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2A CMeralti <©a?Ettf Tuesday, April 27,2021 Nancy Butts critical after being struck by train WALTER GEIGER news@barnesville.com A Barnesville woman is recovering after being struck by a train while on her morning walk down town April 22. Nancy C. Butts, 66, was struck in the Elm Street crossing just before 8 a.m. Butts was stabilized at the scene then flown to the trauma center at Atlanta Medical Center. At last report she was in critical but stable condi tion after undergoing surgery. According to witness es, a switching engine was operating on one track as a freight train ap proached from the west on a parallel line. Butts apparently heard and saw the switching engine, waited for it to pass then was struck by the freight train, they said. Butts, a published author of children’s books, is the wife of Don Butts who is retired from the Gordon faculty after many years of service there. She was an editor at The Herald Gazette and also appeared as a con testant on the hit game show ‘Jeopardy’. THE HERALD GAZETTE/WALTER GEIGER Barnesville police and first responders attend to Nancy Butts after she was struck by a freight train while walking April 22 in downtown Barnesville. Butts is in critical but stable condition at Atlanta Medical Center. The incident occurred at the Elm Street crossing near the First Baptist Church playground just before 8 a.m. School board approves purchase of 21.09 acres adjacent to high school KAY S. PEDROTTI kayspedrotti@gmail.com Land belonging to the Town of Aldora, abutting the high school property, will now belong to the school system and will become first a training grounds and obstacle course for the high school’s Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) classes. At last week’s board of education meeting, the purchase was ap proved unanimously by all five board members, with Ron Smith voting by phone. Price for the 21-plus acres is $204,000, payable in annual install ments of $25,000, all com ing from ESPLOST collec tions. The Boy Scout Hut on the property will be converted for the ca dets’ pro gram, and more modifi cations and razing of older struc tures will occur, said superintendent Dr. Jute Wilson. Maj. Paul Stinson, head of the program at LCHS, commented later, “This gives us the opportunity to have the best-rated obstacle course in the area, for both com petitions and better training our cadets.” There are more than 200 students enrolled in the JROTC. “There is enough land that eventually we will build more ball fields, so that we don’t have three teams (middle school, varsity and B-Team) hav ing to share one field,” Wilson added. “It’s an un comfortable position for all the teams, especially when a team practices or plays ‘last’ and goes home very late.” There will be other upgrades to the area as time goes on, Wilson said. Also, plans are in place for “a complete over haul and replacement of equipment at the prima ry school playground,” Wilson said. The elemen tary school play area also will be improved. A new HVAC system will soon be installed for Lamar County Middle School. Plans are also in the works to add a small pressbox to the soccer stadium and erect alu minum bleachers in the tennis court area, allow ing parents and others to see the students’ athletic events. The superintendent also announced at the board meeting that the highly respected and reli able “Wave 1 Generator air filtration system” has been installed in every LCSS building. The sys tem purifies the air and is “99.7% effective in elimi nating allergens, bacteria, mold and viruses,” he added. The $71,240.80 cost of the system will be financed by Cares Act funds. Two new school buses will be bought with Cares Act and ESPLOST funds. During recognitions, eighth grade student Sakara Simpson was honored as the first place winner in the Griffin RESA 2021 Young Georgia Authors writing com petition. Wilson again pointed out that Lamar County students have out-performed other, larger school systems such as Henry and Fay ette Counties, in many competitions. “We’re up against all eight schools and more than 100,000 other stu dents total,” he said. “Be ing first place is a very big deal. We are extreme ly proud of Sakara.” In other action, the board : •Recognized coach Precious Banks and the Girls Volleyball team, who are AA Region champs, breaking some records along the way. Banks described the team as “profoundly dedicated and hard working,” and said she is delighted to have a middle school girls’ vol leyball team: “Finally - a feeder system!” •Approved the results of the ESPLOST election on March 16, which be gins collections in 2023. Last month’s ESPLOST amount for the schools was $190,459. •Amended the LCBE Flex Benefits Plan effec tive June 1, 2021, increas ing the allowable carry over from $500 to $550. •Approved installation of a Daktronics stadium video board, scoreboard and audio system and possibly a small press box at the Trojan sta dium. Existing audio sys tem will be moved to the soccer stadium. Costs are $260,000. WILSON STINSON General and high-risk obstetrical care Centering Pregnancy: Group Prenatal Care Contraception care and management Adolescent health education services Offices inThomaston and Barnesville UPSON mm ob/gyn Sherida L. Williams, M.D. 706-647-9627 THE HERALD GAZETTE/WALTER GEIGER Chloe (left) and Patti Gunter walk through the chest-high broom sedge that now covers the Gunter compound off Grove Street. The area was devastated by a killer tornado in the wee hours of April 28, 2011. Tornado survivor remembers FROM PAGE ONE to help people, and that is a job that would let me do that - something different and important,” she added. College of the Ozarks is a Christian school and has a great reputa tion, Patti said, but is not Nazarene-affiliated. Chloe will receive free tuition for working 15 hours a week on the campus. She regrets that her best friend Ashlyn Pearson won’t be at the same college, but she is upbeat about meeting new people. School sometimes feels like a chore to her, but she obviously does well to be among the honor grads of the class of 2021. After the interview at the Gunter home, Patti and Chloe had their pictures made by The Herald Gazette on what was once “Gunter Lane” on Grove Street. The area’s trees and weeds have grown over the piles of rubble that used to be the Gunter family’s homes. Patti and Chloe walked part of the area, with Patti pointing out the places on which the Dan Gunter family, Paul and Ellen and Dr. Olin Gunter and Chloe, and Marty and Patti had homes and outbuildings. Chloe seemed sub dued and wore an expres sion of something like melancholy. The reporter asked her, “What are you thinking about?” to deter mine whether a memory had returned. She first replied, “Nothing.” Then she said, “Actually 1 was thinking about what Patti is going to cook for sup per.” She will soon make her new home at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri as she pursues a career in public service. Chloe has survived - and will succeed. On Call 24-7-365 Rough winter weather can be tough on your roof. We have crews on standby with tarps ready to respond at any time of the day or night and save your belongings if you experience a problem. Call us and talk to a live dispatcher, not a recording! Accented & *1 owned OVER 15 YEARS EXPERIENCE! CALL TODAY! 678-521-9747 www.advancedroofingandinteriors.com 24/7 news, bamesville.com