Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 14, No. 30
Thursday, July 29, 2021
UPSON.
BEACON
Shining Light & Keeping Watch on Our Community
upsonbeacon.com
219 Thomas Street, Thomaston, Ga. 30286 • 706.646.2382
50 Cents
City Increases Lineman Pay to Boost Interest
Position Has Remained Vacant for 10 Months; Mayor Votes to Break 2-2 Tie
By Bridge Turner
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
The Thomaston City
Council voted 3-2 last
week, with Mayor J.D.
Stallings casting the decid
ing vote, to increase com
pensation for an electric
department lineman posi
tion which has been un
filled for almost a year.
The vote followed a
recommendation by City
Manager Russell Thomp
son, who told council
members the vacant posi
tion had been advertised
for 10 months without in
terest. Another lineman is
scheduled to retire in Au
gust, according to Thomp
son, and a “ground” posi
tion in the department
also has been vacant for
nine months.
Thompson suggested
raising pay to $31.77 per
hour, approximately
$66,000 per year, to gen
erate interest. He told
council members the offer
would make Thomaston
competitive with Barnes-
ville and Griffin, each of
which advertise their “lo
west level” electrical posi
tion around $65,000
annually.
The increase, including
benefits, will add $24,500
to the electric department
budget, according to
Thompson, and additional
funds would come from
the city’s “undesignated
fund balance.”
“I hear what you’re say
ing,” council member La-
keitha Reeves commented,
“but I’m sure the same
thing is going on with
other departments.”
Council member Ryan
Tucker asked if other de
partments have suffered
comparable issues, and
Thompson said the police
department has experi
enced similar staffing
struggles. “It’s evolution of
the market - it’s a moving
scale,” Thompson ex
plained.
Lineman Pay, 6A
Upson County Man
Charged with Child
Sexual Exploitation
According to the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation website, 22-year-old Eric
Logan Brown of Upson County was ar
rested July 14 and charged with two
counts of sexual exploitation of children
by the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Com
puter Crimes Unit.
Brown, who was charged for distribu
tion of child sexual abuse material, was
taken into custody by the Thomaston Po
lice Department.
The GBI CEACC Unit began an inves
tigation into Brown’s online activity after
receiving a cybertip from the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Chil
dren regarding the online possession and
distribution of images depicting child
sexual abuse material (CSAM), according
to the GBI report. The investigation re
vealed that the distribution of the CSAM
by Brown occurred within the confines of
Franklin County, Ga., and arrest war
rants were taken in Franklin County for
the sexual exploitation of children.
Once arrest warrants were obtained
for Brown, he was taken into custody by
TPD in Thomaston, where he was cur
rently residing, and was transferred to
GBI, 8A
Photo by Kinsley Riggins
Students learn about soil erosion during Summer Agriculture Day of Fun.
Upson 4H and UGA Extension Hold
Summer Agriculture Day of Fun
By Kinsley Riggins
Staff Writer
Upson County Farm
Bureau, along with Upson
County University of Geor
gia Extension and Upson
County 4H, held a
“summer agriculture day
of fun” on July 21 for chil
dren who have completed
kindergarten through sev
enth grade.
Participants learned
about the components of
the agricultural industry
with games and hands-on
learning, such as the Geor
gia Ag Experience mobile
Agriculture Day, 4B
Resident Piles On
Trash Complaints
East Side of Highway lg
By Bridge Turner
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
Silvertown resident Dennis Boyt
added to recent complaints concerning
property upkeep on the east side of High
way 19 last week, telling members of the
Thomaston City Council he feels “ne
glected.”
Boyt said he and his brother live in
the G Street and Deluxe Circle areas, and
that he is disappointed to watch his prop
erty value decline while property values
on the west side of the corridor continue
to increase. Council has heard similar
complaints during public comments at
recent meetings.
“I’ve had the grass cut, trash picked
up, and debris cleaned out of the ditches
one time this year, at the first of spring,”
Boyt told council members. I called my
council member and he got it done.
“Last year, it was the same thing.
Seems like every time I need something,
I have to call my council member to get
it done,” Boyt continued. “Here I am, a
taxpayer, having to beg to get what I pay
for.”
District 2 council member Jeff Mid-
Trash Complaints, 8A
Greathouse Suggests
‘Tough Love’ Approach
to Area Homeless Issue
By Bridge Turner
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
District 4 councilman
Don Greathouse told fel
low members and attend
ees of last week’s meeting
that local officials should
take a “tough love” ap
proach to what he called a
homeless problem in
Thomaston.
In a prepared state
ment, Greathouse said,
“We need to address the
homeless problem in
Thomaston immediately.
It’s become a large issue -
the legal, mental health,
alcohol and drug add
iction, and spiritual needs
Photo by Luke Haney
Don Greathouse
of the homeless.
“We can do this by de
veloping a plan of action
and task force of differing
public agencies and pri-
Greathouse, 8A
Governor Kemp Makes Historic
Appointment to Fayette Superior Court
The following story,
written by Cal Beverly, is
reprinted from The Citizen
(Fayetteville) website:
For the first time, Fay
ette County and the Griffin
Judicial Circuit have a black
and a woman as a superior
court judge.
Her name is Rhonda
[Bender] Kreuziger, and she
lives in Fayetteville.
Gov. Brian P. Kemp on
July 20 announced his ap
pointment of Judge Kreu
ziger to fill the Superior
Court vacancy in the Griffin
Judicial Circuit. Kreuziger
will fill the vacancy created
by the resignation of the
Honorable Chris Edwards.
The circuit comprises
Spalding, Pike, Fayette, and
Upson counties.
Judge Kreuziger issued
the following statement fol
lowing the announcement
of her appointment:
“I am deeply grateful to
Governor Kemp for select
ing me as his intended ap
pointment to the Griffin
Judicial Circuit Superior
Court. I am also deeply
grateful for broad support
from attorneys, clerks, court
personnel, and members of
the public.
“The paramount duty of
a judge is to follow the law,
ensuring the litigants are
provided due process. I will
always seek wisdom in ap
plying the rule of law to
render fair and impartial
judgments. I look forward
Kreuziger, yA
Photo Submitted
Judge Rhonda Kreuziger
8
10499 02461 2
Council Discusses Rent
Increase on City-owned Units
HUD Formula & Guidelines Discussed
By Bridge Turner
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
A vacancy in one of the city’s
community development properties
sparked discussion among council
members last week, leading Mayor
J.D. Stallings to question the legality
of rental rates which fall consid
erably short of guidelines suggested
by the Department of Housing and
Urban Development.
One of 45 city-owned units re
cently became available, and City
Rent Increase, yA
2020 Audit Shows
City in ‘Good Shape’
By Bridge Turner
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
Reshann Adams, partner at
city auditor Driver, Adams +
Sharpe, Certified Public Ac
countants, followed her presen
tation to the Thomaston City
Council last week by telling of
ficials, “You’re in good shape.”
Adams’ 2020 audit reflects
almost $13.7 million in “total
working capital” for the city, in
cluding almost $4.8 million in
the general fund and $8.9 mil
lion in proprietary funds, which
2020 Audit, 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