Page 5B
February 6, 2019
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Ken Bowman, longtime owner
of Forsyth KOA Kampground,
passed away on Friday, Feb. 1. His
wife of almost 60 years passed
away a few days earlier. The two
of them came to Forsyth to-
gether in 1996, bought the KOA
Kampground and have welcomed
everyone here into their family
since then. They worked hard to
make the KOA Kampground bet-
ter, and they didn't hesitate to get
involved with the city and com-
munity, giving generously of their
time and contributing innovative
ideas.
The Bowmans werefrom
northern Louisiana. They met at
Lousiana Tech University in 1956
and were pretty much insepa-
rable after that, raising children,
working in various fields, includ-
ing nmning three grocery stores
and traveling through 49 states
in their RV until they decided to
embark on their last business to-
gether by buying a campground
undecided on the one in Forsyth.
Cheryl Fortner met the Bow-
mans in 1996 when they bought
the Forsyth Park and has worked
for them over the years since. She
said the Bowmans were more
like family than bosses, as they
lived at the KOA Kampground
and she watched their grandchil-
dren grow up as they visited over
the years. As Mary Ann's health
failed over several years, Former
watched Kennie care for her and
keep her involved in the Kamp-
ground every though she could
no longer be part of day to day
operations.
"They lived the ultimate love
story;', said Fortner. "She was
included in everything with the
park."
Former said the Bowmans were
inseparable and that she loved to
watch them enjoying themselves
with their grandchildren at the
park.
"He was the kind of man you
don't find anymore and the kind
of boss you don't find any more"
said Fortner. She said when her
own father died, she called Ken-
nie and told him he was the only
dad she had left.
He was always thinking of ways
to make a stay at KOA special for
visitors; his ideas were thought-
ful and also good for business,
For example, those checking in
are welcomed with a big, warm
chocolate chip cookie. Forsyth
KOA has come to be known as
the "Cookie
The Bowmans brought home
many President's Awards from
Annual KOA Kampground meet-
ings. In late 2016 Ken proudly
added a putt-putt golf course and
a "panning for treasures" opera-
tion to give guests more to do.
In 2014 Ken and an employee
built a trackless train to take
guests from the KOA into For-
syth for a tour on weekends. It
was modeled on one they had
seen. The train has been a hit at
city festivals, and Ken generously
loaned it to the city for council
and mayor to ride in the annual
Hometown Holidays Parade.
In spite of being involved with
the Forsyth KOA Campground
24/7, Ken accepted an appoint-
ment to Forsyth's Downtown De-
velopment Authority and Main
Street boards, about January 2010
and he served through about
2017, taking on the jobs of chair
and vice chair. He also served on
the start-up board of the Forsyth
Convention & Visitors Bureau
beginning in 2015 and helped get
the new organization focused on
promoting tourism in Forsyth off
to a good start.
"Ken was always involved in
the community and seemed to
truly love Forsyth and Monroe
County,' said City Manager
Janice Hall.
Loraine Khoury, former
director of Main Street Forsyth,
recalled how Ken would insist on
having the annual Main Street
retreat at the Forsyth KOA con-
ference center at no charge and
would also feed those attending
at his own expense.
"He worked tirelessly for the
community; he wanted to see
us grow" said Khoury. "He was
a super good citizen and a true
gentleman in every sense of the
word"
Khoury said that Mary Ann
also worked tirelessly for the
good of the community as long as
her health allowed and that their
devotion to the community and
to one another made a lasting
impression.
Bonnie Barker worked with
Ken on the DDA, Main Street
and CVB boards, sometimes
altemating chairman and vice
chairman duties with him. She
saw him give many volunteer
hours to his community, come up
with many good ideas and always
conduct himself with dignity and
ethics.
"He was very dedicated to his
business and to the city of For-
syth,' said Barker. "He always had
the good of the community at
heart. I'm going to miss him"
The staff at KOA Kampground
echoed that they are going to
miss the Bowmans, even though
their children plan to keep the
Kampground running as usual
with the same employees.
"He's a good man, and he
loved the Lord, too,' said Shar-
ron King, who has worked at the
Campground for the last two
years. "He really did care about
his employees; he wanted you to
do a good job. You were family; it
didn't matter if you were a new or
old employee"
King said that if they needed
him, Ken would come fill in for
any employee at any time.
"Mr. Kennie is with his Mary
Ann" said King. "They'll never be
away from here"
A memorial service was held
for Mary Ann Bowman at Mon-
roe County Memorial Chapel on
Jan. 29. A dual service was held
for Kennie and Mary Ann Bow-
man at Edmonds Funeral Home
Chapel in Jonesboro, La. on Feb.
