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Give A Christmas Gift
They'll Treasure
FuM color gift certificates for the Monroe County Historical Book are now
available. You or your loved ones can use it to redeem your %-page hard-bound
book when it arrives in March, Call 994-2358 for more information.
Inside
Parades of
Christmases
past, dude
See Winners,
Pages 6-7A
Sports
Dogs meet
old rivals in
new region
See Page 1B
Deaths
Hugh H. “Buddy”
Andrews, Jr.
Diane Gray
Annie Lee
Scarborough
See Page 8A
No really: Streetscape to begin soon
You’ve heard it before:
Work on Forsyth's long-
awaited, $1 million down
town Streetscape project
should begin soon. But
this time, city officials say
it’s for real. Really, really
real.
City administrator Greg
Popham said the city has
finally executed the DOT
documents approving the
project and the city should
be able to put it out to bid
this week or next.
After the project is
advertised, Popham said
the city council could
name a contractor around
Jan. 15. Work could begin
immediately.
The long-discussed proj
ect has become something
of a legend in Forsyth
because no work has com
menced more than five
years after the city was
awarded the $1 million
DOT grant. After being
hired earlier this year,
Popham met with Tom
Queen, the DOT's District
3 planning and program
ming manager, and appar
ently helped spur some
momentum for the proj
ect.
Forsyth public works
director Alvin Randall
said after planning the
project for five years he’s
not getting too excited yet.
“When I see the bids in
the mail I'll pull the trig
ger,” said Randall.
Plans call for putting
utilities underground and
installating new side
walks and curbs on
the square, with
bumpout curbs
designed to create bet
ter walkways and slow
down traffic. Plans
also call for new
benches, trashcans
and antique lamps
around the square.
Better Hometown’s
Laurie Pippin has
said the project would
take 6-8 months, which
means the Forsythia
Festival in March will
The city put out sandbags to simu
late bumpout curbs planned in the
Streetscape project.
have to work around the
downtown construction.
Robert Williams Jr., co-owner of the Monroe County Reporter, interviews George Berry for the BBC as, from left,
foreground, producer Susanna Capelouto, Mercer Bush and Michell Herring look on at Ann’s Deli. (Photo/Will Davis)
International audience
hears locals’ views on surge
BY WILL DAVIS
A ll of Great Britain
heard from
Forsyth and
Monroe County on
Sunday.
That's because the BBC, the
famed British Broadcasting
Company, aired a program on
its nationwide radio network
over the weekend that includ
ed interviews with several
Monroe Countians at Ann's
Deli.
The weekly "Americana"
programme, which purports
to tell the Brits about life
across America, was taped in
part in Forsyth on
Wednesday. The BBC sent a
radio correspondent to town
to tape interviews with locals,
mostly at Ann's. The question
on the table: What do you
think of President Obama's
See BBC page 5A
Report:
Cole as
Speaker
of House?
State
Rep. Jim
Cole (R-
Forsyth) is
being float
ed as a
possible
candidate
for
2
COLE
dates for
Speaker
or other
leader
ship posi
tions. The
column
runs in
Speaker of the
House in the
aftermath of last
week's resigna
tion of outgoing
Speaker Glenn
Richardson.
In his weekly
Capitol Impact
column, long-time
political reporter
Tom Baxter
names Cole as
one of five House
members being
talked about as
possible candi-
newspa-
pers around the
state and is at
www.capi-
tolimpact.com.
Cole is current
ly the floor leader
for Gov. Sonny
Perdue. He told
the Reporter
Monday he he’d
be talking with
colleagues and
family and decide
in about a week
whether to run.
See COLE page 5A
I'd be proud to have Jim Cole
as Speaker of the House.
- Rep. Tony Sellier, represents
southern Monroe County
Funnel cloud wreaks havoc at Smarr
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Brandi Lyles and her family inspect the damage on Wednesday afternoon, in
cluding a storage shed that was picked up and wrapped around a tree.
BY WILL DAVIS
A violent storm damaged sever
al homes near Smarr last
Wednesday and heavy rains
closed roads around the county.
A funnel cloud was reported
near Smarr and homes on
Calloway Road, Music Row,
Nature’s Trail and Gose Road
reported minor damage, said
Monroe County EMA director
Matt Perry. The National
Weather Service at first deemed
the Wednesday morning storm a
tornado, but later classified it as
a funnel cloud moving at 55
mph, said Perry. The storm
turned into a tornado after it
crossed into Jones County, he
said.
Brandi Lyles of 214 Calloway
Road was at a friend’s house and
returned home to find a storage
shed in her back yard had been
picked up and moved about 30
yards before wrapping around a
tree. She said it could have been
worse.
“God blessed us .. He didn’t
touch the house,” said Lyles.
“Nobody was hurt.. and the
material things can be replaced.”
She said she’s thankful for some
very good friends, including one
who came to help after her car
got stuck in the mud while look
ing at the damage.
Connie Presley of Nature’s
Trail said the winds sent her
back porch flying over the house
and to her front yard, while tak
ing out her chimney. She said her
85 year old father was home and
said the house shook so much he
thought it was an earthquake.
She said she and her husband
Clay also lost some shingles on
their home.
Meanwhile, heavy rains closed
several roads but only Joe
Chambers Road remained closed
at presstime. Six-foot drain pipes
that had just been installed
underneath the road after flood
ing in March came loose, and
workers will have to dig them
out and re-do the road, said
county public works director Sid
Banks. The county had been
reimbursed by the feds for the
$52,928 repair to Joe Chambers
Road in the spring. Quality
Custom Services did most of the
work at a cost of $34,000, said
county administrator Anita
Buice. Banks said the firm can’t
be blamed for the latest damage
because the pipes hadn’t had
time to settle.
After working storms last week
and the water main break on
Sunday, part-time county emer
gency management director Matt
Perry said he’s ready for a break.
But weather forecasters were
calling for more rain Tuesday
and Wednesday.
