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"America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination.”
- Harry S. Truman
• Opinions
• Community
Views
• Good Old
Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
July 1,2021
From the Staff
Let’s turn out in a big way
this Independence Day
As the nation, the state, and our little
county reopen after months of isolating
COVID-19 restrictions, we encourage
people to show up and show out for this
year’s July Fourth celebration - which
like most everything else was cancelled
last year. There was no parade in 2020.
No fireworks. No nothing. Since they
began back in 1939, 2020 was the only
time except for one year during WWII
that the Jasper Lions didn’t lead the
charge with Independence Day festivities
for us.
While there have been some things re
turn over the last few months - gradua
tion, egg hunts, 5ks, to name a few - we
see Jasper’s Independence Day celebra
tion as the unofficial return of our
beloved local events and a return to some
semblance of normalcy.
We can’t overstate how much we ap
preciate the efforts of the Jasper Lion’s
Club and their volunteers- and we don’t
want to see it go in vain, especially this
year. It’s a perfect opportunity for us to
gather again as a community and cele
brate our life, our liberties, and our abil
ity to pursue happiness after what was
one of the most difficult social times in
recent history.
The party’s going to be a little bit dif
ferent in 2021, as July 4th falls on a Sun
day. Organizers have made some changes
that will split the main events up over the
two-day weekend. The fair will still run
Thursday through Sunday.
This year the parade will be on Satur
day at 1 p.m. instead of the standard 10
a.m. With the later start time people will
be able to leave the parade on Main
Street and go directly to the fair at Lee
Newton Park without having to kill time
in between. The fireworks will be on
Sunday, July 4th to close the weekend.
We’d love to see a ton of floats from
our community, from our local leaders,
from individuals, businesses, non-profits,
and social groups and make it the biggest
parade this town has ever seen. The dead
line for the early entry fee price was June
25, but anyone can participate in the pa
rade even if they show up and register
that morning.
We’d love to see a thick crowd lining
the street to greet the parade, then head
to the park to ride rides, play bingo, eat
some fair food, and enjoy being in the
company of friends, family, and the com
munity after we’ve had to be apart for so
long.
We’d also love to see people come
hang out for the headlining band that will
play leading up to the fireworks display
on Sunday night.
We don’t think we’re alone hoping for
a stellar, rain-free event. We’ve seen so
many people on local social media
pages/groups ask if the Fourth celebra
tion will return this year, and we’ve had
them ask us personally what plans are.
People want to get out and have fun
again, and celebrate our country and all
the things that make it great.
Let’s make this year’s Fourth our best
one yet, Pickens County, then look for
ward to other fun events down the line -
from the Sheriff’s JeepFest to the Marble
Festival and the Christmas parade.
Happy Fourth of July
from the Progress
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.
=H§&-
Ponderings of a Simple Man
8y Caleb Smith
Let Freedom
Ring
I am an American. En
dowed with certain inalien
able rights by my creator.
Among these the rights to
life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness I would also add
the right to enjoy greasy, in-
credibly-unhealthy fast food
in obscenely large portions,
the right to carbonated bever
ages that could melt a nail,
and the right to buy tiny ex
plosives at roadside stands
and blow up portions of my
yard.
I said all this to my wife
this past weekend. I felt it
was a pretty good speech.
Not as good as Braveheart
but then, what is? Despite
that, she remained unswayed.
“I don’t care what you say,
you’re not buying fireworks
this year.”
“But why?” I said, defi
nitely not whining. “What’s
the worse that could hap
pen?”
“You blew up the cat last
year!”
As usual, she was exag
gerating. She’s not as careful
as I am to tell on the truth,
without embellishment. To
be clear, the cat was only
singed. And he came down
out of the tree a few days
later. I started to argue further
when I noticed the dangerous
glint in her eye. This was a
fight I wasn’t going to win.
So I did what husbands
have done since time imme
morial. I told her she was
right and I was wrong.
Then I did it anyway.
I took precautions when I
went to buy my contraband. I
wouldn’t put it past her to
have informants at every
stand between here and the
state line. I got a lot of curi
ous looks as I quickly
snatched up my selection,
paid for it, and hustled out
the door.
I guess it’s not every day
people see a bearded man in
a trench coat, dark glasses,
and fake mustache.
In retrospect, the fake
mustache may have been
overkill.
I snuck back home and
readied my fireworks. My
wife was gone grocery shop
ping and I knew she would
be gone for hours. I know I
should have waited for dark
for the best display, but I
couldn’t resist blowing a few
things up right away.
I had just stuck a bottle
rocket in an old flower pot,
brushing the purple petals
back to get a good angle, and
was getting ready to light the
wick when I heard a shriek.
“What are you doing?” I
glanced guiltily up to find my
wife standing on the porch,
hands on hips. “Those are my
flowers.”
I froze, eyes flicking from
her to the lighter in my hand,
inches from the wick. I had
only seconds to make a deci
sion.
“The blood of tyrants will
water the tree of liberty!” I
screamed as I lit the bottle
rocket.
