Newspaper Page Text
Continued From 1A
THURSDAY. MARCH 24. 2022 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 11A
Water
When full, the water level
at the mines can been seen
from the mouth of the cave.
To refresh readers’ memo
ries, in May of 2020 the city
of Jasper self-reported to the
Environmental Protection
Division about the unpermit
ted diversion they discovered
had been going on for 20
years, and at that time imme
diately stopped pumping
water from the creek into the
mines. A consent order was
requested by the EPD in No
vember 2021, which requires
the city provide certain infor
mation as part of the permit
ting process. The city issued
a press release last November
announcing the unpermitted
diversion violation, and at
that time stated that mine
recharge rate slowed and that
they would offset water loss
from other sources.
It’s been said in the past
those mines have been a crit
ical backup supply for a city
that doesn’t have another
reservoir. At full capacity,
they are estimated to hold
around 300 million gallons of
water, but the video and what
appeared to be an extraordi
narily low water level 13
months ago made us wonder
what the current state of the
Continued From 1A
reservoir is, and how permit
ting talks with the EPD are
progressing.
Jasper Mayor Steve
Lawrence agreed the water
level is very low and that the
mines “are not recharging as
anticipated.” Despite low
water levels there, both
Lawrence and Jasper City
Manager Sonia Jammes con
fidently said there is enough
water to serve the city’s cur
rent needs, and enough to
serve all developments coun
cil has approved as well.
They added that the city has
secured other water sources,
and is also taking steps to
minimize water loss in the
system. In addition, the city
is in the process of creating a
water/wastewater master
plan.
“I’m always very con
cerned about water,”
Lawrence said. “Of all the
159 counties in Georgia,
Pickens County is the only
one without a major water
way or lake. Yes, the mine
levels are way down, which
is why we’re out buying
water and exploring other op
tions.”
(Both Lawrence and
Jammes noted that the city
does not allow members of
the public to enter the mines,
and that it is considered tres
passing.)
In addition to their raw
water withdraw from
Longswamp Creek (permit
ted up to 1.33 million gallons
a day), the city also pumps
water from the mines (albeit
at a rate now that is signifi
cantly lower than what was
withdrawn before.) Water re
sources lost from the mines
has been offset in part by the
city purchasing 333,000 gal
lons of raw water a day from
Pickens County’s new water
resource at Grandview Lake,
for 40 cents per 1,000 gallons
through a temporary permit.
Jasper can also purchase
200,000 gallons a day of
treated water from Gilmer
County, which came about
through a partnership with
Pickens County after a new
larger line was installed
along Highway 136 over the
last year-and-a-half. That
treated water that originates
from Gilmer costs $1.70 per
1,000 gallons. The city can
also purchase 100,000 gal
lons a day from Cherokee
County, but at $4 per 1,000
gallons they utilize other op
tions.
Jammes said lack of natu
ral water resources forces the
city “to get creative,” and
pointed to a few initiatives
coming down line that will
mitigate water loss and help
them better plan for the fu
ture.
One project is the planned
replacement of all 6,000
water meters in the city with
radio-read smart meters.
Jammes said these meters are
much more efficient and pre
vent water loss in the system.
The meters allow customers
to have a “hands on” and
real-time view of their water
use, and they will get alerts
about excessive/unusual
water usage. The city re
cently applied for a $2.3 mil
lion grant for the project but
was denied. Jammes and the
mayor said they are currently
talking with vendors and
preparing for a bid process at
some point in the future.
“We’ve got no excess
sources, so we need to be as
efficient as absolutely possi
ble with what we have,”
Jammes said.
The city also has plans to
develop a water and waste-
water master plan, with assis
tance from a hired engineer
firm that specializes in such
things. Among other ele
ments, this master plan will
identify and outline the city’s
infrastructure and how it will
be impacted by future devel
opment. City leaders are in
talks with engineering firms
about getting the process
started.
“We are willing to spend
money on the path to im
prove our city’s future,” said
Mayor Lawrence.
