The Rotary Club of Jasper Breaks Ground on New Rotary Youth Park

Saturday, December 31st, 2011

Rotary Youth Park

Rotary Club of Jasper Breaks Ground on a new Rotary Youth Park


The Rotary Club of Jasper has launched a project to bring a new youth park to Pickens County. The new Rotary Youth Park is located across from the Pickens County Middle School in the Roper Park complex. With all the competitive playing fields, the new County Recreation Center and future Boys & Girls Club facility, the location will be a perfect spot for parents and children of all ages to take a break from all the more structured activities. The plans for the park are complete and there are lots of opportunities for individuals or organization to add Legacy features to the park as it matures and grows.

If you are interested in joining a great local organization with international reach come visit the Rotary Club of Jasper. We meet every Wednesday at Noon on the Appalachian Campus of Chattahoochee Technical College. Just tell them you are Don’s Guest.

The link below has a great story, photos and videos provided by Know Pickens.com.

Rotary Club of Jasper Youth Park

What a great little corner of God’s earth we have to live in!

See you ’round the mountains,
Don

Hans Rueffert in Huff Post Article

Saturday, December 31st, 2011

Greetings from Beautiful Bent Tree,

I just received this article and video on Hans Rueffert on the Huff Post from my little sister way up in New Jersey. It looks like it was posted in October, but I haven’t seen it before, so I am posting so anyone else that missed it can have a look. (Thanks Marilyn!)

Huff Post Food Article and Video

Have a Happy New Year and a Blessed 2012,

See you ’round the mountains,

Don

Robert Henry Trio a Rousing Success

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011
Casual Classics Concert Near Bent Tree

Robert Henry Trio in Concert in Jasper on November 7, 2011. Photo Courtesy Sara Baurmann

If you were one of the record crowd at the Casual Classics Concert last Monday Night in Jasper then this is old news; if you were not, then you missed a great evening. After the audience of around 200 settled in to their seats at the New Lebanon Presbyterian Church, (on Bent Tree Drive just outside Jasper) the Concert Master and President of Jasper Muse, Inc., Suzanne Shull, welcomed everyone and set the stage. The first selection was Beethoven’s 12 Variations on a Theme by Handel and as an introduction, Charae Kreuger, Cello, asked the very pertinent question: “What does a genius do for fun?” The answer, obviously, is that he writes 12 delicious variations on a single theme. The music was enchanting and the performance pristine.

For the second selection Fia Durrett joined the group and Dr. Henry introduced Mendelssohn’s Trio No 1 in D Minor, Opus 49. The piece is delectably challenging and the Trio was up to the challenge. Every heart pounding climax brought the audience to the edge of their seats and every quiet nuance was lovingly presented. The audience was enraptured, not a stir or cough was heard until the final note and the audience erupted into applause that continued after the Trio left the stage, walked out through the hall and was well on their way to the dressing room.

After a brief intermission, Fia Durrett, Violin, introduced the evening’s final selection Dvořák’s Piano Trio No 4 in E Minor (“Dumky”) The 6 sections are essentially short Slavic ballads (dumka) and each could stand alone; however they are musically intertwined and clearly of Slavic origin. Collectively they were like a melancholy litany handled lightly. Oh so Dvořák and oh so beautifully played by the trio.

It was an amazing concert – crisply and professionally delivered by the widely acclaimed artists and warmly received by its North Georgia audience. If you missed it, we’ll hope to see you at the next concert, which will be the Franklin Pond String Quartet along with a Guest Soloist presented on February 7, 2012. Go ahead and mark your calendar now!

See ya ’round the mountains,

Don

4th Annual Taste of Pickens a Huge Success

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Last Saturday hundreds of Pickens County residents and their friends from around North Georgia got a real treat as 4th the Annual Taste of Pickens was held on the Appalachian Campus of Chattahoochee Technical College in Jasper, GA.  The event is sponsored by CARES (Community Assistance Resources and Emergency Services) as a fund raiser for the local food pantry.    All the fantastic food was donated by local restaurants, caterers and grocery stores so all of the proceeds go to supporting the food bank and helping to feed those in our community in need of occasional support.  CARES is just one of the outstanding non-profit organizations that make Pickens County one of the most remarkable counties in the country.   My wife and I attended and had a great time, but I did not have the foresight to record the event for this column.  Fortunately, Beth Compton of Southern Home Inspections and JasperPickensCounty.com did take the time to write a nice article and post a video.  Beth offered to let me post it here, so here is the link to Beth’s story on  A Taste of Pickens.  See you there next year and until then we’ll…

See you ’round the Mountains.

Don

Full Moon Trio Returns to Jasper

Saturday, October 25th, 2008

Lucky, Lucky You – you are one of the first to know about a great free concert occurring next week right here in Jasper.  The Full Moon Trio is returning on Tuesday night, October 28th and if  you are a fan of Classic Southern Folk Music you can’t afford to be any place else on Tuesday night.  Kathleen Hartfield, vocal and guitar, Al Piper on the fiddle and L.A. Tuten on bass will will take you back to the folk music of the South just as you remember it – even if that’s not where you’re from!   For those of you who weren’t able to purchase a CD last year, they promise to have plenty available this year and will sign one for you at intermission or after the concert.  Continue reading »