I
(Sal)
had a chance to visit the state of peaches in 2000 when I attended a every other year conference-Impact! I was able to see some of it by road when I took the Greyhound partially though the state from all the way from Wisconsin (by car partially from the Twin Cities!).
Now (Friday, June 4th of 2004), I plan to go back there again, but this time-by plane! I"ll be going there with 14 others from Morris to participate in an All American City Finalist Competition in Atlanta, Georgia=>
I'm back, it's Monday-June 14th of 2004! The weather in Atlanta was beautiful in the 4 days we were there. It was about mid 80's every day with sun and partly cloudy until the last day when it rained.
On our first day (Wednesday, June 9th), we had the chance to ride this Aiport Van from the airport to our hotel-Marriot Marquis. It was an immediate cultural meeting when we got off the plane when an African-Ghanan helped pushed a cart with all our luggages (11 of 15 members of our team that were there early). The Airport Van driver told me he is from Bangladesh, which I told him he was the second one I ever met. It was pretty difficult to get a conversation from him; was too focus on his driving I guess.
We were amazed of the beauty of our hotel, which we could see all the way to the top floor inside (about 50) in an enclosed roof window atrium. It was around 6pm, which we all went to find our rooms and went our own separate ways before spending time as a group in the next 4 days. I went to tour the surrounding vicinity of the hotel to see what's around. After touring around, I met part of the group (Shelly and Sue) at Peach Tree Center Mall. I had my late supper as I adjust to the 1 hour ahead Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Then more of the group (Laura, Sydney, and Carol) joined us as they were coming from Hard Rock Cafe. The girls grown a fond with Shelly (the next youngest in the group), which they were unattachable for the rest of the 4 days. They all went swimming after I joined them to view the top floor of the hotel that evening.
I woke-up early (Thursday, June 10th) around 7am to work-out at the fitness center to get a good start for the day. Then I got a small healthy breakfast (powerade bar and V8 juice) to continue this good start. I ate with some of the Morris Team members before going to our first practice, which lasted 2 hours! With the intense practice, we had some layed-back fun by playing around with our kazoos. David and I even tried out this 2-partner cartwheel, which was my first try! The remaining 2 members joined us late during the practice, which they got in with the fun too!
We had a schedule of other events (practice with our presentation, orientation, and welcoming reception) throughout the day at the Hotel, which we were inside most of the time. For a quick lunch (1p-1:40p), I did go to this Food Court (across the street via skyway) and tried this awesome salad and chicken roll-up (I notice this low carb food trend in the food places), which I ate with the Morris Team at the Hotel's cofee shop eatery. While eating, our "Honorable" City of Morris Mayor Carol Wilcox, got interviewed in camera by a representative from Concord, North Carolina (I think? it starts with C')!
At night, after a small-big filling at the welcoming reception, we headed to Hsu's Chinese Restaurant a block away for a cultural food experience in Atlanta. We saw pictures of celebrities that has been here: Yao Ming and others I forgot! We a long dinner/supper (appetizers-spring rolls, beef on a stick; main dish, desserts-leche on ice w/strawberries), ice cram w/nuts, chocolate special cake) while the "girls" played with quality chop-sticks. It was a great time of hanging out!
Sue, Mike, and Kelly try some appetizers!
The "younger folks" were not really hungry after eating a lot at the welcoming reception back at the hotel, so we just ate the appetizers, desserts, and had a drink (tea, water, pop).
After eating, many of us experienced an unforgetable moment. David treated us to a carriage ride around downtown after giving-up on trying to find these grocery stores (Publix and ? by City Hall). The lady (JP) gave us an informative history lessson of the downtown area:
-original Coca-cola headquarters
-apartment fire that killed close to a hundred people, which improved fire escapes
-Gone with the Wind author memorial
On Friday morning, I woke-up early again for the "Big Day", which I started with a workout. I woke up around 6am and decided to run up 10 flights up from the 4th floor-where I was staying on. Wew, that really woke me up! I then continued doing some leg workouts at the fitness center. We had practice again for our presentation around 10a-11am. After watching a presentation, we (Shelly, Laura, Sydney, and I) went to eat at Peach Tree Center. We met Mary who was working at the Information Desk, who shared about her family member that lives in St. Paul. After her giving us a FREE souvenier from one of the tourist brochures, we gave her a Morris, MN pin. For lunch, I had this seafood shrimp salad at Gorin's Homemade Cafe. Laura got her Oriental Chinese Food...again (2 of 3x during the entire trip)! While eating, some more of our Morris Team came along to join with us. It was a great team get together before the acutal presentation this afternoon!
