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THURSDAY. MARCH 1.2012 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 3A
Protester sit-ins disrupt Bent Tree deer cull
By Jeff Warren
Staff writer
jwarren@pickensprogress.com
The much reported Bent Tree
deer cull, a focus of controversy
within that gated community for
days, has been completed for
2012.
"It started Tuesday evening
[Feb. 21] and ended early, early
Friday [Feb 24]," reported Bent
Tree General Manager Mike
King later on the day the cull fin
ished.
Conducted by U.S. Depart
ment of Agriculture Wildlife
Management Services personnel,
based from Athens, the cull
began with sharpshooters man
ning positions to fire on deer.
Shooting started roughly 24
hours after a special called meet
ing Monday, Feb. 20, of the Bent
Tree board of directors, where
the board re-confirmed its earlier
decision to approve the cull.
The board consists of Bent
Tree property owners elected by
Bent Tree property owners. For
at least a year, the deer cull ques
tion has come up during the elec
tion of Bent Tree board
members, King said. He reads
the consistent election of a pro-
cull majority to the board as in
dication of majority property
owner support for the cull and a
mandate to Bent Tree administra
tion to thin the deer herd. King
said.
Despite the board's stance, a
vocal and zealous minority of
property owners continues to op
pose the cull. Once sharpshooters
deployed to begin the deer kill,
some anti-cull protesters occu
pied corn-baited plots near
shooters, the purpose being to in
terfere with the deer shoot by oc
cupying the kill zone.
"They basically occupied the
bait sites, so it would have not
been prudent to do any shooting,
obviously," reported King. "So
we had to resort to night hunt
ing."
"I believe there were four
shooters," said Bent Tree resident
Rick Santia, speaking for anti
cull protesters. About 20 protest
ers took part in com plot sit-ins,
he said.
Shooters set up several firing
positions within the develop
ment, Santia said, with com plots
nearby to draw deer into their
field of fire. He said there was a
firing position near the base of
the dam at Lake Tamarack, an
other near the Bent Tree stables
close to the back gate entrance
into the development.
"One at Tamarack and Mulli
gan by our little inlet lake there,"
Santia said. Another shooter took
position near a pair of commu
nity water tanks. "The shooter
laid down on top of the right tank
with a bait station out 30 yards,"
Santia said. Yet another shooting
place was off of Oglethorpe
Shaun Cullen / Photo
Anti-cull protesters sit-in at a corn-baitedfeed plot to keep deer away from a shooting zone
during the 2012 Bent Tree deer cull, now finished. Protester activity reduced the number of
deer harvested.
Mountain Road near the back of
the Bent Tree development, he
said. Some sharpshooters
worked from tree stands.
Santia said U.S.D.A. dropped
off shooters by tmck, returning
later to collect the men and what
deer they killed. Unlike the 2011
cull, this kill saw harvested deer
processed outside Bent Tree.
"All the deer were processed at
Big Canoe," Santia said. Dining
last year’s cull, protesters pho
tographed the processing of deer
at Bent Tree, photos since pub
lished to further their cause.
This 2012 cull was slated to
harvest as many as 120 deer.
King said the unofficial count at
the close of the three-day cull
showed just 42 deer harvested.
That number remains unofficial
until U.S.D.A. releases an offi
cial report later, listing the num
ber, sex and weight of deer
killed, King explained.
Did corn plot sit-ins by pro
testers reduce the number of deer
taken?
"I'm quite sure it did," Santia
said.
"Absolutely," King con
firmed.
Santia reported that at one
shooting position a sharpshooter
came down off his perch to ask a
young woman sitting on a feed
plot if she intended to stay there.
She answered in the affirmative.
"Then I'm out of here," the rifle
man was reported to have said.
"These guys were pretty po
lite," Santia said. "They were just
doing their job, and we were just
doing what we believe in."
Protesters sensed their pres
ence on com plots would keep
deer away. When protesters sat
in, shooters also usually left the
area.
"Nobody was going to con
front anybody. That wasn’t the
deal," Santia said. "We just made
our presence known to keep the
deer away, and the shooter left
his space."
Asked if protester interfer
ence would up the cost of the
cull. King said it would not. The
contract cost with U.S.D.A. is
based on time spent, the three
days sharpshooters worked in
side Bent Tree, King explained.
Though overall cost for the
cull stays the same, the reduced
number of deer taken does up the
cost per animal. Processed meat
was donated to a live-in drug/al
cohol rehabilitation center within
the county.
King said no attempt was
made by Bent Tree administra
tion to interfere with protesters at
feed plots. The fining of Bent
Tree residents who participated
remains a possibility, he said.
Santia described protesters as
"very dedicated people."
An anti-culler, Santia (age 65)
is also a hunter. "I've hunted all
my life," he said. "It doesn't freak
me out to see a deer killed. I've
done that since I was 13." Fol
lowing a hip replacement, he has
not hunted for two years but still
holds a lifetime Georgia hunting
license and belongs to a south
Georgia hunting club, Santia
said. Elk and quail hunting still
appeal to him, he said.
