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www.MyMCR.net • Vol. 51 • No. 25
■ 4 Sections, 24 Pages • Wednesday «June 22,2022 • $2.00
INSIDE ► >>
Morrow is
new MR
hoops coach
SEE PAGE 2C
Mitchell Knopf, 27, of Covington, faces DUI and drug charges after flipping his car on Hwy. 87 last Thursday. (Photo courtesy
Jonathan Pless)
Zach Dunlap
unveils his
Eagle project
SEE PAGE IB
WELCOME
TO THE FAMILY
Renita Pittman
Joe Appling
NEW SUBSCRIBERS
OF THE WEEK
DEATHS m6A
Bernice McGaha
DUI and drug charges after
man flips vehicle on Hwy. 87
By Park Davis
davispark34@gmail.com
An allegedly drunk Covington
man was jailed after
he swerved off Hwy.
87 to avoid a head-on
collision, overturning
his car into a ditch.
Here’s what happened
according to the report:
Around noon on
Thursday, June 16,
Monroe County deputy
Joshua Warren was
dispatched to a car upside down
in a ditch on Hwy. 87. Warren
found the driver, Mitchell Knoph,
29, of Covington, standing outside
the vehicle. Cynthia Stamatis of
Gray said that Knoph grabbed
the wheel and swerved off the
road and into a tree after almost
colliding head-on with her.
Knoph, who was
barefoot and shirtless,
said he was on his way
home to Covington
from Tybee Island.
He could not keep
control of himself, and
looked to be under
the influence of drugs
or alcohol, being very
erratic and fidgety. When
questioned, Knoph wouldn’t
focus, and he kept asking to get
his phone out of the car, which
was upside down, in a ditch.
Many items were thrown out
of the vehicle due to the wreck,
including a half-empty bottle of
Smirnoff Vodka.
Knoph was arrested for DUI-
refusal, and it was later found
that a satchel had been thrown
out of the car. The satchel
contained less than one gram of
methamphetamine, less than one
gram of marijuana, and 11 pieces
of Xanax, all in their own plastic
bags.
Knoph was taken to the Monroe
County Jail and charged for
possession of methamphetamine,
Xanax, and marijuana, failure to
maintain lane, DUI-refusal, and
open container.
KNOPF
Unique crosswalk coming to Lee St.
By Will Davis
publisher@mymcr.net
Work has begun on a unique pedestrian crosswalk
across busy Lee Street at Castleberry Drug and the
city’s Welcome Center in Forsyth.
The DOT said the new crosswalk will include a
solar-powered rectangular, rapid flashing beacon
to slow drivers when pedestrians press a button
wanting to cross the street. The DOT said the cross
walk should be completed in 1-2 weeks. It’s thought
to be the first crosswalk of its kind in Forsyth. Dane
Bishop of the DOT said the project will cost about
$46,000 to install. He said it should be up and
running in about 2 weeks, although he said they’d
have to wait about 3 weeks to receive a grate to
finish out the crosswalk. Bishop said there are lots
of the rapid flashing beacon crosswalks at UGA in DOT workers prepare Lee Street for a new crosswalk Tuesday.
Athens and other high-pedestrian areas, and said
Forsyth is a good place for one. “Y’all have got a
cool downtown area for sure,” said Bishop. Bishop said
the project was a “quick response” project that crews can
do quickly. But it wasn’t that quick. City council approved
the project two year ago, and mayor Eric Wilson told the
Reporter he didn’t even know what was being installed
until the city’s electrical superintendent spoke to the
workmen.
Forsyth
man, 39,
charged in
kidnap of
girlfriend
By Steve Reece
stevereece@gmail.com
Monroe
County
deputies
deployed
search dogs,
drones and
a helicopter
before
finally rescuing a Forsyth
woman after she had
been kidnapped by her
boyfriend for 2.5 hours on
Sunday, June 19.
According to the Sheriffs
Office, witnesses called
911 about a possible
kidnapping from a home
on Towaliga Trail around
6:48 p.m. on Sunday, June
19.
Sheriff Brad Freeman said
they put about 10 deputies
on the case and used search
dogs and a Georgia State
Patrol helicopter on reports
that the suspect, Jerry
Davenport, 39, of Forsyth,
had dragged the victim,
Amy Worthy of Griffin,
See KIDNAP Page 8A
DAVENPORT
Enter your
precious
in Cutest
Pet Contest
Nominations are now open
for our popular, annual
Monroe County Cutest Pet
Contest. The Reporter is
now taking
nominations
and voting
will begin
in July.
Nominate
your pet,
whether
dog, cat,
horse, or
any other of God s creations,
at www.mymcr.net/photo-
contest. The winner will get
a free grooming from Sonyas
Grooming in Bolingbroke.
Nominations are just $15 and
the deadline is July 29. The
winner will be announced in
the Aug. 3 Reporter. Above
is the 2021 winner, Ozzy
Osborne.
Monroe All-Stars capture State Title
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Publix, Dollar General, Circle K
By Will Davis
publisher@ : mymcrnet
The 12U Monroe County All-Star baseball
team is headed to the World Series in New
Orleans next month after going undefeated
and winning the state USSSA championship
on Sunday, June 19. It’s a first for Monroe
County. The boys beat Newton County in
extra innings 19-16 and then beat Spalding
11-10 to claim the state title in thrilling
fashion on Sunday. The boys had advanced
to those state games by beating West Walton
and the Newnan Gold All-Stars earlier in
the weekend.
The boys had won a spot in the state
tournament a week earlier at the sub-state
tournament by going 4-0, beating Butts
County, Senoia and Spalding twice.
Head coach TK Chambliss told the
Reporter that key home run hitters for
the MC boys were Wyatt Fendley, Kevin
Fisher and Trace Hill, who had two in the
state championship. The MC pitchers were
lights out during the tournament, adding
Chambliss, saluting key pitchers Daniel
Jones, Kendall Ingram Jr., West Fendley and
Kevin Fisher.
A 17-year volunteer coach at the Monroe
County rec department, Chambliss recently
had his first child. He said he told his rec
ball team before the playoffs that it would
be his last season, and asked them to send
him out as a champion. They did, so then
he told his All-Star team at the Sub-State
Tournament the same thing. And they did.
So then used the same motivational speech
on them as the State Tournament, and they
See CHAMPS Page 7A