Is a city of Jasper well on someone else’s property?

The Pickens Progress will host a forum between commission chair candidates David Shouse (I) and Kris Stancil (R) on Monday, Oct. 5. 

The event will be held at the Pickens County Administration Building, downstairs in the Pickens Room, beginning at 7 p.m. It will be moderated by longtime Progress contributor Larry Cavender, who has moderated numerous other political debates, forums, and town hall meetings in the past. 

There will be prepared questions and questions will be taken from the floor. 

Limited seating will be available, first come first seated with social distancing requirements. Those who plan to attend please use common sense: don’t come if you are not feeling well, wear a mask, spread out in the room.

See profiles on both candidates in our e-edition from Sept. 24

By Beau Evans
Staff Writer
Capitol Beat News Service

Gov. Brian Kemp has extended social distancing and sanitization restrictions for businesses, gatherings and long-term elderly care facilities in Georgia amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
   In a news release sent late Wednesday, the governor’s office announced Kemp signed an order extending the restrictions through Oct. 15. The order keeps restrictions that have been in place for months largely the same.

See Part 1 - Remembering the Past, shaping the future

Part 2 - Integration of Schools

See Black History in Pickens County. Multi-Part Series from  2011

By Bill Cagle, Thelma Cagle, Karen Benson, Lynette Bridges, Justin Davis, Andrea Johnson

Rapid population growth, the economy, and over reliance on social media present new challenges for nurturing peaceful race relations in Pickens County. In this final article about race relations, we will explore how population growth, the economy, and social media are influencers in the community. We will cite some examples from the past that can instruct future actions. 

In 1970 Pickens County’s population was 9,620. This was four years after school integration was achieved. A predominantly White county with Appalachian heritage, Pickens County had a Black population as high as 8.2% in 1930. By 2010, that percentage had dropped to 2.3%, with the Hispanic population recorded at 2.8%. In 2017 the county’s population was 30,343, which included the Black population [sum of Black, and Two or More Races (non-Hispanic)] at 815 or 2.68%, according to DataUSA. 

    The Pickens government will resurface over 11 miles on 28 county roads. Officials opened bids for the large paving project on Thursday, Aug. 27. 

There were five bids, ranging from just over $1 million to around $1.3 million. The paving will be funded by the 2014 SPLOST. 

Pickens Commission Chair Rob Jones said the project will wipe out most of the 2014 SPLOST monies earmarked for paving, “but there’s a little left in there for the sheriff and for some water projects” 

        See full story including list of roads in this week's print or online editions.