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PAGE 8A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JANUARY 7. 2021
Continued From 1A
Suburbs
were nearing retirement and
with the freedom to work at
home, they have retired
early or decided there is no
reason to wait so are buying
property in areas like Jasper
that are close to the metro
area with a small town feel.
She said the lack of in
ventory is particularly frus
trating to people already
living here who want to buy
a home. First time home-
buyers and renters looking
for a place are left with few,
if any, choices.
Looking ahead, Kearns
said a couple of forthcom
ing subdivisions may help
some but they are still in de
velopment. She said Pick
ens has a particularly tight
supply of homes and build
ing lots as the county didn’t
have many subdivisions un
derway when the recession
started in the early 2000s so
there are few properties that
could quickly be developed.
Also playing some factor
is the nationwide high
prices of building materials.
Continued From 1A
School
was based on numerous fac
tors: that health officials an
ticipate COVID cases will
rise in the community; that
local health officials are re
porting limited availability
to provide services to pa
tients; that there is a 26 per
cent positivity rate in the
district, which places Pick
ens in the CDC’s “red zone”
as being “highest risk of
transmission in schools;”
and that there are currently
50 staff members in quaran
tine or isolation.
The decision was met
with harsh criticism from
some families who struggle
with distance learning due
to parents’ working situa
tions, finding childcare, and
other factors, but met with
praise by others who ap
plauded the school system
for keeping safety of stu
dents and staff a top priority.
Superintendent Dr. Rick
Townsend and Board Chair
Tucker Green said they
Continued From 1A
“There is uncertainty and
some fluctuations and it
makes it hard for builders to
price [homes] with the sup
ply costs fluctuating,” she
said. Many prospective buy
ers shy away from contracts
where the builders can’t
guarantee a set price be
cause of material price fluc
tuations.
“This is a new population, ”
says economic developer
Green Suttles, the eco
nomic developer for Jasper
and Pickens County, said
that the basic law of supply
and demand is at play here,
but there are a few interest
ing factors beneath the sur
face.
Suttles said for a presen
tation he recently gave, he
did some research on the
housing crunch but also
gained first-hand experience
buying a house here earlier
this year.
The market for homes
under $275,000 has been
“blazing hot” for a while, he
said.
Over the summer the
market really heated up in
hope students will be able to
return to in-person learning
just after Martin Luther
King Jr. Day, on January 19.
“The intention is that stu
dents can return that Tues
day, but of course that will
be based on the situation as
we get closer to that time,”
said Green, who noted that
district leadership will con
sult with health profession
als before a final decision is
made.
Dr. Townsend said they
try to make informed deci
sions and notify parents as
quickly as possible in these
situations, “but we don’t
want to make rushed deci
sions. We all want our kids
to go back, but we don’t
want it to be like a snow day
where you call it early and
then it’s sunny and 55 out
side. We are working
closely with our admin team
and healthcare staff and pro
fessionals to make these
calls.”
Dr. Townsend noted that
there will be another press
release later this week pro
file higher-priced homes and
this was new, Suttles said.
As summer progressed
“the inventory just van
ished.” This area went from
a typical 400 homes on the
market, to now only around
50 in the broad price range
of $150,000 to $450,000,
according to figures pro
vided to Suttles by real es
tate professionals.
“This spiking of price
showed two things,” he
said. “First, an awakening
of the market and second, a
short term supply/demand
imbalance.”
Several factors indicate
that the people coming here
represent a new demo
graphic - younger, affluent,
skilled workers who can
work remotely. He said this
is in addition to the previous
retiree market and the tradi
tional local homebuyers.
Suttles cites the growth
of a working age demo
graphic in the traditionally
retirement-aged gated com
munities as a clear sign of
this emerging trend. Big
Canoe, for example, has re
ported 75 additional school-
viding parents with more in
formation.
Students in higher grade
levels that were slated to
begin the second semester
on January 5 will now
begin the second semester
on January 11.
