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PAGE 10A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. OCTOBER 14. 2021
Sheriff launches tip 411 app
County to save big on
new health insurance plan
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Commissioners voted to
change the county’s health
care provider, which is ex
pected to save the county
around $357,000 next year.
Last year, the county’s net
health insurance costs were
approximately $3.8 million
with Cigna, according to
Vice President of MSI Bene
fits Group Matt Bidwell who
made a presentation to com
missioners at the Oct. 7 work
session. Under the county’s
new plan with Anthem they
will use VeracityRx, a phar
macy benefits manager that
will slash their
pharmacy/prescription costs.
As of August, the county
had 259 employees on their
health insurance policy.
Bidwell explained that in
surance providers like Cigna,
Athem, United Healthcare,
Aetna all have what’s called
“commonality of ownership”
with pharmacy managers.
“When I’m with them and
they’re telling me my phar
macy cost is really expen
sive, they’re in ownership of
that guy. When your phar
macy manager charges me
for a drug, they may tell me
that drug costs $10, but they
may have only paid $6 for it.
They do what they call step-
up pricing. So, I’ve got one
hand telling me my phar
macy is really expensive -
that’s the pharmaceutical
company - but the manager
who’s managing that, which
is owned by the insurance
company, is putting a
stepped-up price on every
prescription I fill.”
He said this stepped-up
pricing has resulted in phar
macy specialty companies
that are “trying to attack it.
So, the contract we’re going
to have with them...they can’t
give us any stepped-up pric
ing. They have to charge us
exactly what the drug cost.”
He said this prescription
program will also be less ex
pensive than online services
like GoodRx, which offers
coupons/discounts for pre
scriptions.
“That’s because there’s no
buildup in the cost,” he said.
He noted that with large
national companies like Wal-
mart, Target, and CVS, “on
average their dispensing fees
on generic drugs is $15 to
$20 more that it needs to be,
so we are going to put in a
preferred pharmacy program
that only applies to generic
drugs.”
Regional stores like In
gles, Kroger, Publix, as well
as local pharmacies, have
dispensing fees that are $15
to $20 less for generics, he
said. Under their preferred
pharmacy program generic
fees would be much less.
“That in and of itself is
going to save us $40,000 in
dispensing fees next year,” he
said.
The Pickens Sheriff’s Of
fice is partnering with Tip
411 to launch a new pro
gram that allows the com
munity and business owners
to anonymously message
law enforcement and re
ceive real time alerts.
The app, “Pickens
County Sheriff,” can be
downloaded in any app store
for free and allows those
who utilize the messaging
platform part to communi
cate back and forth with the
Pickens Sheriff’s Of ce di
rectly and anonymously.
While messaging with law
enforcement, they can attach
videos, pictures, and loca
tion details without giving
any of their personal infor
mation.
The app also allows indi
viduals and business owners
the ability to sign up for
alerts including ones that
particularly relate to busi
ness owners and can be nar
rowed down based on
relevance and location as
well. The alerts targeting
business owners will in
clude reports of counterfeit
funds, break-ins to a partic
ular business type, thefts in
certain locations, etc.
For those who choose to
not download the app, while
alerts are not available, there
is a texting option available
to submit tips. You can text
your tip and “PSOTIP” to
847411. “PSOTIP,” the
agency key, must be in
cluded in the message to
submit properly.
The Pickens Sheriff’s Of
fice is always looking for
ways to best serve and com
municate with the commu
nity effectively and
efficiently. The agency
looks forward to utilizing
the valuable new tool as we
understand how important
the community’s awareness
and help can be. We are de
termined to make a differ
ence together.
HERITAGE DAYS
Georgia Arborist Association Member
Proctor announces for Jasper Council re-election
“Ghost Pipe” spotted just in time for Halloween
By Sonny Proctor
As I reflect on my life in
Pickens County, there is
peace in my soul. Life here,
living a purposeful life and
making my community bet
ter, has been a blessing for
my family and me. The Lord
brought me here to apply my
talents to help people. Now I
am giving back.
My time as a surgeon and
Dragons team physician, hos
pital leader, and Piedmont
executive was my calling.
Great memories, great
friends, great joys. But hard
ones too. The deaths of an in
fant, my mother, and my in
laws. My son’s first six
months. My health, which
limits me more than I like to
let on: three heart surgeries,
lung disease, cancer survivor.
All part of life.
My Mom and Dad taught
me to trust in God, always do
your best, and to make good
decisions; they taught me
honesty, integrity, ethics and
how to work hard. My
coaches taught me the value
of team, working together for
the common good. I live by
what they all taught me. I
may be known for my reac
tionary temperament, but
also great strategic planning
skills, and I really learned
their value and potential im
pact as an executive at Pied
mont healthcare.
That is what I brought me
to the Jasper City Council,
five short years ago. Jasper
needed change. We were not
doing things right, we were
not working together, and we
were not planning. I knew I
could help strategically plan
our future.
What has happened since
I took the oath for our First
Mountain City?
We have reorganized, top
to bottom. We hired people
with the education, training,
and experience to help us get
where we need to go. We
planned. And we began to de
liver. Together. We knew
there would be challenges;
that is what is exciting. You
face the challenges with the
same tools that created them.
Do what is right, plan and de
liver. Together.