After the presentation, there was the Civic Fair at the Hotel. We passed out Morris souveniers (colorful well-informative news (Tuesday, June 8th edition that featured the 15 team members' profile) from the Morris Sun Tribune to the Walmart "like" crowd that came in rushing when the doors opened at 6:30p. A couple of our "older team members" had an unexpected opportunity to do some dancing (see some pictures to be put on later), which was a very interesting cultural experience for them! It was getting slow around 9pm, which we started to pack-up some "stuff" left over from our booth. We decided to pass-out the UMM Buttons around the fair. Shelly used her UMM Admissions' skills/experience to share about the "3rd Best Public Liberal Arts College" with a mom and sister from Florida (they ended up speaking to me again the next day, which I gave them my personal website of my UMM experience).
After the fair, we (David, Shelly, Laura, Sydney, Montevideo "guy"-Chad, and I) all went to this concert called "On the Bricks" at the famous Centennial Park (where the 96' Summer Olympic party goers celebrated and the unfortunate "bombing"). We saw this famous rap group called "Chingy", which I personally never heard of.
Then we played around at the olympic ring shaped water fountain, where we all got drenched to cool us off in this hot Friday evening.
I'm playing in the fountain as David, Kelly, and Mike
pose for a picture!
Unfortnately, it shut off around 11pm, which we then went to "3 Levels"-a dance club. At the Marriot's Conciere (information desk), we received free tickets. Unfortunately-again, only 21 and up could go in. We decided as a group to not go in and just go back to the hotel.
Saturday, June 12th was a FREE FUN DAY! Some of the group (Mike, David, Kellie, Shelly, and I) decided to get together to eat at 500 Cafe on Ellis St. after being highly reccomended to check this place out from our carriage driver last night. It was a homecookin' eatery that specializes on breakfast and lunch. We were supposed to meet @8am by the hotel coffee shop, but not everybody was there. One of them came around 8:10am, then we ended up going to David & Mike's room to wake them up. They got up after knocking on the door, which we saw their 22nd floor view of the beautiful city in the early morning. It was close to 9am when we got to 500 Cafe, which the owner/cook didn't expect anyone. He ended up cooking us whatever we wanted (eggs, toast, bacon, and southern-style grits) and finished in-time before meeting with the others @9:45am to tour Atlanta.
Many of us went to the World of Coca Cola Museum (a couple of others went to CNN's Studio Tour, Undergound Atlanta-Mall, Peach Tree Center Mall for lunch, and I then went swimming in the hot afternoon at the open roof hotel swimming pool. Around 5pm, we attended the reception before the acutal Award Presentation @6:30-8:30p. Then they had the party celebration at the hotel. After, our team went to this Steak House for some group bonding. Sue, Carolyn, Dan, Cindy, and Ed all went to ride the carriage ride around downtown. Then some (David, Mike, Kellie, and I) of us didn't feel like going back to the hotel right away. We went to the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel to see the revolving restaurant, but it wasn't opened at the time. We then roamed around the vicinity to the Underground. On our way, we met some cool Ambassadors of Atlanta (cop like folks-Malik A.and Dan P.), who shared some interesting places to hang out.
Posing with City of Atlanta Ambassadors-Malik and Dan!
We ended up talking with them for 15 minutes or so about the "beggars" that has been asking for money (e.g. "what are you looking for", "can I show your to...", "I need 70 cents for the bus", "got some spare change", etc...). On our way to the Underground along Peach Tree Street, we saw some squirrels that ended up being rats! Also, we saw some waterbugs crawling fast through the wholes of the streets. Then we saw this guy preaching to folks on the bus stop by the Marta (transit stop). In fact, this area I had a deja-vu moment (a dream of this particular area awhile back), which I ended up doing some praying! We made it safely back to the Hotel by 1am!
