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Thursday, September 10, 2020 Volume 133 Number 21 Jasper, Georgia 20 pages in two sections Published Weekly
Tate Depot back on the radar
Group forms to breathe life into depot
Despite getting a facelift and a new home across from its original location back in 2015, there has been
very little activity at the Tate Depot, something a new county committee plans to address.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@piekensprogress.com
It’s been five years since the
historic - and at that time ram
shackle - Tate Depot was hauled
across Highway 53 and later reno
vated with federal grant money.
But barring the handful of times
the county-owned building was
opened to the public during Tate
Days, it has sat empty and unused
those five years.
Just getting the structure to the
point it’s at now took eons, leaders
say, with shakeups in the Georgia
DOT and a variety of other issues
stalling the project.
“It’s like rowing a boat with a
rope,” was how commissioner Rob
Jones described things back in
2009, six years before the building
would be moved only to sit empty
another five years in its current
state. Jones worked closely on the
project with organizations, individ
uals, and architects over the years.
Now the county is bringing the
depot - and the 6.7 acres of land it
sits on - back into focus. Commis
sioner Becky Denney has recently
created a steering committee to
pursue grants and decide how the
space can best be used for the pub
lic. She is waiting to confirm one
more committee member, but at
press time Tuesday the group con
sisted of: Bill Cagle, Pickens His
torical Society; Penny Davis, Mar
ble Valley Friends; Jennifer Bram-
lett, owner of the Beauty Bar in
Tate; and Katie Bell, owner of
Bell’s Pharmacy in Tate. Becky
Denney will also serve on the com
mittee.
The group will work alongside
Pickens Economic Development
Director Green Suttles and Pickens
resident John Anderson - an envi
ronmental planner who became in
terested in the depot after driving
by it every day on the way home.
Anderson has 30 years of experi
ence as an environmental planner,
and has worked on numerous his-
See Depot on 10A
Dragons defeat Bobcats in season opener
After months of school closures, lockdowns, quarantines, and general isolation created by the pandemic, the excitement at Dragon Stadium was
palpable for the season opener against Gilmer on Friday, Sept. 4. After the Pride of Pickens Band kicked off the night with the national anthem, the
Dragons busted onto the field where they would overtake the Bobcats 17-8. See coverage of the game on Page IB. The Dragons go on the road
against Chattooga this Friday. Robin Dunn / Photo
Part i of a z-part series
Race Relations: Remembering
tiie past, shaping the future
Bottom Row: Karen Benson, Lynette Bridges; Middle row: Bill Cagle,
Kathy Thompson; Top Row: Thelma (Bay) Cagle, Justin Davis
Old data profiles highlight
growth pattern; wild projections
Non-profits
navigate
budget blows
during
pandemic
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@piekensprogress.com
Labor Day weekend came and
went without JeepFest for the first
time in 10 years. Not only does
this mean local businesses didn’t
receive an influx of money from
tourists, it means for 2020 local
non-profits will have to go without
funding generated by the event.
That’s a large chunk consider
ing in 2019 the Sheriff’s Founda
tion gave away nearly $200,000 in
grants to around 30 organizations,
most of that money being raised at
JeepFest and most of those organ
izations being local.
Like so many others, the popu
lar event was cancelled due to
safety concerns regarding
COVID-19.
“That’s going to be a blow to
us,” said Richard Wilson, who
helps organize the Toys for Tots
program, which has been sup
ported by the Sheriff’s Founda
tion. “With that and all the other
issues with fundraising because of
COVID, we’re going to suffer this
year.”
Outside of JeepFest, the Com
munity Thrift Store, which typi
cally gives out grants four times a
year to between 17 and 19 organ
izations each round, will not be
able to give away any money for
the September cycle. This is the
first time since 2000 they have not
distributed grants. The thrift store
closed for several months because
See Budgets on 11A
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@piekensprogress.eom
Former sole commissioner Bill
Newton, who served from 2000
until 2004, and then ran twice un
successfully while working in de
velopment/ real estate, called last
week to say he had something for
us to see among old papers he was
sorting through.
What he uncovered was a stack
of the old North Georgia Data Pro
files that were released by the
North Georgia Regional Develop
ment Center (NGRDC) every year.
The little pamphlets were handed
out and often presented in public
hearings - a hometown version of
By Bill Cagle, Thelma Cagle,
Karen Benson, Lynette Bridges,
Justin Davis, Andrea Johnson
On June 7, 2020, a Black Lives
Matter protest to raise awareness
about racial inequality was held on
Main Street in Jasper. Protesters
chanted “black lives matter,” “no
peace/no justice,” “I can’t breathe”
and waved signs reading “stop
apartheid in the USA,” “reinstate
Kaepernick,” and “it could be my
kids.” Speakers using a megaphone
faced a large gathering of supporters
on the courthouse lawn. Some
spoke of their experiences as a black
person living in a predominantly
white community. Some shared ex
periences their relatives had handed
down about segregation practices in
Pickens County prior to 1966. Oth
ers declared their support for their
black friends and expressed contri
tion for their white privilege.
See Race Relations on 10A
when the Fed announces key eco
nomic numbers.
The pamphlets now provide a
good snapshot of how the area has
grown and a laughably inaccurate
look back at where government
went wrong with projections of
growth - no, we haven’t reached
the 50,000 to 60,000 they antici-
See Data on 11A
Inside:
Local business
fights Parkinson’s
Disease with
boxing
Page 2A
Free meals
available to
all enrolled
students
beginning
September 9
USD A is extending
flexibility to allow
this opportunity
Pickens County Schools
Press Release
Pickens County School
District is pleased to an
nounce that effective
Wednesday, September 9,
2020, all schools in the dis
trict will begin serving free
breakfast and lunch meals to
enrolled students. Students
who purchased a school
lunch between September 1
through 8, 2020, will be is
sued a credit on their meal
account.
USDA’s Food and Nutri
tion Service (FNS) is ex
tending flexibility to allow
funding for schools to pro
vide free breakfast and lunch
meals until December 31,
2020 OR until the emer
gency funds are depleted.
This allows the school nutri
tion program to serve nutri
tious meals to all students
who attend in-person
classes, as well as students
See Meals on 11A
Obituaries - 10A
• John Shope
• Teresa Blalock
• Wilie Mae Turner
Contact Us
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