Fourth of July celebrations in Fannin County

Community, Just For Fun, Outdoors
Fourth of July

FANNIN COUNTY, Ga. — Fourth of July Celebrations in Fannin County are happening throughout the holiday weekend and on Monday, July 4.

Blue Ridge:

The City of Blue Ridge is celebrating Independence Day with its annual Old Timers’ Parade through downtown. The Fannin County Chamber of Commerce notes that the parade has been part of holiday celebrations in the city since the 1950’s. The Blue Ridge Business Association is a large organizer of the parade, which is set to begin at 10 a.m. For walking visitors, the BRBA says to “meet on East Mail in front of the First Baptist Church and we will help get you in line.”

The Lake Blue Ridge Civic Association has also organized an event for those celebrating. Their “Fire in the Sky” event will be held on Monday, July 4 at dusk. The association’s website notes that in case of rain, the event will be held July 5. They also recommend visitors view the fireworks from the Blue Ridge Lake, dam, marina, or surrounding areas.

McCaysville:

In McCaysville, Copper Basin Fireworks will begin at 9:30. On Saturday night, “anywhere downtown is a great viewing area,” according to the Chamber of Commerce. The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway also hosts the “Firecracker Special,” bringing riders from Blue Ridge to see the fireworks in McCaysville.

Across the state border, Copperhill, Tenn. will host a rodeo on July 1 and July 2 at 8:00 p.m.

Alcohol ordinance denied, but might spur a new ordinance

News, Police & Government

Photo by Scott Warman on Unsplash
An alcohol ordinance failed to get a motion, therefore did not pass. However, after the mayor and two council members took turns reading the entire document, prompting city attorney, Cortney Stuart, said she’d look into possible creating a ordinance that would allow a synopsis to be read instead.

Alcohol ordinance

An ordinance that would have allowed for the sale of malt liquor and wine in the city of McCaysville failed to get a motion and, as a result, did not pass. However, its reading may lead to an ordinance of a different type.

The entire ordinance was read aloud, frustration one council member and Mayor Thomas Seabolt. Sue Beavers questioned the logic behind it.

“We’ve read it so many times already,” she said, pointing out it was read orally in its entirety at an earlier meeting.

Seabolt wanted to read a synopsis.

Cortney Stuart, city attorney, said she could not recommend a synopsis.

“In my legal opinion, after reading the Charter, it says all ordinances should be read,” Stuart said.

Stuart told the council during her portion of the meeting, that she could tell the council was frustrated by having to read the long document.

“I’m actively looking to see if we can do an ordinance allowing a synopsis reading,” she told the council.

Park plans

Zachary Welch, chairman of the revitalization, presented documents outlining the proposed plan for the city park. Those plans include four pavilions located at the center of the park, the octagon, the playground, and the dog park.

“The concrete is poured, we just need a contractor,” said Welch.

Once the city gets a price estimate on the work, a request for bid will be issued.

The council passed a motion to allow the mayor to move forward with getting the estimates.

Called meeting

The council will have a special called meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. to discuss options for the police department.

Cities, county, and fire department iron out a plan for hydrants

News
hydrants

BLUE RIDGE, Ga – Fannin County Fire Department (FCFD), the cities, and the water authority developed an effective plan to fix current and future out of service hydrants.

In the July 8 meeting, Fire Chief Larry Thomas led representatives from Blue Ridge, McCaysville, Morganton, and Fannin County Water Authority to fix the hydrant issue before the next ISO evaluation.

“The fire department always had a very good working rapport with all the cities,” said Thomas. “We’re all in this together. Everybody in this room needs to pull together as one team.”

Fire Chief Larry Thomas stated that “positive things were happening” during the meeting.

Currently, an estimated 36 fire hydrants are out of service within Fannin County, but the city of Blue Ridge repaired three more.

FCFD created a spreadsheet that listed and located every hydrant within the county. The new directory also identified who’s responsible for each fireplug. Previously, FCFD listed each hydrant by address. The fire department cross-referenced the fireplug addresses with the incident to find the closest one available.

The city of Blue Ridge has approximately 490 hydrants in its geographic information system (GIS) system and are working on physically numbering each one. The fire plugs in Blue Ridge will also be marked with a “B”, so FCFD can identify who’s responsible for the hydrant’s maintenance.

As far as bush hogs potentially damaging hydrants, they proposed added a 12×12 inch square on the inside of the fog line on county roads. Hopefully, it would increase hydrant visibility.

Currently, Blue Ridge has seven hydrants out of service, but repairs should be complete by the end of the month.

A dripping hydrant shouldn’t affect the county’s ISO rating unless it disrupts the flow.

“Some of these hydrants are going to drip. They’re older than I am,” explained Thomas.

The three crews of two full-time firefighters inspecting hydrants will include any impairment that affects performance. Cities or water authority wouldn’t immediately know about the damage because fire plugs break away from the main water line if impaired.

Thomas asked if the water authority or cities add hydrants to inform the FCFD immediately.
Blue Ridge’s Utility Director Rebecca Harkins and Thomas planned to create a work order for FCFD, cities, and the water authority to report out of service hydrants.

Mayor Thomas Seabolt of McCaysville.

The group also addressed flow tests, which measure the static pressure when two hydrants can flow at maximum speed. However, once a flow test begins, it must flow it until it clears. After the initial flow test, once a year, it should be checked, and the city is responsible for any maintenance.

Blue Ridge Mayor Donna Whitener requested if the city could know about flow tests in advance so businesses could be informed well in advance. She also asked if the tests could take place outside of the lunch or dinner times.

Another meeting will take place either in August or September to ensure all hydrants are in service.

https://youtu.be/nNUCwIsf-qc

 

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