Questions answered by Lamar Paris, County Commissioner
Q. Why are they putting up all those big metal poles all over Union County?
A. Blue Ridge Mountain EMC, because of customer growth, has added a new sub-station just off US 19/129 S on Booger Hollow Rd. These new poles are to run a direct feed between the Weaver substation located behind Ingles and the new substation on Booger Hollow, (Waldrup Sub-station). This will help provide a reliable power source to the south side of the county for the foreseeable future.
Q. I noticed that Hwy. 515 is looking overgrown again. Is the county going to mow the grass again for GDOT this year?
A. Unfortunately, we were notified by GDOT a couple of weeks ago that they would be doing only one mowing in August, beginning on I -75 and working their way north to Union County. We will have our Road Dept begin mowing later in May or early June and we will mow the median and a couple of passes on each shoulder. This should drastically help the appearance of our county. This is another example that when the budget gets cut at the state level, it continues to get passed down to the counties.
Q. Will the trash be picked up more than once this year on Hwy 515?
A. The answer would probably be no, except for the efforts of Jack Butler who spearheaded getting some groups to adopt a mile on Hwy 515 for litter pickup. In an effort to keep the main corridor to our county looking nice, we have five groups (United Community Bank, Wal-Mart, The Summit, The Lodge at Copperhead and B-Sty Mowing) that have adopted a mile each of Hwy. 515 to help keep the trash picked up. You may have seen some of these groups picking up trash along 515 during the Great American Clean-up. Thanks to all who participate in keeping our county clean and beautiful. However, we still have about four more miles that need to be covered. If you have a business along this highway please consider adopting a mile. The county will install an Adopt-a-Road sign with your business name (free advertising) on it.
Q. Did you have a lot of people participate in the Great American Clean-up?
A. Yes, we had a very good response. We had 11 different groups for a total of 36 people who picked up over 36 bags of trash from various roads in Union County. If you would like to adopt a road and do your part to keep our county free of litter please call our office and ask for Peggy.
Q. How many tires did you collect during the Scrap Tire Round-up?
A. Approximately 2500 tires! When we have had these scrap tire events in the past, we have been reimbursed for the cost of disposing of the tires by a grant from EPD; however, this year there was no money available from the state, so Union County paid to dispose of the tires at a cost of $2,732.50. But we feel it is well worth it to get these tires out of our county. This event was a part of the Great American Clean-up and Keep Our Mountains Beautiful programs.
Q. I saw someone out at the new Farmers Market location tilling up an area. What are you going to do there?
A. This area is being utilized as a “community garden” this year. Mickey Cummings, Extension Agent, in conjunction with the Rotary Club, is planting 300 tomato plants. These tomatoes will be canned utilizing the local canning plant and through 9th District Opportunity, folks will be identified who need them. Union County Master Gardeners will also be helping. We want to thank all those involved in this ambitious project.
Q. Is the new Farmer’s Market going to be ready to open in June?
A. We still hope so, but rain has delayed the project and we may have to start back at the courthouse parking lot for a couple of weeks. Watch for signs and we will let you know. The pad is ready for concrete and we are finalizing the plans this week. The Farmers Market committee is excited that this will be the best year yet and are looking forward to being in a new home as soon as it is ready.