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Pickens County
Editorial
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Opinions • Community Views • Good ‘01 Common Sense
2
Oct. 31,2013
Why the Savannah port project
is important to North Georgia
Sometimes government does it right
Ninety-nine percent of the time when some
one comments on government, it’s negative.
So it’s good to take note when something
works - and with the Savannah Harbor Expan
sion Project we need to celebrate.
Two times in recent months we have heard
North Georgia government leaders (Rep.
David Ralston, Blue Ridge, and Lt. Gov.
Casey Cagle, Gainesville) talk about how this
project isn’t just important on our coast, but
crucial to businesses in our mountains.
At first it may seem a minor project, the
harbor is only being dredged down another
five feet - from 42 to 47 feet
deep. But the impact is massive
to economies across the Peach
state.
When complete, the extra
depth will allow supertankers
that use the Panama Canal to
be loaded and unloaded in
Georgia — rather than some
other port in another area.
The deepening of the port
and all the related shipping that
goes with it is being called the
largest economic development
and job creation initiative in
the state and across the southeastern region in
recent history.
Congressman Tom Graves (14th District)
said, “This project is vital to our state and the
country in many ways, but in simple terms, it
means we’ll have new jobs and opportunities
for a lot of Georgia families. Those super
tankers will arrive at the harbor full of goods,
and Georgia businesses will make sure they
leave full. I applaud the Georgia delegation for
working together to secure this victory for our
constituents.”
The project - with $662 million in federal
funds and $231 million in state dollars com
mitted to it - packs a massive wallop. Consider
some of the figures put out by local leaders
and by the Georgia Ports Authority regarding
the project that has lingered for 14 years:
• It will bring in $174 million in net annal
benefits across the nation.
• It will create 11,554 new jobs.
• Georgia’s ports already support 352,000
jobs spread across the state - including virtu
ally all companies that ship products.
• More than 20,000 companies in the coun
try rely on the Georgia ports for shipping.
• One out of 12 Georgians work at a com
pany that ships something or receives some
thing coming through this port.
• More than $2.5 billion in state taxes are
derived from the port.
• Every dollar spent on this project returns
$5.50 in economic return.
In addition to those figures,
another number to consider is
16. All 14 Georgia lawmakers
in the house and both senators
voted for the project and
praised it- evidence that full
cooperation gets things done.
This is something that was
needed and makes sense finan
cially and otherwise. It’s a tan
gible project everyone can
understand: make the port
deeper so bigger ships can
dock here.
It’s also important to note that
unlike so much that goes wrong in Washing
ton, the deepening project did not end up
strangled by our ongoing feuds with neighbor
ing states over drinking water - something that
early on appeared to spell trouble.
In the end Doug Collins (9th District Con
gressman) celebrated keeping these issues sep
arate. “This legislation gives Northeast
Georgia the freedom to plan for the future of
our beautiful lakes as we see fit, and it gets
Georgia farm produce out into the markets
more efficiently,” he said. “ [It’s] a win for
Georgia, it’s a win for American competitive
ness, and it’s a win for the Constitution.”
Even though it’s only five feet of muck
from the bottom of our port, the impact on the
state’s economy is huge and this five feet of
muck shows what could happen if government
works together and sticks to the issue in front
of it.
Even though
it ’s only five feet
of muck from the
bottom of our
port, the impact
on the staters
economy is huge.
AGREE OR DISAGREE? Tell us your thoughts on this week’s editorial either with a letter to the editor
that will be published next week. Letters may be e-mailed to news@pickensprogressonline.com. All let
ters must have a valid e-mail address, full name and telephone number for verification. We still take
them by regular mail at Pickens Progress, P.O. Box 67, Jasper, GA 30143
The Essential Bad Attitude
By Alan Gibson
I’d like to take the high
road but I can’t find it
I remember once driving the
upper corniche between Monaco
and Cannes. It is literally the high
road (Grace Kelly and Cary Grant
drove it in To Catch a Thief). But
figuratively the expression ‘Take
the high road’ means to choose the
ethical or noble route to an objec
tive.
