News, Obituaries, & Sports

The Upson-Lee NJROTC rifle program delivered a strong performance at the Area 9 Championship held on January 10, 2026, in Anniston, Alabama. Both the Precision and Sporter teams earned third place finishes against top competition from across the region. Leading the way for the Precision team was highest shooter Jayla Smith (549) while Madison Jones (495) posted the top score for the Sporter team. With this accomplishment, the Upson-Lee NJROTC Precision team qualified to advan

Superintendent Announces Retirement Effective June 2026 Dr. Larry Derico, Superintendent of the Thomaston-Upson County School System, has announced his intention to retire, effective June 2026. Derico has served as Superintendent since June 2018. He joined the district office in 2005 after serving as a teacher and assistant principal in both the Meriwether and Thomaston-Upson school systems. At the T-U district office, he served as Director of Federal Programs from 2005-2010,

A sixteen year old male student was taken in custody by deputies this morning at Upson Lee High School after a Ruger .380 caliber pistol was located in his backpack by school personnel as he walked through the OpenGate detection system . The child has been removed from the school. The pistol is reported as “lost” from the Atlanta Police jurisdiction. This case is being actively investigated and the juvenile has been charged with Possession of a Weapon on school property, Poss

LaKeitha Thompson The City of Thomaston  council meeting, LaKeitha Thompson and Kathleen Thompson were recognized for their actions on the morning of December 13, 2025. Lakeitha Thompson was passing by a home that was on fire and immediately stopped to see if anyone was home. She made contact with an elderly female, dialed 911 and assisted with helping her out of the burning home. Kathleen Thompson Kathleen Thompson jumped into action assisting Lakeitha with the elderly femal

The Thomaston city councel appointed Ethan Evans and Emma Goen to the youth councel. Ethan Evans and Emma Goen

A 6th grade juvenile at Upson Lee middle school was killed and his brother a UL football star Jayden Skelton received serious injuries Tuesday afternoon when the Ford truck that they were riding in left the roadway and hit a tree on 74 West near the Upson County line in Pike County The Pike County sheriff's deputies said the juvenile a youth basketball player was deceased at the scene, and recent graduate Jayden was airlifted to a Macon trauma center reportedly with critical

A man was sent to the hospital after being trapped in an accident with a semi-truck trailer on the wrong side of the road in Upson County on Tuesday morning.  According to the Georgia State Patrol (GSP), around 6:20 a.m., a tractor-trailer was facing west in the right eastbound travel lane of State Route 36 at its intersection with Willis Road as it attempted to back onto the road to make a delivery at the top of a hill. As a Ford F-150 traveling in the opposite direction app

ERIK   FOSTER ACCORDING  TO  UPSON COUNTY  MANAGER  LONNIE  JOYCE--THE  NEW  THOMASTON-UPSON  RECREATION  DIRECTOR  IS  PIKE  COUNTY  COACH  ERIK   FOSTER   AND  HE  ASSUMES  HIS  DUTIES  FRIDAY. COACH   FOSTER    IS    A  MARINE  VETERAN   AND   IS  A  FORMER  ASSISTANT  COACH  AT  UPSON-LEE .

A special elections been set for January 20th to fill the 18th district state Senate seat of John Kennedy who resigned to focus on his run for Lieutenant governor among candidates are ex Forsyth Mayor Eric Wilson Macon  attorney Stephen McNeil former Senator Lauren Daniel and Eugene Allison from Thomaston, the election dates for Upson county January 20th special election December 29 th ,  8:30 AM to 5:00 PM and on Saturdays 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM January 3rd through January 10th

Now that our Christmas celebrations have come to an end, the City of Thomaston is requesting that residents donate Christmas trees to Lakeside Park to “give your tree a new life”… between Dec. 25, 2024, and Jan. 31, 2026, a sign will be in the parking lot of the park to show where trees can be placed… trees will be accepted from dawn to dusk, seven days per week… Lakeside Park is located at 800 County Road in Thomaston… for more information, call 706-647-7144.

Dr. Derico recognized the 2026 Teacher of theYear recipients from each school, as well as the district Teacher of the Year. The honorees included Mrs. Clover Harris, Upson-Lee Primary School; Mrs. Niki Dunn, Upson-Lee Elementary School; Dr. Callie Kendrick, Upson-Lee Middle School; and Mrs. Amanda Miller, Upson-Lee High School, who was also named the Thomaston-Upson County Teacher of the Year.

