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Pulaski County NEWS
This page is dedicated to happenings and events within
Pulaski County

March 14, 2009
Pineview man dies in wreck
WARNER ROBINS — Mark Wayne McKinney, 47, of Pineview, died Friday
morning in a single vehicle accident on GA 247 about half a mile south
of Davidson Road in Bonaire.
According to a report in Saturday’s Macon Telegraph, McKinney was
negotiating a curve in the 1996 Geo Tracker he was driving north when
the sport utility vehicle ran off the east side of the road. That
report came from the Houston County Sheriff’s Department.
McKinney apparently overcorrected and traveled back on to the road and
across the southbound lane. He was attempting to regain control and
steered back toward the northbound lane when the vehicle overturned.
He was transported to Houston Medical Center where he later died from
his injuries.
McKinney was wearing a seat belt, according to the sheriff’s department
report. The 4:40 a.m. accident remained under investigation Saturday
morning by Corporal Sean Alexander.
McKinney was employed at Robins Air Force Base. He also was an avid
hunter and fisherman and loved coaching his sons in all sports with the
Hawkinsville Pulaski County Recreation Department, according to the
Clark Funeral Home in Hawkinsville website.
He is survived by two sons, Carson Mark McKinney and Colton Shane
McKinney of Hawkinsville, his parents, Bland and Liz McKinney of
Pineview; two brothers and a sister.
March 8, 2009
Civil War Book Lowndes
By Dean Poling
The Valdosta Daily Times —
CAPTAINS AT REST
Lowndes included in Civil War cemetery book
As they did in the Civil War, past Lowndes County
individuals play their parts in L. Harris Churchwell’s massive,
hard-cover book, “Captains At Rest: Biographical Sketches and Gravesites
of Officers Who Served with the Twelfth Georgia Regiment."
Capt. James Monroe Briggs commanded the Lowndes
Volunteers Company I. He was born in Putnam County, Ga., and died in the
Wilderness Campaign of Virginia. He entered Confederate service at the
age of 21 as a second lieutenant. He died at the age of approximately
23, a captain. Though buried in an unknown grave in Virginia, a marker
commemorates his life in Hightower Cemetery. The area’s United Daughters
of the Confederacy Chapter 2582 is named in his honor.
Second Lt. Christopher C. Grace and Capt. James W.
Patterson are among others profiled from the Lowndes Volunteers in this
book filled with photographs of Confederate grave markers, portraits of
rebel captains, and written profiles of dozens of officers.
The Valdosta Daily Times conducted an e-mail Q&A with
L. Harris Churchwell of Hawkinsville about
his book, which is available for $39.95, with a 15 percent discount by
ordering from the author. More information: E-mail hchurchwell@msn.com
It is also available through amazon.com.
For the full story click here
March 6, 2009
FBI Reopens 2 Ga.
Civil Rights Murder
Cases
from WSBTV
The Atlanta office of the FBI is
asking for help in solving more than 100 aging unsolved violent crimes
from the Civil Rights era, including two murders in Georgia. The cases
are being reexamined as a result of the Civil Rights-era Cold Case
Initiative, a joint effort with federal, state and local law enforcement
partners, as well as community leaders and civic organizations. Included
in the cases are the murders of Mattie Green in 1960 in Ringgold and
Willie Joe Sanford in Hawkinsville in 1957.
December 31, 2008
Women inmates care for rescued horses in
Hawkinsville
Program at Pulaski prison
provides veterinary tech training
By LIZ
FABIAN
Associated
Press
Sadie kept
to herself after she came through the gates
at Pulaski State Prison. Months of abuse and
neglect had taken their toll on the
12-year-old Appaloosa mare who is blind in
her left eye.
She seemed
doomed until she met Brandy Owen.

The 29-year-old
from Statesboro
spent weeks
gaining the
trust of the
fragile horse
that was rescued
by the Georgia
Department of
Agriculture and
brought to the
prison for
rehabilitation.
“She was real
hard to get
close to,” said
Owen, who is six
years into her
sentence for
aggravated
assault. “She
didn’t trust
anyone, and it
took weeks of
trying every day
to feed her by
hand just to get
a little touch.”
Now Sadie follows Owen’s lead around the grounds of the prison that has become their temporary home. They both have changed.

“I can’t even describe how it feels,” said Owen, who admits she’s a little shy herself. “What I’ve done for her she’s done for me too. She’s given me confidence in my ability to work with all of them.”
Owen is one of a dozen inmates chosen for Georgia’s first prison horse-rescue farm. The women are learning skills needed to become a certified veterinary technician through Middle Georgia Technical College in Warner Robins.
Shortly after warden Tom Chapman took over the reins of the prison outside of Hawkinsville three years ago, he started pushing for the project.
Once Pulaski County ponied up $10,000 for fencing, inmates began the work detail to clear the land.
We spent no taxpayer money on this. No Department of Corrections money has been spent on this project,” Chapman said as he drove a golf cart around the corrals.
The prison entered into an agreement with the Georgia Department of Agriculture to care for the animals.
The state has only two other equine rescue facilities north of Atlanta while the number of impounded horses has increased this year, said Tommy Irvin, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner.
As of Dec. 22, the Georgia Department of Agriculture had impounded 255 horses this year compared to 137 in all of 2007.
“I think one of the problems we face is with people who got (horses) and didn’t realize what it takes to care for them or they didn’t have the financial means to do so,” Irvin said. “We rescue them and rehabilitate the horses to put them back up for sale.”
Money from the sale of horses helps fund their care. Irvin recognizes caring for the animals helps the women too.
