Newspaper Page Text
Page 5C
^Reporter
February 16, 2022
Ambrose to seek re-election in District 3
By Will Davis
publisher@mymcr.net
Monroe County com
missioner John Ambrose
announced on Tuesday he’s
running for a third term this
year.
Ambrose, 73, a railroad
retiree, represents District 3
which spans the southeast
ern edge of the county from
Juliette to Bolingbroke.
Ambrose said he’s proud
that he’s accomplished what
he promised in hiring a
county manager, delivering
county water to Juliette and
high-speed internet county
wide.
“I’ve accomplished ev
erything I ran to do,” said
Ambrose. “I would like to
serve one more term and
then get out.”
Ambrose said he’s also
proud that he succeeded in
requiring commissioners to
approve all water and road
projects as a board rather
than lone commissioners
doing them without input.
Ambrose said he’s also proud
to be the only commissioner
who doesn’t take advantage
of the county’s generous
health insurance benefit.
Ambrose said since com
missioners are part-time he
doesn’t think they should be
able to get county health in
surance since other part-time
employees are not eligible.
Ambrose said he’s also
proud that after cutting back
the hours of the recycling
centers on Saturdays, he used
the savings to raise the pay of
the attendants.
Ambrose said he knows he
needs a zipper on his lips, but
said at least everyone knows
what he thinks.
Qualifying for this year’s
local election is set for March
7-11. Two county commis
sion seats are up, Ambrose’s
and George Emami’s District
4. Emami has said he will
not run again. Four Monroe
County BOE seats are up,
currently held by Greg Head,
Nolen Howard, Eva Bilder-
back and JP Evans.
,
East Point man wrecked, arrested
after 1-75 chase up to 115 mph
By Steve Reece
stevereece@gmail.com
An East Point man was ar
rested after fleeing Monroe County
deputies at 115 mph in a chase that
ended with a PIT maneuver just
south of Rumble Road on Feb. 7
around 1:29 p.m. According to the
incident report, Sgt. Luther Wil
liams was traveling south on 1-75
when he spotted a darkly tinted
2016 Jeep Compass with two pas
sengers and initiated a stop. The
Jeep slowed down and merged to
the right should as if to stop but
after a few seconds of driving in
the right-hand lane, the driver,
Tramon Alsharik Hill, 28, began to
accelerate and flee at speeds up to
115 mph. Williams continued to
pursue the jeep which was merging
in and out of traffic without signal
ing, driving in the emergency lane
and traveling very close to other
vehicles.
Deputies Shania Hawkins and Jeff
Thompson joined the pursuit and
Williams radioed them to perform
a PIT maneuver and the Jeep took
the Rumble Road exit then reen
tered the interstate without stop
ping at the stop sign.
Thompson then came upon an
open area with no cars around him
a mile south of Rumble Road and
performed a PIT maneuver. The
Jeep was stopped and Hill jumped
out but was quickly taken into
custody by Williams. He was cited
for obscured tag, window tint viola
tion, seatbelt violation, driver to
exercise due care, driving in forbid
den area, reckless driving, speeding,
tire requirements, fleeing, failure to
signal, failure to stop at stop sign,
and driving without a license then
jailed. The two passengers were
taken to the Monroe County Jail to
wait for their mother to pick them
up.
Forsyth woman charged
with pointing gun at teen
A Forsyth woman has been charged with pointing a gun at a
teenager in her neighborhood in a fit of road rage.
According to the report, Monroe County deputy Tyler Rodg
ers was sent to 108 Cedar Terrace Lane on
Feb. 5 around 2:55 p.m. and spoke with
Dawson Niblett, 17. Niblett said he and
his girlfriend were in his truck at Cedar
Ridge Court and Red Cedar Court. He
said he turned onto Cedar Court but was
pulling a trailer and driving slowly and a
silver Toyota Camry was speeding down
Red Cedar Court and nearly hit them in
the rear.
He said the car started riding his bumper
and blowing the horn and when he turned
left onto Hwy. 83 and looked back at the car, he could hear
Daresia Lachelle Lamar, 31, yell,” I’ma f***ing shoot you.” He
said Lamar then reached between the seats and pointed a black
object out the window towards him which he was 90 percent
sure was a gun. Niblett’s girlfriend agreed with everything he
said. Niblett’s family told Joyner they believed the driver of the
car lived at 75 Red Cedar Court, that they have never had any
fights with her and that she usually keeps to herself.
Suddenly a silver Toyota Camry drove by and after confirma
tion that it was the same car, Rodgers made a stop on Lamar.
She told him she was driving down Red Cedar Court when the
pickup ran the stop sign and nearly hit her vehicle. She said she
had her daughter in her car at the time and could hear some
one in the truck laughing after the incident.
Lamar admitted she started yelling out of her window, calling
Niblett a, “Stupid mother f”*er.” She added she then shot the
couple a bird and later drove around looking for him and was
going to ask him what was so funny. She said she never pulled
out a gun during the incident but said she did have one in her
car. A black dock handgun was found in her center console.
After speaking with the magistrate court judge the deputy
handcuffed her and took her to the Monroe County Jail where
he sought warrants on her for terroristic threats.
Ga. insurance commissioner campaigns in Forsyth
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcmet
John King is Georgia’s
Commissioner of Insurance
& Safety Fire. He has held the
statewide office since July 1,
2019 and is seeking reelection
this year to a full four-year
term. He came to the Georgia
Public Safety Training Center
on Feb. 15 to swear in new
deputy fire marshals from
across the state and stopped
by the Reporter to talk about
the responsibilities of his
office and what he would like
to accomplish during another
term.
