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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 Subscribe to our Print edition and/or E-edition - Call our office at 706-253-2457 or do it online at www.pickensprogress.com HRITQ • Geraldine Stewart • Nora Hales .Judy West • Robert Coggins PAGE 17A • Junior Goss • William Watson 4 8 7 9 0 8 16 3