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PAGE 10A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. AUGUST 25. 2022
Tate students get the scoop on
farming with mobile ag unit
Photos/Angela Reinhardt
A Tate Elementary student learns where the items her
family purchases from the grocery store come from in an
interactive checkout lane.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Why are farms and the
farmers who ran them impor
tant?
Helping young students
understand the answer to this
question is the primary goal
of the Georgia Ag Experi
ence Mobile Classroom,
which was at Tate Elemen
tary a portion of last week.
“We want to plant seeds
about what a major role
farmers play in their commu
nity,” said Virginia Fulwood,
educational programs assis
tant with the Georgia Ag Ex
perience.
Over the three-day period,
more than 200 3rd, 4th, and
5th graders were immersed in
virtual simulations - visiting
poultry houses, peanut and
com fields, peach and pecan
orchards, cattle in pastures,
timber stands, blueberry
fields and horticulture nurs
eries.
The interior of the mobile
classroom is a visual specta
cle, an explosion of color and
interactive stations where
students can leam about each
of those farming areas. At the
poultry station, they can
touch real pieces of poultry
house equipment and learn
what it takes to build one in a
video game simulation.
Students learn about the
diverse use of cows, includ
ing gelatin for gummy bears,
where the food they buy in
the grocery store comes
from, what plants would be
best for their back yard, a
simulated tractor experience,
and more. They watch infor
The City of Jasper has partnered with Consolidated Pipe & Supply
Company/Master Meter to upgrade all water meters with new
Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) technology.
All water that enters your residence or
business is currently measured through a
manually read meter that records the
amount of water being used.
With a new AMI meter, water usage
information or "consumption" is recorded
by the meter and then remotely
transmitted to City Hall every day.
This means that nearly real time
information on consumption and potential
leak situations is available to not only our
Utility Billing Department, but also to our
customers!
@<M4.atietated
PIPE & SUPPLY COMPANY, INC.
In the next few months, Consolidated
Pipe & Supply Company will start
constructing the base station and repeater
infrastructure. During this same time,
crews will start changing out water meters.
Meter change outs will be coordinated
through the City of Jasper and will be
performed by Consolidated Pipe & Supply,
along with their utility subcontractor M&E
Construction. All field personnel will
either be in City of Jasper uniform or have
ID badges for Consolidated Pipe & Supply
or M&E Construction.
We anticipate that the meter change out
process will take several weeks, and we
will be sure to keep you updated as to the
official start date for the project and as
milestones are achieved.
Be sure to follow the City's Facebook page and
the City of Jasper website (www.jasper-ga.us)
for more information.
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lymn will forever govern i^Moraiiti*: ,a\iuI
it who mean to ho their own fjovemors.
itmsl in-ill tlii-insi-h oh with the power which
knowledge jjircs." - James iModison
Students play Ag Bingo while watching short films about different sectors of the ag in
dustry at the mobile classroom.
mational videos and play ag
bingo.
Students end their time in
the mobile classroom with a
short test that lets them know
what area of agricultural they
would best be suited with,
and leave with a badge that
names the job best for them.
“It was exciting to see so
many children having fun
learning about the impor
tance of agriculture in Geor
gia,” said Pickens Farm
Bureau President John
Tatum. “The students were
able to discover career op
portunities in the agriculture
field, and the extensive use of
technology in the Georgia Ag
Experience kept them en
gaged and interested. It was
an honor for Pickens County
Farm Bureau to be part of
this amazing program.”
The Pickens Farm Bureau
applied for the mobile unit to
visit Pickens County.
On Wednesday, Aug. 17,
leaders of the community
were invited to tour the mo
bile unit, including State
Rep. Rick Jasperse. Pickens
County Commissioner Josh
Tippens was also in atten
dance.
Rachel Hoffbauer of Farm
Bureau thanked Hilary
Tatum, gifted coordinator at
Tate Elementary, and
Stephanie Hall, Tate Elemen
tary principal, “as they were
very supportive and accom
modating in allowing us to
visit their school.”
All exhibits and lessons
that are part of the Georgia
Ag Experience have been
professionally designed to
meet science, technology,
engineering and math
(STEM) standards. This pro
gram is provided by The
Georgia Foundation for Agri
culture. Please read more
about this wonderful pro
gram by visiting their web
site at:
georgiaagexperience.org/.
Community leaders toured the mobile classroom. (L-R) Sandy Tatum, volunteer; Brit
tany Gaddis, Tate Elementary academic coach; Juanita Tatum, volunteer; Stephanie Hall,
Tate Elementary principal; Sonia Chapman, Hill City Elementary ag teacher; Ann Long,
Tate Elementary assistant principal; Charlene Stirewalt, Jasper Middle ag teacher; Hilary
Tatum, Tate Elementary gifted coordinator; Virginia Fulwood, educational programs as
sistant, Georgia Ag Experience; Lacy Powell, District 1 Federation manager Georgia
Farm Bureau; Rachel Hoffbauer, office manager PCFB; Rick Jasperse, Georgia State
Representative; John Tatum, Pickens County Farm Bureau president; Justin Fellen-
baum, Pickens County Extension Agent; Josh Tippens, Pickens County commissioner;
Jamie Knight, agency manager Pickens County Farm Bureau.
Feds reopen state review of proposed
titanium mine near Okefenokee
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - The Ala
bama-based company look
ing to mine titanium near the
Okefenokee Swamp has
reached an out-of-court set
tlement that will allow the
state to resume consideration
of permits for the project.
The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers suspended review
of those state permits in
June, declaring that Twin
Pines Minerals had not con
sulted the Muscogee Creek
Nation about the project. The
Okefenokee is culturally sig
nificant to the tribe.
The company sued in fed
eral court, alleging that sus
pending consideration of the
proposed mine violated the
Administrative Procedures
Act as well as its constitu
tional rights.
The settlement an
nounced Monday will let the
state Environmental Protec
tion Division (EPD) pick up
its review of the project.
“This is great news for
Twin Pines, for our project,
and for Charlton County,”
Twin Pines President Steve
Ingle said. “We appreciate
the Corps’ willingness to re
verse itself and make things
right.”
Twin Pines originally
sought permits for a mine
that would have affected
about 12,000 acres near the
swamp. Later, the company
revised its plans to a smaller
“demonstration mine” of
nearly 900 acres.
Still, the mine is expected
to generate hundreds of
high-paying jobs and almost
double rural Charlton
County’s tax base, according
to a Twin Pines news release.
Environmental groups
oppose the project, citing the
threat to the hydrology of the
largest blackwater swamp in
North America.
“We are exceedingly dis
appointed in the Corps’ deci
sion to put the polluter
before people, again placing
at risk the iconic Okefenokee
and hundreds of acres of
wetlands that are critical to
its health,” said Kelly Moser,
senior attorney and leader of
the Southern Environmental
Law Center’s Clean Water
Defense Initiative.
Twin Pines officials say
the mine does not threaten
the environment, noting the
proposed site for the project
is three miles from the south
east corner of the Okefeno
kee at its closest point and 11
miles from the nearest canoe
trail used by visitors.
The company also main
tains the land will be restored
to its original contours and
native vegetation after min
ing activity is completed.
Moser said Twin Pines
still must comply with the
federal Clean Water Act,
which will require a federal
permit in addition to the state
permits the company is seek
ing.
This story is available
through a news partnership with
Capitol Beat News Service, a
project of the Georgia Press Ed
ucational Foundation.
