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THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 25. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 5A
To the Editor:
I visited a business in
Jasper last week to ask the
owner to consider being a
sponsor of a charity event for
the Young Life Christian
Ministry in Jasper. The event
is a clay shoot to be held at
Garland Mountain Sporting
Clays on April 16th. This
would be a great way to give
back to the community and
support kids in Pickens
County by sponsoring a
shooting event that would
seem to really fit perfectly
into their customer base.
The owner said that they
do not give donations to any
charities in the community
because they did not want to
give to one charity and slight
another charity. They said
that they have three people a
day coming into their store
asking for donations to vari
ous charities, so they chose to
not give money to anybody.
They did give me three $20
gift cards, which was nice,
but we need a lot more than
that from local businesses to
make our event successful.
I own a rental manage
ment business in Big Canoe
and certainly understand ex
actly what they are saying. I
get a lot of people asking for
donations to any number of
various community organiza
tions. The difference is that I
gladly give to a number of
charities in Pickens County
and consider it a privilege to
give back to my community.
I gave a donation to Young
Life for a lunch sponsorship.
I would hope that all of the
businesses in Pickens County
feel the same way that I do.
Volunteering your time and
donating to charities in a
community are the ways that
we as neighbors treat each
other and our community.
I certainly hope that other
businesses in Pickens County
and Jasper do not take the at
titude that the owners of the
Letters to the Editor
above-mentioned business
do. We need to all volunteer
and contribute to our com
munity to help people im
prove their lives here at
home.
I will not go back to this
particular business. I will
take my business to a com
pany that is involved with
and a part of the community
as a donor and supporter of
our local charities.
David Sharp
Mountain Home Rentals
To the Editor:
The Pickens County
Progress does its readers a
great disservice by continu
ing to provide a forum in
your letters to the editor sec
tion for the promotion of con
spiracy theories and outright
propaganda aimed at under
mining our democracy. Even
Facebook and Twitter have
recognized the immeasurable
harm in this and have ad
justed their policies accord
ingly.
I remember as a kid in the
grocery store checkout lanes
looking at newspaper tabloid
headlines (with fuzzy photo
graphs) that claimed JFK was
still alive and living on a se
cluded, secret island where
he continued to influence
American politics; and, the
1938 radio drama, “The War
of the Worldswasn’t a play,
but actually happened; and,
the Russians and Chinese had
beaten us to the moon by 10
years and had set up a mili
tary base where they were
preparing an imminent at
tack; and, Atlantis had been
discovered (again) to have a
thriving underwater kingdom
of mutant mermaids and mer
men.
My mother, a teacher, said
it was all a bunch of nonsense
that was published to sell pa
pers to people who were eas
ily entertained. Is that what’s
going on here?
Come on, Jack. What
you’re publishing is decid
edly different and our coun
try’s enemies are becoming
even more emboldened as
they draw their plans against
us.
How do I know this? Big-
foot told me.
He also told people that he
had seen me, but nobody be
lieves him.
Lee A. Shiver
To the Editor:
Regarding your article
“GOP stronghold....,” it is
my opinion that while we
have a conservative voter
stronghold, the GOP in Pick
ens is failing and needs a
complete revamping, if it’s
not too late.
Not long ago our county
GOP convention was nulli
fied for failing to elect dele
gates to represent us at
district and state levels.
Electing delegates is the main
purpose of a convention.
Think about that.
The district GOP con
vened a new election a few
weeks later and thankfully
we were able to salvage what
would have been a defunct
party charter. What many
people do not realize is the
elected chair at that conven
tion resigned prior to the end
of her term. Further, but for a
few, I am not aware of any
tangible evidence of other
key elected committee mem
bers fulfilling their roles. For
example, did we develop our
precincts? Vice chair of
precinct development is a
critical role during an elec
tion year. What work was
done in that area to engage
precinct captains in getting
their registered voters to the
polls? Another elected posi
tion was vice chair, member
ship. Did membership under
this local administration in-
Street racing in Georgia targeted in
crackdown General Assembly bill
By Beau Evans
Staff Writer
Capitol Beat News Service
Illegal street racing in
Georgia faces toughened
penalties and repeat offend
ers could have their cars con
fiscated under legislation
pushed by Gov. Brian Kemp.
The measure would crim
inalize anyone in Georgia
who organizes, promotes or
participates in street racing,
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also called drag racing. City
and state officials in Atlanta
have long complained of
rampant street races in the
city and are seeking to crack
down.
“Our streets, highways
and parking lots have be
come a free-for-all speedway
for criminals,” Kemp said at
a news conference Friday to
unveil the bill.
