Newspaper Page Text
Front
June 3
6/1/04 4:44 PM Page 1
Etowah Conservation Plan In The Works
Pickens officials, devebpers and foresters keeping an eye outfor beat interests / Page 2C
JUNE 3, 2004 VOLUME 117 NUMBER 4
JASPER, GEORGIA 30143
USPS 431-820
THREE SECTIONS 40 PAGES PLUS SUPPLEMENTS
Briefly. . .
Step To The Beat
. . . Read!
Vacation Reading Club has
gotten off to a great start at
the Pickens County Library
and it’s not too late to join the
fun. This year’s theme is
“Step to the Beat . . . READ!”
and, while the main emphasis
is on reading, all sorts of fun
activities for children are
being presented at the weekly
programs for kids from infants
through high school. Page 5A
Scholarship
Sunday
At a special ceremony, Big
Canoe Chapel awarded schol
arships to 131 high school
graduates from Pickens and
Dawson Counties. Including
the 62 scholarships received
by Pickens students this year,
a total of 1,081 scholarships
have been awarded by the Big
Canoe Chapel over the past 22
years. The value of these
scholarships is now more than
$1 million. Page 7B
Ya ’ll Come
The Bethany-Salem VFD
will be hosting an open house
this Saturday from 11 a.m. to
4 p.m. The community get-
together will feature a number
of activities including safety
displays, bake sale, prizes,
food and refreshment. Every
one is invited to come rub
elbows with their neighbors
and the volunteers who work
hai'd to keep you and your
loved ones safe. Page 3A
Moving On Up
Our Lady of the Mountains
Catholic Mission in Jasper will
become a full fledge parish for
the Archdiocese of Atlanta on
June 17. Our Lady of the
Mountains is currently the mis
sion of our Lady of LaS alette
in Canton. The Catholic com
munity of Pickens County is
pleased with this change of
status and with the fact that it
will have a resident pastor in
Jasper. The church is located at
1908 Waleska Hwy. 108.
Deaths
George Raynes
Bernice Payne
Daisy Ponders
Martha Appleberry
Roy Bennett
Emory Rogers
Stanley King
Edward McHale, Sr.
OBITUARIES ... .See Page 3A
Visit Us
On The Web
www.pickensprogress .com
The Progress is
printed in part on
rec y ( 'l e d newsprint
and is recyclable
Commissioner and Mayor lay, out ambitious projects to address roadways
Transportation study gets rolling with residents
and officials pointing out problems and goals
By Dan Pool
Drivers, road builders, hikers,
bikers, train operators, airport rep
resentatives, officials from the
cities, county and DOT all showed
up Tuesday at the first “stakehold
ers” meeting of an extensive Pick
ens County Transportation study.
The group of more than 30 peo
ple was enlisted by the county to
give a team of consultants their
opinion on what’s wrong, right and
going to happen in the next 30
years on the roads in this county —
as well some roads that ought to be
built in this county.
Frank Hill, the supervisor of the
local MATS (Mountain Area Trans
portation System) said, “There
ought to be a better way to get
around Pickens County without so
many bottlenecks.”
Bill Bapst, a Bent Tree resident,
said there should be a way for the
city, county and DOT to coordinate
their efforts to get better traffic
flow and plan for the impending
growth.
Joe Kelley, president of the local
Homebuilders Association, said he
was there to see if this county could
avoid the disasters which happened
on the roads of Fulton County.
And Sam Wheeler, a Pickens
native and employee of the DOT,
said not only did they need to con
sider traffic flow, but they needed
to “maintain the rural setting and
avoid urban sprawl here.”
Greenhorne and O’Mara, the
consultants funded by the DOT,
laid out a lengthy planning period
with ample time for public com
ments including additional stake
holder meetings and and two public
open houses / comment sessions on
August 10 and then again on Octo
ber 5.
The goal of the study according
to information presented at the
meeting is to identify the deficien
cies in the county’s transportation
system and then propose solutions
in a manageable plan.
On Tuesday the consultants
challenged the group to provide
some insight into what area
motorists, bikers, hikers and road
builders think about the safety, use-
ability and traffic flow on the area
roads.
It was generally agreed that
there were places where traffic
could be instantly helped with roads
improvements, but the problem is
the lack of funding.
Lou Chastain, the District Engi
neer with the DOT, said another
long term problem “are priorities
that shift with changes in sole com
missioners, mayors and councils.”
When asked to identify the
biggest problems on local roads the
section of Highway 53 from Jasper
and continuing west past the site of
the Home Depot/Kroger Develop
ment was generally voted public
enemy number one.
