Newspaper Page Text
Letters To
Santa
Inside Today!
(TItc ilmtticcUn Knm
Official Organ
City of Monticello
And Jasper County
Our Second Century Serving the People of Monticello and Jasper County
VOLUME 148—NUMBER 51 MONTICELLO, GEORGIA 31064, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2023 PRICE—$1
PAT WHITMAN (L), KATHY MUDD
Pat Whitman
Wins Contest
Grand Prize
Pat Whitman was the
grand prize winner of the
Chick-fil-A/Peach Bowl
tickets after her name was
drawn Monday afternoon
at The News office.
Mrs. Whitman had three
chances to win, as she had
gotten her name on the
honor roll three weeks dur
ing this difficult football
contest season.
Mrs. Whitman (left)
collected the prize from
Kathy Mudd, editor and
publisher of The Monticel
lo News. The tickets were
transferred electronically
to Mrs. Whitman’s son,
Tim Womack, who plans
to attend the game between
Ole Miss and Penn State.
The News thanks all the
contest sponsors, and the
players, for their support
of the newspaper and this
feature.
The News office will be
closed tomorrow, Dec. 22
through Christmas day,
Dec. 25 for the holiday.
County offices will be
closed the same days. City
of Monticello will take
Christmas day and the day
after for its holiday. Dif
ferent retail outlets have
different holiday hours, so
it’s best to call ahead if you
plan to shop. Since Christ
mas is on a Monday, most
are open regular hours Sat
urday. Most of those that
are nonnally open Sunday
will close a little early on
Christmas eve.
Be sure to read all the
letters to Santa and the
greetings from local mer
chants in the section inside
today. We wish you a very
merry Christmas!
KAIDON WHIDBY WITH FAMILY & FRIENDS
Kaidon Whidby Signs With Liberty
By JOSHUA HOPKINS
Kaidon Whidby, a key
player and leader for the
Monticello Hurricane
football program, has offi
cially signed to play foot
ball at Liberty University.
Despite receiving offers
from more than five other
universities (Georgia State
University, Western Ken
tucky University, Georgia
Southern University, Aus
tin Peay State University,
Eastern Michigan Univer
sity, and others), Whidby
ultimately chose Liberty.
His commitment is a sig
nificant achievement,
making him the first foot
ball athlete since Odell
Thurman in 1999 to sign
with a Division I school.
Reflecting on his de
cision, Whidby shared,
“When I went to Liberty
on my official visit, talk
ing to the coaches and
players, they made it feel
like home. The brother
hood. They all care about
each other.”
Whidby's success ex
tends to many accom
plishments. He is a two-
time all-region football
player, secured a third-
place finish in the 110-me-
ter dash at the track state
championships last year,
and will have graduated
early from Jasper County
High School. However,
his journey was not with
out challenges. In 2021,
Whidby faced a severe
knee injury that sidelined
him for nine months.
Regarding the setback,
he said, “After my knee
injury, I thought I might
not be able to play foot
ball again, but I worked
through it, rehabbing, and
came back stronger. This
is a blessing from a lot of
hard work.”
The head coach of the
Monticello Hurricane
football program, Ashley
Henderson, commended
Whidby's resilience, say
ing “Kaidon is a great ex
ample of overcoming any
injury and working your
way back, not giving up
on your dreams. Kaidon
is also a great student, and
between books and ball,
he’ll be getting his edu
cation paid for. We will
miss Kaidon but are very
excited to see his future.”
As for his future, Whid
by will report on January
3, 2024, for bowl prac
tice at Tempe, Arizona’s
Fiesta Bowl. Kaidon, on
behalf of our community,
I wish you the very best in
your endeavors.
THE NEWS ON VACATION
Lorene Durden (left) and
Dana Leach went on a
cruise with Royal Carib
bean to the Bahamas, Key
West and Tampa, and took
The Monticello News with
them. They reported hav
ing an awesome time! It
was a wonderful vacation
together. Are you going on
vacation? If so, take a copy
of The News with you, snap
a photo, and submit to edi
tor!® themonticellonews.
com to be featured in a fu
ture newspaper. Include lots
of info about the trip or just
a little. And it doesn’t mat
ter how exciting your trip
is...all vacations are great! If
you forget your newspaper,
buy a local one. The News
loves this feature, and many
of our readers do too. Share
your travels with us.
SEREWtn
MERRY
CHRISTMAS
Merry Christmas from
The Monticello News.
Here’s a few festive
scenes to get you in
the holiday spirit, and
we recommend a ride
around the county at
night, as there are many
beautiful light displays.
These photos were sub
mitted to The News af
ter a Facebook post re
questing them. There
are more festive photos
on the front of the Santa
section that is inside to
day’s newspaper. It in
cludes letters to Santa,
and greetings from lo
cal merchants. We hope
you have a great Christ
mas holiday and that the
spirit continues into the
new year.
KESTREL HARTY, PAISLEY VICKERS, KORY BURTON (L R)
RENNY BURTON, RYKER HARTY, LANE MASON (L R)
Coloring Contest Winners Named
The children, and adults,
colored and submitted
their artwork to The Mon
ticello News. Judges came
in and picked what they
considered the best.
Three winners were
named in each age group,
up to age eight and nine
years and older.
First place in the young
group was awarded to
Kestrel Harty, second to
Paisley Vickers, and third
to Kory Burton.
In the older group,
Renny Burton placed first,
followed by Ryker Harty,
then Lane Mason. All the
entries were great, and the
judges had a very tough
time deciding.
Honorable mention
goes to all the adult color-
ers with a shout-out to the
most senior entrant, Glo
ria Williams.
The judges said Jasper
County is full of talent,
and we wish we could
give prizes to each en
trant. Merry Christmas to
all!
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