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Thursday, April 15, 2021
Volume 133 Number 52
Jasper, Georgia
22 pages in two sections
Published Weekly
A perplexing saga of the
'homeless guy with the horse'
Roman Adams with Smokey.
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
The stories of how Roman
Adams ends up wherever he ends
up seem to always have a simple
version, and then behind-the-
scenes tales of both divine revela
tions and international conspiracy.
Many people became familiar
with Adams as “the homeless guy
with the horse.” He had set up
camp along Camp Road within
sight of the jail after local politi
cian/developer David Shouse gave
him permission to stay on the
property.
Since before Christmas Adams
had lived in a tent on Shouse’s
property with his horse, Smokey,
and three dogs. He often attracted
supporters who gave donations and
stopped to chat. Prior to Camp
Road, Adams was at the four-way
stop in Tate, and prior to that near
the RaceTrac on 515.
While he had permission to stay
at the Shouse property, Camp Road
is not zoned to allow camping -
ironic given the road’s name. And
last week Adams’ days there came
to an end, setting off a series of
events that landed him briefly in
jail and has temporarily ended with
him and his horse and dogs living
in a house on Highway 53, also
owned by Shouse. And in an ever-
broadening swirl, the national
ACLU has indicated they are inter
ested in his case involving the
2020 foreclosure that originally
left Adams without a home.
After being uneventful since
December, See Saga on 10A
Residential area gunshots tied to domestic dispute
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Rounds fired in a residen
tial area inside Jasper city
limits last Friday created a
stir among residents and of
ficers who initially thought
the suspect may have been
targeting a household. But
Jasper’s Asst. Police Chief
Matt Dawkins said the inci
dent was a result of a
“rolling domestic” alterca
tion that occurred inside a
vehicle on Gennett Drive.
According to Dawkins,
on Friday, April 9 an argu
ment ensued inside an SUV
travelling along that road
and at some point the female
driver slammed on the
brakes. The passenger, Pre
ston Hamby, 23, of Talking
Rock, fired shots out the
window into the air.
Someone heard the gun
fire and sound of the vehicle
coming to an abrupt stop and
called 911 around 11:30 a.m.
Investigating officers
found two spent .380 caliber
shells in the area, and
through eyewitnesses and
video surveillance cameras
were able to identify the ve
hicle as a maroon Mitsubishi
Montero. The next day, Sat-
See Gunshots on 10A
Two
motorcycle
crashes in
a week on
Hwy. 515
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
In less than a week
there were two separate
accidents involving mo
torcycles on Highway
515. In one of those inci
dents, the rider was life
flighted due to injuries.
The first crash oc
curred on Tuesday, April 6
at 1:17 p.m. near QuikTrip
gas station. According to
Georgia State Patrol Post
#28 Commander Tim
Nichols, a salesman at
Shottenkirk Ford at
tempted to cross the high
way to fuel up a 2021
Ford F-250 that sold. The
driver failed to yield to a
2020 Suzuki motorcycle
traveling in the north
bound lane. The driver of
the motorcycle, Michael
Cade, 31, of Talking
Rock, sustained serious
injuries to his lower ex
tremities and was life
flighted to Kennestone
Hospital, Nichols said.
The salesman, An
thony Uliana, 52, of Can
ton, did not sustain
injuries.
The second crash oc
curred on Sunday, April
11 at approximately 5:40
p.m. Tony Rider, 68, of
Talking Rock, attempted
to turn onto Highway 515
from Philadelphia Road
into the southbound lanes
when he failed to yield to
See Crashes on 10A
Planning commission approves
new lots for Jerusalem Church Rd.
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
The county planning commission
took care of two relatively straightfor
ward rezonings in a brief meeting Mon
day.
In the first they gave their approval
to rezoning for a 10 lot subdivision on
37.45 acres on Jerusalem Church Road.
In the second they approved a minor
change in a property zoning on Tabitha
Road so a portion could be combined
with a neighboring property in the fu
ture.
In all zoning cases, the board of
commissioners will make the final de
cision. The appointed planning com
mission is a recommending body only.
In the first case, property owner and
developer Mark Roland was given the
green light to proceed with a project
near the comer of Jerusalem Church
Road and Highway 53. He intends to
put in 10 lots, all three acres or larger
on 37.45 acres. He sought to have the
property rezoned from commercial to
rural residential.
Roland told the planning commis
sion that an earlier owner of the prop
erty had it zoned commercial when
zoning was first put in place here. But
Roland, who lives nearby, said, “We
don’t need too much commercial here.
We don’t want S ee Planning on 11A
Grant to bring outdoor apiary classroom
to Talking Rock Nature Preserve
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
What’s the buzz at Talking Rock
Nature Preserve? Mountain bikes
whizzing by? Yes, that; but park lead
ers are also thrilled about a grant from
the Georgia Beekeepers Association
that will enhance their apiary with an
outdoor classroom.
“The investment we received from
the Georgia Beekeepers Association
will support building an outdoor class
room that will be used for beekeeping
classes, support Scout group visits and
programs, [a] shelter for visitors and
volunteers, and other nature-based
community See Classroom on 11A
Matt Kinzer, left, and Bill Norris of
the Appalachian Beekeepers Associa
tion of Georgia do a routine check of
the beehives at Talking Rock Nature
Preserve. The club checks the hives
every seven to 10 days. A grant will
allow them to build an outdoor class
room near the apiary in an ongoing
partnership with the park.
Damon Howell / Photo
Student News
Pickens High FFA
plant sale begins
this week
Page 2A
Church News
Jehovah’s
Witnesses adapt
to not going
door-to-door
Page 2B
Editorial
What’s trending
gives peek into
what we are really
interested in
Page 4A
Obituaries - 5A
• Darryl Payne
• Peggy Page
• Ruby Bors
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