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THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 2. 2023 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 3B
Letters r»
totk Editor
To the Editor:
After the Parkland shoot
ing, our community (Dawson
County) gathered to talk
about student safety and se
curity.
A group of parents advo
cating teachers carry at
tended. When my
administrator said she didn’t
know how teachers felt about
that, I volunteered to tell
them.
As a teacher, I lead, guide,
and direct instruction, disci
pline with care and love, un
derstanding that children
who present trouble may
have trouble. If I had a gun,
implicitly, I might injure or
kill a child in distress, in op
position to my mission.
My superiors nodded in
agreement.
Guns can be stolen,
grabbed, misused and mis
fired in the heat of a moment.
It’s an added variable we
don’t need when considering
student learning styles, in
structional objectives, class
room management, and
emotional readiness.
On the way out, standing
with one of my students and
her mother, an angry gun pro
ponent verbally blasted and
threatened me.
Public schools must re
main gun-free zones. We reap
what we sow, and children
learn what they live. They are
our future, so let's not gamble
what we cannot afford to
lose.
Ellen V. Harrison
Retired teacher
To the Editor:
Just wanted to thank
“Ken” again for being honest
at the new Hwy. 53 restau
rant. The last few weeks have
been hectic - son in the hos
pital in Canton, remodeling
in the house. Anyway, I left
my credit card in the ma
chine. Ken realized his
burger was on my credit card.
He asked if my name was
Sharon. I thought, ‘wow this
guy is psychic.’ No, he said,
“is this yours?” I said yes. He
handed it to me. He insisted
he would pay for his own
burger. I said I would gladly
pay for a burger to get my
credit card back. Oh. By the
way the couple behind
showed me how to use a
credit card machine without
leaving in machine. Reasons
I love my small town. We all
had a chuckle. God bless.
Thanks,
Sharon Dover
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(Email Address or Phone Number), which will not be published.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS
CHILD
IT’S WRAP-UP TIME
FOR OUR PARTIN
THE WORLD-WIDE
JOURNEY OF SHOE-
BOX GIFTS!
What an exciting year this
has been as individuals,
groups and churches in Pick
ens County began packing
shoebox gifts early. It's such
a pleasure to partner with so
many loving, generous local
folks! What’s even more ex
citing is that each box will
soon be placed in the hands
of God’s precious children,
ages 2 to 14, living around
the world. Packing shoe-
boxes is fun for us but more
importantly what comes out
of each box is eternal! Our
mission is about so much
more than just children get
ting toys, it's about evangel
ism, discipleship and the
multiplication of believers.
As one former shoebox re
cipient, named Yuliya, said
"Looking back it wasn't
about the items in the box,
but what God did in my heart
through the gift."
It all begins with evangel
ism at an outreach event.
This is BEFORE the children
receive their gifts! When the
shoebox gifts are distributed
each child receives a copy of
“The Greatest Gift” which is
a colorful story book that in
troduces them to Jesus in
their own language. Every
one must wait for all of the
shoeboxes to be distributed
and then comes the “one,
two, three” countdown as the
boxes are opened and things
really take on a gleeful at
mosphere!
The children are then
given the opportunity to take
“The Greatest Journey”, our
inter-active, 12-lesson disci
pleship course. During the
lessons and graduation the
multiplication begins as
many of the children, family
members, friends and others
in their community accept
Jesus as their Lord and Sav
ior because of what has been
shared with them and the
change that has taken place in
the children’s lives.
This year’s drop off loca
tion will once again be at
Cornerstone Church, 140
Cornerstone Dr (off of Camp
Road past the Recreation
Center). Dates and hours are
as follows:
Sunday, November 12:
Noon-2 PM
Monday thru Saturday No
vember 13-18: 10AM-2 PM
Sunday, November 19: Noon
-2 PM
Monday, November 20: 7
AM - 9 AM
Please contact Wanda Payne
a t
occwanda@windstream.net
or call 706-692-3914 if you
have questions or would like
additional information.
4ip E A
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: 1,290
Weapons Found: 19
Courts Held: 11
Arrests Made in
the Courthouse: 1
Civil Papers Received: 0
Civil Papers Served: 0
In the Adult Detention
Center:
Total Jail population: 82
Total male inmates: 64
Total female inmates: 18
Sex Offenders:
There are currently 70 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.
Overdose
Deputies were called to a
home where a person had
possibly overdosed. When
the deputies got to the home,
they went upstairs and found
the person unresponsive.
The deputies gave him a dose
of Narcan and the deputies
immediately started CPR
until EMS arrived and took
over. Eventually, the person
woke up and could walk out
side to get into the ambu
lance.
Prowler
A homeowner called for
deputies to come to his home
because there was a prowler
outside. The homeowner
told deputies he saw a person
looking through the window.
The deputies searched the
area and did not find any
thing suspicious. Then the
homeowner told the deputies
he may need psychiatric
help. The homeowner’s wife
said he had been in an acci
dent and recently started hav
ing issues.
Domestic dispute
Deputies were called to a
home for a domestic dispute
between a husband and wife.
