Newspaper Page Text
December 29, 2021
^Reporter
Page 7C
YEAR IN REVIEW
scrambling to deal with a
gas shortage caused by a
computer hack of Colonial
Pipeline, a company based in
Alpharetta that delivers fuel
to much of the southeastern
U.S.
It started on Tuesday eve
ning when long lines formed
at the Forsyth Ingles gas
station as people waited pa
tiently to fill up with the only
fuel grade that was available:
premium.
BOE drops mask
mandate, for now
Monroe County schools
dropped their mask re
quirement for grades 6-12
immediately on May 11 by a
5-2 vote.
Superintendent Mike
Hickman recommended the
change, saying he spent a lot
of time looking at COVID
data and feels with cases go
ing down it’s time.
Hickman suggested the
schools still highly recom
mend masking. But board
member Greg Head sug
gested changing that simply
to recommend, saying it’s
best to leave it to personal
choice.
Board members Dr.
Jeremy Goodwin and Nolen
Howard voted against drop
ping the mask requirement.
Goodwin said the CDC
still recommends masking
indoors and with only two
weeks left in school he’d like
to stay that way.
But Head countered that
the CDC issues guidelines,
not law, and hinted at recent
news that the CDC let the
teacher unions dictate policy.
“I wouldn’t put a lot of
emphasis on the CDC,” said
Head. Hickman said he’s
had COVID and knows it’s
serious, but feels like it’s time
to lower some of the restric
tions.
Pot charge after FBI raids
Forsyth home
A Forsyth man was
charged with growing pot af
ter the FBI raided his home
in the Chapman Subdivision
around May 7. About 15-20
FBI agents blocked traffic in
front of 54 Newton Street for
hours as they toted evidence
from the home. Later, Mon
roe County deputies arrested
and charged Josh Smith with
felony manufacturing of
marijuana. Sheriff Brad Free
man said the FBI found the
marijuana in their search,
but said that local charge
may be the least of Smith’s
problems.
Reached by phone, Josh
Smith told the Reporter
he’s not certain why the FBI
raided his home but Smith,
an apparent gun enthusiast,
said it was not gun-related.
Motorcyclist dies in
High Falls wreck
A McDonough motorcy
clist died in High Falls on
May 17 after striking a truck
and being thrown more
than 100 feet through the air
while fleeing from Monroe
County deputies on Monday.
Damion Tyrell Hamilton,
25, of McDonough was on
his 2011 Yamaha motorcycle
when he drew the interest
of deputy Anthony Thomp
son. Thompson had just
completed a traffic stop near
Johnstonville Road on 1-75
north when he was passed
by Hamilton’s motorcycle
doing 83 mph. Thompson
fell back behind the bike to
check its tag, which was not
fully visible. But when Ham
ilton saw the deputy behind
him, he began to speed up
and crashed into dumpster
next to the Sunoco and died.
Albany fugitive wrecks
on Forsyth square
An Albany man faces
drugs and weapons charges
after leading state troopers
and Monroe County depu
ties on a chase that ended in
a crash just off the court
house square on May 14.
Forsyths iconic Grits Cafe was sold in April.
Forsyth fraud with
PPP payments?
Details of700 Forsyth
businesses that got forgivable
loans totaling $24 million
under the Paycheck Protec
tion Program (PPP) last
year during the COVID
shutdown are raising ques
tions about whether all the
money went to legitimate
businesses.
While most recipients
appear to be actual Forsyth
businesses that needed
payroll help during the na
tionwide shutdown, others
seem suspect. For instance,
20 of those 700 businesses
are apparently run by former
state inmates who used 300
Patrol Road, the Tift College
home of the Department of
Corrections, as their home
address. And one $20,000
loan went to a Union Hill
Drive taxi business that
doesn’t appear to exist.
Deputy demoted
after dog dies
A Monroe County deputy
faces disciplinary action after
hisK-9 “Khan” died when
he was accidentally left in a
pen in a hot patrol car.