3 with interment at Mt. Zion
Presbyterian Church Cemetery
on Driskell Mountain.
F
Continued from 4B
Deputies seize over
$6,000 in cash during
1-75 North traffic stop
A 39-year-old black Macon
man was arrested and charged
with possession of marijuana with
intent to distribute after a traffic
stop on 1-75 North on Jan. 29.
At about 3:37 p.m Dep. Willie
Brown saw a brown 2007 Honda
Accord traveling on 1-75 North
female Taylor Road resident told
Dep. Peyton Henderson she had
received multiple phone calls
from a male caller identified as
Officer Eddie Foster, saying he
worked at the Social Security
Office. The resident said the caller
told her she had 22 pounds of
cocaine inside her home and in-
structed her to bring all the mon-
ey she had and to meet someone
at Walmart. The resident said the
caller also told her that her blue
Toyota Corolla had been found at
an E1 Paso, Texas home. Hender-
son instead found the residents
car outside of her home.
near mile marker 181. Brown
determined the car's male driver
was wanted out of Henry County
and smelled the odor of marijua-
na. Both the driver and the male
passenger admitted to having
drugs inside the car. Brown and
Sgt. Kirk Seckinger then searched
the car and found in the center
console two cartridges filled with
suspected hash oil. They then
found another cartridge filled
with hash oil in the driver's side
door pocket. Inside the glove box,
deputies found a brown plastic
bag filled with cash wrapped in
black rubber bands. Next to the
plastic bag was a dear plastic
container filled with suspected
marijuana. The driver told Brown
he was headed to Atlanta to pick
up a car and estimated he had
between $6,000 and $7,000 in
the car. However, the driver was
unable to provide Brown with a
name of the car dealer or loca-
tion where he was picking up the
car. Dispatchers then notified
Brown that both the driver and
the passeager had prior drug
arrests. Deputies then bagged
up the drugs and cash and took
the driver to the Monroe County
Jail, where they found more cash
and an additional cell phone in
his pockets, while the passenger
was released from the scene. The
driver, who earlier had said he
was a landscaper, told jailers he
was unemployed and looking for
work. Deputies later determined
they had seized $6,881 in cash.
"Resident reports
phone call about car
being located in Texas
At about 3 p.m. on Jan. 29, a
Old Cork Read woman
reports n ghbor dog
bit her on Jan. 30
At about 7:50 p.m. on Jan. 30, a
female Old Cork Road resident
told Cpl. Timothy Campfield that
her male neighbor's dog bit her.
The resident said she was outside
with her dog when her neighbor's
dog ran into her yard and jumped
on her dog. The resident said
she got between the two dogs to
try to break up the fight but was
unsuccessful. The resident said
she then kicked her neighbor's
dog at which point her neighbor's
dog turned and bit her on the left
arm. Campfield saw two puncture
wounds and a scratch on the resi-
dent's arm. Monroe County EMTs
checked the residents injuries at
the scene, but her family intended
to take her to the hospital for fur-
ther treatment. The neighbor told
Campfield that his dog had gotten
out. The neighbor made sure the
resident was okay after the attack
and secured his dog inside his
home.
Woman reports son
missing after he
took truck to Macon
At about 2:19 p.m. on Jan. 31,
a Buck Creek Road woman told
Dep. Christian Sawley that her
son left for Macon in her maroon
1996 Ford F-150 with a Florida
tag to visit friends on Jan. 22. The
woman said her son texted her
that same night to let her know he
made it okay but said she didn't
hear from her son again until
about 7 a.m. on Jan. 29 when he
sent another text letting her know
he was okay. The woman said she
had not heard anything from her
son since the Jan. 29 text and said
she believed her son was using
drugs again. She said her son has
gone missing for several days
previously but never for that long.
Sawley then entered the woman's
son and her mack as missing.
Couple arrested in
Waffle House lot after
deputies discover pot
A 35-year-old black East
Dublin man and a 34-year-old
black Dublin woman were each
arrested and charged with pos-
session of marijuana with intent
to distribute after a traffic stop
on Tift College Drive on Jan. 31.
At about 10:22 p.m Dep. Willie
Barkley saw a maroon 2006 Ford
Fusion with dark tinted windows
traveling on 1-75 South near mile
marker 186. Barkley followed the
vehicle onto the Exit 186 ramp
and stopped it in the Tift College
Drive Waffle House parking lot,
where the vehicle hit a parked car.
