Newspaper Page Text
November 16, 2022
i/Reporter
Page 4B
Father-Son with Monroe Co. ties will fly
over UGA-Ga Tech game in attack helicopters
Former Monroe County
residents Jeff Moss and his
son, Jeff Moss Jr. (Jay) will
be flying over the Georgia
Tech-University of Georgia
football game on Saturday,
Nov. 26 in Athens. Both
are University of Georgia
Army ROTC graduates.
They will make history as a
father/son attack helicopter
pilot duo at the game.
Jay Moss considers For
syth his hometown. He is a
2012 graduate of Stratford
Academy in Macon and a
2016 graduate of the Terry
College of Business at the
University of Georgia. He is
the Commander of Condor
Troop, 2/17 Cavalry, Air
Assault at Fort Campbell,
Kentucky.
Jeff Moss is a native of
Plains, a 1983 graduate
of Southland Academy
in Americus, and a 1987
graduate of the University
of Georgia. Former Army
Captain Jeff Moss went on
to become an Army Aviator
and fly the AH -1 Cobra in
Desert Storm, earning the
Bronze Star.
Jeff had no idea that his
son, Jeff, Jr., (Jay) would
want to follow in his
footsteps, but that’s exact
ly what happened. Both
served as Cadet Battalion
Commanders, and both
have served the U.S. as
Attack Helicopter pilots,
Jeff in Americas first
dedicated attack helicop
ter, the AH-1 Cobra, and
Jay in the AH-64 Apache.
While serving with the
1/17 CAV at Fort Bragg,
Jeff was deployed to
Kuwait for Operation
Spartan Shield earning
the Meritorious Service
Medal.
The Moss duo flew
the Dayton Airshow in
July of this year marking
the first time in history
a father/son team flew
two generations of attack
helicopters in an airshow.
Jeff, a former President
of the Army Aviation
Heritage Foundation and
Flying Museum based in
Hampton, has been flying
Cobras with AAHF for
over 20 years in air shows
as well as providing rides
as part of the Foundations
FAA approved Living
History Flight Experience
(LHFE) program.
When asked about the
pending event, he said,
to my Veteran
brothers and
sisters at
AAHF. He
started going
to the hangar
and events
NOT JUST A BUNCH OF OLD MEN
In the hangar on a Saturday recently,
AAHF member Jeff Moss and his eleven year
old son, Jay, were observed intently working on
some aircraft part that was, no doubt, probably
more than three times the age of the younger
Moss! Sixth-grade student Jay is in the gifted
program and on the student council at Hubbard
Middle School in Forsyth GA. He loves to fly,
hunt deer and quail, and enjoys making coffee
for everyone at the hangar on Saturdays.
(Hmmin...a Coffee Cadet...?) :-)
This father-son team was working hard
to help “KEEP THEM FLYING!” Thanks guys!
“I credit Jays desire to
become an Army Aviator
and fly Attack Helicopters
with me
at an early
age and
was able
to interact
with Vet
erans from
the Ko
rean War
forward.
He is the
young
est person to ever fly in a
Cobra helicopter. His love
of country and desire to
serve is very apparent in his
actions. It is truly an honor
for me to have watched my
son achieve his goals and
aspirations. Flying together
in Dayton was absolutely
thrilling as it was the first
time, I witnessed Jay flying
the Apache and I was in
the air with him - being
able to fly together over our
beloved UGA is beyond
our wildest dreams. I can’t
wait to stand on the field
with him along with our
family as we support Army
ROTC, the University and
all Armed Service Mem
bers after the National
Anthem Flyover!”
The Army Aviation Heri
tage Foundation and Flying
Museum is a 501-C-3 Not
for Profit Veterans Foun
dation and Flying Museum
located in Hampton. To
schedule a Living History
Flight Experience in the
Huey or Cobra, visit www.
armyav.org
Wings & Words of Hope to
Wings and Words of Hope,
a non-profit based in Juliette,
will have a benefit dinner on
Sunday, Dec. 11 from 5-9 p.m.
at the Harriet Tubman Museum
in Macon to raise money to help
caregivers and their loved ones.
The benefit will also honor the
founder, the late Joseph A. Finney
Sr of Juliette.
Cheryl Finney began Wings &
Words of Hope in 2020 after the
passing of her husband, Joseph,
on May 31,2020.They had been
married for 32 years and Cheryl
stood beside Joseph through a
grueling battle with throat cancer.
Joseph’s faith in God and his
spiritual strength inspired Cheryl
to keep his spirit alive in Wings
& Words of Hope. Its mission is
hold benefit dinner Dec. 11
Tickets can osep inne Y p or m0 re information, contact
be pur- Cheryl Finney at 478-394-3831.
chased at Eventbrite; the foun
dation number is 478 221 4998.
to uplift and encourage people in
need and find resources for them,
especially youth and caregiv
ers for family members going
through medical struggles.
Cheryl said “Wings” is for
Joseph’s faith and the heavenly
wings he has now been awarded,
“Words” are for the encour
agement he gave that sustained
her and has blessed others, and
“Hope” is what she wants to
share.
