THURSDAY. AUGUST 18. 2022 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 11A
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TORTOISE
Photo/provided by Kristi Senneff
Kristi Senneff with Turbo right after she adopted him
six years ago. Turbo is 40 pounds in this photo, but is 80
pounds now and will continue to get larger.
Photo/provided by Kristi Senneff
Turbo is an African spurred tortoise that the owner be
lieves was taken from her Jasper residence before he
showed up a few days later wandering the street. Here,
Turbo enjoys a cantaloupe snack and scratches his back
on a homemade back scratcher. “They can actually feel it
through their shell and they like it, ” the owner said.
“I started to freak out,”
she said. “I had a dream the
night before he was going to
be stolen, and then he was.
He’s from Africa and can’t
handle low temperatures.
When the temperatures start
to drop he’d need to be in a
heated shed or he won’t
make it. ”
Turbo doesn’t like to be
inside. The shed in her back
yard has two heaters and a
heat pad, ‘‘which he loves.”
Senneff has had Turbo for
six years. She adopted the
tortoise from a client of her
employer, Animal Medical
Clinic.
“We’d go on house calls
to this client who had him, so
I watched him grow up there
for seven years from a hatch
ling,” she said. But because
Turbo continued to get larger,
and because he was a male
and could not live with her
other male sulcatas, the client
was not able to keep him.
“So I took him and we’ve
developed a great bond,” she
said. “People don’t realize
that these tortoises are very
intelligent and get close to
their owners. He knows his
name and comes when I call
him and follows me around.
He will play with this big red
ball, and get dramatic some
times - he’ll huff and puff if
he doesn’t’ get his way.”
Turbo will even climb
into her lap if she’s on the
ground.
“That was fine for a
while, but after he got to be
about 50 pounds it started to
hurt,” she said.
Senneff adopted Turbo
when he was 40 pounds. Six
years later he’s 80 pounds
and he’ll continue to get
larger — sulcatas are one of
the largest tortoise species in
the world.
“Males can get to 150
pounds, even up to 200
pounds,” she said. “He’s just
a baby still. They’ve only
been allowed to be kept as
pets for around 50 years so
it’s not for certain how long
they can live in domestica
tion, but we think between
100 years and even 150
years. I’ve actually got him
in my will.”
Senneff said while sul
catas are known for digging
and for breaking through bar
riers, she’s 100 percent sure
he was stolen. She said her
side gate, which hasn’t been
used in over a month, was
open that Sunday.
“You have to be some
thing with hands to open this
gate,” she said. “I would
have been able to tell if he
tried to push through or dig
out. Tortoise can't open the
gate and hold the handle up
while the door opens. I have
a lock on it and I have a siren
that's coming in the mail.”
She filed a police report
about the incident, and said
Turbo appeared after it was
made public the report had
been filed.
Since Senneff has owned
Turbo, she has been terrified
someone would want to take
him because he’s exotic.
She’s made it a point to keep
him a secret from everyone
but her closest friends and
clients.
“He’s so unique and peo
ple are just in awe of him,”
she said. “He’s my two-year-
old nephew’s best friend. My
heart is full.”
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I
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COVE
ing a more complete repair.
The county hopes to use
additional sales tax money to
repave the route in 2023.
Stancil explained that by
deep-patching this year,
when they resurface next
year it will last much longer.
“You can’t just resurface over
the [bad spots]. That would
never hold up,” he said.
After the crews finish
Cove Road, they will imme
diately move to Grandview
Road, which will be a full
renovation. They will mill it
down to the base along the
whole length, then pave as
though it is a new road.
Stancil said both of these
roads are among the constant
problem areas in the county
and the culprit is simply the
amount of traffic, particularly
construction traffic with
heavy trucks.
“They are traveled a
whole lot more than they
were ever designed for,” he
said.
LOST
Assistant City Manager
Kim Goldener said both the
city and county “mutually
agreed” on Monday to move
to negotiations with a medi
ator.
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%.
At the first meeting in
July, the city of Jasper pro
posed a LOST distribution
as follows: 63.38 to the
county; 35.09% for Jasper;
1.12% to Nelson and .40%
for Talking Rock. If ap
proved, these figures would
represent a 9.39% increase
for Jasper over the current
distribution, a 6.62% de
crease for Pickens County, a
1.68% decrease for Nelson
and a 1.1% decrease for
Talking Rock.