“It’s good for someone to love and care for them. Horses need attention,” said Irvin, who has five horses in his own pasture.
After months of drought and a lagging economy Chapman expects there will be an increase in impounded horses.
He hopes to expand his stable of six to up to 100 as he builds more paddocks to house the horses on some of the prison’s 125 acres.
In the few weeks since the program began in November, the warden has seen big changes in the animals and the women.
“When (the horses) first came here they could hardly stand up, and now they’re looking more like healthy animals,” he said. “And the inmates, I’ve seen a positive change in them — the attitude that they’re doing something worthwhile and is actually good. It’s really amazing to watch them interact with the animals and to take care of them.”
Jody Poole, who turns 40 right after Christmas, grew up on a farm outside of Athens. She was already working as a vet tech when she was busted for cocaine possession. Now she spends part of her days scooping manure.
“I shoveled poop for two solid hours and I loved every minute of it,” Poole said while working the field. “I never dreamed this could happen to me in prison. This is a huge blessing.”
Poole feels like she’s back home in the pasture where she belongs.
The women spend six hours each weekday in the fields with the horses. A two-person crew comes out for a few hours on the weekends, Chapman said. They care for the animals from head to hoof.
Lora Graham of Statesboro watched as the emaciated animals first arrived with their ribs exposed. She’s seen the fear in their eyes give way to trust as the horses are on the way to becoming healthy and whole.
“It’s the same for us because you can come to prison and it’s going to be what you make out of it,” said Graham, 44. “It’s not the prison system that’s going to save you, it’s yourself. And if you want change every opportunity is here.”
Graham values the privilege she has to interact with the animals.
“We know it’s still prison but when you come out here and you get with these animals that’s all you think about,” Graham said. “It’s a special thing to be out here and be around the girls that they’ve chosen for us to work with. It’s awesome.”
Department of Corrections worker Teresa Caruthers oversees the detail. “I love it. It’s exciting,” said Caruthers who has four horses of her own in Hawkinsville. “It makes me feel good knowing that (the horses) did have another chance and the women will learn something that maybe when they get out they’ll want to carry it a little further.”
Melinda Studstill, 44, of Rabun County had been chomping at the bit since she heard about the program.
“I have two horses of my own at home and I miss them very much,” said Studstill. “To be able to come out here and just nurture these horses has been just a healing process for me as well as for them.”
After losing her teenage daughter in a car accident, Studstill said she turned to drugs.
Now she’s looking forward to leaving prison and possibly starting her own equine-rescue operation.
“It does change your attitude to be able to come out here and be a part of a program to help the horses,” Studstill said. “And not only that, to show the community that we can — even though we’re in our situation — there’s things that we can do to help also.”
December 26, 2008
Though far from
home, cancer patients
celebrate
By
Craig Schneider
The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
This is their
room at the inn.
Home is far
away —- too far away —- for many people
undergoing cancer treatment as they stay at
the Winn-Dixie Hope Lodge in Decatur. They
are too old or frail to head back to where
Christmas is about loved ones, children
with new toys and treasured family
traditions.
So on
Christmas Day, the 20 people who did not
go home made this place their home.
Even as they
struggle through some of the toughest
moments of their lives, they found the
spirit that is
Christmas: The hope for new beginnings,
the heightened spirituality and the
thankfulness.
The Hope Lodge
is a 10-year-old project of the American
Cancer Society. The lodge provides free
housing for adults undergoing cancer
treatments at nearby facilities. People
don’t have to be needy to qualify for the
stay that can last three months; they just
need to be far from home.
People arrive
with a caregiver —- a wife, husband or
family member —- who helps them prepare food
and do laundry. This is not a medical
facility, just a place to stay among others
also fighting for their lives against
cancer.
If not for this
place, Herb
Hofer, 73, and
his wife, DeeAnn,
of South Dakota
would be staying
at a hotel or
apartment near
their cancer
center.
“It would be
lonely to stay
in an
apartment,” said
Herb, who is in
his fourth week
of radiation
treatment for
prostate cancer.
On Thursday,
DeeAnn was among
the wives in the
communal kitchen
fixing up their
signature
holiday dishes.
She was pulling
pans out of the
oven with sweet
potato casserole
and green bean
casserole.
“Being in the
kitchen is
helpful. That’s
where I can be
at home,” DeeAnn
said.
Friendships strike up quickly here. These people speak the same language and often share the same hopes and fears. Like anyone who has heard the word cancer applied to them or a loved one, they feel their future more keenly.
They also appreciate the outpouring of support from others and want to reciprocate. Several area churches have adopted them, taking them to treatments, providing meals and support. The lodge residents have eaten a big (donated) holiday dinner almost every night for the past week.
“There are a lot of people who want to be your home for Christmas,” said Herb Hofer.
Deep down, though, some residents say it can be hard to feel happy on this day. They talk about long-distance phone calls to children staying with grandparents. Or mailing gifts they would otherwise be getting a kiss for.
“It’s really sad,” said Elizabeth Proffitt, a 55-year-old woman here with her husband, Ray. She has three kids back in Hawkinsville, south of Macon.
“I’m trying really hard not to be. But when my daughter started crying over the phone,” she said.
She underwent a stem- cell transplant two weeks ago for an acute form of leukemia in her blood.
Many days, she wears a doctor’s mask when around other people, because the treatment weakened her immune system. Even so, she’s thankful, especially for the people she’s met at the lodge, who have “enlightened our lives.”
After dinner, Tobe Bolles, a retired pastor from north Minnesota, stood beside the big Christmas tree and pulled out his guitar.
As his wife held the sheet music, he began a song that said God was bigger than any mountain, bigger than any of his problems.
