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“Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost”
- Thomas Jefferson, 1786
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Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
October 5,2023
National Newspaper Week is October 1-7
Newspapers keep public informed, community strong
Last week the Progress staff spent
time organizing a town hall meeting for
candidates in the Jasper municipal elec
tion. We will host it and will also provide
coverage of the event so residents can be
better informed about the people seeking
office. We’re not saying we’re the only
entity in town that has arranged local po
litical debates, town halls or candidate fo
rums, but the task often falls to us - most
groups don’t want the job. Most people
also don’t want to sit through long gov
ernment meetings in the evenings or
court trials, then summarize them for
people who weren’t there. That task also
falls to us, but that’s what we’re here to
do.
Local newspapers like this one keep
the community informed about important
issues that impact residents’ immediate
lives. What’s going on with the school
board or county budget? What roads are
going to be paved? What happened with
that controversial rezoning request in my
neck of the woods? We also provide pos
itive news about local groups and people
that keep our community connected and
get to the bottom of rumors that are often
incorrect.
October 1-7 is National Newspaper
Week and we want to first thank all the
people who support and value local
news, and also remind people why news
papers - even small town ones like us -
are so important. Without local newspa
pers who would be there to cover govern
ment happenings and keep people in
charge accountable? When a community
isn’t served by an independent news
agency it opens the door for corruption,
misinformation, and lack of connection.
As the Ga. Press phrase says “local
matters.”
Lillie Fears, a professor of journalism
at Arkansas State University, told the
Arkansas-Democrat Gazette “that the
ability of residents to find area news is
essential to the health of the community,”
which the paper’s assistant editor wrote
about in a recent op-ed.
The assistant editor believes “local
news plays a vital role in keeping gov
ernment and schools accountable, and re
search indicates that corruption rises as
news dwindles.” Fears says, “The temp
tation [for corruption], it just grows”
without a local newspaper.
We can recall several of our own local
leaders whose corruption was exposed in
these pages. Without a newspaper to
cover the events and press politicians for
information, these and other controver
sial issues may never come to light.
It’s no secret that newspapers have
found themselves in a place where adapt
ing is necessary in an increasingly-digital
world. Though it is important to note that
not a single legal organ newspaper in
Georgia has gone defunct. All Georgia
counties are served by newspapers.
Dean Ridings, CEO of America’s
Newspapers, writes about the challenges
newspapers face.
“Rising costs, national competitors
and the impact of Big Tech companies
using newspapers’ content without com
pensation have all impacted your local
newspaper. Now, more than ever, we
need their commitment to journalism’s
core values. As we recognize National
Newspaper Week, let’s focus on the vital
role that newspapers play, and consider
how we can support them.”
Benjy Hamm, Institute for Rural Jour
nalism director, cited a study based on
5,000 surveys that “revealed that respon
dents ranked local newspapers...as the
most accurate sources of original news
reporting” and that, “Americans seek out
local news - to stay informed, feel con
nected in the community, decide where
they stand on local issues, find places and
things to do, and talk to other people
about community news.”
For this National Newspaper Week we
thank you for your support, and ask that
you continue to do so so we can continue
to support our community.
Tell us your thoughts with a letter to the editor. E-mail to news@picken-
sprogress.com See letter submission guidelines on the Letters to the Editor page
or call us 706-253-2457.
Unsupervised with a word processor
Disappeared
By Hugh Pendley
The fall has long been a
time of reflection for me.
Perhaps it is the dreary time
that marks the passing of an
other summer moving toward
the end of yet another year.
Ever heard the song Oper
ator or Bad Bad Lee Roy
Brownl Jim Croce made
these songs when he was at
the height of his popularity.
He was killed in a plane crash
50 years ago (September
20th, 1973).
That was the week I
started the electronic technol
ogy course at Pickens Area
Technical School (Chatta
hoochee Tech now). That
weekend Greg, a friend from
high school, and I rode
around and the DJ on Z-93
WZGC played Time In A Bot
tle every five minutes and
talked about Jim's passing.
Jim disappeared.
Over the decades I reflect
on people I've known that
have disappeared. Not ab
ducted by aliens like Barney
and Betty Hill (c. 1961, the
first to describe being kid
napped by aliens in modem
times...) but simply never
seeing them again.
I recall a cooking show
about a fellow in construction
in Atlanta who had a heart at
tack from stress. He moved
to Alaska and opened a diner.
He said, “Burning a pancake
is not all that stressful.” They
showed his wife for one sec
ond and it looked like some
one I worked with in
Norcross. Was it Gay? She
told me her parents named
her Enola Gay, after the B-29
that bombed Hiroshima. Did
she move to Alaska and dis
appear? Don't know.
There were a lot of people
I worked with and liked in
Norcross. Rusty, the boss,
that trained German shep
herds on the weekends. Or
Howard the test engineer that
was so friendly. Or Homer
whom I considered a genius.
None have been spotted by
me since 1992 and I wouldn’t
know where to start looking
for them now.
Likewise, not seen folks
since high school like Steve
who worked on the Bent Tree
golf course after school. Only
saw Steve a time or two since
graduation.
Going toward Canton, be
fore Exit 20, on the right side
of 575 is a cross, a few flow
ers, and a sign that says only
“Tami.” Clearly, she has dis
appeared. But her family
fixed a memorial for her.
Everyone who knows her can
recall her when they pass by.
