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Quote of the Week: "In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice.
Then he made school boards." -MarkTwain
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Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
April 8,2021
From the Staff
Time to pick up the pace
with water/sewage expansion
With a growth wave pushing into north
Georgia, it is time for the cities of Jasper,
Talking Rock and Pickens County to get
serious and get results with plans to ex
pand their water/sewage infrastructure.
[Nelson is grouped with Cherokee
County],
There has been talk ad infinitum of the
need for sewage and expanded water in
frastructure to accommodate growth
“when it arrives.”
But, the growth wave is here now and
the lines aren’t. This sums up the condi
tion where we find ourselves and it won’t
be easy, cheap or quick to correct. Further
distressing, we aren’t confident that either
the county or city even has solid plans to
address the needs.
Among the challenges:
• While there is some septic in Talking
Rock, they need sewage to expand their
downtown, suddenly a hot spot with the
innovative brewery and forthcoming
restaurant in the old train cars.
• On the other side of the county, pack
age plants or some type of limited sewage
has been discussed at the Foothills com
mercial area even longer. Everyone agrees
it is needed but it never gets from plan
ning tables to lines in the ground.
• The county has a planned new water
supply in Grandview Lake, which is a big
deal as it is the first homemade (so to
speak) source to be developed since the
old Tate system, but the problem once
again is it’s not under construction.
• The city of Jasper needs to expand
their sewage plant and again the refrain,
it’s in the planning/funding stage.
• Recently at a county planning com
mission meeting there was discussion of
how the county couldn’t serve a proposed
78 home subdivision’s water needs any
time soon. They want to, eventually, but
again, just aren’t ready.
• Highway 515 is reportedly well-
served with water and sewage, but you get
very far from the fourlane and it is still
wells and septic tanks.
We got beat to the punch by growth.
People want water and in places they need
sewage — not more sets of plans.
It’s unclear what effect will result by
continually not being ready.
One might, perhaps a little naively,
think “if you don’t build it, the crowds
won’t come.” Not providing sewage and
water might shut off the growth. The lack
of ready-to-use infrastructure has been
theorized as one reason Jasper got left be
hind with the last boom cycle in north
Georgia.
But, failing to develop proper utilities
as a means to control growth isn’t a sound
strategy - kind of like a kid saying “if I
don’t bring a notebook, the teacher can’t
assign homework.” More likely, we’ll still
get the growth that finds its way here in
an uncontrolled, unorganized, unplanned
manner. Or else we’ll get people still
building and counting on future
water/sewage that’s always being planned
but not delivered. And one day, some
thing, like a prolonged drought, will hap
pen and it will be a full-on disaster.
Assuming that burying our heads in the
sands isn’t the strategy, we encourage our
county and city leaders to pick up their
pace dramatically. A good start would be
an open, public process looking at
whether a joint county/city water and
sewage authority makes sense. Maybe it
does; maybe it doesn’t. It works other
places, but every place is different, so it
might not be optimal here. It is way past
time for this option of combining all the
water/sewage resources under a non-po
litical authority gets the attention it de
serves.
We’d like to see the city and county
leaders appoint a study group with a tight
deadline to look over the prospects of
joining forces and then publicly present
their conclusions ASAR
Regardless of how a joint approach
plays out, we’d urge our government
leaders to get it in gear with sewage and
water expansion.
Tell us your thoughts with a letter to the editor. E-mail to news@pickensprogress.com
See letter submission guidelines on the Letters to the Editor page or call us 706-253-2457.
Ponderings of a Simple Man
Py Caleb Smith
The Thunder
Rolls
As certain as death or
taxes, as sure as the sun ris
ing and setting, the return of
spring means the return of the
spring thunderstorm. Now I,
like most southerners, enjoy
a good ‘thunder boomer.’
There’s nothing quite so
peaceful as returning from a
day working in the yard and
lying down for a much de
served nap as you’re carried
off to sleep by the sound of
distant rumbles and the patter
of rain on the roof. You’ll
never get a better night’s
sleep than when you’re sere
naded by the weather.
However, Georgia, being
the wild child of the south,
can’t let her storms be calm
and peaceful. No, Georgia
does everything to excess.
From mosquitoes big enough
to require FAA clearance, to
pollen accumulation that
could rival northern snow to
tals, Georgia does everything
bigger. If the United States is
a family, Georgia is the one
that shows up late to re
unions, blasting Lynyrd
Skynyrd, sporting a mullet,
and driving a thousand-dollar
Jeep perched atop four thou
sand dollars worth of tires.
So, when the weatherman
grimly informed us a few
weeks ago that severe
weather was incoming, I
knew it would be no ordinary
storm. It was going to be a
Georgia storm.
There’s not much that rat
tles me; aside from snakes,
politicians, or kale, I’m pretty
unshakeable. So as thunder
boomed like exploding shells
all around my little house,
and the lightning flashed like
a strobe-light, I remained
calm.
My dog, Toby, however,
was terrified. He kept trying
to crawl under the bed as he
trembled and whimpered in
fear. It was a pitiful sight, and
I almost felt bad for pushing
him back out. But there was
only room for one of us.
I know what you’re think
ing, “But Simple Man, I
thought you said you re
mained calm? Why were you
under the bed?”
I’ll answer that with an
other question: Why do you
think I was calm? I was
under the bed.
Wind lashed at the house
as rain poured down in
sheets, and all the while the
ever present thunder shook
the very foundations of my
home, vibrating the floor.
