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DDA meeting turns into roundtable on economy
Economic developer’s optimism meets skepticism from mayor and business owners
By Dan Pool
When Economic Developer Gerry
Nechvatal presented a report on enterprise
zones to the Jasper Downtown Develop
ment Authority Thursday, he closed by
saying that the small amount of growth
here is better than in many places at this
time.
Nechvatal suggested that repeated
statements in the national media that a
“double dip recession” may occur are de
stroying consumer confidence and hold
ing back growth everywhere.
The ripple effect from the economic
developer’s comment opened a nearly
two-hour impromptu roundtable discus
sion on business conditions in Pickens
County among members of the authority
as well as Nechvatal and Jasper Mayor
John Weaver.
The wide-ranging discussion touched
on a variety of historical, national, and
current forces relating to the local econ
omy.
First to respond to Nechvatal was au
thority member Kirk Gamer who said that
while public statements may be hamper
ing consumer spending, there are funda
mental problems here in Pickens County,
such as continuing high unemployment
and the number of homes in foreclosure,
that create much more immediate prob
lems.
Mayor John Weaver said it will be up
. Even as the economic developer asserted that things are “trending in a positive direction”
to local business leaders to address the j aS per's mayor says there will be a problem with unemployment until Pickens doesn't have
economic woes on a local level. He said “p ar kj n g lots growing weeds,”such as at this Chambers Street commercial site.
statements made m Washington or by na
tional media don’t have much effect, nor
should anyone here look for much help
out of elected officials at the state or na
tional level, particularly from recently
elected Congressman Tom Graves.
Weaver said Graves has been bragging
about his vow to not take any “pork bar
rel” projects home for his district. “I won
der what he is going to do in Washington
if he is not going to bring home any assis
tance for special projects we have going
here,” Weaver said.
Weaver continued that Graves had
never been supportive of economic proj
ects in Pickens County while he was the
Continued on Page 11A
Main Street's future, infrastructure
discussed in development meeting
Aside from the general roundtable on the economy, members of the Jasper Down
town Development Authority heard a report on infrastructure and Main Street busi
nesses activities by city hall.
Mayor John Weaver reported city hall is working on the third of three water tanks
to supply Highway 515. Weaver said plans have been drawn for this 1.5 million gallon
water tank to be located near the flea market on Highway 515, and they are looking
for funding. When the new tank is complete, three tanks along 515 will ensure that
all parcels along the four-lane have access to water for commercial use.
“Everything will be in place from north to south,” he said. “There won’t be a delay
if a developer or anyone wants to do a proj- Continued on Page 11A
New gallery doing it for art’s sake
By Angela Reinhardt
The sound of breaking china was
n’t quite what I had expected.
Instead of an explosion of shatter
ing glass, it began as more of a high-
pitched squeaking and creaking that
induced a sensation similar to nails
dragging across a chalkboard.
But the ladies gathered in the art
classroom of Jasper’s new First
Mountain Arts Gallery didn’t seem
to mind. They were hugged up
against a long folding table as mo-
saicist Kathe Hall used a tool called
nippers, with two round blades on
the tips, to show them how to sever
a blue and white decorative plate.
To the left was another long table
covered with a sea of broken china
pieces whose past lives as teacups or
saucers or gravy boats had already
come to an end. The little multi-col
ored hunks were now waiting to see
if they would be reincarnated as
trivet or picture frame, as bird feeder
or tissue box holder.
This was the last of a two-day
mosaic class held at the gallery on
East Church Street, where owner
Keith Herndon is busily preparing
for the September 11th grand open
ing. But art instruction is just one
piece of Herndon’s kaleidoscopic vi
sion. Herndon, a seasoned 30-year
woodworker, is passionate about
supporting artists and craftsmen and
his goal is to tap into what he sees as
a rich tapestry of regional artisans to
attract art lovers to Jasper and give
his artistic peers a platform for their
work.
