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PAGE 6A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 30. 2010
Good Samaritan Center to
offer free flue shots to patients
The Good Samaritan Health
and Wellness Center announced
that it will offer free flu shots to
its patients as part of a donation
from CVS Caremark, the largest
pharmacy healthcare provider in
the United States. CVS Care
mark is partnering with Direct
Relief USA to offer up to $5 mil
lion in free flu shots nationwide
to community clinic and health
center patients who are unin
sured. Direct Relief USA is a
non-profit organization that
works with 1,100 clinics and
health centers in all 50 states,
providing them with free med
ications and supplies for their
low-income and uninsured pa
tients.
The Good Samaritan Center
will provide a free flu shot
voucher to its patients that will
be redeemable at any CVS Phar
macy or Minute Clinic.
“We are grateful for the gen
erous donation from CVS Care
mark,” said Carole Maddux,
executive director of the Good
Samaritan Center. “Many of our
patients who are in a tough finan
cial situation will now have ac
cess to a flu shot and will be able
to better ensure they stay healthy
in this flu season.”
“The U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention is recom
mending that everyone receive a
flu shot this year, and we want to
make sure that as many people as
possible are able to obtain a flu
shot, including patients for
whom cost may be a barrier,”
said Larry Merlo, president and
COO, CVS Caremark. “We are
pleased to partner with the Good
Samaritan Center and Direct Re
lief US A to help accomplish that
goal.”
“Thanks to the Good Samari
tan Center and the more than 340
clinics and health centers partic
ipating in this program nation
wide, thousands of uninsured
individuals will now have access
to flu protection,” said Thomas
Tighe, president and CEO of Di
rect Relief. “The Good Samari
tan Center and CVS Caremark
are to be commended for helping
to address an annual public
health risk.” CVS Pharmacy has
more than 7,000 locations and
Minute Clinic has more than 500
locations inside select CVS Phar
macy stores.
Jasper Farmers’ Market
continues through October
Report from the Georgia Senate
By Senator Chip Pearson
Understanding this year’s
ballot questions
By Chip Pearson
As you cast your vote in this
year’s General Election, you will
be asked to vote for or against
five proposed changes to the
state constitution. Each amend
ment was passed by the General
Assembly during the 2010 Leg
islative Session and will appear
on the ballot this year for voter
approval. Following is a break
down of each proposed amend
ment to give you a clearer
understanding of the proposals
you’ll be voting on as you fulfill
your important role in our state’s
electoral process.
Amendment One: Allows
competitive contracts to be en
forced in Georgia courts (HR
178):
“Shall the Constitution of
Georgia be amended so as to
make Georgia more economi
cally competitive by authorizing
legislation to uphold reasonable
competitive agreements?”
Under Amendment 1, the
General Assembly could permit
the courts to enforce non-com-
pete agreements, which are com
monly used to ensure departing
employees refrain from compet
ing with their former employer.
Currently, Georgia’s Constitu
tion only allows the courts to en
force only limited non-compete
agreements.
Amendment Two: Adds a $10
tag fee on private passenger ve
hicles to fund statewide trauma
care expansion (SR 277):
“Shall the Constitution of
Georgia be amended so as to im
pose an annual $10.00 trauma
charge on certain passenger
motor vehicles in this state for
the purpose of funding trauma
care?”
Amendment Two would place
an additional $10 annual fee on
license tag and vehicle registra
tion payments, which would be
put into a trauma trust fund and
solely used to maintain and ex
pand the state’s trauma care net
work. Any amount in the trust
fund not expended at the end of
a fiscal year would remain in the
trust fund.
Amendment Three: Allows
the State to execute multi-year
contracts for long-term trans
portation projects (SR 821):
“Shall the Constitution of
Georgia be amended so as to
allow the Georgia Department of
Transportation to enter into
multi-year construction agree
ments without requiring appro
priations in the current fiscal
year for the total amount of pay
ments that would be due under
the entire agreement so as to re
duce long-term construction
costs paid by the state?”
Amendment 3 would allow
the Georgia Department of
Transportation to divide the cost
of multi-year projects into yearly
budget amounts. Currently the
transportation department must
obligate the full amount of the
project cost up front.
Amendment Four: Allows the
State to enter into multi-year
contracts for energy efficiency
and conservation improvement
projects (SR 1231):
“Shall the Constitution be
amended so as to provide for
guaranteed cost savings for the
state by authorizing a state entity
to enter into multi-year contracts
which obligate state funds for en
ergy efficiency or conservation
improvement projects?”
Amendment 4 would allow
state agencies to enter into multi
year contracts up to ten years
with private vendors for energy
efficiency or conservation im
provement projects. Performance
contracts would allow state
agencies to divert funds that
would normally be spent on util
ity bills into building improve
ments that lower energy
consumptions.
Amendment Five: Allows
owners of industrial-zoned prop
erty to choose to remove the in
dustrial designation from their
property (HR 136):
“Shall the Constitution of
Georgia be amended so as to
allow the owners of real property
located in industrial areas to re
move the property from the in
dustrial area?”
