Tater Patch returns to stage with upcoming comedy

Runoffs ahead for tax commissioner, school board post 1

When the dust settled after a vote count that ran for several days, challenger Kris Stancil had knocked off Commission Chair Rob Jones in the GOP Primary, taking 59 percent of the votes cast.

Stancil will face David Shouse, who has announced he will run as an Independent, in the November General Election.

Stancil won across all precincts in the county taking 4,600 votes to Jones’ 3,203. A breakdown of the vote totals in this race from the secretary of state website shows that Stancil drew equal support from all areas of the county and in early, election day, and absentee voting (See breakdown on vote count for this race on Page 11A).

Peach season has arrived. Penland’s has brought their fresh produce from Ellijay peaches to the market for the last two weeks.

Creativity abounds at the latest Farmers Market with forty vendors filling the park & ride lot next to Lee Newton Park. It was a beautiful day for the market and having so many vendors made it for a fun day to shop and stroll.

After a long night and full day of counting, unofficial election results are finally in for Pickens. Follow the link below for results from each race. Please note, these totals do not include a few dozen damaged ballots that still need to be counted as well as a small handful of provisional ballots that will be counted on Friday.

Unofficial results show Sheriff Donnie Craig wins another term; Kris Stancil beat Rob Jones in the primary for the commission chair seat (Stancil will face Independent candidate David Shouse in November); and Sue Finley overtook opponent Christopher Pence for school board post 4.

Follow link for details about the tax commissioner and school board post 1 races which appear they will head to a runoff. 

See latest results at https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/GA/Pickens/103726/web.247524/#/summary?v=247858%2F

(scroll below party question for local races)

Story from today's print edition.

Elections office staff, the elections board and a volunteer or two battled the pile of paper ballots until late into the night Tuesday at their office on Pioneer Road, but alas, the results of the Tuesday primary vote were not available at the Progress deadline at 11 p.m.

At about 9:30 p.m. Elections Supervisor Julianne Roberts said she felt they would finish about midnight but others working to open and handle all the paper ballots seemed less confident.

Library’s virtual service demands skyrocket during pandemic

Angela Reinhardt / Photo

Pickens Library Branch Manager Emma Ingle, wearing a custom Sequoyah Regional Library System face mask, gets book orders ready for pickup through their new contactless “Sidewalk Service.”

It couldn’t be called a stream of people by any stretch, but during the brief window I was at the Pickens County Library last week, two people picked up books curbside and two others returned books they had likely had since branches closed in March. 

The building itself is still closed to patrons, but the local library and all branches in the Sequoyah Regional Library System have started to offer services as part of their phased reopening. Book checkouts are now being performed through a contact-free sidewalk service, and book returns are all done through the drop box.