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Thursday, December 2, 2021 | Volume 134 Number 33 | Jasper, Georgia | 28 pages, 2 sections | Published Weekly | $1-00
Night of Lights Christmas
Parade Saturday
The Christmas season is offi
cially here, with the much-loved
Night of Lights Christmas Parade
rolling down Jasper’s Main Street
on Saturday, Dec. 4.
The parade starts at 6 p.m., but
festivities begin earlier at 2 p.m.
when food trucks and vendors will
be on site. Also included in the
day’s events are performances by
Pickens school choruses, a tree
lighting ceremony, and reading of
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
by Lawton Baggs.
The parade will begin at the his
toric wooden bridge and travel
south down Main Street. If you
would still like to participate,
floats, walkers, and vehicles can
enter the parade up to the day of the
event - just meet at the staging area
at Revolution Church. Entry forms
can be found on the Jasper Mer
chant’s Association Facebook page.
This year’s theme is “Polar Ex
press.”
JMA President Haley Bouchie
said weather is shaping up to be
perfect, and she thanked volunteers
and sponsor T-Mobile. Jasper coun
cil member Kirk Raffield will be
M.C. for the event. First, second,
and third place prizes will be
awarded.
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New to this year’s downtown Jasper Christmas parade are two lighted ornaments that provide the perfect
backdrop for all your selfie-taking needs. Be sure to tag your selfie or photo ttJustJasper on social media. The
Downtown Development Authority purchased the lights to enhance Main Street’s aesthetic during the holiday
season. (L-R) DDA members Parish Lowrie, Amy Leake, Marty Callahan, Brad Stephens, Jack Dunn, and
Dave Garner. Downtown Development Authority / Photo
Yes Boo Boo, bears do hibernate in north Ga.
Hibernation might not mean what you think — According
to National Geographic.com, "Despite what you may have
heard, species that hibernate don’t “sleep” during the winter.
Hibernation is an extended form of torpor, a state where me
tabolism is depressed to less than five percent of normal."
A trail cam photo from the Grandview area shows a bear fattened-up
for winter in mid-November. The bear showed up regularly through early
November but hasn’t shown up recently.
Stabbing
suspect is
still at large
Pickens Sheriff / Photo
This is the most recent photo
authorities have of suspect Les
ley Darnell Mulkey. Jasper Po
lice say he has likely shaved his
head and facial hair since this
photo was taken. Mulkey has a
scar above the left eye on his
eyebrow.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
The Ellijay man charged with
stabbing another man at a restau
rant in Jasper earlier this month
is still at large, with authorities
urging anyone with information
about his whereabouts to contact
911.
The stabbing occurred during
a game of comhole on Sunday,
Nov. 7 at approximately 9:30
p.m. at a downtown Jasper
restaurant. According to authori
ties, Lesley Darnell Mulkey, 40,
stabbed a 30-year-old Talking
Rock man twice in the abdomen
then fled the scene. Mulkey
struck another vehicle as he left.
Jasper’s Interim Police Chief
Matt Dawkins said on Monday,
Nov. 29 that Mulkey’s vehicle, a
red Subaru Forester, had been
found by the Gilmer County
Sheriff’s Office at a relative’s
house in Ellijay. Authorities were
See Stabbing on 11A
Georgia DNR tracking
shows females more
likely than males to den
in winter
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Winters in north Georgia are rel
atively mild, which leads some peo
ple to believe our black bear
population doesn’t hibernate. But an
ongoing study by the Georgia De
partment of Natural Resources
Wildlife Division provides hard evi
dence that they do - its just that hi
bernation patterns can vary from
bear to bear depending on food
source and other factors.
“When people ask if bears hiber
nate, what people mean when they
say ‘hibernate’ is different a lot of
the times,” said Adam Hammond,
Georgia DNR senior wildlife biolo
gist and Bear Project leader who de
scribed the “advanced,
well-designed” process of a bear’s
biology that allows them to go
months without leaving their den.
“But, yes, absolutely we are finding
that a high percentage of our bears
spend time in the winter in dens.”
For the past 15 years or so
See Bears on 11A
Global demand for cake decor means
sweet success for Jasper company
Wholesale Sugar Flowers sprinkles
joy around the world
By Jennifer Paire
Contributing Writer
A Jasper-based cake decoration supplier known globally
for its stunning sugar flowers continues to blossom in new
ways.
Wholesale Sugar Flowers (WSF) is a global e-commerce
company that offers thousands of cake decorations, includ
ing the largest variety of sugar flowers in the world, to op
erations ranging from home kitchens to major hotels and
resorts.
“We love to serve our customers, that’s all the joy in the
world,” said CEO Keera Brooks, a veteran supply chain and
logistics entrepreneur who acquired the company three years
ago. “When we can help them make an experience extra spe-
jennifer Paire / Photo cu 'l for their customers and loved ones it’s wonderful and a
CEO Keera Brooks shows off Stargazer Lilies P rcat wa Y to be in business.” cakes on 11A
in dusty rose at the Philadelphia Lane operation. WSF offers thousands of deco-
JeepFest 2021 raised more than $200,000
Over Labor Day weekend 2,500
registered Jeeps hit the trails here at
the 10th JeepFest event.
Right before Thanksgiving, the
more than $200,000 raised at the
massive offroad event hit the mail
boxes of area non-profits, providing
everything from funding for Special
Olympics to snack-packs for kids
who may be in foodless homes.
The Sheriff’s Foundation of Pick
ens County issued checks to local
non-profits who help with the
county’s youth - putting meaning
into the event’s “Crawl for the Kids”
title.
The money raised by playing in
the mud in souped-up Rubicons and
Wranglers will fund a shopping
spree for disadvantaged kids next
week with the Shop with a Hero
night, help maintain the herd for a
therapeutic riding program for kids
with disabilities and see that kids in
the emergency shelter get the sup
plies they need.
Sheriff Donnie Craig, the founder
of the event, said the fundraising im
pact leaves him, “blown away,
amazed, humbled. It may be called
Sheriff’s JeepFest, but it is definitely
a community event - that’s the rea
son people keep coming back. Our
volunteers and everyone who gets
involved makes it what it is.”
Craig said the numbers this year
with registered Jeeps and funds
raised are very similar to 2019, too
close to call it a record year. But he
felt this was the best year overall
with vendors, participants, weather
and no real problems.
The funds raised come largely
See JeepFest on 11A
Inside this Edition:
Find unique gifts
at the Jasper
Farmers Market
Page 8A
Judge Worcester
seeks re-election
Page 5A
Editorial
Supply chain
crisis and
inconvenience
Page 4A
Obituaries - 9A
• Arewill Mulkey
• Barbara Childers
• Betty Henderson
• Betty Robson
• David Skaggs Sr.
• Erma Tate
• Imogene Stephens
• Jack Frainie
• Jerry Higgins
• J.R. Totherow
• Norma Willingham
• Pete Huber
• Philliip Johnson
• Phillip Strickland
• Sandra Fields
• Scotty Hulsey
• Sonia Tromby
• Thomas Gearhart
• Zyndall Hulsey
Contact Us
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Jasper, Ga. 30143
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