Deputy Willie Bark
ley worked overnight on
Thursday, May 13, includ
ing staying at the schools
until the school resource
officer arrived for work on
Friday morning, said sheriff
Brad Freeman. Here’s what
happened next according
to Freeman: Barkley went
home, completed a few
reports in his car and then
headed inside to get some
sleep. “Khan”, a four-year-
old Belgian Malinois, was
asleep in his pen in the back.
Barkley usually put him in a
pen in his yard, but was tired
and had forgotten he was
there. After sleeping, Barkley
returned to the car later on
Friday afternoon and found
“Khan” had died from ap
parent overheating.
Man found dead
at Lake Juliette
Monroe County deputies
closed the popular Dames
Ferry campground and boat
ramp on Lake Juliette on
the Memorial Day weekend
after a park ranger found a
California man dead in his
car.
State park ranger Steve
Togue noticed a 2017 Honda
Civic parked up the hill from
the boat ramp. When he
checked the car he found a
dead body inside and called
the sheriff’s office on May
28. Cpl. Thomas Haskins
responded and identified
the man as Rou Gu Li, 30,
of Brisbane, Calif., near San
Francisco. He found the
body in the driver’s seat with
the door open with a large
pool blood inside the vehicle
and on the ground. Thomas
determined the man had
been dead for an extended
amount of time and saw
that he had a large cut on his
left arm. Two knives, both
with blood on them, were
found inside the car. There
were several bottles of open
wine inside the vehicle along
with three red stained spills,
which appeared to be vomit.
Wife reports husband
DUI on train tracks
A Macon man got a DUI
after his wife called 911 to
report her husband was
drunk, had been at Wagers
bar and had gotten his truck
stuck on the railroad tracks
in Bolingbroke in the early
morning hours of May 30.
Christopher Jason Yates,
43, of Macon, was charged
with DUI after Monroe
County deputies found him
stuck on the tracks at Klopfer
Road around 6 a.m. on May
30.
June
It takes a village
Roger and Cheryl Bennett
of Juliette discovered a fam
ily’s worst nightmare in May.
Their home for the past 36
years at 5328 Juliette Road
had quietly been eaten up by
termites. The entire home
had to be demolished. What
would they do? Where
would they live?
But their pastor, the Rev.
Matt Bishop, told their
friends at Maynard Baptist
Church about the situation
the next Sunday. That’s when
the Bennetts found out they
were not alone. Church
friends have helped them
pack up, demolish the home
and then build a new home
with a lot of donations.
Starr is Father of the Year
Brandon Starr of Forsyth
has been named Monroe
County’s 2021 Father of the
Year. He was nominated by
his wife Jessica Starr.
County to buy High Falls
restaurant for fire station
Monroe County com
missioners reach a deal to
buy the former Falls View
Restaurant property for a
new High Falls fire station.
Commissioners bought 2.3
acres where the Falls View
Restaurant has long operat
ed, for years by the family of
superior court judge Tommy
Wilson. The property at 42
Towaliga River Drive was
owned by Arthur and Ricci
Linn Este.
Forsyth man survives
tumble on mower
A Forsyth man broke
his leg on Junel 1 when fell
down a steep bank into a
creek while cutting grass at
Simple Air Solutions on his
zero turn. Larry King, 64,
of Forsyth was cutting grass
around 10:30 a.m. Friday
morning when the accident
happened. Simple Air owner
Fred Simpson said King cuts
the grass for him regularly.
On Friday Simpson saw him
on his zero turn headed to
ward a steep bank that spills
into a creek.
Monroe County boy
Lifeflighted after TikTok
video goes bad
A 14-year-old Monroe
County boy suffered second-
degree burns to his face and
eyes and had to be Life-
flighted to a hospital on June
18 after reportedly trying to
create a video for the popular
social media app TikTok.
