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PAGE 12A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 1.2011
From the Jasper Farmers ’Market
Big Tomato, Longest Squash contest ends
By Jenny Fellenbaum
Jasper Farmers’ Market
Saturday was the last day of
the Big Tomato and Longest
Squash contests. Gene Stewart
was the winner again this week
with a very mushy tomato
weighing in at 1 lb. 13.3 ozs.
Winners for this 2011 season’s
contest were Gene and Peggy
Jordon with their whopper of a
tomato that weighed 2 lbs. 7.1
ozs., and the longest squash this
year was entered by Abbey But
ler which measured 18 1/2” long.
Each of these winners received a
certificate and Home Depot gift
card.
It was a beautiful morning to
do your shopping at the Market.
There was plenty of com, apples,
squash, okra, tomatoes and lots
of other goodies to eat. And
don’t forget about all the great
crafts, start thinking Christmas
now. There’s always something
neat or unusual that makes a
great gift.
The Market is Saturdays from
7:30-12 at the Park and Ride Lot
in Lee Newton Park. For further
information check out the Master
Gardeners Web site at pick-
ensmg.org or call the Extension
office at 706-253-8840.
Gene Stewart, this week ’v
winner with his tomato
weighing 1 lb. 13.3 ozs.
Abbey Butler with her win
ning longest squash of the
season, 18 1/2” long.
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Professional Service or DIY Products/Advice
Retired Educators resume meetings
By Lawton Baggs
Retired Educators
The initial meeting of Pickens
Coimty Retired Educators for the
2011-12 year is scheduled for
Wednesday, Sept. 14. The 11:30
a.m. meeting will be held at
United Community Bank, 118
Whitfield Drive in Jasper. The
noon meal will be catered by
Cindy Parks. Cost is $12 per per
son. Attendees should plan to
make payment to organizational
Treasurer Pat Neville. PCREA’s
Telephone Committee will con
tact members concerning reser
vations.
The program on the 14th will
be presented by Mr. Jesse
Hunter. Jesse is the immediate
past president of the local educa
tor’s organization. He is also the
newly-elected area director for
Area XV of the Georgia Retired
Educators Association. His pres
entation will emphasize the im
portance of the state
organization’s support of retired
educators’ goals and actions. A
major component of GREA’s ef
fectiveness is built around mem
bership growth. Jesse was
especially diligent about that ef
fort as president of the local as
sociation.
President Jean Chastain and
other officers have been busily
planning for the upcoming year.
Retired educators take pride and
pleasure from community in
volvement. Some activities in
which the organization involves
itself include:
• the ongoing collecting of
books for Hope House;
• co-sponsoring the Talking
Rock Schoolhouse Teaching Mu
seum and its showing during the
Talking Rock Heritage Days;
• contact with retired educa-
2011-12 PCREA officers and instalation leader, (l-r) JoAnna Phillips, Jean Chastain,
Jesse Hunter, Pat Neville, Hettie Young and Martha Allen.
tors in local healthcare centers;
• participation in Literacy pro
gram;
• annual presentation of the
Golden Deed Award;
• entering a decorated tree in
the Pickens County Public Li
brary’s Festival of Trees;
• volunteering in the Pickens
County School System;
• assisting in the Helen Ruffin
Reading Bowl program;
• sponsorship in the Spring
Festival at Wildwood Healthcare
Center;
• recognition of leadership
and service in Pickens County’s
educational arena and in the
wider community;
• presenting annual scholar
ship funds to further careers in
education; and
• donating books to the local
library in memory of deceased
members.
As the new year begins for
this active organization, its lead
ers and members stress that
membership is not only for for
mer teachers. Any person - ad
ministrator, instructor,
para-professional, maintenance
staff, food service workers, bus
drivers, clerical personnel - pre
viously involved in the broad
field of education is eligible for
membership. Not only are they
eligible, their participation is de-
Economic Development Council Report:
Uncertainty has local impact
By Gerry Nechvatal
Community Economic
Development Director
Issues debated in Washington
such as the size of the national
debt and if the debt ceiling
should be raised often seem far
removed from Pickens County
Georgia; however, these events
cause changes in the market that
drive decision making and can
impact local business opportu
nity.
For example, soon after the
budget deal was struck, stock
prices declined rapidly and the
price of gold shot up to record
highs. This is generally inter
preted as a sign of future eco
nomic weakness, which in turn
causes reluctance by industry to
make new investment or to move
forward with a planned expan
sion. Consumers become uncer
tain and react by not spending
which reduces the demand for
goods and further hampers in
dustrial growth.
