June 13, 2018 Page 7A
RepOrter
Pictured are members of Shackelford's family who attended his swearing in ceremony on June 8; left to right, back, son-
in-law Gabe Dobson, daughter Stephanie Kent, daughter Jennifer Dobson, wife Velda Shackelford, AI Shackelford, Judge
Tommy Wilson. In front are grandchildren Audrey Dobson, Chase Dobson and Drake Dobson.
Judge Tommy Wilson administered
the oath of office to A1 Shackelford
on Friday, June 8 to serve as Sher'fffof
Monroe County until after an elec-
tion for the office takes place on Nov.
6. Shackelford has been Chief Deputy
since long-time sheriff John Cary
Bittick became a candidate for U.S.
Marshal position. Now that Bittick
has been installed as Middle Georgia's
Marshal, Shackelford will become
interim sheriff.
Shackelford's swearing in was held
at the Monroe County courthouse,
which was filled with supporters to
witness his oath. Rev. Brian Moore,
who serves as chaplain for the Sheriff's
Office, offered a prayer to begin the
ceremony. Shackelford thanked those
present for attending and said that he
is fortunate to inherit a good office,
"a flagship office? He said that he is
taking over a legacy and has some big
shoes to fill.
"But most of all we remember we
work for the people," said Shackelford.
Shackelford, who lives in Forsyth, had
retired as head of security for Norfolk
Southern.
He dosed by citing Proverbs 11:14:
"Without wise leadership, a nation
falls; there is safety having many advis-
ers."
Meanwhile, Monroe County has set
qualifying for the election Aug. 6-10
and the fee to run for sheriff, set by
the state as 3 percent of the salary, will
be $1,779.86. Already six people have
announced for sher'tffbut no word on
whether Shackelford will change cur-
rent policy forbidding current employ-
ees from running for office.
Continued from Front
can and John Thompson
approached the vehide and
smelled a strong odor of
raw marijuana, Garcia fled
the scene.
Garcia exited 1-75 and
turned east on Johnston-
ville Road with the pursuit
reaching speeds of 100
miles per hour. Lt. Lawson
Bittick said the vehicle
was often half-way in the
oncoming lane and nearly
struck another vehide. The
Camry then turned south
on Hwy142 North toward
Forsyth.
Deputy Cody Maples
joined the chase and
performed a precision
immobilization technique
(PIT) in the straightaway
on Hwy[ 42 North near
Sutton Road. The Canary
struck several trees on the
shoulder and both Garcia
and Perez were ejected
from the vehide. Gar-
cia landed on the road's
shoulder and was killed
instantly. It took deputies
a couple of minutes to find
Perez in the wood line with
severe injuries. Bittick said
they assume neither was
wearing a seat belt.
Bittick said Maples
performed a "good PIT"
on the driver's side to avoid
damaging his patrol car
and limit possible colli-
sions with other vehides.
Meanwhile, the engine of
Garcia's car came hurtling
out of it, while on fire, and
landed on Maples' front
fender, a total loss to the
patrol car.
Deputies found cocaine
and marijuana in the ve-
hicle, and Garcia had prior
drug convictions, said
Bittick. Perez had previous
juvenile arrests.
The Georgia State Patrol
was summoned to inves-
tigate the incident. Hwy.
42 North was closed for
several hours while the
scene was processed.
Combined with the
patrol car that fell into a
hole on flooded Maynard
Church Road on Sunday
night, the sheriff's office
has now totaled two patrol
cars within five days. Bit-
tick said the sheriff's office
totals about four patrol cars
per year, but they normally
are Covered by insurance.
Continued from Front
his eyes or his heart. Chip
Dunn took me as his child
on the same day that he
said "I do" to my Mama
on March 18, 1989. I was
five years old at the time
and I wasn't the easiest
of children. It had been
just my Mama and I for a
couple of years and I may
have been a little bit rotten.
He never shied away from
stepping right into the role
of my "Papa Chip" but he
also treaded lightly and
didn't interfere with the
relationship I still had with
my birth father at the time.
A few years passed and
we grew more and more
like a family. I was eight
years old when my Mama
was expecting my little
brother and one day while
preparing his nursery I
looked right at my "Papa
Chip" and told him that I
wanted the same last name
that my brother would
have and I wanted to call
him "Dad' My birth
father relinquished his
rights, we went to court
and I officially became
Melissa DeeAnn Dunn.
