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.
