Area News

While digging out noisemakers and champagne flutes for New Year’s Eve celebrations, take a minute to plan the end of your night, too. Designate a sober driver or make plans ahead of time to take a taxi home. That one minute of planning could ensure that you make it home to see the rest of…

Courthouse workers and all others who work in county-owned facilities can no longer have space heaters at their workstations following action taken by the Grady County Commission on Friday. During a special called meeting last Friday the board voted unanimously to ban the use of electric heating devices in county facilities. Commissioner Charles Norton introduced…

The financial picture of Grady County government continues to be unclear with bank accounts not reconciled as far back as July and now it has been learned that it took approximately eight months to take action on updating computers to speed up the backlog in the county’s finance department. During a special called meeting Friday,…

Just over $31,000 was paid to Grady County employees in the form of a Christmas bonus on Friday following action taken by the Grady County Commission during a called meeting earlier that day. The decision was not made until after extensive discussion and debate. County commissioners still do not know exactly where the county stands…

The deadline to pay ad valorem taxes without interest or penalties is Saturday and as of Tuesday only 57 percent of the total taxes due had been collected, according to Grady County Tax Commissioner Phyllis Gainous. Through Tuesday, the tax commissioner had collected $7,841,724.74. Of that total, $3,603,722.54 are school taxes that have been collected…

The Grady County Joint Development Authority heard an update from JDA Executive Director Chadd Mathis Tuesday on his progress in finding a replacement for Executive Vice President Jennifer Majors who resigned in October. Mathis told authority members that he has interviewed eight candidates and had two more interviews scheduled for Tuesday. “I will narrow the…

Grady County Emergency Management Agency Director Jim Ellis identified concerns he has with courthouse security and met with county commissioners Tuesday night to discuss possible remedies. “As EMA director I look into a lot of things and this is something that has been pressing on me for sometime,” Ellis said Tuesday night. The EMA director…

Grady County employees may not be paid a Christmas bonus this year as they have in the past due to uncertainties with the finances of county government. With the clock winding down on 2014 and Christmas coming next week county officials have been working to bring financial records up to date in order to determine…

Readers of The Cairo Messenger who have come to enjoy reading the weekly edition of American Profile, which is inserted into in-county editions of the newspaper, will likely be disappointed about some changes that take effect Dec. 14. Athlon Media Group, publishers of American Profile, are dropping publication of the magazine to twice a month.…

Grady County auditor Tom Carmichael of Carr Riggs & Ingram presented the county’s 2013 audit to county commissioners last week and some of the results are now being questioned by Grady County Administrator Carlos Tobar. The much anticipated audit was delayed this year due to turnover in the county’s accounting department, according to Carmichael. The…