January

• Drivers who like to speed could be deterred from stiff new fines for excessive speeding. Under a new Georgia law known as the “Super Speeder” legislation, an extra fine of $200 can be added on top of any other fines issued for speeding when a driver is convicted of going 85 miles per hour or more on any road or highway, or 75 miles per hour or more on any two-lane road or highway.

• The state insurance commissioner’s office said its fraud unit will open a criminal investigation into the business practices of a former insurance executive with Seminole County ties.

• It was a special family night at City Hall as Mark Harrell said good-bye after 16 years on the City Council and the city’s newly elected mayor and council members were sworn into office.

• Contractors with the Georgia Ports Authority are cleaning up a local hazardous waste site, which is one of four sites in Decatur County that is on a state hazardous site inventory.

• Dire predictions for a dismal holiday retail climate did not come true—at least not for most merchants here in Bainbridge.

• Decatur County received some very special guests—about 20 endangered whooping cranes.

• Decatur County commissioners elected a new chairman, but agreed to try changing how they are chosen in the future.

• Gov. Sonny Perdue recently recognized 12 Georgians for heroism, including two Department of Natural Resources law enforcement rangers that serve Southwest Georgia.

• Tom Wilkerson, the president of Bainbridge College, announced to his staff and cabinet that he will retire effective Dec. 31, 2010.

• Decatur County is seeking to significantly expand the size of its landfill on U.S. 27 South with the goal of further extending its usable lifetime and continuing its profitable operation well into the future.

• Georgia Forestry Unit rangers have finished their fourth year of trekking through fields and woods to read a number off a water meter—all of it in the hopes of having a solid set of numbers.

• The devastation from the earthquake that struck Haiti’s capital a week ago has extended here to Bainbridge. Eight members of the families of Claude and Eunide LaFortune were killed from the earthquake that hit Port-au-Prince.

• Some new faces will soon be showing up on central Bainbridge’s streets: The four Public Safety officers who will be working on a special mission to help prevent crime at a community level.

• Board of Education Member Clarissa Kendrick took the unusual step of stepping off the board’s dais and then berating the board for its school bus stop practices.

• A tree was raised to the top of Bainbridge College Student Wellness Center under construction, signaling that the last steel beam was to be placed.

• Decatur County Board of Education employees will have to take three more unpaid days off this school year to satisfy an additional 6 percent to 8 percent budget cut ordered by Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.

• Local property developer Liz Tomlin has received the go-ahead from the Bainbridge City Council to open a group home for people recently paroled from prison.

• The Decatur County Board of Commissioners has taken the official step of asking for state lawmakers to allow changes related to the positions of the board’s chairman and vice-chairman.

• Moving the 2010 Bainbridge High School graduation ceremonies to the gymnasium on the new campus did not sit too well with the graduation class.

• Decatur County Administrator Tom Patton announced the promotion of a new road superintendent at the county commissioner’s meeting.

February

• Bainbridge leaders are hoping a new four-man community policing team will help reduce crime in the city. Four Public Safety officers will comprise the VIPER (Variable Intensive Patrol Enforcement and Response) team, which the Bainbridge City Council heard about.

• Workers have been tearing up streets along West Street as the second phase of Bainbridge’s Streetscape project has begun.

• The Flint River at Bainbridge is flooding for the second time in a week. The first crest occurred at just over 27 feet on Jan. 25, before falling back below the flood stage of 25 feet on Jan. 27.

• Decatur County School Superintendent Ralph Jones announced his retirement. He said the effective date will be June 30.

• The Kmart store located on Shotwell Street on Bainbridge is slated to close in May.

• Erick Juarez of Bainbridge High School and Elisabeth Soden of Grace Christian Academy were recognized as STAR students at the Chamber of Commerce monthly breakfast.

• Decatur County Commissioner Palmer Rich said he is not seeking re-election.

• During a special called meeting, the Decatur County Board of Education officially voted to accept Superintendent Ralph Jones’ retirement.

• Landowners and fellow foresters told stories and said good-bye to Ronnie Martin, who retired as chief ranger of the Decatur County Unit of the Georgia Forestry Commission.

• Gov. Sonny Perdue announced a comprehensive proposal that will encourage water conservation, reduce wasteful loss and incentivize innovation in both increasing water supply and lessening demand.

