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PAGE 10A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 30. 2021
Georgia cops, firefighters, other
first responders to get $1,000
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - Gov. Brian
Kemp and Georgia House
Speaker David Ralston Mon
day announced the next step
in state Republican leader
ship’s commitment to priori
tize public safety.
The state will offer one
time $1,000 bonuses to
nearly 81,000 police officers,
firefighters and other emer
gency responders throughout
Georgia, Kemp said during a
news conference inside the
state Capitol. The $100 mil
lion initiative comes in addi
tion to $25 million in bonuses
Ralston proposed in July for
a smaller group of sworn law
enforcement officers.
The governor and speaker
said Georgia’s first respon
ders have weathered tremen
dous hardships in the last 18
months dealing with the
coronavirus pandemic and a
loss of respect for law en
forcement that accompanied
the national “defund the po
lice” movement sparked by
some street protesters last
summer.
“We know it’s never been
harder to wear a badge,” said
Ralston, R-Blue Ridge. “We
want to ensure our officers
know we appreciate their
service and sacrifice.”
Kemp said police and fire
departments and other emer
gency response agencies will
be able to apply to the Gov
ernor’s Office of Planning
and Budget for grants that
will pay for the bonuses be
tween Oct. 1 and the end of
the year. The funds will come
from Georgia’s $4.8 billion
share of federal COVID-19
relief.
The money will go to all
eligible public safety officers
and first responders, includ
ing police and sheriff’s de
partment employees, parole
and probation officers, prison
and jail guards, emergency-
medical technicians and para
medics, criminal
investigators, court bailiffs,
fish and game wardens, 911
dispatchers and evidence
processors with the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation.
The $25 million in law en
forcement raises Ralston pro
posed during the summer is
part of a $75 million alloca
tion the speaker is requesting
to bolster public safety and
mental health services in
Georgia.
Ralston acted to make
public safety a priority in the
aftermath of a crime wave
that has driven up murder
rates and other violent crime
in Atlanta, other Georgia
cities and across the nation.
State House and Senate com
mittees have been holding
hearings to examine the rea
sons for the uptick in crime
and what can be done to ad
dress it.
Kemp announced in July
that he planned to add crime
legislation to this year’s spe
cial legislative session being
held primarily to redraw
Georgia’s congressional and
legislative district lines.
But crime did not appear
on the agenda last week
when Kemp called for the
special session to start Nov.
3. Lawmakers instead are ex
pected to consider the gover
nor’s proposals during the
2022 regular session begin
ning in January.
The General Assembly
approved one-time $1,000
bonuses earlier this year for
teachers and state employees
who earn less than $80,000
per year.
Former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson
celebrated at Atlanta tribute
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - Nearly 500 of
Georgia’s business and polit
ical elite said thanks to for
mer U.S. Sen. Johnny
Isakson Monday for more
than 40 years spent in public
service.
Isakson, a Republican
who retired at the end of
2019, suffers from Parkin
son’s disease. Monday’s trib
ute at the historic Piedmont
Driving Club raised about $1
million to benefit The Isak
son Initiative, a nonprofit he
founded in May to raise
awareness and funding for re
search related to Parkinson’s,
Alzheimer’s and related de
mentia.
The first Georgia politi
cian to ever serve in the state
House and Senate, the U.S.
House and the U.S. Senate
was feted as a leader who
took a bipartisan approach to
ward public policy during an
era of increasing polarization
between Republicans and
Democrats.
“Johnny has always
worked to get everyone at the
table,” said Georgia House
Speaker David Ralston, R-
Blue Ridge.
“He represents the best
our state and nation have to
offer,” Gov. Brian Kemp
added.
Isakson served in the Gen
eral Assembly during the
1970s and 1980s as one of its
few Republican members.
After unsuccessful runs for
governor and the U.S. during
the 1990s, then-Gov. Roy
Barnes appointed him to
chair the Georgia Board of
Education.
He was elected to the U.S.
House in 1999, succeeding
former House Speaker Newt
Gingrich of Georgia, then
won a seat in the Senate in
2004. Isakson became the
first Republican elected
statewide to three terms.
Monday’s luncheon pro
gram included both live and
recorded tributes from some
of Isakson’s former Senate
colleagues from both sides of
the aisle. Sen. Lindsey Gra
ham, R-S.C., praised Isakson
for using his illness for good
and pledged to support Isak
son’s fund-raising efforts.
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using it to help other people,”
Graham said. “We’re going
to fight this illness together.”
“Johnny was my mentor
when I came to the Senate
more than a decade ago,”
added Sen. Chris Coons, D-
Del., who now chairs the
Senate Ethics Committee for
merly headed by Isakson.
“He focused on what we
could do together.”
Ralston said Isakson was
a key backer of federal fund
ing to deepen Savannah Har
bor so the Port of Savannah
could accommodate a new
generation of containerized
cargo ships.
In light of his contribu
tions, Ralston sponsored a
resolution this year naming
the new bridge on Georgia
307 that crosses over the
Mason Mega Rail Yard after
Isakson.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo,
another former Senate col
league, informed the audi
ence the Johnny Isakson
Public Health Research
Building on the Atlanta cam
pus of the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Preven
tion is due for completion in
2024.
And Kemp announced
that the Johnny Isakson Pro
fessorship for Parkinson’s
Research at the University of
Georgia has raised $4.5 mil
lion and hired its first re
search professor.
“We’re proud of the
progress that professorship
has made in less than two
years,” the governor said. “I
have no doubt this initiative
will bring hope for Parkin
son’s patients and their fami
lies for years to come.”
Want to
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an article?
news@pickensprogress.com
The Sheriff’s
Beat
From the Pickens
Sheriff’s Office
During this past week, the Pickens Sheriff's Office responded to or
initiated 1,683 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 incident.
Accidents 17
Suicide Threats / Attempts 1
Domestics 27
Theft / Burglary Related 12
Forgery / Fraud 10
Traffic Stops 92
Citations Issued 21
Animal Investigations 17
Suspicious Persons/Activity 35
Alarm Calls 6
Stranded Motorists 6
Street Hazards 6
Vandalism 6
Abandoned Vehicles 0
Extra Patrol - neighborhoods, businesses, residences 1,254. In ad
dition to these, other calls include search warrants, civil service, 911
hang-up calls, assaults, disorderly persons, missing persons, assis
tance with medical calls, natural death investigations, demented per
sons, funeral escorts, harassment, trespassing, and many more.
Breakdown of Charges for those Arrested:
24 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):
Burglary 1
Criminal Damage to Property 1
Arson 1
Theft by Receiving Stolen Property 1
Criminal Trespass 2
Obstruction of LEO 3
Possession of Controlled Substance 1
Driving with Invalid License 5
No Proof of Insurance 2
Use of Tag to Conceal Identity of Vehicle 1
Following Too Closely 1
Vehicle Headlights Violation 1
Probation Violation 6
Bond Violation 2
Failure to Appear 1
Battery 2
Simple Assault 1
Simple Battery — Family Violence 1
DUI 1
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: 768
Weapons Found: 5
Courts Held: 7
Arrests Made in
the Courthouse: 0
Civil Papers Received : 45
Civil Papers Served: 49
In the Adult Detention
Center:
Total Jail population: 91
Total male inmates: 76
Total female inmates: 15
Sex Offenders:
There are currently 70 sex
offenders registered with
the Pickens Sheriff’s Office.
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