities?
Editor's Note: Even after hours of research and
interviews with local, state and national officials
from school boards, parent-teacher associations
and the governor's office, The Grip was still unable
to get direct answers to many of our questions
regarding the charter school amendment. We
will continue to ask questions in hopes of getting
straightforward answers and will publish them as
they become available to us.
in 2008, but was in May
2011 ruled unconstitutional
by the Georgia Supreme
Court.
the whole point is to get
around the Supreme Court,
said Grifn-Spalding Coun-
ty School System Director
of Finance Ryan McLemore.
they didn't like the ruling,
so they're trying to change
the Constitution.
Gov. Nathan Deal's Direc-
tor of Communications Bri-
an Robinson said the efort
is not an attempt to circum-
vent the judicial branch, but
rather a plan of action that
is in Georgia children's best
interest.
to Gov. Deal, this is giving
children in greatest need an
opportunity in life. that's
what this is about, he said.
Charter schools are inno-
vative; they're successful.
they cannot deny anyone
admission if they live in that
district. Now, there may
be a waiting list, but they
can't be selective. In failing
systems where the school
board has refused to allow
charter schools, this will al-
low another option.
Robinson also disputed
opponent's claims that
the reestablishment of the
Georgia Charter School
Commission will remove
control at the local level.
the local school board
will still control the (charter)
school, he said. this just
gives an additional layer
of accountability. the state
should have a say in it, be-
cause the state pays for it.
Confronted with other
supporters' concession that
control will not remain with
local ofcials, Robinson did
acknowledge, the pro-
posed Charter School Com-
mission will have authority
over the schools, but would
not manage them.
Grifn-Spalding County
School System Superin-
tendent Curtis Jones said
Robinson's statements
contradict everything he
has heard regarding how
the proposed state charter
schools will operate.
I have not been told of any
way these state approved
commission schools would
be under the authority, su-
pervision or management
of local superintendents
or boards of education, he
said. there would be an
annual report submitted,
but that would be submit-
ted to the Charter School
Commission, not the local
board.
School Board member Bar-
bara Jo Cook said she urges
local residents to study the
issue carefully prior to cast-
ing their ballots.
It's a very important is-
sue and the voters need to
be aware of all the implica-
tions, she said. I believe
in public schools, and I be-
lieve the local school board
should have complete con-
trol over the schools. that's
the democratic process. It
provides checks and bal-
ances, and that's a very im-
portant issue.
charters, cont.
Unanswered questions surround charter school funding
SHEILA A. MARSHALL :::
Staf writer; sheila@the-grip.net
A
tlanta-based animal
rescue group "Heal-
ing 4 Heros" (H4H)
recently pulled seven male
cats from the Spalding
County Animal Shelter in or-
der to have them neutered.
"We're trying to make these
animals a little more adop-
tive," said Vickie Hennessey,
who chairs the Animal Care
and Control Advisory Board
and volunteers with H4H.
they used the H.E.L.P
Spay/Neuter Clinic, which
provides reduced-cost spay
and neutering, and also
received a Petsmart grant.
Hennessey said that black
cats, male cats,and adult
cats often have a harder
time getting adopted than
other animals. In addition
to their already low pricing,
H.E.L.P ran a special during
September for male cats,
ofering $20 neuters for
male cats in what they
called a "tom-Cat-a-thon."
H4H paid an additional
$20 per cat on top of that
price in order to have them
tested for feline AIDS and
leukemia, as well as getting
their rabies shots.
"We initially tried to adopt
our way out of [the animal
overpopulation problem]
and we fnally realized we
had to push spaying and
neutering," Hennessey said.
H4H started as an
organization that would
rescue dogs for veterans,
and has now moved to
rescuing a lot of animals,
Hennessey said.
the organization is
planning to promote these
cats via social media as "the
Altered Amigos," hoping for
adoption. If no adoption
occurs before euthanasia
is scheduled, however,
Hennessey said the animals
will be pulled by the rescue
group.
H4H is also trying to apply
for grants that would allow
them to identify areas that
have large numbers of
strays and launch a door-
to-door campaign that
would ofer spaying and
neutering for free, if the
owner decided to accept
the ofer.
FEATURE STORIES 3
SEPt 27- oCt 11, 2012 tHE GRIP GEt A GRIP AND GEt tHE GooD StUFF
We assist clients with
a wide variety of legal
needs including:
personal injury,
wrongful death,
criminal defense,
divorce, child custody
and child support,
collections, local
government issues,
wills and estates,
education law,
contract disputes and
other civil litigation.
ATTORNEYS
Timothy N. Shepherd
Patrick M. Shepherd
612 West Taylor Street, Griffin | 770-229-1882
www.shepherdslaw.com
NEW LOCATION
ON TAYLOR ST.
To benefit the Griffin-Spalding Humane Society
The Pavilion
on Aerodrome Way
Entries accepted
until Oct. 8
$25 per entry
678-878-8338
I
n August 1993, Spald-
ing County resident
Bill Phillips made his
dream a reality when he
opened Bunjees Comics
in Grifn. Bunjees ofered
a haven for area collectors
that needed their weekly
comic book fx while of-
fering card games, action
fgures, statues, posters, t-
shirts and other parapher-
nalia to fll fanboys (and
fangirls) needs.
He chose Grifn for Bun-
jees home, he said, because
he was from here and he
saw a need. It was home
and Grifn needed a [comic
book] shop. Bunjees also
ofered a gathering place
inside the store for gam-
ers to compete in tourna-
ments, or just socialize. the
store was 2000 square feet
of comic coolness.
As the success of Bunjees
continued into the next
decade, Phillips decided
it was time to take anoth-
er leap and capitalize on
the growth of the nearby
city of McDonough. Mc-
Donoughwas a small town
that was growing, one of
the fastest in the nation at
the time,Phillips said.I just
thought to myself, some-
one is going to open up a
shop there; it might as well
be me.And so it came to be
in December 2004 the Bun-
jeeverse, as Phillips calls his
ever-growing comic book
empire, expanded with a
second shop, aptly referred
to as Bunjees Comics 2.0.
For six years, both stores
remained open, with many
customers visiting both.
We had our regulars that
shopped both stores, and
new customers were al-
ways rolling in at the new
store and the old, Phillips
said. As the economy be-
gan to struggle, so did the
Grifn store,so we sadly de-
cided to bring it all into the
McDonough store.Bunjees
Grifn held out until De-
cember 2010 when Phillips
fnally decided to shut the
doors.
the Grifn location was
open for 17 years in the
same spot inside the shop-
ping center across from the
Home Depot. Bunjees was
there before the old K-Mart
center was torn down and
Home Depot was built.
After the closing of
the Grifn store in 2010,
Bunjees still had its new
1300-square-foot store plus
the small location next to
it. I always wanted to put
an opening between the
two spots and have a larger
space so that I could get the
game center up and run-
ning. the landlord never
seemed to go for it, so the
second space ended up be-
ing a glorifed storage unit,
Phillips said. I had my eye
on a location a few spots
up from me for a while
now, knowing that the
possibility to get a larger
spotwaswithin my reach.