In the early '60s the state
patrol put up small wooden
crosses where someone was
killed in a car wreck. There
were so many of them it in
terfered with cutting the grass
and the practice was discon
tinued.
Time happens to us all...
Person No. 1, “What hap
pened to that funny-looking
guy in the paper?”
Person No. 2, “Who
knows... he disappeared.”
Hugh Pendley grew up on a
chicken farm o ff Cove Road
in the 1960s. He contributes
occasionally to the Progress.
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457
www.pickensprogressonline.com
DAN POOL
Publisher/Editor
Published each Thursday at Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia.
Entered at the Post Office at Jasper, Georgia 30143
as Mail Matter of Second Class.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS, 94 N. Main St., Jasper, GA 30143.
One Year Subscription: $41.17 for residents of Pickens County
or the cities of Ball Ground, Fairmount, and Ranger;
$52.30 for all other Georgia residents; $62.32 out of state residents.
Other Voices
Recognize the importance and opportunities
presented by American manufacturing
photo/Tracy Cullen, SME
A training session for operating advanced technology
production equipment.
By Phillip S. Waldrop, PhD
On the first Friday of Oc
tober each year, the U.S. rec
ognizes Manufacturing Day
as an opportunity to make
everyone aware of the critical
importance of manufacturing
within our overall economy
and national security.
Manufacturing converts
materials to make possible all
the things that we need -
food, clothing, shelter, trans
portation, energy, and the
technologies for communica
tion, education, medical care,
and entertaimuent.
Industry leaders say that
the top priority of a Manufac
turing Day event should be to
present careers in manufac
turing as a viable option for
community members.
When we say “manufac
turing” we mean the full
range of jobs within the com
panies that produce things -
such as research, design, pro
duction, marketing, manage
ment - but also many other
“outside” jobs that require
manufacturing knowledge
such as for work in the fields
of training, safety, or envi
ronmental protection.
It is very important to
have insight into the options
for career infonuation, explo
ration, choice, and growth.
According to a 2023 report
on employment and career
advancement, 82% of U.S.
manufacturing companies are
experiencing a labor short
age. At the same time there
are many people out of work
or underemployed because
their knowledge and skills
are lacking, or not a good
match for what is needed by
employers. “Underem
ployed” can mean that the in
dividuals are working
part-time or - for many col
lege grads - they are working
in lower-paying jobs that do
not require the level of edu
cation they invested in.
In fact, a study lists over
70 occupations that have a
significant number of edu
cated people who are under
employed. Manufacturing is
not one of those.
Especially for young peo
ple, an issue that may limit
their insights to career paths
is that schools and the news
media tend to promote
awareness of 4-year college
degrees in areas unrelated to
WEATHER
By William
Dilbeck
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the diverse field of manufac
turing.
So, while college degrees
are important for some ca
reers, few students are tuned
in to the current industry
“skills gap” that involves
middle-range skills (defined
as those requiring some post
secondary education or train
ing but less than a four-year
degree).
Pickens County High
School is fortunate to have a
career counselor who can
provide information about
what knowledge and skills
are in high demand in manu
facturing, medical, and other
fields, and how to become
qualified for those opportuni
ties.
Numerous choices are out
there for interesting, prof
itable careers that don’t re
quire investment in a 4-year
degree, earn income sooner,
and still provide the potential
for advancement. Technically
experienced individuals can
shift to supervision, sales, or
training. An example is a per
son who was introduced to
welding processes in high
school, enjoyed a well-paid
career in that skilled field,
and then became an instruc
tor at a teclmical college.
We hear a lot about man
ufacturing jobs having gone
“offshore,” but we need to
understand that there are sev
eral reasons other than lower-
cost labor for doing
manufacturing in other coun
tries. Perhaps the primary
reason is to supply the de
mand for our products out
side of our home country. For
example, GM produces and
sells more Buicks in China
than in the U.S. In Georgia
there are almost 420,000 jobs
in the manufacturing indus
tries.
About 100,000 of those
jobs are at international, non-
U.S. companies such as KIA
and JCB. They manufacture
here so they can sell here -
not because we have low-
cost labor.
Yes, the U.S. shares the
top two spots with China, but
U.S. production far exceeds
that of any of the other 180 or
so nations. Many U.S. com
panies have learned that the
hoped-for advantages of off
shore production for low
costs have not worked well,
and they want to “re-shore”
work back to the U.S. - but
are challenged because there
are not enough workers here
with the mid-level skills to
handle modern technologies
such as robotics and 3-D
printing of parts.
Today this means real op
portunities for people - in
cluding adults transitioning
from military service or other
work - who choose to start
with 2-year technical col
leges, apprenticeships, on-the
job training, and/or online
learning and certification.
Manufacturing-related
scholarships are available
from schools and organiza
tions such as SME (visit
https://www.sme.org/en-
gage/improve/). Valuable in
formation about job
requirements, working condi
tions, pay and benefits is
available from the U.S. Bu
reau of Labor Statistics
(https://www.bls.gov/bls/oc-
cupation.htm). Check it out.
Phil Waldrop is a retired
manufacturing technologist
and educator who lives in
Big Canoe. He has taught at
both the high school and uni
versity levels, most recently
in the Manufacturing and
Manufacturing Engineering
programs at Georgia South
ern. He has also worked in
and consulted at a variety of
industries for a dozen years,
primarily in aerospace/de
fense manufacturing research
and development. He may be
reached at pwaldrop@geor-
giasouthern. edu.
If you spot an
error let us know
dpool@
pickensprogress.com