You could all but hear sleigh bells go by.
November 11, 2008
Pulaski County
Standoff Ends
Peacefully
|
WMAZ News
Lt. Mike Stokes with
the Houston County Sheriff's Department
says 26 Houston County deputies assisted
with the incident.
|
Stokes says a victim called 9-1-1 and reported that he
had stabbed himself.
It happened at 349 John Cobb Road in Pulaski, near Midway Church Road.
Stokes says when emergency workers arrived, the victim started shooting
at them.
He says deputies shot tear gas in the house and found
that the man wasn't harmed.
Stokes says nobody was hurt during the standoff.
Eyewitness News made several attempts to contact Pulaski County Sheriff
Jerry Lancaster,
but he was not available to speak to us
10/22/08
Rangers Cracking Down on Shiners
By STEPHANIE MILLER
Nine young men have allegedly been
caught illegally night hunting in the last 30 days by Georgia Department
of Natural Resources Conservation Rangers in the mid state area.
"I've caught a couple of truck loads
of them shining," said Ranger Tim Butler of Pulaski County. "I had four
people three weeks ago in Pulaski County and I had two people two
weekends ago in Bleckley County."
Butler said the shiners were all men
between the ages of 17 and the early 20s.
The first group caught in Pulaski
County had a depravation permit to shin for does on a peanut field. The
permit was only for one field and only allowed them to kill does.
Depravation permits are given to landowners who meet all the guidelines
under certain situations if they can show that their income crop is
being destroyed by heavy deer population and grazing.
"They rode right by us and went and
shot an eight pointer" said Butler, who said he, two other Rangers, and
a Fisheries Technician, were hidden off the road watching an area where
he suspected illegal hunting was taking
place.
Please click here for rest of
story
October 12, 2008
Presbyterian Holds on to
beat N.C. Central,
28-24
Antwan
Thomas - Most Tackles
Brian Hand - Presbyterian College
CLINTON,
S.C. – North Carolina Central fumbled on the
one-yard line with 39 seconds left in the game
and Presbyterian College picked up its second
consecutive victory with a 28-24 win over North
Carolina Central on Saturday afternoon at Bailey
Memorial Stadium.
PC never
trailed in Saturday’s victory over North
Carolina Central, but almost everyone in
attendance but the Blue Hose thought that the
Eagles were going to net the go-ahead touchdown
after having perched themselves at the one-yard
line.
The Blue
Hose defense stood tall though,
opportunistically picking up NCCU quarterback
Michael Johnson’s bobbled snap off the carpet to
earn the win. PC’s Bryan McDaniel (Sumter,
S.C./Sumter) claimed the loose football, holding
on for dear life at the bottom of the scrum.
The
Eagles had obtained the position on a 37-yard
pass across the middle from Johnson to DeShawn
Spears at the PC 19-yard line. Tony McCord then
ran the ball 18 yards to the PC one-yard line.
The Blue
Hose took a timeout to gather their defense and
the ploy by Coach Bobby Bentley and Defensive
Coordinator Phil Magdic worked with McDaniel
acquiring the loose football.
PC
starting quarterback Brandon Miley (Wilmington,
N.C./J.T. Hoggard) was then able to kneel down
for the victory to give him a victory in his
first career start as the Blue Hose signal
caller.
S.J.
Worrell (Madison, Ga./Morgan County) led the
Blue Hose in the victory, earning PC’s first
100-yard rushing game of 2008 with his 107 net
yards on 22 rushes. Worrell also had two
touchdowns on the ground in the game to mark the
first two touchdown rushing game of 2008 for the
Blue Hose.
Worrell
now has four 100-yard rushing games to his
credit in his career. The 107 yards accumulated
by Worrell in the win over the Eagles marked the
first time that he had tallied 100 yards on the
ground since picking up 113 yards rushing in
PC’s game with Charleston Southern to close out
the 2008 season.
Worrell
finished with 136 all-purpose yards in the game
as he also had five catches for 29 yards.
Miley
proved he was up to the challenge in the win
over NCCU by rushing for a team second-best 62
yards on 16 carries. He threw for another 148
yards, completing 13 of his passes. He threw for
one touchdown.
PC’s
Adam McKinney (Augusta, Ga./Augusta Christian)
entered the NCCU game with the most sacks in the
Big South Conference. McKinney illustrated why
in the victory over the Eagles, acquiring a
game-high two sacks. McKinney had six tackles
overall.
Antwan
Thomas (Hawkinsville, Ga./Hawkinsville) finished
with the most tackles in the game on either
side. Thomas had nine total tackles, including
seven solo stops.
Click here for rest of story
August 25, 2008
Alabama golfer takes top honors in Hawkinsville Hooters tourney
HAWKINSVILLE — Andrew Medley of
Athens, Ala., held on to a one-stroke lead at 13-under par to take
home his second career win at the rain-shortened NGA Hooters
ComSouth Classic over the 6,741 yard, par 72 Southern Hills Golf
Club course.
“It feels great to pull off the win,”
said the 24-year old Medley. “After playing well a few rounds last
week (in a Dothan, Ala., event) I’ve been working on putting four
good rounds together, I guess this week I only needed two. I’ll have
to work on that next tournament."
The former Auburn Tiger fired rounds
of 65-69 to post his slim victory over Justin Walters of Raleigh,
N.C. whose 7-under par 65 in the second round moved him into a solo
second finish.
Three golfers finished in a tie for
third after posting 10-under par totals. The trio consisted of
Emmett Turner of Augusta, Scott Stallings of Knoxville, Tenn., and
Russell Knox of Jacksonville Beach, Fla.
