Dent Retirement a Sign of Trump Wave in ‘18?
Politics, State & National September 12, 2017
Amidst all the talk among Democrats and the Media that the Trump election and presidency is a one off that will soon be remedied by a Democrat wave — there is actually evidence to suggest that just the opposite will ring true in 2018. For example, look at upstart Pennsylvania Congressional candidate Justin Simmons, who is running to be the GOP nominee in the 15th District. Simmons, 31, currently represents PA State House District 131 and was planning to mount a Conservative challenge to seven term incumbent Rep. Charlie Dent in the Spring 2018 Primary. That was until Dent abruptly announced his retirement, opening the door for 35 year old Ryan Mackenzie to enter the now open race, a race that could prove to be a battle between conflicting wings of the Republican Party.
Simmons recently called in to FYNTV’s Good Morning from the Office for an exclusive interview regarding his initial decision to run, the surprise of Dent’s retirement, and the differences between himself and Mackenzie.
Simmons made it clear from the beginning that his motivation to run was the dissatisfaction among Conservatives in the 15th District with Dent, as evidenced by the recent rally in protest of the seven term Congressman. According to Simmons, “just his voting record alone is bad enough… then going on MSNBC, CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Times… being the go to Republican to rip Donald Trump and Conservatives,” had angered voters in the district won by both Donald Trump and Charlie Dent. However, Dent had spoken out aggressively against Trump during the campaign, refusing to endorse him and frequently criticizing him after his inauguration.
“I was never fully on board with Charlie, I always knew he was pro-choice and supported taxpayer funded abortion… but he was fiscally Conservative at first,” said Simmons, adding “as time went on he just got more Liberal.”
The news of Dent’s sudden announcement to retire was a surprise to the Simmons team, although he insists they were “ecstatic” and this it was a “victory” because it creates a chance to elect a Conservative representative. However, it has created a brand new dynamic with the entry of Mackenzie, setting up a race described by The Morning Call as a “Hatfield’s and McCoy’s race” between what they described as two longtime rivals. Although Simmons dismissed the “Hatfield’s and McCoy’s” comparison he did elaborate on what he sees as the differences between him and the only other declared candidate.
Ryan and I have worked together on a lot of good issues. The difference between Ryan and I, is Ryan is establishment and I am not. I got my foray into politics by taking on a Liberal Republican, I took on the party and I took on the establishment. Ryan Mackenzie, he came into politics, his Dad was the former chair of the party, he was very connected. When he first ran for State House in the 134th District… there was a special election and the party hierarchy greased the skids for Ryan, they cleared the field in the special election for him, he hasn’t had an opponent since.
Simmons also described Mackenzie as Charlie Dent’s hand picked successor, which means he will be the beneficiary of the PA GOP fundraising network. However, Simmons described it as a negative because it means Mackenzie would be beholden to the moderate Republican structure of the state party and not the Trump Coalition that delivered PA to a Republican presidential candidate for the first time in a generation.
This race will be one of many that pits establishment Republicans against the new, Trump Republicans. In his recent interview with 60 Minutes, former White House strategist Steve Bannon made clear his intentions to target establishment Republicans in the 2018 Primary races. This has already manifested itself in races like the special election for Senate in Alabama, where incumbent Sen. Luther Strange was leading in polling until Bannon endorsed his opponent, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Roy Moore.
What’s more, the race in Pennsylvania will pit two millennial candidates, Mackenzie is 35 and Simmons is 31.
You can see Simmons’ entire interview here:
UC PANTHERS JV SOFTBALL REMAIN UNDEFEATED
Business August 24, 2017
Union County vs White County Junior Varsity Softball
August 23, 2017
Location: Cleveland, GA
The Lady Panthers are still UNDEFEATED with a record of 4-0 and that is something to smile about!
Pictured: Kristen Poteete(Softball) “is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.” – Yogi Berra
The Lady Warriors proved this statement to be true in yesterday’s game. With no offense to them, it seemed obvious that their pitching staff struggled to throw over the plate.
The Panthers faced three Warriors pitchers – O’Kelly, Vandiver and Anderson. Throughout the course of their 3 full innings, they had a combined total of 11 walks, 1 strikeout and 3 hits. Meaning: an average inning against these pitchers might consist 3 – 4 batters being walked, 1 getting a hit and someone seldomly getting struck out.
Opposite of that, Panthers pitcher Trinity Queen threw all 3 innings with a total of 3 walks, 6 strikeouts and 1 hit. Meaning: an average inning for Queen based on these stats will consist of 1 walk, 2 strikeouts and possibly a hit/ball in play; A.K.A. a quick inning.
