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2015 officer-involved shooting
case may reach Supreme Court
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@piekensprogress.com
A case from 2015 in which Pickens
deputies shot and killed a Carver Mill
Road man has been heard in the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
The court found that officers entered the
man’s property unconstitutionally and
seized him unlawfully, violating his
Fourth Amendment rights.
The defense has now petitioned the
case be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court.
After hunters called 911 to report John
Harley Turner threatened them “bodily
harm” because he believed they were tres
passing, deputies and state troopers ar
rived on the scene. Turner, who was
armed, engaged in a back-and-forth verbal
standoff with officers from behind a gate
that surrounded a main home and a cabin.
At one point, two Pickens deputies
crossed the fence line with no warrant and
shot Turner with a less-lethal bean bag
round. Turner drew his pistol and returned
fire. Officers then opened fire, killing
Turner, who was 36 at the time. Two
deputies were also shot during the inci
dent and suffered non-life-threatening in
juries. (See a more in-depth summary of
events below.)
In October 2017, plaintiffs Janet
Turner O’Kelley and John Allen Turner
filed a suit against responding officers and
Pickens Sheriff Donnie Craig on behalf of
their son John Harley Turner. They al
leged an unconstitutional and warrantless
seizure claim against officers involved in
the events that led to their son’s death; a
failure-to-train claim against Sheriff Craig
regarding arrest procedures and use of
force; and also See Turner on 2A
John Harley Turner was killed
in a 2015 standoff with officers.
Family / Photo
Hamilton
named 2020
STAR Student
Pickens High STAR Student Nathan Hamil
ton. He selected Keith Petty as the STAR
Teacher.
Submitted by Pickens Optimist Club
Pickens High School senior Nathan Hamilton
has been named the school’s 2020 PAGE STAR
Student. The Optimist Club of Jasper, the local
STAR program sponsor, announced the honor.
Hamilton selected Mr. Keith Petty as his STAR
Teacher. Petty has taught for 25 years and cur
rently teaches Literature and Composition at PHS.
Nathan is the son of Greg and Kim Hamilton
of Jasper, earned the recognition as the STAR Stu
dent for academic achievement and performance
on the SAT.
The PAGE Student Teacher Achievement
Recognition (STAR) program is sponsored, ad
ministered and promoted by the Professional As
sociation of Georgia Educators (PAGE). Since its
inception in 1958 the STAR program has honored
nearly 29,500 students and the teachers selected
as the most influential to their academic achieve
ment. High school seniors must have the highest
score on a single test date on the SAT and be in
the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class
based on grade point average to qualify for STAR
nomination.
STAR begins each year in participating Geor
gia high schools when the STAR Student is
named and chooses a STAR Teacher to share in
this recognition. The students and their teachers
are honored by their schools and receive special
recognition in their communities from one of the
more than 165 statewide civic organizations and
businesses that serve as local sponsors of the
STAR program. Students then compete for school
system recognition as the top STAR Student, and
those winners compete for region honors. Region
winners contend for the honor of being named
State PAGE STAR Student. STAR Teachers con
tinue on with their STAR Students at every level
of the program.
Mr. Petty says that “Nathan is an ambitious
and extremely self-disciplined young man. He
sets high achievement standards for himself, and
he then works diligently to adhere to those stan
dards and reach the utmost quality and best pos
sible outcome in every situation. He does this
while also constantly seeking to improve himself
and be even better in the next endeavor than in
the previous endeavor. This is true whether writ
ing an essay or rehearsing for the next PHS stage
See Hamilton on 3A
Jones’ working
lunches draw fire
Commissioner defends expense as part of job
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
A release of Commission
Chair Rob Jones’ credit card
statements for the past year by
a rival candidate on Facebook
show the county’s top elected
official dined often at tax
payer’s expense.
While there were a few
other items on the card, includ
ing car washes, the vast major
ity were at restaurants.
County CFO Faye Harvey
went over the bills, determin
ing that the total food expendi
ture from the card used by Rob
Jones was $11,673 in 2019.
She broke this down as $5,308
“for special events, retire
ments, holidays and emer
gency around-the-clock
purchases. The balance of
$6,365 is for working
lunches.”
One particular charge that
drew initial comment online
was for $999 at Gamer Ace
Hardware. However, Jones
said that was during one of the
big wind storms last year when
public works crews needed ad
ditional chain saws, chains and
other supplies.
In an interview Tuesday,
Jan. 28, David Shouse, who
originally posted the bills on
his candidate Facebook page,
said he had been surprised by
seeing so many charges, but
not surprised by the swift pub
lic reaction online. “There was
one person who replied that
they had to save up to eat out
once a month. Seeing this, it’s
just stepping on so many toes.”
Shouse added that “there is
a conference room and coffee
pot in the Admin building.”
There is no reason for the
county to be paying people and
then wining and dining them to
discuss the work they are
doing, he said of the numerous
working lunches.
Shouse said this isn’t just
about Rob Jones, but the whole
system which lacks checks and
balances.
