Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. DECEMBER 22. 2022 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 5A
Letters
tot/iA Editor
To the Editor:
I would like to give a grateful thank you to some of Amer
ica’s finest here in Jasper.
My home caught fire Thanksgiving evening. I called 911
(wonderful people). These firefighters came and were able to
save most of my home, surrounding homes, and woods.
I owe these people a huge shout-out. Thank you for your
hard and dedicated work. We love you all.
Also, thank you to our police men and women, Red Cross,
Ray Roberts, AEMC, Chad Goss, and Shane Callahan, fire
marshall; and the American Legion, Tom Sylvester, and fam
ily and friends.
Thank you, God bless and merry Christmas.
Crystal Shaw
A GoFundMe has been organized for Crystal, age 65, a
widow with no homeowner insurance. Any amount donated
will be used to help clean up, repair or rebuild.
Please donate or share at:
GoFundMe/71B9E908
To the Editor:
Dear citizens,
We all know the squeaky
wheel gets the grease. Cur
rently, the 18 campuses of
Mountain Ed schools need
some squeaky wheels. Due to
HB 153, on June 30th of
2023 Mountain Ed will lose
chartered school status. This
will force it to be authorized
by a local system, none of
which have offered to partner
to do so. This school system
will be dissolved even though
it has significantly changed
the lives of its graduates and
lowered the drop-out rate in
18 counties, including yours.
Mountain Education
serves students who have re
turned to school to give
themselves a fighting chance
in life. Many of these stu
dents do not have parents
who will advocate for them.
Can you imagine the uproar
if football programs were
cut? Or if the gifted funds
were reallocated elsewhere?
There would be no shortage
of outcry. But for these kids,
there are crickets.
If Mountain Ed is dis
solved, how many of the
2,520 students served at 18
campuses will finish school?
If they don’t have the sup
ports they need, the dropout
rates go through the roof. The
homeless rate goes up. The
welfare rolls increase. The
prison population increases.
The taxpayer burden goes up.
Mtn. Ed. is an opportunity for
these students to open their
own doors and not expect the
taxpayers to support them for
the rest of their lives.
There has to be a feasible
way where the dollars are
spent to rescue kids before
they become adults who are
dependent on the state to care
for them. A way that will ease
taxpayer burden by creating
more taxpayers, instead of
more tax users.
Mountain Ed gives stu
dents the steps and supports
to make getting a job with a
livable wage a reality. All
Mountain Education students
have mentors to help them
navigate life itself. Please do
not take hope away from our
students, it’s all many of
them have left.
Let’s all join together and
get some grease. Call and
write your representatives
asking them to allow Moun
tain Education to remain a
Ga. state chartered special
school with a regional atten
dance zone and funding.
https://www.house.gov/rep-
resentatives/ find-your-repre-
sentative
Sincerely,
Michelle Gunnin
Mountain Ed Educator
Dear Editor:
When the English
colonists landed at Cape
Henry, Virginia in April, AD
1607, they erected a cross
and pledged the newly bom
American people to Christ,
Halley's Comet was over
head. The comet was brightly
shining above the Colonists
and the cross.
When Christ was bom,
there was a star overhead.
When the American people
were bom a unique and dis
tinct people on earth in AD
1607 at Cape Henry, there
was a star overhead. Christ
was bom to save all men.
When the United States
became a nation under the
Declaration of Independence,
the Americans declared that
what they wanted for them
selves belonged to all people
on earth. In AD 1945 the
United States helped to free
the earth as Hitler and the
Japanese warlords were de
feated. A bit later, the Ameri
can forces in Germany saved
West Berlin from being occu
pied by Stalin. The United
States restrained the Soviet
Union until it fell of its own
perversion.
Most likely God designed
the United States on the tem
plate of the tribes of Israel
and the founding fathers were
used to build the USA on the
13 tribes of Israel. 11 whole
tribes from each of the sons
of Jacob and two half tribes
from Joseph-Ephraim and
Manassah. There were 13
original colonies and 11
unique states with 2 Caroli-
nas, North and South Car
olina.
Design was built into the
13 colonies, although it ap
pears their development just
happened.
