About Upson beacon. (Thomaston, Ga.) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 2024)
Vol. 17, No. 25 Wednesday, June 19, 2024 UPSON BEACON Shining Light & Keeping Watch on Our Community upsonbeacon.com 219 Thomas Street, Thomaston, Ga. 30286 • 706.646.2382 75 Cents Newsline June 19. 2024 Final School Budget Talk Set June 25 The Thomaston- Upson Board of Educa tion will hold a final public comment session for the proposed 2025 fis cal year budget June 25, according to a release from school officials. The public hearing is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 25 at the T-U BOE office, 205 Civic Center Drive in Thomas ton. The board is sched uled to adopt the final budget at the early-morn ing meeting. Upson County res idents are encouraged to attend the hearing, which is scheduled to provide an opportunity for public input on the proposed budget. The budget is available for review on the district’s website at www.upson.k12.ga.us or at the office at the above address during operating hours. Notification of Sewer Overflow A sanitary sewer overflow occurred June 15 at the Walmart lift station in Thomaston, according to a notifica tion from Heath Jarriel, project manager with ESG Operations. A pipe leaving the lift station was compro mised, allowing sewage to lead when pumps were running, according to Jarriel. The leak was found at 10:30 p.m. and continued until mid night, when the force main finished draining. Repairs were made, and the station was brought back online at approx imately 2:30 a.m. June 16. There was a release of 50 gallons per minute for 90 minutes, for a total of 4,500 gallons, which reached a tribu tary of Potato Creek. A spill notice has been posted at the site. The Georgia Depart ment of Natural Re sources has been notified and the affected area has been treated within the regulations of DNR. 8 10499 02461 2 Arnette Elected Chief Magistrate Judge Luke Haney Editor lhaney@upsonbeacon.com Hannah Ellington Arnette won the runoff race for Chief Magistrate Judge of Upson County by only 20 votes against Assistant Magistrate Judge Cecil Hutchins on June 18. Arnette secured 1,506 (50.33 percent) of total 2,992 votes, ac cording to unofficial reports from Upson County Elections Office. Hutchins (1,486 total votes) car ried every precinct ex cept Redbone, the largest precinct covering the northwest sector of the county. Redbone covers most of Upson County Com mission districts two and three, represented by Commissioner James El lington, Amette’s father, and Commissioner Paul Jones, re spectively. Advanced and absentee-by-mail votes show Hutchins with 778 votes and Ar nette with 769. The Salem Pre cinct gave Hutchins 98 votes, with Arnette gain ing four. In the Town Pre cinct, Hutchins led with 264 votes, with Arnette securing 236. In Yatesville, Hutchins secured 108 votes against Arnette’s 88. Arnette secured 409 votes from the Redbone Precinct and Hutchins secured 238. In the May 21 election, neither Arnette nor Hutchins gained enough votes to secure the seat, but both gained more support than op ponents Mia Collier and William Hughley. Brian Jack won the Upson race for U.S. House District 3 Represen tative with 1,684 votes against Mike Dugan, who secured 632 votes in Upson. Total district runoff results were unavailable at press time. Hannah E. Arnette T-U 10U All-Stars celebrate a tournament victory. Submitted 10U All-Stars Advance to State Tournament Andrew Carroll Sports Editor acarroll@upsonbeacon.com The 10U Thomaston-Upson All-Star baseball team scored a huge tournament victory, winning the USSSA Sub State West American Championship to advance into the Elite Six State Championship, set June 22-23. The road to get there was not an easy one for the Knights. The first game for the T-U All-Stars was at 1:30 p.m. Saturday against the Fayette County Baseball Associ ation Red Team. The Knights picked up the first victory 11-8 to advance to the second game of the day at 3:15 p.m. against the Hampton All-Stars. In a close contest, the Knights fell one mn short to drop into the loser’s bracket via a 9-8 decision. That set the Knights up with a long run on Sunday if they wanted a shot at the top spot. Starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning, the Knights beat Spalding 15-4 and bested FCBA for a second time 6-5 to advance to the championship matchup against the same team that had knocked them down the day prior. Perhaps that added a bit of inspiration to the team as the Knights rolled 13-3 to force a third game against the Hampton All- Stars. T-U faced Hampton in the fourth straight game of the day at 3:15 p.m. and re versed the score from the first game to take the championship 9-8. For the 8U All-Stars, the Knights trav eled to Griffin and faced an extremely com petitive tournament. The Knights went 3-2 during the tournament with wins over Spalding, Butts County, and Hampton. Ho wever, the Knights came up just shy against Fayette County, which went on to win the championship, and the second game against Spalding did not go the Knights’ way. Barnesvllle Man Sentenced to 60 Months In Federal Prison Ball Claimed to be FBI Agent In Letter to Upson SO Travis Leroy Ball