Now, I am 33 years old
and we've been a family all
this time. Chip Dunn has
taught me all the typical
lessons a father teaches
their children. Beyond
those lessons, he has
exercised patience when
that was the last thing I de-
served. He has taught me
to be respectful and hon-
est, to love and appreciate
others regardless of what
they can do for you and to
cherish the time you have
with your loved ones, es-
pecially the elders in your
family. One of the most
important things hehas
taught me is to put your
best foot forward every
day and work hard at what
you do. He has been there
for every major milestone
in my life: every birthday,
every dancerecit,my
high school graduation,
my college graduation, he
walked me down the aisle
and gave me away on the
day of my wedding and he
was there for the birth of
my first child which was'
his first grandchild.
I am forever grateful
for his selfless actions
and for taking me as his
own: My life was com-
pletely changed for the
better the day he married
my Mama and agreed to
take me in as well. Chip
Dunn deserves the title
of "Father of the Year"
for many more reasons
than I have listed, some of
those my sibling will point
out below. These days he
could even win "Papa of
the Year" since we have
promoted him to a grand-
father and he's gone back
to an original name that
I once called him many
years ago.
*** To whom it may
concern, if Chip Dunn
is chosen as the recipient
then Caleb Dunn and
Lindsey Dunn Harris'
entries should follow this
entry.
Thanks,
Melissa Dunn Herndon
ContJnued from Front
The Reporter won two
other first-place awards as
well.
A front-page photograph
in the Oct. 11 Reporter by
editor Will Davis of the
surviving teenager awaiting
rescue in angry waters of
the Towaliga River at High
Falls was named the top
news photograph for 2017.
' nazing job of being
on the scene as the news
is unfolding,' wrote the
judges. "Good cropping to
show the enormity of the
situation:'
The Reporter also won
best news photo in 2016.
Davis also was awarded
the Otis A. Brumby
Trophy for best serious
column writer in 2017 for
three columns he wrote,
"Sorry, not sorry" about
how newspaper reporting
prevent a "swingers" orgy
from coming to a local
hotel, "Leave them alone"
about attempts to remove
Confederate statues, and
"Something special" about
the Reporters circulation
growth despite a downward
trend among other news-
papers.
Davis last won the
Brmnby trophy in 2012.
The Reporter won two
second-place awards on
Friday, including one
to sports editor Richard
Dumas for his top-notch
sports pages.
"Impressive variety,
color, photos, decent piece
on the soccer kid going
to England" wrote the
judges. "Impressive senior
portraits, great lead photo,
parks and rec scores
impressive and Monroe
County Outdoors column
is nice"
The newspaper also
picked up a second-place
award for headline writing
with entries whole new
Baugh game" about new
development authority
chairman Tom Baugh, "Ir.
Ma. Gosh" about chaos in
Monroe County from Hur-
ricane Irma evacuations
(hat tip to famous Tyler
Perry character Madea)
and "Lovett, leave it" about
county commissioner Jarod
Lovett departing his post
to move to Macon (with
props to country star Merle
Haggard).
Finally, the Reporter
daimed three third-place
awards, including a com-
munity service award for
the newspaper's year-long
coverage of the fiscal crisis
at Monroe County Hos-
pital, including 20 news
artides and opinion pieces
that led to the county hik-
ing taxes and taking on the
hospital debt to keep the
facility open. The Reporter
also won third place for
its layout and design, as
graphic designer Brandon
Park was honored for his
improvements to the look
of the paper.
"Fun graduation pack-
age,' the judges wrote of the
Reporter's entry from last
May.
Finally, Davis won
third place for humorous
column with three entries,
' All hail Asian" about his
mischievous new dog,
"Drama of a pack rat"
about the hoarding lifestyle
and "W'drs Wisdom for the
beacla" with tips for enjoy-
ing a summer vacation.
All the awards earned the
Reporter a No. 2 slot in the
coveted General Excellence
finals, which recognizes the
top 3 overall newspapers
in the state. That equals the
Reporters best finish ever
in the past 30 years, a No.
2 award from 2013. The
Reporter was joined this
year by two other Middle
Georgia papers in the top
3, as the LaKe Oconee
News finished No. I and
the Jones County News at
No. 3.
Publisher Will Davis said
the newspaper's advertis-
ers and subscribers are the
ones whose loyal support
year after year allows the
Reporter to assemble a
talented staff to continue its
success.