Worship Service
I woke-up early on Sunday morning hoping to attend the famous Ebenezzer Baptist Church (service start @8am) , where Martin Luther King Jr. attended. Five years ago, I had an opportunity to visit here during a Impact Conference. I was too tired to get up as I was up till 2am packing after last nights adventure around town. I got up around 7:45am and ended up going to a nearby church service. In fact, I found this when I was touring the surrounding area earlier. It was a storefront church called "Universal Church: Stop Suffering Center" (205 Peachtree St.) 1.800.704.0194, located across the Westin Plaza. I made it in time (@9:15a) to see most of the service-45 of the 60 minutes. I was hoping to experience a happening' holly rollers service with some wake-up gospel music, but there was none in the vicinity of the Marriot (There was a Catholic Church and a Methodist Church started @11am a couple blocks from the hotel). I felt the message was very life applicable-"What are you willing to sacrifice (time, money, bad friends-influences, materialism, etc...things that may distract you from your focus on growing in your relationship with God) to get your prayers answered (my interpretation of the sermon). After the service, there was another one-in Spanish. I then went back to the hotel to meet the others by 11:45am to ride the transit to the airport.
His version of Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia On My Mind" was named the Georgia state song in 1979, and he lent his gravelly voice to songs ranging from "America the Beautiful" to "Makin' Whoopee" to the 1985 all-star recording of "We Are the World."-CNN's "Ray Charles dead at 73
Influential singer, pianist called 'the Genius'
Friday, June 11, 2004 Posted: 4:16 PM EDT (2016 GMT)
*see Prayer "Perdue gathered 250 faithful and desperate citizens of his state on Tuesday in an effort to literally pray for rain. The Peach State is in the midst of a historic drought, with no relief in sight. But like a politician working a room, Perdue asked and pleaded for individuals to spare whatever prayers they could to ask God to spare some water.
And as faith, nature and/or God would have it, Georgia did indeed get some rain. Since church and state held their intervention, a quarter of an inch to an inch of rain have fallen across northern portions of the state, according to the National Weather Service. And while it is impossible to estimate how many people have actually been praying, given a constant rate of precipitation per prayer, they will all need to speak with God a lot more if Georgia is to make up its rain deficit (precipitation is 16 inches below normal for this time of year).
Despite such clear results, there are skeptics of this faith-based approach to weather. Some 20 demonstrators from the Atlanta Freethought Society actually staged a protest against Perdue's state-sanctioned religious strategy. And then there are the meteorologists, one of whom told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the rainfall "will come nowhere close to breaking the drought. The ground is so dry, it will absorb everything that falls on it."
But do these so-called scientists question the data out of skepticism or fear? Doubters point to data and talk about causality and coincidence. Maybe they have a point. At the same time, however, most meteorologists will tell you that long-term weather prognostication is akin to fortune-telling. They know when summer is scheduled, sure, as well as winter, but ask them for more specific information and you might as well break out the crystal ball.
Whatever the effect of Perdue and his divine calls for precipitation, let us all pray, to God or to the data, that Georgia gets more rain. But maybe we shouldn't pray too hard: Don't want to bring on a flood.
By Emil Steiner | November 15, 2007; 9:00 AM ET | Category: OFF/beat Politics
Comments
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Rain was already in the forecast before he led the prayer group. Had it rained while the prayer was taking place that might have caused me to pause. But when I heard that the prayer session was going to happen I took a snapshot of the weather forecast and rain was forecasted 3 out of 7 days. It also makes for a good story in that it takes attention away from the real problem - poor management.
Posted by: SLBushway | November 15, 2007 10:32 AM
I believe want he did took guts. He stood for his believes and what this nation was founded on. If this nation comes alive and lives for God, then he will bless us all. God will supply our needs but we have to ask and thanks what Sonny Perdue did. God Bless!
Posted by: Tennesseean | November 15, 2007 10:35 AM
This is the adult version of writing a letter to Santa. Rational people ought to spend their time working out ways to cope with drought instead of praying. John Edwards had it right in his little-noted observation that he doesn't believe in the efficacy of such prayer.
Posted by: Charles Manning (manning120) | November 15, 2007 10:36 AM
Are the natives in Georgia that backward and superstitious that they believe a Rain Dance is going to bring rain? Isn't the Great Spirit responsible for the lack of rain? This is the 21th century and the Chief of the Georgians is leading a rain dance? What an embarassment!
Posted by: thebob.bob | November 15, 2007 10:37 AM
Thank God for a governor who will actually pray to the only Person Who can control the weather! It's about time! Please God send the rain!