• Decatur County Commissioners announced they have settled out of court two lawsuits filed by county firefighters.

• Retiree Frank Loeffler announced he intends to run for election to the Decatur County Board of Commissioners seat currently held by Palmer Rich, who has announced he will not run for re-election.

• Snow fell in Decatur County and Bainbridge.

• Local government leaders are preparing to announce a major new business to be located at the Decatur County Industrial Air Park.

• City of Bainbridge workers are working hard to repair a section of Lake Douglas Road near Grace Christian Church and Academy after two water mains broke there.

• Joe Crine, the sports editor of The Post-Searchlight, will be the subject of the Pilot Club’s annual roast.

• Decatur County Commissioners held their first planning retreat in recent memory discussing their vision for county government in the future.

• Bojangles, a fast-food chicken restaurant known for its Cajun-style menu and biscuits, announced plans to open here; and It’s Fashion Metro will lease the spot at Bainbridge Mall left vacant by Goody’s.

• The 2010 Bainbridge High School graduation ceremony will remain at the school gymnasium on campus after the Decatur County Board of Education took no action at the monthly board meeting.

• Approximately 1,500 to 2,000 acres of woods on the Silver Lake Wildlife Management Area were burned.

• Decatur County Commissioners have agreed to go back to the drawing board on a proposed timber operations ordinance after industry representatives and landowners spoke out against it.

• The top 50 bass anglers in the world participated in the Super Bowl of bass fishing, the Bassmaster Classic, on the waters of Lay Lake, Ala. One of those 50 anglers was Bainbridge resident Pam Martin-Wells.

• Georgia Rep. Gene Maddox has formally introduced legislation that would affect the leadership of the Decatur County Board of Commissioners.

• Main Street Broadband officially entered into Decatur County, saying the offer of extending to the county’s rural areas broadband Internet service is a unique opportunity.

• A grant from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Elections Division will help the Decatur County Board of Elections bring its voting places into the 21st century.

March

• During a special called meeting of the Decatur County Board of Education, the decision was made to move the 2010 Bainbridge High School graduation back to Centennial Field.

• The University System of Georgia may have to consider making drastic budget cuts if state legislators deem it necessary due to poor economic conditions, the system’s top officials announced.

• DaniMer successfully shipped its first railcar of biopolymer material from their Bainbridge facility.

• The City of Bainbridge government is doing its best to weather the storm of the economic downturn, although it has sees a severe decline in revenue.

• Bainbridge College President Tom Wilkerson tried to ease anxiety among some students, faculty and staff over a proposal to make substantial cuts in the college.

• Decatur County Commissioners gave their approval for the public school system to make use of county prison inmates for a variety of maintenance tasks.

• Local law enforcement cooperated this past weekend to make the county’s largest seizure of illegal drugs on a traffic stop in recent memory. Officers seized 131 pounds of marijuana after finding it in the trunk of a car that was stopped.

• Decatur County was one of six winners of this year’s County Excellence Awards, sponsored by the Association County Commissioners of Georgia and Georgia Trend magazine.

• Decatur County is preparing to submit an application asking the federal government to buy out flood-damaged properties.

• The City of Bainbridge’s in-progress construction of eight new baseball and softball fields will help its most popular recreation program grow as well as boost the number of visitors to the area, city officials said.

• The 2010 Relay for Life kicked off this past Saturday. There were 25 teams in attendance, though 31 teams had been fund-raising.

• Decatur County Sheriff’s deputies broke up a suspected fake ID-making operation.

• The question facing the Decatur County Board of Education is not “do we cut?” but “what do we cut, and how deep?” During its regular meeting, the board was informed of an impending $2.9 million reduction in state allocations for the 2011 fiscal year.

• The current economic downturn is forcing Memorial Hospital and Manor to make some hard decisions and take some unprecedented cost-saving steps.

• Bainbridge Mayor Edward Reynolds broke a 3-3 tie among fellow City Council members to allow The Post-Searchlight to paint the front face of its building, overturning a previous denial by the city’s Historic Preservation Commission.

• U.S. Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, D-Albany, voted in favor of the sweeping health care reform package, being one of 219 Democrats who helped pass the legislation.

