THURSDAY. JUNE 7. 2007 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 9A
Continuedjrom pa ee 1A
Jasper Council meeting
individual residents instead of
being used as rentals.
“With this plan I’m trying to
do something a little better,”
Rapp said. “I’m trying
to bring the concerns of what I
heard (from neighbors) at the
planning commission meeting
and trying to do something good
for the community.”
Council members Gise and
Looney voted to uphold the
planning commission’s recom
mendation to deny the request
while Council member Hazel
Mosley abstained from the vote.
The council unanimously
approved a request from Barry
Nehli to rezone the property at
the Jehovahs Witness facility
from Cl to C2.
Similarly, the council
approved the request from
Joseph Warren to annex proper
ty north of the Kingdom Hall
into the city as C2.
• The council approved an
ordinance that will extend its
swimming pool regulations to
landscape ponds. For any
ponds/pools with water over 24
inches deep the city now
requires a minimum four foot
fence to completely enclose the
structure.
The ordinance is the result of
a dispute among Arbor Hills res
idents where one homeowner
claimed a neighbor’s unen
closed pond was unsafe. Over a
year ago the same issue came up
with the two property owners
and at that time the owner of the
pond installed a shelf in the
pond to decrease the depth of
the water. According to discus
sion at the meeting, the pond
owner, Mickey Starks, recently
removed the shelf after some of
his Koi died.
“I built the pond several
years ago and I made amend
ments to that pond a year and a
half ago due to concerns about
children’s safety,” Starks told
council members. “Those con
cerns were addressed with the
homeowner’s association and I
had a letter that I was in compli
ance when I installed the shelf.
Then there was no water deeper
than 20 inches. I removed the
shelf a week ago after my fish
mysteriously died,” Starks said.
Starks said his Koi were val
ued at over $6,000 and they
meant a lot to him.
“I had been breeding those
fish since high school,” Starks
said. “During this situation my
integrity has been questioned.
That’s not the life I’ve lead. I
put in the shelf and the shelf was
out of commission for five or
six days while I was trying to
get my water situation where I
can put fish back in my pond.
My goal here is to have my fish,
my pond and also with regard to
safety and the life of children
and animals alike.”
Starks said the purpose of the
water depth is to maintain prop
er water temperature for the fish
and said the city’s culvert open
ings have similar openings
where children could fall in and
drown. Opposing the ordinance,
Starks said it would open the
possibility of lawsuits for lots of
people, including the city who
maintains a pond at the park
which is over eight feet deep in
sections.
Speaking in support of the
ordinance, neighbor Jackie
Elwarner said she has opposed
the pond because of the poten
tial dangers to her young chil
dren.
“I have a five and a half
year-old and an 18 month old
and live directly next door,”
Elwarner said. “I’ve had to suf
fer through day in and day out of
concern for my children. A lot of
people told me just to watch my
kids. I do. I know that things
happen to kids despite best
intentions. We want to stay liv
ing where we are and we want
our children to be safe. This is
not personal. This is about our
children in our neighborhood. I
know Mr. Starks has made
efforts to comply but when he
loaded those grates on the back
of a truck that left a large hole
full of a lot of water and a lot of
children around it.”
The council unanimously
approved the ordinance.
• Police Chief Harold
Cantrell reported his department
responded to 903 calls for serv
ice during May including 30
motor vehicle accidents and
issuing 163 citations.
Cantrell said the following
arrests were made: 1 for felony
theft by taking at Walgreens, 2
for driving without a license, 3
DUI arrests, 2 affrays, 1 for
false statements, 2 for obstruc
tion, 1 for attempting to obtain/
attempting to obtain dangerous
drugs fraudulently, 2 for wanted
persons, 1 simple battery - fam
ily violence, 1 possession of
methamphetamine, 1 child
molestation/ public indecency/
open container and 1 arrest for
hit and run.
Police also answered 20 calls
for disorderly persons, 34 suspi
cious activity calls, 1 arson
investigation, 28 alarm calls and
20 domestic disputes.
• Fire Chief Steve Roper
reported his department
responded to 114 calls during
May including 7 structure fires,
3 vehicle fires, 7 grass or brush
fires, 4 auto accidents with
injuries and 49 emergency med
ical calls. For the year, Jasper
fire personnel have responded to
476 calls.
Continuedfrom page 1A
Tate historic marker
The present location of the
marker is a temporary one.
