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PAGE 8A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. DECEMBER 24. 2020
High-speed chase crosses Pickens
Photo/Cherokee Sheriff’s Office
Elmer Pence
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
According to information
released by the Cherokee
County Sheriff’s Office, a
Cherokee deputy conducted a
traffic stop on Saturday, De
cember 19th in Canton at ap
proximately 2:30 p.m. that
led to a high-speed chase
through a large part of Pick
ens County.
The traffic stop of Elmer
Pence, 43, Acworth, was con
ducted on Medical Lane and
Hospital Road in Cherokee
County.
“At some point during the
traffic stop the deputy re
quested the driver exit the ve
hicle and the driver grabbed
the deputies arm and started
driving away. The deputy
was able to disengage from
the driver after approxi
mately 30 feet and was not
injured. The driver then fled
the area,” according to the
Cherokee Sheriff’s public
statement.
Deputies pursued the
driver into Pickens County.
The Georgia State Patrol and
Pickens County Sheriff as
sisted in the pursuit. Accord
ing to Georgia State Patrol
Post #28 Commander Tim
Nichols, pursuing officers
lost sight of Pence on
Jerusalem Church Road and
discontinued the chase at that
time.
Cherokee Sheriff’s Office
states, “The driver was able
to elude officers and his ve
hicle was located abandoned
on Black Knob Church Road.
The area around the aban
doned vehicle was searched
but the suspect was not lo
cated. A tip was received
about a possible location in
Fairmount where the suspect
was located. A Georgia State
Trooper responded to the lo
cation and the suspect was
taken into custody.”
Pickens County law en
forcement officials say
speeds reached over 100
miles at some points during
the chase, up to an estimated
115 m.p.h. in some areas.
Pence is charged with Ag
gravated Assault on a Peace
Officer, Fleeing and Attempt
ing to Elude Law Enforce
ment, Reckless Driving,
Obstruction of an Officer,
Giving False info to an Offi
cer, Expired Tag and Driving
on a Suspended License.
Pence is currently in custody
at the Cherokee County
Adult Detention Center with
out bond.
Letters to the Editor
To the Editor:
I need advice. I helped my
elderly brother-in-law, who is
temporarily living with me
and my wife due to COVID-
19, apply for an absentee bal
lot for the upcoming January
5th election. He received his
absentee ballot from the
Floyd County Board of Elec
tions. A few days later, he re
ceives a second ballot from
the Georgia Secretary of
State.
Should I encourage my
brother-in-law to fill out both
ballots and return so that his
vote counts; plus he also can
cels out some other honest
American’s vote? Or should
I encourage him to be the
honest American and to re
turn only one ballot and shred
the other? Or should I just
wait and see if a third ballot
shows up in the mail?
Ben Chastain
Hinton, GA
To the Editor:
Vote Georgia Values
With little time left until
January 5 runoff, I early
voted in Pickens County. In
the runup to the November 3
election, I also voted early.
The big difference: I waited
in a long line for over an hour
to vote in October. This week
I walked right in and voted.
Which scares me. Are the
people falling for the line that
since our votes in November
didn’t count, that we should
not bother to vote? Asinine.
This election is now more
important than the November
election, since our weak gov
ernor and spineless Secretary
of State sat by and caved to
Stacey Abram’s rants and
threats and eliminated the re
quirement for strict signature
review. Worse yet, they ap
parently are doing nothing to
implement better controls
this time.
That is all the more reason
for all Georgians - Republi
can, Democrat, Libertarian,
and Independent - to get to
the polls and vote for Georgia
values. To me that means
being for strong borders and
legal immigration, being pro
police, being proponents of
freedom of religion, fighting
to protect the unborn, sup
porting the Second Amend
ment and the Constitution,
and supporting many other
things that are threatened by
Democratic control of the
Senate. The two Democrat
candidates dodge questions
on all of these issues, hiding
the truth until after they are
elected, just as Joe Biden did.
It worked in the November
election; we can’t fall for it
this time.
Go to the polls and vote.
Vote early if possible, or on
Election Day. If you must,
vote Absentee. Vote for Kelly
Loeffler and David Purdue
for Senate. Let’s show Chuck
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going to let him change
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Georgia has real American
Values and we will stand in
the breach to protect Amer
ica.
Dan Rubin
To the Editor:
This is a thank you letter
to Keith Perry for his edito
rial "The Gifts We Don't Ac
knowledge." Our blessings
and gifts are tndy around us
if we would just take the time
to look - friends, community,
family - as well as our treas
ured memories. Thank you,
Keith, for giving us a gentle
push in the right direction.
