Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. JANUARY 5. 2023 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 5A
Letters
tot/iA Editor
yelling at the other.
"The people have spo
ken", says the winner of this
last Senate election in Geor
gia. Well if the voters have
spoken it was to say. "We are
divided into two almost equal
camps."
Meanwhile, the external
threats to the nation grow
daily. Our collective will for
national defense is growing
weaker. Fewer and fewer will
serve in the military
But the big internal threat
is growing even faster. Both
major political parties are at
fault and share the blame.
That big internal threat is the
comiption of the US cur
rency by ever growing debt.
Our federal government is
funded by mountains of debt.
The interest on that debt must
be paid and it is growing at
an astonishing rate.
If we keep this debt grow
ing there will come a day, un
known and unforecast, when
the US currency will be im
mediately seen as worthless.
That is the day when really
bad things will begin to hap
pen.
The federal government
must either raise taxes on
everyone, or cut spending to
the bone, or probably do both
at the same time to save the
nation. Tell that to an elected
leader in the federal govern
ment and they will squirm
and sweat.
Today our federal leaders
live in a fairy tale world.
They think they can buy their
way out. If we let them keep
going, they will wreak us all.
Then they will slither back
into their holes of protection
and leave us to contend as
best we may.
Gary Pichon
To the Editor:
I would like to give a
grateful thank you to some of
America’s finest here in
Jasper.
My home caught fire
Thanksgiving evening. I
called 911 (wonderful peo
ple). 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 policemen
and women, Red Cross, Ray
Roberts - AEMC, Chad Goss
and Shane Callahan, fire
marshall, and the sons of the
American Legion and Jeep
Brigade, Tom Sylvester and
family and friends.
Thank you and God bless.
Crystal Shaw
Editor s Note: This letter
ran in the December 22nd
edition. The correct Go-
FundMe organized for Ms.
Shaw, 65, a widow with no
homeowner s insurance, is
GoFund.Me/71B9E908
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: 141
Weapons Found: 2
Courts Held: 1
Arrests Made in
the Courthouse: 0
Civil Papers Received: 7
Civil Papers Served: 10
In the Adult Detention
Center:
Total Jail population:56
Total male inmates: 44
Total female inmates: 12
Sex Offenders:
There are currently 73 sex of
fenders registered with the
Pickens Sheriff’s Office.
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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.
Speeding that led to con
fiscated marijuana
A deputy pulled over a
sedan for driving over the
speed limit at a high rate. The
guy was pulled over on High
way 53 East near North Rail
road Street. The deputy was
able to pull the speed with
their agency issued laser de
vice.
The guy was speeding 17
MPH over the speed limit.
The speed limit is 35 MPH in
that area. When the deputy
pulled the guy over he
smelled a strong odor of mar
ijuana. The guy did state that
he had a blunt in his car. A
blunt is known as a cigar
rolled up with marijuana sub
stance inside. The deputy
confiscated the marijuana
and arrested the guy for
speeding.
Cat attacked by stray dogs
On Sunday, a deputy re
sponded to a call that was in
volving a cat being attacked
by three stray dogs. The
owner of the cat said she had
her cat in the room and that it
was alive.
She wanted to document
this incident due to the dogs
being near her property. The
attack happened in the woods
back behind her property and
she did not know who the
dogs belonged too. However,
the deputy did inform her to
be careful if she is going to
allow her cat to roam freely
because larger animals could
be around.
To The Editor:
When there’s a will ...
I began thinking about
having a last will and testa
ment drawn up when I was in
my 60s. Told myself I would
get around to eventually. But
with no deadline and feeling
healthy, there was no hurry.
The upside of having a last
will and testament after leav
ing the material world was
instilled in me while coming
of age. Elders from the old
country, who passed away
without a will, left behind
family divisions over who
should inherit what. More re
cently, while living in
Florida, a neighbor passed
away without a will. Another
nearby neighbor, claiming to
be a close friend of the de
ceased, managed to acquire
his wallet before authorities
arrived. When confronted by
law enforcement the wallet
swiper told officers, “He
wanted me to have it.”
After purchasing our
Jasper home, I became in
creasingly aware of the need
to get with an attorney. I did
not want relatives stressed
over my departure to also be
come bitter about who should
lay claim to worldly items,
family heirlooms, personal
papers, photography, jewelry,
Army documents, etc.
As a newcomer to the
area, I was not familiar with
local attorneys. Because I
was raised in a small town, I
was familiar with the impor
tance of word-of-mouth rec
ommendations. Was having
lunch downtown one day
with a friend. A gentleman
walked by and had a short
conversation with him. As he
walked away my friend said,
“That’s Kevin Roper. He is a
good attorney.” Right away I
thought, “I’ll contact him
about a will.”
A couple of weeks later,
stopped by Mr. Roper’s of
fice. Picked up the prelimi
nary paperwork needed to
start the writing of a will.
Was advised by the law office
to bring the completed forms
back when I had the chance.
Again, with no deadline, kept
lollygagging about filling out
the necessary forms.
About a month passed.
