Newspaper Page Text
Pike County High School varsity baseball and boys and
girls soccer teams recently earned region championships.
See page 8A-9A
PIKE COUNTY
<JRNAL REPORTER
ONE DOLLAR
www.pikecountygeorgia.com
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021
National Day
of Prayer set
for May 6
The National Day
of Prayer will be
celebrated locally at
noon Thursday, May
6 on the courthouse
square. The theme
for the annual day of
prayer is “Lord pour
out your love, life and
liberty’ and it will
be hosted by Prayer
Power of Georgia.
“The National Day
of Prayer is a patriotic
and spiritual celebra
tion of our great na
tion, a time to join to
gether to honor those
who have served in
many different capaci
ties and to ask bless
ings for those serving
our community and
country as they are
called,” said chaplain
Ben Maxedon. “Com
munity leaders from
Pike County will offer
words and prayers for
seven different prayer
points, plus our com
munity, state, nation,
world, and all those
who need salvation.”
The scripture for
this year is 2 Corin
thians 3:17, “Now the
Lord is the Spirit and
where the Spirit of
the Lord is, there is
freedom.”
For more informa
tion, contact Ben
Maxedon at Prayer
Power of Georgia, P.O.
Box 1263, Zebulon,
770-689-7549, prayer
power4u@bellsouth.
net or online at prayer
power4u.net/event-
single/events/.
Theater teacher earns High Five praise
SPECIAL PHOTO
Pike middle and high school theater teacher Lori Bush was nominated for the High Five for
Teachers honor. She has taught for six years at Pike schools and has managed many student
productions as well as One-Act play and literary competitions. In the past four years, PCHS
has been AAA Literary Region champions three times and earned runner up this year.
Pike County theater
teacher Lori Bush was
nominated - more than
once - for the High Five
for Teachers award
which seeks to honor
outstanding teachers
from all over the metro
Atlanta area. Citizens
from across Georgia were
invited to vote for the
teacher they wanted to
win.
Lori Bush has been
teaching for six years and
has shared her lifelong
passion for theater with
her Pike middle and high
school students. She has
helped many students
earn top honors in One
Act Play and literary
competitions.
“We didn’t just get one
nomination letter for Lori
Bush, we got nearly a
dozen. So it might seem a
little surprising that the
Pike County High School
drama teacher never
dreamed she’d end up
surrounded by teenag
ers,” said Paul Milliken
of Good Day Atlanta in a
video interview with Lori
and her class. She said
she had planned to teach
college but after having
kids of her own, found
out how much she loved
being around kids.
“Theater just affects
so many avenues of life
and 1 think that the skills
that they learn, they are
going to carry with them
no matter what they go
into,” she said. “It is a
little bit of a sacrifice to
get the quality of pro
gram that 1 want to build
and that 1 think the kids
are capable of. It takes a
lot of time and practice
so somebody has to be
there and I’m more than
willing. I just love see
ing the payoff of their
efforts.”
See THEATER page 2A
PHOTOS BY BLANCHE ROSSI
Local Boy Scout from Troop 107 Carmine Masi (left) and Scout leader Alex Anderson (right)
test the waters of a creek in Pike County through the Adopt A Stream program.
Test creeks in Pike for Adopt A Stream program
Library seeks input
on five year plan
Pike County Extension
is seeking to improve
water quality throughout
the Pike community, and
is hoping more citizens
help through the Adopt A
Stream program. Recent
ly, Blanche Rossi, Troop
107 Boy Scout Carmine
Masi and Scout Leader
Alex Anderson tested
local streams. At the end
of chemical monitoring,
Carmine said, “Please
call me next month, so 1
can do this again! I love
chemistry and nature!”
Improving water quali
ty describes a wide range
of water sources and cor
responding issues. Steps
are being taken to help
homeowners with well
water quality concerns
through testing, consul
tations, and even well
water camera use, but
well water is not the only
source of water in the
county that needs help.
