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PAGE 8A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. OCTOBER 5. 2023
310 hear about being restored from addiction
at Ruth House’s Seasons of Grace
5SI
All smiles at the Ruth House's Ministries "Seasons of Grace Gala" last Thursday
evening at Chattahoochee Tech. Since 2008 the Ruth House has helped over 200 women
overcome addiction.
By Max Caylor
Contributing Writer
The Ruth House’s annual
gala was held last Thursday
evening at Chattahoochee
Tech and was attended by
some 310 people celebrating
the theme “Seasons of
Grace.”
After two alumni program
graduates spoke Board Chair
Suzanne Harman said, “hear
ing these stories of recovery
I think everyone in the room
felt a season of grace.”
One of the two alumni
speakers was Amanda. She
graduated from the Ruth
House Recovery Program in
2016 and in June of2023 was
graduated from Vanguard
Bible College with a bache
lor’s degree in theology.
Amanda told the crowd, “I
am forever grateful for the
Ruth House and my life is a
fruit of the seeds sown there.
Chloe was the second
speaker and clearly excited
about her recovered life. She
is a recent Ruth House
alumni and shared with the
attendees, “all the things I
never thought I could accom
plish like having a job, a car
and being restored with my
family I have been able to do
thanks to the Ruth House
program.
Since 2008 the Ruth
House has helped over 200
women overcome addiction.
Harman added an extra view
of recovery noting “the re
covery is not just individual
but restoring wives, daugh
ters and helping children get
their mothers back.”
Ruth House is an accred
ited/ Christ centered non-de-
nominational 501 (c) (3)
corporation with a residential
recovery program for women
addicted to or abusing drugs
or alcohol. Executive Direc
tor Penny Haynes notes, “ad
dicts are not born they are
created and we are here to as
sist their recovery with God’s
help.”
To inquire about admis
sion, donate to the program
or for more info about Ruth
House visit info@ruthhouse-
ministries.org or call 706-
334-8888.
Georgia joins 26 state coalition in letter
demanding action involving Pornhub
“The reports regarding
Pornhub s current
policy are extremely
concerning and would
allow for the repeated
victimization of those
who are trafficked.”
- Says Ga. Attorney General
Press Release from office of
Attorney General
Chris Carr
ATLANTA, GA - Attor
ney General Chris Carr this
week joined a 26-state coali
tion in sending a letter to
Aylo, Pornhub’s parent com
pany, regarding a potential
“loophole” on the site that
would allow for the publica
tion of child sexual abuse
material.
As recently reported, an
Aylo employee was captured
on video discussing Pom-
hub’s moderation practices,
including a possible
workaround on the platform
that could permit countless
children to be victimized.
When uploading content
to the site, users are required
to submit a photo ID. Yet
they are not required to show
their face in the content they
upload. The employee admit
ted there is no way to con
firm the person featured in
the content is actually the
same person who submitted
their photo ID. When asked
if rapists and human traffick
ers use this loophole to up
load content of their victims
to make money, the em
ployee replied, “Of course.”
“Every day, we rely on
companies engaged in tech
nology to work with us to
protect children and put a
stop to their abuse and ex
ploitation,” said Carr. “The
reports regarding Pornhub’s
current policy are extremely
concerning and would allow
for the repeated victimization
of those who are trafficked.
This issue must be addressed
immediately to ensure our
most vulnerable Georgians
are kept safe and traffickers
are held accountable.”
In 2019, Carr created the
first-of-its-kind statewide
Human Trafficking Prosecu
tion Unit. Last year, this Unit
led and assisted 33 case in
vestigations and rescued and
assisted 116 victims. So far,
the Human Trafficking Pros
ecution Unit has obtained 26
new convictions in 2023, and
all of those convicted have
been sentenced to prison.
The Unit has 37 defendants
who are currently under in
dictment for sex or labor traf
ficking, with some facing
charges in multiple jurisdic
tions around the state.
