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THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 14. 2023 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 5B
Letters
tatk Editor
To the Editor:
Just a word of positivity in
this time of so much anger
and unkindness: The Jasper
Farmers’ Market, started by
Kathy Bell and now man
aged by Jenny Fellenbaum is
sponsored by the Pickens
County Master Gardeners
and should be highlighted on
everyone’s calendar.
For at least 20 some con
secutive years, local farmers
and artisans have plied their
wares on Saturday and
Wednesday mornings to the
delight of the local commu
nity. Jenny is there early to
set up and late to break down
and has the appreciation of
vendors and customers.
The Master Gardeners
showcase plants and answer
questions for both longtime
and beginning gardeners, in
addition to holding seminars
about different aspects of
gardening. The quality of the
produce and home goods and
the skill of the craftspeople is
outstanding. Thanks to all of
them for their contributions.
As Pickens County and
Jasper work to showcase this
area with Art Walks and com
munity music gatherings,
new shops and good restau
rants, improving the airport
and many other worthwhile
endeavors, I’d like to say
thank you to the wonderful
people of the Farmers’ Mar
ket for their work and dedi
cation.
Susie Brogdon
To The Editor:
I recommend the courts in
Georgia suck it up, split the
trials into individual trials to
run concurrently with differ
ent judges and different ju
ries.
Nineteen different people,
in 19 different locations, at
19 different times and 19 dif
ferent sets of circumstances,
with 19 different levels of in
volvement and 150 witnesses
that saw each and every
event involving those 19 de
fendants?
What they are trying here
is abhorrent to the constitu
tion on numerous levels.
Put them all in different
counties with varying politi
cal leanings of the popula
tion/jury pool.
If the Fulton County DA
actually has factual evidence
on each defendant, then there
will be no problems.
Drew Dickey
To The Editor:
The recent flooding in At
lanta serves as a stark re
minder of the urgent need to
address climate change. The
evidence is mounting - these
extreme weather events are
not mere coincidences, but
rather the result of a chang
ing climate.
It's crucial that we connect
the dots and recognize the
role of human activities in
exacerbating these disasters.
As concerned citizens, we
must channel our voices
through our elected represen
tatives. I urge readers to take
action and contact their local
representatives, pushing for
comprehensive policies that
address climate change head-
on. Failing to do so will only
worsen the situation, with
more frequent and severe
flooding events becoming
the new normal.
To make a tangible differ
ence, I encourage readers to
join their local Citizens' Cli
mate Lobby chapter. Here,
individuals come together to
advocate for effective cli
mate policies that can help
mitigate the impact of flood
ing and safeguard our com
munities for generations to
come.
Sincerely,
Lauren Howard
To the Editor:
Most of us take for
granted that we can pick up
the phone or hop online, in
stantly communicating with
family and friends. We can
connect with almost anyone
in the world, pay bills, call
for emergency help or even
apply for a job.
Imagine if, through cir
cumstances beyond your
control, you could not afford
a phone or internet services.
What if finances caused you
to sacrifice these vital ameni
ties, even temporarily?
Unfortunately, too many
people in Georgia face this
problem. In our state, an es
timated 800,000 households
qualify for - but are not reg
istered for - a program that
could help. Since 1985,
“Lifeline” has provided land
line or mobile phone assis
tance, offering discounts
from $5.25 to $9.25 per
month. For certain providers,
this covers the entire monthly
cost.
Georgians who qualify for
Lifeline also qualify for the
Affordable Connectivity Pro
gram. This program provides
up to $30 per month towards
home broadband service and
up to a $100 one-time benefit
toward the purchase of a
desktop, laptop or tablet.
As a Georgia Public Serv
ice Commissioner and chair
man of the Georgia PSC
Telecommunications Com
mittee, I’m joining commis
sioners nationwide to raise
awareness of these programs.
This week, Sept. 11-15, is
“Digital Connectivity and
Lifeline Awareness Week.”
For more information on
how to sign up for Lifeline
and the Emergency Broad
band Benefit, visit
www.fcc.gov/lifeline-con-
sumers and
www.fcc.gov/broadbandben-
efit or contact the PSC at
404-656-4501.
Lauren “Bubba” Mc
Donald Jr., Commissioner
Georgia Public Service
Commission
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.
Bethsadia
Fernandez
Follow me on Facebook
6etlisadjn4citycouncii@gmail.com
City Council-Post 5
vote for Bethsadia
November 7,2023
City of Jasper General Election
678-371-6885
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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: 827
Weapons Found: 3
Courts Held: 7
Arrests Made in
the Courthouse: 0
Civil Papers Received: 56
Civil Papers Served: 57
In the Adult Detention
Center:
Total Jail population: 93
Total male inmates: 71
Total female inmates: 22
Sex Offenders:
There are currently 71 sex of
fenders registered with the
Pickens Sheriff’s Office.
Psq
REP
The Pickens Sheriff’s
Office responds to many
calls for service every day.
The following incidents are
a few deputies respond to
each day.
Burglary in process
A deputy was called to a
home under construction that
was being burglarized. The
deputy and a city officer
went into the house and
found no one. The home-
owner was on the phone with
the deputy and said he saw
two white men on his trail
camera right before the
deputy got to the house.
Nothing seemed out of place
inside the house. As the
deputy was getting ready to
leave he saw a man kneeling
across the street from the
house. The man said he was
a neighbor and he had seen a
car pull into the driveway
and then leave before the po
lice got there. He did not see
anyone get out of the car.
