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2A ®jje l)pra(ti <©a?£tt£ Tuesday, December 7,2021
THE HERALD GAZETTE/WALTER GEIGER
No injuries in Atlanta Street blaze
This was the scene Dec. 1 when a house on Atlanta Street went up in flames. The home was heavily damaged but not a
total loss due to the quick response of Barnesville firefighters. “It looks real bad but there is a lot of house left,” fire chief Kelvin
Chute said.
The home was divided into two apartments with multiple occupants but all got out safe. Chute said the cause of the fire
remains under investigation.
The fire call went out at 8:36 p.m. Video of the blaze can be viewed on The Herald Gazette Instagram account.
to be closed Dec. 30 thru Jan. 3
Ihg office
Beginning Thursday,
December 30 at 7 p.m.
the Georgia Department
of Revenue will begin a
system upgrade to the
state’s DRIVES system
(Driver Record and Inte
grated Vehicle Enterprise
System) to improve
efficiency and reduce
operational costs.
The upgrade will
require vehicle registra
tions and titling services,
including e-Services and
tag renewal kiosks, to be
unavailable Thursday,
Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. through
Monday, Jan. 3, 2022. Ve
hicle owners with expira
tion dates in late Decem
ber are early January
are encouraged to renew
prior to Dec. 30.
What to expect:
county tag offices and
the DOR Motor Vehicle
Division will be unable to
process transactions, all
online motor vehicle re
lated services, including
online tag renewal ser
vices will be unavailable
as well as Motor Vehicle
self service kiosks.
How will this impact
vehicle owners and driv
ers? Customers and deal
ers seeking to conduct
any title transactions
should complete their
business at a county tag
office prior to Dec. 30 at
4:30 p.m. Dealers will be
able to initiate electronic
title and registration
(ETR) transactions and
issue emergency tempo
rary operating permits
(TOPs) over New Year’s
weekend. Law enforce
ment will still have
access to motor vehicle
records.
Lamar County will be
closed Friday, Dec. 31 at
2 p.m. through Monday,
Jan. 3 for New Year’s.
Local man issues scam warning
A local man contacted The Herald Gazette to warn
others about a scam targeting senior citizens. The
man and his wife have gotten multiple calls and let
ters informing them they have won the Euro Million
2021 lottery.
The letters are obviously a scam and the man
contacted the sheriff’s office. He encourages others
to do likewise.
Email news@barnesville.com or call 770.358.NEWS
to have an event published
• Fresh Manna Ministries, 619 Old Milner Road,
Bar will have a Pop up Shop on Saturday, December
11 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Several vendors will be
on hand with clothes, jewelry, lotions, food and a
variety of desserts. We will offer free haircuts with a
purchase. All are welcomed.
Help for housing
repairs coming
for needy folks
KAV S. PEDR0TTI
kayspedrotti@gmail.cam
A group temporarily
called “Rebuild Lamar”
was initiated last week at
the First United Method
ist Church fellowship
hall, where 25-plus
people from Barnesville
and Lamar County heard
the start of a plan to en
list volunteers to repair
inhabited, substandard
houses.
Startup leaders for
the effort, which has
received permission to
operate as a 501C3 non
profit under the church’s
scope of good works,
are Eddie Felton, Ameri
can Legion veteran who
several years ago spear
headed the refurbishing
of a house on 11th Street
for veteran John Green;
Niall Mathieson, wood
worker, church member
and longtime local vol
unteer, and Robert (Bob)
Davis, a 21-year retired
veteran of the U.S. Air
Force building engineers.
The gathering heard
Felton explain the initial
plans for determining
needs in the local com
munity for those liv
ing below the poverty
level in homes which
are sometimes without
windows, have leaky
roofs and crumbling
structures, and hard-
to-pay heating bills. A
number of those homes
appeared in a Power
Point presentation, as
Felton explained that
the group will start with
homeowners in needy
situations and later move
on to those who are pay
ing rent to landlords for
homes that are unfit to
live in.
A number of issues
and legal points remain
to be solved; but to
participate, homeowners
must make an agreement
with the group to work
themselves with the
group, providing “sweat
equity” in the projected
upgrading of homes. If
family members are un
able to work, they will be
asked to enlist the aid of
extended family mem
bers, their churches and
others.
Alton Head, Com
mander of American
Legion Post 516 based in
McDonough, cited sever
al examples of ways the
post has helped people
with home repairs, com
menting, “When people
have that sweat equity
and cooperation in these
things, they become
proud of themselves and
will take care of their
surroundings. This group
will not stop at the house
-we’ll do landscaping
too.”
Jere Koser commented
that Habitat for Human
ity and other similar
groups may lend a hand
with this group. Jimmy
Fambro of Hope Tree
Ministries said after the
meeting that Fay Liv
ingston, who attended
as a representative of
Square Foot Ministries
(who built the Food Bank
building), “told me that
some of the houses in
the power point were
very similar to those 1
showed her three years
ago when the food bank
was being built - this has
been a need for a very
long time.”
Both Barnesville
Mayor Peter Banks and
county commission
chairman Charles Glass
attended. For more infor
mation about the Rebuild
Lamar effort, call Eddie
Felton, 239-770-7132, and
Niall Mathieson, 404-444-
2671.
mm
Celebrate!
Over 100,000 books have been mailed to Lamar County
children by the Ferst Readers Program. Thank you to the
Lamar County citizens, organizations and businesses, some
highlighted here, whose generosity made this possible.
Ferst Readers
A child’s path to a brighter future is paved with books.
The Ferst Readers Board
You are invited to the Christmas
Drop By Party with Santa!
Saturday, December 11 th , 10a.m.-11a.m.
at the Barnesville Lamar County Library
The Christmas Celebration
will be a drop by event.
Ferst Readers will receive
a gift bag and refreshments.
Thank you to parents, grandparents,
and siblings who read to the children
and thereby brought a love of books
to these youngsters.
*Santa will be our special guest so bring
your camara.