Megachurches a growing part of Pickens religious life

By Beau Evans
Staff Writer
Capitol Beat News Service
    ATLANTA - Legislation to reduce the number of standardized tests public school students must take in Georgia advanced in the state Senate on Monday.

   Senate Bill 367, which would nix five tests and give the state Department of Education more leeway on how and when to administer two dozen other tests, passed unanimously out of the Senate Education and Youth Committee.

       Election season is in full swing, with experts predicting record turnouts across the country. In addition to the presidential election and other state elections, there are numerous local elections voters will decide. 

All of the following offices will appear on the ballot: Pickens Commission Chair (currently held by Rob Jones); District 2 Commissioner (currently held by Becky Denney); Sheriff (currently held by Donnie Craig); Probate Judge (currently held by Judge David Lindsey); Magistrate Judge (following a recent arrest, Judge Allen Wigington has announced his resignation from the

position); Tax Commissioner (incumbent Darrin Satterfield announced in a letter this week Page 5A that he will not seek re-election); Coroner (currently held by Mark Godfrey); Clerk of Court (currently held by Jennifer Jordan) Board of Education Post 1 (Donna Enis); and Board of Education Post 4 (Sue Finley).

At the state level, incumbent State Rep. Rick Jasperse will face Charlotte Lee Williamson in the GOP primary.

Pickens assessors still seeking data as corporate giant wants lower taxes

Christie Pool / Photo

Walmart wishes to cut their property taxes in half for their Jasper location.

By Mark Millican

Contributing writer

When a Pickens County property or business owner wants to challenge their property value so they can possibly lower their taxes, they supply the assessor's office with certain documentation that might help their cause.

Retail giant Walmart, just off the Appalachian Highway north of Jasper, is asking for their taxes to be cut almost in half – from the county's assessment of $10.453 million to the company's request of $5.912 million – yet representatives have not supplied that same crucial information. 

        See full story in this week's print or online editions. 

Dr. Alveda King will speak at the February 26th prayer breakfast for the community.

By Ben Mock

Mount Zion Baptist

Our idyllic little community has experienced a lot of tension and tragedy of late. Turmoil in leadership, talk of scandal in trusted institutions, and families in crisis are clear signs that the collective soul of Pickens County is going through a time of moral and spiritual turbulence. Though there are some 80, yes, 80 churches in our area, it would seem the salt has lost its savor, and our light has been put under a bushel. As just one example of such, how else can the fact that Pickens County has one of the highest rates of child abuse and neglect in the state of Georgia be explained?