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County contracts with EMS provider WALTER GEIGER news@barnesville.com The Lamar County commis sion took a big first step to ward solving its EMS problem by contracting with a pro vider at its regular meeting Dec. 21. The current provider, Community Ambulance, is shutting down in February. The county still has to be licensed by the state to oper ate its own ambulance service and needed a provider in place for approval. After Community an nounced it was pulling out last month, the county issued a request for proposals. Ameripro was the low bid der at $837,999.96 annually. Other bidders were Veter ans at $867,181 and AMR at $930,100. Commissioners and county administrator Sean Townsend worked closely with Upson officials and agreed to join together in operating the service. Under the joint agreement, Lamar will pay $494,700 annually or $41,225 per month. Ameripro will have two am bulances in each county at all TOWNSEND GLASS times and a fifth ambulance will rove as needed. There will also be an additional vehi cle with personnel to respond when needed. “1 was very impressed with Ameripro’s operation and how their dispatch center was set up,” Townsend told the commission. He said the service will be reviewed after 180 days with the approval of all three parties. “We are so grateful to Upson County for working with us. It greatly improves the economies of scale. The contract will have perfor mance standards in place with regard to response times and truck staffing,” chairman Charles Glass said. The county approved the contract unanimously. 4m ,■ !' mfr ■ r * ll Like all previous years, 2021 was an eventful one for Barnesville-La- mar County. Like 2020, COVID dominated 2021 but there were respites. A rare Inca dove (top left) arrived in Redbone in late July, attracting bird ers from all over including Yve Morrell who took the photo. The com munity celebrated Independence Day (top right) and young Paris Altman enjoyed a hot dog at the VFW celebration. The Class of 2021, including Ju’Corie Zellner who broke out a cel ebratory dance routine, marched off into its future (bottom right). And, BBQ and Blues drew a crowd of revelers which included a rib-sampling Max Tileson (bottom left) but Buggy Days was truncated due to COVID concerns. For complete coverage of 2021: The Year in Review, see page 1B. More information needed about local black histories Subscribe. Your name goes on the label in this box KAY S. PEDROTTI kayspedrotti@gmail.com A new Lamar Arts exhibit to honor and celebrate black fam ilies and their contributions to Barnesville, Lamar County and beyond will open in late Janu ary or early February. Much about several persons in continuing families, and the impact of their achievements here and elsewhere, has been gathered by Dorothy Carter, but much more is needed. Any one who has old family Bibles or records, stories about hon ored people in their families, or photographs should contact Carter by calling 770-358-7660 and leave a message; email info to bibhsaa2012@ gmail.com, or mail to Barnesville High & Industrial/Booker Schools Alumni Assn., RO. Box 833, Barnes ville 30204. Categories of achievement so far include educators, churches, veterans, athletes and coaches, farmers, business and entrepreneurs, and “firsts” or pioneers. Additional names, etc., are needed in these and other cat egories, such as writers, artists and musicians. Lamar Arts gallery director Angela Preston encourages as many people in the total commu nity as possible to get in touch with Carter with additional facts and stories about local black families and their achieve ments: “We are truly trying present opportu nities for any one to tell their stories. This is an event which will remember the past and cele brate the foundations of all our residents; it’s a true historical contribution.” CARTER Wimberly Classic is underway First round action got underway at 10 a.m. today in the Oscar Wimberly Bas ketball Classic at the Lamar County gym. The finals will be held Thursday. There are eight teams in both the boys and girls tour naments. The LC Lady Trojans, ranked #9 in Class AA, play Taylor County tonight at 7 p.m. The Lady Vikings are ranked #3 in Class A. They are the only ranked teams on the girls side. The Trojans battle Central Christian in the nightcap at 8:30 p.m. The only ranked team on the boys side of the tour ney is Manchester which is ranked #5 in Class A. L**+*+„ THE ★ ★ * * * AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ★ ★ ★ * * * * * Towaliga Circuit gets ARPA funds WALTER GEIGER news@barnesville.com The Towaliga Judicial Circuit, which includes Lamar County, has received the full amount it requested in Ameri can Rescue Plan Act funding. Circuits had applied for ARPA funds to clear case backlogs, mobilize senior judges, hire additional as sistant district attorneys, court reporters and security personnel and victim sup port, etc. The Towaliga Circuit requested $627,399 and was granted the full amount. Qualifying fees are set Several local offices are up for grabs in 2022 and the county commission has set qualifying fees for those races. The fees are a percentage of the salary of the officeholder. The county commission chairman’s seat, now held by Charles Glass, is up for vote. That fee is $126. The commissioners from districts one and two, Bennie Horton and Bob Heiney, must also run for reelection. Those fees are $108. The seats held by school board members Danny Turner, Sue O’Neal and Ron Smith will also be up for election. The fee for Turner’s at-large seat is $252. The other two are $198. ©2021 THE HERALD GAZETTE, BARNESVILLE, LAMAR COUNTY, GA 30204, 770.358.NEWS