Newspaper Page Text
PAGE IB
December 31,2008
^Reporter
Review
should never have been
paid $1.3 million for col
lecting what he said were
merely back taxes.
Trio downsizing
Trio Manufacturing lays
off 27 workers as more of
its customers move over
seas. The oldest company
in Forsyth finally closes its
doors in the fall.
Developer buys
Rumble Rd. park
Developer IDI buys the
253-acre industrial park at
1-75 and Rumble Road
with plans to build distri
bution warehouses that
could provide up to 1,500
new jobs.
Perry fired,
re-hired
Monroe County commis
sioners fire Matt Perry as
their part-time EMA direc
tor, but they cite different
reasons for the move.
Commissioner Jim Peters
votes against the move,
saying board members
were just looking for some
one to fire. Perry is later
re-hired.
Buff of the Year
Jim Buff is named
Citizen of the Year by the
Forsyth-Monroe County
Chamber of Commerce and
the Monroe County
Reporter for his work with
Relay for Life, Habitat for
Humanity and other chari
ties.
FEBRUARY
Lawrence keeps
his council post
Forsyth city council mem
ber Melvin Lawrence pleas
no contest to charges of
using a photocopy of a pre
scription to obtain Loritab.
He thereby avoid a felony
conviction and keeps his
city council seat.
Primary in
Monroe County
Republican Mike
Huckabee and Democrat
Barack Obama carry
Monroe County in the
Georgia presidential pri
mary.
Controversial
new appraiser
Alveno Ross, once the
No. 2 employee in the trou
bled Bibb County assessors
office, is hired to be
Monroe County's new chief
tax assessor. Commission
chairman Harold Carlisle
said after talking to people
in Macon he thinks it's a
big mistake. But Robert
Grier, chairman of the
board of assessors, said
they think he's the right
guy for job.
Winslow hurt
Local teenager Billy
Winslow suffers serious
injuries after he's hit on
his bike on Stuart Avenue.
Phillips is chief
Long-time Forsyth police
officer Art Phillips is
named police chief after
John Clifton resigns to
take a job in Johns Creek.
MARCH
Courthouse
face-lift
Workers replace painted
plywood with arched win
dows in the main court
room to beautify Monroe
County's courthouse.
Frigid Forsythia
Snow flurries and frigid
temperatures mar the first
day of the Forsythia
Festival on Saturday. But a
record crowd attends on
Sunday after it warms up.
Milam switches
District attorney Richard
Milam switches from
Democrat to Republican
after George Hartwig, a
Bolingbroke resident and
assistant DA in Houston
County, announces he'll
challenge Milam as a
Republican.
Reporter on Web
The Monroe County
Reporter unveils its new
Web site at
www.mymcr.net, offering
readers more interactivity,
photo galleries and blogs
plus full access to news
content for subscribers.
Dungan is
Teacher of Year
Angela Dungan of T.G.
Scott Elementary School is
Monroe County's Teacher
of the Year for 2007-08.
County shuts
down Supercross
Monroe County shuts
down the High Falls
Supercross for environmen
tal violations found at the
site. The track had asked if
it could have longer hours
for an expansion but neigh
bors like June Eaves com
plained they couldn't sleep
at night because of the
loud noise.
APRIL
More Tift funds
Georgia's legislature
approves another $15 mil
lion for renovations of Tift
College for the Department
of Corrections. With the
state having invested $33
million in the project, State
Rep. Jim Cole (R-Forsyth)
says the train has left the
station now and the project
will need just one more
infusion of funding to be
complete.
Waldrop to run
Former state patrol post
commander John Waldrop
announces he'll challenge
Sheriff John Cary Bittick
for re-election. It's Bittick's
first challenger since 1988.
Foes drop
Wal-Mart fight
After a two-year legal
fight, Buzz and Georgianne
Bearden and other oppo
nents of a proposed Wal-
Mart Supercenter give up
their fight, clearing the
way for the retail giant to
build its new store.
Evans v. Carlisle
Monroe County commis
sion chairman Harold
Carlisle confronts commis
sioner Larry Evans for try
ing to halt the prosecution
of a former county employ
ee. The employee was
accused of taking a county
vehicle to a Macon motel
instead of tax assessor
classes. Carlisle says
Evans can't speak for the
board. But Evans says
commissioners already
talked about the subject
and wonders if Carlisle has
dementia. District attorney
Richard Milam says he'll
re-indict the case as theft
by conversion.
Pack named new
superintendent
Monroe County’s school
board names Anthony Pack
the new superintendent.
Pack is a Georgia native
who has spent the past two
years as superintendent in
Kent County, Md.
