About Pickens County progress. (Jasper, Ga.) 1899-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2022)
THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 1.2022 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 5A Food for thought, Hyperphagia has begun The Appalachia Georgia Friends of the Bears would like to remind the public that fall is arriving. The leaves have started turning at the higher alti tudes, children and young adults alike are returning to school, and Southeastern Conference football heralds the arrival of fall. For those not familiar with the biological clock of the American Black Bear, late summer, and early fall heralds a time know as Hy perphagia, or excessive eat ing. They must eat a lot of food to store fat for the win ter. Bears all over North American are entering Hy perphagia now. Black Bears are oppor tunistic feeders. A 250 lbs. male Black Bear must eat 3,000 calories a day to main tain weight, which is approx imately 1.5 lbs. of acorns a day. On top of all these calo ries needed for daily living they must consume 20,000 calories/day or about 10 lbs. of acorns during Hyperpha gia to gain the needed 3-5 lbs./day needed for hiberna tion. Garbage kills bears Two-thirds of all Human- Bear conflict is bears access ing human garbage. In addition to the dangers of being around humans, they ingest packaging that dam ages their teeth chewing metal cans which will cause intestinal damage and result in a painful death. The human food causes tooth decay increasing the likelihood of abscesses that will kill them. Natural food does not! It is more important now to secure attractants to re duce the possibility of having Human-Bear conflicts. This comes in the form of garbage, birdseed, humming bird feeders, pet food, live stock food, greasy BBQ’s, smokers, and fish cookers, and other wildlife foods ac cessed by Black Bears. These attractants teach them to approach homes and hu mans for more food. Today there is a general agreement that most Human- Bear conflicts are the result of human behavior. There is no such thing as a “nui sance,” or “problem” Bears. Bad human behavior begets bad bear behavior. The Appalachia Georgia Friends of the Bears is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission is to reduce Human- Bear conflict through proac tive educational outreach programs, increasing public awareness about coexisting with black bears, the use of humane bear deterrents, and advocacy. Visit them at https://agfriendsofthebears.c om or their partners at Bear- Wise.org. A pair of bears fatten up near Grandview Road in the fall of2021 in a trail camera photo. Right now the internal clocks of bears are telling them to pack on pounds for winter. Homeowners are reminded to not leave an open buffet out with garbage and other items like pet food. 0'N€ILL OUTDOORS BY O'NeiLL WILLIAMS Late summer and general aggravation {O’Neill’s column ap pears twice monthly in the Progress, generally the first and third weeks of the month.} So, there’s the guy in your neighborhood that you have come to know, and your fam ilies have become friends. You’ve talked to him be fore about his Bass and Striper fishing trips, his suc cesses and failures, the weather he has endured, and singular adventures on the lakes. Sounds great. Would it not be great if you wrangled a guest trip with him locally one day? Sounds good, doesn’t it? Well, here are a few rec ommendations from an old veteran (O’Neill) as to how to make it a trip for you to help make it a pleasant day, be productive and possibly even be invited again. Let’s review first what he has invested in his ‘fishing outfit.’ Reasonably new fully equipped bass boat with power anchors, new electron ics, etc - $50,000 to $70,000. Monthly insurance pre mium, maybe $70. Other up to date gear, rods, reels, lures, and associated equipment - $5,000 minimum. Truck - $70,000. Truck and boat fuel for your trip even to a lake nearby - $300. He generally has $170,000 invested in the ‘outfit’ and a single day on the water will cost about $500 for fuel, lost lures and wear and tear. WOW! Here are a few suggestions in random order for you to consider that may get you your first trip and then another. Learn or know how to back the boat down the ramp. Be on time. Don’t bring any tackle to get in the way. I’m sure he has an abundance to use for whatever your desti nation may be but be sure ahead of time that it’s OK for you to use his tackle. He doesn’t need any more to junk up the boat and get in Interested in your community and history? Go straight to jail. The Pickens Historical Society, managers of the Old Jail on Main Street, seeks volunteers. Greeters, hosts, tour guides or those who have an interest in restoration. Contact the group by find ing Pickens Historical So ciety on Facebook or by e-mail at pickenshistorical@ gmail.com. the way. On the way to the lake, insist on stopping to fuel up the boat and truck and do the same when returning on the way home. Buy breakfast also. Bring a camera or cell to take pho tos of your host and his catch. Usually, it’s the other way around. If he doesn’t smoke, you don’t either. Make sure your boots are clean. He doesn’t need any mud stains on the carpet. Just in case he doesn’t have one, take along an old wide mouth Mason jar for you to relieve yourself so you will not bal ance on the gunwale and uri nate off the side of the boat and likely leave the evidence. After returning that day, insist again, to wash the boat and trailer. If you caught fish, ask if it’s OK to keep a few and be sure and clean them and offer him a share. When you trailered the boat, clean it up inside and pick up around the ramp. Make it look like you were never there. Important: Never tell anyone where on the lake you two fished. If you tell someone about his favorite spots, and he finds out, you’ll surely never get to go again. Still thinking about ask ing? You should, OR, pro ceed in buying all this yourself and then spend a few hundred days on the water building up your knowledge and successes. Maybe after 10 years or so, you’ll be asked by a neighbor to take him fishing. If you anticipate that, keep this from O’Neill as suggestions for him. O'Neill Williams, born in Atlanta, is host of O'Neill Outside, Find out more or contact him at O'NeillOut- side.com. His latest book is avail able online there as well. NOTICE The Jasper City Council does hereby announce that the millage rate will be set at the September 12, 2022 Regular Council Meeting to be held at Jasper City Hall in Council Chambers at 200 Burnt Mountain Road, Jasper, Georgia 30143 pursuant to the requirements of O.C.G. A. Section 48-5-32 do hereby publish the following presentation of the current year's tax digest and levy, along with the history of the tax digest and levy for the past five years. CURRENT 2022 TAX DIGEST AND 5 YEAR HISTORY OF LEVY Jasper City 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Real 8. Personal 223,919,082 244,651,166 251,734,957 264,689,466 279,140,712 322,879,320 Motor Vehicles 2,385,630 1,885,650 1,631,220 1,359,700 1,138,270 1,048,370 Mobile Homes 17,686 17,686 17,686 17,686 16,404 16,404 Timber - 100% - O 0 O 0 0 Heavy Duty Equipment - O 0 0 0 0 Gross Digest 226,332,398 246,554,502 253,383,863 266,066,852 280,295,386 323.944.094 Less M& O Exemptions 5,733,741 8,168,810 6,170,559 6,061,617 6,507,224 7,610,548 Net M & O Digest 220,598,657 238,385,692 247,213,304 260,005,235 273,788,162 316,333,546 State Forest Land Assistance Grant Value Adjusted Net M&O Digest 220,598,657 238,385,692 247,213,304 260,005,235 273,788,162 316,333,546 Gross M&O Milage 9.482 9.497 9.811 11.049 11.437 11.364 Less Rollbacks (LOST) 4.827 4.842 5.156 5.394 5.879 5.897 Net M&O Milage 4.655 4.655 4.655 5.655 5.558 5.467 Total City Taxes Levied $1,026,887 $1,109,685 $1,150,778 $1,470,330 $1,521,715 $1,729,395 Net Taxes $ Increase 14,530 $82,799 $41,093 $319,552 $51,385 $207,681 Net Taxes % Increase 1.44% 8.06% 3.70% 27.77% 3.49% 13.65% Paving Residential & Commercial Complete Paving Service 470-330-5021 BBeie Estimates
