2023

Editor’s note: This review covers January through June. We will review the second half of 2023 in next week’s edition.

Jones County’s year in review looks back at the good, bad and sometimes ugly events of the year.

The only election during the year was an Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in March.

2023 began as the end of an arctic freeze swept through Jones County, resulting in water leaks and a self-inflicted water shortage for the entire system.

Jones County Water Superintendent Brandon Stark and City Superintendent Cheyenne Morgan and their crews worked together to get leaks repaired and the water back on but not before people in Haddock endured 24 hours without water.

Stark said people mistakenly thought they had to run water in every sink in their homes to keep the lines from freezing when the cold weather hit, which essentially drained the water supply. He said the best idea is to make sure pipes are insulated. He also suggested finding out which sink is furthest from the water meter and only run a small stream of water in that one.

January

An icon in Jones County’s banking industry started 2023 as a retiree.

A reception was held in the honor of Thad Childs’ retirement at Morris Bank Dec. 29. It celebrated his 10 years at the bank, as well as his 46 years in community banking.

Childs is perhaps best remembered for his 21 years as president and CEO of the Bank of Gray.

His first retirement was 16 years ago, but it was short lived. When looking at what is next for him, Childs said he would probably go to the beach more and may deal with some land. He said the goal is no stress, but he did not rule out being involved in a “few deals.”

A Macon man was sentenced to 10 years to serve in prison during the first motion day in Jones County Superior Court for 2023. Shedric Lanorris Mims entered a guilty plea in Jones County Superior Court Jan. 3 and received a total of 15 years for the charge of armed robbery with the first 10 years to be served in confinement.

A report of the arrest by Jones County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. William Jackson states that he was dispatched to the motel in reference to the robbery.

He said, when he arrived, he made contact with the complainant, who said he was robbed by a black male with his face covered at gun point at 2 a.m. that morning. Mims was identified by the motel’s security footage.

Tyrone Slater Hitchcock entered a guilty plea in Jones County Superior Court Jan. 12 and received a total of 30 years with the first 15 years served in confinement for charges of trafficking methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by convicted felon.

Hitchcock was arrested June 15, 2021, and charged with receipt, possession or transport of firearm by a convicted felon or first offender probationer, driving without valid license misdemeanor, trafficking in cocaine-illegal drugs-marijuana or methamphetamine and possession firearm or knife during commission or attempt to commit a crime.

Main Street Gray, under the leadership of Director Ashley Roberson, received accreditation Jan. 24.

The accreditation process takes place every three years.

Neremiah Terrell Johnson was arrested Jan. 27 and charged with felony theft by receiving stolen property, following a vehicle chase and foot race with law enforcement. Johnson did not learn and would be arrested again for the same offense before year’s end.

Suspects in a Jones County armed robbery and a Bibb County home invasion were arrested in Jones County. Terrell Eugene Mills, 40, was arrested Jan. 27 and held in custody at the Jones County Law Enforcement Center. He was charged with armed robbery, home invasion first degree, possession of firearm by convicted felon or first offender, possession of firearm or knife during commission of or attempt to commit certain felonies, two counts of cruelty to children, possession of marijuana with intent, six counts of aggravated assault and five counts of armed robbery.

Capt. Kenny Allen with the Jones County Sheriff’s Office said similar warrants had been issued for Shaun Mills, 38, and he was being sought by the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Allen said there were a total of five suspects in the armed robbery, and three, possibly four, were involved in the home invasion.

Mills was arrested March 9 in Anniston, Alabama, by the U.S.

Marshals Southeast Regional and Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Forces.

February

James Rackley was named 2023 STAR Student for Jones County High School and selected Dames Ferry Elementary Social Studies teacher Rusty Owens as the 2023 STAR teacher.

Rackley achieved the honor by scoring the highest on the SAT score. He said he selected Owens because memories of his lessons have stuck with him through the years.

Jones County Commissioners took the final step for the purchase of Jake’s Woods and the receipt of Liberty Park at their Feb.

7 meeting. The purchase price for the Jake’s Woods property that consists of 29.52 acres was $124,783.

