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The Sheriff’s
Beat
From the Pickens
Sheriff’s Office
Holy Spirit Ministries coats go where needed
“I thank God that He took us to a place where there was a need. ”
Monday: Trivia
Tuesday: Sabian Karaoke
Wednesday: Acoustic night
Thursday: Karaoke with Jay
PAGE 8A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. DECEMBER 10. 2020
' % Holiday Lineup
Saturday,
Dec. 12 @ 7 p.m.
From the foothills of North
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small-town authentic that
wear their influences on
their sleeve but aren't afraid
to break convention. Their
live performances revisit
what makes music so pow
erful: emotion and passion.
December 19th
Christmas show to benefit
ACES Youth Shelter
February 27th
Classic southern rock
featured in Sons of Anarchy
There's always something
happening at Rocco's.
Visit roccosjasper.com
for complete listing
Pickens man arrested for sexual
exploitation of children
The team from the min
istry took the first supply of
coats purchased through the
Holy Spirit Ministries
/Progress Coat Drive to the
homeless in Atlanta Sunday,
not sure what to expect.
Due to restrictions and the
age of the Jasper-based min
istry’s volunteers, they have
not been holding regular
services in the downtown At
lanta parks since the pan
demic started. However, after
conducting a joint coat drive
with the Progress for the past
decade they wanted to con
tinue that, as Rev. Joe Betts
said, “I know COVID is a
concern but so is the cold.”
This year, coats ARE
NOT being accepted at the
Progress office, as in year’s
past. An initial financial con
tribution allowed the pur
chase of around 100 new
coats which are packaged
and won’t require sorting or
handling.
Betts said Sunday they
went to their regular park
spot, already aware another
church had begun conducting
services there after Holy
Spirit stopped. They found
the other church giving out
coats and with no need for
additional supply.
Someone suggested the
Salvation Army’s downtown
homeless shelter might have
a need. “I thought at first Sal
vation Army probably has
what they need,” he said.
“But we went to go check it
out anyway.
“There were people
checking in with shorts,” he
said. “I thank God that He
took us to a place where there
was a need.”
Betts said the Salvation
Book-in photo of Christopher
Blackstone from Pickens Jail
Ga. Bureau of Investigation
Press Release
On Wednesday, December
2, Pickens County resident,
Christopher Blackstone, age
41, was charged with three
counts of Sexual Exploitation
of Children (Possession of
Child Sexual Abuse Mate
rial) in violation of O.C.G.A
16-12-100(b)(8) by the Geor
gia Bureau of Investigation
Child Exploitation and Com
puter Crimes (CEACC) Unit.
The GBI CEACC Unit
began an investigation into
Blackstone’s online activity
after receiving a Cybertip
from the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Chil
dren (NCMEC) regarding the
upload of suspected child
pornography by Blackstone
via the internet. A search of
Blackstone’s home and elec
tronic devices produced evi
dence which led to the arrest
of Blackstone on December
2, 2020.
Blackstone is currently in
custody at the Pickens
County Jail.
This investigation is part
of the ongoing effort by the
Internet Crimes Against Chil
dren (ICAC) Task Force,
housed within the GBI’s
Child Exploitation and Com
puter Crimes Unit, to identify
those involved in the child
pornography trade. The
ICAC Program, created by
the U. S. Department of Jus
tice, was developed in re
sponse to the increasing
number of children and
teenagers using the Internet,
the proliferation of child
pornography, and the height
ened online activity by pred
ators searching for
unsupervised contact with
underage victims.
Anyone with information
about other cases of child ex
ploitation is asked to contact
the Georgia Bureau of Inves
tigation Child Exploitation
Unit at 404-270-8870.
Tips can also be submitted
by calling 1-800-597-
TIPS(8477), online at
https://gbi.georgia.gov/sub-
mit-tips-online, or by down
loading the See Something,
Send Something mobile app.
Last chance to visit
Farmer’s Market, Sat.
By Heather
Giambra
Lindsay Nichols is one of several ven
dors with wonderful sewing skills. They
offer quite a variety of useful and deco
rative items including Christmas decor.
The day was
pretty. Pretty
cold to begin
with, however as
the morning
warmed, the
customers came
and the market
was pretty
happy. Some
vendors wisely
brought their
personal heaters
or were spotted
wearing blan
kets, but most
just had on their
layers and coats.
However, some had on
scales. Three little dragons
were running about with their
colorful happy tails and one
panda was spotted at the
candy table. Certainly these
unusual creatures were an in
teresting sight. Usually, the
“wildlife” is limited to cus
tomers bringing their dogs.