Modern times have seen a
massive attempt to remove
Christ from the nation by
those who are causing mil
lions to die because of alco
hol and abortion. They
worship power, status, and
prestige and eagerly kill mil
lions that get in their way.
With the rebirth of Israel
that the Bible predicted
would happen and would be
a sign that Christ would re
turn, the great falling away
from Christianity that we see
in the USA and around the
world, the Bible also pre
dicted as a sign Christ would
soon come.
So we need to clean up the
nation to prepare it and our
selves for the coming of
Christ.
Those attempting to re
move Christ are liars. From
them have come the great
death tolls caused by alcohol
and abortion. The nation is so
seduced that it takes the
deaths as natural—a great
evil.
Billy Joe Parker
Georgia Prohibition
Letters welcomed -
No letter more than 450 words;
Send to news@pickensprogress.com
or Pickens Progress 94 N. Main,
Jasper, Ga. 30143; All letters must
have a full name that will be pub
lished, and contact info.
(Email Address or Phone Number),
which will not be published.
The Sheriff’s Beat
From the Pickens Sheriff’s Office
In addition to the activity
from the Uniform Patrol Di
vision, Court Service
Deputies reported the fol
lowing statistics for the past
week:
Persons Scanned at
Front Door: 1,209
Weapons Found: 16
Courts Held: 11
Arrests Made in
the Courthouse: 3
Civil Papers Received: 16
Civil Papers Served: 17
In the Adult Detention
Center:
Total Jail population:57
Total male inmates: 41
Total female inmates: 16
Sex Offenders:
There are currently 70 sex of
fenders registered with the
Pickens Sheriff’s Office.
PS<
REPORT
The Pickens Sheriff’s
Office responds to many
calls for service every day.
The following incidents
are a few deputies respond
to each day.
Disorderly woman had a
warrant
A deputy was called be
cause a woman was running
in and out of traffic and act
ing very strangely. When the
deputy got there, the woman
was shaking her head back
and forth and waving her
arms around.
The deputy was able to
get the woman to calm down
and speak to him. She told
the deputy she had consumed
some meth and marijuana
and that is why she was act
ing that way. The deputy ran
her information and discov
ered the woman had a war
rant for another county and
she was placed under arrest.
Deputies called for a
dispute
Deputies were called to a
home about a possible do
mestic dispute. When the
deputies arrived the man was
sleeping and told the deputies
he did not call 911. Then the
deputies talked to the woman
and she told them she had
called 911 over an argument
between the two of them.
The man was asleep and
the woman was being loud
while washing dishes and
had the radio up. The man
got up and took the radio and
hid it and then went back to
sleep. The dispute was only
an argument and both the
man and the woman told the
same exact story. The two
separated for the night.
Suicide threats
de-escalated
Deputies were called to a
home by a woman that said
her adult son was locked in a
bedroom with knives and
was threatening to kill him
self. The woman also told
deputies that the man said if
the cops came they would
have to kill him.
The deputies asked the
woman what had him so
upset, and she told the
deputies that his wife had left
him. The woman was able to
get her daughter on the phone
to speak to him and eventu
ally he opened the door and
spoke to the deputies. The
man agreed to have his
mother take him to the hospi
tal so he could receive the
help he needed.
Stolen power tool
A deputy was called to a
temporary job site about a
stolen power tool. The con
struction employee told the
deputy he last saw the STIHL
Power Concrete Saw in one
of the tool boxes on a work
vehicle. The tool box was
unlocked and there was no
type of forced entry through
the fence surrounding the job
site. The employee was un
sure who may have taken the
saw.
Facebook Marketplace
theft
A man called to speak to a
deputy about theft through
Facebook Marketplace. The
man said he bought disc golf
and had paid $ 145 through a
cash app from a person
named Dylan. The man said
after he paid and did not re
ceive the items he contacted
Dylan and he had some ex
cuse as to why he had not
sent the item to him.
The man said this went on
for a few weeks and Dylan
always had an excuse. Fi
nally, Dylan had blocked the
man on social media. The
man did some research on his
own and found out that
Dylan has done this before.
Traffic stop turns into an
arrest
A deputy was on patrol
when he saw a car that had a
tail light out. The deputy
pulled the car over and went
to speak to the driver. The
driver had to open the car
door to speak to the deputy
because the window would
not roll down.
