Firecracker Burgers

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies, drained
• 1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
• 4 slices Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

1. Preheat grill for high heat.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the beef, diced green chilies, and bouillon. Shape into 4 patties.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill patties 5 minutes per side, or until well done. Top each patty with cheese about 2 minutes prior to removing from grill.

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 340 | Total Fat: 24.9g | Cholesterol: 96mg

Summer Fun

With temperatures reaching triple digits for the past couple of weeks and the heat index rising above 110 degrees, the new sprayground at the Greatest Generation Park has seen plenty of action.

While the kids are getting soaked, parents and grandparents are sitting in the shade hoping that the breeze will blow a little mist their way.

 

The park is not only a great place to cool off, the playground, the walking trails and the pavilion are all well designed and offer the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors.

The park was made possible primarily through private donations and grants. The “splash pad” will currently be operational on Saturday’s from 11 am to 7 pm and Sunday’s from 2 pm to 7 pm.

 

 

 

To The Rock Ranch…..And Beyond!

The Rock Ranch has announced a partnership with NASA that will make the ranch one of seven Space Farms in the country this fall. The other locations will be in Texas, California, Utah, Nebraska, New York and the Washington DC area.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of man’s first space flight and to celebrate the occasion, this years corn maze will have a space theme. NASA will have a mobile classroom set up at the ranch as part of their goal to educate at least one million children nationwide about the space program.

In addition to the classroom, NASA will have an actual astronaut at the ranch in October along with a moon rock.

NASA’s involvement will attract national media attention to the Upson county area and The Rock Ranch is preparing for the largest crowds since the property was purchased by Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy in 1989.

The addition of a dining hall capable of handling over 300 guest at a time has made the ranch a group tour destination.

The 50 Years of Space Exploration Corn Maze will kick off the Fall Family Fun Days on September 24th.

For additional information, contact The Rock Ranch at (706) 647-6374 or visit them online at www.therockranch.com

Celebrate America

The Rock Ranch is ready for one of it’s biggest weekend’s of the year, the 12th annual Celebrate America is this Saturday from 4 until 10 pm. Admission is $25.00 per car regardless of the number of passengers. One lucky guest will win a year’s supply of free Chic-fil-A meals.

Festivities include live music featuring the Cow Chip Band from Griffin along with Thomaston’s Due South bluegrass group playing all afternoon at the log cabin.

The Atlanta Braves Fan Team will be giving away Braves gear and the University of Georgia will have a working bee hive exhibit to view.

An aerial parade of vintage planes will conduct a fly-over at 7:30 pm

Admission includes unlimited access to attractions like the rock climbing wall, paintball shooting range, watermelon cannon, pony rides, paddle boats, jumping pillow, pedal carts and the Rock Ranch Train.

Tiny Town is the perfect place to let a big imagination in a tiny tot run wild. For a slideshow of Tiny Town and more, click HERE.

For an additional fee, guest may also experience the new Cow-A-Bunga Zip Lines that will allow you to step off of a 60 foot tower and travel down a 1300 foot cable at 35 miles per hour.

In the past decade, The Rock Ranch has become a major tourist attraction, drawing thousands of visitors to Upson county from throughout the country. Saturday’s Celebrate America event will draw another 6,000 to 7,000 guests who will witness one of the largest fireworks displays in the south.

The finale at Disney World uses three 10 inch displays that burst in the shape of a willow tree over Cinderella’s castle. The Rock Ranch will use five 10 inch willows for the finale. The fireworks show is so large that the ranch was required to obtain a special permit from the FAA.

The Rock Ranch will also be open from July 5th to July 30th, Tuesday through Saturday each week from 10 am to 4 pm for it’s Fun in the Summer Time season. All the standard ranch attractions will be available as well as educational stations like the Georgia Wildlife Station and the Cow Milking Simulator.

Sertoma Officers Sworn In

For more than nine decades a special group of individuals have strived to uphold the creed “Service To Mankind,” they are Sertoma. The first official meeting of the service club was in 1912, women became a part of the organization in 1985.

In 2008 a group of hard working women in Upson county who wanted to be a part of this organization got together and decided to form their own Sertoma Club.  They told some friends and they told some friends and before long the Sertoma Women of Upson was formed.  The Charter had a total of 58 members making it the largest club charter in 10 years for both the men and women's Sertoma clubs nationally.

Newly elected officers of the Sertoma Women of Upson were sworn in by North Georgia District Governor Steve Brodie Tuesday evening at The Woodall House on West Main Street. Steve is from Thomaston and is a past president of the local men’s Sertoma club.

Kim Tyson was sworn in as president. She is employed by Amedysis Health Care.

Jennifer Greathouse will serve as vice-president. She is employed by State Farm.

Jennifer McGaha will assume the post of secretary, she is employed by United Bank.