Just this month, the store
moved again into that larg-
er space, creating Bunjees
3.0. At 2800 square feet, the
location is larger than the
original Grifn store and
over twice the size of the
frstMcDonough location.
I now have more space
and I can get our gaming
room back up and run-
ning, Phillips said. He feels
that Bunjees 3.0 is per-
fect for his customers and
hisownneeds.
Phillips adds this about
the Grifn store, I am very
grateful to all of those
that ever shopped with
me.thank you all.
Bunjees 3.0 is located at
561 Jonesboro Road in Mc-
Donough and can be
reached at(678) 565-4886.
Griffin-born comic business still thriving
Though
Bunjee's had
to shut down
their Griffin
location, comic
book lovers can
still get their fix
at "Bunjee's 3.0"
in McDonough
RYAN ROSS :::
Staf writer; ryan@the-grip.net
Phillips proudly remembers and holds onto the story that ran in the Grifn Daily News
announcing the opening of the frst Bunjee's in Grifn. "Look how young and pretty I was,"
Phillips laughs.
Tom-Cat-a-Thon gives male cats better chance of being adopted
JESSICA GREGORY :::
Publisher; jessica@the-grip.net
Seven male cats from the Spalding County Animal Shelter were loaded onto the H.E.L.P Spay/
Neuter Clinic van to be neutered during H.E.L.P.'s "Tom-Cat-a-Thon"
S
lowExposures 2012,
the 10
th
annual pho-
tography exhibition
of the rural South, opened
on Friday, September 21 and
will conclude on Sunday,
September 30. the show
celebrates the complexity,
beauty and contradictions of
the rural South.
SlowExposures 2012
welcomes the public,
photographers and
collectors from across the
United States to discover
emerging talent, take part in
cutting-edge seminars with
world-renowned experts
and visit with old friends and
colleagues.
In a virtuoso collaboration
with fellow experts from the
photography world, more
than 70 photographs are
in the 2012 SlowExposures'
principal exhibition located
in the 1887 R. F. Strickland
Building in Concord, Georgia.
Additional satellite shows
throughout the area will
feature images that both
challenge perceptions and
evoke memories of this
unique region of the United
States.
For show schedule or more
information, visit www.
slowexposures.org.
GEt A GRIP AND GEt tHE GooD StUFF tHE GRIP SEPt 27 - oCt 11, 2012
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
4
W
hats an instrumental band with no instruments?
Its not magic or make believe. Its simply the
voices of fve guys: Geof, Danny, Layne, Eli and
tony known better as 42Five.
this award-winning A Capella quintet creates every
sound you hear with just their voices. their fawless vocal
stylings are only matched by their signature humor and
on-stage antics. Singing songs we all love, from the 60s to
the tunes of today, their energizing performances always
leave the audience standing on their feet, singing along
and wanting more..
the Grifn Area Concert Association has been present-
ing nationally acclaimed performers to the community for
54 years. this all-volunteer nonproft organization is com-
mitted to enriching the cultural life of the Grifn-Spalding
County area through live performances. thanks to the gen-
erosity of Patrons and Sponsors, these concerts can be of-
fered at afordable, family friendly prices.
For more information on the 42Five concert or the Grifn
Area Concert Association go to the GACA website at www.
grifnconcerts.org or call 770-228-3229.
A Cappella hipsters 42Five will perform their
energy-infused five-part harmony perfor-
mance at the Griffin Auditorium on Friday,
October 19, 2012 at 7:30pm. Single tickets
for this performance are $20, with all chil-
dren admitted free when accompanying a
paid adult. A special group rate of $15 per
ticket is available for groups of 10 or more.
Griffin Area Concert
Association presents
42Five
T
he Georgia Gourd
Society (GGS) is
bringing the 10
th

annual Georgia Gourd
Show to Grifn on Saturday,
october 20, to be held in
the Kiwanis building at the
Kiwanis Fair Grounds. Enti-
tled Gourdfest 2012, this art
and craft show is open to
the public with free admis-
sion and features a gourd
art and craft competition,
demonstrations, gourd art
and craft classes and ven-
dor booths featuring lo-
cal artists. the show will
include several decorative
painters and wood crafters
as well as gourd artists from
all around the state.
the society welcomes
everyone to come see the
art and crafts that include
seasonal decorations,
birdhouses, decorative
bowls and vessels, cute and
classy animal sculptures,
along with paintings and
other artwork. the exhibits
and competition showcases
the hard-shelled gourd
as a canvas for painting,
wood burning, carving and
weaving, as well as displays
of international gourds and
historic gourds.
Classes for gourd crafting
will be available for
those wishing to learn
skills in making beautiful
gourds. Visit www.
georgiagourdsociety.org
for a complete listing of all
events.
Vendors selling raw and
fnished gourds will be
available. Show hours are
Saturday, october 20 from
8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and
Sunday, october 21 10 a.m.
until 4 p.m.
Georgia Gourd Society brings 10th annual festival to Grifn
G
rifn Daybreak Rotary Club is pleased to invite you
to become a partner in their upcoming Run-Bike-
Run DUAtHLoN on Saturday, october 13 at Re-
hoboth Road Middle School.
the event will feature a 5k run, a 20k bike ride followed by
another 5k run. this exciting ftness event will feature ath-
letes from all over Georgia who will come together to com-
pete and help our club raise funds for local Rotary projects.
to make this event a total success and allow as much
money as possible to go to promote literacy, the Grifn
Daybreak Rotary Club is asking you to consider being a
race sponsor or registrant of this exciting demonstration
of physical ability.
Please contact Ashley Green (ashley@libertytech.net,
770.584.2626) for event registration and sponsorship in-
formation, or register online at Active.com (search Rotary
Duathlon in and around Grifn GA).
Daybreak hosts duathlon SlowExposures exhibit now open
Image Credit: James Black
FOOD
At home & in the kitchen with Gypsy Gourmet
5
SEPt 27- oCt 11, 2012 tHE GRIP GEt A GRIP AND GEt tHE GooD StUFF
GYPSY GOURMET
AKA CAMILLE PASK
FOODIE & TRUCKER
The Gypsy Gourmet usually
sends in her food fnds and
columns from all over the
states, but this one comes
during a long layover while her
rig gets some work done. Here,
she shares a dying culinary
art: home preservation of the
southern grape, muscadines.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility
value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but
each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4
Stuart Ogletree & Staff
629 W. Taylor Street
Griffin, Ga 30224
770-227-3204
126 W. College Street, Grin 770-233-0902
Hours: Monday-Friday 8-7; Saturday 8-6; Sunday 12-5
A
s your local Damn Yankee I had never experienced
Muscadine grapes. I had heard of them vaguely as-
sociated with wine and moonshine, but had never
experienced them for myself.
one Sunday I ran into my friend RJ at church, and he
posed the question If I supply the Muscadine grapes, will
you help me extract the juice? Well split the take in half.
Before I knew it we were squishing grapes in my kitchen,
making a mess, and just having fun with it.
