Park to remain open in 2014

The federal government has decided a park near the South Carolina-Georgia crossing will remain open into 2014. According to Toccoa’s WNEG, the decision means the Army Corps of Engineers will not close the park off highway 123 January 1, as it first planned. Meantime, the corps and Stephens County will continue to work on an agreement for the county to lease the day use area and assume operations and maintenance there. Once shortfalls in the agency’s budget were cited for the decision to close the park, Stephens County residents expressed concern that the first image of their county to people coming in from South Carolina should not be that of a closed park. And residents there say the park, which includes the “Broken Bridges” visible from 123, is an important part of their county’s history.