Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. MARCH 5. 2015 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 5A
Nelson council reaffirms duties of the council
By Ralph O. Dennis
Contributing writer
At the regular meeting of the
Nelson City Council, members
reaffirmed that they are the con
trolling body in the government
of Nelson.
Although the mayor is given
certain responsibilities, the final
decisions are to be made by the
council. This especially applies
to the hiring and firing of city
employees. The council is to af
firm all new hires and approve
all dismissals.
The council discussed at
length the process of the budgets
and when they should be com
pleted taken to the public and
then voted on. The fiscal budget
and Capital Improvement Budg
ets are to be worked on in the
near future.
The mayor was questioned on
whether or not the 2015 Capital
Improvement Budget had been
approved or not. It was decided
that City Attorney Jeff Rusbrigde
would check to see if it been
legally adopted and report back
to the council.
The council set the qualifying
dates for the November general
election to be August 31- Sep
tember 4, 2015. Qualifying fees
will be $25. For information on
the positions to be elected the
public should contact City Hall.
All candidates should do this at
the Pickens County Board of
Elections.
The council welcomed Mr.
Stephen Hall of Congressman
Barry Loudermilk’s office. Mr.
Hall made a few comments about
the congressman’s office location
and the assistance the office pro
vides to the citizens.
In other business:
• Mayor Larry Ray appointed
several committees: Mrs. Mon
aghan and Mr. Jarrett - Oversee
ing the restoration and
remodeling of the community
center; Mr. Thacker- Zoning and
Planning; Mrs. Monaghan and
Mr. Haviland budgets.
• It was decided to contract an
architectural firm to assist in the
revising plans and designing of
the community center/marble
museum and surrounding park
area.
• Mrs. Martha Dunn’s request
for a zoning variance had been
withdrawn.
• The crosswalk/stop sign
issue for Pickens Street at Pil
grim Church was put on hold
until the cost of the crosswalk
signs could be obtained. The
final decision on this can be
made at the next work session.
• The council decided to take
the steps to change the order of
business in the city charter to
move the public comments por
tion so that it would be between
old business and new business.
• Five street lights will be
added on the north end of Pick
ens Street. The council will seek
to retain a CPA on a part-time
basis to assist in the training of
the city clerk in the input of fi
nances and the preparation of the
monthly expense report and the
preparation for the annual audit.
• In executive session, the
council decided not to contract a
real estate company for the mar
keting and sale of the marble
buildings.
• During the public comments
portion of the meeting, Mrs.
Edith Portillo read a request for
documents that were under the
open documents act and advised
that the documents had not been
sent to her in a timely manner-
actually she had been advised
that they would not be sent.
She advised that this was in
violation of state law.
• Mr. Bill McNiff questioned
an earlier act of the evening as to
why the city needed to hire a
CPA to assist in the office other
than the reason of the city not re
ceiving a clean audit this past
year.
Nelson Councilman Mike Haviland was presented a cer
tificate Monday from Keep Pickens Beautiful for his efforts
in and around the city to keep the streets litter free. Above
Haviland (left) receives the award from Mayor Larry Ray.
Report from the Georgia Senate
By State Senator Steve Gooch
Craft beer brewers and horse racing bills
Each year, the Georgia Gen
eral Assembly is asked to con
sider a significant number of bills
that will change the way the state
operates. Some bills ask to ex
pand industry regulations, while
others seek to tighten or clarify
regulations. Others ask the tax
payers of our state to consider
funding vital infrastructure proj
ects or approve constitutional
amendments. These types of bills
are the ones that cause the most
heated of debates at the Capitol.
This year is no different, and
there is certainly no lack of con
troversial bills. However, there
are three bills that I especially
would like to hear your feedback
on.
t Senate Bill 63 - The “Beer
Jobs” Bill Currently, Georgia
follows a three-tier system when
it comes to the sale of alcohol
and malt beverages. Under this
system, manufacturers can only
sell to distributors, distributors
can only sell to retailers, and re
tailers can only sell to individual
consumers. This has helped keep
tight regulations on the industry
and create a more efficient tax
collection method. However,
with the recent popularity and
growth of the craft beer industry,
this system has brought to light
an unintended consequence—
craft-brewers that brew beer are
not allowed to sell their product
at the brewery to customers to
consume at home. The beverage
must be consumed on-site or sold
thru a distributor and then a li
censed retailer. They can only
give their product as samples to
of age tourists at the facility.