MAY
Mom's Day fury
Violent storms ravage the
southern end of Monroe
County on the morning of
Mother's Day, damaging
homes and cutting power
to hundreds of power cus
tomers. EMA director Matt
Perry says he has no con
firmed reports that torna
does, which cause exten
sive damage to west Bibb
County, hit Monroe County.
Painful tax
re-assessment
A collective groan is
heard around Monroe
County as property owners
get their new tax assess
ments from the county fol
lowing a mass re-appraisal.
The tax assessors' office is
flooded with appeals.
MP graduates
A total of 227 Mary
continued from page 1A
Persons' seniors receive
diplomas in the heat and
humidity at Dan Pitts
Stadium, as valedictorian
Jordan Harris encourages
his classmates with famil
iar song lyrics.
Local escaped
Texas cult
Forsyth resident April
Fuentes tells of life inside
the House of Yahweh cult
in Abilene, Texas, where
her ex-husband has just
been charged with
polygamy, among other
accusations. Fuentes said
she's thankful she escaped
what she calls a cult
thanks to the support of
her current husband,
Phillip.
New home for
The Reporter
The Monroe County
Reporter moves to a new
home on North Jackson
Street.
County to cut
tax rates
Monroe County commis
sioner Jim Peters says he
was the first in line to
appeal a $1 million in his
property tax revaluation,
as commissioners agree to
cut tax rates by the
amount of the increase in
property values.
Welcome Center
now open
After a painstaking, year
long renovation project,
Forsyth's historic city hall
is re-opened as the new
Welcome Center.
Development authority
chairman Barry Peters
pronounces that commer
cial prospects visiting the
city will now know that the
community "is open for
business." It houses the
Forsyth-Monroe County
Chamber of Commerce, the
Monroe County
Development Authority
and Forsyth Better
Hometown.
Wal-Mart deal
finally done
"I can't believe it's finally
over," says Jo Shipman,
one of eight property own
ers to sign paperwork to
sell her property to Wal-
Mart for a new
Supercenter. The $2.3 mil
lion transaction (for all
eight tracts) was delayed
for two years by legal chal
lenges.
JUNE
Reporter wins
six awards
The Reporter wins six
awards in the Georgia
Press Association's Better
Newspapers Contest,
including honors for its
editorial page, editorial
writing, investigative
reporting, news photogra
phy, editorial columns and
newspaper illustration.
Monroe Academy
hires Scoggins
Monroe Academy hires
veteran gridiron mentor
Dr. Dennard Scoggins as
its new football coach.
Scoggins won two GISA
titles at Tiftarea.
Reds pick
Freeman
Former Mary Persons
baseball star Justin
Freeman is drafted by the
Cincinnati Reds.
Monroe tops
state average
Monroe County students
outscore the state average
in most every category and
in nearly every grade on
the CRCT tests in 2008.
Oh no she didn't!
Monroe County school
board member Eva
Bilderback, wife of Monroe
County commissioner Mike
Bilderback, blasts commis
sion chairman Harold
Carlisle at an open meet
ing. She accuses the chair
man, who lost a race
against her husband six
years ago, of being the
most immature old man
she knows. She says her
daddy is "whiter" than
Carlisle.
Highest in state?
Gas station owners blame
geography and rules
requiring special gas in
Monroe County for the
county having some of the
highest fuel prices in
Georgia. Gas hits $4.11 per
gallon in June.
Schools are tops
Monroe County schools
are one of just 17 school
systems in the state (out of
186) to make adequate
yearly progress (AYP) for
the third year in a row.
Back on death row
The Georgia Supreme
Court puts Andrew Allen
Cook, convicted of a 1995
double murder at Lake
Juliette, back on death row.
JULY
Bittick coasts
Sheriff John Cary Bittick
gets more than 90 percent
of the vote to crush chal
lenger John Waldrop.
Bittick does not face a
Republican candidate in
November.
Pippin hired
Laurie Pippin is hired as
Better Hometown director.
Here we grow
Monroe County continues
to outpace the entire
region in population
growth, according to cen
sus bureau data.
Peters v. Evans
Clear-cutting on the
Monroe County courthouse
lawn sparks a feud
between commissioners
Larry Evans and Jim
Peters. Ultimately the
trees come down to make
way for a new landscape
plan. Peters agrees to drop
terroristic threat charges
against Evans when they
attend a county retreat in
September.
County rallies to
kidney speeder
A Moultrie man shells
out $280 for a speeding
ticket he got while racing
his son to Atlanta for a
life-saving kidney trans
plant. But Monroe County
folks show some heart by
helping him with over $660
in donations.
