Newspaper Page Text
January 25, 2023
p°<**c ^Reporter
Garden Hill Baptist welcomes new pastor Bill Thigpen
Rev. and Mrs. Bill Thigpen
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
With the start of the new year
Garden Hill Baptist Church wel
comed a new pastor, Bill Thig
pen, and his wife Johnetta. Bill
had retired from his pastorate
at Lake Oconee Baptist Church
on May 8,2022 and wasn’t really
looking for another position, but
apparently God had other plans.
Bill saw Garden Hill’s adver
tisement for a pastor on the
Southern Baptist Convention
website and decided to apply.
He interviewed three times
and preached three sermons,
but didn’t become the pastor.
However, Bill and Johnetta felt
so comfortable at Garden Hill
that they attended the church
each Sunday for about the next
three months. When a mem
ber reached out and asked if he
would like to become pastor, he
accepted.
“We got to know everyone and
felt the love. It drew us to them,”
said Johnetta, “We can feel the
difference. They want to be in
church; they come because they
want to, not because they feel
they have to.”
Bill has been a pastor for 50
years. He and Johnetta have been
married for 28 years. Bill grew
up in Louisville, a small town
south of Augusta; he pastored
his home church for 9 1/2 years.
Then he became the pastor at
what is now Riddleville Bap
tist, about 20 miles away. He
was then at Toomsboro Baptist
Church for 5 1/2 years and
retired from there. He has also
served in the U.S. military, and
he and Johnetta both retired
from Walmart.
Bill headed to Lake Oconee
Baptist Chapel as worship leader
and music minister, then became
pastor after five months. He
served there through the disrup
tions of covid restrictions and
saw three prominent members
pass away because of covid with
in one 30-day time period.
Johnetta grew up in Chicago
and later moved to Alabama,
where she met Bill. They each
have three children and together
have 15 grandchildren, two great
grandchildren and three great
great grandchildren. They've
lived in several different states,
from Illinois to Alabama. The
Thigpens bought a new home
in Social Circle two years ago
so aren’t planning to move to
Monroe County; but they say the
40-minute drive is well worth it
for the church family they have
found at Garden Hill. They said
that sermons often become more
like Bible studies because the
congregation interacts with the
preacher and one another, asking
questions and sharing insights.
“It’s a small church but it’s big
in heart,” said Johnetta. “It’s a
loving, giving church within a
church. It’s good people who
never meet a stranger.”
Bill said his vision for Gar
den Hill is for it to continue to
grow spiritually so that all who
come enjoy coming to church to
worship and to fellowship with
each other. He said in church
fellowship, when one hurts, all
hurt and when one cries for joy,
all cry.
“I want to bring the church to
gether, young and old. We need
to interact,” said Bill.
Music is an important part of
his ministry. He enjoys using
hymnals and traditional church
music. He is comfortable with
children walking around during
his sermon or sitting by the
pulpit.
This Sunday, on Jan. 29,
Garden Hill Baptist Church will
have a 5th Sunday Singing and
dinner on the grounds. The wor
ship service/singing will follow a
10 a.m. Sunday school, and din
ner will follow the Singing. All
are invited to enjoy the service
and meet the new pastor.
MONROE IN COLLEGE
Kennesaw State
University has named
5,503 students to the Presi
dent's List in recognition of
their academic excellence
for the Fall 2022 semester.
To achieve this honor, each
undergraduate student
must have completed at
least nine semester hours
with a term grade point
average of 4.0. Students
from the Monroe County
area earning President's
List honors are: Taniyah
Dewberry of Forsyth,
majoring in Finance;
Creyuna Buckner
of Forsyth, majoring in
Psychology. Kennesaw
State University offers un
dergraduate, graduate and
doctoral degrees to more
than 43,000 students. KSU
is a member of the Univer
sity System of Georgia with
11 academic colleges.
Kennesaw State
University congratulates
the more than 7,600 Owls
named to the University's
Dean's List, which recog
nizes students for their
academic achievement
during the Fall 2022 semes
ter. Undergraduate
students enrolled in at
least nine credit hours
and with a grade point
average of at least 3.5
were named to the
list. Students from the
Monroe County area
earning Dean's List
honors are: Mad
ison Kemp of
Forsyth, majoring in
Management-Interest;
Weston Dun-
in History Education-In
terest
The 2022 Three
Branaya Shannon
wody of Forsyth, major
ing in Mechanical Engi
neering; Alan O'Neal
of Juliette, majoring in
Mechanical Engineering;
Thorn Anderson
of Forsyth, majoring in
Exercise Science-Interest;
John Hester of Forsyth,
majoring in Cybersecurity
Interest; K. ichard Skin
ner of Forsyth, majoring
Sisters Educators
Scholarship is awarded
to Branaya Cordai
Shannon, a 2022 Honor
graduate of Mary Persons
who graduated in the top
one-fifth percent of her
class. The scholarship
awarders applaud her
academic achievement
and pray for her continued
Monroe County Democratic
Comm, holds first Eggs & Issues
The Monroe County Democratic
Committee held its first Eggs and Issues
Breakfast on Saturday, Jan. 21 at the
LaQuinta Inn. Participants enjoyed a
breakfast catered by Her Majesty Catering
and received greetings from the state party
representative, Sara Todd.
