Newspaper Page Text
June 29, 2016
PAGE 3B
^Reporter
Covington man arrested for possessing stolen truck
BY RICHARD DUMAS
forsyth@mymcr.net
A Covington man was
arrested and charged with
theft by receiving stolen prop
erty on June 17 after he was
allegedly found in possession
of a truck reported stolen out
of McDonough.
Nortavis Quintrell Nolley,
36, was also charged with
driving while license sus
pended and possession of
marijuana.
According to the incident
report, at about 5:36 p.m. on
Friday, June 17, Dep. Kianda
Pritchett of the Monroe
County Sheriffs Office went
to the intersection of Julie
Lane and Johnstonville
Road after being notified by
dispatchers of a suspicious
person and vehicle. When
Pritchett arrived, she saw
a man, later identified as
Nolley, wearing blue jeans
and no shirt and standing
at the intersection. Pritchett
asked Nolley if he was lost,
and Nolley replied that his
truck would not crank. Nolley
told Pritchett he did not have
his license on him, but he had
driven his truck to a Julie
Lane home in an effort to rent
a trailer.
Pritchett noticed Nolley was
soaking wet even though it
hadn’t rained. Nolley, who
said he had been in the area
for six hours, said he was
just sweating. He said he was
from Conyers and had come
with cash in hand to rent the
trailer.
The male emergency caller,
identified in the report as Mr.
Williams, said Nolley told
him he wanted to rent a trail
er for his brother. Williams
said when Nolley told him his
brother is a convicted felon,
he refused to rent it to him.
Williams said although he
told Nolley he wouldn’t rent
the trailer, Nolley continued
to wander around the neigh
borhood. Williams said he
also noticed Nolley had driven
his pickup truck into a metal
pole in his yard.
While Pritchett was speak
ing with Williams, Nolley
began to make comments,
shouting, “He is lying. He
said I had methamphet-
amines on me. I heard him
say I had drugs.” Pritchett
told Nolley that Williams
had not made that accusation
about him. When Pritchett
then told Nolley she wanted
to search him for weapons,
Nolley answered, “My law
yer just beat a case where a
police officer reached inside of
my pockets.”
Pritchett then asked Nolley
about a red shirt lying on
the ground. Nolley said it
belonged to him and picked it
up. As he shook the shirt, a
blue rag and a large rock fell
from the shirt. Nolley then
told Pritchett he had received
a text from an unknown
woman warning him that peo
ple were trying to attack him
at the scene where the trailer
he sought to rent was located.
Pritchett noticed Nolley was
stuttering as he spoke and
continuously fidgeting and
moving about in a a suspi
cious manner.
Pritchett then handcuffed
Nolley to detain him until she
could find his truck, which
he said was parked down the
street on Julie Lane.
Pritchett then drove down
Julie Lane and found Nolley’s
gray 2013 Dodge Ram pickup
truck parked along the back
side of the home where the
trailer was located. Nolley
said he could not get the
truck to crank. Pritchett then
approached the truck and
saw it had a handwritten
tag on it. Dispatchers then
determined the truck was
reported stolen out of Henry
County. While standing near
the truck, Pritchett heard the
truck’s panic alarm going off,
which Nolley later admitted
he caused himself using the
key to “mess with” the depu
ty. Nolley then told Pritchett
he was a car salesman and
insisted the truck was not
stolen.
Sgt. Chad Beck then arrived
at the scene with his K-9
dog Nelly, who alerted on
the truck. However, upon
searching the truck, no drugs
nor weapons were found.
As Pritchett took Nolley to
the Monroe County Jail, the
case was turned over to Inv.
Lawson Bittick. After trans
porting Nolley to the jail,
Pritchett later found a small
bag of marijuana tucked into
the rear seat of her patrol car.
Commissioners
BY RICHARD
DUMAS
forsyth@mymcr.net
Monroe County
Commissioners on
Tuesday rezoned a 6.36-
acre tract on Old Popes
Ferry Road to from
commercial to indus
trial to accommodate a
30,000-gallon propane
tank.
Donny’s Propane
owner Donny McKinney
requested the rezoning
so he could move his
approve propane storage tank
company’s propane stor
age tank from Hwy. 83
North to 60 Old Popes
Ferry Road, a tract
owned by John Wadley
Jr. McKinney, whose
company’s headquarters
are in Bolingbroke, told
commissioners that he
wanted his tank in a
more central location to
his company’s distribu
tion area. He said the
tank will be located
135 feet from the road.
McKinney added the
location meets all state
and county fire require
ments.
McKinney said, “We
have put in five of these
tanks over the course of
28 years and never have
had an accident of any
kind.”
No one opposed
McKinney’s request.
Commissioners then
unanimously approved
the rezoning.
County water chief requests additional employees
BY RICHARD DUMAS
forsyth@mymcr. net
Monroe County water
department head Bentley Cox
asked commissioners Tuesday
to hire more employees in the
county’s water department.
Cox said two employees
are currently out on medi
cal leave, which has caused
his office to get behind with
just one full-time employee
in the field and one part-time
employee inside the office.
Cox said even at full capac
ity, he only has two full-time
field workers. Cox said the
city water department is half
the size of the county depart
ment, but the city has four
field workers.
“We’re just too large of a
system to continue like that,”
Cox said of the small water
department staff. “We just
cannot get the work done. I’m
getting further and further
behind every day.”
