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1AM EDWARDS RECEIVE,
EAGLE PALM /5 A
barnesville.com
Barnesville, Ga. 30204
HERE’S THE
SCOOP
Tag office
lunch hours
Through October 13
the Lamar County Tag
Office will close for lunch
from 12:00 noon to 1:15
p.m. each day.
Blood Drive
Oct. 19
The Barnesville
Rotary Club will host
the American Red Cross
Blood Drive on Thursday,
October 19 from 1-6 p.m
at First United Methodist
Church. To schedule an
appointment go to red-
crossblood.org sponsor
code: lamar.
Blood inventory is
down over 25% com
pared to this Summer.
Hospitals are being asked
to cut back on elective
surgeries due to the
shortage.
Former
fire chief
Blevins dies
Former Barnesville fire
chief Harold Blevins died
Sept. 29 at his
home. He was
84.
Blevins
first joined
the fire
department
in 1965 and
BLEVINS became fire
chief in 1973.
He remained with the de
partment until he retired
in 1993.
Blevins was buried
Oct. 5 in Greenwood Cem
etery following a private
service.
See obituary on page
5A.
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Wilson lauds GHSA playoff vote;
high school NIL deals not so much
WALTER GEIGER
news@bamesville.com
LC school superin
tendent Dr. Jute Wilson
praised a move by the
Georgia High School
Association last week
that created separate
playoffs for public and
private schools in all
sports in Classes A-
AAA. LC currently com
petes in Class A, Div
1 and Wilson expects
to remain there when
schools are reclassified
later this year.
“The private school
playoff was a huge win
for public schools. We
were very involved
in this proposal. The
statistical advantage
private schools have in
our classifica
tion is stagger
ing. There has
been a severe
competitive
imbalance for
years,” Wilson
said.
Wilson
argued LC, and
other small
schools, would
have won numerous
state championships
over the past several
years had the new sys
tem been in place and
the playing field been
level.
Under the new
plan, public and pri
vate schools will still
compete in the same
regions but will be
separated for
the playoffs.
Teams will be
seeded for the
postseason via
an as yet to be
determined
power rating
system.
“This assures
that, beginning
next fall, a pub
lic school in our classi
fication will take home
a state championship in
every sport. The same
can be said for private
schools in our classi
fication. I’m not crazy
about the power rank
ing deal for seeding but
it was a worthy conces
sion to get this passed,”
Wilson continued.
The GHSA also ruled
that high school ath
letes can take advan
tage of NIL deals that
have revolutionized
college football recruit
ing.
Wilson was not at all
happy with that deci
sion.
“This is a terrible
road to go down, espe
cially at the high school
level. Our model of us
ing booster and outside
donations to equitably
support all athletic
teams and all members
of those teams is the
most appropriate in my
opinion. 1 am certain
schools in Georgia will
exploit this to recruit
players,” Wilson con
cluded.
WILSON
THE HERALD GAZETTE/WALTER GEIGER
National Night Out
The Lamar County Sheriff’s Office and Milner Police Department celebrated National Night Out last week at Milner
city park. A large crowd was on hand to view law enforcement and fire department vehicles and a state patrol helicopter.
There was plenty of food on hand along with face painting and games.
Among those enjoying the event were Zorreyona Sullivan (left) and Zylah Pate.
Downtown holiday schedule is filling fast
96852
78853
Multiple events are
on tap this fall and into
the holiday season in
downtown Barnesville.
The Scarecrows of
Barnesville event is
underway and will run
through early Novem
ber. Despite the name,
it is not Barnesville
specific and is open to
all of Lamar County.
Entry forms are avail
able through Heather
Stanley at House to
Home downtown.
There will be a
peoples’ choice award
along with first, second
and third place win
ners.
The second an
nual Ladies’ Night in
downtown Barnesville
is set for Friday, Nov.
3 beginning at 6 p.m.
Dinner will be served
at Mangia on Main and
celebrants can shop
local businesses which
will be open until 9 p.m.
with special offers and
treats.
Also on the schedule
is a Mistletoe Market
Saturday, Nov. 25 begin
ning at 10 a.m. at the
event center located
at 108 Main Street in
Barnesville.
For more information
on these events, call
678.815.5102
Mothers of
victim's
children
sue sheriff
over chase
crash death
WALTER GEIGER
news@barnesville.com
Five women have filed
a civil suit against sheriff
Brad White seeking $1 mil
lion in dam
ages and
any and all
other relief
awarded at
a jury trial
in connec
tion with the
death of Vin
cent Hughes
during a
high speed
chase here earlier this year.
Hughes, 41, was a pas
senger in a Chevy Tahoe
driven by Brian Pierre
Williams who fled from
multiple law enforcement
officers working a drug
conspiracy case March 20.
Hughes and Williams were
seen throwing drugs from
the Tahoe during the chase.
Sgt. Michael Brayton
finally pitted the Tahoe
near the Pennington home
place on Hwy. 36 East. The
vehicle ran off the east side
of the road, overturned and
struck a tree. Hughes was
dead at the scene.
The plaintiffs in the suit
are Ebony Butts, adminis
trator of Hughes’ estate,
and four women who
claim to be the mothers of
Hughes’ minor children.
They are Ebony Mathis,
mother of Vincent Hughes,
Jr.; Adina Woods, mother
of Vinquez Gunter; Arlyn-
thia Adams, mother of
Aubrey Hughes; and Katie
Campbell, mother of Maloni
Hughes.
SEE SHERIFF SUED 3A
Heart
attack
killed
inmate
WHITE
An
inmate who
collapsed
and died at
the Lamar
County jail
Sept. 28
suffered car
diac arrest,
Lamar coro
ner Clay
Tillery reported Friday.
Mose Jerome Banks, 52,
of 1147 Dewey St. in Griffin
had been in jail for only
about 12 hours when he
died. He was in a cell by
himself.
“He ate breakfast then
went back to his cell. The
nurse went to check on
him later and immediately
started CPR,” sheriff Brad
White said. Banks was
in jail on a child support
lockup order.
The GB1 handled the
investigation into Banks’
death and he was autop-
sied at the state crime lab.
©2023 THE HERALD GAZETTE, BARNESVILLE, LAMAR COUNTY, GA 30204, 770.358.NEWS
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