Around Pickens Podcast

It's that special time of year again here in North Georgia. A time when morning breezes feel cooler, summer's green leaves turn red, and property tax bills begin appearing in the mail. With tax season just around the corner we decided to speak with our Tax Commissioner Daniel Reeves about his office and about changes tax payers may see in their statements this year. Later in the episode Chairman K...

What we build and where we build it can have a big impact on what gives our community its character. With Pickens’ population growing faster than ever before conversations about land development have gotten very spirited. That is why this month we decided to sit down with the county’s new Planning and Development Director, Charles Reese. Our conversation touched on a number of topics including app...

Summer has come to North Georgia and with it have come Property Tax Assessments. Though these assessments are not bills they can be just as anxiety inducing for some residents and a little bit confusing for many people. In this episode Chairman Kris Stancil joins us to shed some light on how the tax system works in Georgia, who is responsible here in Pickens, and about how this year’s referendum c...

Our county is filled with all manner of four legged residents. Whether they are pets, livestock, or strays they all need to be looked after. It is no small task and in this episode, we speak with our new Animal Shelter Director Emily Narin, and Animal Control Officer Harley Johnson about how they work with the community to tackle animal welfare.  Animal Shelter links: Website - https://pickensanim...

In the last year we have had a lot of great conversations with people around the county from department heads to elected officials. However, one part of our government we haven’t explored yet is the role of our Post Commissioners. Josh Tippens and Josh Tatum have been on the board for two years now and this month we got together to discuss what their experience has been like so far. Our conversati...

More than 70% of the Earth’s surface is water and of that 97% of it is salty. Of the remaining 3% less than 1% is in rivers or aquifers.  Here in Pickens county we have neither of those, so how does the government provide water to everyone? We’ll explore that question and others in this month’s conversation with Utilities Director Phillip Dean. Later in the episode Chairman Stancil will address a...

House fires, traffic accidents, dogs stuck in sinks. For 911 operators there is a need to be ready for anything each time they pick up the phone. Here in Pickens, we have one office that handles dispatch for every agency in the county. In this episode we sit down with 911 Director Kristy Easterwood to talk about the changes she has seen over the years and some important stats for 2023. Later in th...

“Every election is decided by the people who show up” - Pendulum Swing. With local, state, and federal races in store voters have a lot to show up for this year. Since early voting is kicking off this month, we thought it was a good time to get to know Pickens County’s Election Supervisor, Stacey Godfrey. In the course of our conversation, Stacey shed light on a variety of topics to help voters un...

Trash is a big deal. According to the EPA the average American generates 4.9 pounds of solid waste a day. That is nearly 1,800 pounds per year! But not all of that is waste, in fact about 25% or so can be reused meaning that families can literally make a TON of difference by recycling. In this month’s episode we spoke with Pickens County’s Recycling and Solid Waste Director Kenny Woodard to talk a...

With as much cheer and warmth as the winter holidays bring the weather often leaves something to be desired. Few things can sour festivities like frozen pipes, icy roads, or downed power lines. It takes tremendous coordination for governments to prepare for, and respond to, the variety of issues that can pop up during this time of year. Fortunately, Pickens County’s EMA Director Mark Harris has a...

With more than four hundred miles of county-maintained roads, there will always be a sign that needs to be put up, a street to be repaved, or a pothole to be filled. But with so much to be done how does the government prioritize its road improvements? That is the question at the heart of this month’s discussion with BOC Chairman Kris Stancil and Public Works Director Kirk Anderson. In it our guest...

With thousands of students and hundreds of staff, keeping Pickens County schools safe is no easy task. Fortunately, we have a big team working to make it happen. In this month’s episode Pickens County Schools Chief Operations Officer Chris Wallace and Sheriff Donnie Craig get together to talk about how their organizations work together to prevent and prepare for emergencies at school. Through this...

As summer draws to a close a new season is right around the corner. Here at the county offices that time is our budget season. This year the finance department will be taking it on with our new director Miranda McDowell at the helm. In this episode Miranda walks us through the work she and the finance team are responsible for and discusses the new financial software that should make it all a littl...

From serving delinquent tax notices to dealing with unruly peacocks, enforcing the code of ordnances is no walk in the park! This month we got together with Chief Marshal Mike Carswell to get to the bottom of what his office is and is not responsible for. The interview is quite illuminating as Mike clears up misconceptions, provides resources, and reveals his personal philosophy for how he approac...

Summer has officially arrived and there are some great places to spend it right here in Pickens! In this month’s episode we spoke with Recreation Director Brian Jones about the ins and outs of the Parks and Recreation department. Our conversation covered a variety of topics and shed light on everything from how their staff organizes youth sports to improvements coming to Roper Park. Later in the p...

The Library is back! After nearly two years of renovations the Pickens library is once again opening its doors to the public. In this episode Branch Manager Katie Dobson walks us through all of the new upgrades it got and fills us in on all of the summer programs kicking off this month. Stick around after the interview to hear about events happening around the county and a viewer’s question to Cha...

Local government can be confusing. It doesn't have the three standard branches that states and the federal government have, which can make it difficult to understand exactly how elected officials work together to keep a county running. That is why we got together with Chairman Kris Stancil to talk about how a county government operates and how Pickens County’s administration is structured. Stay tu...

In this episode we sit down with Public Works Director Kirk Anderson to discuss his background and what all goes into paving roads. After the interview we take a look at the calendar to see what sort of events are happening around Pickens in November and take a look back at the county’s history during the Civil War. 

Do you ever wonder who makes the big decisions on paving roads, laying water lines, or responding to weather emergencies? Have you ever wanted to know what a day in the life of a first responder, animal control officer, or campus deputy is like? If you live in Pickens County and want to get to know the people behind your government, then this is the show for you. In each episode host Graham Parker...