Monday, June 27, 2016

SCAM WARNING FROM UPSON S.O.

UPSON COUNTY SHERIFF DAN KILGORE WARNING THE PUBLIC ABOUT A PUBLISHERS CLEARING HOUSE SCAM—THAT'S MAKING THE ROUNDS.

VICTIMS ARE CONTACTED BY PHONE AND TOLD THEY HAVE WON THE SWEEPSTAKES —BUT THEY NEED TO SEND-IN A $375 PROCESSING FEE.


SHERIFF KILGORE SAID HANG-UP IF YOU GET SUCH A CALL.

SUSPECTED ARSON AT THE PIKE UPSON LINE

PIKE AND UPSON S.O. CALLED IN THE STATE FIRE MARSHALL TO INVESTIGATE SUSPECTED ARSON AT THE CENTER OF THE DRIPPING ROCK ROAD BRIDGE—FRIDAY.


A LARGE BURNED AREA AT THE CENTER OF THE BRIDGE WITH THE SMELL OF GASOLINE ON WOOD PLANKS NEAR THE PAVEMENT. NO STRUCTURAL DAMAGE—ITS O.K. FOR TRAFFIC.


THURSTON AND PIKE FIRE DEPARTMENTS RESPONDED.

Friday, June 24, 2016

THOMASTON POLICE ARRESTED A DRUG SUSPECT

On June 22, 2016 at approximately 1:30 p.m. Marcus Mitchell Holmes, 19 of Thomaston was arrested for possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute, Possession of a Concealed Weapon and Possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. This case originated while Lt. Andrew Pippin was traveling on Third Street in Thomaston and could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from a residence located at 98 Third Street in Thomaston. Lt. Pippin made contact with several males standing in the car port area while at that location and addressed the complaint with the home owner. During a consent search a loaded .40 cal Smith and Wesson handgun was recovered that was concealed inside a camouflage back-pack that was located under the car port. After further investigation a cigar pack containing seven individual bags of synthetic marijuana packaged for distribution was also recovered on the ground near this back pack. Holmes was arrested and transported to the Upson County jail were a bond was set by the Upson County Magistrate Judge for $60,000.00.   


THOMASTON POLICE DEPART. ARREST REPORT

On June 12, 2016 at 1906 hours Officer Mathew Allen conducted a traffic stop on a red in color Nissan Pick-up truck and identified Robby Dale Garner operating this vehicle. Garner turned left onto Denham Street and drove at a slow rate of speed for approximately 75 yards and turned into the residence of 106 Denham Street where Garner stopped and exited his vehicle. Officer Allen escorted Garner to the passenger side of the vehicle and as Garner was looking for his Identification with his right hand Officer Allen observed Garner attempting to give a clear glass methamphetamine pipe to a male passenger. Officer Allen advised Garner that he was being detained and to place his hands behind his back and Garner attempted to pull away from the officer multiple times refusing to comply with the officers verbal commands. Garner was arrested and Officer Allen recovered a glass smoking device containing methamphetamine residue located inside the glass device. Garner was charged with Obstruction of an Officer and Possession of Methamphetamine with a bond set at $22,500.00 by the Upson County Magistrate Judge.

On June 22, 2016 Officer White Lawrence made contact with a male identified as Anterryious Ferguson, 17 of Thomaston on Fourth Avenue after receiving a complaint of this suspect attempting to sell prescription medication. Ferguson attempted to flee from Officer Lawrence and attempted to get into a vehicle. During the investigation Officer Lawrence recovered a pill bottle containing 20 of his mother’s blood pressure pills and 18 over the counter sleeping pills. Ferguson stated to the officer that he was going to sell the pills for extra money. Ferguson was placed under arrest and transported to Upson County Jail where he was charged with Possession of Dangerous Drugs and Possession of a controlled substance not in its original container.



