Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Volume 132 Number 33
Jasper, Georgia
Local News Published Weekly
Mayor John Weaver
retires after 27 years
Angela Reinhardt / Photo
John Weaver led his final Jasper City Council meet
ing as mayor on December 2. Council presented Weaver
with a token of appreciation to thank him for his sendee
as both mayor and city manager.
Jasper man
sentenced
for 2017
preschool
bomb threat
Press Release from
U.S. Attorney’s Public Af
fairs Office
GAINESVILLE, Ga. -
Vinh Bao Chau, 23, of
Jasper, has been sentenced
for com
municat
ing a
bomb
threat to a
church
preschool,
cyber-
stalking of
a woman
who re
fused to
date him,
and inter-
state
commu
nication of a threat.
Chau was arrested in
March of 2017 at his home
on Matthews Road in Jasper
after calling a bomb threat to
the preschool of the Jasper
First Baptist.
The Progress reported at
that time that when law en
forcement identified Chau
See Sentenced on 2A
Night of
Lights this
Saturday
The Jasper Merchants
Association will host the an
nual Christmas celebration
and parade in downtown
Jasper on Saturday, Dec. 7th
from 4-7 p.m.
The theme of the parade
is ‘■‘Christmas Vacation” and
children are encouraged to
come out and visit with
Santa Claus and have their
pictures taken with him in
front of the courthouse.
Festivities start at 4 p.m.
The reading of the Christ
mas story will begin around
5:40 p.m. with the Christmas
tree lighting at 6 p.m., fol
lowed immediately by the
start of the parade.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@piekensprogress.com
At the end of the Decem
ber council meeting, Jasper
Mayor John Weaver - who
did not seek reelection and
will be succeeded by
mayor-elect Steve
Lawrence in January - said
he crunched some numbers
before he arrived that night.
Of the 328 regular city
council meetings held dur
ing his 27-year administra
tion, he was only absent for
two. Weaver missed both of
those meetings because he
was away on city business -
one when he had to be in
court to defend Jasper over
litigation, and the other
when he was required to at
tend a water conference.
“I would like to say
thank you to council and to
all the citizens of Jasper,”
Weaver said. “I enjoyed
every minute of it and en
joyed every council meet
ing. A few times you get
tense and your blood pres
sure jumps up a little more
than you wanted it to, but as
a ride I looked forward to
the council meetings be
cause if you’ve got an ego
like I probably have, I enjoy
By Christie Pool
Staff writer
christie@pickensprogress.com
Recently updated data
from the U.S. Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BEA)
shows that per capita per
sonal income in Pickens
County grew by 4.35 per
cent from 2017, to $47,887
in 2018.
Per capita personal in
come is personal income di
vided by population and
residents here saw their in
comes grow by almost
$2,000 in 2018 over the pre
vious year. Ten years earlier,
in 2008, Pickens County’s
per capita income was
the tension from time to
time. All that being said, the
city has been good to me
$35,008.
Pickens’ $47,887 per
capita personal income fig
ure leads our 15-county
Northwest Georgia region.
Murray County is the low
est in the region at $29,968.
While all of the counties
in our region showed posi
tive growth, the growth did
trail the national non-metro
politan rate for the nation as
a whole, which was 4.8 per
cent. The rate for the entire
state of Georgia was up 4.3
percent.
According to the BEA,
in 2018, personal income
across the U.S. increased in
3,019 counties, decreased in
91, and was unchanged in
and I hope I’ve been good
to the city. Thank you so
much.”
three. Personal income in
creased 5.7 percent in the
metropolitan portion of the
United States and increased
4.8 percent in the non-met
ropolitan portion. In metro
counties, the percent change
in personal income ranged
from 3.2 percent in Lynn
County, Texas to 17.5 per
cent in Midland County,
Texas. In non-metro coun
ties, it ranged from -20.8
percent in Sherman County,
Texas, to 64.5 percent in Is
saquena County, Missis
sippi.
In the metropolitan por
tion of the United States,
per capita personal income
increased 4.9 percent in
Weaver’s speech came
after council member Kirk
Raffield thanked both
Weaver and council mem
ber Tony Fountain, who is
stepping down from his
elected office after nearly
12 years, for their service to
the community.
“Being an elected offi
cial is not easy,” said Raf
field. “Politics are not
easy...You have taken on
the weight of being in poli
tics to better our commu
nity. It’s very rare that
people point out all the pos
itives, and there have been a
lot of positives. Both of you
have helped lead this city
into a bright future. You’ve
stayed the course out of
love for our community,
knowing what you’re doing
has made a lasting impact.