Monroe County EMS
deputy chief Jason Lott
said the boy apparently was
lighting a fire with rubbing
alcohol trying to replicate
a video challenge he had
seen on TikTok. He suffered
second degree burns to his
eyes and face.
Forsyth man gets
25 years for rape
A Forsyth man will spend
the next 25 years in prison
after he was found guilty on
June 24 for raping a mother
at Forsyth Garden apart
ments in 2016.
A Monroe County jury
of six men and six women
took about 3 hours to find
Decorious Davis, 25, of
Forsyth, guilty of both rape
and burglary. Judge Bill Fears
sentenced him to 25 years.
Facilitator: City, county
too far apart
A facilitator told Forsyth
and Monroe County officials
after a 7-hour conclave
aimed at bringing them
together on June 25 that
she didn’t think they should
bother with continued dis
cussions because they were
too far apart.
Facilitator Mary Beth
Brownlee of the Associated
of County Commissioners
of Georgia (ACCG) told the
gathering of Forsyth and
Monroe County officials that
she didn’t think they should
continue because they were
too far apart to do so.
“We’ve had some good
conversations, but y’all are all
over the map,” said Brown
lee. “You’re close but not
ready. You are real apart on
growth.”
The meeting was punctu
ated by Monroe County
commission chairman Greg
Tapley twice blasting this
newspaper, which wasn’t
part of the discussions but
was the only media covering
the meeting.
City fireman saves kitty
in beer van
Forsyth fireman Hunter
McLendon holds a baby
kitty firefighters pulled
from inside the frame of a
Miller Lite beer van in the
Tractor Supply parking lot
on June 29. Fireman Kevin
Bunn said the driver heard
noises in his truck and called
for help. City and county
firefighters worked together,
pulling the air filter box and
plastic fender wheel off the
truck and jacking up the
front end to gain access to
the kitten.
July
A Forsyth business owner
died of COVID over the
July 4 weekend
Jim Cody, owner of Inter
ceptor Public Safety Prod
ucts at 1110 Indian Springs
Drive, has died at Coliseum
Hospital in Macon.
Cody started Interceptor in
1994 in Milner. He wound
up partnering with Mac
Brown of Forsyth and they
moved the business here in
2005.
Cody’s stepson Josh Huff
told the Reporter he took
Cody to the Coliseum emer
gency room. He said the
doctor ordered Cody some
Ivermectin. But Huff said
that the chief medical direc
tor at Coliseum “slapped the
doctor’s hand” and refused
to allow it.
Forsyth man gets 15
years for molestation
A 19-year-old Monroe
County man was sentenced
to 15 years in prison on
Wednesday, June 30 for
molesting a female relative
when she was 4.
Justin Hewett was found
guilty of child molestation
and sexual battery by a
Monroe County jury after
about two hours of delibera
tion. He was found not guilty
of a more severe charge of
aggravated sexual battery.
Judge Tommy Wilson
sentenced him to 15 years in
prison and 5 years probation.
District attorney Jonathan
Adams had offered him 5
years in prison before going
to trial but Hewett and his
public defender Alex Knox
turned it down.
Teen killer sets fire in jail
An 18-year-old Monroe
County Jail inmate awaiting
trial for raping and killing
his aunt at her Forsyth home
in 2019 is now also charged
with arson for starting a fire
in his cell on Friday, July 9.
Dante Kriegerwas charged
with first degree arson after
jailers found he had used
a lighter to start a fire with
some toilet paper while
in solitary confinement.
Krieger has been in the
Monroe County Jail for two
years since he was charged
with killing his aunt, Tryeflue
O’Neal, 42, at her Tingle
Road home on July 14,2019.
County buys Falls View
restaurant for fire house
and community room
Monroe County on July
13 bought the Falls View
Restaurant in High Falls to
make room for a new High
Falls fire station and com
munity center.
The county reportedly paid
$347,000 for the 2.3-acre
tract at 42 Towaliga River
Drive. A fire station will
be added to the restaurant
which will be converted to
barracks and a community
room.
