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THURSDAY. JANUARY 29. 2015 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 7A
Sam Wheeler on GDOT, funding cutbacks and U2
By Angela Reinhardt
staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
What are you responsible for
as a GDOT Area Engineer?
I am currently responsible for a
staff of 50 employees and nine
consultants that handle mainte
nance and construction projects
on over 1,350 lane miles of state
highways in a four county area.
I am also responsible for two rest
areas in Gordon County on 1-75,
four maintenance headquarters,
an area office and the rolling
stock of 120 pieces of equip
ment. My main function is to
oversee two assistants and their
assigned employees. I handle in
coming requests from state rep
resentatives and senators, board
members, local government offi
cials, vendors and citizens and
either provide answers or direct
their concerns to the appropriate
divisions of GDOT. I handle in
quiries by the local media out
lets. I serve in the capacity of a
field manager to work out issues
that may arise with construction
projects and maintenance activi
ties and driveway access to the
state route system of my four
counties.
You were recently promoted
from Area Engineer for Pick
ens, Fannin and Gilmer to a
much larger area that includes
Pickens, Cherokee, Bartow
and Gordon. What are the
challenges of managing coun
ties with larger cities and more
congested areas?
To begin with, some of the chal
lenges for me are learning new
routes, names and faces of per
sonnel, contractors, local govern
ment officials, utility
representatives and state offi
cials. There are also projects at
different phases of completion
that I am responsible for their
close-out, so learning these proj
ects and at what stage of finaliza
tion are a separate task for me to
get up to speed on. Then there
are projects already under con
struction, some just let to con
struction and future projects that
I attend plan reviews and public
information meetings. The chal
lenge is becoming familiar with
their history and issues whether
environmental or construction
related.
What are some misconceptions
about GDOT?
I hear comments from time to
time about how GDOT has failed
to solve gridlock in Atlanta and
maintain our highways. That is
Sam Wheeler is a native Pickens County resident and works as
the Georgia DOT Area Engineer for Pickens, Cherokee, Bartow
and Gordon counties. His wife is Karen and they have two chil
dren, David and Audrey.
no simple fix or task when
changes in funding have directly
affected program delivery.
[GDOT] is constantly working to
overcome the challenges of
forced cutbacks, dwindling rev
enues and reduction in forces by
partnering with private sector ini
tiatives and innovative project
delivery programs. Not too long
ago, it was touted that the former
accounting principles were not in
alignment with state regulations,
and ever since GDOT has been
going through measures to re-or
ganize itself to accomplish the
same level of service with less
resources and more scrutiny. We
feel the effects of this where the
ole' rubber meets the road. We
have equipment that needs re
placing in our fleet, and certainly
more funding to accomplish
resurfacing on our highways
would be on my wish list. I'm
personally embarrassed by how
rough SR 53 through Jasper is.
The reason it has not been paved
is not because it hasn't been rated
and recommended for resurfac
ing. It's because funding these
projects is a crisis across the state
as to how many projects can be
let. Our infrastructure can't help
that it's aging. It's going to hap
pen automatically and at some
point there is going to have to be
a concerted interest to fix and re
pair it. I'm interested to see what
comes out of this year’s legisla
tive session both nationally and
at the state house.
What do you do
after a long day?
to unwind
A variety of things, which begins
with petting my dogs (because
they meet me at my parking
spot), kissing my wife Karen and
talking with our children David
and Audrey to see how their day
went at college and high school.
That is often followed by a visit
to the gym to workout or take a
yoga class (which is the best way
to unwind in my book).
What is the best vacation
you’ve ever been on?
That’s a tough question. I love
to travel, so all of them have spe
cial memories. My first trip out
west with the family that looped
us from Yellowstone to the
Grand Canyon was awesome
(thanks mom and dad) as was the
second that took us to the Cana
dian Rockies (with grandparents
in tow). My solo trip to Ger
many when I was 19 still stands
out. But mostly the ones I’ve
Between the Bookends
By Emma Ingle, Pickens Co. Librarian
SRLS Download
able Collection
Downloadable eBooks and
audio books your thing, check
out what our homepage has to
offer. Click on: library2go@
SRLS and view what you can ac
cess with your library card and
PIN number. Fiction, nonfiction,
classic literature, historical fic
tion - just to name a few of the
things you can download. Be
sure to check out the Menu and
Help tabs for information before
getting started.
