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Shamrock Srroll (0.5K) in downtown Jasper this Saturday
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Volume 132 Number 47
Jasper, Georgia
Local News Published Weekly
Coronavirus causes event
cancellations; schools & senior
facilities limiting visitors
• Health officials say
overall risk to general
public remains low
• No cases in Pickens
reported
• School board addresses
coronavirus, pg. 9A
By Christie Pool
Staff writer
christie@pickensprogress.com
While there are no cases of coron
avirus in Pickens County, there are po
tentially 17 cases of COVID-19 in
Georgia and area schools and nursing
homes are limiting visitors with event
planners cancelling events in an effort
to stave off potential cases here.
The Georgia Department of Public
Health on Tuesday said it was await
ing confirmatory testing from the
Centers for Disease Control and Pre
vention (CDC) of five additional pre
sumptive positive cases of COVID-19
in Georgia. There are six total con
firmed cases of COVID-19 (3 in Ful
ton County, 1 in Floyd County, 1 in
Polk County and 1 in Cobb County).
There are 11 presumptive positive
cases (2 in Fulton, 3 in Cobb, 1 in
fayette, 2 in Dekalb, 2 in Gwinnett
and 1 See Coronavirus on 11A
Panic or precaution or both? Walmart bare shelves show the run
on many products like disinfectant and hand sanitizer.
Qualified
candidates
for May 19
election
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Candidate qualifying has
ended for the upcoming gen
eral primary election on
May 19, as well as the July
19 general primary runoff
and November’s general
election and subsequent
runoff.
The following is a list of
candidates who qualified in
local and state seats, along
with address and the occupa
tion the candidate listed on
their qualifying form. Infor
mation was collected from
the Georgia Secretary of
State’s website and the Pick
ens County Elections Office.
Things to note:
•Although school board
candidates must live within
the district where they qual
ify to run, school board
members are elected county
wide - meaning all voters in
Pickens County can vote for
all school board seats.
•A voter must vote with
the same party ballot in both
the May primary and runoff
for that primary election.
Voters will not choose a
party ballot in the November
general election - all voters
will receive the same ballot
at that time.
•Early voting is under
way for the presidential pri
mary. Local races will not be
on the ballot until the May
primary and early voting for
that primary.
County Commission
Chairman
Disabled vet to compete with welding sculpture
No details were spared in this miniature metal log
cabin that is headed to the SkillsUSA state competition
this weekend.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Mid-morning last week, Chattahoochee Tech student
Bobby Fisk was about to make the final weld on a project
that has taken him over 150 hours to complete. Fisk
pointed to a post at the comer of the porch on his mini-log
cabin metal sculpture
“I just need to move this post on the front to make it
look straight, and that’ll be it,” he said as he gave a ‘tour’
of the miniature, 46-pound metal home that comes com
plete with tiny hatchet, tiny saw, tiny well with a thimble
for a bucket, and tiny stack of logs by the tiny window, all
of which Fisk fabricated himself.
He pulled out a sheet of paper that had every single
piece in the sculpture - all 475 of them - meticulously
logged. “I like log cabins,” he said, “and I wanted to make
Chatt Tech student Bobby Fisk, left, with his log
cabin sculpture. Fisk is with (L - R) welding instructor
Jordan Hunter and student Zach Martin, who is en
tering a different SkillsUSA welding contest.
it as realistic as possible with lots of details. This little door
on the well reminds me of the one at my grandfather’s well,
and I put some furniture inside the house, which I think
turned out well. My grandfather See Sculpture on 11A
Robert P. Jones (R - In
cumbent)
South Main Street, Jasper
Occupation:
Electrician/commissioner
Kristopher “Kris” Stancil
(R)
Fairway Drive, Jasper
Occupation: Law enforce
ment
David Shouse (I)
Orchard Ridge Trail, Jasper
Occupation: Executive
(This candidate will not ap
pear on the ballot during the
May primary election, but
will appear on the Novem
ber general election ballot
and face the winner of the
primary election. This candi
date must collect 885 signa
tures and present them to the
Pickens Office of Elections
& Registration by July 14 to
See Candidates on 11A
Planning commission approves faith and
family venue at former Pigpen offroad area
“I know there are people
who stay up past 10 o’clock,
but I am not one of them,”
says opposing neighbor
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
The Pickens Planning Commission
returned to well-trod ground at their
March meeting Monday, once again
debating the proper restriction for ven
ues hosting private events.
This topic has come in a number of
forms over the past years as the com
mission has struggled to reconcile how
a farm might also serve as an events
center.
On Monday, they agreed with con
ditions to let the recent purchasers of
a former offroad/mud pit area in the
extreme southeastern comer of the
county open a faith and family events
area.
After hearing concerns from nearby
residents on the potential noise and
traffic from a large event, the commis
sion voted three to two to allow Ken
neth Logan and his wife and their
Logan Holdings LLC to have an agri
cultural zoning with special use per
mit. But the commission imposed
conditions that the owner must shut
down outdoor events at 10 p.m. and
not host outdoor concerts at all.
Voting in favor of the special use
permit were commission members Jim
Fowler, Clayton Preble and Pat
Holmes; Harold Hensley and Maurice
Hendrix were opposed; chair Bill
Cagle doesn’t vote except in the event
of a tie.
Addressing the commission, Mr.
Logan said he and his wife would be
owner and operators of the faith and
family event venue and hope to live at
the location as well. Their total prop
erty is a little over 60 acres and they
are splitting half (32.75 acres) off for
this project with the other area as a
buffer. The property is bordered on the
east by Dawson County and on the
south by Cherokee County.
Logan described himself as a
banker and a firefighter and EMS for
Cherokee County who is serious about
keep- See Planning on 11A
Inside:
Sue Finley
seeks
re-election
Page 3B
Donna Enis
announces for
school board
Page 3B
Tommy Gartrell
announces for
school board
Page 3B
Obituaries - 5A
• Grace Ray
• Patsy Roper
• Wilhelmina Kravec
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