Medley took home $33,566 for his rain
shortened triumph while Justin Walters received $16,751 for his
second place showing.
Officials credit ban
with keeping pants up in
Hawkinsville
By Rodney Manley
No one's done time or paid a fine,
but officials here say their almost year-old crackdown on sagging
britches has kept people's pants pulled up.
In October, the City Commission
passed an ordinance banning low-hanging pants, with fashion
offenders facing as much as a $250 fine and 40 hours of community
service. No violators have been booked for their boxers showing, but
City Commissioner James Colson said the law's been an effective
deterrent.
Colson said he's noticed fewer people
around this town of 4,000 wearing oversized pants and revealing
their underwear.
"You see one here or one there," said
Colson, who pushed for the ban. "We've had maybe one or two
warnings."
Police Chief Sam Tripp said that
though he also saw a "marked improvement" after the law was passed,
the number of complaints about pants "drooping down pretty low" has
increased during the past week or so. He said he posted a memo at
the police station instructing officers to start writing citations..
"There won't be any more warnings,"
Tripp said.
Click here for
rest of story
Ocmulgee Symphony
returns for 2nd season
with Mozart,
romance
Thanks to the overwhelming support
of concertgoers, The Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra returns for a
second expanded season, offering Mozart and a little romance at a
special preseason concert at the City Auditorium in Cochran on Sept.
6.
The concert, sponsored by the Cochran Bleckley Arts Alliance, is to
feature Mozart’s Violin Concerto in D Major in a performance that is
sure to pull the heartstrings.
“Mary Ann Thames is the violin soloist for the concerto,” says the
orchestra’s founder and conductor, Dr. Charles Quinn. “Her husband,
David, who is one of our cellists, asked to conduct the piece with
his wife playing it because they first met while rehearsing the
piece with another orchestra. I thought it was a lovely idea, and I
know it will make for a very special night.”
With the inaugural season’s three concerts drawing near-capacity
crowds, the orchestra has expanded its second season to seven
concerts: five at its usual venue, the Old Opera House in
Hawkinsville; the one in Cochran; and a performance at the Middle
Georgia Technical College Warner Robins Campus Auditorium on Dec. 6.
Although the orchestra’s 2008-09 season will include a number of
well-known works—Copland’s “Quiet City,” Dvorak’s “New World”
Symphony, Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and Tchaikovsky’s “1812”
Overture—the Sept. 6 concert will give new meaning to the term
“local music” with the world premiere of Quinn’s Symphony in D
Major.
Quinn says despite the strong community support for the orchestra
and critical raves for its performances, he is still battling the
misperception that because the Ocmulgee Symphony is a small town
orchestra, it must be less than a fully professional group.
“I think a lot of people expected a community group of local
players—amateur musicians getting together to have some fun. This is
not what the orchestra is,” Quinn says. “The Ocmulgee comprises
professional musicians from all over Georgia. About 80 percent of
the musicians also play in the Macon Symphony Orchestra. Others come
from Alabama and Florida, and all of them make their living playing
music. A lot of our wind and brass players come from the Air Force
band in Warner Robbins, which is a very good group with excellent
musicians.”
Among the many Macon Symphony Orchestra musicians joining the
Ocmulgee this year are violinist Patricia Bazer, who will step into
the role of concertmaster, and Music Director and Conductor Adrian
Gnam, who will play oboe. Before Gnam took the baton at Macon in
1983, he had served as principal oboist with some of the nation’s
finest orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra under George
Szell and the American Symphony under Leopold Stokowski.
Tickets are $25 and are available in Cochran at Cochran Bank and
Trust, Nets, ComSouth, and the Chamber of Commerce. They are also
available by mail: The OSO, P.O. Box 684, Cochran, 31014 or online:
www.ocmulgeesymphonyorchestra.com. If you have questions please call
934-9577.

August 10, 08
'Tinyard Hill' gets world premiere at Red
Mountain Theatre Company
Posted by Alec Harvey -- The Birmingham News

When Keith Cromwell first heard "Tinyard Hill," he knew he wanted to produce it.
But that became even more of a priority when he found out more about it.
Cromwell, executive director of Red Mountain Theatre Company, heard the new work as a member of the selection committee for the National Alliance of Musical Theater. He read hundreds of scripts, choosing shows for a top 20 in the competition.
"It's a blind process," he said of the competition that has discovered work such as "The Drowsy Chaperone" and "The Wedding Singer." "They don't want you to know who the composers are, so it won't taint your opinion on whether it should make it or not."
Once "Tinyard Hill" made it into the top eight, he found out the writers were two young composers: Mark Allen, 29, a graduate of Samford University; and Tommy Newman, 27, a graduate of Troy University.
"I immediately thought that Red Mountain should do this," Cromwell said.
So after a staged reading in Dayton, Ohio, a few weeks ago, "Tinyard Hill" will receive its first staged production -- a world premiere, according to Red Mountain -- next weekend. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Red Mountain's cabaret space, 301 19th St. North. Tickets are $20 (call 324-2424 for info).
"Tinyard Hill" has its roots in the town of Hawkinsville, Ga., where Newman grew up. When he and Allen, who is from Nashville, were in graduate school at New York University, they were looking for a topic for their final thesis, which was essentially to write a show.
"There was a blacksmith shop that was in Hawkinsville," Newman says. "My dad and I would go there occasionally .¤.¤. and I thought the sounds there were very evocative. And at one point, I was looking at a history of music, and I think it was Aristotle .¤.¤ who was walking through a forum and heard the blacksmith striking the anvil and equated it to pitch.
"I thought blacksmith, musical, hmmm," he adds with a laugh.
