Newspaper Page Text
www.mymcr.net • VOL. 43 NO. 1 • USPS 997-840
2 sections, 24 pages • Forsyth, GA • Wednesday, January 1,2014 • $1
Will Davis has 'The Rest
of the Story' of 2013,
See On the Porch on page A4
Inside
Girls advance
to tourney
title game
See Pages B1
See the
county’s
biggest
Christmas
Village
See Page 2A
Deaths
Chad Edward Albritton
Eunice Pritchett
Chapman
Myletia Lyn Floyd
Sanderson
Rev. Ben Taylor
Lurline Burke Waldrep
Chris Derek Walker Sr.
See page 6A
WELCOME
Craig Martin
Richard Mosso
Laurie Berger
Marcus Hunter
Pam Taylor
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Walmart, Dollar General
3Hllk
a
Kroger and CVS
Elderly lady’s ‘loaded’ stolen
purse found Christmas Day
Forsyth officer
Thomas "C.J." Cz-
erniejewski. (File
photo)
‘Officer Czerniejewski was wonderful.’ - victim Johnnie Cash, 84, of Homestead, Fla.
BY RICHARD DUMAS
A Forsyth police officer
helped recover a Florida
woman's purse
loaded with valu
ables on Christmas
morning within an
hour of it being
taken.
Regel Roshawn
Perkins, 20, of
Forsyth was arrest
ed and charged with
felony theft by tak
ing. He was subse
quently booked into the
Monroe County Jail.
At about 9:10 a.m. on Dec.
25, Officer Thomas "C.J."
Czerniejewski of the
Forsyth Police
Department went to
the Shell Station on
North Lee Street
about a theft.
Czerniejewski met
with 84-year-old
Johnnie Cash of
Homestead, Fla., who
said someone had
stolen her pocket
book. Cash said she
left the pocket book on the
counter after paying for her
coffee. She said she left the
store and realized 20 min
utes later that it was miss
ing.
Inside of Cash's purse
were: $1,000 cash, a dia
mond ring valued at
$28,000, a wedding band
valued at $400, gold chains
valued at $800, a cell phone
valued at $200, a set of keys
and a dark handbag.
Czerniejewski viewed sur
veillance video footage and
saw two men approach the
counter. One of them,
dressed in a dark jacket
with gray sleeves and baggy
pants, stood in front of the
purse while the other paid
for two bags of ice.
Czerniejewski then saw the
man in the dark jacket pick
up the purse and conceal it
under his jacket. The two
men then left the store and
got into a white Ford
Explorer with a handicap
card hanging from the rear
view mirror. Czerniejewski
identified the suspect who
took the purse as Perkins,
See PURSE page 2B
Members of Troop 51 who enjoyed the new gun range at winter camp this weekend were
Hamilton Darden, Josh McAllister, Tucker Melton, Benjamin Sandusky, Ian Bettis, Jordan
Carr, Ethan Davidson, Nathan Hancock, Seth Smith, Hunter Walker, James Davis, Aaron
Jones, Joshua Robinson, Chase Gramling, Ruten E. and Browning Sandusky. Adults in
cluded Matt Carr, Roy Hancock, Tim Heath, Parker Jones, Steve Jones, Laura McAllister,
Randy McAllister, Jimmy Melton, Bobby Walke, John Sandusky and Joel Raley.
Scouts get a gun
range for Christmas
Forsyth's Boy Scout
Troop 51 has long been
one of the only troops in
the country to have its
own camp, the R.L.
Williams Camp on
Montpelier Road. And
now it's one of the only
troops to have it own rifle
range, also at the R.L.
Williams Camp.
Scouts enjoyed their
first rifle practice under
neath the completed
pavilion this past week
end at the annual winter
camp. Leader Jimmy
Melton said the rifle
range has been in the
works for years and they
finally got the donations
they needed to finish.
Parents and volunteers
started on the pavilion in
September, installing a
concrete pad for shooting,
a high sloping roof with
shooting tables donated
by Camp Thunder near
Thomaston for the rifle
practice. The range also
has concrete pads for clay
target slings for shotgun
practice. The new range
will help scouts earn their
marksmanship and rifle
badges.
Members of the troop
attending this past week
end's winter camp includ
ed Hamilton Darden,
Josh McAllister, Tucker
Melton, Benjamin
Sandusky, Ian Bettis,
Jordan Carr, Ethan
Davidson, Nathan
Hancock, Seth Smith,
Hunter Walker, James
Davis, Aaron Jones,
Joshua Robinson, Chase
Gramling, Ruten E. and
Browning Sandusky.
Adults included Matt
Carr, Roy Hancock, Tim
Heath, Parker Jones,
Steve Jones, Laura
McAllister, Randy
McAllister, Jimmy
Melton, Bobby Walke,
John Sandusky and Joel
Raley.
Do you want
to grow or not?
City urged to make a call on
plan for fiiture water service
BY DIANE
GLIDEWELL
Forsyth city engineer
Carl Hofstadter told
council's combined utili
ties committee that coun
cil needs to decide as
soon as possible whether
the city wants to grow as
a service provider outside
the city limits by selling
water and sewer service
to customers in the coun
ty or even beyond. He
asked what council's
intention for the city is in
the next 15-20 years.
Hofstadter said the
county has an agreement
with the Macon Water
Authority to provide
water and sewer to the
south side of Monroe
County, but right now the
north side of the county,
up to Lamar and Butts,
is open if Forsyth wants
to expand its delivery
area.
Pat Wright, who directs
Forsyth's water and
sewer departments for
contractor Utility
Partners, Inc., said there
is a plan to develop 1,000
acres for mixed use
almost to Johnstonville
Road in the next 4-6
years, but the plans
hinge on water and sewer
capacity.
City administrator
Thomas White said
Monroe County commis
sioner Larry Evans has
formally requested the
city build a 12-inch water
line up Smith Road.
Wright said he did a
breakdown on cost and
materials for a line up
Smith Road about two
years ago, and the esti
mate was $750,000-$1.3
million for a line that will
currently serve less than
20 customers. The invest
ment takes on a different
perspective if anticipated
growth and development
comes to the area.
Council member Mike
Dodd said the line on
Smith Road would be a
beginning toward lines
for River Forest and on to
Juliette. Hofstadter said
that developing a service
delivery plan into the
county does not mean
that the city builds water
lines until there is a need
for them. He said if an
industry is coming with
jobs, there will be grants
to run the lines. He said
Forsyth is not in danger
of running out of water
now but will need a new
source of water in the
next 10 years if it wants
to grow.
Hofstadter outlined four
plans for the city in the
order he recommends
them: 1) Draw from Lake
Juliette to treat and
return water (requires
negotiations with Georgia
Power) 2) Fire up the
grandfathered permit for
six million gallons a day
at Bibb Manufacturing's
Plant Camellia 3) Raise
the dam level of
Tobesofkee Lake (proba
bly the most expensive
and time-consuming,
according to Hofstadter)
4) Buy water from Macon
Water Authority, which is
developing itself as a
regional provider.
"I need direction on
what you want me to do,"
said Hofstadter. "No mat
ter which direction we go,
if you're going to serve
the county, you're going
to have to find another
source of raw water."
Opening the water
plant at Camellia will
require an agreement
with the county
Hofstadter cautions that
EPD will not leave that
permit open forever.
Council member Jimmy
Jones said he is serving
on a joint task force with
the county organized
about a month ago to
look at revamping Plant
Camellia.