June 13, 2024
Pickens County Progress
Page 11A
City Of
Nelson
To schedule a free site visit call
770-825-2103 or visit our website
GenSpringPower.com
lOenSprhw
power® mmmmJ
MOVIES IN
THE PARK
fiber arts people are everywhere
at the market with such cute cro
cheted creations like succulents
in pots and hanging frogs. And
Honey Belle Hill advertises that
“Coffee tastes better in a hand
made mug!”
The Pickens County Master
Gardeners had their plant tent
up with loads of great plants and
good gardening advice for those
that inquired Diane Nelson
heads this up with support from
other MGs. Each offers infor
mation and advice on the plants
available or will answer ques
tions about gardening in gener
al. Newcomers to our commu
nity find this to be very helpM
especially if they have moved
from a different gardening en
vironment. Diane also leads
the very successful Plants and
Paints program that has been
held at the Library. The next
Plants and Paints event is Fri
day July 12th at the Extension
Office instead of the library.
The Pickens County Extension
Office is located at 68 D.B. Car-
roll St, just off Main Street be
hind the Old Jail. The program
time is 3 until 4:30 p.m.
Now, this coming Saturday,
Farmers Market Report
The Pickens County Master Gardeners with
their booth at the Farmers Market are a great re
source for anyone with plant questions.
Another wonderful day for
the Jasper Farmers Market.
Loads of good items to choose
from like plants, produce, paint
ings and much more kept ev
eryone busy searching for what
was needed
Cozy Cherries sells bags
filled with cherry pits to be
heated or chilled to soothe
your aches and pains. Wood
land Kingdom Creations offers
fanciful creatures and more to
stimulate the imagination The
June 15th at the Extension Of
fice, will be a free public educa
tion MG program event called
‘Conservation Landscape
Design to Preserve Nature’.
Come learn about the essential
elements of landscapes that will
harmonize with the natural en
vironment to increase pollinator
habitats that in turn will expand
the numbers and variety of pol
linators. There is limited seating
and six people from the market
have already signed up. You
will also create a hand painted
yard art piece. The event will be
from 1 to 3 p.m. Please register
via email at novaboxerl04@
gmail.com.
Thank you to all the cus
tomers who stopped by the MG
tent. Many chose some great
plants for their garden and the
master gardeners appreciate
your support. Our next plant
tent sale is the 2nd Saturday of
July. (Special thanks to Jenny,
market manager and a MG. She
has beautilul bouquets from her
garden.)
Relief in sight for Ball Ground
UGA Athletics history in
Jasper Friday
ATHENS - “UGA Athletics
in Your Town,” a traveling exhibit
of materials from the University
of Georgia Athletic Association
archives, will be coming to Jasper.
The exhibit will be on display at
the Pickens County Library Friday,
June 14 from 11 am. until 3 p.m.
Jason Hasty, Athletics History
Specialist tor the UGA Hargrett
Rare Book and Manuscript Library,
will bring a collection of historic
Georgia Bulldogs athletics artifacts
to the Pickens County Library as
part of a statewide summer torn' of
public libraries across Georgia.
“There are Georgia alumni and
Georgia tans in every coma' of our
state,” Hasty said. “This traveling
exhibit is a great way to take some
of the most interesting artifacts
we have in the UGA Athletic As
sociation archive to communities
all across Georgia for a fun, fami
ly-friendly event.”
These traveling exhibits are free
and open to the public. Additional
information may be obtained from
Hasty at: hasty@uga.edu. Or 706-
542-6179.
The Hargrett Library, which is
in the Richard B. Russell Special
Collections Libraries Building on
the University of Georgia campus,
is one of three special collections
libraries that are part of the Univer
sity of Georgia Libraries. For more
information about these traveling
exhibits, please contact Jason Hasty
at hasty@uga.edu.
