Poston named state’s District Attorney of the Year

DALTON, Ga. — Bert Poston of the Conasauga Judicial Circuit was named District Attorney of the Year for 2018 during the 2018 summer conference of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia (PAC). The Conasauga Judicial Circuit includes Whitfield and Murray counties. Each year during the conference, the District Attorneys’ Association of Georgia presents this award to recognize outstanding leadership and dedication in the field of prosecution. “Bert Poston’s ability to accomplish so many things including maintaining and prosecuting major cases in our offices, overseeing the daily operations of our office and performing other duties as district attorney that have helped many in the field of prosecution, as well as being a great leader for our office, community, state and his family makes him more than qualified to receive this year’s District Attorney of the Year award,” said April Parker, domestic violence investigator in the district attorney’s office, who nominated Poston for the honor. “Thank you, Bert, for your years of service and dedication to our state.” PAC Executive Director Peter J. Skandalakis said the council is “extremely proud” of the prosecutors, investigators and victim advocates honored during the summer conference and their dedication to serve the justice system in Georgia.

Man claims to be K-9 officer, insults pedestrians

MOULTRIE, Ga. — Two Colquitt County men were confronted while walking Saturday night by a man who identified himself as a law enforcement officer and reportedly screamed racial epithets at them. Thomas Ponder and John Yerby told police that they were walking at about 8:40 p.m. in the 200 block of Cherokee Drive, near Ponder’s residence, when they encountered a man with a German shepherd puppy. The man, who was wearing a gray T-shirt that said K-9 Unit, told the two to back away. When they asked why, he said that he was law enforcement and was training the dog, and that they did not leave the leashed dog would bite them. At that point a dispute ensued about why they could not walk down the street. During that discussion the man with the dog asked where they lived and Ponder said “down the road.” The man with the dog then “started telling them to leave, that he was law enforcement and repeatedly called them” a racial epithet, according to police reports. Ponder, 50, and Yerby identified a Nissan Frontier that they believed belongs to the man who insulted them. The incident is under investigation.

City traffic lights updated

VALDOSTA, Ga. – The City of Valdosta traffic management division is upgrading software at traffic lights. The traffic management division staff have been conducting traffic studies to improve the traffic flow, according to city officials. “The major change that the public will notice with this particular upgrade is, we’re going from a yellow red flash, which means, on the main street, it will flash yellow and on side streets it will flash red. Now we’re going to what we call all red flashers. So if there are any problems with the traffic signal, each direction will be flashing red, so we’ll have to treat it like a four-way stop,” said Larry Ogden, traffic manager. “It’s an issue that will make it safer for the public. This will reduce the number of accidents at traffic signals.” The upgrades to all 128 traffic signals in the city will take roughly six weeks, city officials said.

United Way seeks volunteers for ReadingPals

LAKE CITY, Fla. — Do you want to help inspire the love of reading in young students? 

Volunteers are sought for the United Way of Suwannee Valley’s ReadingPals initiative.

ReadingPals is an early literacy initiative focused on screening, training and engaging volunteer “reading coaches,” who support kindergarten children in beginning their school careers with the necessary skills to become proficient readers. The ReadingPals program matches volunteers to individual kindergarten children. ReadingPals volunteers meet one hour a week for 25 weeks in a local school setting.

For the 2018-2019 school year, Columbia, Suwannee and Hamilton counties’ schools will participate. Goals for this school year include the recruitment and engagement of 200 volunteers. Volunteers must pass a background screening conducted free by the local school districts and participate in an orientation at the local school where they wish to volunteer. All reading materials needed by volunteers will be provided under the direction of the classroom teacher. Students participating in the ReadingPals program will also receive take-home books to bridge literacy skills to home. 

For additional information on participating as a ReadingPals tutor and fostering the love of reading in children, contact Schara Wilson, United Way of Suwannee Valley ReadingPals coordinator, at 386-752-5604, ext. 105, or schara@unitedwsv.org.

The United Way of Suwannee Valley fights for the education, health, and financial stability of every person in our community, utilizing volunteers on all levels to advance the common good by identifying unmet community needs and seeking to alleviate those needs through the United Way of Suwannee Valley initiatives and the funding of 22 affiliated health and human service agencies.