About The Eatonton messenger. (Eatonton, Ga.) 18??-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2025)
PUBLISHED CONTINUOUSLY SINCE 1861 www.msgrnews.com The Latonton dessenuer ) C Official organ of Putnam County and City of Eatonton V . Locally Owned by Smith Communications Inc. 4/ SCELLEV GIA o G PA Cz 0 0 SPCIAC GNEWS VOLUME 164 • NO. 20 THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2025 Milledgeville man charged with speeding 124 mph Lynn Hobbs lynn@msgrnews.com After law enforcement author ities searched for a Milledgeville man for five months, he is now in jail at Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. Quartez Jerome Madison, 31, of Pine Cone Road, Milled geville, is facing charges including reckless driving and speeding. Around 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, Putnam County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. James Barbee III saw two vehicles “traveling south at a high rate of speed on Milledgeville Road,” he says in his report. The two vehicles Quartez J Madison were both traveling in the left lane and passing another vehicle in the right lane. Barbee turned on his radar, which revealed the two vehicles were traveling 124 mph in the 60 mph zone. Barbee turned on his car’s blue lights and sirens and turned around to pursue the two vehicles. He saw one of them, a gray 2000 Honda Accord, stop at the traffic light at the intersection of Twin Bridges and Pea Ridge roads. The black SUV was seen speeding alongside the gray sedan was nowhere in sight. The driver of the Accord, later identified as Madison, pulled over to the side of the road for the deputy. When Barbee approached the car, Madison was talking on his cell phone. Madison told Barbee that he went to visit a family member in Eatonton and while driving back home, the black SUV came up behind him very fast and swerved over as if to run him off the road. “Quartez sped up to try to get away from the SUV, but the SUV matched Quartez’s speed and tried to run him off the road several more times,” the incident MORE SPEED » A3 EC PU a -1 7 i A CONTRIBUTED On May 5, The Plaza Arts Center in downtown Eatonton hosted the Putnam County Charter School System (PCCSS) as it recognized the retirements of 11 longtime employees (l-r): Donald Tuft and Steven Gregory from Transportation; Paula McAlum, Mark Adams, and Jerusha Hudson of Putnam County High School; PCCSS Superintendent Derick Austin (not retiring); Joan Parker and Candace Wooten of Putnam County Primary School; and Dana Rogers, Joy Williamson, Susan Marchetta, and Elsie Haley of Putnam County Elementary School. Putnam plans meetings to address local opioid abuse Ian Tocher ian@msgrnews.com Sandra Dean, executive director of Beyond the Bell, visited Eatonton last Wednesday for a meeting with several community leaders at the new Sips coffee shop on East Marion Street. At issue was high drug use, specifically of opioids in the county, and what might be done to educate and help citizens either dealing with issues themselves or wanting to help addicted family members or friends. Dean said Putnam County was recently identified by the state as having significant opioid issues, prompting Beyond the Bell to apply for and receive one of approximately MORE OPIOIDS » A2 Schools prepare to ban cellphones through eighth grade, with new law taking effect Council recognizes historic preservation efforts Ty Tagami Capitol Beat News Service Schools across Georgia will have to figure out how to pry cellphones from students’ hands next year now that a new ban will be taking effect. House Bill 340 prohibits personal communications devices in public school classrooms from kindergarten through eighth grade. The ban goes into effect in the summer of 2026. Gov. Brian Kemp signed the legislation last week after it passed the Georgia General Assembly with broad bipartisan support earlier this year. A handful of school systems have already implemented local bans, including Marietta City Schools. Marietta Superintendent Grant Rivera was among the leading propo nents for a statewide ban, telling lawmakers in March that he’d seen dramatic changes in middle school, where students were talking with each other rather than hunching over screens. “It impacts academics, it impacts their well-being, it impacts their rela tionships,” Rivera said at a legislative hearing. He said disciplinary issues were down, as well. School districts have until January to write policies and procedures for locking up students’ phones from the first bell in the morning to the last one in the afternoon. They must implement those policies by July 1, 2026, with hundreds of thou sands of students affected when school starts that fall. School leaders welcome the legisla tion. John Zauner, executive director of the Georgia School Superinten dents Association, called the ban a Ian Tocher ian@msgrnews.com Eatonton City Council held a brief meeting May 6 at the county commis sion building, its first of two regularly scheduled monthly meetings. The council meeting followed a brief awards presentation ceremony by the Eatonton Historic Preservation Commission (EHPC), recognizing Aaron and JoAnne Raatz for Excel lence in Rehabilitation and Restoration for their home at 414 N. Madison Ave.; James and Nancy Marshall for Excellence in Stewardship for their 1818 home at 104 Church St.; and Tim Wilder of Chattahoochee Shoals Invest ment Group for Excellence in Reha bilitation of the 1885 home at 409 N. Jefferson Ave. Also receiving EHPC awards were Karl and Myrna Taylor and family for Excellence in Rehabilitation of two side-by side historic commercial buildings at 108 and 110 N. Jefferson Ave.; and a special award went to Steve Noles and his son Blake, of Noles Landscaping, for contributions to the creation of the Bronson House Memo rial Garden at 114 N. Madison Ave. ‘We’ve had some really good proj ects and we’ve seen some big changes in our district, but the credit goes to the owners and that’s why we do these awards,” EHPC Chair Lyn Romine said. “Because this would not happen if we didn’t have people who cared about preservation and about these homes and these buildings in town and keeping the character of our city.” Eatonton Mayor John Reid also offered praise and thanks to the EHPC MORE COUNCIL » A3 SEE STORY AND PHOTOS OF WINNERS » PAGE C1 0 94922 87854 WEATHER 88 HIGH Thursday Partly Cloudy 67 LOW Detailed forecast / C8 For breaking news or to subscribe, visit www.msgrnews.com or call 706-485-3501 SMITH COMMUNICATIONS^ Newspapers • Magazines • Printing MORE PHONES » A3 Waters sets bar high at state meet. »PAGE Bl INSIDE THIS WEEK Classifieds D1 Public Record A7 Community C1 Opinions A4 Crossword Puzzle C5 Obituaries A6 Legal Notices D2 Sports B1 We are all getting to feel like Rainy Day People. Don't need too much more rain as my garden is already A A , floating. I will have to replant PU JL NAM some things. Seems like weath- DTC er patterns across the country • L 1C have changed a good bit over A the years. Can't ever remember so many forest fires. That was always a California thing in the summer and fall. Now places like New York, Pennsyl vania, and Rhode Island have forest fire problems. Zeke still claims things ain't been right since they hit the golf ball into orbit on the moon. He may be right, something is stirring up Mother Nature, which we know is not wise. Good crowd at the Mothers Against Crime banquet. Sheriff Howard Sills gave an excellent talk on the need to celebrate our law enforcement and first responders. We are lucky to have him here in River City. [EES an GIB OUBEMG LUES BEAT Lu