Check out our
Spring Service Specials
$20 OFF BRAKE SERVICE
$5 OVER COST ON ALL TIRES
$20 OFF REGULAR PRICED ALIGNMENT
(WITH PURCHASE OF 4 TIRES)
FREE BATTERY TESTING
https://shottenkirkfordjasper.com
868 Highway 515 S • Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 692-6467
BRIGGSrSTRATTON
ENERGY SOLUTIONS
June 15, 2024
@ Dusk
Edmondson Field
100 School St.
Nelson GA
traffic woes...finally
Let GenSpring Power help you
achieve peace of mind and show
your independence!
In recognition of Independence Day, with
every Briggs & Stratton home generator
purchased between June 1 and July 4, 2024,
GenSping Power is offering a quality American
Flag. Let us help you gain your independence
from power outages with a quality
Briggs & Stratton home generator system,
professionally installed by our
fully licensed team.
After the sale, GenSpring Power offers service
plans and warranty support to help keep your
Briggs & Stratton generator ready for the next
power outage.
sight, it still may be many
years before that relief be
comes a reality. When asked
about a possible construc
tion start date, Wilmarth
said that is still far into the
future.
Engineering will take
three to five years, and there
are also numerous bureau
cratic hurdles because of
federal policies which in
cludes environmental and
historical studies.
Still, after nearly three
decades, the wheels are now
finally beginning to turn on
the Ball Ground bypass.
photo/Larry Cavender
Howell Bridge Road East currently ends at the plant entrance of the Uni
versal Alloy Corporation. Preliminary plans call for a bypass extending from
that point to State Highway 372, near to its intersection at Flatbottom Road.
By Larry Cavender
Contributing Writer
It has been nearly three
decades since Ball Ground
city officials first sought
some relief for their down
town traffic congestion,
specifically concerning the
voluminous truck traffic. It
now appears relief may fi
nally be in sight.
According to Ball
Ground City Manager Eric
Wilmarth, the Atlanta Re
gional Commission recently
awarded $3.2 million dol
lars to be purposed for the
bypass project, and an en
gineering firm has already
been hired.
Wilmarth added that a
request for funding through
the federal level has been
made by way of CDS
(Congressionally Directed
Spending) which is current
ly being ushered through
the United States Senate by
Senator Rafael Wamock.
When approved, that will
target $4.8 million dollars
for right-of-way acquisition.
Preliminary plans call for
the bypass to extend from
Howell Bridge Road East
and to circle back around to
Gilmer Ferry Road, the Free
Home Highway, or State
Route 372 somewhere near
that road’s intersection with
Flatbottom Road. Howell
Bridge Road, which is the
primary exit off Highway
575 into Ball Ground, cur
rently ends at the Universal
Alloy Corporation (UAC)
plant entrance.
Wilmarth notes the by
pass, although it entails only
a couple of miles, will be a
massive construction proj
ect. For one thing, there
will be a 70-foot-deep cut
required for an underpass
beneath Northridge Road
leaving that road with no ac
cess to the bypass.
The idea of a bypass was
first floated by Ball Ground
in 1996, and the city was
optimistic at first because
the Georgia Department of
Transportation immediately
approved the project and,
according to Wilmarth, it
was then picked up by the
state. However, the bypass
project has languished ever
since. The need for traffic
relief has grown tremen
dously because the once
sleepy downtown has awak
ened over the past decade.
Ball Ground now boasts
many downtown venues,
shops and restaurants re
sulting in a considerable
amount of pedestrian traffic.
Coupled with many popular
downtown events, officials
have longed feared the pos
sibility of a tragic accident
despite local efforts to in
stall crosswalks, pedestrian
warning lights, and other
safety measures.
Although relief is now in
Prepare for your CNA career
Certified Nurse
Assistant
Now available at our
Appalachian Campus
. in Jasper.
Apply Now
for Fall Semester
Where you thrive. m»iyMJ£14A
VQsT
ChattahoocheeTech.edu
770-528-4545
i Business (!) Computers @Media ^Health @Technical
A Unit of the Technical College System of Georgia. Equal Opportunity Institution.
UHLH
111. >
