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THURSDAY. MARCH 9. 2023 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 11A
Continued From 1A
ROE Atpres
1 ' ent, plans call
for an enroll
ment of 90 students per semester. Students
would be required to have a learner's permit,
a good attendance record, and be on-track for
graduation to be eligible for driver’s ed.
New facilities of all types
in planning stage
Facilities dominated the report by COO
Chris Wallace. As a part of the PF1S Extracur
ricular Enhancement Project, Wallace re
ported on plans to build a multipurpose
fieldhouse at the PF1S stadium, the repurpos
ing of the current fieldhouse as a livestock
Continued From 1A
grow-out facility, and also the repurposing of
the old agricultural facility into a PHS
wrestling center. Other improvements include
the resurfacing of the stadium’s six-lane track
and creating a field events/practice field.
Other topics covered by the COO included
the repaving of Dragon Drive, options for
custodial operations, as well as the progress
of the Georgia Department of Education's re
quired local facilities plan which is mandated
every five years.
Because the meeting was a work session,
no action was taken on any issue. However,
action is expected on many of these issues at
the next regular board meeting on Thursday,
March 9th.
Continued From 1A
School
Times
"It’s hard enough to put
food on the table, and now
you're asking me to either
quit my job or pay a 100 dol
lars a month for afterschool?"
asked one parent.
Similarly, bus drivers who
work additional jobs to sup
port themselves are greatly
impacted by earlier start
times.
"Who’s going to pay me
to lose the hours at my other
job because I’m having to
leave?" asked a Pickens
County school bus driver.
Moving elementary
school stop times earlier in
the day reinvigorates an al
ready present stress for bus
Continued From 1A
Council
on hold until he sees what ‘s
to come of a massive Georgia
Department of Transporta
tion project, which will re
configure the stretch of
Highway 53 from Highway
515 into downtown Jasper.
According to GDOT, the
project will be bid in Septem
ber of 2024. A portion of that
section of Highway 53 will
become four lanes, and other
areas will become one-way
pairs.
“I want to see how much
of my land it is going to take
up,” he said. “We will go
from there.”
The motion to accept the
rezoning/annexation request
was approved by council.
Council members Sonny
Proctor and John Foust were
not in attendance. Jasper’s
Planning & Zoning Commis
sion recommended approval
for the annexation/rezoning
request at their January 25
meeting. Planning & Zoning
staff also recommended the
annexation and rezoning.
Site plans must be ap
proved prior to construction.
The city of Jasper is cur
rently under a moratorium
for residential rezonings. The
moratorium does not apply to
commercial rezoning re
drivers and parents alike;
sending young students back
to the school when no one is
there to take them off the bus.
Sending students back to the
school interrupts long bus
routes and creates stress for
parents who work during
those times. Several commu
nity members noted that the
most recent change in school
start/stop times decreased the
number of students being
taken back to the school.
"Before, we were taking
back six or seven a day. Now
we're getting about two a
week." said one Pickens
County bus driver.
For those in support of the
proposed plan, many cite re
search that shows elementary
school students learn more
effectively within a four-hour
window of waking up. Sev
eral teachers expressed that
quests. The residential rezon
ing moratorium is set to ex
pire April 15. It was
originally put into place in
August 2021 in the face of a
wave of interest in develop
ment in Jasper. It has been
extended several times as a
city leaders update the build
ing ordinances and develop a
utilities master plan to guide
future development.
Council member Kirk
Raffield of the Development
& Local Infra structure Com
mittee said their committee
would meet the day after the
council meeting to continue
discussion of the moratorium
and ordinance review.
“That department is in an
uptick,” Raffield said.
“They’ve handled a lot of
small fires on their end as far
as local developers and proj
ects being held to a higher
standard, so we will continue
to work on that.”
In other news from council:
•Council member Kirk
Raffield of the Public Safety
& Judicial Committee re
ported renovations are under
way at the Jasper Fire Station
“which will allow us to have
more staffing and better
usage of the facility by staff.”
•Council member Jim
Looney reported that engi
neers recently updated the
Enterprise Fund Committee
regarding surveying and prep
site for the upcoming waste-
water treatment expansion
project. Easements for the
project are 99 percent com
pleted, he said. The Enter
prise Fund Committee is
concerned with water and
wastewater departments.
•Christi Hobgood was ap
pointed to the Sequoyah Re
gional Library board.
•Auditors are set to begin
work on the city’s FY 2022
audit this week.
photo/TRBPS
“They ’re the firearms that our forefathers created this country with, ” says club founder
John White. He stresses more than competition, they welcome people to come out and
learn. The Black Powder shooters will host a Youth History Shoot here on March 11.
earlier start times would
allow them to better serve
their young students in this
way.
"Our administration
works very hard to do the
best they can to make sure
that our young students are
beginning academics as early
as possible. However, it
doesn't always work out,"
said teacher Jamie King.
Although not discussed as
heavily, other community
members feel that aligning
teenagers' schedules with
their growing, changing bod
ies is an additional plus of ad
justing school start/stop
times.
