Headlines

Early voters turned out at a little more than a trickle last week as the May 22 general primary looms.

The elections board office served 98 voters the first week. Of those, 71 cast Republican ballots while 26 voted Democratic. One voted non-partisan.
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The Lamar County planning commission voted unanimously Monday morning to deny a request for the rezoning of 1.2 acres at the corner of Thomaston Street and Veterans Parkway for a planned Dollar General store.

The hearing room was packed with about 80 people - all of them opposed to the store. Twelve of them spoke out against the plan.

Thomason Street resident Niall Matthieson summed up their sentiments with this question for the commission: "Would you recommend moving Dollar General as it looks now and as it has looked for the past 30 years to the end of Thomaston Street? I think that would be a phenomenal error."

Planning commission chairperson Angela Preston reiterated to those in attendance that her board only makes recommendations. The county commission will make the final determination at its meeting May 15.

For much more on this story, see the 5.8.18 print edition of The Herald Gazette.

Hailey Hadsell had five goals and Tomiyah Alford set a school single season scoring record Friday night as the Lamar Lady Trojans routed Fitzgerald 11-1at Trojan Field. The Elite 8 win propelled Wayne Calvert's team into the Final Four.

#3 Lamar (19-2-0) hosts #1 St. Vincent's (16-3-1) Tuesday. First touch is set for 5:30 p.m. at Trojan Field. St. Vincent's eliminated LC 5-1 in Final Four action last year.

In other area action:

The #8 Pike Lady Pirates (12-5-2) topped #9 Jackson County (15-5-0) 2-0 Friday in Zebulon to move on to the Final Four. They host #2 Lovett (13-3-4) Tuesday.

The #6 Spalding Lady Jags (17-2-0) edged White County (10-8-2) 1-0 in penalty kicks after two overtimes. They host #2 Marist (18-1-1) Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Final Four.

By Walter Geiger

A request to rezone 1.2 acres on Thomaston Street in Barnesville from R-1 (residential) to C-2 (highway commercial) for a Dollar General store goes before the planning commission May 7 and is already drawing stiff opposition.

The planning commission will hear the request filed by Donald R. Haywood at 8:30 a.m. at the courthouse. The county commission will take up the matter at its meeting May 15 and a final decision is expected at that time. [Full Story »] 

The LC Diamond Trojans swept Therrell 17-2 and 15-0 in a doubleheader on the road Friday to advance to the Sweet 16 round of the GHSA Class AA baseball playoffs. They will play at Elbert County Thursday.

The Trojan soccer team dispatched KIPP 8-1 Friday at Trojan Field. They advance to round two of the playoffs and host Pepperell Wednesday.

Dep. Cynthia Patten was working on reports at the sheriff’s office April 14 when she went outside to retrieve something from her patrol car. On her way, she met Jon Connor Montgomery, 19, and Kayla Edwins entering the detention center to visit an inmate. Both reeked of alcohol and marijuana.

As she got to the parking lot, Patten detected a strong odor of marijuana from a grey Nissan Maxima. Edwins returned to the Nissan which she told Patten belonged to her boyfriend.

Patten and Edwins reentered the detention center and Patten had a jailer get Montgomery out of the visitation area. Dep. Bossie Davis arrived and Patten told Montgomery she smelled marijuana on him and in the Nissan.
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A single document, a ‘face sheet’ acquired from the GBI after an open records request by The Herald Gazette, reveals the identity of the Pike deputy involved in a fatal shooting April 4.
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The GHSA state soccer tournament gets underway next week and both the Trojans and Lady Trojans are in on the action.

The Lady Trojans will host Therrell High of Atlanta on Thursday, April 26. First touch is set for 5:30 p.m. at Trojan Field. LC is 15-2-0, ranked #3 in the state and the #1 seed from Region 5AA. Therrell is unranked and the #4 seed from Region 6AA.

The Trojans will host KIPP Atlanta on Friday, April 27. The time has yet to be determined. LC is 11-4-2, unranked and the #1 seed from Region 5AA. KIPP is unranked and the #4 seed from Region 6AA.

