Newspaper Page Text
Page 6C
December 29, 2021
^Reporter
YEAR IN REVIEW
at once. Plans for both a new
Starbucks and for the demo
lition of the dilapidated old
Anns Deli building by 1-75
were approved by the city’s
Planning & Zoning Com
mission/Design & Review
Board on Feb. 22.
Chamber names
Stone as CEO
The Forsyth-Monroe
Chamber of Commerce
promotes Rebecca Stone as
its new CEO/President.
March
NIP students charged
Two Mary Persons stu
dents are charged on March
2 with felony terroristic
threats for saying they want
ed 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 teacher, a Mary Persons
science teacher, if they had
a gun.
County adding bath
rooms for attendants
Monroe County commis
sioners are taking action to
ensure that all “dumps” at
their 13 recycling centers are
orderly and scheduled.
Monroe County commis
sioners are adding port-a-
potties to four of their 13
convenience centers after a
story in last weeks Reporter
raised the problem of some
attendants not making it to
the bathroom in time.
County mulls future
without Scherer
With one unit of Plant
Scherer scheduled to close
next year and many power
companies replacing coal
plants with cheaper natural
gas ones, Monroe County
commissioners are begin
ning to think the unthink
able: how would they stay
solvent if something hap
pens to the county’s biggest
taxpayer.
The Reporter examines
how Putnam County
survived the closure of Plant
Branch near Eatonton.
Teen struck on bike
A 15-year-old High Falls
boy had to be Lifeflighted to
Atrium Health Navicent on
March 8 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 paying atten
tion and drove into Boxankle
Road, said Lt. Jeff Thomp
son. A Macon woman,
Latonya Hicks, in her 40s,
of Macon, saw Kimbell on
his bike and honked her
hom and braked but it was
too late. Kimbell landed on
the car’s windshield, shatter
ing the glass, before being
thrown almost 90 feet and
landing in the road.
April
Grits being sold
The Reporter leams that
Forsyth’s most upscale res
taurant 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.
Wrong-way woman with
kids gets DUI
A McDonough woman
faces DUI charges after dep
uties 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 mother sure
wasn’t,” said Freeman.
Scholarship created
for late NIP wrestler
The family of a Mary Per
sons wrestler who died un
expectedly last year creates a
scholarship in his memory.
Buddy and Virginia
Edmunds announce at the
annual MP wrestling ban
quet on March 24 that they
are creating the Mat Dog
Heart Legacy with a $1,000
scholarship in memory of
their great nephew, Kam-
ron Ward. Ward was the
Edmunds’ great nephew and
they were raising him. Ward
died in May 2020. Senior
Cole Padgett was the first
recipient of the scholarship.
Forsyth man gets life in
prison for murder
Raymond Chambliss of
Forsyth won’t be eligible for
parole until he’s 96 years old
after a Monroe County jury
found him guilty on March
24 of killing his girlfriend
Tonia Herring in 2018.
Judge Tommy Wilson sen
tenced Chambliss, 66, to life
in prison with parole. Under
Georgia law that means he
won’t be eligible for release
for 30 years when Chambliss
would be 96. Jurors didn’t
buy the argument from
Chambliss’ attorney Dwayne
Singleton that Chambliss
accidentally discharged his
gun while he was trying to
pistol whip Herring in his
driveway the night of Aug.
3,2018.
Deputies called to dis
pute over pet lizard
Monroe County deputies
had to be called after a High
Falls man and his ex-girl-
friend were fighting over a
pet lizard he had given to her
mother on March 29.
Fugitive gets 45 years in
prison
A Wyoming man who
turned Monroe County
upside down as a fugitive
over six days in January 2019
was sentenced to 45 years
in prison without parole on
March 30.
Richard Fountaine, 31,
will be in prison until he’s 76
years old after Judge Tommy
Wilson handed down his
sentence on Tuesday.
“You break into people’s
houses,” said sheriff Brad
Freeman, “that’s what you
, w
get.
Authority replaces CEO
The Development
Authority of Monroe
County on April 6 parted
ways with its president, Bo
Gregory, after five years on
the job.
Later in the year the very
well-connected Joyce White
is named Gregory’s replace
ment.
County businesses face
labor shortage
Monroe County busi
nesses, especially restaurants,
are struggling to stay staffed,
leading to slower service and
even closed dining rooms at
some of them.