The BOE is still open to
additional comments or con
cerns regarding the proposed
plan for new school start/stop
times. The BOE has a regular
meeting on March 9th.
An architectural rendering of the new 8,000 sq.ft, building
that will expand Prestige Pediatrics as well as Heart and
Vascular Care’s cardiology offices on West Church Street.
Black
Powder
Due to the large amount of
smoke produced from muz
zle loader rifles, shooting at
indoor gun ranges is re
stricted. Thus, White and his
friends began the club here.
“We can advertise and get
a bunch of people to shoot,”
he said. “People are always
looking for a place to shoot
black powder.”
Many of the club mem
ber’s rifles are custom-built
Civil War replicas or muskets
handed down from one gen
eration to another.
“We host the shoots, we
invite anybody to come and
see us shoot. If they want to
bring their kids, we'll help the
kids shoot. We love showing
off our guns,” he said.
TRBPS' enthusiasm is
aimed at educating children
on the history of black pow
der and muzzleloading.
White says, “We want to give
back to the community, we
want to educate people.
They're the firearms that our
forefathers created this coun
try with.”
On March 11, TRBPS
will hold its Youth History
Shoot. This event will in
struct children on historical
events on the importance of
the varied firearms used be
tween 1774 and 1856. A
basic safety lecture will be
provided during the shoot.
For more information,
visit TRBPS.com where you
can see future events and
read the event blog.
When White wants to de
pict a day in the life of a sol
dier during the Civil War to
kids, he asks them to take off
their shoes and walk around.
He explains that the lifetime
for a pair of shoes is gener
ally 350 miles. The rest
would have to be walked
barefoot.
“That opens the kid's eyes
as to how it was back then
and even just standing in line
shooting at 50 yards apart.”
White explains that black
powder was invented around
1,200 years ago. Then the in
ception of guns, “It started
off with an old match lock,”
a 1400s firing mechanism.
The evolution has continued
to flint locks to percussion
caps, and most recently, mod
em smokeless powder.
TRBPS is drawing new
shooters, averaging 50%
growth per year.
“I had a guy show up that
bought a [muzzleloading]
gun, custom-built over 40
years ago. He never shot it.
He's struggled with it. But he
is just thrilled to be a part of
our group,” said White.
“Now he’s with a whole
bunch of like-minded people
who enjoy being outdoors,
shooting, laughing, joking,
and having a good time.”
White says that TRBPS
aren't primarily focused on
competition but on fellow
ship and friendship. “We're a
growing organization that
wants to give back to the
community and help.
Whether it be through the do
nation like we did with a vet
eran’s group, allowing people
to experience what we're
doing.”
Youth Art Month Show
at Community Center
Pictured is the PACA Scholarship winning artwork
from 2022 by youth artist Joselly Bautista.
Pickens Arts and Cul
tural Alliance (PACA) in
partnership with the Pick
ens County Recreation De
partment is proud to
announce its first Youth Art
Month Show in three years.
The show will be held in the
Recreation Center Commu
nity Room located at Roper
Park.
Recreation Department
Director Brian Jones said
the department was pleased
to host the show because
the facility was developed
not only for sports but also
arts and cultural activities.
The show will be open
for public viewing from 8
a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday,
March 16th, and on Friday,
March 17th, from 8 a.m. to
7 p.m. Come and celebrate
Youth Art Month with us
during our drop-in recep
tion from 4 pm to 7 p.m.
March 17th.
Light refreshments will
be served.
The show will feature
student art work from Har
mony Elementary, Hill City
Elementary, Tate Elemen
tary, Pickens Junior High
School, and Pickens High
School. It will also be open
to home schoolers and pri
vate school students. There
will be a first, second, and
third place prize for high
school students and 7th and
8th graders.
Judging will be based on
the students’ use of the ele
ments of art and principles
of design, originality/cre
ativity, and craftsmanship.
Please stop by and show
support to our local art stu
dents and enjoy the talent of
our youth.
For additional informa
tion please contact PACA at
770-893-7940.
Photos/Angela Reinhardt
Council recognized Jordan Burton, who was promoted
to lieutenant in the Jasper Fire Department. “He’s grown
a lot,” said Jasper Fire Chief John Sheerer. “We’re very
pleased with his performance and his leadership abilities
and we couldn’t be happier with Jordan. ”
(L-R) Jasper Asst. Fire Chief Ian Norton, Lt. Jordan
Burton and Jasper Fire Chief John Sheerer.
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PICKENS ARTS & CULTURAL ALLIANCE
in partnership with
PICKENS COUNTY RECREATION DEPARTMENT
present
YOUTH ART MONTH SHOW
Located in the Recreation Center Community Room
Open for viewing:
Thursday, March 16th
8:00am to 9:00pm
Friday, March 17th
8:00am to 7:00 pm
Drop-in reception: March 17
4:00pm to 7:00pm
For additional
information please
contact PACA at
770-893-7940.
Featuring student art work from
Harmony Elementary, Hill City
Elementary, Tate Elementary,
Pickens Junior High School,
D Pickens High School, home
schoolers and private
PICKENS ARTS & CULTURAL ALLIANCE SChOOl Students.
/^ACA