When asked about word
from the EPD regarding per
mitting diversion from
Longswamp Creek to the
mines, they said they’re get
ting “silence, silence, si
lence.” They said the city has
contacted the agency to see
what their next steps would
Continued From 1A
Cove
sary while a crane is used to
replace large utility poles
along the route. The crane re
quires both lanes of the road
to operate.
According to an e-mail
from the commissioner’s of
fice, “The schedule has been
revised and the change is due
to the weather delays. The
crew will return on March
28th and they will work each
day until April 6th.”
Commission Chair Kris
Stancil said the rain over the
past week caused some delay.
“Every time we have cor
rect information, it gets
changed,” he said. “It is
weather dependent. Every
time that happens, it pushes
them back.”
While the heavily trav-
need to be several times -
most recently a couple weeks
ago - and that they haven’t
been denied a permit, but
they haven’t heard anything
back.
“It’s a waiting game with
them,” Jammes said.
elled route leading from Big
Canoe and Foothills area into
Jasper was closed, the county
took the opportunity to tem
porarily patch some of the
worst potholes there, Stancil
said. “This was deep patch
work on Cove,” he said. “It
was on those worst areas.
Quite a few are getting worse
and worse.”
Stancil said the county is
in the process of getting bids
for more permanent repairs
along the route, which may
be done to coincide with a
complete resurfacing of
Grandview Road. The county
commissioners are expected
to consider/vote on received
bids for both projects at their
next meeting.
If the bids are accepted
work on the projects will
begin within 90 days.
Weather
Photo/Angela Reinhardt
William Dilbeck has been
recording local weather for the
National Weather Service for
four decades. This is the rain
gauge he has used for many
years. The gauge is a cylindrical
can with a smaller tube inside. A
funnel is affixed to the inner
tube and the outer can is for
overflow. The inner tube has a
cross-sectional area that is one-
tenth the cross-section of the
funnel. When one inch of rain
falls into the funnel, it fills the
tube to a depth of 10 inches. A
specialized measuring stick
graduated to a hundredth of an
inch is used for a precise read
ing. Any overflow in the outer
can must be poured into the
inner tube to be measured.
committed to a volunteer task, the
history of recording Jasper weather
stretches down Dilbeck’s family
tree even farther than that.
“My uncle started it,” Dilbeck
said. “John Henry Dilbeck. He
started it in the 40s, probably ‘41 or
’42. My family goes way back -
we’ve been here since 1830 after
the land lottery.”
John Henry Dilbeck was a pho
tographer for the Atlanta-Journal
Constitution, Dilbeck told me. He
worked freelance and took aerial
photos of Jasper, and of other sig
nificant local events like when the
Connahaynee Lodge burned in
1946.
“I don’t know why he started
recording weather,” Dilbeck said.
“Maybe someone from the National
Weather Service came by one day
and asked.”
John Henry continued recording
weather for a decade until he passed
away in 1951.
“When he died Mr. Bob Edge
took it over at the Progress office
for two years, then dad started
doing it in ’53,” he said.
Dilbeck was five at the time.
He’d tag along with his father
Howard to the rain gauge and ther
mometer to gather readings.
“I don’t really remember a time
not doing it,” he said. “Dad really
enjoyed it and liked talking to peo
ple. In the winter when the temper
ature was really cold, he knew the
guy at Tate Mountain Estates and
he’d call him and get the snowfall
and what the low temperature on
the mountain was, which is always
lower than here. He did that just for
information. He’d also call WCHK,
the radio station in Canton, and re
port for them.”
From 1953 - 1959 his father col
lected weather information at a
service station he and his brother
John opened on Church Street. In
1959 Howard went into full-time
farming and the collection site
moved to his farm in Jasper. Dil
beck still lives on the property and
still collects weather information
there. The name of the station is
“JASG1,” and the location is
“1NNW,” which means it’s one
mile north-northwest of the court
house.
Dilbeck picked up the weather
observation job full-time at the age
of 35, when his father died in 1983,
and he’s the only one in Pickens
County who records for the Na
tional Weather Service.