Don Wells, a Monument Road
resident, said “The mobility on
Highway 53 all the way from Pick
ens High School through Jasper
[and to the four-lane] is just hard to
get through.”
Eric Wilmarth, who serves on the
Nelson City Council and works for
the City of Ball Ground, said, “515
in general will be a problem with
more traffic lights and congestion. It
was meant to be a high speed corri
dor.”
Of specific concern was the
intersection at Highway 515 and
Highway 53, which will soon see
large shopping centers on two of the
corners. Kelley pointed out that
there isn’t adequate distance on
Highway 53 between the intersec
tion at 515 and the one leading into
the new Home Depot. “Gridlock
there is guaranteed,” he said.
Continued on page 14A
Damon Howell / Photo
Looking for a better way to get around. Transportation consultants are studying problem areas in
the county such as the intersection of Hwy. 53 and 515.
Expert at Drug Summit calls Meth the “scariest drug ever”
Communities must work together
to battle growing Meth problem
By Michael Moore
Methamphetamine use and its devastating
effects on communities in North Georgia can
best be combatted through broad efforts in which
the whole community works together, according
to experts at the North Georgia Meth Summit in
Cumming on Thursday.
It was the first major regional summit held in
Georgia to address the growing methampheta
mine problem, and about 200 social workers,
law enforcement officials, and drug treatment
specialists from around North Georgia attended.
Local and national experts who led the sum
mit all agreed that a “three-pronged approach” of
combining a community’s drug treatment, pre
vention, and law enforcement resources is the
best way to solve the problem of methampheta
mine, or meth, use and production.
The summit was co-sponsored by the Council
on Alcohol and Drugs, Family Connection Part
nership of Georgia, and Georgia State Universi
ty, with funding from the North Region Office of
the Georgia Department of Human Resources’
Division of Mental Health, Developmental Dis
abilities, and Addictive Diseases.
An investigator from the Douglas County
Sheriff’s Department said seizures of every other
drug by his office are almost down to zero. Fur
thermore, meth use affects many more people
than just the user. Continued on page 14A
School Board
to meet at new
bus facility
Public invited
to open house
The Pickens County Board of
Education will conduct their
regularly scheduled board meet
ing on Thursday, June 3 at 6
p.m. at the new Pickens County
Schools Transportation Facility
on Harmony School Road. Citi
zens are invited to attend an
Open House at the new facility
starting at 5 p.m.
County buys Ludville
Community Center,
completes acquisition
of SideBar
Building Permits up 12 percent
from same period last year
By Dan Pool
Commissioner Bill Newton
announced the completion of two
real estate acquisitions by the coun
ty at his May meeting Friday.
In the past month, the county has
completed the purchase of the Side-
Bar Grill on Depot Street. The
county had signed a contract for the
building in a foreclosure sale earlier
this year. The contract was for
$450,000 with The Bank of North
Georgia who had foreclosed on the
property. The county was the only
bidder on the property and bid the
minimum price.
The 8,000 square foot building
will be used for courtroom space.
Following the meeting, the commis
sioner said they will see how many
courtroom spaces can be accommo
dated in the building, which will
also house offices for the Superior
Court Judge. Newton said they
believe at least three courtrooms
can be included in the new building.
He said the lower floor of the
courthouse annex, which currently
houses one courtroom, will be used
as additional space for the Clerk of
Court to store files.
The commissioner also
announced the purchase of the
Ludville Community Center from
the Ludville Masonic Lodge for
$22,974. Following the meeting
Newton said they needed the build
ing to provide a voting precinct in
that district as well as a future office
for sheriff deputies and emergency
personnel working in that area. He
said they had no immediate plans to
staff the building, but patrolling
deputies and EMS workers will
begin using that building when they
are in the area.
Newton said the location of the
building, near a rest home, will
enhance the ambulance crew serv
ice there.
Building permits up
12 percent over same
period last year
Under the reports of the depart
ment heads, Planning Director Nor
man Pope said his office issued 69
Continued on page 3C
At right, Commissioner Bill
Newton, Communications Offi
cer Kelly Schell and Sheriff
Billy P. Wofford. Schell, a 911
operator, was recognized for
“her calm voice” which helped
end a standoff between
deputies and an armed man.
Below, Corporal J. Chad
Emory, Commissioner Bill
Newton, Deputy Tony Hyde,
Sheriff Billy P. Wofford,
Deputy Joe Blackwell. The
officers were also commended
for action above and beyond
the call of duty responding to a
homicide during May and
extinguishing a burning house,
“with nothing but a garden
hose. ”
