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2A ®jje l)pra(ti <©a?£tt£ Tuesday, March 2,2021 Quarry operational by fall; advisory group members set WALTER GEIGER news@barnesville.com The Vulcan Materials rock quarry off Hwy. 36 East near Chappell Mill Road is expected to be operational by this fall. The original opening date was this summer but was set back due to details on permitting. “We are also doing final exploration on the site and may move the pit area a little to the north,” Vulcan’s Jimmy Fleming reported Thurs day The quarry entrance may also move slightly north from the current temporary access. “We are looking at the best sight distances for DOT and our own needs,” Fleming added. Vulcan’s Barry Fawson will run the quarry. He also oversees operations at Vulcan’s Macon quar ry. Fawson will be on the Citizen Advisory Group (CAG) for the quarry as will Carol Fandrum, Vulcan’s manager of gov ernment and community relations. Citizens appointed to the CAG are Alvin Faulkner, Terry Hardin, Jonathan Sexton, Kent Kingsley and Danny English. Florida Rock won approval for the quarry back in the mid-2000s but put plans for the quarry were put on hold when the economy and housing industry tanked and the demand for gravel decreased. Vulcan bought out Florida Rock in a multi-million dollar deal in 2008. The looming construc tion of truck lanes on 1-75 and a booming housing market now make the quarry more feasible. The quarry site consists of 588 acres on the west side of Hwy. 36 East. PHOTO: KELLY NICHOLSON Perfect slide tackle Freshman Ally Bloxham (18) of the LC Lady Trojans exhibits perfect form on a slide tackle during a 2-1 loss at Jackson Feb. 23. LC rebounded to defeat Dodge County 6-0 Friday night to go 1 -1 in soccer action last week. Milner council continues wrestling with problems KAY S. PEDR0TTI kayspedrotti@gmail.com While there is cur rent anxiety about the city’s financial situation, members of council and the city administrator are making every effort to find solutions to many problems described as originating with “bad de cisions from the past.” Administrator Tausha Grose told the council that recent failure to live up to an agreement to “mulch trees on building sites” has led to removing “good wood” from the site by the timbering com pany hired by developers of the Woodall property. As things stand, sev eral members of council pointed out, Milner has no way of enforcing its in-place codes and ordi nances about develop ment, trash sites, park ing, buffer maintenance and other issues. Grose said that there is negotia tion with Famar County about requirements for using its code enforce ment staff. After routine approv als, the first agenda item called for hearing from “invited guest” Rudy Vaughn, who did not appear. Attorney Scott Mayfield said Vaughn had wanted to discuss with the council de-annexing his property from the city. The city cannot force MAYFIELD \ he cou, \ ty to accept Vaughn’s property if the county does not approve, he added. Residents around the Dollar General store have complained about truck damage to their proper ties, trash blowing out of the parking lot, and lack GROSE of effective buffers to screen the homes. May- field said much of what is happening also was prob lematic as soon as the DG property was spot-zoned to allow the business there. Just because there is conditional zoning, he said, “you can’t grandfa ther in a nuisance.” Council member George Weldon said that -j__ the spot- 1 zoning was IwJ| approved | because that ^ ■ side of the street was not expected to remain residential and has not converted “as fast as we thought.” Councilman Skip Seda noted that city staff is not the answer to enforcing any fine result ing from an existing code violation. SEDA Grose agreed with the need to work to ward code enforcement, but noted that the city’s most pressing problem at the moment is getting information ready for its annual audit. A lengthy discussion ensued after council- woman Regina Stephens brought at tention to the consistently muddy prob lems in the areas where St. George’s Episcopal School children’s rides wait to pick up students after school hours. In addition, she said, many of the cars block local residents’ driveways. There are several pick up and drop-off sites at the school, Weldon said, but there is not yet a plan for eliminating all traffic and weather problems. STEPHENS Woman left in pickup overnight FROM PAGE ONE truck, he drove to the hospital. A search warrant at the home was executed Feb. 18. As a result of that search, investiga tors asked the state crime lab for expedited toxicology results in the case due to a suspicion of an overdose. Another search of the residence was conducted last week and turned up possible traces of GHB. There is also evidence a second male may be involved in the case. “We sent some more stuff to the crime lab last week including some possible GHB. We are still waiting on the toxicology results. The investigation is ongoing. More charges against Spires and other arrests are possible,” sheriff Brad White said Monday. GHB is short for Gamma- Hydroxybu- tyric Acid which is sometimes prescribed as Xyrem. It is known on the street as G, Georgia Home Boy, Goop, Griev ous Bodily Harm, Fiquid X, Scoop and Fiquid Ecstasy, according to the DEA. It comes in liquid and powder forms and is often mixed in drinks in the date rape scenario. Effects include hal lucinations. Overdosing can lead to unconscious ness, seizures, slowed heart rate, greatly slowed breathing, decrease in body temperature, vomit ing, nausea, coma and subsequent death. MCNAIR AAA VOTE! Paul Kunst a a a ^ ^ ^ for Chief Magistrate Judge ^ ^ ^ Early Voting Now-March 12 th • Election Day is March 16! Jean & WilliamiThomas I k Penny & Paul Kunst Jean Thomas Endorses Paul fortshief Magistrate One of the highlights of my husband William’s life was his time serving Lamar County in the position of Chief Magistrate Judge. William was honored to serve Lamar County. I was proud of Judge Henson carrying on the tradition, and was heartbroken when she passed. Shortly, a new judge will be elected and I would like to recommend and endorse Paul Kunst to be the next Chief Magistrate Judge of Lamar County. I’ve known and done business with Paul for years. Paul’s business background and legal experience, a must for being an effective judge, is second to none. Equally important is Paul’s fairness to all people. He has the correct temperament to be a judge, and will be a credit to Lamar County for years to come. I encourage you to vote for Paul Kunst on March 16, 2021. Jean Thomas UTMJ.: v ; General and high-risk obstetrical care Centering Pregnancy: Group Prenatal Care Contraception care and management Adolescent health education services Offices inThomaston and Barnesville OB/GYN Sherida L. Williams, M.D. 706-647-9627 24/7 news, bamesville.com Get the whole story. Wijc ^eralb <©a?ette barnesville.com 770.358.NEWS (6397)