• Despite the ongoing revenue crisis for state and local governments, Decatur County is finding its solid waste landfill to be a “recession-proof” business.

• The Bainbridge City Council may have to consider small increases in either its millage rate or its utility usage fees to help make up an anticipated budget shortfall, City Manager Christ Hobby explained at the county’s annual planning retreat.

• City of Bainbridge leaders seem to be more aware of the need to support local business as much as possible, though they aren’t quite ready to back the idea of a local preference related to bidding on needed goods and services.

April

• The Chamber of Commerce agreed to relinquish control over the Welcome Center, meaning that the center’s manager—Adrienne Betts Harrison—and two other of its employees, will become city employees May 1.

• The Bainbridge-Decatur County Chamber of Commerce has been awarded a Three-Star Accreditation by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

•  Memorial Hospital and Manor will reach an important milestone this year as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. Memorial Hospital was officially dedicated on April 3, 1960, and opened its doors to receive patients the following day.

• Stormwater runoff and flooding has been a recurring concern for local government officials, and the Bainbridge City Council has heard from several homeowners who have to cope with all the water, including some who addressed the council.

• Hundreds of children—some dressed in their Easter outfits with their fancy Easter baskets—ran across softball fields to grab as many plastic Easter eggs as possible.

• The downtown Bainbridge Farmer’s Market kicked off with an array of offerings—from plants to fresh strawberries to home-baked cakes and jellies.

• Georgia’s senior U.S. Senator, Saxby Chambliss, visited Bainbridge, talking with local officials and touring the Decatur County Industrial Air Park.

• The City of Bainbridge government will start getting paid back in full for the work it does in responding to hazardous materials incidents, including cleanup of chemical spills and meth labs. The Bainbridge City Council passed a Hazardous Materials Cost Recovery ordinance, which aims to help the city government recoup what it spends to operate its Hazardous Materials Response team.

• Bainbridge College’s Student Wellness Center is progressing well and is expected to open on time this fall.

• Sixteen properties that will be included in Decatur County’s application seeking to designate them as flood-destroyed will have their values appraised in two separate phases.

• Bainbridge and Decatur County will be the setting for a Christian-based film, its producers said.

• Special Olympics were once a tradition in Decatur County. With an idea to resurrect the event, a leadership team was formed by individuals from the community.

• The committee charged with searching for a new president of Bainbridge College was given its marching orders, with the members urged not to look for a clone of retiring President Tom Wilkerson.

• A poster boy for the national Republican Party’s next generation of leaders told a crow at Willis Park that it’s time to take America back, not just protest excessive taxes.

• Decatur County Schools Superintendent Ralph Jones talked about future furloughs, the next school year’s budget and several issues being discussed in the Georgia Legislature, which could affect local schools across the state.

• Hundreds of people turned out to watch many local youth show off their finest formalwear for Bainbridge High School’s annual promenade.

• Thirty-two juniors from Bainbridge High School are taking part in Student Government Day this year.

• The Decatur County Board of Education took the first step toward overcoming an estimated $3.9 million shortfall in the 2011 budget.

• The Decatur County Board of Education is moving closed to finding a successor to retiring Superintendent Ralph Jones.

• Lauren Bowles, a senior at Bainbridge High School and daughter of Charles and Kim Bowles, recently earned the second runner-up designation in the Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest.

• Along a gauntlet of “Welcome back” and “Thank you,” five Bainbridge World War II veterans were greeted at the Dothan airport after having been treated to an Honor Flight to see the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

• Qualifying for this fall’s local elections has started off slow, with only candidate having formally registered their intent to run for office.

• A masked man with a gun robbed the Quick Buys convenience store on Georgia 97 South.

May

• After getting off to a slow start, qualifying for this year’s local elections found a brisker pace before ending.

• The members of the Bainbridge College Presidential Search committee spent part of two days listening to students, faculty and staff, as well as members of the public, on what they want to see in the fourth president of the college.

• It was an all Decatur County finish as Frank Jordan Jr. of Bainbridge and Allen Carter of Recovery won the angler and co-angler championships of the Forest L. Woods American series bass tournament on Lake Seminole.