Two homes in Spalding County appeared to be completely destroyed by fire two others badly damaged.   Spalding County Fire and Griffin Fire and Rescue responded to the fire at 114 Pecan Dr. which sits across the street from Cowan middle school Saturday around 4:30   Officials say the two adjacent homes at 112 and 116 Pecan Dr. sustained heavy damage and a fourth home experienced minor damage to its vinyl siding    No injuries reported but five adults and one child were displac

Officers and investigators with the Thomason Police Department executed a search warrant this afternoon at 236 Peachbelt Road, Thomaston, Georgia, in reference to an ongoing investigation into an alleged investment fraud scheme involving a business operating under the name Walter Douglas Investments. The investigation began after a victim reported being induced to wire $250,000 on April 11, 2025, for what was represented as a legitimate investment opportunity. The individual

CITY  OF  THOMASTON  MAYOR  J.D. STALLINGS  HAD  TO  BREAK  A  2-2  TIE  TO  APPROVE  THE 2026  BUDGET  AT  A  BUDGET MEETING    THURSDAY- A   3-2  VOTE.  COUNCIL MEMBERS  JEFF MIDDLEBROOKS  AND  LAKETHIA  REEVES  VOTED  AGAINST  THE  MOTION  BY  MAYOR  PRO TEM  TROY  CHANEY  TO  APPROVE. COUNCILMAN  MIDDLEBROOKS  STATED  HE  OPPOSES  THE  UTILITY  INCREASES  IN  THE  BUDGET    AND    HIS  CONSTITUENTS  ARE   PAYING  FOR  SERVICES  THEY  DON'T  NEED WITH  GARABAGE  COLLECTION

Quad Media Statement Facility Closure Announcement December 16, 2025 Quad announced today that it has made the difficult decision to permanently close its printing  facility in The Rock, Georgia, in March 2026. This decision reflects ongoing industry declines in long-run print categories—like weekly magazines the plant was built to produce—driven by frequent postal rate hikes, which have exceeded inflation, as well as persistent U.S. Postal Service delivery delays.“Making dec

SILVERTOWN  BAPTIST  CHURCH  IN  THOMASTON HAS  POSTED ON  SOCIAL  MEDIA THAT  UNLESS  EXTRAORDINARY   RESOURSES  AND  OPPORTUNTIES  ARE  FOUND THE CHURCH WILL  CONTINUE  SERVICES THROUGH  JANUARY  AND  THEN  SETTLE  REMAINING     FINANCIAL  OBLIGATIONS  AND  TRANSFER  THE PROPERTY  AND  UNUSED  FUNDS  TO  THE  CENTENNIAL  BAPTIST  ASSOCIATION.  THE  CHURCH  LISTED WHAT  IT  CALLS  A  PESSIMISTIC ACCOUNTING  OF  WHAT  ITS  TRYING  TO  OVERCOME   IN  REPAIRS  AND  RESTORATIONS

From the office of: MARIE G. BRODER DISTRICT ATTORNEY Griffin Judicial Circuit 12/11/25 On December 10, 2025, an Upson County jury convicted Frederick Bernard Durham of Malice Murder, Felony Murder (2 counts), Aggravated Assault (2 counts) and Concealing the Death of Another.  The Honorable Ben J. Miller of the Upson County Superior Court sentenced the Defendant to serve life in prison without parole followed by five years i

A  SPECIAL  ELECTION  WILL  BE  HELD   TUESDAY  JAN.  20,  2026   IN  UPSON, MONROE, CRAWFORD,  PEACH  AND PORTIONS OF  BIBB  AND  HOUSTON  COUNTIES FOR  GA.  SENATE  DISTRICT 18  WITH  THE  RESIGNATION OF  SENATOR  JOHN  KENNEDY  WHO  IS  RUNNING  FOR  LT.  GOVERNOR  IN  2026. QUALIFYING  WILL  BE HELD  MONDAY  DEC.  15TH THRU  WED. DEC.  17TH  AT  THE  GA.  SECRETARY  OF  STATE'S OFFICES IN  ATLANTA.  ACCORDING  TO  UPSON COUNTY  ELECTIONS  SUPERINTENDANT  PAM RELEFORD    Q

AT  TUESDAY'S  MEETING  THE  UPSON COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS  DENIED  AN  APPEAL  FROM  10  ACRES  LAKE  LLC  ON  ROLAND  ROAD   FOR  A  DECISION  BY  THE PLANNING  COMMISSION  ON  A  PRELIMINARY  PLAT  FOR  A  SUBDIVISON  PLAN. THE  COMMISSIONERS  ALSO  APPROVED  THE 2026  BUDGET  AT   THEIR  LAST  SCHEDULED  MEETING  OF  THE  YEAR.  COUNTY  MANAGER  LONNIE JOYCE  TOLD   101  NEWS  NO  PROPERTY  TAX  INCREASE  ANTICIPATED  IN  THE 26  BUDGET  BUT  SOLID  WASTE  COLLECTION  RATES