The Monroe County reporter. (Forsyth, Ga.) 1972-current, November 18, 2009, Image 1

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The Monroe County reporter., November 18, 2009, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextNext week's Vent will be a Thanks-venting. Readers are encouraged to submit Thanks-vents naming specific things for which they are grateful. Only praises and thanksgivings will be approved for next week. Go to www.mymcr.net to submit your Thanks-venting. Inside Support the arts, win a gingerbread village See Page 8A Isakson gives healthcare prognosis See Page 2A Sports Bulldog Basketball starts Sat. See Page 1B Deaths James Otis “Oak” Evans Rev. Marvin O’Neal See Page 6A CO “O ^ TO O CO S* o> 2 § S a. « 1 o’Si >2 > o in 00 R £ n n n tf) O !. 9 e ■> f 4 Caught on tape? James Gresham is ac cused of breaking into a car on West Main Street, and the convicted felon maybe responsible for a string of entering autos in recent months in the city. BY LAURA THACKSTON AND WILL DAVIS Forsyth police have made a second arrest in connection with a rash of auto break-ins around town over the last few months. James “Teenager” Gresham, 49, was arrested Friday, Nov. 13 and charged with criminal trespassing and attempting to enter an auto. He was appre hended by the Forsyth police after residents at 152 West Main Street videotaped him trying to break into a car. Gresham later admitted to police he had been heavily using crack cocaine and that See ARREST pg. 7A Human Carwash at Sutton K.B. Sutton principal Joe Parlier and assistant principal Marcy Hunt-Harris were drenched by hundreds of water balloons last Friday afternoon. The stunt was a reward for the students’ good behavior so far this year. Parlier said the school only had 11 discipline referrals in the first 13 weeks of school. (Photo/Gina Herring) Man rescued in floodwaters A man had to be rescued from his car early Tuesday morning near this location (at right) on Old Brent Road after flooding trapped him in his vehicle. Monroe County EMTs were able to pull him from the car and out of the floodwaters, said county fire chief Ronald Norris. But rain washed out the ground under this section of the road, which remains closed. The remnants of Hurricane Ida swept through the county dumping buck ets of rain. Along with Old Brent, the county had to close Ebenezer Road, Smith Road, Marshall Road, Treadwell Road and English Road. County EMA direc tor Matt Perry said he got a rare call from the National Weather Service overnight saying they were watching the radar and concerned about the rain Monroe County would be get ting. Fortunately, by week's end, all the roads except Old Brent had been re-opened. County public works director Sid Banks said he's hired a contractor to begin filling in the holes underneath the road bed and erecting a retaining wall this week to prevent a repeat. But he said it will be a few more weeks before the road’s re-opened. (PhotoAVill Davis) Not so fast: Dog pound deal collapse It appears this shop on Collier Road won’t be made into a dog pound after all. BY WILL DAVIS Monroe County's plans to create a new animal shelter and recycling center on Collier Road have apparently collapsed. Commissioners had agreed at their Nov. 3 meeting to make an offer of about $180,000 on a 3-acre tract and building belonging to Robby Whitehead. But another party made a better offer last week and now has a contract on the land, Whitehead said on Monday. Commissioners had said after their Nov. 3 meeting that they thought they had an accept able price and were just waiting to sign a con tract. But that all changed last week. Reached by phone Monday, Whitehead explained a little bit about what happened. He said he had previously declined the county's original offer for the property, which is located at the comer of Smith and Collier roads. Then, last week, he received two offers on the same day: one a counter offer from the county and the other, a higher offer from another party. The county's counter offer was not what he had said he needed, said Whitehead. "We never reached a firm agree ment," said Whitehead, who signed a contract accepting the higher offer. Whitehead would not disclose the new offer. Whitehead said he didn't know until he read the Reporter last week that the county planned to put a recycling center on the property as well. But he said that didn't play into his deci sion. Commissioner Jim Peters said he had thought it was a done deal. He said the best idea now may be to build a better facility at the landfill, where the animal shelter is currently located. Commission chairman James Vaughn said he wasn't involved in the negotiations but said he hoped a deal could still be worked out. Commissioners have about $130,000 in sales tax revenues for a new shelter. The current ani mal shelter is merely a make-shift series of pens located in the woods at the landfill. Last year commissioners had begun clearing land to build a new shelter at the recreation department. But commissioners dropped then- plans when recreation parents objected en masse to the idea. Shipping Christmas to Georgia soldiers Connie Ham, far left, and David Davis, left, tape up one of 42 boxes assembled on Saturday for sending to Georgia troops in Afghanistan. It’s all part of Operation Uplift. Volunteers spent the morning putting snacks, socks and toiletries in boxes at the Wellington Building in Forsyth. The supplies should arrive by Christmas. Shipping costs were more than $400 so donations are welcome to Operation Uplift at Mon roe County Bank.