Georgia Carnival: Edition 60

Welcome to the Georgia Blog Carnival…

The bloggers featured here are all part of the extensive list of bloggers from Georgia I have listed in the right sidebar of this site. Any Georgia blogger can submit a post to the carnival, or a blogger from another state or country can submit a post for inclusion if the topic is Georgia related.

There has been so much going on in my neck of the woods this week with the flooding that it has made it a little difficult to stay focused and get the carnival together. I apologize for the lateness in posting. I hope I haven’t inconvenienced anyone.

The next carnival will be published here at Georgia on My Mind on Friday, September 11th. Submissions will be due Thursday, September 10th.If you maintain a Georgia blog and would like to host the carnival at your site e-mail me to set up a date. It’s a great way to put your own personal spin on the carnival.

The last edition of carnival can be found here and the carnival archives are found here.

Now on to the carnival:

In the midst of the floods in Douglasville a tragic crime occurred Monday night when Mary Ann Humphrey, a clerk at the Circle K convenience store on Stewart Parkway in Douglasville…..MY town…. was murdered…..I’ve embedded a video of the crime below.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office website states, “Wanted in connection with the homicide at the Circle K store on Highway 5 at Stewart Parkway that occurred Monday, 9-21-09. If you recognize the person in this photo please call Lt. Bruce Ferguson at 770.920.4902. The person is believed to be a white or Hispanic male approximately 5’2” to 5’8” tall.”

WSB-tv has also run a Crimestoppers story found at this link which includes an interview with the victim’s brother. I happened upon a meeting with him on Friday quite by accident and was amazed at his stoic strength in the wake of such a shocking tragedy.

From a local video company, A-1 Video Productions comes this video, and to see what citizens in the area are saying about this senseless crime check out the Topix threads here and here.

Homicide at Circle K on Hwy 5 and Stewart Parkway from Channel 23 on Vimeo.

Georgia Floods ‘09

Throughout the carnival you will see some of the pictures from of the devastation in my neck of the woods. The pictures were taken by Wayne and Melanie Bearden, very good friends of mine and Kevin McKoy, my pastor. …..Just two of the tragic flooding stories from west of Atlanta this week.

Shawn Allison is trying to Stay Dry and has a video of the flooded Chattahoochee River.
Over at Mostly Media Grayson D. shares Talking Twitter Hashtags In Crisis Communication/Atlanta Flood 2009

I didn’t have any damage to my home, but we did have a tree come down....




Arts and Crafty Stuff

Bugs Hugs is a new blog to the Georgia blogroll presented by Andrea. She’s a stay-at-home mom and she likes to sew and do a little painting here and there. In her most current post, Go Green! Buy Locally! Eat You Vegetables.... Andrea advises, “Every year, the Georgia Farm Bureau Women’s Committee chooses a different commodity to promote. This year, it is vegetables, with an emphasis on being green and buying locally!

Personalized Sketches and Sentiments is also a new blog to the Georgia blogroll written by Maria, a self-taught artist creating unique sketches. She’s been taking orders since 1985. Seriously….go look. Her work is amazing and unique, but the look of her blog is pretty cool as well. ok See her latest work here.

Jewelry anyone? Jenjie's Crafty Stuff has some great jewelry and other things for you to look at and buy. This is a new blog to the blogroll as well.

Donna over at The Barefoot PhotographerⓇ presents Shelter Dog in May -- Art Show Entry in October…..a picture and post about about a very special pet.

Salmongirl has posted Dreams of A Secret Agent over at Ashes and Glass…….more artwork inspired by dreams….AWESOME!

Hot Button Issues Including Politics

Freddie Sirmans over at Doomsday Log Book believes the Economic Recover is BS and thinks Teaparties and Townhalls Are a Waste of Time

Project Logic GA takes a look at Fox News and MSNBC……Yellow Journalism or Healthy Debate
William Cotter presents Health Care Option posted at Paw Paw Bill

Dan Matthews shares What is the future of Oconee County, Georgia? posted at Oconee County, Georgia Politics - Recreation, News, Art, Music, Culture, Sports and More, saying, "Lots of frustrating questions with no simple answers about the future of Watkinsville and Oconee County, Georgia, a great place to live if we continue to work together to keep it so."

Over at The Other Athens James is advising about Property Tax Circuit Breakers and actions by the Athens/Clarke County Commission.

Out and About….Things to Do in Georgia

Sue over at Fieldtrips With Sue has some great ideas for trips with kids including picking your own apples, heading out to Piedmont Park, or Dauset Trail Nature Preseve in Hampton. Sue also clues us into a free parking deal at the Georgia Aquarium, and if you want to leave the state don’t miss her post regarding the Nickelodeon Hotel in Orlando .

