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PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JANUARY 28. 2021
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From the Progress files
Turning Back
The Pages
V.
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New report shows continued
growth for forestry in Georgia
From Jan. 25, 1996
Former resident appears in
YEARS ^ ser i es
Former Jasper resident and
Cherokee County lawyer, actor and
radio personality Paul Carden will be
seen in the new Warner Brothers tele
vision series “Savannah,” scheduled
for broadcast on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 9 p.m. on WATL, Chan
nel 36 in Atlanta. Carden appears as a bail bondsman in the
episode entitled “The importance of being bunny.”
A former juvenile court judge in Pickens County, Carden
started acting professionally about 15 years ago. He cur
rently practices law in Canton, where he is also the Sunday
morning announcer on WCHK Radio.
From Jan. 28, 1971
Groundhog Day
For those who are not ready to
accept the judgement of weather satel
lites and all the other scientific para
phernalia of projecting the weather,
that time-honored prophet of the ele
ments - the groundhog - will soon
make his appearance. February 2 is the critical day. If the
old fellow sees his shadow, he goes underground for six
more weeks of winter. Whether the groundhog’s perform
ance has ever been studied officially by a government body
is unknown, and it would probably make very little differ
ence to the groundhog and his faithful followers if it had.
Groundhog Day is one of those rites that demonstrate the
essential simplicity of human nature - a simplicity that in
stinctively rebels when confronted with the enigma of the
scientific answer. Most of us are happy with the ground
hog’s way of doing business, but somehow we have to find
room in our minds to accommodate knowledge that will
forever be beyond the reach of the poor old groundhog. Just
as a precaution, however, it might be a good idea to see
how the groundhog fares with his shadow on February 2.
It always pays to be on the safe side.
Follow Through
Representatives of the Pickens County Follow Through
program will be in Washington, D.C., February 1, to par
ticipate in the scheduled community application workshops
announced recently through the U.S. Office of Education.
The invitation was extended by Dr. Robert Egbert, Di
rector of the national program.
The negotiating team will include representatives of the
various administrative and policy making components of
the local project. Those attending will be Mrs. Emogen
Darnell, director; Rev. Charles Walker, chairman Policy
Advisory Committee; Mr. Glenn Anderson, county school
superintendent; Rev. Wayne Fears, chairman, Community
Action Agency; Mrs. Frances W. Cagle, administrative as
sistant; Mrs. Linda Pruitt, curriculum specialist; Mrs. Min
nie Howell, Mrs. Sara Padgett and Mrs. Pearl Girard,
members of the Policy Advisory Committee.
In addition to the local contingent, staff members of the
sponsor, the Mathemagenic Activities program of the Uni
versity of Georgia will be present for the workshop, as will
the general consultant Mrs. Margaret McIntyre, of Wash
ington, D.C.
The proposal for fiscal 1971-72, recently drafted here,
will be presented at the workshop to be held at the Skyline
Inn in the nation’s capitol.
Business changes
R.C. Dean and Company have purchased the business of
Hill City, Inc. Hill City is a retail grocery store and gasoline
service station located on Hwy. 53 about 7 miles west of
Jasper.
The telephone building on Main Street Jasper was pur
chased by Mr. Hays (Bud) Pickett at the sealed bid sale held
in Canton last week. Mr. Pickett has not announced his
plans for the building.
YEARS
From Jan. 24, 1946
y New Chenille plant applies
for charter
Bri-Bell, Inc., is the name of
the new corporation that recently
leased Mr. W.H. Carver’s place on the
Knoxville highway, just north of
Jasper. Messrs A.W. Bell Jr. and C.S.
Brittain, of Gainesville, and A.L. Brittain, of Knoxville,
own the corporation and will manufacture all kinds of che
nille products. They hope to begin operation at an early
date.
About Pickens men on military duty
• Pvt. G. D. Mosley is home from the European Theatre on
furlough, after a long period of overseas service.
• Billie Eli Denson received his naval discharge at Jack
sonville, FL, January 12th.
