Newspaper Page Text
Postal
Service
previews
stamps
Page 16A
Annie's
Restaurant
rises from
the ashes
Page12A
Middle
Patrols beefed up at Antioch/515
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
In direct response to a forum re
garding a proposal to install a concrete
median at Antioch Church Road and
Highway 515, Jasper’s mayor has in
creased police presence at the inter
section.
Several dozen Talking Rock resi
dents, business owners and leaders
spoke in adamant opposition to
GDOT’s proposition, which would
force right turns off of Antioch Church
Road onto the four-lane.
Members of the public became
emotional and heated as they ex
pressed their concerns against the pro
posal.
Business owners said the blocked
median would devastate the Talking
Rock business district. Other residents
tearfully recalled fatal accidents in
volving loved ones. Many members of
the public, including some who live
off Antioch and use the intersection
daily, said speeding is the root cause
of the dangerous situation.
At the regular Jasper city council
meeting two days later, on Wednes
day, Jan. 6, Mayor John Weaver an
nounced his intention to increase
police visibility at the intersection.
Three comers of the intersection
have been previously annexed into the
city limits of Jasper, though the road
serves as the main entry into Talking
Rock from the fourlane.
See Meeting, Page 8A
ALSO FROM
THE MEETING:
• $1.9 million in land
donated to city - 8A
• City council members
sworn-in, appoint
ments made - 8A
Special
events
discussion
comes to
strange,
inconclusive
end
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
They dropped it when it got hot; the para
phrased song lyric describes well the end of
the county’s effort to create a special events or
dinance.
The idea of creating a framework to prepare
for large public events began in December
under the recently hired Planning and Devel
opment Director Richard Osborne. The origi
nal suggestion included some very unpopular
provisions — applying to any gathering of
more than 50 people and a $100 permit fee. It
also had a vague approval/denial component
that did not sit well with others.
The three-person board of commissioners
emphasized that this was put out to start dis
cussion not as a final proposal. The discussion
they heard was loud and negative, causing the
commissioners to back away from it.
On the county’s Facebook page January
10th, they stated, “Per the Pickens County
Board of Commissioners, the Special Events
permit has been tabled and will be removed
from the Planning Commission agenda for
Monday night. There was a discussion on the
permit during the work session on Thursday,
January 7th and none of the commissioners are
in favor of the permit. Please share!”
Monday night the planning commission
was originally scheduled to offer their input to
See Discussion, Page 17A
Flood damage
costs assessed
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Now that the floodwaters have receded,
officials are assessing cleanup costs from
Christmas storms, with estimates running
about $450,000 and hopes of state reimburse
ment slim.
The following is a list of estimated
cleanup costs in Pickens County
•Pickens County Roads and Bridges
$ 250,000
•Pickens County Water System
$ 20,000
•Talking Rock Park
$ 20,000
•City of Jasper Water Intake
$ 160,000
See Costs, Page 8A
Snowflakes piling up already at Boys & Girls Clubs
The members of the Roper Park Boys & Girls Clubs used their creativity to get ready for the cold weather by making snowflakes.
Pictured are Hannah Chester, Thatcher Boyd, Rylee Boyd, Anna Grace Finney, and Amelia Tucker with their creations.
For more information on the clubs, see nnvw.bgcng.org
Mountain bike concept plan funded
for Talking Rock Nature Preserve
The entrance to the Talking Rock Nature Preserve, a short distance from Hwy. 515 in
Whitestone. The public is welcome to walk on the property but no trails are marked yet
“We want to do this right,”
says land trust director
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
The Southeastern Trust for Parks and
Land, Inc. and the Ellijay Mountain Bike As
sociation have teamed up to fund a profes
sional concept design plan for a mountain
bike trail at the Talking Rock Nature Pre
serve, 211 acres located in north Pickens.
The concept plan will be completed by In
ternational Mountain Bicycling Association
(IMBA)’s Trail Solutions division, an inter
national leader in single-track trail develop
ment with hundreds of successful projects
around the globe.
Last year, the Southeastern Trust for Parks
and Land, (SETPL) announced they would
develop a passive recreation park at the Talk
ing Rock Nature Preserve. SETPL has estab
lished permanent conservation status for the
land where they will support their mission of
promoting “the quiet enjoyment of nature.”
Current plans call for half of the property to
be used as a disc golf course and the other
half as mountain biking/hiking trails with a
habitat throughout for bird watchers.
“[IMBA] is going to develop the concep
tual plan, and in the coming months we will
have schematics and a better idea about what
the cost will be for the trail,” said SETPL Ex
ecutive Director Bill Jones.
The IMBA concept plan has a price tag of
$4,000, half of which was funded by SETPL
and the other half by the Ellijay Mountain
Bike Association, a chapter of the Interna
tional Mountain Bicycling Association.
“This move demonstrates that we have
community support for this project,” Jones
said, “and I think a $4,000 commitment
shows that we are keeping the momentum
going.”
IMBA’s Southeast Associate Regional Di
rector Terry Palmeri said when the Trail So-
See Plan, Page 4A
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HRITQ • Geraldine Stewart • Nora Hales
.Judy West • Robert Coggins
PAGE 17A • Junior Goss • William Watson
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