Heather Adams was elected treasurer and is also a United Bank employee.

Lisa Marshburn, a cosmetologist with Hair Trends, is the new Sergeant at Arms.

Shannon Spraggins, outgoing president, will assume the role of Chairman of the Board, vacated by Lane Coggins. Shannon is employed by Caterpillar.

The three new members of the board are Julie Peoples, Kim Hubbard and Melissa Thomas.

Congratulation ladies and best of luck in your new positions. Anyone interested in joining the Sertoma Club or wishing to obtain more information may contact them at swupson@charter.net

Spay/Neuter Clinic

The Atlanta Humane Society will be back June 29th at the First United Methodist Church parking lot with their mobile surgical unit for another low cost spay/neuter clinic.

There is still space left. Appointments and prepayment are required.

Call 404-974-2885 between 8-10 am and 2-4 pm and leave a detailed message. Remember to speak slowly and clearly, especially your phone number, if you do not hear from AHS, please contact Kay Dunaway via Facebook.

Female cats - $50; Male cats - $40; Female dogs $65-85; Male dogs $55-65. Free rabies shot and microchip included.

Thomaston’s King Of The Blues

Chance Royal of Thomaston is competing in the Guitar Center's King of the Blues nation wide search for the next great undiscovered blues guitar player.

216 Guitar Center stores across the U.S. hosted competitions earlier this year. Each contestant performed live to 1 of 30 original backing tracks developed by Grammy Award winning producer, Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakam's Guitarist and Producer).

All contestants were judged by a panel of three independent judges on the following criteria: authenticity, originality, skills/technique, state presence and overall performance.

Chance won the in-store competition and will be competing in the district competition Thursday, June 23rd at the Guitar Center in North Druid Hills. The winner will travel to Hallandale, Florida on Thursday July 14th for the regional competition.

The Grand Prize winner receives $25,000, a studio session with Pete Anderson and a 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitar.

The final competition will be held at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, California and will feature Warren Haynes of The Allman Brothers Band, Government Mule, The Dead and Phil Lesh and Friends.

For more on the competition click HERE.

Macon’s WMAZ Weekend Morning show has been showcasing some of the best bands throughout central Georgia. Mystery Road, the band that Chance plays in, will perform on Saturday, July 9th, the show starts at 7:00 a.m.

Chance is employed by the Georgia DOT at the weigh station on I-75 north of Macon, he is the son of Ronald (Gramps) and Debbie Royal of Thomaston.

Visit Chance and Mystery Road on Facebook HERE or on Reverbnation HERE.

Listen to Chance on the player below.

Zac Shumate Benefit

The Zac Shumate benefit was held Saturday.

The Poker Run motorcycle ride raised over $1,000 and was won by Jeffery Parrott who donated the winnings back to the Shumate family.

Stops included the Pike Depot in Zebulon, Extreme Rider Leather Shop in Warm Springs, Tha Deli in Manchester and Chalybeate Springs.

Tony Edmonson of Hampton, Georgia ran the 5K race three times, once to warm up before the start and again after finishing the official race, he placed his medal around Zac’s neck after Zac presented it to him.

The overall winners were Caleb Teachout and Jennifer Parker.

 

Due South performed at noon followed by Chris and Brandon Moss.

Hunter Price of Barnesville and Mark Johnson took the stage at 3 pm, Price performed later that evening in Barnesville for the tornado relief BENEFEST. Triple ThreaT closed the show.

 

The car show drew 25 entries from as far away as Savannah. Taking the People’s Choice award was Jesse Littlejohn with his 1970 Chevy Pickup. Best of Show-Car went to Larry Myers and his 1961 Chevrolet Impala, Best of Show-Truck was Anthony Johnson’s 1980 Chevrolet El Camino.

The T-Town Toyz Car Club donated $200, the Zac Brown Band autographed guitar was won by Bobby Fitzmayer of Savannah.

The benefit raised over $5,000 to help defray the expenses incurred by Zac and his family.

Dewayne and Casey Shumate were very appreciative of the efforts on behalf of Zac, who has been suffering the last 4 years from a form of epilepsy called Pharmacoresistant Complex-Partial Seizures. He has cycled through all antiepileptic drugs approved for his age, which have failed to fully control his seizures. He’s currently on 4 seizure medicines that help control his seizures to 1 to 2 a week.

A little over a year ago Zac entered into a surgery candidate study at the Medical College of Georgia. After many different tests, his neurologists have confirmed that surgery is the best option to try and resolve the seizures. There is a possibility that Zac will have to undergo up to 3 surgeries to resolve his epilepsy.

Zac showed the bravery to face his coming challenges when, at the end of the day, he stepped up to the mic and told the crowd that he appreciated everything and everyone that had been involved with “the best day of my life…….so far.” 

