About Upson beacon. (Thomaston, Ga.) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (June 12, 2024)
Vol. 17, No. 24 UPSON Wednesday, June 12, 2024 BEACON Shining Light & Keeping Watch on Our Community upsonbeacon.com 219 Thomas Street, Thomaston, Ga. 30286 • 706.646.2382 75 Cents Newsline June 12. 2024 Sheriff Warns of Possible Text Scams Upson County Sheriff Dan Kilgore released a statement Monday regard ing possible text scams re lated to renewal of Georgia weapons carry licenses. “It has been reported that people are receiving text messages with a link to renew their [licenses],” he warned. “Those licenses are issued by the probate court in the county in See Scam, 7A County Work Session Yields Project Updates Commissioners agreed to move forward with Upson County’s 2024 transportation special pur pose local option sales tax paving project during a work session last week. See County, 8A County, City Offices Close 'Juneteenth' Upson County and City of Thomaston government offices will close Wednes day, June 19 in observance of Juneteenth. All offices are scheduled to reopen Thursday, June 20 for normal hours of op eration. Final School Budget Talk Set June 25 The Thomaston-Upson Board of Education will hold a final public com ment session for the pro posed 2025 fiscal year budget June 25, according to a release from school of ficials. The public hearing is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 25 at the T- U BOE office, 205 Civic See Budget, 6A 8 10499 02461 2 County Supports URMC Expansion In Concept’ BOC, Hospital Authority to Negotiate Intergovernmental Agreement for $35 Million Bond Bridge Turner Editor in Chief bturner@upsonbeacon.com Commissioners agreed last week to authorize a resolution de claring support - subject to suc cessful negotiation of an intergovernmental agreement - for Upson Regional Medical Center’s planned $40 million expansion in Thomaston. The 39,500 square feet of new construction, including 5,480 square feet of renovation, will pri marily be dedicated to obstetrics and gynecology, but also will ex pand critical care, according to URMC CEO Jeff Tarrant. “Through support of our boards, Upson Regional has made a commitment to begin a construc tion project that will allow us to grow in a way that is almost un heard of across Georgia’s rural hos pitals - a project focusing on signif icant expansion of our obstetrics facilities and services, coupled with expansion of our critical care facil ities and services,” Tarrant told commissioners during a county work session last Wednesday. “Our vision for this major con struction project is not haphazard,” he continued. “On the contrary, it is based on careful analysis of our market - current needs, as well as future needs of our population, including projections for growth. [URMC] has a solid history of ana- See Expansion, 10A CEO Jeff Tarrant Andrew Carroll/Upson Beacon Water slides, facepainting, and smiles at Sprewell Bluff's annual Fun in the Sun day. Dozens Have Fun in the Sun Bridge Turner Editor in Chief bturner@upsonbeacon.com Dozens of families attended Sprewell Bluff s annual Fun in the Sun event on Sat urday, June 8. Water slides, ice cream, face painting, and balloon animals, as well as several ven dors, awaited the families as they enjoyed a day at Sprewell Bluff Park on Flint River. Door prizes were given away with gifts including fishing poles, bikes, a puddle jumper set, a bow and arrow set, state park passes, float trips, zoo memberships, and a kayak. Sponsors for the Fun in the Sun event included Upson Regional Medical Center; Thomaston Hardware; A&B Heating, Cool ing, and Plumbing; Pitts Pest Control; Fall Line Guide Service; United Bank; Riverside Country Store; and Colony Bank. Planning Board Votes 3-1 to Deny Church Rezoning Hope of the Generations Expansion Moves to BOC Bridge Turner Editor in Chief bturner@upsonbeacon.com Members of the Upson Planning Commission voted 3-1 Monday to recommend denial of an application for rezoning by Hope of the Generations church for a proposed expansion off Highway 74 in the western portion of the county. In the third installment of a public hearing which began in April, four McCard Road residents, three Pick ard Road residents, and two Crest Highway residents voiced opposition to the church project. Each reiter ated concerns from two prior meetings regarding traffic, stormwater runoff, noise, air pollution, and po tential adverse effects to natural landscape. One McCard Road res ident took his concerns a step further. “The last few weeks, I’ve seen nobody at that church on Sundays. Other churches meet on Sundays and Wed nesdays,” he said. “They have people there for two See Rezoning, 8A Water Activities Offered at Civic Center for June Relief on Tuesdays, Thursdays While Pool Opening is Delayed Bridge Turner Editor in Chief bturner@upsonbeacon.com Starting tomorrow, the Thomaston- Upson Recreation Department will offer water activities at the civic center each Tuesday and Thursday throughout June, providing heat relief while the recreation swimming pool opening is delayed. There will be a large, dual-lane, inflat able water slide, a smaller water slide for young children, and a slip-and-slide set up at the T-ball complex, according to Recrea tion Director Bryan Kelley. Concessions will be open to all guests who desire snacks and refreshments. Entry fee is $3 per person, but free for children ages four and under. All children ages 10 and under require an adult present at all times, Kelley said. Water activities will be available from See Civic Center, 7A Culloden Woman Killed in Bizarre Motorcycle Wreck A 53-year-old Culloden woman was killed on Highway 19 South May 31, when she was thrown from a motorcycle which struck a deer, then was struck by a vehicle passing the scene, according to Georgia State Patrol reports. Carman Smith was riding on the back of a Harley Davidson driven by Dwayne Smith, traveling south in the left lane of Highway 19. The front tire struck a deer which entered the roadway from the center median, and both riders were thrown from the motorcycle, the report stated. The driver told troopers he “blacked out” after striking the deer. Shortly after the initial accident, a Volkswagen Beetle driven by 31-year-old Hope Brown of Butler was traveling south in the right lane. She switched lanes and “attempted to avoid [Carman Smith]... but the collision was unavoid able,” according to the report. Thomaston Police Department was first on the scene and the officer ren dered aid to Smith until emergency medical services arrived. Lincoln Park Fire Rescue also responded and con tinued rendering aid, the report stated. Hannah Arnette Cecil Hutchins Early Voting in Local Runoff Ending Friday Arnette versus Hutchins for Upson Chief Magistrate Early voting will end Friday for the runoff between Hannah Ellington Arnette and Cecil Hutchins for Upson County Chief Magistrate Judge, according to the local board of elections. 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 are U.S. House of Representatives District 3 competitors Mike Dugan and Brian Jack. Early voting will be available through Friday, June 14, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at the Thomaston Upson Civic Center. There will be no Saturday voting for the run off election. All polling precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day, Tuesday, June 18. For more information regarding the runoff election, please contact the elections office at 706-647-6259. Republican Dan Brue and Democrat Ed Searcy will compete for chairman of the Upson County Board of Com missioners in the Nov. 5 election. f ^ ff® Holly Harrison, (I) Griinn Ob-Gyn “■ Accepting New Patients In Thomaston 403 West Main Street • Thomaston CAll (706)646-2888 or (770) 227-5505 for an appointment.
