Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 17. 2020 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 5A
Fall produce arriving at Farmers Market
Pears, pumpkins and squash making the scene
By Heather Giambra
Many tents for many
things at the Fanners Market.
The misty morning became
an on again off again rainy
morning for our vendors, but
many stayed to sell their
goods and services. Despite
the weather, at least it was
still warm and people were in
good spirits.
The produce choices
change with the season. We
are seeing pears and pump
kins, spaghetti squash, water
melon, and paw paws along
with okra and green beans.
Garlic and peppers, too. All
great choices for our home
cooking or just plain eating.
Soap and sewing, pears
and honey. Skin care, masks,
bee traps, bird feeders, and
produce; it’s all here, folks.
Pies and pig skins, jewelry
and knitting. Wood crafts ga-
Early rain Saturday didn’t hamper the weekly Farmers Market in Lee Newton Park,
held every Saturday 7:30 a.m. until noon.
lore. Cutting boards and
planter boxes, tiny drawers
and childrens toys. The wood
crafters offer so much more.
So much of the work is pure
art.
Our market isn’t just
about what is here today, but
also about goods and services
elsewhere and in the future.
NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX
INCREASE
CITY OF JASPER
The Council Members of the City of Jasper have
tentatively adopted a millage rate which will require an
increase in property taxes by 56.04 percent.
All concerned citizens are invited to Public Hearings
on this tax increase to be held at City Hall, 200 Burnt
Mountain Road, Jasper, GA30143 on September 24,
2020 at an administrative hearing at 9:00 AM and 6:00
PM at a Special Called Meeting before the Mayor and
Council in the Council Chambers.
An additional Public Hearing on this tax increase will
be heard in the Council Chambers City Hall, 200
Burnt Mountain Road, Jasper, GA30143 on October
5, 2020 at 5:30 PM. Consideration of adoption of the
millage rate will be heard subsequently at the Regular
Meeting at 6:00 PM on October 5, 2020 with a final
consideration and adoption at the Special Called
Meeting on October 12, 2020 at 6:00 PM.
This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of
6.780 mills, an increase of 2.435 mills. Without this
tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be no more
than 4.345 mills. The proposed tax increase for a
home with a fair market value of $175,000 is approxi
mately $163.15 and the proposed tax increase for
non-homestead property with a fair market value of
$350,000 is approximately $340.90.
IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION NOTICE
TO TAXPAYERS
CITY INCREASING MILLAGE RATE
According to Georgia law, all taxing agencies must
advertise a tax increase and hold three public hear
ings to claim taxes on reassessed properties even if
the millage rate remains unchanged. The City of
Jasper has tentatively adopted a millage rate above
last year’s millage rate of 4.655. The tentative millage
rate for 2020 is 6.780. This millage rate is 56.04%
higher than the rollback millage rate of 4.345.
Leanne Truelove was offer
ing information about craft
ing classes that she teaches at
Mary’s Monogramming.
Classes like Zen Doodle and
Pumpkin Decorating,
(leanne.truelove@yahoo.co
m) Melanie Korpi was offer
ing information about a Jack
O Lantern Jewelry Class. She
is also a music teacher, offer
ing online Zoom classes. She
teaches piano, guitar, ukulele,
all band instruments, and
voice lessons, too.
(Melaniekor@gmail.com)
Sunny Side Farms and
Big Ridge Farms offer meats
to fill your pot or your
freezer. Bakewurx Chef Tony
offers sourdough breads.
You’ll have to stop by the
market to get a flyer with all
the information for ordering.
Many of our vendors also
offer custom work like pies
from The Pie Lady or Burnt
Mountain Pies or jewelry
from Kim Bell or Laura Pont.
Keep an eye out or an ear
open to find other vendors of
fering custom work.
The Jasper Farmers Mar
ket is sponsored by the Pick
ens County Master
Gardeners. They had their
tent up with many great
choices for Fall planting. The
PCMGs will have one more
tent sale this year the second
Saturday of October. The
market is held at Lee Newton
Park Saturday mornings
opening at 7:30 a.m. until
noon. In place of our usual
winter markets that were held
inside, we will instead be ex
tending the market season
outside in the park & ride lot.
Continuing thru November
until December 12th. The
hours for Nov. & Dec. mar
kets will be 9-1. It’ll be a
great time to do your gift giv
ing shopping.
The Progress is
printed every Tues
day, except some hol
iday exceptions.
It is put on racks in
most local stores on
Wednesday mornings
and is mailed on
Wednesday. It should
reach local sub
scribers through the
mail on Thursdays.
Smokers going - funds being raised for
Boys & Girls Clubs
The 1st annual Boston Butt Fundraiser was a success for
the Boys & Girls Clubs of North Georgia.
Cookin' 4 Kids would not have been possible without the
help of volunteers and friends of the Club. A huge THANK
YOU to Danny Cmikshank with Shade Tree Barbeque, Alan
Home, Josh Tippens, Ben Wells, Brian Hudgins, Masonic
Lodge E.W. Hightower #679, Bub Ba Q, and many other
volunteers.
To leam more about the Boys & Girls Clubs of North
Georgia, follow us on Facebook, or visit our website at
www.bgcng.org.
