Newspaper Page Text
Talking Rock approves budget - 6A West Price Creek Road closure Jan. 23 - 2B
Thursday, January 19,2017 Jasper, Georgia Volume 129 Number 39 www.pickensprogress.com 75 cents
Talking Rock
trainers try for
‘American Idol’
of horses
Page14A
Basketball
teams beat
Gilmer
Page 1B
KPB recognizes
road volunteer
of the year
Page 5A
Business licenses
at four-year high
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Total business licenses
issued by the Pickens
County government are at a
four-year high, according to
data from the Planning &
Development Department.
In total, 698 licenses
were issued last year. Of
those, 121 were new busi
ness licenses and 577 were
renewals, totaling just over
$50,000 in revenue for the
department. New business
licenses issued by the
county in 2016 were up sig
nificantly over the previous
two years. [Note: These
numbers represent the cal
endar year, not the depart
ment’s fiscal year that runs
from July 1 thru June 30.
The county also issues li
censes for Talking Rock,
which are included in these
numbers.]
In 2015 the county is
sued 84 new licenses and
See Business on 11A
700 -
600 -
500 -
400 -
300 -
200 -
100 -
2014
2015 2016
Business licenses issued by Pickens County
Superintendent search
expected to be ‘smooth’
Interview with Interim
Supt. Charles Webb -
Page 6A
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Sandy Addis of King-Cooper
& Associates, the firm hired to
assist the school board with their
superintendent search, expects
the system’s reputation and loca
tion will garner sizable interest
from top-notch candidates.
“It’s going to be very easy to
attract high-quality applicants,”
Addis told the board. “This is a
very attractive school system.
You have a great reputation. This
is a very attractive place for peo
ple to come live and work.”
Addis presented the board
with a draft timeline for the su
perintendent hiring process,
which he emphasized is not set
in stone. The draft shows: An ap
plication deadline of Tuesday,
Feb. 28; The first round of inter
views at the end of March; The
second round of interviews mid
April followed by the announce
ment of between one to three fi
nalists. After finalists are
announced mid-April there is a
mandatory 14-day waiting pe
riod for public comment. Final
hire is expected around the first
of May.
King-Cooper & Associates
will assist the board along every
phase of the hiring process, in-
See School on 11A
Bell elected school board chair; Lewis is vice chair
Daniel Bell
The Pickens County Board of Ed
ucation’s January meeting looked
much different that it did in Decem
ber.
Board members Sue Finley and
Katherine White have replaced Mike
Cowart and Peggy Andrews, whose
terms ended in December. Dr.
Charles Webb was also in attendance
for the first time. Dr. Webb was hired
as interim school superintendent
after Dr. Lula Mae Perry resigned late
last year.
Dr. Webb opened the meeting with
a call to elect a new chair and vice
chair. Daniel Bell was elected as chair
with a vote of 4-0; Bell abstained
from voting. Delane Lewis was
elected as vice chair with a vote of 4-
0; Lewis abstained.
New Main Street trees will look good
both day and night, says mayor
Damon Howell / Photo
Much-maligned evergreens coming out. Crepe myrtles are re
placing them on downtown streets.
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
Mayor John Weaver once joked
his Main Street evergreens looked
good — at night.
They did hold the holiday lights
well, but the crepe myrtles that are
replacing the arborvitae should
look good both day and night, says
the mayor.
The evergreens, planted about a
year ago, were immediately and
widely disliked, with critics pre
dicting a short lifespan for the tall
evergreens. To the dismay of the
detractors most of the trees sur
vived the summer drought but
never gained in popularity.
“There was just not much we
could do to make those trees
work,” Weaver said of the much-
maligned evergreens.
Weaver had been discussing re
placing them for some time and de
cided to make the move with the
nice weather last week, even
though he will need council ap
proval at their next meeting to fund
a final portion of the project.
“We just couldn’t pass up the 60
degree weather in January which is
the best time to plant trees,” he
said.
Crews are expected to complete
work south of the Main
See Trees on 11A
Cowboy Church gallops off to Trump inauguration
“Cowboy people are probably the most patriotic people in the world, ” Victoria Grant, Rebecca Hampton (Tuxe the
horse) Ava Coxe, Abbey Bailey and Victoria Adams get ready to attend the Trump inauguration. And, yes, they plan
on wearing their cowboy hats in Washington Friday.
Staff Reports
A group of young women
and adult leaders from Cow
boy Church in Jerusalem
will leave Wednesday to at
tend the inauguration of
President Donald Trump on
January 20 in Washington,
D.C.
The youths all said they
are excited to witness first
hand the inauguration cere
mony at the capitol in
Washington.
Ava Coxe, who came up
through the Cowboy Church
program and now attends
Shorter College, said, “This
is such a great opportunity
for us to go and see some
thing that is historic.”
Coxe and the other girls,
Victoria Grant, Abbey Bai
ley, Victoria Adams and
Kaylin Prosser, plan to wear
their cowboy hats to the cer
emony, which they got tick
ets for through Congressman
Barry Loudermilk.
They will leave Wednes-
See Cowboys on 11A
PHS basketball
lawsuit returns
to Pickens court
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
The $1 million lawsuit filed by a parent over the Pick
ens High School’s basketball program will not be heard
in federal court, returning to the local courts based on a
January ruling.
On Friday, parent John Curry informed the Progress
that he “received word from federal court in Gainesville,
that the plaintiffs attempt to have this case moved to fed
eral court and subsequently dismissed has been denied and
the case has been sent back to superior court in Pickens
County.”
Curry filed suit in August 2016 saying the school sys
tem had maliciously ignored complaints against the pro
gram.
Curry has been a frequent critic of the basketball pro
gram and coach Brad Steinhauer, saying he used demean
ing, abusive and threatening behavior with players. He
further alleges the school district did not properly disci
pline the coach or investigate his complaints.
The school district re- See Suit on 11A
OBITS
PAGE 9A
• William Beavers, Jr.
• Dorothy Bell
• Inge Byess
• Scot Eller
• Bessie Fouts
• Charlie Scott
• Billy Turbeville
• John Wheeler
&(Q jOO
0
Subscribe to our Print edition and/or E-edition - Call our office at 706-253-2457 or do it online at www.pickensprogress.com
