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www.MyMCR.net • Vol. 50 • No. 10 4 Sections, 24 Pages • Wednesday • March 10,2021
INSIDE ► ►►
Get ready
for spring
with Vein
Specialists
of the South
PAGE 2A
Hubbard
principal
retiring
PAGE 4B
WELCOME
TO THE FAMILY
Lisa Bingaman
Arthur Gavin
Vulcan Materials
Randall McMillan
Bobbie Daniel
Deane Comer
Lee Willingham
BJ & Aleia Bloodworth
Julia Yawn
NEW SUBSCRIBERS
OF THE WEEK
DEATHS m6A
Janie Rutland
Jimmy Watts
Johnny Caslin, Jr.
Mather Mitchell, Sr.
Randall Matthews
Shaki ra Walker
6 OfifiOS “1341b
6
'0 4879 16264
3
MONROE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
High Falls teen Lifeflighted
after being struck by car
By Will Davis
publisher@mymcr.net
A 15-year-old High
Falls boy had to be
Lifeflighted to Atrium
Health Navicent after he
was struck on his bike
in front of his Boxankle
Road home on Monday.
Michael Kimbell, 15,
had driven his bike down
his driveway to check the
mail when he wasn’t pay
ing attention and drove
into Boxankle Road, said
Lt. Jeff Thompson. A
Macon woman, Latonya
Hicks, in her 40s, of Ma
con, was heading south
on Boxankle Road in
her Honda Accord. She
saw Kimbell on his bike
and honked her horn
and braked but it was too late. Kimbell
landed on the cars windshield, shat
tering the glass, before being thrown
almost 90 feet and landing in the road.
Kimbell suffered a severe arm injury
and was taken by Lifeflight helicopter
to Atrium Health Navicent, as the
Macon hospital is now called. Monroe
County deputy Peyton Henderson said
Kimbell was doing fine and was to un
dergo surgery on his arm on Tuesday.
He told his mom he should’ve been
paying better attention, said Hender
son. However Hicks had a suspended
license and was taken to the Monroe
County Jail. She was also cited for not
wearing a seat belt. She was not injured,
said Henderson. The investigation is
ongoing.
TOP LEFT: The cracked windshield on the Honda Accord shows where
the teenager first landed after he was struck on Boxankle Road, which
bears the skid marks of the vehicle. LEFT: The Lifeflight helicopter picks
up Michael Kimbell to take him to the hospital. FAR LEFT: Hicks was
charged. ABOVE: Kimbell’s bike after the wreck.
City decides
Forsythia’s
fate Monday
Forsyth would normally be
welcoming thousands of visitors at
its event of the year this weekend.
Instead the community will have to
wait until Monday to see whether
city council will even allow a down
town Forsythia Festival this year.
On Jan. 4, counciJ had approved
closing city streets for the Forsythia
Festival on March 13-14. It appeared
the Festival would go forward one
year after it was abruptly cancelled
in 2020 due to COVID fears. But
then in late January, council reversed
course, rescinding the decision to
allow the streets to be closed. Coun
cil told the Festival’s sponsor, the
Forsyth-Monroe County Chamber
of Commerce, to return in a few
months to see if it could be held later
in the spring. That meeting is set for
6 p.m. Monday at Alderman Hall.
As vaccinations have increased
and cases have come down, cham
ber CEO Rebecca Stone said she’s
optimistic about Monday’s council
decision.
“I’m feeling positive about it,” said
Forsythia is in bloom on the courthouse square but the Festival
is not, at least not yet.
Stone,
noting
that she’s
talked to
several
council-
men
ready to
approve. However councilman John
Howard posted on Facebooklast
week that nothing has changed his
mind to allow the festival, indicating
he’s a “no” vote. He and council
man Julius Stroud said they wanted
more information about how many
people have been vaccinated.
But other councilmen have report
edly committed to vote “yes”.
“We just want to let council know
we would very much like to pro
ceed,” Stone told the Reporter. “We
honored the wishes of the council to
postpone and now were looking at
dates in May’
Stone said she’ll share the cham
ber’s plan to have booths spaced
apart and sanitizer stations to help
limit germs.
Asked if the festival could attract
good vendors despite the late date,
Stone didn’t hesitate.
“I know I can round up the ven
dors if they’ll approve,” said Stone. “I
get calls daily from vendors eager to
proceed.”
Stone said she feels there’s support
from the council and definitely from
the community to have the Forsyth
ia Festival. Macon is already moving
forward with outdoor activities in its
Cherry Blossom Festival this week
(see ads on page A7 and C2). Stone
said there is a concern that if council
cancels it again, it may be hard to
bring back.
“We feel if we cancel for two years
in a row” said Stone, “well lose our
momentum and part of that tradi
tion going on for 35 years now:’
Students
charged
in threat
to shoot
teacher
LASSOR
Two Mary Persons students were
charged last Tuesday with felony
terroristic threats
for saying they
wanted to shoot
their teacher.
Alexia Lasser,
17, of Boxankle
Road and Caleb
Cooper, 17, of
Faith Court, were
arrested and
charged last week.
Warrants for
their arrests said
the teenagers both
wrote in an email
conversation that
they wanted to
shoot their teach
er, Natalie Sumner, a Mary Persons
science teacher, if they had a gun.
The teens were released from the
Monroe County Jail on bond.
COOPER
MONROE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
What a relief: County OKs potties after story
The countys first new port-a-potty for convenience center atten
dants has been installed at Shi Road. (Photo/Cassie Davis)
Monroe County commissioners are
adding port-a-potties to four of their
13 convenience centers after a story in
last week’s Reporter raised the problem
of some attendants not making it to the
bathroom in time.
Monroe County manager Jim Hedges
said the county will have port-a-potties
at the convenience centers at Cabaniss,
Shi, Smarr and Brent for attendants
so they don’t have to try to make it
to nearby fire stations anymore. The
potties have already been installed at
Cabaniss and Shi, while the Smarr and
Brent potties will be set up shortly. The
cost is $105 per month per potty which
includes weekly servicing, said Hedges.
District 2 commissioner Eddie Row
land said the county had enough funds
to do it after canceling their contract
with their garbage hauler in order to
handle it in house. One of the conve
nience center attendants complained
that he knows at least two co workers
who have had accidents because they
couldn’t make it to the adjacent fire
station in time. Told about the concern,
commissioners agreed they should have
potties available for those centers where
the fire station is more distant from the
dumping area. Most of the attendants
are retirees.