The Insurance Commis
sioner’s office is charged with
consumer protection and
regulation of insurance in
the state. The commissioner’s
position is elected in 11
states, including Georgia, and
appointed in 39 states. King
was appointed commissioner
by Gov. Brian Kemp after
the elected office holder was
removed from office because
of a criminal indictment.
When appointed, King was
the City of Doraville police
chief, a position he had held
since 2002. He began work
ing with the Doraville police
department in 1993 as a
detective after having worked
for the Atlanta Police Depart
ment since 1985.
King is a Major General
in the U.S. Army National
Guard. He served in the
Georgia Army National
Guard from 1982-January
2018 and was a former com
mander of the 48th Infantry
Brigade Combat Team, giving
him ties to Monroe County
where the 148th Battalion
was based. He served with
Stuart Rodeheaver when he
was commander of the 148th.
At that time a number of the
soldiers in the unit were from
the local area.
“Some great soldiers from
the community served with
me,” said King. “I am very
Georgia Insurance Commis
sioner John King swore in
new deputy fire marshals
at the Public Safety Train
ing Center last week and
stopped by the Reporter to
talk about his campaign.
fond of the community’
He has also spent time at the
Georgia Public Safety Train
ing Center as both a student
and an instructor. King, who
is a native of Mexico, taught
survival Spanish for law
enforcement officers at the
Training Center.
He said he is spending time
talking to media around the
state because he wants to
improve communication
and increase awareness about
what the Insurance and Safety
Fire Office does.
“I don’t want to meet
someone for the first time at a
major disaster^’ he said.
He said in the area of fire
safety his office fills in gaps for
local agencies, like assisting
in arson investigations with
resources that local offices
don’t need day-to-day, such as
arson dogs. It educates inspec
tors in areas such as elevators
and other specialized building
inspection.
King said he is especially
proud of the safety education
his office is doing at schools
and in communities. The of
fice is currently sponsoring a
contest for students to submit
artwork for the annual fire
safety calendar.
The insurance commis
sioner’s office regulates all in
surance in Georgia, including
health, life, auto, home, etc. If
a product doesn’t comply with
state standards, it can’t be sold
in Georgia. He said his office
has recovered $17.6 million
for consumers. King said he
has spent the past two-and-a-
half years repairing relation
ships across the state and
would like to continue the
work for another four years.
One challenge his office has
faced is with auto insurance
rates. With covid restrictions,
people drove less, but the
number and severity of ac
cidents increased. The cost of
repairs also increased. People
buy the minimum auto
insurance product required
and then are shocked when
their insurance doesn’t cover
repairs. King is an advocate
of local insurance agents who
build relationships with their
customers and educate them
about what they are buying.
“I want people to be inter
ested in coming to work in
the insurance industry. It’s
very needed,” he said. “In the
past everybody knew their
local agent. I want to drive the
market to have local connec
tions.”
Accompanying King to
Forsyth was Russell Sewell,
consumer & community
liaison for the insurance com
missioner’s office. Sewell
regularly travels the state to
help develop relationships
and educate.
“We help people navigate
the very complex world of
insurance,” said Sewell.
He pointed to the office’s
website for consumer services
resources: www.oci.ga.gov.
The motto of the office is
“Protect. Enforce. Educate.
Inform.”
King said he feels the insur
ance commissioner’s office
is now doing the job it is
supposed to do because he is
“surrounded by talented peo
ple passionate about serving.”
He said he loves a challenge
and was fascinated by all that
he learned when he entered
this new realm after 31 years
in law enforcement.
“At the end of the day, it’s
about serving,” he said. “I
enjoy traveling across Georgia
and making our case that we
have an agency responsive to
people’s needs.”
NATO
GROWING
STRONGER
TOGETHER
MACON REGIONAL^
CRIMESTOPPER! M
Most Wanted in Monroe County
The Monroe County Sheriffs Office is looking for the following suspects through the Macon Regional
Crimestoppers. If you have information on their whereabouts please call Crimestoppers at 478-752-8355.
Preston
Gaines
Age 62, b/m, 5’ 7
@160 lbs.
wanted by
Monroe County
Sheriff’s Office for
Aggravated
Assault and
Obstruction of
Law Enforcement
Officer. Also
wanted out of
Tampa Florida for
Parole Violation,
and Burglary.
Also wanted out
of Henry County
S.0. for St. Ct.
VOP. - DUI,
Alcohol.
Austin L
Gaddy
Age 24, w/m,5’9
@ 180 lbs.
wanted by
Monroe County
Sheriff’s Office
for Bench
Warrant -
Possession of
Cocaine. Also
wanted by Jones
County Sheriffs
Office for Sup.
Ct. VOP - Poss.
Cocaine.
Danny C.
Pryor
Age 35, w/m,5’8
@ 220 lbs.
wanted by
Monroe County
Sheriff’s Office
for Failure to
Appear - Battery
FA/. Also wanted
by Spaulding
County Sheriffs
Office for Failure
to Appear State
Court - Driving
Motor Vehicle
with Expired
License.
Issic, E.
Parks
Age 28, b/m, 5’5
@ 175 lbs.
wanted by
Monroe County
Sheriff’s Office
for Felony
Transaction Card
Fraud, 2 counts
Misdemeanor
Financial Trans.
Card Fraud.
Rickey
Garey
Age 43, w/m, 5’8
@ 190 lbs.
wanted by
Monroe County
Sheriff’s Office
for Dangerous
Drugs Act,
Fleeing/Eluding
Officer. Also
wanted out of
Tampa, Fla. for
Parole Violation.
Jimmy L.
Jones
Age 50, b/m, 5’ 8
@ 190 lbs.
wanted by
Monroe County
Sheriff’s Office
for Failure to
Register as Sex
Offender, Agg.
Child Molestation
& Battery,
Statutory Rape.