GRIFFIN BEARS STATE CHAMPIONS REGION AAAA

The Griffin Spalding County School System and the GHS Touchdown Club in conjunction with The City of Griffin and Spalding County will host a community wide class AAAA Championship celebration on Wednesday December 18th at Griffin Memorial Stadium from 4:30-6:30 PM. The public is invited to come celebrate with our new State Champs, Griffin High Bears.

For Bears fans who can not attend or live out of town we will be broadcasting the event on WKEU AM 1450, WKEU FM 88.9 ” The Rock”, and on our live stream. GO BEARS!

Griffin Police Department responded to 118 S. Brawner Street Wednesday morning December 18 th, In reference to a seven year old child not breathing. Upon the initial Officer’s arrival on the scene they found the child deceased. A death investigation was immediately initiated. The preliminary investigation indicates that the child passed away from natural causes and that there was no foul play involved. It has been confirmed by the Spalding County Coroner’s Office that the child did have sickle cell and a history of medical conditions. The child’s body was transported to the State Crime Lab for a determination as to the exact cause of death which is standard procedure during the death of a child.

The initial 911 call was made by a minor sibling that was at the residence. There were no adults present when the police arrived on the scene. DFCS was notified and responded to the scene and took custody of the children, a nine year old female and a one year male. The mother, Shuntavious Harps, was not present but did arrive on the scene shortly after the Police arrived. Pending the results of the investigation, Investigators will be consulting with the District Attorney’s Office to determine if charges will be filed.

RONNIE LOWE WKEU SALES MANAGER ACCEPTING THE AWARD FOR BILL TAYLOR

Bill Taylor of Radio Station WKEU was honored with a Beacon Award by the Georgia School Boards Association for his exceptional work in the field of education reporting. The station was recognized at the Georgia School Boards Association/Georgia School Superintendents Association Annual Conference held in Atlanta on December 6 – 7, 2013. Ronnie Lowe Senior Sales Manager of WKEU accepted the award on behalf of the station and Taylor.

The GSBA Beacon Award is given annually to media organizations or individual reporters or editors who have shown a willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty to report educational issues to their communities.

The Griffin-Spalding County Board of Education nominated Taylor for the award because of the dedication he has shown to his profession and to providing citizens with thorough and accurate information about the school system.

GSBA is a voluntary association of Georgia’s 180 local boards of education. It provides programs, training and services to assist boards in governing local school systems. For information about GSBA, visit the website: www.gsba.com.

LAMAR COUNTY COURTHOUSE

TRAVIS BALL IN LAMAR COUNTY HEARING. PHOTO COURTESY BARNESVILLE HERALD GAZETTE AND WALTER GEIGER

In Barnesville Travis Ball alleged serial arsonist was back in Superior Court before Judge Tommy Wilson on Thursday. Ball left the Lamar County courthouse in handcuffs and will spend the holiday season in the Lamar County jail.

Judge Tommy Wilson lambasted Ball, who is charged with one count of arson in Lamar County, for not complying with the terms of his bond agreement. Assistant district attorney Matt Bridges alleged Ball did not wear his ankle monitor as required, pay for the monitoring or charge the monitor as required.

Defense attorney Eric Hearn noted that Ball had been in jail in Upson County, where he has been indicted on two arson counts, but released. Hearn argued Judge Mack Crawford of the Griffin circuit had addressed the monitoring issues and that Ball was now in compliance.

Hearn also filed a motion for a speedy trial with the Assistant District Attorney Bridges, giving copies to Judge Wilson and clerk Frank Abbott. He said a motion for speedy trial has also been filed in Upson County and Ball could go to court there as early as May, 2014.

Judge Wilson did not go along with Hearn’s suggestions that Ball go free under the conditions of his Upson bond.

The Judge told Ball, “You have not shown proper respect. You’ve shown disrespect for this court. You’ve made a mockery of the orders of this court,” He also ordered Ball taken into custody and held until Jan. 2, 2014. Upon release, he must abide by the bond conditions and pay for and charge the monitor.

