New Sign Welcomes All to Towns County
July 11 | Posted by editor | News, Towns Tags: Mountain Movers and Shakers
Young Harris, GA - It was hot. Goodness gracious it was hot. But that did not deter Shane Haney and his men from their objective. Planned for months, designed and redesigned, color schemes debated and decided, it was time. Time to erect the new “Welcome to Towns County” sign on route 515 coming from Blairsville. Freshly painted white latticework surrounds the blue hued mountain scape behind the large white letters welcoming all to Towns County. “We wanted to get it up before the Fourth of July” explained Shane Haney, his son Lane by his side. “So I called my crew off another job to get this done”. Rockscapers by trade, today Shane and his men were swinging hammers and wielding screw guns, donating their time to enhance their community.
But back to the heat, over one hundred degrees, rare for these mountains. A bright blue cloudless sky offered no respite. But on went the work. Piece by piece, the lattice work goes up. Then the frame. Then the backboard, securely fastened to the main beams to hold the metal sign in place. At last, the metal backed sign itself, hot to the touch from sitting in the blazing sun, water poured over it to cool it enough to handle mounting, gets screwed into place. Done! For now at least, until the placards for the sponsoring organizations are ready to be mounted.
Then to the landscaping, also being done by Haney’s Rock of Ages Stone & Landscaping company. Shrubs and flowers donated by Mike Clark of English Country Gardens of Hiawassee will be planted. And photos taken. And hands shaken. Congratulations all around. Then on to the next sign project, because potential sponsors are clamoring to get involved. The decision was made to contact the original sponsors, all civic organizations who had chipped in when the original sign was erected in 1995. Of the 16 original organizations, eleven agreed to be represented, and one new one, Alzheimer’s Association, was added. So the new sign will have an even dozen new placards.
Originally proposed by Gary Meier, the Mountain Movers and Shakers decided this would be their first community project. With strong support from Sole Commissioner Bill Kendall, the project moved forward quickly. Shane, Sharon Penner, Matt Waldroup and others took down the old weather beaten sign, repaired or replaced what was needed, and then painted the different parts before reassembly.
The Mountain Movers and Shakers is a nonpartisan group of citizens, concerned with improving their community. Most members are involved with other civic organizations; whether it is Rotary, church organizations, Cancer Prevention, the Food Pantry, Alzheimer’s Association, or local political parties. They meet every Friday at 8 AM at Mary’s Southern Grill on Route 17. Everyone is welcome to share information, ideas, and breakfast. Come have your morning brew with our crew!
For more information, please contact Sam Fullerton (706) 994-4658.
