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Your official newspaper serving Greene, Morgan and Putnam counties in Georgia’s Lake Country | unvw.LakeOconeeNews.us
VOL. 19 NO. 29 g FRIDAY JULY 21 2017 75 CENTS
GREENE COUNTY
Pair arrested with 32
T. Michael Stone
michael@msgr.com
Greene County deputies
arrested two people on marijuana
trafficking charges on July 13 after
they discovered a bag containing
32 pounds of the stuff during a
traffic stop on 1-20.
According to an incident report
obtained from the Greene County
Sheriffs Office, Deputy Robert
McCannon was monitoring traffic
near the Greensboro exit when he
noticed a Chevrolet Tahoe with
dark on its windows.
According to McCannon, the
tint was so dark “you could not see
into the vehicle.”
McCannon stopped the Tahoe
near mile post 132 eastbound and
made contact with the female
driver, later identified as Tequelia
Frails, 36, of 2515 Corbin Place,
Augusta.
McCannon said he could smell
the odor of raw marijuana as soon
pounds of pot
as the window came down. The
male passenger, later identified
as Ricco Marcel Wright, 36, of
1946 Hwy 23 South, Waynesboro,
seemed to be breathing heavily
and would not look at McCannon.
McCannon told Frails that
SEE POT»A10 Wright Frails
GREENE COUNTY
MORGAN COUNTY
UPSA seeks merger with LOA
Mark Engel
engel@lakeoconeenews.us
In a stunning move, the Union Point
STEAM Academy (UPSA) govern
ing board has voted to not apply for a
charter renewal. The current charter
expires in June 2018.
The board also unanimously voted to
seek a merger with the county’s other
charter school, Lake Oconee Academy
(LOA).
It happened at a July 13 special called
meeting and ignited a large crowd of
angry and disappointed parents and
teachers in attendance.
Union Point Elementary school
was converted to a charter school in
2012 and teaches Georgia’s STEAM
(Science, Technology, Engineering,
Arts, and Mathematics) curriculum.
UPSA begins the fifth year of a 5-year
SEE UPSA » A3
Mark Engel/Staff
Mike Lynch, chairman of the Greene County Board of Education, faces a tough decision
on Union Point STEAM Academy.
BOE OKs
$ 15M bond
for middle
school
T. Michael Stone
michael@lakeoconeenews.us
The Morgan County Board of Ed
ucation approved a supplemental
bond resolution to issue $15 million
in general obligation bonds during
Monday night’s meeting. The bonds
were issued to cover the cost ofbuilding
and equipping the new middle school.
According to Bryce Holcomb of
Citybank, the school system is getting
an excellent interest rate on the loan
SEE BOND » A10
index
Calendar B4
Churches B8
Classifieds D3
Community B1
Obituaries A8
Opinions A4
Recipes D1
Sports C1
Sports C1
FRIDAY
95/76
Partly Cloudy
WEATHER »D6
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Published by
Smith
Communications Inc.
MORGAN COUNTY
Morgan County School System cuts ribbon on new transportation facility
Leila Scoggins/Staff
Buses in the new shop at the MCCSS Transportation center prepare for the coming school year.
Leila Scoggins
leila@lakeoconeenews.us
A large crowd gathered at the new
Morgan County Charter School
System’s Transportation Center on
Tuesday, July. 18 to celebrate the
ribbon cutting for the facility.
Pupil transportation manager
Alicia Lord welcomed the group
to the new center, which is a joint
effort between the school system
SEE MORGAN » A2
LAKE COUNTRY
Smith Communications purchases The Baldwin Bulletin
Josh Lurie
josh@lakeoconeenews.us
Eatonton-based Smith Com
munications Inc. has expanded
its footprint in Georgia’s Lake
Country with the purchase of The
Baldwin Bulletin, which was an
nounced July 14 in Milledgeville.
The family-owned company
currently publishes The Eatonton
Messenger, Lake Oconee News and
Messenger Weekend, in addition
to a number of magazines.
Griffin Lovett, former pub-
SEE BULLETIN » A10
Former and current
owners gather
to close the sale
of The Baldwin
Bulletin to Smith
Communications.
Pictured are, from
left, former Executive
Editor DuBose
Porter, incoming
General Manager
Matt Smith, Smith
Communications
President A. Mark
Smith Sr., and
former Publisher
Griffin Lovett.
Wil Petty/Staff
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