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Thursday, January 21,2016 Jasper, Georgia Volume 128 Number 39 www.pickensprogress.com 75 cents Nettes beat Cartersville Page1B Judge Bradley to retire Page 4A Chamber holds winter ball Page 18A Jasper vs. Ellijay, Blue Ridge, Dahlonega Why are we last? By Angela Reinhardt Staff writer areinhardt@pickensprogress.com “There’s nothing to do in Jasper.” “Why don’t we have a Long- Hom or a movie theatre?” “Blue Ridge and Ellijay have so much more. What’s wrong with people here?” Anyone who lives in Pickens County has heard these com plaints or made them themselves. The Progress talked to a few local leaders and key players about economic development here to address why Jasper seems to have been “skipped,” and what, if anything, should be done about it. The Mayor Jasper Mayor John Weaver ended our lengthy interview on the subject by saying he wished the discussion would have hap pened on a ride down south, to Roswell or some other congested town. Instead, it was conducted in his office where he pulled up a Google Earth map. He zoomed into Jasper before panning aroimd to metro areas in Georgia. “Look at this,” said Weaver, who has been in office since 1992 when the city limits didn’t reach much farther than the Pick ens County Chamber of Com merce. “These places are completely saturated with people and traffic. Let’s say we get all of these things, a Publix or a theatre or a boom in population or whatever, our traffic is going to be twice as bad and we just might not like living in Pickens County any more. I don’t feel like I need to defend Jasper because we enjoy a great quality of life. You have to be careful what you wish for because growth is not free, and with the dogs come the fleas.” The mayor’s apprehension about effects of increased popu lation should in no way imply that he has made efforts to im pede economic development here. The city of Jasper has spent the last two-plus decades annex ing property up and down High way 515. Just after he took office, the city adopted a policy that required any landowner who wanted the benefit of sewer and water to annex into the city lim its. The policy stands to this day. The city has also expanded water and sewer systems along the highway. During his administration, there have also been projections of a massive spike in population for Pickens County. Between 1990 and 2000 the county grew by 59.3 percent, well above the state rate of 26.4 percent. A 2005 study from the Georgia Office of Planning and Budget projected Pickens’ population would in crease by 90 percent from 2000 to 2015, which didn’t hold true. For about a decade now the county’s population has held steady around 30,000. “I’ve never used bureaucracy to get in the way of develop- See Growth on Page 17A Nelson audit finds many problems, possible embezzlement Council will hold special meeting Jan. 21 to address a financial house in disorder By Ralph O. Dennis Contributing writer The 2015 audit for the city of Nelson has been delivered. It is not a good one. Ten matters of errors or discrepancies were cited. This audit, filled with problems found in the city’s books, will be presented to the council at a special meeting on Thursday, January 21, for the purpose of receiving the presentation and explana tion from the auditing firm of Welch, Walker & As sociates. The meeting is at 7 p.m. and is open to the public. Most of the problems cited were tied to poor or non-existent record-keeping, making it hard to trace where funds from the city had actually gone. Looking at some of the missing financial records from different city accounts, involving a total of $955, the auditors said embezzlement was possible as there is no explanation at all for where the money had gone. Going back to the 2012 audit and cited again this year was the segregation of duties. “Segrega tion of duties could be improved. Ideally, the duties of cash handling and bookkeeping should be seg regated in order See Audit on Page 14A 977-2016 The Piggly Wiggly was the oldest grocery store still operating in Jasper at the time of its closing Sunday. Some of the employees from this location will begin working at the Ellijay store. There were many tearful goodbyes during the final weekend. By Dan Pool Editor dpool@pickensprogress.com It’s Saturday, the day before Jasper’s Piggly Wiggly would close its doors forever, and former em ployee Blake Brooks is looking at the front of the oldest grocery store in town with its iconic Pig emblem that’s missing “Wiggly” sign. Brooks recalled being one of a handful of part-time bag boys in the 1980s while he was attending Rein hardt College. This would have been the glory days of the small grocery store, which opened in May of 1977, right as Benny Townsend’s grocery store on Main Street was closing. “We were constantly bagging groceries and dodging cars in the parking lot in an attempt to load gro cery bags into customers' cars,” he recalled. “It truly was a busy place for customer and employee alike.” When asked what else he remem bered about working there, Brooks said, “mainly all the people who have shopped here.” There was no shortage of others visiting the store one last time when word spread that “The Pig,” as the local landmark has been called for decades, was closing. Employees were told Friday that the time had come, “to bow out gracefully,” according some of those at work Sunday. One employee said they had no ticed that their business had slowed but it didn’t seem so drastic that it would cause the store to close. 