About Lake Oconee news. (Greensboro, GA) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2017)
Friday, October 27, 2017 Lake Oconee News Page A7 PUTNAM COUNTY Mclver murder trial continued Attorney accused of killing wife awaits bond Lynn Hobbs lynn@lakeoconeenews.us The trial of Claude “Tex” Mclver, which was slated to begin in Fulton County Monday, Oct. 30, has been reset to March 5,2018, accordingto reports and those close to Mclver. On Oct. 18, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney pushed back the trial date when the Fulton County District Attorney’s office asked for a continuance, citing the need to examine thousands of emails. The judge also granted Mclver a $750,000 bond. He remained in the Fulton County Jail at The Messenger’s press time. Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, a longtime friend of Mclver’s, said he talked on the phone with Mclver and also with Mclver’s sister, Dixie, earlier this week. “The family is ready and able to post his bond, but first they are waiting until all the nuances of the conditions are worked out,” Sills said. “They want clarification so he won’t violate it and be right back in jail.” Mclver, a part-time Putnam County residentandformermember ofthe Putnam County Development Authority, has been charged with murdering his wife, Diane. The couple was riding with a friend from their Pea Ridge Road ranch in Putnam County to their condo minium in Buckhead on Sept. 26. While riding in the couple’s SUV, with Tex in the backseat on the passenger side, Diane in the front passenger seat and their friend, Dani Jo Carter driving, Tex report edly asked for his gun because they felt they were in an unsafe area. Dianehandedhimhis gun out ofthe console, and while he was holding it, the gun fired and hit Diane in the back. She later died at Emory University Hospital. Mclver does not deny the shoot ing but says it was accidental. After an investigation, the Atlanta Police Department took out a manslaughter warrant, according to a transcript from a previous court hearing. The Fulton County District Attorney’s office said it has other evidence and took the case before a Fulton County Grand Jury, which indicted Mclver on charges of murder, felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and other charges. His first bond was revoked in April when a hand gun was found in a sock drawer of his condominium, and he has been in jail ever since. So this time, Mclver and his family want to make sure that doesn’t happen again, Sills said. Mclver, in his early 70s, has lost a lot of weight while in jail and he is reportedly depressed. Both the defense and prosecutor supposedly were ready for the trial, so the continuance came as a sur prise to Sills, aveteranlaw enforcer, who said “malicious prosecution” was involved. “I cannot understand why his attorney, to whom he paid (hun dreds ofthousands of) dollars, never even filed a demand for a speedy trial,” he said. “The whole thing would’ve already been over if he had.Thewholethingisjustbizarre.” The previously mentioned “nuances” of the conditions of bond include the fact that Mclver would have to remain in the Buckhead condo, Sills said, and the condo is under the control of Diane’s estate. Mclver was the original executor of her will, but the court appointed Decatur attorney Mary Margaret Oliver as administrator. MORGAN COUNTY Three farms place in Southeastern Hay Contest Merritt Melancon news@lakeoconeenews.us Three Morgan County farms were amongthose who placed in the Southeastern Hay Contest held recently. Bohlen Farms of Madison placed third out of 19 entries in the Alfalfa hay competi tion sponsored by America’s Alfalfa. Tied forthirdplace, Wayne Tankersley of Madison and Mike Ivy ofBostwick tied for third place out of 69 entries in the mixed annual or other hay competition sponsored by Athens Seed Company. Withmorethan328 entries in this year’s Southeastern Hay Contest (SEHC), com petition was fierce among farms that pride themselves on fine hay. Despite the crowded field, 13 Georgia farms placed in the competition’s seven categories, and two Georgia farms won their categories outright. Oak Ridge Ranch in Dahlonega won in the cool-season perennial grass hay category, and Jeff Bacon ofDudleywonthe warm-sea son perennial grass hay category. Winners were announced Tuesday, Oct. 17, at the Sunbelt Agricultural Expo in Moultrie. For the past 13 years, the contest, presented by Massey Ferguson, has rec ognized farmers who make the extra effort to produce quality, high-nutrition hay andbaleage. The Cooperative Extension programs in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina orga nize the contest each year and sponsors — like Massey Ferguson — offer prizes. The contest is broken down into seven categories: warm-seasonperennial grass hay (bermudagrass, bahia- grass), alfalfa hay, perennial peanut hay, cool-season perennial grass hay (tall fescue, orchardgrass), mixed annual or other grass hay, grass