“He never gave up, never com
plained. Even when he didn’t look
like his self, he still served,” said
Cheryl. “Our body isn’t designed
to last forever, but our spirit is.”
Wings & Words of Hope
hosted its 3rd Annual Celebra
tion of Angels on Earth on Nov.
5 recognizing
caregivers. The
dinner on Dec.
11 is a fundrais
er to continue
providing
recognition and
resources for
caregivers and
others in need.
At the benefit
dinner there
will be re
sources to help
other founda
tions continue
their work in
blessing others. The formal event
will feature a live band, stand-up
comedian and a catered meal. All
proceeds benefit the foundation.
Culloden chooses two council members for next four years;
new ESPLOST passes with 66.7 percent in favor
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
In the city of Culloden, Mayor
Lynn Miller was re-elected with
78 votes, which was 100 percent
of the ballots cast for Culloden
mayor. There was one write-in
vote.
There were two Culloden
council posts up for election, and
voters chose incumbent Tellas
Daniels and Louise Brice to fill
those two positions, with 53 and
49 votes respectively. Brice wasn’t
currently serving on Culloden
council but had done so several
years ago. There were two write-
in votes.
Voters in Culloden were
instructed to choose two candi
dates from the four who qualified
for council seats and the top
two vote-getters will hold the
positions for the next four years.
Miller commented that voters
had to choose between four good
candidates and that she was con
fident that she could work well
with whomever was elected. The
other two candidates were Sarah
Jean Ray and Donna Wilson.
In other local elections, two
Monroe County commissioners
were re-elected without opposi
tion. Republican John Ambrose
Sr. received 3,576 votes, and there
were 83 write-in votes for his
District 3 seat. District 4 com
missioner George Emami, also a
Republican, received 2,772 votes
with 132 Monroe County voters
writing in their choice.
Thomas Jordan Vaughn got
11,382 votes for Towaliga Soil
& Water Conservation District
supervisor.
The Local Option Sales Tax
for Education passed with 8,905
(66.7 percent) voting in favor of
the 1-cent tax and 4,440 (33.3
percent) voting against it. The
tax will be for a maximum of five
years or until it collects $39 mil
lion. It will start when the current
education tax ends. It is expected
to collect its maximum amount
of $24 million in a few months,
several months ahead of its time
line expiration date.
Monroe Countians voted in
favor of the two Constitutional
amendments and the two refer
endum questions that were on
the ballot.
Monroe County Sheriffs Office checks on registered sex offenders
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Along with 65 other
Georgia Sheriff’s Offices,
Monroe County Sheriff’s
Office participated in
the seventh Operation
Watchful Eye, a statewide
residence and compliance
check of registered sex of
fenders living and working
in the community. The
operation was conducted
from Oct. 24-31.
As of Oct. 24 there were
59 registered sex offend
ers living and working in
Monroe County. There
were three registered sex
offender predators; of
those, one is incarcerated
in the Monroe County jail
and the other two live near
the Monroe/Bibb line and
Monroe/Jones line. There
were no homeless regis
tered sex offenders living in
Monroe County.
The Monroe
County Sheriff’s Of
fice had three
absconders
and issued
arrest warrants
for them. One
was located in
Michigan and
has properly registered
there; one is believed to be
in Hernando County, Fla.
and actively evading law
enforcement; it is believed
the third may have been
deported.
During Operation
Watchful Eye Monroe
County attempted 72 resi
dence and 29 employment
verifications. One arrest
warrant was issued
for a residence
violation (new
absconder)
and one
warrant
for failure to
appear for a
required court
appearance.
The new absconder
is believed to be in the
Macon area.
There were two new sex
offenders who registered
in Monroe County during
this time, one of whom
moved to Monroe County
and the other of whom
was working in the coun
ty temporarily. Monroe
County Sheriff’s Office
partnered with the Georgia
Department of Supervision
in efforts to ensure that
registered offenders were
compliant with registry
laws and with the terms of
their probation/parole.
As of Nov. 8 there were
61 total sex offenders
registered with and/or
monitored by the Monroe
County Sheriff’s Office, six
of whom are incarcerated
in Monroe or other county
jails. There are 51 registered
offenders actually living
in Monroe County and 25
registered offenders em
ployed in Monroe County.
Due to several court
rulings, Monroe County
Sheriff’s Office didn’t use
“No Trick or Treat” signs
for Halloween. The sheriff’s
office did conduct com
pliance and verification
checks on Halloween night.
Monroe County’s
Sheriff’s Office maintains
a website and a free cell
phone app that contains
updated local registered sex
offender information. Cit
izens can call the Sheriff’s
Office at 478-994-7043 ext.
256 and ask for Investigator
Chris Landers for questions
about the sex offender
registry or to talk about a
specific offender.
The statewide Operation
Watchful Eye VII resulted
in 42 arrests of sex of
fenders and 117 warrants
issued across the state. The
operation began in 2015
with overwhelming success
and has continued annual
ly. The opportunity for law
enforcement agencies to
network has made the state
safer. Participating sheriff’s
offices reported 10,232
registered sex offenders,
366 predators and 329
homeless sex offenders. It
was discovered that 476
sex offenders had abscond
ed from their last known
address.