Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 14, No. 17
Thursday, April 29, 2021
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108 East Gordon Street, Thomaston, Ga. 30286 706-646-2382
Council Serves Another Round of Alcohol Penalties
City Extends Moratorium on List of Businesses Through October
By Bridge Turner
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
During hearings last
Friday, Thomaston City
Council members handed
out identical penalties to
the remaining eight of 14
stores accused of selling
alcoholic beverages to un
derage, undercover of
ficers in February.
All stores received 30-
day alcohol license sus
pensions and mandatory
six-month probations, and
all penalties were ap
proved by the same 3-1
vote, with Mayor Pro-tem-
pore Doug Head in opposi
tion. Members Jeff
Middlebrooks, Lakeitha
Reeves, and Don Great-
house voted in favor of the
maximum penalty, and
member Ryan Tucker con
tinued to recuse himself
from proceedings.
All stores were found
guilty by a 4-0 vote.
Store owners objected
to stiff penalties handed
out during the first round
of hearings held April 16,
citing familiarity with of
ficers used in an under
cover operation by
Thomaston Police Depart
ment and the Narcotics
Task Force. Seven of the 21
stores involved in the op
eration legally requested
proper identification, ac
cording to TPD personnel.
City Council, 4A
Photo by Luke Haney
Gail Hammock (center) stands with her son Brian, Daughter Mandy, and two of her grandchildren.
The Unstoppable Gail Hammock
With more than 42 years in the books, City Clerk Gail Hammock served her last day with the
City of Thomaston on April 28. See highlights from Hammock’s retirement party on Page 2A
and learn more in the 2021 Upson Woman Magazine, available May 6.
Posey Charged
With Aggravated
Child Molestation
Rodney Lamar Posey,
55, of 216 West Moores
Crossing Road in Thomas
ton, was arrested last week
and charged with aggra
vated child molestation,
according to Upson
County Sheriff Dan Kil
gore.
Sheriffs investigators
arrested Posey in reference
to a case that was reported
to UCSO on April 10, in
volving allegations that
Posey repeatedly molested
a 15-year-old female in
March 2020.
During the investiga
tion, evidence was col
lected, witnesses were
Photo Submitted
Rodney Lamar Posey, Sr.
interviewed, and the fe
male juvenile was inter
viewed and examined by a
forensic specialist at Cres-
UCSO, 4A
Community Mourns
Loss of Bobby Booker
Memorial services were
held Tuesday for Robert
“Bobby” Howard Booker,
who died Sunday at age 58
after devoting most of his
life to public service in
Upson County.
Booker worked for 30
years with various local
fire departments, predom
inantly Northside Fire De
partment, and was rescue
chief for Upson Emer
gency Management
Agency for four years. His
vast knowledge of Flint
River earned him “go-to”
status with local officials
Photo Submitted
Bobby H. Booker
as a resource for river op
erations.
“He has been on count
less rescue and recovery
operations,” Joey Thiel
said. “His knowledge of
the river is unmatched,
and he is the only person I
know to receive two sep
arate Awards of Valor
from the Georgia EMA for
rescuing people from the
flint when it flooded.”
Upson EMA Director
Martha Ann McCarty said
Booker “was one of a
kind.”
“If ever there was a
‘prepper,’ Bobby was one,”
McCarty said. “He taught
Booker, 4A
City OKs $27K for Tag
Reading Camera System
Hammock Honored by GMA
By Bridge Turner
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
Members of the Thom
aston City Council voted
unanimously last week to
authorize $27,500 for in
stallation of Flock Safety
license plate reading cam
eras on major roadways
8 10499 02461 2
leading into town.
The 10-camera system
will be funded by proceeds
from RedSpeed citations
issued in local school
zones, also monitored by
traffic cameras. Thomas
ton Police Chief Mike
Richardson recommended
the system during a March
council meeting, saying,
“It will not cost the tax
payers a dime.”
Using the same tech
nology as cameras at
tached to patrol cruisers,
the Flock system will alert
law enforcement immedi
ately - day or night - if an
illegally operating vehicle,
or one suspected in crim
inal activity, enters the city
limits. Councilman Jeff
Middlebrooks cast the
only vote against drafting
an agreement with Flock
in March.
“Our community
thinks we’re trying to take
advantage of them to make
money,” Middlebrooks
said about the school zone
cameras. “To me, in my
opinion, it’s a trap. We
don’t need to be doing this.
It’s totally wrong to me.”
Last week Middle
brooks voted in favor of
the Flock cameras, which
claim to reduce crime by
more than 70 percent in
monitored areas.
According to Richard
son, tag-reading cameras
will be placed on Highway
19 North and South, High
way 74 East and West,
Highway 36 East and
Camera System, 4A
Photo by Luke Haney
Firefighters utilitzing a positive pressure fan to facilitate the removal
of all residual smoke after the fire was extinguished.
TFD Extinguishes House Fire
on South Green Street
Thomaston Fire Depart
ment responded to a house
fire at 701 South Green
Street in Thomaston last
week to find a single story,
wood frame structure with
light smoke coming from
the eve of the roof. No one
was inside the home dur
ing the incident, according
to a TFD report.
Forcing entry into the
front door of the house,
fire fighters found heavy,
thick smoke inside the res
idence and made entry by
way of crawling using the
thermal imaging camera to
assist in finding the fire.
After sorting through fur
niture, TFD located the
seat of the fire and began
TFD, 4A
Thomaston Man Charged
With Aggravated Assault
Johnterrius Quitez
Raines, 23, of Avenue F in
Thomaston, was arrested
and charged with three
counts of aggravated as
sault last week following
an altercation involving a
handgun at a local busi
ness, according to a Thom
aston Police Department
report.
The branch manager at
Personnel Options on
North Church Street told
officers that Raines re
peatedly called the busi
ness harassing an office
assistant, who he blamed
for being terminated from
a job at Quad. Eventually,
he walked into Personnel
Options “agitated and yel
ling,” the report stated.
Employees asked
Raines to “calm down and
leave” and he pulled out a
.380 caliber handgun,
chambered a live round,
and began waving and
pointing the pistol at em
ployees, including the
manager’s 15-year-old son,
according to the report.
Multiple officers arrived at
the scene, disarmed and
detained Raines.
In addition to aggra
vated assault, Raines was
charged with possession of
a firearm by a convicted
felon and criminal use of
an article with altered
identification, because
TPD, 4A
(0 Griffin Ob-Gyn
NOW SEEING PATIENTS IN THOMASTON
CALL TO MAKE AN
APPOINTMENT TODAY:
403 WEST MAIN STREET
TUESDAY-THURSDAY 8:30-4:30
(770)227.5505
(706)646.2888
Leigh Ann Story, CNM; Bryan Krepps. HO; Jim Dunaway, MD; Lou Hameli, MO; Holly Harrison, PA*C;
Nadine Nolting, CNH; Enid Lofters-Jones, MD; Hegan Potter. HD; Katya Brickman. CNM; Ashley Johnson, PA