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Thursday, January 2, 2020
Volume 132 Number 37
Jasper, Georgia
Local News Published Weekly
A decade defined in Pickens
Recalling Jan. 1,2010- Dec. 31,2019
Editor’s Note: Dates refer to Progress edition.
Continuing sagas of the past 10 years
Banks close, shut down
during decade
The proposed $130 million indoor/outdoor water park resort project that
was going to come to Talking Rock fizzled out after a couple years ofplaning.
(July 29, 2010) Crescent Bank acquired
following FDIC closure
Renasant Corporation announced that its subsidiary
Renasant Bank, acquired the banking operations of Cres
cent Bank and Trust Company of Jasper, Ga. in a Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-assisted transac
tion. Renasant Bank acquired approximately $1 billion
in assets including approximately $600 million of loans
and other real estate and approximately $50 million of
investment securities and assumed approximately $900
million in deposits.
(Dec. 23,2010) Chestatee State Bank Closed by FDIC,
Bank of the Ozarks takes over operations — Chestatee
State Bank, a Dawsonville based bank with a branch in Marble Hill,
was closed Friday, Dec. 17th, 2010 by the Georgia Department of
Banking and Finance, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect depositors, the FDIC en
tered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Bank of the
Ozarks, Little Rock, Arkansas, to assume all of the deposits of Ches
tatee State Bank. As of September 30, 2010, Chestatee State Bank
had approximately $244.4 million in total assets and $240.5 million
in total deposits.
(July 27, 2012) Jasper Banking Company closed by FDIC; oper
ating now as Stearns— Jasper Banking Company was closed by the
Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, which appointed the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect
the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption
agreement with Steams Bank National Association, St. Cloud, Min
nesota, to assume all of the deposits of Jasper Banking Company.
State banking officials arrived in a fleet of cars right at closing
time to lock the bank. It had been speculated for some time that Jasper
Banking Company, one of the oldest businesses in the community,
was going to be closed.
The three branches of Jasper Banking Company reopened on Sat
urday as branches of Steams Bank National Association. At its clos
ing, Jasper Banking Company was the oldest bank
in Pickens County. See Sagas on 5A
2010
January 28, 2010 - “Why? Why would
(Mayor Weaver) do that? Why would anybody
do that? I really don’t understand,”said
Eino, Jasper’s former artist-in-residence
while surveying the changes at Jasper’s water
park. “If they threw a Molotov Cocktail at it,
that would have been the fastest way to get rid
of it. ” Dan Pool / Photo
April 1, 2010 - Community center/gym site
planning underway at Roper Park— The
county began site planning for the new com
munity center/ gym adjacent to Roper Park,
with land clearing expected to begin as soon
as a clear title could be obtained for the prop
erty. Commissioner Rob Jones stands in the
area where a new community center/gym was
to be built. Damon Howell /Photo
April 15,2010 - Recycling company fire seen
a county away — 40,000 gallons of water
used to extinguish flames from crushed car
pile. Priest Recycling on Cornett Lane
burned when a fire started after a cutting
torch sparked a pile of crushed cars. Greg
Moore / Photo
April 8 - Texting while driving may be outlawed: Sheriff urges drivers to break bad habit
— The law ultimately wouldn’t go into effect until July 1, 2018, but local officials saw problems
with distracted drivers looking at cell phones as early as 2010.
July 15 - Two dead, one hospitalized following triple shooting in Whitestone —The shoot
ings occurred on Whitestone Road, just over the county line into Gilmer. Charles W. Givens,
32, came to the Pickens Jail around 12:30 a.m. Monday morning, July 12th to turn himself in, saying he had shot three people at his residence.
Wayne Poole and Laura Schell, a 24-year-old single mother, were killed and Robbie Payne was injured. Update: According to the Georgia De
partment of Corrections website, Givens is currently serving his life without parole sentence for murder in Telfair State Prison.
August 26 - Silly Bandz banned at Hill City Elementary — The multi-colored, multi-shaped silicone bracelets known to every elementary
student as Silly Bandz have been blacklisted from Hill City Elementary after the principal there said classrooms distractions got out of hand.
Sept. 2 - Progress did a 2-part series on joblessness — The jobless rate in Pickens in May 2010, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor, was 8.9
percent down from its most recent peak of 11.1 percent in October 2009. The jobless rate had held steady at around 3.5 percent for over a
decade from 1996 to early 2008, when unemployment numbers began their steady climb.
Sept. 30 - Mortgages on jail, admin, building paid off— The original loan for the administration building was $3.2 million. The original
loan for the county jail was $8.2 million. The installment loans, together totalling nearly $92,000 in monthly payments, were paid using voter-
approved SPLOST money. See more stories on the following page
January 14 - Numerous wrecks but no major prob
lems with biggest winter storm in years — Icy condi
tions were blamed for 59 wrecks in Pickens County
from the time the first snowflake fell Thursday, Jan. 7th
through Monday, Jan. 11th, 2010. However, no power
outages, fires or serious injuries were reported from the
worst winter storm to hit Pickens County in more than
a decade. At one point, abandoned and stuck vehicles
littered roadsides in some areas of the county, with
emergency crews working six different wreck sites at
the same time Thursday night, January 7th.
January 14 - Facebook finds its niche: Individuals,
businesses having fun putting social networking site
to work connecting with others — Would you rather
log on to your computer than drink your coffee first
thing in the morning? Do you get antsy when you don’t
have access to your computer? If so, you may be one of
thousands of local residents who use the site ardently
and often - so often, in fact, many say they check the
site several times each day.
DOT and county road crews clear fallen trees from Hwy. 136 last Friday morn-
February 11 - Road crews continue uphill battle ing, February 5, 2010. Damon Howell/Photo
against winter conditions — Pickens Road Department
officials said strong winds, heavy rains and ice at higher
elevation toppled more than 120 trees into roadways, taking down some power lines the previous week. The hardest hit area was on the top of
Burnt Mountain Road and Monument Road, where ice figured heavily into the problems.
Inside:
New state
laws go on the
books Jan. 1
Page 7A
What will
success look
like with a
new economic
developer?
Page 10A
DAR welcomes
6 descendants
of female
patriot during
historic
induction 12A
Obituaries - 6A
• Elizabeth Gahan
• Fred Mulkey Jr.
• Mildred Jones
• Samuel Cochran
• Wanda Wilson
Index
Editorial 10A
Obituaries 6A
Letters to the editor . ,6A
Church 9A
Kids 3B
Legals 4-5B
Classifieds 6-7B
People 8B
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