Living the life of a local teenager, a half-century ago

Photo / Angela Reinhardt

Construction of a new “RCUT” is nearly complete, but officials say GDOT has ignored local complaints about the project.

        Following an August 8th Progress article  where the Ga. Department of Transportation spokesperson discussed work installing a median at the Antioch Church intersection on Highway 515, the mayor of Jasper and a longtime Talking Rock council member issued harsh statements.

Talking Rock Council Member Cheryl Sams, who has served for years and previously as the mayor of the small town, said she felt the DOT had misled people. She particularly was chagrined that they ignored the complaints of citizens as well as official requests to stop that project by the cities of Jasper and Talking Rock. 

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Ralph O. Dennis

Contributing writer

The Nelson City Council approved a new seal for the city at their called meeting Thursday, August 15. 

The old seal that had a depiction of the marble quarry in the center is gone. The new seal will have a depiction of two men facing each other with tools in their hands prying apart two blocks of marble. In the background is a mountain. This seal is more related to the “mill” in Nelson than the quarry in Tate. The council also adopted new signage for the city limits and the buildings.

photo/Angela Reinhardt

     The extended curb in the foreground, part of a larger GDOT project that brings new traffic signals and mast arms to two Jasper intersections, has made right-hand turns at this corner more difficult for larger vehicles. 

        Motorists in Jasper have likely noticed construction along Highway 53 Business at the intersections of Main Street and Sammy McGhee Blvd. where the Georgia Department of Transportation is installing new traffic signals and poles. 

The new mast arms will eliminate overhead wires at those intersections and, according to city leaders, create a more unified and appealing aesthetic in Jasper. Although the project is an initiative of GDOT, city leaders chose to pay additional fees to upgrade the mast arms.

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Database tracks opioid use; Pickens above state average  

According to landmark data analysis recently released by The Washington Post, over 10.3 million opioid pills were legally sold in Pickens County as the deadly opioid epidemic surged between the years of 2006 and 2012.  

The data is part of a database maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration that was made public after a year-long legal battle the media outlet had with the DEA and the U.S. Justice Department. The DEA was forced to release the database, which tracks every pain pill manufactured in the United States. 

The Washington Post’s victory in court and ensuing research and data analysis of the more than 380 million transactions showed that the volume of pain pills handled in the U.S. increased a staggering 51