Blairsville, GA – If you haven’t thought much about the upcoming eclipse event that is to occur on August 21, 2017, you might want to take notice. The Union County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), led by Union County Fire Chief David Dyer, held a meeting at 10:00 a.m. on July 20, 2017. Attending the meeting were officials from Union County Fire Department, Union County Sheriff’s Office, Blairsville Police Department, Georgia Forestry, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Tennessee Valley Authority, Union County Schools, Georgia Rangers, Union County Commissioner’s Office, Mayor Jim Conley and Staff, State of Georgia, Georgia State Patrol, Meeks Park, Vogel Park and the Union County Chamber of Commerce.

Union County Fire Chief David Dyer

According to Dyer, it is estimated that 200 million people live within 2 hours driving time of the path of the eclipse. The concern in Union County is the possible influx of people from the Atlanta area, he said. Dyer handed out a questionnaire with five questions to all who were present, then instructed them to break into their respective groups and discuss the questions.

The five questions were:
1) What issues or problems do you expect that will affect your department/area?
2) What is your biggest concern?
3) Are you planning on having extra personnel? How many? Location?
4) What special actions or changes will your department/area have on that day?
5) What are some of your needs? These questions prompted some surprising revelations aside from the typical emergency management protocols.

Some concerns that were revealed were that all motel rooms and every available cabin rental is booked solid for the whole three days (Aug. 19-21). A large number of property owners are renting their properties and even their homes for exorbitant prices to people who didn’t get a room or cabin or ticket to get on Brasstown Bald. There might be people parking haphazardly along the sides of roads and trespassing on private property. Brasstown Bald has been closed to all except those with tickets. There will likely be a large number of campers and hikers flooding the area and attempting to hike to the top of Brasstown Bald, Blood Mountain, and other peaks, so the trail heads will be closed and manned. Vogel State Park is sold out and may close when they fill up, which will create roadside problems on the Gainesville Highway. There is the possibility that cellular service could be overloaded and unavailable for a period of time on that day. Dyer said that they are planning to man all outlying fire stations; licensed amateur radio operators are being asked to assist. With the influx of hikers it is expected that there will be more searches and/or rescues than normal which will deplete manpower from other departments. It is expected that local Blairsville traffic will be very heavy all three days because of the Off-the–Grid Festival on Aug. 18, 19 & 20 at the Union County Arena. There is concern that physical altercations may occur. Law Enforcement Officers will be placed on all dams; some dams may even be closed. Some places in or near Blairsville that are planning for eclipse viewing gatherings, according to the Union County Chamber of Commerce are Blood Mountain, Sawmill Restaurant, Butternut Creek Golf Course, Paradise Cove, Crossing Creek, Meeks Park and the First Methodist Church of Blairsville. Union County Schools have also opened their stadium and baseball/softball field parking lot to viewers.

UCS Superintendent Dr. Fred Rayfield said that he is considering closing the schools for the whole day instead of early release due to safety, security and traffic concerns. He said UCS has ordered viewing glasses for all students for their safety even though they will not be in classes when the eclipse occurs.

UCSO Chief Deputy John George said that the Sherriff’s Department is planning on double staff that day. Though not represented at the meeting, it was mentioned that the Coast Guard will be patrolling local lakes along with the Georgia Rangers.

Dyer said a lot of people think that they have to be on top of a mountain to view the eclipse. That’s not true, he said. Depending on your location (longitude/latitude, not altitude) in relation to the path of the eclipse, the duration of totality (complete ‘lights out’) will vary. For example, the estimated totality in Blairsville, GA is 00:01:58. In Young Harris, GA, totality is estimated at 00:02:19; Hiawassee, GA 00:02:27; Clayton, GA 00:02:35; and Andrews, NC 00:02:39. So, the totality duration increases as one moves northeast of Blairsville, to a point, then decreases. Blue Ridge, GA is right on the southern edge of the path, so folks in Blue Ridge would need to move northeast to either McCaysville or Blairsville for a longer duration.

In Blairsville,the start of the eclipse (partial phase start) will occur at 1:05:43 PM EDT. Totality start will be at 02:34:54 PM and will last approximately 1 minute and 58-9 seconds.

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at  FetchYourNews.com

BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – Update: As of 8:00 a.m. Friday, Jan. 12, Weather Underground (WU) is predicting a significant drop in temperature beginning about 3 p.m. The low Saturday morning is predicted to be 22 degrees. This, according to WU, will kick off another week of deep freeze weather for Union County. Lows mid-week are predicted to be in the single digits. Act accordingly.

