Tiny House on Wheels

Have you seen Kokoon Homes Steel SIPs, “Tiny House on Wheels” driving around town? This 8’ X 20’ tiny house on wheels is the creation of Toccoan Dave Rades and comes in three basic roof lines and is designed for full time living.

The shell is soy foam insulated and weather tight and is ready to be finished as the consumer likes.  The factory painted steel roof comes in five colors and has an industry first, 10 year warranty.  Kokoon exclusive innovations include a retractable 4’ X 7’ rear covered porch, a double floor inside that allows all water lines and electrical service to be installed easily before final interior sheetrock or wood walls are in place.

A small affordable 115 volt AC/heat unit can keep this unit comfy year round.  Any full size pickup can tow this with no special permits necessary.  Many in the tiny homes community want to build theirs from the ground up.  The base price of the trailer frame is $4,750.00. A basic insulated shell trailer can be purchased for $ 11,835. 60 – $13,291.60.
For further details please contact KoKoon Homes, 226  Elberton Street, Toccoa, GA 30577, www.kokoonhomes.com or Amy Griggs at amyg@kokoonhomes.com or706-244-0162.

Stephens County Graduates from the Georgia Academy for Economic Training

The Board of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development announces Stephens County graduates from the 2014 Region 2 Multi-Day Training Program. Class participants represented a number of professional and non-professional economic development fields, including elected officials, public servants, business leaders, educators, and social service providers from 13 counties in Region 2 Georgia. The Academy provided each of the graduates an opportunity to gain a unique understanding of the complexities of economic and community development on the local, regional, and state levels.

Stephens County graduates are Chuck Wright, Debbie Whitlock, Tug Carter, Brittany Ivey, Gail Fry, and Brian Akin.  They are pictured with Pat Merritt (Georgia EMC Facilitator), Dennis Chastain (Georgia Academy for Economic Development Board) and Rope Roberts (Georgia Power Facilitator).

Created in 1993, the Academy assembles a cross section of economic development professionals and resources to provide this training in all twelve service delivery regions in Georgia.  The Board of Directors of the Academy represent public and private economic development organizations and agencies from across Georgia.  Since its organization, the Academy has provided training for thousands of professional and non-professional economic developers around the state, and since 1998 the Academy has been offered annually. Georgia EMC and Georgia Power provide facilitators for the program, and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs provides staff support to this important program.

“One of the goals for the multi-day regional Academies is to encourage multi-county cooperation,” says Corinne Thornton, Director of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development.  “Many times the participants discover the issues facing their community are the same as those facing other communities in their region, and can then combine limited resources to address the issue.”

The Academy’s multi-day program, taught one day a month over a four-month period, includes training in the basics of economic and community development, plus specialized segments on business recruitment and retention, tourism product development, downtown development,  planning, and other essentials for community success.  In addition, the curriculum features specific leadership skills such as consensus building, ethics in public service, collaborative leadership and other segments needed for effective community leadership in economic development.  Local elected officials may receive certification training credits through the Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association for completion of this program.

Currahee Club: Georgia's Number 1 Golf Course

Currahee Club's Jim Fazio designed course has been named the number 1 best golf club in Georgia and included in the top 100 courses in the nation list for 2015.

Currahee Club was selected by the Georgia Golf Course Owners/Operators Association (GGCOA) as its 2014 Club of the Year.  Matt Brown, GGCOA’s Executive Director said that “with 7,513 yards from the tees, significant elevation drops, bentgrass greens, over 250 acres of ‘golf course’ and 9 miles of cart paths to maintain, Currahee Club is a significant agronomic challenge.”  Brown continued, “what Andrew and his team have done at Currahee Club in such a short period of time is very impressive.  I have had the pleasure to work very closely with Andrew over the years, and it is quite apparent that his vision and leadership are helping to make Currahee Club one of the premier destinations in the SE USA.”

Currahee Club will now compete with other prestigious golf courses in the nation.  The 2014 National Course of the Year will be announced at the National Golf Course Owners Association Annual Conference held in February.

“Everyone at Currahee Club is beyond thrilled to receive these outstanding recognitions of our course and club,” said Andrew Ward, managing partner at Currahee Club.  “At Currahee, we strive to set the standard for real estate and golf communities, not just in the Southeast, but across the nation.  These recognitions show what our members and residents have known all along- that the Currahee lifestyle is extraordinary.”

In addition to this award, Currahee Club was also picked by Southern Living Magazine to become one of only 7 Southern Living Inspired Communities in America.

SCDA Recognizes Outgoing Board Members

Three SCDA board members are completing their terms on the SCDA Board. Brian Akin was recognized for his year of service as the chairman of the Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce. Tim Ash and Barry Roberts are completing their county appointments. Greg Roach is the incoming chamber chairman and will take the chamber of commerce position on the SCDA Board in July. Stephens County Commissioners are expected to name the replacements for Tim and Barry later this month. 
(Pictured left to right are Tim Martin, SCDA executive director, Dean Scarborough County Commission Chairman and SCDA Board Chairman, Barry Roberts, Tim Ash, and Brian Akin.)