“But that there are a few people
who have unofficial home weather
stations,” he said.
The nuts and bolts of COOP
weather observing
The National Weather Service
provides their COOP volunteers
with weather equipment, including
a rain gauge, snow sticks, and ther
mometers, the latter of which are
much different than they were in the
mid-19th century when his uncle
started collecting data. Temperature
stations back then used Liquid-in-
Glass (LIG) thermometers - one
was a mercury thermometer to log
maximum temps; one was filled
with alcohol to log minimum
temps.
The thermometers today are dig
ital.
“The first thing I do in the morn
ing is check the previous day’s tem
peratures and totals, then I send a
text to the National Weather Service
and log it,” Dilbeck said.
When his uncle and dad were on
the job, weather observers recorded
their findings and mailed them in
monthly to the National Weather
Service - but if it rained, iced, or
snowed they would have to call in
the findings that day. The 24-hour
collection period when his uncle
and father recorded was from 7 a.m.
to 7 a.m., “and it’s still done that
way today.”
Dilbeck’s records are stored on
line at the National Weather Service
COOP website, which has come in
handy on several occasions, he said.
He has been asked to pull info up
by the city of Jasper Water Depart
ment at one time because they
needed rainfall totals. Developers
call him, too, to gather data to prove
to insurance companies that they
were not able to work outside due
to excessive periods of rainfall. Dil
beck has even been called as a wit
ness in a murder case.
“They wanted to know the rain
fall because the body was wet,” he
said. “They needed to know how
much it rained for their investiga
tion. It was interesting. ”
Out of love of community, public
se i~vice
At one time when his dad was
logging weather, Dilbeck said
COOP observers were paid $30 a
month - but that’s not the case any
more.
“Something happened and they
started cutting funds in the govern
ment, so I just do it voluntarily now
because I’ve been doing it so long,”
he said.
I asked why his family has opted
to take up the task for decades,
when pay is nominal or non-exis
tent, and when it requires dedica
tion to log findings every single
day. Dilbeck said he considers it a
service to a community he takes
pride in and cares for deeply.
“I love Jasper,” he said. “It’s like
I’m chronicling history for the place
I love and where my family has
been so long.”
The COOP climate-observing
network currently has over 8,700
volunteers nationwide. According
to the National Weather Service,
“The first network of cooperative
stations was set up as a result of an
act of Congress in 1890 that estab
lished the Weather Bureau, but
many COOP stations began opera
tion long before that time. John
Campanius Holm's weather
records, taken without the benefit of
instruments in 1644 - 45, were the
earliest known observations in the
United States.”
George Washington, Thomas
Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin
maintained weather records, with
Thomas Jefferson “maintaining an
almost unbroken record of weather
observations between 1776 and
1816.”
The intention of creating the
COOP program was to “define the
climate of the United States,” “help
measure long-term climate
changes,” and to “provide observa
tional.. .data in near real-time to
support forecast, warning, and other
public service programs of the
NWS.”
Visit www.weather.gov/coop for
more information about COOP, in
cluding a map of sites and links to
find local data.
Continued From 1A
County
qualified to seek election.
Stancil added that the po
tential impact of sewer, “even
if it’s a small area.. .can grow
that small area in a fast, fast
time. We want to make sure
we’re not over extending
there.”
In addition to attracting
more commercial develop
ment, there is a large tract of
land in the immediate
Foothills area developers are
eyeing for residential use.
Stancil clarified that de
spite saying the project
would be “stalled,” the
county will continue talks be
hind the scenes until after the
election.
Lights a go for Roper Park
ation board and approved by
commissioners.
The second bid was from
Cory Clark Electric for
$1,006,275.
“This is going to advance
Roper Park into the future
with new LED lights,” said
Pickens Rec Director Brian
Jones.
The old lighting system
on Fields 2 and 3, which was
installed sometime in the
1980s, will be tom out.
Timeline for the project to
begin is dependent on when
materials can be acquired.
This is a SPLOST-funded
project. Jones said bids came
in at the price range they an
ticipated.