The gift of the Liberty Park property was accepted from the Macon-Bibb County Water and Sewerage Authority. The park is located at 3683 Upper River Road and consists of 8.95 acres.

The park was dedicated in October of 2008 and was the vision of former Commissioner Larry Childs, who represented Jones County’s District 1 for 20 years.

The 2023 Night to Shine was hosted by Bradley Baptist Church Feb. 10 to give 120 special needs individuals a prom-like experience. The number participating in the event including volunteers, buddies and guests totaled more than 450.

Jones County History & Heritage Inc. held its annual Hamilton/ Williams banquet Feb. 9 at Trish Ann’s Antiques and Tea Room in Haddock. This year’s recipient was Earlene Hamilton, the daughter of Ann Hamilton for whom the award is named.

The Jones County Board of Education took a huge step in the building of the school system’s JROTC program Feb.

14 with the approval of a Raider Challenge Obstacle Course that would hold its first competition later this year.

The request was first brought to the board members at a Sept. 8, 2022, work session, during which the purpose and need for the course was explained by JCHS JROTC Senior Army Instructor Capt. Michael McMillan with the aid of two sets of cadets who were in the program.

The price tag for the project was an estimated $300,000 and was funded from ESPLOST funds and it was approved unanimously.

March

The individual identified as the shooter in a 2021 shooting incident at a Jones County High School basketball game, Jailan Letravis Lester, entered a guilty plea March 2 and received a 20-year sentence.

A two-hour sentencing hearing followed the plea, and at its conclusion Lester was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Stephen Bradley to serve the first nine years of the sentence in confinement.

The remainder of the sentence may be served on probation.

Lester was 19 at the time of his sentencing but was 17 at the time of his Dec. 13, 2021, arrest. He was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a minor, disrupting a school event, affray, disorderly conduct and possession of a firearm on school property.

An ordinance to allow the public consumption of alcohol at city sponsored events was approved by Gray’s City Council at its March 6 meeting.

The ordinance allows the public to purchase a specially designated cup for use at an approved event. The cup could be filled with an alcoholic beverage and carried around the designated area of the event. The options allowed at the events are beer and wine only, and the purchase of the cups raise funds for Main Street Gray.

Jones County voters approved the renewal of the county’s Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax in the March 21 special election. The ballot had only one item, which was the continuation of the one-cent tax for the purpose of the support, construction and renovation of Jones County schools.

The turnout for the special election was not huge, with 798 casting ballots out of more than 20,000 registered voters or approximately 4 percent. The support of those casting their votes, however, was strong with 701 voting to approve the continuation of the ESPLOST. That equates to an 88 percent approval rate.

Turner Woods Elementary’s robotics team, the Robomonkeys, made it to the top eight in the state competition out of 400 teams competing.

Christine Geske-Stewart was named Jones County’s Teacher of the Year March 30. She is a Social Studies teacher at JCHS and has been an educator for 20 years.

April

Anthony Lester was sentenced to life in prison April 6, a week after a jury found him guilty of the charges of rape and aggravated child molestation. Superior Court Judge Terry Massey sentenced Lester to life with 35 years to serve on each count. The 59-year-old defendant will be eligible for parole in 30 years.

The judge said he took a week to consider the testimonies given during the sentencing hearing that immediately followed the March 30 verdict.

Former Jones County Deputy Kevin Harden, 42, was arrested April 13 after warrants were served at his residence by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, with the assistance of members of the JCSO and the GBI Milledgeville Regional Investigative Office.

The warrants show that two of the sexual exploitation charges were for possession of child pornography and the other two were for the distribution of child pornography.

Harden entered a negotiated guilty plea May 25 and received a 20-year sentence for one count of sexual exploitation of children with 19 of those years served in confinement.

Sheriff Butch Reece announced a new communications program for inmates April 17 that focuses on education rather than profits. Inmate communications include phone calls and video visitations. The sheriff said in-person visitations have become rare. He said the Paytel package was different because the focus was education for the inmates.

The sheriff said those who break the law are going to jail, but while they are in jail, the goal is to help them improve.

JCSO Chief Deputy Earl Humphries said the whole point of the Paytel Pathway to Achieve program is learning. He said that is accomplished by courses available on tablets the inmates now have access to at no charge to them. He said the program is also without added costs to taxpayers.

