Newspaper Page Text
Page 2B
Reporter
August 24, 2022
Four qualify for Cullodens two open
council seats; mayor is unopposed
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Citizens of Culloden will vote to
fill two city council seats on Tuesday,
Nov. 8. Qualifying for the two coun
cil seats and for the office of mayor
closed at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Aug.
18. Only the current mayor, Lynn
Miller, qualified to hold the posi
tion of mayor for the next four years.
Miller has served Culloden as mayor
since January 2017.
Qualifying for city council seats are
incumbents Tellas Daniels and Sara
Jean Ray and candidates Louise Brice
and Donna Wilson. The Culloden
council election is at-large, and the
top two vote getters will hold the two
open seats for four years beginning
in January.
Other council members who aren’t
up for election this year are Dr. Mar
gie Bryant, Miranda Hall and Audry
Leamy. Culloden Council meets
on the second Wednesday of each
month at 3 p.m. The population of
Culloden is approximately 200.
Homeowner begs Forsyth for help as
construction runoff erodes property
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Tony Evans of 200 Sharp
Street addressed city
council on Aug. 15 to ask
for help with his yard and
carport being flooded with
mud. He said the prob
lem began in February or
March when construction
started on a duplex next
door and has continued
since then.
Evans said his property is
continuing to erode and he
can no longer park under
his carport because of the
mud. He said city officials
have tried to help, but the
situation has gotten worse
because James Green, who
owns the duplex being
built, has become belliger
ent about his complaints,
even telling his 80-plus year
old mother and his sister
that he will shoot Evans.
Evans said the situation
has gotten out of hand. He
has been to the Forsyth
Police Department to seek
help because of Greens
threat, but he is also seek
ing governmental help to
control the erosion. He said
officials encouraged Green
to put up a silt fence, but
what he constructed wasn’t
professional or efficient.
City manager Janice Hall
said that because the build
ing site is less than an acre
Green didn’t have to file an
erosion plan. After being
asked he put up a silt fence
and straw bales. Hall said
she contacted the Georgia
Environmental Protection
Division (EPD) earlier that
day and was told a repre
sentative will be out within
a few days to determine if
any state regulations apply
and to make suggestions.
However, Hall said there
aren’t any EPD regulations
that are enforceable be
cause of the size of the lot.
“Not only my property,
but each resident in the
city needs to be covered [in
a situation like this],” said
Evans.
Hall said the city has had
a couple of similar situ
ations. Evans said he is con
cerned about his eroding
yard and not being able to
Pictured, left to right, are Jodi Pharo, Steve
Gramling, Amy
Rotary Club learns about Gresco
The Forsyth Monroe County Rotary
Club speaker for Aug. 11 was Steve
Gramling, President/CEO of Gresco.
Gramling has been working with
Gresco since 2007.
Gresco is a distributing company
and a service provider. It distributes
tools, power poles, transformers, wire,
tractors, and trailers, substation prod
ucts, lighting, drones and other items.
Gresco employs about 230 total
people in Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama (two facilities), Tennessee,
Florida and Georgia. Monroe County
is the home for GRESCO in Georgia,
where the facility is located on 52
acres. There are over 100 employees
in Monroe County. They make 9-15
trailer loads a day.
Gresco hired 51 new employees
last year and lost 32. The company is
known for its great culture and family-oriented work atmosphere. There are 136 owners
of Gresco. All are cooperatives. They elect a nine-member board of directors.
Clayton updates Rotary on M.C. Library
Kimberly Clayton
was the Forsyth
Monroe County
Rotary Club speaker
for Aug. 4. Clayton
has been the Mon
roe County Librar
ian/Branch Manager
for five years.
She shared that the
Monroe County Li
brary is celebrating
its 100th year in op
eration. The library
will hold several spe
cial events to sup
port the centennial
celebration. There
will be a dedication
ceremony to honor
past librarians, a
time capsule will be
buried to be opened
in 25 years, a story
book masquerade
party will be held as well as a genealogy
lock-in and book donation drive.