• Educators and support staff who are retiring at the end of the school year were thanked during a banquet at the new Bainbridge High School cafeteria. In particular, Superintendent of Schools Ralph Jones was especially highlighted for his 36 years as a teacher, coach and then administrator.

• The Bainbridge City Council approved a complete rewrite of the city’s alcoholic beverage ordinance, and its decision will have immediate effects.

• There are three challenges for Bainbridge College during the next 10 years, BC President Tom Wilkerson told attendees of the monthly Chamber of Commerce breakfast. “The top three challenges we face are space, space and space,” Wilkerson said.

• For the first time in years, competition returned for students with disabilities as the Special Olympics was held at the new Bainbridge High School track.

• Senior French horn player Kylie McGlincy won the prestigious John Philip Sousa Award.

• During a called meeting of the Decatur County Board of Education, Fred Rayfield, current superintendent of Cook County schools, was chosen from a field of 24 applicants as the only finalist to become the next Decatur County superintendent.

• There were a few good-byes as approximately 200 of Bainbridge College’s move than 360 graduates went through the ceremony at Memorial Coliseum.

• The gap between revenues and expenses has increased, in the wrong direction, for the Decatur County Board of Education.

• Coach Larry Cosby’s Region 1AAAA champion Bainbridge High School Bearcats won their first state Class AAAA track championship.

• Veteran educator and Bainbridge City Councilman Luther Conyers asked the Bainbridge High School graduating class of 2010 to be “watchful” and to prepare for their future success.

• The gate of the Friends and Family cookout traditionally held in the Earle May Boat Basin each year around Memorial Day is up in the air, at least for this year.

• Black Men United’s annual Friends and Family cookout will take place in the Earle May Boat Basin during Memorial Day weekend, as the event’s organizers had sought permission for.

• New ground was broken and history repeated itself during this year’s Bainbridge High School commencement ceremony as the Class of 2010 graduated before a large crowd at Centennial Fields.

• Teachers in Decatur County Schools will get to choose the method by which six furlough days will be taken during the next school year, as the Board of Education prepares to begin work on its budget for the next school year.

• Residents who live along what has been called one of Decatur County’s roughest dirt roads may soon get some help from the County Public Works Department, which aims to try a new road-smoothing technique.

• One brick at a time, some of Bainbridge’s history was laid out in front of the Firehouse Center and Gallery.

• Chamber of Commerce President Evelyn Clay’s last day was June 11, and the replacement of her husband, Martyn Clay, was announced by Bainbridge College President Tom Wilkerson. He appointed Director of Admissions and Records Connie Snyder to serve as interim dean for student services.

• Jenna Miley, who is associate professor of computer science at Bainbridge College, decided to do something about the high costs of textbooks to help students with the Computer Fundamentals course required of all degree students. She wrote he own “ebook.”

• Decatur County commissioners continue to make improving dirt roads one of their top priorities. County Public Works Superintendent Dennis Medley provided updates on his department’s work on dirt road maintenance.

• The Decatur County Board of Education took the first step in what promises to be a very tough budget process during a called meeting. The board approved a list of cost-cutting measures presented by Superintendent Ralph Jones and system Chief Financial Officer Tim Matthews.

June

• The way we think of water needs to change if Georgia is to overcome its dwindling supply and ultimately end its bickering with its neighbors, said the keynote speaker of a three-day conference on water being held at the Kirbo Center.

• Local attorney Paul Fryer asked the Bainbridge City Council what can be done about gang graffiti painted on private property, in particular one in the neighborhood where he lives.

• The Decatur County Schools Support Center at 507 Martin St. was severely vandalized.

• Three additional Bainbridge Public Safety Patrol cars will be equipped with audio/visual recording systems with the help of a federal grant, as part of an ongoing effort to have the entire fleet so equipped.

• Work began on the City of Bainbridge’s mega boat ramps at the Earle May Boat Basin.

• The Decatur County Family Connection Collaborative board recently announced the Ronnie Burke will assume the position of coordinator in early August, which was previously held by Ami Mejia.

• Advance voting for the primary election is in full swing—39 days before the July 20th election.

• William Paul Whaley, a sixth-grade student at Hutto Middle School, won the state’s “Best Picture” video contest for connecting his passion for filmmaking to the mathematical concept of integers and absolute value.

