Newspaper Page Text
March 11,2009
PAGE 2A
www.mymcr. net/vent.
Have something pithy, wise
and/or funny to say about life in
Monroe County? Let 'er rip in
the Reporter's new on-line MCR
vent. Find it at www.mymcr.net
and click on Vent
No wonder the state is in
such bad shape - some of
the Monroe County salaries
are absurd for the elected
officials listed, rank: 20
I hope all of the "OBAM-
MY" supporters have an
extra 25 percent for their
electric bill after the
President and his Princess
of the House of
Representative are through
with all the little people,
rank: 12
Other than the sheriff,
every Monroe County
employee is grossly over
paid! And Jeff Davis is
underpaid, rank: 10
Is some wheel alignment
shop getting kickbacks from
the government workers
who fail to put up signs
when they leave gaping
holes in the pavement
around the rails at every
railroad crossing in town?
rank: 9
I think the court house is
looking great, but has any
one noticed the beautiful for-
sythia blooming? Nope, Me
EITHER!!! I think they forgot
to plant some. I wonder how
much money the out-of
county landscapers got for
that job. rank: 8
I'd like to see the traffic
light at Johnston and Lee
retimed. It holds red unrea
sonably on Johnston St.
rank: 6
When has Sonny Perdue
been fiscally responsible?
Go Fish! rank: 5
Will the courthouse be
landscaped before the
Forsythia Festival? Oops, it
has been landscaped!! rank:
5
Remember the last gover
nor who didn't think he
needed the vote of educa
tors? Wonder why? rank: 3
Have you ridden through
town on a weekend night?
WOW the sidewalks aren't
rolled up at 9 anymore. Let's
support local businesses
and grow, rank: 2
I read in the Reporter that
you cannot take your pets
are to the Forsythia Festival
this year, BOY is my wife
gonna be mad when I tell
her she has to stay home...
rank: 2
I am a county employee
and neither I nor anyone
else in the office I work in
are grossly overpaid, rank: 1
Subscribe to the
Reporter at the
Forsythia Festival
and get a
free T-shirt.
Seeyou
on the Square.
^Reporter
County fire truck flipped, totalled
A Monroe County fire
truck was totalled last
Tuesday night when the
driver flipped it on Hwy.
41 to avoid hitting a
teenager.
The accident happened
around 6 p.m. on Hwy. 41
North near Pea Ridge
Road. According to
deputies, the fire truck,
driven by Monroe County
fire fighter Chad
Whitmire, tried to avoid
hitting a 4Runner SUV
that made a quick left
turn into a driveway.
Unable to stop quickly,
Whitmire veered right off
of the roadway and
turned over into an
embankment along the
side of the road. The
driver of the 4Runner,
Zachary Jones, 18, of
Forsyth, was not injured
and the fire truck did not
strike his vehicle.
Whitmire was transport
ed to the Medical Center
for precautionary rea
sons. The fire truck, a
single cab pumper, was
on its way back to
Station 11 on Maynard’s
Mill Road after answer
ing a call.
No charges are being
filed in the case.
Monroe County EMS
spokesman Shane Cook
said the fire truck was
totalled. But he said the
fire truck was probably
the best one to lose if the
fire department had to
lose one. It was covered
by insurance and Cook
said he hopes they get a
replacement engine.
FLIPPED OUT: This Monroe County fire truck turned over as the driver tried to avoid hitting a teenager
pulling into a driveway. The driver was OK but the truck was totalled. (Photo courtesy Corrie Comer)
Life in prison for ’94 rape
Fifteen years after it happened, a man
has been sentenced to life in prison for a
1994 rape in Monroe County.
Robert Wayne Messer, 46,
pled guilty to the 1994 rape on
March 5 after a DNA test
linked him to the cold case last
year. Superior Court Judge
William Fears accepted a plea
agreement Messer reached
with District Attorney Richard
Milam that includes a life
prison sentence without
parole.
"He threw in the towel," said
Milam.
The Monroe County Sheriffs
Office announced last May that DNA
testing had solved the rape case.
It was April 1994 that a Barnesville
woman reported that a man kidnapped
her, drove her down Hwy. 41 near
Forsyth and raped her at gunpoint.
Sheriffs investigators collected evidence
that could yield DNA samples, things
like saliva, semen and hair, but they
weren't able to identify a suspect. There
was no DNA database at the time to try
to match samples with criminals.
However, the state has since set up a
DNA database and in 2000 the state
ordered all Georgia inmates to
have their DNA collected and
entered into the database.
Messer had been arrested in
Henry County in 1994 shortly
after the Monroe County victim
reported her crime and was
convicted of aggravated
assault. Messer had his saliva
collected and his DNA was
entered into the computer sys
tem.
Messer's DNA matched that
in the 1994 Monroe County case’s
evidence and the GBI notified the
Monroe County Sheriffs Office of the
match last year. Warrants, taken by the
GBI, charging Messer with rape and kid
napping in the 1994 case were issued
May 27, 2008.
Messer was already in Rutledge State
Prison serving a 20 year term for aggra
vated assault and other charges stem
ming from an incident in Henry County.
MESSER
Clarification
A story in last week's Reporter, "To
ban, or not to ban," should have said
that the recreation board has power to
recommend policy but does not set the
policy for the county's rec department.
Karen Roberts, secretary of the recre
ation board, said they don't have the
power to ban or rescind the ban on
coaches from last year, but only to rec
ommend those actions.
IT'S TAX TIME
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Everyone’s tax return will be affecte
by the new^tax law changes. Mak
sure you're maximizing .all you
deductions. Call us today.
478.477.4666
Riverside at Bass Rd.
The Scrub Team has the cure! Don't miss Forsyth's Band Event of the Year
as the Scrub Team Reunites for the first time in three years!
You can purchase tickets at:
994-2521, ext 211
Monroe County
~ Hospital
Caring is our way oflife
The Scrub Team will provide entertainment for the
Monroe County Hospital 2009
Relay for Life fundraiser
Dinner to be held on Saturday, March 21,2009 from
6:30pm - 9:00pm at the
Georgia Public Safety Training Center
Seating is limited
Ticket Prices are:
$22 - individual $42-couple $120- Table of 6