Newspaper Page Text
Continued From 1A
THURSDAY. OCTOBER 14. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 11A
Renovation
depot. Both phases will be
covered by the $200,000
budget.
(Note: The depot commit
tee has since disbanded, and
the project is being handled
directly by the county and
Pickens Economic Develop
ment Director Green Suttles).
When asked about plans for
staffing/hours at the depot
after construction is com
plete, Denney later told the
Progress, “We haven’t gotten
that far yet. Right now we are
getting the renovation com
pleted and commissioners
will go from there.”
The renovation project de
signer is also sister of the
owner of downtown Tate
business Mimi’s at Bell’s
Family Pharmacy, and said
the depot already gains sig
nificant interest from visitors
even sitting empty.
“We have a presence in
Tate and we want to keep the
area growing,” Bates said.
“So many people stop at the
pharmacy every week and
ask, what’s at the depot? Peo
ple come up to see Gibb’s
Gardens, for Amicalola Falls,
for weddings and various
things, and everyone wants to
stop and know more about
the Tate Depot.. .I’m very ex
cited to be a part of it. It’s
going to be a beautiful proj
ect when it’s done,” she said.
Bates has been a resident
of Pickens County since
1994, and has worked as a
commercial interior designer
for 35 years. For 27 of those
years, she has been senior de
signer for UPS’s corporate
headquarters in Sandy
Springs and other UPS sites
in the Atlanta area. More re
cently she has been accepting
work in Pickens County, in
cluding Trinity Church in
Marble Hill, the Pickens
Progress, and multiple home-
site renovations.
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Big Canoe resident Bill Gibson has donated his expansive model train set to be displayed inside the Tate Depot.
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Poll workers Tuesday outside the early voting precinct
at the Community Center. All early voting is there for voters
inside city limits of Jasper, Nelson and Talking Rock.
Voting
the city limits of Talking
Rock, Nelson and Jasper.
Voters who do not reside in
any city limit have this elec
tion off entirely. There are no
ballot questions at all for res
idents of unincorporated
areas.
Two people arrived early
Tuesday only to find that
their residences are out of the
city-limits and thus not eligi
ble to vote. This may pose
confusion in Talking Rock
especially, where there is a
larger voting precinct but
only 56 registered voters in
side the town limits. Accord
ing to preliminary figures
from the election office:
Jasper has 2,615 registered
voters; Nelson - 854 (391 in
Pickens and 463 in Chero
kee) registered voters and
Talking Rock - 56 registered
voters.
Early voting runs October
12 through October 29th,
Monday through Friday from
8 a.m. until 5 p.m. There are
two Saturday voting days,
October 16th and October 23,
9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
On Election Day Novem
ber 2, voters will go to their
different town voting loca
tions, not the community
center. Jasper’s polling loca
tion is NOT city hall. It is at
the Jasper Police/Courts
building at 55 Dixie Street.
Nelson and Talking Rock
voters will vote at their city
halls on Election Day.
All the towns have coun
cil seats up for grabs, but no
mayoral seats will change.
Nelson’s mayor is up for
election but no one qualified
to run against incumbent
Sylvia Green. The mayoral
seats in Talking Rock and
Jasper are not up for election
at this time.
Races:
• Jasper Council- Incum
bent Sonny Proctor versus
Ryan O’Dea;
• Jasper Council- Incum
bent Anne Sneve runs unop
posed to continue serving in
her seat;
•Nelson - Post 1 Incum
bent James Queen versus
Terry Johnson;
•Nelson - Post 2 Michael
Brown versus William Tay
lor. [Note: Incumbent Susan
Johnston’s name will appear
on the ballot but she has
withdrawn. Votes cast for
Johnston will not be tabu
lated].
•Talking Rock - Post 1 In
cumbent Andrea Watson ver
sus Steven Lewis;
•Talking Rock - Post 2 In
cumbent Anthony Hawf ver
sus Cheryl Sams;
•Talking Rock - Post 4 In
cumbent James Bryant, Jr.
versus Daryl Cain.
Voters can determine their
registration and also their sta
tus by logging onto the My
Voter Page at the Georgia
Secretary of State website.
