Last year will be remembered as the year Pierce County honored its very own National Championship Georgia Bulldog quarterback Stetson Bennett, became the home of Georgia’s State Supreme Court Chief Justice, a Hallmark® movie actress and a “Student Emmy” award winner.
There was a murder here in 2022, and the case remains unsolved. Another murder case was resolved with a guilty verdict.
Election season resulted in few changes in leadership at the county level or in city special elections even though there were several choices on the ballot. There were changes in non-elected leadership positions both in the county and school system, however, and the county resurrected the recreation board. Pierce County’s Republican Party went on record asking for hand counting of local ballots.
A national political controversy touched Pierce County, as longtime Republican activist Kay Godwin was identified as the subject of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
In other news, several notable construction projects were completed including renovations to Bear Stadium, baseball and softball fields improvements and completion of the Blackshear’s Train Depot renovation, and the Pierce County Jail addition. Construction of a new Ag Center at the high school and a rail spur are underway. Other construction projects will continue in 2023 with plans for improvements to the recreation department and Blackshear City Park announced last year.
Here’s a look back at the Top Ten news items of 2022:
Number 1 – Stetson Bennett IV brings national spotlight to Blackshear: Pierce County’s own Stetson Bennett IV led the Georgia Bulldogs to a NCAA National Football Championship in January, leading the Dawgs to a 33-18 win over Alabama. Bennett was named the offensive player of the game after throwing two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Bennett’s hometown hosted a parade in honor of the 2017 PCHS graduate on a cold Sunday in January. Bennett IV returned to UGA for a fifth season as a starter and led Georgia to an undefeated campaign and a shot at a back-to-back National Championship in 2022. Bennett was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. He won the Burlsworth Trophy which recognizes the nation’s best walk on player.
Number 2 – Murder in Zirkle remains unsolved: A murder occurred on Zirkle Road in August and at year’s end, the case remained unresolved, with the investigation into the death still active and ongoing. The body of Dale Austin Duncan, 21, of Waycross, was found on timber company property off of Zirkle Road. The body was discovered in a wooded area near the road, but not close to the boat landing or the steel dam on the Little Satilla River there. The sheriff said the State Medical Examiner’s Office has determined Duncan’s death was by homicide. No additional details about the case have been released.
Number 3 – Pierce Countian Michael P. Boggs elected Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court: Presiding Justice Michael P. Boggs of Pierce County was unanimously elected by his colleagues to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia in March. He and his wife, Heather, a kindergarten teacher, reside in Pierce County. Boggs succeeded Chief Justice David E. Nahmias in July. Justice Nahmias resigned from the court citing a desire to spend more time with his family.
Number 4 – Godwin included in ‘fake electors’ law suit; local GOP protests Dominion voting machines: Kay Godwin of Blackshear, long-time Republican activist, has been informed she could face criminal charges in connection with the Fulton County Grand Jury’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Godwin was listed along with 10 others in what came to be known as the ‘fake electors’ plot.
Pierce County’s Republican Party asked the county commission to consider doing away with Dominion Voting machines and going to a hand count method of tallying local votes. Pierce County’s Carson Carbaugh, unsuccessful candidate for the Georgia House of Representatives, challenged use of the Dominion voting machines in a court case filed as the year drew to a close.
In other election news, three local races developed after qualifying for county offices this year. County Chairman Neal Bennett faced a challenge from second district commissioner Mike Streat, school board chairman Duward Boatright faced a challenge by local pastor and veteran Morris Pate and Shawn Godwin, Graham Raley and Duane Hamelin announced plans to run for the district two commission seat. Hamelin became the first candidate in years to run as a write-in candidate. Election Day saw Bennett and Boatright as winners and Raley as the Republican nominee for the district two seat. Raley later was declared the winner of the district two seat after Hamelin’s write-in candidacy failed to garner enough signatures for him to be placed on the ballot. Local woman Marilyn Bennett became the first female ever and the first Pierce Countian in decades to be elected as District Attorney for the Waycross Judicial Circuit. In Blackshear, Mark Deal defeated Chris Drury to win a special election to complete the term of Linda Dennison, who died in office in July. A third candidate, Johnny Thigpen Jr., dropped out of the race before election day. In Patterson, Brian Herrin won a special election over Racquell Scott to complete the term of Joan Teglas-Duplessis, who died suddenly in February. Vivian Milledge was the lone qualifier in an Offerman special election to succeed Candace Thorne. Thorne died in office in 2021.
