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Thursday, June 8, 2023 | Volume 136 Number 8 | Jasper, Georgia | 20 pages, 2 sections | Published Weekly | $1.00
Cat-astrophes averted
Jasper fire crews make
two feline rescues in
past week
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
In an odd and adorable coincidence, Jasper
Fire Department responded to two cat rescue
calls within a week. On one of those calls, fire
fighters saved a cat trapped in the floor of a
home. In the other, they pulled a scared kitten
from the engine of a car.
“We’re actually out on another cat call right
now,” Jasper Fire Chief John Sherrer said when
contacted about the first trapped cat. “It’s been a
while since we’ve had a call like these. They
don’t happen often.”
The first incident occurred on Friday, June 2.
Jasper Fire was dispatched to a residence where
a cat was stuck in the floor between the first and
second level of a home, near the top of the stairs.
See Cats on 8A
Photos/Jasper Fire Department
(Above) Jasper’s Assistant Fire Chief
Ian Norton works to rescue a cat trapped
in the floor of a West Church Street home.
(Right) An orange tabby looks a little
bedraggled after being removed from an
engine compartment by fire crews. Fire-
fighter/EMT Jon Jones holds the tiny
stray.
Jasper
adds more
patrol
officers
Planning continues on
downtown bathrooms,
Doris Wigington Park
according to council
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
In an effort to alleviate work
load for other officers and bolster
the city’s budget, Jasper City Coun
cil voted to add three-part time pa
trol officers to their roster.
“This will help with overtime. It
will also help with benefits to the
city because it’s a part-time posi
tion,” Jasper Police Chief Matt
Dawkins told council at their Mon
day, June 5 meeting. “We can use
them for parades, special events,
covering shifts when officers are
sick. It will help tremendously.”
Prior to council’s approval the
issue was brought before the public
safety committee, which includes
council members Kirk Raffield and
Anne Sneve, as well as the finance
department.
Dawkins said he realized addi
tion of personnel is typically not
considered mid-year, but “we went
over the impact it would have on
our current budget.”
Originally included in the 2023
budget were two full-time posi
tions, which would cost the city
around $150,000. Adding the three
part-time positions instead of two
full-time will provide a cost-sav-
See Officers on 8A
Library has
big list of
summer
offerings for
all ages
Highlight - Summer
Discovery
Come together this summer at
your dynamic destination for discov
ery - the Sequoyah Regional Library
System. Explore your local library to
participate in awesome programs at
no cost featuring Jeffini the Great,
live animals, community helper
days, community-inspired education
programs for all ages (kids, teens,
and adults), and much more.
Discover your Family
Histoiy with HeritageQuest
HeritageQuest Online offers a
collection of genealogical and his
torical sources - with coverage dat
ing back to the 1700s - that can help
you find your ancestors and discover
See Library on 10B
Groundbreaking for $2.2M terminal Sat.
Airport welcomes public for day of activities June 10
The planned Pickens County Airport terminal will be a 4,500-square-feet multi-use facility. Work will
begin in September with projected completion in May 2024. Rendering courtesy of Lead Edge Design
By Max Caylor
Progress Contributor
Groundbreaking for a 4,500-square-feet new air
port terminal will take place Saturday at 9 a.m. at the
airport located off Upper Salem Church Road.
The groundbreaking precedes a military apprecia
tion day the airport is hosting from 10 a.m. until 2
p.m. that day and includes helicopter and plane rides
(information at bottom of this story).
“The new terminal will serve as a terrific welcome
for visitors and new businesses and will give our local
aviators a modern home base,” said Commission
Chair Kris Stancil.”
The building will feature accents of stone veneer
and timber with a metal seam roof, storefront window
frames and lap siding with trim.
“A new terminal represents a milestone in airport
achievement and raises the connection between com
munity goals such as job creation, tourism and home
based airport users,” said Phil Eberly of Lead Edge
Design Group, the county’s contracted airport engi
neer for more than 20 years.
Special features of the new terminal will include
a large conference room See Airport on 8A
Coffee and
Painting:
A perfect combo
for artist
Tyler Metz
By Eli Galligan
Intern Reporter
Artist Tyler Metz frequently vis
its the Jasper Dunkin Donuts and
can be found crafting beautiful land
scape and still-life paintings.
A staff-favorite and regular at
Dunkin, he enjoys painting in many
different environments, preferably
ones with people.
“I could paint on the side of the
road. It can be in a field somewhere.
But really where I like to paint the
most is where people are,” Metz
said.
As a still-life painter in acrylics,
Metz enjoys observing people and
loves to see the impact that art
makes on the days of others.
“It’s nice for people to have a lit
tle art in their day. It seems to be that
it brings people a lot of joy,” said
Metz.
The local artist makes an effort to
incorporate creativity in art into his
career and everyday life. With a ca-
See Good Vibes on 8A
photo/Eli Galligan
“Always be teachable. Never think that you’re better than anybody,
because art is simply about expression. It’s not a competition, ” artist
Tyler Metz said as he worked at the local Dunkin Donuts.
Good Vibes Return past -times or anything that
This summer the Progress is makes you feeL good to be aLiue
bringing back a series tue -- especially if it's practiced
started Last year, Good Vibes, right here in Pickens County.
The idea came from a reader GiueusacaLLore-maiLand
suggestion that me need more Let's talk about mhat puts the
feeL good nems in the paper, so jest in your Life,
our reporters are seeking out articLes@pickensprogress.com
the interesting hobbies, unusuaL 706-253-2457.
Sports
Recreation
Department
Champs
Page 1B
Flag Day
Program
June 14th
Page 12B
Eliminate Hunger
Schools offer
free summer
food for kids
Page 6B
Obituaries 7 A
• Freebon Bruce
• Jim Bunch
• Thomas Daughtery
• Amanda Fountain
• Ruth Gibson
• Judy Lawrence
• Phillip Mabrey
• Douglas McClellan Sr.
• Robert Scott Sr.
• Phyllis Sloope
• Beverly Young
Contact Us
94 North Main Street
Jasper, Ga. 30143
706-253-2457
pickensprogress.com
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