Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, February 9, 2023 | Volume 135 Number 43 | Jasper, Georgia | 22 pages, 2 sections | Published Weekly | $1-00
Council flushes old building
New Main Street bathrooms could cost $900k
City gets $500K
grant for sidewalk
project
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Residents will soon see visible
progress on Jasper’s stalled Main
Street bathroom project after council
voted to demolish the old bank
drive-thru building and build a new
facility from scratch.
Council was presented with de
sign plans for a new restroom facility
at their Monday, Feb. 6 meeting,
with construction estimates coming
in at $918,767. The design, which
has not yet been given the go ahead
by council, was developed by design
firm Clark, Patterson & Lee.
Council was presented with “pre
fab” restroom designs as an alterna
tive, with the top tier of those
designs coming in around $300,000,
plus some additional costs.
City Manager Sonia Jammes said
the engineering/design plans from
the firm were “beautiful” and “or
nate,” but noted the pre-fab designs
were “legitimate accommodations”
that would do the job bringing rest
rooms to Main Street.
The city originally wanted to use
the existing structure at the comer of
Main and D.B. Carroll streets, but
“we went
See Jasper on 9A
Design Rendering/Clark, Patterson & Lee
A draft design plan for Main Street restrooms that was presented to
Jasper City Council at their February meeting. Council has not yet ap
proved restroom construction, estimated to cost over $918,000.
Remembrances of materials past:
Recycling director talks plastics, growth and
turning glass back into what it came from
photo/Dan Pool
Spotting the one that doesn’t belong. Recycling Center employee Brad Benson lifts a cat food can out of the
thousands of other cans. Not only are most cat food cans not aluminum, they are never recyclable due to the
plastic seals. Find out more ins and outs of recycling, Page 12A..
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
In 2021 the recycling center han
dled 1.1 million pounds of total recy
clable material. In 2022 this jumped
to 1,256,039 pounds, with cardboard
and mixed paper leading the way.
That 2022 figure would have been
higher but until last week, the county
held thousands of pounds of recycla
ble material, waiting on the market to
go up. They have since shipped out
seven 40,0000 - 44,0000 pound track
loads of recyclables.
Similar to a commodity trader, at
the $2.1 million facility on Ap
palachian Court, they stockpile recy
clables for favorable market timing.
Director Kenny Woodard ex
plained on an early February tour,
“Just like the stock market, recycling
is in a recession,” he said. “Nobody is
buying now.”
For example a ton of cardboard
can go for $150-$200 a ton, but now
is only bringing $35; Paper in good
times $90 a ton, now $17.
See Recycle on 12A
FOREVER VALENTINES
<yt focal coa/x/ey
enuu/'um looe yfo/y
o/aearaj /O oea/w
This photograph of the McAllisters was taken in 1955
in Largo, Fla., about the time of their marriage. Of their
first encounter, Billy said of Barbara, "I was struck."
Man found
in woods
near Kroger
suffered
frostbite
before death
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
The GBI is investigating
a case involving a Pickens
County man found in an
abandoned structure in the
woods near Kroger, and who
later died.
According to police re
ports, at approximately
10:40 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan.
24, Jasper officers were dis
patched to the back side of
the grocery store in reference
to suspicious activity.
When they arrived on
scene they found Mack Ben-
jie Little, 47, unresponsive.
He was transported to Pied
mont Mountainside Hospital
See Frostbite on 9A
Brandon
Bell
named
STAR
Student
Kyle Frantz/photo
Pickens High School
Star Student
Brandon Bell
Pickens High School
Senior Brandon Bell has
been named the school’s
2023 PAGE STAR Student.
The Optimist Club of Jasper,
the local STAR program
sponsor, announced the
honor. Bell selected Mr. Ted
Estes as his STAR Teacher.
Mr. Estes has taught for
taught for 25 years and cur
rently teaches AP/Honor US
History at PHS.
Brandon is the son of
Daniel and Christi Bell of
Talking Rock, and he has
one sister, Brooke Bell.
Brandon is a 4-year member
of the PHS Beta Club, and
he has participated in several
Beta Club events including
the White Christmas Drive.
He has been a member of
the competition Mock Trial
Team and he is currently a
member of the PHS Auto
motive Club. Brandon is a
registered volunteer at Geor-
See STAR on 9A
By Larry Cavender
Contributing Writer
"I was struck," is the way
Billy McAllister described
the first time he ever saw
Barbara. Saying that it is
hard to explain exactly what
he was feeling, he added,
"Our eyes locked."
What does Barbara have
to say about that fateful first
encounter in the Spring of
1954?
"I only remember his
staring at me and not much
more," so Barbara said that
she just let it pass.
Thus began a relationship
that would evolve into an en
during love that would ex
tend to almost seven decades
for the couple, who lives in
Pickens County.
It would seem that two
such young people might not
be compatible, for Billy was
originally from the moun
tains of eastern Kentucky, a
"country boy," and Barbara
originated from Long Island,
NY, a "city girl." To high
light the differences in which
they were brought up in the
disparate regions and cul
tures of their youth, Barbara
said her first word as an in
fant was, "Taxi," to which
Billy added that his first
word was, "Moon."
However, fate would
eventually bring them to
gether because both their
families would move south
and make their homes in the
same town, Largo, Fla., lo
cated just north of St. Peters
burg. It was while both were
seniors at Largo High School
when their first encounter
occurred. They were both
members of the school's
Beta Club.
They became more ac
quainted while attending a
Beta Club Convention in
Jacksonville, Fla.
Barbara recalled that she
was invited to a beach party.
She climbed into the
cramped rear seat of a car
that would take her to the
beach, and she was tightly
jammed into her seat, right
next to Billy. At the beach,
they began to get to know
each other. Then later that
same night they both were
hanging out together with
their friends.
However, they soon grad
uated, and Billy McCallister
joined the U. S. Army. After
his initial training, he was
stationed at Camp Stewart in
Hinesville, Ga.
He was anxious to reac
quaint himself with Barbara,
so the next time he had leave
he planned to return to
Largo. There was a problem
though, because soldiers
See Couple on 9A
Theater
Tater Patch’s
Love Letters
opens this
week
Page 2B
County Paving
Jerusalem
Church and
Cove roads
top county
paving
priorities
Page 3A
Obituaries 10A&11A
• Lawton Baggs
• James Brewer
• TC Childers Jr.
• Joella Forest
• Ronny Forrester
• Dan Huth
• John Jorgensen
• Shane King
• David LeSesne
• Julian Lewis
• Jodi Lillard
• Mack Little
• Frederick Monsour
• Becky Mulkey
• Burness Stormes
• John Waddell Jr.
• Steve Wadley
• LeRoy Wilson
Contact Us
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