15-year Piggly Wiggly employee Kitty Lansdowne was hugging some customers goodbye as she finished her shift Sunday, the final day of op eration. See Pig on Page 3B Road rage, theft suspect sought By Dan Pool Editor dpool@pickensprogress.com The investigation of a road rage in cident during the heavy rains on De cember 28th, led Jasper police and sheriff investigators to a suspect they consider dangerous and a large amount of stolen goods. Sgt. Matt Dawkins with the Jasper Police said they were investigating an incident where a motorist reported a white van had been tailgating very close behind them, frightening the oc cupants of the car, while they were traveling Cove Road. After the two vehicles passed underneath the red light on Main Street, the back window of the motorist’s car was shattered. Dawkins said initially they couldn’t tell what had caused the win dow to break. They posted video of the white van on their Jasper Police Facebook and someone provided an address. They also learned that Pickens sheriff investigators were interested in talking with the same suspect, Jeffery Nathan Coleman, after one of his ac quaintances reported that Coleman Suspect Jeffery Coleman photo from Pickens Sheriff Facebook post. had shot him in the face with a BB gun and pistol whipped him. Cole man, 37, was staying here at a Cove Road residence, but lists a Cherokee address on his probation information. Dawkins said they now believe that See Stolen on Page 14A Kilpatrick named 2016 STAR Student Hannah Kilpatrick has been named the 2016 STAR Student of Pickens High School. The announcement is made by the Optimist Club of Jasper, local sponsor for the Pickens STAR Program. Kil patrick is the daughter Rex and Beverly Kilpatrick of Jasper. She has selected Mrs. Christine Westbrook as her STAR Teacher. The PAGE Student Teacher Achievement Recog nition (STAR) program, now in its 58th year, is sponsored, administered and promoted by the Professional Associa tion of Georgia Educators (PAGE) Foimdation. Since its inception, the STAR Program has honored more than 25,500 students and the teachers they have selected as having the most influence on their academic success. To obtain the STAR nomination, high school seniors must have the highest score on a single test date on the three part SAT and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class based on grade point average. Kilpatrick plans to attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN after gradua tion and major in Biomedical Engineering. Hannah se lected Mrs. Westbrook as her STAR Teacher because “AP Biology has been my favorite class at PHS and this is largely thanks to Mrs. West brook. She has challenged me and made me think and discover new things on my own.” She went on to say “The most important lesson I learned from Mrs. Westbrook had nothing to do with biol ogy. I still remember her warning at open house that this class wasn’t necessarily difficult, but you had to de velop good time management skills to do well. Mrs. West brook went above and be yond what was required of her as our biology teacher. She not only managed to help us walk away with a thor ough understanding of the subject, but also tried to teach us about life and gave us les sons we could carry with us long after the 10th grade.” Hannah is a member of the Pride of Pickens March ing Band. This past season she served as the Secretary and Co-Pit Captain. She is the President of the PHS Beta Club and is the Senior Class Treasurer. She is a member of the Academic Team and was a participant in the Youth Leadership Program through the Pickens County Chamber of Commerce. Hannah en joys playing the piano and is currently a student under the supervision of Patti Adams. Mrs. Westbrook teaches AP Biology at Pickens High School. She has taught for 22 years. When asked how she would describe Hannah, Mrs. See STAR on Page 14A Subscribe to our Print edition and/or E-edition - Call our office at 706-253-2457 or do it online at www.pickensprogress.com HRITQ • Bennie Wright ‘Joyce Woodson v/DI I O • Bradford Williams Jr. ‘Shirley Wood PAGE 15A • David Kumnick