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PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. DECEMBER 24. 2020
Arrest made in 575 accident that killed Jasper man
Cherokee Sheriff
Press Release
Investigators with the
Cherokee Sheriff’s Office
Traffic Enforcement Unit
have made an arrest in con
nection with the fatal acci
dent that occurred on
Interstate 575 north of River
stone Parkway on Sept. 16
earlier this year. Kierra
Holder, 24, of Forrest Park,
was arrested Wednesday, De
cember 16th and charged
with Vehicular Homicide in
the 1st Degree, Serious In
jury by Vehicle and Reckless
Driving.
The investigation revealed
that Holder was traveling at
an excessive speed and mak
ing erratic lane changes at the
time of the accident. Her Kia
Sportage collided with a Toy
ota Tundra driven by Robert
Schroeder, 61, of Jasper.
Schroeder later died of his in
juries. A passenger in
Holder’s vehicle, Samira
Bryant, 23, of Riverdale, was
severely injured in the acci
dent.
Holder was in custody at
the Cherokee Adult Deten
tion without bond at the time
this press release was sent on
December 16th.
Holiday motorists urged to avoid
tragic consequences of drunk driving
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Georgia will con
tinue zero tolerance
by taking all im
paired drivers
straight to jail
Atlanta - The Governor's
Office of Highway Safety is
joining the Georgia State Pa
trol, Georgia Department of
Natural Resources and law
enforcement statewide in
warning drivers to avoid a
trip to jail by making the
right decision to not drink
and drive.
The Governor's Office of
Highway Safety is working
with the Georgia State Patrol,
and local law enforcement
agencies across the state to
increase enforcement of DUI,
speed, the hands-free law,
and all traffic laws in an ef
fort to reduce the number of
crashes, injuries and deaths
during the holiday season.
The increased enforce
ment effort is part of the Na
tional Highway Traffic
Safety Administration's an
nual Drive Sober or Get
Pulled Over campaign, which
runs from December 18,
2020 through January 1,
2021. While there may be
fewer vehicles on the road
and holiday gatherings due to
the current pandemic, state
troopers and local law en
forcement remind everyone
that they take all impaired
drivers they find to jail. No
warnings are issued and there
is never an acceptable excuse
for driving over Georgia's
legal limit of a .08 blood al
cohol concentration level.
"Even though we have
seen a decrease in the amount
of vehicles on our roads this
year because of the pan
demic, the number of people
killed in traffic crashes in
2020 in Georgia has not de
creased, and that is totally un
acceptable," GOHS Director
Allen Poole said. "We are
letting everyone that will be
traveling in Georgia know
that state troopers and local
law enforcement are going to
be patrolling our roadways
and conducting sobriety
checkpoints during the holi
day season. So if you have
been drinking, pass the keys
to a sober driver or risk a
DUI arrest that could cost
you up to $10,000 in fines,
legal fees, court costs and
higher insurance premiums."
Drunk driving remains a
problem both nationwide and
in Georgia. NHTSA data
shows 10,511 people were
killed in drunk driving
crashes in 2018. On average,
more than 10,000 people
were killed in drunk driving
crashes nationwide every
year from 2015 to 2018...that
is one crash every 50 min
utes. In Georgia, 375 out of
the 1,504 traffic fatalities in
2018 were alcohol related.
That's 25 percent of all traffic
deaths in our state.
State unemployment rate increases
despite drop in initial claims
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - First-time un
employment claims in Geor
gia were down significantly
last month, even as the state’s
jobless rate rose.
Initial unemployment
claims fell by 92,491 in No
vember from the previous
month to 104,175, a 47%
drop, the Georgia Depart
ment of Labor reported
Thursday. At the same time,
the state’s unemployment
rate increased by 1.2% to
5.7%.
The rise in the jobless rate
was due to a dramatic in
crease in Georgia’s work
force, which hit a record high
of 5.17 million last month,
state Commissioner of Labor
Mark Butler said.
“The fact that our labor
force is at an all-time high in
the midst of a crippling pan
demic is pretty remarkable,”
Butler said. “While many
focus on the unemployment
rate increasing, what is more
important is the increases in
jobs and employment.”
The number of employed
Georgians increased by
12,759 in November to 4.87
million, while the number of
jobs grew by 20,900 last
month to nearly 4.52 million.
The labor department has
paid out nearly $16.5 billion
in state and federal unem
ployment benefits to nearly
4.16 million Georgians since
the coronavirus pandemic
took hold in the state back in
mid-March, more than the
last nine years combined.
During the week ending
Dec. 12, the job sector ac
counting for the most initial
unemployment claims was
accommodation and food
services with 6,267 claims.
The administrative and sup
port services sector was next
with 2,672 claims, followed
by health care and social as
sistance with 2,337.
Of more than 162,000
jobs currently listed on the
website EmployGeorgia,
more than half advertise an
nual salaries above $40,000.