A concerned & grateful Georgian
Posted by: Rebecca | November 15, 2007 10:42 AM
I don't know whats funnier...That he held this ridiculous gathering or that some people actually believe it had anything to do with the rain. Like it was stated before rational people will just read this and laugh. Praying for rain...man thats classic..
Posted by: Ryan | November 15, 2007 10:50 AM
Maybe next week Sonny Perdue will sacrifice a goat on the statehouse steps.
Posted by: Tucker GA | November 15, 2007 10:50 AM
Yes, it did rain last night, but the streets were dry before morning. I think I'll attribute the rain to the 30% chance of precipitation that was in the weather forecast over a week ago. You can call me a skeptic, but I'm not buying into "Savior" Perdue's rain dance.
Posted by: Steve Atlanta | November 15, 2007 10:53 AM
If the Gov. really believe that praying works, then shouldn't he be spending most of the day praying for a bunch of other things like an end to crime and poverty and racism etc.? In fact if prayer is all it takes, then why do we need Perdue at all?"
*I first heard of this story on Thanksgiving Governor, clergy to pray for rain at Georgia Capitol
Greg Bluestein
Associated Press
November 13, 2007 "...While public prayer vigils might raise eyebrows in other parts of the nation, they are mostly shrugged off in the Bible Belt, where turning to the heavens for help is common and sometimes even politically expedient.
"Christianity has more of a place in the culture here than in some other region," said Ray Van Neste, a professor of Christian studies at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. "And it's only natural, in a way, for the public to pray for rain."....
Drought Stopper Rabbi Prays for Rain in Atlanta Georgia 1
""DraughtStopper" Rabbi Urges Georgia Governor Perdue to Include
Condemnation of Immorality in Prayer for Rain.
Rabbi Yehuda Levin, whose prayer for rain in Columbia SC on August 7,
1986, was followed by four days of rain. (See documentation by visiting
our web site www.GodReignOverUs.com ) came to Atlanta and prayed for
rained at the Goldome Capital Building on November 7, 2007. { To view the
video slide program and prayer, link to:
www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=5AAAE2C 85734DE97 } Ay around the time of
Rabbi Levin's prayer Governor Perdue announced he (too) would be holding
an ecumenical service at the same location on Tuesday November 12. Rabbi
Levin who is an emissary of over 1000 Rabbis of the Rabbinical Alliance
of America and The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the U.S. and Canada issue
the following statements: We are very encouraged by Governor Perdues
continuation of praying for rain. According to the Jewish tradition such
prayer was often accompanied by fasting, but more importantly by
introspection repentance and a commitment to better ones ways.
Thus to make our prayers truly effective and end this drought and various
"natural" disasters, we call upon the Governor and religious leaders
statewide and nationally to specifically condemn the immoral movements
that surely cause Divine displeasures and harm our country and youth
physically and spiritually:
A- Abortion on demand, eliminating millions of pre -born incense causes
G-d to weep according to a source in the Kabbalah.
B- Homosexuality & Homosexual marriage were the final societal breakdowns
which brought about the flood of Noah and the destruction of Sodom (hence
the name sodomy) according the ancient midrashic text.
C- Pornography which robs innocence of our youth & destroys families is
prohibited by the Torah (Bible): "AND DO NOT STRAY (EXPLORE) AFTER YOUR
HEART AND AFTER YOUR EYES WHICH YOU LUST AFTER THEM" (numbers 15:39).
The Bible states "beware lest your heart be seduced & turn astray serving
GODS of others and bow to them . Then the wrath of GOD will blaze against
you,He will restrain the heaven so there will be no rain & the ground
will not yield its produce......(Deuteronomy 11:15,16)". Serving the
"gods" of lust , pornography , homosexuality & abortion can prevent rain!
G-d takes note of the rejection of his mandate to reproduce: "Male &
Female he created them... & G-d said (to them) be fruitful & multiply" (
Genesis 1:27,28). He similarly notes the corruption of his marriage
commandment: Therefore a man shall leave his father & mother & cling to
his wife & they shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:24)
The common denominator of the aforementioned immoral movements is that
they encourage lust, sterility and bareness. Measure fir measure G-d
makes His earth scorched, sterile and barren.
We call upon all religious leaders, broadcasters and conservative G-d
fearing talk show hosts to raise the issue of prayer coupled with
condemning immorality. Now is the time to challenge the Atlanta talk show
hosts and others who scoff at the efficacy of prayer. "One scoffer can
undo one hundred chastisements."
