Headlines

President Donald Trump has nominated former Lamar County resident David L. Lyons of Savannah for the post of U.S. Marshal for the southern district of Georgia.
[Full Story »] 

UPDATE: Davis returned home overnight.

The Barnesville Police Department has issued a lookout for a missing juvenile.

Taevlon Santez Davis, 14, who is approximately 5-6, weighing 110 lbs., black hair, brown eyes, was last seen Tuesday (Feb. 27) at 7 a.m. He was wearing camo pants and a maroon hoodie.

If you spot Davis, contact Barnesville police at 770-358-1244 or the sheriff's office at 770-358-5159.

Chief magistrate Karen Jackson denied bond Wednesday afternoon for 61-year-old Terrell Michael Tidwell who faces multiple charges after allegedly opening fire on four police officers at Piedmont Pines Apartments in the wee hours of Tuesday morning which resulted in an ensuing standoff that lasted about five hours before he was arrested. No one was hurt.

Some details of the incident emerged at the bond hearing. [Full Story »] 

A suspect identified as Terrell Tidwell allegedly opened fire on BPD officers early Tuesday on Willow Wind Circle here. He barricade himself in a unit and later surrendered.

UPDATE: Suspect Terrelll Michael Tidwell, 61, is charged with four counts of aggravated assault against a police officer, reckless conduct and three counts criminal damage to property. He had a previous arrest here in 2007 for attempting to obtain drugs by fraud.

The full release from Belinda Pennamon of the BPD follows:

On February 20, 2018 at approximately 12:05 a.m. dispatch received a 911 call in reference to a verbal domestic at 939 Willow Winds Apartment. As Barnesville Police Department officers were en route they were advised that shots had been fired. As Sgt. Mark Evans and Patrolman Daniel McEachern exited their vehicle the suspect fired a shot from behind a closed door.

The suspect had barricaded himself inside of the residence and multiple shots were fired from within striking three vehicles parked in front of the apartment. Additional agencies assisted Barnesville Police Department with apprehending the suspect: the Lamar County Sheriff’s Office, Gordon College Police Department and the Georgia State Patrol CERT and SWAT teams.

The suspect Terrell Tidwell surrendered around 3:35 a.m. and was transported by EMS to be cleared and was then transported to the Lamar County Detention Center by Sgt. Freddie Oates. The suspect has been charged with aggravated assault with additional warrants pending.

By Walter Geiger

The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) has filed suit against a local firm for over $144,000 in allegedly misappropriated funds earmarked for the local summer feeding program.

Problems were found during fiscal reviews of A.D. Smith Community Services’ handling of funds conducted in the summer of 2016. The firm, headed by April Smith-Scott, began administering feeding programs in March, 2009. [Full Story »] 

Danita Taylor was shocked when she saw a publicity photo generated by Spalding County sheriff Darrell Dix last week that depicted him with newly sworn deputy Terry Belvin. Belvin was a Barnesville police officer when he hit and killed Taylor’s son, Justen Shenard Sullivan, with a police cruiser while running in excess of 90 mph. on May 16, 2014.

Another man, Quenton Byrd, 21, of Forsyth was also struck and killed. A third person narrowly missed death. Sullivan died on his 25th birthday.

At the time, Belvin said he had terminated a chase of a suspected DUI driver and was not operating his emergency lights. He was southbound on Ga. Hwy. 7 when he topped Dozier Hill at a high rate of speed at 1 a.m. and hit the pedestrians who died instantly. They were crossing the four-lane near Reliable Mart when they were hit.

The incident was investigated by the state patrol’s SCRT team. Trooper Brandon Stone presented the case which included a video of the entire incident to the jurors who issued a no bill, according to district attorney Jonathan Adams who was not in office at the time.

Belvin voluntarily gave up his POST certification and the family was told he would never work in law enforcement again. Multiple media outlets, including The Herald Gazette, reported that information as well. [Full Story »] 

A male employee of the state probation department was injured in an accidental shooting Monday morning at the gun range at the B-LC Training Center off Old Milner Road.

Probation officers use the range for training and qualifying periodically.

Details are sketchy but the leg wound was apparently self-inflicted. According to radio traffic, one gunshot resulted in three wounds.

A certified firearms instructor was at the range at the time. Others rendered first aid to the wounded man, applying a tourniquet. He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. His injuries were not thought to be life threatening.

The original 911 call went out at 11:32 a.m.

Two young men failed court-ordered drugs tests and are now in jail after one of them showed up in an altered state for arraignment on multiple drug related charges stemming from a previous incident Feb. 1.
[Full Story »] 

As expected, Judge John Goger has ruled in favor of descendants Mike Ross and Cynthia Wadsworth in the Wadsworth Cemetery case.

Judge Goger ruled that Fulton County was proper venue for the descendants' appeal. He also ruled the Lamar County commission had no jurisdiction to entertain the City of Barnesville's grave relocation permit and the permit that it issued is null, void and reversed.

Any future grave relocation permit must be sought through Lamar superior court.

A copy of the ruling is inside this post.

[Full Story »] 

A former Barnesville police officer who voluntarily gave up his POST certification after striking and killing two pedestrians with his patrol car here on May 16, 2014 has been hired by the Spalding County sheriff's office as a deputy.

Terry Belvin struck and killed Justen Shenard Sullivan and and Quentin Byrd at 1 a.m. on Veterans Parkway after terminating a chase. Byrd, 21, and Sullivan, who died on his 25th birthday, died at the scene. Sullivan was the grandson of longtime Barnesville police officer Alonzo Taylor.

His mother, Danita Taylor, said her family and the Byrd family were promised by district attorney Richard Milam that Belvin would never work in law enforcement again and that is the only reason they agreed with the decision not to prosecute him criminally.

"This goes against everything they promised us. It is a slap in the face," Taylor said Wednesday.

The city's insurance carrier reportedly paid out some $1 million in damages in the aftermath of this incident.

For much more on this story, see the 2.13.18 edition of The Herald Gazette.

The Lamar County Regional Solid Waste Authority has purchased the Enercon property in the local industrial park for use in char handling and related processes and products associated with its groundbreaking Waste to Energy (WTE) project.

The property consists of 48.16 acres and two main buildings with a total of 80,768 square feet and has critical heavy rail access.

More details and two videos inside:

[Full Story »]