Tuesday, June 21, 2016

JOIN THE SPREWELL BLUFF ADVISORY COMMITTEE

THE UPSON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ARE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD MEN AND WOMEN TO SERVE ON A NEW BODY—THE SPREWELL BLUFF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

THE COMMITTEE WILL HAVE INPUT INTO IMPROVEMENTS, FACILITIES AND MARKETING OF THE PARK.


APPLICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OFFICE AT THE GOVERNMENT COMPLEX AND MUST BE RETURNED BY TUESDAY—JUNE 28TH.  

Thursday, June 16, 2016

EMPLOYEE OF TAYLOR COUNTY S.O. ARRESTED IN THOMASTON

On June 13, 2016 Thomaston Police Department Investigators were at Phagan’s Fast Stop Convenience store located at 1104 South Church Street in the city limits of Thomaston investigating a commercial burglary. While at this location Lt. Andrew Pippin walked by a black in color Tahoe in the parking lot that had all four windows down and could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. Lt. Pippin made contact with the driver identified as Jennifer TERRELL, 33 from Butler, GA. While speaking to TERRELL, who was seated in the driver seat of her vehicle Lt. Pippin observed a large clear bag containing marijuana that was located in the back seat area of the Tahoe. TERRELL indicated to Lt. Pippin that she works for the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office and that she had a separate passenger riding in her vehicle that went inside that store. Lt. Pippin and Agent Brian Hammock made contact with the passenger identified as Bryant O’Neal MOLTEN, also from Butler, GA. Both MOLTEN and TERRELL were arrested and charged with possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute and a separate charge was given to MOLTEN for giving a false name to law enforcement officers during the narcotics investigation. Charges are also pending for TERRELL for Violation of Oath of Office. 

ARMED ROBBERY UNDER INVESTIGATION BY THOMASTON P.D.

On June 14th at 6:00 a.m. the Thomaston Police Department responded to an armed robbery at a local convenience store located at 703 North Bethel Street in the city limits of Thomaston. According to the victim a heavy set black male walked in the store asking for directions to Wal-Mart, while the clerk was assisting in giving the directions another black male entered the store with a shirt concealing his face along with a separate white shirt attempting to conceal the unknown suspect’s hair. The suspect sprayed the clerk with pepper spray in the facial area and jumped over the counter to retrieve the money from the cash register while giving verbal commands to lie down on the floor. The suspect took a large amount of US Currency along with a Ruger 9mm hand gun and $200 worth of GA lottery tickets. Both suspects got into a Green or Gray minivan and fled the scene. 

The Criminal Investigation Division tracked the suspects using the cashed lotto tickets in Barnesville, GA and Jackson, GA just hours after the armed robbery. Attached to this release are still images of the alleged suspects entering a gas station located in Jackson, GA. This department is requesting the assistance of the public in an attempt to identify the suspects that committed armed robbery in Thomaston, GA on June the 14th. Anyone with information as to the identity of the suspects in the images please contact the Thomaston Police Department CID unit at 706-647-5455.   

Friday, June 10, 2016

THOMASTON P.D. WORKING BUSINESS BURGLARIES

THOMASTON POLICE HAVE QUESTIONED A SUSPECT AFTER THREE BUSINESS BURGLARIES IN THREE WEEKS—ALL LATE SUNDAY NIGHT OR EARLY MONDAY.

ALL THREE BUSINESSES, BIG CHIC DOWNTOWN, COUNTRY CORNER AT WEST MAIN AND HANNAH'S MILL ROAD AND PHAGAN'S ON 19 SOUTH WERE ENTERED USING A CROW BAR TO BREAK-IN THE FRONT DOOR—ACCORDING TO LT. ANDREW PIPPIN.

MONDAY JUNE 6TH— AROUND 1;30AM--BIG CHIC DOWNTOWN WAS BROKEN-INTO BUT NOTHING REPORTED MISSING.

THE WEEK BEFORE AT COUNTRY CORNER CONVIENCE STORE SOME CASH WAS MISSING AND THE WEEK PRIOR TO THAT PHAGAN'S WAS HIT.


