YEAR IN REVIEW
2025 was a year of change with resolutions to a tumultuous situation with a county board rarely in the news and changes in the structure of the Jones County School System leadership in administration and athletics.
A hearing was held by the Jones County Board of Commissioners Jan. 7 to consider the removal of the remaining two members of the Jones County Board of Tax Assessors due to numerous issues with property evaluations.
Two members of the board had previously resigned, and the term of the third member expired. At the conclusion of the hearing, commissioners voted 4-1 to remove Timothy Andrews and Scherryl Morgan from the board.
A performance review of the Department of Tax Assessors by the Georgia Department of Revenue did nothing to change the commissioners’ decision. The commissioners moved forward with interviews and the subsequent appointment of three board members to fill the vacancies at a Jan. 14 work session.
Joe Rutledge, Andrea Riley and Leigh Stanford were selected as the new JCBTA members.
Georgia HB581 created the need for multiple meetings of the Gray City Council, Board of Commissioners and Board of Education. The bill would have created a floating exemption that, in the opinion of elected officials and administrators, would wreak havoc due to the inequities in the county tax digest.
Each of the boards was required to conduct three public hearings to opt out of the tax exemptions, and due to the complex wording of the requirements, several additional hearings were held.
However, a Jan. 23 Board of Education hearing was used for a different purpose entirely. During the opportunity for public comments, about 30 people showed up to voice their complaints about Jones County High School head football coach Mike Chastain and JCSS Athletic Director Chad Alligood.
Both Chastain and Alligood subsequently resigned from their positions.
On a more positive note, the Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce held its annual awards event Jan. 17 at Butler Hall. Casey Gallagher was selected as the Citizen of the Year, and 1st Choice Heating and Air was the Business of the Year. Hometown Orthopedics and Sports Medicine was announced as the Emerging Business of the Year, and Treasures By The Tracks was the Main Street Business of the Year.
Outgoing Chairman Steve Johnson passed the gavel to Wes Casteel. One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of the Catalyst to Development Award to Haley Watson.
FEBRUARY
Jones County’s 2025 STAR Student Carsen Cruey was celebrated by the Jones County Kiwanis Club Feb. 3. The STAR Student selected JCHS English and drama teacher Sarah Weese as this year’s STAR Teacher. The Kiwanis Club has sponsored the Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program promoted by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators since its inception in 1958.
The JCBTA held its first meeting with new members Feb. 6. The first item of business at the meeting was the selection of a chairman, who was Stanford. The results of the peer review were presented, and a called meeting was set Feb. 20 to listen to department employees.
That called meeting proved to be lengthy and included the termination of Chief Appraiser Tony George.
A fatal accident Feb. 7 took the life of Jerry Franklin Marlow, 62, of Forsyth. The accident took place at the intersection of Cumslo Road and Highway 49.
A new football coach was approved at the Feb. 11 meeting of the Board of Education. Justin Montgomery was formerly the defensive coordinator at Carrolton High School and was introduced by JCHS Principal Dennis Woolfolk after the official vote by board members.
The resignation of Gray City Councilman Benny Gray was presented to council members at their Feb. 18 committee meeting. Gray represented the city’s District 2 for more than 30 years.
MARCH
A 13-year-old lost her life crossing Eatonton Highway March 8. Rylee Baird was pronounced deceased on the scene by Jones County Deputy Coroner Wayne Grier. The victim was struck while walking north along Eatonton Highway just north of Industrial Boulevard.
The JCBTA hired an interim chief appraiser at a March 10 called meeting. Among the credentials of James Davis were the facts that he has served as chief appraiser in Bibb, Upson, Colquitt and Monroe counties and had 50 years of experience in the field.
The Board of Commissioners voted unanimously at their March 18 meeting to hire Jerry Arnold as Jones County public works director.
The two members of the JCBTA who had been removed by the commissioners had their day in court March 19. Superior Court Judge Amanda Petty listened to evidence and arguments presented by attorney William Noland representing Jones County and the two board members, Andrews and Morgan.
Petty ruled in favor of the county, stating that the court found the decision to remove the board members was warranted. The judge’s order was dated March 28.
“Women in Business” were celebrated March 27 with an event sponsored by the Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce and held at Butler Hall. The keynote speaker for the meeting was Jessica Walden, president of the Macon Chamber of Commerce, who grew up in Jones County.
The event was attended by more than 60 local businesswomen.
APRIL
County commissioners took the final steps at their April 1 meeting in the removal of the two remaining members of the county’s Board of Tax Assessors. Commissioner Sam Kitchens made the motion to remove Andrews and Morgan, effective immediately. The vote to approve the motion was 4-1 with Commissioner Daylon Martin opposed.
YEAR IN REVIEW
The appointment and removal of board members is the only control the commissioners have over the tax assessors.
JCBTA board members voted in their April 3 meeting to start the process of hiring a company to perform the countywide revaluation of Jones County properties.
Clifton Ridge math teacher Charm Mapp was announced as Jones County School System’s 2024-25 Teacher of the Year during an annual award ceremony April 3.
The April 15 meeting the Board of Education included the announcement of the new athletic director for the JCSS. Woolfolk introduced Charles David as the new director following the official vote of the board.
