Letters to the Editor for the week of 8/28/2008

Dear Editor:
Can someone tell me what is going on at Burnt Mountain Center? I am not talking about the new construction on the building. My brother-in-law and his mother were co-founders of the Center. So, the Center has a very special place in my heart. The Center is to serve the disabled, and to help them achieve some independence. We have been so blessed by this Center and by someone who has given 30 years to it. He is the Center. Without him I am afraid of what will happen.
I have known him for 30 years and he has always been there for the Center and the community. Look what he has done for all the disabled in the community. He has put his blood, sweat and tears into the Center. How can we let this happen to someone who has given his life to this Center? I want to know? God bless you Mike! It is just not right.

Concerned citizen,
Kathy Boyd



Dear Editor:
The article in the August 14th edition of the Pickens County Progress concerning the courthouse made for interesting reading.
Re: Courthouse Commission
If I read it correctly the county commissioner and the county attorney did not attend the Advisory Commission meeting. Personally I think the commissioner should have been in attendance especially since he is the one that got all this mess started with his “legacy for his ego” of his term in office.
Several members of the Advisory Commission questioned weather the best option was to renovate or rebuild at the present downtown location or somewhere else. The pros and cons of the downtown location revealed several problems such as space, parking, loss of local business traffic and security.
Since “Rob’s fiasco” has stirred up the public and only passed a county vote with a small margin for approval of the SPLOST there has been much talk and controversy about the courthouse. Personally I think that the downtown area is the best place and the traditional place for our courthouse.
Locating the courthouse downtown does present problems. Looking at other counties courthouse renovations and constructions would be vital in making sound decisions for Pickens County. One case in point is downtown Cumming and its courthouse and other government office locations. Since adequate space seems to always be a problem some offices presently located in the courthouse could certainly be housed separately; ones that come to mind is the Magistrate Court, the Probate Court, the District Attorney’s Office and the Probation/Parole Office. Re-locating these and perhaps others to another location such as the old post office building around the corner from Jasper Drugs or elsewhere would free up lots of space therefore the actual courthouse would benefit by not having to be as large or require as much parking space.
Another thought, which I am sure will not be very popular with some adjacent businesses would be to take in the business properties starting at the entrance to the Wood Bridge on Main Street and ending at the north side of the street to the right side of the present courthouse and include all of the property clear back to the railroad tracks behind all of these areas. This would greatly increase the amount of property for the new courthouse and needed parking.
Last but not least, the present courthouse is ugly but for those that think otherwise save the front wall and destroy the rest and just maybe some architect will have enough of an imagination to incorporate it into the new courthouse front without it looking so ugly. Face it, the present structure has long since outlived its usefulness. With the present economy such as it is perhaps much thought and foresight should go into how the taxpayers money is spent, wisely I hope.

Thomas Jared Irwin, Jr.



Dear Editor:
I find it interesting that the exact same issues I pointed out in previous letters to the editor about the current courthouse are making its way back into the discussions. I for one am not sure we’re going to get a quality
structure that “lasts” and can handle growth for $17 million dollars. What I think the only two valid solutions are: get a bond for $30 million, procure The Edge building (sorry Progress) and build a new facility that ties into the old structure from the north. Or be content with a “modest” facility similar to a Class B office building as a annex facility that will be “away from downtown” across from the current County Admin building. Considering ADA requirements and the “new world” we live in due to the Fulton County courthouse shootings, being cheap and low ball so to keep emotional ties to a obsolete structure is not something we can afford to do, or we’ll be going back every 5 to 10 years “revisiting the courthouse problem”. I am not against old buildings or “the past”, but to think doing touch up work on the current facility will solve our judicial needs 15 to 20 years is unrealistic. Let’s get away from the emotional tie-ins, build a facility that is functional and meet the needs of the county now and in the future.

Greg Moore



Dear Editor:
Regarding the letter to the editor in last week’s issue in reference to Old Mill White Road not being paved all the way through: I too am a landowner on that road and was looking forward to the county’s pavement project. When they came to me to sign the right-of-way, I did it without hesitating. However, the project was not able to be completed because not all the landowners would give the OK.

Thank you,
Ralph Fitts



Dear Editor:
I am so pleased to be writing this letter. The time is drawing near for the Pickens County Singing Convention and I am so excited. Sept. 28 is the date and 2 p.m. is the time. It will be held at the First Baptist Church in Jasper. Such a great place to meet.
A group of people have gotten together to plan this great event. They have invited all singers, preachers, churches and listeners. They really want to see all song leaders come from Pickens and all the other counties. What a day it will be, to come sing and praise God.
My first time to be at a singing was in 1948. I was 6 years old. My family and I lived at Hinton, Ga., two miles from Scarecorn Tabernacle. Each 2nd Sunday in June we would walk to the arbor (as we called it) for all day meeting and dinner on the ground. We would decorate the graves at 10 a.m. (my family is buried there) and then go back to the arbor for 11 a.m. worship service. After a great lunch, we would go back for the singing service. We would sing until late in the day.
Can you imagine the sounds echoing over the hills and valleys of that quiet little town? People would come from Fairmount, Ludville and all surrounding places to sing and fellowship and worship. A love of song was born in me that will not go away. I can still remember the sawdust on the floor at the old Tabernacle. In fact, a few weeks ago I went back and the arbor is still the same.
Down through the years I have attended all singing conventions in our town. Some were held in the Pickens County Courthouse. Finally they were held at our school. I could not believe it when they stopped. Now what a joy it is to see that the Pickens County Singing Convention is being brought back. No admission will be charged. It will be our day to sing and worship God. So you come for that great event and I will be there too. Maybe we can renew old friendships and make a lot of new friends.

Sincerely,
Juanita Wilkie


Dear Editor:
Evolution and creationism are both theories. One theory has libraries full of supporting data, while the other lacks a single verifiable fact in support.
Therein lies the debate, or lack of it.

Robert Barr