About halfway through I start to think, What am I go-
ing to do with Muscadine juice?Eureka! the answer is jelly;
simple, delightful, jelly. However, I cant leave anything
alone. Im trying to be resourceful using the things I have
on hand, like bell pepper, and jalapeno. Having just made
pepper jelly, I thought this would work well to cut the re-
fned sugar, bring a diferent depth of favor to the party,
and incorporate a local readily available ingredient.
I have been experimenting lately with canning, thanks
in part to Amanda Slade from Safehouse Cofee & tea. She
got me motivated by making the process simple. You dont
need a bunch of fancy equipment. Sure, it makes it easier,
but simple preserves can be made without a bunch of fuss
with a few items. You will need an 8 quart stock pot or larg-
er, a set of long tongs, a simple kitchen towel, and jars (lids
& screw tops).
Instructions :::
Start by prepping the vegetables. I made it quick by using
my food processor on pulse until the peppers resembled a
relish consistency. Set aside.
Gather the juice, sugar, vinegar, and pectin, and set that
next to the vegetables.
Fill the stock pot two-thirds full of water (so that when
the jars are added for processing theres at least an inch or
two above each jar). on high heat, let this come to a boil.
the trick here is to sterilize all the tools you will use be-
fore you begin the jelly. I was new at this and sterilized the
tongs, ladle, jars, and when it came to the lids, I put them
in a sauce pot and covered them with boiling water; letting
them sit until just before I was ready for them.
In a heavy bottomed stock pot, add peppers, Muscadine
juice, vinegar, and sugar. Good tip, add one teaspoon but-
ter to reduce foaming. Bring to a rapid boil stirring as you
go. once at a hard boil add the two packets of pectin boil
for an additional minute and remove from the heat. this
will be a thin mixture, but dont worry. the pectin will help
it jell as it sits. Line up the sterilized jars and ladle mixture
into each, leaving to inch headroom for each jar. Re-
move lids and screw tops from the water bath, wipe the
rim of each jar clean, and assemble jars.
Next, with the tongs add the kitchen towel to the ster-
ilization stock pot. By doing this youre insuring the jars
dont break when added to the pot for processing. Add the
jars and allow to process for 10 minutes at a rolling boil.
Carefully remove jars and set aside on a kitchen towel
to cool. once cool, check the jars for proper sealing by
pressing a fnger in the center of each top. If there is no
movement, voila! Jelly perfected by you, the home cook.
this jelly is suitable for Christmas gifts, hostess gifts, and a
nice reminder of warmer weather for you and your family
all winter long.
Until next time, eat well, laugh often, be free, & be you.
Gypsy Gourmet
Muscadine
Pepper Jelly
Yield: Roughly 6-8 pints
8 cups minced bell peppers
(green is a must, but I like
red as well for color contrast)
6 jalapenos stems removed
but seeds and ribs included
pulsed with a food processor
or fnely minced
3 cups Muscadine juice
For tips on extracting the
juice, visit
renegadegypsygourmet.com
3 cups apple cider vinegar
4-5 cups sugar
2 boxes Sure Jell pectin
Wash, squish, & can fresh muscadines to get sweet
and spicy pepper jelly to last all year.
T
he frst genetically-engi-
neered (GE) crops became
commercially available in the
United States in 1996, and now GE
varieties constitute the vast major-
ity of corn, cotton and soybean crops
grown in the country. At this point,
most GE food
crops are geneti-
cally engineered
to produce a soil
bacterium called
Bacillus thuringi-
ensis (Bt) that
repels insects, or
to allow the crop
to withstand
treatment with
an herbicide,
like glyphosate
(often sold as
Roundup). More
recently, bio-
technology frms
have developed
genetically engi-
neered animals,
including food
animals such as
hogs and salm-
on.
Proponents
of the technol-
ogy contend that
these alterations
are improve-
ments because
they add desir-
able traits. Yet
companies sub-
mit their own
s af et y- t es t i ng
data, and in-
dependent re-
search on GE foods is limited because
biotechnology companies prohibit
cultivation for research purposes in
the restrictive licensing agreements
that control the use of these patented
seeds.
Some of the independent, peer-re-
viewed research that has been done
on biotech crops has revealed trou-
bling health implications including
deterioration of liver and kidney func-
tion and impaired embryonic devel-
opment. However, the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has no way to
track adverse health efects in people
consum- ing GE foods, and because
there is no requirement that foods
containing GE ingredients be labeled,
consumers do not know when they
are eating them.
the FDA does not require the label-
ing of GE food products as such be-
cause the agency views GE foods as
no diferent from conventional foods.
the FDA does permit voluntary GE
labeling as long as the information is
not false or misleading. Food manu-
facturers are allowed to afrmatively
label GE food or indicate that the food
item does not contain GE ingredients
(known as absence labeling). But
virtually no companies disclose that
they are using GE in-
gredients under this
voluntary scheme.
this means that
consumers in the
United States regu-
larly consume foods
that contain GE in-
gredients without
knowing it.
For consumers to
have the opportuni-
ty to make informed
choices about their
food, all GE foods
should be labeled. A
2008 CBS/New York
times poll found
that more than
half of American
consumers would
choose not to buy
GE foods, and 87
percent wanted all
GE ingredients to
be labeled. A 2010
Consumers Union
poll found that 95
percent of U.S. con-
sumers favor man-
datory labeling of
meat and milk from
GE animals.
Labeling GE
foods is not
a novel
idea. the
European Union specif-
cally addresses the new
properties and risks of
biotech crops and evalu-
ates the safety of every GE
crop. Additionally, the EU
requires all foods, animal
feeds and processed prod-
ucts with biotech content to
bear GE labels. Australia, Brazil,
China, Japan, New Zealand, Rus-
sia, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea all
require labels on GE foods, although
their labeling thresholds vary from
zero tolerance to 5 percent GE con-
tent.
Without an afrmative label on
foods containing GE ingredients, the
only way for consumers to avoid GE
foods is to buy organic. the USDA Na-
tional organic Program prohibits the
use of GE material in any product that
carries the certifed organic label.
It took government regulation to
make food processors put ingredient
lists and nutrition facts on food pack-
aging labels that consumers are
now accustomed to seeing and are
using to make food choices. But the
government has failed to require that
consumers get to know other basic
information about our food, like that
it is genetically engineered.
For more information: foodandwater-
watch.org
LIFESTYLES
6
GEt A GRIP AND GEt tHE GooD StUFF tHE GRIP SEPt 27 - oCt 11, 2012
The Ole Mill Auction House
Auctioneer
Vickie L. Wilson
Lic. # AU003850
Consigners welcome!
Need to clear out that basement, garage or storage?
Lets auction it! For more information contact
Vickie Wilson 678-247-3760
401(k) Loans: The Last Resort?
AMY DUNHAM
EDWARD JONES
FINANCIAL ADVISOR
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Limited lifetime guarantee on some services.
A
s youre well aware,
were living in dif-
cult economic times.