Susan Mowry
To the Editor:
Why did 3,000 Republi
cans fail to vote in the 2020
presidential election?
Hatred for Trump or fear
of the “Chinese vims?”
Redeem yourselves by
voting in this Senate runoff
election. Yes, you can vote
now, or on January 5th, and if
you have any questions call
your local Pickens County
voter elections office 706-
253-8781 on Pioneer Road in
Jasper.
Get off your rear end, put
on your mask, and your
gloves, and go vote for David
Perdue, Kelly Loeffler, and
Bubba McDonald (Public
Service Commissioner.)
If you’re worried about
contracting COVID-19 vims,
just let Warnock and Ossoff
win Senate seats and see
what frightening worries
you’ll experience.
Kathleen Kelly
To the Editor:
I wanted to say thank you
to the United States Postal
Service, UPS and the various
different medical delivery
services offered here in Pick
ens county. My sister-in-law
Send a
News Tip
Call the Progress office
706-253-2457
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I feel I must thank all of
you that work delivering
medical supplies, medicine ,
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everything else one needs
when caring for the sick or
just making life a bit easier.
Not to mention the holi
day deliveries all mixed to
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clergy. The 911 operators for
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ice. Thank you to the ambu
lance service for your kind
prompt services. I coidd go
on. The doctors and medical
staff all over the county. God
bless all of you and thank you
from everybody that uses
these services. Your help was
tremendous and we are grate-
fill. Happy holidays.
Kathy Rios
Letters Welcomed
“Letters to the Editor ” is an
important public forum in the
community and the Progress
welcomes and encourages these
letters. Letters addressing issues
will be accepted but not those
expressing a personal grievance
directed toward another individ
ual. Letters OVER 400 WORDS
in length will not be considered
for publication. All letters must
have a full name with address, e-
mail and phone number given
where the author can be reached
to verify information.
The contact information is
never published.
Letters may be e-mailed to
news@pickensprogress.com.
Call 706-253-2457 to discuss
this further.
The Sheriff’s
Beat
From the Pickens
Sheriff’s Office
During this past week, the Pickens Sheriff’s Office responded
to or initiated 2,705 calls for service. These numbers are
taken from the report provided directly from the 911 Center
where all calls are logged as they are performed. Below is a
breakdown of all dispatched calls by the call type for each in-
cident.
Accidents
33
Suicide Threats / Attempts
7
Domestics
20
Theft / Burglary Related
28
Forgery / Fraud
14
Traffic Stops
217
Citations Issued
18
Animal Investigations
9
Suspicious Persons/Activity
56
Alarm Calls
28
Stranded Motorists
13
Street Hazards
12
Vandalism
1
Abandoned Vehicles
2
Extra Patrol - neighborhoods,
businesses, residences
1,896. In addition to these, other calls include search warrants,
civil service, 911 hang-up calls, assaults, disorderly persons,
missing persons, assistance with medical calls, natural death
investigations, demented persons, funeral escorts, harassment,
trespassing, and many more.
Breakdown of Charges for those Arrested:
11 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):
Bond Violation
2
Outstanding Warrant
1
Accountability Court Violation
1
Driving without a Valid License
3
Speeding
1
Driving Under the Influence
1
Aggravated Assault
1
Probation Violation
2
In addition to the above
activity from the Uniform
Patrol Division, Court
Service Deputies reported
the following statistics for
the past week:
Persons Scanned at Front
Door: 776
Weapons Found: 8
Courts Held: 6
Arrest Made in the
Courthouse: 2
Civil Papers Received : 41
Civil Papers Served: 40
In the Adult Detention
Center:
Total Jail population: 75
Total male inmates: 54
Total female inmates: 21
Sex Offenders:
There are currently 72 sex
offenders registered with the
Pickens Sheriff’s Office.
Did you know?
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,
the number of licensed drivers who are 70 and older in
creased by 65 percent between 1997 and 2018. Older drivers
are often considered less safe than their fellow motorists, but
statistics fro the IIHS indicate that might be a misconception.
While the number of drivers age 70 and older has increased
considerably in recent decades, older drivers are now in
volved in fewer fatal collisions than they were in the past.
Collision-related fatalities among drivers ages 70 and
older declined by 15 percent between 1997 and 2018. Though
such statistics are encouraging, it's vital that aging drivers
recognize that certain physical, cognitive and visual abilities
may decline with advancing age, and that such impairment
has been linked to an increased risk of being involved in a
crash. As a result, it's important that older drivers self-police
themselves and pay particidar attention to any changes in
their abilities that may compromise their ability to safely op
erate a motor vehicle.
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