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PAGE 8A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. MAY 27. 2021
To the Editor:
Just the Facts: a series of sto
ries about customer service.
I want it said that I like the
food at this national franchise
and the owners. They need to
train their people in customer
service. Yes, I am qualified to
give that training. We are
asked to shop locally and ex
pect quality service or what
you order.
It was a recent Sunday
evening and I was craving a
real hot dog. You know the
West Virginia kind. The fact
is only in WV (my home
state) can you get a real hot
dog with ketchup, mustard,
light chili and light slaw. So
off to the only place in Pick
ens that can come close to
this wonder of the world. I
drove up, placed my order,
and drove the three and one-
half miles home.
On the deck, I set the bag
down on the table and re
moved the two hot dogs.
Opening their boxes, there in
front of me was the biggest
mistake — All I could see was
a lot of chili covering both of
these hot dogs.
The message I preached at
Cornerstone Church that
week came rushing back.
Nathan to King David, “Thou
art the man!” God’s judg
ment was that David would
not be killed but judgment
would come. David repented
and asked for forgiveness.
With this thought rushing
through my mind, I entered
the lobby to get two new hot
dogs.
Explaining to the supervi
sor what had happened, she
took out both hot dogs and
took them out of the box. She
immediately, in a very defen
sive tone, pointed out that the
mustard, ketchup and chilly
was present. I could not see
the ketchup or mustard, but I
pointed to the order on the re-
Letters tot/m Editor
ceipt. She said and I quote:
“She got everything right but
the slaw.” I said: “No she did
not!” It is clearly marked
light chili.”
Where was the repen
tance? You know customer
service that says: “Sorry, we
will do this right.” Nathan
would have clearly point out
that “You art the one” that
made the mistake. She did do
them over, herself, and they
were perfect. Again, she
never repented or apologized.
So, taking on the Prophet
Nathan’s view, I said: “Don’t
you care that a customer had
to drive twice the distance to
get what he ordered?” She
replied: “What is your
name?” I replied: “Since cus
tomer service is not your
business, so my name is not
your business.”
Repentance is a lost word
in the church and in the busi
ness community. It’s just the
fact.
Ron Rucker
To the Editor:
Easy Money is Stupid
Money.
The USA is at the edge of
a huge change. The Feds are
going to spray borrowed
money everywhere. We are
going to have flush times.
Like they say in NuOleans
"Laissez les bons temps
rouler,— let the good times
roll."
Local governments like
the county and city are going
to have funds that must be
spent on things that are not
necessary or even really
needed except in the minds
of a few of our rulers in
Washington. Rivers of cash
will come. The state of Geor
gia is getting billions to
spend. But only for some
things that the Progressives
want. Choice will be limited.
If we do not take it, they will
send the cash to California.
One of the lessons that
you can learn at the nations
top business schools is "Get
big money moving, and dip
some out. People will not
even notice." I will bet you
even money that there are
going to be a lot of new very
wealthy government officials
that control the purse.
And those who voted for
this bill, will become billion
aires.
But the day of reckoning
will come. The bad news is
that the burden of that day
will fall on the average citi
zen and we will have to pay
the piper for everyone else. It
is an old story.
After all this money gets
spent and after all the mar
kets return to normal and
after we all stand around say
ing, "What were we thinking
when we put these knot
heads in power." I want all
you Progressives to remem
ber that you caused this.
I hope I live long enough
to see you covered in hot tar
and feathers and you in turn
get what you deserve for
being so dumb and stupid.
Meantime, I am going to
take the government cash and
have a good time. You should
too.
Gary Pichon
To the Editor:
The Census is done, and
the redistricting season, that
occurs every 10 years, has
begun.
Drawing maps in Georgia
is done by whichever party is
in charge of the State Legis
lature. The work is done
under a veil of secrecy sanc
tioned by law. Lacking an
open, fair, and public
process, everyone - no mat
ter what party - has used this
opportunity to protect their
incumbents, to the detriment
of Georgia voters.
The upcoming redistrict
ing will affect our state for
the next decade, and voters
need to have a say in devel
oping these districts that will
be in place until 2030. Com
munities can have their influ
ence diluted or overly
concentrated by map line-
drawers interested in partisan
gain or pleasing powerful in
terests.
At a minimum, the House
and Senate apportionment
committees should:
•Do all the work in public,
share all data used, and re
lease proposed maps well in
advance of their adoption for
public comment.
•Draw maps based on
community input given at
open public hearings across
the state.
•Commit to using inde
pendent, non-partisan bench
marks to prevent partisan
bias.
The non-partisan Fair Dis
tricts GA has resources on
their website,
fairdistrictsga.org to educate
citizens about redistricting,
and opportunities for in
volvement to encourage leg
islators to ensure that the
process is fair and transpar
ent.
It is important to contact
Senator Steve Gooch,
steve.gooch@senate.ga.gov
and ask him to guarantee a
transparent, fair, and open
process as they redraw Geor
gia’s maps. Also, find out
when there will be a meeting
for you to be informed about
the possible changes to your
area and be sure to attend.
Mary Lasris
Dahlonega, Ga
DIAL UP A GOOD READ AT HILL CITY
The students who had the most Accelerated Reader points were the first to try the new book vending machine at Hill
City Elementary.
Submitted by Hill City
Elementary
There’s a new vending
machine at Hill City Elemen
tary School, but it doesn’t
serve soft drinks or snacks.
