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THURSDAY. MAY 20. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 9A
Obituaries
Billy Westbrook
Billy Eugene Westbrook,
81, of Jasper passed away
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
at his home. He was bom
November 16, 1939 to Wal
ter and Mattie Westbrook in
Pickens County.
Billy is survived by his
wife, Vivian Westbrook of
Jasper; sons and daughters-
in-law, Randy and Jan
Westbrook of Talking Rock,
Ricky and Christine West
brook of Talking Rock;
grandchildren, Tyler West
brook of Talking Rock, Je
remy Westbrook of Talking
Rock; and sister, Kathryn
Turner of Jasper.
Funeral services were
held at 2 p.m., Friday, May
14, 2021 at the chapel of
Roper Funeral Home with
Reverend Ted Estes, Rev
erend Grant Wade, and
Reverend Autry Dean offi
ciating. Interment fol
lowed in the Free Hope
Baptist Church Cemetery.
Pallbearers were Joey
Jones, Kyle Cochran,
Waldo Pierce, Jeff Aaron,
Shane Logan, and Larry
Bryant. Honorary pallbear
ers are Tyler Westbrook, Je
remy Westbrook, and David
Scott
The family accepted
flowers or memorial contri
butions may be made in his
honor to Free Hope Baptist
Church.
Arrangements are en
trusted to the staff of Roper
Funeral Home and Crema
tory.
Morris Reece
Mr. Morris Edward
Reece, 81, of Talking Rock
died May 15th, 2021 as his
residence with loved ones
by his side.
Mr. Morris was bom
July 23rd, 1939 in Gilmer
County. He is the son of the
late Horace and Agnes
McJunkins Reece.
Mr. Morris enjoyed
hunting, being outdoors,
and spending time with his
family. He worked as a
welder for many years. Mr.
Morris was also a member
of Mountain View Baptist
Church. Mr. Morris is pre
ceded in death by a brother-
in-law, Jimmy Lowe; and
grandson, Kyle Reece.
Survivors include his
wife of 33 years, Sue
Reece; sons, Keith and Pam
Reece of Ellijay and Mike
Reece Jasper; daughter,
Nikki and Joe Towery of El
lijay, Cindy and Scott Kirk
of Talking Rock, Kim and
Paul Spradlin, Lizella,
Elaine and Hector Espinoza
of Jasper; brothers and sis-
ters-in-law, Billy and Betty
Reece Hinton, Rev. Larry
and Ann Reece of White-
stone; sisters and brothers-
in-law, Alice Lowe of
Jasper, Sandy and Billy
Bernhardt of Ellijay, Vickie
and Michael White of
Jasper, and Becky and Gary
Fountain of Jasper; six
grandchildren, three great
grandchildren, several
nieces and nephews also
survive.
Funeral services were
held on Tuesday, May 18th
2021 at 11 a.m. from the
chapel of Bernhardt Funeral
Home with Rev. Keith Alli
son officiating. Interment
was in the Yukon Cemetery.
Pall bearers include Jason
Bernhardt, Ricky Reece,
Adam Lowe, Matt Foun
tain, Adam Lowe, David
Parks, and William Reece.
Singing conducted by the
Mountain View Baptist
Church Women’s Choir.
Bernhardt Funeral Home
is in charge of arrange
ments.
Frank Miller
April 10, 1923 -
May 12, 2021
U.S. Veteran
Mr. Frank Miller, 98, of
Jasper, passed away
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
at The Retreat at Jasper.
Mr. Miller is survived by
his daughter and son-in-law,
Donna & Harland Mathews
of Kennesaw; two grand
children, Cathy Robertson
and Suzanne Kalpa; four
great-grandchildren,
Christopher, Stephen,
Christina, and Katelyn; six
great-great-grandchildren,
Corey, Coby, Naomii, Jay-
dah, Veda, and Liam.
Funeral services were
held at 2 p.m. Saturday,
May 15, 2021 at Ball
Ground United Methodist
Church, with Dr. Wallace
Wheeles officiating.
Interment was at Sunrise
Memorial Gardens, follow
ing the funeral service.
In lieu of flowers, dona
tions can be made to Ball
Ground United Methodist
Church, in memory of
Frank.
Cagle Funeral Home is
honored to serve the Miller
family.
Obituary
Archive
www.pickensprogress.com
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Ball Ground Garden Club
to hold festival & plant sale
to celebrate 70th anniversary
You are invited to the Ball
Ground Garden Club Festival
and Plant Sale on June 12th,
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 215 Val
ley Street, Ball Ground,
Georgia. The event is cele
brating Ball Ground Garden
Club's 70th anniversary and
also National Garden Week.
There will be a large sup
ply and selection of plants
(more than 30 Georgia grown
and harvested varieties of
plants), gardening presenta
tions, and guided tours of the
Botanical Garden. There will
be a phenomenal bake sale
and raffle baskets and items.
