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THURSDAY. MAY 13. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 3A
Big Canoe’s Creek 9 golf course renovations underway
By Melissa Lowrie
Progress Contributor
The Big Canoe Commu
nity is home to three 9-hole
golf courses, each used in dif
ferent rotations for rounds of
18 holes. The three courses,
originally designed by Joe
Lee, are Creek, Cherokee and
Choctaw. Lee, an accom
plished golf course architect,
also designed the golf course
at Bent Tree.
Of the three nines, Creek
is the oldest, built in 1971
and opened to play in 1972.
After years of a patch-and-re-
pair approach to a failing ir
rigation system and aging
greens, a massive rejuvena
tion project started in Febru
ary.
Noted golf course archi
tect Bill Bergin was tapped as
the general contractor and
project manager. His firm has
successfully completed simi
lar projects and enjoys an ex
cellent reputation within the
golf industry. Course restora
tion projects have taken the
Atlanta-based Bergin all over
Photo /Lydell Mack
Work is underway on Big Canoe’s Creek course. The $2.2 million project is expected to
be complete and the course re-opened in spring of2022.
the country for jobs, includ
ing Oaks Country Club in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, High
Meadows Golf and Country
Club in Roaring Gap, North
Carolina and Chattanooga
Golf and Country Club in
Tennessee. In Rising Fawn,
the McLemore Club recently
benefited from Bergin’s ex
pertise.
The $2.2 million esti
mated price tag to renovate
Big Canoe’s Creek 9 will not
only address infrastructure is
sues, but will tweak the
course ascetically as well.
Renovations will immedi
ately improve the course’s
environmental impact;
planned beautification will
enhance landscapes and
views. Creeping Bentgrass
greens and new bunkers are
being installed.
Construction is ongoing
with an estimated reopening
date of spring 2022. Until
then, property owners and
guests will play on Cherokee
and Choctaw. The long-term
plan is to continue renova
tions on each of the aging
courses, one at a time.
Certified Golf Course Su
perintendent Lydell Mack
has been involved in the proj
ect since the first discussions
of a rejuvenation. Regarding
the job and targeted opening
date, he said, “Due to incred
ibly favorable weather
through March and April,
Sanders Golf [construction
company] is progressing
quickly with the improve
ment work. They are on
schedule for an early August
completion, at which point
the Big Canoe golf course
maintenance team will take
over for the grow-in phase.
With continued favorable
weather the grow-in will con
tinue through the fall and
winter, with a planned open
ing of April 1, 2022.”
Big Canoe is also com
pleting work on Lake Disha-
roon, one of three lakes on
the property along with
Sconti and Petit. Drainage is
sues have caused the lake at
the Swim Club to be drained
and its usual Memorial Day
Weekend opening will be
pushed back until at least
July 4. Geosyntec Consult
ants is the engineering firm
overseeing the project.
Disharoon is always a popu
lar summer gathering spot
with a rockslide, canoes, pad
dle boards and inflatables.
Management is currently
looking at alternate sites for
the in-lake inflatables.
Anew tennis pro has been
hired. Geoff Hedges now
leads the tennis and pickle-
ball programs. A welcome
party was held May 11 at the
Racquet Club.
As of Thursday, May 6,
Big Canoe returned to pre-
COVID-19 operations, in
cluding all buildings and
amenities becoming mask-
optional. This change was
based on Governor Kemp’s
most recent Executive Order.
Georgia company at center of East Coast
pipeline shut down by cyberattack
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - Gasoline
prices could be headed up at
the start of the summer driv
ing season following the
shutdown of a major pipeline
hit by a cyberattack.
Alpharetta-based Colonial
Pipeline reported Friday it
was the victim of an attack
involving ransomware that
forced one of the largest fuel
transport systems in the na
tion to halt most of its opera
tions. Colonial’s 5,500-mile
pipeline system runs from
Texas to New Jersey.
“Maintaining the opera
tional security of our
pipeline, in addition to safely
bringing our systems back
online, remain our highest
priorities,” Colonial wrote in
a news release Sunday.
Colonial has hired inde
pendent cybersecurity ex
perts to determine the nature
and scope of the ransomware
attack and put an operations
team to work developing a
system restart plan.
While four main lines re
main out of service, some
smaller lines connecting ter
minals with delivery points
are now operational.
The full system will not
be restored until Colonial of
ficials believe it is safe to do
so and in full compliance
with federal regulations, the
company stated. The U.S.
Department of Energy is
leading the federal response.
Ransomware attacks have
become a growing problem
for both government and pri
vate sector computer sys
tems. In ransomware attacks,
hackers block access to an or
ganization's computers and
Drivers waited in line Monday for gas at the gas station
at the Cove / Burnt Mountain roads intersection. Several
gas stations were reported completely out later Monday and
Tuesday. The governor issued a statement, suspending the
gas tax and discouraging panic buying on Tuesday.
threaten to keep them
blocked and/or publish sensi
tive private information un
less a ransom is paid.
In one example, a ran
somware attack in 2018 af
fected nearly 3,800 city of
Atlanta computers, forcing
the city to shut down its court
system and delay many other
services.
The perpetrators de
manded a ransom of$51,000
in Bitcoin to restore access to
the computer systems they
had encrypted, which the city
refused to pay. A federal
grand jury indicted two Iran
ian nationals in the attack
later that year.
Roland Tire supports Legion
Lonnie Smith ofRoland Tire’s auto repair facility on Old
Philadelphia Road (seen here with Jim Brescia, com
mander of American Legion Post 149 in Pickens County)
accepts a donation box as part of Post 149's local mer
chants fund drive. The funds raised in this program are all
spent locally to help veterans in need, offer scholarships,
sponsor children's sports and support Scout programs.
Look for the patriotically decorated donation boxes when
you shop in local stores. Call 706-253-1715 or email to al-
postl49@gmail.com to enroll your business in the program.
Support the businesses that support our local veterans.
IN JASPER 1
OPEN Mon-Sat, 9 - 7 706-692-9917
Shop us first for tools,
supplies, work gloves,
flashlights and more.
55 Burnt Mtn. Rd.
Jasper, GA