Under the county’s pro
posal, presented at the sec
ond public meeting, Pickens
County would receive
77.79% of LOST collections,
Jasper 16.21%, Nelson 4%
and Talking Rock 2%. This
figure would give the county
a 7.79% increase from their
current 70% of the sales tax.
Following Monday’s can
cellation of the third public
meeting, county and city of
Jasper officials will now
enter into non-binding medi
ation to try and reach an
agreement.
“For us the most impor
tant thing is to get a mediator
that’s not affiliated with ei
ther party,” Stancil said.
Stancil said based on con
versations with other coun
ties who have gone the route
of mediation, it could take
around 30 days to get in front
of a mediator. From there, he
said, “it all depends on how
far apart the parties are.”
There is a statutory re
quirement that the process
must be completed by early
December.
“The ultimate deadline for
everything in order for LOST
to continue is a resolution
has to be sent to the state’s
department of revenue by
December 30th,” Stancil
said. “We do that or LOST
goes away.”
Continued From 1A
Local woman celebrates 104th birthday
GIBBS
cated he would be looking to
see the property used for the
best purpose without answer
ing that it was definitely the
plan. The planning staff rec
ommended approval of the
rezoning.
A large number of Big
Canoe area residents then
began to voice their near
unanimous opposition. One
lady, a professional urban
planner, cited the "negative
impact on the environment"
and also that "there is no
analysis of the impact on soil
and water." To much ap
plause, she further stated that
the proposal is "not consis
tent with comprehensive
plans and does not meet the
criteria." She introduced sev
eral documents into evidence
including a list of 160 Big
Canoe residents who ob
jected. Another person cited
that the storage unit was "in
appropriate" for Highway
Business.
When all those opposed
had finished, Chairman Pre
ble asked for a motion to ap
prove, which was made by
commission member Pat
Holmes and seconded by Jim
Fowler, who both voted to
approve. Members Kevin
Moss and Harold Hensley
were opposed, and with a
two-to-two tie, Preble broke
the tie with an affirmative
vote to audible groans from
some members of the crowd.
Planning Director Wes
Frye said the approval was
with the condition "there
would be a minimum 40 foot
landscaped buffer between
the parcel and the adjoining
parcel which is located di
rectly south," to which one
audience member cried out,
"What about a northern
buffer?" Frye noted a north
ern buffer was not a condi
tion due to the zoning of the
property there.
The second hearing con
cerned a request by Dan Pool
of Edge Pool Properties to re
zone 29.66 acres from Agri
cultural to Suburban
Residential and is intended to
become an expansion of The
Preserve at Shyer's Creek
upon the possible future sale
to the developer. The prop
erty is located southwest of
Shyers Ford Road and Talk
ing Rock Creek and north of
Carver Mill Road and
Townsend Road and is to be
split apart from another 19.75
acres of the same parcel
which will remain Agricul
tural for family recreational
use. Planning staff recom
mended approval of the re
zoning. After some
discussion and clarification,
this request was approved by
the commission without op
position.
The third agenda item
proved to be as contentious
as the first, if not more so,
with support and opposition
almost evenly split. This final
request, made by applicant
James Hughes Gibbs, Jr., was
for a Special Use Permit to be
used as a Business-
Retreat/Event Center Facility
on 40 plus acres of land on
Flowers Road that adjoins
Gibbs Gardens and is split
between both Pickens and
Cherokee counties. Access
for the venue would be in
Cherokee County while the
event center itself would be
in Pickens. Planning staff
recommended approval of
the permit with the condition
that any events would con
clude by 10 p.m.
Supporters spoke first and
had high praise for Gibbs
who attended the hearing but
did not address the commis
sion. Gibbs was described as
a "visionary" and has worked
for years with residents to re
tain the "rural atmosphere" of
the area. Many noted the
"positive impact" of Gibbs
Gardens, that its existence
has helped to support
Foothills businesses, and an
other resident stated he be
lieved the gardens helped to
prevent "high density" and
preserved the area's serenity
and tranquility, and that
thankfully, the area does not
"look like Woodstock."
Opponents were con
cerned about "extra traffic,"
"noise," and "fire preven
tion." A former law enforce
ment officer was worried
about "jurisdictional confu
sion" since the venue was
split between two counties.
Another concern was that the
"application was too vague
for meaningful discussion,"
that "we don't know the
plans." "Will there be wed
dings, birthday parties? We
don't know. We need the in
formation." One woman,
even though she admitted
that she was undecided on
the issue, also expressed con
cerns over traffic safety,
noise, and the fact there is no
overnight lodging in the area
for the large number of pa
trons expected.
