About Pickens County progress. (Jasper, Ga.) 1899-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2023)
THURSDAY. DECEMBER 21.2023 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 9A Talking Rock Council sets 2024 budget, awards checks Stacey Bagley receives a $550 contribution for Pickens Animal Rescue from Talking Rock Mayor James Bryant, Jr. Proceeds from the duck race during Heritage Days were given to local non-profits. Talking Rock Mayor James Bryant, Jr. presents a $550 check to Doug VonBehren of the Pickens Pregnancy Re source Center. “We want to give back to our community, ” stated the mayor. Retired educators hear from state rep. and teacher of the year Council member resigns with move out of city limits By Max Caylor Contributing Writer Following a public hearing with no comment, the Talk ing Rock City Council set a $125,392 budget for 2024 last Thursday evening, an in crease of $17,810 over the previous year. “The city of Talking Rock is in exceptional financial condition,” said Mayor James Bryant, Jr. as he dis played balances of all five city accounts. Park usage fees for 2024 were increased from $50-$75 and the town hall community rental fees were raised from $75-$ 100. The mayor said the fee increases “were due to maintenance expenses.” Council members author ized a bidded contract of $25,000 to replace the town hall roof. A $6,175 mold re mediation contract was tabled for further tests. Also tabled was an alcohol ordi nance update that needed more research. Councilperson Mary Bre- gantini resigned her city council seat due to moving outside of the city limits. Bregantini has served two years as an appointee but was elected to her seat in the No vember elections. Mayor Bryant called her “a phenomenal rock star” for her council work and Her itage Days committee serv ice. Bregantini reported Her itage Days was a great suc cess with increased sponsors and vendors, although going over the $10,000 budget by $100. One of the most popular Heritage Days events was the Saturday and Sunday duck races in Talking Rock Creek. Race proceeds of $550 each were presented to Pickens Animal Rescue and the Pick ens County Pregnancy Re source Center by the council. In other business Janelle Childree was appointed to represent the City of Talking Rock on the board of the Pickens County Library. Submitted By Lisa Barnett On Wednesday, December 13. The Pickens Retired Ed ucators met at the Pickens Community Center for a lunch meeting. Our State House Representative for District 11, Rick Jasperse, and his wife Marcia attended the meeting along with Joe Morgan, Pickens County Teacher of the Year. Jasperse spoke about many topics that were of in terest to the members. He took questions from our members and shared his thoughts on how it will im pact Pickens County and the state of Georgia. Morgan spoke about his teaching journey and those who inspired him over his 21 years of teaching. He is presently the media specialist at Harmony Elementary where students can use their voices and share. Most stu dents say visiting the library is their favorite place to visit each week. At the end of the meeting, Mr. Morgan played his piano and sang some Christmas songs. Dwight and Presley Barnett accompanied him by singing and playing the guitar and drums. The members were delighted with the music and sang along. For their encore, they played “Whole A Lotta Shakin Goin On.” Our next lunch meeting will be on Wednesday, March 13 at 11:30 p.m. J.D. Weaver from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Department will be our guest speaker. The members will honor the Golden Deed Award win ner for 2024. It is not too late to nominate someone. See our website for the criteria and deadline. Suppose you are inter ested in learning more about the Pickens County REA. We would love for you to attend this meeting. You can reach out to Co-President Elect Lisa Barnett for more infor mation. She can be reached at ldbamett24pcrea@gmail.co m. You can also visit us: https://sites.google.com/view /pickensrea/home. Jasper City Hall will close at 12:00PM on Friday, December 22, 2023, and will re-open on Wednesday, December 27,2023, at 8:00AM. Utility payments may be made by using the 24-hour drop box on the side of City Hall, by calling 1-888-291-1517, or through online pay at www.municipalonlinepayments.com/jasperga. r v In Their Honor of Jasper FUU'SERVICE FUNERAE HOME FUNERALS ~ CREMATIONS lntheirhonorofjasper.com 481 Noah Drive, Jasper, GA 30143 N ITHJasper@gmail.com 706-253-5060 (business hours or after hour)
