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zCOPYRIGHT- THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2011 • VOLUME 124 NUMBER 18 • JASPER, GEORGIA
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Suicide “knows no boundaries”
So far this year, 43 attempts and 39 threats reported here
By Christie Pool
Staff writer
christie@pickensprogress.com
The good news is that none of the at
tempts have been successful. The bad
news is that, according to the Pickens
County Sheriff’s office, the number of
suicide threats and attempts responded
to recently has kept officers busy.
With two suicide attempts in August
and another five threats of suicide,
Lieutenant Kris Stancil said this month
his office has seen an uncharacteristic
level of incidents. With victims ranging
in age from 15 to 54, both male and fe
male, and across a wide socio-economic
spectrum, Stancil said suicide “knows
no boundaries.”
In 2007 suicide was the 10th leading
cause of death in the United States, ac
counting for 34,598 deaths according to
the National Institute of Mental Health.
In Pickens County during 2007,
there were 49 suicide attempts and 52
threats. The following year, in 2008,
that number jumped to 77 attempts and
60 threats of suicide. So far this year,
according to the Pickens 911 Center,
there have been 45 suicide attempts and
39 threats.
Of the two attempts last month,
Stancil said both overdosed on prescrip
tion drugs. One person, he said, took an
entire bottle of pills, and another left a
note but thankfully was taken to the
hospital in time.
“The good thing is nobody has suc
ceeded,” Stancil said. “And no one has
had any weapons or anything like that
to endanger those trying to
assist—whether it be medical personnel
or sheriff’s officers. Most of the time
I’ve seen in the past where a firearm
was involved [the suicide] was success
ful.”
With high unemployment levels lo
cally, Stancil said it would be an easy
assumption that males would be more
at risk for suicide attempts. But, he said,
the recent cases don’t support that, as
four of the seven incidents last month
were by females.
“If it was See Suicide on Page 18A
Whitfield
Murray
Walker
White
Lumpkin
Gordon
:ooga
Pickens
Dawson
Forsyth
Cherokee
Bartow
The proposed new districts for the state senate, shown above, and the U.S. House of Representatives, map inside,
both divide Pickens into two districts.
It’s splitsville for Pickens
Redistricting divides county
in Ga. Senate and Congress
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
Pickens County will be split among
two districts in the state senate and in
the U.S. House of Representatives
under re-apportionment maps set for
approval this week by the state legis
lature.
The state senate will vote on the re
drawn maps this week. The house has
already voted approval. The re-appor
tionment maps made significant
changes to district lines at all levels
across the state to accommodate the
growing Georgia population.
State Senator Steve Gooch and
State Rep. Rick Jasperse who repre
sent Pickens County both said they
doubted much will change from the
proposed maps presented last week
with only some “minor tweaking” still
in discussion this week.
Under the new plans, Pickens will
remain entirely in Jasperse’s district
with the house seat number changing
to the 11th.
While Pickens remains all together
here for this state house seat, we will
see new areas included with us in the
redrawn district. While giving up a
substantial portion of Gordon County
and the small comer of Bartow that
was formerly part of our state house
district, the new lines will take in an
area to the north in Murray Coimty, in
cluding about half of the city of
Chatsworth.
Jasperse said he will continue to
represent his current district for the
See Divided on Page 18A
Tax digest completed
and distributed
By Jeff Warren
Staff writer
jwarren@pickensprogress.com
Copies of the completed county tax
digest went out Tuesday, August 23, to
county government, the school system,
and city governments at Talking Rock,
Nelson and Jasper, according to Pickens
County Tax Commissioner Sharon
Troglin.
"The school board will have their
meeting to set the millage rate. The
county will have their meeting to set the
millage rate. And the cities will also do
the same," she said.
An important number the county and
school board will focus upon as each
looks to set its millage rate for taxation
is their net taxable amount indicated by
the digest. Those net figures are derived
from the 2011 gross digest amount
($ 1,541,538,280) minus the tax exemp
tions credited by each entity.
Because county government and the
school board credit exemptions differ
ently, each works from a different net
taxable amount as they levy taxes. For
2011, the net taxable amount the county
will use is See Tax on Page 18A
Old post office to house court
offices during renovation
Commissioner enters
agreement with
courthouse architect
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
At his most recent meeting, Commis
sioner Robert Jones announced plans to
relocate several court offices while ren
ovations are underway at the Pickens
County Courthouse.
The county will lease the old federal
building/Jasper post office for 24
months at $5,000 per month. The build
ing is located beside West Church Street
between Mark Whitfield and Richards
streets, across from the Burnt Mountain
Trading Company.
The building, owned by Old Towne
Developers, LLC, will temporarily
house the probate office, the magistrate
office, the district attorney’s office,
county probation, a small office for the
Pickens County Sheriff, and Pickens
County Superior Court Judge Brenda
Weaver’s office. It will also contain a
small courtroom and an area designated
for visiting judges.
Jones said these offices will be relo
cated around November of this year.
According to Jones, the County
Annex Building will remain operational
during renovations, expected to begin in
spring of 2012.
At the Thursday, Aug. 25, meeting,
the county also entered into an agree
ment with JKH Architects of Dalton, Ga.
for renovations on the courthouse.
JKH’s Bruce Jennings, the primary
architect for the Pickens Courthouse
project, also designed the Gilmer and
Fannin See County on Page 18A
No sidewalks, no streetlights, no security, say bus stop parents
UPDATE:
School staff still
looking at stops
In follow-up interviews Monday,
School Board Chair Wendy Lowe
and Superintendent Ben Desper both
said the school administration is con
tinuing to work on the problem spots
on a case-by-case basis.
Lowe said since word of the first
meeting got out, she received four or
five e- See Update on Page 13A
Obituaries-Page 15A
Cheryl Blankinship Max Childers
Donald Jackson Randy Robinson
James Hensley
Community meeting
draws more than 50
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
Most parents speaking at a concerned
citizens meeting August 23rd related
similar lists of objections to the new bus
stops used by the school system: The
centralized stops require children as
young as kindergarten to walk by them
selves on dark roads with no street
lights, facing the dangers of traffic, sex
ual predators and wildlife.
Between 50 and 60 parents turned
out for the meeting to voice their fears
that the new bus stops are dangerous. As
promised by lead organizer, Willie
Prather, everyone was allowed to speak
as long as they wanted with the meeting
running well past two hours as parent
after parent cited specific complaints to
the new stops instituted this school year.
Prior to this year, the school buses in
Pickens Coimty essentially ran “door-to-
door” service. Administrators say com
bining bus stops and staggering school
start/end times so that some drivers run
two routes will save $120,000 this year.
The savings are realized due to a re
duced number of drivers and buses with
the combined routes.
In attendance to hear concerns were
School Board Chair Wendy Lowe and
Vice-chair Byron Long. Both addressed
the group. Commissioner Robert Jones
and Sheriff Donnie Craig were also on
hand to hear from citizens, although nei
ther has any direct involvement with
school transportation.
Central to complaints, or at least the
most represented at the meeting, was the
south Pickens subdivision of Bethany
Moorings. Vicky Sams, a mother and
resident there, said they had already
changed the stop and pick-up times a
couple of times, but it’s just not safe.
“There See Parents on Page 13A
Dan Pool/ Photo
Willie Prather, the lead organizer of a group ofparents, said the school system
has sacrificed safety for savings with the new bus stops at a meeting last week.
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