Editor’s note: This review covers January through June. The second half of the year will be covered in next week’s edition.
January
The year began with Georgia defensive back Javon Bullard announcing he was forgoing his senior season as a Bulldog and to enter the 2024 NFL Draft.
John Westmoreland was voted to serve as chair of the board of commissioners and Kendrick Butts was voted to serve as vice president.
Construction for Publix was nearing completion and estimated to be operable by late summer.
Baldwin County’s two requests for local legislation regarding staggered elections and the creation of a board of elections moved forward with local officials. State Representatives Ken Vance and Mack Jackson stated they were both in agreement to “push it forward.”
Georgia College & State University (GCSU) students Grace King, Renata Ocampo, and Vivian Cassaniti from the Public Policy Making class presented their proposal for a Public Art Ordinance to the Milledgeville city council. Council members all remarked interest in seeing the ordinance become a final draft, though specifics would continue to be discussed. Public Art Ordinances are policies that establish the process for committee members to approve proposed public art installations. Their proposal suggested the creation of the Milledgeville Public Art Board, with members approved by the council, and their presentation laid out some of the expectations and limitations they suggested for that board.
Mitch Longino officially retired as Baldwin County superior court clerk.
Allied Arts hosted its reception for the Porsha Luca exhibit on Jan. 5 inviting the community into a world of fantasy and sci-fi. Porsha Luca is a local artist with experience in oil and acrylic painting, digital art, tattoos and more. This was her first exhibition as an artist and most of the art exhibited told the story of a girl and her teddy bear exploring a world of fantasy.
Baldwin High School announced Kevin Patterson as its new head football coach.
The Baldwin County Board of Commissioners voted to cancel the multi-use path around the Baldwin County regional Airport.
Milledgeville City Council began discussions of water rate hikes.
The Baldwin County School District (BCSD) participated in the Georgia Department of Education’s (GaDOE) innovative Culinary Support Pilot Program. It was among nine school districts selected to participate.
February
Georgia College & State University’s Department of Historic Museums earned a state-wide award for Andalusia: The Home of Flannery O’Connor. The Georgia Association of Museums (GAM) presented its 2024 Special Project Award to Georgia College’s Andalusia Interpretive Center, a 5,300square foot, $3.5 million building completed in March 2023.
The mayor and the city council of Milledgeville unofficially agreed on a water and sewer system rate increases, a phase-in period for the higher charges, and began discussion of the effective date of the changes.
BCSD launched its “Grow Your Own” Teacher Program. The initiative, developed in collaboration with prominent post-secondary institutions in the Middle Georgia region, aiming to create a sustainable and replicable model for building a teacher pipeline.
BCSD announced the passing of the district’s social worker Ola Scott-Little. Scott-Little worked as a social worker for 27 years, 23 of those years being in Baldwin County. She was the only social worker serving the Baldwin County School District.
Georgia Military College Preparatory School (GMC Prep) hosted its Middle School Fine Arts Performance of SpongeBob the Musical Jan. 27, featuring Broadway star and guest artist Lilli Cooper. They also performed Feb. 24 as the main stage performance for the Georgia Junior Thespian Conference.
The Baldwin boys’ basketball team captured the Region 2 4A title l with a comeback win at home over Macon’s Westside Seminoles.
Baldwin’s Janaye Walker scored her 1,000th point Jan. 30 in a 69-19 victory over Westside-Macon. A week later, the program honored Walker after the Bravettes topped Swainsboro in the regular season finale.
Lakeview Primary hosted its first-ever science fair for kindergarten through second grade and deemed it a success.
The City of Milledgeville was designated a Georgia Exceptional Main Street.
Allied Arts exhibited the art of Betty George “Beegee” Baugh, former first lady of Milledgeville. These paintings depicted places that Baugh had visited, lived, or seen.
Lyla Ross and Olivia Shinholster from Oak Hill Middle School represented the Baldwin County School District and the Oak Hill Choral Program at the 2024 GMEA Sixth Grade Statewide Honor Choir in Tifton.
March
U.S. Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia’s 8th Congressional District presented the Congressional Award Bronze Medal to Georgia Military College Preparatory School (GMC Prep) Cadet Danica Resha.
Henry Craig announced his retirement from the Baldwin County Board of Commissioners.
Floyd Griffin qualified for House District 149.
The Baldwin Bravettes topped Fayette County 55-32 at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley to secure a spot in the Class AAAA girls state championship game in Macon.
Oak Hill Middle School seventh-grader Veera Puri was invited to speak about the profound impact of friendship during the COVID-19 pandemic on the TEDx stage.
Baldwin defeated No. 2 Hardaway 47-39 to win the Class AAAA girls’ state title in Macon.
The city council spent roughly $105,000 to upgrade all three pumps at the Lamar Ham Water Treatment Plant, which allowed two pumps to work in conjunction to maximize water pumped per day. This upgrade was made to prevent water outages in the future.
The Fishing Creek Trail that begins at the Oconee River Greenway along Fishing Creek and ends at West Franklin Street received funding to complete paving of the trail.
Lyn Chandler announced his retirement from the Baldwin County Board of Education.
April
A multi-state medical cannabis-cultivating firm got the green light from the Milledgeville Planning and Zoning Commission for its rezoning request in early April.
Students at John Milledge Academy auditioned and performed in a production of The Secret Garden hosted by the Missoula Children’s Theatre.
