The Monroe County reporter. (Forsyth, Ga.) 1972-current, October 21, 2015, Image 1

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Newspaper Page Text80LINGBR0KE ■ CUUODEN ' ' L0DEN ' FORSYTH • HIGI ■ Reporter JULIETYE • simrr Wow! Find this INSIDE: Countyjfs] only magazine, [112 pages the Monroe County www.mymcr.net • VOL. 44 NO. 43 • USPS 997-840 4 sections, 32 pages • Forsyth, GA • Wednesday, October 21,2015 • $1 Inside Mower accident claims Culloden man Bolingbroke resident’s new book gets rave reviews See Page 2A Middle Ga Health Matters See Page 1C Deaths Richard (Rik) Edmund Clifton Robert Lanier Brown Christine Mason Mercer William Edward Vinson Sr. Sammie Lee Davis See Page 6A WELCOME mS3M3QC£ Martin Dillon Rebecca Wasson Carol Floyd T J Garrett Lee Oxley Get your name on this list by subscribing today. 52 issues just$35 in Monroe County. Call 994-2358 or go to www.mymcr.net. publisher@mymcr.net A Culloden man was killed when he fell off his riding lawn mower into a creek bed last week. A neighbor, Randy Inglet, called authori ties to report he hadn’t seen or heard from Richard “Rik” Clifton since noon the previ- Clifton, 70, lived at 6120 Hwy. 42 near Culloden. Inglett noted that. Clifton’s lawn mower was missing and the garage left open, leaving him to think Clifton was some where on his 120-acre farm. As search dogs from the Department of BY WILL DAVIS ous day. CLIFTON Corrections arrived to help with the search, neighbors Chuck and Amanda Garrett found Clifton’s body face down in a creek bed about 50 yards north of the home underneath his riding mower. Deputy Kirk Seckinger said it appeared that. Clifton was mowing a creek bank when he dropped 8 feet into the creek. Coroner Joey Proctor said he doesn’t know whether Clifton died from the fall or from the lawn mower blades landing on top of him. He said he’s still waiting on the GBI crime lab autopsy to deter mine cause of death. A Vietnam Veteran, Clifton was active at Russellville Baptist Church and joined the church just, before his death. He left his farm in tenancy to the Georgia Sheriffs Youth Homes Foundation. See his obituary on page 6A. Special friends makes smiles Monroe County hosted its annual Special Olympics on Friday at the Mary Persons track. I he event has been moved from the spring to the fall. See details and more photos on page B6. Above, Caroline Jones, middle, Mackenzie Melton, right, and Miranda Gaines in the wheelchair celebrate together. (Photo/Kim Holderfield) Dogs head to Veterans for big region contest MP fought back from a 14-0 deficit to stay unbeaten and down Upson-Lee 30-14 on Friday. The Dogs head to Veterans on Friday with first place in tine region on the line. See page 1B. Business seeking Lee King Rd. rezone again Mon. BY RICHARD DUMAS forsyth@mymcr.net If at. first you don’t succeed, try a less offensive zoning classification. That’s the idea of businessman Chris Willingham, who’ll ask the Monroe County Planning & Zoning board next Monday, Oct. 26 for a more favorable reception to plans to rezone an 8-acre tract on Lee King Road to bring his business, Portable Air and Power in Byron, to Monroe County. The P & Z board voted 4-0 to recom mend denial of Willingham’s request on July 27 after about 75 nearby residents expressed opposition due to concerns about traffic and noise. But that time, Willingham said county officials had convinced him to seek an industrial zoning for his land, which is currently zoned agricultural. But Willingham said his business is a bet ter fit for commercial zoning, which allows less offensive uses of the prop erty, and that’s what he’s seeking after withdrawing his original request for industrial zoning. The zoning board will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26 to decide whether to recommend approval of the rezoning. Portable Air and Power, which has been in existence for eight years, sells and leases portable generators and air compressor equipment. Willingham said they’ve simply outgrown their facility in Byron and said he lives in Monroe County anyway. The zoning board’s recommendation would go to county commissioners for a final say on the matter at their Nov. 3 meeting. Willingham wants to build a 10,000 square foot building with about two acres of parking on the land. fl DflflDS o II : *oi VMI at Mercer Five Star Stadium Saturday, Oct. 17, 3 p.m TICKETS REMAINING AT http://tickets.mercer.edii/athletics/ or CALL 478-301-5470

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The Monroe County reporter. (Forsyth, Ga.) 1972-current, October 21, 2015, Image 1