Number 5 – Local actors Nikki DeLoach and Braydan Kirkland make news: Blackshear actress Nikki DeLoach starred in Hallmark’s® first faith-based Christmas movie in December and then announced she had signed an exclusive, multi-project deal to act in and write content for the Hallmark ® Channel.
Braydan Kirkland, a 2022 graduate of Pierce County High School, became the first student in PCHS history to win three “Student Emmy” awards in the same year when he did so at the 2022 Student Production Awards (SPA) ceremony, held in July.
Number 6 – County, city, schools take on building and restoration projects: Several building projects are underway throughout the county. Renovations to Bear Stadium and to softball and baseball fields at the high school were completed in the fall and construction of a new ag center is now underway at the high school. A long-awaited renovation of the Blackshear Train Depot was completed in the spring, along with an expansion of the Pierce County Jail. The regional development authority also began work on a rail spur project in the U.S. Highway 84 Industrial Park. The county began plans for improvements to the recreation department on Ware Street and Blackshear made plans for improvements to the city park.
Number 7 – Hill sentenced to life in prison for murder of step-father: Denerio Dejuan Hill was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the October 2020 murder of his step-father, George Baker. Hill was found guilty of murdering Baker in Pierce County Superior Court in June. The Hill case dominated crime and punishment news in Pierce County during the year. There was a high security presence at the courthouse throughout the Hill trial.
Court documents show Hill had a history of disputes with Baker. Hill had previously been arrested in 2018 for shooting up Baker’s vehicle at the same address.
Number 7 – Magistrate Judge Glenda Dowling retires, County Manager Rubenbauer resigns: Magistrate Judge Glenda Dowling announced in May she would retire after 33 years of service. Dowling won a special election for the job in 1989 and was elected seven times to the job. Terry Thrift, former Georgia State Patrol Post Commander, was appointed to the job in June and will serve through the next election in 2024. County Manager Jason Rubenbauer resigned in November to take a job as director of the Waycross-Ware County Development Authority. Chuck Scragg was hired as interim manager. In the school system, Melanie Helms was appointed as director of finance succeeding Dr. Walker Todd, who left to become principal at Brantley County High School. Tony Gibson was hired to fill Helms’ job as assistant principal of PCHS. Patterson Elementary principal Teresa Dixon was appointed as the school system’s assessment support director and Clint Hodges was hired as assistant principal at Blackshear Elementary. Amanda Lankford was hired as principal at PES. Dr. Coriann Barclift was then hired to take Lankford’s assistant principal position at the school. Recreation director Will Watson resigned, becoming the latest in a series of short-tenured directors at the department. The county resurrected the recreation board in an effort to assist with the hiring of a new director and to help manage the department.
Number 8 – Teenager charged with cruelty to children; PCSO conducts sweeping drug bust; Chancey arrested in arson investigation: Another case garnering attention locally was the arrest of a Blackshear teenager who worked at a local day care. Kyla Henderson, 19, was arrested and charged with cruelty to children in late July after allegedly pushing down a toddler in a profanity laced video posted to a social media site.
Nineteen people were arrested and over $100,000 worth of illegal drugs taken off the streets in March as a result of drug eradication operations conducted by the Aggressive Criminal Enforcement (ACE) Team and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.
Two Pierce County men — including the lead defendant — pled guilty in August to federal charges in a Waycross area fentanyl and heroin trafficking operation. Eric Lashawn “Pee Wee” Hayes,” 28, and Preston Connor Luke, 27, both of Blackshear, were sentenced in federal court for their roles in trafficking fentanyl and heroin.
A Blackshear man was arrested and charged in connection with several arson fires in December. Joey Bryan Chancey Jr., 20, of Blackshear was charged with two counts of arson in the first degree in connection with a fire Nov. 23 and another Dec. 10 blaze at the same residence on Moore Street. He also reportedly confessed to four car fires that occurred in the same area.
Number 9 – Commissioners approve massive salary overhaul for county employees: County commissioners unanimously approved a massive $755,000 overhaul of county employee salaries. All county employees received raises. The raises averaged between $1,700 and $1,800 with the largest being $6,900. The changes went into effect April 23.
The cost of the salaries will be covered by $475,000 in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and approximately $280,000 from the county’s contingency fund.
Number 10 – Pierce County EMS re-opens for business: Pierce County EMS started answering calls Feb. 14. New EMS director Blake James took over leadership of the department as the county brought the service back in-house, after contracting it out to Grady/South Georgia EMS for two years.
