Newspaper Page Text
THIS WEEK’S INSIDE DEALS ►►► cvs • ingles . save . smartsource . sears
www.MyMCR.net • Vol. 50 • No. 11 4 Sections, 24 Pages • Wednesday • March 17,2021
INSIDE ► ►►
County
rejects mask
mandate for
employees
PAGE 6C
Your child's
rec team in
this week's
Reporter
PAGE 4C
WELCOME
TO THE FAMILY
Jere Baxter
David & Connie Turner
Christina Bramlett
Bryan Ryals
Betty Pennington
Dan & Cathy Pittman
Sabrina Davis
Rob Brenner
NEW SUBSCRIBERS
OF THE WEEK
DEATHS m6A
Margaret Thomas
Melissa Singleton
Carrie Lamar
Nuke Ogletree
Cyrus Dumas
6 06605 “1341b
6
'0 4879 16264
3
DUI for wrong-way 1-75 driver
with kids in head-on collision
‘God must have been looking after the kids, because the mother sure wasn’t.’ - Sheriff Brad Freeman
By Will Davis
publisher@mymcnnet
A McDonough woman faces
DUI charges after deputies say
she wrecked into a tractor trailer
while traveling the wrong way
on 1-75 south with three children
in the car in the early morning
hours of Sunday, March 14.
Sheriff Brad Freeman said it
could have been much worse.
“God must have been looking
after the kids, because the moth
er sure wasn’t,” said Freeman.
Monroe County 911 first got
calls about a north-bound driver
spotted on 1-75 south near the
weight station around 1:30 a.m.
The 2017 black KIA made it
about three miles, said Monroe
County Lt. Ricky Davis, until col
liding with a southbound tractor
trailer just north of Johnstonville
Road.
Deputies said they smelled
alcohol on the driver, Brianna
Frost, 25, of McDonough, and
that she failed a field sobriety test
and refused a blood test. She had
minor injuries and was taken
by Monroe County EMS to the
hospital as a precaution.
Frost also had a passenger and
three children in the car. Depu
ties said one of the children was
improperly restrained. Warrants
have been issued against Frost
for DUI, improper child restraint
and driving the wrong way, said
Davis, adding that she has not
turned herself in for booking yet.
This black
KIA ap
pears to
be totalled
from a
head-on
collision on
1-75 early
Sunday
morning.
The KIA
driver was
charged
with DUI.
(Photo
courtesy
Watts Tow
ing and
Recovery)
Forsyths most upscale restaurant for the past
22 years will soon have its first new owner in its
history. Macon restauranteur Richie Jones has a
contract to buy Grits Cafe from founder Wayne
Wetendorf in mid-April.
Jones already owns some of Macons finest restau
rants. He’s the sole owner of The Downtown Grill
and a co-owner of Piedmont Brewery Kitchen and
Circa. He’ll now add what has long been Forsyth’s
marquee restaurant, Grits Cafe, to his portfolio.
“We’re excited about being part of the commu
nity’ Jones told the Reporter. Jones said he would
say more about his plans after the deal closes in
April. Word of the pending purchase came from
a Forsyth city council meeting on Monday where
council was alerted that Jones and Grits had ap
plied for an alcohol license as a new owner. The
vote will come April 5.
Wayne and Teri Wetendorf opened Grits on the
courthouse square in the former home of The Left
Banque in 1999. A Canadian by birth, Wetendorf
had never even tried grits until he moved to Dallas,
Texas early in his career and learned to cook with
southwestern flair. He brought those abilities to
Grits and made it a hit, attracting not just Monroe
Countians but travelers driving 1-75 to and from
their homes in Florida from the snowy Northeast
and Midwest. A devastating fire in 2012 destroyed
much of the restaurant, but they rebuilt it and re
opened in February 2013. The restaurant has con
tinued to attract big crowds, but COVID has been
tough on the eatery. Grits has closed for weeks at
a time due to COVID issues and also personnel
problems. Many local restaurants have suffered
staffing shortages in recent months.
Hello (again) Yellow!
City OKs Forsythio Moy 22-23
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcnnet
The Forsythia Festival is now set for Saturday and
Sunday, May 22-23, a few days before Mary Persons
seniors graduate on May 28 and a week before the
Memorial Day weekend. On Monday night Forsyth
council voted, 4-2, to approve closing N. Jackson
Street and streets around the courthouse square in
order to allow the festival in May. Council members
Julius Stroud and John Howard cast the dissenting
votes.
On Jan. 27, council members voted 5-0 against the
street closures citing the rising numbers of coro-
navirus. Council member Melvin Lawrence wasn’t
present for that vote. None of the council members
who changed position explained the change in the
meeting.
Lorsyth-Monroe County Chamber of Commerce
president Rebecca Stone told council the Chamber
will provide bleach and water solution to vendors
for cleaning and will have hand sanitizer stations at
See FORSYTHIA . Page 6A
Murder
trial
slated
to begin
Monday
By Will Davis
publ isher&mymcmet
A Lorsyth man is scheduled to
go on trial
on Monday
for killing
his girlfriend
nearly three
years ago, the
first jury trial
in more than a
year in Monroe
County.
Jury selection
is slated to be
gin on Monday,
March 22 for
the murder trial
ofRaymond
Chambliss, 66.
Chambliss is ac
cused of killing
his girlfriend,
Tonia Herring,
at his 107 Jones
Court home on
Aug. 3,2018.
District at
torney Jonathan CHAMBLISS
Adams said he
expects Chambliss’ attorney Dwayne
Singleton of Griffin to argue that his
client acted in self-defense.
“It’s not a whodunit,” said Adams.
“It’s a matter of, did he exercise a
right to self defense.”
It will be the first jury trial in a
year in Monroe County due to the
COVID shutdown. Harold Melton,
chief justice of the Georgia Supreme
Court, finally cleared the way for jury
trials last week. Adams said partici
pants will be required to wear masks
and socially distance, including the
jurors who’ll have to spread out.
Jurors will hear evidence that
officers Kimberly Barnett and Ter
rance Thomas of the Lorsyth Police
Department went to 107 Jones Court
just after midnight on Aug. 3,2018
after a 911 call and found Tonia
Renee Herring, 49, bleeding and un-
See MURDER • Page 5A
HERRING