Here’s a run down of local headlines in the past week around Henry County. Some of the topics below will be expanded into full articles later on, but this provides a quick summary of recent events.
Editor’s Note: this is a different new style of sharing local news for me. Let me know if you like it and would want to see more by leaving a comment on my Facebook page.
Commissioner Gary Barham passes away
On Tuesday morning, March 2, County Commissioner Gary Barham passed away after complications from COVID-19. Barham dedicated his life to public service, including a career of thirty-one years with the city of McDonough, a passion for supporting Little League sports and serving over eight years on the county commission.
Commissioner Barham was first elected in 2012 before being re-elected in 2014 and 2018 to represent commission district III. During his time on the board, he oversaw an expansion of North Ola Park adding a 14u field. The expansion opened in September 2019.
If you have a specific memory of Gary Barham you would like to share, please consider commenting on my Facebook page. I would like to include a couple in a forthcoming article honoring his life and service to Henry County.
Moving Henry Forward asks everyone to keep the Barham family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Funeral arraignments have not been announced.
County accepting resurfacing bids
Henry County is accepting bids to resurface 92 county roads measuring approximately eighty miles. In contrast, the county typically resurfaces only ten to twelve miles per year based on available funding.
Bids are due before March 17, 2021, at 3 pm. Though the full list of roads will be shared later, they include Hampton-Locust Grove Road between SR 20 and SR 155. A few other excerpts include the following:
- Jackson Lake Road from Keys Ferry to Woodstown,
- LG-Griffin Road from Tanger Blvd to Spalding County line,
- Jodeco Road from Hudson Bridge Road to Clayton County line,
- North Ola Road from joint south of bridge to East Lake & East Lake Road from SR 20 to North Ola,
- Campground Road from SR 155 to Brannan Road,
- Racetrack Road from Salvation Army to SR 81, and
- Fairview Road from Hearn Road to SR 155.
The board of commissioners should consider awarding a contract for the road work in either late April or early May.
Locust Grove denies annexation request
The Locust Grove city council voted 2–3 on Monday night, March 1, to deny an application for annexation. Council members Carlos Greer, Keith Boone and Rudy Breedlove voted in opposition.
The property in question consists of 213.9 +/- acres off Locust Road. The applicant requested annexation with no change in zoning. The property remains zoned residential agricultural (RA) in unincorporated Henry County.
Early Voting in second week
Early voting continues in its second week for education SPLOST and the Locust Grove city council, and final week for house district 90 runoff. As of Saturday afternoon, February 27, roughly 370 individuals had participated in early voting on E-SPLOST.
Election Day for HD 90 is Tuesday, March 9, followed by Election Day for E-SPLOST and Locust Grove council on March 16. Click here for the early voting schedule!
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