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Quote of the Week - “It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out; it's the grain of sand in your shoe.
—Robert W. Service
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Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
June 17,2021
From the Staff
What happens where
the sidewalks end
In May we reported the tragic story of
19-year-old Peter Genovese who was hit
by a car and killed while walking along
North Main Street after dark on May
10th.
Genovese was almost surely walking
either in the road or right on the edge.
There is no sidewalk on Main Street once
you get north of downtown Jasper.
The young man, described as quiet,
but funny once you got to know him,
wasn’t out for an evening stroll or visit
ing friends. He was making his daily
commute, 2.5 miles from his home north
of Jasper to Walmart, where he worked,
and then 2.5 miles back.
According to his aunt, he had lived
here about six months and came seeking
to make something out of himself.
Known as a hard-worker looking to get
ahead, Genovese would have done well
here as there are plenty of jobs - great
opportunities to get into high-paying ca
reer-style programs right off the bat.
Jobs, yes; sidewalks, not many; and
obviously there is no public transporta
tion.
Even as there are complaints about
people sitting at home taking government
money, this young guy was working full
shifts and walking five miles round trip
to get there.
And he was doing so in the dark at
least on May 10th, and he was doing it
without any sidewalks to make his walk
more pleasant.
Sidewalks are needed both for casual
strollers and as basic business infrastruc
ture to support a community. The cities
of Jasper, Nelson and Talking Rock and
Pickens County have been derelict in
their efforts to install sidewalks for the
past 50 years and the negligence is glar
ing. It is infuriating and it needs to be
corrected. We’ll not go so far as to say
the lack of sidewalks cost the young man
his life as there are many factors in a traf
fic accident. But the fact there wasn’t
even an option to get on a sidewalk to
reach our area’s largest retailers is a sub
stantial failing of planning by govern
ment leaders stretching back decades.
The current office-holders are only the
latest in a long line to turn a blind-eye to
those who lack cars.
We have young people sitting in our
established residential areas and we have
jobs in our established commercial areas
and no way to travel between them ex
cept driving.
Who would tell a kid go get a job at
one of the grocery stores if they lacked a
ride? “No car kid? Then hoof it on over.
You’ll be fine.”
We, of the earlier generation, may
have enjoyed the benefits of walking five
miles uphill both ways to get places
when we were kids, but we dam sure did
n’t have traffic buzzing past at 50 mph
and no shoulder.
To pre-empt one objection, we agree
it is completely unrealistic to expect
sidewalks EVERYWHERE. If you move
to either end of Henderson Mountain
Road, you can’t complain that sidewalks
don’t reach you. But we can certainly put
an emphasis on running sidewalks
SOME PLACES.
There is no excuse for a city like
Jasper, whose council keeps boasting of
all it is doing to enhance this area, to not
have sidewalks providing access to the
prime commercial areas, especially as
Jasper has funds sitting their SPLOST
coffers from 2014 dedicated to side
walks. Talking Rock with its suddenly
more vibrant downtown has a chance to
do it right with any residential growth
that follows. Nelson also could eye con
necting future residential growth back
into their downtown. And the county
planning office needs to bring sidewalks
into the conversation — where do we
want them eventually?
There are advantages of using
SPLOST dollars to get sidewalk projects
rolling ASAP:
• More workers can reach commercial
areas.
• Help the traffic in some spots. It is
hard to imagine a pleasant stroll out to
the fourlane. But it’s entirely conceivable
someone might walk downtown for a
night out.
• Promote a more active lifestyle and
set a nice tone for Jasper.
We’ll end by challenging our leaders
at the county and cities of Jasper/Talking 1
Rock/Nelson, let’s take a walk. The
Progress will come with you so we can
see firsthand how badly sidewalks are
needed.
Tell us your thoughts with a letter to the editor. E-mail to news@pickensprogress.com
See letter submission guidelines on the Letters to the Editor page or call us 706-253-2457.
nag|k .n-n--*. *;:*
Ponderings of a Simple Man
Py Caleb Smith
The Sound of
Silence
I’ve found you can tell a
lot about a person by the sort
of music they listen to. It’s an
excellent way to judge a per
son and gain a better under
standing of who they are.
Take my wife for exam
ple. Patient, kind, loving, al
ways putting other people
first. Her music reflects that.
Gentle, soothing ballads from
the 1950s interspersed with
hardcore gangster rap. Her
love of gangster rap, the an
griest music known to man,
came about around the same
time we got married. A coin
cidence I’m sure.
It does serve as a fantastic
early warning system though.
I always know I’ve messed
up somehow when I hear
Biggie Smalls start playing.
That’s when I quietly grab
whatever I’m working on and
move to my workshop until
the storm blows over.
Recently I’ve discovered I
have the ability to gauge the
sort of music a person listens
to just by their personality. It
is, as most of my skills are,
completely useless and has
no real world application, but
it’s a fun exercise.
My editor for example,
after just a few meetings with
him I was able to peg him as
a lover of the classics, some
one still in love with the
music of his childhood. I’m
not sure exactly what kind of
music that is, but I have to
imagine it involves a lot of
lutes and perhaps a harp or
two. I know for certain that
he doesn’t like ‘newfangled’
additions to music like auto
tune or guitars or ‘electricity.’
