Newspaper Page Text
County finalizes LMIG road paving priority list
WALTER GEIGER
news@barnesville.com
At its regular meeting
Oct. 19, the Lamar Coun
ty commission approved
the paving and resurfac
ing priority list. DOT will
kick in about $425,000 in
LMIG funds to assist with
the projects.
The 10 priority proj
ects include work on
Church, Woodruff, Ware,
McBroom and John
son streets; Banks and
Walton roads, Skinners
Bypass, Lovejoy Road,
Burnette Road and
Community House Road
from Hwy. 341 to Ramah
Church Road.
In other action, the
commission:
•Heard from a delega
tion of citizens who want
to use the dilapidated
recreation department
gym for youth programs.
The county had ordered
a new steel building
for a gym but the seller
reneged on the contract
in the wake of COV1D.
The current gym needs at
least $150,000 in repairs
to make it safe.
The citizens were will
ing to rent the gym and
give the county proceeds
from concessions, etc.
“What we have now
has not been sufficient
for 20 years and is not
sufficient now It is going
to cost a lot of money to
fix it,” recreation director
Tiffany Lowe warned.
Both Lowe and the
commissioners agreed to
study the matter.
“We need somewhere
for our young people to
go to get them off the
streets. We are trying to
save our young people,”
Clifford Barber said.
•Agreed to repay
one half of the Town
of Aldora’s debt on the
Legacy Park industrial
complex in the amount of
$105,269.53.
•Approved routine
minutes.
•Updated its panel of
physicians for workers
comp issues to include
Resurgens Orthopedics
in Fayette County
•Okayed the purchase
of a new John Deere Ga
tor for the recreation de
partment in the amount
of $8,568.55.
•Approved the pur
chase of a mini-excavator
for the road depart
ment from Yancey in the
amount of $66,555.
•Heard from county
administrator Sean
Townsend that LOST and
SPLOST revenues for the
past month set new re
cords. Townsend also re
ported that TAN borrow
ing was the lowest it has
been in many years and
the county would soon
pay off that debt which
amounts to $573,000.
THE HERALD GAZETTE/WALTER GEIGER
Kill shot
Lamar’s Janiyah Akins (21) goes up for a kill shot during the Lady Trojans’ straight set win over Josey in the first round of the
GHSA Class A/AA state volleyball playoffs here last week. Backing up Akins are Kaitlynn Rogers (16) and Samiya Smith (6).
The Lady Trojans were knocked out of the playoffs by Armuchee here Saturday.
Tuesday, October 26,2021 ®jje Heraltr <©a?£tte 3A
SUBMITTED
Dan White honored
Dan White of Yatesville (right) was the recipient of the Re
gents Hall of Fame Alumni and Distinguished Friends Award
Oct. 13 at the 17th annual Regents Scholarship Gala held at
Fernbank Museum. Last February, White donated $255,000 to
the Gordon Foundation, the largest single gift the foundation
has received. White is pictured with GSC president Dr. Kirk
Nooks.
Woman entrepreneur
opening county's first
winery Oct. 29-30
KAY S. PEDR0TTI
kayspedrotti@gmail.com
Stef Parker has a
longer “legal name” but
prefers being recognized
as herself, a woman of
many talents and aspira
tions.
The 40-year-old Afri
can American, the first
female to own a winery
in the state of Georgia,
has finally achieved her
dream of owning a pro
ductive winery, featur
ing products of her own
imagination and exper
tise. Her products are la
beled “Wikkid Eden” and
feature a black crow and
fanciful Goth-inspired
names for the wines. It is
located at 373 Cook Rd.
in Griffin.
Stef refers to herself
as “the Goth Gardener,”
staying close to the
earth in everything from
planting to pruning to
harvesting different
kinds of grapes. She says,
“As much as possible, all
the fruits and flavors in
the wine will be from the
state of Georgia. I was
born here, raised here
and love my new home of
Barnesville.”
Parker is also a United
States Army disabled vet
eran, who served at Fort
Benning and in Iraq with
Third Infantry 203rd FSB
as med corps personnel.
She says she comes from
a “long line of warriors,
stretching back to the
Revolutionary War.” A
native of Clayton County,
she also has lived in
Fulton and Henry Coun
ties. She is divorced
with three children:
Cidnie (cq), a senior at
Lamar County High who
plays saxophone in the
marching band; Regan,
a middle-school daugh
ter who plays soccer
and volleyball, and her
son Xavier, a Southern
Crescent student con
centrating on automobile
engineering.
All the chores associ
ated with growing and
producing wines have
been hers alone, with
help from the children
- she speaks of building
things, fighting insects
and bad weather, losing
whole grape crops some
times. She is now follow
ing the rules, regulations
and advice of the state’s
Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms agency, known
as ATF.
“This is something
I have dreamed of,”
she said, “and it’s fi
nally coming true. I love
Barnesville and Lamar
County, and I am dedi
cated to giving back to
the community. I want
to be involved in help
ing foster children and
others whose families
are unable to afford good
healthy food, shoes and
supplies for school and
nice clothes. For many
years, through trials with
PTSD, I wanted only pri
vacy - now I am ready to
be a contributor to this
truly wonderful place.”
Don’t Forget
to Vote
November 2
VOTE
Larry Whitworth
City Council Ward 4
Your support will be
greatly appreciated!
HIGHTOWER
Barnesville City Council
Ward Two
EARLY
VOTING
OCT
12-29
ELECTION DAY
Tuesday, November 2
A HE RT FOR HOME!
HELPFUL PERSON
¥ Lifelong Resident of Barnesville, Georgia
¥ Community Organizer
¥ Residents and Students' Supporter
ENGAGED REPRESENTATIVE E|H
¥ Barnesville City Council Member
¥ Georgia Municipal Training Board Member
¥ Visible Community Leader
ARTICULATE COMMUNICATOR K
¥ 1986 Class Valedictorian of Lamar County High School
¥ University of Georgia Alumni, Bachelor of Arts in Journalism ^B
¥ Troy State University Alumni, Master of Arts in Educational Leadership
RESPECTED RESOURCE ■
¥ Certificate of Dedication, Highest Level of Municipal Training
¥ 25+ Year Career in Secondary Education as an English Teacher
¥ Teacher of the Year Recognition (2x)
¥ PR/Marketing Director of Beulah Missionary Baptist Church
TRUSTED LEADER *
¥ Strategic Leader of Barnesville City Administration
¥ Collaborative Partner with Mayor of Barnesville and Council & City Administration ^
"Barnesville is the world's greatest city. The heart of the city is the people who call it home. ^
Together, we can create the future our city deserves."
HIGHTOWER Barnesville City Council Ward Two f christopher.hightower@iamsirrrr