ANYONE WITH INFORMATION ABOUT THESE CASES CONTACT THOMASTON POLICE.

CITY OF THOMASTON SETTLES ON LAKE THOMASTON PARK PROJECT

AT TUESDAY'S MEETING THE THOMASTON CITY COUNCIL FINALIZED THE FUNDING SETTLEMENT FOR THE LAKE THOMASTON PARK PROJECT.

CITY HALL WILL PAY TOMMY GIBSON CONTRACTORS OF WARNER ROBINS, GA. $68,500. GIBSON HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN PAID $43,000 FOR WORK ON THE MILLION DOLLAR PROJECT.

CITY HALL HAD ALREADY PAID ENGINEERS AND PLANNERS $85,000 TOWARD THE PROJECT.


THE LAKE THOMASTON PARK WAS APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL LAST YEAR—BUT THIS YEAR'S COUNCIL MOVED TO SHELVE IT EARLY IN THE YEAR—AND RECENTLY INSTRUCTED THE CITY ATTORNEY AND ENGINEER TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE GIBSON COMPANY TO REACH A SETTLEMENT.

Monday, June 6, 2016

MONROE CO. DEATH PENALTY CASE SET FOR UPSON COUNTY.

DURING A SPECIAL HEARING IN MONROE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT FRIDAY -- JUDGE TOMMY WILSON SET A DATE FOR A MENTAL HEALTH COMPETENCY TRIAL AT THE UPSON COUNTY COURTHOUSE TO SEE IF A MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING A MONROE COUNTY DEPUTY CAN STAND TRIAL.

THE MENTAL HEALTH COMPETENCY TRIAL IS SET FOR JULY 25TH IN UPSON SUPERIOR COURT FOR CHRISTOPHER CALMER CHARGED WITH THE MURDER OF MONROE COUNTY DEPUTY MICHAEL NORRIS AND SHOOTING AND WOUNDING DEPUTY JEFF WILSON IN 2014.

THE JUDGE DECIDED THIS COMPETENCY TRIAL WILL TAKE PLACE IN THOMASTON AFTER DEFENSE CLAIMS IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND AN UNBIASED JURY IN MONROE COUNTY.


DURING ANOTHER RECENT HEARING--CLAMER WAS ON A STRETCHER IN THE MONROE COUNTY COURTHOUSE COMPLAINING OF BACK PAIN AND NEEDED MEDICAL ATTENTION IN THE COURTROOM.

Friday, June 3, 2016

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR TO SPEAK IN THOMASTON JUNE 18

