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“Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. /Maybe Christmas...
perhaps... means a little bit more!” Dr Seuss
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The Progress
Editorial
December 10,2020
From the Staff
Y’all are amazing
Seriously. Y’all are amazing. This
community deserves a huge pat on the
back for its resilience, adaptability, and
its determination to maintain some sem
blance of normalcy in a year that has
been anything but.
We were moved this weekend at the
Night of Lights Christmas parade, which
like so many other things in 2020 had to
be drastically modified because of the
pandemic. We were moved because, de
spite challenges posed by constantly
changing health guidelines, y’all still
made it work. By “y’all” we of course
mean organizers with the Jasper Mer
chants Association who were quick on
their feet and innovative, whipping up
the concept of a drive-thru parade to
keep everyone safe.
By y’all we mean the people and busi
nesses who spent their time and money
to make floats. We mean the Pride of
Pickens Band and color guard that per
formed at the courthouse so spectators
could enjoy live Christmas music. We
mean volunteers and law enforcement
who worked the event. We mean all
these people, of course, but we also
mean all those around us who simply
showed up to support the parade.
Traffic was backed up in every direc
tion with folks who wanted to get into
the Christmas spirit, and it warmed our
hearts. People wanted to take part. Par
ticipants could tune into the radio to hear
the parade being narrated, holiday music,
and a local council member read ‘Twas
the Night Before Christmas It made you
feel connected with other people in town
even though everyone was in separate
vehicles.
The Progress posted some photos of
the event on social media, and while
there were a few Grinches who had the
gall to complain about long lines or
fewer floats than normal (shame on you),
by and large people were positive.
Here are a few of those positive com
ments:
Jessica Allen - “We had a ball at the
Christmas parade. A lot of people
worked really hard to make this parade
special and it was. My kids really en
joyed it. Thank you to everyone who
made this possible and stood out in the
cold to spread a little Christmas cheer.
Love my hometown.”
Monica McClain - “We absolutely
loved this. Got there around 5:45, drove
through and listened to the music. We
had a blast. Perfect idea in an imperfect
world. Thank you to everyone in our
small community that participated in
making this a magical time for the kids.”
Tina Geiger - “I think it was the great
est show of Christmas spirit that so many
people made this happen. I missed it, but
the spirit behind the effort was really
what the holiday is all about. God bless
each and everyone who thought it, cre
ated the floats, played the music, and
those who came out in the cold but beau
tiful night to make it all worth it.”
Sherry Martin - “My 82-year-old
mother never gets to leave her house. I
didn’t care if we were in line for hours, I
was determined for her to see it and get
out of the house. Kudos to all of those
who did a great job of bringing some
cheer to our little town. Thanks.”
See, naysayers? This event was im
portant for people, and the volunteers’ ef
forts didn’t go unnoticed. The parade is
just one of so many examples of how the
community has mustered up the gump
tion to make things work this year.
It’s proof that the human spirit can’t
so easily be broken, and can rise to un
precedented challenges.
We hope and pray 2021 will mean
brighter days ahead, but in the meantime
we are proud of how so many have
pulled together to make the best out of a
bad situation. Y’all are amazing.
Tell us your thoughts with a letter to the editor. E-mail to news@pickensprogress.com
See letter submission guidelines on the Letters to the Editor page or call us 706-253-2457.
Ponderings of a Simple Man
Py Caleb Smith
Tomorrow,
Tomorrow
‘Tomorrow’ is the mythi
cal, far off date, where all
husbandly projects go to die.
I’ll start a repair or home im
provement task then peter off
halfway through. I’ve
searched through every cal
endar in my house, and ‘to
morrow’ doesn’t show up in
any of them.
“When are you going to
get that toilet fixed?” my
wife will shout kindly at me
from the other bathroom.
“Tomorrow, I promise,”
I’ll reply through my mouth
ful of bacon wrapped Chee-
tos (don’t knock it until you
try it).
I’m not lying to her, not
really, I have every intention
of finishing what I start. It’s
just that tomorrow never
seems to come. The next day
will start and I’ll always find
half a dozen more projects
that need my attention.
It’s not that I plan on stop
ping halfway through my re
pairs, it’s just that something
always comes up. I get hun
gry and sit down to eat, and
the next thing I know I’m 15
YouTube videos deep and
watching some conspiracy
video about how dolphins
aren’t real.
Compelling stuff.
Besides that, there’s al
ways the matter of the Vi
cious Circle. The Vicious
Circle, to those of you who
don’t know, is a theory I pub
lished a while back. It states
that, for every step you have
to take to make a repair, there
are at least three steps that
have to be taken to prepare
for it.
Take my broken step, for
example. I need wood in
order to replace it, true, but I
also need to be able to cut the
wood to the appropriate size.
To do that, I need a saw.
Now, my old saw is on the
fritz, so I had to go buy a
new one. When I got home I
discovered that my drop cord
wasn’t long enough, so back
to the store for a drop cord.
While out, I saw that I
needed to get gas and, as
long as I was already at the
gas station, we really could
use a gallon of milk.
See my point? Behind
every simple project, there is
a long line of tasks that got
you to that point.
Honestly, it’s just so much
easier to wait until tomorrow
to do it.
I have an entire list of
terms, theories, and formulas
detailing how much more
complicated simple projects
can be than they first appear.
There’s the ‘Old Friend
Contingency’ that is often a
problem, especially to men
in the south. Theres the
‘Chicken Biscuit Complex
ity’, specifically geared to
the chubbier among us. And
of course, my favorite, the
‘Squirrel Observation
Event’.
I could go on and on, and
maybe I will. Maybe I’ll ded
icate an entire article to all of
the different problems south
ern men face when doing
projects.