In closing, the judge told Ball, “I don’t want to hear anything about you writing any more letters.”

WKEU would like to thank Walter Geiger and the Barnesville Herald Gazette for their Assistance in this new update. You can subscribe to the Herald Gazette on line at Barnesville.com

At this time of the year I always think back to my kids growing up (now grown) their faces at Christmas, and the relation ship of others become closer. But the one factor that always come home to me after 30 years of service to our great Armed Forces I pray for our all of our service members who will not be home for this great time of the year. Especially those in harms way. We of WKEU ask each family to remember these wonderful men and women for their service to keep this the Greatest Nation in the World. The old USA at times makes some errors and blunders but from the very start I think its the way our Nation has grown. Yes we fight among ourselves over issues of Government, BUT, in times where we feel ole Uncle Sam may be in trouble, we forget democrat, republicans, tea parties, independents and join to support our Great Nation to show the world we will not be swayed form our way of life that has been paid for by the precious blood of our forefathers. And after its all over we again go back to arguing among ourselves, fighting problems, and issues of Government at National and State level. WHY???? well its just what we do as a free nation. Its ok for us to call many of our elected officials scoundrels, etc, but they are all OUR scoundrels, and we will not let anyone else have that great opportunity or interfere with our freedoms to do just that. Merry Christmas to all from the WKEU, WHIE, The Rock 88.9 Georgia Public Radio. And please remember our great service members in your prayers at Christmas put a small American Flag in your tree in their honor this holiday.

MARSHALL HOOKS NEW CHAMBER PRESIDENT BARNESVILLE-LAMAR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

The Barnesville Lamar County Chamber of Commerce has a new President he is Marshall T. Hooks of Dawson. He was one of two candidates called back for a second interview following the interview session the chamber board voted unanimously on Thursday December 19 to offer him the job which he accepted.

Hooks currently serves Blakely-Early County in a similiar type position. He will be in Barnesville for the chamber’s strategic planning session on Jan. 16.

During the early morning hours on Friday, December 20, 2013 Officer’s from the Griffin Police Department responded to Broadway Grocery and Deli, located at 515 E. Broadway, Griffin, Spalding County, Georgia in reference to an armed robbery.  Shortly after 7:00 am an unidentified black male wearing a navy blue hoodie jacket, baggie blue jeans, white gloves and solid black shoes entered the store and brandished a black semi-automatic pistol. The suspect assaulted the clerk and took an undisclosed amount of cash from the register before leaving the store on foot.

The suspect the December 20 th  robbery matches the description of the suspect in another armed robbery at Broadway Grocery and Deli earlier this month on December 11.  The suspect in the December 11 th armed robbery brandished a similar weapon and was wearing navy insulated coveralls, a royal blue knit stocking cap and black Nike tennis shoes  white soles and nike logo.  The robbery also occurred during the early morning hours. At this time investigators believe that both robberies may have been committed by the same suspect.

Anyone having contact or any information abouit the incidents please call 911 or your local law enforcement agency.  Subject should be considered armed and dangerous.  If you have any information concerning these crimes please notify Lt. Tony Thomason at 770-229-6452 Ext. 508 . You can also contact the Police Department via Facebook or the City Website. All information will remain anonymous.

The City of Griffin Solid Waste Division collected between approximately 1,800 canned food items from area residents for the Salvation Army.

“We’ve done this for about five year now, and we always look forward to it every year. It is deeply satisfying to see people from across the city, regardless of their personal circumstances, give to help those less fortunate,” said Central Services Director Phil Francis. “We’re honored to be a part of this every year, and I just want to thank all of those who contributed.”

Donations were collected during the week of Dec. 16. Solid waste workers collected donations from residents during weekly routes.

Griffin Fire-Rescue successfully completed its annual toy drive on the Dec. 19. Three trucks full of toys delivered donated items to the Department of Family & Children’s Services as well as the Salvation Army on Dec. 23.