With the minimal amount of time these ladies are allotted to play, they waste no time gaining an advantage over their opponent. In the top of the second inning the Panthers put up 6 runs; split evenly between walks (3) and singles (3). The Warriors never managed to score the entirety of the game. And the Lady Panthers brought home an 8-0 victory after a series of walks.
As you can see below, they also display admirable comradely between the coaching staff and each other which is another advantage this team has over others they may face.
Pictured: Payton OliverThe next JV Lady Panthers game is set for Tuesday, August 29, 2017 at 4:30 PM! Come out and support your Lady Panthers!
Georgia Department of Public Health encourages “eclipse glasses” for 2017 total eclipse – Press Release
Health August 14, 2017
Senator David Perdue Recaps This Year’s Results, Previews 2018 on Fox News
State & National January 2, 2018
Senator David Perdue Recaps This Year’s Results, Previews 2018 on Fox News
ATLANTA, GA – U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA) spoke with Mike Emanuel on Fox News’ Special Report about President Trump’s significant accomplishments during his first year in office and the priorities heading into 2018.
Delivering Results: “President Trump laid out four agenda items this year. We accomplished most of them. President Trump wants to continue to get results. The economy is going to move now that we started regulatory work and with the tax bill we just passed.”
Early Success: “The President is working diligently to get ready for 2018, but he is very happy with the results of 2017. His first year in office we saw 2 million new jobs created, 860 rules and regulations being reversed, illegal crossings down 60%, 500 people have been fired at the Veterans Administration for non-performance. The President is very excited about the future of our country now that we’re moving to get the economy going again.”
Business Focus: “We have a business guy in the White House for a change. He is moving at a business place, not a bureaucratic pace. Look, 2018 is an election year, but we have different leadership in the White House. He is not going to waive off his priorities for an election process.”
Immigration Solution: “President Trump, Senator Tom Cotton, and I have been consistently saying that any solution for DACA has to include an end to this archaic chain migration and money for border security and the wall at our southern border.”
Helping American Workers: “That’s what’s wrong with Washington, career politicians don’t understand how the free enterprise system works. The best thing we can do for the American worker, the American consumer, for anyone who works in America is to help our businesses, large and small, become competitive again with the rest of the world.”
Breaking The Gridlock: “The problem in Washington is gridlock. The minority party is causing that right now, but there are signs of encouragement. Frankly, the immigration issue is one that should have a bipartisan solution. We believe we can do that early in the new year. The President is going to keep focused on that as we get back to work next week.”
Panthers ‘Light Up’ Banks County 38-6!
TeamFYNSports, UCHS Football September 19, 2017
Union County Panthers vs Banks County Leopards
Varsity Football
September 15, 2017
Location: Blairsville, GA
Friday night was a very ‘colorful’ night for the Panthers, to say the least! Some fans entered the stadium in bright neon colors and others in their own football jerseys/cheer outfits. It was a Neon Night for the UCHS Student Section and also a night to recognize the Union County Recreation Department football players and cheerleaders.
With the game proceedings beginning, the roar of the crowd became silent when the National Anthem was played and the captains were listed off over the intercom. The UC captains for the game were: #8 Cole Wright, #11 RJ Banton, #76 Clay Carroll, and #34 Bryan Nelson. Banks County won the coin toss and chose to receive the ball first. 
The Panthers, determined to continue to keep their undefeated streak for the season, showed their enthusiasm and scored first off a 1-yd pass from #8 Cole Wright to #22 Austin Pattee. The kick from #36 Brian Smith was good making it 7-0 Panthers with 5:31 left in the first.
Realizing the talent they were up against, the Leopards put it into gear and worked their way down field. On their third attempt at the 2-yd line, the Leopards put up 6 against the Panthers on a rush. The kick was absolutely NO good due to a remarkable diving block by Panthers #2 Chayton Schafer!! 
This would be the only time the Leopards scored against the Panthers for the duration of the game.
With something to prove, Panthers Junior #2 Chayton Schafer decided to show off his wheels and take a kickoff return up field. Literally … up the field. Remarkably, he zig-zagged his way up the right side and nearly to the endzone before he was tripped up by a Leopard player. He fumbled the ball BUT a fellow Panther fell on the ball in the endzone, scoring yet another touchdown! 14-6 Panthers with 1:09 left in the first.
With the Panthers ‘ready to eat,’ they wasted no energy showing mercy to the Leopards. In the second quarter the Panthers scored an additional three more touchdowns! Two of which were made by Senior Quarterback #8 Cole Wright! Wright, remaining completely untouched and headed in the right direction (pun intended), scored his first touchdown of the night off a 39-yd run. 21-6 Panthers with 10:02 remaining in the second!
