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An Independent
Newspaper for
Independent
People.
Thursday, October 26, 2023 | Volume 136 Number 28 | Jasper, Georgia | 24 pages, 2 sections | Published Weekly | $1.00
Uncertainty swirls following
big resignations at county
County operating
ten percent below
budget at end
of third quarter
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
In a meeting where more went
unsaid than was stated (at least on
the record), a tectonic shift occurred
in the government of Pickens
County last Thursday as longtime
county attorney Phillip Landrum
Ill’s resignation was officially an
nounced following an executive ses
sion.
This was followed by the an
nouncement of the resignation of
Don Boggus, chair of both the devel
opment authority and the airport au
thority, the next day.
To give some perspective, Lan
drum followed in the footsteps of
both his father and aunt, with the
Landrum law firm serving as coun
sel to the county’s commissioners
beginning during the late 1970s.
Landrum took over the county legal
work in 2001 under Commissioner
Frank Martin. Landrum has contin
ued since that time, though under the
administration of Billy Newton he
was used very little with attorney
Bill Pickett doing the bulk of county
work.
Landrum was paid an annual re
tainer of $70,000 for all work done.
This amount had been increased on
January 1 of this year as he was
added to the county insurance plan.
In addition to the commissioners,
Landrums’s duties included legal
representation for numerous county
departments and boards.
This was not an amicable separa
tion with the attorney at odds with
the commission on issues that
sources on both sides offer differing
versions of what lead to the rupture.
Landrum resigned with a letter
that ran five pages. The Progress ob
tained a heavily-redacted copy Tues
day through an Open Records
request. The response appears as re
ceived with the majority of the letter
blacked out by the county’s new law
firm, citing attorney-client privilege.
See complete letter on page 11 A.
When contacted, Landrum indi
cated the entire situation had caught
him by surprise and he wasn’t pre
pared to comment. “I am still pro
cessing it,” he said. When told that
the Progress had the letter but it had
been redacted, Landrum said he was
surprised it had been redacted but
was not prepared to comment on that
either.
Don Boggus contacted the
Progress to confirm that he had re
signed from both his positions.
See County on 11A
PHS band
takes top
honors; busy
competition
season
continues
Page 12A
Fatal crash
takes man’s
life on
birthday
Photo/GoFundMe
A GoFundMe account has been
set up to raise money for funeral
expenses for Dustin Shane Cox of
Pickens County. The fundraiser is
called “Donations for Dustin, Or
ganized by Brooke Sheerer. ”
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
On Friday, Oct. 20, a 36-year-old
Pickens County man was killed in a
crash on his birthday.
“...as we all planned to celebrate
a birthday we received tragic news
that Dustin was involved in a head-
on collision,” writes a family mem
ber who started a GoFundMe for
funeral expenses. “Later that night
he went to be with the Lord.”
According to Georgia State Pa
trol reports, Dustin Shane Cox was
traveling east on Highway 136 at ap-
See Fatal Wreck on 5A
Abandoned
home burns,
causes smoke
scare
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
An abandoned home near Camp
Road caught fire Sunday in the early
evening and created a brush fire be
cause of dry conditions.
Heavy smoke from the blaze,
which occurred around 6 p.m. Sunday
Oct. 22, could clearly be seen from
Highway 515 heading north and it
alarmed some residents.
According to Pickens Fire Mar
shal Shane Callahan, no one lived in
the house at 60 Heritage Court when
it caught fire, but owners had recently
cleaned it out so they could remodel.
He said the home was sometimes
used by squatters, but no one was
there when the blaze occurred.
The cause of fire is unknown at
this time, but it caused a large brush
fire in the area.
See Fire on 5A
Heritage Days packs Talking Rock
Photo/ Max Caylor
Some 100 "Flying Ducks" were launched into Talking Rock Creek for
the charity Duck Race benefiting the Pregnancy Center and Animal
Rescue during Heritage Days last weekend. See more pics, Page 7A.
By Max Caylor
Contributing Writer
An estimated 8,000-10,000 visitors experienced
Talking Rock hospitality last weekend during Heritage
Days.
Some 80 vendors and shops along with 17 varied
food offerings presented visitors with unique treasures
and crafts as they strolled downtown Talking Rock in
perfect weather.
A highlight of each day was a duck race featuring
100 yellow mb- See Heritage Days on 7A
150 volunteer to Serve Pickens
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By Terry Franzen
Serve Pickens
The Second Annual Serve Pickens Day on Saturday,
October 21 was a beautiful day of Neighbors Helping
Neighbors. 150 of your neighbors completed various
projects for 15 of our Pickens County non-profits.
Holy Family Episcopal Church birthed Serve Pick
ens last year and invited other churches, civic groups,
and the community at large to join us in one day of serv
ice to our local non-profits.
The non-profits welcomed the help with open arms.
Covid had adversely impacted volunteerism in our
country, and our Pickens non-profits experienced the
same reduction in their volunteer numbers.
They needed help, if only for a day. Serve Pickens
was a way to bring people together in a constructive
way to help our community rebound from the impact
of Covid.
Now that we are returning to our more normal busy
lives of work and activities, Serve Pickens continues to
bring our community together for one day to help our
neighbors.
Hearts were opened and horizons were broadened as
neighbors worked together to help make Pickens
County the best place to live. Save the date for the next
Serve Pickens Day: October 19, 2024.
Learn more at ServePickens.com. More pics, 3A
Halloween
Trick or Treat
times for the
City of Jasper
Page 11A
Obituaries 8B
•Eileen Bentley
•Alexander Bolewicki
• Fredrick Cain Sr.
• Charlie Carver
• Dustin Cox
• Carolyn Ghorley
Marilyn Ivey
• Jill Kenny
• Patricia Lager
•Lillian Lawson
• Laura Rubessa
• Jim Rutledge
• Janice Rybar
•Linda Spears
•Anna Webb
• Thomas Wentworth
•Jerry Young
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