My own tastes in music
likely reflect who I am as a
person as well. I’m of the
opinion that music peaked in
the 70s and, with very, very
few exceptions, went down
hill from there. Who can lis
ten to Don't Fear The Reaper,
Don’t Stop Believing, Peace
of Mind, or Stairway to
Heaven and even put them in
the same room as Wrecking
Ball or Old Town Road? It’s
like comparing steak and
mudpies. It might look like
food but that doesn’t mean
you’re going to have a good
time if you try to eat it.
And as an aside? Carry’ on
My Wayward Son is the great
est song ever written, bar
none. I will die on this hill.
But ultimately, my fa
vorite music is none. By
which I mean, I love silence.
I love to sit on my porch and
look over my yard and listen
to nothing. A distant whip
poorwill (emphasis on ‘dis
tant’) and the occasional
mournful call of a dove is a
soundtrack that the music in
dustry will never be able to
top. Simon and Garfunkel
were onto something with the
title at least when they came
up with The Sound of Silence.
[Caleb Smith is a long
time, award-winning, colum
nist for the Progress.]
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457
www.pickensprogressonline.com
DAN POOL
Publisher/Editor
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OTHER VOICES
AG Carr encourages Georgians to
learn signs and report elder abuse
ATLANTA, GA - The Of
fice of the Attorney General
is recognizing World Elder
Abuse Awareness Day by en
couraging all Georgians to
learn the signs and how to re
port instances of abuse.
“According to the Na
tional Council on Aging, up
to five million older Ameri
cans are abused every year,
and the annual loss by vic
tims of financial abuse is es
timated to be at least $36.5
billion,” said Attorney Gen
eral Chris Carr. “Sadly, the
perpetrators of abuse are
often family members or
trusted caregivers. We can all
play a role in protecting those
most vulnerable, and so on
World Elder Abuse Aware
ness Day our office is en
couraging Georgians to learn
how to spot the signs of elder
abuse and know where to re
port it.”
WHAT IS ELDER
ABUSE?
Elder abuse includes
physical, sexual and emo
tional abuse, neglect, and fi
nancial exploitation. Below
are explanations, signs of
abuse to look out for, and re
sources for reporting abuse
and protecting loved ones.
Physical Abuse
Not only does physical
abuse include hitting, beating
or intentionally hurting
someone; it also includes the
improper use of restraints or
medications, forcing some
one to remain in a bed or
chair, or forcing someone to
remain in a room (including
locking them in).
Signs of such abuse can
include unexplained burns,
cuts, bruises, and bleeding;
sprained or broken bones;
and injuries that happen over
and over. Another suspicious
sign is when the person does
n’t want to see a doctor about
his/her injuries.
Sexual abuse includes in
appropriate touching, rape, or
making someone watch
pornography or take off his
or her clothes.
Signs of sexual abuse in
clude tom or bloody clothes,
especially underwear; sexu
ally transmitted diseases;
braises, especially on both
sides of the body or around
the breasts or genitals; or
bleeding from the vagina or
bottom.
Neglect
This happens when care
givers don’t tend to an older
person’s needs. That can in
clude not giving the person
enough food, water, clothing,
housing and medications or
abandoning him/her.
Signs of neglect include
the person being messy or
unclean; having dirty clothes,
unkempt hair or skin rashes;
sudden weight loss or loss of
appetite; bedsores; or missing
or broken dentures, eye
glasses, hearing aids or walk
ers.
Emotional/Psycho
logical Abuse
Emotional/Psychological
Abuse includes threatening
someone with violence, nurs
ing home placement, aban
donment or neglect; threats,
insults, harassment, name
calling or intimidating; iso
lating the person from
friends, family or activities;
excessively criticizing; ignor
ing; making derogatory or
slanderous statements; re
peatedly raising the issue of
death; and excluding the
older person from decision
making when he or she is ca
pable and wants to be in
cluded.
The victim of emotional
or psychological abuse may
act withdrawn or frightened,
have behavior changes that
you can’t explain, have trou
ble sleeping, rock back and
forth or mumble to him/her
self, act depressed, confused
or show no interest in things
he/she used to enjoy.
Financial
Exploitation
Financial exploitation is
the misuse of financial re
sources for another’s gain.
Signs include: missing
money or valuables, credit
card charges the individual
did not make, unusual activ
ity in bank accounts, unpaid
bills, rent or taxes, eviction
notices, legal documents
(such as will or power of at
torney) signed by an elderly
person who could not have
understood what he or she
was signing, and signatures
on checks or documents that
appear to be forged.
Reporting Elder
Abuse:
To report abuse, neglect,
and exploitation of an older
adult or disabled adult who
lives in a private residence,
contact your local police by
dialing 911 or contact Adult
Protective Services at 1-866-
55AGING - Press ‘^.’’Addi
tionally, you can visit
aging.ga.gov then click the
“Report Elder Abuse” tab.
To report abuse, neglect,
and exploitation of an older
adult, disabled adult or resi
dent in a facility, contact
Healthcare Facility Regula
tion: 1-800-878-6442.
If you spot a
mistake,
Contact our editor
dpool@
pickensprogress.com
706-253-2457
WEATHER
By
William Dilbeck
HI LOW RAIN
June
08
80
66
.38
June
09
74
66
.61
June
10
74
66
.42
June
11
77
67
.28
June
12
84
69
.00
June
13
83
68
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June
14
86
65
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