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THURSDAY. OCTOBER 12. 2023 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 3A
1000 BNP CASES OF 9MM $279
LORA
ERDMAN
Candidates introduced at Nelson council meeting
Thank you to the sponsors and
participants of the
Amicalola
JL \ Commandery #41
' I 4th Annual Car & Truck
■ * Show
Held on Sept. 30th with your assistance the
proceeds will fund a local pastor’s trip to the
Holy Land and provide funds for the Molly
Mosley Eye Foundation.
• I PROMISE TO BRING OUR OLD CHARTER BACK
MAKING THE MAYOR THE CHIEF ELECTED
OFFICIAL ANSWERABLE TO JASPER CITIZENS,
NOT TO COUNCIL.
• I PROMISE WHEN YOU CALL CITY HALL YOU
WILL GET A PERSON, NOT AN ANSWERING
MACHINE GIVING YOU THE
RUNAROUND.
• I PROMISE NOT TO HIRE
PEOPLE FROM OUT OF
THE STATE SUCH AS CITY
MANAGER (VIRGINIA),
ASSISTANT CITY
MANAGER (FLORIDA) AND
BUILDING INSPECTOR
(MASSACHUSETTS)
EVENT SPONSORS
AlanHorne, State Farm
Canton Lodge #77
Grass Roots Landscaping
In Memory of J.L. Blalock
Jasper Easy Car Credit
Lake Forest Memorial Park
Mountain City NAPA
Randy Richards Music
Roxy’s Antiques
ESK Lamar Richards
Biscuit Maker
Darby Funeral Home
Herman R. Richards
In Memory of M.R. Blalock
Kevin Roper, LLC
Larry Bennett, Past MIGM
Pickens Chapter #28
R & R Body Shop
Speed Burger Drive-In
Boyles Agency
Bruce Performance
GA Mtn. Daylight Lodge
In Memory of Bobby Massey
James Blalock Farms
LakeAcworth Flea Market
MAB Insurance Associates
Pickens Council #55
Roper Funeral Home
Wise Chiropractic Center
Cove Waterfall Assoc.
Pickens Progress
Candidates for the open Nelson City Council seats introduced themselves to Nelson residents at the regularly scheduled
council meeting on Oct. 2nd. Those candidates included, left to right, challengers Michael Haviland and John Ahlberg,
and incumbents David Hamby, Kristeen MacNeill, and Nathan Hamby. Not pictured is challenger Michael Brown.
plans for the required 100-
foot buffer on each side. Dur
ing the discussion, some
suggestions were made that
the timber cutting should
proceed as planned.
City Attorney Jeff Rus-
bridge said one resolution of
the problem would be to
change the questionable ordi
nance so the Durham Taylor
company "would not be in
violation of it." The attorney
implied that, at any rate, be
cause of EPA requirements,
the ordinance was redundant
and unnecessary. However,
the council took no action on
the issue. A member of the
Holcomb family, owners of
the property, later expressed
frustration that the issue re
mained unresolved.
The council then moved
into a lengthy executive ses
sion, and the meeting
reached the point of having
been ongoing for almost two
hours when the council re
turned to chambers. Before
opening up the town hall por
tion of the meeting for candi
date comments, Mayor
Green took the opportunity to
thank the current council say
ing, "I appreciate everything
they have done."
Council members seeking
reelection include David
Hamby, Nathan Hamby, and
Kristeen MacNeill. Both of
the Hambys made short com
ments while Ms. MacNeill,
who has been in office for
only a year, spoke in detail
about her reasons for seeking
reelection.
Two of the three chal
lengers, Michael Haviland
and John Ahlberg, were
given the opportunity to
speak and they both spent
several minutes explaining
their positions. The third
challenger, Michael Brown,
was not in attendance.
Nelson council members
serve at-large, so the top
three vote-getters will be
elected during the city elec
tion on Tuesday, Nov. 7th,
2023.
During the public comments
portion of the Nelson Coun
cil meeting, Rebecca Ryder
complained that her neigh
bors were not adhering to
the city’s leash laws and she
A
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MY PROMISE TO THE CITY
OF JASPER
• I PROMISE FIRST TO STOP THE WASTE AT CITY
HALL.
• I PROMISE TO LOWER OUR CITY TAXES AND
WATER RATES BY CUTTING EVEN MORE WASTE.
• I PROMISE TO WORK WITH ALL CITIZENS AND
NOT AGAINST THOSE WHO NEED ASSISTANCE.
By Larry Cavender
Contributing Writer
At the conclusion of the
most recent council meeting,
Nelson Mayor Sylvia Green
set aside time in a "Town
Hall" format for the candi
dates vying for council seats
to introduce themselves to
local citizens. Although the
agenda was a relatively short
one, the meeting proved to be
lengthy and few residents re
mained present to hear the
candidates' appeals.
During public appear
ances following the call to
order and the subsequent
opening ceremonies, Mayor
Green asked for any com
ments. At that point, Rebecca
Ryder stood and accused
some of her neighbors with
violating the city's leash
laws. She said she was fear
ful for the safety of her chil
dren.
While she was addressing
the council, some of the ac
cused intemipted and vocif
erously spoke up in their
defense, at which point, the
mayor took control and
chided them for "inappropri
ate" behavior. The mayor
then turned to Ms. Ryder and
added that a council meeting
was also an "inappropriate"
place to raise such issues.
The mayor stated that the
council only enacts the city's
ordinances and supposed vi
olations should be referred to
the sheriffs office who is re
sponsible for enforcement.
The meeting then moved
to the department reports
which included a police re
port from Lt. Dissis of the
Cherokee County Sheriffs
Department and a finance re
port by Nelson Finance Man
ager Miranda McDowell.
The council considered sev
eral agenda items of unfin
ished business that included
opening bids for a new Kub
ota mower, purchase of new
display cases for the Nelson
museum, improvements to
the kiddy park, and adoption
of the Cherokee County ani
mal control ordinance.
In new business, there
was a long discussion con
cerning the city's timber cut
ting ordinance that was being
questioned by a representa
tive of the Durham Taylor
Supply Company which has
plans to purchase and de
velop a 54-acre tract of land
at the comer of Jordan Road
and Old Nelson Road. The
company, which currently
operates on Highway 20 in
Gumming, wants to open a
new business location on that
property.
The problem lies in the
ambiguity of the obscure or
dinance and the company
representative stated he
wanted to be in compliance
with all ordinances and regu
lations. He assured the coun
cil that in cutting timber from
the property, they have made
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MAYOR
CITY OF JASPER
• I PROMISE NOT TO HAVE
BUT ONE CITY MANAGER.