Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 9. 2023 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 5A
Letters
tot/iB Editor
To the Editor:
Paint and Signs
I am all for traffic safety
but at some point people need
to be responsible for them
selves and not rely on gov
ernment to get them through
the day accident free.
I am not getting on our
local road crews who go
about their days working out
in bad weather trying their
best to keep the roads clear
on limited funds. I am talk
ing about the absolute nuts
that sit in some comfy federal
office in Washington and
dream up ways to waste
money.
Take road lane painting
for example. We have had
paint road lane striping for
many years to help keep peo
ple from drifting over the line
and having head on colli
sions.
Stop and ask how much a
gallon this new federally
specified reflective super
duper paint costs now. You
can send a kid to college for
a year for the cost of a barrel.
Every little two lane
paved road has those $3 each
reflectors all over them. You
can hardly drive at night for
the reflected lights shinning
back at you. The ditches are
full of those reflectors that
have come unglued and wan
dered off.
And the new road signs
are so bright I need sun
glasses at night if I turn my
headlights on. Now we have
new markers to tell us where
the culverts are in case we
need to inspect culverts at
night. I have never felt the
need. Every time I see those
little reflectors I think it is a
deer eye shining and I brake
hard.
I live on a typical country
road. Now we have dozens
of new expensive very bright
high tech signs telling us
what we all know — "Cau
tion, low soft shoulders."
Every rural road I have ever
driven had low soft shoul
ders. I suppose we will soon
see signs saying, "Caution
turn your steering wheel to
stay on the road."
It would be really nice if
Feds sent us less money on
signs and paint, and more on
good pavement.
Gary Pichon
To the Editor
Thanks for Active
Shooter Training
We would like to say a
huge “Thank You” to Chief
Deputy Jeff Hall, Deputy
Chris Leake, Josh Buckner of
Woodstock Police and Pick
ens County Sheriff’s Depart
ment. Saturday February 4th
was a community Active
Shooter/Safety Training
hosted by Living Word
Church.
These officers and agen
cies worked together to pres
ent a comprehensive safety
program to the Pickens
County citizens, businesses,
and Churches.
We would also like to
Thank the Pickens Progress
and the various social media
and news outlets to help ad
vertise the training. We are
all blessed to live in a com
munity that selflessly serves
our citizens.
Living Word Church,
Jasper
To the Editor:
As to Mr. Greg Moore’s
letter in the January 2, 2023
edition of the Progress, I
would like to address several
issues he talks about. I am
going to take his letter and re
spond one paragraph at a
time.
First, as to diverging
viewpoints, he is correct.
One must either look at it as
a Christian or a non-Christ
ian. God’s Word (The Holy
Bible) states (commands)
over a hundred times that we
should care for the homeless,
the widows, those that are
helpless and can’t care for
themselves.
Second, just a thought I
had, if I am awakened at
5:30-6:00 a.m. and told to hit
the streets, really didn’t have
much for supper last night, I
might think about a cup of
coffee and even maybe a
bacon and egg biscuit. What
do you think?
Refuge In Jesus, Inc.
doesn’t put them on the street
6 a.m. RIJ serves them meals,
offers a warm shower,
classes and counseling, ac
cess to resources, transporta
tion to a job, etc. You see
there are a lot of good people
in Jasper and Pickens that
support this effort, through
donations of time and
monies.
In just over a year RIJ,
Inc. has helped over 60 peo
ple, with the aid of many
good Christian people in our
community.
Don’t say we can’t do this,
we are doing it.
Stephen M Lovell,
Board member
Refuge in Jesus
Homeless Shelter
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.
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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: 1,307
Weapons Found: 10
Courts Held: 13
Arrests Made in
the Courthouse: 0
Civil Papers Received: 61
Civil Papers Served: 57
In the Adult Detention
Center:
Total Jail population: 68
Total male inmates: 59
Total female inmates: 9
Sex Offenders:
There are currently 74 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.
Sheriff’s Beat
Jan. 29 - Feb. 5, 2023
Domestic abuse call
Deputies were called to a
home for a domestic dispute.
The woman told 911 her
boyfriend was chasing her.
When deputies got to the
home, the woman told
deputies her boyfriend stole
the battery terminal out of her
car. The deputies asked why
she said her boyfriend was
chasing her, the woman ig
nored that question and said
her boyfriend stole the bat
tery terminals from her car
and he let his cousin take her
truck. The woman wanted to
report the truck as stolen.
When deputies spoke to the
boyfriend, he told the
deputies the truck was in his
name and her name, and he
let his cousin borrow the
truck to go apply for a job.
