Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 30. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 11A
New faces, new roles at county
(L-R) Bill Wood, Director of Administration; Wes Frye,
Interim Director of Planning & Development; and Justin
Kilgore, Director of Grants <6 Procedures.
Staff Reports
Over the last few months
Pickens County Commis
sioners have made some
changes to top-ranking em
ployees in their office. Not
only have they hired new
faces to key roles, they have
shifted other employees to
different positions, added
roles, and tweaked the chain-
of-command.
Earlier this year the
Progress covered hiring of
new Pickens County CFO
Charlene Bunch, as well as
hiring of new Pickens
County Marshal Cole Con-
nel.
More recently, a Director
of Public Safety position and
Director of Administration
position were added. Both of
these oversee several county
departments and report di
rectly to Commission Chair
Kris Stancil, who said the
change was budget neutral.
Former Planning & Develop
ment Director Justin Kilgore
also recently transitioned to
the Director of Grants & Pro
cedures position.
[Longtime Fire & EMA
Director Sloan Elrod transi
tioned to the new Director of
Public Safety role, which has
also been reported.]
The following are descrip
tions of the new faces/roles
not previously covered by the
Progress. [Editor’s Note: Re
sumes and job descriptions
were submitted by the Pick
ens County Government.]
Bill Wood: Director of
Administration
As Director of Adminis
tration for the Pickens
County Board of Commis
sioners, Bill Wood is tasked
with helping the Pickens
County Government better
deliver valuable county serv
ices through more effective
operations, more efficient use
of taxpayer funds, and more
government transparency.
Reporting to Chairman
Kris Stancil, Wood oversees
the operations of nine depart
ments: Finance; Public
Works; Water & Sewer;
Parks & Recreation; Plan
ning & Development; Recy
cling & Waste; Human
Resources; Buildings &
Grounds and Grants & Pro
curement.
In addition, Wood also as
sists the Chairman and the
Board of Commissioners
with matters related to poli
cies, transactions, contracts
and ordinances.
Prior to joining Pickens
County, Wood served as the
Director of Special Projects
for the Cherokee County
Board of Commissioners for
three years. There, Wood as
sisted the Board, constitu
tional officers, and other
county government leaders to
implement and execute the
county’s Five-Year Strategic
Blueprint. He did so by over
seeing the county’s largest
and most complex opera
tional matters.
Wood joined Cherokee
County after retiring from a
35-year career as a partner
and as a senior executive of
ficer at Big-4 professional
services firms and Top-5
global law firms, including
KPMG, EY and Baker
McKenzie. Wood served his
firms in both client service
and internal management ca
pacities. His responsibilities
and duties were at global,
multinational, and US-na
tional levels. He has substan
tial in-country experience
working directly with clients
and firm operations located
in the European Union,
Greater China, Japan, Singa
pore, the United States, the
United Kingdom and other
key jurisdictions located
throughout the world.
Wood’s substantive areas
of practice included business
reorganizations, corporate
mergers and acquisitions and
international and US taxa
tion. He served his firms’
most preeminent corporate
clients as both principal tech
nical advisor and client serv
ice team leader.
Originally, from Alabama,
Wood has a Bachelor of Sci
ence degree in Finance and
Economics from the Univer
sity of North Alabama and a
Juris Doctor degree from the
University of Georgia School
of Law.
W. Wesley Frye: Interim
Director of Planning &
Development
W. Wesley Frye serves as
the Interim Director of Pick
ens County’s Planning & De
velopment Department. In
that role, Frye oversees the
county’s planning, zoning,
building inspections, permit
ting, and business licensing
functions.
Frye has a career of over
37 years working for large
companies, law firms and
county governments located
throughout the southern
United States. Frye’s various
responsibilities throughout
his career have involved land
surveying, legal research re
lating to land and mineral
rights, real estate title mat
ters, tax assessments and
county planning, and devel
opment matters.
Prior to becoming Interim
Director of Planning & De
velopment, Frye served as
the county’s Deputy Director
of Planning & Development
and right-of-way specialist.
He has also served in the Tax
Assessor’s Office.
Frye attended Louisiana
Tech University and the Cen
ter for Paralegal Training. He
is a certified paralegal, a reg
istered real estate appraiser
and a licensed real estate
agent. Frye is married and
has three children and three
grandchildren.
Justin Kilgore: Director of
Grants & Procedures
Justin Kilgore has been a
resident of Pickens County
for almost two years. Kilgore
relocated to Pickens County
upon being selected to serve
as Pickens County Govern
ment’s Director of Planning
& Development in February
of2020. He now serves in the
role of Director of Grants &
Procurement.
