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Tu esfla vflBSEg m bM5fr2Q23; Bari[fesvilleaGall3;020I4l HERE’S THE SCOOP Letters to Santa wanted Santa’s helpers at the The Herald Gazette want to make sure your letters get to the North Pole before Christmas. Let ters may be mailed to: P.O. Box 220, Barnesville 30204, dropped off at our office located at 509 Greenwood St., Barnes ville or emailed: missy@ barnesville.com. Letters will be published in the Tuesday, Dec. 19 edition. The deadline for letters is 5 p.m., Friday, Dec. 8. Woman with local ties killed in West Point shooting A woman with mul tiple local ties was one of two people found shot to death Sunday at a home in West Point, Ga. West Point police found the bodies when they did a welfare check at the home at 8:15 p.m. Kylie Ashlyn Womack was deceased at the scene. An unidentified Hispanic male was also in the apartment deceased. GB1 crime scene techs were called in to work the scene. Womack was the daughter of Lamar sher iff’s deputy Mike Womack and the late Ginger Hill Middleton and the grand daughter of Valerie Hill. Funeral arrangements are pending. Monitor barnesville.com for updates. Subscribe. Your name goes on the label in this box Former VFW commander jailed, charged with stealing over $37,000 WALTER GEIGER news@barnesville.com Former VFW Post commander Richard Wright, 44, was arrested Nov. 30 on two counts of felony theft by taking. The arrest stemmed from a GB1 investigation into funds missing from the VFW Post. The warrants were presented by GBI agents and signed by Judge Bill Fears Nov. 28. A team of Lamar deputies and a GBI agent took Wright into cus tody at his Harris Drive home. He was denied bond by chief magis trate Paul Kunst and remains in the Lamar County jail pending further proceedings in superior court Dec. 7. Count one alleges that, between July 16, 2020 and June 1, 2022, Wright took $5176.75 from the post’s coffers to pay off a personal loan without permis sion or authority. Count two al leges that, during the period Aug. 21. 2020 and April 25, 2022, Wright transferred over $32,000 from the VFW’s bank account to his per sonal account at United Bank. According to a news release from the GBI, the investigation into Wright’s activities while post commander is active and ongoing. Anyone with further information can call the LCSO at 770.358.5159 or the GBI regional of fice in Milledgeville at 478.445.4173. Anonymous tips can be called in to 1.800.597.TIPs or sub mitted through the GBI website at gbi.georgia. gov. WRIGHT THE HERALD GAZETTE/WALTER GEIGER AMPS owner Austin Woods shows off the latest in forklift battery technology during the grand opening of the com pany’s new 20,000 square foot building here Friday. The company will soon be hiring. Barnesville’s latest industry is both unique and innovative 96852 78853 WALTER GEIGER news@barnesville.com Ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremo nies were conducted Friday at Atlanta Motive Power Service (AMPS), Barnesville’s newest industry. Owners Austin and Kayla Woods, along with their young son Beau, welcomed a large crowd of well-wishers who enjoyed coffee, doughnuts and a barbe cue lunch. AMPS is located in a section of the Kenny Roberts Legacy indus trial park and is the number one reseller of Eternity Technologies batteries in the south east. The company also services all makes of forklift batteries and chargers. AMPS person nel do onsite cleaning and maintenance of all types of industrial batteries and chargers which increases pro duction and eliminates downtime for custom ers. AMPS started up nine years ago in a build ing near the Yancey operation in Griffin but quickly outgrew that space. Its crews service forklifts and other equipment at 19 Coca-Cola plants among other customers. “Batteries gets ser viced every two weeks. We go in and water the batteries, clean them and service chargers and other equipment all in an evironmentally sound manner. We will be nine years old in January and have never had an accident,” Aus tin Woods said. There is consider able new business on the horizon with all the warehouse facilities springing up along 1-75 so the future is bright. The new AMPS build ing is 20,000 square feet and Woods hopes to build another of the same size right across the street soon. The building is in an area of the park being devel oped by Lester Ranew. Austin reported a large battery manufacturing concern could locate nearby in the near future. “We are a zero debt company. Lester stepped up and made sure this building was done right and we are so thankful for him,” Woods added. Ranew said four more buildings are planned in the area which could be home to 100 or more jobs in the near future. AMPS will soon launch a service for the everyday consumer as well. “Instead of going to Autozone or someplace like that, you will be able to pull up here in your car, truck or golf cart or pull your boat, tractor or other heavy equipment in and we can professionally clean and service your bat tery. If you need a new one, we will have it in stock and install it for you right here,” Woods said. SEE INDUSTRY 2A ESF money is running low; after hours benefit is Thursday WALTER GEIGER news@barnesville.com Empty Stocking Fund volunteers Vicki and Glenn Forsyth are scrambling around to make sure no Lamar County kids go without something under the Christmas tree this year. Complicating things is a shortage of funds. “We have 331 kids from 64 families who we will be assisting. We are getting calls daily and, so far, no one has been turned away,” Vicki said. Rock Springs Church has adopted 125 of the needy children while First Methodist Church of Barnesville has adopted another 25. Vicki, who has just recovered from her eighth bout with COVID, relied on Glenn to do much of the shopping at the Thanksgiv ing weekend sales. “Funds are running low after Black Friday,” she lamented. Customers at Buggy- town Auction have been generous in providing toys and will have another opportunity at this Satur day’s sale. The annual After Hours event to benefit ESF at United Bank is set for Thursday at 5 p.m. at the main bank office down town. “That is our biggest fun draiser every year. We are looking forward to it and hope our supporters will turn out and be generous,” Vicki concluded. Christmas parade launches holiday season Saturday Barnesville-Lamar County will officially usher in the Christmas season Saturday when the Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree Parade winds through the streets of Barnesville. Staging will begin at the Gordon parking lots off College Drive at 4 p.m. with preliminary judging beginning at 5 p.m. The parade will start at 6:30 p.m. and follow the usual Buggy Days parade route. Both golf carts and floats will be judged. Entry forms must be submitted to city hall by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The top float will win $250 with second place getting $150 and third place getting $100. The first place golf cart will win $120 with second place receving $75 and third place taking home $75. Entry forms are avail able at city hall or by click ing on the parade ad on barnesville.com. For more information, call 770.358.2789. ©2023 THE HERALD GAZETTE, BARNESVILLE, LAMAR COUNTY, GA 30204, 770.358.NEWS