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COPYRIGHT-THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2012 • VOLUME 124 NUMBER 48 • JASPER, GEORGIA • 500
Jerry Patterson
announces
candidacy for
Post 2
commissioner
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Pets die after saving owner at Marble Hill home
Pickens crews handle five house fires
in less than 36 hours
It was “all hands in, ” said County Fire Chief Bob Howard, as fire crews battled five blazes since
Monday.
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
Pickens crews had battled five unrelated house
blazes in the previous 36 hours. County Fire Chief
Bob Howard said in an interview early Tuesday
morning.
Two occupants of a Highway 53 home in Mar
ble Hill were transported to the hospital for possible
smoke inhalation but were recovering without
problem, according to a relative. No other serious
injuries to residents or fire crews were reported.
Howard said the crews did an outstanding job with
the hectic pace.
“Everybody did a remarkable job considering
what we had to work with,” the chief said.
Howard said he didn’t have complete details on
any of the actions, as firefighters had been too busy
putting out fires to compile reports.
“There is no serial arsonist,” he said. “It is just
an odd coincidence that we have had so many in
such a short period of time.”
Howard said causes aren’t known at all of the
blazes, but there doesn’t appear to be any general
theme or cause.
“It’s been all hands in for the fire departments
in this county,” he said.
In the final fire of this short span, near the inter
section of Highway 53 and Harrington Road, two
dogs died in the fire, but they are credited with sav
ing the residents at the home.
Sandy Blackwell said the two small dogs
(owned by her grandmother, Mary Pirkle) started
barking when the fire broke out in the room next to
where her grandmother slept at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Blackwell said her grandmother uses oxygen and
is not in good health, and, if it had not been for the
barking, she would not have awoken in time to get
both herself and another disabled relative out of the
home.
Blackwell said her aunt has a disability which
makes walking difficult, so both women needed
every minute possible to get out. Both Pirkle
and the other occupant, Angie Chumley, were taken
to Piedmont Mountainside Hospital for possible
smoke inhalation. Blackwell reported they were
doing fine on Tuesday morning.
“Thank God the dogs woke them up,” she said.
“They would have never made it out.”
The dogs apparently re-entered the burning
house, going to the spot where they always hid
when they were afraid, and they died there, accord
ing to Blackwell.
The dogs were found in the debris lying together
in their usual spot, near where the grandmother al
ways sat.
“We had a prayer service and buried the dogs by
the house,” Blackwell said Tuesday morning.
“They were small dogs but they saved their lives.”
The cause of the fire was not known Tuesday
morning. Blackwell said the owner did not have in
surance but has a lot of family support in the area.
Other fires:
Monday 2:30 a.m. - Vacant residence on Mar
blehead Lane. Total Loss.
Monday 3:30 p.m. Church Yard Road (near Gor
don County line). Several residents, cause was un
known. Howard said the fire got into the “dead
spaces” of the house and made it very difficult to
get to it to fight.” It was a total loss.
Monday 7:30 p.m. Ridge See FIRES, 20A
Global building baseball dugouts
for Clint Eastwood movie here
By Jeff Warren
Staff writer
jwarren@pickensprogress.com
By the time you read this. Global Builders, a restoration and con
struction company based near Nelson, should be at work building
two new baseball dugouts at Jasper’s City Park. The structures will
be more than just a fresh space to stable a ball team. They are among
field improvements to ready the diamond as a movie set for the Clint
Eastwood film slated to shoot scenes in Jasper this April.
Global won the contract earlier in March to build the dugouts on
the larger diamond at Jasper's City Park, where filming is to take
place. Not mock-ups but real dugouts, the two movie structures will
remain for park use after filmmakers pack up and roll away. All of
this is according to Jason Craft, project manager and leader in busi
ness development for Global.
"We have to have the project completed by the sixth of April,"
Craft said. "And they're gonna shoot the 12th and 13 th of April."
The diamond for the film, the lower ball field nearer the Duck-
pond, is to be reworked with new drainage in addition to the new
dugouts, Craft said. The City of Jasper demolished existing dugouts
prior to the start of new construction.
“The two new ones will be in their place,” Craft said. “We're
doing all the new construction.”
Concrete-floored, the new ball team bunkers will be three stair
steps below grade. Their sub-ground aspect adds some traditional
dugout authenticity. For the movie, the structures are supposed to
be part of a baseball diamond at a lower middle class high school,
Craft said. Eastwood plays an aging baseball scout come to survey
some talent.
Global expects to have a crew working every day, rain or shine,
from now until the 6th of April. "We have just over a week to com
plete the project," Craft said.
Global Builders project manager Jason Craft holds a working
drawing for baseball dugouts now under construction at Jasper’s
City Park as part of the movie set for motion picture scenes to film
there in mid-April. The structures will be permanent.