“It was a slow start, but we had a great response in the end. It was another successful year thanks to all those who made donations,” said Captain Mitchell Cardell.

This year’s theme was “Children Giving to Children.” In line with that theme, one of Griffin Fire Rescue’s largest donors was Crescent Elementary School. Crescent Elementary was able to donate $1,500 worth of toys to Griffin Fire-Rescue.

“We couldn’t do this every year without those community partners and the citizens in the community who just believe in giving during this time of year,” added Captain Cardell.

Participants donated either money or toys for children this Christmas. Money donated was used to purchase additional toys. All toys were given to the Department of Family & Children’s Services or the Salvation Army.

Torrential Rains over the past 24 hours has done damage to WHIE 1320 am Transmitter. WHIE’s building on poplar street still houses the Transmitter facilities however, the studios have been moved to 1000 Memorial Drive in the WKEU Building. The Roof on the Poplar Street structure was being replaced when the rains and storms struck Griffin and Spalding County . The roofing contractor had placed a tarp on the unfinished work area, however the winds and massive rains got under the tarp and drained down an air exhaust vent into the transmitter. There was massive damage to the transmitter and engineers are working at this time to replace parts and return the station to normal operations as soon as possible.

WKEU will air the news calls for WHIE and the Swap Buy and Sell program will be on 1450 at its regular time, 112:30 until 2 PM. We apologize for the inconvenience and we are making every effort to restore normal operations as quickly as possible. .

The WKEU family invites you and your family to join us on AM 1450, 88.9 FM, or on our live stream at 8:00pm on Christmas Eve Night for the reading of the Night Before Christmas. This a a tradition on WKEU that dates back many many years. Merry Christmas from all of us at WKEU AM-FM.

Oak Hill Baptist Church invites the community to Power Lunch on Tuesday Janurary 7 at 11:45 am at Oak Hill Baptist Church.  The guest speaker will be Coach Steve DeVoursney. The cost is $10.00 per person and the lunch will be catered by Margo’s. Oak Hill Baptist Church is located at 100 Lakeside Road in Spalding County. For more information about Power Lunch you may call 770-227-5974 or visit their website www.oakhillbaptist.org

Chris Holdorf will be interviewing Steve DeVoursney, Head Football Coach of the Quad A State Champions.  You are invited to come show your support for Coach DeVoursney and join our conversation about football, leadership and faith.

Power Lunch meets on the first Tuesday of each month at Oak Hill Baptist Church.  Power Lunch is a ministry of Oak Hill and is open to everyone.

The City of Griffin will be closed on Wednesday in observance of the New Year’s Holiday. The City offices will reopen on Thursday, January 2 at their normal business hours.

The Spalding County offices will be closed on Webnesday, January 1, 2014 in observance of the New Year’s Holiday. The County offices will reopen on Thursday at normal business hours.

The City of Griffin has issued a statement about the color of the water that some customers may be experiencing. Some City of Griffin customers are experiencing a tea like color in their fresh water. The City of Griffin is aware of this and wants every customer to know that their is no need to worry. This is due to an increased manganese from the excessive amount of rain we have received through out the last couple of days. It isn’t harmful to drink or to cook with. The City of Griffin is aware of it, and is slowly clearing up the issue and water will be restored to its clear color.

Units of the Spalding Sheriffs Department, received a 911 call that a vehicle accident involving a fatality on Monday. The accident occurred on Swint Road near Brown Road. Troopers from the Griffin Post of the Georgia State Patrol were called to the scene to conduct the investigation as well as the Spalding Fire Department, and Coroner Sonny Foster. Investigators said the driver of the vehicle was a fatality and was identified as Callum Reid age 22 of Wesley Drive Griffin. Reid had been missing from home since 7:30 pm on Sunday night. Initial reports indicated that he had visited friends at Chappell Mill Road. Investigators said the accident had occurred either late Sunday evening or into the early morning hours of Monday. The scene was located by tracking his cell phone. Reid was driving Southbound on Swint Road lost control of the vehicle and skidded into a heavily wooded area and struck a large tree. He was driving a red sports car with blacktop.  More information will be released later.