The letter sent to Aylo
states, “As you are aware,
various federal and state laws
forbid the creation and distri
bution of CSAM (Child Sex
ual Abuse Material). We are
concerned that Aylo and its
subsidiary Pornhub, and pos
sibly other subsidiaries, may
be proliferating the produc
tion and dissemination of
CSAM through the ‘loop
hole’ identified by your em
ployee.
Please provide us with an
explanation of this ‘loop
hole;’ whether Aylo and its
subsidiaries do, in fact, per
mit content creators and per
formers to obscure their
faces in uploaded content;
and, if so, whether Aylo is
taking measures to change
this policy to ensure that no
children or other victims are
being abused for profit on
any of its platforms.”
In addition to Carr, the at
torneys general of the fol
lowing states also joined in
sending the letter: Alabama,
Alaska, Arkansas, Florida,
Idaho, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Missis
sippi, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, New Hampshire,
North Dakota, Ohio, Okla
homa, South Dakota, Ten
nessee, Texas, Utah,
Virginia, West Virginia and
Wyoming.
WORK SESSION AGENDA
PICKENS COUNTY BOARD
OF COMMISSIONERS
THURSDAY - OCTOBER 5, 2023 - 4:30 PM
1266 East Church Street - Jasper, GA 30143
Commission Conference Room - Suite 168
Items for Discussion:
1. Department Head Updates
2. General Discussion
3. Adjourn
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
AGENDA
PICKENS COUNTY BOARD
OF COMMISSIONERS
THURSDAY - OCTOBER 5, 2023 - 5:30 PM
1266 East Church Street - Jasper, GA 30143
Commission Conference Room - Suite 168
Call to Order
Opening Remarks
Prayer
Pledge of Allegiance
Amendments to Agenda
Consent Agenda
A. Serve Pickens Proclamation
Old Business
New Business
A. Dawson County IGA for Use of Material
Recovery Facility
IGA for Water Distribution Between the City
of Calhoun and Pickens County
ETC Service Agreement Renewal
Resolution to Move Items into Surplus
Property
Nationwide 457 Retirement Plan
"Approve Updates to the Nationwide 457
Plan
"Approve Termination of the Nationwide
457 Plan
Action Items
A. Approve Minutes:
"Regular Meeting - September 21,2023
Employee Recognitions
A. Tax Commissioner - Awards
Guests/Comments
Closing/Commissioner’s Comments
Adjourn
B.
C.
D.
E.
John Foust announces re-election
campaign for Jasper Council
Dear Citizens of Jasper:
I am John Foust. I am an
nouncing my candidacy for
Post 5, Jasper City Council. I
have had the honor of serving
on Jasper City Council since
2008. I am anchored in the
community: my lovely wife,
Cindy and I have raised two
sons in Jasper, we have an
awesome grandson with
wonderful support from my
family and friends. This is
the reason I chose to make
Jasper my home.
Our community has seen
tremendous growth during
the last four years and will
continue to do so. Jasper City
Council has a strategic road
map that we follow to man
age our current needs and
prepare us for the future. As
a council, we have acted eth
ically and honorably in our
roles, while serving the citi
zens and community.
Some of our accomplish
ments include:
• Jasper Utility Systems -
We now have a master plan
for our infrastructure includ
ing our water treatment plant
expansion, upgraded electri
cal at all stations, reappropri
ated staff to manage our
water locates, added AMI
meters to reduce water waste
from leaks and upgrading our
water systems.
• Fire - We purchased a
ladder pump truck to help re
duce the city ISO rating, or
dered a second fire engine to
be delivered in 2025, the fire
department is on track to be
come an ALS/BLS certified
station and provided training
for dual certification, so city
firefighters are certified fire
fighters and EMT’s.
• Police - The City has
purchased new police cars,
approved the purchase of lap
tops and printers for patrol
cars, dashcams and body
cameras, paid off the police
station loan early saving fur
ther interest costs, created re
tention strategies, offering
part time police officer posi
tions to reduce burnout, over
time costs and improved
coverage needs for our com
munity, purchased and in
stalled Flock cameras to con
nect to the Law Enforcement
National Flock system.