Norcross recently hosted the Taste of Britain event….Felicia from Fluffy Flowers was lucky enough to attend and shares British Car Fayre.

Over at Southern Byways Apryl Chapman Thomas presents Southern Byways » Get Outdoors: “Hunting” for Treasures in Habersham County, Georgia.

Atlanta With Kid has a nice review of the Imagine It Museum for kids, and gives us 10 Fun Corn Mazes Around Atlanta

The Q Family Adventures wants to quell our camping phobia in 5 easy steps and gives us

five reasons why we like cruising with kids.

Georgia Sports

James over at The Other Athens provides the lowdown on South Clarke football here.

Georgia…in Days Gone By

Joe over at ATLHistory alerted me about this one….. Appalachian History provides a look at the Tallulah Falls Railway.

In case you missed it I posted a little tale about the four Georgians who founded Helena, Montana here earlier at Georgia on My Mind.

Watching That Dollar

Saving With Sadie provides some great information regarding Travel Bed-and-Breakfast Style

Georgia Eats

Visit Gena Knox for all sorts of recipes and food talk. Check out her Apple Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting……yum! Yes, she’s also a newbie to the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind.

Georgia Lifestyle

Rich Single Momma provides 12 Ways to Thrive as a Single Mom…..married moms might glean some good advice from this one as well.

Social Media

Visit Media Connection….a program of conversations about social media news, trends and innovations. A recent posting includes a conversation with Marketing Expert Toby Bloomberg

Sherry Heyl presents Spotlight on Lens On Atlanta posted at LISTEN, CONNECT, INFLUENCE, saying, "I am very excited for PBA and for Atlanta that we have been able to launch this site as a means to connect the citizens throughout metro Atlanta."

Thomas L. Strickland presents More From the Director’s Vlog - Time Flies and Fair Is Foul posted at GRABBINGSAND, saying, "Our non-profit theatre company is producing Macbeth on the grounds of Barrington Hall. What better time to experiment with producing a somewhat irregular video blog?" So cool!

Georgia Gardens

Felicia Haywood presents Easy Gardens for the South posted at Fluffy Flowers where she explains what has kept her away from the computer so much this past summer.

Georgia Roads

Steve Williams, webmaster over at The Georgia Road Geek presents Georgia Announces Toll System Bid Winner. Which company won the bid for the I-85 High-Occupancy Toll?

Notices Received

I received an email notification from Brad Malone, Public Relations Supervisor at Six Flags Over Georgia. He was inviting Atlanta area bloggers to a phone conference that will take place on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 regarding the 2009 summer season, their plans for fall, and what’s already in the works for next season. Bloggers/citizen journalists will also have the opportunity to ask him questions. If you haven’t already received your e-mail invitation…..don’t worry. Six Flags will be posting a recording of the conference call on their website.

Sara over at the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau advises Atlanta is extending tourism programs for a limited time. Her email explains the following:

Atlanta’s Backyard Adventure hotel packages, extended through September on Atlanta.net, offer reduced room rates and discounted admission to major attractions. In addition to hot offers like Sheraton Atlanta’s Beat the Heat package (guests pay a rate equivalent to the outside temperature on the day of check-in), participating hotels are including memorable perks such as shopping and dining gift cards, in-room movies, complimentary breakfast buffets, iTunes gift cards, room upgrades and more.

Atlanta’s MVP, or Most Valuable Package, provides admission to five of the city’s top attractions for just $89, representing a 35 percent savings over standard admission prices. Available through Oct. 4 on Atlanta.net, the package includes tickets to the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca-Cola, an all-day pass to Six Flags Over Georgia, an all-attractions pass to Stone Mountain Park, and an upper box section ticket to an Atlanta Braves game.

Other deals include:

Cheer on the Atlanta Braves as they contend for the National League Wild Card with home game series against the Washington Nationals (Oct 1-4).

See nearly 500 years of African American contributions to this country at America I AM: The African American Imprint exhibition, through Sept. 27 at the Atlanta Civic Center.

Witness the largest outdoor exhibition of British sculptor Henry Moore’s monumental bronzes ever presented in North America at Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Moore in America exhibit, on display through October.

Experience the Georgia Aquarium’s 10,000-square-foot interactive exhibit, Planet Shark: Predator or Prey, opening on Oct. 3.

Beginning Oct. 6, more than 50 of Leonardo da Vinci’s works will be on display at the High Museum of Art in the new Leonardo da Vince: Hand of the Genius exhibition.