Rep. Dr. James Beverly and Sen. Jason
Esteves delivered information on the 2023
Legislative Session now in progress. Much
discussion centered on the budget surplus
and what it will mean for the citizens of
Georgia. Emphasis was placed on how
the interest alone on the $3 billion that
is not allocated for refunds and raises for
teachers and state employees could go a
long way in funding expanded healthcare
for the approximately 600,000 Georgians
who have no health coverage. Expanding
coverage would make Georgia an even
greater place for doing business. Also of
interest are discussions for workplace
housing needs as new industries coming
into Georgia with thousands of new jobs
will create demand for affordable housing
to serve the workforce needed in these ar
eas of Georgia. Rep. Beverly and Sen.
Estevez both emphasized the need to work
on real issues for Georgians versus a focus
on cultural partisan legislation.
success. She is the grand
daughter of Barbara &
Roosevelt Shannon of For
syth; she has three siblings. Barnesville.
Shannon attends Gor
don State College in
Remember when...
1993
• About 100 citizens take
part in the Martin Luther
King Jr. Day march from
the courthouse to Kynette
Park, with a program held
at Kynette United Methodist
Church.
• Culloden votes unan
imously to withdraw its
community library from the
Flint River Regional Library
System for at least a year;
it has been a member of
the six-county system since
it was formed about 10
years ago.
• Cole Davis is named
Volunteer of the Year at the
Monroe County Cham
ber of Commerce annua
dinner.
• A federal court judge
orders Monroe County to
pay at least $16,702 in
attorney fees to Diamond
Waste Inc. incurred during
a 1989 lawsuit filed against
the county.
• Forsyth police are
investigating the stabbing
death of a 17-year-old at
the Silver Shadow Lounge
on Cabiness Road at
about 1 a.m. on Sunday.
A 15-year-old has been
arrested.
• Monroe County's un
employment rate is down to
8.1 percent in November
from 10 percent in October.
• The Municipal Electric
Authority of Georgia
(MEAG) pays $660,748 in
taxes to Monroe County
and Forsyth for the 30.2
percent of Plant Scherer
units one and two that it
owns.
• Former state senator
Billy Harris accepts the
1992 Monroe County
Christmas Spirit Award
for the city of Culloden.
High Falls won in 1991, and
Culloden won in 1990.
• Pea Ridge Road
Monroe County Collection
Recycling Center holds a
grand opening on Jan. 1 4; it
is the second of 10 centers
planned.
• 1992 Miss Monroe
County Angie Griffin will
crown her successor at the
beauty pageant on Feb. 6.
• Forsyth author Frances
Nielsen, a retired teach
er, publishes her book,
“Amerigo!," after six years of
research.
• At the Touchdown Club
banguet, Stacy Penamon
receives the Offensive
Award, Matt Barfield re
ceives the Blocking Award,
Steve Walton receives the
Defensive Award and MVP,
Barry Lyons receives the
Coaches Award. Walton
and Barfield are named
to the South team in the
Georgia All-Star game.
Barry Stuart gets the Mari
an Dorner 1 2th man award.
• 8th grader Rachel
Wilson is a member of the
Mary Persons debate team.
2003
• District 3 Congressman
Jim Marshall visits Monroe
County Hospital and meets
with officials for input on
how he can support better
rural healthcare.
• Hubbard Elementary
School’s new state-of-the-
art kitchen is complete.
• Judge Paschal En
glish of Thomaston, who
appeared on “Survivor,' will
speak at the Forsyth-Mon-
roe County Chamber of
Commerce annual meeting.
• A Forsyth woman,
Mary Ellis, wins $103,208
playing the Georgia Lot
tery's Fantasy 5 QuiK Pik.
• Most people in Mon
roe County don't know
about Camp Kaleo, a 289-
acre Royal Ambassador
camp built by the Georgia
Baptist Convention and
completed in 1987 with a
29-acre lake. Mike Flowers
is director.
2013
• Grits Cafe announces it
will re-open on Feb. 2 after
being closed for 10 months
because of fire.
• A Forsyth woman, Julia
Colvin, dies in a wreck as
she pulls out of Caldwell
Veterinary Clinic onto
Highway 41.
• Legal maneuvers con
tinue in the Monroe-Bibb
County line dispute.
• Some Plant Scherer
employees may have to
transfer to keep a job as
regulations force Geor
gia Power to shut down
15 coal and oil fired units
across the state.
• Dexter Webb, owner
of the Sugar Shack on
South Jackson Street, tells
city council he feels ha
rassed after a 1 a.m. raid
on Saturday morning that
put him and some of his
patrons in jail.
• Monroe County
demolishes the Georgia
State Patrol Post on Patro
Road built in 1970 to make
room for a new $750,000
facility.
• Twelve miles of
Highway 83 from Monroe
County Hospital all the
way to Culloden will be
repaved as part of DOT's
Statewide Transportation
mprovement Program.
• Monroe County's rain
fall total for 2012, 42.40
inches, shows it was a
second year of drought.
• Leon Goodrum
Foundation celebrates a
successful year in tutoring
and mentoring Monroe
County students.
• Myrick Holloway and
Evan Brooks of Monroe
County Achievement
Center place 3rd with
the four-minute video they
entered in the National
Alternative Education Asso
ciation Contest.
• Forsyth will operate
on a 30-day emergency
interim budget as officials
try to approve a 201 3
spending plan.
• Forsyth will pay
$ 1 3,369 more each
month this year to give its
employees health insur
ance, primarily because its
employees are considered
high risk.
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