Bingo
Join us Monday evening, Feb
ruary 2, at 6 for fun playing
Bingo. You can win inexpensive
game prizes and enter the door
prize drawing held at the end of
the evening. Light refreshments
will be served. This program is
targeted to adults of all ages. For
more information please contact
the Pickens County Library at
706-692-5411.
LEGOs at the Li
brary
Youth of all ages are invited
to build LEGO masterpieces,
Tuesday, February 3, at 3:30. All
LEGOs are provided by the li
brary. At the end of the Club,
creations will be put on display
in the library. DUPLO blocks
will be available for our
youngest patrons. Children 9
and under must be accompanied
by an adult.
Library Yarners
Come join the weekly cro
chet/knitting/yarn-enthusiast
meetings, Tuesday, February 3,
at 10 a.m. and/or 5 p.m. The Li
brary Yarners is led by a former
library staff-member (you may
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attend either or both meetings).
All fiber-artists are welcome (re
gardless of skill level)!
Story Time
The youngest folks are invited
to join Miss Brooke for Lapsit
Story Time on Wednesday, Feb
ruary 4, at 10:30 a.m. Lapsit
Story Time is designed for chil
dren ages 1-3. Family Story
Time is also on Wednesday at 3.
The theme is The Big, Red Dog.
Story Time includes a craft proj
ect. All ages are invited.
Free AARP
Tax-Aide
Thursday, February 5, from
9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., certified
AARP Tax-Aide volunteers will
help prepare federal tax returns
free to taxpayers with low and
moderate income, with special
attention to those 60 and older.
For more information please
contact the Pickens County Li
brary at 706-692-5411.
READing Paws
with Abby
Abby, the library’s Reading
Paws dog, helps children gain
confidence as she listens pa
tiently while children read to
her. If you would like for your
child to have this experience, all
that you need to do is sign up for
the Monday, February 9th visit
with Abby at 3:30 p.m. Abby is
a friendly, furry and non-judg-
mental listener who loves to
have children read their favorite
book to her. A session is 10-15
minutes for ages 6 and up. Reg
istration has begun.
been on with my little family.
Not near as big and extravagant,
but prized more highly because
it’s us having a good time to
gether. I hope one day I can take
them to the places I’ve been.
What is your most prized pos
session?
AbLy
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Beer • Wine
744 Noah Dr.
Jasper, GA
Mountain Highland
Tel: 706-253-1155
Fax: 706-253-1105
My salvation and family,
gifts from God.
All
What has been the most chal
lenging project you’ve worked
on as an Area Engineer?
Well, there’s not just one. Try
nineteen projects and no two of
them are the same, and all at one
time and they add up to in excess
of $150,000,000. It’s like tap
dancing through a minefield
while trying not to step on an
EPD landmine.
What’s on your bookshelf? In
your playlist?
The Bible and Harry Potter
(seems like a contradiction I
know), but both are good read
ing. My music playlist is prefer
ably classics, whether its rock or
country from the 80s and 90s,
southern gospel and even classi
cal. I seem to be hung up on U2
at the present time, but you
never know what I’m going to
be listening to. Let me sum that
up by saying I hope I never lose
my hearing or eyesight.
Who do you look up to?
My grandparents, parents, in
laws, aunts, uncles and a long
list of friends and acquaintances
among this community I have
been so blessed to grow up in
and call my home. Too many
for me to name and I wouldn’t
want to leave one out. I try to
see the good in everyone I meet.
That helps me to look up to
them.
Roundabout or stop signs?
While it depends on the volume
of traffic and need, I like a
roundabout because it can effec
tively solve a lot of intersection
issues, adds iconic value to the
route or cross-roads and you
only have to slow down most of
the time. Stop signs are still the
simplest and cheapest to install
and maintain.
Home Mortgage Solutions
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678-454-5600
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