Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Volume 132 Number 48
Jasper, Georgia
Local News Published Weekly
Keep calm and carry out
Businesses adjust to COVID concerns
Restaurants, pharmacies,
churches continue their
service to the public by
making sure customers,
parishioners are safe
By Christie Pool
Staff writer
christie@pickensprogress.com
Many area restaurants, pharma
cies and churches are taking extra
measures to keep their spaces as
clean as possible for customers and
employees alike as the coronaviras
pandemic has federal and local offi
cials calling for social distancing.
Kelly and Lisa Teal, owners and
proprietors of Biguns BBQ, said
they are promoting their “pickup
window and outdoor seating.”
Mr. Teal said they have main
tained a 100 health score and “we
take it seriously in good times or
bad. We realize that we need to make
sure our customers are taken care of
and are safe so we can be here after
this is over.”
Biguns has hand sanitizing sta
tions at each cashier station for their
customers and, while they have al
ways sanitized tables after a cus
tomer leaves, they have now taken
condiments and sauces off the table
and made them single use.
Customers can also call ahead or
order online and pick up orders via
their drive-thru window. “We have
25 or so tables that are outside that
are spaced a good ways apart if folks
are more comfortable in open air and
less-crowded environment,” Mr.
Teal said. “Hopefully, this weather
will warm up and people will want
to be outside more.”
In addition to the regular sanitiz
ing, Bigun’s BBQ already had in
place, they are adding to it by clean
ing door handles and frequently
touched surfaces more regularly, not
just at the end of the day.
“Lisa and I are both here every
day, seven days a week,” Mr. Teal
said. “As owners we feel the obliga
tion to oversee (these measures). It’s
not being done remotely.”
Kristal Beaver, owner of Bojan-
gles in Jasper, said following Presi
dent Trump’s announcement
Monday calling for no gatherings
larger than 10 people, she has closed
the dine-in area of her restaurant.
“Praying for our community and
local businesses. As we transition to
drive-thru only, please know that
great care will be put into sanitation,
accuracy and speed of service,”
Beaver said.
A number of major chains - in-
See Measures on 11A
System relies on tech as pandemic closes schools
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@piekensprogress.com
It was Monday after the Pickens
Board of Education, acting in accor
dance with the recommendation of
Gov. Brian Kemp, voted to tem
porarily close all school campuses in
attempt to slow spread of COVID-
19. Students and teachers across the
county were on their first day adjust
ing to “online learning,” a model
that was implemented to continue
classes during the unprecedented
long-term closure.
“So far things have gone well,”
Pickens Director of Technology
Patrick Shea said late that afternoon.
“We’ve heard some good things
from teachers so far. We’ve seen
some slowdown on the Google side
with the sheer volume of usage;
We’ve had some students forget
their passwords and a few teachers
need some guidance who didn’t use
the Google Classroom platform as
much in class - but it’s going well.
It’s kind of like business as usual -
we’re just doing business in a differ
ent location and a different way.”
After the board made the vote at
their March 12 meeting to close
See Schools on 11A
Family / Photo
Families are adapting to the online learning model. Here, (clockwise from far left to right) Eli, Angelina,
Ethan, Hannah, and Lilie Grizzle use Chromebooks, personal laptops, and good ol’ paper and pencil to
complete assignments at home instead of in the classroom.
Hinton
wins
Golden
Deed
Mark Hinton, who has
been involved in numerous
service projects throughout
the county, was the recipi
ent of this year’s retired ed
ucator ’s Golden Deed
Award.
By Ralph O. Dennis
Contributing writer
Everyone has one special
person that is their “go to”
person for help. Sometimes
it is a family member. Some
times a neighbor or a mem
ber of the organization.
Sometimes they don’t need
to be asked. Pickens County
has many such people. They
do what they do not for fame
or glory but because they
love to be of service. They
do it to be of service to their
organization, family, friends
and community. Mark Hin
ton, the winner of this year’s
Golden Deed award, is one
of those people.
See Deed on 11A
Pandemic report from county, city
governments and court system
Joint statement from Pickens
County government, courts and
city of Jasper
Chief Superior Court Judge Brenda
S. Weaver hosted a joint meeting of
local officials on March 16 to discuss
concerns over the potential spread of
the coronaviras (COVID-19). Present
at the meeting were representatives
from the Pickens County Health De
partment, Piedmont Mountainside
Hospital, Sheriff Donnie Craig, Jasper
Mayor Steve Lawrence, Commission
Chairman Rob Jones, Superior Court
Judge John Worcester, Magistrate
Judge Alan Morris, Probate Judge
David Lindsey, and Clerk of Court
Jennifer Jordan.
All involved wanted to strongly en
courage all citizens, especially senior
citizens and people with compromised
immune systems, heed all warnings is
sued from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and the Geor
gia Department of Health Services
(www.cdc.gov and www.dph.geor-
gia.gov) to help keep themselves pro
tected.
One of the primary topics dis
cussed during the meeting involved
testing procedures for the virus. Rep
resentatives from Piedmont Mountain
side pointed out that testing was
currently being utilized for people that
are at a point of admission to the hos
pital with an order from their physi
cian. These tests then must be sent to
the CDC for confirmation. They also
pointed out that flu levels are at near
pandemic levels as well at this time
and the symptoms can be similar. With
the ever-changing information that is
being released, these procedures could
change rapidly.
Judge Weaver discussed her deci
sion to issue an order on March 13th
that postponed all non-emergency
hearings and court activities. The
order also helped lay the foundation
for how individuals entering the court
house would be checked. This order
was later followed by an order from
the Georgia Supreme Court that pro
vided similar instruction for all Geor
gia Courts. Judge Weaver also
See Courts/Jail on 11A
Young mother from Jasper dies in I-575 crash
Cherokee Sheriff press release
Cherokee Sheriff’s deputies re
sponded to an accident that occurred
Friday afternoon on 1-575 north of
Airport Dr. at approximately 2:30
p.m.
An SUV traveling northbound left
the roadway and rolled several times
before striking a tree. The female
driver, Ashley Faucet, 25, of Jasper,
was transported to North Fulton Hos
pital where she later died of from her
injuries. Her 6-year-old daughter was
also in the vehicle and was trans
ported to Scottish Rite Hospital with
non-life threatening injuries.
Witnesses stated a dark colored
passenger car, possibly a Chevy Cruz,
potentially played a role in the acci
dent. Investigators with the Cherokee
Sheriff’s Traffic Enforcement Unit
are asking any potential witnesses
who might have observed the acci
dent to contact them at 678-310-4240.
Cherokee Sheriff / Photo
This Hwy. 575 crash claimed the life of 25-year-old Ashley Faucet of
Jasper. Her 6-year-old daughter survived.
Inside:
O’Bryant seeks
school board
seat 3 a
Presidential
primary
changes
explained ioA
Pence seeks
school board
seat 3 a
Schools are
offering Grab-
n-Go meals
during
shutdown ioA
Obituaries - 9A
• Clara Caywood
• Essie Goodwin
• Joan Millsap
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