I learned a valuable lesson
that day. Just because you’re
free to do something, doesn’t
mean its always the best
choice to make.
[Caleb Smith is a long
time, award-winning, colum
nist for the Progress.]
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Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457
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 PICKENS COUNTY
PROGRESS, 94 N. Main St., Jasper, GA 30143.
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OTHER VOICES
Fourth of July lessons 2021
By Mary Migliaro
With the pandemic still
among us, fully normal 4th of
July events such as cookouts
and parades most likely will
happen on a reduced scale.
While celebrations are great,
the meaning behind the holi
day can still be a good time
for some teachable moments.
Like some parents, you
may be a little rusty on the
historical issues surrounding
the holiday. Using a search
engine to pull up this infor
mation is a good place to
start. No need to go into
every single detail for your
child, but craft a little histor
ical lesson to include a few
details such as:
• On the 4th of July 1776,
the Declaration of Independ
ence was approved by the
Continental Congress.
• Independence Day hon
ors the birthday of the United
States of America and the
adoption of the Declaration
of Independence on July 4,
1776.
• We celebrate the 4th of
July because it represents the
day that America became
separate from British rule.
• Under British ride, the
colonists were unhappy with
British government. They felt
they were unfairly taxed and
had no vote on the laws that
affected them.
• The Declaration of Inde
pendence was a letter to King
George that had been written
on July 2 by Thomas Jeffer
son. It was a formal explana
tion of why the Continental
Congress voted to declare in
dependence from Great
Britain.
• The colonists were angry
they were being taxed by the
British government, and they
had no vote or voice in the
decisions that affected them.
• The Declaration of Inde
pendence was signed by 56
men representing the 13
colonies.
• The first signature on the
Declaration of Independence
was John Hancock’s. Accord
ing to myth, he wrote his
name large so that King
George would be able to read
it without his glasses.
• Today, the 4th of July is
a day of picnics and patriotic
parades, a night of concerts
and fireworks, and a reason
to fly the American flag.
The use of fireworks on
the 4th of July is also a good
time to discover more about
them including who invented
them, how they work, and
most importantly the care and
safety for those observing
them or shooting them off.
Here is a little about their his
tory:
• According to the Ameri
can Pyrotechnics Association
(APA), many historians be
lieve that fireworks originally
were developed in the second
century B.C. in ancient Li-
uyang, China. It is believed
that the first natural "fire
crackers" were bamboo
stalks that when thrown in a
fire, would explode with a
bang because of the overheat
ing of the hollow air pockets
in the bamboo.
• Sometime during the pe
riod 600-900 A.D., legend
has it that a Chinese al
chemist mixed potassium ni
trate, sulfur and charcoal to
produce a black, flaky pow
der - the first “gunpowder”.
This powder was poured into
hallowed out bamboo sticks
(and later stiff paper tubes)
forming the first man made
fireworks.
• Fireworks made their
way to Europe in the 13th
century and by the 15th cen
tury they were widely used
for religious festivals and
public entertainment.
• Early U.S. settlers
brought their love of fire
works with them to the New
World and fireworks were
part of the very first Inde
pendence Day - a tradition
that continues every 4th of
July.
• The APA website con
tains a great deal of informa
tion regarding safety when
using or observing fireworks
locally.
Taking a little time to help
children better understand
this holiday gives them an
appreciation for history and
why we celebrate the 4th of
July. Have a safe and happy
4th of July!
Resources:
• YouTube video: Liberty's
Kids 114 - The First Fourth
of July - Suitable for older
elementary school students.
It is part of a larger series of
25-minute cartoon-like
videos on US history. The
video does contain ads, but
they can be skipped.
• https://kids.kiddle.co/In-
dependence_Day_( United_St
ates)
• https ://www. american-
pyro.com/tips-to-celebrate-
safely
[Mary Migliaro, M.Ed. is
Educator and Parent Mentor.
She can be contacted at
marym igl iaro@aol. com.]
WEATHER
By
William Dilbeck
HI LOW RAIN
June
15
80
59
.00
June
16
79
58
.00
June
17
81
58
.00
June
18
84
59
.00
June
19
73
63
3.80
June
20
80
66
.13
June
21
84
66
.37
If you spot
a mistake,
Contact our editor
dpool@
pickensprogress.com
706-253-2457
Town of Talking Rock election notice
An election for the purpose of electing 3 Councilmembers will
be held in the Town of Talking Rock on Tuesday, November 2,
2021. All Post will be elected at large for a term of four (4) years
beginning January 1,2022 through December 31,2025.
Post up for election and the incumbents are as follows:
POST 1—-ANDREA WATSON
POST 2—TONY HAWF
POST 4—JAMES BRYANT
Pursuant to O.C.G.A. §21-2-131 (a)(1), the qualifying fee of
$1.00 for candidates seeking office has been set.
The qualifying period for the election shall open on Monday, Au
gust 16, 2021 and will continue from day to day through Friday Au
gust 20, 2021. The hours of qualifying each day shall be from 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the administrative office of the Pickens County
Board of Elections located at 83 Pioneer Road, Jasper, GA 30143.