Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, July 29, 2021 | Volume 134 Number 15 | Jasper, Georgia | 24 pages, 2 sections | Published Weekly | $1-00
School begins next
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Beginning next week, Pickens
roads will be a little more congested
in the mornings and afternoons as stu
dents return for the 2021-2022 school
year.
Total enrollment for the system is
4,133. Of that, there are 500 students
enrolled at Harmony Elementary; 558
at Hill City Elementary; 471 at Tate
Elementary; 589 at Jasper Middle;
669 at Pickens Junior High; and 1,346
at Pickens High (see grade level break
down 3B).
In a press release sent out last
week, Pickens Superintendent Tony
Young announced school will open
and operate under pre-pandemic
guidelines, including no precaution
ary quarantines.
“We are excited to get started with
this new school year and look forward
to welcoming the students back,”
Young said in a later interview.
“While we are opening using pre-pan
demic protocols, we will monitor the
situation closely inside the county and
week
will be ready to respond as needed.
We will always make the safety of our
district family our top priority.”
The system will again provide
basic school supplies for all students,
and this year as an extension of the
Seamless Summer program all break
fast and lunch will be free for all stu
dents. Parents will not be required to
fill out free and reduced forms.
See the superintendent’s full press
release, as well as lots of other back-
to-school information from each
school - including pick-up and drop
off instructions - on page 2-3B.
Jury finds
Remlinger
guilty of
molestation
Jeremy Remlinger
book-in photo
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
A former Jasper busi
ness owner was found
guilty on 17 charges re
lated to inappropriate sex
ual conduct with minors
by a Pickens County jury
last week.
On August 5, 2019, Je
remy Lee Remlinger was
arrested at his business,
Wreck-A-Mended Auto
Body, near the intersec
tion of Highway 53 East
and Camp Road. He was a
registered sex offender at
the time.
According to Ap
palachian Circuit District
Attorney Alison Sosebee,
the charges stemmed from
a period of time when one
victim lived with Rem
linger. That victim dis
closed the sexual abuse
after she moved out of his
residence.
“During the trial, sev
eral other victims testified
about similar incidents
they had experienced at
the hands of Jeremy Rem
linger,” according to the
DA’s statement.
Remlinger’s trial began
Monday, July 12 and
lasted through Wednes
day, July 21. Victim testi
mony and videos of
forensic interviews with
See Guilty on 11A
Events are baaaaa-ck at library
■kv-; •
v Jjf-m
Angela Reinhardt / Photo
Harper, 5, is all smiles with this Nigerian Dwarf Goat, which was perfectly content being held.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
You’d think a gaggle of energetic,
talkative, grabby children would put
farm animals on edge - but a petting
zoo menagerie at the Pickens County
Library last week was noticeably unaf
fected.
Thursday, July 22, kids (mostly pre
and elementary-school aged, with a
few older ones peppered in the mix)
would brush, pet, pick-up, hug, and talk
to the animals in rapid-fire, and slightly
chaotic, succession. The tiny Nigerian
Dwarf goats let out the occasional
high-pitched “baaaa” as kids with
Cheshire grins swooped them up - but
they didn’t try to wriggle free, instead
laying more or less still and content.
A Shetland sheep munched lazily on
grass while they rubbed his coarse,
dreaded coat. The Lionhead rabbit
managed to take on an even more re
laxed demeanor, sprawled out on a bed
See Events on 2A
COVID-19 numbers here “significant and
increasing” says infectious disease director
63% of local residents
unvaccinated
By Christie Pool
Staff Writer
christie@pickensprogress.com
There is a rise in the number of
COVID cases in Pickens County and,
according to the North Georgia Health
District’s infectious disease director,
she is “concerned as the numbers are
significant and rising.”
As of Monday, July 26th there were
29 new cases here over the previous 14
days, according to numbers provided
from the North Georgia Health District
(NGHD). Total deaths from the virus
stand at 63 since tracking began last
year. All together, there have been
2,637 cumulative coronavirus cases in
Pickens.
“We feel like the community as a
whole has relaxed their efforts and we
are seeing increased transmission,” said
NGHD 1-2 Infectious Disease Director
Sherry Gregory. “We still have around
63 percent of the community unvacci-
See COVID on 11A
Park’s late night popularity & speeding
discussed at Monument Road meeting
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
Several members of the Monu
ment Road community met at the
fire station Friday to discuss traffic
issues with Commissioners Becky
Denney and Kris Stancil, Sheriff
Donnie Craig and Mitch Yeargin, the
head of the sheriff’s uniform patrol
division.
Most of the problems cited are
tied to the 107-acre Eagle’s Rest
Park at the end of the road, accord
ing to residents. Eagle’s Rest was es
tablished as a non-profit,
privately-owned park under the Mt.
Oglethorpe Foundation.
The problems are what might be
expected from having a park at the
end of a long, winding, residential
mountain road: too much traffic,
traffic that is too fast and people vis
iting the park at all hours despite a
sign saying it is only open dawn to
dusk.
According to discussion, the park
with its hiking trails and observation
See Meeting on 11A
At top center, Commission Chair Kris Stancil, Commissioner Becky Denney and Sheriff Donnie Craig
listen as Monument Road residents talk about the problems of an ungated park at the end of the road.
Inside this Edition:
Back-to-School
information
for each
school on
pages 2-3B
Page 9B
Fall sports
schedules
Page 7 A
Sheriff’s Auxiliary
awards
scholarships,
recognizes Ray
Jackson
Page 10A
Attorney General
reveals top
complaints of
2020
Page 1B
The passion for
Pickleball grows
in Pickens County
Obituaries - 9A
• Beth Carlile
• Billy Joe Mullinax
• Bobby Hill
• CeCe Morris
• Danny Marcusen
• Edward Czaplinski
• Gene Wright
• Gwendolyn Nealey
• John Duke
• Kyle Bellinger
• Linda Zaccheo
• Rose Marie Murray
• William Hamilton
Contact Us
94 North Main Street
Jasper, Ga. 30143
706-253-2457
www.pickensprogress.com
Open for business during
these hours: Mon-Thurs,
9-5, and Fri, 9-4:30
$1.00 per copy