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Front - April 1 3/30/04 4:46 PM Page 1
April Is “Great American Cleanup” Month
Both City and County Offer Special Services to Remove Junk /Debris / Pagel6A
APRE. 1, 2004 VOLUME 116 NUMBER 47 JASPER, GEORGIA 30143 USPS 431-830 THREE SECTIONS 50 PAGES PLUS SUPPLEMENTS
Briefly. . .
Art for Heart
Coming in April
The local American Heart
Association group will be
hosting their 2004 Art for
Heart Gala later this month.
Now they’re asking residents
to support this event by donat
ing art or other items for the
auction, signing on as a spon
sor or purchasing advance
tickets. The evening will fea
ture entertainment, dining and
dancing while increasing the
awareness of heart disease and
raising money to benefit the
Heart Association. Earl Brin
son has been named the 2004
honoree. Page 12A
Shooting the
Breeze
This week’s
Shooting the
Breeze column
features Kaylee
Siniard, a PHS
senior who is
heading for
Dollywood for
a year-long
singing/danc
ing position at
Dolly Parton’s Pigeon Forge,
Tennessee country music
park. Page 5B
SMDKEY
Wildfire Conditions
Remain High
While Pickens County
received a much needed two-
thirds inch of rain Monday
night and Tuesday morning,
dangerous wildfire conditions
are expected to return if more
precipitation doesn’t follow
soon. The countryside is
greening up with the arrival of
spring, but in March only 2.59
inches of rain fell in Jasper —
less than half the normal
amount — and with higher
temperatures, windy days and
the rainfall shortage, danger
ous wildfire conditions persist.
In Georgia there have been
deaths and injuries from wild
fire this year and the Forestry
Commission is urging extreme
caution until the state gets out
of the danger zone. Page 11A
Weather
By WILLIAM D1LBECK
HI
LOW
RAIN
Tuesday
56
32
.00
Wednesday
65
42
.00
Thursday
69
49
.00
Friday
74
53
.00
Saturday
75
53
.00
Sunday
79
55
.00
Monday
70
50
.68
Deaths
Luke Carver
George Grossenbacher
Tim Wisherd
Angus Reece
Teresa Ryan
Audie Blackwell
Eli Ray
Edward Ashmead
OBITUARIES ... .See Page 15B
Visit Us
On The Web
www.pickensprogress .com
The Progress is
printed in part on
recycled newsprint
and is recyclable
State school board
member addresses
public at Jasper meeting
By Michael Moore
State school board member Jim
Franklin emphasized the impor
tance of the family in education,
and faced a barrage of questions
about declining state funding and
the No Child Left Behind act at a
public hearing Monday at Jasper
Elementary School.
Franklin, a retired army colonel
who now lives in Calhoun, repre
sents the tenth U. S. congressional
district on the state board of educa
tion. He was appointed to the board
by Governor Sonny Perdue in
2003.
About 50 people were present at
the meeting. Most of those in atten
dance were educators and school
administrators from throughout the
district.
“I understand that educating our
youth is not done in Atlanta, it’s
done in the classroom,” said
Franklin at the beginning of the
meeting. “And not only is it done
in the classroom, it’s done in the
homes.”
He said parents should take an
active role in their children’s edu
cation, so that learning will be a
priority to the children. Students
have to be willing to both behave
and to learn when they get to
school everyday, he said.
Franklin said the state’s new
curriculum proposal is “one of the
most important things we have
done in Georgia in a long time,”
although he noted it is a “working
document” which will likely have
to be revised before it is imple
mented.
He said the No Child Left
Behind (NCLB) act is a “great
start” in making people account
able for school performance.
However, he noted there are
flaws in the federal law. One is the
requirement of 95 percent student
participation in standardized tests,
which he called “unrealistic.”
Franklin also said it is “unfair”
that NCLB requires special educa
tion students to perform at the
same level as regular education stu
dents.
In response to an audience ques-
Continued on page 4A
Four arrested in
Friday drug bust
Dial 1-888-328-METH
to report drug activity
According to Sheriff Billy Wof
ford, agents from the Zell Miller
Mountain Parkway Drug Task
Force and Pickens County Sheriff
deputies had a busy Friday night.
Four people were arrested in a
methamphetamine drug raid at a
Bryant Road residence in west
Pickens County. Sheriff Wofford
said the agents and deputies were
tipped off by a concerned citizen
about drug activity in the area.
The citizen gave enough infor
mation to lead agents to the resi
dence with a search warrant, the
sheriff said.
The sheriff said the information
also led agents to believe that the
subjects at the residence may have
been armed with assault rifles.
In response to the information
concerning the weapons, Allen
Wigington with the Sheriff’s
Department said law enforcement
agents had prepared for the situa
tion by taking “maximum precau
tion.”
After searching the home, no
assault rifles were found, but Wig
ington said ammunition was found
that would have been used by one.
He said he couldn’t speculate
where the weapons may have been.
“Possibly traded for more illegal
drugs, is one guess, but there are a
lot of possibilities,” he said.
Wigington said drug cases are
often linked to violence and other
violent crimes, but locally thus far
there hasn’t been any direct vio
lence during drug busts.