Google “My Voter Page” or
call the local election office
at 706-253-8781. Absentee
ballots may be requested by
calling or logging on as well.
Continued From 1A
Resign
her resignation is effective.
The Progress followed up
with a brief Q&A with the
outgoing commissioner:
What are you most proud of
during your time in office?
I am very proud of our fi
nancial position - we meet
with department heads to
make sure we stayed at or
below budget. The commis
sion board approved and
built two new fire stations in
the county; we purchased a
recycling building and reno
vated it; and we built a new
public works building.
We also worked on poli
cies and procedures, such as
our retirement plan and
health insurance for our em
ployees, to ensure that Pick
ens County is a great
workplace. Most recently, I
have been working with a
group on renovation of the
Tate Depot for both historic
and economic development
purposes.
How has the county
changed since you took of
fice? Do you feel it is going
in a good direction?
The county has changed
so much since I took office in
2013. The biggest change is
the growth that we are expe
riencing. As a native of Pick
ens it is exciting to see, but I
feel that we need to make
sure it is managed growth,
and we must keep our zoning
up-to-date. We have a very
good planning and develop
ment department, and our
board of planning and devel
opment does a good job also.
Another change is seeing a
new city administration,
which we work closely with.
I feel that Pickens is moving
in a good direction with
Chairman Stancil and Mayor
Lawrence working closely
together. Also, our chamber
of commerce and our eco
nomic development director
are working hard for Pickens
County and doing a terrific
job
What are some takeaways
you have from being an
elected official?
I quickly learned that
things do not happen fast in
government. I was previously
a small business owner and
could make a change or deci
sion and move quickly on it,
but it is slower in govern
ment.
I also learned that you
can’t do everything that is
asked of you. It is important
to follow rides and regula
tions and treat each citizen
the same.
What will you miss about
being in office?
I will miss everything
about being an elected offi-
Continued From 1A
Case
was not uncommon for
Buchanan to work remotely
from a Talking Rock Falls
Road home he was living in
with members of his ex-
wife’s family. He was living
in this home while building
his own home on a 50-acre
piece of property, also in
Pickens County. After the ini
tial investigation of the com
puter at the Gainesville
business, Buchanan was in
terviewed by investigators at
the Talking Rock Falls Road
residence where two laptops,
a cell phone, and an Apple
Watch were confiscated.
During the probable cause
hearing, defense attorney
Scott Poole, of Grisham,
Poole, & Carlile, argued that
at this point there is no proof
Annie is who she says she is,
or that she or the 13-year-old
girl exist in real life. When
asked, the GBI agent said
their identities have not been
confirmed and that no contact
has been made with either
person, but that they are
working with Homeland Se
curity to obtain IP addresses
and make connections with
appropriate agencies in the
Philippines.
Poole also argued
Buchanan did not take “sub
stantial steps” that would
demonstrate probable cause,
with no indication that his of
fers were accepted, that no
payment arrangements or
travel plans were ever made,
and that some of Buchanan’s
emails did not gamer a re
sponse for a long period of
time which led to an “aban
donment of effort” on his
part. The existence of the girl
and her mother was brought
into question several times,
with Poole commenting that
anyone can get photos off the
internet and post/email them.
The GBI agent said law
states the existence of these
persons does not matter, but
rather whether or not the de
fendant believed he was en
gaging with a real person.
Judge Cornwell ultimately
found there to be probable
cause to proceed.
During the bond hearing,
where all attorneys and wit
nesses were logged in to the
hearing virtually with the
judge in the physical court
room, one of Buchanan’s
daughters testified. She said
she never witnessed her fa
ther, who coached her soccer
teams when she was younger,
demonstrate inappropriate
actions toward her female
friends, and also that he was
never violent or threatening.
She believed he would not be
a flight risk because he would
in effect be forfeiting a rela
tionship with her, her sisters,
and his grandchildren.
Buchanan’s ex-wife was
also a witness. The defense
attorney spoke on her behalf.
Poole said she had been a
middle school counselor and
dealt with children in crisis,
including those who are vic
tims of abuse, but that there
was no indication of inappro
priate behavior towards un
derage girls during the their
marriage.