Baldwin High School Bravettes coach Kizzi Walker was named GHSA 4A Girls Basketball Coach of the Year.
American Giant hunter Joel Baker discovered a 20-foot former Phillips 66 cowboy in the woods of Jones County near Milledgeville.
Hailing from Eatonton, Janice Westfall debuted her exhibit at the Marlor House in Milledgeville April 5. Her exhibit focused on spontaneous realism, which is an abstract form of art that uses various color schemes, brush strokes, and other additives on a realistic image.
GCSU officially opened the “Tale Trail,” a series of brightly colored storyboards placed throughout the Collins P. Lee Community Center’s quarter-mile walking trail.
Baldwin County was awarded a $1.1 million grant to upgrade the Smith-Sibley Industrial Park’s water infrastructure.
The Georgia War Veterans Home (GWVH) introduced the Frienda- Vet program, where community members can befriend a vet to become closer with them and join their daily schedule.
Citizens around the county were able to view the solar eclipse. The next U.S. eclipse is expected to be 21 years away.
Detention Officer Tamayo Howard and former officer, Romeris Culver, were arrested in connection with contraband at the Law Enforcement Center (LEC).
The Integrated Science Complex at GCSU was unveiled as the Dr. Kenneth S. Saladin Integrated Science Complex April 12 on the building’s lawn at 141 W. Montgomery St. in Milledgeville.
History major Axel Hawkins was named GCSU’s second Truman Scholar. The Harry S. Truman Foundation awards scholarships to exceptional college juniors who demonstrate outstanding leadership potential, a commitment to public service and academic excellence.
WNBA player Allisha Gray, her brother AJ Gray, and partner Tim Magnum Jr. opened a Wings N Burgers Factory franchise in Milledgeville.
C & B Meat Market hosted its first Spring Festival and Outdoor Market.
Georgia College’s Center for Health and Social Issues and the Life Enrichment Center hosted an Autism Acceptance event at the LEC’s Urban Arts Village.
Nathalie Boelen’s ninth grade Algebra 1 class at John Milledge Academy (JMA) published a book on algebraic equations named Brain Aneurysms in a Book.
After 30 years, the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association (GOWA) returned to Milledgeville April 18-21 to host its annual spring conference. The conference has not been held in Milledgeville since 1994. Local author Susan Lindsley served as the keynote speaker for the conference.
May
The Georgia Military College Corps of Cadets partnered with Keep Milledgeville-Baldwin Beautiful to participate in Earth Week. Overall, they collected 40 to 50 bags of trash.
The Georgia Power Lake Resources team coordinated Lake Sinclair Earth Day Clean-Up. In total, 112 volunteers safely removed over 2,348 pounds of trash from the Lake Sinclair shoreline.
GC Miracle raised $70,550 for the Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital in Macon through its annual ThunderThon event.
Georgia Military College Prep School boys’ soccer team knocked off Atkinson County 4-1 at Mercer University’s Five-Star Stadium to win the Class A Division II state title.
Milledgeville native and former Georgia Bulldog safety Javon Bullard set off to the NFL after being selected by the Green Bay Packers as the 58th overall pick in the second round of 2024’s draft.
A medical marijuana processing company got the green light at a city council meeting to proceed with plans to open a facility in Milledgeville.
Georgia’s Old Capital Heritage Center at the Depot (GOCHC) and photographer Jessica Whitehead of Seeking Asylum partnered to debut the first exhibit in The Depot, Fast Fading, a History of Central State Hospital (CSH).
Metropolis opened its new location in hopes of a brighter future for the restaurant.
Baldwin County School District Superintendent Dr. Noris Price was the commencement speaker at Wilmington College’s 148th commencement ceremony on May 11 and received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.
June
The Baldwin High School Class of 1974 celebrated its 50th reunion with a weeklong series of events beginning May 27 through June 2.
Cyclists rode into Milledgeville for an overnight rest on the Bike Ride Across Georgia (BRAG). On June 3, cyclists left Social Circle and rode 66 miles to reach Milledgeville and stayed for layover.
On June 11, the City of Milledgeville recognized Pride Month with a reading of the first-ever proclamation at the city council meeting.
District 4 candidate Scott Little and District 5 candidate Andrew Strickland won the primary run-offs for Board of Commissioners.
GCSU Director of Historic Museums Matt Davis said his farewells to Georgia College to set out in July for a new position. Davis had been a cornerstone to the development of GCSU’s three museums and the establishment of the department that preserves them.
Georgia Military College Preparatory School (GMC Prep) students enjoyed one last week of art with GMC’s art teacher Paige Barlow during High School Art Camp. Barlow retired after 30 years of teaching, with seven of those years at GMC.
Smith Communications Inc. announced Heather Harris as its new advertising manager. Employed with Smith Communications since November 2017, Harris first worked in the home office in Eatonton, then branched out to ad sales.
The Baldwin County School District was awarded a three-year grant of over $500,000 from the Georgia Department of Education and the FranklinCovey Foundation to implement the Leader in Me program across the district.
Andalusia Farm curated a new way for visitors to absorb the history of the homestead of famed writer Flannery O’Connor through augmented reality (AR). Georgia College & State University’s Andalusia collaborated with the company ARt Glass, a world leading AR experience creator, to design a feature that allowed room for new interpretation of the past.