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GreyStone Power members may see a wintry mix in the electric cooperative’s service area this weekend. Rain on Saturday could change over to sleet, ice and/or snow early on Sunday, Jan. 16. Although the co-op’s office will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 17, GreyStone employees are prepared to work around-the-clock. Linemen and other employees are ready to quickly respond should power outages occur.
Snow, sleet, ice and wind can sometimes make outages unavoidable. To minimize inconvenience, discomfort and danger, prepare ahead of time for the possibility of severe weather. During widespread outages, GreyStone makes repairs to facilities that will return service to the largest number of members, and continues doing so until power is restored to everyone.
When an outage occurs, it usually means power lines are down. It is best not to travel during winter storms, but if you must, bring a survival kit along, and do not travel alone. If you encounter downed lines, always assume they are live.
For storm preparation tips and outage updates, GreyStone members can visit the Storm Center on the co-op’s website at
www.greystonepower.com/stormcenter. GreyStone members who experience an outage can report it through
www.greystonepower.com or by calling 866-GREYSTONE (473-9786). If extensive outages occur, the co-op will update members through social media and
www.greystonepower.com.
GreyStone Power is a member-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to more than 123,000 members in eight counties, including portions of Paulding, Douglas, Fulton, Cobb, Carroll, Bartow, Fayette and Coweta counties. Learn more at
www.greystonepower.com.
Douglas County's top emergency management officials took part in a Friday afternoon briefing by the National Weather Service on the winter weather being forecast for much of north Georgia this weekend.
Following the 20-minute briefing, top brass from Douglas County Fire/EMT, Douglas County Sheriff's Office and Douglasville Police Department gave a brief summary of their plans for the possibility of snow and ice.
The NWS forecast as of Friday afternoon called for rain and snow showers Saturday night and through the day on Sunday. The forecast at weather.com called for rain and snow Sunday morning and then snow Sunday afternoon. While the NWS didn't show predictions for snow and ice accumulation, weather.com showed "1 to 3 inches of snow expected" for Douglasville.
The NWS called the weather forecast a "very tricky and a challenging situation," during the Friday briefing.
“We don’t want to let our guard down,” the meteorologist said.
Both the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and Douglasville Police Department have plans in place in case severe weather hits the area.
Both agencies are urging citizens to stay off the roads unless its an emergency.
“Please use caution and avoid going out,” said DCSO Lt. Col. Tavarreus Pounds.
Georgia Department of Transportation crews began treating interstate and state highways Friday morning with brine solutions in areas that are expected to be impacted the hardest.
NWS said the weather could have an impact through Monday.
The Douglas County School System and most county government agencies are closed Monday because of the MLK Day Holiday.
“Our state is going to be impacted in some manner by this storm,” said Col. Chris Wright, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety.
While local and state agencies are prepared for the worst, they are hoping for minimal impact.
The county DOT said it will work personnel in 12-hour shifts if local roads become dangerous.
“Hopefully, the storm will under-deliver,” Gov. Brian Kemp said in a news conference. “But it could over-deliver. … We’re throwing all the resources we have available at this.”
They were passing out miniature Dogwood planting trees to the public in the 48-degree weather as part of the Board of Commissioners' observation of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
Commission Chairman Romona Jackson Jones stopped by in between other courthouse appointments to greet citizens.
The tree planting initiative honoring MLK Day mark’s the third time Douglas County has done this and the event is being coordinated by Keep Douglas County Beautiful.
“It is a great way to honor his legacy by planting a tree to help the environment,” said Stewart-Stanley, assistant county administrator and Keep Douglas County Beautiful director. “With most people having an extended weekend, they can do something to honor Dr. King on their own time. It is a day on, not a day off.”
The trees were donated through the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, according to Stewart-Stanley.
They gave out 100 trees on a first come basis.
The Douglas County Board of Commissioners at Thursday’s work session discussed preliminary plat approval for a so-called “pipe farm” subdivision that was started in 2005.
The work session was held early due to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday. The BOC will hold its regular voting meeting next Tuesday.