• Sanitation - We out
sourced sanitation services to
prevent further financial loss
to taxpaying citizens. Before
the transition, in-house sani
tation services caused a neg
ative financial impact of over
$100k per year. This did not
include the expense of equip
ment, maintenance, truck re
pairs or truck replacement.
Since outsourcing, we do not
have a financial loss, due to
sanitation services. The tran
sition did not result in a re
duction of staff.
• Parks -We are working
with professional engineers
and architects on a master
plan for Lee Newton Park,
Jasper City Park, and Doris
Wiginton Park, approved
Phase II of Veteran’s Memo
rial Park. And most recently,
received notification of a $ 1
million-dollar grant for Per-
row Park.
• Central Business District
Downtown - Bathrooms will
be added next to the area for
downtown parking. Created a
lighting partnership to repair
and replace lighting on Main
Street and continue our part
nership with the Downtown
Development Authority and
other city businesses.
• Grants for city improve
ments - Over $1.6 million
has been acquired in grants
for firefighting, drinking
water, parks, road, and side
walk design, to name a few
of the improvements we are
working toward.
Our accomplishments are
numerous. You can expect
future improvements in the
city’s infrastructure with
Jasper Utility Systems, roads,
police, fire safety and contin
ued upgrades of city parks
and greenspace areas located
throughout Jasper. The coun
cil has a solid strategic plan
in place for our city’s future.
I want to be a part of this
future. It has been an honor
to serve on Jasper City Coun
cil. I am asking for your con
tinued support. Please vote
for John Foust, Post 5, Jasper
City Council on November
7th, at Jasper Municipal
Court located at 55 GG
Lovell Street, Suite C, Jasper,
Georgia.
Early voting starts Octo
ber 16th at the Pickens
County Recreation Center,
located at 1329 Camp
Road, Jasper, Georgia.
Golden Deed nominees sought
Pickens County Retired
Educators Association
(PCREA) will honor a Pick
ens County resident with an
accumulated record of self
less unpaid service to
his/her fellow citizens for
the 39th year. The Golden
Deed Award is presented
annually to the person in
our community who best
exemplifies this common-
minded spirit.
To qualify for the award
one must be living and at
least 50 years old; have
lived in Pickens County at
least five years and have
made significant contribu
tions toward the betterment
of Pickens County without
financial compensation.
Many Pickens citizens
deserve recognitions; they
must be nominated by you
as an individual, club mem
ber, church member, friend
or family member. You may
nominate more than one
person for the honor.
PCREA will accept nomina
tions from the public
through December 30,
2023. The nominations are
judged by a panel of judges
represented by several local
civic organizations. Nomi
nations must be attached to
a written report that in
cludes complete informa
tion about the nominee’s
service to the community
through non-profit and
other organizations includ
ing church involvement and
volunteer activities. Please
consider a person who goes
the extra mile toward mak
ing Pickens County a better
place because of their un
selfish volunteer service in
the community.
2023 GOLDEN DEED NOMINATION FORM
Presented Annually by the Pickens County Retired Educators Association.
A nominee does not have to be an educator.
CRITERIA: A nominee must...
-Be living and at least 50 years of age
-Have lived in Pickens County at least 5 years
-Have made significant contributions toward the betterment of
Pickens County without financial compensation
Using the criteria above, I nominate
for the Golden Deed Award
The nominee’s mailing adress is
Telephone Cell Phone
This nomination is submitted by
Nominator’s Signature
Telephone Cell Phone
Date of Submission
Please complete this nomination using another page. You are requested not to use
the nominee’s name. Please refer to “The nominee” “he/she” etc. You are encour
aged to use additional pages as needed to present a complete discription of the
nominee’s contributions toward the betterment of Pickens County. Please feel free
to ask the person for information needed to complete your nomination.
Please let the committee know why you feel the person named is deserving of the
Golden Deed award because of his/her:
A. ORGANIZATIONAL and CHURCH INVOLVEMENT
B. VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY SERVICE
The form should be completed and mailed by December 30, 2023 to:
Joy Fowler Nancy Teague
112 Ray Rd. or 234 Frontier Rd.
Jasper, GA 30143 Jasper, GA 30143