Consequently, you may be
forced to make some fnan-
cial moves you wouldnt
normally undertake. one
such move you might be
considering is taking out a
loan from your 401(k) plan
but is this a good idea?
of course, if you really
need the money, and you
have no alternatives, you
may need to consider a
401(k) loan. Some employ-
ers allow 401(k) loans only
in cases of fnancial hard-
ship, although the defni-
tion of hardship can be
fexible. But many employ-
ers allow these loans for just
about any purpose. to learn
the borrowing require-
ments for your particular
plan, youll need to contact
your plan administrator.
Generally, you can borrow
up to $50,000, or one-half
of your vested plan bene-
fts, whichever is less. Youve
got up to fve years to repay
your loan, although the
repayment period can be
longer if you use the funds
to buy a primary residence.
And you pay yourself back
with interest.
However, even though
its easy to access your
401(k) through a loan, there
are some valid reasons for
avoiding this move, if at all
possible. Here are a few to
consider:
You might reduce your
retirement savings. A 401(k)
is designed to be a retire-
ment savings vehicle. Your
earnings potentially grow
on a tax-deferred basis, so
your money can accumu-
late faster than if it were
placed in an investment on
which you paid taxes every
year. But if you take out a
401(k) loan, youre remov-
ing valuable resources from
your account and even
though youre paying your-
self back, you can never
regain the time when your
money could have been
growing.
You might reduce your con-
tributions. once you start
making loan payments,
you might feel enough of
a fnancial pinch that you
feel forced to reduce the
amount you contribute to
your 401(k).
You may create a taxable
situation. Failure to pay
back loans according to the
specifed terms can create
a taxable distribution and
possibly subject the distri-
bution to a 10% penalty.
You may have to repay the
loan quickly. As long as
you continue working for
the same employer, your
repayment terms likely will
not change. But if you leave
your employment, either
voluntarily or not, youll
probably have to repay the
loan in full within 60 days
and if you dont, the re-
maining balance will be
taxable. Plus, if youre under
age 59, youll also have to
pay a 10 percent penalty
tax.
Considering these draw-
backs to taking out a 401(k)
loan, you may want to look
elsewhere for money when
you need it. But the best
time to put away this mon-
ey is well before you need it.
try to build an emergency
fund containing at least six
to 12 months worth of liv-
ing expenses, and keep the
money in a liquid vehicle.
With this money, youre pri-
marily interested in protect-
ing your principal, not in
earning a high return.
A 401(k) is a great retire-
ment savings vehicle. But a
401(k) loan? Not always a
good idea. Do what you can
to avoid it.
The case for labeling genetically-engineered foods
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Why should GE foods
be labeled?
GE foods can pose
risks to consumers from
potential allergens and
toxins, but those are not
currently disclosed to
consumers.
Polls show that a vast
majority of consumers
want food containing
GE ingredients to be
labeled, but most large
food companies will
continue to ignore
consumers demands
that GE foods be
labeled until they are
held accountable by
law.
INTERPRET THOSE TINY
PRODUCE STICKERS:
The numeric
codes on fruits
and vegetables
can reveal how
they were grown:
#3719
Five digits,
starting with 9
organically
grown
Four digits
Conventionally
grown
Five digits, starting with 8
Genetically modifed
*Note: Price look-up (PLU) codes are not meant to
be used as a reliable consumer guide.
A
t this writing, we are
48 days from the most
important election of
our time. the central issue
is the economy, which is
failing, and shows no signs
of recovery with the cur-
rent strategy. one of the
largest issues that impacts
economy is one that is be-
ing forgotten by some. the
health care issue is weigh-
ing on the economy like a
dragging anchor.
Not long ago I heard
about one of the hidden
taxes embedded in obam-
acare that required me to
fle a 1099 form every time
I do as much as $600 worth
of business with a given
vendor. of course, I have
neither the resources nor
the money to invest in such
a frivolous activity, and my
intention was to ignore the
law because it is not rea-
sonable or workable in any
manner. It was designed to
create a way to track com-
merce so that it can be
taxed further. Fortunately,
both houses of Congress re-
alized how insane this piece
of obamacare was and how
it would negatively impact
small businesses like mine.
It was repealed.
Another federal money
grab is a 2.3 percent tax
on medical devices. It will
run up the cost of invent-
ing and manufacturing life-
saving medical technology,
but the additional hidden
cost will be another 43,000
jobs lost due to the nega-
tive fnancial impact on this
industry.
the chief Medicare actu-
ary stated that based on
their research, the medical
device tax would increase
the cost of dental care by
$160 million per year. this
cost was certainly not fg-
ured into what was sold to
us when this law was be-
ing written behind closed
doors. Increasing cost on a
system as unstable as Medi-
care does not seem like a
good idea.
According to the Heritage
Foundation, if employers
are forced to provide health
benefts under obamacare,
many more people will
lose their jobs because the
employer burden will vary
from an extra $3500 for a
single minimum-wage em-
ployee to over $11,000 for a
minimum-wage employee
with the family. Under the
law, full-time employees
must be ofered the same
benefts at no more than
9.5 percent of the employ-
ees household income. We
have already seen that even
when businesses have sig-
nifcant amounts of cash,
hiring trends are depressed
as businesses live in the en-
vironment of fear.
A clear winner in this en-
vironment will be the tem-
porary stafng agencies. If
this law stands, they could
become proftable because
businesses will replace full-
time employees with part-
time employees so that
their penalties (obamacare
taxes) will be lower.
So, what is the real hidden
cost of obamacare? I sub-
mit that the largest hidden
cost is redoubled unem-
ployment. the hardest hit
will be those with the least
skills, who are more likely to
already be on government
assistance of some kind.
this increases the burden
on the minority of America
that actually pays taxes.
Can implosion and collapse
be far behind?
I fnd it interesting to see
how states are already re-
sponding to the demand or
compliance that will come
from the federal govern-
ment. Gov. Perry of texas
has drawn a line in the sand.
the Washington times re-
ported it this way:
"texas Gov. Rick Perry said
Monday his state wont ex-
pand Medicaid or set up an
insurance exchange, join-
ing a growing number of
Republican governors who
are rejecting two key parts
of President obamas health
care law.
'I will not be party to so-
cializing health care and
bankrupting my state in
direct contradiction to
our Constitution and our
founding principles of lim-
ited government,' Mr. Perry
said."
the Georgia legislature
has declined to act on the
creation of the required
insurance exchange, in an
apparent wait and see
approach, pending re-
peal of obamacare after
the November election. I
would not be surprised to
see Georgia fall in behind
texas. I think a number of
red states may do the
same. this will trigger in-
tervention from Health and
Human Services (HHS), as
they are supposed to step
in and create an insurance
exchange for us and force
us comply. It is not clear,
however, whether HHS has
the money or manpower
clients on multiple states at
the same time. I personally
rally behind this strategy for
states to defend themselves
against this huge and un-
precedented unfunded
mandate. this rebellion has
a distinctly Southern ring to
it.
I still do not know how
this law, if it stands, will af-
fect practices like mine. We
got out of the insurance
game some time ago, but
will obamacare force par-
ticipation like Medicare
does? If so, will I be forced
by law to participate in a
plan that will not pay me
enough to keep my doors
open? this very question
is on the minds of many
medical practitioners who
are retiring or changing
careers just to avoid the
whole mess.
this is the most impor-
tant election of our time. It
is a choice between Ameri-
ca andsomething else.
