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HERE’S THE
SCOOP
Rock
quarry-
hearings
begin
Sept. 16
Multiple public hear
ings are upcoming on a
proposed rock quarry in
the Johnstonville area.
The site contains 331.24
acres in Lamar County
and extensive addi
tional acreage in Monroe
County as well.
1D1 Land Holdings,
LLC, is seeking to rezone
the Lamar tract from
agricultural-residential
to M-2 manufacturing. 1D1
is based in Bibb County.
The LLC was formed
in August 2020 and its
registered agent is Carter
Bates of Macon.
The planning commis
sion will hold a hearing
Sept. 16 at 9 a.m. The
board of appeals will
hold its hearing on the
matter Sept. 16 at 6 p.m.
The county commission
will conduct a hearing
on Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. with
a vote possible at the
regular meeting to follow
at 7 p.m.
Legal notice on the
matter is published on
page 3A.
COYID
surge
continues
The surge of COV1D
cases in Lamar County,
spurred by the highly
contagious Delta variant,
continued last week and
resulted in the scaling
back of the Buggy Days
Festival September 18-19
(see related story).
During the period
August 28 - September 2,
Lamar recorded 108 new
confirmed cases and
three deaths. Those who
died were white females
ages 66 and 75 and an
‘other’ male aged 56.
Since August 1, Lamar
has added 567 new
cases and nine deaths.
Lamar countians are
still slow to accept the
worth of vaccinations.
Only 29% of those here
are fully vaccinated
while 34% have had at
least one dose of the
vaccine.
Subscribe. Your name goes
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B u ggy Days Lite will go on
WALTER GEIGER
news@barnesville.com
After meeting with stakehold
ers September 2, the chamber
of commerce board voted to go
ahead with portions of the 2021
Buggy Days festival. However,
the highly popular parade and
the kids park ended up on the
cutting room floor.
The Miss Buggy Days Pag
eant this Saturday will proceed
with various COVID protections
in place. Next weekend will see
the Buggython Road Race and
arts and crafts fair go on as
planned though fewer vendors
are expected. The festival street
dance/concert will go on as
planned at Sum
mers Field Park with
fireworks included
Saturday night.
Longtime festival
chairman Dick Esco
said just over 100
vendors have paid
and are planning to
attend. Others were
put on hold until the
festival’s fate was
determined.
“We’re not going to have near
the crowd we would normally
have. 1 have gotten many calls
about this. Ninety percent were
positive. If we don’t have Buggy
Days, we may have seen the last
of Buggy Days,” Esco said.
Public health
officials and others
were adamant about
shutting the festival
down completely.
“1 have lived here
40 years. 1 love Bug
gy Days. We are in a
period of substantial
community transmis
sion. We are seeing
so many sick people.
We are exhausted,” noted
Sherry Farr, nurse-manager of
the Lamar health department.
Ashton Harris of DPH agreed.
“The Delta variant is very con
tagious. We are seeing a very
high level of community trans
mission in Lamar County. 1 am
worried about a super spreader
event. We have got to get the
pressure off our hospitals. Right
now, nobody should be gather
ing at all,” Harris added.
Harris said only 29% of the
Lamar population is fully vac
cinated with 34% having at least
the first dose of vaccine.
Local physician Dr. Lee
Woodall, who also chairs the
county’s Board of Health, pre
dicted dire consequences if the
festival is held.
“We are seeing dozens of
cases each day. If you are not
living it day-to-day, you don’t
see the gravity of it. People will
SEE BUGGY DAYS 3A
Heavily armed law enforcement officers prepare to clear a home on Jackson Street September 2 during the search for Zion Pate who allegedly fired mul
tiple rounds into a car on First Street. An adult female at the scene said three children were in the car at the time. Pictured are (l-r) Lt. Ernie McWhorter, Capt.
Al Moltrum and Sgt. Kathryn Knapp.
Drive-by shootings plague Barnesville
WALTER GEIGER
news@bamesville.com
Barnesville police investi
gators are working the third
drive-by shooting in just over
a month in the city and there
are concerns that violence is
spreading here.
Police say Zion Pate opened
fire on a car parked in a First
Street driveway Sept. 2. An un
identified woman at the scene
reported there were three adult
children in the car at the time.
“You’ve got to get him. He shot
at my uncle just last month,”
the woman was heard to tell
officers.
Heavily armed police and
sheriff’s deputies swarmed the
area, clearing two homes on
nearby Jackson Street without
finding Pate. Warrants were
issued Sept. 3 charging him
with aggravated assault. Other
charges are pending. No one
was injured in the shooting.
At press time Friday, Pate
was still at large. He is consid
ered armed and dangerous.
If you have knowledge of his
whereabouts, call 911.
The string of shootings
SEE DRIVE-BY SHOOTINGS 2A
Wheeles attends Georgia 4-H State Congress 2021
Cole Wheeles, a sophomore
at Lamar County High School,
competed in the annual Geor
gia 4-H State Congress, July
20-23. This year represented
the 78th annual convening of
this event, as last year was
canceled due to COV1D-19 and
replaced with a virtual com
petition and announcement of
winners.
Wheeles won first place
at the Northwest District 4-H
Project Achievement Presen
tation Competition in May
in the STEM & Agriculture
project of Flowers, Shrubs
and Lawns. With this plac
ing, Wheeles advanced to the
prestigious Georgia 4-H State
Congress competition in At
lanta. During the 2021 Georgia
4-H State Congress, almost
250 youth convened to com
pete for state honors in their
respective project areas.
At Georgia 4-H State Con
gress, Wheeles made a 10-min
ute comprehensive presenta
tion on annual and perennial
flowers grown in Georgia. His
presentation covered informa
tion regarding the use, care
and maintenance, selection
and benefits of the two plant
types. The presentation was
enhanced with electronic
media and live flower speci
mens. While at Georgia 4-H
State Congress, Wheeles also
interviewed with event judges
to discuss his project work
and toured the World of Coke.
Wheeles earned an honorable
mention for his noteworthy
presentation.
Annually, almost 79,000
youth participate in Georgia
4-H Project Achievement to de
velop skills in leadership, pub
lic speaking, record keeping,
creativity and other life skills.
The growth of these young
people is the direct result of
positive mentorships with lo
cal Extension faculty, staff and
volunteers and the support of
the local community, parents,
teachers, and mentors.
Georgia 4-H empowers
youth to become true leaders
by developing necessary life
skills, positive relationships,
and community awareness. As
the largest youth leadership
organization in the state, 4-H
reaches more than 190,000
people annually through the
University of Georgia Coopera
tive Extension offices and 4-H
facilities. For more information
about the Lamar County 4-H
program, contact County Exten
sion agent, Octavia Jackson at
770-358-5163.
©2021 THE HERALD GAZETTE, BARNESVILLE, LAMAR COUNTY, GA 30204, 770.358.NEWS