baleage and legume baleage. In each of the categories, the highest three entries in terms of relative forage quality (RFQ) received cash prizes. First-place winners received $125, second-place winners received $75 and third-place winners received $50. The farm that won top honors in terms of highest overall RFQ also received its choice of the use of a new Massey Ferguson DM Series disc mower or RK Series rotary rake for the 2017 hay production season plus $1,000. This year, the overall high RFQ was 269, attributed to the extremely high-quality alfalfaproduced at Seldom Rest Farm in Pulaski, Tennessee. Weather is always a major factor when attempting to produce quality forage. This year, wet conditions early and dry conditions late in the growing season proved to be a major limitation for many producers. Drought stress late in the season increased the incidence of high nitrate levels in the forage in 2017, and 11.5 percent of the sam ples submitted to the contest were disqualified because nitrates were greater than 5,000 parts per million (ppm). Although the average forage quality this year was very high, these weather challenges caused the aver age RFQto be down slightly from previous years. Still, the winning entries were on par with or greater than record-winning values in the contest’s 13-year history. Good management can make a remarkable improvement in forage quality in both favorable and unfavorable weather conditions. In the past, hay quality prediction equations were based on the fiber concentra tion ofthehay crop. However, forage crops can have similar fiber content but different digestibility. For instance, Tifton 85 bermudagrass often has a higher fiber concentration than other bermudagrass varieties, yet it is more digestible. This improved digestibilityresults in enhanced animal perfor mance, but is not reflected using traditional forage testing methods. The RFQindex was devel oped by the University of Florida and the University of Wisconsin to predict the fiber digestibility and animal intake of harvested crops. Currently, all forage sample results from the University of Georgia’s Feed and Environmental Water Lab in Athens, Georgia, contain an estimate of RFQ. This value is a single, easy-to-interpret number that improves producer understanding of a forage’s nutritive quality and helps in establishing a fair market value for the product. To learn more about how farmers can use RFQ to improve their forage stand or more about forage quality, please visit georgiaforages. caes.uga.edu. The winners in each category include: Warm-season perennial grass hay (sponsored by R.W. Griffin Industries), with 106 entries • First place, Jeff Bacon of Dudley, Georgia • Second place, Double K Farm of Oxford, Georgia • Third place, Chase Hassey □ THE OPAS COMMUNITY YOUTH CHORUS PRESENTS A Patriotic Salute Sunday, November 12 7:00pm | Free Admission First United Methodist Church 4741 Carey Station Road, Greensboro Made possible by Cheryl and Andy Andrews, Founding Underwriters for the OPAS Community Youth Chorus OPAS OCONEE PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETY P 3 of Milner, Georgia Alfalfa hay (sponsored by America’s Alfalfa), with 19 entries • First place, Seldom Rest Farm of Pulaski, Tennessee • Secondplace,BrentStegall Farms of Peachland, North Carolina • Third place, BohlenFarms of Madison, Georgia Perennial peanut hay (sponsored by the Perennial Peanut Producers Association), with 13 entries • First place, Robert Harrison of Quincy, Florida • Second place, Windy Hill Ranch LLC of DeFuniak Springs, Florida • Third place, Farrell Roberts ofTifton, Georgia Cool-season perennial grass hay (sponsored by Inland Tarp and Liner), with 20 entries • First place, Oak Ridge Ranch LLC of Dahlonega, Georgia • Second place, J&B Farms, Jim Raptist of Lyerly, Georgia • Third place, Brian Hart of LaFayette, Georgia Mixed annual or other hay (sponsoredbyAthens Seed Company), with 69 entries WE OFFER: 3-YEAR NEXPLANON IMPLANT 3,5 AND 10-YEAR IUDS Morgan County HEALTH DEPARTMENT 2005 S. Main St., Suite 200 706.752.1266 • First place, Yon Family Farms of Ridge Spring, South Carolina • Secondplace,ScottMcRae of Alma, Georgia • Tiedforthirdplace,Wayne Tankersley of Madison, Georgia • Tied for third place, Mike Ivy ofBostwick, Georgia Grass baleage (sponsored by Georgia Twine), with 90 entries • First place, Yon Family Farms of Ridge Spring, South Carolina • Second place, Rolling Rock Farm of Lexington, Georgia • Third place, South Family of Thomaston, Georgia Legume baleage (spon sored by Southeast AgriSeeds), with 11 entries • First place, Windy Hill Ranch LLC of DeFuniak Springs, Florida • Second place, Yon Family Farms of Ridge Spring, South Carolina • Third place, Smiley B. Farms of Graceville, Florida (The organizers of the Southeastern Hay Contest contributed to this article.) Merritt Melancon is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. 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