Letters to the Editor
To the Editor:
September is Suicide Pre
vention Month and it's im
portant that we are there for
each other and take steps to
prevent suicide. The Ameri
can Foundation for Suicide
Prevention's theme for the
month is to #KeepGoing, by
taking simple actions to
safeguard our mental health
and save lives. From learn
ing the warning signs for
suicide and what to do if you
are worried someone is
struggling, to bringing edu
cation programs to your
community, we can all leam
new ways to help each other
save lives.
One action I'm taking is
to urge my public officials to
prioritize suicide prevention
and mental health. When
someone is in acute crisis,
it's hard for them to think
clearly, and even reaching
out for help can be a strag
gle. For this reason, it is vital
that Congress pass the Na
tional Suicide Hotline Des
ignation Act
(H.R.4194/S.2661) to make
a three-digit number for the
National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline a reality. This legis
lation will provide the fund
ing and resources needed by
crisis centers across the
country that support those
straggling with their mental
health and thoughts of sui
cide.
A couple of my brothers
have attempted suicide be
cause their sexual orienta
tion was rejected and
harassed by our local and re
ligious community. I'm
grateful they found eventual
love and support, but we are
some lucky ones. Many chil
dren in Georgia today are
considering suicide right
now.
In this time of uncer
tainty, we all need to find
new ways to connect and
support each other.
Together, we #KeepGoing.
Sincerely,
Angela Boddie
NOTICE
The Jasper City Council does hereby announce that the millage rate will be set at Special Called Meeting to be held
at the Jasper City Hall on October 12, 2020 at 6:00 PM and pursuant to the requirements of O.C.G.A. Section 48-5-
32 do hereby publish the following presentation of the current year's tax digest and levy, along with the history of the
tax digest and levy for the past five years.
CURRENT 2020 TAX DIGEST AND 5 YEAR HISTORY OF LEVY
Jasper City
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Real & Personal
214,613,252
218,365,763
223,919,082
244,651,166
251,734,957
264,689,466
Motor Vehicles
4,370,500
3,204,980
2,395,630
1,885,650
1,631,220
1,359,700
Mobile Homes
17,844
17,686
17,686
17,686
17,686
17,686
Timber -100%
0
0
0
0
0
0
Heavy Duty Equipment
0
0
0
0
0
0
Gross Digest
219,001,596
221,588,429
226,332,398
246,554,502
253,383,863
266,066,852
Less M& O Exemptions
5,546,498
5,411,383
5,733,741
8,168,810
6,170,559
6,061,617
Net M & O Digest
213,455,098
216,177,046
220,598,657
238,385,692
247,213,304
260,005,235
State Forest Land Assistance Grant Value
Adjusted Net M&O Digest
213,455,098
216,177,046
220,598,657
238,385,692
247,213,304
260,005,235
Gross M&O Millage
9.552
9.529
9.482
9.497
9.811
12.174
Less Rollbacks (LOST)
4.862
4.846
4.827
4.842
5.156
5.394
Net M&O Millage
4.690
4.683
4.655
4.655
4.655
6.780
Total City Taxes Levied
$1,001,104
$1,012,357
$1,026,887
$1,109,685
$1,150,778
$1,762,835
Net Taxes $ Increase
-$2,099
$11,253
$14,530
$82,799
$41,093
$612,058
Net Taxes % Increase
-0.21%
1.12%
1.44%
8.06%
3.70%
53.19%
To the Editor:
Don’t Have Your Ears
Back
I have learned through
the years how to read my
horses. Their head and body
positions can tell you a lot.
When they are irritated,
when they get mad, when
they don’t like what’s going
on around them, they back
their ears. When their ears
are back, they’re getting
ready to let you know, per
haps physically, you need to
stop what you’re doing, and
get away from them.
Seems like that’s what’s
wrong with America today.
Too many people have their
ears back. I’m not saying
they don’t have a right to
have their ears in that posi
tion, but acting in the wrong
way is not right. Coach Lou
Holtz said, “There is never a
right time to do the wrong
thing, and there is never a
wrong time to do the right
thing.” The Bible talks a
great deal about right and
wrong. It speaks about hurt
ing other people. We are told
to love one another, and not
hurt each other physically or
emotionally. The Bible says,
“Do not repay anyone evil
for evil. Be careful to do
what is right in the eyes of
everyone. If it is possible, as
far as it depends on you, live
at peace with everyone. Do
not take revenge, my dear
friends, but leave room for
God’s wrath, for it is written:
“It is mine to avenge; I will
repay,” says the Lord. Do
not be overcome with evil,
but overcome evil with
good.” (Romans 12:17-
19,21). The apostle Paul told
Titus, “To slander no one, to
avoid fighting, and to be
kind, always showing gen
tleness to all people. (Titus
3:2). Paul said, “Do not give
the devil a foothold.” (Eph
esians 4:27). These
days people are doing the
opposite of what God’s
Word tells us. Satan, it ap
pears, has his foot in the
door along with most of his
body. If we, as a nation, ex
pect God to bless us we must
obey His Word, and ask God
to bind Satan and cast him
from us. It is spiritual war
fare, and we need God’s
strength to overcome it. The
life of our nation hangs in
the balance. May God help
us to do the right thing. Pray
for America.
Mike Smith
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