Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Volume 132 Number 52
Jasper, Georgia
Local News Published Weekly
COVTD-ig
cases here
up slightly
Conference call
among public safety
officials show slow
Easter weekend
Staff reports
During a conference call
among public safety and top
elected officials in the
county and Jasper on Mon
day, most of those reporting
said everything was slow
and calm. No one reported
any particular issues over
the Easter holidays and it ap
peared that even the previ
ous rise in domestic dispute
calls had calmed somewhat.
Georgia State Patrol
commander Tim Nichols
said state troopers have been
tasked with enforcing the
governor’s emergency ordi
nance mandates, but they
didn’t have complaints or
make any calls to churches
over the Easter weekend
“and I’m glad it didn’t hap
pen.”
Nichols told the leaders
via teleconference that “
[The GSP] had cancelled our
days off. They were worried
about gatherings, but every
thing was quiet.”
See Update on 10A
Coronavirus
Q&A with
Piedmont
Mountainside
Hospital CEO
The following questions
were submitted to Piedmont
Mountainside CEO Denise
Ray on Monday to get an
update on local preparedness
during the pandemic.
According to the Ga De
partment of Public Health s
COVID-19 Daily Status Re
port, as of noon Tuesday,
there are 13 confirmed cases
of coronavirus in Pickens
County and two deaths, up
from 10 a week ago.
Q - Can you provide us
with a general update about
the state of COVID-19 in
Pickens County going into
this week.
A - The Georgia Depart
ment of Public Health
closely monitors and reports
on COVID positive volumes
within the region.
At Piedmont Mountain
side we have seen a steady
patient volume for both pos
itive and prospective pa
tients. Piedmont is in an
aggressive planning mode.
We are examining statistical
projections from four to 12
weeks out, depending on the
progression of COVID-19,
and considering contingency
plans for various scenarios.
We thank the public for their
See Q&A on 10A
Schools ponder what to
do about graduation?
Board chair says they
want to do “something” to
recognize seniors
By Christie Pool
Staff writer
ehristie@pickensprogress.com
With Pickens County schools - and
those throughout the state - closed for
the remaining academic year due to
the coronavirus pandemic, high school
seniors and their families are left won
dering what will happen to spring’s
graduation ceremony, an annual rite
of passage and major life milestone.
“We’ve been discussing possibili
ties and there’s no doubt we want to
try and do something for the seniors if
possible,” said School Board Chair
man Tucker Green.
Green said in a phone interview
Tuesday morning, that PHS Principal
Chris Wallace is leading the discus
sion with local staff and high school
administrators from surrounding
counties as to how and when a cere
mony could take place.
“We’ve talked to other districts and
know that some have taken measures
and gone ahead and named a date in
late July or early August and some
systems have said they plan to do a
virtual graduation,” Green said. “Oth
ers have said they plan to wait and do
it next year, not on the same day as
next year’s graduation but a day be
fore or after.”
But Green said Pickens is still ex
ploring options.
“The problem is you can’t make
definitive plans because no one knows
when this will be over and until you
know that, you can’t make plans,”
Green said. “I think overall what I can
say is maybe this thing will clear up
and we can have (graduation) over the
summer.”
Pickens may be in a better situation
than other systems, Green said, as the
local school system doesn’t have to
rely on outside venues to host gradua-
See Graduation on 10A
Changes coming with
county’s new recycling center
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Angela Reinhardt / Photo
Pickens County’s Recycling <6 Waste Director Kenny Woodard at the com
mand station of the future recycling center. Here, he shows a photo of the
loading area on a baling machine that will be delivered soon.
Right now, the county’s new
28,000 square foot recycling center
is empty - just a massive bare con
crete floor under an open-air metal
structure.
But Pickens’ new Recycling &
Waste Director Kenny Woodard said
in a few months it will be outfitted
and equipped for recycling and
household trash services, with some
big changes to how and what the
county will accept.
Woodard toured this reporter
around the Stanley Drive facility just
off Highway 515, and provided de
tails about the layout and traffic flow,
as well as efforts to have the recy
cling department become a self-sus
taining entity instead of a money loser
as it has been in the past.
See Recycling on 10A
Social distancing creates issues, but Shouse
is confident he will collect signatures
Commission candidate
offers $25,000 bounty
for info on crimes
by officials
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Georgia Secretary of State Brad
Raffensberger has extended the dead
line for Independent candidates to turn
in nomination petitions in light of
shelter-in-place restrictions. One Pick
ens candidate said collecting signa
tures during this time has been a
challenge, but is confident he will get
more than is needed by the deadline.
The new deadline for petitions to
be returned to the local elections of
fice is August 14, which is 31 days
from the original July 14 deadline.
According to the secretary of state,
this is the longest period the deadline
can be extended and still allow time
for signatures to be verified before
November ballots are finalized.
For candidates who want to qualify
as an Independent, that candidate
must collect original, valid signatures
from five percent of the number of ac
tive voters at the time the position
they are running for last appeared on
the ballot. The elections office vali
dates the signatures are from a person
registered to vote, and does a visual
comparison of those signatures to be
sure they match.
Pickens commission chair candi
date David Shouse said despite having
to cancel meet and greets and other
public events, so far he has collected
around 400 of the 885 signatures he
needs.
“It’s going all right so far,” said
Shouse, who has gathered those sig
natures in 10 days at his Jasper office.
“It’s kind of an uneven playing field
and stressful, and I don’t really think
Independent candidates should have
to collect signatures, but I feel very
confident and plan on getting double
See Shouse on 10A
Photo/ Shouse Facebook page
Commission chair candidate
David Shouse.
Refuge Townsend Memorial Baptist Church turns 167
Inside:
DA says there
are resources
available
for those
struggling
Page 9A
GA primary
election
delayed to
June 9
Page 12A
Boys 8c Girls
Club to
provide 800
Learning Kits
this week
Page 7A
Obituaries - 9A
• Annie Mae Coltrane
• Douglas Brooks
• Joseph Duncan
• Linda Jones
• Mercille Bingham
• Nancy Gilbert
Index
Editorial 4A
Letters to the Editor . 5A
Kids 3B
Church 4B
Legals 5B
Classifieds 6-7B
People 8B
By Gene E. Teague
November, 2020 will be the
167th anniversary of Refuge
Church, I will attempt to tell you
a little bit of its history as it has
been told to me over the years.
The Baptist denomination came
from England to the United States
of America.
During a period called the
Great Awakening, which occurred
in New England during the 1740s,
a group called Separate Baptist
arose. The first Baptist preachers,
leading small groups, were in a
hostile atmosphere because of
their convictions. These men and
their families moved to the Pied
mont back country of North Car
olina. The then governor of North
Carolina thought they were part
ners to some earlier settlers,
called Regulators.
The Regulators had banded to
gether opposing corrupt govern
ment practices and they all
suffered persecution during the
1770s and 80s. Troops were or
dered out by the NC governor to
scatter these congregations.
I like many others, thought the
See Refuge on 11A
According to the author,
there have been four buildings
named Refuge Baptist Church,
with the first one being a log
cabin that was replaced in 1883.
The church’s cemetery has
nearly 900 graves, making it the
largest in Pickens County.
Damon Howell / Photo
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