Thursday, October 3, 2019
Volume 132 Number 24
Jasper, Georgia
Local News Published Weekly
™ "It's warm, dry and
weekend what we can afford"
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
say permanent RV dwellers
Organizers are gearing up
for the 39th annual Marble
Festival, which will run this
weekend Saturday, Oct. 5
and Sunday, Oct. 6.
“We are excited to have
so many new additions to
the festival this year and are
looking forward to see
everyone there,” said Pick
ens Chamber of Commerce
Executive Director Amberle
Godfrey.
Festivities kick off on
Saturday at 8 a.m. with the
Marble Festival Road Race,
followed by a parade down
Main Street in Jasper at 10
a.m. Events, activities, and
entertainment are scheduled
until 6 p.m. on Saturday, and
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on
Sunday at Lee Newton Park.
This year’s Grand Marshal
is the 2019 Citizen of the
Year Pickens Sheriff Donnie
Craig.
New events this year in
clude the “Egg Fest,” a Big
Green Egg demonstration on
Saturday, Oct. 5th where
participants can stop by for
food samples or play a game
of comhole. Also new are
tours of a tiny home, a retail
non-profit vendor area, a
“bigger and better” kids
area, ghost tours of the Old
Jail that have already sold
out, and a booth where Ken-
nesaw State University’s
Department of Museums,
Archives, & Rare Books
will document stories of
Pickens County history.
See Festival on 2A
Dan Pool / Photo
Neal Montgomery, outside his home, says he and other RV residents would “be lost in the woods” if the county
suddenly cracked-down on housing that doesn’t meet official building codes.
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
“Necessity, pure and simple; it’s
what we can afford,” said one of the
residents of two RVs parked near each
other north of Jasper.
One member of the group asked for
the Progress to come and see their
homes in hopes that the county will
understand the implications of any re
strictions they may pass on RVs.
The planning commission has dis
cussed in two previous meetings the
need to address people living in non-
certified housing, including RVs, Tiny
Homes, and even tents. The discussion
indicated there may be between 50
and 100 of these residences that the
county’s planning office was aware of.
In comments later, Planning Director
Rodney Buckingham said that was his
ballpark estimate but he simply
doesn’t have any good way to survey
all the people out there who may be re
siding under the radar in non-tradi-
tional homes.
The two RVs visited both sat on
rented property with well-maintained
yards off Circle Stone Road. One, a
30-footer, had several potted plants
around the doorway and looked like it
would fit in at a vacation destination
RV park. The condition of the other, a
cramped 22-footer, looked rough out
side and inside, but the lot where it sat
was shady and neat with a picnic-table
Southern Spirits film
coming soon to
an old jail near you
Angela Reinhardt / Photo
Jethro Flicks’ Executive Producer Tim White gets into
character at the gallows inside the Old Jail where he
filmed Southern Spirits. The film will run the last three
weekends in October inside the historic Main Street build
ing.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Most people have been to
haunted houses or haunted
hayrides during the Hal
loween season - but how
many people can say they’ve
watched a spooky film in
side a spooky old jail in the
days leading up to All Hal
lows Eve?
This year movie-goers
will have their chance with
Southern Spirits, the locally-
produced film that will be
presented inside the historic
Old Jail on Main Street the
last three weekends in Octo
ber. The film follows the
story of a jail tour guide
who, after being granted ac
cess by the “Keymaster,” un
intentionally conjures ghosts
of former inmates and sparks
a series of tragic events.
“It’s tasteful, there isn’t
any gratuitous violence, just
See Film on 2A
Extreme danger
with burn ban lifted
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Other than a few very brief instances,
there has been no rainfall for weeks. The
conditions have reduced lake, creek, and
river levels, and made for very dry condi
tions in Pickens County and much of
Georgia.
These drought-like conditions, now
rated a four and five on the Georgia
Forestry Commission’s five-step danger
system indicating “very high” or “ex
treme” danger, will impact the summer
bum ban that was lifted on Tuesday, Oct.
1 for 54 counties in Georgia. Residents can
now apply for a permit for outdoor fires.
"The decision to bum must be made on
specific weather criteria in each location,
and because safety is always our top con
cern, burn permitting may be restricted
based on the fire danger forecast,” said
Georgia Forestry Commission Chief of
Protection Frank Sorrells in a prepared
statement. "The GFC will resume issuing
burn permits on a day to day basis, follow
ing our established fire danger and smoke
management procedures, in those counties
which have been under the EPD Bum Ban.
We recognize the importance of and pro
mote prescribed burning for the many
wildfire prevention, forest management
and agriculture benefits it provides. How
ever, right now we're asking everyone to
be extremely vigilant when doing any
open burning, including burning yard de
bris.”
Jasper Fire Chief Steve Roper said
recreational fires such as campfires and
very small bonfires with all natural mate
rials for entertainment purposes do not re
quire a permit. According to the GFC, “a
permit is required for burning all natural
vegetation that his hand-piled, including
leaf piles on the premises that they fall, ex
isting small clearings to plant vegetable
and flower gardens, and vegetative debris
disposal from storm damage, weed abate
ment, disease or pest prevention.”
It is unlawful to bum man-made mate
rials at any time, even in a bum barrel.
Pickens County Fire Marshal Shane
Callahan said despite the bum ban being
lifted, it will be “iffy” if residents will be
able to get a bum permit.
“I applied for a permit for the high
school to have a bonfire for their home
coming, and the only way they were going
to give me one See Burn Ban on 2A
School board approves millage,
2020 fiscal year budget
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
In a called meeting lasting a matter of
minutes the school board approved the
millage rate for this year and a fiscal year
2020 budget Friday at the central office.
With board chair Tucker Green partic
ipating by speaker phone, the board ap
proved a rolled back millage rate of 15.1
mils, down from last year’s 15.33.
Superintendent Carlton Wilson com
mented that this marked the fourth year in
a row they had rolled back the tax rate and
he was excited about it.
The board is projecting to collect
$21,713,882 in property taxes to fund the
next budget. This is up 1.92 percent
($409,416) over the amount collected this
year. The rising tax digest (value of prop
erty in the county) allows all the local gov
ernments to lower their millage rates and
collect either the same amount or slightly
more than previous years.
The millage rate has dropped steadily
since 2015 when it was at 16.1 mils as the
digest (value of taxable property here) has
increased during that same time from
$1,337,126,369 in 2015 to
$1,430,426,977.
Inside:
Part two of
The Great
Marble Strike
of 1962
Page 14A
Brock Turner
first in Bass
tournament
Page 1B
Obituaries - 12A
• George Baker
• Ruth Roland
• Samuel Knighton
, Jr.
Index
Obituaries
12A
Editorial
4 A
Letters to the editor
5 A
Church
5-6B
Kids
4B
People
3B
Classifieds
8-9B
Legals
6-7B
Follow Us Online
6DU
YouQH§
Contact Us
94 North Main Street
Jasper, Ga. 30143
706-253-2457
www.pickensprogress.com
Open for business during
these hours: Mon-Thurs,
9-5, and Fri, 9-4:30
See School on 2A