So Newman's father went to the blacksmith shop and had 93-year-old Russell Harris record information about his trade.
For Newman and Allen, it was the germ of a musical.
"We both loved Southern people and Southern stories," Allen says. "We wanted to write a musical about the type of people we love and knew."
What "Tinyard Hill" became is the story of a Russell and David, a blacksmith and his son in 1964 Georgia. Their neighbor, May, has a niece, Aileen, visiting, and her relationship with David, as the war intensifies in Vietnam, begins to mirror that of May and a love of hers during World War II.
Allen says the music in "Tinyard Hill" is "country-rock, but with a contemporary musical theater twist."
"It's a total collaboration," he says. "Tommy is the primary book writer and lyricist on this project. He'd send me a scene and a song, and we'd go back and forth with suggestions."
"We wanted very much to write a love story for Southerners," Allen says. "It's very important to us that Southerners aren't painted as stereotypes as often as they are. We wanted to show the rich culture that we knew and we love."
The cast in the Red Mountain show, produced in collaboration with Samford and Troy, includes Tam DeBolt as May, Barry Austin as Russell, Mathew Godfrey as David and Kristen Bowden Sharp as Aileen.
Interestingly, Allen's freshman year at Samford was theater chair Don Sandley's first year there, too. (Godfrey is a recent Samford grad.)
"Seven years later, I'm right back where I started," Allen says. "Back in a really familiar place."
Jul. 16, 2008
Unadilla, Vienna officials are indicted
By Amy Leigh Womack
Several current and former Unadilla and Vienna officials have been indicted by a Dooly County grand jury.
Unadilla City Council members Dexter Eugene Whitaker and Tony Lamar Lester, former City Council members Jeffrey D. Minor and Bobby G. West, former Unadilla Police Chief Leonard Smith and Unadilla City Administrator Ronnie Brand were each indicted on a theft by taking charge, according to an indictment filed Monday with the county's Superior Court clerk.
The men are accused of using city funds Feb. 9, 2007, to write a check to Smith that was purported to be a "personal loan," an action outside the group's authority, according to the indictment.
Whitaker, Minor, Lester and West violated their oath of office by transferring city funds to Smith without authority and violated the Open Meetings Act by agreeing to transfer the money during a telephone conference without giving required advance notice and a public forum for a decision, according to the indictment.
Whitaker and Smith also are charged with conspiracy to defraud a political subdivision. The two agreed to use a city police vehicle to drive to another county to obtain Unadilla funds for Smith's benefit, according to court records. The indictment alleges that the act was theft of city property.Last year, Smith was sentenced to five years in prison for claiming simultaneous work hours at both the Unadilla and Fort Valley police departments. Allegations surfaced in April 2006 that Smith, then employed full time at the Fort Valley Police Department and part time as Unadilla's chief, was being paid to be on duty for both agencies during the same hours.
Click here for rest of story
NEWS RELEASE
Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra
From Wallace E. Knight
The unforgettable music of the Glenn Miller Orchestra is coming soon to middle Georgia – loud and live and just like the original.
The band will recreate the musical atmosphere of the 1940s by performing a number of classic Glenn Miller favorites: among them will be In the Mood, Pennsylvania 6-5000, Tuxedo Junction, Sentimental Journey and others.
The Georgia Big Band will perform at the Old Opera House in Hawkinsville at 7:30 pm on Saturday, August 2 for the benefit of the Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra.
Organized in 1988, the Georgia Big Band consists of 17 professional musicians from the middle Georgia area. The musicians have varied backgrounds – band directors and former military musicians, for example – and they take pride in presenting authentic big band performances for audiences that remember the sound and the popularity of swing.
Tickets for the Hawkinsville performance are $20 each, and are on sale now at the Opera House and at Tulips and Ivy. They can also be obtained by writing the OSO at PO Box 684, Cochran 31014, or on-line at www.ocmulgeesymphonyorchestra.com.
“This is a wonderful example of musicians helping each other,” said Dr. Charles Quinn, conductor of the Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra.
“The Georgia Big Band has established its excellence, and now they’re helping our new venture. That is a great service – both to music and to our region. We are tremendously pleased that such a polished and capable band is coming here.
“People who remember String of Pearls from those trying days of the 1930s and 40s will relive some of the triumphs and trials of the pre-WWII era and of the war itself. It was grand music for a time of great accomplishment, and we know there are many Georgians eager to hear it again.”
For more information on the concert please call the OSO at 934-9575 or the Opera House at 783-1884.
7/12/08
Former resident races harness horses
By: MARY FRANCES DONALSON
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Bainbridge native Jerry Murkerson never had a horse while growing up in the city, but now, living in Hawkinsville, Ga., he is able to participate and even drive in races in the Harness Horse Capital of Georgia.
The middle Georgia city has been a winter home for harness horse training since 1920, as horsemen engaged in this equine sport enjoy the mild climate and red clay track during the fall and winter before traveling to the northern states and Canada in the summer for competitive racing
Murkerson, who serves as city manager of Hawkinsville, became good friends with Mac and Ann Lilley of Ontario, Canada, who currently lease and manage the barns and training facility for the horse owners and trainers
Murkerson's involvement with the operation gave him the opportunity to be around horses, and fulfill a long-felt desire to become involved with horses
"From my youth I have been an equestrian at heart," said Murkerson, who became city manager after his retirement from a career in the administrative division of Georgia Power Company
In this municipal position he became involved with the annual Hawkinsville Harness and Spring Festival held every April before the horses begin the northward trek, and his interest in horses has increased
As a result of his friendship with the Lilleys, five years ago he began spending time around the horse barns, cleaning stalls, grooming the horses and generally helping out wherever he could.
