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Ed Pope Jr. takes a seat at City Council table; Mayor announces town hall meeting October 2
With family and friends looking on, Edward M. Pope Jr. was sworn in using a family Bible by Judge Jim Burton, Wilkes County Supervisor of Elections. Pope was elected to fill the term of departing council member Anna Norman. Speaking to Mayor Willie Burns, Pope said, "I look forward to serving with you, Mayor Burns, and the other members of the council. I hope to be an asset to you and to Wilkes County." Each council member, in turn, welcomed Pope to his seat at the table. Mayor Burns announced that the Georgia Department of Community Affairs has chosen Region 7 to institute the Communities of Opportunity program to benefit rural communities like those in Wilkes County. He urged everyone at the meeting to be at the town hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. October 2 at the Mary Willis Library. "Be there so they'll know we're really concerned," he said. The need for a community swimming pool was again a topic of conversation. Citizen Norris Ware rose to show the Mayor and council a newspaper article concerning the problems that other communities were having with their swimming pools. "Wadley, Georgia, closed down their pool this year for three reasons: not enough lifeguards, there weren't enough volunteers to keep the pool open, and when the pool closed each day, nobody would come pick up their kids." Ware pointed out that the money a swimming pool would cost could pay for sidewalks needed near schools, grocery stores, and restaurants. Later, council member Maceo Mahoney requested an update on the swimming pool committee's activities. He asked that future meetings of the committee be publicized in advance so that the public could attend. Chamber of Commerce executive director Donna Hardy reminded those assembled that the next meeting of the Leadership Wilkes initiative was going to be at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 5, at the Wilkes Senior Center, rather than September 28 as first proposed. "We want everybody to come to that meeting," she said. Hardy also pointed out that some 90 high school students needed to perform 10 hours of community service each, and that the Chamber was coordinating requests for their services in the community. In other business, the city council passed the extension of a temporary housing request for a citizen, gave permission for the October 13 Nancy Long Walk of Hope on The Square, and approved a beer and wine license for the new restaurant at the Fitzpatrick Hotel. At the beginning of the meeting, Carol Cartledge rose to request that a demonstration plot of cotton be planted at the Callaway Plantation living history museum as it has in years past. Administrator Mike Eskew said that he would look into it.
And finally, the Mayor said that if renovation plans go well, next month's meeting of the city council is expected to be back at City Hall rather than at the Pope Center.
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