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1946 JOHNSTONVILLE ROAD • FORSYTH, GA 31029 • 404-456-1198
www.MyMCR.net • Vol. 51 • No. 29
■ 5 Sections, 36 Pages • Wednesday • July 20,2022 • $2.00
INSIDE ► ►►
Who’s Who in
Monroe County
SEE SECTION INSIDE
See your kid’s
baseball team
SEE PAGE Cl-4
DEATHS m6A
Lucy Mae Thurmond
Robert Ogletree Jr.
Ulysses Jones Sr.
Mary Long
Hunter Morrison
Mirta Vento
CITY OF FORSYTH
City sued for police wreck on the square
Gray man seeks SI million for stoplight collision
By Will Davis
publisher™ my mcr.net
A Gray man is suing the
city of Forsyth and police
officer Manuel Barajas
for injuries suffered in a
2020 wreck on the court
house square after the city
rejected a “compromise”
settlement of $1 million.
Here’s what happened
according to a Monroe
County sheriff’s report:
Josh Wilson, 25, of Gray,
was traveling east on Main
Street in a 2013 silver Nis
san Altima around 10:40
p.m. on July 3,2020 and
said he had a green light at
the intersection with Lee
Street. Meanwhile, officer
Barajas was traveling south
on Lee Street in his 2018
See LAWSUIT Page7A
Driven Bug made me flip
A Monroe County dump truck driver was hospitalized on Saturday after he flipped the truck over on Hwy. 41 just south
of Hill Road. The driver, James Blassingame, said he got distracted by a bug and lost control of his county dump truck on
Highway 41 North around 7:26 a.m. on July 16. Monroe County EMS took Blassingame to the Atrium emergency room.
Monroe County sanitation director Dana Renaud said Blassingame was released on Monday and that the truck was a
spare so it s not a huge loss for the county. County crews came to pick up the trash that had fallen out of the truck bed.
(Photo/Will Davis)
Chase
season
is open
Monroe County deputies
have already logged at
least four high-speed chas
es in July. The lastest came
last Wednesday when
two Decatur men fled
and then wrecked at the
Monroe-Butts county line.
Below, deputy Anthony
Thompson holds the driver
and passenger at gunpoint
until they can be arrested.
They were charged with
distributing marijuana.
Asked about another surge
in chases, sheriff Brad
Freeman deadpanned,
“Criminals will be crimi
nals. Freeman said the
county has totalled about
3 patrol cars in chases so
far this year. See details
page 6C.
MONROE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
County to consider waste facility on Mon.
A waste company will ask
Monroe County’s zoning
board at 5:30 p.m. on Mon
day, July 25 for its OK to
build a “green” $150 million
municipal waste facility on
274 acres on English Road
just off 1-75, north of the rec
department.
Trilogy WC has a contract
to buy 274 acres from New
ton Timber to build what’s
described as a green waste
conversion and energy park
that would accept municipal
waste.
Trilogy has applied for re
zoning the property, which
is split by English Road,
from agricultural to indus
trial. Trilogy is also asking
the county for a conditional
use permit to build the
waste recycling facility. After
Monday’s zoning board
hearing, county commis
sioners would have a final
say at 6 p.m. on Tuesday,
Aug. 2.
County zoning official
Kelsey Fortner said she
expects a good bit of opposi
tion to the project.
Jimmy Thwait is handling
the deal for Newton Timber
and said the project would
be very green and very new
and modern. “It’s kind of a
cool thing,” said Thwait.
He said the plant will be
built far away from the road.
“Nobody will ever see it,”
said Thwart. The application
says it could take 3 years to
build.
Documents submitted to
See WASTE Page7A
Fortner rewarded after rallying for Hedges
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Kroger, CVS
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Publix, Dollar General, Circle K
By Will Davis
publisher™ my mcr.net
A county employee
who rallied co-workers
to support county man
ager Jim Hedges in June
was given a $3,300 raise
and a promotion to man
agement on July 12.
County zoning offi
cial Kelsey Fortner had
stormed out of a June 7
meeting after commis
sioner George Emami criticized
Hedges for proposing too much
spending and for using
county employees to un
dermine commissioners.
Three days later, Fortner
emailed about 63 county
employees asking them
to share their opinion of
Hedges.
“Some of you may
know, some of you may
not—but the board
meeting that took place
FORTNER
on Tuesday, June 7,2022, was [sic]
hostile circus,” wrote Fortner. The
email was sent out at 10:53 a.m„
during county business hours. “I
am looking to get feedback on our
County Manager Jim Hedges, from
all of you. This is open to your true
feelings.. .dislike or like.”
Fortner said employees could be
anonymous if they like. “And I will
go first,” added Fortner, including
her own thoughts about Hedges on
an attached PDF. Here’s what Fort
ner wrote: “In October of 2018, Jim
Hedges came to Monroe County. I
have never seen anyone, stand their
ground with a backbone like Jim
did then and still does. The county
has been rim by commissioners
for years and years. And no clerk,
Anita, or Gail, has ever been able
to do what Jim has done. Jim has
updated departments equipment,
stood by employees when they
needed it, got EVERYONE more
money. I do mean EVERYONE.
See COUNTY Page5A
