Democrats Talk to Young Harris Students at Resource Fair

Talking to Young Harris Students About the Towns County Democratic Party

Towns County Democrats tell visitors and students to the Young Harris College's Community Resource Fair about the Democratic Party and its activities in Towns County on Aug. 21.  Students were encouraged to register and vote in the Nov. 4 Public Service Commission election.  Many students expressed interest in the upcoming protest in Young Harris on Sept. 13 at noon, according to Tammy Bates, TCD vice chair, who is pictured talking to a couple who stopped at the booth.  "We hope to have younger faces present at our monthly protests, she said.  This is the third year Towns County Democrats have participated in the Resource Fair. 

Towns Democrats and Nick Alex Deliver Constituent Letters to Rep. Clyde

 

Giving Clyde an Earful and Letters at Aug. 20 Protest

Towns County Democrats Bob and Charlotte Sleczkowski delivered constituent letters to Rep. Andrew Clyde's office Aug. 20 in Gainesville.  Clyde has refused to hold town halls, so local Democrats are taking voters' messages to him by dropping letters at his district office in person and protesting outside.  "We were delivering our letters to Andrews Clyde's office and look who we ran into," Charlotte said.  Joining the two in this photo is Democratic Candidate for the 9th District Congressional seat Nick Alex, right, who was there to join in the protest and call for Rep. Clyde to meet with his constituents.

Towns Democrats donate school supplies

Towns County Democrats Vice Chair Tammy Bates, left, and immediate past chair Charlotte Sleczkowski get ready to transport the 12 bins of donated school supplies collected during July and early August.  

Following a very successful community drive to collect school supplies for local students, Towns County Democrats offered their thanks to local residents for their generous donations and to Hiawassee and Young Harris businesses for hosting drop-off points.

In all, some 1,221 items or packages of items were donated, ranging from backpacks and three-ring notebooks to pencils, notebook paper, crayons — the most frequently donated item — composition books, colored pencils, glue sticks, and scissors, to name a few.  

All of the supplies, filling 12 large plastic bins, were delivered Monday, Aug. 4, to Macedonia Baptist Church in Hiawassee.  Along with supplies donated to the church, church members organized all the items for distribution on Tuesday, Aug. 5, to students from across Towns County in partnership with the school system's Family Connection office.

"The community response was tremendous and we appreciate the generosity shown to students and teachers, " said David Plunkett, chair of the Towns County Democrats.  "School system personnel commented that with our donated items and the items collected by Macedonia, they likely wouldn't have to go shopping to fill any gaps in supplies."

Plunkett also thanked local merchants for allowing drop boxes to placed at the following places of business: Bacchus on the Lake, Hiawassee Brew, Trailful, and Going Postal in Hiawasee, and Cable's Gallery, The Fix, and the Towns County Recreation Center in Young Harris.  "We couldn't have done this without their participation," Plunkett said.

Towns Democrats culminated the effort with a Back to School Supplies Bash on Saturday, Aug. 2, at Hiawassee Town Square with free food supplied by VFW Post 7807 and live music by Nelson Thomas.  Event organizers Tammy Bates and Charlotte Sleczkowski, both of Hiawassee, added their thanks to the VFW and to Thomas for helping with the celebration.

District ranger to address Towns County Democrats

Dr. Steverson Moffat will be the guest speaker when Towns County Democrats hold their monthly meeting on Thursday, Aug. 14.

Dr. Steverson Moffat

The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Towns County Civic Center, 67 Lakeview Circle, Hiawassee.  

Moffat will present an overview of the role of the Forest Service and will discuss the impact review of President Trump's executive order regarding additional timbering in the national forests as it relates to the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. 

Moffat holds a bachelor of science degree in natural resources and forestry from the University of the South at Sewanee, Tenn., and a master of science degree in forest landscape ecosystems from Clemson University.  He received his doctorate in U.S. forest policy from North Carolina State University in 1999.

After a short stint with The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina in the late 1980s, Moffat served from 1999 to 2010 as a policy analyst for the U.S. Forest Service's Southern Research Station in New Orleans.  From 2010 to 2022 he led the Environmental Law Compliance Team for Nantahala National Forest.  He was named district ranger for the Blue Ridge Ranger District of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in May 2022.

Towns Democrats hosting Back to School Supplies Bash on Saturday

Towns County Democrats have been collecting supplies for local schools and students at eight business locations throughout Hiawassee and Young Harris this month and invite the public to help them finish off the effort at a Back to School Supplies Bash on Saturday, Aug. 2, at the Hiawassee Town Square.