E
verywhere I turn I
see people looking
for a quick fx for ev-
erything. Because, nobody
wants to endure the pain. A
quick and painless weight
loss. A quick fx to the head-
ache. A quick fx to all phys-
ical ailments. A quick fx to
the broken heart. A quick
fx to all emotional wounds.
So few people are will-
ing to feel the pain any-
more. My son comes to me
and says, Mom, my head
hurts. My immediate re-
sponse can be, Want some
tylenol? Im learning to
sometimes let him feel the
pain. Because I want him
to hurt? No. But, because
I want him to know he can
get through the pain. that
he can cope. Not with just
the pain of a headache. But,
the pain we can experience
in life at times.
We have to feel the pain.
the physical pain. the emo-
tional pain. Because, when
we feel it, we get through
it. Pain becomes one of our
greatest teachers in coping
with life. Paul writes in Phi-
lippians 4:13, For I can do
everything through Christ,
who gives me strength.
often times, we take this
scripture and wave it as a
banner for just overcoming
lifes tough moments. I get
it. I believe in that, too. But,
this scripture also means
we can ENDURE everything
through Christ.
Right before Paul writes
this, he says in verse 12, I
know how to live on almost
nothing or with everything.
I have learned the secret
of living in every situation,
whether it is with a full
stomach or empty, with
plenty or little. In other
words, Paul has learned to
cope with life in the good
times and hard times. But,
Paul goes beyond coping.
A few verses down, he
rests in the fact that this
same God who takes care
of me will supply all your
needs. He trusts in the
one who provides for him
during the hard times. the
one who provides com-
fort. the one who provides
peace. the one who pro-
vides hope.
A hope that he can and
will endure every circum-
stance. A hope that God
will redeem the pain and
use it for good.
Sometimes, we need to
feel the hurt. In feeling the
pain, we learn to endure the
pain. In enduring the pain,
we get through the pain. In
getting through the pain,
we become vessels of hope
for others. And, our faith
becomes strengthened.
Because, we learn that we
truly can do everything
through Him.
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extended stay, our
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The most important election of our time
LIFESTYLE 7
SEPt 27- oCt 11, 2012 tHE GRIP GEt A GRIP AND GEt tHE GooD StUFF
770-228-0760
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GEt A GRIP AND GEt tHE GooD StUFF tHE GRIP SEPt 27 - oCt 11, 2012
8
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Thursday, October 4 13;
Kiwanis Spalding County
Fair; StAGE ENtERtAIN-
MENt: thurs 7-8 p.m. South-
eastern Reptile Rescue; Fri
7-8 p.m. Championship
Martial Arts team DemoSat.
7:30-9 p.m. Bluesfrog & the
Georgia Rhythm Crickets;
Mon 7:30-9 p.m. Gospel Ga-
zette; tues 7-8 p.m. South-
eastern Reptile Rescue.
Saturday, October 6;
Build a Scarecrow Work-
shop; UGA Research and
Education Gardens; 10 a.m.
to 1 p.m.; $20 per person;
for more information email
barbaraharri s69@gmai l.
com.
Monday, October 8 21; Scare-
crows in the Garden display
in the UGA Research and
Education Garden.
Saturday, October 13;
Doctoberfest Beer Festival;
4 8 p.m.; Park at Sixth (cor-
ner of Sixth Street and Solo-
mon Streets in downtown
Grifn).
Saturday, October 13;
Daybreak Rotary Duatha-
lon; Green Valley Industrial
Park; Registration 7 a.m.
Saturday, October 13;
Grandparents raising
Grandchildren apprecia-
tion day; First Presbyterian
Church; 12 - 3 p.m.
Tuesday, October 16; Business
After Hours; 5-7 p.m.; Lib-
erty technology.
Thursday, October 18;
Grifn Choral Arts presents
Make a Joyful Noise; this
program will include set-
tings of Psalm tests from
various styles and features
the Robert Ray Gospel
Mass; Grifn Second Bap-
tist Church, 501 West Broad
Street, Grifn, GA; all tickets
are $10, general admission;
for more information please
call 770-468-3072 or visit
www.grifnchoralarts.org.
Thursday, October 18;
UGA Grifn Campus open
House; 5 p.m. in the Stu-
dent Learning Center; learn
more about the degree pro-
gram of interest, meet am-
bassadors and faculty; for
more information call 770-
412-4400.
Friday, October 19;
42Five; presented by Grifn
Area Concert Association;
orlando, using only their
voices, this group has to be
heard to be believed;in the
Grifn Auditorium; for more
information call 770-228-
3229 or visit www.grifn-
concerts.com.
Saturday, October 20;
Doctober Days Steel Horse
Stampede Poker Run and
Steel Horse Roundup;
Poker Run at 10 a.m. tour
Spalding County and end
up in beautiful Downtown
Grifn; Steel Horse Round-
up begins 1 p.m.; for more
information fnd the event
on Facebook.
Saturday, October 20;
Low Down Dirty Dog Dash;
9 a.m.; 5K mud obstacle
course over man-made ob-
stacles and hilly woody ter-
rain; Grifn Spalding Coun-
ty Airport; search for Low
Down Dirty Dog Dash on
www.active.com to register
or fnd more information.
Saturday, October 20;
Nightmare on Meriwether
Street; 7PM; Halloween cos-
tume party and fundraiser
for Grifn-Spalding Histori-
cal Society; Bailey-tebault
House; call 770.229.2432 for
more information.
ALL COUPONS ARE FIRST-TIME CUSTOMER ONLY, INTRODUCTORY OFFER
Limit one per customer. Not to be combined with any other coupon or discount.
Coupon must be redeemed at time of service. ALL EXPIRE 11/30/12
WE WANT YOU AS A CUSTOMER!
New Customer Oers:
(770)227-5325 www. hammondservices.com
770-412-0005
210 Rock Street, Grin
Oct. 11 & 25, 6:30 pm
210 East Solomon St.
PLEASE RSVP - 770-412-0005
Championship Martial Arts,
next door to courthouse
www.IrisCityChiro.com
Robert Hayden DC, PhD, FICC
I built this, Barry.
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15-20 lbs
per month
SAFELY
....and learn how to
keep it o! GET
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Spitzer
Jewelry
Great Christmas
gifts!
LAYAWAY
NOW!
NEW
fall decor
St. Georges Episcopal
School is pleased to an-
nounce its Student Council
ofcers for the 2012-2013
school year: Front row left
to right Gracen Boatright,
Spirit Representative; Allie
Edwards, President; Geor-
gia Inglis,Vice President;
Back row left to right Kasey
Gunn, Secretary; Sam Pot-
ter, treasurer.
