Area News
As jury is seated, local man pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter
A 22-year-old Cairo man indicted for the murder of Elijah Denzel Smith, 25, in 2017, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter Tuesday in Grady County Superior Court. Nicholas Lequinte Perry, 22, pled after a jury was impaneled Tuesday afternoon. Superior Court Judge Heather H. Lanier sentenced Perry to 20 years, 10 to serve in state prison.…
Read MoreDREW WINS DIST. 5 RACE
Grady County District 5 voters overwhelmingly favored Phillip Drew over Jesse R. Schober in Tuesday’s special election. Drew was elected as the new District 5 county commissioner to replace the late T.D. David. Drew garnered 225 votes to 62 for Schober in the unofficial vote tally. “I am just thankful for the support of my…
Read MoreFamily huddled in the bathtub as the storm swept over them
Two weeks before the tornado, Gail and Raymond Sanders had enjoyed the sight of their newly installed metal roof. They had also removed a large tree in the yard that had stood near their brick ranch home on First Street S.W. They had put fresh paint on the walls inside and were planning to pressure…
Read MoreCouncil nixes rezoning change putting down a proposed housing development
The Cairo City Council voted 3-0 Monday night to deny the request of a local developer to rezone property in a northwest Cairo neighborhood from R-1A to a less restrictive zone of R-3. Jeremiah Horne of Ethan Jackson Investments, LLC was seeking to rezone multiple parcels on Second Street N.W. to construct four residential units…
Read MoreVocational Center to reopen after Spring Break, officials say
After much delay, it appears that Cairo High School students will be able to move into the newly renovated Grady County Vocational Center building during the first week of April, when school reopens after spring break. Grady County School Superintendent Dr. Kermit Gilliard briefed members of the board of education on the project Tuesday night.…
Read MoreCalvary Cleanup is Saturday
Volunteers are asked to join the Calvary community in a cleanup effort Saturday. Those who want to help, are asked to meet at Calvary Baptist Church at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, March 16. The church is located at 4556 Old 179 S. For more information about the Calvary community trash pickup day, call Lex Moore at…
Read MoreLocal school needs empty two-liter bottles
A greenhouse project at Washington Middle School got a show of statewide support Tuesday from State School Superintendent Richard Woods. In an email sent to subscribers of the Georgia Department of Education news updates, Superintendent Woods asked people to help WMS rebuild its greenhouse, which was damaged in Hurricane Michael. Woods states in the email,…
Read MoreCHS Culinary Arts program awarded a $5,000 grant from Ford Motor Company
The benefits of being selected as a Ford Next Generation Learning Community is already paying dividends and Cairo High School College and Career Center students involved in the Culinary Arts pathway were pleasantly surprised to learn Thursday they had been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Ford Motor Company. Grants of up to $20,000 were…
Read MoreVoters approve sales tax for local schools
A small percentage of the county’s registered voters came out to vote in Tuesday’s special election, but nearly 80 percent of those who did favored passage of the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. The ESPLOST referendum passed with 691 yes votes to only 173 no votes, just over 20 percent of the votes…
Read MoreDonaldson resigns Grady EMC post
The Grady Electric Membership Corporation board will be appointing a third new director in as many months following the resignation this week of District 3 director Hestell Donaldson. Donaldson’s resignation was effective Monday and personal reasons were cited for his leaving. Donaldson was elected to the EMC board in 2017, defeating longtime director Lamar Carlton,…
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