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PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JULY 23. 2020
Pickens man arrested as part of Operation Wu Block
45 of 68 sentenced
or awaiting sentenc
ing in large-scale
drug trafficking case
U.S. Department of Justice
Press Release
ATHENS, Ga. - A defen
dant charged in an ongoing,
large-scale drug trafficking
investigation dubbed “Oper
ation Wu Block,” has pleaded
guilty for her crime, said
Charlie Peeler, the U.S. At
torney for the Middle District
of Georgia.
Latasha Bishop, 33, of
Athens-Clarke County,
pleaded guilty to one count
distribution of methampheta-
mine before U.S. District
Judge C. Ashley Royal on
Wednesday, July 8. Bishop
faces a maximum 20 years in
prison, a $1,000,000 fine and
four years supervised release.
Her sentencing date has not
been scheduled. A total of 68
individuals were charged
with related drug and gun
crimes as a result of “Opera
tion Wu Block.”
A Pickens man, Kenneth
Lee Jarrett, 59, was charged
as part of the drug arrests.
To date, 45 have pleaded
guilty and have been sen
tenced or are awaiting sen
tencing. There is no parole in
the federal system.
“We are moving swiftly to
crack down on criminals in
volved in pushing metham-
phetamine into our
communities across the Mid
dle District of Georgia,” said
Between the Bookends
By Emma Ingle, Pickens County Librarian
Summer 2020: You can go
anywhere with a book, where
will your next book take
you?
Robert B. Parker's Grudge
Match by Mike Lupica:
"Robert B. Parker's beloved
PI Sunny Randall returns on
a case that blurs the line be
tween friend and foe...and if
Sunny can't tell the differ
ence, the consequences may
be deadly.
The K Team by David
Rosenfelt: "Andy Carpenter's
wife, Laurie, was a cop, a
good one. Now she helps out
on Andy's cases while also
raising Ricky, their son. But
she's been chafing to jump
back into investigating on her
own, and when her former
partner and his German shep
herd K-9 partner come to her
with a proposal, she's in."
Bound for murder: a Blue
Ridge library mystery by
Victoria Gilbert:
Blue Ridge library direc
tor Amy Webber learns it
wasn't all peace and love
among the "flower children"
when a corpse is unearthed
on the grounds of a 1960s
commune. Taylorsford Pub
lic Library director Amy
Webber's friend "Sunny"
Fields is running for mayor.
But nothing puts a damper on
a campaign like an actual
skeleton in a candidate's
closet. Sunny's grandparents
ran a commune back in the
1960s on their organic farm.
But these former hippies face
criminal charges when
human remains are found in
their fields -- and a forensic
examination reveals that the
death was neither natural nor
accidental.
OverDrive: eBooks and
Audio:
The Woman Before Wallis:
A Novel of Windsor, Vander
bilt, and Royal Scandal by
Bryn Turnbull: Brimming
with scandal and equal
amount of heart... a sweep
ing yet intimate look at the
lives of some of history’s
most notorious figures from
Vanderbilt to the Prince of
Wales.
The Way I Heard It by
Mike Rowe: Almost every
one knows Mike from Dirty
Jobs. Executive producer and
host Mike Rowe presents a
delightfully entertaining, se
riously fascination collection
of his favorite episodes from
America’s #1 short-form
podcast. The Way I heard it,
contains personal memories,
ruminations and insights.
Reprogramming the
American Dream: from Rural
America to Silicon Valley by
Kevin Scott: Written by a
rural native and Silicon Val
ley veteran, Microsoft’s
Chief technology officer
tackles one of the most criti
cal issues facing society
today: the future of artificial
intelligence and how it can be
realistically used to promote
growth, even in a shifting
employment landscape.
Are your ‘recyclable’ products
actually recyclable?
(StatePoint) If you’re like
many people, you feel good
when you are able to toss
items into the recycling bin
instead of the trash. But a
new report suggests that
many of those “recyclable”
labels on your products may
be misleading, and that much
of what you believe will be
processed and used again is
actually sent to a landfill or
incinerator.
The survey, conducted by
Greenpeace, is based on con
ditions from October 2019 to
January 2020, however, ex
perts warn that the econom
ics of collecting, sorting and
reprocessing plastic products
is likely to only worsen in the
coming years. Part of the
problem is that due to global
trade factors limiting the
amount of plastic materials
China imports from the U.S.,
America’s municipal recy
cling collection systems have
been significantly impacted
and are recycling far less ma
terials than they once did.
The other problem? A lack of
truth in advertising.
The full report, available
at greenpeace.org/usa/plas-
tic recycling revealed that
despite labels stating other
wise, many recycling facili
ties only accept two types of
post-consumer plastic items -
- PET #1 and HDPE #2 bot
tles and jugs, while plastics
#3-7 are rarely recycled even
if they are accepted in recy
cling programs due to their
low value and the lack of a
market for those materials.
Additionally, many full body
shrink sleeves that are added
to PET #1 and HDPE #2 bot
tles and jugs make those
products non-recyclable as
well. Unfortunately, when
items end up at a facility that
cannot process them, they
can contaminate otherwise
recyclable batches of materi
als.
“Retailers and consumer
goods companies across the
country are misleading the
public and harming Amer
ica’s recycling systems in the
process,” says John Hocevar,
Greenpeace USA oceans
campaign director.
According to Hocevar, ac
curate recyclable claims and
labels serve three valuable
functions: truthful advertis
ing to consumers, prevention
of harmful contamination in
America’s recycling system,
and identification of products
for elimination or redesign to
reduce waste and plastic pol
lution.
While plans to increase
the pressure are underway for
companies that don’t correct
their labels, Greenpeace ex
perts say the real solution is
for companies to get serious
about reducing plastic use,
and for the public to do their
part by urging consumer
goods companies and retail
ers to end their reliance on
single-use plastics.