SB 63, sponsored by Sen.
Hunter Hill (R - Atlanta), would
allow licensed breweries to sell
limited amounts of their malt
beverages for off-site consump
tion. The bill would also allow li
censed brewers like the
locally-based Terrapin Brewing
Co. to sell limited amounts of
beverages in their tasting rooms
to the public. This bill limits the
sale to 144 oz. per person, per
day, for off-site consumption. SB
63 only concerns the sale of malt
beverages to individual con
sumers and does not change or
authorize the sale of malt bever
ages from a brewer to a licensed
retailer. This is a growth industry
in Georgia, and we are one of
five states that do not allow this
type of sale. I am a co-sponsor of
the bill because I believe it helps
tourism and economic develop
ment in our state. I ask for your
thoughts on the three-tier system.
Senate Resolution 135 - The
Constitutional Amendment for
Horse Racing and Wagering
The HOPE scholarship program
is, without a doubt, one of the
most successful education initia
tives in Georgia history. Since
the program started, over 1.6
million scholarship recipients
have been able to attend one of
Georgia’s excellent universities
and technical colleges, and it has
helped fund pre-k for thousands
of children in our state thanks to
funding through proceeds from
the Georgia Lottery. Georgia has
had horse racing in its past. Pari
mutuel wagering (which creates
a betting pool based on odds) on
the sport is currently not allowed
but could be put to a vote if Sen
ate Resolution obtains a 2/3 vote
in the House and Senate to allow
the public to vote.
SR 135, sponsored by Sen.
Brandon Beach, proposes a con
stitutional amendment that
would let Georgians decide
whether or not to allow pari
mutuel wagering on horse racing.
The net proceeds would be used
to supplement Georgia’s HOPE
scholarship program, as well as
the state Pre-K program. The
funding and proceeds for such a
program would be accounted for
in a separate budget category,
and would become part of the
Governor’s annual budget rec
ommendations. I see good and
bad aspects of this proposal, and
I would really like to hear your
thoughts on SR 135.
House Bill 170 - Trans
portation Funding Georgia has
struggled to find a way to re
vamp its transportation funding
structure in recent years. No one
has been able to come up with an
acceptable “plan B” after an at
tempt to pass regional
TSPLOSTs throughout the state
failed a few years back. Georgia
has seen a drastic drop in the in
the amount of money received
from the Federal Highway Trust
Fund—the money available to
our state has declined 12 percent,
compared to 3.5 percent nation
ally. It is clear that Georgia does
not have time to waste when it
comes to finding a solution to
transportation funding.
Do we need better roads? Yes, I
believe we do. The next question
we need to ask ourselves is how
do we create the funding re
quired to make these improve
ments? This is a house bill, but
at some point it will come to the
Senate for consideration. We are
already considering several op
tions, and I would love to hear
your ideas for transportation
funding.
All of these bills are currently
making their way through the
legislative process, and the de-
Parents of preteens and teens: Make a date to vaccinate
School immunization requirements take effect in Georgia
Let’s face it - nobody likes
getting shots. But a shot lasts a
second; diseases last much
longer.
In an effort to protect every
adult and child, the Georgia De
partment of Public Health estab
lished Georgia Preteen Vaccine
Awareness Week, observed Feb
ruary 22-28, to serve as a re
minder for parents to talk with
their preteens and teens about
getting immunized against vac-
cine-preventable diseases.
“Our preteens and teens are
branching out. They go to
overnight camps, attend parties
and play team sports - they are
becoming increasingly social.
While these are all fun parts of
being a teenager, they can also
increase their risk for contracting
potentially life-threatening dis
eases,” said Sheila Lovett, acting
director for the Georgia Depart
ment of Public Health Immu
nization Office. “Let’s help our
children grow and protect them
every way we can - including
their future health and those
around them with immunization
against vaccine-preventable dis
eases.”
According to the Georgia De
partment of Public Health
Rule(511-2-2), all students bom
on or after January 1, 2002, en
tering or transferring into 7th
grade and any “new entrant” into
8th-12th grades in Georgia need
proof of an adolescent pertussis
(whooping cough) booster vacci
nation (called “Tdap”) AND an
adolescent meningococcal vacci
nation (MCV4). This law affects
all public and private schools in
cluding, but not limited to, char
ter schools, community schools,
juvenile corut schools and other
alternative school settings (ex
cluding homeschool).