Other area teams in postseason play include:

The Pike County Lady Pirates will host Windsor Forest of Savannah on April 26. The time is to be determined. Pike is 9-5-2, ranked #9 in Class AAA and the #1 seed from Region 4AAA. Windsor Forest is unranked and the #4 seed from Region 3AAA.

The Pike County Pirates will play Friday, April 27 at home against Southeast Bulloch. The time is to be determined. The Pirates are 11-5-1, ranked #9 in Class AAA and the #1 seed from Region 4AAA.

The Spalding Lady Jaguars will host Shaw High of Columbus April 26. The time is to be determined. The Lady Jags are 14-2-0, ranked #4 in Class AAAA and the #1 seed from Region Region 2AAAA. Shaw is unranked and the #4 seed from Region 1AAAA.

The Spalding Jaguars will play Columbus High at Columbus April 27. The time is to be determined. The Jags are 7-7-2, unranked and the #4 seed from Region 2AAAA. Columbus is 14-4-0, ranked #8 in Class AAAA and the number 1 seed from Region 1AAAA.

The Mary Persons Lady Dogs will host Cairo High School April 26. The time is to be determined. The Lady Dogs are 11-5-1, ranked #8 in Class AAAA and the #2 seed from Region 2AAAA. Cairo is 9-7-0, unranked and the #3 seed from Region 1AAAA.

The MP Bulldogs host Shaw April 27. The time is to be determined. The Dogs are 12-4-1, unranked, and the #2 seed from Region 2AAAA. Cairo is unranked and the #3 seed from Region 1AAAA.

The Upson-Lee Knights host Cairo April 27. The Knights are 16-1-0, ranked #9 in Class AAAA and the #1 seed from Region 2AAAA. Cairo is unranked and the #4 seed from Region 1AAAA.

The Upson-Lee Lady Knights did not qualify for the postseason.

By Walter Geiger

Demolition got underway Monday morning at the Harris-Graham Street building on the LCHS campus. At a brief ceremony, school superintendent Dr. Jute Wilson noted the area where the track hoe struck its first blows to the 70-year-old facade is the approximate site of a roundabout near the front of the new high school which will open to students on the site for for the 2019-2020 school year.

The construction site was wet and muddy after three inches of rain fell on the partially graded ground over the weekend but the school was nearly gone by Wednesday morning.

The original Aldora School was located on what was then Old Zebulon Road but is now known as Aldora Street. The current building, originally known as Aldora Grammar School was completed in 1947. [Full Story »] 

This sweetheart showed up at Cole Forest late last week, was not malnourished but had a respiratory infection. She was found, taken to the vet and cared for. She is almost fully recovered.

This is someone's indoor dog. She was microchipped in 2005 but that was all the data on the chip.

If you know where she belongs or would like to possibly adopt her, call 770.584.4519.

Demolition began Monday morning on the Harris -Graham St. building on the LCHS campus. The old facility, originally called the Aldora Grammar School, was finished in 1947. It was renamed the Harris-Graham St. Building in honor of Dr. E.H. Harris in 1999. Dr. Harris and his family were on hand for a brief ceremony before the demolition began.

For much more on this story, see the 4.17.18 print edition of The Herald Gazette.

By Walter Geiger

The huge construction project at the site of the new high school, where the historic Graham Street building will come down this week, is in full swing but, with a burgeoning local economy, home builders are back at work with a vengeance as well.

The construction of site built homes has long been a key economic indicator and that statistic had pretty much flatlined here since about 2006.

Things are taking off now, however. Eight new homes are under construction at the long abandoned Needleleaf development off Cannafax Road.

Knight Homes of Jonesboro is seriously eyeing building homes in the College Manor subdivision off College Drive in Barnesville and won concessions from the city council last week that lifted a front access restrictions there. That development went to seed in 2006 and has been foreclosed upon several times with not a single home built to date.
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A 49-year-old Barnesville man was arrested March 25 after allegedly trying to pull over a state trooper who serves as head of security at the state capital on I-75 in Monroe County.

According to an account in the Monroe County Reporter, Capt. Louis Young of the GSP called for help around 6:46 p.m. after a confrontation with Ken Taylor on Smith Road just off the interstate. [Full Story »]