The deputies asked if he took
the battery terminals from her
car, and the boyfriend said
the woman took his out of his
car first. The woman kept
demanding the boyfriend be
arrested, however no crimes
had been committed. After
the deputies explained that to
her, she refused to speak to
the deputies any more. The
deputies waited for the
boyfriend to pack some
clothes so he could leave the
home for the night.
Suspicious Woman
Deputies were called
about a suspicious woman
that had been trying to talk to
several neighbors and was
now sitting in the middle of
the road. When deputies
spoke to the woman she told
them her boyfriend had hurt
her 18 year old son, that lives
in Powder Springs, Ga, while
trick or treating in 2022. The
woman then told deputies
someone had killed another
one of her sons, that lived in
Woodstock, and that person
hid the body in some woods.
The deputies were able to
speak to the boyfriend and he
told them the woman has
“spells” from time to time
and thinks people are trying
to murder her. The woman
then told the deputy that she
has another son in Texas and
someone was trying to mur
der him. Then she told the
deputy someone was trying
to kill her. Deputies provided
the woman a ride to the hos
pital so she could get some
help.
Stolen guns
A man called for a deputy
to come to his home because
he had some guns stolen.
The man said he had three
guns stolen from a cabinet in
his home. He had last seen
the guns a week prior and just
The Sheriff’s Beat
From the Pickens Sheriff’s Office
noticed they were missing.
The man said he has several
people in and out of his house
spending the night some
times, but he had no idea who
would have taken his guns.
Deputy Standby
A woman called to have a
deputy come to her home.
The woman said her landlord
is her boyfriend’s mother,
and the mother had put the
woman’s dogs outside. The
woman said she wanted to
put the dogs back in the
house. The boyfriend’s
mother said that was fine.
The boyfriend’s mother
asked for the woman and
boyfriend to stay somewhere
else, but they could come
back to tend to the dogs.
Missing Gun
A man called and spoke to
a deputy about a missing gun.
The man said the gun is nor
mally on his night stand, but
he hasn’t seen it since No
vember. The man said he did
not know of anyone that
would take the gun, and he
lives alone. The gun was en
tered into a database as miss
ing.
VIN verification leads to
arrest
A man called to have a
deputy come out to do a VIN
verification on a vehicle.
When the deputy arrived and
started on the paperwork, he
found out the man had an ac
tive warrant in Pickens
County. The man was ar
rested for the warrant.
Hit and Run
A man was traveling
through the Tate 4-way to
wards the high school, when
a white car bumped into his
car. The white car continued
driving after it hit the man’s
car. The only damage was a
scratch near the back bumper.
Deputies utilized the FLOCK
camera system to attempt to
identify the white car.
Tip 411 leads to an arrest
Deputies received and
anonymous tip through the
Tip 411 system about a
wanted person being in a
camper. The deputies went
to the camper and found the
wanted man. The man had a
warrant for felony probation
violation out of Clark
County. The man was ar
rested and taken to the Pick
ens County Jail to await
Clark County to pick him up.
Civil Dispute
An owner of a car dealer
ship called for a deputy to
come out and make a report.
The owner said he had sold a
car to a woman back in Octo
ber, but she has not made any
payments. The owner needed
a report done so he could
start the civil process.
Fireworks in a mailbox
In the Camp Rd. area and
man called for a deputy to
come out because someone
had placed fireworks in his
mailbox. The man told the
deputies that someone placed
fireworks in his mail box and
set them off, causing all of
his mail to be destroyed. The
man said he thought it was a
younger person that did it,
but did not know for sure
who it was. The deputies had
put extra patrols in the area to
make sure it doesn’t happen
again.
During this past week, the Pickens Sheriff’s Office
responded to or initiated 3,487 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 28
Suicide Threats / Attempts 6
Domestics 22
Theft / Burglary Related 35
Forgery / Fraud 5
Traffic Stops 368
Citations Issued 23
Animal Investigations 15
Suspicious Persons/Activities 40
Alarm Calls 22
Stranded Motorists 12
Street Hazards 18
Vandalism 5
Abandoned Vehicles 1
Extra Patrol - neighborhoods, businesses, resi
dences 2,525. 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.
22 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):
Probation Violation - 4
Bond Violation - 4
Failure to Appear for Felony - 1
Public Drunk -1
DUI-4
Poss. of a scheduled IV controlled substance - 1
Possession of Methamphetamine - 1
Hold for another county - 2
Riot In Penal Institution - 1
Simple Battery -1
Driving Without a Valid License - 3
Driving Without License On Person - 1
Driving With License suspended/revoked - 1
Give false name/ info to police / Misd - 1
Simple assault - Family Violence - 1
Aggravated Stalking -1
Disorderly conduct -1
Parole Violation -1
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