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PAGE 20A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. MARCH 16. 2017
New Northside Hospital Cherokee opens May 6
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Report from the Georgia Senate
By State Senator Steve Gooch
Working after Crossover Day
Northside Hospital Chero
kee’s long-awaited replace
ment hospital will open for
patients on Saturday, May 6.
The new hospital is lo
cated at 450 Northside
Cherokee Boulevard in Can
ton, off 1-575 at the Ga. Hwy
20 exit.
“This is a huge move for
ward for Cherokee County
and the surrounding areas,”
said BillyHayes, CEO of
Northside Hospital Chero-
FEBRUARY 2017
By Tucker Green
The new year is quickly
moving along for residents of
Pickens County. The month
of February was a busy
month for Pickens County
government that brought in
creased progress on many
projects. As of March 1st, the
Tax Commissioner’s office
had collected 91 percent of
the total set tax collections
for 2016. The hard work of
Small ads
produce
big results
Progress classifieds
706-253-2457
kee. “Our new hospital is the
culmination of a lot of hard
work by many people over
many years. The entire
Northside Cherokee family is
proud of what we’ve accom
plished, and we look forward
to a new era of health care
service.”
Construction is complete
on the new hospital, which
will open with 105 inpatient
beds and more than twice the
square footage as the current
the tax office staff, has made
the collection above average
rate, and successful thus far.
Also, as of the end of Febru
ary, SPLOST collections
from July 2014 up to Febru
ary 28, 2017 totaled
$10,668,350. The current
SPLOST began in July of
2014 and will run through
June of 2020. Currently the
SPLOST revenues are
slightly below the estimated
total six year projections,
however SPLOST projects as
defined in the 2014 SPLOST
referendum are continuing as
planned. Additionally, during
February, two employees
were recognized for their
years of service to Pickens
County. Carol McArthur was
awarded for 10 years of serv
ice to the Pickens Sheriff’s
hospital. Northside staff is
now focused on training and
education, while overseeing
the installations of equipment
and furniture.
A medical office building
opened on the 50-acre cam
pus in early January. Several
physician practices and
Northside Hospital Radiation
Oncology have opened their
offices and are seeing pa
tients. Additional Northside
services and physicians will
office, and Darrin Satterfield
was award for 10 years of
service to the Tax Commis
sioner’s office.
Throughout the month of
February, the 911 Operations
Center received 1,283 total
calls, 436 were medical re
sponses, and 271 were fire re
lated. The Pickens Animal
Shelter brought in 84 new an
imals, and 83 animals went
out through various forms of
adoption. Animal Control re
sponded to 41 cases during
February. The Department of
Planning and Development
issued 33 new building per
mits. The Water Department
installed two new water me
ters, and completed a line re
pair at Jerusalem Church
Road. They are now working
on a line extension at Town
move into the building over
the next several months.
Northside is planning an
open house for late April to
give everyone a chance to
tour the new hospital campus
before patients are moved
and accepted there on May 6.
For more information
about the new hospital and to
view videos of the construc
tion, visit www.north-
sidecherokee.com.
Creek subdivision. The Road
Department has been work
ing on routine maintenance,
and preparing for the upcom
ing paving season. Pickens
County Recreation Depart
ment’s final day of late base
ball and softball registration
is March 16th. The PCRD
2017 Opening Day ceremony
will be on April 15th. The
Pickens County government
departments continue to stay
busy and work hard for the
citizens of Pickens County.
The Pickens County Board of
Commissioners are doing a
great job of leading these ef
forts. As work progresses and
projects continue, I will do
my best to keep you informed
of these developments.
Until the next time, stay
safe and shop local!
Crossover Day was a wild
ride for everyone involved,
but like every year, we made
it through—even if it was
late into the night. Starting
this week, the Senate will be
voting on bills originating
from the House of Represen
tatives.
I am going to give you a
basic run down some of the
bills we saw on the Senate
Floor:
House Bill 127 would re
move inactive sections from
Georgia law relating to Blue
Cross Blue Shield. The parts
removed have not been ac
tive since the merger of the
Nonprofit Medical Service
Corporations and the Non
profit Hospital Service Cor
porations in the 1960s.
House Bill 176 would
designate the Georgia De
partment of Agriculture as
the agency responsible for
enforcing the Federal Food
Safety Modernization Act.
House Bill 303 would
prohibit members of the
State Commission on Family
Violence from serving two
consecutive terms unless
they are serving in an ex-of
ficio capacity.
House Bill 146 would
provide insurance for fire
fighters who are diagnosed
with a certain cancer through
their department if they have
been employed there for 12
consecutive months. Under
SB 146, any firefighter that is
injured or suffers an illness
and is unable will be paid
through separate disability.
House Bill 283 would up
date the definition of Internal
Revenue Code to include any
changes made by federal law
before January 1, 2017.
Senate Resolution 195
urges Congress to call an Ar
ticle V Convention to ad
dress a proposal to limit the
terms a person can serve as a
member of Congress.
House Bill 183 would
transfer the Georgia Geospa
tial Advisory Council, in
cluding all papers, data and
reports, from the Department
of Natural Resources to the
Department of Community
Affairs.
Our work has only just
begun on our march toward
Sine Die. As we approach
Day 40, we’ll only be doing
more and more each day for
Georgia citizens. As things
progress, I will be sure to
keep the people of Senate
District 51 informed of what
we’re doing under the Gold
Dome.
Sen. Steve Gooch serves
as Majority Whip of the Sen
ate Majority Caucus. He rep
resents the 51st Senate
District which includes Daw
son, Fannin, Gilmer, Lump
kin, Union and White
counties and portions of
Forsyth and Pickens coun
ties. He may be reached at
404.656.9221 or via email at
steve.gooch@senate.ga.gov.
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CLOSED ON MONDAYS
The Pickens report
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