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Thursday, August 11, 2022 | Volume 135 Number 17 | Jasper, Georgia | 20 pages, 2 sections | Published Weekly | $1.00 Court to hear petition to unseal ballots Community By Max Caylor Progress Contributor Members of the Pickens County Board of Elections in their August meeting decided to wait until the current private litigation against them is final before they file their own petition for hand tabulation of the May 24th Primary Elections. In a prepared statement, board chair Joe Walker said, “Once the Mora suit is final, we will assess the need for the filing of that petition. We will keep you updated in the meantime should there be any changes.” The core of the discussion centers around Pickens GOP Chair Chris Mora’s private suit against the board to have the Superior Court unseal the May 24th Primary Election ballots for a hand tabulation in the secretary of state and governor races. The board of elections voted on July 19th to ask the county attorney to file somewhat the same petition on their behalf responding to public com ment at their meetings. More drama was added to the sit uation when all local judges recused themselves from hearing the Mora petition in Pickens Superior Court. Chief Judge SeeElection on11A Photo/Max Caylor Some of the 45 citizens who attended the Board of Elections meeting express their patriotism by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Pandemic sparks idea for G. Chandler candle business Owner Denise Godfrey with one of her cut wine bottles upcycled into a soy wood wick candle, one of her most popular wholesale products. By Alex Goble Staff Writer agoble@pickensprogress.com “When it comes to can dles there is a science to it. There’s a lot of science to it,” Denise Godfrey ex plained at the candle shop she co-owns and runs with her husband on Old Philadelphia Road. The shop is named G. Chandler Candles. Godfrey is their last name - that’s the G. And just like a cobbler in the old days was a shoe maker, a chandler in the olden times was someone who made and sold candles. The name literally stands for Godfrey the candle- maker. Godfrey was career law enforcement before spend ing time working for the Golf Club of Georgia, a job that fell through during Covid. After that, one thing led to another and the cou ple’s enjoyment of candles became something more. “We were actually on va cation for my husband’s birthday in ’20 and while we were in Florida we thought, ‘Let’s do it.’ We literally ap plied for the business license online while on vacation,” Godfrey said. Learning how to make and sell candles was an ex ercise in self-education. “I was literally sitting and watching videos and learn ing by trial and error,” God frey laughed. “I’ve caught things on fire a couple times.” She started doing mar kets, traveling to Gumming to do Hickory Village Mar ket, hitting winery markets, and doing Jasper’s farmers market. “That’s the home base,” she said. Then they got into cut ting bottles. Cutting wine bottles. They had found their niche as a wholesale candle manufacturer, specializing in upcycled bottles, with what they describe as a “showroom” at the new lo cation. “We had a gentleman that See Spark on 11A Tax Assessors in midst of busy August; 2021 values appear right on, says state By Alex Goble Staff Writer agoble@pickensprogress.com The Pickens County Board of Assessors started off a busy August with two meetings held on August 2 and August 8. In the Aug. 8 meeting the 2021 Sales Ratio Study from the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts was presented after its release on Aug. 4, with the Pickens County Assessors Office performing well according to the numbers. At its most basic, the study compares a county’s appraised values to its actual sales values. This comparison produces a ratio, re ferred to as a level of assessment. A ratio range of 36 to 44 is what assessors offices are expected to meet. If the ratio is too low it means that things are selling for more than what the office has them valued at. Anything too high means things are sell ing for less than what they have them valued at. The Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts considers 40 to be the correct ratio. See Tax Values on 11A American hero honored with annual motorcycle ride A Rolling Thunder honor guard consoles Sgt. David Collins' mother, Lynn Napoli, at a memorial ride held in her son's honor. Napoli is holding the plate from a ceremonial Missing Man Table at Rocco’s Pub where the event was held. Missing Man Tables honor military men and women who did not return from sendee. Sgt. Collins of Jasper was killed on April 9, 2006 in Iraq while serving with the Army. He was 24 at the time of his death. See more photos and complete story on Page 8B. Good Vibes Series + Do-gooding as a hobby By Angela Reinhardt Staff Writer areinhardt@pickensprogress.com Matthew Chastain is one of those rare people who can renew your faith in human ity five seconds into a conversation. He’s genuine, friendly, inspiring, and someone whose driving force in life is as selfless as you can get - to give back and to make a dif ference in the world. He’s the epitome of good vibes. Chastain, who works as front-of-the- house manager at The Old Mulehouse restaurant, is using his place of employment as a platform for all the do-gooding he wants to do. He’s already got a few success ful projects underway, and has even bigger plans for the future. “This is a place that gives me the oppor tunity to pursue my dreams of being able to help where ever I can,” he said. “They en courage me and it just blows my mind. I want to make an impact in our community, and I want people to know that I care and that we care. It’s hard to do that by myself, See Good Vibes on 11A MULEHOU Matthew Chastain’s love of hiking led to his first char ity project through the restaurant where he works as front- of the-house manager. Big Canoe’s POA receives Green Ribbon From Keep Pickens Beautiful Page 10A Foothills IGA employee bags podium spot at grocery games Page 6A Sports Dragons host pre-season game Friday Page 1B Obituaries - 8A • Bobby Milam • Edd Christopher • Eddie Reynolds • Jeff Corbin • Hoyal Fendley • Russell Pendley $1.00 per copy 0 Nelson M SeeJull s election at www.pickensprogress.com