• Sassy’s Hope offers help for those facing cancer

    Group offers gas assistance for cancer patients With gas prices approaching five-dollars per gallon, those facing chemotherapy and radiation may feel the pinch at the pump on top of other worries. It started as a way to give back to her community after losing her father to lung cancer in 2015 by taking snack bags […]

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  • Phillips Rodeo celebrates 43 years

    Family fun, sweet tea are the hallmarks of Phillips Rodeo in its 43rd year As Garth Brookes sang, it’s the boots and mud, dust and blood. It’s the white in the knuckles and the gold in the buckle. It’s the rodeo and it will bring more than eight seconds of fun at Phillips Arena in […]

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  • Credit cards to be issued to some school employees

    credit card

    The Murray County Board of Education voted Monday to move forward with a plan to give certain employees a credit cards. The program will start in February. “It will be a slow roll-out,” said Kathy Smith, director of finance. Department heads will be the first to get the cards, which will be issued through Chase […]

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  • Budget and alcohol concerns top Chatsworth agenda

    budget

    The City of Chatsworth braces for a budget hit, telling departments it could affect personnel. The decrease in tax revenues has departments maintaining last year’s budget numbers. “We’re expecting a $20,000 loss,” Mayor KW Gong said. “They didn’t vote for a tax increase.” Councilman Fred Welch said they are asking all departments to maintain last […]

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  • UPDATED: Wherefore art thou, Shakespeare? Not a Pickens High. . .

    Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare, a staple of high school education, may be a person non-grata at Pickens High School. According to a notice posted on the doors over the weekend, the play, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare,” a compilation of the Bard’s work, was cancelled pending a review of the material. The move brought forth the […]

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  • Georgia Power Underground gets library easement

    The Pickens County Board of Commissioners gave Georgia Power Underground easement to the land in front of the library for underground wiring and a transformer. Commissioner Jerry Barnes was out sick, leaving Becky Denney and Chairman Rob Jones to make decisions for the county. “You can have it if you don’t replant the kudzu,” Jones […]

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  • Budget hearings underway for Pickens County

    budget hearing

    Sheriff Donnie Craig presented his budget request at a budget hearing with the Pickens County Board of Commissioners this week and after negotiations, settled for a $7,981,149.36 budget, $489,150.57 or a 6.6-percent increase over 2020’s budget of $7,425,731. It was $2,400 less than the original $7,983,549.36, a $557,818.36 or a 7.5-percent increase over the 2020 […]

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  • Alcohol ordinance tabled until next meeting

    alcohol ordinance

    The City of Hiawassee tabled voting on the Alcohol Ordinance as questions over how package licenses would be awarded. The alcohol ordinance as written contained a point system in which the applicant with the most points would be awarded the only license issued. Some members didn’t like the idea of a point system and wanted […]

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  • Stancil takes the election and the helm of the county

    chairman

    Kris Stancil said he wants to make upright decisions and bring the community together for common goals. He will take the helm as the new chairman for the Pickens County Board of Commissioners. Tuesday’s win against independent candidate David Shouse brought a two-year campaign to close. “It feels like it’s gone on and on forever,” […]

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  • Stancil wins over Shouse for chairman position

    Republican Kristopher “Kris” Stancil beat out Independent candidate David Shouse in the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners race Tuesday night. Stancil had 10,919 votes in the chairman race, while Shouse came in with 3,997 at around 11 p.m. on Election Day. Total votes cast were 14,916, although mail-in ballots had not been accounted for. […]

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  • Collins: “I enjoy waking up to the sound of freedom”

    Doug Collins, a contender for U.S. Senate in a field of 20, stopped in Jasper to talk to crowds and engage “in the sounds of freedom” at the Appalachian Gun, Pawn and Range. After voicing his support for the Second Amendment, farmers, and pro-life, the representative took time to try out the indoor range, even […]

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  • UPDATE: Pickens Schools closed beginning Monday

    school

    Pickens County Schools announced they will close all schools starting Monday, Oct. 26 through Nov. 6. Traditional students will transition to distance learning on Monday. The decision comes after the district had 27 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 584 students, teachers, and staff in quarantined. According to a press release from the system, the buildings […]

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  • Group project brings spirit store to Gilmer High

    spirit store

    When students think of group projects, a spirit store isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Usually, it’s a mix of deciding who does which part of the PowerPoint slides, who handles research, who presents the information and a fear that no one else will pull their weight, leaving one or two to handle […]

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  • COVID task force encourages residents not to be complacent

    budget

    COVID task force: Not the time to be complacent The Gordon County COVID-19 task force is encouraging people to continue following safety guidelines. COVID-19 cases in Gordon County rose to 240 over the last two weeks, compared to 170 in the two weeks prior. The task force released the following statement: “Over the last couple […]

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  • Long lines, but not long waits for early voters in Murray County

    The lines are long, but it’s quieting down from Monday’s opening day of early voting, according to Connie Winkler, deputy elections superintendent. She said more than 1,000 have come through from Monday-Wednesday with numbers averaging about 450 voters per day. “I expect we will see between 6,000 and 8,000 before the end of early voting,” […]

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  • GC High School and Sonoraville High move to hybrid amid spike in COVID cases

    school

    Gordon County Schools has found it necessary to move to hybrid instructional model, as outlined in the district’s Back to School guidance in August, for both Gordon Central High School and Sonoraville High School beginning Monday, October 19.  The tentative return date to full-time, in-person instruction will be Monday, November 30, 2020. The decision to […]

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