Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 14, No. 49
Thursday, December 9, 2021
UPSON.
BEACON
Shining Light & Keeping Watch on Our Community
upsonbeacon.com
219 Thomas Street, Thomaston, Ga. 30286 • 706.646.2382
50 Cents
Newsline
Dec. 9. 2021
Southern Ford’s
Toy Drive and
ESF Collection
Under Way
The folks at Southern
Ford are getting into the
holiday spirit while giving
back to the community.
Once again, the local Ford
dealership is collecting toys
and taking donations for
the Empty Stocking Fund
for Upson County res
idents in need.
Formerly Thomaston
Ford, Southern Ford has
been partnering with the
community and charitable
Toy Drive, 6A
Upson to upgrade
Georgia DRIVES
Motor Vehicles
System Dec. 30
Beginning Thursday,
Dec. 30, at 7 p.m., the
Georgia Department of
Revenue will begin a sys
tem upgrade to the state’s
DRIVES system (Driver
Record and Integrated Ve
hicle Enterprise System) to
improve efficiency and re
duce operational costs.
The upgrade will re-
Georgia DRIVES, 6A
Occupation Tax
Deadline is Near
The Upson County
Building and Zoning De
partment has completed
mailing 2022 occupation
tax renewal notices to all
registered businesses in
the unincorporated area of
the county.
Anyone with a business
located in unincorporated
Upson County who has not
Occupation Tax, 6A
Do Vou Favor 15%
Raise For UCSO
Personnel?
Question for all res
idents of Upson County, in
cluding residents of Cities
of Thomaston, Yatesville,
and The Rock:
•Do you favor a 15 per
cent salary increase in 2022
for Upson County Sheriffs
Office personnel (including
911 and jail; excluding
Sheriff Dan Kilgore) if it
means a tax increase for
property owners?
Visit https://www.up-
sonbeacon.com/govern-
ment/ to share your
concerns and vote in the
poll.
8
10499 02461 2
County Opts to Pursue EMS Zone License
Plan Includes City & Third-Party Provider
Bridge Turner
Managing Editor
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
Commissioners voted
unanimously during a
called meeting Monday to
pursue the emergency med
ical services zone license for
Upson County, and local of
ficials will be challenged by
a Dec. 26 deadline for appli
cation.
The Georgia Depart
ment of Public Health has
cleared the way for Upson
to compete in the licensing
process, according to
County Manager Jason
Tinsley, but the county
must have “a service deliv
ery agreement with a third-
party licensed EMS pro
vider” to qualify. The plan
also includes participation
from the City of Thomas
ton.
In less than three weeks,
interested third-party pro
viders must be engaged, the
city must approve a joint
budget, and a three-way
agreement must be in place
before an application may
be submitted. Tinsley also
has sought input from
Upson Regional Medical
EMS License, 6A
Armstrong School of Dance Presents
‘Oh, What
a Glorious Night
Luke Haney/Upson Beaconi
For the first time since December 20ig, dancers of Sarah Armstrong School
of Dance graced the stage of Upson-Lee Fine Arts Center to perform the 2021
Christmas Recital Series. After canceling the Spring 2020 recital due to COVID-
ig, dancers and instructors adjusted recitals and performed the past two recital
series at Northridge Church, but proclaimed excitement to return to the “big
stage” this month. Four recitals, spanning over two nights, included dancers
ranging from ages three to 18 who performed jazz, hip hop, ballet, point, tap,jal-
let, auxiliary, and company dances to various Christmas tunes.
See additional photos in the next two editions of The Upson Beacon.
Camp, Kennedy Speak
at Legislative Luncheon
Luke Haney/Upson Beacon
Thomaston Police Chief Mike Richardson, City Councilman Ryan Tucker, State
Representative Beth Camp, Senator John Kennedy, Northridge Church Pastor Marc
Pritchett, and T-U Chamber President Lori Smith.
Luke Haney
Lifestyles Editor
lhaney@upsonbeacon.com
Representative Beth
Camp and Senator John
Kennedy spoke at the annual
Thomaston-Upson Chamber
of Commerce Legislative
Luncheon, held last Wednes
day at North Ridge Church.
