Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 14, No. 19
Thursday, May 13, 2021
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108 East Gordon Street, Thomaston, Ga. 30286 706-646-2382
Utility Bill ‘Adjustments’ Start This Month
City Power Customers Con Expect $2 to $5 Increase for Plant Vogtle Debt
By Bridge Turner
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
Members of the Thom
aston City Council voted
unanimously last week to
reenact a power cost ad
justment of approximately
$2 per 1,000 kilowatt
hours used by customers
to cover future debt asso
ciated with the devel
opment of Plant Vogtle.
The previously ap
proved measure was re
scinded for 90 days based
on a plea from councilman
Jeff Middlebrooks, who
said the “poorly timed” ac
tion placed additional bur
den on residents during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
The delay resulted in an
increase from $1.56 to
$2.03 per 1,000 kwh.
The adjustment will
begin with May billing and
will continue through the
end of 2021.
Revenue generated
from the hike will be
placed into a trust fund
with the Municipal Elec
tric Authority of Georgia to
service mounting debt as
sociated with the ongoing
development of nuclear
power Plant Vogtle. Par
ticipation in multi-phase
development of the plant
was approved more than a
decade ago by a previous
city administration.
At the time, multiple
Georgia municipalities
“opted out” of participa-
Utility Bill, yA
3 ULMS Students
Allegedly Involved
in Gummy Incident
Three children ages 11, 13, and 15
were referred to Upson County Juvenile
Court after marijuana gummies were
found and tested positive for THC at
Upson Lee Middle School. All three face
charges of manufacturing, possession,
and distribution.
According to an Upson County Sher
iff s Office incident report, a teacher no
tified the school’s resource officer that a
juvenile female, age 13, was possibly eat
ing a “weed gummy.” The 13-year-old
told the RO that she purchased the
Gummy Incident, 4A
Natalie Miller
Photo Submitted
Miller named a
GC Class of 2021
Valedictorian
Natalie Miller of Thomaston has been
named one of 15 valedictorians for the
May/August graduating class of 2021 at
Georgia College in Milledgeville.
Being named valedictorian is “a feat
that can only be accomplished through
hard work, dedication, and persever
ance,” according to a statement from the
college.
Valedictorians have a perfect 4.0
grade point average throughout their un
dergraduate careers. Miller majored in
English and is the daughter of Superior
Court Judge Benjamin Miller, Jr. and
Amanda Miller.
Miller was also valedictorian for the
Upson-Lee High Class of 2017.
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Assistant Coach Monica Perdue, Coach Taylor English, Trey Kelly, Skye Perdue, and Coach Brian Oglesbee.
Kelly, Perdue Take Area low Medalist,
Lady Knights Advance to State as a Team
By Jacob Stewart
sports@upsonbeacon.com
Upson Lee Golf im
pressed at the area match
last week. The Knights’
two top golfers took low
medalist honors for both
the boys’ and girls’ sides.
Trey Kelly won his
match in a playoff with a
78, and Skye Perdue won
by five strokes with a 90.
The Lady Knights ad
vanced to state with a sec
ond-place finish. Ellie
Watson shot 108, and Ava
Dunaway shot 109 to wrap
up the day’s scoring.
The Lady Knights will
advance to state without
any seniors on the team.
The future of UL golf is
bright.
Perdue did what she
has done all season and
lived up to the challenge.
Having played only three
matches last year before
COVID-19 interrupted,
this is her first complete
Knights, yA
Food Distribution Event is Tomorrow
The Upson County Sher
iff s Office will host a food
distribution event tomor
row, May 14, beginning at
10:30 a.m. at the Thomas-
ton-Upson Soccer Complex
behind the civic center, lo
cated at 101 Civic Center
Drive.
Participants should drive
to the rear of the civic center
and follow the signs to a dis
tribution point, where 1,100
boxes of food weighing 25 to
30 pounds each will be pro
vided on a first come, first
served basis. Boxes will con
tain meat, vegetables, and
dairy products.
Volunteers from local
churches will load boxes into
vehicles using a drive-
through format.
Sheriff Dan Kilgore’s of
fice is partnering with F.A.T.
Ministries of Bolingbroke,
the Farmers to Families
Food Box Program, and the
Society of St. Andrew (end-
hunger.org) of Macon, along
with local church partners,
to sponsor the event.
“We are honored to par
ticipate in this much needed
event in our community,”
Sheriff Kilgore said. “Please
share this information so
Photo by Luke Haney
that we may reach as many
people as possible.”
The food distribution
event will be held rain or
shine.
Drive-by Gunfire
Leads to Multiple
Felony Charges
Kimberly Torries-Pagan of Sunny
Field Court in Stockbridge was arrested
and charged with multiple felony counts
of aggravated assault and cruelty to chil
dren after firing a handgun from a vehicle
toward a residence on Paisley Street last
Friday, according to a Thomaston Police
Department report.
Following a complaint by the Paisley
Street resident, 25-year-old Pagan was
stopped by TPD driving south on High
way 19 South. Pagan consented to a
search of her silver Toyota Camry, in
which Lt. Whitney Lawrence found a pink
and silver 9mm handgun matching the
description given by witnesses at the
scene of the incident, the report stated.
Drive-by, yA
File Photo
RedSpeed camera on Hwy 74.
School Zone
Traffic Cams
Will Remain
Council Votes 4-1 in Favor
By Bridge Turner
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
Despite opposition from councilman
Jeff Middlebrooks, members of the
Thomaston City Council voted 4-1 during
a special called meeting last Friday to
continue using the RedSpeed traffic cam
era system to deter speeding in local
school zones.
Middlebrooks has expressed distaste
for the system multiple times, including
during council’s meeting the previous
Tuesday. “I’m all for safety at the school,”
he said, I just feel like it’s entrapment.”
School zone cameras monitor traffic
from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through
Friday, with reduced speed limits of 30
Traffic Cams, yA
8
10499 02461 2
Georgia Business Community is Calling for
End to Additional Unemployment Benefits
The Georgia Chamber
of Commerce, along with
other associations and
councils, have teamed to
get Georgians back into
the workforce. In an op-ed
sent to The Upson Beacon,
the group reported
231,000 Georgians out of
work with 406,000 job
openings.
The authors of the op
ed titled “Georgia’s Grow
ing Labor Crisis” are
asking legislators to end
additional unemployment
benefits, among other
requests, to address Geor
gia’s workforce shortage:
We all know that Geor
gians have an incredible
work ethic and want to
work. As we continue to
recover from this pan
demic-induced recession,
we are hearing from a
growing chorus of small
business owners, agricul
tural leaders, managers in
retail, manufacturing, and
nearly every industry sec
tor across the country con
cerned about the lack of
available workforce.
In 2020, Georgia saw a
record 40 percent annual
increase in the number of
economic development
projects announced. Our
economy has quickly re
bounded thanks to a bal
anced pandemic strategy
coupled with record-high
consumer spending, in-
Unemployment, 8A
ft) Griffin Ob-Gyn
NOW SEEING PATIENTS IN THOMASTON
403 WEST MAIN STREET
TUESDAY-THURSDAY 8:30-4:30
CALL TO MAKE AN
APPOINTMENT TODAY:
(770)227.5505
(706)646.2888
Leigh Ann Story, CNV; Bryan Krepps, HO; Jim Dunaway, MD; Lou Hameli, MO; Holly Harrison, PA-C;
Nadine Nolting, CNH; Enid Lofters-Jones, MD; Megan Potter. MD; Katya Brickman. CNM; Ashley Johnson, PA
