Blairsville, Georgia 30512 is a good hometown except no one ever planned the streets for so much traffic. Our old historic courthouse is the center of town and has been restored by the Historical Society to its former glory. Every hour the clock tower bells ring. Nestled in the mountains, Blairsville has lots to offer. Clean water, friendly people, lots of trees...although they are disappearing by the truck load. Everyday I see loads of logs being hauled out of town to pulp mills, saw mills, etc. Our natural resources are being used up. Farms disappear and ugly clear cutting removes all plant life. Subdivisions sprawl right next to creek banks and the evironment protection agency does nothing. We have laws that say you can't build on top of the ridges, but I guess if you oil the wheels of justice with a big enough "tip" you can build anywhere you want. Money talks as always. I want to stop all progress, close the gates, keep things green. When I first came here myself in 1978 the landscape was full of mountain laurel, dirt roads, wild forests, crystal clear lakes and streams. You could drive for miles and not see another soul. There were no traffic lights or franchises. We had to go to the hospital emergency waiting-room to get cokes, candy and cigerettes if it was after 7:30 p.m. The Tastee Freeze and the Dairy Cone were our hang outs. Blairsville in the 70's couldn't be beat.
When all the trees are gone, and all the beauty is a thing of the past, then growth will slow down because everyone will move off to Kentucky. I will miss the wild herbs, the lady slippers, the hemlocks. I will miss swimming at Sea Creek Falls where the water is so cold that it takes your breath. I will miss riding through Cooper's Creek Wildlife Refuge (where I once saw it rain frogs). You can't stop progress, but I wish the leaders would quit waving the welcome flag.
