Newspaper Page Text
June 15, 2022
^Reporter
Monroe County leaders
Page C7
share successes
Forsyth
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
The quarterly “One
Monroe” meeting was held
at Monroe County Confer
ence Center on May 31.
One Monroe meetings were
initiated by the governmen
tal affairs committee of the
Forsyth Monroe County
Chamber of Commerce
to bring representatives of
local governmental groups
together to share news
and facilitate cooperative
projects.
Rebecca Stone, president/
CEO of the Chamber in
troduced Candace Baswell,
the new manager of the
Conference Center. Baswell
said she is a long time Mon
roe County resident and is
happy to be working in her
hometown.
Stone welcomed everyone
and said the Chamber has
been busy as the 2022 Lead
ership Monroe Class winds
up its classes and project.
The Chamber also recently
completed its recognition
of Monroe County Middle
Schools Rising Stars, with
the support of many busi
nesses and individuals.
Forsyth Mayor Eric
Wilson reported that
Forsyth is set to begin a
$1.42 million water line
improvement project int the
Sunset Terrace/Union Hill
and surrounding area with
$1 million of the funding
coming from a Community
Block Development Grant.
Wilson said the city had
worked hard to have 90
percent of the households in
the neighborhoods that will
benefit complete surveys to
establish that the improve
ments will benefit members
of the community in need
as required by the grant.
Wilson said Forsyth has
contracted with Davenport
& Company to assist the
city in refinancing its debt
for city hall and finding
resources to start the $5.7
master plan designed by
TSW landscape architects
for Forsyths six parks. He
said Davenport & Com
pany facilitated refinancing
the $5.1 million debt from
May 2020 for city hall from
5.75 percent interest to 3.49
percent interest on a 20 year
loan. He said it took five
years off the loan and will
save the city money that
can be applied to the park
development.
Wilson said Davenport
found the same rate to fi
nance the parks master plan
that it found to re-finance
the city hall loan. The city
has a $500,000 matching
Land & Water Conserva
tion Grant and will add
$700,000 to it for the first
phase, which will include an
amphitheater, frisbee golf
course, expanded walking
trails and a covered basket
ball courts.
Wilson said the city had
also planned for an expand
ed soccer field, but with the
increasing popularity of
pickleball is now investigat
ing investing in pickleball
courts on the available land
instead.
“We have approved these
measures to save citizens
money” said Wilson.
“We have to invest in the
community for economic
development.
Monroe County Commis
sion chair Greg Tapley said
that over the last six months
many Monroe County resi
dents have begun enjoying
the results of the county s ef
forts to bring good internet
service to the whole county.
He said that he and every
one else from whom he has
heard feedback are very
pleased with the service
they are receiving from
Conexon. Every Central
Georgia EMC customer
in Monroe County should
have access to internet by
the end of June, and every
Southern Rivers Energy
customer should have
access by November. The
county is working to find
a solution for the Georgia
Power customers in the
county; there is an option
for a subdivision to pay for
fiber.
Tapley said that the
county put in $900,000 and
the Monroe County Board
of Education contributed
$360,000 to bring Monroe
County to the top of the list
for getting internet, which
equates to about $90-$100
per location. Tapley said the
county will get back the in
vestment in 2-3 years from
property tax on the equip
ment in the ground.
Tapley said the county
continues to work on get
ting water lines to Juliette.
Although there have been
delays in getting pipe and
costs have increased $4 mil
lion, he expects the project
to be complete by Decem
ber. Tapley said the countys
finances look good and
the county should end the
fiscal year with $7 million in
reserves.
He said the county bought
five fire trucks for $520,000
each, and the same trucks
now cost $609,000. Tapley
said the request for bids
on the new High Falls
Fire Station will soon go
out. Oglethorpe Power is
donating four acres for a
new station on Rumble
Road to replace the Smarr
Fire Station. The county
is considering building a
new training room for the
Sheriff’s Office.
The county got its first
TSPLOST check in May for
a five-year cycle. TSPLOST
was estimated to bring in
$230,000 per month for
the county s portion but
was $480,000 for the first
month.
Superintendent Dr. Mike
Hickman congratulated
Greg Head, Eva Bilderback,
Sherrye Battle and Robert
Jenkins on their election to
the Board of Education and
thanked the community for
supporting Mary Persons’
2022 graduates. He said
about 3,000 people attended
the graduation ceremony
on May 27. Hickman said
there were 245 graduates, a
small class compared to 294
graduates in 2020. There
were 265 students eligible
to graduate in 2022 and,
with one more expected to
graduate during the sum
mer, the graduation rate
will be 94 percent. Hickman
noted that there were 420
students in this years 6th
grade class.
Hickman said Monroe
County students did better
in 17 out of 19 areas on
Georgia Milestone tests.
Both elementary and
middle school students
responded even better than
anticipated to the challenge
to read a million words this
year, with 110 million-word
readers in the elementary
grades and 68 at the middle
school.
