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PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. MARCH 25. 2021
State FFA leader Emma Long addresses Optimists
Last week at their second meeting of
March, Optimists gathered for breakfast at
61 Main to hear a presentation by the presi
dent of Future Farmers of America (FFA) for
the state of Georgia. Emma Long is also
president of the local FFA chapter where she
attends at Pickens Fligh School. Program
chair Tucker Green arranged for Emma to at
tend but we were hardly prepared for her dy
namic presentation.
Into whatever room she enters Emma
brings her energy, confidence and intelli
gence. She shared with an enthusiastic audi
ence the impact FFA continues to have on her
life and growth experiences she had includ
ing the FFA National Convention in Wash
ington, D.C. From her engaging performance
as a finalist in the national talent competition
to her ankle spraining at Mt. Vernon it was
all exciting.
Emma shared that, ‘‘There’s a blue (FFA)
jacket for everyone and its your opportunity
to grow and fill your jacket. There is no
growth without change and no change with
out growth.” Emma then fielded several
questions with knowledge and grace. Presi
dent Dave Slade expressed our gratitude and
gave her a memento of her visit.
Dave then proceeded to covered plans un
derway for our upcoming annual scholarship
golf tournament on May 19, STAR recogni
tion program and Flapjack 5K event.
Please consider this your personal invita
tion to check out the Optimist Club of Jasper.
We meet for breakfast at 7 a.m. on the 1st &
3rd Thursday of each month.
Emma Long of Pickens County, who
sen’es as the state president of FFA, with
Optimist Club President Dave Slade.
Gov. Kemp signs bill to cut Georgia income tax
State also gives
larger foster
parent tax credit
By Beau Evans
Staff Writer
Capitol Beat News Service
Gov. Brian Kemp signed
two bills Monday that will
hand Georgians a slight in
come-tax cut and let foster
parents tap into a larger tax
credit when adopting chil
dren.
The governor, who has
helmed the state’s response to
the COVID-19 pandemic for
a year now, called the two tax
measures a boon for strug
gling Georgians and foster
parents that looked finan
cially “unthinkable” last
March as the virus spread.
“As we return to normal
here in the Peach State and
look to fully restore our econ
omy, it is critical that Geor
gians keep as much of their
hard-earned money as possi
ble to revive small businesses
and industries still struggling
under the weight of [COVID-
19],” Kemp said at a bill
signing ceremony.
The tax-cut bill, spon
sored by Georgia Rep. Shaw
Blackmon, R-Bonaire, al
lows Georgians to pay less
income tax starting July 1
amid a rebound of the state
economy during the pan
demic.
The state’s standard de
duction for married couples
who file joint returns will in
crease by $1,100. Single tax
payers can deduct an extra
$800, while Georgians ages
65 and older can deduct an
other $1,300. Married cou
ples filing separately will be
able to deduct an additional
$550.
House Speaker David
Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, who
has pushed to continue cut
ting taxes after Georgia low
ered its income-tax rate from
6% to 5.75% in 2019, said
Monday the latest cut aims to
benefit primarily lower- to
middle-income families
across the state.
“Today marks another
chapter in Georgia’s continu
ing commitment to provide
sustainable, meaningful tax
relief to Georgians to let
them keep more of their hard-
earned money,” Ralston said.
Critics have warned the
income-tax cut would be a
drop in the bucket of less
than $100 in savings annu
ally for all categories of tax
payers, while potentially
jeopardizing millions of fed
eral dollars set to arrive in the
recently passed $1.9 trillion
COVID-19 aid package.
Since the aid package bars
states from lowering taxes
while using the emergency
aid money, Georgia could
stand to lose nearly $200 mil
lion over the next two years
by putting the income-tax cut
into effect, according to
Danny Kanso, senior policy
analyst with the nonprofit
Georgia Budget and Policy
Institute.
The tax cut passed last
week out of the state Senate
by 35-15 vote with nearly all
Democratic lawmakers vot
ing against it due to concerns
over the federal COVID-19
aid restrictions.
Top state Republicans in
cluding Kemp and Ralston
have slammed the Biden ad
ministration over the aid
package’s tax-cut penalties as
well as its funding formula,
which they argue benefits
larger Democratic-run states
like New York and California
at the expense of Georgia.
However, Ralston on
Monday said U.S. Treasury
Secretary Janet Yellen had
signaled the federal officials
“will dramatically curtail”
the tax-cut restrictions in the
relief package amid push-
back from Republican lead
ers in several states.
Separately, the tax-credit
bill sponsored by Rep. Bert
Reeves, R-Marietta, drew
less controversy as it sped
through both chambers of the
General Assembly.
Reeves’ measure will
boost the annual tax credit for
new foster parents from
$2,000 to $6,000 annually for
the first five years after adop
tion, then drop back to
$2,000 per year. The credit
will end when the foster child
turns 18.
Clearing hurdles for foster
care in Georgia has been a
legislative priority for many
state leaders including Kemp
and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan,
who on Monday called the
increased tax credit a “real
and substantial” incentive for
families to adopt some of the
state’s most vulnerable chil
dren.
“It’s going to remove bar
riers and hurdles for families
that are just sitting on the
precipice of being able to
make the decision to bring on
those kids,” Duncan said.
The number of Georgia
children in foster care has de
clined over the past three
years but remains high, ac
cording to state Division of
Family and Children Serv
ices data. The state currently
has about 11,200 children in
foster care, down from
15,000 in March 2018.
Thrift Store needs volunteers
The Community Thrift Store, on Samaritan Drive, has re
opened and are seeking new volunteers. They could use peo
ple with as little as four hours to spare.
You’ll be blessed to be part of something that has given
millions of dollars back to the Pickens community. For more
information call 706-253-7770 or just come by and ask for
Sarge. New hours at the store, 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Tuesday
through Saturday.
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55 Burnt
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OPEN
Mon-Sat, 9 - 7
Phone
706-692-9917