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THURSDAY. MARCH 9. 2023 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 9A
Letters
tat/a Editor
The Sheriff’s Beat
From the Pickens Sheriff’s Office
To the Editor:
Could there be a little
more leniency for one’s pay
ment of their water bill with
out shutting their water off
completely, and then charg
ing an exorbitant fee to hook
it up again?
People are being layed off
or are receiving reduced
hours of employment.
Maybe a reduction in the
work force at the water de
partment or at least a reduc
tion of work hours could help
contain increased costs and
fees.
Other utilities provide an
option on their bills of pro
viding a donation of extra
dollars to help those strug
gling to pay theirs.
Some common sense is
definitely needed in using
methods to help people pay
their increased costs while
maintaining dignity.
Kathleen Kelly
To the Editor:
Derailments
If you have been follow
ing the news you will have
seen where railroad tanker
cars foil of all kinds of chem
icals have run off the tracks
and wrecked and spilled toxic
chemicals all over. Some of
those chemicals were set on
fire to get rid of them and
now people are saying the
burn was a stupid move by
officials.
Pickens County has a rail
road but it does not seem to
present any real risks to the
citizens. The track was laid
years ago and to save money
the builders did not want to
spend a lot of money on mov
ing lots of dirt to get the track
flat and straight. Our railroad
is up and down and twisty.
As a result the trains have al
ways gone slow. Slow is a
lot safer than fast. And our
railroad hauls mainly rocks.
That railroad over in
Cartersville is a different
story.
Lots of things can go
wrong with fast trains. The
rails need to be in great
shape. The cars and engines
need to be carefully main
tained and inspected con
stantly. It is a lot better if
they do not run into each
other.
So far, the reports from
Ohio point to a failed roller
bearing that heated to white
hot and then ruined a tanker
car wheel shaft and the whole
train derailed.
The Secretary of Trans
portation Buttigieg seemed to
try and blame that on Trump
because under Trump there
was a removal of a proposed
electric car braking system
requirement because the ben
efits of such a system could
not be seen. There are no re
ports that the wreck was
caused by brake failure.
Railroad cars run on great
big sealed roller bearings that
are packed in grease. The
weight of the car holds the
bearing in a housing. If it
was a bearing failure that
caused the crash, bearings
usually heat up before they
fail. If they heat, that heat can
be seen by sensing devices
set up along the railroad. So,
the question is, were sensing
devices working and why did
the railroad not see it and
stop before the failure?
Gary Pichon
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 published, and contact info.
(Email Address or Phone Number), which will not be published.
Pickens County Board of Education
Called Board Meeting
March 9, 2023 at 5 p.m.
100 D.B. Carroll Street. Jasper, Ga. 30143
The Pickens County Board of Education will hold
a called board meeting on March 9, 2023 at the Pick
ens County Board of Education, 100 D. B. Carroll
Street, Jasper, GA 30143. This meeting will begin at
5:00 PM.
I. Call to Order
II. Approval of Agenda
III. Executive Session
IV. Approval of Executive Session Minutes
V. Adjourn
Pickens County Board of Education
Regular Board Meeting
March 9, 2023 at 6 p.m.
Pickens County Board of Education Central Office
100 D.B. Carroll Street
Jasper, GA 30143
The Pickens County Board of Education will meet on
Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 6:00 PM for the regular
monthly board meeting.
I. Call to Order
II. Invocation
III. Pledge of Allegiance
IV. Approval of Agenda
V. Recognitions - School Board Appreciation Week
Marchl 3-1 7,2023 - Destini Shope, Director of RTI & As
sessment
VI. Superintendent Reports
A. Financial Update - Amy Smith,
Chief Financial Officer
B. Operations and Construction - Chris Wallace,
Chief Operations Officer
C. Curriculum Update - Destini Shope
Director of RTI & Assessment
VII. Action Items
A. Approval of Personnel
B. Approval of Financial Reports
C. Approval of Five-Year Facilities Plan
D. Approval of Construction Manager
E. Approval of Out-of-State Field Trip
F. Approval of Student Teaching Affiliation
Agreement with Grand Canyon University
G. Approval of Minutes
X. Public Participation
XI. Board Comments
XII. Adjourn
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: 1,565
Weapons Found: 14
Courts Held: 16
Arrests Made in
the Courthouse: 3
Civil Papers Received: 49
Civil Papers Served: 42
In the Adult Detention
Center:
Total Jail population: 75
Total male inmates: 65
Total female inmates: 10
Sex Offenders:
There are currently 73 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.
Argument between
brothers
Deputies were called to a
home for a domestic violence
call. When they arrived the
mother said her adult sons
were arguing over money,
but she yelled at them and
they quit arguing. The mother
said she called 911 just in
case the argument got out of
hand. The adult sons said the
argument was only verbal, it
never got out of hand. The
sons agreed to separate for
the evening.
Traffic stop leads to a
warrant arrest
A deputy was on patrol
when he spotted a car with an
expired registration. The
deputy pulled the car over
and spoke to the driver.
When he ran the driver’s in
formation it came back the
driver had an outstanding
warrant in Gilmer County.
The driver was arrested on
his warrant.