The dog tried to push his way
under the bed again, more
forcefully this time, and man
aged to squeeze himself be
tween me and the wall. He
trembled, literally stuck be
tween a blob and a hard
place.
The thunder died and the
only sound, aside from the
rain, was whimpering and
terrified panting.
The dog was finally silent,
however.
Even though the storm
subsided after a mere eight
hours, although the clock
said 30 minutes, we stayed
there the rest of the night.
The dog out of loyalty, me
because I couldn’t unwedge
myself.
[Caleb Smith is a long
time, award-winning, colum
nist for the Progress.]
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457 FAX (706) 253-9738
www.pickensprogressonline.com
DAN POOL
Publisher/Editor
Published each Thursday at Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia. Entered
at the Post Office at Jasper, Georgia. 30143 as Mail Matter of Second
Class. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE PICKENS
COUNTY PROGRESS, 94 N. Main St., Jasper, GA 30143.
One Year’s Subscription: $39.59 in Pickens County and in Gilmer,
Cherokee, Dawson and Gordon counties; $50.29 in all other Georgia
counties; $59.92 out of state.
School
OTHER VOICES
Pandemic stress fuels increased alcohol use
By Melanie Dallas, CEO
Highland Rivers Health
To say the roughly 12
months since the COVID-19
pandemic began has been
stressful would be an under
statement. So much changed
so quickly that many people
experienced anxiety, and de
pression, as well as stress.
Many others experienced
grief, over the loss of a loved
one, and perhaps the loss of a
sense of normalcy.
Over the past year, as peo
ple straggled to cope with
such unprecedented disrup
tions, studies have found sub
stance use escalated
dramatically. Although the
upsurge in opioid overdose
and deaths have gotten the
most headlines, increases in
alcohol use has been no less
significant. As we recognize
Alcohol Awareness Month in
April, it is a timely opportu
nity to review some of the
basic facts about alcohol, and
why it is critical to under
stand when drinking behav
iors become dangerous.
One of the most important
things to know is that alcohol
is the most widely used
mind- and mood-altering
substance in the U.S. Accord
ing to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
(CDC), alcohol is the third
leading cause of preventable
death in the United States;
about 95,000 Americans die
from alcohol-related causes
each year - more than 260
every day.
The Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Ad
ministration (SAMHSA)
2019 National Survey on
Drug Use and Health
(NSDUH), found 85.6 per
cent of people ages 18 or
older reported drinking alco
hol in their lifetime; 69.5 per
cent reported they drank in
the past year; and 54.9 per
cent reported drinking in the
past month. Research about
alcohol use during the pan
demic found an alarming in
crease.
A study in the Interna
tional Journal of Environ
mental Research and Public
Health found that partici
pants who reported experi
encing “very much” or
“extreme” stress due to
COVID-19 also reported
drinking more frequently,
and consuming more drinks
over a 30-day period than
those who did not report high
levels of stress. A similar
study in JAMA Network
Open found the frequency of
alcohol consumption in
creased 14% in 2020, com
pared with 2019.
This is a troublesome
trend: increasing the amount
you drink increases your risk
of alcohol use disorder
(AUD), what we used to call
alcoholism. According to the
National Institute on Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism
(NIAAA), AUD is a medical
condition - a brain disorder
characterized by an impaired
ability to stop or control alco
hol use despite adverse so
cial, occupational, or health
consequences. AUD is also a
progressive condition that
can become more compli
cated over time and lead to
serious medical complica
tions including liver disease,
cancer and diabetes.
NIAAA reports that 14.1
million adults ages 18 and
older had AUD in 2019,
while an estimated 414,000
adolescents ages 12-17 had
AUD during this timeframe.
That these numbers may
have increased over the past
year should concern us all.
The good news is that no
matter how severe the prob
lem may seem, evidence-
based treatment with
behavioral therapies, mutual-
support groups, and/or med
ications can help people with
AUD achieve and maintain
recovery. Highland Rivers
provides several services to
help individuals with alcohol
use disorder achieve recov
ery, including acute detoxifi
cation, residential substance
use treatment, intensive out
patient treatment, and com
munity-based addiction
recovery support services. In
addition, Alcoholics Anony
mous and other 12-step pro
grams, as well as clinical and
medical treatment providers,
can be found across Georgia.
But the most important
person in recovering from
AUD is you. If the past year
has been stressful for you and
your drinking has become a
concern, you can begin with
an NIAAA self-assessment at
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/al
cohols-effects-health/alco-
hol-use-disorder. If such as
assessment reveals you may
need treatment or support,
there are several resources
that can help including the
Georgia Crisis and Access
Line (GCAL) at 1-800-715-
4225; and Highland Rivers
Health at 1-800-729-5700.
Don’t wait - recovery is al
ways possible.
Melanie Dallas is a licensed
professional counselor and CEO
of Highland Rivers Health,
which provides treatment and re
covery services for individuals
with mental illness, substance
use disorders, and intellectual
and developmental disabilities.
WEATHER
CORRECTION - Hinton United Methodist Church was
incorrectly identified in a photo in last week’s article on Our
churches: By the numbers.
"All I said was that it looks like the
Georgia-Florida water war is finally settled."
By William Dilbeck
HI LOW RAIN
March
30
69
49
.18
March
31
61
35
1.12
April
01
47
38
.00
April
02
51
28
.00
April
03
59
36
.00
April
04
68
39
.00
April
05
73
47
.00
~ SZCPSZf