At their first meeting of 2026, the Meriwether County Commission elected Emmett Collins as Chairman for the upcoming year. Collins had served as vice-chairman in 2025. Commissioner Jennifer Snelson was named Vice-Chair for 2026. Also appointed by the Commissioners were John Gorton as County Administrator; Allyson Stephens as County Clerk; Hailee Parmer as Deputy County Clerk; and the law firm of Glover and Davis as County Attorney.
Manchester kicked off their first city council meeting of the year on Jan. 13th by appointing the roles of city attorney, city clerk, city judge, and city solicitor. The newest council members Delisha Hodo and Jason Smith were swore in on January 5th prior to the first meeting. Mayor and council voted to reappoint Smith, Welch, Webb, and White Law Firm, commonly represented by Scott Mayfield, as the city attorney. They reappointed Angel Fowler as City Clerk, Judge John Gilson as Manchester's City Judge, and Mark Irvine as City Solicitor.
Warm Springs Mayor Robyn Pynenburg told the City Council at last Monday’s meeting that she had spoken with officials of the Georgia Department of Transportation about the long-closed bridge on Highway 41 and was informed that work may resume on it very soon. Pynenburg said that the trains will have to be put back on their original tracks, and once that is done work can continue. The mayor said there will be about six to eight months of work left to do before the bridge is reopened and Highway 41 can be utilized by motorists.
At the first meeting of the Greenville City Council on January 6, the matter of annual city appointments initiated a sharp exchange between Mayor Josephine Mahone-Stargell and Mayor Pro Tem Mary Bray. When the subject of appointing a City Attorney came up, Bray mentioned that she had nominated a particular attorney and moved that she be appointed. Councilman Darryl Ogletree mentioned that he also had two potential appointees that he was considering. Stargell then interrupted, saying Bray had apparently already hired her nominee, noting that the attorney said in a letter that she accepted the job offered. Stargell said Bray offered her a figure of $300 per hour, and the attorney accepted. Bray countered by saying the City Council makes the appointment, but Stargell said she was not referring to the appointment but apparently to a job offer made by Bray.
A Warm Springs police officer is on administrative leave following his arrest Friday on charges that followed an alleged domestic dispute in Hogansville. According to Hogansville Police, the dispute took place Friday afternoon around 1:30 in the Village area of the city. Officers were called to a reported domestic dispute, and following an investigation they arrested Kevin Worthy, a Warm Springs police officer, on charges of simple assault and simple battery under the Family Violence Act, as well as terroristic threats and elder abuse.
At their last regular meeting for 2025, the Meriwether County Commission voted to table amendments to the county’s alcohol ordinance. During a public hearing for discussion on the changes, which were read out by County Clerk Allyson Stephens, some ambiguities were noted in reference to the suspension of alcohol licenses. One item concerned altercations at places that sell alcohol which involve patrons and employees and which, under the currently revised amendment, could result in the licensee having the alcohol license suspended for 30 days pending possible revocation. Commissioner Gene King said he could see a scenario where such an incident involving people with no connection to the business would cause the business to lose its license. Stephens said the wording was subject to change or review by the Commissioners, and the intent in this case was regarding the failure of the licensee or owner to act on the altercation taking place. King said the owner’s business should not be jeopardized because someone came to the business and caused an altercation.
Meriwether County Probate Judge John Rasnick (center) administered the oaths of office to the new mayor and council members for Woodbury.
The efforts to add data centers to small towns in Georgia has brought the discussion before the Grantville City Council and leaves the board questioning if the city wants to have such a facility. During the board’s December council meeting, the council made a proposal to update the city’s zoning language to include “data center” in certain types of zonings under a special purpose permit and the change was approved by a 4-1 vote. The change would require developers to appear before the city council before a data center project is approved. Prior to the vote, several citizens expressed concerns about data centers being allowing in the small town with a population of 3,000. Citizens expressed concern about impacts data centers might have in the city including such things as a strain on water, electricity, possible environmental pollution and other concerns.
With the coming of the new year, we look back at 2025 to see what the major news stories in Meriwether County were. Our editorial staff has selected these as the top ten news stories in the county during 2025:
The Georgia General Assembly passed several new laws that take effect in Georgia beginning today. Some of them are: • HVAC Warranties: Effective today, if you buy a house that already has an HVAC system installed, the system’s warranty comes with it. New owners don’t have to do anything or pay anything extra, but they only get the time that is left on the warranty. Manufacturers are bound to honor it.
