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THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 18. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 9A
Tater Patch Players to bring back
comedy beginning March 5th
Live theater is back in March - (l to r) Deb Heimler, April Miller, Jennie Hutto Smith, Audrey Kirsten, and Jan Simp
son get set to resume with The Aurelia Women's League Flower and Garden Gala Planning Committee.
By Pat Jewell
Tater Patch Players
The Tater Patch Players
have unfinished business.
The Aurelia Women's League
Flower and Garden Gala
Planning Committee was up
and running. The hilarious
crowd pleaser was inter
rupted mid show by a flood
that covered the first floor of
the theater. Repairs have
been made to the building
and the Aurelia Women's
League is ready to resume
work planning the annual
flower and garden show gala.
There are many things that
need to be discussed, such as
a venue, a menu, and most
importantly, a theme.
Clarinda, played by Au
drey Kirsten, is all business
and seems to have most of
the answers before the com
mittee can decide for them
selves. Lynette is our hostess
for the meeting. She is played
by Deb Heimler. Lynette is a
great cook but a bit ditzy. The
cast is rounded out with Jen
nie Hutto Smith as Mary
Martha, Jan Simpson as
Betty Clair (will she ever
stop laughing?) and April
Miller who insists on being
called Skipper.
As the show progresses,
many lessons are learned but
the laughs never end. Come
and join in on the fun.
Opening night is March
5 at 7:30 p.m. The show will
run for three weekends with
the Sunday shows starting at
2 p.m. March 4th at 7:30 is
share night. Bring non per
ishable food for CARES and
see the final dress rehearsal
for free.
We are taking many pre
cautions such as sanitizing
and social distancing, so
bring your mask and join us
for a fun night. You can buy
tickets online at www.tater-
patchplayers.org. All seats
are $10 and there is no as
signed seating. The theater is
located at 95 Philadelphia
Lane in Jasper.
Report from the Capitol
By State Representative Rick Jasperse
It’s been a busy week at
the General Assembly, and
the next two will be busier, as
bills are heard in committees
and decisions are made
whether they should move
forward or not. The two most
important committees this
year are of course our Budget
committee and the Elections
Integrity committee. Both
were very active. The
Amended Fiscal Year 2021
(AFY 2021) budget received
final passage this week. The
final version of the AFY
2021 budget is based on a
revenue estimate of $26.56
billion, which is an increase
of $654.3 million, or 2.5 per
cent, over the original
budget.
On a side note, here; this
increase is due to Governor
Kemp opening back up our
economy quickly and getting
our state moving. Other
states are in tough financial
situations due to the shut
down. With this increase in
new revenue, the General As
sembly allocated funds to
high-priority needs like
health and education. This
new funding will support the
Department of Public Health
and boost funding for high-
demand public health grants
due to COVID-19.
HB 80 also reflects the
governor’s recommendation
to restore funding for K-12
education. Finally, this
budget recognizes and uti
lizes additional federal assis
tance, which will allow us to
give Georgia teachers and
other school workers a
$1,000 pay raise this year.
After passing in the House
and Senate, HB 80 was sent
to the governor’s desk to be
signed into law.
The committee on Elec
tions Integrity had its first
full meeting this week and
started hearings bills that
would ensure our confidence
in our election process and
the sanctity of our vote. This
issue is the one I get the most
questions on right now, and
as bills come out of the com
mittee, I will let you know
what happens. I expect a few
to come out of the committee
this week.
A bill you might’ve heard
about is House Bill 290; it
would require hospitals and
nursing homes to allow pa
tients to visit with family
members for a minimum of
two hours each day, even
during public health emer
gencies. Hospitals and nurs
ing homes are concerned for
everyone’s safety. We have
all had or heard about the is
sues of not being able to care
for our loved ones who were
hospitalized during the Covid
emergency. We know that
holding someone’s hand dur
ing this makes a difference in
the outcome. This bill will
move forward as some
changes are made to the leg
islation to make it work for
all.
The House voted on
House Bill 112: The Georgia
COVID-19 Pandemic Busi
ness Safety Act. This act was
enacted early on in the pan-
The Morphs
Acoustic Sunday
T~
Sunday, Feb. 21st, 2 - 5 p.m.
47 Mountainside Village Parkway, in Jasper
demic to provide certain im
munities from liability claims
regarding COVID-19 for
health care facilities, health
care providers, businesses, or
individuals. Originally set to
expire this July, HB 112
would extend these protec
tions until July 14, 2022, and
the bill will now undergo
consideration in the Senate.
This bill allowed our busi
nesses and health care facili
ties to open up and run
quickly during the pandemic.
An interesting occurrence
that goes on this time of the
session is our continued work
on the budget for the next
year. It’s a huge job, and just
about everyone in the capitol
has a part in it. These meet
ings occur early in the morn
ing usually at 7:30, and have
priority over all other meet
ings. I am a member of two
of them, the committees that
oversee Higher Education
and Transportation.
I greatly appreciate any
feedback I receive from my
constituents, and I welcome
you to contact my office for
questions or concerns about
the legislative session. My
capitol office number is 404-
656-7153, my home 770-
893-2039, and my email
address is
rick.jasperse@house.ga.gov.
Please contact me any
time.
The Sheriff’s
Beat
From the Pickens
Sheriff’s Office
During this past week, the Pickens Sheriff’s Office responded
to or initiated 2,647 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
22
Suicide Threats / Attempts
2
Domestics
20
Theft / Burglary Related
23
Forgery / Fraud
15
Traffic Stops
91
Citations Issued
11
Animal Investigations
19
Suspicious Persons/Activity
35
Alarm Calls
20
Stranded Motorists
13
Street Hazards
9
Vandalism
4
Abandoned Vehicles
5
Extra Patrol - neighborhoods,
businesses, residences
1,980. 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:
10 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 with the Intent to Distribute
1
Possession of a Controlled Substance
2
Aggravated Assault
1
Outstanding Warrant
3
Drug Court Violation
1
Probation Violation
1
Failure to Maintain Lane
1
Theft by Deception- Felony
1
Theft by Taking
1
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: 643
Weapons Found: 1
Courts Held: 10
Arrest Made in
the Courthouse: 2
Civil Papers Received : 47
Civil Papers Served: 48
In the Adult Detention
Center:
Total Jail population: 70
Total male inmates: 55
Total female inmates: 15
Sex Offenders:
There are currently 72 sex
offenders registered with
the Pickens Sheriff’s Office.
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