-The bigger picture of the Armuchee Connector: The Twitter version is this: "New two-lane highway to relieve congestion on U.S. 27 for Armuchee residents by 2011. Construction starts this fall." The big picture: What else will it connect you to?
-'The Price is Right' at a favorite Northwest Georgia playground---or is it? Keeping with game show names, is it "Deal or No Deal" time in Blue Ridge, Ga.?
-College football still far away? No-no. Norman Arey, Northwest Georgia's premiere sports essayist/radio commentator, presents his fall preview columns starting in mid-August. . We have the day-by-day schedule.
-Peaks & Valleys: The highs and lows of Northwest Georgia: We've seen too many lows as the offensive in Afghanistan cranks up. But what can you say about our communities as area residents say thanks to those who make the ultimate sacrifice.
-And the big tease: A busy week in business updates is on the way based on some of the e-mails we received in recent hours. We thank Natalie Simms for doing an excellent job keeping Hometown Headlines as fresh as ever last week.
Weather:
-Monday: High of 86; low of 66. Rain chance: 50 %.
-Tuesday: Mostly sunny, high of 89, low of 65.
-Extended forecast> Weather
Norman Arey's Sports Roundtable
- Landscape for the hottest college football rivalries has changed dramatically
-Rome Braves end skid, beat Lexington, 6-5
-Tonight: Braves at Lexington. Next up: At Greenville.
-Latest Mills Fitzner game photos> Gallery
Stress the 'connector' in Armuchee Connector: U.S. 27 relief plus access to proposed tennis center, Mount Berry Square, . . .
By Natalie Simms
By late 2011, the commute to and from Armuchee should be smoother.
Officials are looking forward to not only the improvements the Armuchee Connector will make in daily traffic on U.S. 27 but also to potential for future growth in the area.
"The main reason for this project is because there is only one way in and out of the Armuchee area to Rome and that's Highway 27," says Kevin Poe, County Manager. "It's becoming more and more congested as we have seen more growth in the county along (Highway) 27. And, if a wreck happens in front of Berry (College), traffic is tied up because there is no detour route."
The project, which is being funded by the 2006 SPLOST, has been delayed by one thing or another as most road projects are, but officials are optimistic dirt will begin moving after late September. Poe says bid packages are going out July 13 and July 20, with 30-45 days for contractors to return their sealed bids (Connector details).
"We are hoping we are catching things at a good time because a lot of contractors are slow right now," he says. "We anticipate awarding the bid in early September and we'll start seeing them moving dirt and working on bridges this fall."
The 2.2 mile-connector will start at the end of Braves Boulevard (east of State Mutual Stadium; left side of the above map) and turn north crossing the Oostanaula River, continuing north approximately 1.5 miles, then turning west across Old Dalton Road to intersect with U.S. 27 at what is now Kendrick Auto Repair Shop. The business is moving because of the roadway. The connector continues across U.S. 27 to end at Old Summerville Road. (click the map for a more detailed view or here).
The total budget for the project is $12 million with an estimated timeline of 22 months to complete construction--perhaps by the end of 2011.
"It will be a two-lane roadway with limited points of access," Poe says. "We want it to be a good route for traffic in and out of Rome and Armuchee."
Poe says there will be two traffic lights, one at the four-lane urban connector with Old Dalton Road, and one at U.S. 27. The roadway will also include a major bridge structure over the Oostanaula River and another bridge to raise the roadway out of the flood plain. A bike lane also will be included.
"Our long-term goal is to build an East-West Connector that would join up to Highway 53 and the Calhoun Road area," he says. "We are going ahead and purchasing all of the right of way and will build it preparing for the future."
Along the route: Proposed championship tennis campus, mall
That future includes the opportunity for expanded growth along the corridor and in the Armuchee area. One proposed spin-off includes a 55-court tennis complex recently announced by Berry College. The venture would be a joint project between the college, city, county and community (see area in red).
The proposed complex could be constructed on a 23-acre tract of Berry's River Farm property. The land is part of an 80-acre undeveloped parcel of farming land located next to Mount Berry Square, that will be separated from Berry's other property by the connector.
Poe says a committee will look at options, including expanding the partnership to include other private entities that could benefit, such as the mall.
