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PAGE 8A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. DECEMBER 9. 2021
Talking Rock tackles loose ends at year’s end
By Larry Cavender
Progress Contributor
Although a number of un
finished new business items
were the priority at the Talk
ing Rock Town Council
meeting held Thursday
evening, December 2nd, the
issues remain unresolved and
will be carried over into the
new year.
Because of conflicts with
his full-time job, Mayor
Randy Banks was unable to
attend, so Mayor Pro-Temp
James W. Bryant, Jr. presided
over the meeting. One of the
biggest concerns facing the
council is the budget for next
year. Bryant expressed a de
sire to move forward in ap
proving a new budget, but
several of those unresolved
issues prohibited it. Town
Clerk Cheryl Sams noted that
no maintenance contract has
been approved for next year
and a new town clerk will
need to be hired. Since the
costs of those issues, among
others, are unknown at this
point, estimating the upcom
ing budget would prove dif
ficult.
Bryant then asked the
council to approve an interim
budget for three months
through March of 2022 based
on the previous 2021 budget.
The move was passed with
no opposition.
The council then voted to
advertise for sealed bids to be
submitted for a new mainte
nance contract (Mayor
Randy Banks has had the
contract for all town mainte
nance for several years which
includes road mowing, park
cleaning and general repair
work.) Those bids will be
opened during the January
meeting. In addition, the
council also voted to adver
tise for a new town clerk.
The hiring of a new town
clerk is necessitated by the
resignation of long-time clerk
and former mayor, Cheryl
Sams, who will leave her po
sition on December 31st.
An interim town clerk will
be needed until a new one
can be hired, and Sams vol
unteered to serve another
month until the new clerk can
be found. Instead, the council
decided to hire former clerk
Buffy Holcombe to serve in
the interim and she will begin
work effective January 1,
2022.
In old business, Sams re
ported on the status of the
town's pending flood grant.
Two of several projects have
already been funded and are
moving through the process
with FEMA (the Federal
Emergency Management
Agency) and will eventually
be handed over to GEMA
(the Georgia Emergency
Management Agency) which
will then allocate the funds to
the town so work on the proj
ects can begin.
Cheryl Sams offers advice to the Talking Rock Town
Council at their meeting of Thursday, December 2nd. Sams,
currently the town clerk and formerly the mayor and coun
cil member, has resigned her position and will no longer be
sen’ing as clerk after December 31st.
Hill City Elementary receives National Title I
Distinguished School
Last Friday State School
Superintendent Richard
Woods came to present Hill
City Elementary with their
National Title I Distinguished
School certificate. The state
superintendent was also able
to tour classrooms and the
school's agricenter. Jennifer
Halko, Hill City principal,
and Angela Kretschmar, asst,
principal, welcomed other
guests in attendance includ
ing State Representative Rick
Jasperse; Phenna Petty-
Georgia School Board mem
ber representing the Four
teenth Congressional
District; Sunita Holloway-
Federal Programs/Georgia
DOE; Pickens Superintend
ent Tony Young; and local
school board members Sue
Finley, Tommy Gartrell, and
Tucker Green; along with
several central office staff
members.
The Title I program is
meant “to improve the entire
educational program in a
school, which should result
in improving the academic
achievement of all students,
particularly the lowest-
State School Superintendent Richard Woods presents the National Title I Distinguished
School certificate to Hill City Elementary School Principal Jennifer Halko.
achieving students.” that rank in the top 5 percent formance for the all-student
Schools that make signif- in their Schoolwide Program group based on the current
icant progress improving stu- and Targeted Assistance Pro- statewide assessments,
dent achievement and closing gram receive the Title I Dis- Congratulations to the stu-
the achievement gap are rec- tinguished designation. They dents, staff, and the entire
ognized. Of those, schools also have the highest per- Hill City community.
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