Top Stories

The director of Eastman’s Youth Development Center, Todd Weeks, has been replaced.


Department of Juvenile Justice Commissioner Amy Howell has named George Smith as the new director of the prison.
Smith has 30 years in the corrections field.


The replacement comes in the wake of two prison riots in less than a year and two employees there that have been injured by inmates in less than two weeks.


In the latest riot, on Sunday night (January 30, 2011) at approximately 7:35 p.m., Dodge County law enforcement officers responded to a call for assistance from juvenile correctional officers at the Eastman Youth Development Facility (YDF).

Dodge County Sheriff’s deputies and Eastman Police officers arrived to find that a juvenile correctional officer had been assaulted by several inmates and that there were over sixty (60) inmates in multiple pods in two (2) dormitories who would not return to their cells. [Full Story »] 

The following is the continuation of cases that were heard in Dodge Superior Court in January.

Queen Parks was charged with one count felony theft by shoplifting for which she received three years probation under the FOA and $600.00 fine.

Malcolm Gallomore was charged with one count felony possession/manufacture/distribution/etc. of marijuana, which was reduced to possession of marijuana for which he received 12 months probation and $500.00 fine.

Yolanda Lynette Mason was charged with one count felony theft by shoplifting for which she received four years probation and $600.00 fine.

James Cleon Winborn was charged with one count felony possession of methamphetamine for which he received fives years probation and $1,250.00 fine and one count misdemeanor marijuana less than one ounce for which he received 12 months probation to be served concurrent with prior sentence and $250.00 fine and one count tail lights for which he received $50.00 fine.

Corey Thomas Sellers was charged with one count felony printing, executing, of negotiating checks and drafts for which he received three years probation and $750.00 fine and must pay $278.90 in restitution. [Full Story »] 

A home belonging to Gladys Bond was moderately damaged by fire on Wednesday, February 2.

The Eastman Fire Department was called at approximately 1:06 a.m.

The fire was extinguished and was thought to have been caused by a pin

hole in a gas line and a possible lightning strike.

Later, at approximately 9:12 a.m., the fire department was called back to the

same house where the fire had rekindled.

Fire department personnel are shown cutting a hole in the roof to vent the smoke

from the home so firefighters inside the house can extinguish the flames.

(Photo by Chuck Eckles)

A state prison inmate that was released a year early due to a clerical error is back in prison.

Amy Rogers Jones turned herself in to the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department on Monday, February 7 at approximately 10:00 a.m.

She was then transported to Metro State Women’s Prison in Atlanta to finish serving the remander of a two year sentence she received for the death of four month old Jaci Rogers.

Jones reported to prison on January 5, 2010 to begin her sentence.

She was released after only one year due to the clerical error where a custodial report had a date of 1-5-09 rather than 1-5-10.

In January, Dodge County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Captain Tony Winborn stated, “It was just simple human error.

People commonly take several days after the change of a new year to write the correct date.

We are into the third full week of January and the sheriff’s office is still receiving money orders from inmate families which are dated 2010, even though it is 2011.” [Full Story »] 

Eastman City Attorney Milton Harrison told the council at their meeting on Monday, January 31, that he planned to retire at the end of this week.

He also said that he had a progressive ailment with no hope to get better.

He said that he appreciated the opportunity to serve the city for close to 20 years and had enjoyed it. “It’s time to turn it over to someone younger,” he said.

Harrison recommended Eastman attorney Rita Llop be hired by the city as his replacement.

David Rawlins made the motion to hire Llop, Idelle Walker seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.

Llop is also the attorney for the Dodge County Board of Education.

On Sunday night (January 30, 2011) at approximately 7:35 p.m., Dodge County law enforcement officers responded to a call for assistance from juvenile correctional officers at the Eastman Youth Development Facility (YDF).


Dodge County Sheriff’s deputies and Eastman Police officers arrived to find that a juvenile correctional officer had been assaulted by several inmates and that there were over sixty (60) inmates in multiple pods in two (2) dormitories who would not return to their cells. [Full Story »] 

Sneaky little charges are making their way onto telephone bills and can go unnoticed for months. Victims of so-called “cramming” often face a tough battle to stop being billed every month and start getting their money back.  In order to fight cramming, Better Business Bureau (BBB) recommends keeping a close eye on every bill and being extremely cautious when giving out personal information such as phone numbers. 


You might think that nothing bad can happen from giving out your telephone number, but you should guard those digits like you would a credit card or social security number. Monitor your monthly statements closely because even if you are very protective of your personal information, cramming can still strike. 


Cramming is on the rise, according to the chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission during an interview with Herb Weisbaum, consumer reporter for MSNBC.com.   [Full Story »] 

On Thursday, January 20, 2011, the Eastman-Dodge County Development Authority officially welcomed city officials, county officials, chamber members, and community members to the new Eastman–Dodge County Welcome Center and Chamber of Commerce with a ribbon cutting ceremony.


Judy Hemphill-Madden, president of the Eastman-Dodge County Chamber of Commerce, recognized the foresight of the members of the development authority in procuring grant funding for the project, and for turning “an old metal building into a beacon for economic development in Dodge County.”

She praised the authority for their dedication to promoting the economic development of Dodge County through similar projects. [Full Story »]