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A woman’s body, that was found near Jay Bird Springs, has been identified by the Georgia Crime Lab.

Using fingerprints, the body was identified as Patricia Lynn McDaniel Durden (age 36) of a Jay Bird Springs Road address, according to the Eastman office of the Georgia Bureau of investigation (GBI).

On Tuesday, May 27 at sometime after noon, the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department and the GBI were called to Jay Bird Springs Road where the body of the woman had been found.

The body was back in a wooded area past Jay Bird Springs Resort at a place formerly known as “The Hill” or “Budweiser Hill”. She had been reported as missing for about a week.

The body was sent to the Georgia Crime Lab for identification and to find the cause of death. The cause of death is not known yet, but authorities do not believe any foul play was involved.

Dodge County Interim Manager Bobby Peacock announced the hiring of Rickie Coleman as the new Emergency Medical Service (EMS) director effective June 9, 2014.

Peacock stated, “Rickie Coleman was named the EMS director for Dodge County effective June 9, 2014, replacing Annette Huff who has retired after serving well in the position for a number of years.” He went on to say, “Rickie is well qualified for this position and we believe he will do an outstanding job.” [Full Story »] 

In response to the growing number of phone scam reports, Dodge County Sheriff Lynn Sheffield is notifying the citizens of Dodge County about this growing criminal activity.

The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office, along with many other law enforcement agencies, has received numerous complaints from citizens advising that they have been the targets of a telephone scam. The caller identifies himself/herself as a member of the warrant division and advises the victim that he/she did not respond to a jury summons and that to avoid arrest, he/she can pay the associated fines using a pre-paid debit card, usually a Green Dot card. [Full Story »] 

The Eastman Police Department made the following arrest the week of May 27 through June 3, 2014.

Milton Evans, age 59, 631 Ward Street, Eastman, criminal trespass-private (one count).

Stephanie Wyatt, age 19, 5519 Seventh Avenue, Apartment 4C, Eastman, giving false name/address/date of birth to officer (one count).

Charles Bass, age 21, 5545 Bacon Avenue, Eastman, disorderly conduct (one count).

Aaron Braswell, age 18, 2269 Scarborough Owens Road, Eastman, drugs-marijuana possession less than one ounce (one count).

Albert Lane, age 43, 517 Cooper Avenue, Eastman, obstructing law enforcement officers (one count) and drugs-marijuana sale/deliver/distribute (one count).
[Full Story »] 

By Cindy Eckles
Political newcomer Robert E. Peacock defeated incumbent Darla J. “Dee” Yearty for the Dodge County School Board District 3 seat in the General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election on May 20, 2014.
With 577 voting, Peacock claimed 390 votes and Yearty received 187. There are 1680 registered voters in school board district 3 and only 34.35% voted.
For the Georgia State House of Representative Seat 149, incumbent Jimmy Pruett, Jr. won over challenger John D. Clements, 1,273 votes to 429 votes in Dodge County.
House District 149 covers Dodge, Telfair, Jeff Davis, Wheeler and a portion of Laurens Counties. Overall, Pruett won over Clements 2,080 votes to 696 votes.

Gresston Firefighters were called to the residence of Hazel Barton on Warehouse Drive in Gresston at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 27.

When firefighters arrived, the house had already burned to the ground (top photo). The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

The home of Anthony Evans was destroyed by fire on Sunday, May 25. Eastman and Crossroads firefighters were called to the residence at 82 Bedsole Road outside Eastman at approximately 4:51 a.m.
[Full Story »] 

Graduation for Dodge County High School will be held on Friday, May 30 at 8:00 p.m. at Memorial Stadium (weather permitting) at the Dodge County Middle School (old high school). If weather does not permit, graduation will be moved to the gymnasium at the new high school.

For everyone planning to attend graduation, please make sure you arrive early. The gates/doors to the stadium or gymnasium will be locked at 8:00 p.m. and no one else will be allowed to enter.

This year, approximately 186 seniors will be graduating with 29 honor graduates. Valedictorian for the 2013/2014 senior class is Crystal White and salutatorian for the class is Sara Grace Peacock.
[Full Story »] 

The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) were called to Jay Bird Springs Road at some time after noon on Tuesday May 27 where the body of a woman had been found.

The body was back in a wooded area past Jay Bird Springs Resort at a place formerly known as “The Hill” or “Budweiser Hill”.

The GBI was on the scene collecting information and trying to find the identity the woman. The body will be sent to the Georgia State Crime lab for analysis.

Because the body was found so late on Tuesday, information was sketchy as to information about the incident.

Investigators were still on the scene at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday at presstime.

American Legion Post 126 of Eastman will hold a memorial service on Monday, May 26, in observance of Memorial Day. The service will begin at 11:00 a.m. at the courthouse in Eastman and is conducted in memory of the former comrades in arms who gave their lives in service to their country.

The Dodge County High School JROTC Cadets along with the local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will conduct the program.

Other guests scheduled are American Legion Post 126 Commander Danny R. Mullis; Macy Pruitt; Andrea McCranie, and MSG (R) Johnny L. Blacke.

A rare tornado touched down south of Eastman just before midnight on Wednesday, May 14 at 10:50 p.m.

The tornado traveled north for approximately 1.75 miles through downtown Eastman, uprooting trees, breaking off tree limbs and damaging roofs, homes and businesses.

The tornado is rare because it was an anti-cyclonic tornado. That means it rotates clockwise rather than a typical tornado, which rotates counter-clockwise. According to the National Weather Service, only one out of every 100 tornados rotates clockwise.

Maximum winds for the tornado were estimated at 80 miles per hour, making it an EF0 tornado. The tornado was measured to be as wide as a football field. A team from the National Weather Service was sent to Eastman to survey the damage from the tornado. [Full Story »]