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The premier episode of ‘Sharp Objects’ which aired July 8 drew 1.54 million live viewers. That was better than the debut of ‘Big Little Lies’ which drew 1.13 million live viewers when it premiered.

(VIDEO: HBO crew members heap praise on Barnesville inside this post for subscribers.) [Full Story »] 

By Walter Geiger

‘Sharp Objects’ made its debut on HBO Sunday night and Barnesville, where its eight episodes were largely filmed last summer, was a bright light that shown through the darkness of the plot.

When the opening montage of local scenes hit the air, a huge crowd of viewers at a watch party at Deraney’s Two City Tavern erupted into spontaneous applause. Owner Christopher Deraney announced the name change and unveiled the new logo with help from his mother Ginger Deraney. The tavern, named for Barnesville and the fictional Wind Gap, sits two doors down from where his grandparents operated Deraney’s department store for generations.

Deraney also welcomed Dodd and Taylor Vickers who were the location managers for the shoot here. They are confident more filmmakers will now find their way to Barnesville.
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Country Kitchen Road will be closed from McCollum Road to Freeman Road beginning Monday, July 16 for repairs to two culverts beneath the road that washed out during heavy rains earlier this year. The repair work is expected to take 10 days.

The road will have to be dug up to do the work.

At the county commission meeting June 21, county manager Bob Zellner reported the repair would cost about $36,000.

The print editions of this week's Herald Gazette have been delayed in transit from our printer. Mail delivery will be delayed and subscribers will receive their papers in Wednesday's mail. Once we have papers here at the office, we will post that information and subscribers may come by our office at 509 Greenwood St. and pick up a copy.

We regret the delay.

By Walter Geiger

A busload of entertainment writers from around the world were in Barnesville Saturday to gather background information for stories to be filed in the run-up to the ‘Sharp Objects’ debut Sunday night.

The writers saw screenings of the first two episodes of the HBO series in Atlanta before busing to Barnesville. Though they were sworn to secrecy as to the plots, they did confide that the show was excellent and Barnesville is prominently displayed.

The visit began with lunch at Deraney’s The Pizzeria and Such downtown where the delegation was greeted by mayor Peter Banks and city manager David Rose along with Niki Sappington and Belinda Pennamon, liaisons to HBO from city hall and the BPD, respectively. Rounding out the welcoming committee were Kathy Oxford, executive director of the IDA, and Herald-Gazette publishers Laura and Walter Geiger.




(IMAGE SLIDESHOW INSIDE THIS OPEN POST)
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The Lamar County commission has scheduled a work session for Friday, July 6 to discuss the construction of a new detention center. The meeting will be held at 10 a.m. at the administration building on Thomaston Street.

Also on the agenda is discussion of the budget.

The new jail, which has been recommended by multiple investigative grand juries over the years, will be the subject of a presentation by Goodwyn, Cawood and Mills.

The most likely site for the new facility is in the field across the road from the current jail.

A roof collapse impacted another building in downtown Barnesville Tuesday.

The building, the former location of Modern Cleaners at 23 Market St., has been abandoned for some time. This failure comes in the wake of a similar collapse at the Murphey Building just around the corner earlier this year.

According to tax records, the original portion of the structure, owned by Ken and Carole Chambless, dates back to 1893.

If you want to take in the rockets’ red glare to celebrate this Independence Day, there are several options though many take place this weekend.

On Saturday, The Rock Ranch will host what it bills as the largest fireworks show in the southeast at sundown. The ranch opens at 2 p.m. with a wide array of activities for adults and kids including zip lines, rock climbing, etc.

Daytime admission is $13 per person plus tax and some attractions require additional fees. After 6 p.m., admission is $25 per vehicle for the fireworks extravaganza. For more information, call 706-647-6374 or go to therockranch.com.

Fireworks will also be the highlight of the Pride of Pike celebration at the soccer complex in Zebulon beginning at 4 p.m. Admission is $5 per vehicle.
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A four-year-old child was lifefighted to a trauma center after single vehicle crash on Hwy. 36 West at McCollum Road Thursday morning.

Initial indications were the female driver lost control of a Nissan Rogue as she was westbound on Hwy. 36, struck the culvert at McCollum and went airborne. The car flipped multiple times, landing near the railroad tracks.

The 911 call came in at 7:21 a.m.

More to follow...

Veteran educator Georgia Fletcher died Saturday, June 23. She was 86.

Fletcher was a local institution, retiring from the Lamar school system after 37 years. She served 25 years on the local housing authority.

Visitation is Thursday from 6-8 p.m. at Bentley & Sons Funeral Home in Barnesville.

Funeral services are set for Friday at 1 p.m. at West Mt. Sinai Baptist Church.

From Niki Sappington, City of Barnesville

The current frequency and length of discolored water incidents throughout the City of Barnesville’s distribution system has been caused by the higher than normal rainfall the City has experienced in the past two months.

The heavy rainfall has caused the contents of City Pond to experience a higher consistency of the chemical element manganese (Mn). Manganese is a naturally occurring element in rocks and minerals that under normal conditions settles at the bottom of bodies of water.

Disturbances of the pond by heavy rains and a possible turn-over have caused manganese to be more thoroughly mixed in the pond and it is entering the City’s distribution system. The presence of manganese itself does not discolor the water so the water is completely clear when it leaves the treatment plant. However, as the water is distributed through the City in the distribution system, the manganese oxidizes. The oxidized manganese discolors the water and the discoloration can range from yellow to darker brown.

To deal with these occurrences in the short-term, the City will go to affected areas and flush the hydrants to let the discolored water flow out of the system. If there are incidents in your area, contact City Hall at 770-358-0181.

It is important to note that even though the water is discolored it is still completely safe for normal use and the manganese levels in the system are well below any health related limits.
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