Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 14, No. 52
Thursday, December 30, 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. 30,2021
City, County
Offices Will
Close Friday
City of Thomaston and
Upson County government
offices will be closed Fri
day, Dec. 31 for New Year’s
Eve.
Both city and county of
fices will reopen Monday,
Jan. 3, 2022 for normal op
erating hours.
The Upson Beacon of
fice also will be closed Fri
day, and reopen Monday.
Beacon staff members wish
its readers, advertisers,
and the entire community
a safe and happy New
Year’s holiday.
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
previously applied for tax
certificates must come to
the Building and Zoning
Department to pick up the
paperwork. Currently reg
istered businesses are re
quested to provide updated
information, where nec
essary. Proof of up-to-date
professional licenses, per-
Occupation Tax, 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
quire vehicle registrations
and titling services, includ
ing e-Services and tag re
newal kiosks, to be
unavailable Thursday, Dec.
30, 2021, at 7 p.m. through
Monday, Jan. 3, 2022. Ve
hicle owners with expira
tion dates in late December
and early January are en
couraged to renew prior to
Dec. 30, 2021, at 7 p.m. to
Georgia DRIVES, 6A
8
10499 02461 2
Thomaston Entertainment District Boundary Map
Entertainment District
Signage Appears in Downtown
The City ofThomas-
ton’s Public Works De
partment has begun
painting markers on
downtown sidewalks,
signifying the barriers
of the new Downtown
Entertainment Dis
trict. Boundaries for
the district were
marked using spe
cially branded con
crete decals,
manufactured locally.
Participating res
taurants will have 16-
ounce “go cups” for
alcoholic beverages
that can be openly
carried throughout
the district between
the hours of 11 a.m.
and midnight daily.
Photos Courtesy of
City of Thomaston
URMC Presents DAISY Award
Upson Regional Medical Center re
cently presented the 2021 DAISY Award
to nurses exhibiting extraordinary care
to patients. The 2021 DAISY Award was
presented to Amanda Akins, RN from
the URMC Case Management Team, and
Katie Moore, RN from the URMC Recov
ery Room.
“As an organization, it is our honor to
present this award for 2021 to two very
deserving nurses,” commented URMC
officials. Submitted
Above, Amanda Akins, RN. Below, Katie Moore, RN.
Council OKs
$34.6 Million
2022 Budget
Bridge Turner
Managing Editor
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
Council members
voted unanimously last
week to approve a
$34,656,954 budget for
the City of Thomaston in
2022 which could include
a one mill tax increase to
balance the ledger.
A shortfall on the reve
nue side leaves an expense
balance of $251,104 which
could be offset with a 1.05
mill hike in property tax,
according to City Manager
Russell Thompson, who
said the difference also
could be “pulled from the
city’s reserves and ad
dressed at a later time.” If
council opts for a tax in
crease, the new millage
rate would be set in Sep
tember 2022.
Included in the vote
was a three-cent power
cost adjustment projected
to generate $372,000
which will be dedicated to
servicing the city’s debt to
Municipal Electric Au
thority of Georgia associ
ated with Plant Vogtle
development.
The adjustment will in
crease power bills by
$3.06 per 1,000 kilowatts,
according to Thompson,
but customers will feel
City Budget, 6A
City to Save
by Outsourcing
Monthly Bills
Bridge Turner
Managing Editor
bturner@upsonbeacon.com
Thomaston will save
more than $1,400 per
month by outsourcing cus
tomer billing, according to
City Manager Russell
Thompson, who rec
ommended the switch to
council members last
week.
Council voted unani
mously to outsource bil
ling to a company in Ohio,
and local customers are
expected to receive bills
from the company’s North
Carolina facility.
Considering supplies,
machinery, postage, and
labor, the city pays more
than 66 cents per state
ment using the current
system, according to
Thompson. That cost
could be cut to less than 53
cents per statement by
outsourcing, he said.
Thompson told council
members that the average
monthly cost is $3,952 to
mail approximately 4,800
bills. Outsourcing would
cut the cost to $2,508 per
month, translating to sav
ings of more than $17,000
annually, according to
Thompson’s figures.
Council’s decision to
outsource billing is contin-
City Billing, 6A
>£ORONAVIRUS
*V ^
%
VV'3
COVID-19 REPORT
Infection Rate Rising in Georgia
Upson County reports
5,616 positive COVID-19
cases with 191 deaths as of
noon last Tuesday, accord
ing to the Johns Hopkins
University & Medicine Co-
ronavirus Resource
Center.
Numbers reflect 102
new cases (up from 20
last week) and 1 new
death (up from zero last
week) since Tuesday one
week prior.
Johns Hopkins lists the
following confirmed cases
for counties bordering
Upson: Monroe, 4,404 (up
78) cases with 153 (no
change) deaths; Pike,
4,010 (up 70) with 74 (up
one) deaths; Lamar, 3,588
(up 17) with 101 (up one)
deaths; Meriwether, 3,166
(up 74) with 121 (no
change) deaths; Taylor,
1,319 (up 16) with 42 (up
one) deaths; Crawford,
1,176 (up 18) with 46 (no
change) deaths; and Tal
bot, 773 (up 18) with 29
(no change) deaths.
Georgia reports
1,759,879 (up 59,h6; up
from 18,857 lust week)
positive cases and 31,246
(up 208; up from 178 last
week).
(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
