Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, August 20, 2020
Volume 133 Number 18
Jasper, Georgia
20 pages in two sections
Published Weekly
Family, friends remember"Byrd"
“He could light up a room with a smile”
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@piekensprogress.com
Losing a loved one is always hard - but when
that loved one was just 20 years old, the kind of
person who didn’t know a stranger and spread
joy wherever he went, the loss seems so much
more difficult to bear.
Friends and family resoundingly describe
2018 PF1S graduate Michael Byrd, who passed
away on August 10th after a serious car acci
dent, as a beacon of love and positivity. Fie was
the kind of guy who wasn’t afraid to show af
fection, who thrived on making people laugh,
and who was compassionate and giving. Those
he was close to affectionately called him “Byrd”
or “Tweety Byrd.”
“Oh, he could light up a room with a smile,”
said Jared Edwards, who was best friends with
Michael and Colby McDowell since elementary
school. People called them the Three Amigos.
“Byrd would just say the funniest stuff - he’d
love to make people laugh, and was just the
most fun-loving guy. We were all always to
gether. Blood couldn’t have made us any
closer.”
Michael loved playing pool, and Jared said
The Three Amigos would spend time doing that
or bowling, or hanging out nearly every day dur
ing high school. After graduation, they still
talked regularly. Jared remembers when Michael
accidentally broke his arm during football prac-
Family / Photo
Michael Byrd was loved by everyone he
met. The 2018 PHS graduate died tragically in
a crash earlier this month.
tice in elementary school.
“I’d joke with him forever about that,” Jared
said. “But yeah, we just clicked back in third
grade. After that it didn’t matter where we were
in the world we still talked.”
Colby’s mom Miranda McDowell said
Michael was her son’s “rock” and “other half.”
She remembers the young, “chubby baby face
boy who was full of energy, loved Ford trucks
and mud,” and who fit their family perfectly.
“Michael brought us so much joy over the
years,” Miranda said. “He's called me mom for
as long as I can remember. He always gave me
a hug and an ‘I love you.’ Michael was our boy.
He was our child, not by blood but bonded by
love.”
Jared remembers the last time when he came
home briefly from the Army in June. Michael
gave him a big hug, told him he loved him and
that he would see him soon. Jared got the call
the day of the fatal accident a few weeks later
on August 9. Due to COVID restrictions at his
base at Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri he was
not granted permission to leave and attend the
funeral.
“It’s just eating me alive,” he said. “I was
supposed to be the pall bearer but I can’t be
there.”
Jared had his beret put in Michael’s casket
since he could not attend in person.
Michael’s mother Terrie Davis said her son
was the youngest of four “with the biggest
heart.”
“He had so much love and compassion for
people, especially those who were hurting in
See Byrd on 11A
Independent
Shouse submits
signatures for
November ballot
Predicts “landslide victory”
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
Independent candidate David Shouse on
Thursday turned in what he believes are dou
ble the 620 notarized signatures required to
make the November ballot for commission
chair.
Shouse said it had taken a good bit of
work to go through and verify the signatures
and see them all notarized, but he felt confi
dent there were plenty of “perfect” ones to
meet the threshold. All Independent candi
dates are required to gather signatures to be
placed on ballots in Georgia. This year the
See Shouse on 11A
David Shouse delivered his notarized sig
natures to the elections office last week.
Students return, some
virtual and some on campus
111
r
Progress readers’ Facebook/ Photo
VIRTUAL OR TRADITIONAL? The first day of school was Monday Aug. 17. The majority of
Pickens students returned in person, but 25percent chose the virtual option. Here, Lauren Childers,
pre-K; Kaylee Childers, 1st grade; Miranda Childers, 4th grade, work from home.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Day one of the 2020-2021 school year was no
doubt a day for the history books.
Instead of swarms of kids from multiple grade
levels in hallways, that first day on campuses
only saw the lowest grade level per school at
tend. At Pickens High School, for example, just
the 9th graders went to school on Monday. Tues
day, 10th graders were added to the mix.
Wednesday, 11th graders would have their first
day, then on Thursday all grade levels, including
seniors, will be at school.
Similar starts happened at all campuses. This
strategy was to give those younger students who
were unfamiliar with the buildings a day to get
acclimated - especially since open houses had to
be held virtually this year.
Of course, the staggered start is only one of
See School on 11A
Mead for the masses
Meadery joins brewing businesses here
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
When we mentioned a
feature on the new meadery,
at least one person thought
we meant butcher shop as in
meat-ery. The husband and
wife owners of Waldmet
Cellars, 916 Old Philadel
phia Rd., say they have got
ten that too.
With two forthcoming
microbreweries and winer
ies already here, Pickens
joins a booming trend of
communities with locally-
produced beer and wine.
But with Waldmet Cellars
grand opening celebration
August 29, from 1-8 p.m.,
Jasper joins a select number
of towns where mead is pro
duced.
The husband and wife
team of Mike and Amber
Lorey recognize that among
their first challenges is edu
cating people that mead is a
honey wine and is quite
good, not syrupy and not all
are sweet. Most of the peo
ple they encounter either are
completely unfamiliar or
say they have heard of it but
never had the opportunity to
try it.
In a press release to an
nounce their opening, Wald
met Cellars wrote, “Mead is
one of the most historic fer
mented drinks that has the
creativity of craft beer and
the elegance of wine, but is
in a category all its own. It
is created by fermenting
honey, with additional
herbs, spices, and fruits
added to create unique fla
vors.
Mike explained during a
tour earlier this month that
See Mead on 11A
Dan Pool / Photo
Mike and Amber Lorey, owners of Waldmet Cellars, have 250 gallons of mead ready
to sell and 400 gallons in different stages offermentation for an Aug. 29 opening.
Inside:
Old photo shows
students in 1934
at Hinton school
Page 8B
Business
Realtors adjust to
pandemic
Page 3B
Entertainment
Tater Patch
Players out of
commission for
months after
theater suffers
extensive water
damage
Page 12A
K-9 honored at
Veterans
Memorial Park
Page 8A
Obituaries - 5A
• AnnaBelle Trudeau
• Colin Becker
• Michael Byrd
• Orene Outland
• Sheila Thomas
• Steve Mabry
• Sybil Crider
Contact Us
94 North Main Street
Jasper, Ga. 30143
706-253-2457
www.pickensprogress.com
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these hours: Mon-Thurs,
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