It aims to “toughen penal
ties for offenders, hold those
who promote these activities
accountable and keep our
streets safe through modern
izing our code to include
these popular activities that
put Georgians in harm’s
way,” Kemp said.
Under the bill, speedsters
would have their driver’s li
censes suspended for at least
a year depending on how
many times they have been
caught racing. They would
also be slapped with fines
ranging from $750 to $5,000,
as well as face possible
prison time.
Anyone convicted of
street racing more than once
within a 10-year period
would have their vehicle con
fiscated or be forced to trans
fer the auto title to another
family member if it is a trans
portation mode a family de
pends on to avoid financial
ruin.
State Rep. Josh Bonner,
R-Fayetteville, who is one of
Kemp’s floor leaders, is
sponsoring the bill. It has a
good chance of passing due
to the governor’s backing and
since it is similar to a sepa
rate measure aimed at pun
ishing street racing brought
by Democratic state Sen.
Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur.
Kemp framed the street
racing bill as another piece of
his criminal justice policies
that include crackdowns on
gangs and human trafficking.
His administration has se
cured legislation and funding
for police to hunt gangs and
traffickers since Kemp took
office in 2019.
“This legislation will help
us build on that commit
ment,” the governor said.
crease or decrease? These are
tough questions, but they
need to be answered.
President Trump gained
so much popularity with con
servatives because his actions
matched the commitments he
made when he ran for office.
His flags still fly boldly in
our community for that same
reason.
For the GOP to survive we
need to elect a committee
with true conservative hearts,
ran by people who are will
ing to roll up their sleeves
and work, who are not afraid
to challenge the status quo
and will stand for the plat
form’s values. To that end,
The Pickens GOP should
publicly post positions and
related reponsibilities that are
available for citizens to serve,
and actively recruit qualified
conservatives to ran at this
year’s convention. Our coun
try’s fate lies in the hands of
passionate patriots who work
as a team to ensure our chil
dren will enjoy the same
basic freedoms we experi
enced.
I implore each of your
readers who fervently desire
to see our county uphold con
servative values to rise up.
Get involved. Run for these
positions and hold local GOP
leaders and our elected repre
sentatives at the state level
accountable so we can hon
estly report a GOP strong
hold. You can and will make
a difference if you try. And
RINOS, please stay home.
Respectfully,
Kimberly Hoechstetter
The Sheriff’s
Beat
From the Pickens
Sheriff’s Office
During this past week, the Pickens Sheriff’s Office responded
to or initiated 2,712 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
27
Suicide Threats / Attempts
2
Domestics
26
Theft / Burglary Related
17
Forgery / Fraud
9
Traffic Stops
126
Citations Issued
25
Animal Investigations
24
Suspicious Persons/Activity
38
Alarm Calls
23
Stranded Motorists
8
Street Hazards
7
Vandalism
8
Abandoned Vehicles
2
Extra Patrol - neighborhoods,
businesses, residences
2,008. 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:
12 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):
Theft by Taking- Felony
1
Possession of a Controlled Substance
1
Drug Related Object
1
Unregistered Vehicle
1
Aggravated Assault
1
Criminal Trespass
1
Violation of Rico Act
2
Probation Violation- Felony
4
Accountability Court Violation
1
Bond Violation
1
DUI-Drugs
1
Following too Closely
1
False Imprisonment- Felony
1
Neglect to a Disabled Adult/ Elderly
1
Letters Welcomed
Letters addressing issues will be
accepted but not those expressing a
personal grievance directed toward
another individual. Letters OVER
400 WORDS in length will not be
considered for publication. All let
ters must have a full name with ad
dress, e-mail and phone number
given where the author can be
reached to verify information. The
contact information is never pub
lished.
Letters may be e-mailed to
news@pickensprogress.com. Call
706-253-2457 to discuss this further.
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: 584
Weapons Found: 0
Courts Held: 4
Arrest Made in the
Courthouse: 1
Civil Papers Received : 32
Civil Papers Served: 34
In the Adult Detention
Center:
Total Jail population: 74
Total male inmates: 58
Total female inmates: 16
Sex Offenders:
There are currently 70 sex
offenders registered with
the Pickens Sheriff’s Office.
GRISHAM, POOLE
& CARLILE, 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.
PICKENS COUNTY
RECYCLING CENTER
ACCEPTS THE 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 panelsl
or car
windshields
Steel Cans
&
Metal
Do Not Accept
Styrofoam, plastic
furniture, water
hoses, all other
plastics not
mentioned, inch
#3-7, plastic
flowers, hard
or rigid plastics.
Help us recycle the correct products.
Director Waste/Recycling, Kenny Woodard
^ £ 390 Appalachian Court, Jasper, GA