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THURSDAY. MARCH 9. 2017 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 7A
Daraja Children’s Choir returns
to Trinity Church of Marble Hill
Trinity Church of Marble
Hill is excited to invite the
community to be blessed by
the Daraja Children’s Choir
of Africa. This free event will
take place on Friday, March
17th at 7 p.m. in the sanctu
ary of Trinity Church.
Daraja (duh-rah-ja) means
bridge in Swahili. The Daraja
Children’s Choir of Africa
was created to “bridge” the
cultures of East Africa and
America by igniting hearts to
worship, connecting lives to
serve and discipling young
leaders. Each year a unique
group of Kenyan & Ugandan
children travel from 410
Bridge communities to
America as the Daraja Chil
dren’s Choir of Africa, tour
ing across the region to lead
worship at churches, schools,
and events. As the children
share their gifts of joy and
freedom through a worship
ful lifestyle of dance, song,
and personal stories, you will
be inspired to go and serve
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others with your God-given
gifts.
Mark your calendars for
March 17th at 7 p.m. at Trin
ity Church. You will not want
to miss this joyful event! For
more information contact
Cindy Gantz at (770)893-
2682. Trinity Church is lo
cated at 2685 Steve Tate
Highway in Marble Hill.
Commissioners discuss
TAN, landfill, water authority
Meals On
Wheels
The Pickens County
Senior Center needs volun
teers to deliver Meals-on-
Wheels. Mileage is paid at
500 a mile. Please call 706-
692-6133 or e-mail
Kbolt@NGCAinc.com
BBQ Plates
Saturday, March 1 I th
11 am - 3 pm
Dine-in or Carry-out • $7 00
BBQ • Baked Beans • Cole Slaw
Bread • Pickles • Dessert
Four Mile Baptist Church
Fellowship Hall
Four Mile Church Rd.
Marble Hill
2 miles off Highway 53 East
For group orders to be delivered contact Sue
770-893-8106.
Orders taken until 10 am that morning.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Members of the Pickens
County Board of Commis
sioners discussed several
items during their work ses
sion on Thursday, March
2nd.
Among items discussed
were:
•Pickens County CFO
Faye Harvey anticipates the
county will be able to reduce
the amount of this year’s Tax
Anticipated Note from $5.5
million to $4.8 million. TANs
are short-term loans the
county has used to cover op
erating expenses. The county
did not use TANs prior to
2004 when, under then sole-
commissioner Bill Newton,
they borrowed $ 1 million. In
2005, after Rob Jones took
office, the county borrowed
$1.75 million. No TANs were
used in 2006 or 2007. In
2008 the county borrowed
$1.5 million; $3.5 million in
2009; $4.5 million in 2010;
$5 million in 2011; then $6
million until 2014. They bor
rowed $5.5 million each in
2015 and 2016.
•Pickens County Planning
& Development Director
Richard Osborne said the
county could be eligible for
reimbursement claims at the
landfill on Jones Mountain,
which is now closed and on
the Georgia Hazardous Waste
Site Inventory. Osborne said
Mark Bailey of Advanced
Environmental, which con
ducts monitoring and report
ing at the site, estimates
reimbursement for “environ
mental corrective actions”
the county has paid for in the
past could be between
$75,000 and $100,000. Bai
ley has offered to draw up the
application and submit it on
the county’s behalf for a one
percent fee of the total reim
bursement if it comes
through. There will be no ap
plication fee if there is no re-
imbursement.
Commissioners took no for
mal action.
•By way of a letter sent to
the commission board, the
Pickens Water Board re
quested a statement of all
outstanding debts they owe
to the county government.
The water board said mem
bers will discuss the possibil
ity of a buyout of the water
system at their March meet
ing. Commission Chair Rob
Jones read a letter from engi
neers who said a simple buy
out is not feasible without a
thorough examination of the
system, estimated to cost be
tween $25,000 and $35,000.
“The issue that the water
board could have with this is,
number one, the infrastruc
ture in the ground,” Jones
said. “In order for a water au
thority to take over, all of that
has to be appraised. The
equipment has to be ap
praised. We just can’t sign
this over to an authority.”
Jones said commissioners
would need to be sure a water
authority could stand on its
own before turning it over.
He said the water board
could consider paying for the
assessment.
“I will not be in favor of
subsidizing from that point
Open bam at Angels on Horseback
Angels on Horseback is
holding an Open Bam event
on Saturday, March 18 from
1 to 4 p.m. at their new loca
tion at 1284 Pendley Circle in
Jasper.
Come meet the horses, see
the 12 stall bam and covered
arena, and tour the farm!
Meet the people who run this
great program and inquire
about riding lessons. A raffle
will be held, refreshments
served, and there will an op
portunity to train to be an An
gels volunteer!
Since moving to the new
location, Angels on Horse
back is in need of more
hands. Volunteers are the
backbone of this incredible
organization that provides
forward,” he said. “Nor is it
right for the taxpayers to give
this item over to an entity that
hasn’t money. It’s not right
for someone in the Ludville
area to pay for a water system
they’re not hooked on to.”
No formal action was
taken.
•The Pickens Room, lo
cated in the lower level of the
Pickens County Administra
tion Building, will not be
available for non-county-
govemment groups to use
after April 1st. The room will
only be available during reg
ular business hours for gov
ernment use. Commission
Chair Jones said he has per
sonally been coming to lock
up after meetings to avoid
paying for night security.
Commissioners suggested
groups that have used the
room consider renting a
space at the Pickens County
Community Center, which is
open until 9 p.m.
•A first draft of the 2016
audit is expected by May 1st.
alzheimer’s Qj) association 1
Education Programs
Legal & Financial Planning Workshop
March 29, 2017 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Jasper United Methodist Church
Guest Presenters:
Sharon McCoy, The McCoy Law Firm
Jeff Riblet, Asset Protection Group
Caregiver Workshop
June 6, 2017 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Pickens County Community Center
Guest Presenter:
Susan Greene, Geriatric Nurse Practitioner
These events are free. Lunch is provided.
Registration is required.
To register, call 800.272.3900.
alz.org/georgia
therapeutic riding for stu
dents with mental or physical
disabilities. Angels volun
teers care for the horses, as
sist with riding lessons, do
projects around the farm, and
anything else that may come
up. They may also work be
hind the scenes on advertis
ing, event planning, and
fundraising, etc. There is a
place for anyone who has a
little spare time and a big
heart.
Volunteer training ses
sions will be Saturday, March
18 from 9 - 11:30 a.m.or
Tuesday, March 28 from 2 -
4:30 p.m. Please RSVP to
Karen Davis at 404-372-
6018.
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