Newspaper Page Text
Page 2A
June 13, 2018
^Reporter
County allots SPLOST funds for internet
By Richard Dumas
forsyth™ my mcr.net
Monroe County Com
missioners edged closer to
determining a project list
for the next countywide
penny Special Purpose
Local Option Sales Tax
(SPLOST) after a nearly
two-hour called meeting
on May 23.
Monroe County voters
are slated to vote on the
SPLOST s approval dur
ing November’s general
election with the six-year
SPLOST to begin taking
effect in January 2020.
Commissioners project just
over $19 million in county
proceeds from the next
SPLOST.
The most notable
SPLOST decision at the
May 23 meeting was the
tentative approval of al
locating $1.5 million to en
hance internet in Monroe
County. The $1.5 million
could be used either to in-
centivize private companies
to invest in internet im
provements in the county
or for the county to provide
its own internet fiber to
be leased out to a private
company. Commissioners
were severely split on the
decision to include inter
net enhancements in the
next SPLOST with District
4 commissioner George
Emami championing the
cause with support from
District 3 commissioner
John Ambrose. Both com
mission chairman Greg
Tapley and District 1 com
missioner Larry Evans were
each adamantly opposed
to the measure. Therefore,
District 2 commissioner
Eddie Rowland reluctantly
settled the tie, saying he felt
the county needed to take
some kind of action on im
proving internet while the
opportunity for funding
was there.
Addressing commis
sioners via speaker phone,
the newest commissioner
Emami, who is chairman
of the county’s internet
enhancement committee,
gave a 20-minute-long
speech urging commis
sioners to support putting
money in the SPLOST for
internet improvements.
Emami said the move
would be “unconventional”
but could significantly aid
county citizens.
“You cant just study a
phenomenon in the mo
ment,” Emami said. “We
should be looking forward
on everything were bud
geting and allocating for
in terms of what is trend
ing? What is momentum
taking us toward? And in
my mind if you just sit back
and Esten to some of the
things that are happening
right now nationally and
understand that statisti
cally and in almost every
way imaginable right now,
Monroe County is behind
the times when it comes to
internet.”
Tapley finally stopped
Emami in mid speech
and asked him what he
proposed commissioners
do about it. Emami said
he thinks the best choice
would be to incentivize
financially internet provid
ers to invest in areas that
currently are without inter
net access. Monroe County
attorney Ben Vaughn said
the county would have to
own the infrastructure en
hancements, which could
make it necessary to lease
fiber or lines to a private
investor.
Tapley said he was op
posed, saying he didn’t
think all county taxpayers
should be made to pay for
internet needs that only
affect some portions of the
county. Despite Tapley’s
objections, commissioners
agreed to fund $1.5 million
for internet infrastructure.
Commissioners also
agreed on May 23 to al
locate $1.7 million toward
improvements to the
county’s criminal justice
facilities. Interim Monroe
County District Attorney
Elizabeth Bobbitt urged
commissioners to con
sider building a new justice
building to house the DAs
office and public defender’s
office under one roof as
well as provide additional
courtroom space. Bob
bitt said the DAs office
has already outgrown its
existing office space in
Monroe County Hospital’s
neighboring Medical Office
Building.
Tapley, who recently pro
posed teaming up with the
City of Forsyth on a joint
judicial building and city
hall, said Forsyth council
members were reluctant
to pursue that measure
because the city was too
far along in its quest for a
new city hall. Tapley said
without a detailed build
ing plan he was opposed
to the county spending a
substantial chunk of its
next SPLOST on a new ju
dicial building and instead
proposed finding a cheaper
alternative. Evans then sug
gested the City of Forsyth
annex from the county the
land where the Monroe
County Justice Center sits
on L. Cary Bittick Drive
so that the courtroom in
the current facility could
then be used for all types
of cases. Per state law, the
Justice Center courtroom
cannot currently be used
for jury trials because it
is outside the city Emits.
Monroe County attorney
Ben Vaughn said he thinks
the Monroe County Justice
Center is a tract included
in an annexation plan the
city is currently working on
with the Middle Georgia
Regional Commission.
