Newspaper Page Text
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Thursday, June 11, 2020
Volume 133 Number 8
Jasper, Georgia
Local News Published Weekly
Piles of paper ballots
delay election results
By Dan Pool,
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
Elections office staff, the elections board and
a volunteer or two battled the pile of paper ballots
until late into the night Tuesday at their office on
Pioneer Road, but alas, the results of the Tuesday
primary vote were not available at the Progress
deadline at 11 p.m.
To see final results go to
PickensProgress.com.
At about 9:30 p.m. Elections Supervisor Ju-
lianne Roberts said she felt they would finish
about midnight but others working to open and
handle all the paper ballots seemed less confident.
Approaching 10 p.m. no election results lo
cally had been officially reported. The election
workers were busy with the stacks of boxes of
paper absentee ballots, even as one board member
was logging in more ballots that people had
brought to polls that day.
Elections Supervisor Roberts estimated be
tween 2,000 and 3,000 people had chosen to send
in a paper ballot due to COVID concerns, far
more of the paper ballots than they have ever had
to deal with before. No exact count of the absen
tee ballots was available as they were still logging
them in. A representative of the computer com
pany was scanning them as they were opened,
which would produce the final tally.
Slowing the already arduous process, many of
the ballots had tape, some quite a bit, that required
one election board member to carefully open
them using a pen knife.
Pickens was not alone in Election Day trou
bles, including issues with the new $104 million
voting machines the state implemented this year
to give paper backups of all ballots.
Pickens, like many counties, saw a court order
extend voting hours at some precincts. Here Hill,
Sharp Top and Ludville were given an extra hour
at the end because of “equipment issues” when
voting began that “deprived” voters of an hour at
the start.
This marks the first time in modem history the
Progress did not have the results of a major local
election in the paper the following day. Please see
our website for results. And see details, reactions
and analysis in next week’s edition.
Black Lives Matter protest energized, peaceful
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
An estimated 100 people
chanted and spoke during an
inspired, but peaceful Black
Lives Matter protest Sunday
evening in front of the court
house on Jasper’s Main
Street.
The group staged the
rally for two hours in an
agreement with local law en
forcement and city officials.
No serious problems, prop
erty damage or arrests re
sulted from the event. One
person involved in the
protests pointed out that their
volunteers were at work
cleaning up the area immedi
ately after it ended.
A wide range of speakers
addressed the crowd through
a bullhorn and the group fre
quently joined in chants of
“black lives matter” and “no
justice, no peace.”
Among the speakers:
Jeff Samuel, one of the
local leaders at the rally, said
he had lived here 20 years
and he has been called every
racist name in the book dur
ing that time and even had
death threats. He said he was
pleased to see the commu-
Jeff Samuel, with bullhorn, at the Black Lives Matter rally Sunday in downtown Jasper. After it was over, Samuel
said he was proud that so many people turned out and the day went smoothly.
See more photos from the protest on pages 6B-7B.
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nity speaking out that day.
Cheyenne Steptoe, a local
Marine veteran, said he was
bom to a mixed-race mar
riage and his mother taught
him to fight through racist
barriers and love everyone.
Steptoe objected to people
who act patriotic and then
say others don’t have the
right to speak out.
Steptoe said when he
moved here in 2003, he was
talking with a fellow black
member of the community at
his house on the edge of
downtown and the police
came by. “Now we are in
front of the courthouse with
a whole lot people who are
supporting us.”
Jessica Cagle-Fillion said
she often engages in Face-
book debates but was here to
show she wasn’t just a key
board warrior. She told the
crowd that this event was
personal as she had a relative
killed by the police and that
people have to know what
has happened is wrong.
See BLM on 7B
Emma Long elected state FFA president
Being elected as
Georgia FFA’s state
president is a dream
come true for Emma
Long. She has been
heavily involved with
the program for
many years and has
received numerous
recognitions, includ
ing 2018 national
talent winner.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
When I spoke with rising PHS senior
Emma Long, Georgia’s new state FFA
president, she was headed to leadership
training the next day at Camp John Hope.
She’d be there most of the week with oth
ers on the 2020-2021 state officer team,
which she’s had her sights set on for years.
“I didn’t sleep at all the night before
president was announced,” said Long, who
started the FFA program in 6th grade show
ing livestock. “I was too tore up. It was sur
real to be elected to that role. I set a goal in
7th grade to be a state officer, but getting
president is the icing on the cake.”
The PHS student went through an in-
depth application and interview process to
secure her spot as top state elected leader.
She was narrowed down to six candidates
and then down to a final mnoffbetween her
and another mem- See Emma on 7B
Task force examines back to school options
Survey shows regular school preferred to online school 3 to 1
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@piekensprogress.com
The Georgia Department of Edu
cation, in partnership with the Geor
gia Department of Public Health,
recently released reopening recom
mendations for school systems as
part of their “Path to Recovery” pro
gram. Locally, the school system has
created the Pickens County Educa
tional Task Force to discuss plans for
the fall semester, slated to begin Au
gust 3.
The task force is made up of over
130 members, which includes ad
ministrators, department heads,
teachers and staff, as well as parents
and business owners. They held their
kickoff meeting on Tuesday, June 9
and are exploring a variety of mod
els for fall, from traditional/in-per-
son, to a blended combination of
in-person and virtual learning, as
well as an all-virtual model. There
are tiered recommendations for three
levels of COVID-19 spread in the
community - substantial spread;
minimal/moderate spread; and
low/no spread.
It is important to note that these
are only recommendations.
“Georgia’s Path to Recovery for
K-12 Schools provides considera
tions, recommendations, and best
practices to ensure a safe and suc
cessful 2020-2021 school year,” it
states in GDOE information. “This
guidance is not mandated, or state
required. Local school districts have
the authority and flexibility to meet
their individual needs and be respon
sive to their communities.”
According to Pickens Superin
tendent Dr. Rick Townsend, speak
ing at the meeting held inside the
PHS Performing Arts Center, at this
point Pickens County is well inside
the “low/no” spread area. Current
data shows Pickens with 52 cases,
four deaths, and 13 hospitalizations,
or 1 in 645 cases. At that level, it is
recommended schools can hold in-
person learning with additional san-
See School on 7B
Angela Reinhardt / Photo
The Pickens County Educational Task Force met to kick off their se
ries of workshops where they will hammer out plans to start the 2020-
2021 school year. There were over 100 in attendance Tuesday, including
some who logged in remotely.
Inside:
Full Fellow
ship Baptist
Church holds
old-fashioned
baptism
Page 2B
Hospital CEO
discusses local
changes
Page 3A
Health Dept,
reopens
Page 6A
Library
reopens
Page 4B
Community
Center closes
Page 1B
Obituaries - 6A
• Billy Parks
• Elaine Thomason
• Rembert Hancock
• William Bretherton
Index
Editorial
4A
Letters to the Editor . 5A
Church
2B
People
3B
Kids
8B
Legals
9B
Classifieds ....
10-11B
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