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After a week off to heal multiple nagging injuries, the Lamar County Trojans (3-4, 1-2) return to the gridiron tonight when they host #4 Bremen.

Bremen (6-1, 2-1) has lost only to #2 Callaway and is a lock for the second seed from the region. The Blue Devils blasted Temple 49-7 last week. They are led by quarterback Wade Cartwright and coached by Davis Russell who is in his third year at the helm. Russell is the grandson of football legend Erk Russell and the sonof Jay Russell who went 15-7 at Barnesville Academy in 1983-84.

Check back often tonight for realtime scoring from the game.

10:33 1st qtr.: Bremen 7-0: Bremen 23-yd. TD run. PAT good.

7:05 1st qtr.: Bremen 14-0: Bremen 13-yd. TD run. PAT good.

11:19 2nd qtr.: Bremen 21-0: Bremen 4-yd. TD run. PAT good.

8:32 2nd qtr.: Bremen 28-0. Bremen 4-yd. TD run. PAT good. LC had a punt blocked and recovered by Bremen at the 4.

4:23 2nd qtr.: Bremen 35-0: Bremen 13-yd. TD run. PAT good.

Halftime: 35-0

End 3rd qtr.: 35-0

5:50 4th qtr.: Bremen 35 LC 7: Joey Stratton 85-yd. TD run. Ethan Popham PAT.

FINAL: 35-7

Funeral services for four-year-old William French III, who was killed in a tragic accident at his home on Shady Brook Lane here Sunday, have been finalized.

The full obituary follows:

Master William D. French, III, age 4 of Barnesville, passed away on Sunday, October 14, 2018.

William was born in Griffin, Georgia on November 11, 2013. He attended Pre-K in the Lamar County School System. He is preceded in death by his grandmother, Dee Glover.

Survivors include his father, William D. “Billy” French, Jr., his mother, Jessica Glover; sister, Lainey D. French; grandparents, Kristina A. Jeter, Bill and Debra French; great-grandmother, Jessie Glover; several aunts, uncles and cousins.

A visitation for Master William D. French, III will be Friday, October 19, 2018 from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm at Conner-Westbury Funeral Home. A funeral service will be Saturday, October 20, 2018 at 11:00 am at Griffin First Assembly with Dr. Randy Valimont officiating. Interment will follow in Greenwood Cemetery in Barnesville, Georgia. William will be taken to the church on Saturday at 10:00 am to lie-in-state.

As Lamar was bracing for Hurricane Michael, Darrell and Darlene Hickman shut the doors on the B&L Convenice Store they had operated at the corner of College Drive and Taylor Street in Barnesville for 30 years. “We shut it down last Tuesday at about 9 p.m. The fuel tanks were getting low. We’re going to miss it. You wouldn’t believe how many people came by there just to stop and socialize,” Darrell said last week.

The Wash House, the laundromat adjacent to the store, remains open but will soon move to the former Some Beach Tans location at the corner of Veterans Parkway and Redbud Drive. “We are working with Atlanta Gas Light on getting the gas service we need to run the dryers. We want to get the folks who need it a good, clean laundromat. They need a place to wash their clothes. We want them to have a good place. It will be clean and comfortable,” Darrell added.

The B&L property is owned by an LLC managed by the children of Will Hill Newton who has owned the B&L property for a long time. The same group also owns the land on which Hardee’s, Giant Mart and United Bank are situated. [Full Story »] 

A four-year-old boy has died after a tragic accident in the yard of his home off Hwy. 36 West here Sunday afternoon.

UPDATE: The deceased child has been identified by coroner Jim Smith as William French III, 4. He was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m. Sunday at Spalding Regional Medical Center.

The driver involved was the child's father who had custody of the boy. He is William French Jr., 36, of the 169 Shady Brook Lane address where the incident occurred. [Full Story »] 

The prolonged battle over the Wadsworth Cemetery and its historic graves is headed to its third legal venue as the City of Barnesville has requested and been granted a review by the Georgia Court of Appeals. The case has been heard in superior courts in Fulton and Lamar counties with the city losing in both instances.

The pitched battle over the grave relocation issue dates back well over a year. The city is seeking a permit to move at least 103 graves from the cemetery to make room for industrial expansion and argues the cemetery is abandoned. [Full Story »] 

Heavy rains and power outages were the primary issues left behind when Hurricane Michael finally blew out in the wee hours Thursday morning.

Southern Rivers Energy had 2435 members without power in its service area at 8:45 a.m. Thursday. Crews were working to restore those outages.

County manager Bob Zellner said public works crews dealt with only two downed trees early Thursday - one in Aldora and one on Van Buren Road.

County offices are closed until noon Thursday.

Early rainfall reports Thursday revealed Michael dropped 5-7 inches of rain on the county.

A tornado touched down in Crawford County near the Flint River and another was sighted in Upson County but no damage was reported there.

UPDATE: Lamar now under tornado watch as of 2:45 p.m. Wednesday through 2 a.m. Thursday.

Lamar has been added to a long list of Georgia counties which are under a tropical storm warning as Hurricane Michael's track has shifted slightly to the north overnight.

The tropical storming warning, along with a flash flood watch, are in effect through Thursday afternoon.

