Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Volume 133 Number 6
Jasper, Georgia
Local News Published Weekly
Auto
break-in
case leads
to arrests
Book-in photo of
Jeremy Dickerson
Book-in photo of
Holly McNorton
Book-in photo of
Chandler Humphries
Press Release Pickens
Sheriff’s Office
Detectives and deputies
from the Pickens Sheriff’s
Office have made three ar
rests in relation to recent En
tering Autos and Thefts
[cases] throughout Pickens
and Cherokee Counties. Fol
lowing up on leads, detec
tives were able to tie three
individuals to at least 12 re
cent incidents in Pickens
County, the city of Jasper,
and Cherokee County.
The charges are tied to
entering autos, the theft of 4-
wheelers, and a motorcycle.
The cases that have been in
volved date back to March.
Several of the items taken
have been recovered at this
time, but detectives are still
working to identify the
whereabouts of the other
missing items.
Detectives are continuing
to actively investigate this
case currently. Additional
entering auto incidents have
occurred in several subdivi
sions throughout Pickens
County. Communities that
have been affected include
Hunter’s Ridge, Saddle
Ridge, Black Knob Falls,
and Willow Creek.
Pickens Sheriff Donnie
Craig stated that the one
See Arrests on 11A
All aboard the Talking
Rock brewery train car
Dan Pool / Photos
Renovation is underway on these rail cars to allow
Talking Rock Brewery to open later this year in the small
town. Above, brewers Oliver Gill, Tony and Mary Ella
Hawf
Mayor says brewery
could be “game changer”
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
In a unique deal involving one of the old train cars
along Talking Rock’s Main Street, the small town has
formed a public/private partnership with a forthcoming
microbrewery.
If everything goes as planned, Talking Rock Brewery
could be serving craft beers out of a renovated train car by
late summer.
With the deal, the brewers, who have already invested
in substantial brewing equipment See Brewery on 11A
Currently the brewery is fine-tuning their process at
a spot about two miles from the train cars. Above, Gill
with the equipment that can turn out 62 gallon batches.
Where will the kids go for
summer break 2020?
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Pickens Parks & Rec. Director
Brian Jones gave word last week they
will be able have a summer camp pro
gram this year - but with strict limits
on camper attendance and safety pre
cautions, “It’s not going to be summer
camp like we’re used to.”
The rec. department’s summer
camp program usually takes kids on a
drop-in basis with no limitation on at
tendance. Typically, they have be
tween 60 and 85 kids participate each
day. Due to COVID-19 restrictions
they will only be allowed to have 40
campers and will not allow drop-ins.
The announcement was made last
week and those 40 slots are already
full. The department has started a
waiting list, but those kids on the list
aren’t guaranteed to get in.
“It’s going to be very difficult, es
pecially with social distancing,” he
said. “We can’t take unlimited kids,
and for the kids we do have here we
have to follow the guidelines that we
can only have 20 in each room at a
time.”
There is also a list of safety meas
ures the Georgia Department of Early
Care and Learning is requiring sum
mer camp programs do, including
temperature checks at the door, and
extensive cleaning protocols. The 40
campers that will be allowed at the
rec. camp are going to be split into
two groups of 20 that will not inter
mingle through the day. In the past the
department has been more flexible,
with children being able to move be
tween groups where they feel more
comfortable.
“We just can’t do that this year,” he
said. “Those groups won’t be able to
interact at all. Say we have an out
break of COVID in group A, we don’t
want that to spread to group B. Also,
our counselors aren’t going to be able
to participate with the sports along
with campers and help get those
games going, which isn’t as fun in my
opinion. It’s going to be unlike any
camp they’ve been to. It’s going to be
See Camps on 11A
Political signs on Pioneer Road were moved and stacked last
Wednesday for mowing, not because they were too close to the elec
tions office. Early voting in the primary election will continue through
Friday, June 5. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday voting will be May 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Regular polling places will be open on election day, Tuesday, June 9.
The general election will be held on November 3.
Damon Howell / Photo
Early voting running
smooth so far
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@piekensprogress.com
Pickens Elections Supervisor Ju-
lianne Roberts said early voting in the
primary election has been running
smoothly at the Pioneer Road office,
despite social distancing protocols.
She reported that at close of Fri
day, May 22, there were 821 of the
county’s 23,000-plus registered vot
ers who had cast a ballot. When
asked if those numbers were high,
low, or somewhere in between,
Roberts said, “Since we’ve never had
an election during a pandemic we
don’t really have any numbers to
compare that to.”
The office is only allowing four
voters in at a time so they can adhere
to social distancing, but at this point
they have only had lines out of the
building on a couple of days. Tues
day, May 26th there were no lines.
“It’s actually been a little slow
today,” she said.
While the elections supervisor did
not have numbers available for the
number of absentee ballots that have
been returned to her office this year,
they issued 5,123.
“The most I’ve ever had in the
past is 500,” she said. “This year goes
well beyond that.”
All Georgia voters were mailed
applications for absentee ballots in
light of COVID-19. Roberts said vot
ers who took advantage of using that
absentee ballot can either mail it in,
bring it to the office in person, or
now, after a drop box was installed at
the local office on Tuesday, May
25th, they can drop it off during or
after hours. She urged voters to be
sure they sign the back of their ballot
before dropping it off or mailing it in.
The Pickens County Office of
Elections & Registration is located at
83 Pioneer Road, Jasper, Ga. They
can be reached at 706-253-8781.
Inside:
Snakes are out
but which
ones are
poisonous?
Page 2A
Pickens
Libertarians
to host
political rally
May 30 Page 8B
King of Kings
goes with
high-tech
sanctuary
Page 2B
Obituaries - 7A
• Glen Martin
• Dennis Longairc
• Danielle Kent
• Dana Waller
Index
Editorial 4A
Letters to the Editor . 5A
Church 2B
Kids 3B
People 10A
Classifieds 6-7B
Legals 5B
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