Two more panoramas have been uploaded to the Panoramic album that were taken on April 29, 2006. In the two new panaromas you will be able to see the results of clear cutting for a distrubtion center and a new subdivision called The View at Groover's Lake.

The Losing Georgia: Interactive Tour has been updated with 17 new photos for current developments and the addition of two new developments. You can download the kmz file or head over to the overview page if you are unfamiliar with the Interactive Tour. Below is a list of additions and updates:

Added Photos

1. Anneewakee Trails Expansion
2. Arbor Connection
3. Boundary Waters
4. British Mills
5. Cedar Terrace
6. Camp Creek Distribution Center - Bldg A
7. West Terminus - Staples Fullfillment Center
8. Knollview at Coursey Lake
9. The Glens at Stewart's Mill
10. The Lakes at Stewart's Mill (North)
11. The Lakes at Stewart's Mill (South)
12. The Gardens at Mason Village
13. Parkside Manor
14. Parkside Village
15. River Breeze
16. Sweetwater Creek State Park Visitors Center
17. The View at Groover's Lake

New Developments

1. Cedar Terrace
2. The View at Groover's Lake

It's becoming ever closer to the one year anniversary of the Losing Georgia Project and I'm glad I could make it this far. I have had many thoughts as to how this project can grow into something more, like becoming a non-profit organization. That aspiration alone is a bold goal to achieve, but the likelihood of that happening will be difficult.

I haven't profited from this project financially and will never want to in anyway so long as this project continues to grow. I will confess that the money I will collect from the selling of the 25 original Gallery Collection prints will compensate the debt I have accrued over the past year. I view this to be only fair trade for my efforts to give the community a resource that will be invaluable.

The rise in gasoline prices is affecting my commutes around the county to decrease greatly. As a result I will make less frequent trips to developments for updates. This was bound to happen, I just did not to expect for this to come so soon.

Truthfully, I don't know how long I can financial continue this project on my own. The costs to keep the domain name and server running are moderate enough that I can handle paying that bill for the time being. It is the other expenses associated with the project outside the website that I do not know if I'll be able to keep up with.

I'm looking into creating a way for this project to support itself financially without it being a burden upon myself. So far no organization or government entity has been willing to support this project.

I'm willing to continue the project, but are you?

You can now head over to the Panoramas album and check out the 5 new panoramas that have been posted. Included in the update were the following developments:

1. New Chapel Hill Elementary
2. Chaparral Ridge
3. Riverview Distribution Center
4. Tributary - River Banks
5. Tributary - The Village II

Enjoy this update because it could be awhile before another one occurs. 

The Losing Georgia: Interactive Tour has undergone a comprehensive update relating to developments in the second district. You can download the kmz file or head over to the overview page if you are unfamiliar with the Interactive Tour. Below is a list of additions and updates:

Additions

1. Canyons subdivision
2. Singletree Farm subdivision
3. Sweetwater subdivision
4. Photo - Summer Lake Road Clearing
5. Overlay - Tributary Master Plan
6. Overlay - Tributary - The Village Phase 1
7. Overlay - Tributary - River Banks Phase 1

Updates

1. Douglas Hill Business Park
• PepsiCo - QTG
• Tyco
• Motorola
• Colgate
• Yamaha
2. Tropical Foods Distribution Center
3. Lincoln Electric Distribution Center
4. Hampton Inn
5. Home Depot
6. Tributary Sports Center

Performance

1. Overlays are not embedded into the kmz file any longer, instead all overlay images are now high resolution contained on my server.
2. Interactive Tour file size has decreased greatly.

Caution - Please only view one overlay at a time, having more than one high resolution overlay open will drain your computer's resources.

The Interactive Tour now has a page of its own and you can check it out here. If you haven't downloaded the Interactive Tour, then I suggest checking it out for yourself by going to the new page and reading over the detailed description of the tour and its signifigance to the community. Google Earth is free to use on the PC or Mac, so don't worry about viruses.

Experience Losing Georgia: The Douglas Story in a new way. This is history in the making and we are all apart of it.

Updates

1. Interactive Tour has been updated with addition of historical places.
2. The Village at Chapel Hill has been changed to The Avenue Chapel Hill. 

It’s been more than a week since the last update and I assure you the project is making progress. For the past week I have dedicated a lot of time researching material and gathering information to present in some of the upcoming articles. The Resource page has been restructured to allow for the two new articles to be accessed. Some articles are not currently available, but will be soon. As more articles are written the page will undergo another update.

After looking through Fannie Mae Davis’ book on Douglas County, I realized that much of this county has a rich history that tends to remain forgotten. Historic sites suffer from no one taking the time to upkeep them as more developments enter without prejudice. I feel as though the County pushes to be more prosperous without regard as to how this county was evolved.

I’m introducing a new initiative to the project: to discover and record the remaining historical sites throughout the county. As my discoveries of developments diminish, it is only natural to look back and understand growth through history. Articles will be available on the Resource page. This will be an overwhelming endeavor that will be a journey of its own. Knowing that I’m the only one crafting this project from scratch has been a hardship to deal with, but continuing in the footsteps of Davis is an honor in its own right.

The Losing Georgia: Interactive Tour has been updated with the following changes:

1. Development categories have been broken down by district 2. Trout Creek Estates has been added

After struggling over a bunch of code to create a Content Management System, I decided to use WordPress to control basic content, posts, and functions for the website. The Photos page is working, however the actual pages controlling the albums and individual images are temporarily using a different template. I might have a solution created tonight. The website might run slow at times, its the server and not your computer. I’m hosting two different sites on the same server so please be patient.

A new layout for the Resources page is coming and I may merge the Locations page with the rest of the resource information that is currently available. Plus I’m sketching out a FAQ that might answer some questions that I have yet covered in this project like: Why do I consider a distribution center a development when it is part of a larger development?

This website will now accept comments from visitors on posts made on the front page as well in other areas like the photo gallery. For the next few days the layout of the website might change a small percentage to give better access to information.
Also I’m working on a template for the various development articles that I will be writing soon which will cover the following points:

Area of Development - This will cover the location and surrounding area regarding the development.

Development Details - This will focus on the reasons why this development was created and what the development will provide to the community.

Developer - Any information that I can find about the developer will be discussed here.

Zoning History - Here is where information about how and why the Zoning and Planning Board voted on the approval of the development.

Environmental Damage - Though this topic might not suit all the developments, damage to the environment has and continues to happen to in certain areas. Here I will highlight on specific instances of environmental damage that be unknown or being overseen by personnel .

Thanks to everyone who stops by to check up on the project and has sent me e-mails. Its about Community, not Money.

Pages are now functioning except for the Photos page, working around the problem