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Thursday, December 10, 2020 Volume 133 Number 34 Jasper, Georgia 24 pages in two sections Published Weekly
Amicalola EMC, ETC partner
to expand broadband here
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
At a meeting Wednesday,
Dec. 2, Amicalola EMC and
ETC (Ellijay Telephone
Company) provided some
details about a partnership
that will bring broadband
service to unserved cus
tomers in their shared serv
ice delivery area that covers
parts of Pickens, Cherokee,
Dawson, and Lumpkin
counties.
The meeting was at
tended by leaders from both
local companies, as well as
by members of the legisla
ture including Sen. Steve
Gooch and House Rep. Rick
Jasperse, who said lack of
access to reliable, high
speed internet in rural areas
has risen as a top concern.
Both Gooch and Jasperse
have been driving forces be
hind improving access to
high-speed internet in un
derserved areas. Gooch au
thored Senate Bill 2, which
passed in 2019 and allows
for Georgia’s electric mem
bership corporations
(EMCs) such as Amicalola
EMC to deploy broadband
service. The senator com
pared internet access to the
highway system - if resi
dents don’t have access in
rural areas they are at a dis
advantage and can’t “reach
across the world” like peo
ple in larger cities. He said
2 Mb is “not acceptable
anymore.”
"As the lead sponsor of
Senate Bill 2, it was my in
tent for the state to give our
EMCs the legal authority to
be a part of solving Geor
gia's digital divide,” Gooch
said in an Amicalola EMC
press release. “The partner
ship announced today be
tween Amicalola EMC and
ETC is a great example of
what our bill was intended
to do - give our state’s
EMCs the freedom to de
cide what solution works
best in their communities.”
Rep. Jasperse, who has
served on the state’s Rural
Development Council,
pointed to the immediate
need for internet access be
cause of digital learning
now taking place in school
systems. Referring to that
and other limitations created
by lack of access he told
those in attendance, “Op
portunity should not be re
stricted by zip code.”
According to the press
release, “Terms of the
agreement call for Am
icalola EMC to invest $6.5
to $7 million to add more
than 250 miles of high
speed connectivity to ETC’s
network, providing broad
band access to approxi
mately 6,000 customers.
The expansion will include
220 new miles of broadband
lines, completing a 450-to-
500-mile fiber optic ring
connecting the electric co
op’s substations and
switches. ETC will add
more than 250 miles of new
See Broadband on 13A
The Jasper Merchant’s Association
2020 drive-thru Christmas parade was a
huge hit last Saturday night, with an esti
mated 800 to 1,000 cars coming through to
see the holiday-themed floats.
“I think it went really well,” said Haley
Bouchie with the Jasper Merchants. “We
always could have used a few more floats
but we were happy with how many people
turned out, especially with groups/families
packed into vehicles.
Bouchie said, some of the cars had “10
people in them.”
Bouchie thanked the Chamber of Com
merce for supplying volunteers for the pa
rade. “Everyone you saw in a green vest
was a Chamber volunteer - they danced,
they sang - every person that came by they
said ‘Merry Christmas’ to. We owe a big
thanks to the Chamber.” More pictures
from the evening, Page 3A.
See Parade on 13A
Local marble statue finds new home
A city of Jasper crew struggles to move a 1,000 pound marble base up the ramp
into the Chamber of Commerce lobby. Shaping the Future was relocated from the Old
Jail without incident Thursday and is now on display.
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
The thing about moving
marble sculptures is it’s
even harder than imagined.
Not only are the pieces
ridiculously heavy, they are
fragile. Drop one and it’s all
over, not to mention poten
tially dangerous.
The statue, “Shaping the
Future” (which had sat in
the Old Jail at least a
decade) is estimated to
weigh more than 1,500
pounds and possibly up to
2,700 pounds, according to
a local monument company.
Last Thursday, as they
moved the marble work
from the Old Jail to the
Chamber of Commerce
lobby, the city of Jasper
crew was reminded con
stantly by City Hall Devel
opment Director Lonnie
Waters that if the statue
started to fall, there was
nothing to do but get out of
the way. There was no
catching it and if it landed
on a foot, toe, arm or body,
you might not be getting
that body part back.
See Statue on 5A
Missing person
case ends tragically
Woman found
deceased in woods
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
What began as a missing
person call ended in tragedy
when 51-year-old Jasper
woman Melissa Benzel was
found deceased in the
woods near Mountainside
Manor Apartments and
Piedmont Mountainside
Hospital.
The original missing per
son call came in on Wednes
day, Dec. 2 at approximately
8:45 p.m., but Benzel had
not been seen since the day
before. According to Jasper
Asst. Police Chief Matt
Dawkins, Benzel and her
roommate got into an argu
ment on Tuesday, Dec. 1
and Benzel left the apart
ment on foot with none of
her belongings, “just the
clothes on her back,” includ
ing a camouflage jacket, a
black shirt, and tennis shoes.
After Benzel did not re
turn the next day the room
mate contacted Benzel’s
family, who contacted po
lice to report her missing
that evening, Dawkins said.
The night the missing per
son call came in, officers
rode around the immediate
area to search for Ms. Ben
zel and asked local busi
nesses if they had seen her.
The following day, Thurs
day, Dec. 3, a search of the
large wooded area surround
ing the apartment complex
was conducted. Dawkins
said they suspected she
could be in that area because
she left the apartment with
out her phone, keys, or wal
let.
“We had grim thoughts
that she might be in the
woods,” Dawkins said.
A command site was set
up and Pickens Fire & Res
cue, the Pickens Sheriff’s
Office, and Jasper Fire as
sisted with the search and
rescue. K-9 handler Kim
berly Camp of Pickens Fire
& Rescue was on site with
K-9 “Vesper,” who alerted
emergency workers to Ben
zel’s body at approximately
4 p.m. She was located an
estimated 300-400 yards
away from her apartment in
woods close to Highway
515, near a large flood con
trol pond.
Dawkins said foul play
has been nded out and that
results of the autopsy from
the GBI Crime Lab have not
been completed. Despite
there being no official au
topsy results, officials noted
the evening she disappeared
See Missing on 13A
COVID numbers continue
to rise in Pickens
The number of COVID-
19 cases in Pickens County,
according to the Georgia
Department of Public
Health’s COVID status
website, has reached 1,120
confirmed cases as of Tues
day, Dec. 8th with 14 con
firmed deaths here, another
four “probable’ deaths and
86 hospitalizations. The to
tals are all cases recorded
thus far.
Throughout Georgia, ac
cording to the website, there
have been 452,369 con
firmed cases in Georgia,
9,027 deaths with an addi
tional 846 ‘probable’ deaths,
36,461 hospitalizations and
6,719 ICU admissions.
COVID-19 Cases
Pickens County 9/29/20 to 12/06/20
New Cases
9/28-10/4
15
10/5-10/11
26
10/12-10/18
41
10/19-10/25
63
10/26-11/1
56
11/2-11/8
47
11/9-11/15
70
11/16-11/22
37
11/23-11/29
57
11/30-12/6
77
Inside:
Churches
prepare for
Christmas
programs
Page 4B
Early voting
begins Monday
Page 12A
Government News
County finances
in good shape for
changeover
Page 2A
Pictures of
Christmas lights
around Pickens
County Page 6-7A
Obituaries - 10A
• Bo Boling
• Carl Gaddis Jr.
• Glenda Godfrey
• Greg Chaney
• Jewel Childers
• Larry Ray
• Larry Young
• Cleo Silver
• Patricia Nagele
• Robert Mallernee
• David Childers
Contact Us
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