Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 14, No. 46
UPSON
Thursday, November 18, 2021
BEACON
Shining Light & Keeping Watch on Our Community
upsonbeacon.com
219 Thomas Street, Thomaston, Ga. 30286 • 706.646.2382
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A group of area residents stand along West Gordon Street with signs protesting
vaccine mandates at Upson Regional Medical Center
Group Protests Vaccine
Mandate in Front of URMC
Bridge Turner
Managing Editor
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
A small group of area res
idents protested the federal
government’s vaccine mandate
throughout the day Friday,
standing with signs along West
Gordon Street in front of Upson
Regional Medical Center.
Protest organizer Heather
Adams said her complaint is fo
cused on healthcare workers,
and includes a distaste for what
she called “government over
reach.”
The reason I chose to pro
test against the vaccine man
date is to stand up for those
medical workers that stood up
for us, in this community and
all over our country, on the
frontlines during this horrible
pandemic,” Adams com
mented. “I just can’t quite wrap
my head around the fact that
they were hailed as heroes one
second and then stripped of
their personal freedoms the
next.
“They worked tirelessly for a
year and a half, and this is how
we repay them? Were there not
parades of people rallying to
gether to give them encourage
ment, bringing treats, making
Vaccine Mandate Protest, 7 A
Community Ambulance
to End Service In Upson
Bridge Turner
Managing Editor
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
Community Ambulance,
Upson County’s current emer
gency medical services provider,
submitted a letter of non-renewal
to commissioners Monday, ac
cording to County Manager Jason
Tinsley.
The ambulance service’s exit
will be effective Valentine’s Day
2022.
Community’s letter to the
Upson Board of Commissioners
reads as follows:
“Community Ambulance has
provided emergency medical
services for Upson County since
2014. Regrettably, we must now
provide you with our notice of
non-renewal of the ambulance
service agreement with Upson
County. Our final day of opera
tion will be Feb. 13, 2022.
“Pursuant to OCGA 31-11-3,
31-11-4 and [Department of Pub-
Community Ambulance, 8A
County Moves Tiny Home
Zoning To Back Burner
Bridge Turner
Managing Editor
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
Commission members opted
last week to further discuss a pro
posed tiny home county ordi
nance during the January 2022
work session, with Chairman
Norman Allen saying, “We have
some more work to do on this.”
The Upson Planning Commis
sion submitted a draft of the ordi
nance creating designated areas
specifically for reduced square
footage homes for commission
approval.
“I think it’s a good idea for
people who want to live in some
thing like that... but I don’t want
it to go south really quickly,”
Commissioner Paul Jones said.
“People think they can throw up
a 400-square-foot home and live
in it on two acres of land in A-R
[zones] because we have a lot of
two-acre lots... but we haven’t
gotten that far along yet.”
Among areas allowed in the
proposed ordinance are manufac
tured home parks, which sparked
questions from Allen and Com
missioner Ben Watson. Allen ex
pressed concerns about the
Tiny Home Zones, 8A
8 10499 02461 2
Commission Adds
Juneteenth to ‘22
Holiday Calendar
Civic Center Sign on Hold
Pictured L-R: Thomaston-Upson Schools Assistant Superintendent Dr. Amy Miller;
ULMS Principal and current GAMSP President Rhonda Gulley; ULMS Assistant Principal
Jeff Wheeless; TU Superintendent Dr. Larry Derico.
Upson-Lee Middle
School Assistant Princi
pal Jeff Wheeless was re
cently awarded the Hal
Beaver Georgia Out
standing Assistant Prin
cipal award by the
Georgia Association of
Middle School Principals
at an annual awards cer
emony Sunday, Oct. 25,
at Lake Lanier.
Wheeless was nomi
nated for the award by
GAMSP Executive Direc
tor Dr. Robert Heaberlin.
This is the second occa
sion that Wheeless has
been recognized with an
outstanding assistant
principal award during
his tenure at ULMS.
Bridge Turner
Managing Editor
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
Commissioners voted
unanimously last week to
add Juneteenth, observed
annually on June 19 in
various parts of the United
States since 1865, to the
county’s holiday calendar
beginning in 2022.
Originating in Galves
ton, Texas, Juneteenth
“commemorates the
emancipation of African-
American slaves and cele
brates African-American
culture,” according to Wi
kipedia. President Joe
Biden signed legislation
June 17, 2021, recognizing
it as a federal holiday.
“I notice that the 2021-
22 holiday schedule did
not include the new June
teenth holiday,” Commis
sioner Lorenzo Wilder
said. “We need to have dis
cussion on adding the
[federal] holiday.”
Chairman Norman
Allen questioned the ad
dition when several other
federal holidays are not in
cluded on the county cal
endar.
“What about the other
federal holidays that aren’t
on here?” Allen asked.
“There are other federal
holidays that are observed
that are not on here as
Juneteenth Holiday, 9A
Veterans Day Ceremony Honors Local Heroes
Dozens of veterans and participants gathered last Thursday for the annual Veterans Day Obser
vance Ceremony, sponsored by American Legion - Pete Thurston Post 81; American Legion Auxiliary
Unit 81; Lucius Worthy Post 532; American Legion Auxiliary Unit 532; and the Upson-Lee High
School NJROTC. It includes performances by the NJROTC Joint Color Guard and members of the
ULHS band. Wreaths presented in honor of veterans in World War I, World War II, The Korean War,
the Vietnam War, The Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan Wars, and ivere to be placed on the city
square following the event. See additional photos, 8A.
ULMS Assistant Principal
Wheeless Receives
Outstanding AP Award
(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; Megan Potter, MD; Katya Brickman, CNM; Ashley Johnson, PA