District 2 commissioner Jim
Ham agreed that Cox needs
help and asked Cox to evalu
ate the difference in the cost
of hiring additional employees
versus contracting out county
work to private companies.
Commissioners said they
would take up the matter
again later.
Commissioners to seek rec complex proposals
BY RICHARD DUMAS
forsyth@mymcr. net
Monroe County commissioners
unanimously approved Tuesday to
accept requests for proposal from con
sultants regarding a master plan for
the county’s recreation complex.
Last month, commissioners bought
an additional 114 acres adjacent to
the current recreation park on Hwy.
42 North for $456,000. District 2 com
missioner Jim Ham suggested allow
ing professionals to bring ideas before
the board concerning what types of
recreation projects would best fit the
additional space.
Ham said of commissioners: “We’re
the ones that are going to have to
write the check for all this, and we’re
the ones that are going to take the
blame for all this if something gets
built out there that people don’t
want.”
Commission chairman Mike
Bilderback initially suggested forming
a committee to study the expansion
project, but District 4 commissioner
Jarod Lovett said the city and county
already has a joint committee in place
to evaluate local recreation.
In other Board of Commissioners’
news:
Monroe County commissioners
agreed Tuesday by general consensus
to cancel commissioners’ scheduled
July 5 meeting. Commissioners are
slated to meet again at 9 a.m. on
Tuesday, July 19.
County sets millage hearings for September
BY RICHARD
DUMAS
forsyth@mymcr. net
Monroe County com
missioners unanimously
approved Tuesday set
ting public hearing
dates concerning the
county’s 2016 millage
rate.
Commissioners
approved holding the
first public hearing at
6 p.m. on Thursday,
Sept. 22. A second pub
lic hearing will follow a
week later at 9 a.m. on
Thursday, Sept. 29 with
a third and final public
hearing set to follow
later the same day at 6
p.m. on Thursday, Sept.
29.
The final millage rate
will be decided and
voted upon at the third
public hearing.
Monroe County tax
commissioner Lori
Andrews will then send
the county’s millage rate
to the state by Friday,
Oct. 7, and property tax
bills will then be mailed
out beginning Monday,
Oct. 10.
A tentative millage
rate is slated to be set
by commissioners by
Friday, Sept. 9 to ensure
enough time to run
required advertisements
in the Reporter and to
hold public hearings.
Monroe County finance
director Ashley Wooley
also requested com
missioners finalize the
county’s 2016 budget
prior to establishing a
final millage rate.
In other Board of
Commissioners’ news:
• Monroe County com
missioners unanimously
approved Tuesday reap
pointing Herbert Gantt
to a four-year term on
the county’s Department
of Family and Children’s
Services (DFCS) board.
• Monroe County com
missioners unanimously
approved Tuesday a
proclamation for Ralph
Nix, who is retiring
effective June 30 after
43 years of working for
Middle Georgia govern
mental agencies, includ
ing the Middle Georgia
Regional Commission
(MGRC).
The proclamation
stated that Nix assisted
Monroe County with
projects including:
obtaining grants used to
start the county’s water
system, the development
of the Monroe County
Planning & Zoning
board, establishing
opportunity zones, etc.
District 1 commis
sioner Larry Evans said
of Nix: “He’s helped us
on a lot of projects.”
A retirement party to
honor Nix was held in
Macon on Wednesday.
Commission chairman
Mike Bilderback said of
Nix: “He’s a giving guy. .
. Even in his retirement,
he likes to serve.”
Commissioners deny citizen’s tax refund request
BY RICHARD DUMAS
forsyth@mymcr. net
Monroe County commissioners on
Tuesday denied a tax refund request
by a Pate Road resident.
The matter first came up for dis
cussion at a June 7 meeting when
commissioners asked county attorney
Ben Vaughn to decide whether a tax
refund was merited for Pate Road
resident William Price.
In a letter dated June 16, Vaughn
refused the appeal citing lack of infor
mation presented by Price validating
his claim that a Monroe County tax
office clerk told him the county did
not offer Homestead Exemptions.
Vaughn said Price, who bought his
home in 2004, never applied for
Homestead Exemption prior to this
year.
Vaughn wrote: “There is no record
of an application being denied and no
record of an appeal in such denial.”
Vaughn also pointed out that
although Price had asked for a refund
dating back to 2004, the county was
required by state law only to evalu
ate refund claims made within three
years of a tax payment. Vaughn also
wrote that Price’s tax bills since 2005
have all included a notice inform
ing him of the right to file for a
Homestead Exemption.
“Without proof of an error on the
part of the County in processing Mr.
Price’s application I recommend deny
ing his request for a refund,” Vaughn
wrote.
Commissioners then voted 5-0 to
deny Price’s refund request.
Commissioners name Ham NACo voting delegate
BY RICHARD
DUMAS
forsyth@mymcr.net
Monroe County com
missioners on Tuesday
made District 2 com
missioner Jim Ham
the county’s National
Association of Counties
voting delegate.
NACo’s annual con
ference will be held
from July 22-25 in Los
Angeles. Voting will
take place at 10:30 a.m.
on July 25.
District 3 commission
er John Ambrose said
he opposed Ham attend
ing the annual meeting.
Ambrose said the county
could save money by not
sending a representa
tive.
However, District 1
commissioner Larry
Evans said NACo meet
ings are useful and
added Ham should
attend. Evans was
named the county’s
alternate voting del
egate.
Ambrose then cast the
lone dissenting vote as
the measure passed 4-1.