Headlines

Massive amounts of dirt have been moved and foundations and piping are being finalized at the sit of the new Lamar County High School adjacent to the current campus.

The new school will open to students in August, 2019.

The video is inside this open post. [Full Story »] 

Barnesville police chief Craig Cooper will get in the ring to square off with an opponent at a wrestling fundraiser here Aug. 11.

BPD is hosting the extravaganza at 7:30 p.m. at the LCHS gym to raise funds for its youth programs.

Kids five and under get in free. Tickets are $7 for kids 6-12 and $15 for adults at the gate. Advance tickets can be purchased for $12. Ringside seats are $25 at the gate and $20 in advance.

For more information call the BPD at 770.358.1234. For advance tickets, visit ucwtv.com or call the UCW hotline at 404-919-1829.

Construction of the new Lamar County High School is proceeding on schedule with site preparation largely complete.

The school is going up on the site of the old football practice field and is expected to open to students at the start of the 2019-2020 school year

[Full Story »] 

The board of directors of the B-LC Chamber of Commerce declined to accept the resignation of president and CEO Christopher Deraney at a called meeting Tuesday morning. The meeting followed Deraney's arrest on a DUI charge early Saturday morning after he closed his downtown restaurant.

Deraney offered an apology for his actions.

The full text of a news release from chamber board chairman Mark Farmer follows:

The Board of Directors of the Barnesville-Lamar County Chamber of Commerce met in a called board meeting to discuss issues surrounding the arrest of Chamber President and CEO, Christopher J. Deraney. Although Mr. Deraney offered his resignation to Chairman Farmer, the Board of Directors refused and returned with swift and appropriate actions, as well as a full display of support in allowing Mr. Deraney to remain the President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce. Chairman Mark Farmer then issued the following statement to the Board of Directors and Mr. Deraney:

“While the Board of Directors does not condone Mr. Deraney’s actions, and certainly considers it a serious offense, we do value the hard work and dedication Christopher has brought to the Chamber of Commerce and know that his apology, commitment, and sentiment are sincere. We are united in moving forward from this.”

Mr. Deraney then made the following statement to the Board of Directors:

“It has always been my sincerest and deepest held concern to never intentionally put this organization, its body of members, the community, or my personal integrity and family name in jeopardy or at risk. You have no idea, truly no idea, how profoundly sorry I am for my actions. Being raised in the family that I was, I have never been in the business of breaking my word—especially not to my family, which I count you all a part of as well. This cuts me very deeply.”

A July 4 fundraiser for Stan ‘Hambone’ Hamrick at the VFW Post July 4 drew a large crowd and raised over $8000 for Hamrick who is battling cancer.

“We counted $8638 at the end of the day. That includes what we collected at the VFW but not what people came up and stuffed in Stan’s pocket,” noted Junior Hamrick, VFW post commander and Hambone’s father.

The guest of honor was astride his Harley and led the Poker Run which drew over 60 bikers for a ride to Yatesville and Culloden and back. When the sun set, the VFW treated a huge crowd of onlookers to a 45-minute fireworks display. “We spent about $2000 on fireworks,” Junior Hamrick said.

The events of the day included dart poker, a casting contest and a sumptuous lunch. Also on the agenda was the first annual Hambone Texas Hold-em Tournament which will become an annual July 4 event as will the Poker Run.

By Walter Geiger

The Lamar County commission has about 90-120 days to decide whether to place a referendum for the construction of a new jail on special election ballots in March, 2019.

That information arose from a workshop the commissioners held Friday on the matter at which Corky Welch and Amy Bell of Goodwyn, Cawood and Mills were on hand.
Bell is the lead architect for the project.

County manager Bob Zellner told the commission the current jail was built in 1994 and consists of 22,413 square feet. It was targeted at a 2015 strategic planning session along with the health department as the county buildings that most needed replacement. [Full Story »] 

The Georgia Department of Labor is hosting a hiring event for unarmed security officers for an undisclosed operation in Barnesville.

The event is set for Thursday, July 12 from 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the career center in Griffin at 1514 Hwy. 16 West.

Candidates must have a high school diploma or GED and be at least 18 years old. The ability to read, write and speak English proficiently is required.

Camp Trojan for rising 6th graders will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, July 10-11 at LCMS.

The camp runs from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. with breakfast and lunch provided both days. Sixth graders can reserve lockers for $10. Students should be dropped off and picked up at the back of the school.

For more information, call 770.358.8652.

A groundbreaking celebration is scheduled for 9 a.m. July 12 for the new GSC student services center at the corner of College Drive and Spencer Street. The property was the site of the old Haygood Keadle home for many years.

The celebration is open to the public.

Construction is expected to begin in late July with an anticipated completion date of early summer 2019.
[Full Story »] 

By Walter Geiger

The battle over the City of Barnesville’s quest to relocate at least 103 graves from historic Wadsworth-Clayton Cemetery moves to Lamar superior court Friday. A hearing on the matter before Judge Tommy Wilson is set for 1 p.m.

The city wants to remove the remains from the cemetery on Old Milner Road to Greenwood Cemetery in town to make room for industrial expansion. The old cemetery, which dates back to the early 1800s, is located on city-owned property. [Full Story »] 

Just exactly how much work Carolyn Parker does as city clerk is best summed up by the fact that it will take four people to divide up her current duties. Her spacious office is filled with boxes of paperwork involving 25 accounts she maintains manually. In another corner is a still-operable IBM Selectric typewriter that she used to write checks when she first went to work for the city in 1980.

“That’s not my original typewriter but a refurbished one Jason Shirey found for me,” Parker said referring to the late assistant city manager Jason Shirey.

Parker is retiring at the end of the month after 38 years with the city. Prior to that she spent 11 years at Carter’s in the data processing department. ‘J.U Little hired me out there,” she recalled.

She started out at city hall as a bookkeeper and billing clerk and moved steadily up the ladder, becoming city clerk in 1993.

Tammy Folson will follow her as clerk, handling council meetings, records and business licenses and serving as the qualifying officer for elections. Niki Sappington will take over credit card processing and council member training.

Tammy York will take over accounting. “She has an accounting degree and that’s good. A lot of what I have done has involved accounting,” Parker said. [Full Story »] 

By Walter Geiger

A local man who terrorized the community by calling in multiple bomb threats to local businesses on May 15, 2016 has been released on parole after serving just over a year of a three-year prison sentence.

Lagarrious Quintae World, 28, was paroled June 12. While on parole, he will live with a family member, Sammy World, at 101 Grove Street in Barnesville.
[Full Story »] 

By Walter Geiger

Billy Bankston Sr. opened Bankston’s Barber Shop in downtown Barnesville in 1938 at the age of 20. He had been aged beyond his years in the Army where he survived in the harsh conditions at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II.

“Daddy always said he made it through because he had grown up in the woods, hunting day and night. He knew to keep his head down,” Billy Jr. said. Billy Jr. went to barber school and went to work in his dad’s shop as an apprentice at age 16. He had good reason. Gordon Military had 900 cadets and they all had to have haircuts once a week.
[Full Story »]