Once the Tate Depot project
shuttles the station across the
highway to a new residence and
restoration, the historic marker
will cross over behind it, Baggs
said.
Through most of the unveil
ing ceremony a blue swathing
draped the plaque. Program
Manager for the Georgia
Historical Society (and Lawton
Baggs' niece) Christy Crisp
spoke to the assembly before the
plaque was uncovered. A non
profit organization, the Georgia
Historical Society oversees the
process of establishing new
state historic markers for
Georgia, Crisp explained.
Relatively few requests for
new markers are granted these
days. "Three-quarters of the
applications received are set
aside," Crisp said. But locals
backing the Tate marker did
their homework, she added.
They turned in "a research
paper," she said, to justify the
landmark.
The application drew short
discussion from her Savannah
colleagues. Crisp noted. "They
recognized right away the value
of the presented
application—the significance of
the Georgia Marble Company
and the village of Tate," she
said.
Her initial interest in historic
markers came in 8th grade,
Crisp said, when her Georgia
history teacher offered extra
credit to students who scouted
out markers and recorded what
they found.
"My Uncle Lawton [Baggs]
drove us all over the place look
ing at this part of the state,"
Crisp said. Their coverage of
northwest Georgia, hunting
markers, introduced Crisp to
New Echota, Cloudland Canyon
and the Tate marble mansion,
Crisp recalled.
Students aren't the only ones
who seek the markers, she said.
Cycle clubs and families track
markers too.
Historic markers are history
to the common man, she
explained. "You don't have to
read a book or take a class," she
said. You just read a bronze
tablet and take in a tidbit. And
those tidbits fit local history into
the larger context of our state
and national story, Crisp said.
Benefits extend beyond pure
education, she said. "They're not
going to read the marker and go
home," Crisp assured listeners.
"They'll buy something. They'll
eat in a restaurant. They may
even spend the night some
where nearby. So this is eco
nomic development.
"When I think of all the 8th-
grade students that will be look
ing for extra credit, I congratu
late you," she said.
Continued from page 1A
Kids Fishing Days
Parking will be available
inside the fenced area. Vehicles
parked on cove road may be
towed. Follow the directions
of the parking attendant. We
expect a large turnout on
Saturday, so come in expecting
sun and fun.
All fishermen and their adult
parents or guardian must sign at
the check-in table to receive
their ticket for lunch. No Ticket
No Lunch.
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Head trainer Daryl Cain believes that
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they do not have to be thanks for our
expert staff of male and female trainers
at BodyPlex.
Daryl’s tip for fighting fat: “Educate your
self on nutrition and stay away from fab
diets”.
Trainers Jacquelyn Nowell say, “When
going to the grocery store, drive your
cart like a NASCAR driver and stay on
the outside.”
Trainer Teresa Mullis adds, “Reduce the
junk in your trunk with a combination of
lunges and squats, but only if you
understand the movements.”
X-TRAINING and BodyPlex of Jasper
would like to welcome the latest addition
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David suggests that eating five small
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Following Crisp's presenta
tion, Tate residents Penny Davis
and Charles Cox unveiled the
marker.
Plaque text reads:
Georgia Marble Company and
the Village of Tate; The Georgia
Marble Company began in 1884
as one of many small marble
quarrying operations in the
region. In 1905 Colonel Sam
Tate became the company's
president, continuing in that
position until his death in 1938.
Georgia Marble Company stone
can be found in monuments and
public buildings around the
world, including the Lincoln
Memorial and the twenty-four
columns on the east front of the
U.S. Capitol in Washington,
D.C.
As the Village of Tate's largest
employer, Georgia Marble
Company provided housing,
recreational facilities, and
schools for workers and their
families. Construction of a com
pany power plant made Tate the
first electrified town in the area.
Erected by the Georgia
Historical Society, Marble
Valley Friends, Inc., Tate
Community Association.
Amicalola Garden Club, and the
Pickens County Government.
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70 Antioch Church Road • Talking Rock, GA 30175
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Compassionate
Friends
meet monthly
The Compassionate Friends
of Pickens County meet
monthly on the second
Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. in
the Fred Stancil Room of the
Georgia Mountains Hospice
facility located at 70 Caring
Way, Jasper. This chapter pro
vides a caring, non-judgmental
outlet for grieving parents. For
information call Anne at 706-
692-5656 or visit www.com-
passionatefriends
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