Jasper is tndy better be
cause both of you have
served this city for so many
years. The entire city and
elected body thank you.”
Outgoing council mem
ber Fountain gave a tearful
speech after Weaver.
“It’s been a privilege and
an honor these last 12
years,” Fountain said.
“We’ve had a lot of good
times here, but we’ve also
See Weaver on 2A
2018, up from 4.1 percent in
2017, according to the
BEA. In the non-metropoli
tan portion of the United
States, per capita personal
income increased 4.7 per
cent, up from 3.3 percent.
Education and profes
sional certifications are
often the keys to higher in
comes. According to Anita
Mashbum, marketing and
PR coordinator with Chatta
hoochee Technical College,
the Appalachian campus in
Jasper’s largest program is
welding with 62 students.
Starting salaries for these
graduates, she said, average
around $40,000 according
See Income on 2A
Pickens Sheriff
Book in photo
of Vinh Bao
Chau.
Pickens per capita income highest in region
Eight-year tax dispute settled; costs county $160,000
Inside:
ACES Holiday
Tour of
Homes this
Saturday
Features five
Jasper homes
Page 16A
Dragons win
tournament,
now 4-0 on
the season
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
A tax dispute that
stretches back eight years
was settled in mediation No
vember 14, with the total
cost to the county exceeding
$160,000 for legal fees and
other costs.
The settlement is the cul
mination of years of back-
and-forth between property
owners Jack and Annette
Williams and the Pickens
County Tax Assessor’s Of
fice. The Williamses, who
own a large home on Fire-
tower Road, have filed ap
peals on their property value
every year since 2011.
Following the settlement
in mid November, Mr.
Williams said he had been
limited by the court on what
he could say and would not
divulge particulars of the
settlement.
“They were insistent that
they wanted us to sign the
agreement to not discuss it,”
he said. “It doesn’t make any
sense to me. It’s taxpayers’
money. Why wouldn’t they
want people to know what
they are doing?”
The couple’s 4,981
square-foot home, the 22
acres it sits on, and other
structures on the property
were originally appraised at
$1.5 million when it was
built in 2005. Property own
ers argued their home was
built when values were at a
peak. After the economy
went south in 2010 the cou
ple provided the Pickens
County Board of Assessors
with an independent ap
praisal that showed it valued
at $1.25 million and had the
assessed value lowered to
See Settled on 2A
The Grandview Hotel, Pickens’ grande dame of lodging
By Larry Cavender
Contributing Writer
Ever since travelers stopped for
overnight rests at taverns scattered
along the Old Federal Road nearly
200 years ago, Pickens County has
had a tradition of unique lodging es
tablishments.
Among some of the more notable
ones was Jasper's Lenning Hotel just
north of downtown, which eventu
ally became the Woodbridge Inn,
and is recognizable to almost all
Pickens countians. Then there are
those lost to history that few people
in this area can remember. There
was, at one time, Pickens County's
contribution to the new motoring
hostelry industry of the 1950s and
'60s, the motel. Archer's Court, con
structed of flagstone, once stood at
the comer of East Church Street and
Burnt Mountain Road in Jasper
where Walgreen's Pharmacy is
today.
The Coneyhanee Lodge, con
structed of chestnut logs and situated
high on top of Burrell Mountain be
tween Burnt Mountain and Mount
Oglethorpe, is remembered by few,
probably because it was destroyed
by fire in the 1940s. Conveniently
located near the depot, there was the
Tate Hotel which served as an
overnight refuge for those who trav
eled by rail on the passenger trains
of the first half of the twentieth cen
tury.
But, for those who remember it,
many believe the Grandview Hotel
may have been the grandest hotel to
have ever existed in Pickens County.
The Grandview Hotel was nes
tled in the shadow of Sharp top
Mountain and at one time was a
popular destination for people look
ing to relax in the midst of the
mountains of Pickens County. Sadly,
little is known of the origins of the
hotel other than it was constructed
by H. E. "Cy" Hawkins sometime in
the 1920s. In publicity information
that has survived, See Hotel on 2A
The Grandview Hotel was three stories high and had twenty-one
rooms. After purchasing the hotel for $1,000 and restoring it, W. H.
"Bill" Jones eventually sold the property to the Salvation Army, and for
a time, the hotel structure was incorporated into part of Camp Grandview.
Photo courtesy of Peggy Petty
Page lB
Obituaries - 8B
• Ardith Stanley
• George T. Preisinger
• Natasha Green
Index
Editorial
4 A
Letters to the editor ,13A
Church
14-15A
People
3B
Kids
4B
Legals
5B
Classifieds . . .
. . 6-7B
Obituaries
8B
Follow Us Online
You®
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
