Features

The venerable Buggy Days Festival got underway over the weekend with a packed out pageant and gets into full swing this week with no hurricanes on the horizon and chamber of commerce weather forecast for the weekend.

Clear skies, highs in the upper 80s and lows in the upper 60s along with relatively low humidity are a welcome prediction for the 45th annual festival after organizers dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Irma last year. “We’ve had a lot of calls - a lot of interest. We are expecting a good turnout,” chamber president Christopher Deraney said Monday. “We couldn’t do this without our army of volunteers.”
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The 45th annual Buggy Days Festival is upon us and one of its signature events, the annual greased pig chase, may be on its last leg. This could be the last year for the event, which is adored by kids but abhorred by the various animal rights groups and their activists - the vast majority of whom do not live here. [Full Story »] 

Lamar deputies dealt with a blazing tractor-trailer rig on I-75 South in Lamar County Wednesday morning. Fire units from Butts County and Jackson State Prison responded.

The ruined rig will be towed when it cools down.

Homecoming at LCHS is right around the corner and coincides with Buggy Days this year. Commemorative t-shirts are available and all orders must be placed by Friday, Sept. 14.

Prices range from $10-$14 depending on size. For more information, contact Dontauneia Traylor at 770-358-8641 or [email protected]

According to Chief Mike Bailey of the Milner Police Department, at approximately 7:15 p.m. Friday one of his officers responded to a call of an attempted child abduction on Main Street.

A female that is suspected of several other attempted child abductions approached a home in Milner posing as a DFCS worker. She was driving a black Jeep Cherokee without a license plate. The incident occurred at a residence on Main Street in Milner.

No children were harmed.

Investigators are searching for the woman believed to have been responsible for several child abduction attempts. Anyone with any information is asked to call 770-467-4282. [Full Story »] 

Jordan and James English are excited to think that they might be two of the newest members of the Gordon State College African American Male Initiative (AMMI.)

“We think it will be a great networking opportunity and a chance to meet people and make new friends,” said James. “We’re both interested in becoming computer engineers and having a mentor help us achieve our goals will really help.” [Full Story »] 

By Rachel McDaniel

Several houses have been moved from the historic Aldora Mill Village but 18 two bedroom homes are still for sale for only $2,000 each - not including the cost to move them. The houses were built in 1957 and when water and sewer lines beneath the aging neighborhood deteriorated beyond repair, the city decided to sell the houses, move them and rebuild in the same location.
[Full Story »] 

The school system and Parrish Construction have released new drone footage of the LCHS construction site. It is embedded in this open post. [Full Story »] 

The Cooperative Extension Service and County Line Farm are teaming up to present a Hay Day demonstration and workshop Aug. 29 in Redbone.

Call 770.358.5163 for more information.

The Extension Service office has scheduled its August Lunch & Learn event for Aug. 20 at 10:30 a.m. at the Barnesville library.

Cindee Sweda will discuss healthy eating and grocery shopping on a budget. The cost is $5.

For more information, call 770.358.5163.

Lightning sparked an explosion at the ARI plant in Orchard Hill Tuesday evening. The plant manufactures aerosol insect repellents and similar products.

The plant is owned by the Dixon family. One employee was burned in the explosion and is in the Grady burn unit in Atlanta after suffering burns over 90% of his body.

Intense storms prevented EMS personnel from life flighting the patient. Another person suffered less serious burns.

The investigation is ongoing.

Laura and Donnie Perry of Barnesville have taken many anniversary trips and will likely take many more but it is unlikely any will top their 30th anniversary trip to the Florida Keys in early July for drama.

They traveled to the extreme south Florida, were staying in Islamorada and visited Key West on July 6. On Saturday, July 7 they set out for Key Largo where they had reservations for a 1:30 p.m. trip to snorkel in John Pennekamp State Park. They boarded a large pontoon boat with about 40 others and set out. There was a lot of boat traffic on the holiday weekend and they had to wait for a while in a line of boats to get out the cut from the pier.

Once underway, the captain took them to Grecian Rocks about five miles out. It was a gorgeous day. The water was crystal clear. Once over the reef, the captain and dive master had a briefing and went over safety issues and some pre-arranged signals to be used if any trouble arose.

Laura and Donnie had their own snorkeling equipment. Laura’s was blue like all the rental equipment but Donnie had a bright yellow snorkel, yellow swim fins and a yellow life jacket. “I must have looked like a lure,” he says now.

The trip was supposed to last two and a half hours but got terminated quickly. [Full Story »] 

A bizarre crash took out power and snarled traffic on busy Thomaston Street Tuesday morning.

A City of Barnesville John Deere tractor rigged with a bat-wing mower was southbound on Thomaston Street when a small car attempted to pass just as the tractor operator was turning onto Stafford Avenue. The car bounced off the tractor's left front tire and sliced off a power pole. The top half of the pole was held aloft by only the power lines.

Traffic and power will be an issue for awhile as the pole is replaced.

Three occupants in the car were shaken up and checked out by EMS but were not seriously injured.

The 911 call went out at 8:23 a.m.

The numbers shown here are incomplete results for Lamar County only. The paragraph below each race summarizes the state reporting at the time listed.

REPUBLICAN BALLOT:

Governor:
Casey Cagle: 452
Brian Kemp: 1191

Statewide: KEMP PROJECTED WINNER at 8:50 p.m. with 69% of the vote with 58% of precincts statewide reporting.

Lt. Governor:
Geoff Duncan: 744
David Shafer: 827

Statewide: Duncan had 50.23% at 9:20 p.m.

Secretary of State:
David Belle Isle: 493
Brad Raffensperger: 1038

Statewide: Raffensperger had 62.27% at 9 p.m.


DEMOCRATIC BALLOT:

State School Superintendent:
Sid Chapman: 89
Otha E. Thornton Jr.: 60

Statewide: Thornton had 59.47% at 9 p.m.

LINK INSIDE FOR STATEWIDE RESULTS PAGE...

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