About Upson beacon. (Thomaston, Ga.) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (May 8, 2024)
DAN BINE /« CHAIRMAN Board of Commissioners Vol. 17, No. 19 UPSON Experience v Commitment sip Let's Bring Power Back to the People! • 34 YEARS ARMY ACTIVE DUTY • RETIRED ARMY COLONEL • 3 X COMBAT VETERAN • SMALL BUSINESS OWNER • HUSBAND, FATHER, GRANDFATHER • ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER, LARGE DISTRIBUTION CENTER Please vote Dan Brae for Positive Changes Paid Political Advertisement Wednesday, May 8, 2024 BEACON Shining Light & Keeping Watch on Our Community upsonbeacon.com 219 Thomas Street, Thomaston, Ga. 30286 • 706.646.2382 75 Cents Newsline May 8. 2024 Early Voting Under Way at Civic Center Upson election officials reported that 902 ballots were cast through May 4 since advance voting opened Monday, April 29 at the civic center for the May 21 local election, which includes multiple county offices. A total of 826 in-person advance ballots and 76 ab sentee by mail ballots were cast in the first week. In person early voting will be available at the civic center from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, Monday through Friday, through May 17. Sat urday voting will be avail able from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 11. See Voting, 2A Assessments Not Tax Bills Tax assessments re cently mailed from the Upson County Tax Asses sor’s Office are not tax bills, according to Tax Commis sioner Andy Chastain. “It’s important to note that the taxes on this notice are estimated amounts based on this year’s assess ment value and last years’ millage rates,” Chastain re minded. “This is not your tax bill. Tax bills will be sent out in September after the governing authorities set their millage rates in Au- See Assessments, 2A Assessment Appeals Must Be Mailed by June 1 Deadline The deadline to submit appeals for property as sessment is Saturday, June 1, however in-person ap peals will be accepted on Monday, June 3 since June 1 falls on a weekend, ac cording to Upson County Chief Appraiser Charles McKeehan. Mailed appeals must be postmarked by June 1, McKeehan said. 8 10499 02461 2 Thomaston Public Works Director Kyle McGee and Councilman Don Greathouse stand with members of the Thomaston Tree Board and Brownie Troop afterplanting an apple tree for Arbor Day Andrew Carroll/Upson Beacon Tree Board Joins Brownie Troop to Celebrate Arbor Day Andrew Carroll Sports Editor acarroll@upsonbeacon.com The Thomaston Tree Board joined forces with the Upson County Brownie Troop to plant an apple tree at Lakeside Park on April 29. The future Girl Scouts learned about Arbor Day with tree board members Jane Burdette, Susan Formby, Cathy Ashberry, and Sarah Armstrong. Following, Thomaston Public Works Di rector Kyle McGee walked the girls through See Arbor Day, 2A Rock the Block Concert Series Returns May 11 The Thomaston-Upson Chamber of Commerce's Rock the Block concert series continues May 11, featuring Queen Nation, a tribute to the music of Queen. Held in downtown Thomaston, tickets are $20 in advance and $25 on May 11. Gates open at 5 p.m., with music beginning at 6 p.m. For more information, visit thomastongachamber.com. South Carolina Couple Charged with Auto Theft Vehicle Chase Ends with Trip to Upson County Jail A 27-year-old South Carolina man and 22-year- old South Carolina woman were arrested and charged with felony theft by taking (motor vehicle) after driving from a convenience store gas pump and leading police on a lengthy chase April 29, according to Thomaston Po lice Department reports. TPD was dispatched to Best Value at 350 South Church Street, where a man said his wife’s car was stolen when he left it unattended at a gas pump to enter the store and pay. The man told police he left the car run ning and unlocked and See Auto Theft, 7A Bryan Kelley New Director of Recreation Chairman Norman Allen and the Upson County Board of Commissioners are pleased to announce the re cent selection of Bryan Kel ley as director of the Thomaston-Upson County Recreation Department. “We eagerly anticipate Bryan’s leadership as he as sumes the role of team leader at the Thomaston- Upson County Recreation Department,” stated County Manager W. Jason Tinsley. “Following a thorough search process, it became evident that his engaging demeanor, extensive man agement background, and forward-thinking approach Bryan Kelley to developing innovative programs and strategies will greatly benefit our com munity as we embark on the next phase of our program evolution.” The selection of Kelley to See Kelley, 7A Yatesville Issues Water Moratorium Andrew Carroll Sports Editor acarroll@upsonbeacon.com During an emergency meeting of the Ya tesville City Council on May 6, called by Mayor Ronnie Riggins, the council passed a water moratorium to block the addition of any new water hook-ups to the city water sys tem for at least 180 days. The idea of a moratorium has been on the minds of city council members for the past several months after plans were submitted for the addition of a second recreational vehicle park off Raglin Street. The city has been encouraged by citizens who have protested the new park; however a lack of zoning has put Yatesville in a difficult See Yatesville, 2A Bishoff Elected to Board of C.M. Russell Museum Thomaston resident Richard Bishoff recently was elected to the board of directors of the C.M. Rus sell Museum in Great Falls, Mon tana. Russell, considered to be one of the finest western artists in United States, depicted native Americans and cowboys in his art. “Charlie” Russell realized that the West was drastically changing and sought to capture the transition in his many paintings. Bishoff and his wife Barbara have been patrons and supporters of the Russell Museum for years. The couple has helped fund restor ation of RusselFs log cabin studio and acquisition of RusselFs paint ings by the museum. MSS ELL MUS From left are Barbara and Richard Bishoff Brlghtmark Q&A: Company Officials Address Concerns After meeting with The Upson Beacon last week, Brightmark founder and CEO Bob Powell and other company officials submitted information to be shared with readers and local res idents, relative to the pro posed industrial development in Upson County: Q: Who is Brightmark? A: Plastic pollution is a se rious issue affecting our communities today, pollut ing our environment by re maining in landfills for decades or ending up in our rivers, lakes, and oceans. Brightmark is a circular in novation company with a mission to Reimagine Waste®. Our goal is to re duce the need for virgin (new) plastics by recycling plastic material that has al ready been used and at the end of its lifecycle. Our com pany plays a vital role of re capturing the value in waste, taking hard-to-re- cycle plastics, and convert ing them into circular products, diverting plastics from further polluting the environment. Q: How does the pro cess work? A: Brightmark’s Plastic Re newal™ process utilizes an approach called pyrolysis to break down plastic mate rial by heating it in an ox ygen-free environment. The end product is circular pyrolysis oil. The term “circular” means to keep a material in use as long as possible rather than discard it. Brightmark’s Plastic Re newal™ process is different than other advanced recy cling approaches because we do not and never will in cinerate or combust plastic. Because of this, our cir cularity centers do not yield significant pollutants that See Brightmark, 7A (0 Griffin Ob-Gyn Holly Harrison, PA-C Nadine Noelting, CNM Abby Gibbs. CNM Accepting New Patients In Thomaston 403 West Main Street • Thomaston CAll (706)646-2888 or (770) 227-5505 for an appointment.