• Quillan Hales arrived home on Tuesday after a period of
service in Europe.
• Mack Cantrell arrived home this week from the Pacific
Theatre. He is the son of Mrs. Robert Cantrell and the late
Mr. Cantrell.
• Carter Tate Wood was discharged from the Army on Jan
uary 10th. He was inducted in May, 1942, and was in Eu
rope for nine months. He is the son of Mr. Will Wood, of
Ludville.
• Cox. (T) Walter Kiker was discharged from the Navy at
Jacksonville, FL, on January 18th.
• Pfc. Golden L. Dobson, of Marble Hill, left Okinawa De
cember 30th aboard the carrier Kitkun Bay and should be
home with a discharge in a few days.
• Reed L. Jones, fireman first class U.S. Navy, was dis
charged from the Navy on January 18th at Jacksonville, FL.
• Pfc. Esco F. Robinson was discharged from the Army at
Camp Gordon on December 2nd, after serving with Signal
combat bn. 33 months, 24 of them overseas. He volun
teered in March 1942 and was attached to the First Army
in the ETO of war.
• T-5 Ivy G. Bagwell was discharged from the Army at Fort
McPherson on January 14th.
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Pickens County Progress 706-253-2457
The forest industry contin
ued to be a powerful eco
nomic driver for Georgia in
2019. A recently released re
port from Georgia Tech
shows more than $36.5 bil
lion in total sales for the in
dustry, supporting more than
141,000 jobs. It was the ninth
consecutive year for job
growth in the industry, with
compensation ranking higher
than any other manufacturing
sector in the state at $3.9 bil
lion.
“Georgia’s forest industry
has delivered valuable bene
fits to the state for a long
time,” said Georgia Forestry
Commission Director Tim
Lowrimore, “and this report
has a lot of positive high
lights. Forestry generated
total revenue of $22 billion,
increasing state tax revenues
to $929 million. Wages and
salaries measured $3.9 bil
lion, ranking forestry number
one in compensation among
all Georgia industries.”
The impact values of
urban and community
forestry are separate values
from the impact of the tradi
tional forest industry, which
includes all service and man
ufacturing activity related to
the growth, harvesting and
use of forest materials in
Georgia. In 2019, urban and
community forestry compa
nies created and supported
more than 48,000 jobs with
wages and salaries of $2 bil
lion and generated $4.8 bil
lion of economic activity.
Other notable highlights of
the 2019 Economic Benefits
of the Forest Industry in
Georgia report, produced by
the Enterprise Innovation In
stitute, Georgia Institute of
Technology are:
• Direct impacts increased
2.4% in sales and 0.9% in
employment over 2018.
• Total output increased
0.6%, the ninth consecutive
year of growth.
• Georgia’s pulp and paper
industry continued to domi
nate all sectors within the for
est industry, representing
62% of output, 35% of em
ployment and 46% of com
pensation paid to employees.
“The Georgia Forestry Com
mission is poised to support
this vibrant industry in the
upcoming year and beyond,”
said Lowrimore. “As every
one faces new challenges,
our proven resilience is a
pledge every Georgian can
depend on.”
To read the 2019 Eco
nomic Benefits of the Forest
Industry in Georgia report,
go to: https://gatrees.org/wp-
content/uploads/2021/01/201
9-Forestry-Impact-Report-
WEB.pdf.
Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Georgia awaits
more doses from Biden administration
continue to keep our foot on
the gas.”
More than 700,000 people
had tested positive for
COVID-19 in Georgia as of
Thursday afternoon, with
nearly more 150,000 more
reported positive antigen
tests indicating likely posi
tive results. The virus has
killed 11,511 Georgians.
Free COVID-19 testing
By Beau Evans
Staff Writer
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia officials oversee
ing the state’s COVID-19
vaccine program are awaiting
word from the new Biden ad
ministration on whether more
doses will head their way
amid an early shortage.
Pharmacies and health
clinics had given out more
than 550,000 doses to Geor
gia nursing homes, hospitals
and people at least 65-years-
old as of Thursday, marking
roughly half of the vaccines
Georgia has received so far,
said state Public Health
Commissioner Dr. Kathleen
Toomey.