“Instead of getting serious
about moving away from sin
gle-use plastic, corporations
are hiding behind the pre
tense that their throwaway
packaging is recyclable. The
jig is up,” says Hocevar. “It’s
time to stop pretending that
the trillions of throwaway
plastic items produced each
year will be recycled or com
posted and to stop producing
so many of them in the first
place by investing in
reusable, refillable, and pack
age-free approaches.”
Surprising effects of insufficient sleep
Many people wish they
could get more sleep.
Whether they’re profession
als facing the challenges of
demanding careers or parents
juggling the responsibilities
of work and family, many
men and women find it diffi
cult to get a full night’s sleep.
A restless night here or
there likely is not much to
worry about. However, a re
cent study from the Centers
for Disease Control and Pre
vention found that more than
one-third of adults in the
United States were not get
ting enough sleep on a regu
lar basis. Routinely failing to
get a good night’s rest can
have a profound effect on a
person’s overall well-being,
including some surprising
side effects.
According to the National
Sleep Foundation, insuffi
cient sleep will not make a
person sick any more than
getting enough sleep will pre
vent illness. However, the
NSF notes that failing to get
enough sleep can adversely
affect a person’s immune sys
tem. That makes people more
susceptible to cold or flu.
That vulnerability is linked
cytokines, a type of protein
made by the body that targets
infection and inflammation.
Cytokines are produced and
released during sleep, so
without enough sleep, a per
son won’t produce or release
enough cytokines. That can
throw off the immune system
response, rendering it less ef
fective when confronting
colds and the flu.
The NSF also notes that
vaccines might not be as ef
fective if people are not get
ting enough sleep. That’s
because chronic sleep loss,
which refers to prolonged pe
riods of inadequate sleep as
opposed to random nights in
which shut-eye proved elu
sive, reduces the body’s abil
ity to respond to viruses like
the flu. Even people who
have been vaccinated against
the flu need their immune
systems to be operating at
full strength to fight the flu.
Without adequate sleep, the
immune system cannot per
form at peak capacity.
A heightened risk for dia
betes is another surprising
side effect of prolonged peri
ods of insufficient sleep. The
online medical resource
Healthline.com notes that
lack of sleep affects the
body’s release of insulin, a
hormone responsible for low
ering blood sugar levels. Peo
ple who do not get enough
sleep have high blood sugar
levels, which increases their
risk for type 2 diabetes.
Busy adults often sacrifice
sleep to meet the demands of
everyday life. But such sacri
fices can produce some sur
prising side effects that may
make men and women recon
sider their daily sleep rou
tines.
U.S. Attorney Charlie Peeler.
“I want to commend the ex
cellent work of all the agen
cies involved in this massive
OCDETF investigation.
Meth suppliers and sellers
will face federal prosecution,
and the possibility of up to
life in prison without parole,
for choosing to traffic meth.”
“Street drug gangs infest
our communities with more
than illicit drugs like ‘Meth,’
as was the case in this inves
tigation. They also spread
gun violence and death. Op
eration Wu Block united fed
eral, state and local law
enforcement authorities in an
effort to dismantle and de
stroy violent drug organiza
tions that plagued a number
of communities in middle
Georgia. This case exempli
fies how success can be
achieved when law enforce
ment confront, engage and
remove violent drug traffick
ers,” DEA Atlanta Field Di
vision Special Agent in
Charge Robert J. Murphy.
“Operation Wu Block” re
sulted in the seizure of more
than 58 kilograms of
methamphetamine, more
than two kilograms of heroin,
31 firearms and $56,000.
Nineteen federal indictments
charging a total of 68 defen
dants were returned by fed
eral grand juries in the
Middle District of Georgia.
The charges range from con
spiracy to possess with intent
to distribute methampheta
mine with a maximum sen
tence of life in prison;
conspiracy with intent to dis
tribute heroin with a maxi
mum sentence of 40 years
imprisonment; possession
with intent to distribute
methamphetamine or heroin
with sentences ranging from
a maximum 20 years to life
in prison; distribution of
methamphetamine or heroin
with sentences ranging from
twenty years to life in prison,
depending on the amount of
controlled substances
charged; and, possession of a
firearm in relation to drug
trafficking with a maximum
sentence of life in prison. An
Do your part to see that
independent candidate
David
Shouse
for Commission Chair
makes the November
General Election ballot.
Sign his petition so that all voters will
have a chance to put a strong business
leader in office this November.
To sign David Shouse’s petition to be on the
November General Election: Go to his office
at 95 Whitfield Drive, Ste. C (between United
Community Bank and the Bargain Barn), or
contact Ray Smith (512)417-2406 or Larry
Brown (770)880-4716 to ask how you can help
bring a change to Pickens County.
Paid for by Friends of David Shouse Campaign Committee
indictment is only an allega
tion of criminal conduct, and
the defendants are presumed
innocent until and unless
proven guilty in a court of
law beyond a reasonable
doubt.
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Notice of Public Hearing
Notice is hereby given of a public hearing to
be held on the 3rd of August at 6:00PM at Jasper
City Hall before the City Council of the City of
Jasper, Georgia.
The purpose of the hearing is to discuss a re
quest by the Landowners ofP arcelO 31 003 002,
located off of Hobson Road, to close and aban
don a portion of old Mullins Road (rights-of-way)
that runs through and from the east and west land
lines of said property with an approximate
distance of2,130 +/- linear feet.
At the same meeting consideration may be
given to quit claim said portion of rights of way to
property owner of record that adjoins said rights-
of-way.
Any questions please contact City of m
JasperP lanning and Development Office fcf
at Jasper City Hall 706-692-9100.