During the New Year’s holiday travel period, the Georgia State Patro reported 5 traffic fatalities in Georgia. l  Colonel Mark W. McDonough, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety, said state troopers conducted intensive patrols looking to spot impaired drivers and people not using seat belts.

The New Year’s holiday period begins New Year’s Eve at 6 p.m. and ends New Year’s Day at midnight. Both the Christmas and New Years holiday periodswere 30 hours long.

The Christmas holiday travel period began Christmas Eve at 6 p.m. and ended Christmas Day at midnight. And for the First time in recent years there were no Traffic Fatalities in the State durng the Christmas Holiday period. But the count period was a 30 hour periods vs last year’s 102 hour period for both Christmas and New Year Periods.

New Years Holiday Traffic Count 6 p.m. Tuesday – Midnight Wednesday

Last year, Christmas 2012, troopers investigated 702 traffic crashes over the Christmas holiday period that resulted in 371 injuries and 11 fatalities. During the New Year’s period, four people were killed. There were 694 crashes and 353 injuries reported. Last year the holiday period was 102 hours.

WKEU urges everyone to drive extreme care and use child restraints and seat belts.

The National Weather Service has forecast bitterly cold weather for the Griffin and Spalding County area this week.

Dr. Cutis Jones Superintendent of the Griffin Spalding School System talked with WKEU news on Sunday aboutd 5pm and there will be no school on Monday.  Jones and his staff met Sunday afternoon and got updates from the National Weather Service which included the possiblilty of black ice, and made the decision to cancel school on Monday. Also at present the plan for Tuesday is for Staff to return on Tuesdasy at 10 am unil 3pm.

Typically local schools are unaffected by cold temperatures; however, the expected rain from Sunday could result in icy streets Monday morning. As of 5:00 Sunday there also has been no mention from the Lamar County school system as to current plans but Superintendent Turby and his staff are expected to make a decsion Sunday afternoon or evening. School systems all over central Georgia are keeping  an eye on the forecast and a decision on opening schools late Sunday.  Truby reported to the Barnesville Herald Gazette Saturday afternoon that he and his staff are watching weather models very closely and staying in touch with the National Weather Service. The Lamar County Superintendent said “We have time left to study it. It will be cold but the moisture factor is iffy. We don’t want kids waiting outside in the cold. Wind chill is a factor. We will probably make a decision Sunday afternoon. I am talking with other superintendents about strategies,” Truby said.

The expected first wave of this arctic air, cooled even further by significant wind chill factors, is expected to arrive in the late hours of Sunday night into early Monday morning. At present, there is a 30% chance of snow showers early Monday morning but no significant snow / or ice accumulation is expected in our location.

What is expected is record near dangerous cold with temperatures falling in our area to close to 10 degrees overnight Monday into Tuesday morning while the mercury will not rise above the freezing mark at any point during the day either Monday or Tuesday.

The National Weather Service in Peachtree City is expecting some 60 consecutive hours of below freezing weather – many of those hours below the 20 degree mark. That in itself is a recipe for potential disaster for pipes, pets and plants so the time to prepare is now.

Hardware stores, along with convenience stores and grocery stores, are already reporting runs on merchandise such as flashlights, propane, kerosene, pipe covers, antifreeze, space heaters, filters etc. The usual runs on grocery stores for staple items have also begun.  WKEU reminds you to bring in your pets and plants inside during the freezing weather and take apporpriate precautions now.

Central Georgia EMC, Southern Rivers Energy, City of Griffin, Spalding County, and Georgia Power advised WKEU news that they  have already started preparing for the falling temperatures and are prepared to deal with any potential customer outages.

Stay tuned to WKEU 1450, WHIE 1320, and The Rock 88.9 FM for up to date information as it occurrs.  WKEU’s meteorologist Tony Broski,  Ted Taylor, Bill Taylor, Lee Taylor, and the WKEU Broadcast staff will be on duty extra hours to bring you up to date information as it is received.