"We don't have the answers right now," Poe says. "But at some point, we'd have to come back to the city and county commissions with a concrete plan spelling out how we'd move forward, where the funding would come from and who would operate it."
Berry College officials are open to new opportunities for the land development.
"We have no specific plans right now," says Danny Price, general counsel for Berry College. "We feel the development of the Armuchee Connector opens up new opportunities including the joint tennis complex with the city and county. But from the college's perspective, it will alleviate a lot of traffic flow issues in front of the campus."
Another development that could benefit from the Armuchee Connector is The Boulevard, the latest project proposed for the area around State Mutual Stadium. Businessmen Doc Kibler and Dee Yancey hope to bring "Rome's first lifestyle center" to the area.
According to the project's Web site (www.romeboulevard.com) the center would "bring together opportunities for working and relaxing, owning and investing, honoring the environment and saving on energy costs. Spread around State Mutual Stadium, the home of the Rome Braves, the Boulevard aims to build on the already high visibility, high traffic and high participation in the site to become a destination location for shoppers and business owners."
Earlier reports had the first phase getting under way by early summer. We're continuing to check on updates.
The route also takes motorists right past the front door to the Rome Braves at State Mutual Stadium. With 70 home games scheduled each year, the connector would be a major player for the 2012 season -- the 10th anniversary of the Braves' move to Rome from Macon.
Blue Ridge real estate: There are some deals -- but no steals -- in
N. Georgia's premiere second-home market thanks to recession
Fannin County is a top weekend get-away for Northwest Georgians but those thinking of getting a drop-dead deal will be surprised by the reception they get.
By Carol Carter
The influx of people coming to Blue Ridge to buy real estate has dropped by 90 percent since the economic downturn began, says Mike Coleman of Blue Ridge Capital Partners, builder and developer of subdivisions.
"Normally," Coleman says, "we would have a spec house going on all the time, as long as we had lots for sale. About 14 months ago, we quit and that's simply because houses just quit selling."
The proof is in the numbers. In May of last year, 37 homes sold in Fannin County, where Blue Ridge is located, compared with the 19 in May of this year. Likewise, land sales plummeted from 18 in May 2008 to six in May of this year, says Andy Walter of Century 21 in the Mountains.
"Sales are extremely slow," says Jerry Whitehead of Blue Ridge Realty Inc., "and the people that are looking to buy are looking at the foreclosures and the deals."
To be sure, there are deals to be had in Blue Ridge. Coleman estimates a home buyer could save 35 to 40 percent right now. Whitehead says the savings could go as high as 50 percent.
And even though people have been buying foreclosed properties, Bo Chance of United Community Bank in Blue Ridge, says he is not sitting on a lot of foreclosures.
"We've been very fortunate with our foreclosed property," Chance says. "It has leapt off the books. We probably have three or four. Not that there aren't more on the horizon but it seems to be getting better. That inventory is getting flushed out of the system, and then we'll get some more normalcy in pricing."
Eighteen months to two years ago, Coleman says, there easily could have been 60 or 70 "quote builders" in Blue Ridge. A typical example, he says, would have been a guy and two brothers-in-law or an uncle and two cousins.
"About five of them make up a building team. That's about the minimum that you need on site every day to raise walls and everything. One of them would have a piece of Uncle Joe's land that happened to be down on the river – which 25 years ago you couldn't give away; now you can't get enough of it.
"And they would go to the bank and get a construction loan and start building this house," he says. "Every week, they would take out enough for each one of them to get a paycheck in addition to paying the construction costs."
These types of builders, Coleman says, were building fully 50 percent or 60 percent of the units sold in the county.
"Well, all of a sudden when the markets went away and sales stopped, they quit selling their places, which meant that they owed the bank X number of dollars for the construction on that house and the bank wasn't going to give them any more money. So the building business by that segment of the builders – which was a large segment – just came to a halt." 
Deal or no deal? This four-bedroom, 4.5 bath home is on the market for $599,000 and features just about everything a mountain retreat should feature--including a stream through the property. Click
Coleman doubts the market in Blue Ridge will ever return to that level of activity.
Whitehead thinks much the same thing: "I see it getting back to a heyday," he says, "but I don't know if it will ever be exactly like it was because it was extremely busy. Really, it was too busy. There was too much developing going on. But I do look for our market to come back and be real strong in the next couple or three years."
