Player of the Week: 12 Luke Holloway

Featured Stories

TeamFYNSports Reporter’s Player of the Week goes to number 12 quarterback Luke Holloway! Holloway is a sophomore at Fannin County High School. Holloway’s improvement week after week contributed to the Rebels securing a home region win against Cherokee Bluff. As a sophomore, Holloway showed leadership as he connected with Chandler Kendall and Jalen Ingram and handed off to Treylyn Owensby and Will Mosley for a combined total of 6 touchdowns. Week after week Holloway seems more confident and much more comfortable as the sophomore Fannin Rebels quarterback. Congratulations, again, to Luke Holloway from TeamFYNSports.

Stats:

Passing 4/8 for 104 yrds 2 TDs; Rushing 2 Att 24 yrds

The Vaping Substance Unveiled as Pinaca

Community, Feature News

Quick-Mart’s owner, Jigneshkumar Patel, was arrested Wednesday Sep. 25 and charged with multiple charges.

These charges include a felonies for distribution of Nitrous Oxide (known as whippets), possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute (the vaping substance now recognized as Pinaca), reproduction of recorded material (bootleg movies), and racketeering. A misdemeanor for transactions in drug related objects (like vape pens and e-cigarettes) was also included in the charges.

Fannin County’s District Attorney Allison Sosebee stated that the case against Patel is still an open investigation: “If any more charges are added it will be from the investigation.”

While in court, Jigneshkumar Patel’s attorney requested dismissal of motion to bond during penance. It was revealed that Homeland Security has Patel listes on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) list and it’s possible that he could be subjected to deportation.

This is a community issue because this illegal substance listed above, Pinaca, is the vaping substance that’s been sold to students in Fannin County. There have been other similar incidents in Pickens and Gilmer counties as well.

Pinaca is a synthetic cannabinoid and is designed to mimic THC, the active chemical of cannabis. Synthetic cannabinoids are classed as ‘New Psychoactive Substances’ (NPS) which are unregulated substances that have become newly available on the market as an alternative to illegal drugs.

As a result, Pinaca has been listed a Control Level 1 illegal substance due to the dangerous health risks like accidental overdose and severe psychiatric complications.

The type of Pinaca and amount of active compound may vary considerably from batch to batch. Effects of this compound may include agitation, rapid heart rate, confusion, dizziness and nausea.

Atlanta Gas Extends Lease with Development Authority

Feature News, News

Blue Ridge, Ga.—Fannin County Development Authority extends their two-year contract with Atlanta Gas for an additional six months for $3,000.00. Atlanta Gas is set up on Industrial Park Road behind the Development Authority building on Development Authority property. Atlanta Gas needed to extend their lease to continue providing gas for Blue Ridge residents.

Atlanta Gas representative Carl Pearson explains, “Natural gas doesn’t have a smell to it. We add odorant to the pipeline and we’ve had issues where the odorant fades and so we want to go back and clean the pipes to fix the smell. The flare [behind the Development Authority building] generates flow for our customers in Blue Ridge.”

Development Authority Christie Arp asks, “Are there expected to be any loud noises?”

Pearson responded, “Yes, it will make the same noise as it’s been making [since the contract initially began].”

Atlanta Gas will have someone on-site throughout the last six months of this contract. Atlanta Gas will be running the flare during the weekdays only compared to the last two years of the lease where Atlanta Gas was running the flare non-stop. There are safety measures in places like valves to shut off the gas and flow if an emergency were to occur.

Development Authority approved of the lease extension for six more months so Atlanta Gas can fix these odorant issues and allow them to continue providing service to the residents of Blue Ridge, Ga.

Fannin County High School Hosts a Meeting about Vaping

Announcements, Community

Announcement: Fannin County High School is hosting a meeting about vaping on Thursday, October 4th at 6:00pm at FCHS Performing Arts Center. Use the QR Code to submit questions!

Students Vaping in The Schools

Community, Education

A new trend is sweeping the youth of the nation and unfortunately Fannin County is not immune to this growing problem.

Thursday afternoon, September 6, Dr. Gwatney sent out a letter explaining a recent event at Fannin County High School. It’s been reported that students are smoking and inhaling electronic cigarettes.

District Attorney B. Alison Sosebee contacted Dr. Gwatney sharing that several students from other counties have needed medical treatment after using these electronic cigarettes. Unfortunately, an incident has happened like this here in our own county.

It’s been discovered that a substance known as, “Kronic” is being sold locally and the students are getting ahold of it; this has resulted in students needing medical attention and have been escorted to the hospital.

Currently, Fannin County High School staff and faculty are doing everything they can to talk to our students about their decisions to vape and using electronic cigarettes. Our students also need to be aware and mindful of what substances they are putting into their electronic cigarettes and/ or vapes.

Parents and guardians should be aware and look out for these items. Electronic cigarettes, vapes, etc. can look like USB flash drives, lighters, pens, and other common items. Please ask and talk to your students about what they know—and may not know—about vaping and electronic cigarettes. Let’s take this time as a community to take care of our kids.

The school district has been kind enough to post various pictures of devices to watch for on Facebook page (Fannin County School System). For more information on vaping, you may refer to the CDC website at the following website:  https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/index.htm

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