Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, August 4, 2022 | Volume 135 Number 16 | Jasper, Georgia | 22 pages, 2 sections | Published Weekly | $1.00
Hate mail left in driveways rattles residents
By Alex Goble
Staff Writer
agoble@pickensprogress.com
A concerned resident reached out to the
Progress this week about anti-Semitic flyers
tossed on the driveways of homes in a west Pick
ens subdivision.
The two flyers are crowded with pictures, text
and Bible verses with headings such as “Every
Single Aspect of the Pornography and Hook-Up
culture is Jewish,” and “Every Single Aspect of
Gun Control is Jewish.” They incorporate penta
grams, influential leaders with the Star of David
Photoshopped on their heads, drawings of
demons, and rants typed in extremely small text.
The resident believes that all 43 homes in the
subdivision received sandwich bags containing
the flyers with rice placed inside to keep the bags
from blowing away.
A report was made to the sheriff’s office be
cause the attempt was “pretty advanced,” said the
resident who filed the report. “It wasn’t just kids
spray painting a symbol or something.”
“It was very sad, to have it land on my drive
way, and my neighbors were very upset about it
as well,” she said. “I feel really good that our
community doesn’t want to tolerate this kind of
stuff. We have a nice town, but people should be
made aware of this kind of garbage if it’s out
there.”
The sheriff’s office received the report and
looked over the flyers. “It does not appear they
broke any law, but it put them on our radar,” said
Pickens Sheriff Donnie Craig.
Plastic sandwich bags filled with anti-Semitic
fliers were left along the street at homes in a
west Pickens subdivision.
Pickens man
sentenced to
life plus 45
for sexually
abusing step
daughter
Roger Penn Barlow
book-in photo
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Roger Penn Barlow was
sentenced to life plus 45
years in a Pickens court this
week for raping and sexually
abusing his step daughter re
peatedly over the course of
several years.
Liberty May, the step
daughter who was between
the ages of 4 and 17 when the
abuse occurred, provided an
impact statement that was
read the day of the sentenc
ing, Monday, Aug. 1. May
also provided the statement
to the Progress, and said she
wants her experience to help
other victims in the future.
“I’m very open and proud
because I want to be a voice
for people that haven’t found
theirs yet,” she told the
Progress.
A Pickens jury recently
found Barlow, 50, guilty of
rape, and multiple counts of
incest and child molestation.
In the courtroom, May was
surrounded by family includ
ing her mom, her boyfriend,
and her cousin who she calls
her big sister. After Judge
Keith Galligan sentenced
Barlow and the hearing
closed, the family embraced
outside the courtroom. One
of the family members cried
as she hugged May, and an
other was overheard telling
her how proud she was of
her.
Barlow was in an orange
See Sentencing on11A
Financing secured for crucial wastewater expansion
Jasper considers buying into Cherokee Water & Sewer Authority
Stegall section
to close while
Gennett Drive
reopens
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
At the August 1 meeting,
Jasper City Council member
Sonny Proctor announced
that the city has secured
funding for the wastewater
treatment plant expansion
project, which leaders have
said is critical as the system
is nearing permitted capac
ity.
Earlier this summer the
city was blindsided when
bids for the expansion came
in at around $10 million
more than was anticipated -
over double the original
projection.
The expansion project
will increase the city’s
wastewater treatment capac
ity from 780,000 gallons a
day to 1.56 million gallons
a day. The project has been
in the works since 2016,
with numerous holdups
caused by the Environmen
tal Protection Division and
the pandemic.
High bids were attributed
to cost and availability of
materials. The bid shocker
sent city leaders scrambling
to submit an application to
the U.S.D.A. to obtain the
additional funds, which has
since been approved.
In discussions after the
council meeting, Jasper’s
Assistant City Manager
Kim Goldener clarified de
tails of the original and new
financing arrangements
with the U.S.D.A.
“The city was originally
approved for $7,725 mil
lion,” she said. “Of this
amount, $4,748 million is
loan funding and $2,977
million is grant funding.
After bids came in signifi
cantly higher, (the)
U.S.D.A. approved the city
for an additional $10,879
million. This is all loan,
which we advised council of
the possibility of at the June
Jasper Council voted to permanently close a section
of Stegall Drive between Main Street and Mark Whit
field Street to motorists. The space has been used as a
public space for outdoor entertainment and dining.
6, 2022 council meeting.”
Goldener said the inter
est rate on the loan will be
no higher than 1.5 percent.
The city is now entering
into contracts with contrac
tors Reeves Young and T.
