About Upson beacon. (Thomaston, Ga.) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (May 22, 2024)
Vol. 17, No. 21 Wednesday, May 22, 2024 UPSON BEACON Shining Light & Keeping Watch on Our Community upsonbeacon.com 219 Thomas Street, Thomaston, Ga. 30286 • 706.646.2382 75 Cents Newsline May 22. 2024 ULHS Graduation Slated May 24 The Upson-Lee High School Class of 2024 Com mencement Ceremony will take place on Friday, May 24, at 8 p.m. at Matthews Field. This is a private cere mony, and all guests must have a ticket to attend, ac cording to school officials. While officials say they hope for beautiful weather, an inclement weather plan has been released: In the event of light rain or drizzle, graduation will continue as planned. Stu dents and faculty will be provided clear rain ponchos to wear over their gradu ation regalia. Guests should come prepared with appro priate rain gear - ponchos, raincoats, something to cover wet seats, etc. Umbrellas are not al lowed at Matthews Field during the graduation cere mony. In the event of heavy rain or severe weather, graduation may be delayed that evening or postponed until the following morning. If postponed, the ULHS Commencement Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 25, at 9 a.m. at Mat- See Graduation, 6A City, County Offices Close Memorial Day Upson County and City of Thomaston governmental offices will be closed Mon day, May 27, in observance of the Memorial Day holi day. City and county offices will reopen Tuesday, May 28 for normal hours of opera tion. Memorial Day Service at GGMP A Memorial Day service will be held on Monday, May 27 at noon at Greatest Generation Memorial Park, according to organiz ers with Upson County Ministerial Association. Johnny Caldwell will serve as guest speaker, and Mountain View Baptist Church members will per form the National Anthem. In the event of inclem ent weather, the service will move to First Method ist Church of Thomaston, located at 132 Cherokee Road. All are invited to at tend. 8 10499 02461 2 Brue Ousts Allen for BOO Chair Meier, Chastain, Biggs, McGill, Roberts win Opposed Races Challenger Dan Brue garnered 2,018 votes in the May 21 primary to oust incum bent Norman Allen for Republican rep resentation in November for chairman of the Upson County Board of Commis sioners. Brue will face Ed Searcy, who was un opposed on the Democrat ticket, with 943 votes. Allen received 886 votes, and Re publican challenger Bill Maher tallied 616 votes. Incumbent Teresa Meier received 2,710 votes to secure another term as Upson Su perior Court Clerk, with Jessica Harper Jones receiving 857 votes. Hannah Ellington Arnette and Assis tant Magistrate Judge Cecil Hutchins are headed to a runoff election for Chief Mag- See Election, 6A From left are T-U Deputy Superintendent Dr. Amy Miller, ULPS Principal Tracy Wainwright, T- U School System and ULPS Teacher of the Year Amanda Gunnels, and T-U Superintendent Dr. Larry Derico. Courtesy of T-U Schools Amanda Gunnels Named T-U System Teacher of Year Upson-Lee Primary teacher Amanda Gunnels was announced on Wednesday, May 15, as the Thomaston-Upson School System 2024-25 Teacher of the Year. Superintendent Dr. Larry Derico and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Amy Miller made the announcement during a surprise visit to ULPS, according to system officials. The System Teacher of the Year is se lected from the individual schools' Teachers of the Year by a panel of com munity and school district judges. Judging was based on an application packet, a classroom/teaching observation, and a teacher interview. Gunnels will now represent T-U Schools in the Georgia Teacher of the Year competition. Beacon, Community IVIourn Death of Fagan Claudette Fagan, also known as “Lady C,” a newspaper colum nist for more than 35 years in Upson County, died May 14. Mrs. Fagan was a member of The Upson Beacon family for 13 years and, prior to that, contrib uted to The Thomaston Times. She ded icated her life to the service of the Thomaston-Upson community. Where there was a need, Mrs. Fagan jumped in. She was member and treasurer of the Salem Civic Organization, treasurer of Salem Volunteer Fire Department, former member of the Love Club, treasurer of the local NAACP, Freedom Fund chair person for the NAACP, treasurer for Thom aston-Upson County Concerned Citizen Coalition, treasurer for ISSUES, member of Upson Loses Historian, Friend