When it came time to
vote, Pat Holmes again made
a motion to approve, yet after
a few anxious moments, no
one else seconded the mo
tion. County attorney Phil
Landrum then explained that
this was a "no decision" and
in effect, there could be no
recommendation either way.
None of the night's deci
sions are final, but "recom
mendations to
commissioners who will
make the final decision at a
future commission meeting.
Continued From 1A
TANKER
have rehearsal Thursday and
back-to-back weddings Fri
day and Saturday.”
Units assisting with the
scene were: Pickens County
Sheriff’s Office, Georgia
State Patrol, Georgia Depart
ment of Transportation, Pick
ens County Fire & Rescue, A
& T Towing, Pickens County
Public Works, Cherokee
County Haz Mat Team.
By Larry Cavender
Contributing Writer
Besides being an ex
tremely rare occurrence, liv
ing to be 104 years old is
almost incomprehensible to
most people.
One hundred and four
years is a long time. To put
that in perspective, when
Thelma Brookshire of Ball
Ground was bom on August
10th, 1918, Woodrow Wilson
was president. She was just
shy of being three months old
on November 11, 1918, when
World War I ended at 11 a.m.
on the 11th day of the 11th
month.
From a more personal
level, Thelma Brookshire
was only eight years old
when she saw her first car, a
Ford Model T. When she was
asked what would be the
fondest memory in her long
life, she replied, "When I was
a little girl and spending time
with my grandmother."
Thelma currently resides
at Grandview Manor in
Jasper, and the staff threw her
a big birthday party on the af
ternoon of her birthday, com
plete with the traditional
decorations, birthday cake,
cupcakes, and other refresh
ments. She was joined by
members of her family and
her many friends at the as
sisted living facility.
For someone who has
lived so many years and seen
so much in one lifetime,
Thelma has obviously seen
many changes over the years.
She was asked about some of
those changes and what she
felt were the most significant
ones. Without hesitation she
answered in a way that repre
sents her humble upbringing
- "Running water and electric
lights."
She also remembered at
tending the old Ball Ground
Elementary School and noted
that everyone in her family,
including her own children,
went to school there. She re
called that her grandfather
worked at Roberts Store in
Ball Ground and delivered
groceries in a wagon. She re
membered that the town's
photo/Larry Cavender
From the wisdom she has gained from 104 years of life,
Thelma Brookshire had this advice for others to help them
also achieve a long and healthy life: She said, "Don't smoke
or drink," and especially to "young people," she advised,
"Don ’t take dope! "
lone doctor, Doc Saye, made
housecalls in a buggy.
In 1945, she married J. W.
Brookshire and they had two
children, son Frank and
daughter Brenda. Unfortu
nately, Brenda passed away
several years ago, but her son
Frank, along with her daugh-
ter-in-law Charlotte, cele
brated with Thelma at her
party. Their progeny also in
cludes four grandchildren,
Michael Clayton, Dwayne,
David, and Karla Brookshire.
J. W. and Thelma were mar
ried for 50 years before he
passed away in 1995.
Most of her adult life was
spent as a loving mother and
a dedicated, devoted wife to
J. W. who earned a living
through the construction
business. However, about
half a century ago, and for
several years, Thelma be
came a cook at a number of
popular Canton restaurants
which included the Town
House and Greenrail Restau
rants as well as a stint at
Katherine's Kitchen, which
was owned by her sister-in-
law. When she was asked if
she considered herself to be a
good cook, she replied,
"Everybody said I was."
Most everyone would
agree that a long life is a
blessing, but Thelma offered
a surprising answer when she
was asked how she felt about
turning 104 years old. She
replied, "Not so good." How
ever, her reply was under
standable when she
elaborated by saying that at
that age it was "not good to
not be able to hear or see as
well."
Of course, there is also the
inevitable question that is
asked of everyone who lives
a long life, and that is, "To
what do you attribute your
longevity?" Thelma said,
"My mom said I was a pine
knot," that she was tough and
healthy unlike one of her sis
ters who was "sickly."
From the years of wisdom
she has garnered during her
long life, Thelma did have
some good advice for people
to help them to also live a
long life. She said, "Don't
smoke or drink," and espe
cially to "young people," she
advised, "Don't take dope!"
