The Herald-gazette. (Barnesville, Ga.) 1981-current, August 29, 2023, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextHAPPY LABOR DAY Barnesville, Ga. 30204 HERE’S THE SCOOP LCMS Trojans are undefeated SEE IB Lessons from Home: Family dinners and prayer SEE 4A Child Find and Equitable Services meeting Sept. 6 SEE 3A Subscribe. Your name goes on the label in this box 96852 78853 Elections: Two battles in Barnesville; none in Milner Kelly Hughes, the only qualifier in the mayoral race, will take office in January. WALTER GEIGER news@bamesville.com Qualifying for November municipal elections in Barnes ville and Milner closed Wednesday and, when the smoke cleared, there were two contest ed races to be placed on ballots in the county seat. Incumbent Ward 1 councilman Bill Clax- ton will do battle with challenger Christopher Deraney. Claxton is also currently serving as mayor pro tern and fill ing in for mayor Peter Banks who is recover ing from a heart attack and subsequent pro cedures. The council annually chooses the mayor pro tern. Additionally, ward 3 incumbent Sammie Shropshire drew op- WALTER GEIGER news@barnesville.com Some 70 citizens were on hand at a meeting to discuss the Lamar County Regional Solid Waste Author ity (SWA) held Aug. 24 at the Lamar County courthouse. The meet ing was led by Mike and Dianne Perry, Elaine Hallada, Truman Boyle and Harold Jackson. The organizers had a large cache of docu ments acquired through freedom of information requests that they ad mitted not having com pletely examined due to the sheer volume of the data. position from political newcomer Andreas Romero. Kelly Hughes was the only qualifier in the mayoral race and, bar ring the emergence of a write-in candidate, will become mayor in Janu ary. Mayor Banks did not seek reelection. MILNER: Provided no write- in candidates enter the fray in Milner, no election will be needed there. Milner operates under a unique plurality system in which those who get the most votes fill the available seats. In that current mem ber Christopher Ponder did not qualify, Milner had three open spots with Ponder’s being one. Incumbent Rickey Fallings qualified to re tain his post. The other seat was vacated by What did emerge was not a pretty picture for the SWA which took out a $27.5 million GEFA loan in October 2014. Payments on that note must begin next April at a rate of about $100,000 per month. The loan was taken out to design and build a waste to energy operation for which the SWA does not yet have permits. Mike Perry said the SWA has already asked for seven modifications on the loan and when payments must begin. “We are concerned the taxpayers will be on the hook to pay off a huge loan for a system that is not going to Regina Stephens some months ago. In addition to Fall ings, newcomers David Selstad and Emily Vin- ing qualified and will take the other two posts. work. This thing was supposed to be finished on Feb. 12, 2017. The taxpayers could have to pay off $30 million and not own anything when all is said and done,” Perry said. Perry also alleged the SWA never took bids on any of the equipment it has purchased over the years. “There are two big pieces of equipment they purchased that are still sitting at the port in Savannah. That equipment came from The Netherlands. The authority is paying stor age fees on it,” Perry said. He also said the SWA Once the write-in deadline has passed, Milner can officially cancel its Nov. elec tion, city administrator Tausha Grose said. Meanwhile, election day in Barnesville is set for Nov. 7. made multiple trivial purchases charged to the loan like over $500 for coffee mugs. The group leaders noted regular monthly or twice monthly pay ments to Paradigm Manufacturing and R&R Consulting with no in dication of what those payments were for. The registered agent of R&R Consulting is SWA contract manager Johnny Poore. Para digm Manufacturing lists its address as that of the landfill. It’s registered agent is R. Seaborne Crosby of Macon. SEE SOLID WASTE 2A Car show at Milner Library The Pistons and Pages car show will be Sept. 23, 2023, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Milner Community Library. Registration fee is $20. There will be door prizes, live music and food. All proceeds benefit the Milner library. For more info: 770.265.9713. Barnesville Chamber distances itself from planned Lamar County Fair Due to concerns, the board of directors of the chamber of commerce voted not to partner with the proposed Lamar County Fair last week. The fair has been tout ed on social media and set for the Gordon athletic complex Sept. 27-30. As of the close of busi ness Thursday, the fair’s promoter did not have a contract to utilize campus property. Woman charged with distributing nude images An Ameri- cus woman was ar rested here Aug. 17 on one count of transmis sion of pho tography or video depicting nudity or sexually explicit conduct of an adult. Amye Christine Ander son is charged with send ing the imagery to harass another. The charge is a misdemeanor. Anderson was booked into the Lamar jail and later released on a $1500 bond. The offense alleg edly took place at 289 Bucksnort Rd. Announcement guideline for city candidates Candidates for office in the two municipal elec tions set for November in Barnesville may sub mit free announcement notices to be published in The Herald Gazette. Announcements are limited to 250 words and will be cut to that length if they exceed it. Candi dates may also submit an accompanying photo. For more information, call 770.358.NEWS. THE HERALD GAZETTE/WALTER GEIGER Friday night smiles One of the few bright spots from Friday nights’ football loss was the outstanding performance of the Marching Trojan Band and its auxiliary units. Twirler Jaquoia Walker was all smiles as she went through her portion of the spirited half time show. Citizens vow to demand audit after gathering to discuss Lamar RSWA ©2023 THE HERALD GAZETTE, BARNESVILLE, LAMAR COUNTY, GA 30204, 770.358.NEWS

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The Herald-gazette. (Barnesville, Ga.) 1981-current, August 29, 2023, Image 1