“We’re going to have classes
here, and artists can rent out the
Damon Howell / Photo
MOSAIC OF LOCAL ARTISTS, TEACHERS AT NEW GALLERY - In the
heart of downtown Jasper, is a gallery both artists, art lovers, and artist
wannabes can sink their brushes into. Not only does First Mountain Arts
Gallery display the work of dozens of local artists, but art teachers can also
rent out a large, private room for classes. Here students learn the art of mo
saicking from instructor Kathe Hall. First Mountain Arts Gallery’s grand open
ing will be Saturday, September 11th. The public is invited to attend.
room for a small fee to teach,” he
said, “but we’re also going to be a
full-on gallery where local artists can
show their work. The goal is to be a
place where the artist can be a part
ner in the gallery. This was created
on the recognition and belief that the
artistic talent in the county and in the
area is just incredible.”
Before opening day, the main
gallery is already wallpapered with
local art lying in wait for fresh eyes
to attentively scan their curves and
brushstrokes. Hand-carved wooden
waterfowl decoys are perched in the
back comer; Hall’s own original mo
saic work excites near the front door
Continued on Page 11A
Businesses can
get tax breaks for
creating jobs here
Economic developer says Enterprise
Zones “exciting” recruitment tool
By Angela Reinhardt
New or existing businesses that create jobs in Pickens
may be able to get significant tax breaks as part of a new
initiative of the Pickens County Economic Development
office.
At the August commissioner’s meeting, Sole Com
missioner Robert Jones signed a resolution creating Pick
ens’ first “Enterprise Zone,” dubbed the Marble Valley
Sustainable Enterprise Zone. Pickens County Economic
Developer Gerry Nechvatal feels areas like these will do
a great deal in attracting new businesses to the county.
“We created this zone to try to attract a specific [busi
ness],” Nechvatal said from his office at the Pickens
County Chamber of Commerce. At a Jasper Downtown
Development Authority meeting, he said the prospective
business should add 10 jobs at startup with more to fol
low.
“One of the hurdles that we have in recruiting new in
dustries or helping support existing industries as they ex
pand is that we are a tier 4 community,” Nechvatal said.
“The pockets of wealth in our community aren’t repre
sentative of our economic condition overall and certainly
not the employment opportunities for the average citizen.
But it works against us when we try to get new business
in, because other communities have a lower tier rating,
which gives them greater tax incentives at the state
level.”
The Department of Community Affairs’ tier ranking
system is based on population growth, unemployment
rates, and per capita income and is meant to determine
the economic stress of Georgia counties. Tier 1 counties
are considered the most financially stressed, tier 4 the
least stressed.
It is easier for counties with lower tier rankings to ac
quire grants and other funding from the state.
In an effort to encourage private businesses to invest
in depressed, underdeveloped areas in Georgia, the Gen
eral Assembly enacted the Enterprise Zone Employment
Act in 1997 allowing for these Enterprise Zones to be
created in areas that are underdeveloped and economi
cally stagnant.
Pickens County has two areas the U.S. Census Bureau
tracking system has identified as low-income tier 1 areas.
One is in the Continued on Page 11A
Forward Pickens
wants the word out:
Sole commissioners are the wave
of the future, multi- member
commissions’ time has passed,
says spokesman
Political forum
on multi versus sole
commission Sept. 13
State Rep. Jasperse to present
Nov. 2 ballot info
PHS prepares for
homecoming parade
The Pickens High School Student Council announces
the PHS Homecoming Parade and Bonfire Tuesday,
Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. on Main Street in Jasper.
A bonfire and car bash will follow the parade at Lee
Newton Park. The Dragon football team is off to a win
ning start, and we need your help to support “Our Boys
of Fall” and the whole student body. To enter a float into
the parade, entry forms are available at christihobgood®
pickens.kl2.ga.us. Entry fee is only $10.
This year’s homecoming court:
Seniors: Jessica Bell, Chelsea Coleman, Phi Nguyen,
Jade Stancil, Zoe Wegenstein.
