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MONROE COUNTY
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Around Monroe County ► ► Forsyth • Juliette • High Falls • Bolingbroke • Culloden • Smarr
Locals spread Christmas cheer
By Steve Reece
stevereece@gmail.com
Members of a prayer group
and their friends and families
met at the Ingles parking lot
Christmas Eve morning to
deliver 500 Christmas presents
and 250 Chick-fil-A sandwiches
to children and their families
at the Forsyth Gardens Apart
ments, the Starr Mobile Home
Park, Village Oaks Apartments,
KOA Campground, and other
locations around Forsyth.
Wes Cone, owner of the re
cently opened Peach Car Wash
on North Fee Street, started
driving around neighborhoods
passing out presents five years
ago along with anyone else who
wanted to help and give back
to the community He said the
first year he only took two or
three people with him and it has
grown over the years. He has
never posted anything on the
social networks about his tradi
tion, wanting to keep it low-key,
with only people that were
close to him knowing about it.
But now, so many of his close
friends are wanting to contrib
ute it’s worthy of a news story.
This year, there were so many
people, they left the parking
lot split into two groups, with
Monroe County deputies and
Forsyth Police officers taking
the lead to separate locations.
Forsyth Police officer Jerry
(Raff) Rafferzeder led one group
to the Starr Mobile Home Park
on Patrol Road where he pulled
in with a blast on his siren
and blue lights flashing which
soon attracted the attention of
the trailer park residents. The
convoy parked in the middle of
the street and opened trunks
and tailgates revealing boxes of
presents. In less than a minute,
mommies, daddies, and kiddies
were making their way down
the street and lining up.
Christmas greetings and hugs
were all around as children
were given their choices of gifts
and everyone was smiling and
laughing. Packages and sand
wiches were taken to some of
the older folks standing on their
porches wondering what the
ruckus was.
Rafferzeder, who joined the
force in October, said for him
giving back to the community is
what police work is all about. He
said maybe some young child
will remember that a police
man was nice to him one day
and that all law enforcement is
not bad. He also recently helped
with the Shop with a Cop pro
gram with Chief Eddie Harris
and said he would absolutely
volunteer again. Cone said be
wants to keep the tradition go
ing so he’s sure to get the chance.
Matt Pippin, owner of Great
Outdoor Turf Care, and a first-
year volunteer passing out pres
ents with the prayer group said
the 8-member group, all close
friends, come from different
churches around the city meet
ing in each other’s homes twice
a month. Matt’s wife, Jennifer,
and their two children were
also there, helping put smiles on
children’s faces.
The owner of the Chic-fil-A on
Zebulon Road, Craig Craddock,
helped the group with the sand
wiches, giving them a good deal
and having tbem ready on time.
Dennis Kent, store manager of
the Forsyth Walmart helped
with some of the presents as well
as the volunteers who helped
pass them out.
They had so many presents
that they took what they had
left over to the Monroe County
home of the or
eircaiN sand 1
Above, Wes Cone delivers gifts.
Below right, Lamarcus Davis as
Santa Claus shares gifts with a
youngster. (Photos/Steve Reece)
Clubhouse where Commission
er FaMarcus Davis was there
with his community outreach
group, Mad Men Making a
Difference, passing out toys and
food to a large crowd of children
with their families while a saxo
phone player was jamming on
Christmas music just outside. A
raffle was also held at the event
while Davis’ family was in the
kitchen passing out the burgers
and baked beans.
YEAR IN REVIEW: Growth continued in’21
The Mary Persons Cheer team won its first state title in 2021.
REVIEW
Continued from page 1A
January
Coach Carey dies
Mary Persons mourns the
loss of its longest-serving
teacher and coach, David
Carey, who died of compli
cations from COVID-19
on Jan. 18. Carey, 69, died
at Navicent after nearly a
month in the hospital. A
Macon resident, he had been
at MP for 25 years teaching
social studies and coaching
track, basketball and football.
BOE votes 4-3
to require masks
Monroe County Board
of Education by a narrow
margin of 4-3 votes on Jan.
19 to require all high school
and middle school students
to wear masks whenever
they are not separated from
classmates and school staff
by at least six feet. The only
exception is when eat
ing meals at school or in
distanced activities, such as
outside the buildings. New
board member Dr. Jeremy
Goodwin, attending his first
board meeting, made the
motion to mandate masks.
In August, the BOE majority
imposed a mask mandate
again but is forced to lift it
after parents protest.
Marcy Sanders
dies in auto accident
Fong-time former Mary
Persons teacher Marcy Sand
ers died in an auto accident
on Bowman Road in Macon
on Jan. 25. Sanders, 53, had
apparently just left work
at Ambitions Health Club,
formerly Kinetix, located at
5430 Bowman Road, when
the wreck happened around
9 p.m., Macon-Bibb coroner
Feon Jones told the Reporter.
Sanders was heading south
on Bowman Road toward
Wesleyan Drive when she
crossed the centerline and
left the road. Her Nissan
overturned in the woods and
she was pronounced dead of
blunt force trauma injuries.
Thee mother of three grown
daughters, Sanders was in
charge of vocational educa
tion at Mary Persons for
many years. She had also
coached the MP volleyball
team for many years and
helped coach the MP softball
team too.
Fugitive turns Forsyth
upside down
The Virginia fugitive
who turned Forsyth upside
down and put schools on
lockdown for four hours on
Jan. 20 had recently been
released from his second
stint in prison for attempted
wounding and breaking and
entering, after a prior prison
term for attempted murder.
“He ought to be in prison,”
said sheriff Brad Freeman.
“It’s crazy’
Thankfully, after a fruitless
4-hour search, authorities
learned that Gregory Jones,
38, had left Forsyth in a
stolen car long ago and he
was finally captured in South
Carolina later in the day.
MP, UGA's Malik Herring
suffers setback
Former Mary Persons and
UGA standout Malik Her
ring suffers a setback in his
quest to play in the NFF last
week when he tore his ACE
while preparing for the Jan.
30 Senior Bowl.
City delays Festival
Forsyth city council votes
unanimously on Jan. 27 to
reverse its decision to host
the Forsythia Festival at its
normal time on March 13-
14 due to a surge in COVID
cases. Council later decides
to allow the Festival in May.
February
Cody Maples county's
Most Romantic Man
Cody Maples of Forsyth is
named the Most Romantic
Man in Monroe County. He
was nominated by his wife
Sarah Schaaff Maples. Sara’s
first husband was killed in a
military plane crash. Sarah
said that Maples has lovingly
cared for her and her chil
dren, tearfully making vows
both to her and them.
Ronnie Daniel is
Citizen of the Year
Ronnie Daniel, owner of
the Forsyth Dairy Queen,
was named Monroe
County’s 2020 Citizen of
the Year on Friday by the
Reporter and the Forsyth-
Monroe County Chamber of
Commerce.
MP Cheer wins state title
The Mary Persons com
petitive cheer squad cap
tured the school’s first state
championship in 17 years
last Tuesday by scoring just
.5 better than defending state
champ Pierce County at the
Macon Coliseum.
Starbucks coming
to Forsyth
Forsyth’s city council learns
that the city will be getting
two long-time wishes filled
See REVIEW Page C6
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