Through an arduous
process of planning, discus
sion, and public hearings we
rewrote our charter. Then to
the House and Senate, pass
ing both unanimously. And
then to the governor’s desk.
There your mayor and coun
cil, your City Manager Bran
don Douglas and your State
Representative Rick Jasperse
watched the historic moment
of Governor Kemp signing
your charter into law. For
you, and for Jasper. The city
of Jasper did what was right.
Our charter clearly delineates
what we can do and how we
will do it. You now have a
mayor, council, staff, and city
attorney striving to do it the
right way, every time, plan
for it, and then deliver.
We have separated our
funding sources into applica
ble categories for general
fund, enterprise, and special
projects. And we have strong
reserves. Municipal re
sources are not just a bag of
money. Funding resources all
have dedicated uses.
We have written job de
scriptions, have annual eval
uations, and annual
agreements with department
directors, our chiefs, and oth
ers. We revamped employee
benefits across the board in
cluding defined benefits for
retirement, pay scales and in
creases, and more. We will
make Jasper a better place to
work.
And planning? We have
no less than 23 special proj
ects that involve everything
from public safety, infrastruc
ture, parks and recreation,
roads, planning and zoning.
And we have potential fund
ing sources for all of these.
And best yet we are doing
this together. Our leaders
working with county, state,
and even our neighboring
leaders to better serve our
community. Building com
munity, together.
Please re-elect me to the
Jasper City Council. I
solemnly swear to strive to
do what’s right, plan for it,
and deliver. Together.
Photo / Roy Hostetler
This unusual plant, which could easily be mistaken for
a mushroom because of its all-white appearance, looks like
a ghastly shadow of more common flowering plants that are
green and full of color. Adding to its oddity, this plant does
not depend on photosynthesis for survival.
Forest Service, the Ghost
Pipe is found throughout the
majority of the United States
barring the Rocky Moun
tains. It grows in deep,
shaded woods at low to mod
erate elevation.
“These perennial plants
are generally 4-8 inches tall,
with small scale-like leaves,
and white five-parted flow
ers,” according to Chantelle
DeLay of the U.S. Forest
Service’s Plant of the Week
column. “Plants only have
one flower per stem, and
flowering occurs roughly
from June through Septem
ber. Stems can be found
alone, but are commonly
found in small clusters.”
The most notable feature
of the plant is clearly all-
white countenance (some
times with a light-pink hue or
black flecks). It doesn’t have
chlorophyll and doesn’t need
the sun to survive, which is
why it can live in the spooky
shadowed depths of the for
est. Instead, the Ghost Pipe is
a parasite to mycorrhizal
fungi.
“How does this plant sur
vive without the green pig
ment chlorophyll?” DeLay
writes. “The chlorophyll is
responsible for harnessing
the sun’s energy to produce
carbohydrates, a process
known as photosynthesis.
Ghost pipe saps nutrients and
carbohydrates from tree roots
through an intermediate
source, mycorrhizal fungi in
the genera Russula and Lac-
tariusP
And although it looks like
a mushroom or fungi, it’s not.
It’s part of the same family
that includes blueberries,
azaleas, cranberries, and
Rhododendrons.
Cherokee legend about
the plant, said to resemble a
peace pipe, tells the story of
a group of chiefs who gath
ered after selfishness and ar
guing entered the world.
They gathered and smoked
the peace pipe while arguing
about how to solve the prob
lem of arguing.
“In punishment for smok
ing the peace pipe before ac
tually making peace, the
Great Spirit turned the chiefs
into grey flowers and made
them grow where relatives
and friends had quarreled,” it
states on Homeopathy-
School.com, which also lists
a variety of medicinal uses
for the plant, said to be a
tonic, sedative, nervine, and
antispasmodic.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Talking Rock resident
Roy Hostetler was blowing
leaves in his yard when he
uncovered a haunting, all-
white, borderline translucent
plant that lives up to its name
- the “Ghost Pipe,” (also
known as Indian Pipe or
Corpse Plant). If Dracula pre
sented his bride with a bou
quet, it would surely be filled
with these spectral blooms.
“I’ve never seen anything
like this,” said Hostetler, who
brought a photo of the plant
into the Progress office. “All
the flowers are white, and
everyone I’ve talked to, no
one has seen one before.”
According to the U.S.
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BELIEVE IN A BETTER LAWN
Bryan Lawrence
Email: Bryan@Iaithturf.com
LANDSCAPING DESIGN & INSTALLATION
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770-490-2795
The Pickens County
Board of Commissioners
have scheduled FY 2022
Budget meetings with Elected
Officials - Judicial Officers
Tuesday. October 19. 2021
Tax Assessor
8:30 a.m.
Tax Commissioner
9:00 a.m.
Sheriff
9:30 a.m.
District Attorney
10:00 a.m.
Airport
10:30 a.m.
Probate Court
11:00 a.m.
Economic Development
11: 30 a.m.
Break & Overage
Library
1:30 p.m.
County Extension
2:00 p.m.
Coroner
2:30 p.m.
Public Defender
3:00 p.m.
Magistrate Court
3:30 p.m.
Clerk of Court
3:30 p.m.
Elections
4:00 p.m.
Superior & Juvenile
4:30 p.m,
Courts/Grants
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