That’s far short of the 2
million Georgians now eligi
ble for the vaccine who will
need two doses each.
Gov. Brian Kemp said of
ficials will move “as quickly
as we can” to distribute vac
cines if Georgia’s current al
lotment of 120,000 doses per
week increases with the new
president.
“I can’t control the supply
we’re getting,” Kemp said at
a news conference Thursday.
“But if we get more ... we
will do everything in our
power to empower not only
the government, but also pri
vate-sector partners to get
this vaccine in people’s
arms.”
Biden, who was inaugu
rated Wednesday, has
pledged to distribute 100 mil
lion vaccines over the next
three months by using the
federal Defense Production
Act to spur vaccine produc
tion and setting up Federal
Emergency Management
Agency-run vaccination cen
ters.
More than 1,600 clinics,
pharmacies, doctors and gro
ceries have signed up to ad
minister vaccines in the
month or so since Georgia’s
rollout started, Toomey said.
Their success depends on
how much supply the federal
government and manufactur
ers Pfizer and Modema can
muster in the coming weeks.
“This is a federal pro
gram,” Toomey said. “All the
logistics are done at the fed
eral level.”
Despite concerns, Kemp
and Toomey said COVID-19
vaccines are now stocked
enough to ensure Georgians
already vaccinated once will
be able to receive the neces
sary second dose for full in
oculation. That’s due to a
federal program making
headway on vaccinating res
idents and staff in nursing
homes through CVS and
Walgreens pharmacies,
Kemp said.
“These additional doses in
the short term will allow ex
isting providers and public-
health departments at the
county level to expand the
number of appointments that
they are currently schedul
ing,” Kemp said. “But our
total supply ... does not fid-
fill the demand from seniors
and other at-risk eligible
Georgians.”
Georgia’s vaccine rollout
kicked off in mid-December
at a slow pace, hindered by
short supplies and an imbal
ance in demand between
health-care workers in rural
areas who have shown less
zeal for vaccination than
metro Atlanta hospital em
ployees who have rushed to
schedule appointments.
Meanwhile, deaths stem
ming from the highly conta
gious vims have ticked up in
recent weeks, Kemp said.
The grim news comes during
spike in COVID-19 infec
tions over the winter months
that’s showing signs of a
slowdown, Kemp said - but
which is still hammering
communities even harder
than the devastating out
breaks of summer.
The governor urged Geor
gians Thursday to continue
wearing masks, washing
hands and keep distance from
each other as fatigue over
safety measures takes root
nearly a year after the pan
demic began.
“Our hospitals cannot
handle another surge of
COVID-19 patients on top of
their current workload,”
Kemp said. “This is not an
all-clear signal. We’ve got to
North GA — As public
health departments in Chero
kee, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray,
Pickens and Whitfield coun
ties complete the shift from
COVID-19 testing to
COVID-19 vaccine distribu
tion, MAKO Medical is con
tracted to provide *Free
COVID-19 drive-thru testing
in the North Georgia Health
District, beginning Monday,
January 25.
MAKO Medical COVID-
19 testing site locations and
operating times will be as fol
lows: Woodstock First Bap
tist Church, 11905 Highway
92, Woodstock, GA 30188
(Please enter via Trickum
Rd/Gunnin Rd entrance)
Starts 1/25: Mon-Fri, 8 a.m.
- 3 p.m. and at Edwards
Park, 115 Edwards Park,
Dalton, GA 30721. Starts
1/27: Mon - Fri, 8 a.m. - 3
p.m.
The test is a nasal swab
test to determine the presence
of SARS-CoV-2, the virus
that causes COVID-19. Test
ing results will be available
within 48 hours. This is not
an antigen or antibody test.
Registration is required at
https://mako.exchange/splash
/GAmakotesting/.
Insurance will be ac
cepted, if available.
For more information
about COVID-19 in north
Georgia, log onto our website
at www.nghd.org.
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