About Pickens County progress. (Jasper, Ga.) 1899-current | View Entire Issue (July 7, 2022)
Thursday, July 7, 2022 | Volume 135 Number 12 | Jasper, Georgia | 22 pages, 2 sections | Published Weekly | $1.00 Two bodies found in Georgia Highlands home had been there well over a year, investigators say Photo/qPublic Investigators believe the bodies found in this home are the couple who owned it. The first body was discovered by a bank employee taking pho tographs for foreclosure proceedings who called 911. By Angela Reinhardt Staff Writer areinhardt@pickensprogress.com Two bodies were discovered in side a Georgia Highlands subdivi sion home last week. Authorities believe the bodies had been in the house for at least a year-and-a-half, and possibly more. Pickens Sheriff’s Criminal Inves tigation Division Capt. John Cagle described the macabre scene that un folded after a bank employee came to the house at 1823 Highland Park way, which was being foreclosed on. The employee arrived at the home around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 23 to get photos of the interior. After finding the doors locked, the employee forced his way in and discovered a deceased male on a mattress on the floor in the master bedroom, which had no bedroom furniture in it. There was an open laptop on the mattress. The employee immediately con tacted authorities who arrived shortly after and discovered the re mains of a female in the master bath room jacuzzi tub. Investigators be lieve her body had been in the home longer than the male’s because of the differing states of decomposition. The home was in disarray, with trash littering much of the interior when deputies arrived. The power was also off. “Initially, we thought they may have been squatters,” Cagle said. The remains are believed to be those of Deborah Neerman, 72, and Keith Neerman, 67, the couple who owned the home, but because of the badly deteriorated state of the bodies and lack of dental and other records, Cagle doubts they can get a positive identification. At this time cause of death is un known, but no foul play is suspected in terms of an outside party entering the home. It was noted that Mr. Neerman had been arrested in Pickens County See Bodies on 11A Distinctive, meat-allergy causing tick has made Pickens home By Alex Goble Staff Writer agoble@piekensprogress.com Over Memorial Day| weekend 2021 Robin Dunn was at his family lake home in Florida when he found something odd attached to | his leg. It was slightly larger than a pinhead. That something was a tick. Dunn pulled it off with out much thought and re turned home to Jasper. Then, in late June 2021, he drove up to Fredericks burg Va. to visit his brother and sister-in-law. He was about an hour and a half) from their house and getting hungry when he stopped at a Wendy’s to get a ham-| burger. After eating he con tinued north. An hour later he noticed that his hands were turning a bright shade See Tick on 11A photo/cdc.gov One Progress staff mem ber has spotted a lone star tick here, with its unique spot eerily visible, warning of the potential problems it can cause. Celebrating the 4th in a small town draws big crowd to streets, park photo/Robin Dunn s ■■PL- ■> \ r k , —• ■- m HR 1 i- 5SP | 1 | i * ij 11 ml' ' F -C— tp It was hot, but not too hot to turn away the crowds this year for the Jasper Lions annual July 4th celebra tion. The streets were packed as was the carnival. The Jasper Fire Chief said they had no calls from the events, but had prepared with a tent downtown just in case. Lions leader Leslie Miller thanked all the volunteers who made all the different activities in town possible. The Lions have been hosting the Independence Day celebration here almost every year since 1939. See Photo Essay from Robin Dunn on small town July 4th celebration on Page 5-7A. First responders receive Narcan packs, training Nasal spray to revive opioid overdoses used on three calls in same day By Dan Pool Editor dpool@pickensprogress.com Jasper fire and police per sonnel along with sheriff deputies attended training and were given a fresh sup ply of Narcan nasal spray to treat opioid overdoses Thursday. The free supply of the drug that is considered a life- saver for many overdose pa tients was provided by Jasper Drag Store, Highland Rivers Health and the More house School of Medicine, and it came at a particularly needed time. The day before, July 29th, first responders used the nasal spray drag on three separate calls where people had overdosed. A Jasper fire official described the kits as “Narcan nasal spray is a po tentially lifesaving medica tion that is used to reverse the effects of an opioid over dose within minutes.” Jasper Assistant Fire Chief Von Headrick said three times in a day across the county is unusual but overdose calls come in spurts. He said the county may go a month without a single opioid overdose, then you get a wave. Headrick and other offi cers at the class said one leading theory on the waves of overdoses could trace back to a batch of drugs being brought into the county with higher levels of fentanyl, the deadly additive that often shows up in drags. Jasper Fire Chief John Scherrer said opioids are definitely sweeping the country and present an addi tional challenge to first re sponders. He said it’s great that they See Narcan on 11A Good Vibes Series Smoking and barbecuing meat By Angela Reinhardt Staff Writer areinhardt@piekensprogress.com Alan Home describes his love of smok ing and barbecuing meat as “much more than a hobby.” They’re passions sparked by a childhood of cooking, fanned by his love of the process, then shared as his own form of community service. “Growing up our biggest family time was around meals that we would prepare, whether it was a fish fry or a barbeque,” Home said. “That was the big bonding time. Like a lot of southern families, life revolved around that dinner table. We took it a step further and we all cooked very young, and things went from there for me.” He loves cooking in general, but slow- cooking meat is his favorite. “It’s a stress relief and decompression ac tivity for me,” Home said. “Smoking and barbequing is a longer process and you can really dive into it. I especially enjoy the tra ditional way of cooking with wood where you’re managing your fire and managing See Good Vibes on 11A Alan Horne’s passion for barbecue and cooking devel oped young where he says family time revolved around meals and food. Here, Horne gets Boston butts prepped for a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club. He estimates that there were 180 butts cooked that day by everyone involved. For Kids Maze Craze Can you find the way through tt Give your kids, grandkids a challenge every week with our Kids Page. Page 5B Big Canoe Chapel awards scholarships Page 2A Tips for fishing in the heat Page 1B Obituaries - 9A • Damie Morris • Debbie Grimes • Dolores Veazey • Patricia North Contact Us 94 North Main Street Jasper, Ga. 30143 706-253-2457 pickensproaress.com Open for business during these hours: Mon-Thurs, 9-5, and Fri, 9-4:30 $1.00 per copy 4879 08163" 0