This transition has al
lowed him to utilize his
knowledge and experience to
further the efficiency and
productivity of the county
while supporting other de
partments with grant writing
assistance. Bom and raised in
Henry County, Kilgore is a
graduate of Eagles Landing
Christian Academy. Subse
quently, he attended Georgia
Southern University, earning
his Bachelor’s Degree in Ge
ography. He obtained his
Master’s Degree in Commu
nity and Economic Develop
ment from Penn State
University.
Prior to working for Pick
ens County, Kilgore was em
ployed by the City of
Hoschton (Jackson County),
where he served as Interim
City Administrator and Pub
lic Development Director. He
has also worked for the State
of Georgia in the Department
of Community Affairs, as
well as in the Planning De
partments of Henry County
and the City of Stockbridge.
Kilgore is a proud father
to 3-year-old twins, who he
shares with his fiance, Pick
ens County Government’s
Public Information Officer
Nina Mora. In his free time,
Kilgore enjoys spending time
with his family, serving as a
Rotarian with the local Ro
tary Club, working on his
property, hunting, and restor
ing classic trucks.
Continued From 1A
Elections
Pickens County Board of
Elections & Registration, 83
Pioneer Rd, Jasper, GA
30143.
Completed mail-in absen
tee ballots: Completed absen
tee ballots will be mailed to,
or placed by the voter or
other qualified party, in the
absentee ballot drop box lo
cated inside Pickens County
Board of Elections & Regis
tration, 83 Pioneer Rd.,
Jasper, Ga, 30143.
Completed absentee bal
lots that are mailed must be
received by November 2 at 7
p.m. The absentee ballot
drop box will be accessible
only during advance in-per-
son voting and only inside at
the Pickens County Board of
Elections & Registration as
follows:
•October 12 - October 15,
2021, Tuesday through Fri
day, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
•October 16, 2021, Satur
day, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
•October 18 - October 22,
2021, Monday through Fri
day, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
•October 23, 2021, Satur
day, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
•October 25 - October 29,
2021, Monday through Fri
day, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
November 2,2021 - Gen
eral Election will be held at
the following precincts’ polls
and will be open from 7 a.m.
to 7 p.m.
City of Jasper: Jasper Po
lice Department, 55 Dixie
St., Suite C, Jasper, Ga.,
30143
City of Nelson: Nelson
City Hall, 1985 Kennesaw
Ave., Nelson, Ga., 30151
City of Talking Rock:
Talking Rock Community
Continued From 1A
Photo/Damon Howell
Recent visitors to Talking Rock Park have likely noticed white spray-painted boxes
alongside the walking path. These demarcations are where vendor booths will be for the
new festival orientation, which relocates the event inside the park.
Festival
and keeping the main road
open to traffic also means
festival organizers don’t have
to hire as many deputies to
direct traffic.
Parking will be in the two-
acre field at the rear of the
park.
Sams said the public and
local businesses have been
pleased with the return of
Heritage Days.
“Oh yes, people have been
very supportive,” she said.
“The businesses wanted us to
have it, too. If people decide
for themselves they don’t
want to be out in public that’s
a decision they can make.”
There are no shortage of
vendors this year, either.
“We’ve got a lot of ven
dors signing up,” she said.
“We’ve got a great selection
of arts and crafts and antiques
- some are returning and
some are new. I have had to
turn away a few that wanted
to do more retail items, but
we’ve stayed true the last 27
years and we’re going to con
tinue to do that.”
Limiting vendors to an
tiques or handmade arts and
crafts gives the festival more
of a homespun feel, she said.
Vendor space is still avail
able. Interested parties can
register until Friday, Oct.
15th, the day before the
event. Cost is $75 for one
12’xl2’ tent, and $65 for ad
ditional tents. Max is three
tents per vendor. Food ven
dors are $80, with a $10
power hook up fee if needed.
Additional food vendor
booths after the first are $70,
with a limit of three per ven
dor. Non-profit booth fees are
$25 (inside Pickens County),
and $50 (outside Pickens
County), both with power in
cluded. Visit www.talk-
ingrockga.com for an
application.
Music, featuring bluegrass
and southern gospel acts, will
begin at noon both Saturday
and Sunday.
If you would like to vol
unteer to work at the festival
contact Sams at the Town of
Talking Rock office at 706-
253-5515.
The Talking Rock Her
itage Days festival will be
held Saturday, Oct. 16 and
Sunday October 17 from 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
Please
Help
Local charity looking for office space to store donated toys
Toys for Tots is seeking a building or store front in Pickens
County to accept and store toy donations. If you are able to
assist or have suggestions please call Bill Craig, commandant
of Marine Corp. 770-316-9616.
Center, 4675 Highway
136W, Talking Rock, Ga.,
30175
November 30, 2021 -
Run-off election will be held
should one be required.