During the raid a total of eight
people were taken into custody at
A bag of metli seized in the
raid last week. Law enforce
ment agents say this bag, with a
value of $300-$500, would be
part of a larger batch made at
one time. The color of metli
ranges from bright white to
darkish yellow, varying from
lab to lab, batch to batch, said
Allen Wigington in the Pickens
Sheriff Department.
the scene. Four were subsequently
released. Wigington said this was a
case of these four “being in the
wrong place at the wrong time.”
Wofford said that according to
the Drug Task Force Agents, all but
two of the eight had prior drug
arrests and three of them were on
active probation. Those charged
were a Talking Rock woman with
possession of methamphetamine; a
Fairmount man charged with pos
session of methamphetamine; a
Ranger man charged with posses
sion of methamphetamine with
intent to distribute and a 16-year-
Continued on page 3A
Damon Howell / Photo
Earthmoving work is progressing full tilt at the future home of Home Depot and Kroger in
Jasper. The Jasper Village Shopping Center could employ as many as three hundred when the
businesses open according to the county’s economic developer.
COMMISSIONER HOLDS MARCH MEETING
Home Depot/Kroger shopping center
could be open by December
says county economic developer
Commissioner approves 1 acre minimum lot size
By Dan Pool
The Jasper Village shopping center at the inter
section of Highway 53 and Highway 515 could be
open by December, creating 300 new jobs, accord
ing to a report from County Economic Developer
Larry Toney Friday.
Speaking during the March county commissioner
meeting, Toney said the new commercial area,
including the planned Kroger and Home Depot, will
employ in excess of 300 people. Toney said he
knows there are not that many people seeking work
at this time in Pickens County.
Toney said there are also plans underway for sev
eral restaurants to locate in the same vicinity and
these could be open prior to the larger stores.
“It would be easier for some of the smaller places
to open before the big box stores,” he said.
Toney also reported “there has been considerable
negotiation over the old hospital” recently. He said
there are new owners there, but they haven’t stated
definitively what they will do with the large com
plex on Highway 53 south, which housed Mountain
side Medical Center for many years.
“Their intent is not fully clear at this point,” he
said. “It’s possible they are going to open an assisted
living home.”
Sheriff says architect to begin
work this week on new jail
Making a rare appearance at a commissioner’s
meeting, Sheriff Billy Wofford reported the county
has signed a notice of intent with a contractor for the
new jail’s construction.
Wofford said they had spent numerous hours
Continued on page 3A
Redistricting reunites Pickens into single
district in both state house and senate,
but brings all new faces as representatives
By Michael Moore
When voters decide statewide
general assembly members at the
polls in July, they will find for the
second election in a row the con
gressional districts have changed
drastically.
After a federal ruling in Febru
ary which said the district maps
drawn for the 2002 election were
unconstitutional, the legislature last
week approved entirely new maps
with redrawn district lines.
While redistricting in 2002 split
Pickens County into two separate
districts in both houses of the state
legislature, many voters were still
able to elect some familiar names
such as Bill Stephens and David
Ralston.
After the latest redrawing, how
ever, both Stephens and Ralston are
off our ballots, as they have been
drawn into districts to the south and
north of Pickens.
Even Jeff Lewis, whose district
in the last election spilled partially
over to Pickens, will not be repre
senting any Pickens voters after
November.
However, now the whole county
fits into just one district in both
houses. In the senate, Pickens is in
the 51st district, and we are in the
12th district in the house of repre
sentatives.
Since none of our current repre
sentatives will be on the July 20
ballot, one can expect to see a list
of names they have never heard
before.
One incumbent who has been
drawn into the 12th house district
and will seek re-election is Tom
Graves, of Ranger. Graves was
elected in the tenth district in 2002,
and he now has a whole new set of
Continued on page 4A
Acts sought for Lee Newton Park performances
Rotary to host concert series this summer
Free concerts in Lee Newton
Park will be scheduled for Tuesday
evenings in June and July this
Summer.
The Rotary Club of Jasper will
be presenting the music event in
the early evening hours, starting at
6:30 p.m. Pickens County resi
dents are urged to pack a picnic
basket, grab a blanket and enjoy
the music and good times in our
local park.
Musical acts are asked to sub
mit tapes and information if they
wish to perform at the concerts.
Various types of music will be
scheduled. Continued on page 4A
The gazebo at Newton Park
will come alive with free weekly
concerts this summer.
Board attorney not present
at March 17 meeting
Absence means board may
have illegally
Last week the Progress incor
rectly reported that in a called
Pickens County board of educa
tion meeting, the board’s attorney
Phil Landrum, III, and superin
tendent Lee Shiver were present.
Actually, neither Landrum nor
Shiver attended the meeting of
Wednesday, March 17, which
was closed to the public. Only
four school board members and
two Jasper city council members
were present at the meeting,
according to board chairman
Tony Young.
However, on the same day as
the meeting, Young signed a
closed session
sworn affidavit that said the pur
pose of the private session was
“to consult and meet with legal
counsel.”
He later told the Progress that
the topic of discussion was
“potential litigation.”
The Georgia Open Meetings
Act says a government body may
meet in private to discuss pend
ing or potential litigation with
their attorney.
The absence of the board’s
attorney means the board acted
illegally in closing the meeting,
which should have been open to
Continued on page 4A