Welcomed by Thomaston
Police Chief Mike Richard
son, Camp and Kennedy pro
vided updates on topics such
as redistricting in the state,
broadband in rural com
munities, voting bill SB202,
upcoming 2022 elections,
the ongoing judicial district
study, and state budgeting.
The event was moderated
by Thomaston City Council
man and United Bank Pres
ident Ryan Tucker.
Following Camp and Ken
nedy, the floor was opened
for questions from the au
dience.
City & County OK
20% Increase for
’22 Joint Projects
Members of the Thomaston City
Council and Upson County Com
mission voted unanimously last
week to approve a $3.04 million
budget for joint projects in 2022, a
20.3 percent increase over the 2021
joint projects budget.
The county’s portion, represent
ing 64.9 percent of the total budget,
is almost $1,985 million, a 21.6 per
cent increase of $352,179 over 2021.
The city’s portion, representing 35.1
percent of the total, is $1,054 mil
lion, an 18 percent hike of $160,458
over 2021.
Most departments project a re-
Joint Projects, 6A
Fly for Tots
a Soaring Success
On Dec. 4, the West Central Georgia Flying
Club and Thomaston-Upson County Airport
hosted the 26th annual Fly for Tots fundraiser,
collecting 970 toys and about $2,700 in dona
tions for the Empty Stocking Fund. See more
in next ewek’s edition of The Upson Beacon.
Poll Responses Favor
County-Based EMS
Results of an Upson Beacon poll showed responders
overwhelmingly in favor of county-based emergency
medical services and dedicated ambulance service, re
gardless of an increase in property tax.
Following are the questions and answers, as of 4
p.m. Monday, Dec. 6:
•Do you think commissioners should spend money
necessary to implement a county-based 911 ambulance
service? Yes: 233; No: 11
•Would you support a county-based service even if
it meant a slight increase in property tax? Yes: 196; No:
18
•Would you support commissioners contracting
with another private company like Community Ambu
lance? Yes: 47; No: 172
•Should commissioners seek the cheapest option to
replace the current EMS service? Yes: 12; No: 209
•If commissioners contract with another service,
should that contract be for a dedicated 911 ambulance
service, or should the contract allow the service to be
used for transfers or transports to and from facilities
that would reduce available units for emergency calls?
Dedicated: 183; Allow transports: 34
Local Man Arrested
for Child Porn
Kenneth Lee Trice of
East Gordon Street in
Thomaston was arrested last
week and charged with pos
session of child pornogra
phy after authorities found
more than 40,000 illicit im
ages at his residence, ac
cording to law enforcement
reports.
Trice, 36, a former res
ident of Pike County, re
mains in jail without bond
and additional charges are
pending.
The arrest by Pike Sher
iffs detectives concludes a
two-month long investiga
tion which culminated with
the execution of a search
warrant at Trice’s residence
to recover related electronic
evidence, reports stated.
The National Center for
Exploited and Missing Chil
dren, Georgia Bureau of In-
Kenneth Lee Trice
vestigation, and Thomaston
Police Department assisted
in the investigation.
“I was contacted by
[Pike] Sheriff Jimmy
Thomas, who requested as
sistance executing the war
rant,” TPD Chief Mike
Richardson said. “We pro
vided SWAT officers to help
with the execution, [which]
was successful with no inci
dents.”
Commissioners
Weigh SO Raises
Against Tax Hike
‘We’re Chasing Salaries’
Bridge Turner
Managing Editor
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
Upson County Com
mission Chairman Nor
man Allen told board
members last week that
the possibility of increas
ing millage rates to fund a
salary increase requested
by Sheriff Dan Kilgore is
“keeping me up at night.”
Allen announced dur
ing a recent joint projects
budget meeting with City
of Thomaston officials that
Kilgore is asking for a 15
percent raise across the
board in 2022 to “keep
pace with the city.” During
previous budget talks, Kil
gore and commissioners
seemingly agreed to split
the increase over the next
two years in eight and
seven percent increments.
Afterward, Kilgore sub
mitted a letter asking the
commission to reconsider.
“Increasing the millage
rate is not something I
want to do,” Allen told
commissioners during last
SO Raises, 5A
(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