G-d built into His Creation that everyone of us can be a
"DroughtStopper", as it states in Genesis 2:5 according to Talmudic
exegesis "... for G-d had not sent rain upon the earth as there was no
man to work (i.e. worship for the benefit of watering) the soil". All we
have to do is pray that G-d Reign Over Us! (less)
Added: November 11, 2007 "
*sight of Coretta Scott King's (Martin Luther King Jr.'s spouse) globally televised funeral on February 2006. Saw this taped-recorded at CSPAN channel on Saturday, Feb 11th of 2006
"... is a federally funded, independent state agency that serves as a leading catalyst for systems change for individuals and families living with developmental disabilities. Through public policy initiatives, advocacy programs and community building, GCDD promotes and creates opportunities to enable persons with disabilities to live, work, play and worship as an integral part of society...
-Contemporary
Casting Crowns - Voice of Truth "Live"
"Mark Hall with Casting Crowns singing live in Atlanta, GA"
-Gospel
Runaway - The Soul Truckers
"Music Video by The Soul Truckers - the quintessential alternative southern gospel band. Copyright 1997, Soul Truckers International Conglomerate "
-Hip Hop
BYOBB: Ambassador Album Release - Part IV
"BYOBB was present at the Ambassador (of Cross Movement) Album Release Party at Berean Christian Church in Atlanta, GA.
Also performing at this event was the Sanctified Souljahz, Kay Bizzy, Boss Ross, and the Down South Souljahs.
The event was hosted by Ashanti Pettaway and Eddie Velez. JC Maximum interviewed several of the artists, featuring Ambassador of Cross Movement.
Includes Pastor C Teaching, "Not Ashamed of the Gospel"
To buy this show, please visit http://www.byobb.tv "
"..At least 10 deaths in Georgia and Alabama were blamed on the torrential downpours in the Southeast. The storms finally relented and relief was in sight with just a slight chance of rain Wednesday, but the onslaught left many parts of the region in stagnant water.
Those conditions were keeping about 320 displaced residents at seven shelters around the state on Wednesday, according to estimates from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.
Johnnie Chavours said she has been praying to pass the time at a Red Cross shelter in Cobb County. She and her sons evacuated their apartment in Lithia Springs Monday night, and there was no word on when they could return...
HUMANITARIAN:
"CHARLOTTE, NC (ANS) -- According to news reports, nine people have died in the storms and subsequent flooding in Georgia with several hundred people being helped in shelters across the north Georgia region.
Crisis-trained chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team are preparing to deploy to Georgia to assist in the recovery from recent storms that dropped up to 20 inches of rain in some locations and left significant damage across the Southeast U.S.
The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team will deploy in coordination with Samaritan's Purse, the international relief organization headed by Franklin Graham, who is also president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Together, the two groups will meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of those who have been affected by the flooding.
"Many families have lost everything that they've worked for, and it's very common to feel devastated and hopeless during this time of great loss," said Jack Munday, director of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team.
"That's why it is very important that we come alongside them as they are going through this dark valley and offer them hope and compassion."
This deployment is the 20th in 2009 for the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, following a spring season that saw back-to-back shooting tragedies in Oakland, CA, Carthage, NC, Binghamton, NY, and Maryville, IL, as well as widespread flooding, tornadoes and ice storms across several parts of the country.
The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team has also deployed internationally in 2009 to Australia after wildfires, Brazil after floods, and Italy after the earthquake.
The most recent deployment recently ended in Louisville, KY, where flash flooding brought widespread home devastation on August 4. Over the course of three weeks, chaplains in Louisville prayed with and comforted more than 300 victims of the flood.
The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team is a nationwide network of more than 3,000 chaplains across 40 states that are specifically trained to deal with crisis situations.
Since the ministry was launched in 2002, it has deployed following dozens of natural and man-made disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires and shootings.