SGES Student
Council members
elected
the Scarecrows are coming
back to the UGA Research
and Education Garden from
october 8 through octo-
ber 21. Come out to the
garden, bring your cam-
era, and join the fun. If you
would like to make a scare-
crow of your own to display
in the garden, you still have
time. Come out on Satur-
day, october 6 from 10 a.m.
until 1 p.m. and join us in
our build your own scare-
crow workshop. It is great
fun for the whole family.
this year the scarecrows
are coming out to play. on
Sunday, october 21 there
will be a gigantic Scarecrow
Celebration. We will have
face painting by tater the
Clown and Ms. Joy. If you
would like to have a new
hair style, we have that
too - all colors and styles.
there will be pumpkin
painting, cookie decorat-
ing, jewelry making, story-
telling, pumpkin bowling,
balloon creatures, a picture
area, and more. there will
even be door prizes for the
adults. It's all free. Come on
out and have a ball with the
scarecrows.
Scarecrows are
in the garden
again this year
Stepping
Stones
Executive
Director Sherry
Nash accepts
a $2,000
donation from
the Griffin
Exchange
Club, presented
by Exchange
President
Matthew
Middleton
SPORTS 9
SEPt 27- oCt 11, 2012 tHE GRIP GEt A GRIP AND GEt tHE GooD StUFF
1115 Zebulon Road
Griffin, GA 30224
(770) 227-5300
Medical
Malpractice
Personal
Injury
Family
Law
Criminal
Law
Make
local news
a family thing
again.
get
the grip
Grifn High School moved up from No. 3 to No. 2 in the
states two largest polls this week.
the inaugural St. Georges Episcopal School Girls Volleyball
team had its frst two matches. our frst match pitted SGES
against Community Christian in McDonough on tuesday,
September 11. Although the girls did not win the match,
they gained great real match experience to carry forward
into the season. they traveled to Grifn Christian on thurs-
day, September 13 to take on the Crusaders. After a hard
fought match, the SGES girls were victorious over Grifn
Christian.
the Spalding High Lady Jaguars softball team won big
against the Lady Bears on Sept. 19, with a score of 7-2.
the SGES Cross Country team is having a highly success-
ful season. In the frst meet of the 2012 season against
Strong Rock Christian School, SGES had the frst place boys
runner, Sam Potter, and the frst place girls runner, Gracen
Boatright. of overall fnishers in each division, SGES had
eight boys and seven girls in the top 10.
on Saturday, September 15, SGES ran at Strong Rock Chris-
tian School against Strong Rock and Paideia of Atlanta.
Gracen Boatright of SGES made a top 10 showing for the
girls and the boys fnished as follows: Sam Potter 3rd,
Cade Scanlon 6th, Chaz Martinez 7th, Gray Long 8th,
and Henry McDaniel 9tH
Want to see your sports team or school
featured here? Send your information or
sports brief to ryan@the-grip.net.
S
kipstone Acad-
emy blew away the
Home School Depot
(HSD) Paulding Panthers in
their homecoming game
Friday, Sept. 21 with a score
of 47-6. the Warriors move
to 2-3 overall and 0-2 Glory
for Christ (GFC) east for the
season.
Before this game we had
struggled to put points on
the board due to several
factors; one being that we
were undisciplined when
we got in the red zoneand
shot ourselves in the foot
with penalties in previous
games. Another being that
we lost three seniors that
were all ball carriers for us
last season and there has
been an adjustment pe-
riod for the new guys, said
Skipstone head coach Dan
Salvador.
the Warriors made the ad-
justments and had no prob-
lem putting up the points
for this victory over the
Panthers. the only score for
the Panthers (1-3, 1-1 GFC
west) came on a long run
by Jamal Crisp for a touch-
down in the frst quarter.
our frst score came on a
long run by Jamiro Winston,
who started his frst game
due to an injury that held
him out the frst of the sea-
son, in our second ofensive
series, Salvador said.
We gave up a touch-
down on a long run on
counter play with a couple
of missed assignments.
Coach Roy Wilson, defen-
sive coordinator, made
some adjustments with our
defensive alignment and
we shut them out the re-
mainder of the game.
With two passing touch-
downs, the frst to running
back Christian Stewart and
the other to tight end Rico
Corbin, along with a two-
point conversion quarter-
back Alex Snider and the of-
fense kept it moving. they
had help from the other
side of the ball as well with
a 70-yard kickof return for
a touchdown by Anthony
Peavy and an interception
returned 20 yards for a
touchdown by Colby Polk,
putting the warriors up
34-6 at the half.
the Warriors continued
the romp in the second
half with two fnal rushing
touchdowns by Jam Kimble
and Christian Salvador, put-
ting the game out of reach
for the Panthers. Jam Kim-
ble added an extra point,
leaving the fnal score 47-6.
this makes the second win
in a row for the Skipstone
Academy Warriors.
our interior blocking was
much improved from previ-
ous games and we had a
lot of success between the
tackles running the ball,
Salvador said. the ofense
line coach Robby Mapp has
really coached the guys up
and they have responded
well.
the linemen that made
major contributions this
week were Patrick Mapp,
Luke Remington, tyler
Shellnut, Josh King, Robert
terrell, and Caleb Broyles,
Salvador said. Defensively,
we had an interception by
Mason Lumpkin early in the
game.
We had big games out
of Sam Beng, Dave Quashi,
Luke Remington, Jamal
Kendrick, Luke Mayben,
and Chaz Wright.
When asked where they
were going from here Sal-
vador said, Moving into the
second half of our season
we hope to continue to im-
prove and get ready for our
last two conference games
versus East Atlanta and Au-
gusta Prep and make a late
run to get into the playofs.


Skipstone Warriors win big in homecoming game
RYAN ROSS :::
Staf writer; ryan@the-grip.net
H
ome school sports
teams are pop-
ping up all over
the country and becoming
a viable option for those
parents that choose to
home school but still want
their children to play team
sports. It only takes the de-
termination of the parents
and the passion of the stu-
dents to get a team going.
Georgia Home Education
Association board member
Charlene Peavy said, For
the past 30 years home-
schoolers have been very
inventive and have formed
their own associations in al-
most every sport.
In the state of Georgia alone
there are dozens of football,
basketball, archery, base-
ball, chess, cross country,
fencing, and golf teams that
compete with one another
and private schools.
Home school teams can
compete against private
schools that choose to par-
ticipate in the home school
leagues, but they are not al-
lowed to compete with any
public school teams as per
the Georgia Athletic Associ-
ation, which governs public
school sports.
Given these regulations,
parents and students have
gotten creative in form-
ing their own home school
teams and leagues. the
parents got together and
formed their own teams
and associations, Peavy
said. New teams can form
anywhere that they want
to, if none are available in
their area, and can join the
already existing leagues.
Both of Peavys sons partici-
pated in the home school
baseball program. there is
even a Home School World
Series held every year in
May. Many young men
have even received college
scholarships out of this
league, Peavy said.
the participation of home
school sports requires fees
for each student, which
are relative in cost to what
most public school parents
pay for their children to par-
ticipate in sports. the fees
are used to cover costs for
coaching staf, feld and fa-
cility rentals, uniforms and
equipment.
For more information on
home school sports, or how
to start your own team visit
www.HSPN.Net or the Geor-
gia Home School Sports site
at www.ghea.org.