Jones and his supporters,
however, defended working
lunches as typical for the top
person at any business or or
ganization the size of the
county government who has to
meet with other elected lead
ers, constituents, and is a mem
ber of a board that regularly
holds lunch meetings.
Jones posted on his own
campaign Facebook page,
“First, in my position as the
chief executive of Pickens
County, I spend most of my
time meeting with constituents,
public officials and business
and community leaders to dis-
See Cards on 3A
UKiprCard.
TRANSACTIONS (continued)
Tran
Pint,
Post
Date
09/16
09/10
09/18
09/10
09/20
09/22
09/23
09/24
0023
09/25
09/25
09/27
09/30
10/01
10/01
10/03
10/02
10/03
10/02
10/03
10/02
10AJ4
10/03
10/04
10/03
10/06
10/04
10/06
10/07
10/09
10/10
10/10
Reference Number
0531481645SBMG791
5531020&6RQEB96PB
O522702878PLDTL29
55432868A5S8BX7ZK
064101MBBJ3P8ZMJ
0631481806SBWE71R
02306638JHEVMHLDY
252476G8K003WQ2EQ
05227028K8PKZ6NY8
0526968 8LEKTYLVM6
06410198LBHXMQRGK
06314818MEHWJ4N7S
06410186MBJ169NBT
66310208N809SQR63
06410198TBHXVLYRT
OOOOOOOOOOOOCOMPC
ROBERT P JOKES
Account Number: XXXX XXXX XXXX^M
An amount totowod by a mlrmi >1gn (-) b ■ credit uni— otharwt— indicated.
Transaction Description
Amount
GA
QA
BURNT MOUNTAIN CAR WAS JASPER GA
CULVERS OF JASPER JASPER QA
DAVIS BAR B QUE INC JASPER QA
SQ *SQ *TKE CARRIAGE H JASPER GA
LONGHORN STEAKOOOfl2613 ELUJAY GA
BURNT MOUNTAIN CAR WAS JASPER
FATZ CAFE #46 JASPER GA
PUEBLO CANTINA BAR AND JASPER
DEBS BAKERY JASPER GA
JASPER DRUG JASPER GA
LONGHORN 8TEAK00052613 ELUJAY GA
BURNT MOUNTAIN CAR WAS JASPER
LONGHORN STEAK00062S13 ELUJAY GA
BOJANGLES 796 CANTON GA
LONGHORN STEAKQ0062613 ELUJAY
TOTAL PURCHASES
TOTAL $1,062.!
GA
GA
$10,00
$16.63
$33.38
$9.18
$90.06
$10.00
$84.78
$160.75
$3234
$1748
$72.89
$10.00
$88.19
$10.66
$90.07
INTEREST CHARGE CALCULATION
Yoor Annual Percentage Rate (APR) it the annual Interxt rate on your account
Typ* of BtUnc*
Ann ml
Paroantagt Rate
(APR)
Balanc* Sublet to
Intend Rate
Day* In Bitting
Cyda
Intend
Chdga
Puitfuan
18.49% (V)
$0.00
0
$(M)0
Cash Advances
18.9»K(v)
$0.00
0
$0X0
One page from a year’s worth of Rob Jones’ credit card bills obtained by David Shouse and
posted on his commission chair campaign website.
Walmart’s wish to cut property taxes
headed to settlement conference
By Mark Millican
Contributing Writer
After losing the
first round of their
fight to have their
property tax valuation
almost cut in half,
Walmart will continue
their efforts in an up
coming settlement
conference with Pick
ens County. At a hear
ing in November in
Jasper, an officer with
the state Department
of Revenue decided in favor of the county after
seeing a PowerPoint presentation by local ap
praiser’s office employee Stuart Hobgood.
Brad Bledsoe, chairman of the board of as
sessors, was at the hearing that Pickens’ Chief
Appraiser Roy Dobbs said elected officials were
also invited to attend. When the hearing officer
denied Walmart’s request to have their valuation
slashed from the
county’s assessment of
$10,453 million to the
company’s request of
$5,912 million, Bled
soe called it “a special
moment.”
“It was a lengthy
PowerPoint presenta
tion - not hours and
hours - but very thor
ough with how we
came up with the value
on the property,” Bled
soe said. “Then their
counsel made a shorter
presentation. (After) the Walmart rep finished,
(the hearing officer) handed down his riding in
less than five minutes ... both the officer and the
Walmart rep complimented (Hobgood) on his
presentation.”
Hobgood said earlier this week it took him “a
couple of months” to gather material for the
See Walmart on 2A
Roy Dobbs (left) and Stuart Hobgood were
recognizedfor their outstanding presentation
by the BOA chair.
Amy Gibson
announces
for tax
commissioner
Page 13A
Obituaries - 10A
• Charles Hammontree
• Marguerite Gibson
• Harold Blackwell
• Hayes Brooks
• Katherine Holt
• Mildred Matthews
Index
Editorial 4A
Letters to the Editor . 5A
Kids 3B
People 4B
Church 5B
Legals 6-7B
Classifieds 8-9B
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