While Coleman, Whitehead and Chance wait for the market to bounce back, buyers they call "bottom feeders" come to Blue Ridge trying to buy property at fire-sale prices.
"We're seeing some of it," Whitehead says, "but not on a big scale."
At the bank, Chance says, he hasn't dealt with the bottom feeders firsthand but he knows they are here. He knows, for instance, of one who offered a local builder 50 percent of his asking price. The builder turned down the offer, and was "a little unnerved at the audacity of that kind of an offer.
"If some of them came to me with offers like I've heard," Coleman says, "I probably would get locked up for kicking the guy in his ass."
Long term, Chance says, Blue Ridge is "kind of like an entrepreneurial Wild West. There are so many thing that we don't have. There is so much room for growth. So, we're bullish. As people come up here and get a taste of downtown and realize that the county is 42 percent national forest, they get Blue Ridge on the brain, and they're never the same."
Norman Arey's Sports Roundtable: Fall football preview columns
Below please find the schedule for Norman Arey's popular fall football preview columns beginning in just over a month. The columns conclude with the first official "Norman's No-Nos" of the season on Sept. 4. What's a No-No? Norman's 15 locks of the week -- to lose in college games. Click Daily columns
-You can hear Norman's commentaries on WRGA 1470 AM twice daily. Plus hear the Sports Roundtable 9-11 a.m. Saturdays.
-Monday, Aug 10 - Introduction of 20-part series
-Tuesday, Aug 11 - Heisman Hopefuls
-Wednesday, Aug 12 - Best of Non-BCS teams
-Thursday, Aug. 13 - Pac-10
-Friday, Aug. 14 - Big XII
-Monday., Aug. 17 - Big 10
-Tuesday., Aug. 18 - Big East
-Wednesday, Aug. 19 - Half of ACC Coastal Division
-Thursday., Aug. 20 - Half of ACC Coastal Division
-Friday, Aug. 21 - Half of ACC Atlantic Division
-Monday, Aug. 24 - Half of ACC Atlantic Division
-Tuesday, Aug. 25 - Half of SEC West
-Wednesday, Aug. 26 - Half of SEC West
-Thursday,, Aug. 27 - Half of SEC East
-Friday., Aug. 28 - Half of SEC East
-Monday., Aug. 31 - BCS Bowls
-Tuesday., Sept. 1 - Top 10 ACC Players
-Wednesday, Sept. 2 - Top 10 SEC Players
-Thursday, Sept. 3 - National Preview
-Friday., Sept. 4 - Norman's No-Nos.
Coming soon: Hometown's plans for high school football this season.
PEAKS & VALLEYS: The highs, lows of Northwest Georgia
To the community of Calhoun/Gordon County:
Photo by Brian McClellan/Gordon County
It is a scenario that is becoming all too familiar. A hero goes to war to serve his country only to pay the ultimate cost. As was seen in Floyd County just days earlier and most likely will occur again soon in Bartow County, the residents of Calhoun, Plainville and Gordon County turned out in huge numbers to pay tribute to First Sgt. John Blair, killed in action in Afghanistan. It is hard to call any memorial to such a young hero "fitting" but this certainly was a heart-felt ceremony from last Monday's arrival of Blair's casket to his funeral on Wednesday. Well done, First Sgt. John Blair--and Gordon County.
Peak to Lance Cpl. Seth Sharp: For the third time in a month, a Northwest Georgia community prepares to remember a real patriot. This time, it is Adairsville that is mourning the loss of a young Marine anxious to serve his country. Rest well.
Peak to the Clarence Brown Conference Center:
The real news last week out of the ground breaking ceremony for Bartow County's $20 million state-of-the-art conference center across from Georgia Highlands College was the namesake. The sole commissioner of Northwest Georgia's fastest-growing county is among the most respected leaders in the state. What better tribute to a true community servant.
Valley to gasoline prices: Says the July Fifth release from AAA: "Contrary to popular belief, gasoline prices don't always increase going into major travel holidays... In Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, each state's average price of unleaded regular gasoline also declined by identical amounts, 2-cents per gallon from July 1 to July 4." OK, we'll buy into that. But what we don't get is why the same gallon of unleaded we paid $2.29 a gallon for in Augusta (Ga.) on Sunday was priced at $2.46 a gallon in Rome four hours later?"
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