Home school sports a
growing trend
RYAN ROSS :::
Staf writer; ryan@the-grip.net
770-227-2349
GEt A GRIP AND GEt tHE GooD StUFF tHE GRIP SEPt 27 - oCt 11, 2012
10 VIEWPOINTS
ads for as little as $24 ::: this ad $55 ::: call Ryan 770.584.7677
Make a Joyful Noise
7:30 PM
501 West Broad Street
$10 General Admission

www.gri nchoralarts.org
The 50-voice chorus will be
joined by the Griffin High
School Advanced Chorus,
Mr. James Lindsey, director,
and several guest musicians.
The program includes works by
Telemann, Mendelssohn, Rene
Clausen and features Robert
Rays GOSPEL MASS.
Stephen J. Mulder, Artistic Director
GET A GRIP :::
p o l l o f t h e w e e k
Should the state be able to overrule
local school boards' decisions regarding
the formation of charter schools?
VOTE NOW AT WWW.THE-GRIP.NET
YES ::: 61.5%
NO ::: 25.6%
Should prayer be included in
governmental meetings?
This Week's Poll:::
UNDECIDED ::: 12.8%
In July of this year and reportedly at the
prompting of local citizens opposed to prayer
at government meetings, the Freedom From
Religion Foundation sent a letter to City
Commissioner Joanne Todd asking her and
the commission at large to cease prayer at
commission meetings and "concentrate on
Grifn matters," calling prayer at commission
meetings a First Amendment violation.
Prayer at public meetings
A
wall of separation between the Garden of the
Church and the Wilderness of the World" were the
famous words written by Roger Williams, a Baptist
theologian and the founder of the colony of Rhode Island.
this idea about how building a defnitive "wall" between
the church and government grew from the realization
that the government is bad for the church. All of history is
testimony to this.
thomas Jeferson, along with similarly brilliant men, knew
the only way to keep the church pure and the government
from using the powers of a corruptible religion was to
build a constitution based on this idea. Mr. Jeferson
assured the Danbury Baptists of their protection from
government intervention; "legislature should 'make no
law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation
between Church & State". this wall doesn't undermine
religion, it supports it.
So where do we build this wall protecting the church
from being turned into a tool for the government? Where
do we build this wall of separation from a theocratic
government on a mission from God to rid the world of
heretics? A wall blocking forced tithings and silenced
scientifc understanding? A wall keeping the church's
name from being tarnished with more bloodshed. We
build this wall, one of purity, between the church and the
state, just like our founding fathers implored. By doing so,
we all defend what is in the best interests of all individuals,
regardless of belief and we do it with patriotism. Any
mention of another savior other than your own will remind
you of how important that wall is.
Nobody wants to take God or prayer out of everything.
this wall is made up of respect. It prevents inevitable
tensions between the many cultures that make up our
community. this country belongs to "We the People" not
any church; we must fnd a way to peace. Pray everywhere,
this is a free country. If youre holding a microphone, it isn't
to your god. If youre leading prayer on public property,
you aren't representing the whole community. Praying to a
personal god on one's own time, and not on the taxpayers
dime would be the most respectful way to honor a god
that I can think of. A truly loving god would agree.
--Ray Dickerson -Founder, Spalding Freethought Society
Letters to the editor:
A wall between church and state
protects both entities
Comments from the
Spalding County Discussion
page on Facebook:
printed with permission from the posters
As the leaders of the community, the simple prayer recited
prior to meetings asks for guidance for the commissioners
in making the decisions that are benefcial to all. Why would
anyone object to that? Nobody is asking a congregation
to come to the altar and repent their sins and ask God for
salvation. It appears to me that this is being blown way out
of proportion by someone who has nothing better to do!
Practicing personal beliefs publicly is not forcing those
beliefs on anyone. No one has removed your right to
continue to be an atheist in public. --Alicia B.
It is a shame that so many people here know so little about
American History and the founding fathers. I personally
do not care who you pray to. to Michael Renew, no, one
person's rights do not outweigh all the others, but our
founders also knew that the majority could not be given
the power over an individual, and that is why we live in a
republic not a democracy. We became one nation under
God in the 19-teens. --Bonnie B.
One person, one has fled this. Does the one person's
rights outweigh all the others? We all have the right to
believe how we want to, but everyday someone that does
not believe one way is trying to take the rights away from
the ones that do. trying to take God out of everything is
bringing this country down! If you don't believe in God
why do you care that many others do? -- Michael R.
C
ongress shall make
no law respecting
an 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.
the First Amendment of the
Constitution of the United
States is a protection of our
rights as citizens. How the
leap has been made from
Congress not establishing
a religion to litigating away
all mention of God is a very
troubling development
and not even remotely
related to the intent of
the amendment. Public
prayer does not establish
a religion. I believe the oft
uttered phrase Freedom of
Religion, not freedom FRoM
Religion bears repeating.
our system of government
is comprised of We the
People. It is a gathering
of individuals working
together in service to
conduct the business of the
people. If that gathering
of individuals sees ft to
see the guidance of God to
better conduct the peoples
business they are free to
do so. Just as anyone in
attendance is free to leave
the room, keep quietly
to themselves, or pray
to the God of their own
understanding.
If we value freedom, we
must protect it. We must
protect our right to pray.
We must protect the rights
others to not pray as they
see ft. to allow a gathering
of people to come together
in prayer and ask for Gods
guidance as they conduct
the business of the people
is as fundamental a
freedom and one that I do
not take lightly. As I have
participated in thousands of
public prayers, never once
have I seen anyone held
there to participate against
their will.
Each time we allow
someone being ofended
to strip away our freedom,
we further degrade our
country, our culture and
our future. If we sit silently
by and let our prayer
be silenced I fear that
we answer to far higher
authority than Congress
or the Judiciary. I, for one,
will fght vociferously to
maintain my protected right
to pray, out loud, in public.
If I am someday elected to
an ofce to serve, I will still
be an individual that will
seek guidance from God. I
will not be establishing a
religion through Congress or
prohibiting the free exercise
thereof. I will be practicing a
God-given freedom.
--Kathy Noble, Spalding GOP Chair
Freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion
bers. the overall reaction
was the question of why
an organization such as
the FFRF, which is based in
Wisconsin, would be con-
cerned with business con-
ducted in Grifn.
We certainly dont want
to ofend anyone, but we
havent heard from anyone
in Grifn that they are of-
fended, he said.
Smith said he does not be-
lieve the prayer historically
conducted prior to BoC
meetings difers from those
that take place at county
BoC or school board meet-
ings.
I think pretty much every-
body does it, he said. Why
they picked us, Im not real
sure.
Smith said prior to receiv-
ing the second letter, he did
on Sept. 11 respond to Gay-
lor, requesting that the lo-
cal residents who the FFRF
claimed to represent come
forward to speak with city
ofcials. to date, that has
not happened.
If they (the FFRF) have
a complaint from a Grifn
resident, wed certainly like
to hear from them, Smith
said.
other than informal con-
versations, no ofcial BoC
action has been taken, and
there is no further action
planned at this time.