With an amazing interception by #17 Pierson Allison the Panthers get the ball on the 8-yd line.
#22 Pattee with a complete short pass, made it 3rd down with 3 to go for the Panthers. With incredible feel for the ball, #8 Wright, spotted an opening on the left-hand side and dove through some Leopards into the endzone to increase the score to 28-6 with 3:06 left in the second!
Moving quickly through the end of the first half, Panthers #8 Wright manages to advance upfield after a 17-yd cutback. Panthers kicker #36 Brian Smith places a ball high and through the posts for a 26-yd field goal. 31-6 Panthers to end the half!
#21 Sawyer Drake broke free from his defender and was hit with a beautiful 5-yd spiral in the end zone for the final touchdown of the game with 6:32 left in the fourth. FINAL: 38-6 Panthers!
TEAM STATISTICS
RUSHING – 267 yards PASSING – 163 yards
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Panthers: #8 C. Wright 12-162 (2 TD); #24 C. Buzzard 12-61; #15 C. Dockery 9-28; #14 R. Barrett 1-10; #17 P. Allison 1-6 Total: 267 Rushing Yards
PASSING — Panthers: #8 C. Wright 13/23, 163 (2 TD) Total: 163 Passing Yards
RECEIVING — Panthers: #18 L. Dyer 3-48; #22 A. Pattee 6-40 (1 TD); #4 K. Hemphill 1-40; #2 C. Schafer 1-15; #84 K. Morlock 1-15; #21 S. Drake 1-5 (1 TD)
TACKLES — Panthers: #11 R. Banton 6; #32 J. Colwell 5; #12 S. Dobbins 5; #34 B. Nelson 4; #53 M. Beise 3; #2 C. Schafer 2; etc.
With another win under their belt, the Panthers look forward to hosting Greater Atlanta Christian (GAC) for their first conference game of the season on September 22, 2017 at 7:30PM. The Panthers are now 4-0 for the season! Please note that this Friday will also be Homecoming!
Also, support the Panthers JV team this Thursday, September 21, 2017 as they face the White County Warriors on the road at 5:30PM! The JV Panthers are 1-0 currently!
Jon Ossoff Meets his Opposition: Not Republicans, but Democrats, Slotin wants to know where’s Ossoff’s financial report & why the DNC and DCCC are showing candidate support
Featured, Politics March 12, 2017
The Georgia Sixth District Congressional Forum, hosted Sunday, March 12th in Roswell,GA by ‘Needles in a Haystack,’ had over 500 attendees. The democratic voters and candidates hope to ‘flip the sixth,’ by changing the historically, congressionally Republican led district to a Democratic district.
According to a straw poll taken at the forum, Jon Ossoff is the most supported candidate by a landslide. Yet, the other candidates; Ragin Edwards, Ron Slotin, Rebecca Quigg and Richard Keatley made clear they are still in the race.
Not only does Ossoff have the expressed support from the Sixth District according to the straw poll; but according to Ossoff, his campaign has raised over three million dollars in only seven weeks. Further, he is covered more than any other Democratic candidate by national media; including the New York Times, Esquire and Heavy.
While other candidates at the forum expressed the need for unification among the Sixth District Democrats, Ossoff stated he believes the effort to flip the sixth district has unified the Democrats already. Evidently, Ossoff is not on the same page as the other candidates.
Slotin has extensive political experience. He has served two terms in the State Senate, was involved in the passing of the HOPE Scholarship, has volunteered for various organizations in the sixth district for over fifteen years and more.
Slotin stated, “I have the best chance to beat the Republicans in the runoff in this election.” Slotin then threw a curveball when he asked the audience, “I want to know if anyone is here from the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) or the National Democratic Party? Because I want to ask them, why are they getting involved in this election?” Slotin said “You don’t see the RNC (Republican National Committee) getting involved with Republican Candidates” Slotin brings up interesting points.
Further, Slotin attacked Ossoff at the forum for not yet filing his federal campaign finance reports. Slotin stated, “Jon did not turn in his financial statements.” Ossoff replied by stating that the deadline for finances is not until April 18th.
(Pictured 6th District Congressional Democratic Candidate Ron Slotin)
Meanwhile, Keatley encouraged voters to stay open-minded to all candidates by stating, “Suspend your judgement, there are many forums coming up.” He also stated, “The people in this district should decide who wins this election,” and finally, “It’s about communicating with people and having a face that they know is not bullshitting them.”
Click here to watch the full forum video