That vote took place after the closed session at the meeting’s end. It was during that closed session that Superintendent Charles Lundy received official notification that his contract would not be renewed. The notification was in the form of a letter presented to him during the closed session and was not publicly announced.
Lundy served as JCSS superintendent since 2021.
Clinton Burston was selected to become interim superintendent at an April 18 called meeting. Burston serves as the JCSS executive director of accounting and school improvement. He served as assistant principal of Dames Ferry Elementary before being named principal of the Jones County Ninth Grade Academy in 2006.
Jones County native John T. Edge was back April 29 for a gathering of friends at Lake Jonesco and a taping for an upcoming episode of the series he hosts for the SEC Network, “True-South.” Edge also writes a restaurant column for Garden & Gun. His 2017 book The Potlikker Papers was named one of the best books of the year byNPR and Publishers Weekly.
YEAR IN R EVIEW
Former State Rep. Susan Holmes died April 30. She represented Jones County from 2011-23. Holmes was from Monticello but was a champion for Jones County during her terms in office.
Two Jones County veterans were part of the April 25 Middle Georgia Honor Flight, during which they were treated like the heroes they are. Ted Stone is a veteran of the Korean War and Richard Mathis a veteran of the Vietnam War. The Honor Flight departs from the Macon airport and lands in Baltimore.
The Honor Flight included 15 veterans, with Stone the oldest at 89. The first stop was Arlington Cemetery, and they toured the US Marine Corps War Memorial, the Military Women’s Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Air Force Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Wall, concluding with the Navy Museum.
Middle Georgia Honor Flight is one of more than 30 hubs in the Honor Flight network. They partner with Contour Airlines for six flights per year.
MAY
The May 1 meeting of the JCBTA had good news about progress with the previous inequity of the county’s tax digest. Davis said the work of the tax appraisers and change in the per-squarefoot value had raised the sales ratio significantly, possibly avoiding penalties for the county.
City Councilman Benny Gray died May 2. Gray was a councilman for the City of Gray for 35 years. He was elected to office in November of 1989 and began his first term in office Jan. 1, 1990. He was re-elected eight times. His final election was in 2021, and he remained on the council until he resigned Feb. 14.
Former market bank president Alan Childs entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit bank fraud April 16. The indictment document listed 57 loans approved by Childs for the benefit of Ronnie Atkinson, who was also indicted for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The indictment did not allege that Childs benefited personally from the loans.
Childs was sentenced in federal court Sept. 15 to 12 months plus one day in prison, with restitution to be determined.
The Jones County Board of Commissioner filled the two remaining vacancies on the Board of Tax Assessors at their May 6 meeting. Tina Presley was appointed to the board to fill a term ending Dec. 31, 2028, and Justin Kelly was appointed to fill the term that will end Dec. 31, 2025.
An officer-involved shooting resulted in the death of the offender. The shooting took place May 16 in the parking lot of a market located near Joycliff Road. Ronald R. Evans, 54, was pronounced deceased at 2 a.m. May 16.
Jones County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Travis Walker was the officer who encountered Evans. The shooting was investigated by Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills. The investigation included reviewing the scene of the shooting and body cam and dash cam videos of the officers involved. The evidence was turned over to District Attorney Wright Barksdale.
Sills concluded there was nothing improper in the shooting.
The graduation ceremony for JCHS was held May 20 at the Centennial Center in Milledgeville with 331 seniors celebrated by faculty, family and friends. In addition to Woolfolk, speakers included 2025 Salutatorian Nicholas Woodson, Valedictorian Maya Austin and JCHS 2025 Class President Ciara Hamilton.
JUNE
The month began with the swearing in of interim Jones County School Superintendent Clinton Burston June 2. He received the oath of office from Probate Judge Lewis Patterson.
Board members voted to officially begin his term as interim superintendent beginning June 1 at a May 27 called meeting.
The June 5 meeting of the JCBTA highlighted improvements that had been made and the mailing of tax assessment notices. Davis said in his 50 years in the field, he had never seen the kind of improvements in property values made by the tax assessors’ office staff members, who had been working seven days a week.
Stanford said the Board of Commissioners had approved the bid from Technology Appraiser Services, which meant the countywide revaluation would soon be underway.
Burston was in his seat at the board table as interim superintendent for the first time at the June 10 BOE meeting. At the conclusion of a closed session, he introduced Zachary Griffin, who was approved as principal of Gray Station Middle School.
The new principal comes to Jones County having served as the assistant principal at Monroe County Middle School and previously taught at Rutland High School.
Gray City Council members met with Georgia Department of Transportation representatives June 16 to discuss issues the city is experiencing in maintaining former state routes that became the city’s responsibility after the opening of the Gray bypass.
The state routes involved were Georgia Highways 44, 22 and 11 and U.S. 129. The meeting included State Sen. Rick Williams, Jones County Commissioner John Wood and GDOT District 3 representatives Tyler Peek, district engineer, and Danny Miller, one of five area district engineers who works out of Macon.
Gray Police Chief Adam Lowe pointed out the many promises that had been made for help since the routes were turned over to the city in 2017. The only suggestion from the GDOT officials appeared to be the implementation of a truck route to keep the big trucks out of the downtown area.
The 2025 year in review for July through December will be published in next week’s edition.
YEAR IN REVIEW