In time Lilley offered him the opportunity to jog or exercise the horses, which are hitched to a two-wheeled cart or sulky and driven around a mile or half-mile red clay track.
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07/08/08
Hartford: Oldest Town Had Roots in
Laurens
BY Scott Thompson
You may have never heard of Hartford, Ga. If you have, you may have never thought of it as being in Laurens County. But from Dec. 10, 1807, to Dec. 10, 1808, this ancient and dead town of Central Georgia rested within the bounds of Laurens County. Located at an important crossing spot on the Ocmulgee River, Hartford became the first county seat in Georgia named for a woman. By the slimmest of margins, Hartford failed to become one of the most important cities in Georgia history.
The area which became Hartford was located on the eastern banks of the Ocmulgee River, opposite Hawkinsville. The State of Georgia acquired all of the land between the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers from the Creek Nation under the treaty of Ft. Wilkinson in 1801. Hartford, located at the extreme southwestern limits of the state at a point where the Lower Uchee Trail crossed the Ocmulgee River, became an important and strategic location for the location of a trading post and frontier defense outposts. Many historians believe that the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto came to the Hartford area. Early authorities believed the Spaniard's expedition traveled along the Lower Uchee Trail crossing the Oconee River in northern Laurens County. Recently, historians have theorized that DeSoto traveled north from Hartford to Macon, where he turned northeast and crossed the Oconee below Milledgeville. An 1806 survey shows the confluence of two trails just east of the town.
With the opening of the new lands to the Ocmulgee and in anticipation of the acquisition of additional lands beyond the river, the Georgia Legislature contemplated the relocation of the capital at Louisville. Forward-looking legislators realized that a new capital should be located on a navigable river. The finalist locations were Milledgeville on the Oconee and Hartford on the Ocmulgee. Milledgeville was selected by a mere one vote. Supporters of Hartford, which was located on navigable waters, had the last laugh, when after the location of the capital at Milledgeville, it was discovered that the new city was several miles above the limits of the navigable portion of the Oconee River.
Laurens County was created by an act of the legislature on Dec. 10, 1807. The original limits of the county extended to the upper line of Telfair County near the mouth of Crooked Creek on the southwest and just above the mouth of Shellstone Creek, the lower line of what would become Twiggs County.
Just one year after the creation of Laurens County, a new county, Pulaski, was carved from the western portion of Laurens on Dec. 13, 1808. Named for Count Casimir Pulaski, a Polish soldier who gave his life in support of the American independence, Pulaski County originally included all of present day Bleckley and Dodge counties and all of present day Pulaski east of the Ocmulgee.
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July 8, 08
Hoosier Cadillac cruises in Invitational
The duo of Hoosier Cadillac and Mark O’Mara pulled away from the competition down the stretch to win the $23,000 Invitational Trot Saturday, July 5 at Hoosier Park. Hoosier Cadillac has earned three wins in six races this season.
Hoosier Cadillac raced quickly out of the gate to take the lead over the field of seven. Heading towards the quarter-mile mark in :29.0, Hoosier Cadillac maintained the lead over Sandblast, driven by Trace Tetrick.
Charging down the backstretch, Hoosier Cadillac remained on the front, passing by the halfway point in a time of :58.4. The outer flow began from the back of the pack with Cellebrity Force and Gerry Kazmaier moving into position first-over. Coming to the three-quarter marker in a time of 1:27.2, Hoosier Cadillac started to pull away from the field.
Hoosier Cadillac controlled the top stop with Sandblast approaching on the inside. Charging to the finish, Hoosier Cadillac pulled away from the charging Sandblast to win in 1:55.3. JL Flying Arrows, managed by Neil Coleman, and Killer Whale, with Brad Hanners in the sulky, rounded out the top three.
“The horse (Hoosier Cadillac) was really strong, and is really good right now,” said O’Mara. “He had some problems, but they (Sally and Mel Gilbert) were able to iron them out. He drove perfectly tonight.”
Owned by Mel Gilbert of Hawkinsville, Ga. and trained by his wife, Sally, Hoosier Cadillac has earned over $108,000 in his 14 career wins. The six-year-old son of Ripken’s Victory returned $8.20, $5.40, and $3.60 for his effort.
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Repair work underway at
Hawkinsville
Thursday, June 26, 2008 - by Paul Ramlow, USTA Internet News Manager
| Columbus, OH --- Repair work has already begun at the Hawkinsville, Ga., training facility that was damaged earlier this month by a severe thunderstorm.
According to Hawkinsville City Manager Jerry Murkerson, the renovation will be completed not later than September 30, in time for horsemen to return for the winter season.
"We want everyone to be assured that our facility will be ready for this winter training season," said Murkerson. "We have a very large contingent of contractors already on site and (they are) beginning the reconstruction of the stall barns." |
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Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra
announces Concert Master
Audition
Cochran, GA.—The Ocmulgee Symphony is announcing the opening of the concert master position for its 2008-2009 season. After an extremely successful inaugural season with three symphony concerts, next season will feature seven orchestra concerts in Hawkinsville, Cochran, and Warner Robins. Auditions will take place on Saturday, July 19th 2008 at Middle Georgia College in Cochran. For audition materials and further details, please contact the OSO’s artistic director Dr. Charles Quinn at 478-934-9575 or under info@ocmulgeesymphonyorchestra.com.
Jun. 12, 2008
Damaging severe storms ripped
through midstate Wednesday
Severe thunderstorms tracking westward tore through Middle Georgia damaging buildings at a Hawkinsville horse racing facility and downing trees in other parts of the midstate Wednesday afternoon, according to preliminary storm reports from the National Weather Service
In the heat of the day storms exploded onto the radar beginning at about 3 p.m. when a tree toppled and took down power lines on U.S. 441 in Laurens County, the report stated.
