Headlines

The legendary Swingin' Medallions will headline the annual Buggy Days concert tonight at Ritz Park so put on your shaggin' shoes and enjoy a night of nostalgia.

Gates open at 5 p.m. with a DJ spinning tunes. The concert begins at 7 p.m. Admission is $10 in advance and $15 at the gate.

Food, beer and wine will be available. No outside coolers are allowed. Bring your own chairs and blankets as there is only limited bleacher seating. For more information, call 770.358.5884.

Homecoming week activities are in full swing at LCHS this week. The annual parade lines up at 4:30 p.m. and starts at 5 p.m. Thursday.

The queen will be crowned at halftime of the homecoming game on Friday, Sept 21 when Lamar hosts the Jordan Red Jackets. The homecoming king will also be announced.

Katelynn Nicole Womack was crowned Miss Buggy Days during the annual fesitval pageant over the weekend at the Fine Arts Center.

The following age group winners were selected:

Infant, Quinn Brinkley Sanders

Baby, Cypress Jo Keller

Toddler, Kaisley Danielle Blount

Tiny, Dylan Marie Pasley

Little, Jamie LeAnne Keith

Sweetheart, Corey’Na Analeigh Whisby

Tween, Grace Noel Taylor

Teen, Trinity Cadence Welch

Mother/Daughter, Jessica and Vivian Barnes

Classic, Sirena Garcia

Golden, Vella Jean Ralston.

Holiday weekends, like full moons, often lead to unusual behavior and that was certainly true for the Labor Day weekend and personnel at the local jail. Two people were arrested for carrying drugs into the facility despite multiple warning signs.

On September 1, Sgt. Taylor Bannister of the jail division staff contacted Sgt. Michael Newman about two black straws containing suspected methamphetamine. [Full Story »] 

The City of Milner and Woodmen of the World (WOW) will sponsor a Patriot Day honor and remembrance event at the Milner veterans memorial on Sept. 11. The event will begin at noon.

WOW is actively involved in such 9-11 remembrances in honor of those who died in the World Trade Center attack and associated terrorism that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001 that killed nearly 3000 Americans. The local chapter is also committed to honoring the memories of those who died with flag/flagpole dedications and other events.

“Every year this ceremony includes a tribute to members of the military, both current and past, and extends gratitude to the firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians and other first responders who safeguard our community. We hope the public will join us Sept. 11 in fulfilling our promise to never forget the tragedies and those who perished that day,” chapter president Maxine Gibson said.

Local officials have an appointment with state authorities tomorrow to present the 2018 tax digest for approval. Once they receive the okay, tax commissioner Andrea Anthony and her staff will get in touch with the firm that prints property tax bills.
[Full Story »] 

The Holiday Ensign, a large flag donated by Capt. Dan Rainey, will fly over the Lamar County Courthouse on Labor Day and again on Constitution Day, Sept. 17.

The huge flag flew over the USS Savannah 30 years prior on Constitution Day when Capt. Rainey commanded the vessel.

The ship’s signalman presented Rainey with the ensign and he has had it ever since.

Capt. Rainey went on to command the USS Nimitz and USS Kitty Hawk.

By Walter Geiger

An unusual shipment arrived at an out-of-the-way location off Chappell Mill Road in northeast Lamar County last week - a 6000-pound section of wing from a scrapped Boeing 767. Awaiting it inside was a 767 landing gear.

Jeff Barkes and his crew at D-Check Developments will use the parts, which came from a boneyard near Tucson, Arizona, to develop one of their Omni Arm devices to speed up the process of changing out landing gears on the aircraft which is used around the world. [Full Story »] 

By Kay S. Pedrotti

The Milner City Council, after enlisting Wayne Patterson’s help as a consultant to the city, has unanimously approved Patterson as the new city administrator. He succeeds the late Harold Wilson. [Full Story »] 

A 20-year-old Lamar County man wanted on multiple sex charges was extradited back to Barnesville from Lebanon, Indiana last week.
[Full Story »] 

Three horses at a Lamar County facility have been put down and others are under quarantine after an outbreak of Equine Infectious Anemia. The horses which were put down were tested in another state then traced here after the tests were positive.

Sheriff Brad White, whose investigators have been involved along with USDA and Georgia Department of Agriculture personnel, likened the disease to AIDS in humans.

All the horses at the facility are now under a strict 60-day quarantine which will not be lifted until all the horse there test negative for EIA.
[Full Story »] 

Southern Rivers Energy will hold its 81st annual members’ meeting Saturday, Aug. 25 at its headquarters on Hwy. 341 South.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. along with breakfast and a health fair sponsored by Upson Regional Medical Center. The business meeting begins at 10 a.m. followed by door prize drawings. The grand prize is $500 cash.

For more information, call 770-358-1383.

The Lamar County commission held the first of three public hearings on a proposed property tax increase Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. but no members of the public bothered to attend. A second hearing is set for tonight at 6 p.m. The third is set for 6 p.m. Aug. 21. [Full Story »]