September 2004 Archived Columns
September 23, 2004
The weather has been absolutely beautiful, with mornings on the deck around 50º and highs in the middle 70s. It’s been crisp and clear, with a distinct taste of fall in the air. The dogwoods are starting to turn, and we’ve seen some of the early migrant birds passing through.
As I reported last week, the remnants of the hurricane hit Gilmer County much harder than Fannin County, both with rain and wind. There was some flooding in Fannin on Fightingtown Creek, which makes sense because it comes off Flattop Mountain, over toward Ellijay. The northwestern parts of Fannin, out toward the Cohuttas, were definitely harder hit than other parts of the county. There was some serious flooding in Ellijay, including parts of the Coosawattee.
We’re starting to get a little busy in the office, and I’d encourage anyone who is thinking of selling their property to get it on the market now, because we definitely sell more in the fall. I’m expecting this fall to be especially strong, given how strong the rest of the year has been.
The word on the street is that the golf development is on track, and we’re expecting to hear more about the TVA and the “Ritz Resort on the Lake” soon. If either or both of these projects come to fruition, I expect a considerable bounce in Fannin County property values, so those of you who have been toying with the idea of investing in property here probably need to get going soon, or be prepared to pay more later. The opening of the golf development is expected to be about two years out, so that should give some idea of the timeline. News of these developments seems to be spreading fairly fast, as I’m already hearing from investors who want to get in before it’s too late.
What else can I say? It’s time to come up and enjoy some of the fall weather. Hope to see you in town.
September 17, 2004
It’s Friday about noon, and the storm seems to have passed, although we still have some rain and wind. At least in Fannin, wind damage was much less than what I expected. There are some trees down, and I’ve heard reports of some travel problems, but it seems that most of the main roads are passable. I’ve heard reports of problems on Aska Road, south of Stanley Creek Road, and in Epworth, with a bridge closed over Patterson Creek. Both downtown Blue Ridge and Morganton have power, so it is pretty much business as usual in town.
It rained and blew all night where we are (My Mountain), but it never as hard as I expected it to, and we don’t have trees down. But the whole development is without power.
In Fannin County, power outages appear to be widespread, especially in the Blue Ridge Mountain EMC service area. I’ve heard that they hope they will have power restored by the end of today. Apparently, the Tri-State system wasn’t as hard hit.
Ellijay and Gilmer County was much harder hit, at least by rain. The Cartecay and the Coosawattee both have had some flooding, and I’ve heard that the bridge across the river at the Arby’s is closed, and that the travel trailer lot behind the concrete plant is fairly well devastated. The park strip where the Apple Festival is held is apparently flooded. Again, there don’t seem to be as many trees down as was expected.
I’m surprised to report that neither Cutcane Creek nor Hemptown Creek is flooding. I’ve been told that the Toccoa along Aska Road is raging, but still in its banks. They’re releasing from the dam, but I haven’t yet heard any reports of the river flooding in McCaysville or Copperhill. But I have heard that one of the businesses in Copperhill had to have a shipment delivered to an alternate address, so there may be some travel issues in Copperhill.
Given that Gilmer got more rain, and that there is a bridge out over Patterson Creek, I imagine that there was more rain in the western end of the county, out toward the Cohuttas.
If you have questions about travel issues in Fannin, you can call the 911 Center’s regular phone line. They don’t want you to call 911, of course, but if they aren’t busy, they usually don’t mind sharing what information they have. That’s 706.632.6022.
September 16, 2004
Just a quick update on the hurricane situation. It’s about noon on Thursday, and it looks like we’ll have rain and high winds tonight and tomorrow morning. I imagine that we’ll lose a number of trees, especially since they are mostly still in full leaf. Travel may be difficult due to downed trees. Also, there certainly will be a risk of flooding. Remember not to cross any branch that has swiftly moving water. It doesn’t take much to pick up your vehicle.
Those of you who are up here should pick up or tie down stuff that’s apt to blow around in the yard, and make sure you have water and something to eat for a couple of days. Loss of electric service is a distinct possibility, and if we get hit hard, it will take a couple of days for the electric companies to restore service to everyone.
If you aren’t at your place, you’ll probably want to come up when the storm passes and check your place for wind damage.
I’ll try to post a report after the storm passes. The latest forecast has the center of the remaining storm crossing the northern Georgia-Alabama line at about 7 AM Friday morning.
September 10, 2004
Right now, the weather is beautiful. The past two days have been crisp and clean, with a taste of fall in the air. I hope the weather continues through this weekend, because if it does, it’s going to be a great one.
The Labor Day Barbecue was cancelled, and then rescheduled at the last minute with the help of Bud Holloway at the Pink Pig, who agreed to smoke the meat as a charitable donation. Thanks, Bud. Only sandwiches were served, and only about 1,000 people attended, less than half of the normal turnout. The Good Samaritans did not make as much money as usual on the event, and are asking for donations. If you can help, the address is POB 1468, Blue Ridge, GA 30513.
The local follies continue, with Fannin County school officials blaming “flawed data” for our abysmal showing in the SAT scores. I believe at this point, of the neighboring counties, only Whitfield County (over by Chatsworth) has lower scores. They actually refused to release the test scores to the News Observer, which was rather silly, given that they were easily obtained from the state. As you will recall, they previously blamed their failure to meet Adequate Yearly Progress standards on the people who receive free and reduced price lunches. As a former college professor, I’m wondering if it doesn’t have more to do with their hiring practices and their quality of instruction, and at this point, I’m not the only one.
We’re beginning to gear up for the busy season in the office, and I expect it to be a good one. It’s a great time to list your land or your cabin, because we definitely sell the most property between September and December each year. We have a good inventory of cabins for your consideration, so if you’re in the market, it would be a good idea to come up and have a look. The really good ones will sell fairly quickly, and we’ll probably deplete the inventory considerably by mid-October.
That’s about the news. Hope to see you in town.
September 3, 2004
Just a quick update on the big weekend. It’s my understanding that the Labor Day Barbecue has been cancelled, due to concerns about the hurricane. The forecast from the National Weather Service continues to be about as it has been for the past couple of weeks, with a certain percentage of chance of rain and thunderstorms. Monday’s forecast shows 50%, but there is still some uncertainty about how much we will be affected by the path of the storm. It’s a shame to miss the big event, and apparently, it will not be rescheduled.
Speaking of barbecue, there is a new barbecue in town, Blue Ridge Mountain Barbecue. Cynthia and I were actually the second paying customers, and it's well worth a try. It’s located on the old highway, East 1st Street, up above the old downtown, in the vicinity of Sue’s Restaurant and the Circle J. It’s nice to have a barbecue in town again.
As reported by the News Observer, the Statue of Liberty that was removed from the downtown park has found a home between the old and the new courthouses. A pedestal is in process, and the statue is being renovated.
Hope you have a great weekend. It’s always sad to see a summer go by, but it’s also great to get together with friends and family and do a little grilling. Hope to see you in town.