“I don’t think anybody’s
looking for work,” said Eric
Thomas, owner of Jonah’s on
Johnston. Thomas said he
would like to hire at least five
more people as his business
has grown, but said he just
can’t find people who want
to work.
Lucio Castillo, owner of
Sol Tacos and Tequila on the
Forsyth square, is having the
same problem.
“It’s really bad,” said Cas
tillo. There are scores of help
wanted ads each week in the
Reporter. Monroe County’s
unemployment rate in
February was 3.6 percent,
lower than the statewide 4.4
percent.
County threatens
two tax increases
Four times since 2012,
Monroe County voters have
rejected ballot measures to
raise the local sales tax from
7 to 8 percent for more road
funds. Monroe County com
missioners decided on April
6 to ask again on Nov. 2.
Commissioners announce
they will raise property
taxes by 1.5 mills in August
with the extra funds being
dedicated to resurfacing
roads. Commissioners said
if voters pass the T-SPLOST
in November, that tax hike
will be rolled back next year.
But commissioner George
Emami later opposes the
property tax increase, and
all commissioners wind
up agreeing with him. The
sales tax increase passed in
November.
Forsyth girl
struck by truck
Monroe County is rallying
to support a 6-year-old girl
who is at Egleston Children’s
Hospital in Atlanta after be
ing struck by a pickup truck
on April 11.
Ella Layne Morgan was
riding on her bicycle near
the entrance to her family’s
neighborhood, Bellewood,
on Bunn Road when she was
struck by a vehicle around
7:45 p.m. She was knocked
about 15 feet and landed in
the grass, while her bike was
demolished. The young
est daughter of Nick and
Amy Morgan, she makes an
astounding recovery.
Female jailer hurt
during inmate outburst
A female jailer was hurt
but was able to fight off a
Monroe County Jail inmate
and with another female
j ailer put him back into his
cell during an outburst on
April 19.
Monroe County jailer
Hannah Hile had to go the
emergency room at Monroe
County Hospital on April
19 after being attacked by
inmate Kendrick Dumas.
Dan Pitts passes
Legendary Mary Persons
football coach Dan Pitts
is laid to rest next to his
late wife at Forsyth City
Cemetery, within shout
ing distance of the practice
field where he shaped and
molded generations of Mon
roe County boys into men.
Pitts died at home early
April 20 at the age of 88. Pitts
had retired in 1997 after
coaching the Bulldogs for
39 years, from 1959 to 1997,
compiling a record of346-
109-4. Pitts led the Bulldogs
to 15 region titles and their
only state championship in
1980.
Woman wrecks after
snake attacks
A Union City woman
wrecked on April 25 after a
5-foot corn snake slithered
out of her steering column as
she drove north on Hwy. 87
in Monroe County.
Margaret Wilkerson, 27,
of Union City was driving
her 2003 Toyota Prius north
on Hwy. 87 near Pea Ridge
Road when a 5-foot snake
emerged from her steering
column. The sheriff’s office
said Wilkerson was so ter
rified she climbed into her
back seat while her car was
still moving. The Prius went
off the road and wrecked
into a ditch.
Monroe County deputy
John Cochran reportedly
removed the snake from
the vehicle and put it in the
woods.
City OKs new
neighborhood
The city of Forsyth may
grow by about 600 people
as a local developer won
approval in April for a Hwy.
41 subdivision of almost 250
homes. Castleview Develop
ment Partners plan a large
subdivision on Highway 41
South, bordered by Thorn
ton Road and Newton Road.
NIP mom wants son
back in school
A Forsyth single mother
says she’s at her wit’s end
after her honor student was
booted from classes at Mary
Persons and then turned
over for truancy in a frustrat
ing battle with red tape,
COVID rules and heavy-
handed school officials.
“I just want my son
back in school,” said Monroe
County mother Jamie Dan
iel. “Superintendent Mike
Hickman has used his power
to ruin my son’s education.”
Daniel’s son is later allowed
to re-enroll.
Forsyth twins
wanted for murder
Two Forsyth twins are
wanted for shooting and
killing a Macon man at the
Circle K on Zebulon Road in
the early morning hours of
April 29.
Bibb County deputies have
taken murder warrants for
Divine Taylor and Divinity
Taylor, both 19, for the mur
der of 23-year-old Brandon
Washington. They are later
captured.
