Thursday, September 19, 2019
Volume 132 Number 22
Jasper, Georgia
Local News Published Weekly
Weekend
filled with
events
Visitors to Jasper this
weekend will see plenty of
activity in and around our
downtown as several com
munity service groups will
host fun-filled events to
raise money for worthwhile
causes.
Beginning at 7 p.m. Fri
day night in Dragon Sta
dium, the home football
game will kick off against
Chamblee at 7:30 p.m. Prior
to the game, starting at 7
p.m., this year’s PHS Court
will be presented. Also Fri
day night, Court Appointed
Special Advocates (CASA)
will host the Red Shoe Gala
from 7-10 p.m. at Chatta
hoochee Tech to raise
money for foster children in
Fannin, Gilmer and Pickens
counties. The event will fea
ture door prizes and a silent
auction.
Saturday, September 21st
will see a host of activities
around town. A special event
to honor our veterans will be
held at Lee Newton Park.
Beginning at 9 a.m. there
will be a Freedom Ride (mo
torcycles) leaving from the
park followed by the Free
dom Walk starting at noon.
At 2 p.m. there will be a
Jeep-themed Freedom
Wheels ride leaving from
the park. [This veterans trib
ute will see activity on Fri
day with school classes
there.] See ad, Page 12B.
Taste of Jasper United
Methodist Church will be
held at the church on Satur-
See Weekend on 2A
Share your story:
Researchers looking
for local histories
Do you have a story that’s worth being remembered?
Anyone with interesting or unique knowledge of local history is encouraged
to visit the Georgia Marble Festival during the first weekend in October to talk
with researchers from Kennesaw State University’s Department of Museums,
Archives & Rare Books. Researchers hope to meet with people to hear stories of
Pickens County through the years so it may be recorded and detailed as part
of a series of exhibitions in coordination with the local historical society.
Members of the Department of Museums, Archives & Rare Books
(MARB) will be onsite at the Georgia Marble Festival on Saturday,
Oct. 5th from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 6th from
10 a.m. until 4 p.m. to document stories from Pickens
View of workers in marble quarry, Tate, Georgia, County’s history. According to Kate Daly, special
Georgia Marble Company Records, 1910-2014. projects and outreach curator of MARB, the
Courtesy Kennesaw State University Archives. department is about g ee Histories on 2A
By Christie Pool, Staff writer, christie@pickensprogress.com
Milestones scores mixed bag for local schools
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
In July, the Georgia De
partment of Education re
leased Milestones results for
the 2018-2019 school year.
Pickens students improved
system-wide in some sub
jects, but are still below the
state average in some areas
for the number of students
considered to be prepared for
the next grade level.
Georgia students began
taking the Milestones stan
dardized tests during the
2014-2015 school year.
Milestones scores include
End of Grade (EOG) scores
for grades 3-8 and high
school End of Course (EOC)
scores. When student re
sults are assessed, the scores
are used to determine if the
student is in one of four lev
els: 1 - Beginner; 2 - Devel
oping; 3 - Proficient; and 4
- Distinguished. Students
with Proficient scores
demonstrate they have the
knowledge and skills neces
sary for their grade, as spec
ified in Georgia’s standards.
These students, as well as
the more advanced Distin
guished Learners, are con
sidered prepared for the next
grade level or course and are
on track for college and ca
reer readiness.
Jill Liberatore, Chief Ac
countability Officer for Pick
ens County Schools,
discussed the school sys
tem’s Milestones results for
the 2018-2019 school year.
These tests were taken at the
end of last school year and
scores released this summer.
According to Liberatore, the
system saw improvements in
the Milestones End of Grade
assessments as well as the
End of Course (Grade levels
9-11) assessments.
“We were pleased with
the growth we saw, but also
know that we still have work
50%
46%
• Language Arts • Math
This graph represents the yearly average percentage of local students that earned a
score of 3 or 4 for all grade levels in Language Arts and Math.
to do to raise the learning
levels across the district,”
she said.
Liberatore said overall
they did not have an area that
was necessarily stronger
than another, but they saw
gains in Math and English
Language Arts scores in var
ious grade levels.
“All of our teachers are
working hard to help their
students,” she said. “While
we saw gains in multiple
See Milestones on 2A
Inside:
KPB prepares
to mark 30th
anniversary
Page 6A
Sports
columnist
looks ahead to
Dawgs vs.
Notre Dame
Page 1B
Obituaries - 7 A
• Bessie Goldey
• Jerry Doss
• Julious Beck
• Mary Adams
• Mary Alice Goodwin
• Robert Reece
• Rose Carnevale
• William Kocour
• Zelda Dominy
Index
35 years and still going strong at Hinton Milling
HINTON
MILLING
706-692-3626
Richie Hancock, who grew up in the small community of Hinton in west Pick
ens, has been the face of Hinton Milling for 35 years. Hancock has also been
assistant fire chief at the Hinton Volunteer Fire Station for over 20 years. His
wife is Paula and his daughter is Erin, who is studying at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
After three-and-a-half
decades in business, Hinton
Milling has solidified itself as a
Pickens County landmark. The
unassuming store in the heart of
Hinton has been and continues
to be a staple for farmers, gar
deners, livestock and pet own
ers. Over the years it has
adapted to changing customer
needs, but maintains an old-
fashioned, nostalgic feel central
to the charm of the tiny west-
Pickens community.
As much as the store itself is
a landmark, general manager
Richie Hancock, who was born
and raised in Hinton, has been
the face of Hinton Milling all
this time. Hancock recently
spoke with the Progress about
the store’s history, how things
have changed, and new devel
opments coming down the road.
The Beginning
Even though Hancock has
been the face synonymous with
Hinton Milling, Rick Baxter
opened the business on January
1, 1985 and remains the owner
to this day, even though he re
tired 25 years ago and now lives
in South Carolina. Hancock ex
plained that in the 80s Baxter
left his job at AT&T and moved
to Pickens from Powder
Springs to purchase the build
ings.
“Everybody told him a feed
store wouldn’t work up here,”
Hancock said. “Where he lived
was a subdivision in Powder
Springs, but he owned one end
of it and just loved fooling with
horses and cows in his pasture.”
When Hinton Milling first
opened Baxter built a machine
shop out back, which Hancock
said was his backup plan in case
See 35 Years on 3A
Obituaries 7A
Editorial 4A
Letters to the editor . ,5A
Church 4-5B
Kids 6B
People 3B
Classifieds 10-11B
Legals 7-9B
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Jasper, Ga. 30143
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