In that time, concrete floors and steps will be poured. Concrete
block walls will rise, capped at each dugout by a 2 x 6-supported
shed roof, shingle covered. Open all across the front, both dugouts
will have three poured concrete steps descending along the whole
front opening, Craft detailed. But a padded, two-rail safety barrier
along the front of each dugout will block access except near the rail
ing ends. See DUGOUTS, 20A
Development office sees glimmer
of hope with construction
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
According to Pickens County
Planning and Development Di
rector Joey Low, things are look
ing up for construction here,
even if it is only a bit.
“Last year was the first year
things got better, and they con
tinue to get a little better,” Low
said at the most recent commis
sioner’s meeting, held Thursday,
March 22.
Over the last 12 months, the
department has issued 41 new
house permits versus 25 permits
the 12 months prior to that. There
were 32 mobile home permits is
sued in the past 12 months, ver
sus 29 the 12 months prior to
that, and 162 miscellaneous per
mits over the past 12 months ver
sus 155 the 12 months prior to
that.
Miscellaneous permits in
clude decks, outbuildings, re
models and other types of con
struction not included in other
headings.
There were also five commer
cial permits issued in the past 12
months, versus three in the 12
months prior.
Total permits for the last 12
months were 299 versus 290 the
12 months before.
“And those permits represent
a valuation of $11.2 million
worth of construction in the last
12 months versus $6.1 in the pre
vious 12 months, so that’s a
pretty good increase there,” Low
said. He noted Commissioner
Robert Jones gave victims of the
2011 tornadoes a 50-percent dis
count on permits needed to re
build their homes.
“I guess the bad news in all of
that is our revenue coming into
the department is still flat, and
there’s probably several reasons
for that. A big chunk of our rev
enue comes from business li-
See CONSTRUCTION, 20A
Dr. Seussgate?
Schools change policy following
campaign material hand-outs
PHS raising money to buy Dragon sculpture
Principal agrees to shave head if drive is successful
Laiken Owens / Photo
PHS students and staff are raising money to make this Dragon a
permanent fixture on their campus.
By Laiken Owens
PHS Dragons’ Lair News re
porter
Pickens High students and
staff are raising money for a
new addition to the school. A
dragon sculpture is being of
fered for sale to PHS by Burnt
Mountain Trading Company.
The original asking price is
$3,300. But the owner is being
generous enough to discount the
item. The school has the option
to purchase it for $2,000. The
money for it, though, is ex
pected to be raised by April 1.
There’s a lot more riding on
getting this statue—like a prin
cipal losing his hair and the
hopes of students and staff of fi
nally having an awesome
dragon mascot statue at the
school.
The owner of Burnt Moun
tain Trading Company says he
has known for years the artist
who sculpted the green dragon.
The creator of this magnificent
piece is Juan Loera, who is
from Texas. The statue is made
of metal and is detailed down to
the last dragon scale. It’s an in
teresting piece, perfect for PHS
right? So they were hoping the
school would be interested in
acquiring it once it was put on
display.
Pickens High Principal
Eddie McDonald has made a
deal with students. If the money
to buy the dragon can be raised,
he has agreed to shave his head
on the school’s broadcast chan
nel, DTV (Dragon Television).
McDonald’s reasoning behind
shaving his head is simply to
motivate people to participate in
raising the money. He thinks the
statue would be a good asset to
our school by increasing school
spirit. He also said, “I’m afraid
I’ll lose my hair.”
See DRAGON, 20A
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
The Pickens County school
system has changed a policy to
require central office approval of
all materials brought by guest
speakers after campaign materi
als were distributed during a
Read Across America Day,
March 3rd.
The principal of Hill City El
ementary has also sent home a
letter to all parents in response to
the materials, acknowledging the
mistake and stating that the
school does not endorse any can
didate.
Marty Callahan, a candidate
for Post 1 Commissioner, said he
had not attempted to gain an un
fair advantage when he handed
out multiplication table charts
with a calendar that featured a
card with his name and the east
commission post he is seeking.
Specific to complaints
brought by Charlie Chastain, one
of Callahan’s opponents for the
post, was that the calendar in
cluded the note, “Board Ap
proved February 9,2011.” Chas
tain said he understood that the
calendar had been approved, but
the reference there made it ap
pear that Callahan’s candidacy
and campaign material had been
approved by the board.
Callahan said he has been
handing out similar multiplica
tion charts and calendars for 17
years at school functions with his
insurance company information
included on those. This year for
his first foray into politics, he
also included a campaign card.
As a political novice, Calla
han said he didn’t know there
were rules that the card violated.
“I didn’t have any inclination
there would be a problem,” he
said.
As to the “board approved,”
See SEUSSGATE, 20A
Obituaries ■ Page 23A
Ada Martin
Estelle Fountain
Carol Hawk
Clayton Garet, Jr.
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