The Summer Reading Program at Mon
roe County Library ended last week with
over 400 kids participating. The theme was
“Oceans of Possibilities.” Clayton wrote a
grant to support the summer program and
was approved to fund the cost of a 55 gal
lon aquarium for the library
The Ebrary circulates over 50,000 items a
year. Although the pandemic has hindered
book checkouts, the amount of digital
resources used has increased in Monroe
County and across the state. The library
Pictured are Jodi Pharo,left, and Monroe County Library
branch manager Kimberly Clayton.
now has 12 hot spots that can be checked
out as well as 5 chromebooks. In addi
tion to regular books, the MC Library has
ebooks, dvds, audiobooks, and STEM kits
available for checkout.
Clayton encouraged everyone to apply
for a Pines Library Card. This card can
be used to check out materials/books in
libraries across the state. There is a courier
that delivers books and resources back to
our library that were checked in at other
libraries within the state.
All book challenges and censorship con
cerns go before the library board.
use his carport, but he also
feels threatened and ha
rassed by Green. He said he
is filing an insurance claim
to try to get some help
with the yard. Evans said
he doesn’t have a problem
with the duplex and appre
ciates new construction in
the neighborhood, but he
has watched the condition
of his yard get worse for
almost a year.
CALENDAR
Continued from Page 1
the finish line. The event is
imited to 100 competitors
and benefits High Falls State
Park. The last High Falls
Triathlon was in May 2019.
Sign up at ultrasignup.com/
register.aspx?eid= 15162
Oct. 10
Anchor of Hope Golf
Tournament
The Anchor of Hope Golf
Tournament will be Mon
day, Oct. 10 (Columbus
Day) at The Club at River
Forest. Tee Off at 12 noon.
Cash prizes to the top three
teams and for longest drive
and closest to pin. RSVP
478-994-0438 or golf® J an-
chorofhopefoundation.org.
Oct 14-15
Kingdom Builders proj
ect weekend
The annual dates for Mon
roe County Kingdom Build
ers to work on the houses of
elderly and needy home-
owners will be Friday and
Saturday, Oct. 14-15, to co
incide with Monroe County
Schools Fall Break. Those
who need assistance, those
who would like to volunteer
and those who are able to
donate materials or support
the project in other ways
should pick up information
and applications as soon as
possible at Circle of Care,
Monroe County Reporter
(478-994-2358), Forsyth
United Methodist Church
(478-994-5706) or
other participating
churches.
On-Going
AA meetings
AA meetings are held at
Christ United Methodist
Church, 417 N. Frontage
Road, Forsyth on Tuesdays,
Thursdays & Sundays at 7
p.m.
Forsyth Farmers
Market every Friday
Forsyth Farmers Market is
open for its 2022 season on
Fridays from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. It
will be at 9 North Jack-
son Street (the lot behind
Persons Banking Com
pany) each Friday through
October. Vendors offer
ocally grown produce and
homemade goods. For more
information, call 478-994-
7747 or email mcordy@
cityofforsyth.com
Story Time at M.C.
Library
Monroe County Library
Story Time will return in
September with favorite
books, crafts and surprises
each Wednesday at 10
a.m. at the children's corner
in the library at 62 W. Main
St., Forsyth.
Monroe County
Amateur Radio
Monroe County Amateur
Radio Society meets the
second Monday of each
month at 6:30 p.m. at Mon
roe County Fire Station 1,
693 Juliette Road, Forsyth.
Remember when...
1992
The new Monroe County
Middle School on Thornton
Road will officially open to the
community on Aug. 23 with
a dedication ceremony and
public tours. The 5th Grade
School, which had been a
part of the Middle School,
will now be part of Hubbard
Elementary.
The Retail Affairs Committee
of the Chamber of Commerce
will sponsor a special Back
to School promotion on Aug.
22 with a dunking booth, Mc-
Gruff the anti-drug dog, story
time and special sales.
A small fire caused by a
shortage in a road sign causes
slight damage to Wendy’s on
N. Lee Street, but the restau
rant re-opens the following
day.
Diamond Waste, Inc. holds a
public meeting to discuss a
proposed buzzard relocation
program for the Old Brent
Road landfill area.
Harry Batty, chief executive
officer of Bibb Yarns, Inc.
blames the economy for the
closing of the company’s
production facility in Forsyth,
which employed 184 people.
Monroe County Development
Authority drops prices for land
in the Highway 18 Industrial
Park from $25,000-$50,000/
acre to $5,000-$25,000/
Leigh Jenkins, daughter of
Curtis & Carol Jenkins, won
the prize for the youngest
in attendance at the annual
Central Georgia EMC meet
ing at age two weeks. Her
grandfather, Benson Ham,
is chairman to the CGEMC
board.