So where exactly is the high
road and how do I get on it? Is the
metaphor useful or silly? Heming
way famously said that what’s
moral is what you feel good after.
So maybe the high road is that
feeling of going in the right direc
tion, avoiding the off-ramp at the
Boulevard of Broken Dreams,
looking for that exit called Peace
of Mind.
The low road? I’ve taken it. On
that same trip along the Cote
d’Azur, I ran afoul of some British
nudists. They’d been clothed when
I met them but now here they
were, stalkers sur la plage. My
party - young Army lieutenants
and nurses - kept our suits on, al
beit not without some British
taunting. (Note to the French: If
you’re operating a nude beach, put
up a sign.) All very low road.
Another Army anecdote: I was
in a Jeep leading my division on
field maneuvers and took a wrong
turn at the head of the caravan.
“Uh, gentlemen we’ve got to back
up and turn around.”
“The whole division?”
“Uh, yeah.” The low road beck
oned, and no excuse was plausible.
On another low road sojourn, I
was introduced at a reception to
America’s then-First Lady, Pat
Nixon, and decided it was a good
time to light up a cigar. I should
explain that cigars hadn’t the op
probrium they do now and Mrs.
Nixon smiled tolerantly. Like an
idiot, I enjoyed the cigar.
Another time I was about to be
introduced in a public forum when
someone spilled a glass of cola in
my lap. At that moment I was
asked to stand up. I made a sort of
matador move with my napkin,
which in itself looked unprepos-
sessingly strange. The low road lay
before me; destination Lapland.
And there was the shameful
time I won a debate by ignoring
logic and making ad hominem fun
of my opponent who was porcine.
My soul was, and is, in jeopardy.
Or there was the time in Mex
ico City when I tried something I’d
seen in a movie: clapping my
hands to summon a waiter. It
worked. The waiter rushed over,
impressed at my continental
aplomb. “Uh, sorry about that,” I
told him. “Don’t really want any
thing.” The waiter kept his poise
and salvaged the encounter. He’s a
better man than I am.
The high road still eludes me.
My best self resides there, but to
access the high road asks constant
vigilance.
The Boulevard of Broken
Dreams offers an off-ramp. But so
does the splendid exit marked
Peace of Mind.
[For more of the same, visit
Alan’s blog, essentialba.com]
Weather
By William Dilbeck
Oct. 22 - Oct. 28
HI
LOW
RAIN
Tuesday
67
47
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Wednesday
53
34
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Thursday
57
33
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Friday
50
30
.00
Saturday
55
34
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Sunday
58
43
.22
Monday
59
48
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an error in our pages?
Let our staff
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706-253-2457
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main St. P.O. Box 67 Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457 FAX (706) 253-9738
www.pickensprogress.com
JOHN A. POOL DAN POOL
Publisher Editor
WILLIAM E. POOL
Managing Editor
Published each Thursday at Jasper, Pickens County Georgia. Entered
at the Post Office at Jasper Georgia 30143 as Mail Matter of Second
Class. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE PICKENS
COUNTY PROGRESS, P.O. Box 67, Jasper, GA 30143.
One Year’s Subscription: $29.96 in Pickens County and in Gilmer,
Cherokee, Dawson and Gordon Counties. $39.59 in all other Georgia
Counties; $44.94 out of state.
"I hate it when they mess with the clocks. It always makes
the hour before quitting time the longest day of the year."
Grant opportunity available
for local organizations
The Pickens County Commu
nity Resource Association, Inc.
(PCCRA), originator and opera
tor of the Community Thrift
Store, announces intent to make
grants.
As provided by the PCCRA
by-laws, the association is re
sponsible for determining a
method to find worthy causes
that meet the criteria of its Mis
sion Statement: “Our mission is
to serve the members of our
community who find themselves
in need of essential goods and
basic human and life-enhancing
services.”