The Grove Park subdivision is located off Lake Monroe Road. Phil Shafer, zoning administrator for the county, told commissioners that roads were put in and it became a “pipe farm” for many years.
A new developer is now proposing to build 64 homes rather than the 65 originally planned for the 38-acre site 17 years ago.
Shafer said the lots will be 15,000-square-feet and homes will be a minimum of 1,800-square-feet.
James Worthington, development services director, said he believes there were eight subdivisions in the county that were started and never finished during the Great Recession including Grove Park. He said he only knew of one that hasn’t been completed and that is due to sewer issues.
“This is another indication and testament that this is the year of rebuilding, revamping and revitalizing,” Commission Chairman Romona Jackson Jones said. “So this is good music to my ears.”
Also at Thursday’s meeting, the BOC discussed setting qualifying fees for the upcoming elections.
Assistant County Administrator Tiffany Stewart-Stanley said qualifying fees are 3% of the base salaries for each position.
Qualifying fees for the local positions are:
• District Commissioner: $671.31 (Districts 1, 3, and 4 are up this year)
• Solicitor General: $3,854.64
• Magistrate Judge $2,643.29
• School Board Member: $619.86 (Districts 2, 3, anad 4 are up this year)
Qualifying for the May 24 primary election is set for March 7-11.
In addition to the county races, all state legislative seats, all congressional seats, one U.S. Senate seat in Georgia and several other statewide seats including governor will be decided this year.
Members of Villa Rica’s City Council met for the first time in 2022 during their Jan. 11 council meeting.
Before the meeting, the council welcomed its newest member, Anna McCoy, who was elected to represent Ward 4 in November. McCoy was sworn in by Mayor Gil McDougal.
Also sworn in before the meeting were two council members who were re-elected in November: Ward 3 Councilmember Leslie McPherson and Ward 5 Councilmember Danny Carter. Both were sworn in by City Attorney David Mecklin.
Read more in the Weekend Sentinel.
Bad accident with over turned vehicle on highway 5 at Banks Mill Rd. Traffic backed up in both directions. Avoid the area.
State Reps. Micah Gravley and Kimberly Alexander lay out their priorities and expectations for the 2022 session of the General Assembly which started Monday. Pick up Thursday's Sentinel to read our full story.
The Douglas County Board of Commissioners will observe the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend by giving out miniature planting trees to the public on Friday.
The BOC will distribute the planting trees from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at the courthouse on a first come basis.
The tree-planting initiative honoring MLK Day mark’s the third time Douglas County has done this and the event is being coordinated by Keep Douglas County Beautiful.
The event is hosted by the county’s external affairs and Keep Douglas County Beautiful departments.
“Planting trees helps our community by reducing energy bills, increasing property values, and assisting with cleaning the air and water,” said Tabrieah Cobb, coordinator of Keep Douglas County Beautiful.
Chan Weeks, executive director of Keep Douglasville Beautiful, said they will not host a formal event this year like in year’s past. However, she said Keep Douglasville Beautiful is encouraging citizens to “give back to their community” by picking up litter around their neighborhoods, including places of businesses, schools and churches.
She said participants can signup at through the organization’s Adopt-A-Road program.
Weeks said residents can share their clean efforts on the organization’s page.
“You don’t have to sign up to show that you care about your community,” Weeks said. “Just get out and make a difference. This is a great way to be involved and it can be done as much or as little as an individual’s time allow. We would love to hear about individuals and groups cleanup efforts.”
Clients of MR T’s Income tax!!!!!!
Regarding records- the office is in the process of closing. There will be staff on site prepared to give out records on Sunday July 5th and Sunday July 12th from 2-5p. If you would like to pick your records up, call the office at 770-920-0900 and leave a message with your name and last 4 digits of your social. They will do their best to have documents ready upon arrival. Bring your ID for release. Or if you would like your records professionally destroyed leave that message as well. It is guaranteed that your documents will not be put in a dumpster. They are secured and will remain so.