There are twenty local ven
dors (brewery, food trucks,
winery, crafts, garden tools
and more), and local non
profit groups.
Master Gardeners will be
available for questions.
Guided tours of the garden at
11:30 a. m. and 2:30 p.m.
Special presentations
throughout the day by Ashley
Frasca with WSB Radio,
Suzanne Franklin with Jun
gle Paradise (daylilies), Mas
ter Gardener Cindy Lloyd
(gourds), and Master Gar
dener Suzie Thomas (succu
lents).
Duncan not running for reelection as
Georgia lieutenant governor in 2022
nity clean-up day the morn
ing of May 22 at 8 a.m. to
help remove some areas oj
the walkway and other tasks.
Learn English
online
Free English classes
continue on Zoom
The 2020-2021 school
year for English classes is
continuing to meet safely
during the Covid-19 pan
demic. We will not returned
to the recreation center until
all are vaccinated, wearing
masks, and distancing. When
the risk lowers and it is
deemed safe, we will return
to in person classes.
We have a time change.
Monday Zoom class meets
from 4 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. each
week. The Thursday class
continues to meet from 8
p.m.- 9:30 p.m. This is to ac
commodate those who work
during the day. For a link,
call 706-692-0707.
Talking Rock Park will reopen to the public this Satur
day, May 22.
The park has been closed due to damage from flooding.
While there is still some damage remaining, city officials
say the park is usable. Mayor Randy Banks has meet with
contractors to replace some washed out walkway areas with
concrete, fencing, two swings, and bathroom stalls.
Banks said these repairs have been held up while the city
waited for disaster relief funding. Over the next several
weeks the public can expect the park to close briefly a day
or two here and there while repairs are performed.
There will be a commu-
FRIENDS &
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Join us for a special Sunday Service followed by a
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239 Allred Mill Road, Jasper, Georgia 30143
By Beau Evans
Staff Writer
Capitol Beat News Service
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan
announced Monday he will
not seek reelection to another
term as Georgia’s second-
highest state elected official,
opening the door for a fierce
2022 campaign between Re
publicans and Democrats
vying to replace him.
In a statement, Duncan - a
Republican - said he plans to
create a political organization
called “GOP 2.0” aimed at
“healing and rebuilding” the
national Republican Party
amid the fallout from former
President Donald Trump’s
continued claims of voter
fraud in the 2020 elections.
Duncan’s pivot away from
Trump via public statements
and television news appear
ances since the November
2020 general election pitted
him against the former presi
dent and his allies who con
tinue to hold a large influence
over the state’s Republican
Party and conservative voters
in Georgia.
“The national events of
the last six months have
deeply affected my family in
ways I would have never
imagined when I first asked
for their support to run for
lieutenant governor in 2017,”
Duncan said Monday.
“Through all of the highs
and lows of the last six
months, they have never left
my side and are once again
united behind me in my pur
suit of a better way forward
for our conservative party - a
GOP 2.0.”
Duncan, a former health
care executive and Minor
League Baseball player who
served three terms in the
Georgia House of Represen
tatives, has focused much of
his tenure as lieutenant gov
ernor pushing for invest
ments and policy initiatives
to position Georgia as what
he calls “the technology cap
ital of the East Coast.”
He has presided over three
legislative sessions as head of
the Georgia Senate since
winning election over Demo
crat Sarah Riggs Amico by a
narrow margin in 2018. Dun
can said Monday he plans to
preside over redistricting ef
forts in the Senate later this
year as well as during the
2022 legislative session.
Duncan’s absence from
campaigning next year will
likely prompt stiff competi
tion among Republicans dur
ing the 2022 primary. Several
Democratic contenders have
already thrown their hats in
the ring including state Reps.
Erick Allen of Smyrna and
Derrick Jackson of Tyrone.
State Democratic leaders
pounced on Duncan’s an
nouncement Monday to bash
Georgia Republicans as too
tied to Trump, whose insis
tence that the 2020 presiden
tial election was fraudulent
without solid proof fueled vi
olent rioting at the U.S. Capi
tol on Jan. 6.
“Donald Trump and the
far-right have completely
taken over the Republican
Party with extreme rhetoric,
racist voter suppression poli
cies and a barrage of blatant
lies about our presidential
election,” said Scott Hogan,
executive director of the
Democratic Party of Georgia.
“While Republicans try in
vain to salvage their broken
party, Democrats are focused
on electing new, forward-
looking leadership to the
lieutenant governor’s office
and [other] statewide offices
in 2022.”
Democrats have already
rolled out a roster of candi
dates for statewide offices
beyond lieutenant governor
including attorney general,
secretary of state, insurance
and labor. Democratic 2018
gubernatorial candidate
Stacey Abrams has not yet
announced whether she will
launch a rematch against Re
publican Gov. Brian Kemp in
2022.
Talking Rock Park opens Saturday
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