Headlines

The fledgling planning and zoning committee in Milner issued this statement in which it takes issue with coverage by the Herald Gazette of one of its meetings.

A surprise retirement parade of over 60 vehicles rolled past Lamar County Elementary School Friday to honor retiring principal Dr. Julie Steele.

Co-workers organized the parade because COVID-19 restrictions prevented an in-person celebration.

There are ongoing and worsening issues with storm water control, fire hydrant pressure and other systems in Milner and, thus far, the county commission is turning a deaf ear to pleas from city officials for help. The latest request was for $5000-$5500 worth of repairs to the storm water system at Old Hwy. 41 and Matthews Street. [Full Story »] 

From the GBI:

On Friday, May 15, 2020, agents and digital forensic investigators with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit (CEACC), with the assistance of the Butts County Sheriff’s Office, executed a search warrant at the residence of Michael David Miller, 58, in Jackson, Butts County, GA. The search warrant was related to an investigation pertaining to the online sexual exploitation of children. As a result of the investigation, Miller was arrested and charged with five counts of Possession of Child Pornography and one count of Bestiality.

Miller is currently being held at the Butts County Jail.

This investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, housed within the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, to identify those involved in the child pornography trade and the online sexual exploitation of children. The ICAC Program, created by the U. S. Department of Justice, was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the Internet, the proliferation of child pornography, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.

Anyone with information about this case or any other cases of child exploitation is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Computer Crimes and Child Exploitation Unit at 404-270-8870.

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, Judge Kathy Martin and her staff have kept probate court operational. The county has installed a new window counter at the probate court office and at the clerk of court’s office across the hall.

Effective Thursday, new rules will go into effect. [Full Story »] 

UPDATE FROM GRIFFIN POLICE:

On May 9, 2020, at 7:41 P.M., The Griffin Police Department responded to a call of a juvenile shot at 608 Hammock St., Griffin Ga, 30223. Officer’s responded to the scene and discovered that a 12 year old male subject had sustained a gunshot wound to the chest.

Responding officers provided CPR until the arrival of EMS who transported the 12 year old juvenile to Well-star Spalding Regional Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Deputy Coroner Mike Pryor pronounced the 12 year old dead.

The Griffin Police Department Criminal Investigation Division was immediately notified and responded to the scene. During the course of the investigation, several rumors and witnesses accounts had to be effectively sorted and pieced together. Early in the investigation it was discovered that previously that day, Uniformed Patrol Officers had attempted to effect a traffic stop in the area but the individuals fled behind houses in close proximity to where this shooting occurred some two or more hours later.

As Griffin Uniformed Patrol units searched the area they found a bag of suspected MDMA and recovered it where it was turned in for examination. A weapon was not found at that time. The patrol officers later made contact with the suspected driver of the fleeing vehicle who provided them with information relative to the investigation.

On Sunday, May 10th the children who were present at the time of the shooting, siblings of the victim, ages 7 and 5 were forensically interviewed at the Southern Crescent Sexual Assault Center, an entity that specializes in interviewing children where the interview produced an extensive corroborative statement by the five year old indicating that he had found the gun in the wooded area near the location of the shooting (in proximity to where officers had earlier retrieved the suspected bag of drugs) and thinking it was a toy, accidentally discharged it striking his brother in the chest. Evidence and witness accounts are consistent with this account by the five year old.

After eliminating some of the erroneous accounts and information related to the incident, the Criminal Investigation Division has now shifted its investigation to finding the subject(s) that are suspected of abandoning the firearm.

The weapon and the child’s clothing were collected and will be sent to the GBI Crime Lab for analysis for touch DNA to determine further who has possessed and touched the weapon and the clothing will be subjected to a Gun Shot Residue analysis based on GBI discretion.

The Griffin Police Department continues to investigate this case and all information has not been obtained but the facts and circumstances discovered lead to a strong hypothesis, substantiated by evidence that this incident is a tragic accident.

We will diligently pursue and charge any other parties responsible for the actions leading up to the apparent abandonment of this weapon allowing for access by these innocent children. Our hearts cry out for this family during this time of tragic loss. Chief Mike Yates stated that “we will leave no stone upturned as we search for the individuals responsible for the abandonment of this weapon”.A 12-year-old boy was killed in a drive-by shooting in Griffin near Experiment Saturday evening.

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The boy and other children were jumping on a trampoline at a home in the 600 block of Hammock Street. The kids heard a pop and the boy fell. He was hit in the chest and died at the scene.