Emami then proposed
enclosing the atrium of the
current county administra
tion offices to add more
judicial offices, which Tap-
ley said he thought was “an
amazing idea.” Bobbitt said
she wasn’t sure there would
be adequate room for a
courtroom in the existing
administration budding
but said it would be an
excellent space for judicial
offenses. No final decision
was made on May 22 as to
the ultimate location of the
new judicial office space.
At the request of De
velopment Authority of
Monroe County president
Bo Gregory, commission
ers also allocated $2 miUion
for economic development,
which could include the
purchase of additional land
if needed.
Among the other
SPLOST allocations, com
missioners also agreed
to designate $500,000 for
recreation, $2.6 milEon
for fire/EMS and $200,000
for the county convention
center.
Orlando concert-goers endure rough stay in Forsyth
By Will Davis
publisher@mymcr.net
A group of four Orlando
friends may want to avoid
Monroe County on their
next road trip.
Quintin Acevedo, 21,
and Kenneth Payette, 20,
had their 2002 Ford Escape
impounded after they were
both charged with pos
session of cocaine follow
ing an 1-75 traffic stop on
Wednesday. Here’s what
happened, according to the
report: Monroe County
Cpl. Jake Justice pulled over
Acevedo, the driver, around
10:10 a.m. on June 6 at mile
marker 194 because Acev
edo was travehng under the
speed Emit of 70 mph and
refusing to let others pass.
Payette, who owned the ve
hicle, was acting nervously
and his hand was shaking,
but both men denied there
were any Elegal substances
in the vehicle. Justice ex
plained to them that hon
esty goes a long way and
Forsyth police Sgt. David Asbell combs the scene where an Orlando man plowed into the LaQuinta Inn sign on Thursday.
The vehicle had been impounded for drugs the day before. (Special to the Reporter)
asked them to tell the truth
before he searched the
vehicle. Payette then took
a breath and sighed and
asked if he could show Jus
tice something. He puUed a
container from behind the
driver’s seat in which Jus
tice found cocaine. Justice
then found another small
bag of cocaine in Acevedo’s
wallet. In addition to their
cocaine charges, Acevedo
was also cited for impeding
the flow of traffic as well
and Tracy Buff of Tracy’s
Towing towed the vehicle
to his impound lot.
Then, after bonding out
of jail and getting their
Ford Escape back from
Tracy’s on Thursday morn
ing, a third friend, Anthony
Gonzalez, 20, or Orlando,
plowed the Escape into the
sign at the LaQuinta Inn in
Forsyth. So Buff was sum
moned to the scene to tow
the car again.
Gonzalez told Forsyth
police officer Kianda
Pritchett that he was driv
ing along Lee Street Exten
sion when he noticed his
turn had come up and tried
to make a left turn before
the intersection and col
lided with the sign.
The Orlando group was
on their way to the Bonna-
roo Music and Arts Festival
in Manchester, Tenn. As
of Tuesday, they had not
picked up their vehicle
from Tracy’s Towing, which
had made the vehicle driv-
able again at their request.
WE
Join us June 18-22, 2018
(Mon-Fri) from 6:15pm-9pm each night
All children ages 2 years old
through completed 5th grade
are invited to join us for an awesome week!
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Storm floods fish into Forsyth fielc
The Reporter continues to learn about more damage from the violent storms that swept through
the county the night of Sunday, June 3. Carol Holtzclaw reports that the storm ripped the carport
off her mothers home while toppling a silo and caving in a barn roof on the adjacent farm at 768
Parks Road in western Monroe County. The storm also downed dozens of large oak and pecan
trees. Holtzclaw said the cows were so scared that they're still huddled in the woods more than a
week later. Meanwhile the rain
swelled a creek on the prop
erty, flooding their bottom land
and leaving giant puddles
with carp on them. Holtzclaws
son Kurt caught one of them
with a net (right) and returned
it to the creek. (Special to the
Reporter)
4
Bv
REP.
^ROBERT DICKEY
W * f 8 th Annual
PEACHES AND POLITICS
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DiCKEY FARMS PACKINGHOUSE
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:
Happy Father’s Day to the
"Casket Man”
Love Your Family,
Lillian, Bernard, Janene, Alex & Taylor