Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, September 14, 2023 | Volume
Comhole stabber stabs again
at North Carolina tiki bar
Suspect had eluded
police since 2021
stabbing in
Jasper restaurant
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
A man who stabbed a person at a
Jasper restaurant over a game of
comhole in 2021 was recently ar
rested in North Carolina for stabbing
a person at a tiki bar.
According to Lake Lure Police
reports, on Sept. 2 Leslie Darnell
Mulkey fled the scene of Geneva
Riverside Hotel & Tiki Bar, a popu
lar Lake Lure restaurant, after he
stabbed Joshua Allen Hartzfeld. The
report states that around 9 p.m. the
victim was helping escort Mulkey,
42, out of the bar after the manager
asked him to leave due to erratic be
havior. Mulkey “turned and slashed
Mr. Hartzfeld” who “stated he never
saw the knife and it happened so
quickly he didn’t have time to react.”
Reports from local Lake Lure
media outlet state that the victim has
been released from the hospital.
When arrested in North Carolina,
Mulkey had been eluding law en
forcement since the incident on Nov.
7 of 2021 at I Love NY Pizza in
downtown Jasper.
The earlier stabbing here oc
curred after a game of comhole be
came heated. The victim was
stabbed twice in the abdomen.
Mulkey fled the scene. Jasper Police
Chief Matt Dawkins said they had a
few leads but were never able to lo-
Photo/Rutherford County Detention Center
Leslie Darnell Mulkey
cate Mulkey.
In the recent North Carolina inci
dent, the police report states that the
stabbing occurred in the parking lot
as they were walking Mulkey off the
property. The victim was stabbed
under the arm. An officer rendered
aid at the bar, and he was transported
to the hospital for treatment.
Mulkey fled the scene but the
manager told authorities he worked
at Featherheads in Chimney Rock.
When officers visited the location a
woman who lived on the second
floor above the store told authorities
Mulkey was her son’s half-brother
and a part-time employee of hers at
Featherheads, which sells eclectic
items like pottery, art and jewelry
from Native American artists around
the world.
The woman initially would not let
officers into the residence “due to
the strong odor of marijuana,” but
after they said they were not con
cerned about marijuana, only if
Mulkey was there, she let them in
side.
The woman was “shocked” after
law enforcement told her what hap-
See Stabbing on 7 A
Jasper light poles to get (re)lit
Council proposes millage rate, discusses wine ordinance and lead pipes
City initiates
eminent
domain on
conservation
property to
run sewer
line
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
The city of Jasper is seeking to
gain easement rights on a piece of
property near the wastewater treat
ment facility so they can ran new dis
charge lines as part of their crucial
wastewater treatment expansion
project.
The property in question is 38.44
acres north of and directly adjacent
to the treatment facility, and is under
conservation use conditions through
the Atlantic Coast Conservancy.
Those conditions restrict the property
owners and the conservancy from
granting easements across the parcel,
according to Jasper City Manager
Kim Goldener.
Jasper has initiated a condemna
tion process and is seeking eminent
domain to gain access to a specific
area on the property to lay those util-
See Condemn on 7A
County
looks at
higher
planning
rezoning
fees
County continuing to
request state work on
Highway 53 potholes
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
Commissioners got a first look at
proposed higher planning and zon
ing fees across most categories han
dled by the county Thursday during
their regular September meeting.
In later comments, Chair Kris
Stancil explained the presentation
was pure raw data to look at. “Those
were suggestions from reaching out
to other counties,” he said. “We are
still exploring which ones will be
taken and not.”
In explaining the need to go up,
Interim Planning Director Bethany
Brown and Planning Office Man
ager Ashley Craig explained how
preparing plat reviews, arranging
fire marshal inspections, looking at
codes and building plans is time
consum-
See Planning Fees on 7A
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
The 33 light poles along Jasper’s
Main Street will get a facelift after
council voted to make improve
ments through a program with
Georgia Power.
Jasper City Manager Sonia
Jammes said council has wanted to
upgrade Main Street lighting for a
while, and the project gained trac
tion after they were made aware of
a Georgia Power program that as
sists downtowns with lighting.
It would have cost six figures to
replace all of the poles, so council
voted on a more cost-effective plan.
The city will keep the existing light
poles and Georgia Power will up
grade infrastructure, change lighting
fixtures, paint the poles, update with
new electrical sockets, and also pro
vide ongoing maintenance.
Jammes said the city does not
have certified electricians on staff
and this would provide ongoing and
safe upkeep to the lighting features.
As part of the agreement, the city
will pay a one-time fee of $31,000
to Georgia Power and increase their
monthly bill from $470-$500 to
$781.
City council member Sonny
Proctor said he would like to see
what the different lighting looks like
at night before they commit to a
specific fixture.
“We don’t want our downtown
looking like a runway,” he said.
Light poles on Main Street are
going to have a new look, including
a paint job and new fixtures.
It was mentioned that council is
considering painting the green poles
black.
Millage rate proposed
Council voted to advertise a roll
back millage rate of 5.221. A roll
back rate is not considered a tax in
crease, but can produce more rev
enue if the tax digest increased, as
is the case this year.
The current millage rate is 5.467.
Pickens County and the Pickens
County School System both voted
to advertise a rollback rate as well,
with plans to adopt the rates at an
upcoming meeting.
Wine shop ordinance variance
inquiry spurs formal request
process
After a request was made by
First Mountain Tasting Room for a
variance to the Wine Specialty Shop
Ordinance, council voted to send the
issue to their development commit
tee so a formal process can be made
for requests to change their laws.
The specific request from the
downtown business was for a vari
ance that would allow them to sell
beer by the can and by glass for off
site consumption. Council member
Sonny Proctor said he had not seen
documentation about the request,
and feels they need a formal process
to handle matters like these. He
added that he was not comfortable
with making variances to the city’s
laws, but was not so dogmatic that
they would not be considered.
City Attorney David Syfan said
the city’s Wine Specialty Shop Or
dinance was developed in such a
way to keep downtown from having
stand-alone bars, and that he was
concerned that loosening the ordi
nance would open the doors for peo
ple to abuse it.
Wine Specialty Shops must sell
60 percent of revenue from pack
aged wine and wine
See City Council on 7A
Firefighters promoted
Firefighters (l-r) Isaac Holaway, Cass Harris, Royce Latty, and Jonathan Thomas all received promo
tions and were recognized at last Thursday’s board of commissioners meeting. They are shown with Public
Safety Director Sloan Elrod, left, and Fire Chief Tim Prather, in back.
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
In a brief but impressive ceremony, four firefighters
were promoted as part of the county commissioners
meeting last Thursday.
Fire Chief Tim Prather said they wanted to begin
doing a public ceremony to recognize the firefighters
who put in a lot of hours and hard work to progress in
their rank.
He said the promotions mark a “milestone” in their
career.
Pointing to the four sitting together on the front
row, “Just look at them and you can tell they have a
passion for what they do.”
Promoted were (l-r):
To lieutenant
• Isaac Holaway, an eight year employee with Pick
ens County who is certified as a paramedic;
• Cass Harris, a two-year employee;
To captain
Royce Latty, an 11-year employee;
Jonathan Thomas, a 4-year employee, who is certified
as a paramedic.
Renovations
in planning
stage for
Pickens High
Page 3A
Sports
UFA Soccer
season
underway
Page 12B
Patriot Day
ceremonies at
Veterans Park
Page 7B
Obituaries 6A
• Elizabeth Beaver
• Samuel Beavers
• Robert Di Renzo Sr.
• Debbie Hulsey
• Freda Martin
• James McBrayar Sr.
• Shirley McDonald
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