BLAIRSVILLE, Ga. – Update: As of 10:17 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10, weather forecasts are now calling for rain on Thursday, Jan. 11, and Friday, Jan. 12. Temperatures will drop off overnight Friday night to between 25 and 30 degrees Saturday morning. There is the possibility at this time of snow early Saturday. See Weather Underground and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for current forecasts. Weather Underground, owned by Weather Channel, has spotters and private weather stations in every north Georgia county, whereas the closest official NOAA station is at the Murphy, North Carolina, airport. (NOAA does have private spotters in north Georgia.) This accounts, in part, for the differences in their weather forecasts for zip code 30512.

BLAIRSVILLE, Ga. – According to Weather Underground, at 9:29 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10, another winter storm is on the way. Temperatures are expected to drop overnight Friday night, January 12, into the mid-twenties beginning another week of low temperatures in the teens and twenties and highs in the thirties and low forties.

The forecast from NOAA also warns of an approaching winter storm but with less dramatic temperature drops.

With the drop in temperatures, the storm front will bring rain possibly tomorrow, Jan. 11, Friday, Jan. 12, and, especially, Saturday, Jan. 13. Given the possible temperature drops, ice may be a concern.

Make sure your pipes and pets are covered. Plans for a hiking trip into the north Georgia mountains this weekend and next week would probably not be a good idea. Above all, drive with care.

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that attracts more than 300,000 page views and 3.5 million impressions per month in Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYNTV attracts approximately 15,000 viewers per week and reaches between 15,000 to 60,000 per week on our Facebook page. For the most effective, least expensive local advertising, call 706-276-6397 or email us at [email protected].

Blairsville, GA – Union County Sole Commissioner Lamar Paris announced at the October Commissioner’s Meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017 that plans are now underway to alter ingress and egress to the Wal-Mart Store at Hwy 515. Paris said that there have been four fatality accidents and a serious injury accident at that intersection in the last three or four years. He said that the approach to the turnoff into the Wal-Mart from west-bound Hwy. 515 (coming from Blairsville) had been moved to allow exiting drivers a better view of oncoming west-bound traffic, but that, apparently, had not solved the problem. Exacerbating the problem is the new Blairsville Airport entrance directly across from the Wal-Mart entrance. The new airport terminal building is located on the north side of the Blairsville Airport runway, opposite the old terminal building, which now requires automobile traffic to enter and exit the airport on the Wal-Mart side of the airport. Paris attempted to describe the proposed changes, including possible changes at the intersection of Hwy. 515 and Kiuteustia Road (K-road), but the description, especially since it is in the planning stage, eluded verbal description. It is a very complicated process involving the county, state and federal agencies. The important thing to take away is that there are some big changes coming in the near future for the Hwy. 515 entrance to the Blairsville Wal-Mart (please see the video).

Union County Sole Commissioner Lamar Paris

In other Union County Commission news, Paris approved the Notice of Award, Contract and Notice to Proceed to Dyer’s Trenching and Backhoe, LLC to construct the Byron Herbert Reece Connector Trail, which will be about a three mile trail. He said the work shall start on Oct. 16, 2017 and be completed on or before Feb. 15, 2018. The contract, he said, is in the amount of $110,865. He said the project will be funded by a State LMIG (Local Maintenance Improvement Grant) of $100,000 and local Union County SPLOST of $10,865.

Paris approved the Notice of Award, Contract and Notice to Proceed to Colwell Construction Co., Inc. to construct a pathway along Hwy. 180, including a concrete sidewalk and railing that will be in conjunction with the new Byron Herbert Reece Connector Trail in the amount of $194,047.96. The project will be funded, he said, with $100,000 from a State LMIG Grant and the balance from local Union County SPLOST funds. He said there is a chance that the Local amount may be reduced if the plans can be altered.

9.7 miles of resurfacing of existing roads and 2.646 miles of surface treatment of dirt/gravel roads in Union County are in the works, Paris said (see picture for details).

Union County Care Givers

Paris declared November as “National Family Caregivers Month”. Representing the “We Care” program of the Redeemer Baptist Church were Pastor Bill Shakot and several members of the “We Care” team. Paris presented a copy of the proclamation to them.

Paris proclaimed Nov, 5, 2017 as Georgia Retired Educators Day in Union County.

Union County Business Licenses were granted to Kellen Cabin Rental and Lake Cove Hideaway.

In his Commissioner’s Comments, Paris admonished drivers in Union County and throughout the state of Georgia that choose to talk on their cell phones while driving. He said that drivers who talk on their cell phones can’t recall what has transpired on the road while engaged on their phones. It’s a major problem, he said.

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that attracts more than 300,000 page views and 3.5 million impressions per month in Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYNTV attracts approximately 15,000 viewers per week and reaches between 15,000 to 60,000 per week on our Facebook page. For the most effective, least expensive local advertising, call 706-276-6397 or email us at [email protected]