Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. DECEMBER 3. 2020
A father and son killed in
Ball Ground traffic accident
State medical cannabis
commission looking for
growers, manufacturers
A fully loaded concrete truck left the roadway and came to rest atop the smaller truck.
The two occupants of the pickup truck, Bill Jones, age
90, and his son, Jimmy Jones, age 67, both residents of Ball
Ground, were pronounced "dead at the scene." Witnesses
reported the concrete truck struck the Jones’ vehicle as it
pulling out from a business on Ball Ground Highway.
By Larry Cavender
Progress Contributor
For the second time in less
than a week, traffic was
snarled for several hours in
Ball Ground because of an
accident involving a heavy
truck. Unlike the first acci
dent which resulted in no
deaths, two people were
killed in the most recent
crash.
The latest accident oc
curred shortly after 4 p.m. on
Monday, November 23rd, on
the Ball Ground Highway
South near its intersection
with Cliff Holcomb Drive.
According to witnesses, the
two-vehicle accident hap
pened when a small pickup
truck, occupied by a father
and son, collided with a fully
loaded Ernst Concrete truck.
Bill Jones, age 90, and his
son, Jimmy Jones, age 67,
both residents of Ball
Ground, were pronounced
"dead at the scene" by para
medics of the Cherokee
County Fire and Emergency
Services. The driver of the
concrete truck, also a resident
of Ball Ground, was not iden
tified. His condition is unde
termined but is believed to
have not been serious.
Troopers from Georgia
State Patrol Post Number 28
and officers of the Ball
Ground Police Department
investigated the accident. Al
though the actual cause of the
accident has yet to be offi
cially determined, law en
forcement officials stated,
"The crash occurred when a
small pickup truck and a con
crete truck collided with one
another. This led to extensive
damage." Witnesses at the
scene at the time of the crash
reported that the Ernst Con
crete truck, which was travel
ing south, struck the Jones'
vehicle as it was pulling out
of the Shell Station located at
8815 Ball Ground Highway.
After the collision, both vehi
cles left the roadway and the
larger truck came to rest on
the top of the smaller truck.
Because the accident oc
curred within a quarter of a
mile of Cherokee County
Fire Station Number 2, para
medics and other first respon
ders were almost
immediately dispatched and
arrived at 4:12 p. m. The ac
cident victims had to be ex
tricated by the fire crews with
the aid of equipment from
two separate wrecker serv
ices which helped in the sta
bilization of the concrete
truck.
According to Ball Ground
Police Chief Bryon Reeves,
"The traffic started to thin
down around 6:00 p.m. so
traffic was not really a bad
issue." Reeves added, "Many
people were well aware of al
ternate routes and the public
handled the situation well."
The victims were well
known to Ball Ground resi
dents. The elder Jones was an
avid gardener and also en
joyed hunting and fishing
while the son, who also en
joyed hunting, was said to
have "loved taking care of his
dad."
Only five days earlier, on
Wednesday, November 18th,
another accident involving a
large truck resulted when the
driver of a crane truck
swerved to miss stopped traf
fic on State Highway 372
near its intersection with
Conn's Creek Road, resulting
in the closing of that highway
for several hours.
Fearing for the safety of
patrons of Ball Ground busi
nesses, for several years city
officials have been pushing
for the construction of a
"track bypass" which would
alleviate the heavy track traf
fic on busy Highway 372 in
downtown and on surround
ing streets and roads.
Ironically, only two days
following the most recent
deadly crash, Ball Ground
City Manager Eric Wilmarth
released a public statement,
unrelated to the accident,
which said, "Preliminary en
gineering work is beginning
on the proposed 372 spur or
track route to ease the track
traffic through downtown."
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - The state
panel in charge of Georgia’s
medical marijuana program
is opening the search for
businesses interested in
growing the leaf crop and
converting it into cannabis
oil.
The Georgia Access to
Medical Cannabis Commis
sion voted Monday to re
lease a Request for
Proposals (RFP) that will
lead to the granting of two
“Class 1” licenses and four
“Class 2” licenses to grow
marijuana indoors and man
ufacture the oil derived
from the plants.
The RFP is based on
input from the state attorney
general’s office and the
Georgia Department of Ad
ministrative Services
(DOAS).
Starting the licensing
process is a major step for
ward for a program that has
been slow to get off the
ground since the General
Assembly passed legislation
in April of last year legaliz
ing the cultivation of mari
juana in Georgia,
conversion of the leaf into
cannabis oil and the sale of
the drag to eligible patients.
Although the law took
effect in July 2019, the
seven members of the com
mission given the task of
overseeing the program
weren’t appointed until last
November.
The process of develop
ing the RFP has been “te
dious,” Dr. Christopher
Edwards, principal surgeon
at the Atlanta Neurological
& Spine Institute and the
commission’s chairman,
said Monday.
“We just want to keep
the patients in the fore
front,” Edwards said. “The
longer this process goes on,
the longer it takes patients
to get help.”
Under the medical
cannabis legislation, busi
nesses granted Class 1 li
censes will be able to grow
marijuana in up to 100,000
square feet of space. Class 2
licensees will be limited to
no more than 50,000 square
feet.
The 2019 bill was a fol
low-up to legislation the
General Assembly passed in
2015 that legalized posses
sion of low-THC cannabis
oil in Georgia by patients
suffering from certain dis
eases enrolled in a registry
overseen by the state De
partment of Public Health.
Lawmakers acted after it
became apparent that the
first law left Georgians with
no legal way of obtaining
cannabis oil even though
they were allowed to pos
sess the drag.
Patients eligible to re
ceive cannabis oil with a
doctor’s prescription in
clude those suffering from a
wide range of diseases, in
cluding seizure disorders
and Parkinson's.
Commission Executive
Director Andrew Tumage,
appointed by Gov. Brian
Kemp last May, said the
DOAS is expected to post
the RFP on the Georgia Pro
curement Registry by
Wednesday.
All Computer Services & Repairs
On-Site Service Home or
/ Viruses, Pop ups, & Spywaj
/ Computer Repair & Par
/ Custom Build NewmQjsed Computers
/ Software Installation & Upgrades
/ Nctworli^0©ions, Setup & Security
ears Experience
& Associates
Serving All of North Georgia
706-301-9148
24 hours a day - 7 days a week
CARES
Providing Food and Financial Assistance to the
Needy in Pickens County
THANK YOU BUSINESS FAR1NERS!
Star Level $5,000 to $10,000
Amicalola EMC Kiker Wealth Management
Platinum Level $3,000 to $4,999
QSR, Inc Kroger, Jasper Huber Carbonates
Gold Level $1,000 to $2,999
Acorn Food Group (Bojangles) First Citizens Bank United Community Bank
ETC Albert E. Harrison Foundation Rock Creek Manor Assisted Living
Renasant Bank Jasper Mountain City Auto Parts Foothills IGA
Diamond Level $500 to $999
Community Bank of Pickens County Jasper Drugs and Gifts - Main Street Jasper
Jasper Drugs IGA Foothills iTHINK Financial
Bronze Level $250 to $499
Jasper Tire Robinson Painting Synovus Bank Jasper TV and Appliance
Friends Level $249 and Below
A&T Towing & Service Center Marty Callahan Insurance Garner Ace Hardware
Roper Funeral Home Landrum & Landrum