Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, January 7,2016
Jasper, Georgia
Volume 128 Number 37
www.pickensprogress.com
75 cents
Not a ripple
from water
park proj ect
Meeting held on
Port Royal mostly
a formality
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
The Development Authority of
the City of Jasper met briefly Tues
day, January 5, to address an issue
regarding bonds for the Port Royal
water park resort - but the authority’s
action is considered a formality and
in no way indicates the project is any
closer to becoming a reality.
Per request of their bond attorney
for the high-dollar project, the au
thority - which has had no business
since September of last year - unan
imously voted to assign an under
writer for tax-exempt project bonds
that may or may not be requested by
Port Royal developers in the future.
It was stressed that the authority’s
agreement to appoint an underwriter
for these bonds does not imply the
Port Royal team will be able to se
cure the remaining funding needed
or will request the bonds from the
Development Authority at all.
“We are basically putting the
foundation in place and staying out
of the way if this does go forward,”
said city attorney Bill Pickett, who
later noted he has not met with any-
See Water Park on Page 15A
Jasper man
charged
with murder
Talking Rock will fight road
change "tooth and nail"
Dan Pool / Photo
Talking Rock’s incoming mayor Randy Banks, left, offers an alternative to a plan presented by the state trans
portation officials during a meeting on the Antioch Church Road/Highway 515 intersection Monday.
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
A group of Talking Rock business
owners expressed vigorous opposi
tion to a state proposed change in the
intersection at Antioch Church Road
and Highway 515 in a Monday night
forum. Georgia Transportation offi
cials believe the change would im
prove safety there.
“We live here and we do not like
this,” Talking Rock council member
Cheryl Sams told representatives
from the Ga. Department of Trans
portation (GDOT). “We will go as
high as we have to [to stop this]. We
will fight you tooth and nail.”
According to a number of mer
chants in the small town, the pro
posal by the GDOT to install a
median island to prevent drivers
from crossing over Highway 515 at
that spot would “kill the small town”
by limiting access to one of their
main entrances.
The plans presented last month by
GDOT call for a raised island across
the median that will stop anyone
from turning left to access or exit the
four-lane or driving across all four
lanes of Highway 515 to go straight
on Antioch Church Road. Plans call
for new u-tum lanes a short distance
“both upstream and downstream”
from the intersection. GDOT statis
tics indicate this is a particularly dan
gerous intersection which needs to
be improved.
The owner of one of the antique
stores in Talking Rock said many of
their customers come from Ellijay
and Blue Ridge in addition to people
taking trips to the mountains and
anything that makes it more difficult
to get on and off the four-lane will
See Road on Page 15A
INSIDE:
"Thar's gold
in them hills"
A prolific gold
mine once located
in the Yellow
Creek area ex
tracted enough
gold ore to be
worth $112 million
in today's money
Page 2A
Nelson
council
members
take oath
The Nelson City
Council started off
the new year by
swearing in
councilmember
David Hamby
Page 6A
Police chase
covers 36
miles
After trying to pull
over a speeder, a
Ga. State Trooper
and backup patrol
units ended up
chasing the driver
for 36 miles before
the man ran out
of gas and was
arrested
Page 8A
3 arrested for fatal
Gilmer home
invasion
Leaders see 2016 as positive year for growth
Reprinted courtesy of Ellijay
Times Courier
By Mark Millican
Times-Courier
Three arrests have been made in
a fatal shooting that occurred three
days after Christmas in the Tails
Creek community of Gilmer County.
Charged with murder and armed
robbery in the death of Andrew
Abernathy are Joseph Christopher
Ledford, 21, of Jasper; Tyler Anto
nio Monte Nunez, 23, of Acworth;
and Justin Savon Heard, 24, of
Smyrna.
When Abernathy, 21, was shot
Dec. 28 at his residence in the Tails
Creek community, no suspects were
See Murder on Page 15A
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickens
progress.com
After several years of
stagnant growth, city and
county leaders say they see
a light at the end of the tun
nel, citing a welcome eco
nomic uptick in 2015 they
expect to gain momentum
in 2016.
At a recent Family Con
nections meeting, Jasper
Mayor Weaver said he be
lieves the area is on the
cusp of a growth wave that
will “wash over us, wash
over Blue Ridge and
bounce back and wash over
us again.” Weaver said he
believes growth will pick
up again in 2016, much like
it was before the real estate
collapse in 2007.
At the December city
council meeting, Sonny
Underwood, city planning
and development director,
gave a report that covered
the surge of business his
department has fielded in
the past year.
“The building and plan
ning and development de
partment has been busy
with new construction, an
nexation and new business
licenses,” Underwood said,
Suzy Price / Photo
2016 STARTS OUT WITH A BANG - The New Year’s Eve celebration in Jasper saw a large
number ofpeople on Main Street to ring in the new year with a ball drop and a firework show.
See photos on page 16A.
Angela Reinhardt / Photo
Things are looking up for economy, local leaders believe.
They; are definitely aiming high at the recently relocated
Get to the Pointe Dance Studio that opened this month.
citing 50 new business li
censes issued in 2015.
Underwood said several
construction projects have
been completed in the past
year including the largest,
the Days Chevrolet build
ing. Other completed proj
ects include a retail strip
beside Walmart that houses
Hibbett Sports, Dollar Tree,
Verizon Wireless and Royal
Nails; a retail strip on Noah
Drive that houses H&R
Block and which has four
other suites available; the
Northside Hospital Imag
ing Center, Dairy Queen
renovations, completion of
the Hardee’s restaurant, and
renovations at the large
building at the corner of
Main Street and Church
Street (known locally as the
old NAPA building). An
other new building on
Noah Drive houses Get to
the Pointe Dance Studio.
“And Standridge Color
Corporation is going to
double the size of their op
eration and is adding an
other building with 22,000
square feet,” Underwood
said.
Pickens County Eco
nomic Development Direc
tor Gerry Nechvatal
pointed to industry growth
at Quality Synthetic Rub
ber, and new businesses
that have moved into Jasper
Enterprise Center and the
Sharp Mountain Industrial
Park.
Construction of the new
Boys & Girls Club of North
Georgia is currently under
way at Roper Park.
The city has also an
nexed three properties, in
cluding the Pickens County
Airport and the Mountain
Express BP convenience
store and gas station on
Highway 53 and Highway
515.
Pickens County Com
mission Chair Rob Jones
said he is pleased to see an
uptick in the local econ
omy, going on to cite im
proved building activity in
Big Canoe and increased
water meters, up to 28 for
the year.
“That’s more meters
than we’ve had in three
years,” Jones said. “And
Big Canoe is going strong.
I’m glad to see things pick
ing up.”
New home building is
the highest in the county
since 2008. New home
building permits peaked in
See 2016 on Page 15A
Subscribe to our Print edition and/or E-edition - Call our office at 706-253-2457 or do it online at www.pickensprogress.com
nD|TQ • David Lewallen • Mary Ruth Weaver ‘Thelma Fields
v/Dl l . j am es Prince • Sarah Eubanks • Wayne Collis
PAGE 13A
oiflDu