The body was taken to the state crime lab.

The investigation is ongoing.

An unidentified man lost control of a Hyundai SUV on Atlanta Street about 4:30 Friday afternoon and the vehicle overturned.

The driver appeared dazed but uninjured. 'If you'll just flip my car over, I'll go on," the man told the first officers to arrive.

He was being evaluated at the scene..

With the first really warm Spring weather moving in over the weekend, people were out and about enjoying life. Some wore masks. Many did not. It was so nice, many seemed to forget about COVID-19 for awhile.

The question is, however, has COVID-19 forgotten us? One can make the argument coronavirus is on the wane here. As of Monday, sheriff Brad White and his staff had only nine residences indicating a positive case in the 911 system. That number, provided by GEMA, dropped by five over the past week. [Full Story »] 

YourTown Health in Barnesville will offer free COVID-19 testing Wednesday, May 6 from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. at its Commerce Place office near First United Methodist Church. The nasal swab test will be done in the patient's vehicle. No physician's order is required and no financial information will be gathered.

Demographic information will be collected and a brief questionnaire must be completed.

Test results will be delivered by phone within 2-3 days.

You must make an appointment by calling 770-358-4408.

The Barnesville city council has postponed its regular meeting which was to be held May 4 to May 11. The meeting will be held at 5 p.m. in the courtroom at the police department building.

Local physician Dr. Lee Woodall, who is also chairman of the county board of health, told the Lamar County commission April 21 he doesn’t expect to see a COVID-19 peak locally until June. The meeting was held via video conference. [Full Story »] 

The Milner planning and zoning commission will meet today at 6 p.m. at the Milner community library. Social distancing rules will be in effect and admission limited. For more information, call city hall at 770.358.1604

This graphic is being distributed to local governments and businesses by Gov. Brian Kemp's office as some operations prepare to re-open Friday.

More from Kemp's office and DPH:

Beginning Friday, April 24, 2020 executive order 04.20.20.01 allows gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios, barbers, cosmetologists, hair designers, nail care artists, estheticians and massage therapists to reopen.

Beginning Monday, April 27, 2020 Restaurants, theaters and private social clubs will be allowed to reopen. They will have specific social distancing and sanitation mandates. The governor’s office is expected to release more guidelines in the next few days.

Shelter in place is still effective until April 30, 2020 and people over the age of 65 or anyone with an underlying medical condition is encouraged to stay home until May 13, 2020.

For businesses opening on Friday, April 24, 2020, it is not business as usual. No more than 10 people can be gathered at a single location if it requires people to stand or sit within six (6) feet of any other person (does not apply to cohabitating people outside of their homes, family units or roommates residing together). They must also comply with measures which mitigate the exposure and spread of COVID-19.

Screening and evaluating workers who exhibit signs of illness, such as a fever over 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, cough, or shortness of breath;
Requiring workers who exhibit signs of illness to not report to work or to seek medical attention;
Enhancing sanitation of the workplace as appropriate;
Requiring hand washing or sanitation by workers at appropriate places within the business location;
Providing personal protective equipment as available and appropriate to the function and location of the worker within the business location;
Prohibiting gatherings of workers during working hours;
Permitting workers to take breaks and meals outside, in their office or personal workspace, or in such other areas where proper social distancing is attainable;
Implementing teleworking for all possible workers;
Implementing staggered shifts for all possible workers;
Holding all meetings and conferences virtually, wherever possible;
Delivering intangible services remotely wherever possible;
Discouraging workers from using other workers’ phones, desks, offices, or other work tools and equipment;
Prohibiting handshaking and other unnecessary person-to-person contact in the workplace;
Placing notices that encourage hand hygiene at the entrance to the workplace and in other workplace areas where they are likely to be seen;
Suspending the use of Personal Identification Number (PIN) pads, PIN entry devices, electronic signature capture, and any other credit cards receipt signature requirements to the extent such suspension is permitted by agreements with credit card companies and credit agencies;
Enforcing social distancing of non-cohabitating persons while present on such entity’s leased or owned property;
For retailers and service providers, providing for alternative points of sale outside of buildings, including curbside pickup or delivery of products and/or services if an alternative point of sale is permitted under Georgia law;
Increasing physical space between workers’ worksites to at least six (6) feet.
Providing disinfectant and sanitation products for workers to clean their workspace, equipment, and tools;
Increasing physical space between workers’ worksites to at least six (6) feet.