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Buggy Days chairman Dick Esco vowed to make every effort to bring back buggies to Buggy Days and he has succeeded. There will be more buggies on display and in the parade than at anytime in recent history. “If we have one buggy, it will be more than in recent years,” Esco quipped.

Grand marshal Kelly Hughes and her family will ride in a stagecoach pulled by a team of Percheron horses provided by Dean Ryan of Concord. Ryan will also bring several other horse- or mule-drawn vehicles to town. If all goes well, the last ever buggy to roll of the Jackson G. Smith production line will also be featured in the parade.
The main event weekend is now upon us. Here is a day-by-day schedule of events.

Saturday, Sept. 21:

Arts & Crafts Fair: Downtown Barnesville, 9 a.m. Crafters will line the streets all day and local churches and civic groups will operate various food booths. These groups often make their budgets for the entire year from Buggy Days patrons. A kids’ park will operate in the United Bank parking lot all day as well. Great emphasis has been placed on attracting true crafters to the festival and the weeding out of the ‘Walmart vendors’.

Buggy Days Parade: Downtown Barnesville & Summers Field Park, 2 p.m. One of the longest parades in Georgia, featuring bands, floats, antique vehicles, buggies and mounted riders. The parade will be led by grand marshal and reigning citizen of the year Kelly Hughes.

Street Dance: Rodeo arena on Roberta Drive, 6 p.m. This party will feature music by The Limelighters and Barnesville’s own Master Blasters. Fireworks will light the sky at 9:30 p.m. Football fans can watch the Georgia-Notre Dame football game on two large screen televisions. Beer and wine available.

Sunday, Sept. 22:
Community Worship Service: Depot Plaza downtown, 10 a.m. Hosted by First United Methodist Church, this event will feature the church choir, bell choir and the Crossroads praise team band. The United Methodist Men will provide biscuits, coffee and water. Pastor Cyndi McDonald will bring a brief story-telling style sermon entitled “A Fish Tale”. For more information, call 770-358-1494.

Arts & Crafts Fair: Downtown Barnesville, 1-5 p.m.

For more information, call the chamber office at 770-358-5884 or visit buggydays.org.

By Kay S. Pedrotti

During the calmest Milner city council meeting in recent memory, Mayor Joe Bostwick and five council members took care of routine business, including a unanimous vote to raise the city's millage rate from 3.83 to 4 mills.

Council member George Weldon voted with the majority to approve the city's budget, but noted some sections in the document that need to be adjusted “so we know that everything is covered.” He recommended the next council meeting include a vote to amend the budget.
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Planning continues and an army of volunteers is at work behind the scenes as the 46th annual Buggy Days festival gets underway Saturday with the Miss Buggy Days Pageant. Lovely ladies of all ages will compete for crowns beginning at 10 a.m. at the Fine Arts Center. Admission is $5 and kids under age get in free.

Many other events are on the schedule for next week:

Thursday, Sept. 19:

Kickoff Party: Deraney’s Two City Tavern, 5-11 p.m. This event will incorporate a chamber after hours event for members from 5-7 p.m. but the party, featuring live music, will continue until closing time.

Saturday, Sept. 21:
Buggython Road Race: Summers Field Park, 8 a.m. The Buggython includes 5K and 10K road races and a one mile fun run and is sponsored by the LC athletic program.

Arts & Crafts Fair: Downtown Barnesville, 9 a.m. Crafters will line the streets all day and local churches and civic groups will operate various food booths. A kids’ park will operate in the United Bank parking lot all day as well.

Buggy Days Parade: Downtown Barnesville & Summers Field Park, 2 p.m. One of the longest parades in Georgia, featuring bands, floats, antique vehicles, buggies and mounted riders. The parade will be led by grand marshal and reigning citizen of the year Kelly Hughes.

Street Dance: Rodeo arena on Roberta Drive, 6 p.m. This party will feature music by The Limelighters and Barnesville’s local favorite The Master Blasters. Fireworks will light the sky at 9:30 p.m. Football fans can watch the Georgia-Notre Dame football game on two large screen televisions. Beer and wine available.

Sunday, Sept. 22:

Community Worship Service: Depot Plaza downtown, 10 a.m. Hosted by First United Methodist Church, this event will feature the church choir, bell choir and the Crossroads praise team band. The United Methodist Men will provide biscuits, coffee and water. Pastor Cyndi McDonald will bring a brief story-telling style sermon entitled “A Fish Tale”. For more information, call 770-358-1494.

Arts & Crafts Fair: Downtown Barnesville, 1-5 p.m.

For more information, call the chamber office at 770-358-5884 or visit buggydays.org.

A woman driving the wrong way on Hwy. 41 near Milner triggered a bizarre accident early Thursday that snarled traffic on the four-lane for an extended period and sent her to the Grady trauma center in a medical evacuation helicopter.
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From the Monroe County Sheriff's Office:

On Monday, September 9, 2019, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office and the Monroe County Animal Shelter responded to 445 Unionville Road in Barnesville (Monroe County) for a welfare check concerning a complaint of abandoned or neglected dogs.