Note: Once again for this
quarter, the maximum allowed
per grant will be $5,000. No
grant will exceed $5,000. The
PCCRA Board has final author
ity on all grants.
Grant applications may be ob
tained at the Community Thrift
Store between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Tuesday through Saturday. They
may also be obtained by mail by
calling the Store at 706-253-
7770 during the same hours and
are available on our website:
www.pickens communitythrift-
store.org
NOTE: The grant application
form labeled “Eff. 1/2013” at the
bottom is required. Applications
on any other form will be re
jected. Applications must be
typed.
Completed grant applications
must be mailed to PCCRA,
ATTN: Grant Committee, 110
Samaritan Drive, Jasper, Ga.
30243. They must be postmarked
by Nov. 15. Hand-carried appli
cations and those not fully com
pleted or not signed will not be
accepted. The grant decisions
will be announced within 60
days of the application dateline.
A Capital Award program is
also available for 501(c)(3) non
profit organizations. The same
qualifications for helping area
residents and meeting PCCRA
Mission Statement apply. Grant
applications will be on the same
grant form and must be clearly
marked “Capital Award” on the
top of the first page of the grant
application. The grant applica
tion may be obtained as above
and the envelope containing the
grant application must be re
ceived by mail and marked
ATTN: Capital Award.
This capital award program
includes funding for such needs
as Start-ups, Innovative Ideas,
Building Funds and Capital In
vestment. These grant requests
may be submitted at any time
and approved grants may be
funded as money is available.
PCCRA will investigate these
grant requests and make all de
terminations. Matching funds
may be required.
Energy Assistance Program
opens November 1
The State of Georgia, Depart
ment of Human Resources, with
whom North Georgia Commu
nity Action, Inc. contracts, has
announced that an Energy Assis
tance Program is expected to
open on Nov. 1 with the begin
ning of the Homebound/Elderly
application intake period. Home-
bound households are defined as
those households in which every
household member is confined to
the home because of medical
conditions or disabilities. Elderly
households are defined as those
households in which every mem
ber is aged 65 years of older. (If
anyone in the household is under
age 18 and all the other house
hold members are 65 or older
that household will meet the def
inition of Elderly.)
All households participating
in the program must meet the in
come criteria; be responsible for
paying the cost of energy for
home heating directly to the sup
plier; and be U.S. citizens or
aliens admitted to the U.S. for
lawful permanent residence.
To apply, applicants must
bring their most recent heating
bill, proof of household income,
proof of valid Social Security
Number, proof of citizenship
with a valid picture ID and/or
alien status. In addition, Elderly
households must provide proof
of age for all household mem
bers.
Assistance will be in the form
of a one-time payment on behalf
of the eligible household to help
offset the cost of heating their
homes. The checks are issued di
rectly to the home energy sup
plier. No checks can be issued
until North Georgia Community
Action, Inc. receives the funds
from the State of Georgia, De
partment of Human Resources.
Assistance is on a “first-come,
first-served” basis, while the
funds last.
Any low-income residents of
the county who feel that their
household meets the definition of
“Homebound” or “Elderly”
should contact th North Georgia
Community Action, Inc.’s Com
munity Service Center for their
county of residence beginning
Nov. 1 at 8:30 a.m.
Pickens - 706-692-6803;
Gilmer - 706-635-5858; Fannin -
706-632-2854; Catoosa - 706-
858-0926; Murray - 706-695-
5913; Chattooga
706-857-0729; Walker - 706-
638-0818; Cherokee - 770-345-
6531; Dade - 706-657-4664; and
Whitfield - 706-226-7241.
TENDERS • WINGS • SALADS
TERING • DINE IN OR TAKE OUT
5-RIBS (7427)
706-635-7429
land Crossing • East Ellijay, GA 30540
Across from Walmart