• A man vacationing here from Newark, N.J., drowned in Spring Creek just down from the boat landing at the U.S. 84 West bridge.

• The president of the Bainbridge-Decatur County Humane Society requested Tuesday the Bainbridge City Council amend its animal control ordinance to outlaw tethering of animals and to ensure that the animal’s owners provide adequate shelter.

• The chancellor of Georgia’s universities, Erroll B. Davis, said during a visit to Bainbridge College Thursday that the system will start its new budget year with a $27 million shortfall.

• Despite a projected shortfall of more than $650,000, the Decatur County Board of Education adopted a fiscal year 2011 budget at the monthly meeting.

• The Bainbridge City Council voted unanimously to proceed with the construction of an eight-stall restroom facility to complement the mega-ramps at the Earle May Boat Basin.

• Some Decatur County history moved to Climax Swine Time grounds. Three former voting precincts buildings—Bell, Parker and Pine Hill—were loaded up and placed there by Ducky Johnson’s house moving crews.

• The Decatur County Commissioners will consider a proposed budget beginning July 1 that will not require a tax increase nor layoffs or furlough days.

• Seven dogs held by heavy chains with less than a foot of lead, so thin and weak that they couldn’t stand to eat and left to fend for themselves in months were rescued in what one official said was the second worst case of dog abuse she’s witnessed.

• The City of Bainbridge’s Animal Control Officer was attacked by a pit bull, which in turn was shot and killed after it charged a police officer.

• The Decatur County Sheriff’s Office has charged a man with animal cruelty in connection with deputies’ discovery of seven pit bulls left abandoned and severely neglected.

• Bainbridge Mall Cinemas shut down and the owners were moving all the equipment and furnishings out.

• Decatur County officials are hoping to restore a little more normalcy for the residents of Slough Loop Road by repairing their road, which was damaged and partially destroyed due to flooding in April 2009.

• At a special called meeting, Decatur County commissioners approved a $24,267,720 budget to operate county government from July 1, 2010, through June 20, 2011.

• Paying tribute to the American flag and the veterans who have served under its banner, approximately 100 people heard our country’s praises on Sunday evening in the Coliseum.

July

• Democratic candidates running for local, regional and statewide offices gathered at the Kirbo Center to talk with a small group of potential voters.

• One of the producers of “Fishers of Men” reeled in three new extras Thursday for the upcoming movie scheduled to be filmed in Bainbridge this summer.

• Coming this fall, both professional anglers and weekend boaters alike will get to enjoy new and improved boat ramps at the Earle May Boat Basin.

• The Bainbridge-Decatur County Development Authority agreed to have Corrections Corporation of America build a prison here.

• The Bainbridge City Council will consider a topic that may be unpleasant to some, but one that Humane Society President Pam Immendorf believes is an important social issue—the tethering of dogs.

• Decreases in state education funding coupled with a shrinking Decatur County property tax digest is causing the Decatur County Board of Education to reevaluate the millage rate for the 2011 fiscal year.

• Decatur County Board of Commissioners Chairman Earl Perry will return to office following results from the primary election.

• Bainbridge Public Safety officers will soon start sending the people they arrest up the highway to Pelham, Ga., after the City Council approved a contract with the other city for inmate housing.

• The Sheriff’s Office is investigating a string of fires in recent days that may be the work of an arsonist.

• An Iron City farmer and his wife were thrust into the national spotlight following the resignation of a U.S. Agriculture Department employee.

• A woman who saved a family’s farm and the farmers who saved her reputation met in Miller County for the first time since the national spotlight focused on their story.

• The City of Bainbridge is seeking to increase its millage rate, a variable that helps determine how much ad valorem tax is owed on a property, and will make a final decision at the August council meeting.

• The 4-year-old girl who almost drowned at the YMCA’s pool is back home and doing fine, her mother said.

• Sheriff’s deputies captured a North Georgia man who escaped from the Decatur County Correctional Institute.

• The Decatur County Board of Education unanimously voted to adopt a rollback millage rate of 12.99 during a special called meeting.

• U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to include the effects of current and future water supply withdrawals from Lake Lanier in the update of the water control manual for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin.

• Capt. Janice Van Kirk, the second-in-command at the Decatur County Jail, is the recipient of the Georgia Jail Association’s 2010 Detention Supervisor of the Year.