Chocolate M&M’s and Dori-
tos have been replaced by
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog
and There Was an Old Lady
Who Swallowed a Birthday
Cake.
It’s a book vending ma
chine !
The big reveal and ribbon
cutting were held the last
week of school. The top stu
dents in each grade level who
read for the greatest number
of Accelerated Reader points
(a voluntary reading incen
tive program) earned the
golden book tokens to feed
into the machine. Luke
Mason, one of Hill City’s
fourth-graders in Pickens
Virtual Academy, earned the
most points overall and had
the honor of cutting the rib
bon. He was also the first to
step up and drop the gold
token embossed with “I Love
Books!” into a slot. Pushing
buttons “A” and “4,” Luke
chose I Survived the Califor
nia Wildfires, 2018, by author
Lauren Tarshis.
Fellow fourth-grader,
Michele Franklin, who also
earned a token, said, “It’s
amazing!”
Camila Derrosa Guerrero,
a third-grade reading star, se
lected a novel from the pop
ular Owl Diaries series
written by Rebecca Elliott. “I
read it all afternoon and fin
ished it that night!”
“We are always trying to
come up with new ideas to
encourage reading and make
it fun for the students,” ex
plained Principal Jennifer
Halko, “and this book vend
ing machine certainly does
that.”
The machine, which holds
18 titles, was made possible
through the generous support
of the Hill City PTO and
profits from several of the
school’s Scholastic Book
Fairs. Next school year, all
Hill City Hawks will have
multiple opportunities to earn
golden book tokens as they
achieve personal reading
goals.
“I really like it,” said Sam
Schreiber who earned the
most Accelerated Reader
points in first grade. “It’s
cool!”
“You can hear students
talking as they walk by pick
ing out the books that they
want to try to earn,” said
Suzanne Hardison, media
specialist.
As for what books are
available in the book vending
machine, the selection is de
signed to spark the reading
interests of students from
kindergarten to fourth grade.
“We talk to students, see
what they like to check out in
the library, and really know
what they like to read,” said
Hardison.
The machine sports a cus
tom wrap which states,
“Hawks Soar with Reading!”
The faculty and staff look
forward to seeing it help fos
ter a love for reading as more
students earn a golden book
token, feed the slot, and
scoop out a story.
* \
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Fine-free
summer
reading
program begins
June 1
Submitted by the Pickens
County Library
The Pickens County Li
brary in Jasper, located at
100 Library Lane, closed to
the public on May 17 to pre
pare for a renovation and
expansion of its facilities
through 2021.
In early June, a tempo
rary, limited-service library
location called “Pickens
Grab & Go” will be avail
able inside the Mountain
Education Charter High
School building, located at
339 West Church Street. At
the Grab & Go location, li
brary patrons will be able to
check out and return mate
rials, place and pick up li
brary holds, use computers,
request interlibrary loans,
pay fines, and browse a se
lection of items from the li
brary’s collection.
Visitors can track progress
of the renovation project
online at www.sequoyahre-
gionallibrary.org/pcl-pro-
ject, which will also list the
opening date and service
hours of the Pickens Grab &
Go temporary service loca
tion.
With the library’s Sum
mer Reading Program be
ginning on June 1, Pickens
County patrons are encour
aged to attend summer li
brary programming, such as
storytimes and painting
events, during scheduled
times at Roper Park and at
neighboring libraries within
the Sequoyah Regional Li
brary System. The nearest
SRLS libraries to Pickens
County are the Ball Ground
Public Library at 435 Old
Canton Road and the
Gilmer County Library at
268 Calvin Jackson Drive in
Ellijay.
To view the library’s full
programming schedule and
register for events, visit
www.calendarwiz.com/ se-
quoyahreglib.
Adults, teens, and chil
dren can sign up for the
Summer Reading Program
on Beanstack, the library’s
online portal where readers
can log the books or min
utes they’ve read, post re
views, set reading goals,
and complete summer chal
lenges by tracking their ac
tivity for the chance to win
concert tickets, gift cards,
food coupons, and more. All
ages can participate in sum
mer reading challenges
through the end of July.
Sign up individually or as a
family by downloading the
free Beanstack app or visit
ing www.sequoyahregional-
library.beanstack.org.
From the beginning of
June through the end of
July, items returned to the
library will not have over
due fines as part of the li
brary’s fine-free summer
promotion. Materials that
have been checked out from
the Pickens County Library
have an extended due date
of June 28. Pickens library
patrons are encouraged to
hold onto their borrowed
items until service begins at
the Pickens Grab & Go lo
cation.
Pickens County resi
dents may continue to con
tact the library by phone,
online, or via social media
to receive assistance and in
formation about services
and programming. Resi
dents are encouraged to
visit www.sequoyahregion-
allibrary.org/srp to access
up-to-date information
about the library’s Summer
Reading Program.
TRADITION
TREE SERVICE
Josh Bail
C: 678-848-1751
H: 706-253-0122
Jasper, GA
Generations of Tree Care
• Free Estimates
• Fully Insured
• Tree Removal
• Tree Pruning
•Brush Chipping
with our new chipper
traditiontreesemce80@gmail.com
Georgia Arborist Association Member
D
Bent Tree Golf Course is hosting
a Youth Summer Camp!
Ages 5 to 16
Jun 7-8, June 21-22, and July 26-27
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Cost: $ 100 per child or $250 for all three camps
Youth Week july 5-7
Cost: $ 150 per child
Please contact the Bent Tree Golf Shop at
770-893-2626 for more information or to sign up.