Jimmy McKinley James Trice "Jimmy" McKinley, past tax commis sioner who was in strumental in establishing Thomas ton-Upson Archives and preserving the county’s history, died Tuesday, May 14, at his residence. McKinley was 83. “My heart is broken with the news of Mr. Jimmy’s passing. To say he was a friend of the archives is an understatement. The truth is, we wouldn’t be here without him,” T-U Archives Director Jamesan Gramme said. “He dedicated his entire life to protecting and preserving the history of Upson County.” Without his help, it is possible that An drews Chapel one-room schoolhouse also “wouldn’t be here.” McKinley and his wife Claudette Fagan Jimmy McKinley See Fagan, 6A See McKinley, 6A Commissioners Deny RV Park on Lawrence Road ‘Flex Space’ County Code Amendment Passes, 4-1 Bridge Turner Editor in Chief bturner@upsonbeacon.com Upson County Commissioners voted unanimously last week to deny a special ex ception allowing a recreational vehicle park on Lawrence Road and voted 4-1 to add “flex space” as a permitted use in zoning codes. Owners and applicants Jessica Butler and Timothy Pryor of Williamson requested a special exception for a 60- to 75-site RV park on approximately 62 acres at 1922 Lawrence Road, citing tourism, economic growth, job creation, community engagement and recrea tion as benefits. More than a dozen area residents spoke against the development, voicing concerns for increased traffic, environmental impact, in creased noise and litter, wastewater disposal, See RV Park, 5A Alonzeonia Ellison PPP loan Fraud Probe Nets 15 More TPD: Many Additional Arrests’Expected During Ongoing Local Investigation As of May n, the Thom aston Police Department Criminal Investigations Di vision had made eight ad ditional arrests related to Paycheck Protection Pro gram loan fraud, according to a statement from Chief Mike Richardson’s office. By May 18, seven more arrests were reported. In November 2022, while working with the Fed eral Bureau of Investigation, a probe was launched into numerous PPP loans that were made in Thomaston and Upson County during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021, the release stated. There were millions - possibly billions - of dollars in PPP loans fraudulently obtained in Thomaston, Upson County, and throughout the United States. “Through the course of our investigation, with as sistance from the FBI, it was determined that many of the PPP loans obtained by Thomaston residents had See PPP, 6A Church Rezoning Request Delayed for Second Time Hope of Generations ’ Affilia tion Questioned in Planning Meeting Bridge Turner Editor in Chief bturner@upsonbeacon.com Consideration of a rezon ing request by Hope of the Generations Church was de layed for the second straight month by the Upson County Planning Commission last week, and one commissioner questioned the church’s de nominational affiliation and funding sources. A public hearing and commission discussion which began at the April meeting were continued until May, and last week were continued until June with a unanimous vote. Among concerns cited by commissioners included adequate county water supply, wastewater disposal, stormwater runoff, and ease ments for landlocked prop erty. The church applied for rezoning of almost 54 acres at 212 McCard Road, which also fronts Highway 74 West, Pickard Road, and Firetower Road, for expan sion. “The expansion is noth ing more than our continued expression of wanting to See Church, 7A Emancipation Celebration Scheduled May 25 The Emancipation Committee of Upson has announced the 2024 Upson Emancipation Celebration, set Saturday, May 25, from n a.m. to 8 p.m. Beginning with the annual freedom parade through downtown Thomaston, followed by the traditional pro gram and community gathering/celebration, this year’s celebration will also include a “kids’ zone,” car show, live music, vendors, and raffles and giveaways. Following the parade, which begins on Bethel Street, the rest of the schedule will take place at the Lincoln Park Speaking Grounds, located at 235 MLK Drive in Thomas ton. This year, the parade route will be slightly altered due to ongoing road work at the five-way stop downtown. The See Emancipation, 5A 0) Griffin Ob-Gyn Holly Harrison, PA-C Nadine Noelting, CNM Abby Gibbs, CNM Accepting New Patients In Thomaston 403 West Main Street • Thomaston CAU {706)646-2888 or (770) 227-5505 for an appointment.
