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THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 10. 2022 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 3A
Talking Rock Council sets new agendas, tone for 2022
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James Bryant, Jr., who re
cently won re-election as a
council member in Talking
Rock, has been serving as
mayor pro tem following the
resignation of Mayor Randy
Banks in December. He
learned recently that’s not
some temporary fill-in as
signment.
At the town council’s Feb
ruary meeting, it was ex
plained by town attorney Jeff
Rusbridge that in Talking
Rock’s charter, and in many
small towns, the cost of elec
tions are so expensive that
when a mayor resigns the
mayor pro tem finishes the
entire remaining term. Thus,
Bryant now finds he will be
the small town’s acting
mayor through November of
2023.
Running the February
meeting, Bryant brought a
healthy dose of energy and
optimism to the town, with
the council handling an array
of typical small-town busi
ness items in a very congen
ial atmosphere.
• The council will add a
section to their regular
monthly meeting “public ap
pearances” where anyone can
address the town leaders for
two minutes. They have also
added a work session to pre
cede council meetings with
the work sessions being at
5:30 p.m. on the first Thurs
day of the month, followed
by the council meetings at 7
p.m.
• Jerry Wright, who has
been sub-contracting town
maintenance duties regularly
for the past few years will
now have the full contract
with a well-defined list of
work throughout the town
and park at a rate of $2,000 a
month. There were initially
two bids for the maintenance
contract but the other bidder
dropped out. Bryant said he
and Wright had gone over the
contract and pay and he felt
very good about it. Wright
was in attendance and spoke
briefly, saying it looks like it
will work out well. The coun
cil voted to buy a town lawn
The Talking Rock Council at work (l-r) Melissa Weaver, Tony Hawf, attorney Jeff Rusbridge, Mayor Pro Tem James Bryant, Jr., Town Clerk Buffy
Holcombe, Mary Bregantini and Steven Lewis.
What to do with an “eyesore?” These sheds behind the Talking Rock Teaching Mmu-
seum have become a catchall for all manner of items. The new administration is seeking
input on how to best address this area.
Misty’s
Barber Shop
(Formerly of Jasper Old
Fashioned Barber Shop)
mower for Wright to use on
the roadsides. They opted to
look for a lower-cost regular
riding lawn mower, not any
type of professional grade.
• A new contract was cre
ated for a person to do
monthly cleaning at city hall
for $150 a month.
• Buffy Holcombe was re
tained as the town clerk. She
had been serving in this posi
tion for the past several
weeks. Bryant announced he
contacted all applicants and
felt that Holcombe, who had
also held that position previ
ously, was best for the job.
• It was announced that
the small recycle center be
hind city hall would be elim
inated. Garbage may still be
left in the garbage area there
by residents of the small
town. Bryant said the recycle
area was “a complete eye
sore” and the city hall is only
1.5 miles from the county’s
modem recycling center, just
offHwy. 515.
• Along with that eyesore,
Bryant said the storage shed
area behind city hall and
teaching museum were an
other eyesore and the council
agreed to look at options
which might include remov
ing it entirely. “It’s just col
lecting stuff there and we
don’t want to see it collect
stuff,” he said.
• New e-mail addresses
will be set up for all city per
sonnel and council members.
The mayor pro-tem has his
active at mayor@talk-
ingrockga.com. Bryant said
the council members need to
Tips to help prepare for tax season
Tax season isn't some
thing most people look for
ward to, particularly if they
suspect they owe money.
However, a few tax prep tips
can make the process of fil
ing a return and, if necessary,
paying back taxes as pain-
free as possible.
1. Call your tax preparer
early. If you use an account
ant or another tax preparer,
be sure to book the appoint
ment as soon as possible be
cause slots fill up quickly.
You don't want to wait until
the last minute and find there
are no remaining appoint
ments.
2. Establish a tax prepara
tion folder. Beginning in Jan
uary, certain documents will
arrive in the mail that will be
needed to file your taxes.
Documents include earnings
statements, banking interest
statements and documents in
dicating investment profits.
When items arrive, stash
them in your tax folder so
you'll have all necessary pa
perwork at the ready.
3. Avoid tax scams. As tax
season draws near, tax scam
mers target unsuspecting in
dividuals. You may find that
you receive calls or texts
from those purporting to be
with the Internal Revenue
Service. However, financial
experts say that the IRS or
the U.S. Treasury will never
call you on the phone; their
mode of contact is via the
U.S. mail. Another scam is
individuals advertising a big
ger refund when you use
their services. This is not how
tax laws work nor is it possi
ble to get a return larger than
what is owed. Avoid anyone
promising a bigger return,
advises Bankrate.
4. Consider increasing
be diligent about not using
their personal e-mails for city
business.
• Tony Hawf and Mary
Bregantini were assigned for
the Heritage Days subcom
mittee. Bryant said they had
a preliminary meeting on the
town’s festival (held every
October) and they are excited
about seeing “that we really
knock it out of the park this
year.”
Announces
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Suite. 103 • Jasper, GA
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706-253-6302
Open Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri
from 8:30 to 5:00 (Walk-ins)
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Mary will be working with Misty on Tuesday
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Thank Youfaotyom
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