Pickens County progress. (Jasper, Ga.) 1899-current, July 21, 2022, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextThursday, July 21, 2022 | Volume 135 Number 14 | Jasper, Georgia | 18 pages, 2 sections | Published Weekly | $1-00 To confirm Ga. Highland couples’ ID investigators will rely on DNA sample No foul play by anyone outside home suspected By Angela Reinhardt Staff Writer areinhardt@pickensprogess.com Autopsy results for the couple found dead in a Burnt Mountain area home last week are pending, awaiting DNA samples from family that authorities hope will confirm their identity. Inves tigators believe the bodies were in the house for at least a year and a half when they were discovered. “I’m satisfied that it’s them, but the DNA will pro vide forensic identification,” said Pickens County Sher iff’s Criminal Investigation Division Commander John Cagle. The bodies were in such severe states of decomposi tion that without DNA sam ples investigators believe it would be difficult to get a confirmation. It is also sus pected that cause of death will be difficult to confirm. Investigators found the bodies of the couple they be lieve to be that of Keith Neerman, 67, and Deborah Neerman, 72, in their home at in the Georgia Highlands subdivision after a bank em ployee visited the house, which was being foreclosed on due to non-payment. The employee arrived at the home at 1823 Highland Parkway around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 23 to take photos of the interior. After finding the doors locked, the employee forced his way in side and discovered a de ceased male on a mattress on See Bodies on 9A photos/Pickens County Sheriff’s Office Driver’s license photos of Keith and Deborah Neerman who were found dead in their home in a secluded subdi vision on Burnt Mountain. Nelson news Veggie thefts lead to second security camera in Nelson community garden Page 10A Pies in the face for paws photo/Max Caylor By Max Caylor Contributing Writer Above, City Manager Sonia Jammes proved to a be good sport Sat urday, allowing Jasper Mayor Steve Lawrence to push a pie into her face as part of the Community Thrift Store’s Christmas in July, benefiting animal/pet groups. The pie in the face fundraiser also featured Sheriff Donnie Craig, and Pickens Public Safety Director Sloan Elrod - see photos on page 10A. Sheriff Craig expressed the senti ments of Jammes and Elrod saying, “Let’s raise some money for Pickens pets.” “We wanted to have a free family event and a fundraiser to further help our non-profits with animal rescue being the recipients of the donations,” said Thrift Store President Sarge Bishop. The funds raised will be divided See Pies on 10A LOST negotiations open with Jasper seeking 9 percent increase in sales tax allocations Like a real estate power play Offices on the move The fate of this unpopu-\ lar county office on Pioneer\ Road is unknown with the\ elections staff set to move to\ space in half the state patrol\ post in August. By Dan Pool Editor dpool@pickensprogress.com Much like those house swapping/real estate shows, a handful of Pickens organi zations are all on the move with at least one having no clear destination and one building with no immediate future. First, the county’s elec tion office staff will leave their widely criticized loca tion on Pioneer Road for a space in half of the Ga. State Patrol Post on Camp Road in mid-August. Commission Chair Kris Stancil said the work to con vert half the GSP post into an election office at the county owned building is about 75 percent complete. The move will allow the three-person staff a more ef ficient workspace and add better space for work on Election Day and will be ca pable of accommodating the public when results are re leased. Initially the plan is for all early voting to continue at the community center at Roper Park. At the commu nity center, they are going to move voting from the back comer of the building to a front meeting room for bet- See Offices on 9A By Christie Pool Staff Writer christie@pickensprogess.com In the first of three sched uled meetings held Tuesday, July 19th at Chattahoochee Tech, representatives from Pickens County and the cities of Jasper, Talking Rock and Nelson met to lay out their plans and discus sion points for the required renegotiation of proceeds from the county’s one per cent Local Option Sales Tax (LOST). Officials are required to renegotiate within two years of the Census, according to Pickens County Commis sion Chair Kris Stancil. The LOST is a permanent tax un less a referendum is passed to repeal it or if a new distri bution certificate is not filed with the Department of Rev enue every 10 years. For the past 10 years, Pickens County has received 70 percent of all LOST pro ceeds here while the city of Jasper has received 25.7%, Nelson 2.8% and Talking Rock 1.5%. In opening the meeting, Stancil pointed out that all county and city representa tives were new to the nego tiations, as all had been elected since the last agree ment was reached 10 years ago. “Our objective is simple. We are here to seek the com prehensive solution that best meets the needs of all 34,322 of Pickens County’s unin corporated and incorporated residents,” Stancil said. Sales taxes in Georgia are based on the four percent state rate plus any local rate up to another five percent. There is just one county out of 159 in Georgia with a nine percent sales tax. Stan cil said Pickens County was one of 54 counties with a seven percent sales tax. There are 99 counties at eight percent and five coun ties with six percent. Ten counties in the state do not impose a LOST: Bulloch, Chattooga, Cherokee, Cobb, Colquitt, Gwinnett, Haber sham, Houston, Mitchell, and Rabun. Stancil said Pickens County would present their proposed percentage distri bution figures at the next meeting on Tuesday, July 26th. He said county offi cials are looking at a host of items to determine their numbers including service delivery, point of sale, and ensuring the best outcome for all residents. “We are looking at what services are being provided by which group. That is ex tremely important,” he said. Stancil said if an agree ment is not met, sales tax would go down but “prop- See Lost on 9A Good Vibes Series Making sweet sounding guitars By Alex Goble Staff Writer agoble@pickensprogress.com Mike Williford got into the guitar trade when he discovered the square neck dobro. “I bought one at Guitar Center and just started tinkering around and putting parts in it and Wayne (his friend and mentor) said ‘Why don’t you build one?,’ and I said Pssh- htt. Yeah right.” Well, one thing led to another and he built a guitar. He’s on guitar number 32 right now. There are a lot of difficult steps that go into making a guitar, one of which is the neck. The neck can be daunting to people starting out with guitar building and repairs. Williford didn’t do his first neck until guitar number eight, but just like making the gui tars themselves, now he finds that daunting step to be one of the most fun parts of the process. It’s a process that Williford estimates takes 200 hours from start to finish. At the start he asks question after question to the customer: What’s it for? Where will you be See Good Vibes on 9A photo/Alex Goble Mike Williford shows how he prepares to make a new neck in his basement shop. He cautions it takes thousands in tools and supplies to make guitars. School meals no longer free for all students Page 8A Crime Sheriff’s Beat weekly wrap-up Page 4B Obituaries - 5A • Annie Mulkey • David Stanfield • Donnie Fowler • Emiline Burgess • Edward Hamrick • Shirley Pass 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" o

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Pickens County progress. (Jasper, Ga.) 1899-current, July 21, 2022, Image 1