Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, January 7, 2021
Volume 133 Number 38
Jasper, Georgia
24 pages in two sections
Published Weekly
Jasper identified as "skyrocketing
suburb"for real estate prices
But that’s not all
good, say real
estate experts
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
On December 14th Realtor.com,
a leading national real estate site,
identified Jasper as #6 in their ‘'‘Sky
rocketing Suburbs: The 10 Urban
Escapes Where Prices Are Rising the
Most.”
The article stated, “Just an hour's
drive from Atlanta, this little moun
tain town feels like it's on another
planet. With an easy-living, country
vibe, the area has been a hotbed for
second-home owners for most of the
past decade. However, as COVID-
19 has left office workers free to
telecommute, there have been far
more buyers than homes for sale in
this affordable getaway—which has
driven the prices up astronomically.”
The article calculated Jasper at
sixth on the list of 10, with a Median
listing price: $259,900, Percentage
increase: 32.2. The article explained
that they based it on prices from Oct.
2019 to Oct. 2020. And went on to
say, “To keep it geographically di
verse, the team limited the selection
to one suburb (with a minimum of
100 listings) per state.”
The article called the suburbs “a
mixed bag right now, a combo of tra
ditionally sought-after places situ
ated near some of the nation's most
expensive cities; lesser known towns
in more far-flung regions; and even
a couple of popular vacation spots.”
Few available homes and high
demand lead to skyrocketing prices
Local realtors Joanna Kearns and
Lydia Spink with Century 21 Lind
sey & Pauley, said it wasn’t clear ex
actly what set of data had been used
to create the list and whether Jasper
tndy warrants a number six, but
without a doubt prices are skyrock
eting here.
Kearns, the broker at the local C-
21 office, said prices right now in
Pickens are the highest she has ever
seen.
As anyone who has tried to find
a home to buy or rent recently found
out, there is very little inventory, par
ticularly below $250,000 and not
5 | DELRAY BEACH, Ft )
7/13(1 fMltnr rnm
This article on Realtor.com lists Jasper among the high flying suburbs in home price increases.
School
moves to
distance
learning for
3rd time
Rapid COVID spread poses
challenge for new chairman
Kris Stancil was sworn-in by Probate Judge David Lindsey. StanciVs father Johnny holds his Bible for the
ceremony to make his son the commission chair for Pickens County.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@piekensprogress.com
The Pickens County School
District announced Monday, Jan.
4 that school would not open on
January 6 as planned, and would
be closed the remainder of the
week due to issues regarding
COVID-19 spread. Officials also
announced that in-person students
would move to distance learning
on January 11 for an undetermined
period of time.
This is the third time this
school year in-person students
have moved to distance learning,
including once in October and
briefly before Christmas.
Later in the evening on January
4, the system announced that ex
tracurricular activities could con
tinue, with restrictions. This was a
reversal of their original statement
that extracurricular activities
would be cancelled this week.
According to the press release,
system leaders said their decision
See School on 8A
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
When Commission Chair Kris
Stancil went into work Monday, his
first day as the head of county gov
ernment, he arrived early but was
slowed down trying to recall which
of the numerous keys on the mas
sive county keyring opened his of
fice.
That may have been an appropri
ate symbol: Instead of moving di
rectly into plans and goals, the
commission chair first had to meet
with department heads and assess
how they were going to keep the
doors open in the face of a county
staff hard hit by COVID.
In the last week, the administra
tion building had to close after sev
eral people tested positive for
COVID. And the new commission
chair had only arrived back in Pick
ens County late Sunday night after
being in Camila, Ga. for the funeral
of his father-in-law who died of
COVID issues.
See Stancil on 8A
How chickens factored into moving the
Appalachian Trail out of Pickens County
much below a $300,000 price.
Kearns said the skyrocketing
prices may sound like a good
thing but there is the downside
that people can’t find homes to
buy.
Spink added, “It’s just hard
to buy a house.” She said the
lack of inventory and the many
people who can now work from
home and want to move out of
the city have caused the prices
to shoot up.
Kearns added that another
factor may be the people who
See Suburbs on 8A
Editorial
A thanks to
elected officials
Page 4A
Help
Self care for the
new year at Mt.
Light Unitarian
Church
Page 3B
Health
COVID-19
vaccines headed
to Georgians over
65, and first
responders
Page 2A
Obituaries - 9-1OA
• Alex Williams
• Amie Stone
• Angela Jones
• Donna Warren
• Helon Hammontree
• Jack Hughes
• James House
• Jerry Ellis
• Joan Ward
By Chris Feldt
Contributing Writer
The next time you eat chicken,
take a moment to think about where
it came from. I’m not referring to
the obvious egg answer. The mod
em food industry chicken is far dif
ferent than the one Americans were
eating in the 1940s and before.
World War II created an agricultural
demand for chickens. President
Roosevelt went as far as to seize
control over part of the chicken in
dustry with his War Food Adminis
tration, and by the time the war was
over, Americans were eating nearly
three times as much chicken as be
fore.
In 1951, a Chicken of Tomorrow
contest was held in 42 states to see
who could produce a broiler that
would be able to make chickens so
thick you could cut them like
steaks. Charles Vantress, a farmer
from California, won the contest.
In fact, his chicken breeding
method (crossing California Cor
nish males with New Hampshire fe
males) is still employed today.
In 1930, Colonel Sam Tate had
just built his Tate Mountain Estates
- which included his shinning Con-
nahaynee Lodge, Lake Sequoyah
and a beautiful 18-hole golf course.
That October, Colonel Tate gath
ered with state legislators, Geor
gia’s Governor Hardman and the
Mayor of Atlanta to unveil the mon
ument dedicated to the founder of
the Colony of Georgia, General
James Oglethorpe, and to celebrate
the changing of the name of Grassy
Knob to Mount Oglethorpe.
It also served another function,
beginning that same day, the south
ern terminus of the Appalachian
Trail began at the monument. From
there, one could begin the 2,050-
plus mile trek to Mount Katahdin in
Maine. And people did just that.
Thousands of people arrived to start
their journey. Some would travel
east from Tate and then approach
from the south, coming through
what would later be Bent Tree
Drive to the Dude Ranch (located
where the gated community’s golf
course hole 6 is) and then up Hen
drix Mountain to Mt. Oglethorpe.
Others would travel from Jasper up
Highway 136 to what then was
known as Firetower Road (Present
See Chickens on 11A
The chicken that destroyed the
trail - named after Charles
Vantress and his successful hybrid
chicken, the free range birds on
Monument Road were more than
hikers would tolerate.
photo/USDA John Weidlich Collection
• Junior Southerland
• Kenneth Jarrett
• Martha Gaskins
• Mary Ruth Parker
• Maurine Pruitt
• Mitchell Silvers
• Reba Isaac
Contact Us
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Jasper, Ga. 30143
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