Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 25. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 7A
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From the Progress files
Turning Back
The Pages
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From Feb. 22, 1996
Cyberspace invading Pickens
VF ARS County
When asked about the internet,
most people acknowledge its presence
and have some familiarity with it,
however very few have firsthand
knowledge.
Only through Standard Telephone can Jasper residents
access the internet without paying long distance charges
and that company has only offered the service a few
months. A lack of computers and computer users in rural
areas plus the general low literacy rates further inhibit local
use. An internet seminar is scheduled at Pickens Tech, the
expanded dialing area will go into effect soon, the Pickens
Chamber is considering setting up its own web page, the
library will begin offering internet access on their comput
ers available for the public.
For people who have never been on the net before, prob
ably the best way to describe it is to give some real-life ex
amples of its use.
E-mail is a means to send simple messages to other com
puter users over phone lines. A receiver can access the mes
sages you left anytime and respond at their leisure. A Jasper
native, Jackson Plant, now serves in the military. He is sta
tioned at Kings Bay Naval Base, and said he used e-mail
to save on long distance charges and to keep up with all the
news happening here in Jasper from a friend who also is
on the net.
A quick poll of local web users found they access infor
mation on fishing, college basketball, auto racing and home
brewing.
A search for “Pickens” revealed more than 5,000 refer
ences throughout the internet. Although Pickens County,
Georgia isn’t on many, Pickens, Alabama and Pickens,
South Carolina are well represented. Our Pickens County
was mentioned in several ways: Pickens Tech has a web
page that can be accessed through the Cherokee County
home page; Big Canoe has a spot; information on Talking
Rock Creek is included in a listing of rivers for boating,
and Prudential Realty has a listing of homes for sale.
From Feb. 25, 1971
. „ „ Jan Fitts chosen as Pickens STAR
YEARS Student
The Pickens Jaycees and Pick
ens High School are proud to an
nounce that Janice E. Fitts, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Fitts, has
been selected as the STAR Student for 1970-71. In order
to obtain that distinction, Janice achieved th highest
Scholastic Aptitude Test scores of the College Entrance Ex
amination Board of any student at Pickens High School
who took the test in November or December of this year.
Janice also ranked in the upper 10% of the senior class. As
a STAR Student, she qualifies to compete for an award of
$500 in cash and a trip to Great Britain. Janice plans to
major in Journalism and will begin her studies at Reinhardt
College in Waleska.
As the STAR Student, Janice selected Mrs. Frankie
McAfee as her STAR Teacher - the teacher whom Janice
felt has most contributed to her scholastic achievement.
Mrs. McAfee has taught at Pickens High School since 1957
and received her degree from North Georgia College. As
the STAR Teacher, Mrs. McAfee qualifies to compete for
a $500 scholarship.
From Feb. 28, 1946
Mr. Carver to manufacture concrete
Y IjAKo blocks in Jasper
Mr. W.H. Carver has purchased the
necessary machinery for the manufac
ture of several sizes of concrete
blocks. The machinery has arrived and
will be installed on his property on the Knoxville Highway,
just north of town.
Junior Roper makes good record in 4-H Club work
Junior Roper, a member of the Tate 4-H Club, was the
1945 winner of the district com contest for 4-H boys. The
contest was sponsored by the Educational Division of the
Chilean Nitrate Company. Junior made a yield of 96.5 bu.
per acre, using Hastings’ prolific com. He has been in 4-H
Club work for three years, completing projects in potatoes,
swine and com. He received $52 cash reward.
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National Weather Service’s StormReady
class offered locally March 9th
Interested in weather? The
National Weather Service is
offering a virtual Storm-
Ready class on Tuesday,
March 9th for Pickens
County residents.
Anyone can take the train
ing class, offered virtually
from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday,
March 9th. The free class will
teach you how to spot severe
weather situations and report
it to the National Weather
Service.
Reporting is done via
phone, online or social
media.
The class teaches what pa
rameters are reportable and
what the NWS is looking for
- damage, the time of the
weather event, type of dam
age, etc. The class also
teaches such things as learn
ing to recognize cloud forma
tions that indicate severe
weather is approaching.
To sign up for the class,
email John Nicholson, Pick
ens’ Emergency Manage
ment director at
jnicholson@pickenscoun-
tyga.gov
Community Responds: Horse racing in Georgia
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
The state senate is looking
at a bill to bring legal horse
racing and betting on it to
Georgia. Sponsors say it
would produce $1 billion a
year in economic growth.
Opposing groups say gam
bling generates $3 in social
costs for every $ 1 in revenue.
We asked our Facebook fol
lowers their thoughts on al
lowing more gambling in the
state. Here are some re
sponses:
Raymond Stewart - “[A]
horse racing track is like a
NASCAR track. It is used
once or twice a year and is a
major waste of space. It does
very little job creation but in
turn causes more debt and so
cial burdens due to people
who are addicted to gam
bling. Only time a track is
beneficial to the local econ
omy is when there is a race.
