Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A
iReporter
November 30, 2016
Cole: Taking Mercer
athletics to the next level
Mercer athletic direc
tor Jim Cole spoke to the
Forsyth-Monroe County
Kiwanis Club on Oct. 25
about the challenges of
building upon Mercer’s
rapid rise of the past six
years.
Cole, a Forsyth resi
dent, said they’ve enjoyed
a lot of success in his six
years as AD. That suc
cess includes building a
football program and sta
dium from scratch, beat
ing Duke in the NCAA
basketball tourney, and
fielding the best player
in college baseball, center
fielder Kyle Lewis, who
got a $4.8 million bonus
to sign with the Phillies.
Cole said they’re also
excited about playing
Auburn and Alabama in
football next year, which
will net about $2 million
to help Mercer pay for its
new baseball stadium.
He said they’ve also seen
more athletes achiev
ing Phi Beta Kappa and
the university has seen
enrollment and tuition
rising.
Cole said the question
now becomes: What do
we do to top that? “We
had a lot of goals and
we reached them all,”
said Cole. “When the dog
catches the car, what’s
next?” Cole acknowl
edged Mercer’s next
successes probably won’t
be as sexy as the initial
ones. But he said they’re
eager to continue grow
ing and need Monroe
County’s help getting the
word out that Mercer
Mercer athletic director Jim Cole of Forsyth, right, shown
with Kiwanian Paul Jossey after speaking to the club.
is a Division 1 athletic
program that competes
at the highest level.
Cole said he’s proud of
how Mary Persons did
in the first Corky Kell
Classic held at Mercer
this August, noting the
only hitch was the heavy
traffic coming to the
game off 1-75. He noted
that Mercer has two good
Monroe County athletes
making waves right
now, Keke Calloway
with the girls basketball
team and Austin Cox
with the baseball team.
Cole said Calloway, the
Freshman of the Year in
the Southern Conference
last year, along with
star Kahlia Lawrence,
will make the Mercer
girls very competitive
this year. And he said
‘Zombie’ murder trial
moved to Monroe Co.
BY WALTER GEIGER
news@barnesville.com
The trial of a
Bamesville man who
allegedly shot an acquain
tance while on drugs has
been moved to Monroe
County.
Judge Tommy Wilson
agreed Oct. 17 to move
the trial of 25-year-old
Joshua James Cox. The
trial is tentatively set to
begin Jan. 23, 2017.
Cox is charged with
malice murder, felony
murder and two counts
of possession of a firearm
during the commission
of a felony in connection
with the shooting death of
Donald Terrell Clark on
July 14, 2015.
Clark was found dead of
multiple gunshot wounds
in the driveway of his
home at 939 Chappell
Mill Road in Lamar
County.
According to court tes
timony, Cox told inves
tigators he and Clark
had taken acid and were
smoking marijuana when
Clark turned into a zom
bie and Cox shot him.
After the shooting, Cox
allegedly went to his
parents’ home in Butts
County where a physical
altercation ensued and
he was arrested. He was
in the Butts County jail
when charged with the
Clark murder.
Cox is represented by
public defender Douglas
Smith.
Accused
murderer
Josh Cox,
left, will be
tried in Mon
roe County.
Middle is
public de
fender Doug
Smith, with
outgoing DA
Richard Mi
lam at right.
El SALVADOR MISSION fUNDEABEB
PICTURES
JOIN US FOB BREAKFAST WITH SANTA
|decem 73 £
= at 9am-ll:30am M
VV]cirv«ie County Glul^OHse
5P. West QEJambefts St. *
§■
+
Visit the Gift Shop for Christmas decor, gifts, goodies, and more!
Open during Breakfast with Santa, until 1:00pm, at the Clubhouse.
pretty good what we’ve
got,” said Cole. Cole was
hosted by Kiwanian Paul
Jossey.
Flip Your Home Insurance.
Daniel Stickler
100 N. Bennett St., Ste. 3
(478) 994-2994
dstickler@alfains.com
www.alfains.com/danielstickler
Call Alfa
Auin Horn* II ■
The best agents in the business.
Cox was very talented
too. “You could see a
day where he’d play
in the pros,” said Cole,
who played professional
baseball after graduating
from Mercer.
A former state lawmak
er, Cole was asked his
prediction of the presi
dential election at the
October meeting. He said
that polls aren’t picking
up the enthusiasm for
Trump, which could put
him over the top. Cole
said his job keeps him
away from home a lot but
he said the more he trav
els, the more he wants
Forsyth and Monroe
County to stay just the
way they are. “Don’t get
in a hurry to change
because when you get
far from here, it looks
Bones in an abandoned well pull a
police recruit into dangerous waters
as she unravels the murder of an
African-American teenager in Mobile, AL
0X0
Lynn Hesse
Award Winning Author
is coming to Forsyth,
Monday, December 5, 2016
Lynn will speak on the development of characters,
plot and setting of her novels. She will read selec
tions from her current novel, Well of Rage
and her upcoming novel, Another Kind of Hero
which is set in Forsyth and Barnesville.
Time: 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Place: Monroe County Clubhouse
52 W. Chambers St • Forsyth
(Behind Monroe County Library)
Music by “Doc” Bob Fountain
Light Refreshments
@S0lD(^ cDoQoli Dm GDo© PtnnB
25th Annual
Christmas Parade
Saturday, December 3 rd at 3:00 pm
Beautiful Downtown Bolingbroke
Pre-Parade Festivities begin at 2:00 pm
Snacks & Cake Walk • Bring Your Lawn Chair
S boutbroke Grand Finale: Visit Santa and Mrs. Claus in Santa’s Workshop
Community club p or m0 re information or an application, Call Vicki Smith at (478) 474-7320