Lamar is expected to receive four to six inches of rain over the next 24 hours, accompanied by wind gusts peaking at 35 mph. at about 3 a.m. Thursday.

The heaviest rains should move in at about dusk Wednesday.

ALERT FROM KATHRYN CLAXTON AT SOUTHERN RIVERS ENERGY:

Southern Rivers Energy is preparing for Hurricane Michael as it makes its way toward Florida and Georgia. Although the timing and potential impact to Georgia continues to change, we have contingency plans in place and will be prepared for any damage associated with the event. Representatives from every department at Southern Rivers Energy have met multiple times this week to prepare for Hurricane Michael. We are ahead of schedule in taking precautions due to the predictions of damage this storm will have on the southeast. Forecasts are predicting strong winds, possible tornados and rainfall for SRE's service territory. One of the things that makes central Georgia so appealing is the abundance of tall, old trees. These do not help when facing a storm and winds at the speed we are expecting. Be prepared for limbs and trees to fall. Be prepared for days without power.

"Hurricane Michael has the potential to be more damaging than we experienced with Irma last year. We have multiple crews on standby from Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky and Texas and several already assigned and deploying to our territory, ready to get to work," says Michael McMillan, SRE President/CEO. "This is going to be a bad storm and our members need to have that in mind before it hits. Go ahead and have a plan in place."

We want to stress the importance for anyone with medical needs (i.e.: oxygen tanks, refrigerated medicine, medical equipment) to be ready for an extended outage. For more important helpful tips and resources when preparing for a storm, visit https://www.ready.gov/power-outages.

To report an outage, please call our Outage Hotline: 1-866-244-4890

GSC CANCELS CLASSES: All classes, activities, and events for all Gordon State College students are canceled for Thursday, Oct. 11 AND Friday, Oct. 12. The regular class schedule will resume Monday, Oct. 15.

The Gordon State College campus will be closing today at 3 p.m. and will be closed on Thursday, Oct. 11 with only essential personnel prepared to report. Unless otherwise notified by email before noon on Thursday, the campus will reopen with ALL personnel expected to report on Friday, Oct. 12.

HURRICANE WARNINGS are now in effect as far north as Warner Robins, Ga. This is a very dangerous storm.

The LC Lady Trojans won two of three games last week and earned the right to host a three-game first round state playoff series here. Postseason action will begin Wednesday at Aldora Field when LC takes on Monticello.

A doubleheader opens the action with game times moved up to noon and 2 p.m. to avoid rains from Hurricane Michael. Game three, if necessary, is scheduled for Thursday but that may change as well so check back often for updates.

The Lady Canes (14-5-2) eliminated LC in the Sweet 16 round of the playoffs last year. They are the #3 seed from Region 8 AA. Lamar (11-9) is the #2 seed from Region 5AA.

By Walter Geiger

Just days after a series of incidents which led to the last minute-rerouting of the Buggy Days parade and anger on the parts of hundreds of parade goers who missed it, the board of directors of the chamber of commerce voted to fire president and CEO Christopher Deraney. He had held the post since April 10, 2017.

The meeting commenced on Sept. 27 at noon. The last item was a 45-minute executive session to discuss personnel. After it, Deraney was told only that a motion to terminate him effective immediately had carried. The vote was taken behind closed doors.

Board chairman Mark Farmer said the board would not release who made and seconded the motion to terminate Deraney.

Deraney said Barnesville police chief Craig Cooper made the motion which was seconded by Cory McCook and nine board members voted for it. Only three board members voted to retain Deraney. He identified them as Blane Cauthen, Sharon Greer and Cheryl Chester.
[Full Story »] 

LC athletic director Mike Oberg reported Monday he had reached out to his counterpart at Pike County Monday in the aftermath of the death of Pirate player Dylan Thomas Sunday evening.

Thomas was hurt during the Pike-Peach County game Friday night in Zebulon and later collapsed. He was life-flighted to Grady where he underwent two surgeries for a traumatic brain injury.

Oberg reported the Trojan players are signing a #32 Lamar jersey to be sent to Thomas’s funeral as are all the teams in the area. Thomas wore #32 for the Pirates.

“We will do anything we can to help and support the Pike team and Thomas’ family in the aftermath of this tragic event,” Oberg said.

After a 45-minute executive session Thursday, the board of directors of the Barnesville-Lamar County Chamber of Commerce, voted to terminate president and CEO Christopher Deraney.

Both board chairman Mark Farmer and Deraney are expected to make statements soon.

Deraney said he was told only that a motion to terminate him immediately was approved and he began cleaning out his office. Deraney had held the chamber job since April 10, 2017.

By Walter Geiger

Buggy Days has always been about making memories and a snafu with this year’s parade route is a bad one that will linger long in local minds - particularly in the minds of those who lined Thomaston Street and the lawns of its graceful homes to see the processional.

Those who awaited the 45th annual parade along Thomaston Street south of Houston Avenue never got to see the parade at all unless they hurried up the street to catch a glimpse. Abruptly, Thomaston Street was blocked off and the parade rerouted down Houston Street back to the staging area at Summers Field Park, leaving hundreds of parade goers in the lurch.

Chief Craig Cooper pointed to numerous medical emergencies and traffic flow issues in the area of Holmes and Houston streets for the decision to cut the parade short.
[Full Story »]