Upon arrival, a multitude of dogs were located inside and outside of the residence living in deplorable conditions. The owner of the animals, Lynda Cummings, was immediately contacted. Cummings met officials at the residence and agreed to surrender all of the dogs to the Sheriff's Office. [Full Story »] 

An armed man interrupted an alleged theft at property on Coffey Road Tuesday afternoon and held three suspects at gunpoint until law enforcement arrived. The incident took place at property owned by the estate of the late Sherald Johnson at 160 Coffey Road. [Full Story »] 

The second offering of Lantern Tours of Greenwood Cemetery is scheduled for Nov. 3 with costumed characters portraying prominent citizens. The tours, first offered in 2017, are sponsored by the Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association and the Azalea Garden Club.

Tours are set for 3 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Advance tickets are $25 and will go on sale at the chamber of commerce office in October. On the day of the tour, tickets will be $30.

Participants will meet at the Depot for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres before being transported via golf carts to the cemetery. [Full Story »] 

The Lamar County commission met Friday morning to officially approve 2019 millage rates. The county rate is 13.157 mills with the school system rate at 17.077 mills. Each represents a one mill increase. [Full Story »] 

A 26-year-old Molena man was arrested on multiple charges after a high speed chase down Thomaston Street and Hwy. 36 West Aug. 16.

Barnesville police units attempted to stop a 2011 Kia Forte just before midnight but the driver fled, sideswiping a vehicle in the process. [Full Story »] 

The Herald Gazette has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for multiple financial records connected with the construction and ongoing operation of the Milner Library. Notice was hand-delivered to Milner city hall Monday with copies addressed to mayor Joe Bostwick, city administrator Wayne Patterson and library board chairman and city council member George Weldon.
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The Lamar County Trojans opened the Jeff Sloan era Friday night with a 27-6 win over the Mt. Zion Eagles at Trojan Field in a game that was delayed 90 minutes by lightning in the area.

The Eagles were ranked #7 in Class A coming into the game in which LC was a 22-point underdog. Instead they won by 21, holding the Eagles scoreless until there were just 12 seconds left in the contest.

Realtime scoring from the sideline...

2:57 1st qtr.: LC 7 MZ 0: Joey Stratton 7-yd. TD run. Josh Moore PAT. LC converted a 3rd and 40 to go on the drive.

1:28 2nd qtr.: LC 15 MZ 0: Devin Bateman 21-yd. TD run. PAT pass KT Brownlee to Drew Stout.

HALFTIME: 15-0

8:013rd qtr.: LC 21 MZ 0: Keilyn Tyus 16-yd. punt return for TD. two-point PAT failed.

7:36 4th qtr.: LC 27 MZ 0: Bateman 68-yd. TD pass to Tyus. PAT failed.

0:12.50 4th qtr.: LC 27 MZ 6: MZ two-yard TD run. PAT failed.

FINAL: LC 27 MZ 6

Dick Esco has come out of retirement to serve as chairman of Buggy Days in hopes of getting the festival back on the right track. Esco headed up the festival for 30 years. “We’re going to do it the way I know how to do it,” Esco said.

Last year’s event was plagued by the premature halting of its signature event, the Buggy Days parade. The chamber of commerce has also taken considerable heat over canceling the highly-popular pig chase. Esco agrees with that move due to liability concerns.

Esco has worked to weed out the ‘Walmart’ vendors and get back to attracting true crafters. There will also be no outside food vendors at this year’s festival. Those booths, limited to local civic, church and other groups, have sold out. “Buggy Days was always the event that made their budgets. We are going back to that,” he said. [Full Story »] 

Perhaps the largest field of candidates in the history of Milner will battle for four city council seats that are up for grabs in the November general election.

Skip Seda, David Haire and Wayne Inglett will face off in a special election to fill the unexpired term of Roger Samples who is moving out of the city.

Three other seats will be filled by plurality voting. The top three of six qualified candidates will get those slots. They are incumbent Fred Stephens, incumbent Betty Wilson and challengers Regina Stephens, Helen Palacias Jordan, Vickie Smith and Jerry Smith.

Fred Stephens and Regina Stephens are not related. Neither are Vickie Smith and Jerry Smith.

In Barnesville, incumbent mayor Peter Banks and incumbent council members Anne Claxton and Sammie Shropshire qualified but drew no opposition so they will serve another term.

By Kay S. Pedrotti

Changes in the printed agenda brought to the top three items a second consideration of a variance for Tina Martin to secure a manufactured home to replace her Tom Bell Road dwelling. Councilman George Weldon directed the mayor to change the agenda “to follow the code book, which we have not done.”

According to Weldon, the meeting order should be approval of agenda and minutes, “unfinished business,” reports from city departments and staff, and new business. The variance was listed as the unfinished business because the council did not vote on the matter at a called meeting Aug. 12, when a motion to approve died for lack of a second.

The vote on the variance Monday was 2-1; Betty Wilson and Fred Stephens voted yes, Weldon voted no. The three and mayor Joe Bostick attended; Tracey Alford has resigned and Roger Samples' seat will be filled in the next election in November.
[Full Story »]