Green said students
should “not be anxious or
worried,” about finals that
have been missed, but to
watch for communication
from their teachers. He said
from his understanding, fi
nals would not be used to
harm a student’s grade.
The decision to reinstate
extracurricular activities
was also met with criticism
on social media from par
ents who feel the decision
was irrational, and placed
sports above education.
“That could not be far
ther from the truth,” Green
said. “I think people tend to
compare things that are not
completely comparable.”
The decision was origi
nally made to shut all cam
puses and extracurriculars
down this week, but school
aged (K-12th grade) chil
dren who have moved there
with families this year and
Bent Tree has also seen
more younger families mov
ing in.
“This is a new thing.
This is a new workforce,”
Suttles said. “These are
skilled, working-age people
who can work remotely.”
Like the realtors inter
viewed, Suttles said the
number six ranking is eye
opening but somewhat mis
leading. Pickens has had a
high demand for entry level
housing but has trailed be
hind areas like Blue Ridge
with demand for the mega-
priced homes. So, basic
math dictates that a smaller
market like Pickens seeing a
sudden jump will produce a
high percentage increase,
which is not to suggest that
this county has jumped
ahead of the some of the al
ready booming areas in total
numbers.
Other areas on the list of
Realtor.com’s booming
suburbs:
1. Lakewood, NJ, Me-
officials met with coaches,
extracurricular leaders, and
health officials later in the
day that Monday, Jan. 4 and
hammered out what they
say is a safe way to proceed
with those events.
“As they dove more into
the details with health offi
cials that day, they said if
we require masks and se
verely limit capacity to 25
percent we could do things
safely,” Green said.
He added that a fully-
functioning in-person
school system involves
4,000 students and 400-500
staff in schools, versus “a
basketball game that might
have a couple of coaches
and 12-15 kids. It’s a much
different scope.”
Green added that campus
closures are determined in
part by staffing issues,
which are not an issue with
extracurriculars. The system
currently has a substitute
teacher shortage and 50 staff
members currently in quar
antine. He also said unlike
in the spring, the Georgia
Stancil
“Every conversation was
around how to keep the doors
open,” Stancil said in an in
terview Monday evening.
“We have to make sure we
can respond. There are essen
tial services and we have to
be sure they are covered.”
Stancil said for the water
department, already with lim
ited staff due to COVID, and
the road department, they had
discussed how to send out
crews safely and effectively
distanced but still able to
work.
He noted that much of the
discussion resembled the
talking points back in March
when the pandemic began
making news. Now it was
time to re-implement some of
the earlier guidelines.
“It’s a challenge but we
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are going to find ways to
stay open and stay safe,” he
said.
Stancil said leadership is
about managing incidents
and crisis, and while he did
have plans he had wanted
to work on, this week pro
vides him a chance to jump
into his new job. “What
better way to do it than to
do it?” he said.
Had the pandemic not
derailed his original inten
tions, Stancil said he had a
number of small changes to
implement but “nothing
major.”
Personnel in county
government would not be
changing. “We plan to hold
with the same personnel,”
he said. “It’s been stable for
years.”
He said his immediate
plans were basic organiza
tional issues and methods
dian listing price: $309,000,
Percentage increase: 47.6%
crease: 47.6%
2. Lake Arrowhead, CA,
Median listing price:
$499,000, Percentage in
crease: 45.7%
3. Grosse Pointe, MI,
Median listing price:
$399,500, Percentage in
crease: 35.6%
4. Beacon, NY, Median
listing price: $440,000, Per
centage increase: 33.1%
5. Delray Beach, FL,
Median listing price:
$270,000, Percentage in
crease: 32.5%
6. Jasper, GA, Median
listing price: $259,900, Per
centage increase: 32.2%
7. Paradise Valley, AZ,
Median listing price:
$2,500,000, Percentage in
crease: 30.9%
8. Brandon, MS, Median
listing price: $220,100, Per
centage increase: 27.3%
9. Roanoke, TX, Median
listing price: $405,000, Per
centage increase: 26.9%
10. Wayzata, MN, Me
dian listing price: $877,000,
Percentage increase: 26.1%
High School Association
has not cancelled games or
events at this time.
