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Forsyth’s pole vaulting phenom
Carson Pingler does it again
the Monroe County
Forsyth, GA
www.mymcr.net • VOL. 45 NO. 24 • USPS 997-840
Wednesday, June 22, 2016 1
Inside
Authorities warn of surge in
property crime as Juliette hit
BY RICHARD DUMAS
AND WILL DAVIS
Forsyth and Monroe
County authorities are
urging residents to be
on guard after a rash of
property thefts, the lat
est being the burglary of
Juliette’s Kudzu Korner
store on Monday morn
ing.
According to the inci
dent report, at about
8:43 a.m. on Monday,
June 20, Dep. Holly
Martinage of the Monroe
County Sheriffs Office
went to Kudzu Korner
store on McCrackin
Street in Juliette about
a burglary. When
Martinage arrived, she
found a cash register in
the middle of the road
with its contents scat
tered around it. She
also saw a black money
drawer lying on the
ground a short, distance
from the register with
its contents also strewn
about.
Martinage then met
with the store’s owner,
Kay Cummings, who
said the cash register,
valued at about $300,
see CRIME page 6A
A burglar
used a brick
to break
through this
window into
the Kudzu
Korner in
Juliette over
night Sun
day. (Photo
courtesy Sid
Newsome)
Forsyth’s
Lackley
takes aim at
Team Match
See Page 1B
Forsyth’s
Corley
is top young
journalist
See Page 2A
Deaths
Verlene Pope
See Page 6A
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First responders carry Portia Lyons on a stretcher away from the vehicle after the 2014 train
wreck. She filed a lawsuit against the driver of the vehicle she was in, and Norfolk Southern.
(File photo/Richard Dumas)
Lawsuit filed over
2014 train wreck
BY WILL DAVIS
publisher@rnymcr.net
A Forsyth family is suing
to recoup medical bills
from a June 2014 collision
with a Norfolk Southern
train in Forsyth that sent
a then-12-year-old girl
flying out of the vehicle,
landing in a nearby park
ing lot.
Portia Lyons of Forsyth
and her daughter Precious
Gaines, now 14, were pas
sengers in a 2010 Ford
Focus driven by Asia
Buckner on June 19, 2014
when they were struck by
a Norfolk Southern train.
The accident happened at
the railroad crossing on
Indian Springs Drive near
Bryant’s Collision. The
impact sent Gaines flying
out the rear passenger
window and she landed in
the parking lot of Bryant’s
Collision. Lyons and
Buckner, the driver, had
to be extricated by Jaws of
Life equipment. All three
were hospitalized, and
Gaines was diagnosed with
a broken pelvis.
Buckner told police
she was heading east
toward Bryant’s when she
approached the train cross
ing. Buckner, who was
heading to the store, said
she stopped at the cross
ing, didn’t see a train com
ing, and started to cross.
Earlier this month,
just, before the two-year
statute of limitations
expired, Lyons filed suit
against both Buckner and
Norfolk Southern, seeking
$50,000 plus attorney fees
and court costs to cover
medical bills. The suit said
Gaines suffered injuries to
her right leg, pelvis, both
arms, back, left shoulder
and head, incurring more
than $35,693 in medical
bills.
The accident was the
third at that, crossing in
2013-14. The crossing
doesn’t have safety arms.
Ricky Corley, who was
struck in 2013 there, said
the crossing needs to be
closed as visibility is poor
from both directions.
Bridget Bryant of
Bryant’s Collision heard
the 2014 crash and looked
up to see Gaines ejected
from the car into her park
ing lot. She called 911 and
then rushed out to keep
the girl until help arrived.
She said the mother, who
was stuck in the car, kept
asking about her baby.
“It was horrible, abso
lutely horrible,” said
Bryant. She said that, she
felt that, she did what, any
one would have done. “It.
was so small.”
Norfolk Southern
informed the city of
Forsyth earlier this year
that. it. would like city
cooperation in closing
the Indian Springs Drive
crossing and to install a
long median at. its Lee
Street, preventing left,
turns. The city rejected the
latter idea saying it. would
only cause more traffic.
Sparks is
named new
chamber
president
BY DIANE
GLIDEWELL
news@rnyrncr.net
There’s a new CEO
of the Forsyth-Monroe
County Chamber of
Commerce, but. it’s a
familiar face. Cheri
Sparks has accepted
the position of CEO of
the Chamber with the
departure of Tiffany
Andrews. Sparks will
step into a new office
see CEO page 6A
SPARKS
Monroe Co.
students
lead area
despite dip
BY DIANE
GLIDEWELL
news@mymcr.
net
Monroe
County Schools
slipped below
the state aver
age in the
College &
Career Ready
Performance
Index (CCRPI)
for the first- time
since the Georgia Department- of Education
began compiling the index in 2012. The
CCRPI replaced the Annual Yearly Progress
(AYP) reports that- schools had received
when Georgia was granted a waiver from
the federal No Child Left- Behind program.
On a score of 0-100 plus a possibility for
10 additional points, the Monroe County
score for 2015 was 73.1 versus the state
average of 75.5. In the state, the average
see SCORES page 7A
System
2015
State Avg.
75.5
Jones
80.8
Houston
78
Monroe
73.7
Jasper
72.7
Butts
69.6
Lamar
66.7
Peach
66.2
Bibb
60.8
Crawford
54.4