Faithful companions enjoy a
nice stroll around the market,
so why not a panda or some
dragons?
Lindsay Nichols, who cro
chets baby blankets, also
sews dragon tails for little
ones for their imaginative
play. Her daughter and
friends were modeling the
tails for customers to see.
There are several vendors
with wonderful sewing skills.
They offer quite a variety of
useful and decorative items
including Christmas decor,
quilts, masks, and even some
fun things like Worry Pets at
Christi’s Creations.
We have one market day
left for you to shop local and
find something special to
make the holidays bright, like
barbeque seasonings, jew
elry, and elves with fluffy
beards. Cedar boxes for
keepsakes, cutting boards,
paintings, and original orna
ments are some other good
choices for gifts, as well.
Please come by to our last
market this season Satur
day, 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
The Jasper Farmers Mar
ket is sponsored by the Pick
ens County Master
Gardeners to serve our com
munity by providing an out
let for local produce, dairy
items, meats, and the creative
endeavors of our local arti
sans.
Army staff was happy to see
them and easy to work with.
While they could not enter
the shelter, which can house
350 people in the emergency
side and 22 families in an
other section, they found a
spot out front that worked
well and gave about half the
initial supply of 100 coats.
“I feel good about this. I
wanted to be a good steward
of the donations and there is
a real need here. The Salva
tion Army is a reputable, es
tablished national group, but
very nice and there is a just a
great attitude at the shelter.”
Betts said the recipients of
the coats “were excited to see
brand new coats. They said it
made them feel good to get
something new.”
The ministry is planning
return trips to give out addi
tional coats. Betts said there
is always a need for coats in
winter as one of the chal
lenges of homelessness is se
curing your possessions, so
quality coats and other stuff
is always being stolen and
lost.
Anyone who still wishes
to donate (funding only, no
coats accepted) can leave
cash or checks at the Progress
or donate online at Holy
Spirit’s website,
https://www.holyspiritranch-
ministries.org/give/
You can find more infor
mation on Holy Spirit Min
istries by searching for them
on Facebook.
Breakdown of Charges for those Arrested:
17 individuals were booked into the Adult Detention Center
on charges from the Pickens Sheriff’s Office. Out of these,
the following charges were taken by PSO deputies (note:
some individuals have multiple charges):
Possession of Sexually Explicit Material of a Minor 1
Obstruction of Law Enforcement Officer 6
Felony Obstruction of Officer 1
Disorderly Conduct 1
Simple Battery- Family Violence 1
Simple Battery of a Law Enforcement Officer 1
Bond Violation 3
Driving with License Suspended/ Revoked 1
Probation Violation 8
Violation of Georgia Controlled Substance Act 14
Outstanding Warrant 2
Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon 1
In addition to the above ac
tivity from the Uniform Patrol
Division, Court Service
Deputies reported the follow
ing statistics for the past week:
Persons Scanned at Front
Door: 632
Weapons Found: 0
Courts Held: 5
Arrest Made in the Court
house: 1
Civil Papers Received : 60
Civil Papers Served: 46
In the Adult Detention
Center:
Total Jail population: 80
Total male inmates: 58
Total female inmates: 22
Sex Offenders:
There are currently 71 sex of
fenders registered with the
Pickens Sheriff’s Office.
GRISH AM&PO OLE, PC
Criminal Defense I Family Law
“You can’t go back and change the beginning,
but you can start where you are and change
the ending.’’ ~ c.s. Lewis
21 COURT STREET
JASPER, GEORGIA
678.880.9360
Experienced. Established. Effective.
During this past week, the Pickens Sheriff’s Office responded
to or initiated 2,442 calls for service. These numbers are
taken from the report provided directly from the 911 Center
where all calls are logged as they are perfonned. Below is a
breakdown of all dispatched calls by the call type for each in
cident.
Accidents 33
Suicide Threats / Attempts 3
Domestics 41
Theft / Burglary Related 18
Forgery / Fraud 8
Traffic Stops 224
Citations Issued 5
Animal Investigations 13
Suspicious Persons/Activity 53
Alarm Calls 18
Stranded Motorists 12
Street Hazards 6
Vandalism 4
Abandoned Vehicles 7
Extra Patrol - neighborhoods, businesses, residences
1,680. In addition to these, other calls include search war
rants, civil service, 911 hang-up calls, assaults, disorderly per
sons, missing persons, assistance with medical calls, natural
death investigations, demented persons, funeral escorts, ha
rassment, trespassing, and many more.
Purchase advance tickets at www.roccosjasper.com
or at Rocco's Pub (47 Mountainside Village Parkway, in Jasper)
LiCCCO
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