Solar Panels Up & Running for Georgia Power

The solar panels are located in the area of Turner and Wolf Pit roads.

Development Authority Executive Director Tim Martin said that the panels were turned on and began producing 700 kilowatts of electricity to send to the Georgia Power grid on Tuesday morning.

Martin said it is part of an initiative by Georgia Power to increase solar power usage.

“Georgia Power Company wanted to increase the percentage in their portfolio of all sources of electricity, they wanted more solar,” said Martin. “So they created this advanced solar initiative and we became part of that.”

United Renewable Energy of Alpharetta, Georgia actually built and is running the solar panel farm.

URE leases the land where the solar panels sit from the Development Authority.

Martin said he feels participating in this project has a couple of different benefits for Stephens County.

“We own this land,” said Martin. “It was doing a good job of holding the world together, but nothing else. It was not productive. Now, with this addition to our community, it is in productive use.”

He also said it is exciting to be a part of the future that is solar power.

Martin said that the initiative was so popular in its first year that Georgia Power is selecting more sites to install more solar panels and grow the program.

He said Stephens County has submitted a number of sites for Georgia Power to consider.

“We have submitted the balance of our property out at that site for this round of consideration,” said Martin. “The other site that we did present (was) our roof mount, the rooftop at Stephens County High School.”

Martin said they hope to hear in late May or early June whether Stephens County has additional sites selected for more solar panels.

By: Charlie Bauder, WNEG

Toccoa-Stephens Co. One of “Four for the Future”

Toccoa and Stephens County are receiving recognition for the “Toccoa-Stephens County Tomorrow” program.

Earlier this week, the city and county were recognized by Georgia Trend magazine and the University of Georgia’s Public Service and Outreach division with a “Four for the Future” award.

Georgia Trend magazine says the award is designed to recognize communities that are working across the public and private sectors and nonprofit boundaries on challenging issues that will improve quality of life, economic development, and community well-being.

Stephens County Commission Chairman Dean Scarborough and Toccoa Mayor Gail Fry, along with others, recently received the award on behalf of Toccoa and Stephens County.

Scarborough said it is quite an honor.

“There were only four awards for the whole state, so we are happy to receive that,” said Scarborough.

“Toccoa-Stephens County Tomorrow” is a privately funded effort that is being done in conjunction with the Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce and the Fanning Institute from the University of Georgia.

The program looks at and focuses efforts on issues such as education, economic development, land use, that the community has expressed an interest in through focus groups and other comments.

Other recipients of this year’s “Four for the Future” award include Covington and Newton County, Cairo and Grady County, and Adel and Cook County.

WNEG

NGTC Announces State SkillsUSA Winners, Participants

Five North Georgia Technical College students will participate in the National SkillsUSA competition later this year after winning at the state level.

Those five, who won their competitions at the state SkillsUSA competition in March, are Patrick Bell of Cornelia in CNC Milling Technology, Adreona Howard of Toccoa in Criminal Justice, Jacob Hester of Cleveland in First Aid/CPR, Austin Duley of Toccoa in Marine Service Technology, and Georgia Zumwalt of Jefferson in Photography.

They will represent North Georgia Technical College at the 50th annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Kansas City in June.

SkillsUSA is a national career and technical student organization with chapters at high schools and colleges across the country.

The five state winners led a strong showing by North Georgia Tech at the State SkillsUSA competition.

This year, 40 students from 15 programs at the college competed and a total of 26 medals were won.

The contests are planned by technical committees made up of representatives of labor and management in the industries and are designed to test the skills needed for a successful entry-level performance in given occupational fields. As part of that, safety practices and procedures are judged and graded and constitute a portion of a contestant’s score.

North Georgia Technical College President Dr. Gail Thaxton said the college’s students did an outstanding job representing themselves, their instructors, and North Georgia Tech.

Thaxton also thanked the school’s faculty and staff for their dedication and enthusiasm, pushing and pulling the best from the students to get them to this point.

Placing second in their competitions were Ashley Jordan of Martin in CNC Turning Technology, Daniel Rico of Lavonia in Electrical Construction Wiring, Frank Johnson of Clayton in HVAC, James Fryery of Lula in Industrial Motor Control, James Biddy of Armuchee in Marine Service Technology, and Frank Zayas of Buford in Photography.

Students who achieved third place included Keith Garrett of Clarkesville in Welding; Travis Schmitt of Patterson in Marine Service Technology, Haley Shuler of Gainesville in Medical Assisting, and Austin Giles of Cleveland in Precision Machining Technology. Three teams also placed third in their contests: the Welding Fabrication team consisting of Nikolaus Adams of Eastanollee, Kevin Cyr of Gainesville, and Blake Nelms of Royston; the Crime Scene Investigation team consisting of Selena Forrester of Hartwell, Karla Orozco of Baldwin, and Gabriel Orozco of Clarkesville; and the Health Knowledge Bowl team consisting of Rebecka Hopper of Rabun Gap, Stephanie Murphy of Clarkesville, Jamie Shirley of Mt. Airy, and Marle Quinn of Clarkesville.

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