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Local man takes the
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Serving the Public Safety Capital of Georgia
(he Monroe Countv
www.mymcr.net • VOL. 42 NO. 4 USPS 997-840
4 sections, 36 pages • Forsyth, GA • Wednesday, January 23, 2013 • $1
Inside
MP girls
take first
in region
See page 1B
Culloden
marches
forMLK Jr.
Day
See page 6B
No arrests in home invasion
BY RICHARD DUMAS
A Forsyth man was
bludgeoned in the head
with the butt of a gun
during an armed robbery
at his North Frontage
Road home on Jan. 15.
According to the incident
report, at about 10:25
p.m., Officer Matthew
Price of the Forsyth Police
Department went to a
North Frontage Road
home after a neighbor,
Katrina Toomer, said the
home had been robbed,
and the resident, Michael
Gantt, had been injured
during the robbery. When
Price arrived, he found
Gantt was bleeding heavi
ly and was wearing only a
see ATTACK page 6A
This Frontage
Road home
was the site
of a home in
vasion on
Tuesday
night, Jan.
15.
Marchers wearing Martin Luther King and Obama garb march down Jackson Street on the way to Kynette
United Methodist Church on Monday. (Photo/Kim Holderfield)
Locals
mark
King
Day as
Obama
sworn in
BY RICHARD DUMAS
About 100 Forsythians gath
ered at Kynette United
Methodist Church for a service
Monday to honor the life of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The service came after about 50
Forsythians marched in unison
from the Monroe County court
house square to the church
around noon Monday. Many
members of the group were wear
ing shirts dedicated to King's
memory while others had shirts
or jackets honoring U.S.
President Barack Obama, who
was being inaugurated in
Washington, D.C. at about the
same time as the march.
Kynette United Methodist
member Linda Hampton said it
was the 27th time the service has
been held to honor King, and
attendees this year had to forgo
watching the inauguration to
take part in the march and serv
ice.
Hampton said, "We don't take it
lightly that you chose to be here."
Rev. Jamaar Pye, of Kynette
United Methodist, welcomed the
assembled crowd before handing
the service off to various speak-
see KING page 7A
Deaths
Julia Hencely
Colvin
Robert Douglas
Hodges
Jerry Ernest
Huffman
Rose Marie Frazier
Morrison
See page 6A
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Tom Ward
Dorothy Anderson
Paul Laneback
Robert Blackerby
Ronald Ennis
Joyce Pitts
Southern Smiles
Justin Blair
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EMPLOYMENT ISSUES AT FORSYTH CITY HALL
Mayor catching
heat for solo hire
Employee sues city,
claims discrimination
Howard: Only trying to improve services
BY DIANE GLIDEWELL
Former lead lineman says disability used against him
Mayor John Howard is fend
ing off allegations that he side
stepped the usual hiring chan
nels to bring two new men
aboard the city's Public Works
Department.
Howard said he took the ini
tiative to add two needed work
ers, but he consulted with city
clerk Janice Hall about the
proper procedures for doing so
and followed all of the city's
steps for advertising the posi
tions, accepting applications,
conducting background checks,
and holding interviews.
Howard said that the Public
Works Department is short
about four employees because of
extended health problems and
consequently work has not been
getting done. The mayor said
he has received a number of
complaints from citizens about
trash pick up being late or not
done.
"People pay $20 per month for
garbage pick up," said Howard.
"You can't charge people for
see MAYOR page 7A
BY WILL DAVIS
The city of Forsyth has been
sued by a city employee alleging
discrimination and retaliation
because he's disabled and black.
Windell Rutherford filed a fed
eral civil rights lawsuit against
the city on Aug. 30, 2012 saying
the city refused to reinstate him
to a management position after
he was injured, and has refused
to give him a raise as well.
Rutherford has worked in the
city electrical department since
1998 and was promoted to lead
lineman in 2002. However, in
2006 he claims to have suffered a
job-related injury that led to him
being defined as disabled.
Rutherford said city clerk
Janice Hall asked him to return
to work in January 2007 and said
she was aware of his injuries and
would accommodate him. But
Rutherford said the city refused
to let him return to his job as a
lead lineman. The lawsuit said
city electrical superintendent
Johnny Hodges said he didn't
want to use Rutherford because
see LAWSUIT page 7A
Late pick-ups costing local garbage firm
Clean
Rite
cus
tomers
say
they’re
tired of
waiting
for late
trash
pick-up,
and
many are
looking
for other
providers
BY WILL DAVIS
More garbage companies are
expanding their Monroe County
territories after being inundated
with calls from local residents
desperate for a trash pick up
option.
As first reported in this newspa
per in November, the county's
largest curbside garbage company,
Clean-Rite of Forsyth has had
problems meeting its pick-up days
in recent months. Some residents
report the company was as many
as three weeks behind on pick-up
over Thanksgiving and
Christmas, and it is still running
late. And now, the Reporter con
firmed Friday that Clean-Rite is
so far behind on its bill at the
Monroe County Landfill that it is
no longer permitted to dump
trash there.
Clean-Rite owner Bob Taylor,
reached at the company's
Hopewell Road location Monday,
told the Reporter his company is
"back to normal" after having
some mechanical difficulties with
its trucks, including having a
motor blow. Taylor says the rea
son he doesn't dump at the
Monroe County Landfill any more
is because the company was get
ting flat tires from doing so.
"I got so much going on right
now," Taylor said. "Be patient
with us. We're getting things
see TRASH page 7A
