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PAGE 14A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 12. 2015
Leadership Pickens 2015 takes on the courthouse, jail and school system
Leadership Pickens at their courthouse meeting.
The 3rd session for Leader
ship Pickens began with the class
learning about the local judicial
system. Chief Magistrate Judge
W. Allen Wigington provided an
overview of the state of Geor
gia’s court system as well as the
local process. Chief Probate
Judge David W. Lindsey was
also present to explain the duties
of the Probate Court. It was very
interesting to learn that both
Judge Lindsey and Judge Wig
ington, although elected for the
specific court, are able to serve
as judge in both Probate and
Magistrate Court.
Class continued with hearing
from the District Attorney, B. Al
ison Sosebee. Unlike Judge
Lindsey and Judge Wigington
who only serve Pickens County,
the district attorney serves the
entire Judicial Circuit, which in
cludes Pickens, Gilmer and Fan
nin counties. The district
attorney is also elected, but it is
a combined total of votes from
all 3 counties in the Judicial Cir
cuit. The district attorney’s office
has many responsibilities focus
ing on the criminal division of
enforcing the law. They present
cases to the Grand Jury for in
dictment and then prosecute
cases in court. Jurors are ran
domly selected by the state from
the list of licensed drivers.
The session then offered the
class to tour the courthouse. The
facility was reopened after re
modeling and expansion in July
2013. The original courtroom
still exists, although it has been
redesigned and updated with new
technology. The courthouse has
remarkable security which is
mandated by law to be operated
by the office of sheriff. Lt.
Shane Padgett showed the group
the use of cameras throughout
the courthouse to provide safety
for the judges and other court
house personnel.
The class then traveled to the
Pickens County Pickens County
Adult Detention Center where
participants toured the facility.
The office of the sheriff is also
responsible for operating the de
tention center. The jail opened in
2006 and houses male and fe
male offenders. There is work
detail both inside and outside the
jail. Chief Deputy Jeff Hall
shared thoughts about the bene
fits of the increased use of tech
nology for the deputies. The use
of cameras in the jail as well as,
on deputy patrol cars and persons
has proven to be valuable for the
community and the deputies.
The last stop for the session
was the Pickens County High
School where the class was
greeted by Dr. Chris LeMieux,
principal, Chris Wallace, assis
tant principal, and Dr. Lula Mae
Perry, superintendent. Dr. Perry
shared some very impressive
statics regarding Pickens County
graduation rate and SAT scores.
Mr. Wallace gave the class an
overview of the CTAE (Career,
Technical and Agricultural Edu
cation) programs offered at the
high school. The class then
toured the CTAE wing of the
school and the football field
house. The tour ended at the high
school Performing Arts Center.
Dr. Carlton Wilson, principal of
Jasper Elementary, met the class
there to express his insight about
instilling leadership in youth.
Leadership Pickens is spon
sored by the Pickens County
Chamber of Commerce. The
2015 class would like thank all
of the speakers and information
provided at this session. We also
thank the magistrate and probate
judges for breakfast, the Pickens
County Office of the Sheriff for
providing lunch and the Pickens
County School System for re
freshments.
Jasper Jumpers kick off Jump Rope for Heart Week at Jasper Elementary
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Jasper Jumpers pulled off
an amazing performance
Monday night to kick off
Jump Rope for Heart Week
at Jasper ElementaryStu
dents performed tricks like
criss-cross, wounded duck,
double unders and behind
the back cross. The perform
ance ended with the grand fi
nale with Caleb Bryant
jumping over Coach Morris ’
head into the double dutch
rope.
It’s all for a great cause!
Jasper Elementary; students
have raised over $1,500 for
the American Heart Associa
tion and hope to raise $3000
by the end of the week.
Congratulations to all of
Jasper Elementary’s Heart
Heroes!
Anthem data security breach:
What you need to know
Anthem Blue Cross Blue
Shield reported that it has been
a victim of a cyber-attack and
there was a breach involving
the personal information of its
policyholders. Insurance Com
missioner Ralph Hudgens is
closely monitoring the Anthem
security breach and want you to
protect yourself if you think
you may be an affected policy
holder.
What happened?
In late January, Anthem dis
covered the unauthorized ac
cess of consumer information
including member names,
member health identification
numbers, dates of birth, Social
Security numbers, addresses,
telephone numbers, e-mail ad
dresses, employment informa
tion and income data.
What is Anthem doing to
protect my information?
Anthem notified the Federal
Bureau of Investigation once
the breach was discovered and
sent notices to Anthem con
sumers responding to con
sumer questions. Anthem is
also working with a cybersecu
rity firm to evaluate the extent
of the attack. They will be pro
viding free credit monitoring
and idenhfy protection services
to all who were affected.
What should I do now?
Most importantly, stay calm
and continue to monitor the sit
uation closely. Anthem has said
it is not yet aware of any fraud
ulent activity against policy
holders that has occurred as a
result of the breach. However,
as with any data breach, be on
the lookout for suspicious ac
tivities that may try to phish or
collect sensitive information
like user names, passwords and
credit card information. It is
important that you take action
immediately to protect your
self.
Call 877-263-7995, the toll-
free number Anthem has estab
lished to assist consumers.
Anthem has also set up a spe
cial website at www. anthem-
facts. com to answer questions.
Be sure to type in the web ad
dress directly. Do not click on
any links sent to you in an
email or via social media, as
scammers will try to take ad
vantage of the breach. Often
they will send phishing emails
that appear to be from your
bank or Anthem offering to
help.
You may want to consider
placing a freeze on your credit
report with the three major
credit reporting agencies. This
allows you to restrict access to
your credit report, making it
more difficult for identify
thieves to open new accounts in
your name. Be sure to protect
the information of your family
as well - including children
and elderly parents.
For more information about
a credit freeze, visit the Federal
Trade Commission’s Con
sumer Information Credit
Freeze FAQs.
Contact your bank or credit
card company if you notice
suspicious activity on your ac
count. You may ask them to put
a security block on your ac
count or preemptively request
a new credit or debit card.
Make sure to closely moni
tor your accounts, credit score,
bank, credit card and other fi
nancial information.
Consumers can also contact
Commissioner Hudgens’ Con
sumer Services Division at
404-656-2070 or toll-free at 1-
800-656-2298.
Kaleigh Burleson
Love, Mommy,
Daddy, Nannie, Paw-
Paw, Mimi & Pops
Makenzie Chdders
Love,
Mommy
Alexis Poole
Love,
MawMaw & PawPaw
Auri & Scarlett
We love you,
Mommy and Daddy!
Courtney Crowe
Happy Valentine’s Day
Mom & Dad
To Mom
Love,
Cole Posey
Griffen & Sam Burton
We love you,
Mimi & Grandaddy