Boys & Girls Club to take
over county s summer camp
program
Commissioners approved
a bid for new lights for Roper
Park. The project will bring
new LED lighting system to
Fields 2-8 as well as to the
multi-use area near the soccer
fields.
The county received two
bids for the project. The low
bid came from North Cobb
Electrical Services at
$993,860, which was the rec
ommendation from the recre
Commissioners are work
ing with the Boys and Girls
Club to have the non-profit
oversee the summer camp
program, which has histori
cally been run by the
county’s recreation depart
ment.
The change was initiated
after the county’s insurance
company informed them that
80 percent of camp coun
selors will need to be adults,
and that only 20 percent can
be teens between 16 and 18.
Recreation director Jones
said the lion’s share of their
counselors in the past have
been teens between 14 and
17, and that it would be
nearly impossible to hire
older teens or young adults
for minimum wage when
they can work other places in
the county for considerably
more.
Jones and commissioners
are working with the B&G
Club to finalize details of the
arrangement, which would
include the B&G Club in
creasing the number of kids
they serve and utilizing the
county’s facilities at Roper
Park and the Pickens County
Community Center for the
program.
The formal agreement
will be prepared by the April
commissioners meeting for
approval.
Other news from
commissioners:
•Pickens Marshal Cole
Connel reported over 150 in
cidents year-to-date in 2022.
This is up from 31 in 2021
and 48 in 2020. In a later call,
Connel said he feels the jump
is in part due to him increas
ing visibility in the commu
nity after he took the posi
tion, in the way calls are
logged and recorded, and
other factors. Through March
21, 2022, the office has han
dled the following calls and
incidents: county ordinance
complaints, 46; dumping lo
cations, 16; animal call/live
stock (not including animal
control), 1; other calls/assist
ing the sheriff’s office, 3; in
formation calls, 36;
follow-up phone calls/onsite
investigation follow-ups, 55;
verbal warnings, 3; written
warnings, 4; citations, 0.
•Commissioners voted to
keep Cutoff Road on the
county maintenance sched
ule, but to make that road a
dead end to stop cut through
traffic. Residents on that road
petitioned the county to close
it citing high-speed drivers
and other safety issues.
•The tax commissioner’s
office reminded residents that
prepayments are now avail
able for people who would
like to make payments to
wards upcoming property
taxes.
•Animal Shelter Director
Emily Bell reported 18 sur
renders and 12 strays for the
month of February. During
that time there were 23 adop
tions, three reclaims, and five
transfers. She said being
open on Saturdays since the
year begun has helped in
crease the number of adop
tions. The shelter will hold an
open house on March 26
where pet drawing contest
entries will be on display.
There is also an Amazon
wish list that has been added
to the shelter’s website.
•CFO Charlene Bunch’s
finance report showed all
areas are operating under
budget at this time.
•Pickens Public Safety Di
rector Sloan Elrod reported a
significant decline in COVID
numbers recently. “The most
I’ve seen are three [cases] in
one day.” He said while this
is good news, cases are rising
in the U.K. and that histori
cally the U.S. cases mirror
that trend after three to four
months.
•Recycling director
Kenny Woodard said April
will again be tire amnesty
month. Pickens County resi
dents can bring up to four
tires off the rim to the recy
cling center to dispose of for
free. For January and Febru
ary, the center has shipped
out 240,000 pounds of recy
clable materials, “So we’re
off to a big start.”
•Rec Director Jones re
ported they have 51 teams
with 591 players, with half of
those players in t-ball, ages 3
through 6.
•Road Department Direc
tor Kirk Anderson reported
they are gearing up for
paving season, which will in
clude widening of Hill City
Road. Bid openings for sev
eral paving projects were
scheduled for the following
week. He said they have nu
merous work orders for
ditches and pipes that are be
ginning to back up, but “un
fortunately these are big
projects that we have to get
done before paving season
starts, so they are kind of tak
ing priority on our pretty
days. Hopefully in the next
month or so we’ll get those
squared away and we can get
back to our day-to-day rou
tine.”
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