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR TO SPEAK IN THOMASTON The opportunity to hear the first-person account of a Holocaust survivor is often a once in a lifetime experience. Join us on June 18, 2016, as Manuela Mendels Bornstein shares her story. WHAT “A Survivor’s Story: Manuela Mendels Bornstein” A program presented by the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust in cooperation with the Upson Historical Societ Free to attend and open to the public WHO Holocaust survivor Manuela Mendels Bornstein - Manuela Mendels Bornstein was born in Paris, France, to a Dutch father and a German mother. In July 1942, the French police concentrated 13,000 Jews in the Velodrome d'Hiver sports arena in Paris for days without food or water before deporting them to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Life for Manuela and her family changed dramatically when they narrowly escaped this major deportation through the help of some friends who were active members of the French resistance. With their help, the family moved to Legot, a small village in the unoccupied zone of southern France. They hid there using false identifications papers which had been provided to them by the mayor. Assisting Jews put him and his own family at risk. No one in Legot denounced them. After Paris was liberated by the Americans on August 25, 1944, the Mendels returned to Paris to find that most of their Jewish neighbors had not survived. In 1960, Manuela moved to New York. She met her husband and the couple moved to Atlanta in 1972. They have 2 sons and 4 grandchildren. WHEN June 18, 2016 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. WHERE R.E. Lee Auditorium 250 East Lee St. Thomaston, GA 30286 http://www.holocaust.georgia.gov/6-18-16 w w w . h o l o c a u s t . g e o r g i a . g o v WHY The sheer number of people affected during the Holocaust is almost incomprehensible. The ability to bring speakers to audiences in Georgia is an important aspect of the Commission’s support of Holocaust education. By replacing the statistics with personal stories, the survivors and victims are given a voice and it also ensures that the Holocaust is never forgotten. www.holocaust.georgia.gov/speakers CONTACT Emma Ellingson Public Education Manager, Georgia Commission on the Holocaust emmaellingson@holocaust.georgia.gov 770-206-1555 The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust is a secular, non-partisan state agency administratively attached to the Secretary of State. The Commission consists of fifteen members appointed equally by the Governor, Lt. Governor and Speaker of the House. The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust strives to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and promote public understanding of the history. It ensures that learning how and why the Holocaust happened is an important part of the education of Georgia citizens. It encourages reflection upon the moral questions raised by this unprecedented event and the responsibilities of citizens in a democracy. The Holocaust was the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jewry by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933-1945. Jews were the primary targets. Jews were the primary targets. During the era of the Holocaust, German authorities also targeted other groups because of their perceived “racial inferiority”. Roma and Sinti (Gypsies), people with mental and physical disabilities, and Poles were also targeted for destruction or decimation for racial, ethnic, or national reasons. Other groups were persecuted on political, ideological, and behavioral grounds, among them Communists, Socialists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and homosexuals. Soviet prisoners of war and political dissidents, also suffered grievous oppression and death under Nazi Germany. (Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) ###

TRUCK WRECK ON 74 E. FRIDAY MORNING

ACCORDING TO UPSON COUNTY SHERIFF DAN KILGORE---A TRUCK PULLING A TRAILER WITH A LAWN MOWER FLIPPED ON HIGHWAY 74 EAST FRIDAY MORNING BETWEEN BOYT ROAD AND REST HAVEN ROAD.


EMT'S WERE DISPATCHED BUT NO OTHER DETAILS ARE AVAILABLE.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

BIG RIG FLIPPED ON 19 SOUTH THURSDAY

UPSON  COUNTY  SHERIFF   DAN  KILGORE  SAID   THE  TWO SOUTH-BOUND  LANES  OF   19  SOUTH  WERE  BLOCKED  FOR  SEVERAL  HOURS  THURSDAY  AFTER  A  BIG  RIG  HAULING  SOLAR  PANELS  FLIPPED  OVER  ON  ITS  SIDE.

THE  ACCIDENT  HAPPENED  AROUND  NOON  NEAR  MAULDLIN  ROAD— WHEN  IT  WENT  OUT   OF  CONTROL IN  A  CURVE--BUT  THE  DRIVER  SUSTAINED  ONLY  MINOR  INJURIES.

TRAFFIC  WAS  DETOURED  ONTO   INDIAN    TRAIL   --THE  OLD  SEGMENT  OF   19.

SOLAR  PANELS  SPILLED  ON  THE  ROADWAY  WHEN  IT  WAS  UP-RIGHTED.

UPSON  S.O.,   GA.  DOT  AND  GA.  STATE  PATROL  RESPONDED—THE  GSP  IS  INVESTIGATING.

ATTENTION UGA BULLDOG FANS

THE ANNUAL BANQUET OF THE GRIFFIN BULLDOG CLUB WILL BE HELD THURSDAY, JULY 28TH 6PM AT THE UGA GRIFFIN STUCKEY AUDITORIUM.

GUEST SPEAKER WILL BE BULLDOG RADIO NETWORK SIDELINE REPORTER CHUCK DOWDLE.

THE VARSITY WILL CATER WITH ENTERTAINMENT BY THE UGA ALUMNI BAND


FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL JEFF MCLEAN AT 678-873-6086