Amendment 5 removes the
requirement that real property
must be located “on an island”
prior to the owner filing a certifi
cate to remove it from an indus
trial area and be annexed by an
adjacent city. A constitutional
amendment is needed to annex
the land parcel in question be
cause the land was established
years ago under regulations no
longer used by the state.
For additional information on
the ballot questions, you can also
visit the Secretary of State’s
website at: http://www.sos.
ga.gov/. As this is an informa
tional column, I will not be offer
ing my personal opinion on each
amendment here. However, I
will offer my opinion and how
I’ll vote the week before the No
vember 2 General Election to e-
mail subscribers of the Team51
Newsletter. If you are not re
ceiving the newsletter and would
like to be added to our list, please
e-mail me at Chip@team51 .org
and we will be glad to add you.
"jt Fall Festival
^ Saturday, October 9, 2010
10:00 AM-3:00 PM
Foothills Community Church
13724 Highway 53 E
Marble Hill, GA 30148
( Just past Dollar General in Marble Hill)
Everyone Invited!
Live Music
Pony Ride Food
Pumpkin Crafts & Fun!
Funnel Cakes
Cake Walk
Games
Barbara Neiderhiser with Cricket her pet goat campaign
ing at the Farmers’ Market.
By Darla Huffman
The Marble Festival this
weekend, Oct. 2, will give the
Market vendors a day off, but the
Market will be back on Oct. 9 to
continue through the end of Oc
tober. So be sure to come back
and see what is happening.
There were a lot of good things
to eat this week: okra, peppers
and sweet potatoes were abun
dant and there were collard
greens, green beans, squash,
pears and apples available.
Breads, cakes, jams and jellies
were for sale from several ven
dors.
One of the vegetable vendors
won the last weekly Longest
Winter Squash Contest of this
season, Winfred and Betty
Waldrip, who, in addition to
most of the fruits and vegetables
listed above, had tomatoes. The
winner and the grand prize for
that contest will be announced
and awarded at the next Market.
Craft vendors are ready to
help you with your early Christ
mas shopping. Handmade
wooden toys, puzzles, indoor and
outdoor furniture, fiber crafts,
wreaths, jewelry, rivercane
flutes, just to name a few of the
original things you can find at
the Market.
Winfred and Betty Waldrip grew the longest winter squash
to win this week’s contest.
Four legged visitors are com
mon but they are usually dogs.
This week there was squealing
baby pig and goat wearing a
tiara. The goat was named
Cricket and came with Barbara
Neiderhiser; she had made the
cutest mama and baby goat cook
ies for those who voted for
Cricket in the Pickens Animal
Rescue Most Beautiful Pet Con
test. You can vote online at
www.pickensanimalrescue.org
by donating to PAR. I didn’t get
the name of the pig but his squeal
was much bigger than he was.
The Farmers’ Market is a
community service project of the
Pickens Master Gardeners. If
you are interested in becoming a
Master Gardener, an initial train
ing class will be held in January.
The deadline for registration is
Oct. 15. For more information go
to the Master Gardeners Web site
www.pickensmg.com or call the
County Extension Office at 706-
253- 8840. All products for sale
at the market must be handmade
or homegrown. For all of the
rules see the Web site. The Jasper
Farmers’ Market is held every
Saturday morning through Oct.
30 with the exception of Oct. 2.
The hours are 7:30 to noon.
Chattahoochee
A Unit of the Technical College System of
Georgia
Basic Computer Skills and Job Enhancement Skills for Today's Competitive Environment
This two-day course will cover several topics. These include an introduction to Microsoft Word,
Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Internet Explorer. Participants will also learn to build a cover letter and
resume by using MS Word, as well as the expectations of an employer. After completing the course,
participants will be given the opportunity to take the Georgia Work Ready (GWR) Assessment. The GWR
Assessment is a certificate program initiated by Governor Sonny Perdue. It is a tool for employers to
identify qualified employees to fill open positions by matching assessment scores with a specific job
profile.
To register, please call or email Sandra Hughes at 706-253-4515 or shughes@chattahoocheetech.edu
Appalachian Campus 8:00am -4:30pm / Tuesday and Wednesday / October 27- 28/$139.00
8:30am - 12:30pm GWR Thursday /October 29 / FREE
Matthew Graves is the course instructor. He holds a Bachelors degree from Brenau University. Mr.
Graves has also served in various roles, including Vice President and President of Operations and
General Manager, in the business and industry field.
Chattahoochee Technical College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award
associate degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for
questions about the accreditation of Chattahoochee Technical College. Chattahoochee Technical College does not discriminate on the basis of
race, color, national origin, gender and disability. Inquiries must be directed to the Title IX Coordinator, Dianne Barker, at 5198 Ross Rd,
Acworth, GA 30102, Building A, Student Affairs Suite. Phone: 770-975-4023.