Buzz Tanner is Monroe
County Hospital’s new ad
ministrator, picked from 157
applicants.
Expenditures on the three
local races of the recent pri
mary are more than $21,000,
likely the most costly ever.
C.T.’s Lounge at the Holiday
Inn has a lineup of new, hot
entertainers six nights a week.
2002
Monroe County holds its first
tax sale on the courthouse
steps. Tax commissioner Patsy
Miller says 13 properties are
auctioned and the county
collects more than $12,000 in
delinquent taxes. The highest
price was $32,500 for 4.46
acres and a dwelling; the
lowest price was $800 for
a residential lot in Hillcrest
subdivision.
An accident on 1-75 leaves
an unidentified person dead
and shuts down both north
bound lanes for two hours.
The Sheriff's Office is awaiting
dental records to identify the
deceased driver.
Mary Persons has a ribbon
cutting for its new band room,
which was renovated from the
former industrial arts area.
Forsyth announces its elections
will be at the Wellington
Building instead of the Na
tional Guard Armory.
Chuck Byrd, candidate for
the newly created 3rd district
seat in U.S. Congress, visits
Forsyth and his former Sunday
School teacher, Lamar Russell,
owner of Russell Pharmacy.
Gloria Bentley of Forsyth is
the Non-Security Employee of
the Quarter for the Georgia
Diagnostic & Classification
Prison in Butts County.
The 65th Annual Meeting of
Central Georgia EMC is held
at Indian Springs State Park
with about 500 registered
members and lots of family
members and business, profes
sional and political represen
tatives attending.
Monroe Academy varsity and
junior varsity cheerleaders
receive awards at the Univer
sity of Georgia Glory Spirit
Camp. Coaches are Misti
Tonn and Jan Gerdes.
The scrimmage at Mary Per
sons against Lamar County fills
the stands with fans.
An early morning accident
at the Texaco Station on Lee
Street, when a van’s accel
erator reportedly gets stuck,
leaves five vehicles damaged.
Forsyth and Monroe County
can’t agree on division of
the Local Option Sales Tax
(LOST). Forsyth isn't satis
fied that its population has
decreased to the extent indi
cated by the 2000 census.
CC Performers holds a dance,
baton, cheerleading and
tumbling camp.
Taylor Hamrick and Mal
lory Pitman attend the
Dance Olympus Workshop
in Orlando and take classes
from some of the nation’s most
recognized choreographers.
2012
As Monroe County combines
its two middle schools into
one, elementary schools will
start a little later and children
will be grouped differently on
buses as the new school year
begins. Cost for new signage
at the Middle School buildings
is $8,000.
Mary Persons students score
above the state average on
all eight End of Course Tests
and improve over 2011
scores in all but two tests.
County commissioner Larry
Evans is looking into ways
commissioners can record their
meetings on tape and save
the recordings permanently.
A Monroe County Grand Jury
will consider whether Forsyth
city officials broke the law
by spending $12000 with a
council member's business.
Mary Beth Johnston is the
new director of the Monroe
County Pregnancy Center.
The Reporter goes to—Tybee
Island, China and Mackinac
Island.
Monroe County teens are
invited to a concert on the
square with the Christian
rock band RUSH after the
Mary Persons scrimmage with
Manchester.
Billy Hand is back as manager
of the Forsyth Ingles after
three years managing Ingles in
Woodbury.
Monroe County Schools wel
come 38 new teachers.
Dustin Pope, a 2011 Mary
Persons graduate, James
Slaughter (Class of 2002)
and Brandon Moore (Class of
2012) and other volunteers
have organized the Tiger
Steppers, a drum line, band,
flag team and drill team for
youth 12 and up.
567 summer readers earn
certificates at Monroe County
Library.
Mary Persons cheerleader
Breanna Walker is named one
of 16 All-State cheerleaders
in all classes.
Remember When
This look at what Monroe County residents were reading in the
Reporter 30,20 and 10 years ago this week is brought to you by...
Monroe County
Memorial Chapel
We set the standards
that others follow 1
Harley Ray "Spanky" Beck
86 West Main Street • Forsyth
478-994-4266