The state requested
Buchanan not be granted a
bond under any conditions,
citing concerns that he would
be a flight risk and that be
cause of the nature of the of
fenses it would be difficult to
keep him from committing
similar crimes.
The defense requested a
bond amount of $50,000 and
a condition that his email be
monitored. Poole said on the
surface the fact that
Buchanan has property in the
Philippines would appear to
be “potential trouble,” but
that logistically his means of
travelling commercially have
been removed. Buchanan,
who was bom in Ireland, has
a Green Card and passports,
all of which have all been
confiscated. Poole also said
there is a travel ban to the
Philippines at this time. He
noted that Buchanan has re
tained and paid for their
firm’s legal counsel for the
duration of the case; that he
has strong ties to the Pickens
County community, includ
ing valuable property; and
that the pandemic has de
layed many court systems,
which means there is no
guarantee the case would be
resolved in a timely manner
while he remains incarcer
ated without bond for an un
known, possibly lengthy,
period of time.
Judge Cornwell did not
find evidence to show
Buchanan would or could in
timidate witnesses or be a
danger, but said he does have
a “big concern” that the de
fendant would flee. His de
termination was based on
Buchanan’s property owner
ship in the Philippines, and
the fact that he does not have
his own residence in Pickens
County at this time. Family
friends have offered to let
him stay at their house in
south Pickens if he is re
leased on bond, but the judge
said he did not know the cou
ple or what kind of people
they are.
Judge Cornwell told attor
neys the requested bond
amount of $50,000 was much
too low considering the
charges, and asked both the
state and defense to submit
requests for an appropriate
bond amount as well as spe
cial conditions that would
prevent the defendant from
fleeing. The judge mentioned
ankle monitors, a curfew, and
prohibiting internet access as
possibilities. State and de
fense were directed to submit
their proposals by the follow
ing Friday, Oct. 15.
Investigations were con
ducted by the GBI’s CEACC
Unit, Hall County Sheriff’s
Office, the Pickens County
Sheriff’s Office, and the
Homeland Security Investi
gations Office in Dalton, Ga.
cial. I have made lasting
friendships with the county
employees. I greatly admire
the good job that they do for
Pickens County. Also, I
greatly admire the job that
each and every one of our
elected officials does.
I would like to thank our
citizens for the kindness they
have shown me during my
time on the board of commis
sioners. I hope that someone
will step up to run that will
enjoy the job as much as I
have.
Called School Board meeting
Oct. 14, 2021 at 5 p.m.
Pickens County Board of Education Central Office
100 DB Carroll Street • Jasper, Georgia 30143
The Pickens County Board of Education will meet on Thursday, Oc
tober 14 at 5:00 p.m. for a called board meeting and will continue
to follow the Department of Public Health and Pickens County
Schools COVID-19 guidelines for distancing and masking.
I. Call to Order
II. Approval of Agenda
III. Executive Session
IV. Approval of Executive Session Minutes
V. Adjourn
Regular School Board meeting
Oct. 14, 2021 at 6 p.m.
Pickens County Board of Education Central Office
100 DB Carroll Street • Jasper, Georgia 30143
The Pickens County Board of Education will meet on Thursday, Oc
tober 14 at 6:00 pm for the regular monthly board meeting and
will continue to follow the Department of Public Health and Pickens
County Schools COVID-19 guidelines for distancing and masking.
This meeting will be available for viewing at;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L45CRQ89m-g&ab_chan-
nehPCBOEGA
I. Call to Order
II. Invocation
III. Pledge of Allegiance
IV. Approval of Agenda
V. Superintendent Reports
A. Financial Update - Amy Smith, Chief Financial Officer
B. Operations and Construction - Stacy Gilleland, Chief
Operations Officer
VI. Action Items
A. Approval of Personnel
B. Approval of Financial Reports
C. Approval of Amended Bus Driver Schedule
D. Approval of M0U with GA Hope
E. Approval of GMP for Pickens High School Agricultural
Facility
F. Approval of Minutes
G. Approval of Surplus
1. Kitchen Equipment for Removal from Property Control
Inventory
VII. Public Participation
VIII. Board Comments
IX. Adjourn