of Barnesville was sentenced June 12 to serve 60 months in federal prison for mailing threatening communications, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Georgia. Ball, 56, has a criminal history of arson and sending death threats, according to the statement. He previously pleaded guilty to one count of mailing threatening communications on Jan. 19. U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal is sued the prison sentence, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Ball is not eligible for parole, the release stated. “We will not tolerate threats of violence against public servants and other similar criminal intimidations that disturb peace and order,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Travis Ball has threatened govern ment workers at every level and even their families. Keeping people safe is the highest priority of our office and our law enforce ment partners.” “Threats against public servants are not only illegal, but also a threat against our democratic process,” said Robert Gibbs, supervisory senior resident agent in charge of FBI Atlanta’s Macon office. “While Mr. Ball’s continued criminal con duct clearly illustrates his lack of concern and compassion for others, it also illus trates his unwilling ness to be rehabilitated. Hope fully, this additional sentence will finally send the message that the FBI will not tolerate his hate- fueled hoaxes and will continue to hold him accountable.” According to documents and state ments filed in court, the FBI obtained a letter on March 10, 2023, addressed to U.S. District Court Judge Marc T. Trea dwell, in which the writer was claiming to be a U.S. Secret Service agent who investi gated one of the defendant’s prior cases. In the letter - later determined to be written by Ball - the writer demanded that the charge in Ball’s most recent federal case be dismissed, and he be released from federal custody. Ball - using the name of a former cell mate - also wrote letters to the U.S. District Court in Valdosta and the U.S. Depart ment of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., in March and May See Prison, 4A Travis L. Ball BOC Approves Hospital Bond IGA Resolution Commission OKs Increase for County Garbage Service Bridge Turner Editor in Chief bturner@upsonbeacon.com Commissioners voted unanimously last week to ap prove a resolution authoriz ing county staff negotiation with Upson Hospital Au thority and Upson Regional Medical Center officials re garding an intergovernmen tal agreement to secure a $40 million expansion at the healthcare facility. At a work session June 5, URMC CEO Jeff Tarrant told commissioners the county’s guarantee of a $35 million bond would save the hospital approximately $175,000 per year in interest. Section 2 of the resolution included the following lan guage, derived from sugges tions submitted by Davenport & Company, the county’s fi nancial advisor, during a presentation at the work ses sion. “Terms to be considered for inclusion in any intergov ernmental contract for the protection of the citizens and taxpayers of the county are to include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) require ments that the authority pro- See Hospital, 5A County Planners Vote 4-1 to Deny Church Rezonlng Basilici Seeking to Relocate A&B at Highway lg North Site Bridge Turner Editor in Chief bturner@upsonbeacon.com Members of the Upson County Planning Commis sion voted 4-1 during the June 10 meeting to rec ommend denial of a rezoning application from The Store House Church at 2585 High way 19 North which would allow the relocation of A&B Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing. Donnie Basilici, president of A&B, told commissioners the five-acre site would be “a great place to relocate our business,” currently housed on Crawley Street. A&B re cently celebrated its 60th an niversary. “It’s going to be clean and See Church, 4A Two Charged with Felony Terroristic Threats & Acts Two Thomaston residents are being charged with terror istic threats and acts in unre lated incidents which occurred last week, according to Thomaston Police Depart ment reports. Jalisa Vernae Daniel, 34, also faces a misdemeanor charge of pointing or aiming a gun or pistol at another after allegedly threatening to shoot a woman and her two daugh ters following a verbal argu ment while all parties were standing in their respective driveways. Based on witness ac counts, cell phone and Ring doorbell video, and Daniel’s own admission, she threat ened, “I will shoot you and your kids,” the report stated. After an argument, Daniel went into her house and re turned with a Glock 9mm handgun, cocked it and pointed it at the three com plainants, and said, “I will put a bullet in you,” according to the report. When interviewed by po lice, Daniel said she retrieved the gun because she felt threatened. But she admitted the three complainants never entered her yard or driveway, never presented a weapon, and never tried to make entry into her house, the report stated. “[Daniel] never had a law ful reason to point a firearm at anyone... on this date at See Threats, 4A 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.