Visit Zac's website at www.allforzac.blogspot.com

For a slideshow of the activities, click HERE.

New State Farm Team Member

Kay Robinson and State Farm welcomes Jennifer Greathouse as their newest team member. Jennifer has taken on the role of public relations and marketing specialist and will be training for her state insurance license over the summer.

The multi-week training program will prepare her to market all of State Farm’s insurance portfolio including property and casualty as well as life and health insurance.

Jennifer is the daughter of Don and Julie Greathouse, she graduated from Upson-Lee High School in 2004 and obtained her bachelors degree in public relations from Valdosta State University in 2008. She is a Kappa Delta member, the vice president of the Sertoma Women of Upson, the president of the Thomaston Upson Business Association (TUBA) and a Chamber Ambassador.

Jennifer was employed with the Upson Beacon for the past two years and along with publisher Debbie Lord, created the Upson Women Magazine. She enjoys traveling and sky diving.

Give her a friendly wave the next time you see her scooting around town in her sporty red VW Bug.

Children's Summer Theatre Camp

The Thomaston Upson Arts Council will hold auditions for Disney’s The Jungle Book for grades rising K through 5th grade and Shakespeare’s Inferno “A Divine Comedy” for rising 6th graders through high school seniors.

Auditions begin Monday, June 20th for “A Divine Comedy” and Tuesday, June 21st for The Jungle Book, both will be held at 6 pm at the R.E. Lee Auditorium.

Camp dates for The Jungle Book are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 am to noon and from 1 pm to 4 pm for “A Divine Comedy” beginning July 11th.

The performance dates are August 5th, 6th, 12th and 13th.

Sweet Corn Festival June 18 - 24

The Rock Ranch will celebrate the arrival of their homegrown sweet corn crop beginning Saturday, June 18th and continuing Tuesday, June 21st through Friday, June 24th, between the hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bring the family for fun attractions, corn themed games, activities, special corn concession items and freshly picked sweet corn at the produce stand.

Attractions such as train rides, pony rides, Tony Town, the giant jumping pillow, paddle boats, pedal carts and much more are included in the $10 per person admission price. Children age 3 and under are free. Guests may also choose to ride the new Cow-A-Bunga zip lines for an additional ticket price of $12 or $7 for the different zip line runs.

Corn themed fun includes: corn hole, sweet corn eating contest, corn cannons, corn shucking contest, sack races, relays, corn craft project, corn blasting, corn grinding, corn golf and the naming of the Sweet Corn King and Queen for best corn themed costume (age 2 and under and age 3 and 4 are only two age groups that may participate.) Also enjoy corn on the cob, roasted corn, fried corn, corn dogs, popped corn and corn nuggets.

Zac Shumate Benefit

Zac Shumate is 9 years old and the son of Dewayne and Casey Shumate of Thomaston.

Zac has been suffering the last 4 years from a form of epilepsy called Pharmacoresistant Complex-Partial Seizures. He has cycled through all antiepileptic drugs approved for his age, which have failed to fully control his seizures. He’s currently on 4 seizure medicines that help control his seizures to 1 to 2 a week.

A little over a year ago Zac entered into a surgery candidate study at the Medical College of Georgia. After many different tests, his neurologists have confirmed that surgery is the best option to try and resolve the seizures. There is a possibility that Zac will have to undergo up to 3 surgeries to resolve his epilepsy.

A benefit will be held this Saturday, June 18th at 1063 Highway 19 North in Thomaston featuring live entertainment, a car show, a 5K Fox Trot, an auction and a 50/50 draw. There will be plenty of food, drinks and fun for the entire family.

All proceeds go directly to the Shumate family. Donations may also be made online at the web site listed below or at any United Bank branch.

To help with the benefit, contact Alicia at 404 831 8415.

Visit Zac's website at www.allforzac.blogspot.com

Accidental Grilled Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons lemon pepper
• 2 Vidalia onions, thickly sliced
• 4 large mushroom caps, chopped
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• hot sauce to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place chicken breast halves in a large re-sealable plastic bag with lemon juice, olive oil, and lemon pepper. Shake to coat, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat a grill for high heat.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place the Vidalia onions and mushrooms on the grill, and cook until lightly charred on both sides; set aside. Place chicken onto the grill, and discard marinade. Cook for 15 minutes, turning once, or until juices run clear. Remove from heat, cool, and chop.
4. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the onions, mushrooms, chicken, and mayonnaise. Season with hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Cover, and refrigerate until serving.

Footnotes

• The nutrition data for this recipe includes information for the full amount of the marinade ingredients. Depending on marinating time, ingredients, cook time, etc., the actual amount of the marinade consumed will vary.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 426 | Total Fat: 35.6g | Cholesterol: 59mg

From Allrecipes.com