It’s a temporary perk. I'm op
posed.”
Jennifer Glaze Hostetler
- “I love horse racing. Every
one needs to go to Churchill
Downs once in their life. I’m
completely for this.”
Alvin G. Rothe Jr. -
Bill to block defunding
police in Georgia
advances in state house
“Better check with Birming
ham on that horse racing
thing.”
Kimberly Hoechstetter -
’’Opposed.”
Kate Vaughn - “If you
want a money maker without
the downside of gambling,
why aren’t we legalizing
cannabis? There are enough
states with a track record of
increased revenues and re
duced crime. Gambling? Not
so much.”
Danny Griffith - “I say
legalized gambling would be
good for Georgia. Just think
of all the money going to
North Carolina casinos that
could stay in Georgia.”
Bobby Childree - “Op
posed - another perk for the
wealthy.”
Michael Womack - “No.
Opposed totally.”
John Lowe - “Here we go
again.”
Carly Sharec - “Love
gambling. Hate animal
abuse. Pass.”
Anita Cook - Opposed.
Who exactly benefits with
the $1 billion per year of
‘economic growth?”’
Alicia Owens - “Op
posed.”
An article about sports bet
ting passing a Georgia
House committee for the
second time appears on
Page 3B.
METAL ROOFING
By Beau Evans
Staff Writer
Capitol Beat News Service
A bill aimed at preventing
Georgia city and county gov
ernments from making deep
cuts in the budgets of their
local police agencies ad
vanced in the Georgia House
of Representatives last week.
Sponsored by state Rep.
Houston Gaines, R-Athens,
the bill would limit local gov
ernments from reducing
funds for police by more than
5% over a 10-year span. It in
cludes exemptions for
smaller jurisdictions and for
spending on equipment pur
chases.
Gaines highlighted recent
failed attempts by some
Athens and Atlanta elected
officials to slice millions of
dollars from their police
budgets amid protests over
police brutality and racial in
justice that swept across
Georgia and the country last
summer.
“These efforts are under
way in our state and certainly
something I think we need to
fight against,” Gaines said.
“We all recognize that sup
porting law enforcement is of
the utmost importance and, in
my opinion, the most impor
tant role that our local gov
ernments have.”
Gaines’ bill cleared the
House Governmental Affairs
General Government Sub
committee on a party-line
vote. It heads to the full com
mittee for another vote before
potentially moving to the
House floor.
The bill comes after last
summer’s protests following
high-profile killings of Black
men by police officers, in
cluding the deaths of George
Floyd in Minnesota and
Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta.
Property destruction and
violence at some of those
protests sparked a backlash
from conservative leaders
over a push by some progres
sive officials to curb police
funding, dubbed “defund the
police.” The subject took
center stage as an issue for
both political parties in the
2020 election cycle.
Opposition to the bill
came Tuesday from the
Georgia Municipal Associa
tion and the Association
County Commissioners of
Georgia (ACCG), which rep-
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Pickens County
Progress 706-253-2457
resent city and county gov
ernments. Decisions on po
lice funding should be left to
local officials, said Todd Ed
wards, ACCG’s deputy leg
islative director.
“Police power is one of
our inherent or supplemental
powers under the constitu
tion,” Edwards said. “We’d
like to maintain our flexibil
ity to fund and manage police
forces how our local elected
officials - those accountable
to the public - feel is the best
use of taxpayer dollars.”
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Attention Veterans!
We are your American Legion!
We are dedicated to:
♦ Veterans
• Emergency assistance for homeless Veterans.
• Coordinating with Home Depot for Veteran related projects.
• Benefits counseling so that Veterans get what they earned.
• Fellowship for Veterans-We have served our country so we understand
what you are feeling.
• Monthly meetings, weekly lunches, participation in community events
throughout the year.
❖ Community
• College scholarships for Pickens County Veterans.
• Scholarships for two high school students each year.
• Youth Sports Sponsorship for 5 teams and 50 baseball players.
• Sponsorship of Scouting at the Senior and Cub levels.
♦ Patriotism
• Dedicated to the preservation of our country, its symbols
and its values.
• Participation in community events and presentation of our flag.
• Instructing in flag etiquette and proper disposal of worn flags.
♦ Remembering the Cost of Freedom
• You know the cost because you helped to pay the bill.
• All gave some. Some gave all.
We know a thing or two, because we have seen a thing or two.
Mill//
Contact your
American Legion Post:
i? American Legion Post 149
P.O. Box 477
Jasper, GA 30143
706-253-1715 alpost149@gmail.com
www.americanlegion149.com
Donations are tax deductible.