Dog bites owner
Deputies were called for a
domestic dispute with gun
shots. When the deputies ar
rived to the home, they found
out the neighbor was just out
target shooting. The deputies
spoke to the neighbor and he
said he was out target practic
ing when a woman from next
door came over and asked if
he would shoot her dog. The
neighbor said no, and went
into his house. The deputies
went next door and the
homeowner said when his
neighbor started shooting his
dog attacked his arm. The
homeowner then locked his
dog in a room. The home-
owner said he did not want to
call animal control. The
homeowner took himself to
the hospital for treatment.
Complaint about homeless
people on property
A land owner called to re
port homeless people camp
ing on his property without
permission. The deputy
found a tent with a lot of
clothes and trash around it.
The deputy then found a trail
through the woods to another
person’s property and saw a
couple of tarps set up to be a
campsite, with a lot of
clothes and trash around the
area. None of the homeless
people were found. The land
owners are putting up no tres
passing signs in an attempt to
keep people off of their land.
Criminal trespassing
Deputies received a call
about a man staying at a
home and he was not sup
posed to be there. The deputy
went to the address and saw
a truck in the driveway, the
deputy knocked on the door
and did not see anyone in the
house. However, the deputy
found a driver’s license in the
doorway of the home. The
deputy ran the tag on the
truck, and told the owner his
son was not supposed to be at
the house. Then the deputy
went back to the house and
called the man’s name
through an open window.
The man answered the
deputy. The deputy told him
he is not allowed to be there
and he would need to leave
the house. The man left the
house.
Disorderly intoxicated
man
Deputies were called to a
home about a male being bel
ligerent. The homeowner told
the deputies the man was out
back and was yelling and
threatening everyone. The
homeowner said the man was
mad at him because the man
thought the homeowner told
the man’s wife he was drunk.
Then the man started calling
the homeowner racial slurs.
The deputies could hear the
man yelling from the back
yard. The deputies tried to
speak to the man but he
started yelling and calling
one of the deputies racial
slurs. The man then threat
ened to beat up the deputies.
The man was arrested and
taken to jail.
Littering call
A property owner called
for a deputy because he
found trash and needles on
his property. The property
owner told the deputy he had
no problem picking up all the
trash, but he did not want to
touch any of the needles. The
deputy went with the man to
see the litter and needles. The
deputy said there were 15 to
20 needles throughout the
area. The deputy collected
the needles and disposed of
them properly.
Wanted person found
A deputy was on patrol
when he saw a woman walk
ing down the highway. The
woman did not have any
shoes on and was carrying a
silver pot. The deputy
stopped and spoke to the
woman. When the deputy ran
the woman’s name it came
back that she had a warrant
out of Gwinnett County. The
woman was arrested for her
outstanding warrant.
Citizen wants someone to
stop talking to him
A citizen called for a
deputy to do a report because
he is tired of a man trying to
talk to him. The citizen said
he goes out of his way to not
speak to and avoid this man,
but for the past six years the
man has tried to talk to him.
The citizen said the man
came up to him and said, “If
you hit me, I will have your
$%&.” The citizen said the
man told him that for no rea
son at all. The citizen wanted
a report done because he
knows the man carries a gun
in his car. The only reason the
citizen would give for being
nervous about the gun is that
the man is a grumpy old man.
The deputy did a report for
the citizen.
Woman waved down a
deputy
A deputy was on patrol in
a neighborhood when a
woman was waving her arms
to get his attention. The
deputy asked the woman if
everything was okay and she
told him that her Social Secu
rity card and birth certificate
had been stolen from her
room sometime between De
cember and March. The
woman said she has paid to
get a new birth certificate and
Social Security card, but she
is worried someone will try
to use her identity. The
woman said that only she and
a man live in the house. The
deputy went inside to speak
to the man. The man said he
is disabled and cannot get out
of his chair, but he had not
seen anyone go into the
woman’s room. The deputy
wrote a report for the woman.
During this past week, the Pickens Sheriff’s Of
fice responded to or initiated 3,408 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 19
Suicide Threats / Attempts 3
Domestics 26
Theft / Burglary Related 21
Forgery / Fraud 11
Traffic Stops 326
Citations Issued 33
Animal Investigations 24
Suspicious Persons/Activities 48
Alarm Calls 27
Stranded Motorists 16
Street Hazards 14
Vandalism 3
Abandoned Vehicles 3
Extra Patrol - neighborhoods, businesses, resi
dences 2,421. In addition to these, other calls in
clude search warrants, civil service, 911 hang-up
calls, assaults, disorderly persons, missing persons,
assistance with medical calls, natural death investi
gations, demented persons, funeral escorts, harass
ment, trespassing, and many more.
23 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 - 6
DUI-1
Veterans Court Violation - 2
Simple Battery - Family Violence - 1
Obstructing 911 Call - 1
Disorderly Conduct -1
Obstructing Police: obstructing a criminal
investigation -1
Removal of Weapon from LE Officer - 1
Simple Battery: LEO - 1
Criminal Damage to Property 2nd Degree -1
Accountability Court Violation - 1
Bond Violation - 2
Hold For Another County - 2
Disorderly Conduct County Ordinance - 1
Probation Violation (MISD) - 1
Probation Violation (FEL) - 2
Violation Limited Drive Permit Cond - 1
Criminal Trespass -1
Marijuana- Possession Less Than 1 OZ - 1
Poss. of A Scheduled I Controlled Substance - 1
Drug Related Object (1st and 2nd Offense) - 2
Possession of Methamphetamine - 1
Obstructing Of LEO - 1
Fleeing/attempting to elude /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.