From its headquarters in Charlotte, NC, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association runs a wide range of domestic and international ministries, including: large-scale festivals led by evangelists Franklin Graham and Will Graham; Dare to Be a Daniel, a youth evangelism training project; My Hope World Evangelism Through Television; the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team of crisis-trained chaplains; and many others through print, television, telephone, radio and the Internet. "
"This video covers the tornado outbreak that happened on sunday, February 17th 2008. This outbreak struck Alabama and Georgia, producing several tornadoes"
"Simply fabulous footage at Warner-Robins AFB, Georgia. The twister, which struck just after 5pm on April 30th, 1953, was F4 & killed 19 people (including, supposedly, the person who captured this footage) and injured around 300"
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Waves of severe thunderstorms streaked through downtown Atlanta on Saturday, hours after a tornado left a trail of destruction through the heart of the city.
A swath of uprooted and broken trees, downed utility lines, peeled-off roofs and collapsed brick walls marked the path of the tornado that struck around 9:40 p.m. Friday.
Tornado slams Atlanta - 03/14/2008
"This was clearly a tornado," Lans Rothfusz of the National Weather Service's Peachtree City, Georgia, office said. He rated the storm an EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, meaning it packed top winds of 130 miles per hour.
Utility and cleanup crews worked Saturday to restore traffic lights, clear streets and remove tons of debris in the city's business district after Friday night's unusual urban storm.
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue declared states of emergency.
Police in Atlanta were urging people to stay away from downtown, fearing shattered glass and hanging metal would continue to fall from buildings as new storms rolled through. See a map of the downtown damage �
A heavy thunderstorm prompted another tornado warning as it plowed across Atlanta just south of downtown Saturday afternoon. More storms were seen forming in Alabama and heading toward Atlanta.
At least two people were killed Saturday afternoon as the same line of storms destroyed structures elsewhere in northern Georgia.
Trees blown down in Friday night's storm crushed a row of houses in the city's historic Cabbagetown district just east of downtown.
Initial estimates from the mayor's office said at least 20 of the historic homes were damaged or destroyed by the tornado.
Atlanta police Maj. Renee Propes urged people to stay away from Cabbagetown. Photo See photos of the destruction �
"We appreciate the fact that people may want to help," Propes said. "But, in most instances, they are hindering our efforts and possibly putting people and property at risk."
The top floor collapsed at one building in the Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts, a 104-year-old industrial complex redeveloped into residences. Police officials said everyone was out of the structure and surrounding buildings and all residents in the lofts had been accounted for. Video Watch firefighters search building �
Tornado & Storm Damage In Atlanta At Fulton Cotton Mill
"Tornado & storm damage at the Stacks/Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts in the Cabbagetown neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia. This footage was shot the morning after a devastating tornado hit the area. This is also my former home. Very glad I moved. "
Across the street, headstones were toppled in the historic Oakland Cemetery.
About 10,000 customers were without power Saturday morning, according to Georgia Power, but by about 5:35 p.m. Saturday that number had mushroomed to 41,000 customers statewide. Crews were working to restore power but were pulled back when waves of bad weather threatened.
Earlier, Georgia Power spokesman John Sell said more than 40 power poles were broken by Friday night's tornado.
Some customers will not have power restored until Sunday, Sell said -- and it could be even longer if weather hinders crews' efforts. Video Watch a report on problems amid the cleanup �
Part of Atlanta's MARTA mass-transit rail system was shut down because of damage east of downtown.
The twister is the first to strike downtown Atlanta since record-keeping began in the late 1800s, said Laura Griffith, a National Weather Service forecaster.
On March 24, 1975, a tornado hit the city's Buckhead area, including the governor's mansion, she said. Three people died and more than 150 were injured.
The weather service said Friday's tornado plowed a path about 6 miles long and 200 yards wide.
The twister appears to have first struck several houses and churches in the Vine City neighborhood west of the business district, then moved on to the Georgia Dome, CNN Center, Centennial Olympic Park and Cabbagetown.
A brick apartment building in Vine City was roofless Saturday morning.
Curtains waved through broken windows high up the cylindrical 73-story Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel downtown. Gaping holes were torn in the roof of the Georgia World Congress Center, and an auto parts warehouse just east of downtown partially collapsed. Video Watch a stairway become a waterfall �
Tornado - Georgia World Congress Ctr, - 03/14/2008
"Tornado - Georgia World Congress - 03/14/2008 "
Although tens of thousands of people were in the path of the storm -- many in town for a major college basketball tournament -- there were no known deaths and just one life-threatening injury, police said.
The Shot that Saved Lives - Bama-MSU Georgia Dome Tornado
"http://2008alabamacrimsontide.blogspo...
