About The Eatonton messenger. (Eatonton, Ga.) 18??-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2025)
PUBLISHED CONTINUOUSLY SINCE 1861 G THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2025 VOLUME 164 • NO. 30 Willis pleads guilty; VFW, Veterans Wall repaid Lynn Hobbs lynn@msgrnews.com Almost three years since his arrest, the victims of a formerly prominent Eatonton business man’s theft have finally received financial restitution. Jimmy “Jim” Franklin Willis pled guilty in Superior Court last week to four counts of executing fictitious checks, three counts of theft by conversion, and 29 counts of theft by taking, according to court records. Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Alison T. Burleson sentenced Willis to 20 Jim Willis years of probation, gave him credit for his time already spent in jail, and ordered him to pay back all of the money he pled guilty to stealing. Willis paid back the entire amount immediately, according to District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale and Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills. Barksdale acknowledged that any victim of theft of such a large amount of money would prefer the perpetrator spend time behind bars. He said Willis had no criminal history and theft is a non-violent offense, so if he was sent to prison in today’s overcrowded prison system, he’d probably be let out in one year or less. “So, we focused on trying to get all of the money hack to the victims,” Barksdale said. “That was our primary focus, getting the best outcome for the victims. And we did that. And he got 20 years probation, which is [like] a life sentence being monitored by a probation officer. “I am satisfied with the outcome — not happy with it, but satisfied,” Barksdale said. “And I’m proud of the great job MORE WILLIS » A5 IAN TOCHER/Staff The now-empty Putnam County Elementary School on South Washington Street in Eatonton will eventually be repurposed as a centralized City of Eatonton government and services center. City confirms purchase of elementary school property Ian Tocher ian@msgrnews.com The biggest news from Monday night’s Eatonton city council meeting came in its final few minutes. The seven-member council, plus Eatonton Mayor John Reid and city attorney Chris Huskins, returned from a brief, private, executive session to announce the city has agreed to purchase the former Putnam County Elementary School at 314 S. Washington St. “Thank you all for helping this come to fruition,” Reid said following a unanimous public vote by coun cilors authorizing him to sign a $150,000 purchase agreement with the Putnam County Board of Educa tion. “We now have ourselves a city campus. Eatonton Police Chief Howell Cardwell and City Fire Chief Jamey Williamson each confirmed gratitude and eagerness after the council’s deci sion and announcement. They each cited the deteriorating roof over both their spaces at 214 W. Marion St. as an urgent problem, as well as limited and outdated space. Each said they look forward to working with the council on renovation plans for the former elementary school. No timeline or budget was MORE SCHOOL » A7 Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Lee Ellis POW stay in ‘Hanoi Hilton' provides life lessons Story and photos by Ian Tocher ian@msgrnews.com Following an introduction by BankSouth President and CEO Harold Reynolds, retired U.S. Air Force Col. Lee Ellis took the stage at Lake Oconee Church last Thursday evening, where he presented “Lead ership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton,” a harrowing tale of courage, character, and resilience. Ellis took his stories even further, I MORE ELLIS >: A3 | State lawmakers study post-pandemic student absenteeism Ty Tagami Capitol Beat News Service Five years after COVID-19 caused many Georgia kids to start skipping school, absen teeism rates remain stubbornly high, with students scoring worse in core subjects like math and reading. A special committee of the state House of Representatives is studying the issue ahead of next year’s legislative session with the goal of producing laws that can reverse the trend. The first presentations at the Georgia Capitol Tuesday indicated that many of the likely causes relate to poverty, although mental health also plays a role. More than one in five students missed more than 15 days of school in 2024, nearly double the rate in 2019. The rate missing six to 15 days climbed to 42%, six points higher than in 2019. “A crisis is building,” said Rep. Will Wade, R-Dawsonville, a member of the committee. Wade and fellow lawmakers heard that reasons as obvious as uncorrected vision and illness are driving absenteeism. “Asthma is the leading cause,” said Garry McGiboney, a former state Department of Education official, the first expert to testify. He said diabetes is also a big driver. “If you look deeper into that, one of the reasons why is because it’s difficult for school systems to implement an asthma or diabetes manage ment plan, especially if they don’t have a school nurse.” McGiboney led a volunteer panel that studied absenteeism for the group Get Georgia Reading. Their resulting report published in June said children MORE STUDENTS » A3 0 94922 87854 WEATHER 90 HIGH Thursday Few Showers 72 LOW Detailed forecast / B4 For breaking news or to subscribe, visit www.msgrnews.com or call 706-485-3501 SMITH COMMUNICATIONS! Newspapers • Magazines • Printing War Eagles host padded camp »PAGE Bl INSIDE THIS WEEK Classifieds D1 Public Record A7 Community C1 Opinions A4 Crossword Puzzle C5 Obituaries A6 Legal Notices D3 Sports B1 Seems like wherever I went there were tornados, floods, fires, and worse. Getting home, it's all heat -r TTA, and rain showers. Not sure what PUT NAM stirred up Mother Nature, but 1;i it ain't good. Maybe August -TIC will bring better weather. But it A really was good to get away for a while. Hard to believe school is starting back already. Seemed like a short summer for the children. Big turnout for the African American Cultural Experience Complex ceremony at Rock Eagle last week. More than two dozen outstanding Putnam County citizens were recognized for their service in many areas. Really impressive. It was also good to see and hear my old friend, Michael Thurmond, as the featured speaker. There were over 300 in attendance. Also, really miss Budweiser, my best buddy since he was a puppy 17 years ago. Hot Dog keeps looking for him under the house. Sad. BEAT Lu OUBQBUE8 UP *x0H2 EPS [nW
