About Upson beacon. (Thomaston, Ga.) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2024)
Vol. 17, No. 23 Wednesday, June 5, 2024 upsonbeacon.com 219 Thomas Street, Thomaston, Ga. 30286 • 706.646.2382 75 Cents BEACON Shining Light & Keeping Watch on Our Community * * VOTE ✓ . THANK YOU! HANNAH ELLINGTON ARNETTE JUSTICE SERTICED IVITH INTEGRITY I am asking for your support in the upcoming election runoff for Upson County Chief Magistrate Judge. Here are some key highlights of my experience and commitment: ■ Lifelong resident of Upson County, deeply connected to our community. • Six years of experience in the Superior, State, and Juvenile Courts for the local Griffin Judicial Circuit. • Over a decade of legal experience, dedicated to the judicial system. ■ Committed to upholding values of fairness, integrity, and justice. ■ Focused on collaborating with community stakeholders for transparency and impartiality in our legal system. Your vote is crucial in this runoff election. Please come out and support me to ensure a fair and just legal system for Upson County RUN OFF ELECTION JUNE 18 PAID FOB BY THE t TO ELECT HANNAH APNETTE Newsline June 5. 2024 BOE Budget Hearings Set June 11 & 25 The Thomaston-Upson Board of Education will hold two public comment sessions for the proposed 2025 fiscal year budget, ac cording to a release from school officials. Public hearings are scheduled for 6 p.m. Tues day, June n and 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 25 at the TU- BOE office, 205 Civic Center Drive in Thomaston. The board is scheduled to adopt the final budget at the June 25, 7:30 a.m. meeting. Upson County residents are encouraged to attend the hearings, which are scheduled to provide an op portunity for public input on the proposed budget. The budget is available for review on the district’s web site at www.upson.k12.ga.us or at the office at the above address during operating hours. Upson Observes Planning Group's 30th Anniversary A reception will be held at 4 p.m. Monday, June 10, at the government complex to commemorate the 30th anniversary of establish ment of the Upson County Planning Commission, ac cording to Director Doug Currier. The celebration will be hosted for all current and past planning commis sioners prior to the regular planning commission meeting, which occurs at 5:30 p.m. the second Mon day of each month. The government complex is lo cated at 106 East Lee Street in Thomaston. “I always encourage cit izens to be involved and educated on what is hap pening in our community,” Chair Alicia McKinley said. “It is great to see growth, but we also want to make sure Upson County grows in a way that is beneficial See Anniversary, 5A 8 10499 02461 2 Griffin Man Charged with Murder in Fentanyl Death Roderick D’Anglo “Frog” Stargell Tied to Overdose of 18-Year-Old Upson County Woman Roderick D’Anglo “Frog” Star- gell of Spalding County has been charged with felony murder in con nection with the November 2023 fentanyl overdose death of 18-year- old Upson County resident Amelia Jennings, according to a statement from Upson Sheriff Dan Kilgore. On Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 23, Upson 911 dispatched an ambulance to a Smith Road res idence for an unresponsive female, later identified as Jen nings. Witnesses told UCSO Deputy Zach Spillers that Jennings had ingested a 30 milli gram Percocet tablet around 2 a.m. EMS transported Jennings to Upson Re gional Medical Center, where she died the next day, and her body was sent to the Georgia Bureau of In vestigation Crime Lab for autopsy and toxicol ogy. Cause of death was determined to be fenta nyl overdose from the counterfeit Percocet pill. Two days later, UCSO was notified that a second female, age 17, was hospitalized at URMC for a drug overdose. The juvenile told Lt. Heath Eppinger she had taken a Percocet 30 tablet she obtained from a man named “Frog,” accord ing to the statement. Further investigation revealed that the counterfeit Percocet pill taken by Jennings was also pur chased from 49-year-old Stargell. Both victims used Stargell’s cell phone number for contact and used the CashApp website to pay See Murder, 6A Roderick D. Stargell Kenny Collins, right, accepts the Emancipation Award from Rev. James McGill at the second annual Heritage Awards Banquet. Andrew Carroll/Upson Beacon ECU Hosts Second Annual Heritage Awards Banquet Andrew Carroll Sports Editor acarroll@upsonbeacon.com The Emancipation Commit tee of Upson presented the sec ond annual Heritage Awards Banquet at the Thomaston- Upson Senior Center on May 29. The banquet celebrates members of the community who have been essential in the fight for civil rights in Upson County. The event follows the Emancipa tion Day Parade, hosted the weekend prior. During the event, the com mittee honored Qua’Narious Walker and Quintrez Daniel as the two recipients of the Youth Alive Scholarship. Both young men will be junior counselors for See Heritage, 5A Hannah Arnette Cecil Hutchins Early Voting in Local Runoff Starts Monday Arnette versus Hutchins for Upson Chief Magistrate Early voting begins Monday in a runoff between Hannah Ellington Arnette and Cecil Hutchins for Upson County Chief Magistrate Judge, according to the local board of elec tions. Neither Arnette nor Hutchins secured the required 50 percent plus one vote in the May primary, which featured multiple qualifiers vying to fill the position to be available upon the retirement of current Chief Magistrate Jan Streetman. Also on the ballot will be U.S. House of Representatives District 3 competitors Mike Dugan and Brian Jack. See Runoff, 6A BOC Approves 3% Increase for Staff Health Coverage Includes ‘Small Increase’ in Employee Contribution Bridge Turner Editor in Chief bturner@upsonbeacon.com Commissioners voted last week to ac cept a bid from Oakbridge Insurance for a three-percent increase through Cigna for Upson County employee health insurance renewal. The renewal will increase the county’s annual cost from approximately 2.7 million to 2.8 million, according to County Man ager Jason Tinsley, which includes a “small increase” in employee contributions. “We looked at the options, and we rec ommend accepting the three-percent re newal with Cigna,” an Oakbridge representative told board members. “It’s below the market trend of about 10 percent, so it’s relatively good news.” Initial estimated renewal hikes were be tween 25 and 30 percent, according to Oak- See BOC, 8A Local Woman Killed in One-Vehicle Crash Donna Allison Coe of The Rock was killed May 26 in a single-vehicle crash on Jugtown Road near the intersection of Stewart Road, according to a re port from Georgia State Patrol Post 26 in Thomas ton. Coe, 61, was negotia ting a curve traveling south on Jugtown Road in a 2007 Dodge Ram 3500 pickup truck when the ve hicle left the roadway on the shoulder, the report stated. The truck over turned multiple times and Coe was ejected in the northbound travel lane of Jugtown Road, then the truck came to rest on the northbound shoulder on its top, facing northeast. Emergency medical services responded to the fatal crash, which occurred at approximately 9:15 a.m. Renovations Under Way at Matthews Field Andrew Carroll Sports Editor acarrotl@upsonbeacon.com As soon as the com mencement ceremony for Upson-Lee’s Class of 2024 was complete at Matthews Field, equipment rolled in to signal the start of a new era for the stadium. On Saturday, May 25, free sod from the stadium was offered to residents wishing to take home a bit of history - and what history that sod contained. From the state cham pionship-winning football team in the 1988 R.E. Lee Rebels, who won the title on that very sod, to the biggest comeback win in U-L his tory last year when the Knights overcame a 23- point deficit to defeat Sa vannah Country Day, to the retirement of the jersey of a number-one overall draft pick in the National Foot ball League, the grass at Matthews Field had seen it all. Once remarked as one of the best grass fields in the state, when the Knights re turn to action in fall 2024, See Renovations, 4A Andrew Carroll/Upson Beacon (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.