Alabama's Mykal Riley hit a desperation three pointer at the buzzer to send the SEC tournament game against Mississippi State into overtime at the Georgia Dome on March 14, 2008.
Many meteorologists do not think it is an overstatement to say that this shot saved lives. If this shot was not made, thousands of people would have been outside the Georgia Dome during an EF2 tornado. These people would have been subjected to winds blowing debris at over 130 miles per hour."
About 30 people -- one of them a firefighter -- were treated at hospitals, mostly for minor cuts, scrapes and bruises, police said.
The American Red Cross reported about 70 people were using one shelter it established, and a second was added later in the morning.
The storm struck the 71,000-seat Georgia Dome at 9:45 p.m. during a Southeastern Conference tournament basketball game. It shattered windows and tore roofs from buildings -- including CNN Center -- before continuing into several residential neighborhoods.
Tornado Hits Atlanta during SEC Tournament
"Reaction from the tornado that hit the Georgia Dome on March 14th, 2008."
Mahsud Olufani, an Atlanta painter and sculptor with a studio in Cabbagetown, said, "It looks like a bomb went off, it looks like World War III."
A large hole could be seen in the 14th floor of a high-rise dorm at Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta. Students were evacuated from the area on buses.
The storm interrupted a Southeastern Conference game between Alabama and Mississippi State.
"It was actually in overtime, and the game was getting exciting, and I thought people from the Alabama side were hitting the bleachers trying to get some noise going," said basketball fan Lucas Shields. "All of a sudden the TV went out, the overhead clock stopped working, and you hear that distinctive noise of a train."
Amanda Reimann, an iReporter and University of Georgia cheerleader, said she and her teammates heard a loud noise.
"It sounded like the fans were banging on the seats or stomping their feet, but it kept up and got a lot louder," she said. "Then the ceiling of the Dome started waving, the giant TV screens were waving, and light fixures and dust started falling.
The Moment A Tornado Hit The Georgia Dome
"Just taken as a Tornado hit downtown Atlanta, Ga during the SEC Basketball tournament. "
Related Sites: Footage from Georgia Dome Tornado (MSU/BAMA game), from youtube.com "Tornado hits Georgia Dome during a SEC basketball tournament game. Widespread damage in downtown Atlanta by the storm."
"My teammates and I thought it was a bomb but our coach came running for us and a security guy and said it was a tornado. We all ran for the locker room." Video Watch what happened inside the dome �
The game resumed about an hour later, but a later game between Kentucky and Georgia was postponed.
A professional basketball game at Philips Arena next door was not disrupted, but the thousands attending that game also had to make their way home through the storm debris.
Police closed several streets in the vicinity of CNN Center because of glass and other debris. Two of Centennial Olympic Park's towering Olympic torches were toppled and a performance pavilion was destroyed. Video Watch a man pick through the debris �
Inside CNN Center, water poured through the damaged roof into the building's atrium. Glass shattered, and parts of the building filled with dust.
Virtually all of the windows facing Centennial Olympic Park on the Omni Hotel, which is adjacent to CNN Center, were shattered. Visitors to the hotel were moved to the facility's exhibition hall at street level. Video Watch scenes of the destruction �
Tornado hits CNN Building In Atlanta, Ga. 03/14/08 pt.1
"Breaking News!!!
...
CNN moved its national desk operation to another location Saturday after parts of the ceiling fell in, and CNN International aired domestic programming. Windows also shattered in the CNN.com newsroom, and CNN's library was damaged.
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Slabs of metal and insulation material were strewn on the streets outside. Heaps of bricks and drywall were pushed up against cars. Street signs were bent in half.
The city's St. Patrick's Day celebration and the SEC parade set for Saturday morning were canceled. SEC tournament games were to be moved to the Alexander Memorial Coliseum at Georgia Tech in Atlanta's undamaged Midtown area.
Related Sites:
-News Coverage: Atlanta Braces For Another Severe Storm
By Dorie Turner
Associated Press Writer
March 15, 2008 (CBN News) "Oxendine estimated damage from Friday night's storm at $150 million to $200 million, most of it at the Georgia World Congress Center, a state convention facility near the CNN Center and the Georgia Dome." Up To 14 Twisters Hit Georgia; Damage Severe In Metro Atlanta
POSTED: 9:29 pm EDT March 14, 2008
UPDATED: 6:59 pm EDT March 18, 2008 (Worthynews.com) "..At least 27 people were hurt but no deaths reported in the tornado that swept through Friday night. Two people were killed in northwest Georgia when a separate storm moved through Saturday.
