Entries by Walter Geiger

With the shutdown of the local Chevrolet dealership at the end of September, Barnesville is without a new car dealership for the first time in at least 100 years. It is known that J.W. Carreker was a Buick dealer here in Oct. 1919.

Horseless carriages caught on early locally as Buggy manufacturers and their employees saw the handwriting on the wall and knew combustion engines would eventually kill their horse-drawn industry. In the early days, merchants could acquire two or three cars and be labeled a ‘dealer’.

Ben Moore was the last surviving local new car dealer before selling out some years ago. He joined his father B.F. Moore in the family business after graduating from Georgia Tech. Before building the location on the four-lane, the elder Moore operated his dealership on Zebulon Street downtown. That dealership was actually begun by Lewis Tyus. [Full Story »] 

The LC Lady Trojans traveled to Eastman Thursday and made short work of the Dodge County Lady Indians in round two of the GHSA Class AA state softball playoffs.

Lamar took game one 11-0 behind homers from Paige Mayfield, Kelyse Harris, Cayla Bishop and Ryla Traylor.

The locals notched the sweep in game two with a 16-3 rout. Mayfield bid Eastman adieu with a walk-off grand slam to close out that game.

LC will face the winner of this week's Monticello-Jeff Davis series in the Elite 8 round. It will be the first Elite 8 appearance for LC softball in school history.

Two patients, reportedly young children, were flown out of a soybean field near the intersection of Brent and Community House roads Wednesday night on separate medical evacuation choppers. The last helicopter left the scene at 9:38 p.m. Both went to Atlanta hospitals.

There were indications the children somehow ingested medication at a home on Community House Road.

There were no accidents or law enforcement issues in the area at the time.

More to follow....

By Mike Ruffin

I’m in the middle of teaching a college course on the New Testament, and we just finished talking about the Gospels. I’m also about to start teaching another course, this one on just the Gospels.

So I’ve had the Gospels on my mind. This is a good thing.

Here are a few fun facts about the Gospels.

First, they were all written well after Jesus lived, died, and rose again. The Gospel of Mark is probably the oldest of the Gospels, dating to around 70 A.D. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke were probably written ten to twenty years after Mark, and John a few years later than Matthew and Luke. During the years between Jesus’ departure and the first written Gospel, preachers and teachers shared the stories about and teachings of Jesus orally.
[Full Story »] 

A 21-year-old Forsyth man was sentenced to five years with four years to serve in prison Oct. 10 by Judge Tommy Wilson for punching a female BPD officer in the face during a Jan. 18 melee at the local Waffle House. [Full Story »] 

By Walter Geiger

At the first Greenwood Cemetery Lantern Tour two years ago, Byron Smith portrayed his grandfather Walter B. Smith. This year, Smith will portray his great-grandfather’s one-time partner in the buggy manufacturing business George L. Summers.

Historic Summers Field, now Summers Field Park, is named for Summers who donated $500 for the grading and development of the old peat bog that for generations was home to a tannery.

Summers (1837-1916) was a native of Virginia and served in the 17th Virginia Regiment in the Civil War. When the hostilities ended, Summers returned to Barnesville where he had spent some time before the war. In 1866, Summers entered into a partnership with Smith and they developed the business of manufacturing the Barnesville buggy, known for quality and durability.
[Full Story »] 

A 2:15 p.m. crash on Ga. Hwy. 7 at the Hwy. 36 bypass sent three women to the hospital here Tuesday.

Initial indications were a Honda Civic pulled out of the bypass into the path of a northbound Kia Sorrento which struck it broadside. The driver of the Civic, the lone occupant of the car, was unconscious at the scene for some time and taken by ambulance to Macon Medical Center.

Two women in the Kia were also transported. One had a laceration to her nose. Another was suffering chest pains. A small child in a safety seat in the Kia was unhurt.

More to follow...

Between Friday, October 4 and Thursday, October 11 the following were processed through the Lamar County jail: [Full Story »] 

The Diamond Trojan baseball program (middle and high school) will again be smoking Boston butts just in time for Thanksgiving. This will mark the 16th year of the fundraiser.

Finished butts can be picked up Nov. 22 at Aldora Field. Butts smoked and wrapped are $30. You can have yours smoked, pulled and panned for $40.

For more information, call coach Mike Oberg at 770-358-8641.