Juniors: Jesslyn Chastain, Megan Dixon, Emma Fox,
Mindi Mullins.
Sophomores: Brandi Allen, Elbe Miller, Emilee Riley.
Freshman: Allison Roberts, Cheyenne Peters.
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Joe Kelly
By Dan Pool
According to the
spokesman for Forward
Pickens, the idea that this
county would be progress
ing by moving to a multi-
member commission is
exactly opposite the truth.
Speaking to about 25
people at Forward’s first
public meeting, Joe Kelly
said Thursday, “I don’t
care if there are only nine
counties in the entire
Milky Way [like Pickens
with a sole commissioner
form of government].
We’re not behind the
times. We’re not behind
the curve. We are the
curve. If people in other
counties knew this sole
form was available, they’d
be fighting to go to it.”
During his PowerPoint
presentation at the
Continued on Page 17A
The League of Women
Voters of Dawson and
Pickens Counties is spon
soring a voter education
forum on Monday, Sept.
13, at 6:30 p.m. at the
Pickens County Library.
The program will have
two parts. In the first part,
State Representative Rick
Jasperse will provide an
overview of the five Geor
gia constitutional amend
ments that will be on the
Nov. 2 ballot.
The second part of the
forum will focus on the
Pickens County gover
nance referendum also on
the Nov. 2 ballot. The ref
erendum will offer voters
the choice of staying with
the current sole commis
sioner form of county
government or transition
ing to a multi-person form
of county government.
Joe Kelly of Forward
Pickens (a newly formed
organization that advo
cates for retaining sole
commissioner gover
nance) and Phil Anderson
(former chair of the Citi
zens Advisory Committee
that researched and
crafted the referendum
with citizen input) will
present the benefits of
each alternative.
In each program seg
ment, ballot language will
be explained, and atten-
Continued on Page 11A
Letters to the Editor 13A
People 19A
Sports 1B
Legals 4B
Classifieds 10B
What’s Inside
Smokey Hollow church
puts out call for help
Rev. Mamie S. Moss of The
Miracle Fellowship Holiness
Church says the weathered old
white and blue building in Tate
is in dire need of restoration.
To learn more about the
church's history, Rev. Moss,
and her hopes for its renova
tion look inside. Page 4A
Miss Georgia Marble
Plans are
now being
finalized for
the title of
2010 Miss
Georgia
Marble to
be pre
sented this
Saturday,
Sept. 11.
Activities
begin at
noon.
There will
be a re
hearsal and
“late regis
tration” Thursday, Sept. 9, at
the Pickens Chamber of Com
merce Building in Lee Newton
Park beginning at 6:30 p.m.
So, for those that did not make
the early entry deadline, you
can register this Thursday, that
being the last opportunity to
sign up. For any additional in
formation please contact Tim
Prather at tlprather (©wind-
stream.net
Buy a book, support
the library
Bookworms, get out your wal
lets. The annual community
book sale runs two days this
weekend at the Appalachian
Campus of Chattahoochee
Technical College. The more
you spend, the more you sup
port reading in the community,
because all proceeds benefit
the Pickens County Library.
Details for the much antici
pated annual event are inside.
Page 6A
Who says women
can't weld?
Chattahoochee Tech has grad
uated it's first female welding
graduate from the Jasper cam
pus. Courtney Garner of Ac-
worth spoke with us about her
career aspirations and what it's
like being a woman in a man's
world in this week's feature ar
ticle. Page 20A
Deaths
Gerald Underwood
Dewey Brendel
Barry Holt
Duane Davis
Jackie Jordan
OBITUARIES, Page 14A
Weather
By WILLIAM DILBECK
HI
LOW
RAIN
Tuesday
86
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.00
Wednesday
88
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Thursday
89
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Friday
89
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Saturday
78
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Sunday
80
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Monday
85
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The Progress is
printed, in part, on
recycled newsprint
and is recyclable.
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