Humphries noted that there is approximately one tablet for every two inmates.

The courses include parenting, addiction recovery, self-control, anger management, career exploration, spouse and partner, changing your thinking, college prep, alcohol and drug and mental health.

Jones County Commissioners held a special work session April 18 to simply answer questions from a group of Boy Scouts with the rank of Webelo. The questions included littering, handicapped parking the relationship of cutting trees and the environment.

Members of the Pilot Club of Jones County celebrated their 50th anniversary at an April 25 event held at the Lake Jonesco Clubhouse. Jones County Pilot Club charter members, Joyce Conn Folendore, Frances Roberts, Janice Roberts, Cheryle Thomas and Janice Roberts were presented with certificates.

The Jones County Pilot Club was chartered in 1973 led by President Miriam Ethridge, who is the mother of Beth Coon, the current president.

May

Deputies with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office reported finding Stephen Tingen, former Mayor of Gray, deceased recently while serving a search warrant on his residence.

Information shared by the Monroe County Reporter stated that Tingen, 48, was found in a bedroom at his home around 4:45 p.m. May 4, as six deputies arrived to execute the warrant. The officers reported finding evidence of suicide at the scene.

The long saga of the arrest of Dr. Thomas Sachy in Gray June 26, 2018, reached its conclusion May 11 with a guilty plea that included no additional prison time. The plea agreement stated Sachy admitted that he knowingly dispensed and distributed outside the course of professional medical practice and for no legitimate medical purpose, quantities of pills containing controlled substances Vyvanse, OxyContin, Oxycodone and Hydrocodone.

Sachy agreed to surrender his medical license and not seek to reinstate his DEA registration number. He agreed to forfeit six assorted firearms and pay a fine of $200,000.

However, the agreement also stated that over $1 million in seized funds would be returned to him and his family members.

Students of JCHS Welding class were recognized in a May 15 ceremony. The students underwent testing by a technical trainer with Norfolk Southern, and all 16 passed the tests. The students were awarded AWS welding certificates by Keith Brandon Gattie, who is the director of technical training at Norfolk Southern.

All-in-all this year’s students racked up 195 separate welding credentials collectively. Welding student Parker Henley received 24 of those certifications.

A May 25 fire destroyed a home on Amanda Drive but thankfully there were no injuries. The fire is believed to have started in an outdoor trash can and was fully engulfed with firefighters arrived.

June

The Gray Police Department officially received recognition for its certification at the June 5 City of Gray Council Meeting. The award was presented by Chuck Groover, state certification coordinator for the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police.

The awards were presented to Gray Police Chief Adam Lowe and GPD Certification Manager Sgt. Mark Robinson.

Groover said the Jones County community is unique in having both law enforcement agencies state certified. The Jones County Sheriff’s Office has been certified since 2004.

The GPD also announced the receipt of the Community Public Safety Grant at the close of the June 5 Council meeting, before the official announcement by Gov. Brian Kemp came out June. 8. The $528,896 grant received by the GPD was part of a $83.5 million announcement. GPD’s portion is to be used for the installation of equipment for patrol vehicles and to improve officer and public safety.

Commissioners recognized the members of Jones County’s 7U Coach Pitch All-Star State Champions at their June 22 meeting. The team won the Little League district championship before heading to Atlanta to bounce back and win it all.

The names of the state champions are Kohen Bell, Marc Earwood, Hayes Hartzog, Bradley Heath, Luke May, Gunner Moody, Mason Pitts, Ben Quick, Dax Sheldon, Jaxon Tate, Christian Tusa and Eli Westbrook.

The Summer Reading Program exploded at the Jones County Library. The official kickoff for the program was June 7 with a presentation by the Museum of Arts and Sciences. Branch Manager Julie King said the Jones County Library had 940 readers signed up, and more are being added every day.

That is more than any other library in the Middle Georgia Regional Library district. The program started June 5 and ended July 29. The kickoff had 280 patrons in attendance, which is a record. The manager said the support of the Jones County School System in combining the school and library reading programs has no doubt helped in the increase of the numbers.

She also credits the library staff with the number of signups.