Georgia County Government - February 2008 - (Page 19)

since 2005. In Habersham, Demorest hosts a Kmart and a WalMart. And, of course, tourism is expected to remain quite a substantial industry, as it has been in the Georgia Mountains region for decades. Tourism While all the counties in the Georgia Mountains RDC can be lumped together in references to scenic Northeast Georgia, it remains that each has a somewhat unique role to play in the all-important tourism economy here. Rabun County, as one of Georgia’s more scenic “lake and mountain” jurisdictions, as such attracts tourists on top of residents interested in building on lake property. The federal government owns and protects 63 percent of the land within the county’s borders, under the auspices of the Chattahoochee National Forest, and the federally designated “wild and scenic” Chattooga River of the Savannah River Basin lying due east, is also federally protected. Rabun and the region also have some of the state’s most popular: Black Rock Mountain, Tallulah Gorge and Moccasin Creek state parks are all in Rabun County. In fact, the Georgia Mountains RDC region has more state parks and protected forests than any of the state’s other 16 state park regions, notes Lewis, among them Panther Creek State Park and the Chattahoochee National Forest, where the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River are located. Habersham County is also heavily protected by federal laws, with more than 20 percent of its area within the Chattahoochee National Forest, wildlife management areas (including 18,000 acres of the Lake Richard B. Russell WMA), and the upper end of the county, near Lake Burton, national forests. Stephens County is not known for tourism on the same scale, but the county has substantial appeal to history buffs, especially those interested in railroads. Here are located Toccoa Falls, Travelers Rest, Currahee Mountain, which hosts war re-enactments after being a location for the miniseries “Band of Brothers,” and a significant railroad hub with an historic depot still operating as an interstate Amtrak stop on the way to Washington, D.C. Redevelopment The city of Toccoa is now undergoing a major downtown redevelopment project, thanks to Community Development Block (CDBG) grants, OneGeorgia funds and other sources secured with the assistance of legislative leaders like Rep. Jeanette Jamieson. According to Stephens County’s Phyllis Ayers, the downtown business district in Toccoa is expected to greatly benefit from the upgrade of storefronts, the removal of concrete canopies built in the 1970s that have become outdated, the paving of city roads and more. “We’re also undertaking a restoration of the Stephens County Courthouse through the engineering firm of Gene Barrington,” Ayers says. She adds that the county’s historic preservation director is now spending some 70 percent of his time working with the county on NORTHEAST GEORGIA continued on page 21 Stephens County Board Of Commissioners Courthouse Annex Post Ofﬁce Box 386 Toccoa, Georgia 30577 Telephone (706) 886-9491 Fax (706) 886-2185 Kenneth Peeples, Chairperson Rex Anderson, Vice Chairperson Harold Andrews , Commissioner Phyllis Ayers, Interim Administrator / Finance Director Brian Ranck, Attorney We are a community with a great quality of life, working on economic development and preparing for growth. 361569_Stephens_County.indd 1 FEBRUARY 2008 www.accg.org PM 1/3/08 7:07:29 19 http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - February 2008

Georgia County Government - February 2008 Contents President's Message County Matters Regional Focus on the Georgia Mountains: Rabun, Habersham and Stephens Counties DNR Commissioner Noel Holcomb Solid Waste Management in Georgia: New Challenges Ahead Essential Elements of Negotiating Professional Service Firm Contracts The Walker County Courthouse at LaFayette Extension News: Partnerships are Key to Conservation Education Research Corner: Interns: An Asset to Every County NACo News: Counties and Climate Change FAQs Georgia Flag to Travel to All 159 Georgia Counties State Announces Regional Recycling Hub Grant Awards Abraham Joins ACCG Support Staff County Parade ACCG Launches e-Magazine Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - February 2008

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