“In spring GHSA can
celled everything. Now,
other counties and schools
are still scheduled to play,”
he said, “GHSA is still giv
ing the green light. We can
control our own teams and
say they can’t play, but it
puts our kids and teams in a
bind. It would be just our
kids who would not be able
to participate.”
Dr. Townsend empha
sized the fact that extracur
ricular includes more than
sports, pointing to the Fu
ture Farmers of America
that had an event scheduled
and paid for this weekend,
as well as other programs
like drama, music, and
CTAE programs. He also
applauded teachers and
coaches who he said do a
“great job” following and
encouraging COVID safety
protocols by wearing masks
and social distancing.
to streamline some proce
dures.
He noted that he has al
ready met with the finance
department and will con
tinue meeting with them.
He is also reviewing poli
cies, with the notion that
some may be out-of-date or
need modification. And this
work can continue with
people in quarantine.
One immediate change
he is considering and will
discuss during a work ses
sion this Thursday 10 a.m.
with the other commission
ers, Becky Denney and
Jerry Barnes, is starting the
monthly commissioner
meetings an half hour later,
at 6 p.m. to accommodate
working people but not
keep the staff there too late
into the evenings.
Pickens
Progress
Article
Archive
www.pickensprogress.com
Latest on COVID-19
In Georgia there have now
been 597,208 confirmed cu
mulative cases of COVID-19
with 9,966 deaths, 43,018 hos
pitalizations, and another
1,106 probable deaths from the
virus, according to the Georgia
Department of Public Health.
Across the state, according
to the GDPH, there were 6,153
confirmed cases on Tuesday,
January 5th, 68 confirmed
deaths and 423 hospitaliza
tions.
In Pickens, there have been
1,636 confirmed cases with 16
confirmed deaths, four proba
ble deaths, and 111 hospitaliza
tions.
According to the U.S. De
partment of Health and Human
Services data, Piedmont
Mountainside Hospital has 19
COVID patients and the ICU
is at 98 percent capacity.
Northside Hospital currently
has 88 COVID patients with
84 percent occupancy of its
ICU.
Public Health in North Geor
gia will shift COVID focus
from testing to vaccinating
NORTH GA - In response
to the upcoming expansion of
eligibility for COVID-19 vac
cination in Georgia, county
health departments in North
Georgia Health District 1-2
will transition their focus from
COVID-19 testing to meeting
an increased demand for
COVID-19 vaccinations.
Beginning January 11, test
ing will be offered at health de
partments in Fannin, Gilmer,
Murray and Pickens counties
Monday through Friday be
tween 8 a.m. to 9 a.m for
symptomatic first responders,
school employees and court
staff. In Cherokee and Whit
field counties, COVID-19 test
ing will continue to be
provided to anyone who needs
it Monday through Friday
from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., but by
appointment only. To make an
appointment for testing in
Cherokee and Whitfield coun
ties, call 1-888-881-1474.
This change will help meet
the need to provide vaccines to
a much larger portion of resi
dents during the COVID-19
vaccination phases identified
by Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
Residents should monitor
the North Georgia Health Dis
trict website at www.nghd.org
for further updates and an
nouncements regarding
COVID-19 testing in North
Georgia.
Beginning January 11,
adults 65 years of age and
older will be included among
those who are eligible to re
ceive the COVID-19 vaccine
in Phase 1-A (refer to phases
below), based on vaccine
availability. Please watch for
announcements containing in
structions on where and how to
get vaccinated on our website:
www.nghd.org, our social
media pages on Facebook, In-
stagram and Twitter, and in the
local media.
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