James January-February 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 49
leading up to a Shark Tank-style pitch to Club Car engineers and executives. Last year’s winner? A red-light
option for golf carts that would protect sea turtles
when driving on or near the beach.
Dahlonega One facet of the Georgia State Capitol’s massive, $392 million renovation project was to retouch its
iconic gold dome. And workers went straight to the
state’s most famous gold mining town, Dahlonega, for
supplies. Crisson Gold Mine and Consolidated Gold
Mine each donated 10 ounces of gold to regild the Capitol dome, a nod to the North Georgia gold that originally gilded the building’s crown back in in 1958.
Macon Macon-Bibb County officials, led by Mayor LesBerrien County Expanding rural healthcare has been a
priority for Georgia lawmakers for years. To that end, a
victory was scored when South Georgia Medical Center
unveiled its new, $15 million emergency department at
the SGMC Health Berrien campus. The 26,000 sq. ft.
facility replaces the previous four-room building, more
than doubling capacity and adding advanced trauma
and specialty care rooms. Hilary Gibbs, vice president
and chief development officer at SGMC, praised local
leaders and healthcare officials for getting the project to
the finish line and offering the South Georgia community “pride, progress, and possibilities.”
Blairsville Back in the early 20th century the Southeast
was home to a large and vibrant apple growing industry, with dozens of varieties and many used for cider or
cooking. Over the years the industry in Georgia shrunk,
dominated by Northwestern and Midwestern states
on a national scale. But at the University of Georgia’s
Heritage Apple Orchard in Blairsville scientists are
working to revive and preserve hundreds of species of
heirloom apples that were close to disappearing entirely. Researchers say that as winters become warmer it
could be Southern apples, perhaps grown in Georgia,
that bear the resiliency to thrive and help growers in
the Peach State and elsewhere.
Columbia County Club Car, an Augusta-based golf cart
manufacturer, is partnering with Martinez Elementary School in Columbia County as part of an innovative program that combines science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Students will brainstorm
potential new vehicle features, then hone their ideas
ter Miller, have been on the warpath against city blight.
Their biggest obstacle was the long-vacant former Hilton and Ramada Hotel, a 16-story building built in 1969
and left empty for over a decade. And it went out with
a bang after the county commission approved a $2.5
million demolition contract, scheduled for 11:59 p.m. on
December 31st. “That’s to be the goal— to get that thing
down and start the new year with a clean slate,” said
Miller. Macon-Bibb County purchased the property in
early 2024 and plans to redevelop it as the next step in
its ongoing revitalization project.
Savannah In a city full of historic and cultural landmarks, Savannah’s 30-acre Forsyth Park— with its
fountains, monuments, and live oaks— may be its
most famous. But local officials and residents alike
are debating how the park should be cared for going
forward, as neighborhood groups have clashed with a
nonprofit conservancy seeking to take control of the
park. The Friends of Forsyth Park Conservancy presented a plan to the City Council that would take over
maintenance of the park and make some proposed
changes. But backlash led to city officials reassuring
the public that the city will retain final say over the
park, and that Savannah citizens will have just as
much say over its future as nonprofit members.
If you’ve got news from your local community
to share with our readers, please email us.
phickey@insideradvantage.com
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