Neighbor dispute
A deputy was called to a
property because of a neigh
bor's disagreement. The
property owner did not want
to allow the neighbor to fix
part of the driveway, where
he has an easement. The
property owner was blocking
the easement area not allow
ing the neighbor to do the re
pair work necessary. The
property owner said he didn’t
want to have dirt get on his
property. The neighbor said
he would clean up any mess
he may leave. Both parties
were told this is a civil mat
ter.
Traffic stop
A hit from the FLOCK
camera system was received
about a truck having an ex
pired registration. The deputy
ran the information on the
truck and discovered it also
had no valid insurance. The
deputy pulled the truck over
and spoke to the driver. The
driver said he did not have
insurance and had no way to
have insurance added at that
time. The driver was issued a
citation and the truck was
towed.
Driving on a
suspended license
A deputy was on patrol
when he saw a car with a
vanity cover over the expira
tion sticker of the tag. The
deputy ran the tag informa
tion and it came back that the
registration was suspended
and did not have insurance.
The deputy pulled the car
over and explained the stop
to the driver and asked for
her license. The driver said
she did not have her license
on her person. The driver was
very nervous and was fum
bling with her phone. The
deputy ran the information
on the driver and her license
was suspended. The driver
was arrested for driving on a
suspended license and the car
The Sheriff’s Beat
From the Pickens Sheriff’s Office
was towed.
Man outside yelling at a
woman inside the home
A deputy was called be
cause there was a man stand
ing outside of a home yelling
at a woman inside of the
home. When the deputy got
to the area, the man was still
outside. The man said his
girlfriend was inside the
home and had his phone but
would not let him in to get it.
The deputy spoke to the girl
friend, she said she did not
have his phone. The girl
friend believed the man was
cheating on her and she told
him to leave. She said the
man would walk in and out
of the home so finally she
locked the door behind him.
The girlfriend said the man
did not live at the home but
he would say he did. The
girlfriend did not have the
phone but did help look for it,
the phone was not found.
iphone left on a school bus
A woman called to report
her middle school child left
an iphone on the school bus.
The woman said she had
called the bus bam and re
quested they investigate. The
deputy spoke to the manager
at the bus barn and he told
him the bus had been
checked twice and the phone
had not been found. The
manager did tell the woman
if the phone was recovered it
would be returned to her.
The woman needed a report
done for insurance.
Criminal trespass
A woman called for a
deputy because the daughter
to the man she lives with is
causing problems. She said
the daughter will sometimes
come by to see her father but
she always argues with both
of them. The woman said the
daughter came by and
banged on all the doors to the
house, and did some damage
to the front screen door. The
woman said she did not want
to press charges only for her
to stay away from them.
A man used the bathroom
in some bushes
A woman called for a
deputy because she saw a
man squat down in the field
behind some bushes and use
the bathroom on her property.
The deputy spoke to the man
and he said he had Crohn’s
disease and could not hold it
any longer, he thought he
picked a spot where no one
would see him do his busi
ness. The man said he would
clean up his mess. The
woman said she would not
press charges if he cleaned up
his mess. The woman gave
the man a bag for him to
clean it up.
Domestic dispute
A passerby called for
deputies telling them there
was a domestic dispute in
progress in the street and the
woman had been thrown in
the ditch. When deputies ar
rived they did not find a
woman in the ditch, they did
have a possible address for
the woman who was in dis
tress. The deputies went to
that address and the woman
said she was fine. The
woman said earlier she had
been in her feelings and she
was arguing with her hus
band. The woman decided to
go for a walk to cool off and
her husband followed her and
they kept arguing, but at no
time did anything become
physical. The deputies did
not see any marks on either
one of them. Both said the ar
gument was only verbal.
Missing motorcycle tag
A man came to the sher
iff’s office to report his tag
missing from his motorcycle.
The man said the tag was on
the motorcycle the night be
fore, but when he got up the
next morning the tag was
missing. The man did not
know what could have hap
pened to the tag but needed a
report to give to the tag office
in order for it to be replaced.
GRISHAM, POOLE
& CARLILE, PC
Criminal Defense I Family Law
During this past week, the Pickens Sheriff’s Office
responded to or initiated 1,651 calls for service.
These numbers are taken from the report provided di
rectly 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 incident.
Accidents 12
Suicide Threats / Attempts 2
Domestics 8
Theft / Burglary Related 13
Forgery / Fraud 3
Traffic Stops 118
Citations Issued 27
Animal Investigations 10
Suspicious Persons/Activities 24
Alarm Calls 5
Stranded Motorists 8
Street Hazards 0
Vandalism 5
Abandoned Vehicles 2
Extra Patrol - neighborhoods, businesses, resi
dences 1,150. In addition to these, other calls include
search warrants, civil service, 911 hang-up calls, as
saults, disorderly persons, missing persons, assistance
with medical calls, natural death investigations, de
mented persons, funeral escorts, harassment, trespass
ing, and many more.
17 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):
Surety came off of bond -1
Obstruction of LEO - 2
Theft By Taking / Fel - 3
Drive w/ license suspended revoked -1
Battery -1
Housed for another county - 4
Bond violation -1
Weekender -1
Disorderly county ordinance -1
Bench warrant type A -1
Poss. of methamphetamine w/intent -1
Drug-related obj (1st and 2nd offense) -1
Production order -1
Forgery - 3rd degree -1
Driving w/o a valid license - 2
Driving w/ license susp/revoked -1
Hold for another county (warrant) -1
Safety belt required for a child -1
No proof of insurance -1
DUI -1
Poss. of a scheduled I controlled substance -1
Attempt to commit MISD -1
Criminal Trespass -1
"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
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