Resources for reemploy
ment assistance along with
information on filing an un
employment claim can be
found on the labor depart
ment’s webpage at dol.geor-
gia.gov.
Attorney General Carr launches
revamped consumer website
Attorney General Chris
Carr today announced that
the office’s Consumer Pro
tection Division has launched
a revamped website at
www.consumer.ga.gov.
“The improvements we
have made to the website will
make it easier and quicker for
consumers and businesses to
find the information they
need,” said Attorney General
Carr.
The updated website
prominently links to online
forms for submitting general
consumer complaints,
Lemon Law complaints and
price gouging complaints. In
addition, the site features a
link where consumers can
download Georgia’s “See,
Send” app, which will pro
vide the public a new method
for reporting price gouging
and consumer complaints to
the Consumer Protection Di
vision, as well as allowing
them to report other suspi
cious activity they witness to
the proper Georgia authori
ties.
Other features of the up
dated website include the
ability to subscribe to receive
the latest consumer protec
tion news, scam alerts and
the bi-weekly “Ask Con
sumer Ed” column; a com
prehensive A-Z guide of
consumer topics; and a num
ber of downloadable con
sumer publications, including
the Georgia Consumer Pro
tection Guide for Older
Adults, a Military Consumer
Protection Guide and re
sources, and a Cybersecurity
guide for small businesses,
non-profit organizations and
places of worship.
Consumer Ed
Rent increase notices
Brought to you by the
Georgia Department of
Law's Consumer Protec
tion Division
Dear Consumer Ed:
Since my original apart
ment lease expired, I am on a
month-to-month lease. Can
my landlord increase the rent
by $150/month with only
eight days’ notice?
Consumer Ed says:
No. When your lease ex
pired it converted into what is
called a tenancy-at-will. This
simply means that the lease
has no specified termination
date. In a tenancy-at-will,
landlords must give the ten
ant at least 60-days’ notice
before making any changes
to the rental agreement. This
would apply to an increase in
the monthly rent amount.
If your landlord attempts
to collect rent at the increased
rate before 60 days have
passed from the time you
were notified of the increase,
and you refuse to pay the
higher amount, your landlord
may try to evict you. If that
happens, you have the right
to contest this by filing a re
sponse with the court within
seven days after the Sheriff
serves you with a copy of the
proceeding. Your response
should explain that you de
clined to pay the increased
amount of rent because the
landlord failed to give you
the requisite 60 days’ notice
of the increase. You should
consult with an attorney to
further understand your
rights in the event your land
lord seeks to evict you.
For additional information
about Landlord/Tenant is
sues, see the Georgia Land
lord-Tenant Handbook on the
Department of Community
Affairs website.
Place a
classified
ad and get
ridofafew
things
Call the Progress
office 706-253-2457
GOHS continues to focus
on impaired drivers during
the holiday season because
last year, 14 people died on
Georgia roads from 6 p.m. on
Christmas Eve to 11:59 p.m.
on Dec. 26. An additional
124 people were arrested for
impaired driving just by the
Department of Public Safety,
which includes the Georgia
State Patrol, MCCD and
Capitol Police. During the
New Year's travel period
from 6 p.m. on Dec. 31 to
11:59 p.m. on Jan. 1, there
were two traffic fatalities and
160 DUI arrests just by DPS.
GOHS also offers the fol
lowing tips for having safe
travels on Georgia roads dur
ing the holidays:
Plan ahead with a desig
nated driver. Don't wait until
you've already started drink
ing.
If you find yourself sud
denly in need of a sober ride
home, call a sober friend,
taxi, rideshare service or use
public transportation (al
though holiday schedules
may be altered).
If you're having a few
family members or friends
over to celebrate, be sure to
have non-alcoholic drinks
available to encourage desig
nated drivers and be prepared
to take keys away from any
one who tries to leave after
drinking.
If you see a drunk driver
on the road, call 9-1 -1, *GSP
or your local law enforce
ment agency.
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(20 Hour Course)
Registration/Assessments
Monday & Thursdays 11 am to 7pm
All Classes meet Georgia State Requirements
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706-692-5355
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Across from Walmart
PICKENS COUNTY
RECYCLING CENTER
ACCEPTS TIIE FOLLOWING ITEMS
DC
DC
#1 Plastics
Water bottles,
drinking bottles,
soda bottles,
mayo jars,
peanut butter
jars. etc.
#2 Plastics
Milk jugs, washing/
detergent jugs,
bleach bottles,
etc.
Paper Products
Mixed paper,
junk mail,
newspapers,
etc.
DC
DC
Glass
Bottles Only:
Clear, brown,
green
No window Panels/
or car
windshields
Steel Cans
&
Metal
Do Not Accept
Styrofoam. Plastic
furniture, water
hoses, all other
plastics not
mentioned, incl.
#3-7, Plastic
flowers, hard
or rigid Plastics.
w
Help us recycle the correct products.
Director Waste/Recycling, Kenny Woodard
390 Appalachian Court. Jasper. GA