• Col. David Stewart, a former U.S. Air Force pilot and Desert Storm veteran, is the new Air Force Junior ROTC director at Bainbridge High School.

August

• City of Bainbridge Council voted 4-2 to increase its millage rate by half a mill, which will result in a property tax increase.

• Democratic gubernatorial nominee Roy Barnes returned to some old stumping grounds and talked about some of the same issues from more than eight years ago—education and water. The one-term governor, who was seeking a second term after previously being defeated by Gov. Sonny Perdue in 2002, dropped by The Post Searchlight’s office.

• The Bainbridge City Council has made the city’s animal control ordinance more comprehensive: tethering of dogs to fixed objects is now against the law.

• A man behind at least two armed robberies in Bainbridge last year has been convicted and sentenced to prison. Antonion De’Andre Butler was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to serve 20 years in the penitentiary.

• Decatur County students started classes on Friday under the supervision of a new leader—School Superintendent Fred Rayfield.

•The Grand Jury requested the District Attorney to furnish it all information pertinent to the City of Bainbridge contract to house its inmates at the Pelham City Jail.

• The public will have an opportunity to meet the seven candidates, one of whom will likely replace Bainbridge College President Tom Wilkerson. “The Presidential Search and Screen Committee completed its first round of interviews and has scheduled our semi-finalist interviews for August and September,” said Tonya Strickland, chairman of the committee.

• A search committee looking for a new president of the Bainbridge-Decatur County Chamber of Commerce announced Friday that it is promoting from within. Diane Strickland was named president, replacing Evelyn Clay. Strickland served as membership director for the chamber for the past four years. Kim Walden, who joined the chamber’s staff in March as its executive assistant, was promoted to membership and communications director.

• A rally against drugs and gang activity held in Willis Park on Wednesday was not meant to dwell on the dead, but to inspire the living said organizer Barbara Williford. Williford’s late daughter, Ebony Clarke, was an innocent victim in a street fight that saw an assailant shoot her fatally and injure another man.

• The director of the Flint Riverkeeper told a Decatur County audience Thursday that a proposed coal plant in Early County would have dire consequences if built. Gordon Rogers, the executive director of the Flint Riverkeeper, told about 43 people attending the presentation at the Cloud Livestock facility that the law is not being applied equally for the proposed Early County plant.

• Propex’s Bainbridge plant will close by the end of October and the facility will cease operations, a news release announced. The 50 full-time employees will receive severance pay as well as other assistance from the Department of Labor.

• The City of Bainbridge decision one month ago to begin sending its misdemeanor inmates to Pelham has worked well so far, Bainbridge City Manager Chris Hobby and Public Safety officials told the City Council.

• Decatur County Sheriff Wiley Griffin announced a restructuring of his office, with a renewed emphasis toward community-oriented policing, aggressive crime fighting and community service.

• Even though Corrections Corporation of America doesn’t have a bid to build a prison in Bainbridge yet, a company official visiting here Wednesday said it’s a good bet that there will be one. Jay Hollis, project manager of site acquisition for Corrections Corporation of America said the company goes to great lengths to be pre-emptive and be more competitive.

• The Decatur County Board of Education took action Thursday night with the hopes of ending 43 years of federal judicial supervision. After meeting in a closed session with board attorney Bruce Kirbo Jr., the board voted, with board member Clarissa Kendrick being the only dissenting vote, to give Kirbo the authorization to file a consent decree with the U.S. Dept. of Justice to end the school desegregation lawsuit initiated in May 1967.

• A citizen addressing Decatur County commissioners Tuesday night asked them not to unfairly burden people who buy and sell mobile homes. At their Tuesday meeting, county commissioners adopted new minimum health and safety standards for pre-owned manufactured homes, a move Chairman Earl Perry said was prompted by changes in Georgia law.

September

• The second trial stemming from the death of educator John G. Hinson concluded Monday with a civil jury finding Memorial Hospital and Dr. Paul J. Bennett not liable.

• Country music fans were excited to learn that Grammy Award-winning artist, song-writer and actor Travis Tritt has been signed by Desert Wind Films to play the role of “Eddie Waters” in the film “Fishers of Men,” which will begin filming in the Bainbridge area on Sept. 13.