Miracle on Hwy. 18
The top of the southbound
exit ramp at Hwy. 18 was
more than just an accident
scene on Saturday afternoon,
July 17, it was the site of a
miracle.
According to the Georgia
State Patrol, Brandon Lee
McLenden, 30, of Lee King
Road, had the brakes go
out on his 1997 GMC as he
towed a bobcat up the 1-75
exit ramp at Hwy. 18 on
Saturday. That forced him to
make a hard right turn to try
to stop, flipping McLenden
and his 9-year-old son, Cruz
Newton, upside down as
the giant truck and bobcat
crashed to the road around
4:01.
Cruz, a rising 4th grader
at T.G. Scott Elementary,
was able to crawl from the
passenger side window
without even a scratch while
McLenden received only
minor cuts and bruises to his
right arm. Both were taken
to the hospital in the same
ambulance.
Fletcher back as home
grown veterinarian
Dr. Anna Fletcher is the
newest addition to the
medical team at Caldwell
Veterinary Hospital in
Forsyth, but she is far
from a new face in Monroe
County. Anna grew up
Monroe County, graduated
from Mary Persons in 2012
and has deep family roots in
the community.
CPR saves drowned
Forsyth baby
A Forsyth family is
celebrating a miracle after
family members used CPR
to bring their little girl back
to life after she fell into the
pool and stopped breathing
on July 24.
Nikki and Sean Bartram
of 120 Indian Springs Drive
hosted a birthday party with
family and friends for their
7-year-old when the accident
happened. Nikki Bartram
posted on Facebookthat one
of their five children, Palmer,
had fallen into the pool. Bar-
tam said her husband Sean
Bartram saw her in the deep
end, dove in and grabbed her
and the family began CPR.
Palmer started vomiting and
spitting up and would make
a full recovery.
Sims is Teacher of Year
Brandy Sims of Hubbard
Elementary School is named
Monroe County Schools’
2021 Teacher of the Year on
July 27.
The other school level
2021 Teachers of the Year are
Tammy Martin of T.G. Scott
Elementary, Ashley Evans
of K.B. Sutton Elementary,
Adair Woodward of Monroe
County Middle School and
LaShasta Johnson of Mary
Persons. Volume Chevrolet
presents Sims with the keys
to a brand-new Chevrolet
Tahoe to drive for the next
year and add an all-expenses
paid vacation to King &
Prince Resort at St. Simons
Island.
Boom Town: County
sets record with 66 new
homes in July
Home building is so hot
in Monroe County that the
county set another monthly
record in July, permitting 66
new homes, and shattering
the previous record of 54 set
in March.
“It doesn’t seem to be
slowing down,” said Emily
Parks of the Monroe County
Building Department.
August
COVID cases
surging again
Monroe and surrounding
counties climbed back to the
Substantial (most at risk) cat
egory for COVID-19 as of its
Monday, July 26 report with
125 cases/100,000 people.
Mask mandate back on
for city facilities
Forsyth re-institutes its
mask requirement in city
buildings at its Aug. 3 coun
cil meeting. City manager
Janice Hall said she has the
authority to require masks
as given to her by the city’s
resolution on May 17, which
says the city will follow CDC
guidelines.
Wrecks claims
Forsyth man
Speed was likely a factor
when a Forsyth man died
on Aug. 5 after flipping his
car and striking a tree on
Lassiter Road around 6 p.m.,
according to the sheriff’s
office.
Thomas Blessitt, 30, of For
syth was dead on the scene
after wrecking his Hyundai
Sonata near the 900 block of
Lassiter Road.
'Trip of a lifetime'
Former Mary Persons
player and coach Rodney
Walker of Forsyth called it
the “trip of a lifetime” after
returning from Canton,
Ohio on Monday where he
saw his former player Calvin
Johnson inducted into the
See REVIEW Page C7