Jerry Paul Albers, 71, was killed by flying debris, Floyd County Coroner Barry Henderson said. In Polk County, Bonnie Gene Turner, 63, was killed when a tornado demolished her home and threw her and her husband into a field, Coroner Trey Litesey said. Her husband survived and is in critical condition at Erlanger hospital in Chattanooga, hospital spokeswoman Sharon Cahill said.
Statewide, the damage was about $250 million, making the storms the most expensive in Georgia history, John Oxendine, commissioner of insurance and safety fire for the state, said Monday afternoon after visiting northwest Georgia counties and walking around Atlanta's Cabbagetown neighborhood.
Saturday's tornado ripped a 13-mile path through Polk, Floyd and Bartow counties on the Georgia-Alabama border, while Friday's storm collapsed four floors of a loft apartment building and toppled trees onto houses in Cabbagetown."
-Videos:
Aerial Tornado Damage In Atlanta
"From WSB-TV, more videos, photos at wsbtv.com. Here's some of the damage from a tornado that hit Atlanta" Violent Tornado Crashes the front of CNN building 2 ppl die, from youtube.com MalaniKai and The Atlanta Tornado, from youtube.com "I live right downtown and it wasn't just a "possible" tornado (as orginally reported). IT WAS A TORNADO! Everything around me got hit but MalaniKai's building did not get touched. I like to call it FAVOR!"
*see Bless!
CLEAN-UP REPORT: Atlanta's Cabbagetown draws Baptist aid
Posted on Mar 17, 2008 | by Joe Westbury (bpnews.net) "As bad as the Atlanta tornado was, damage could have been far greater if the second storm, which touched down Saturday in rural Polk, Floyd and Bartow counties, had hit downtown. That tornado was nearly five times wider and stayed on the ground almost three times as long, the Journal-Constitution reported.
Stuart Lang, who coordinates disaster relief ministry for the Georgia Baptist Convention, said units are serving in the downtown community of Cabbagetown, in Aragon an hour north of the city near Cartersville, and in Wrens about 30 minutes west of Augusta.
A cleanup and recovery unit from Noonday Baptist Association near Marietta is removing rubble and downed trees in the historic Cabbagetown neighborhood which received heavy damage. Lang said chaplains also were being mobilized and were expected to be on site late Monday or on Tuesday. About 10 volunteer disaster relief workers are on site."
"The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
"-Ecclessiastes 1:6
Ministries
Blood N Fire, a rehab center for all types of addictions
"
For more than 20 seasons, baseball great John Smoltz terrorized hitters with a 98-mile per hour heater - and a devastating slider. But he says he'd be "disappointed" if he was only remembered as a good pitcher. Pitcher John Smoltz on 'Starting and Closing' Well
By Lee Webb
CBN News Anchor cbn.com Wednesday, June 06, 2012
"For more than 20 seasons, baseball great John Smoltz terrorized hitters with a 98-mile per hour heater - and a devastating slider.
On Friday, the Atlanta Braves will induct the 45-year-old into the Braves Hall of Fame and retire his No. 29 jersey.
Few would disagree that he's effectively secured a place in baseball lore.
But he says in his new book, Starting and Closing: Perseverance, Faith, and One More Year, that he'd be "disappointed" if he left this earth and was only remembered as a good pitcher.
Smoltz talked with Lee Webb more about his famed baseball career and the legacy of faith he hopes to leave behind. Click play to watch.
"
Youth
YEC - Macon, Georgia 2006
"Youth Evangelism Conference (YEC)in Macon Georgia, December 28-30. Chris Orr, Ashley Smith, Greg Steir, Big Daddy Weave, Chris Pritchett, Julian Drive, David Edwards, Jeremy Camp, David Platt. "
"Whose heart doesn't soften at the sight of a kitten, puppy or foal? We're instinctively drawn to a nest of chirping chicks, ducklings paddling madly after their mother, or a tiny chimp clinging to a parent.
This book is dedicated to animals - wild and domesticated. Our lives are richer because of them. They deserve our respect and protection. Although we barely scratch the surface in this little book, we hope it will inspire your awareness and support of those organizations who are working tirelessly on behalf of the animals in our world."
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