The husband had a toothache
and wanted to cuddle, and
the wife said no she didn’t
want to cuddle and they
began arguing. The husband
told the deputies he would
not discuss his personal life
with them. The deputies
spoke to the wife and she told
the deputies her husband had
a toothache, he asked her if
she would cuddle with him
and she said no because she
was trying to sleep and he
should go to the hospital and
get his tooth checked out.
The wife said that is when
her husband got in her face
and called her names. The
wife packed a bag for her and
the children and was outside.
She told her husband she was
going to leave, but she told
deputies she had no inten
tions of leaving. The hus
band said he would leave so
he could calm down.
Theft
A man called about a gun
missing from his bedroom.
The man said he noticed back
in September he was missing
some knives he had in a box
underneath his bed. The man
said he did not notice any
type of forced entry into his
home and he did not know
who would have been in his
home to take the items.
Wanted person found
A deputy had information
about where a wanted person
may be staying. When
deputies got to the home a
The Sheriff’s Beat
From the Pickens Sheriff’s Office
woman came to the front
door, the wanted person was
her adult son. The deputy
asked if the wanted person
was there and the woman
told him yes, he was in the
back room. Deputies went to
the room where the wanted
person had been sleeping,
and he was arrested without
incident.
Guns found
A business manager called
deputies because one of his
employees had found a gun
and a bag outside the busi
ness. The manager said his
employee called first thing
that morning when she got to
work and that she had found
a gun and a bag on the
ground. The manager and
another employee put on
gloves picked up the guns
and unloaded them. The
manager took the guns into
an office and called for a
deputy to come. When the
deputy got to the business, he
saw a shotgun and when he
opened the bag there was an
other gun, a purple knife, and
two black flashlights. The
information on the guns was
entered into a database and
everything was put into evi
dence for safekeeping.
Fraud
A man called for a deputy
because he received a late
notice for a credit check and
fees to rent an apartment in
Atlanta. The man said he did
not fill out any applications
for a credit check nor to rent
an apartment in Atlanta. The
man needed a report to send
to the credit bureaus.
Vandalism
A property owner called
for a deputy to report vandal
ism. The property owner has
several chicken houses and
he saw that someone had
busted about six security
lights and damaged a free
standing plug-in light. The
property owner said someone
also had messed with his
tractor, it looked like some
one tried to manipulate the
gearshift. The tractor did not
have a key inside and was not
moved. There were also sev
eral potted plants that were
turned over and dumped out.
The property owner did not
know for sure who was re
sponsible. Extra patrols were
put in place for that area.
Suspicious person
A homeowner called for a
deputy about a suspicious
person continuously trespass
ing on his property. The
homeowner knew who the
person was and told the
deputy he was not allowed on
his property, but the suspi
cious person drove onto his
property in a white golf cart.
Deputies looked for the sus
picious person but did not
find him. Extra patrols were
set up for that area.
Stranded motorist
A deputy was called about
a stranded motorist in a bro
ken-down semi-truck. When
the deputy got there and
spoke to the driver, the driver
told him the truck had mal
functioned and he was wait
ing on a tow truck. The
deputy ran the driver’s infor
mation and found out the
driver had a suspended li
cense since September 2023.
The deputy also found out
the driver had warrants out of
Alabama for burglary, ha
rassment, criminal mischief,
and interference with a do
mestic violence emergency.
The driver was arrested.
During this past week, the Pickens Sheriff’s Office
responded to or initiated 1,823 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 18
Suicide Threats / Attempts 1
Domestics 9
Theft / Burglary Related 10
Forgery / Fraud 3
Traffic Stops 140
Citations Issued 43
Animal Investigations 9
Suspicious Persons/Activities 19
Alarm Calls 17
Stranded Motorists 17
Street Hazards 7
Vandalism 3
Abandoned Vehicles 1
Extra Patrol - neighborhoods, businesses, resi
dences 1,352. 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.
22 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):
Fugitive/finger printable charge -1
Simple Assault -1
Battery -1
Aggravated Battery -1
Burglary - 1st degree -1
Criminal trespass -1
Robbery -1
Driving w/ license susp/revoked - 3
Aggressive driving -1
Simple Assault family violence -1
False Imprisonment /fel/ -1
Cruelty to Children - 3rd degree -1
Production order - 2
Theft By Taking/ fel -1
Obstruction of LE: Threats/Violence/ Misd -1
Probation Violation -1
Probation violation (FEL) -1
Felony, False statements -1
Marijuana- poss less than 1 OZ -1
Disorderly Conduct -1
Driving W/O a valid license - 2
Susp/canceled/revoked insurance -1
DUI -1
Susp/cancelled/ revoked reg -1
Parole Violation -1
Bond Violation -1
Battery Family Violence - (1st offense) -1
Theft by Taking/ MISD/ -1
ID Theft Fraud -1
Felony - 3rd Degree -1
Forgery - 3rd degree -1
GRISHAM, POOLE
& CARLILE, PC
Criminal Defense I Family Law
"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
Experienced. Established. Effective.