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THURSDAY. MARCH 16. 2017 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 9A
New community center may be in the works for Ball Ground
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The Ball Ground Community Building, which was
built in the early 1970’s, may soon be replaced by a
modern building if Mayor Rick Roberts has his way.
Outgoing Ball Ground Garden Club President
Diane Smith passes the gavel to newly installed Pres
ident Tammy Brinkley. During Smith’s tenure as pres
ident, the Ball Ground Botanical Garden became a
reality.
By Larry Cavender
Mayor Rick Roberts dis
cussed the possibility of con
structing a new Community
Center for the city at the
March meeting of the Ball
Ground City Council held
last Thursday, March 9th.
Planning is in the early stages
with the city currently evalu
ating costs and financing
terms.
The present community
building, which was origi
nally constructed as a com
munity volunteer project, has
served the city for almost a
half century and is in much
need of repair and upgrading.
If the new building is con
structed, the site could possi
bly be on a new lot located
directly behind the present
facility. The site was recently
developed as a result of the
excavation of fill dirt used in
the construction of the new
Highway 372 bridge over the
Etowah River. The lot will
soon be expanded even more
because of a Borrow Site
Agreement approved at the
council meeting between C.
W. Matthews Contracting
Company and the city. C. W.
Matthews will use fill dirt
from that same lot for the
new roundabout project
which is currently underway
at the intersection of High
ways 372 and 369.
In other new business, the
council considered an inter
governmental agreement for
Cherokee County to conduct
elections for the city of Ball
Ground and considered plac
ing a 2005 Crown Vic police
cruiser on surplus. In old
business, the council con
ducted the second readings of
the Downtown District-Val
ley Overlay District Map
Amendment and the new
Downtown Architectural
Controls which were intro
duced at the February meet
ing. All were approved
without opposition.
City Manager Eric
Wilmarth reported the city
has applied for a grant to up
grade downtown crosswalks
with flashing LED indicators.
Also, the Director of the
Georgia EPD has rolled back
the city from Drought Level
2 to Drought Level 1 which
lifts many restrictions, in
cluding “washing vehicles,
pressure washing homes and
driveways, and watering of
lawns” according to
Wilmarth.
Other News from
Ball Ground
Garden Club
The Ball Ground Garden
Club installed new officers,
including Tammy Brinkley as
president, Linda Scrivner as
vice president, Lynn Wor
thington as recording secre
tary, Elaine Ness as
corresponding secretary, and
Sue Urbaitis as treasurer.
Outgoing President Diane
Smith thanked the Ball
Ground Boy Scouts for their
help recently in the botanical
garden and also said that sev
eral teachers from the Ball
Ground STEM Academy
would meet with the garden
club soon in an effort to help
create a children’s garden and
learning laboratory at the
botanical garden.
Smith added that work is
progressing on several other
gardens in addition to the
children’s garden including
bog and Japanese gardens.
Business and Community
Association
The March meeting of the
Ball Ground Business and
Community Association was
sponsored by KEO and Sons
Contracting and Christine’s
Therapeutic Massage and
Body Works. KEO and Sons
was the association’s March
Business of the Month.
Association President
Beth Ingram reminded all
those present that the dead
line for applying for the
BGBCA scholarship is
March 31st, and urged all
members to spread the word.
The association annually
sponsors $1,500 in scholar
ship money to Creekview
High Seniors from the Ball
Ground area.
Ingram also announced
that the Association’s April
Business of the Month is
TNT Carports.
Chattahoochee Tech student
overcoming obstacles
March Special:
Fill A Bag
For $5*
Angel Babies
(Located next to the North Georgia Pregnancy Center)
1549 East Church Street • Jasper, GA
706-253-6303
Story and photo
Chattahoochee Tech
Chattahoochee Tech stu
dent Josh Morgan refuses to
be another statistic.
After years of bad deci
sions, Morgan chose to begin
taking the necessary steps to
turn his life around. Last
summer, he registered for
classes with Chattahoochee
Technical College’s Adult
Education program, and upon
graduating with his GED, the
Jasper resident is now en
rolled in the college’s Weld
ing and Joining Technology
Program.
Morgan is on track to earn
an associates degree, and
after graduating, the artisti
cally creative student plans to
further develop his gift by en
rolling in an art institute,
which will allow him to help
support his family and fulfill
his dream of becoming an
artist.
As a recovering addict,
Morgan has had to overcome
many obstacles on his jour
ney to achieving his goals.
Since starting classes at Chat
tahoochee Tech, Morgan has
made educational gains and
those accomplishments have
not gone unnoticed. Morgan
was named the runner-up for
the Exceptional Adult Geor
gian in Literacy Education
award, which is a statewide
program that recognizes and
rewards excellence among
students enrolled in adult ed
ucation programs. He also re
cently was named runner-up
for the prestigious Coalition
on Adult Basic Education
(COABE) Adult Learner of
the Year Award, which is pro
vided to a student who has
demonstrated leadership
within the formal or non-tra-
ditional learning environ
ment.
There were many nomina
tions for this award, accord
ing to COABE Executive
Director Sharon Bonney;
however, Morgan really
stood out as an overcomer
and the epitome of the adult
learner who is committed to
bettering their life and their
world.
Morgan was nominated
for the COABE Adult
Learner of the Year Award by
his former Adult Education
instructor Amy Denney. She
put his name in the ring for
the award because she said
she is confident that Morgan
is headed toward a successful
future and will continue to
break the chains that have
bound him for so long.
Morgan came to Chatta
hoochee Tech broken and
tired of being in the same sit
uation. When he entered the
program, he had a seventh
grade reading level as well as
a sixth grade math and lan-
Striving to meet his goals, Josh Morgan at work in the
Chattahoochee Tech College’s welding program.
*Baby
Bucks
Do Not
Apply
Infant & toddler clothing
shoes, books, toys,
baby items, etc.
Clothing priced from $1 to $4 (cash and checks only)
Open every Saturday 10-4
Also open Monday and Wednesday 12:30-4:30
guage arts level.
“He was worried about
learning, but he did not give
up,” Denney said. “In fact, he
bloomed in the program. He
became so hungry for learn
ing that he asked for extra
homework, stayed after class,
and was so eager to learn. He
was determined to achieve
the goals he had set for him
self.”
Morgan refused to be just
another number.
“He told me that he no
longer wanted to be defined
by his prison ID number, but
he wanted to be defined by
his student ID number,” Den
ney said. “That was powerful
and sent a message to me. He
had been a number for so
long. Just a number. He knew
that if he had to be just a
number, he wanted it to be a
positive statistic and not a
negative one.”
During the summer of
2016, Morgan participated in
the program’s intensive sum
mer term where he had to at
tend classes four days per
week for five hours per day.
During this time, he was able
to forge bonds of friendship
with classmates who ac
cepted him.
“I chose Chattahoochee
Tech because it was local and
my wife attended there,” he
said. “The Adult Education
program personnel were very
nice to me and encouraged
me to go further and sign up
for welding. Mrs. Denney
and all of the people in the
Adult Education department
gave me motivation and in
spiration to believe in myself
and to know I could really do
it.”
While excelling in his
studies is quite an accom
plishment, Morgan said his
greatest joy has been making
his family proud of him.
For more information
about the college’s Adult Ed
ucation program, please visit
ChattahoocheeTech.edu.
All donations to the Angel Babies Store are tax deductible.
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