• Classic autos from the 1950s lined portions of the square around Downtown Bainbridge’s Willis Park, transporting it back in time this week as the faith-based feature film “Fishers of Men” began filming this week.

• Bainbridge police have arrested six young men in connection with a string of church burglaries reported earlier this week. Six teenagers, ranging in age from 16-18 were arrested when officers conducting surveillance of local churches caught them entering the Bainbridge Church of God on Independent Street just after midnight.

• Decatur County resident Randy Hand set a new state record when he killed a 13 -foot, 9-inch alligator weighing 692 pounds on Lake Seminole.

•The Leverett-Lucas Courtyard at the Firehouse Gallery was dedicated as Phyllis Lucas and Joyce Leverett ceremonially opened the gate for the new courtyard in front of the historic Firehouse Center and Gallery. The two were instrumental in the getting the project completed.

• Maribeth Burke, chorus teacher at Bainbridge Middle School was named the 2011-12 Decatur County School System Teacher of the Year.

• Economic conditions are still on the minds of Bainbridge City Council members who discussed whether or not the city’s government could afford to give its employees 3 percent raises.

• Decatur County is among the 16 new Certified Work Ready Communities of Excellence announced by Gov. Sonny Perdue.

• More than 60 members of the Bainbridge College community and area residents gathered at the Edward D. Mobley Administration Building for the official naming of the Henderson Conference Room in honor of the late Dr. Fred Henderson.

October

• U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss introduced legislation they claim aims to ensure Georgia’s water needs.

• After filming outside Bainbridge, “Fishers of Men” cast and crew returned downtown to shoot scenes at two of the city’s landmarks, Willis Park and the Decatur County Courthouse.

• Former Climax City Councilman and World War II Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient Clifford E. Wells died at his Climax home.

• U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss introduced legislation that proposed to provide a non-amnesty option for temporary agriculture workers.

• The City of Bainbridge won an age discrimination lawsuit filed against it.

• City of Bainbridge officials have seen some signs of economic recovery during the past year, they shared with the City Council at it meeting. Perhaps the most significant statistic was a recovery in the amount of local construction in 2009-2010, after a dismal 2008-2009.

• The remaining tracts of International Paper’s Southland, consisting of 5,974.4 acres, was sold to Figure (Southland) LLC of Jacksonville, Fla., for $11,541,996.

• Jenne Miley of Bainbridge received the 2010 Gold Award in the Chancellor’s Customer Service Excellence Awards for the University System of Georgia.

• Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue expressed his excitement at seeing the first boat ready to launch from the new mega-ramps installed at Bainbridge’s Earle May Boat Basin, just in time for a series of big fishing tournaments.

• Decatur County Commissioners have amended the county’s budget to reflect the loss of $197,000 in revenue associated with the City of Bainbridge taking its inmates to Pelham, Ga.

• Eight red-cockaded woodpeckers—one of the most endangered bird species—were transported to the Silver Lake Wildlife Management Area with the hopes that the birds would fall in love with their new surroundings.

• Jenna Miley of Bainbridge College is the recipient of the highest award in the state for individual customer service excellence, according to announcements from the Governor’s Office and from the University System of Georgia, which also won a top award from the governor.

• Raymond A. Miles, a businessman who moved to Bainbridge as a young man, then became the community’s biggest fan, died in north Georgia.

• Family, friends and Decatur Countians from all walks of life were at the Spring Hill Christmas Tree Farm to honor the memory of Dylan Faircloth, a young man who had touched the lives of many in a positive way before tragically losing his life in an automobile accident.

• Discount grocery store Dollar General is planning to open a new store on Dothan Road, on land that is currently part of the Commodore Decatur Industrial Park.

• DaniMer Scientific LLC was named the Small Business of the Year at the annual Chamber of Commerce Membership Mingle.

• U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited Southwest Georgia to highlight how his agency’s work is benefiting rural communities.

• Two Georgia university officials and an educator from Washington State were named the three finalists to fill the vacancy of Bainbridge College president.

• The new Student Wellness Center at Bainbridge College was opened to the student body and the public.

• Almost 16 months after their homes were flooded in early April 2009, 16 Decatur County property owners are one step closer to starting over.