Stanco. Details about con
struction start date was not
available, but Goldener said
the plant modification proj
ect is expected to take 24
months.
City considers joining
Cherokee County Water &
Sewer Authority
City council is consider
ing buying into the Chero
kee County Water & Sewer
See City Council on11A
Empty mailboxes lead Marble Hill
residents to seek congressional help
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
Seeing empty mailboxes,
packages left on the ground,
wrong mail delivered and no
one to offer a solution, some
residents of Marble Hill are
now hoping Rep. Andrew
Clyde (9th District) can
help.
The mail problem first
arose in the spring when a
new contractor arrived to
handle a portion of Marble
Hill’s mail delivery. As sev
eral residents have learned
and explained to the
Progress in different inter
views, mail for Marble Hill
is delivered out of the Jasper
Post Office, not the Marble
Hill Post Office (that is only
for PO Box holders).
But, the Marble Hill mail
is not delivered by Jasper
postal employees. It is deliv
ered through an independent
contractor, based in
Philadelphia, PA who has
used people from out of
state to come here for some
of the work.
Marble Hill homeowner
Sandy Harshbarger stated in
an e-mail sent to the
Progress, the Jasper Post
master and the Congress
man’s office Tuesday, “You
continue to ignore my
emails andUSPS does noth
ing. I would complain again
with USPS but those com
plaints come right back to
you where they are ignored.
What will it take for this in
competent company to be
removed? It has been almost
one year. Every single per
son on this route has had
complaints.”
Local postal officials
Mailbox door left open
with package tied to the
back overnight on a busy
road didn’t sit well with
homeowner Sandy Harsh
barger, but often mail
Itasn’t shown up at all.
could not speak with the
press, but some of the resi
dents said they have learned
that the contract holder is his
own boss and thus not sub
ject to control by any local
postmaster.
The communications di
rector for Rep. Clyde sent
the following statement
Tuesday in response to a
Progress inquiry on their ef
forts to help: “Rep. Clyde is
aware of the mail carrier is
sues in Marble Hill, and his
staff is diligently working
with the Jasper Postmaster
to help constituents receive
mail in a timely manner.” -
Madeline Huffman,
spokesperson for Rep.
Clyde.
Jennifer Allen, who is
among those not receiving
regular mail at her Marble
Hill home on Highway 53,
was a postal employee for
32-and-a-half years in Ball
Ground and explained that
there had been problems in
See Mail Woes on 11A
+ The
Good Vibes
Series
with
Deb Moss
Barn quilts ’ long history inspires artist
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Pickens resident Deb Moss
was inspired by bam quilts
on a trip to Pennsylvania.
Now, after just a year and a
half at the craft, she’s made
nearly 200 of the colorful,
pastoral paintings with no
signs of stopping.
“I saw them going
through the country up there
visiting my son and thought,
‘Oh wow. One of these days
I’m going to do that,”’ said
Moss, who lights up while
she talks about her work.
Barn quilts have a long
history, dating back at least
to the Civil War, Moss told
me as she toured me around
her home art studio.
“The wives would paint
these and put them on bams
waiting for their husbands to
get back home, in remem
brance of them,” she said.
“But now they’re every
where. Every state has bam
quilt tours except for two -
and I’m really hoping Pick
ens County is going to get in
on this.”
For the uninitiated, a bam
quilt is not made of fabric.
It’s painted on large pieces
of wood - usually square,
but not always - then sealed
so it can be hung outside in
the elements (although it’s
common now for people to
Photos/Angela Reinhardt
One of Deb Moss’barn quilts hung proudly in an an
tique tobacco basket. This is one of her favorite pieces.
Moss creates several quilts a
display them in their homes
or businesses). The patterns
are what make them
“quilts,” from the familiar
starburst to pinwheels, to
primitive stars and many
others, including a chicken
week in her home studio.
quilt design Moss has in the
works. A popular design is
the cardinal, “because the
cardinal is in remembrance
of your loved one.”
“The hardest part is get-
See Good Vibes on 11A
Back to
School
See photos from
first day of school
across Pickens
County
Pages 4-5B
Pickens native
Keith Ray named
STPAL director of
conservation
Page 12A
Obituaries - 10A
• Arthur Kennedy
• Brenda Pike
• Carma Pacaj
• Chester Guthrie Jr.
• Frederick Hintze Jr.
• Gene Aaron Jr.
• George Slaton
• Mary Carver
• Richard Bryant
• Russell Pendley
•Simon Villanacci Jr.
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