Was downtown shopping and
ran into Mr. Roper. At the
time, being a Japer trans
plant, I didn’t know he was
the owner of Roper Funeral
Home. After exchanging
greetings, said, “I will get
that paperwork for my will
filled out soon,” Paused a
second and in I-hope-you-un-
derstand voice I said, “It’s not
easy facing up to our own
mortality.”
“I know,” Mr. Roper
replied.
Edward Donato
To The Editor:
The Divided Nation
"A house divided, cannot
stand" which Lincoln quoted
from the Bible is a disturbing,
but true, idea. A group that
spends its time fighting
among themselves cannot
fight an external foe. They
cannot even get the chores of
the normal day done. They
can't even get the garbage
taken out because each is
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.
Possible theft
A deputy was called out to
the area of 136 Connector. A
driver that was passing by
witnessed someone in the
driveway that appeared sus
picious. The driver then
pulled into another driveway
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Across from Walmart
The Sheriff’s Beat
From the Pickens Sheriff’s Office
and started to watch the guy.
It appeared as though the guy
was taking a battery out of a
car. The driver actually fol
lowed the individual until he
crossed over into another
county.
He was on the phone with
dispatch in order to inform
the deputies, so they could go
out there. He was able to pull
the information of the guy
that was possibly in the
driveway. The residence was
not occupied but is owned by
someone. So, the deputy was
able to make contact with the
owner of the residence and
the owner stated he did not
wish to press charges. Due to
the fact that the car had been
sitting there for a while and
he had no knowledge if there
was even a battery still in the
vehicle.
Vehicle driving without
headlights on
A deputy was travelling
northbound on 515 when he
noticed a vehicle driving
without their headlights on.
The deputy was able to get
the car to pull over into the
Piedmont Mountainside
parking lot. He then asked
the driver to see his driver’s
license and he stated he did
not have any.
The deputy asked if any
one in the vehicle had any li
cense and he stated they did
not either. The driver was
then arrested due to not hav
ing a driving license to oper
ate the motor vehicle and
taken to the ADC. The other
individuals were waiting on a
ride at Piedmont Mountain
side. Our K9 handler came
out to do a free air sniff of the
vehicle and no contraband
was found. The vehicle was
inventoried by the first
deputy on scene and A&T
Towing was able to pick it up
and take it the impound lot.
Aggressive dog warning
Deputy was dispatched to
a residence in reference to an
aggressive dog. The com
plainant advised she was
walking her dog on the street
when her neighbor’s Pitbull
entered the street and at
tempted to attack her dog.
The complainant advised she
did not observe any injuries
on her dogs and that the Pit
bull did not bite either. The
owner was located and given
a written warning for 14-14
Duty of Animal Owners.
Pick-up truck in flames
Deputies responded to a
Ford pickup truck that was
engulfed in flames. The vehi
cle was on fire for a little
while until fire arrived on
scene. The road of East Price
Creek and Jack Pinyon Road
was closed for a few hours
while they cleaned up gas
and items from the truck.
Dispute between landlord
and tenant
Deputies responded to a
residence for a dispute be
tween a landlord and tenant.
Deputies arrived on the scene
and interviewed all involved
parties. After further investi
gation, deputies determined
physical contact was made
between the parties and the
main aggressor was deter
mined. One male was subse
quently arrested and
transported to the Adult De
tention Center.
Vehicle with wrong tag led
to an active warrant
Several deputies were pa
trolling the area when they
noticed a vehicle in front of
them with the wrong tag on
it. The deputies then con
ducted a traffic stop and
found the driver to have an
active warrant on him from a
surrounding county. Deputies
issued citations and im
pounded the vehicle; the
driver was turned over to the
county who had the warrant.
Stolen chicken eggs
Deputies responded to a
theft of chicken eggs. Upon
arrival, deputies made con
tact with the complainant
who stated someone has been
coming into her backyard to
steal some eggs. She stated
she has set up a trail camera
and added an extra lock on
the gate. She did notice a
male on her trail camera and
she notified the deputies of
that as well.
A sister that reported an
assault on her brother
Deputies responded to a
request to call the com
plainant regarding an assault.
Deputies made contact with
the complainant and she ad
vised them that her brother
was assaulted by two males
that broke into his residence.
The deputies made an at
tempt to contact the com
plaint's brother at the
residence and no one was at
the home.
During this past week, the Pickens Sheriff’s Office
responded to or initiated 2,218 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 34
Suicide Threats / Attempts 3
Domestics 24
Theft / Burglary Related 27
Forgery / Fraud 4
Traffic Stops 197
Citations Issued 10
Animal Investigations 16
Suspicious Persons/Activities 29
Alarm Calls 24
Stranded Motorists 27
Street Hazards 13
Vandalism 3
Abandoned Vehicles 6
Extra Patrol - neighborhoods, businesses, resi
dences 2,948. 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.
17 Individuals were booked into the Adult Deten
tion 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):
Driving w/ license suspended/ revoked - 3
Bond Violation - 3
Hold For Another County - 2
Simple Battery family violence - 2
Battery Family Violence - 1
Battery -1
Simple Assault Family Violence - 1
DUI-1
Simple Assault -1
Aggravated Assault -1
Probation Violation Felony - 3
Remove Vehicle ID w/ Intent - 1
Criminal Trespass -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.