• Decatur County is planning to build a new office building to house local and federal agricultural agencies under one roof at the Decatur County Fairgrounds.

• Rodney Heard, who has been with the Georgia Forestry Commission’s Decatur County unit since 1993, was named the chief ranger.

• During half-time of the Bainbridge High School homecoming game, seniors Ivy Heard was named homecoming queen and Tiandria Burke was named maid of honor.

November

• The anti-incumbent sentiment that swept the country reached down to Decatur County as incumbent Decatur County Commissioner Gary Phillips, a Republican, was defeated by a slim margin during the general election, defeated by Oliver Sellers, a Democrat.

• Incumbent U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop beat the odds of other Democratic incumbents by narrowly winning re-election.

• Come 2011, the State of Georgia is imposing some new permanent restrictions on outdoor watering, although Decatur County officials said most citizens won’t be affected by them.

• Richard Carvajal, the educator named as president of Bainbridge College beginning next year, said he’s looking forward to coming to Bainbridge.

• Bainbridge College now has 3,735 students, an increase of 5 percent from last fall’s number of 3,558. The percentage increase was the highest of any southwest Georgia college.

• Memorial Hospital CEO Jim Peak was terminated from his contract during the monthly Hospital Authority board meeting.

• Climax City Councilman Ronnie Bishop died suddenly.

• The Decatur County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a local woman, Lisa Ponder, 46, a suspect in a string of suspicious firs set around the Black Jack community of eastern Decatur County.

• Decatur County Commissioners are looking to an unusual source of new revenue: Methane gas currently being emitted and burned from the county’s old landfill on Georgia 309 South.

• Approximately 100 volunteers formed an assembly line around the room at First Methodist J.O. Smith Building early Thanksgiving morning to help fill, then deliver 350 dinner plates of turkey, dressing and all the trimmings to those who might not otherwise have a Thanksgiving meal.

• Community spiritual leader and local businessman, the Rev. Adolph Noble Sr., died Wednesday, Nov. 24 at his home following a long illness. He was the owner and funeral director of Guyton Brothers Funeral Home in Bainbridge and ministered to Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church in Bainbridge, as well as Patterson Street Free Will Baptist Church in Dothan.

December

• Nationwide retail sales for the Black Friday weekend are being reported as increasing 0.03 percent over the same time period last year; while online retailers are reporting 15.9 percent growth in overall sales figures over 2009.

• When The Green Hornet, the movie based on the action figure character of radio, television and comic book fame, opens on Jan. 14, the family of Bainbridge residents Lisa and Dennis Long will be following the box office numbers with special interest.

• Librarian Jeff Dowdy of Bainbridge College Library was named one of 10 librarians recognized for service to his community as a winner of the Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award.

• Larry Clark, principal of Jones-Wheat Elementary School, has been chosen as grand marshal of the 2010 City of Bainbridge Christmas Parade.

• Memorial Hospital Authority Board Chairman Joe Livingston excused himself from a closed session of the board’s called meeting, explaining that he plans to apply for the hospital’s top job.

• A concert titled “Christmas at Kirbo” that includes home-schooled musicians and a local string orchestra will benefit the Friendship House of Jesus.

• A large crowd filled the spacious area of the new Student Wellness Center on the campus of Bainbridge College to honor retiring President and Mrs. Thomas Wilkerson, who are leaving the area to live in North Georgia.

• Local citizens will get their first look at footage from “Fishers of Men,” the faith-based feature film shot in Bainbridge this past fall.

• Gov. Sonny Perdue announced a $400,678 grant to the Bainbridge-Decatur County Development Authority that will used to install a heavy duty water system.

• Park Avenue Bank has entered into an agreement with The Federal Reserve to take corrective action to increase the bank’s equity through the sales of shares or contributions, or enter into and close a sale of the bank to another depository institution holding company.

• Three county commissioners and three Board of Education members were sworn into office.

• Bainbridge College and community leaders gathered at the newly renovated 15,000-square-foot facility that houses the Continuing Education Division and the Cosmetology Program.

• Trinity Episcopal Church in Pass Chrisian, Miss., celebrated Christmas this year in their newly restored church, thanks to help from the innovative SIPS Team USA of Bainbridge.