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DRIVE THROUGH EASIER ON SUNDAY/ EGG Tuesday, March 23,2021 barnesville.com Barnesville, Ga. 30204 HERE’S THE SCOOP Blood drive is Thursday A Red Cross blood drive will be held from 1-6 p.m. Thursday in the fellowship hall at First United Methodist Church. The drive is sponsored by the Barnesville Rotary Club. For info, call the church at 770.358.1494. ESPLOST passes; runoff set April 13 in chief magistrate race KUNST MASON ENGLISH WILLIAMSON Lamar County voters, albeit less than 20% of them, approved the continuation of ESPLOST tax collections in the March 16 special election by a vote of 1,339-769. The school system expects to raise $13.2 million via the one percent sales tax over the life of the tax. In the race for chief mag istrate judge, Paul Kunst and Jeff Mason were the top vote getters and will face off in a runoff April 13. Early voting in the runoff will be held April 5-9 from 8 a.m. -12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. at the elections office in the county annex. Kunst drew 820 votes while Mason garnered 775. Two other candidates, Brutz Eng lish and Shannon Williamson, were eliminated. English got 364 votes while Williamson had 240. Only 2,203 of the county’s 13,153 registered voters both ered to cast ballots -16.75% turnout. PHOTO: FACEB00K ‘Restaurant Impossible’ films downtown Celebrity chef Robert Irvine and the crew from the hit TV series ‘Res- The Deraney’s episode is tentatively set to air July 11 on the Food taurant Impossible’ spent much of last week in downtown Barnesville Network. transforming Deraney’s Two City Tavern. Irvine reported his show is seen Robert Irvine (right) is pictured with Christopher Deraney, owner of in 120 countries by over a billion viewers. Deraney’s Two City Tavern. Subscribe. Your name goes on the label in this box Tinseltown: Film projects shooting here WALTER GEIGER news@barnesville.com Barnesville has been back in front of the camera and will be appearing on the silver screen - or your TV screen - in various film projects. The TV series ‘Restaurant Impossible’ filmed an episode downtown at Deraney’s Two City Tavern that had crews in town for most of last week. The series stars Robert Irvine who reinvents restaurants through a boot camp approach. The air date for the episode filmed here is not yet set. A ‘Snapped’ episode on the brutal murder of Donald Clark aired Sunday on Oxygen Network. Clark was beaten to death with a metal baseball bat while he slept and his mangled body dumped in a Redbone cornfield. His wife and codefen dant Michael Yost are serving life sentences for the slaying. The episode was filmed here last summer and is on rotation on Oxygen. MVP Productions filmed a music video at the Old Jail Museum Thursday featuring rapper Unfoonk, the brother of hip hop star Young Thug. That project was brought to town by location scout Dwight Dyer who has other projects in the pipeline. Tapoo Productions is shoot ing a film entitled ‘Finding Destiny’ on the Gordon cam pus and in Culloden beginning Saturday. Kors Vandiver Films is lensing a short film entitled ‘Everywhere’ on and around the Gordon campus beginning Sunday. Dyer is also seeking a 1970s era gym for an upcoming feature film on two basketball players. Unfoonk brought out the stargazers last week when he arrived at the courthouse park ing lot in a $245,000 Lambo rghini Urus. Rapper Unfoonk (right) filmed a music video at The Old Jail Museum last week with officer Kyle Sims (left) and CpI. Michael Blankenship of the BPD. Beaten baby suspect released on $50,000 bond WALTER GEIGER news@barnesville.com A 30-year-old woman charged with not seeking medical attention for her two-month- old daughter who suffered 27 bone injuries/fractures was released from jail on bond March 16. Jessica Miranda Coffey was granted bond in the amount of $50,000 by Judge Arch McGarity. She was released later that day. The judge’s order stipulates Coffey can have no contact with her minor children and no contact with her codefendant Phillip Luke Norman. Coffey took the little girl to the emergency room at Wellstar Spalding and doc tors there alerted the Lamar sheriff’s office. Norman was arrested Feb. 9. Coffey was ar rested Feb. 11. Each is charged with one count of first degree cruelty to children. More charges are expected as the investigation proceeds. In court documents, Nor man is identified as a ‘person’ supervising the victim. Coffey is described as a ‘parent’ with the same responsibilities. After the arrests, DFCS personnel removed three other minor children from the couple’s home at Milner Creek Apartments. The little girl has been re leased from the hospital and is recovering well in foster care. Bond for Norman was previ ously denied and he remains in the Lamar County jail. Grand jury did not hear Milner probe WALTER GEIGER news@barnesville.com The March term Lamar County grand jury did not hear the case resulting from the ongoing probe into the Milner city council during its session earlier this month. Towaliga circuit district attorney Jonathan Adams reported last week he, his staff and GB1 investigators may recall the grand jury at some point to hear the case. Adams, GB1 personnel and Milner mayor Andy Marlowe were to meet Friday but that gathering was postponed at the behest of the GB1, Adams said. Adams ordered the GB1 probe May 18, 2020. On July 20, 2020, Marlowe asked the GB1 to do a complete forensic audit of the city’s finances and that audit is ongoing. Escapee gets sentenced to four years in prison A 24-year-old Douglas man who escaped from the local jail here May 24, 2020, was sentenced to four years in prison and six years on probation March 2 in Lamar superior court. VEL0Z Julian Tyler Veloz was on kitchen detail and walked away from the jail while taking out the trash. The escape triggered a massive search. A review of video revealed Veloz had been picked up by an accomplice. SEE ESCAPEE SENTENCED 5A COFFEY ©2021 THE HERALD GAZETTE, BARNESVILLE, LAMAR COUNTY, GA 30204, 770.358.NEWS