Hickman said all extra
curricular activities have
rebounded well after the
covid shutdown. The school
system is busy with facility
improvement projects. It is
ready for construction to
start on new restrooms and
a new concession stand at
the football stadium. Even
tually there will be a new
field house, and Phase 3 will
be new visitor stands.
The school system
is working within state
guidelines to earn matching
funds for expansion of exist
ing buildings as the student
population grows. There
were over 1,050 students
at Monroe County Middle
School this year. Monroe
County Schools will ask
voters for a new ESPLOST
in November.
Development Authority of
Monroe County executive
director Joyce White said
the Development Author
ity is excited that a new
Georgia Drivers Services
and CDL testing office will
be coming to the Monroe
County Industrial Park. She
said there are only 10 other
drivers services offices in
Georgia. White said the of
fice will bring 10-12 jobs but
more importantly will bring
many people from outside
of Monroe County into the
area for its services.
“The plan is to build
a beautiful facility” said
White. “And we hope the
acreage left over will be used
for retail and eateries.”
She said the Development
Authority is getting apprais
als on parcels in the In
dian Springs Business Park,
where the infrastructure is
suitable for businesses but
not heavy industry. She said
the appraisals, which should
be finished by June 21, will
let the Authority put a value
on the parcels and have
them ready to market.
Reporting for the Forsyth
Convention & Visitors
Bureau, Stone said the CVB
has created and assembled
newcomer packets to give
to new residents of Monroe
County. She said the packets
have a lot of helpful infor
mation; they include the
Welcome Home magazine
published by the Reporter
which has contact informa
tion for all the businesses
that are members of the
Chamber of Commerce.
INCIDENTS
Continued from Page 6C
man told her to her vehicle
out of his yard on St. Johns
Road and over the course
of several weeks, she could
not find a dependable
person to help her retrieve
her vehicle and the man
knew of her problem.
She claimed he then
moved the vehicle from
his yard and put it on the
side of the road at St. Johns
Road and Edge Road and
had the car towed to Ron
Fishback’s Towing Service
on Cabiness Road because
he owed them money. She
told Justice he used her car
to clear his debt. Justice
spoke to Monroe County
Magistrate Court to get a
warrant for his arrest.
Hot oven heats up
sister dispute
The sheriff’s office was
called after two sisters
got into a squabble over
a melted bowl on May 25
around 6 p.m. Deputy Cory
Adkins was dispatched to
their home on Garr Road
where one of the sisters told
him she started arguing
with her sibling after she
tried to tell her take items
off the stove before turning
on the oven because they
would melt. She said she
then walked outside to call
her parents and her sister
followed her, still yelling,
and hit her in the face. She
said she then took her took
the ground to stop her
when her sisters boyfriend
grabbed by the arms and
dragged her through the
grass.
The other sister stated
that the arguing started
in the house after she was
accused of melting a bowl.
She said she was going to
her living space and walked
outside towards her shed
when her sister followed
her, the argument became
more heated, and her
boyfriend and her sisters
husband separated them.
No visible marks were ob
served on anyone involved.
DU I arrest on
Brooklyn Avenue
Dispatch sent out a
BOLO on a black 2016
Hyundai Sonata around
10 p.m. on May 25 and the
male driver was arrested
after being stopped by
officer Dexter McCune on
Brooklyn Avenue. McCune
could smell alcohol on the
man and asked if he had
been drinking to which the
man replied, “Yes, I had
two beers”.
He was asked to blow into
the alco sensor which re
corded positive for alcohol,
so McCune handcuffed
him and took him to jail
where he was booked for
DUI. He also had a Smith
& Wesson pistol in his ve
hicle which was placed into
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property. The Sonata was
towed by Traceys Wrecker
Service.
Babysitter arrested for
suspended license after
she left children alone
A Jeffrey Way woman who
left two children she was
watching home alone while
she ran to town to pick up
her boyfriend was arrested
by officer Richard Maddox
for driving on a suspended
license around 8:32 a.m. on
May 26.
Maddox saw her in a
gray Nissan Rogue travel
ing north on Cabaniss
Road and stopped her at
the intersection of Frontage
Road at Milledge Circle after
running her tag number.
She told him she had come
to pick up her boyfriend
and take him to the doctor.
Maddox informed her she
was under arrest, had her
step out of the vehicle, and
handcuffed her.
Once seated in the
backseat of Maddox’s patrol
vehicle, she told him she left
two small children at home
alone. Cpl. Kimberly Barnett
then notified dispatch to
have deputies check on the
welfare of the children.
The woman’s boyfriend
then walked up and told
the officers the woman had
come to pick him up to take
him to the doctor. He was
asked if he needed an ambu
lance, but he said it was not
an emergency, just a regular
doctor’s appointment. He
said he had a valid license,
and he could take posses
sion of vehicle.
Deputies responded to
the Jeffery Way home and
found the children, ages
7 and 9, unattended, but
the boyfriend soon arrived
to take custody of them.
Maddox spoke with the
children’s mother who told
him she was on the way
to pick them up. Barnett
and Maddox met with her
when she arrived.
Man arrested after mak
ing terroristic threats
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