At about 3:20 p.m., strong winds raked across Pulaski County damaging four buildings, ripping a roof off one of the barns at the harness racing facility, and downing trees about five miles east of Hawkinsville.
By 3:40 p.m., several trees crashed down in Twiggs County along Ga. 129 and U.S. 80 near the Huber plant, the report stated.
Little less than an hour later powerlines came down along Riverside Drive in Macon as the Middle Georgia Regional Airport recorded a quarter of an inch of rain from the storms.
While rainfall amounts varied across the region, Valdosta reported 1.22 inches of rain yesterday, according to the National Weather Service.
There is a 20 to 30 percent chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms in the forecast through Wednesday
May 16, 08
Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra
presents The Back Porch
Symphony at Old Opera House
Cochran, GA.—The Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra will present a ‘symphony orchestra’ of a slightly different kind on Saturday, June 14 in the Hawkinsville Opera House: The Back Porch Symphony, a fun-loving trio from Macon voted “Best of the Bands” in the Oldies Category in a “Macon Telegraph” readers poll.
The trio will feature the Ocmulgee Symphony’s own Sue Tomlin on hot violins and vocals, Chris Cider with great guitar playing and vocals, and Nancy Sasser on bass and sassy vocals, playing favorite hits of the 1800s and 1900s. Tunes like “Bill Bailey”, the “Can-Can” by Jacque Offenbach, “Limehouse Blues”, “12th Street Rag”, and “All of Me”, just to name a few, are sure to put a smile on your face and you will be humming along by the end of each song.
The concert will begin at 7:30 pm on Saturday, June 14, 2008 in the Opera House in Hawkinsville. Tickets for $ 10 can be purchased in advance or at the door at the Opera House, 100 North Lumpkin Street, phone 478.783.1884. Tickets and more information are also available at the Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra’s webpage (www.ocmulgeesymphonyorchestra.com) or by calling Dr. Charles Quinn (478.934.9575).
Apr. 18, 2008
Second Cochran officer accused
in incident with teen girl
By Ashley Tusan Joyner
ABBEVILLE - A second Cochran police officer was arrested today for an incident involving a girl under age 16 in Pineview last year, according to a news release from the GBI in Perry.
Corporal Morris Ross turned himself in to the Wilcox County Sheriff's Office this morning upon being charged with enticing a child and interference with custody.
The arrest stems from the same incident for which Cochran police corporal Brent Powell was arrested April 10.
Ross, 29, of Cochran, was once a police officer in Pineview but no longer was employed there when the incident occurred, according to officials.
Powell, 25, also of Cochran, was then the Pineview police chief.
Ross was released from custody at the Wilcox County Jail after posting a $6,000 bond earlier today. Powell posted a $51,000 bond the day after his arrest.
The charges resulted from a GBI investigation requested by Wilcox County Sheriff Stacy Bloodsworth in March.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the GBI office in Perry at (478) 987-4545.
Apr. 12, 2008
Ex-police chief charged with child
molestation

By Ashley Tusan Joyner
The former Pineview police chief in Wilcox County, who also has served as a police officer in Cochran, has been charged with child molestation and other crimes, authorities said.
Brent Powell, 25, was arrested Thursday during a traffic stop in Cochran, said Gary Rothwell, special agent in charge of the GBI office in Perry. Powell was released on a $51,000 bail bond Friday.
Powell also is charged with enticing a child and interfering with custody, Rothwell said.
Rothwell said GBI investigators were contacted by the Wilcox County Sheriff's Office earlier this year to investigate an episode involving Powell and the use of force.
"This developed as a result of that," he said.
The former Pineview police chief in Wilcox County, who also has served as a police officer in Cochran, has been charged with child molestation and other crimes, authorities said.
Rothwell said the alleged molestation from this past fall involves a girl under the age of 16 years.
Powell resigned from the Pineview Police Department during the course of the GBI investigation, which is continuing.
"The investigation is not complete," Rothwell said.
4/10/08
Ocmulgee Symphony Inaugural
Season Finale
It has been a very successful and exciting first season for the Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra. We would like to invite you to join us for the third and final orchestral concert of the season on April 26th at the Opera House in Hawkinsville. Prior to the concert will be a reception beginning at 6:30 pm.
In its short existence the OSO has made great strides as an ensemble. The orchestra will be put to the test on the 26th with their most demanding program of the season. Opening the concert will be the J.C. Bach Bassoon Concerto in Bb major which features OSO bassoonist Lisa Lombardo, followed by the hauntingly beautiful Pavane pour un Infante défunte by Maurice Ravel. Beethoven’s Egmont Overture will end the first half of the program with a flourish.
After intermission the OSO will play one of the most demanding and powerful works of early 19th century musical literature--Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony. The work was to be dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte but when Napoleon named himself emperor, Beethoven scratched through the dedication. Many conductors, including Michael Tilson Thomas of the San Francisco Symphony, believe that the hero in Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony is none other than Beethoven himself. Thomas believes that the Eroica is Beethoven’s musical depiction of his own life.
The concert is on April 26th at 7:30 in Hawkinsville’s Old Opera House. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students and are on sale now. They can be purchased online at www.ocmulgeesymphonyorchestra.com, ordered by mail (write to OSO, P.O. Box 684, Cochran, GA. 31014) or by calling the Opera House at 478 783-1884.