Nelle Joseph is
Mother of the Year
The Reporter has named
“Mama Nelle” Joseph of
Forsyth as Monroe County’s
Mother of the Year in its an
nual contest on May 5. She
was nominated by her son
and daughter in law, Jason
and Missy Joseph of Forsyth.
Deputies rescue missing
man who fell fishing
Monroe County deputies
helped rescue a 72-year-old
Thomaston man who fell
while fishing and was stuck
in a Hwy. 74 pond for 10
hours April 27.
Angela Brice of Thomas
ton told Thomaston police
last Tuesday afternoon that
her fiancee, Danny Rogers,
was supposed to pick her
up from work but had not
shown up. She said he had
dropped her off at work at
5:30 a.m. that morning but
failed to return to pick her
up that evening and she
couldn’t reach him.
Cpl. Tyler Rodgers and
Grace Tenny were dis
patched to the area around
7:40 p.m.. At first they
couldn’t find the vehicle but
then searched at the back of
the property and found it
empty next to a pond. They
then found Rogers sitting
in the water, conscious and
alert. He told them he was
fishing and fell and could not
get up.
May
Pipeline hack leaves
gas shortage
Monroe County gas
stations and drivers are
See REVIEW Page C7
CHURCH CALENDAR
Email church calendar news to Diane Glidewell at news' B1 mymcr.net by Monday
at 10 a.m. Church information is published free of charge as space permits.
Remember when...
1991
Its business as usual on
Christmas Day
While most Monroe Coun-
tians enjoy family dinners
and play with Christmas
toys on Dec. 25, it will be
just another day of some
essential services and busi
nesses.
Generally, Christmas Day is
a quiet one for the Monroe
County Sheriff’s Office, said
Lieutenant Chip Dunn. "It
should be normal," he said.
"Most people stay at home."
Usually, Dunn said, officers
with families trade Christ
mas Day with officers who
do not. "Those who want
to be off can usually find
someone to swap."
Officers working Christmas
Day are given holiday pay;
it is one of four County
holidays.
2001
Sheriff s Office budget is
trimmed
The Board of Commission
ers took one final look at
the 2002 budget at the last
2001 meeting held on Dec.
18. Still $229,093 in the
red, the Board needed to
further trim items requested
for the upcoming year to
balances the 2002 budget.
District 2 Commissioner Jim
Ham proposed cutting the
overtime budget request5ed
by the Monroe County
Sheriffs Office and taking
another $1000,000 from
the county’s contingency
fund to make expected
revenues squeare with ex
pected expenditures for next
year. Hams motion passed
with approval votes from
Commissioner Larry Evans
and Chairman J. Ben Spear.
2011
Teenager training to fight
fires as a career
Forsyth Fire Departments
youngest employee got his
first actual fire rescue expe
rience on Dec. 14.
Mary Persons senior Hunter
McClendon has interned
within the city fire depart
ment since August as part
of the school’s workbased
learning program.
When McClendon turned
18 years old last week, he
was alllowed to go through
real fire training for the first
time at the Georgia Public
Safety Training Center
(GPSTC).
McClendon went into a
Conex shipping box, which
is used specifically for
fire training. The box was
supposed to simulate a one-
room fire.
New Year's Eve
service at Powerhouse
Start 2022 off right by
putting Christ first. Plan
now to attend New Year’s
Eve Service at Powerhouse
Apostolic Church of Prom
ise, 3659 Brownlee Road,
Forsyth, at 10 p.m. You could
choose no better place to
be than in the house of the
Lord when 2021 goes out
and 2022 comes in. Elder
Kimberly Taylor serves as
the Pastor. FACE MASKS
ARE REQUIRED."
Tuesdays
DivorceCare
meeting
DivorceCare ministry will
begin meeting weekly on
Tuesdays from 6-8 p.m. at
the Forsyth United Method
ist Church library, 68 West
Johnston Street. DivorceCare
is where caring people help
with healing from the pain of
separation or divorce. The
program will continue for 13
weeks. For more information,
visit divorcecare@forsythumc.
Remember When
This look at what Monroe County residents were reading in the
Reporter 30, 20 and 10 years ago this week is brought to you by...
Monroe County
Memorial Chapel
We set the standards
that others follow 1
Harley Ray "Spanky" Beck
86 West Main Street • Forsyth
478-994-4266