AUGUST
Glover shot at DQ
Former MP Bulldog
Zapareo Glover is shot out
side Dairy Queen in a car
jacking that leaves him
paralyzed. Alleged gun
man, Joshua Dupree
Rounsoville, 20, of
Eatonton, is nabbed three
weeks later. He is also
charged with murdering a
Warner Robins man. Two
others are also charged in
the DQ shooting.
Call it Sutton
The new elementary
school being constructed on
Hwy. 83 finally gets a
name. Katherine B. Sutton
Elementary School honors
the county's first female
superintendent who served
the schools from 1932 to
1946.
Here we grow
again, Monroe
Monroe County is named
the 22nd fastest growing
county in the U.S., accord
ing to the census bureau
after the county saw a 5.5
percent increase in new
housing units. The housing
growth made Monroe one
of four Georgia counties to
be among the 25 fastest
growing counties in
America.
SEPTEMBER
SAT scores up
Mary Persons High
School SAT scores for the
class of 2008 are up, but
remain below the national
and state averages.
City streetscape
delayed - again
It's back to the drawing
board for the new down
town streetscape after
plans to extend downtown
sidewalks into the street
are nixed following citizen
opposition.
Forsyth backs off
administrator hire
Forsyth seems to be on
the verge of having a new
city administrator when
two finalists are named.
However, council starts the
process over again when a
background check reveals
one of the finalist lied on
her application.
Cooling ousted
from school race
School board candidate
John Marc Cooling is dis
qualified from running
against BOE chairman Dr.
J. Ray Grant due to a cleri
cal error. It turns out
Cooling actually lives in
district 6, even though his
voter registration card says
district 2.
The Devils that did
Several Jackson football
players are caught after
vandalizing Mary Persons.
However, the Bulldogs lose
to Jackson in the annual
Backyard Brawl, 24-6.
Tub commits to
Florida State
MP's star power forward,
Terrence "Tub" Shannon
commits to play basketball
with Florida State.
OCTOBER
Morgan Ford
closes its doors
The recession hits home
as Morgan Ford closes
after two years in business.
Murder charge
in hit and run
Amy Lynn Cobb turns
herself in for killing Tonya
Teresa Chapman on an I-
75 entrance ramp in a
Sept. 28 hit and run.
Shelter stopped
Local citizens mobilize to
stop the building of an ani
mal shelter at the
Recreation Department.
Commissioners bow to pub
lic pressure after a hearing
to listen to local concerns.
Headmaster fired
Monroe Academy fires
headmaster Sid Kennedy
after he’d been on the job
just three months. Martha
Krepps is named interim
headmaster.
Bank marks 100
Monroe County Bank cel
ebrates 100 years in busi
ness. Bank owner Karl Hill
dies a week later.
Trio shuts doors
After 109 years in busi
ness, Forsyth's Trio
Manufacturing closes.
NOVEMBER
Vaughn wins,
record turnout
It’s a record turnout in
Monroe County on election
day. Over 12,000 vote.
Although Monroe County
picks McCain, nationally
it's Obama as president.
James Vaughn, a
Democrat, ousts
Republican commission
chairman Harold Carlisle
by a 6,407-5,205 margin.
Remaining on the commis
sion are Democrats Jim
Ham and Larry Evans.
Lori Andrews is elected as
the new tax commissioner.
Richard Milam remains as
DA and Jeff Davis stays on
the bench as chief magis
trate. Tammy Fletcher
keeps her seat on the
school board and Judy
Pettigrew is elected to
serve BOE district 4.
Rally for Hill
The community rallies
around the Daniel family
after 17-year old Hill
Daniel is paralyzed in a
car crash.
Battle’s a ’boy
Former MP football play
er Tra Battle signs with
Dallas Cowboys.
DECEMBER
MP’s Evans Gym
The Mary Persons High
School Gym is dedicated in
honor of long-time BOE
member James P. Evans Jr.
Pitts honored
Former MP football coach
and local legend Dan Pitts
is honored by the Atlanta
Falcons.
Supporters rally
to keep MA
Monroe Academy reveals
it is $400,000 short for the
year. Students, staff, teach
ers, alumni and parents
chip in to the tune of over
$300,000 to keep the school
afloat until June.
Negotiations for Rock
Springs Church in Milner
to buy the school apparent
ly fall apart.
Parlier back
Former MP principal Joe
Parlier is hired as princi
pal for new K.B. Sutton
Elem.
County to buy
water plant
The county exercises its
option to buy the Plant
Camellia water treatment
facility in Juliette and gets
60 days to come up with
$670,000.