Mar. 20, 2008
Man gets 20 years for
robbing
Cochran McDonald's
By Amy Leigh
Womack
A
Bleckley
County
jury
has
found
a
Cochran
man
guilty
of
aggravated
assault
and
armed
robbery
in
the
April
12,
2007,
robbery
of a
McDonald's,
according
to a
Cochran
police
news
release.
Leroy
"Spud"
Collins
Jr.,
20,
was
sentenced
to
20
years
in
prison,
according
to
the
release.
Video
surveillance
showed
a
masked
man
with
a
gun
enter
the
fast
food
restaurant
at
about
5:21
a.m.,
strike
a
female
clerk
on
the
head
with
the
gun
and
rob
another
female
employee
of
the
store's
cash
at
gunpoint,
according
to
the
release.
Darius
Walker,
25,
of
Cochran,
was
an
employee
at
the
McDonald's
who
was
at
the
store
at
the
time
of
the
robbery
and
left
a
back
door
cracked
open,
according
to
the
release.
Walker
entered
a
guilty
plea
last
year
and
is
serving
a
five-year
prison
sentence,
according
to
the
release.
To
contact
writer
Amy
Leigh
Womack,
call
744-4398.
Middle Georgia College & The
Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra
Present: Malgorzata
Staszewska
&
Anna Ho
Violin and Piano Recital
Continuing with an already
promising inaugural season,
Middle Georgia College and
the Ocmulgee Symphony
Orchestra will present a
special recital by violinist
Malgorzata Staszewska,
concertmaster of the
Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra,
and pianist Anna Ho on April
1, at 8:00 p.m. in Russell
Hall on the Middle Georgia
College campus.
Selections for the exciting
concert include: Faure
Sonata in A Major op.13,
Zarzycki Mazurka op. 26 and
Prokofiev Violin Sonata 2 in
D Major. This program will
showcase the talent of the
orchestra’s string section
leader.
Malgorzata Staszewska was
born in Cracow, Poland in
1976 and began playing the
violin at the age of six.
After graduating with honors
from the Cracow Conservatory
of Music in 1999, she joined
the professional chamber
orchestra Capella
Cracoviensis. Staszewska
continued her education at
the Hochschule für Musik in
Freiburg, Germany, the
University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign and the
University of Georgia in
Athens from which she earned
her Doctorate of Musical
Arts in Performance in 2007.
Anna Ho began piano studies
in her native Taiwan at the
age of 5 and completed her
academic studies at National
Chung-Hsin University. In
the U.S. she received her
bachelor of music degree in
1995 from Morningside
College in Sioux City, IA.
Her musical studies
continued at the University
of Wisconsin and Texas Tech
University where she
received DMA degree in 2003
with a major in
collaborative Piano
Performance.
The concert is free and the
public is invited to attend.
Mar.
17,
2008
Fishing
area
recovers
from
water
woes
By
Chuck
Thompson
COCHRAN --
Mike Marsh says he's caught more than 140 pounds of largemouth bass at the Ocmulgee Public Fishing Area since the first of the year.
And best of all, they're all still there. The man-made lake on the Bleckley-Pulaski County line has catch and release only rules for bass fishermen.
But anglers may keep some of the crappie, bream and catfish they catch, and area manager Michael Clark is predicting great fishing in coming weeks as the weather warms, the lake continues to fill and the growing fish feed and spawn.
"We drew 18,500 visitors last year, and I feel certain we'll top 20,000 this year," Clark said. "The fish are getting bigger, and the word is getting out how good the bass fishing is. The last couple of Sundays the parking lot has looked like we were having a fishing tournament. I think we'll just keep getting busier as the weather warms and the lake fills."
The lake was built in a valley on the Ocmulgee Wildlife Management Area that borders the Ocmulgee River east of Cochran. Fish were stocked in October 2004, but the lake wasn't opened to fishing until June 2006 to give the fish time to grow.
There also was a holdup in development in 2005 when water began leaking through a fissure in the limestone beneath the earthen dam. The lake, which is supposed to be 106 acres when full, had to be drained down to a 15-acre holding pond so that grout could be pumped into the rock beneath the dam to fill the crack.
"Draining a lake during a drought isn't the best thing, but we had no choice," Clark said. "The lake's not built on a stream, so we've had to rely on rain and runoff from the watershed to bring it back up, and it has taken awhile. But the rain we've had this winter has really helped. We're only about 3 feet below full pool now, and if we keep getting this rain we could be full by May. We're probably at 85 or 90 acres by now."
Marsh, who Clark said is one of the top bass fishermen at the lake, says the low water hasn't hurt fishing, especially since last summer.
"They've stocked the lake with plenty of forage fish - shad and goldfish - so the bass have plenty to eat. Now that they've had time to grow, you don't see any skinny ones. They're all fat and healthy. Sometimes you come and catch nothing, but most days I can get three, four or five that weigh around 5 pounds. Last Sunday I caught a 4 -pounder, then two 5-pounders, a 5 -pounder and finally, out there on that point, a 7-pounder.
"You really need to stock some bigger fish in here," he jokingly told Clark, who stopped to chat as Marsh was launching his boat last week. "I'm getting bored catching all these 5- to 8-pounders."
Not too bored, however. Marsh, who calls himself a "starving contractor," drives 21 miles from his home between Warner Robins and Perry to fish in the lake at least once a week.
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3/3/08
Police arrest man suspected of
bringing gun on college campus
The Associated Press
COCHRAN, Ga. --
Authorities took into custody a man suspected of carrying a gun onto Middle Georgia College's main campus Monday, the Bleckley County Sheriff's Office said.
The man, who was not identified, was not a student at the school in Cochran, located about 120 miles south of Atlanta, college officials said.
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