Vaccines are the best defense
we have against serious, prevent
able and sometimes deadly con
tagious diseases. They help avoid
expensive therapies and hospital
ization needed to treat infectious
diseases like influenza and
meningitis. Immunizations also
reduce absences both at school
and after school activities and
decrease the spread of illness at
home, school and the commu
nity.
The CDC currently recom
mends the following vaccines for
preteens and teens:
• Tetanus, Diphtheria and Per
tussis (Tdap)
• Influenza (flu)
• Human Papillomavirus
(HPV) - three doses
• Meningococcal Disease
(MCV4)
Georgia Preteen Vaccine
Awareness Week is an opportu
nity to raise awareness through
schools, healthcare providers
and the media regarding preteen
immunizations, particularly
Georgia’s new pertussis and
meningococcal requirements for
incoming seventh-grade stu
dents.
Contact your local county
public health department, 706)-
253-2821, or speak with your
physician today to find out if
your preteen is up-to-date and if
not, make a date to vaccinate.
B BJ’S MOLD a
USTERO
CERTIFIED MOLD INSPECTION & REMEDIATION EXPERTS
who you GONNA CALL?
678-779-9333
543 HICKORY COVE ROAD * JASPER, GA 30143
For All Your Mold Inspection & Clean-up Needs
bates have just begun. I am doing
my due diligence and research on
each bill, but I am voting on your
behalf in the Senate chamber.
These are not simple bills that
will only affect a certain industry
or group of people—these are
complex bills that will signifi
cantly impact every single Geor
gian.
I would like to remind every
one to please take the time to fill
out the survey printed in local
newspapers throughout the 51 st
District and return them to my
office at the Capitol. Feedback
on these and other topics help me
to better represent you. My staff
and I keep very thorough notes
of the topics discussed in every
phone call, email or office visit
because your voice matters.
Please continue to stay in touch
with me and share your thoughts
as we work through the legisla
tive session, especially as more
bills start moving through the
legislative process. As always, I
am honored to represent you in
the 51st Senate District.
(Sen. Steve Gooch serves as
the Senate Majority Whip. He
represents the 51st Senate Dis
trict which includes Dawson,
Fannin, Gilmer, Lumpkin,
Union and White counties and
portions of Forsyth and Pickens
counties. He may be reached at
404.656.9221 or via email at
steve.gooch@senate.ga.gov.)
Brighton Beach Memoirs
by Neil Simon
directed by Sonia Smith
Mother Nature won’t upset us.
Due to the weather we are
extending Brighton Beach
Memoirs one more weekend.
March 5 - March 7
Thurs. - Sat. @ 7:30 pm
Call for tickets
706-632-9223
2591 East First St. • Blue Ridge, Ga 30513
www.BlueRidgeCommunityTheater.com
♦ ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Live Music is Better Concert!
Franklin Pond Quartet,
Sunday March 8 th at 2pm
DRIGHT0I1
DEACH \
nmom i
n Howman
OPEN HOUSE TUESDAY, MARCH 10™
11 A.M. -3 P.M.
fine senior living residences
North Georgia’s
only Full Service,
All Inclusive
Senior Living
Apartment
Community
Manor House in the Meadow makes living
independently possible with these great services:
Chef Prepared Meals • Outdoor Terraces & Gardening Areas
1 Luxuriously Appointed Living Spaces • Beautiful Meadow Views with sheep
1 Full Gourmet Kitchens • Convenient Jasper location
1 Transportation • Housekeeping & Maintenance
1 Paid Utilities
1 Easy access to hospitals, dining, entertainment and shopping
Manor House in the Meadow
490 Lower Dowda Mill Rd.
Jasper, Georgia 30143
678-454-2600
EVENTS ^
April 18 - 6pm
First Baptist Canton
1 Mission Point - Canton, GA
Reserved Seating $22.00 General Seating $18.00
The Isaacs
awson & Quicksilver Jol
-4 « ; ▼ —
For rttiiwIfmtoTnation and ticket purchase:
shadygVoveevents.com
Phone: 678-796-8578