Schools donate buses to Boys & Girls Club

       The local Republican Party clarified their stance on the options for an increased senior property tax exemption, noting they will hold several public comment sessions and work to develop a consensus on the wording before putting it on the May primary ballot for a non-binding straw poll vote.

       Pickens GOP Chairman William Bell said on August 1 that he wanted to clarify on behalf of the group that the GOP is not endorsing the Seniors for Change plan to give seniors an increased exemption on their school taxes, but that they are working to be sure the seniors group has access to the ballot to present their issue.

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Fall webworms place their webs on the end of branches of hardwood trees in late summer and fall.

They aren’t  spider webs that many say could indicate the type of winter we’re likely to have. No, indeed, all those webbed nests everyone’s been seeing in trees for the past few weeks belong to fall webworms.

According to County Extension Agent Rachel Wigington, fall webworms are caterpillars that turn into moths. And while she said they aren’t indicative of future weather, they are proof that we had a mild winter last year.

“The reason we are seeing so many right now is because we had such a mild winter and their population wasn’t (lost) with severe cold,” she said. 

The VA clinic coming to this East Church Street spot, near Save-A-Lot, is expected to serve 6,000 veterans a year. It is slated to open in 2018.

The Atlanta VA Health Care System has entered into a lease agreement with AFTK, LLC that will bring a new VA clinic to Pickens County by next year. 

According to Greg Kendall, Atlanta VA Medical Center public affairs officer, the Pickens County VA Clinic will provide primary care and mental health services to veterans in Pickens, Dawson, Cherokee, Gilmer, Lumpkin and surrounding counties. 

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