New regulations issued by
agencies such as one that is pro
jected to increase the cost of
electricity as well as potentially
jeopardize reliability and supply,
may cause companies to re-eval-
uate the merit of domestic indus
trial investment. When this
occurs the number of new oppor
tunities coming into the state and
to the county slow significantly
and These cona rapid decline
and the price of as the budget de
bate and underlying causes such
as the amount of debt Much has
occurred at the national level
causing Two new industrial proj
ects were logged this month and
although in the very initial
stages, new opportunities both at
the local as well as the state level
have been very slow so having
new companies interested in
Pickens County locations cer
tainly help boost the outlook.
One is an established com
pany outside of the county that is
seeking a larger location to sup
port strong growth and the other
is a new organization seeking to
establish a “model” facility.
Competition for new companies
is strong and depressed prices for
land and buildings throughout
the metro Atlanta area increase
the challenges, but we are work
ing diligently to insure that all
appropriate actions are taken to
recruit these companies to Pick
ens County in order to create
more jobs for our residents.
Retail Development
The initiative to recruit a
micro-brewery or craft beer pub
to create an additional food and
beverage draw to help support
local establishments has taken a
step forward with help from an
article in the Atlanta Journal
Constitution. Bob Townsend
penned the piece about “home
brew contests” in Boston and
Denver and here is the link:
http://www.ajc.com/lifestyle/ho
t
►
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t
'Big Sale'
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5922 Yellow Creek Road • 770-893-2272
Wed. - Fri. ...10-5
Quilting Batting &
All Your Sewing needs.
sired! Mark the calendar for
Sept. 14. Come out to United
Community Bank for fellowship,
service and support.
Wheels for Mercy
Charity Ride
Wear your Military, Fire, or Police uniform or ID for
10% off in stock chrome
Hosted by: R&R Trikes, Bikes & Accessories
Pickens Masonic Lodge #220
Jasper Chapter #479 Order of Eastern Star
Saturday* September 10* 2011
Come Early and Support Our Public Service
Men & Women in a day of Thanks & Remembrance
Ceremony will begin at 9am
Live Performances • Give-a-Ways
Enjoy a Law Enforcement escorted ride
through the beautiful North GA Mountains.
Registration Begins at 9am
Kickstands up at 10am
Pre-Registration is preferred at www.rtrikes.com
$20 Per BIKE-Passengers ride FREE
Entry Fee Includes Choice of One Rider T-shirt or
Patch & Lunch Ticket & Raffle Ticket
(while supplies last, limited sizes)
Additional t-shirts can be purchased for a $10 Donation
100% of proceeds raised will be donated to Families of
Pickens County, and The Masonic Children’s Home
To Sign up or become a Sponsor Contact
Amanda Prather at randrtrikes @ vahoo.com
or Cindi Lowe at stargirl @ etcmail.com
mebrew-conte st-down-to-
1031996.html?cxtype=ynews_rs
sO
I e-mailed Bob seeking advice
as to how to locate candidates for
a location in Pickens County
which he posted to an Atlanta
based craft beer blog. The re
sponse has been tremendous and
the quality of respondents has
been very impressive. The next
step will be to review the appli
cants and select the most prom
ising for a visit and interview.
Product samples will be required
and volunteers to help with eval
uations will accepted.
Tourism Initiatives
The scenic railway initiative
is proceeding with revisions to
the proposed organization sent
back to the lawyer for comment.
This is a key step that will create
the foundation for this initiative
to move forward with negotia
tions for use of the track and
other property.
With the opening of Gibbs
Gardens in March of next year,
the Visionary Garden and the
Medicine Wheel Garden initia
tives by the Sharptop Arts Asso
ciation and the Mountain
Conservation Trust will help in
sure that visitors make a stop in
Pickens County. Effective mar
keting will play a key role and
ideas were discussed at the July
meeting of the Chamber’s Small
Business Development Commit
tee. For more information about
Gibbs Gardens please visit
www.gibbsgardens. com
Pickens County Work Ready
The Work Ready Continua
tion Team has created the basic
concept for an initiative to sup
port at risk individuals that statis
tically are more likely not to
graduate. The Team is working
against a tight time line to launch
the initiative near the very begin
ning of the school year.
die perfect balance between
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A PIEDMONT MOUNTAINSIDE HOSPITAL SERVICE
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