Wed like to have open
and honest discourse, and
we look forward to our resi-
dents contacting us here,
Smith said.

The dental practice of Magusiak and Morgan welcomed Dr. Chastity

Brown, of Jackson, Georgia, to the partnership in January of this year.
Brown graduated summa cum laude from North Georgia College and
State University in 2004 with a degree in Biology. After completing her
undergraduate program, she attended the Medical College of Georgias
School of Dentistry. Dr. Brown received her DMD degree in 2008.
Dr. Brown practices Family and Cosmetic Dentistry.
She is a member of The American Dental Association, The Georgia
Dental Association and The Georgia Central District Society and also
volunteers with the Griffin Dental Mission.
663 South 9th Street (770) 227-9693 www.mmbdentistry.com
GOVERNMENT 11
SEPt 27- oCt 11, 2012 tHE GRIP GEt A GRIP AND GEt tHE GooD StUFF
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Sanders said he has not
been politically active in
the past, but upon learning
of the countys emergency
management ordinance, he
felt he must take action.
this ordinance is just too
close to home. the ordi-
nance says they may enter
your property at a reason-
able time. this says to me
between the hours of 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. If they show
up at your house and youre
at work, what happens? I
would suspect that your
door would be rammed in
and your house would have
been trampled through by
various county workers, he
said. this could easily lead
to widespread corruption
by future elected ofcials.
the fourth amendment was
put in the Constitution as a
prelude to stop these kind
of actions by any form of
government.
He said he named not
only the county as a defen-
dant in his lawsuit, but also
each individual member of
the board of commission-
ers because he felt they
should be held personally
accountable for their ac-
tions. the board members
unanimously approved the
original emergency man-
agement ordinance.
Sanders said he is disap-
pointed that no Spalding
County ofcials have at-
tempted to contact him, nor
has the county responded
to his suit, which was fled in
United States District Court
in the Northern District of
Georgia.
Still, he said he would pro-
ceed with his legal action
to ensure that no ofcial
in Spalding County has the
right to enter any private
residence without a warrant
from a judge or permission
from the owner.
Sanders said other Spald-
ing County residents have
reached out to him in sup-
port of his stance.
I have had several peo-
ple contact me in response
to the lawsuit and all com-
ments have been support-
ive so far, he said. In gen-
eral, most people I have
talked to are concerned
about the intrusiveness of
government at all levels.
to those who share Sand-
ers concerns, he said his
advice would be to become
active on all political levels.
Let their voices be heard
through their votes,he said.
Each Spalding County
Commissioner was on Sept.
17 served with the lawsuit
at the regularly scheduled
BoC meeting.
Weve already had the
frst reading on a new ordi-
nance that will remedy all
the issues, but I cant com-
ment on the lawsuit since
its pending litigation, said
Commissioner Chipper
Gardner.
T
he Spalding Coun-
ty Animal Shelter
strives to fnd adop-
tive homes for the thou-
sands of dogs and cats it
takes in annually, but there
is one exception pit bulls
and pit bull-mixed breeds
that by ordinance are not
made available to the pub-
lic.
We hold them for three
days for the owner to con-
tact us. If they cant verify
they are the owner, they
are not allowed to adopt
pit bulls or pit bull-mixed
breeds, said Animal Control
Director Brent Foster. the
state requires an annual ra-
bies shot, and if the owner
cant provide veterinary re-
cords or pictures to prove
they are the dogs actual
owner, they have no claim
to the dog.
If the owner does not
come forward within three
days, the dog becomes
the property of Spalding
County, and Foster said all
pit bulls and pit bull-mixed
breed dogs are then eutha-
nized.
the reason they do that is
because the majority of the
population in this county
does the wrong thing with
them (pits). there are a ton
of them, Foster said. A lot
of people in this county are
afraid of pit bulls. If you go
through our records, the
majority of our bites and
animal attacks and most
of the dogs we get in here
that have been labeled ag-
gressive animals by the
Sherifs ofce are pit bulls
and pit mixes.
Foster said the county or-
dinance does allow animal
rescue groups to take the
animals, but he said the
number of groups who ad-
opted pits and pit mixes are
declining each year.
Rescue groups are wel-
come to get them, but most
of them dont work with pit
bulls or pit bull-mixes, and
most of the pit bull rescues
weve worked with in the
past are usually full.
He explained that virtually
all animal rescue groups are
funded solely by donation,
which is why the pit rescues
are declining.
A lot of the reason the
number of pit bull rescues is
declining is because fewer
and fewer people want to
adopt them, he said.
In addition, the rescue
groups typically conduct
home inspections and have
stringent requirements that
must be met prior to adop-
tion approval.
Unfortunately, a lot of
people who want these
dogs arent the people who
need them, Foster said. If
we did adopt these dogs
out, there could be poten-
tial liability to the county
because most of them we
do pick up have scars, per-
haps not because they were
all being fought, but per-
haps they arent compatible
with other animals. But if
we did adopt them out and
something happened in the
future, the county could be
face liability.
lawsuit, cont.
prayer, cont.
Animal shelter can't ofer pit bull
breeds or mixes for adoption
Any pit bull
or pit mix are
held for three
days and then
euthanized
due to county
liability
SHEILA A. MARSHALL :::
Staf writer; sheila@the-grip.net
star salon - hair for hope
CANCER FUNDRAISER
Sunday, Oct 7
1-4 p.m. (walk-ins only)
100% proceeds will be donated to the purchase
of wigs for cancer patients.
414 S. Hill Street - 770-228-7738
$5 Brow Wax :: $5 Polish Change
$1 Per Minute Massages
Haircuts:
$10 Men :: $15 Women :: $10 Children
Maggie Lane, a blue short-
legged pitbull, was rescued
by Grip publisher Jessica
Gregory in the local bowling
alley parking lot. She was
emaciated, extremely
skiddish, and had recently
had puppies, pointing to her
having been being abused,
bred and dumped. She is
now in her forever home and
is fat and extremely happy
living with her also-rescued
dog brother Baxley and cat
sister, Noodle, whom she
loves dearly.
At the beginning of each day, we ask ourselves what we can do to make the promise of high quality care
and exceptional patient experience a reality for you. This steadfast focus is behind our clinical quality
metrics that exceed both state and national averages. We will continue to push onward and upward to
ensure that your medical care is the best it can be right here at home.
At Spalding Regional Hospital, we change for the better every day.
You can, too. Come discover how!
www.spaldingregional.com
a member of Spalding Health
CHANGE FOR
THE BETTER.
anytime were not
having a public class like
those on the left, were
open for private parties!
Included in a private party:
one canvas per person
brushes, paint & aprons to use
space rental for 2.5 hours
(bring your own refreshments!)
adults: $35 per person
$30 group rate (10+)
(16x20 canvases)
children: $25 per person
$20 group rate (10+)
(12x16 canvases)
GREAT FOR:
birthdays ::: wedding
showers ::: bachelorettes
::: corporate team building
::: girls night out ::: and
just because!
116 S. Sixth Street ::: Downtown Griffin
770-229-6599 ::: stachestudio.net