After a $10 million transformation, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum will re-open on President Carter’s 85th birthday, Oct. 1, with a new exhibit featuring a unique area called A Day in the Life of a President.

And finally…..

The Margaret Mitchell House recently introduced a new visitor experience which includes a new exhibition, Margaret Mitchell: A Passion for Character.

Well, that’s it for this edition of the Georgia Carnival.

If you have a Facebook profile you can now become a fan of Georgia on My Mind. Look for the link to join the group located in the right sidebar.

Please support these fine Georgia bloggers by letting them know you have visited them with a comment. Your continued support with your links and shout-outs at your site helps to alert others to what we Georgia bloggers have to offer.

The next edition of the carnival will be found here at Georgia on My Mind on Friday, October 9th. Posts can be sent to gamind@mail.com or use the handy submission form. Submissions are due by Thursday, October 8th by 6:00 p.m.

Thanks for your continued support of the Georgia Carnival!

Rain, Rain....Go Away!

So far my family has come off easy regarding storm/flood damage. While I'm in the lowest spot in my subdivision my home sits up fairly high. However, the creek that runs along the back of our property is very, very angry. It washed out the dirt around one of our trees and down it came. Luckily it missed the house.

It will be a long night. We have several large trees on the front of the house, and IF they fall....they WILL hit the house.

Still, I have many friends who report they have lost their homes or have severe property damage. They are hurting, and my hearts go out to them.

The Four Georgians

Here’s an interesting fact….Helena, Montana was founded by the “Four Georgians” following a gold discovery along the Last Chance Creek on October 30, 1864.

Hmmmm…..the “Four Georgians”.

Who are these folks and how did they get a label like that?

The four Georgians are thought to be John Cowan, D.J. Miller, John Crab, and Reginald (Robert) Stanley. History is really a strange thing because only one of the four was a true Georgian…John Cowan. The others hailed from other places. D.J. Miller came from Alabama, John Crab was an Iowan, and Reginald Stanley was from England.

Many folks who have researched the four men had come up with the theory that the gang of four was called the Four Georgians not because they were from Georgia but because they used the Georgian method of placer mining.

The four had moved about Montana for six weeks looking for gold and finally returned to one of the first places they had visited. They had aptly named it Last Chance Gulch because they decided to try it one last time before giving up.

On July 14, 1864 they found flat gold nuggets and gold dust and the Last Chance Bonanza had begun. Three years later the four men sold out their claims and went about their lives as wealthy men.

This site states, “Once the news spread about the gold discovery, Helena became a boom town seemingly overnight. In only a few short years, several hundred businesses opened up shop in Helena, and more than 3,000 people called Helena home. Also, many previous mining strikes in other areas of Montana began to play out. As a result, many miners in these areas gravitated toward Helena.As the gulch began to fill up with people, the miners decided they needed to come up with a name for the town. The name “Helena” was not immediately bestowed upon the town. The “Four Georgians” originally named it Crabtown after John Crab, one of the founders. However, many of the miners from Minnesota began to call the town Saint Helena, after a town in Minnesota. The name was eventually shortened to Helena, its current name.”

Today, the same creek where the Four Georgians found their gold, runs underneath Helena’s main street. Helena even has an elementary school named for the Four Georgians.

Of course, as many historical events go there are two sides to the story. John Cowan returned home to site of the old mill (the original burned awhile back) is now a great restaurant. The website for the The Old Mill Restaurant advises John Cowan did travel to Montana with his cousins Frank and Tom Cowan. Also along for the trip were John Boring, Bill Palmer, and Henry Rusk all from Forsyth County.

Notice that Cowan’s traveling companions are not the same men mentioned in the local area history I found for Helena listed earlier in this article.

The Old Mill Restaurant website further states that after several months John Boring and Tom Cowan returned home to Georgia. Along the way John Boring was killed by Indians, but Tom made it home. This left John Cowan, Frank Cowan, Henry Rusk, and Bill Palmer in Montana….four men, four Georgians.

Hmmm….the only Georgian we know for sure was in Helena is John Cowan.

I just hate it when I research something and can’t find the answers I want.

I’ve sent an email to The Old Mill Restaurant…..perhaps they can clear this up for us.

For now we have a mystery on our hands.

Patriot Day...A Day to Remember

Today is the day that we remember the sacrifice of the 2,993 casualties in the September 11, 2001, attacks.

I’m remembering…..and I’m sure you are as well.

A worthy website to visit regarding that terrible day is The September 11th Digital Archive.

Also…..this link will take you to my past postings at History Is Elementary regarding September 11th including my own personal experience that very sad an shocking day… here.