But I’ll get to that tomor
row.
[Caleb Smith is a long
time, award-winning, colum
nist for the Progress. Look
for his book at the Progress
office or on Amazon.]
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457 FAX (706) 253-9738
www.pickensprogressonline.com
DAN POOL
Pub li sher/Editor
Published each Thursday at Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia. Entered
at the Post Office at Jasper, Georgia. 30143 as Mail Matter of Second
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H>d)ciol
OTHER VOICES
Housing market stokes recovery in Georgia
UGA forecast sees economy firing up midyear
From University of
Georgia Media
The COVID-19 economic
recession is very likely over
in Georgia, but the state still
faces a hard slog to reach a
full recovery, according to a
new forecast from the Uni
versity of Georgia Terry Col
lege of Business.
The state is on track to re
cover more quickly in the
coming year than the U.S.
economy, with a 4% growth
rate compared to the nation
wide projection of 3.5%
growth in gross domestic
product, said Dean Benjamin
C. Ayers at UGA’s 38th an
nual Georgia Economic Out
look.
“Our economic forecast
for Georgia calls for the eco
nomic recovery to continue
with the main drivers being
consumer spending, the
booming housing market and
Federal Reserve policies,”
Ayers said. “Full recovery of
the economy will arrive
sooner in Georgia than in the
United States. In Georgia,
there’s relatively less eco
nomic debris to clean up.”
UGA livestreamed its
forecast for the first time. It is
based on the Georgia Eco
nomic Outlook report, pro
duced by the Selig Center for
Economic Growth. The com
plete forecast is available at
https://www.terry.uga.edu/ab
out/selig/publications.php.
Georgia is estimated to
see its economy contract by
3.7% by the end of 2020,
once the dust from the
spring’s partial shutdown is
swept away. Next year’s pro
jected growth rate of 4%
means the state is on track to
recoup 2020’s losses by the
end of the year. Still, growth
in employment levels and
personal income will lag
GDP growth.
Georgia’s unemployment
rate will drop from 6% to
5.1% in 2021. It was 3.4% in
2019. Personal income is
forecast to grow by only
0.2% as the boost from fed
eral stimulus payments winds
down. Nationally, the unem
ployment rate will drop from
8.6% to 8% next year, and
personal income will shrink
1.1%.
The Selig Center’s base
line forecast assumes that an
effective COVID-19 vaccine
will be widely available by
midyear. That will push the
peak of the economic recov
ery into the third and fourth
quarters.
Despite many promising
indicators, Georgia and the
United States still face con
siderable headwinds, includ
ing public anxiety over the
coronavirus, depressed de
mand for many services -
like restaurant dining and
movie theaters - and slow
wage growth.
“We are in the second
phase of the recovery cur
rently, which is an extended
period of choppy economic
growth that will linger until
an effective vaccine is widely
available,” Ayers said. “It’s
going to be a slog to get back
to a period of steady, above-
average economic growth.”
The risk of the economy
entering into a second reces
sion is about 40%, and it’s
not just a matter of whether
the COVID-19 epidemic be
comes worse. An escalation
of the unresolved trade dis
putes with China or a col
lapse of the corporate credit
markets could also derail the
recovery.
Piecemeal job
recovery
The COVID-19 recession
only lasted three months, but
the plunge was massive. It
dropped the state’s employ
ment rate by 11 percent in
about a month. That was
larger than the drop seen dur
ing the Great Recession and
much more sudden. While
employment has recovered
substantially from its low
point and will continue to
grow during 2021, many in
dustries will not fully recover
for several years.
Jobs in entertainment and
hospitality may see some of
the fastest recoveries, but
those will be measured from
a near all-time low. It may
take many years for the state
to recoup the jobs lost in
these sectors, according to
the Selig Center.
Logistics, distribution,
business services, financial
technology, education and
health services will be the
sectors to return to full em
ployment most quickly.
Needing more room,
housing booms
The housing market and
home construction experi
enced a V-shaped recovery
during 2020 and is poised to
drive a large part of Georgia’s
growth in 2021.
Increased homebuilding
not only stimulates construc
tion and real estate commis
sions, but also consumer
goods sales, logistics and
transportation, and producers
of building materials, floor
coverings and lumber - all
prevalent in Georgia.
Record low mortgage
rates and a generational shift
will spur the building boom.
Millennials who delayed
homeownership after the
Great Recession are buying
homes in larger numbers,
while elderly homeowners
are opting to stay in place.
The experience of
telecommuting and living in
a bubble for nearly a year has
also increased homeowners’
desire for larger, nicer
homes.
To meet that demand, the
number of single-family
homes built in 2021 will rise
by 19% in Georgia. Multi
unit residential construction
will increase by 6%.
“These are impressive
gains for an economy that is
struggling to recover,” Ayers
said.
Georgia will also see a
marked increase in consumer
spending. Leveraging sav
ings laid aside and rising
home values, consumers will
increase spending on durable
goods to furnish their homes.
Commercial construction
will not see this boom. The
market is still absorbing the
ample supply of retail and
business space currently
available.
Recruiting new
industry
Another factor buoying
Georgia’s growth prospects
in 2021 is the culmination of
many major economic devel
opment projects. Four new
Fortune 1000 companies
moved their headquarters to
Georgia in 2020. State eco
nomic developers were suc
cessful in recruiting other
businesses to migrate to the
state as well, despite the pan
demic.
“Nine of the 10 largest
projects announced in the
first three quarters of 2020
were announced after the
COVID-19 shutdown
began,” Ayers said. “This
success reflects many factors
that make Georgia a great
state in which to do busi
ness.”
WEATHER
By William Dilbeck
HI LOW RAIN
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