As Barkley approached the ve-
hicle, the driver's side door swung
open and a female passenger
tried to exit. The passenger, who
claimed to be driving, appeared
overly nervous with her hands
shaking uncontrollably while she
said she had to use the restroom.
The passenger said the male driv-
er, who claimed to be a back seat
passenger, was a friend and said
they were headed from Atlanta to
Dublin. Barkley then determined
that the driver's license was sus-
pended. Barkley then separated
the driver and passenger, and the
passenger admitted that she was
not the driving the vehicle. Bark-
ley and Cpl. Wade Kendrick of the
Forsyth Police Department then
found inside a purse on the front
passenger side floorboard a white
bag containing two vacuum-
sealed bags of marijuana. Both the
driver and the passenger denied
knowledge of the marijuana and
both were taken to the Monroe
County Jail. The driver was also
charged with a window tint viola-
tion and driving while license
suspended/revoked.
Christian Road woman
reports fraudulent
charges on accounts
At about 10:42 a.m. on Feb. 2, a
Christian Road woman told Dep.
Christian Sawley that someone
tried to open accounts in her
name at multiple stores, includ-
ing J.C. Penney, Banana Republic,
Kay Jewelers and Victoria's Secret,
where someone charged $900 to
her account. The woman said a
male caller claiming to be T.W.
McCarthy, a U.S. Drug Enforce-
ment Administration (DEA)
agent, told her someone had also
used her information to rent a car,
open six accounts and smuggle
cocaine into the countr The
woman said the caller told her he
needed her social security and
driver's license number to prove
it wasn't her making the transac-
tions, and she said she gave it to
him.
Illinois driver arrested
after deputies locate
maffluana oil cartridges
A 42-year-old white Park
Ridge, Ill. man was arrested and
charged with Violation of the
Georgia Controlled Substance
Act after a traffic stop on 1-75
South on Jan. 30. At about 4:48
p.m Cpl. Thomas Haskins saw
a black 2008 Chrysler 300 with
very dark window tint failing to
use its tum signal while chang-
ing lanes on 1-75 South near mile
marker 189. The male driver, who
appeared very nervous and was
visibly shaking, had a suspended
Illinois license. Haskins then
found a half-filled marijuana oil
e-cigarette cartridge in the driver's
pocket. Haskins, Dep. Nicholas
Ortiz and Sgt. Kevin Williams
then found a black sealed pack-
age with seven rolled marijuana
cigarettes, three marijuana oil
cartridges and two bumed mari-
juana cigarettes inside the car.
When Haskins arrested the driver,
he then admitted to having an ad-
ditional marijuana oil cartridge in
his sock, which Haskins removed.
Monroe County Animal Control
took possession of the driver's dog
while the driver was taken to the
Monroe County Jail. The driver
was also charged with posses-
sion of marijuana, a window tint
violation, failure to use a turn
signal and driving while license
suspended.
Tools, cash, liquor taken
from truck at home on
Collier Road on Feb. 2
At about 11 a.m. on Feb. 2,
a Collier Road man told Dep.
Peyton Henderson that he was
missing numerous items from
his 2000 Chevrolet Silverado. The
stolen items included: a tan duffle
bag, a blue and orange Old Navy
bookbag containing $600 worth
of tools, a $30 bottle of liquor, an
FM transmitter valued at $50 and
an unknown amount of cash. The
man said he last saw the items at
about 5:30 p.m. on Feb. I when
he returned home from work. He
said he noticed they were missing
when he went to get something
out of his mack at about 9 a.m.
that morning. The man, who said
his truck was unlocked at the
time of the thefts, said he noticed
vehicles driving past his home
and parking at a nearby cemetery
at about midnight the previous
night.
Forsyth man arrested
after alleged mooning
incident on Hwy. 42 S.
A 24-year-old white Forsyth
man was arrested and charged
with disorderly conduct after he
allegedly mooned children on
42 South on Feb. 3. At about
3 p.m Dep. Peyton Henderson
went to the Shady Oaks trailer
park on Hwy. 42 South where
a male resident said a shirfless
white male wearing tattoos and
blue jean shorts came to his home
earlier that morning and ap-
peared to be under the influence
of drugs. The resident said the
same man, who was later identi-
fied, returned to his home later in
the day acting irate and wanting
to fight him. Henderson saw the
man was acting disoriented and
confused. A male witness told
Henderson the man had pulled
down his pants, exposing his
buttocks to residents, including
the witness' two children, who
were outside. Henderson and Cpl.
Jake Justice then handcuffed the
man and took him to the Monroe
County Jail.
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