Pickens County Board of
Elections and Registration is
located at 83 Pioneer Rd.,
Jasper, Ga. 30143. You may
contact Ms. Stacey Godfrey,
Elections & Registration Su
pervisor at sagodfrey@pick-
enscountyga.gov, and/or
Elections and Registration
assistant Mrs. Rhonda Wag
goner, at rwaggoner@pick-
enscountyga.gov; or call 706-
253-8781 during normal
business hours, Monday
through Friday, 8 a.m. until 5
p.m.
Continued From 1A
Nelson
provements in the facilities,
recreation, infrastructure and
quality-of-life in our little
town. A place where your
voice will be heard. We will
meet to share interests and
ideas on how we can support
the council, city enhance
ments, community events
and more.”
The committee will work
closely with Nelson City
Council to hammer out an ac
tion plan.
A few weeks ago commit
tee leaders mailed flyers
throughout the community to
solicit members. Around 20
people had signed up as of
press time. The group hopes
to attract more interested
parties from a cross-section
of the city, including the
neighborhoods of Nelson
Oaks, Nelson Ridge, Win
chester Oaks, Laurel Heights,
and mid-town.
The committee formed
after several tumultuous
months regarding issues with
park renovations and others,
including general manage
ment of the city. Council
meetings became heated on
several occasions as these is
sues were discussed by lead
ers and concerned citizens
who attended.
“The basis for this com
mittee is a general feeling
amongst a large portion of
the residents that over the
years [that] the city council
has not done a good job of
planning and managing the
city of Nelson,” the group’s
website states. “Increasingly,
residents are feeling that the
city council has little interest
in making the kinds of im
provements to our town that
are happening in towns all
across America, big and
small, and it’s time for a
change.”
For their first project,
members began sprucing up
the area at the comer of Ken
nesaw Avenue and School
Street with flowering plants
and mulch. The community
is invited to attend an event
to mark completion of the
first project this Saturday,
Oct. 2 from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
The event will be held at the
site of the first beautification
project, which is at that inter
section at the city of Nelson
welcome sign. Final plant
ings will be done during that
time as well. Mayor Sylvia
Green and Keith Johnston
will speak, along with any
one else who wishes to ad
dress the crowd.
If you would like to join
Beautiful Nelson, visit the
website at www.Beautiful-
Nelson.com.
Continued From 1A
Prison
cide last year and 18 so far
this year.
The Georgia Department
of Corrections responded to
the announcement with a
statement denying has failed
to protect inmates in its
charge from harm due to vio
lence.
On Thursday, Jennifer
Bradley told the committee
she is still seeking answers
following the stabbing death
of her son, Juwon Frye, at
Macon State Prison in March
of last year. She said it was
inmates - not prison officials
- who first notified her of his
death - and she still has not
received his belongings.
Stephanie Lee testified
that her son, Justin Wilker-
son, who suffered from bipo
lar disorder and
schizophrenia, made multiple
suicide attempts before being
killed last January after he
was placed in a cell with an
inmate serving a life sentence
without parole for malice
murder.
“The GDC (Georgia De
partment of Corrections)
failed to address and treat his
mental illness,” Lee said.
“[Then], the GDC failed to
protect Justin.”
Atteeyah Hollie, a lawyer
with the Atlanta-based
Southern Center for Human
Rights Georgia’s prison sys
tem is guilty of a glaring lack
of transparency.
Hollie said the agency
hasn’t issued a press release
following an inmate suicide
in two years. Thirteen in
mates died in state custody
during the first half of this
month, again with no word
from the department, she
said.
“We shouldn’t have to
search Facebook to learn
about deaths in state-run in
stitutions,” she said.
That lack of transparency
includes information on the
spread of COVID-19 inside
the prison system.
Hope Johnson, a data spe
cialist with the UCLA School
of Law’s COVID Behind
Bars Data Project, said the
Georgia prison system’s
COVID-19 fatality rate of
2.4% is second worst in the
nation.
However, the data is in
complete because the depart
ment stopped reporting new
deaths from the virus last
March, Johnson said. The
agency also removed data on
the number of COVID cases
among Georgia inmates in
July, she said.
A correctional officer at
Lee Arrendale State Prison,
who declined to identify him
self for fear of retaliation,
testified via cellphone the
prison system is plagued by a
shortage of guards and med
ical staff.
He said Arrendale has six
to seven correctional officers
on duty “on a good day” to
watch 1,200 inmates.
“In these situations, you
have to take into considera
tion your own safety versus
their safety,” he said.
McLaurin said Georgia
Corrections Commissioner
Timothy Ward was invited to
testify at Thursday’s hearing
but declined to attend.
At the end of the hearing,
McLaurin said Democrats
will continue pressing the
agency to make needed re
forms.
"The only way we can get
change is telling these sto
ries," he said. "These prob
lems won't go away if we
ignore them."
This story is available
through a news partnership
with Capitol Beat News
Service, a project of the
Georgia Press Educational
Foundation.