Project leaders Charlotte Sleczkowski and Tammy Bates, both of Hiawassee, obtained official supply lists for Towns County Schools grades 1-8 and enlisted local merchants to set up collection boxes for donations of supplies at their businesses.

Supplies are still being accepted at each of the eight locations, namely: Cable's Gallery, The Fix, and the Towns County Recreation Center in Young Harris, and Bacchus on the Lake, Hiawassee Brew, Trailful, Going Postal, and the Towns County Democrats' office in Hiawassee.

A retired teacher herself, Sleczkowski knows from experience the burden teachers bear when students can't furnish their own supplies because of financial circumstances.  "It can reach hundreds of dollars out of the teachers' pockets each year," she said. 

Towns Democrats chose the most-requested items for donation for their collection focus, namely:  packs of glue sticks, composition books with marble covers, packs of loose-leaf paper, 24-count Crayons, pencil pouches, student-size Fiskars scissors, Ticonderoga No. 2 pencils, pencil-top-erasers, spiral notebooks, divider tabs, colored pencils, and 1.5-inch three-ring binders.  Complete lists of supplies for each grade are available at the schools.  

The collection effort will culminate on Saturday with live music by Nelson Thomas and free hotdogs, watermelon, and drinks supplied by VFW Post 7807 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Donations of supplies, or cash donations, also can be brought to the event at the Hiawassee Town Square.  This is a collection effort only, not a distribution event.  All supplies and cash collected will be donated to the local school system.

Additionally, the Family Connection office of Towns County Schools will help facilitate the distribution of school supplies at a separate event happening Tuesday, Aug. 5.  Anyone interested in participating may call the Family Connection office at 706-896-4131, Extension 1233, or email Angela Hunnicutt ahunnicutt@townscountyschools.org for additional information. 

Voter Purge

 Published in the Towns County Herald on July 23, 2025

Dear Editor,

Some 659 people who appear on the Towns County voter registration rolls may find they cannot cast a ballot come election day.  These people should receive a notice their registration may be cancelled, but since mail sometimes gets lost it is best to be proactive in checking your registration status, particularly if you haven’t voted in recent elections.

The Secretary of State announced a new round of voter list maintenance activities (commonly referred to as a voter purge) on July 10, seeking to remove almost a half-million people from Georgia’s voter rolls.  Towns Countians account for 659 of the people on that list.  The people who face removal have 40 days after the date on their notice to respond.  There is good reason to respond!

Up until the post-Civil War era the U.S. Constitution did not specifically protect the right to vote, and each State made its own eligibility rules.  Even today it is a right protected mainly through legislation and can be lost when rolls are purged.  That is concerning because the right to vote is a fundamental right even without specific protection because it gives meaning to the First Amendment’s rights of free speech, peaceable assembly, and petitioning for a redress of grievances.  Those rights exist on the air if not given substance by the right to vote.

That is why everyone should vote and keep their registration current.  Also, everyone should periodically check their registration status on the My Voter Page at https://mvp.sos.ga.gov or by calling the Towns County Board of Elections and Registration office at (706) 896-4353.  And again, if you receive a notice that your registration may be cancelled, be sure to respond within 40 days of the date on the notice.

Does your vote matter?  Kevin Entze of Washington state lost his primary in 2002 by one vote out of 11,700 cast.  Towns County has about 11,000 registered voters.  You don’t want to be the reason the wrong candidate beat your preferred choice simply because you forgot to check your registration and lost your right to vote in the current voter purge.

David W. Plunkett
Young Harris, GA

Democratic Party Chair Charlie Bailey Addresses North Georgia Democrats

 

North Georgia Democrats Here About Plans for Winning Georgia Elections in 2026 

State Democratic Party Chair Charlie Bailey spoke to the Quad County Coalition Sunday, June 22, at Meeks Park in Blairsville about changes coming in the way the State Party supports candidates.  Among the changes he announced are better access to databases of supporters, a new issues research program to help focus candidates on Democratic strengths and Republican vulnerabilities as they campaign, and a statewide effort to elect Democrats by challenging Republicans in marginal races.  The Coalition of Democrats in Gilmer, Fannin, Union, and Towns counties also heard from 9th District U.S. Congressional candidate Nick Alex and State Senate District 51 candidate Gary St. Lawrence.