The driver told the deputy
she did not have her license
on her, but she gave the
deputy all of her information.
The deputy ran all of the dri
ver’s information and it came
back that she did not have a
valid license.
The deputy allowed the
driver to make arrangements
for someone to pick up the
car and she was arrested for
driving without a license.
Car accident leads
to arrest
A deputy went to a single
vehicle car accident. The
driver had hit a deer. When
the deputy ran the informa
tion on the driver, it came
back that the driver had a
warrant out of another
county. The driver was ar
rested for his warrant.
Stolen Canoe
Deputies were called to a
home about a canoe being
stolen. The homeowner said
he had been out of town for
several months and when he
came home he saw one of his
canoes was missing. He
looked around and found the
canoe in his neighbors yard.
Deputies contacted the
neighbor and he told the
deputy the canoe had been
washed down the stream, he
knew it belonged to that
homeowner so he got it out
and was going to refurbish it
for the homeowner when he
got back into town.
The neighbor told the
deputy he had heard that the
homeowner had made a com
plaint so he had already re
turned the canoe.
Wanted people located
A deputy went to a home
because he believed a wanted
person was in the home. The
wanted person answered the
door and allowed the deputy
to come into the home. Once
inside the deputy recognized
two other people with out
standing warrants. The
deputy arrested all three peo
ple on the outstanding war
rants.
Vehicle removed from the
roadway
A deputy was called out to
a vehicle accident. When the
deputy got there he saw a car
that could be a hazard in the
roadway, but the owner was
not with the car. The car had
no tag, so the deputy ran the
VIN number and got the
name of the owner, the
deputy tried to reach the
owner but was unsuccessful.
The vehicle was towed and
impounded.
During this past week, the Pickens Sheriff’s Office
responded to or initiated 3,050 calls for service.
These numbers are taken from the report provided
directly from the 911 Center where all calls are
logged as they are performed. Below is a breakdown
of all dispatched calls by the call type for each inci
dent.
Accidents 39
Suicide Threats / Attempts 1
Domestics 17
Theft / Burglary Related 16
Forgery / Fraud 7
Traffic Stops 253
Citations Issued 9
Animal Investigations 21
Suspicious Persons/Activities 41
Alarm Calls 24
Stranded Motorists 13
Street Hazards 19
Vandalism 6
Abandoned Vehicles 5
Extra Patrol - neighborhoods, businesses, resi
dences 2,192. In addition to these, other calls include
search warrants, civil service, 911 hang-up calls, as
saults, disorderly persons, missing persons, assis
tance with medical calls, natural death
investigations, demented persons, funeral escorts,
harassment, trespassing, and many more.
43 Individuals were booked into the Adult Detention
Center on charges from the Pickens Sheriff’s Office.
Out of these, the following charges were taken by
PSO deputies (note: some individuals have multiple
charges):
DUI-4
Driving Without A Valid License - 6
Bond Violation - 6
Criminal Trespass -1
Simple Assault -1
Failure to appear for Felony - 1
Superior Court Bench Warrant - 1
Probation Violation - 2
Trafficking illegal drugs;
Cocaine, illegal drugs, marijuana - 1
Possession of weapon during a crime - 3
Possession by convicted felon or
felony first offender - 2
Hold for Another County - 5
Misd/Battery - Family Violence - 2
Theft By Receiving Stolen Property - 2
Theft By Deception - 1
Forgery - 3rd Degree - 1
Possession sexually explicit material w/minor - 1
Possession of schedule I substance -1
Possession of a schedule II
controlled substance -1
Disorderly Conduct -1
Battery - 2
Possession of Methamphetamine - 1
Drug related object - 1
Marijuana possession less than 1 OZ - 1
24 Hour Superior Court Hold - 1
Failure to appear for MISD - 1
GRISHAM, POOLE
& CARLILE, PC
Criminal Defense I Family Law
"You can't go back and change the beginning,
but you can start where you are and change
the ending." ~ C.S. Lewis
21 COURT STREET
JASPER, GEORGIA
678.880.9360
Experienced. Established. Effective.