Several Pike streams
are listed on the 303d
list. That means the
streams do not meet end
use. They can be put
on the list for numer
ous reasons from E. coli
numbers to not support
ing macro-invertebrates
and fish. Streams such as
Elkins Creek, Lewis Creek
and Wasp Creek all find
themselves on ‘the list.’
See ADOPT A STREAM page 2A
Public asked to
answer survey
by May 10
The J. Joel Edwards
Public Library is cur
rently developing a
three-to-five-year strate
gic plan and needs the
community’s input to
make the most efficient
use of the library’s
space as well as plans
for desired program
ming and services.
A survey has been
created for citizens to
fill out online at https://
forms.gle/7ZcznWmw
7EMqVmTd9 until
May 10. The link to the
survey is also on the
library’s website and
Facebook page. Print
hard copies of the sur
vey are at the library,
1828 Coffee Company,
A Novel Experience,
United Bank and the
county’s administrative
office and must also be
returned by May 10.
“Rapid projected
growth is predicted in
Pike County. It is im
portant that the board
has a clear direction
for best usage of the
expected impact fees.
As the library serves
the community, it is im
perative that the board
receives input from the
citizens of Pike. This in
formation is very valu
able in providing a clear
direction,” said library
Board of Trustees chair
Gillian Appleton. “The
board has developed a
brief survey designed
to pinpoint areas of
growth or improvement
to incorporate into our
three-to-five-year strate
gic plan. We are asking
citizens of Pike County,
whether you currently
use the library or not,
to take 5-10 minutes of
their time to complete
the survey.”
At their most re
cent board meeting,
members focused on
the library’s Five-Year
Strategic Plan and how
to best serve the com
munity. Board members
agreed that the board’s
plan would be, “To
create sub-dividable
multipurpose space of
sufficient size to meet
the needs of patrons
and communities, and
to explore more ef
ficient uses of existing
space.”
Board members
also approved this
mission statement for
the library: The J. Joel
Edwards Public Library
will meet or exceed the
needs of its patrons and
communities.
PHOTOS BY BLANCHE ROSSI
Carmine Masi (left) and Scout leader Alex Anderson (right) Boy Scout from Troop 107 hold up
water samples as they test the waters of a creek in Pike through the Adopt A Stream program.
Bridge on Highway 109 to close May 5 for replacement
PHOTO BY RACHEL MCDANIEL / PIKE COONTY JOURNAL REPORTER
The bridge on Highway 109 east over Gola Creek was closed
for about a month in 2016 as extensive repairs were made.
Work to replace the bridge entirely will start May 5 and last
around 180 days according to the contractor.
BY RACHEL McDANIEL
news@pikecountygeorgia.com
The bridge over Gola
Creek on Highway 109
- one mile east of Means-
ville - will be replaced
starting May 5 and work
the bridge will be closed
for around 180 accord
ing to the contractor
approved by the Georgia
Department of Transpor
tation. McCoy Grading of
Greenville will complete
the $1,412,304 project.
“This is a $1.4 million
investment on a new and
wider bridge. It should
increase the hydraulic
flow of Gola Creek while
providing a less congest
ed feel when crossing
the creek,” said Penny
Brooks of the GDOT.
“Additionally, the project
replaces a bridge that
was getting close to the
end of its life cycle.”
The total length of the
project is approximately
1365 feet, beginning 815
feet west of the existing
bridge and ending 520
feet east of the existing
bridge. The proposed
bridge would be built in
the same location as the
existing bridge.
The proposed bridge
would be a one-span
bridge, approximately
90 feet long by 39.08 feet
wide over Gola Creek and
would be constructed
on existing alignment.
Traffic currently using
Georgia 109 as a through
route would use an
off-site detour during
construction.
The bridge improve
ments include two 12-foot
travel lanes with six-foot
shoulders on both sides of
the bridge. The roadway
typical section on both
approaches to the bridge
consist of two 12-foot
travel lanes with six-foot
overall shoulders that in
clude two feet paved and
four feet unpaved.