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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.