His objection to the Bent Tree
deer cull is seeing it conducted
inside a community that presents
itself as a wildlife preserve, San
tia explained.
"At our gate are signs:
wildlife reserve," he said. "To see
the deer running around, to see
the bear, the turkey, the peace
and tranquility is just over
whelming." He believes a signif
icant number of Bent Tree
residents have moved in from
metro Atlanta with exactly such
a pastorale vision in mind.
"I've met people that have just
moved up here under the impres
sion they are living in a wildlife
community," Santia said. "And
they are absolutely appalled that
they would do this kind of thing
[the cull]."
"We moved into a wildlife
area," he said. "They [the
wildlife] have been here a lot
longer than we've been around."
Santia said he wished the
Bent Tree board, in its called
meeting, had done something
more to make known to anti
cullers that their concerns had
been heard and considered. The
community remains divided over
the issue, he said.
"It's extremely divided, and
that's sad," Santia said. "But
where we have a board that can't
see what's happening, that's the
most disturbing thing," he said.
Though the majority rules, also
satisfying the minority now ap
pears crucial to maintaining the
peace.
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the door
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706-253-2457
Permits needed for election
signs within city limits
Any candidate running for office and putting election signs out
in the city limits of Jasper needs to apply for a permit.
There is a $200 bond or check that will be kept on file at the
building and license department. If signs are picked up within 10
days of election, the checks will be returned.
Apply for an election permit at Building & License Dept., be
hind City Hall.
Mike Castagna
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Notice is hereby given of a hearing to be held on the 12 th day of
March, 2012, at 6:00 p.m. at the Pickens County Commissioner’s
Meeting Room before the Planning Commission of Pickens
County, Georgia. The purpose of the hearing is to discuss a
request by Charlie Wright, to have parcel 001-006 of 28 acres
rezoned from Agricultural (AG) to Neighborhood Commercial
(NC). The property is located at the northeast comer of Highway
515 North and Old Whitestone Road East. The recommendation
of the Planning Commission will be brought before the
Commissioner on March 22. 2012, at 4:00 p.m.
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The Pickens Report
By Commissioner Robert Jones
February
The winter months in Pickens
County have been mild so far in
comparison to previous winters,
but I will remind you that some
of our harshest winter weather
has occurred in March and even
into April during our history. We
can hope that this mild weather
continues but we need to be pre
pared in the event it does not. If
inclement weather should occur,
please listen to your local radio
stations or watch the television
for news about closings, road
conditions and other pertinent in
formation you might need. Keep
in mind that home is often the
safest place to be during bad
weather and don’t get out unless
you feel it is necessary.
Sloan Elrod, Pickens County
Emergency Medical Services di
rector, gave a report at my
monthly meeting that I would
like to share with you. The total
calls responded to in 2011 were
5,444 and that compares to 5,368
responses in 2010. Since 2008,
Pickens County EMS has seen an
increase of over 30 percent in
calls made to 911 which results
in an EMS unit being dispatched.
Because of this large increase in
volume and mileage, I am happy
to report to you that Pickens
County has purchased two new
fully equipped 2011 ambulance
units which should be placed in
service in the next few weeks as
soon as the State of Georgia cer
tifies them as meeting the state
requirements. In addition, our
EMS personnel are undergoing
additional training to be able to
serve the citizens of Pickens
County with the highest degree
of emergency medical services
possible. It is my hope that you
do not have to make use of the
service through our EMS, but if
you do, I want it to be timely,
professional and life saving. I
want to thank Sloan and all of the
EMS personnel for the job they
do 24 hours a day, 365 days a
year.
I continue to hear really good
positive comments about our
new Pickens County Community
Center located at Roper Park.
The use of the facility continues
to grow and I encourage those
citizens who have not had a
chance to visit to please stop in
when you have a chance. Basket
ball season is winding down for
the Recreation Department and
they are in the process of regis
tering for the upcoming baseball
and softball seasons. Please call
706-253-8862 if you should have
any questions concerning the
new facility.
As I stated in an earlier report,
there is going to be some incon
venience associated with the
temporary closing of the Pickens
County Courthouse during the
renovation and expansion. The
judicial offices and a small court
room were moved to the West
Annex. Because of space limita
tions and limited parking, I have
now signed an additional resolu
tion which would allow the use
of the Pickens County Chamber
of Commerce building located at
500 Stegall Drive in Jasper to be
utilized as an additional facility
for the holding of any session or
sitting of any Superior, Magis
trate or Probate Court proceed
ings. I remind you that these are
temporary measures during the
renovation and construction, and
I apologize to any of you incon
venienced by these measures. I
strongly believe you will be
pleased with your new facility
when it is completed.
Until the next time, stay safe
and be healthy.
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