Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, March 24, 2022 | Volume 134 Number 49 | Jasper, Georgia | 22 pages, 2 sections | Published Weekly | $1.00
Marble mine reservoir low,
but city has other water sources
Screenshot/YouTube “She Inspires Adventure" page
The Goonie Girls trespass on an expedition into Jasper’s mines off Cove Road near Longswamp Creek. These aban
doned mines have been used for at least two decades as a reservoir for the city of Jasper’s water supply. After the
current city administration discovered an unpermitted intake that diverted water from Longswamp Creek, then stopped
filling the mines with water in 2020, the level dropped drastically. The lower water level allowed for such an excursion
in early 2021, over 13 months ago.
City of Jasper
“gets creative”
with water
planning
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
What do the Goonie Girls
and Jasper’s water supply
have in common?
The short answer is the
abandoned marble mines off
Cove Road, which the city
pumped water into from
Longswamp Creek for
decades and used as a reser
voir until the current admin
istration discovered the
pumping was not permitted
by the EPD.
In one of the more unique
ways to be tipped off to a
story, Pickens Historical So
ciety member Chris Feldt re
cently came across a
YouTube video of the
“Goonie Girls” on an expe
dition through those mines.
The women are outfitted
with lighted hardhats and
other appropriate caving ac
coutrements, including rap
pel ropes they used to get
down steep areas. It was
posted on February 15,2021
and has over 2,700 views.
After seeing the video,
Feldt asked the editor of this
newspaper (who is also on
the historical society board)
about how they could organ
ize a tour of the mines,
which immediately raised an
eyebrow. The mines have
been kept full and used as a
reservoir for city’s water in
the past, but the water level
was so low over a year ago
that the Goonie Girls could
go spelunking deep inside
before they reached the
water table. With current
recharge levels not what city
leaders anticipated, it can be
expected the levels are even
lower now.
See Water on 11A
Cove Rd.
closure
extended
From the commissioners meeting
Foothills sewage talks on hold,
park lights, summer camp
Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
The county received
word this week that utility
work along key thoroughfare
Cove Road will be extended
with an eastern portion of
the road closed for periods
of time during the next
week. The closure is neces-
See Cove on 11A
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Talks with Utilities Inc.
regarding a public/private
partnership to bring sewage
to the Foothills area have
temporarily been put on
hold, according to Pickens
Commission Chair Kris
Stancil speaking at the
March 17 commissioners
work session.
The discussions were ini
tiated “in order to help with
an issue in the IGA area,”
Stancil said. “We haven’t
reached a full path of agree
ment yet because of how
complex it is, but since that
one decision has the poten
tial for a significant impact
on the east end of the
county.. .we’re going to stall
until this election is com
plete.. .We’re not going to
move forward and making a
decision until they have a
representative for the east
side, and then we can look at
what kind of public input we
can [get].”
The east district commis
sioner’s seat has been va
cant since last year when
Becky Denney resigned.
Two candidates, Dave Gar
ner and Josh Tatum, have
See County on 11A
Bent Tree groups clean historic Marble Hill cemetery
By Chris Feldt
Pickens Historical Society
and Bent Tree
Communications Director
On Saturday, March 19th,
nine members of Bent Tree
Community’s Lake and
Wildlife Committee and my
self volunteered to clean up
the Fitzsimmons family
cemetery in Marble Hill.
Two years ago, not long be
fore the COVID outbreak, I
had approached Lake and
Wildlife with hopes of enlist
ing them to help clean the
cemetery. Then COVID
happened and everything
was postponed.
This last weekend it fi
nally came to pass. Everyone
brought equipment, tools, a
Bent tree Lake and Wildlife members (l-r) Andy Kidd, Mary Ada Kidd, Art Tippit, Ken Sinclair, Meghan Wandrie,
Steve Hall, Laurie Hearn, Robert Chambers, Darn Sinclair at the historic cemetery off Marble Hill Church Road.
Chris Feldt not pictured.
positive attitude, and a meas- owned the land, easy to spot the cemetery grounds had Irish settler of Georgia, dis-
ure of sweat equity to knock on Marble Hill Church fallen into disrepair. covered a marble outcrop-
thisout. Pickens County has Road, since 2005. Sadly, Henry Fitzsimmons, an See Cemetery on 9A
Pickens native
was “a popular,
but seldom
winning” Dawgs
basketball coach
from 1951-1965
Page 10B
PLANT SALE
PHS plant sale
begins Tuesday
Page 2A
RESPONSE
A few of your
favorite fishing
holes?
Page 3A
FRIENDS
Vietnam War and
Afghanistan War
combat vets forge
unique bond
Page 10A
A legacy of weather observation
Dilbecks have been recording Jasper’s weather 8o+ years
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
If you’re a regular
Progress reader you’ve
likely noticed our weekly
weather section, which was
at one time on the front page
and now appears on the edi
torial page. It’s no frills, in a
little box that lists the high,
the low, and rainfall totals
for seven consecutive days -
but some readers might won
der why those days are from
the week before rather than
predictions about future
weather.
“We’re not weather fore
casters, we’re weather ob
servers,” said William
Dilbeck, who has logged
Jasper weather information
for the National Weather
Service for nearly 40 years
through their Cooperative
Observer Program (COOP).
And for all of those years,
the Pickens Progress has
published his findings every
single week.
While four decades is an
incredibly long time to stay
See Weather on 11A
The thermometer is
shielded from the weather
and away from any build
ings or trees, which would
create shade and distort the
reading. It’s called a Mini
mum/Maximum Tempera
ture System (MMTS), and
like the rain gauge is lo
cated on Dilbeck’sproperty
in Jasper.
Angela Reinhardt / Photo
OBITUARIES - 9A
• Danny Sams
• Mary Ellen Loveless
• Myrtle Duckett
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