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Inside * ■ j E7 1 " J : rH ' _ 1 [; j 1 ii- -1 • r j j f Jr ■ 4 [/FESTIVAL \l 1 IJ Get ready for the Forsythia Festival See our 8-page Official Guide to the Forsythia Festival, Inside Sports MP baseball gets into the swing See our Diamond Dogs preview, inside Deaths Herschel Clemoth Hopper Charles Roy Vaughn Susie Shurley James R. Willborn See obituaries page 2A IIJ (0 (0 "O "O < CD C o O CO CL S5 « 3 I ® £ a. s 1 « O ^ ^ 2 > o If) 00 ra t n n n i/i o lVHA Hit on bike, teen fights for life BY GINA HERRING Normally happy-go- lucky Billy Winslow of Forsyth is clinging to life at Childrens Hospital in Macon. Billy was struck by a car while riding his bicycle near his home on Stuart Avenue last Tuesday afternoon. According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Billy was riding on County Road 146, a short street that connects Stuart Avenue and Shaw Avenue. The report says 16-year old Billy ran the stop sign and rode into the middle of Stuart Avenue just as a 1982 Chevrolet Monte Carlo was coming toward him. The driver, 24-year old Quantez Jarmun Lowe, of Langston Avenue, told deputy Sam Leggett that he did not see Billy until it was too late. Lowe said he slammed on his brakes and swerved into the opposite lane to avoid Billy, but hit him anyway. Lowe said the fence next to the Winslow house, along with some over grown shrubs, hindered his view of the other street. “There are always kids riding bikes on that street,” said Wanda See TEEN page 16A IN HAPPIER TIMES: Billy Winslow, left, shows off his rib bons during the 2007 Special Olympics at Mary Persons High School. Above, Billy’s bike lays in pieces beside the road where he was struck a week ago. i ..the foundations of some homes’ have cracked, water tables have been lowered and one countian said he collected 500 pounds of dust in his attic.. o o ' "F-.... over rock BY WENDELL RAMAGE Monroe County commissioners last Tuesday postponed a decision until April on Hanson Aggregates’ contro versial request to let it expand its rock quarry near Bolingbroke. But opponents , of the quarry expan sion met on Sunday and said thi may file suit to stop the addition before commissioners make a deci sion. Commissioners’ unanimqps. decision to postpone a vote Feb. 19 came after they heard 90 minutes of debate between Hanson officials and the neighbors who surround the rock quarry off Hwy. 41 in southern Monroe County. Hanson Aggregates West is asking the county to rezone 100 acres from agricultural to cpm- mercial with a conditional use to operate a rock quarry^ Randy McAllister, plant manager of the company, said Hanson has bought 99.5 acres from Oglethorpe Electric to expand its operations. He said they bought the land because reserves at the current quarry have been depleted since 1999. He added that core drillings on the site of the newly purchased property indicate new sources of high-grade rock which Hanson wishes to harvest. The prop erty is currently zoned agricultural and must be rezoned before the com pany can begin digging. The compa ny must also get the commission’s nod of approval for a conditional use of the property. McAllister told the large group at the meeting that-trees are already being cleared at the site now. He said that the company’s plan calls for the new site to ■be-' fully operational within about five' years. He continued that the expanded operation would be good for the county and the state. “It would bring jobs to the county and increase sales tax to the county. We want to go ahead with the zoning to enable us to negotiate with the state and bid on some things we’re not able to do in the past.” The several dozen countians who attended the session to express their disapproval were less than convinced that the move would be beneficial, expecially to them. Hwy. 41 resident Henry Davis, who became an unoffi cial representative of the group, said the residents close to the quarry See QUARRY page 7A County, city may share new facility Forsyth residents may one day be able to pay their city power bill, register to vote and check on their county property tax assessment all in one building. That’s because Forsyth’s city council agreed on Feb. 19 to begin discussions with county commissioners about how they could work together on the coun ty’s new administrative building. City council member Mike Dodd said the city is outgrowing its current city hall on the courthouse square, adding that the building would be better suited to a retail business. And he said it’d be the wisest use of taxpayer money for the city and county to share a facility. And See JOINT page 6A Mike’s got to learn he’s gonna lose some votes. - Commission chair Harold Carlisle •>* New engineer hired by split commission BY WILL DAVIS Monroe County hopes to save money and time by having just one engineer, instead of five, when it spends $5.2 million to expand its water system. Commissioners voted 3-2 last Tuesday to hire a Macon engineering firm to handle the water system See HIRE page 6A The Art of being police chief BY WILL DAVIS The chiefs have come and gone at the Forsyth Police Department over the past three decades, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the presence of Art Phillips. Phillips, who’s earned a reputation as a calm and honest lawman over 32 years with the depart ment, was named acting chief last month. It’s the second time in his career he’s had that title. The move came after chief John Clifton resigned in January to take a post with the new John’s Creek department near Atlanta. After two years of con troversy and lawsuits over Clifton’s hiring, council members seem happy to let Maj. Phillips serve at least through 2008. “Art does a good job and I’d just assume leave him there,” said councilman Lamar Russell, chairman of the city’s public safety See CHIEF page 7A a Art does a good job and I’d just assume leave him there. - Councilman Lamar Russell ust 99 Acting police chief Art Phillips is known as a calm, steady hand with more than 30 years at the Forsyth Police Department. (Photo/Will Davis)