The Dodge County News

By Cindy M. Eckles

In a prepared statement, Dodge County Manager Spence Barron told a group of approximately 30 citizens an update on the situation and proposed solutions for the issues involving the Dodge County Courthouse closing. He stated that the meeting was two fold, being (1) to make sure the public was informed of what has occurred up to this meeting and (2) for the board of commissioners to make a decision to either bid the repairs to the temporary courthouse for a period of four weeks or more or to declare an emergency situation exists and waive the formal bidding process and begin work on the AT&T building.

Barron stated, “Our goal is to make the process as transparent as possible, to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money and to consider the will of the citizens of Dodge County”.

Barron went on to explain to citizens about the electrical and noxious smells in the courthouse along with the water flowing in the basement that had visible mold growing on the walls. He reminded citizens that the front attic space of the courthouse had most recently been remodeled in the late 1990s or early 2000s and that visibly there was termite damage, some leftover debris and even burned timber and scorch marks on some of the bricks in the attic from when the courthouse had burned.

With no visible pigeon debris or odor, he went on to explain how hard it was to gain access to the back attic, which was heavily infested with pigeon debris, live pigeons, dead pigeons and active nests. Barron added that there were still other attic spaces that they did not find a way to get in without removing interior drop ceilings in the offices.

Following the discovery of the pigeon problem, several abatement companies and certified industrial hygienist were consulted and all recommended that the courthouse be tested and inspected to determine the extent of possible contamination from the pigeon droppings. None of the abatement teams would commit to a firm price but speculated between $600,000.00 and $1.5 million to just clean and abate the pigeon infested areas. These costs did not include repairs to what was removed, repair and sealing of the basement, rewiring the building or replacing the contaminated air conditioning system.

After receiving this information, a joint decision between the county commissioners and court officials was made to close the courthouse until the risk could be accurately assessed.

County manager Barron was given authority by the board of commissioners to spend $25,000.00 to relocate the county offices and for testing at the February 6, 2019 meeting and a Judicial Emergency Order was issued and signed by Oconee Superior Court Chief Judge Sarah F. Wall and judges C. Michael Johnson and Howard C. Kaufold, Jr. that suspended deadlines and continued court terms immediately following the meeting.

Most of the offices were relocated to the back room of the Eastman-Dodge County Chamber of Commerce. When the testing results came back, contamination was found on both the first and second floors of the courthouse.

With county services and court functions having to continue, Barron and county commissioners met with the Eastman-Dodge Development Authority to find the most cost effective and functional solution for the county offices. They determined that the old AT&T building on Pearl Bates Avenue near the Dodge County High School would work and the county purchased the building for $5.00. It was determined that it was large enough to hold all the court officials, county officials and include functioning courtrooms.

Barron made it clear to citizens that no decisions regarding the future of the current courthouse had been made because accurate estimates of the cost of repairs to bring it back into operation had not determined. He added that he is preparing a detailed request for proposals to obtain accurate and time estimates to repair and upgrade the courthouse. Once those estimates are available, Barron stated that they (the estimates) would be made available to the public for input and discussion.
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By Joey Marchant
Dodge County began their 3AA Region schedule by hosting the Dublin Irish on March 5th. This is a baseball rivalry that dates back over one hundred twenty years long before the establishment of the two high schools. Old newspaper accounts from the Eastman Times reveal that Eastman’s first baseball club was formed in 1879. The first games were played on the courthouse grounds. By 1898, the towns of Eastman and Dublin had developed quite a rivalry. To put that in perspective, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox did not play their first game until 1901.
In 1948, the Georgia State Baseball League was formed with the Eastman Dodgers being one of six initial teams. In 1949, the Dublin Green Sox (later renamed the Dublin Irish) joined the league, and the rivalry continued. This was a Class D Minor League Baseball League. The league’s most famous former player is Hall of Famer Willie McCovey who played for the Sandersville Giants in 1955 batting .305 and hitting 19 homers at the tender age of 17. Former major leaguer Johnny Vander Meer, most famous for being the only player to throw consecutive no hitters in the majors, managed the Douglas Reds.
In 1950, Dublin finished first in the regular season five games ahead of Eastman, but Eastman took the championship 4 games to 3. Eastman was led at the plate by Ed Hartness who batted .400 and drove in 137 runs that year and on the mound by James Harden who went 22-12 with an ERA of 2.93. However, the most celebrated Dodger through the years has been Jim Harp, who played five seasons with the Dodgers posting a record of 90-50 with an ERA of 2.89. Harp, a native of Thomaston, remained in Eastman after his playing days where he raised his family before passing away in 2016 at the age of 92.
Like a lot of great things from the 1950s, minor league baseball fizzled out in rural Georgia. The Eastman Dodgers folded after the 1953 season. Legion Field grew up with vegetation, and is unrecognizable today. Dublin held on a bit longer. The Georgia State League folded in 1956. Dublin played in the Georgia-Florida League as an affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles in 1958. That year, the team was managed by a young Earl Weaver who would go on to become a Hall of Fame Manager with the big league Orioles. Dublin’s final stab at minor league baseball was as an affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves in 1962. Lovett Park fell into disrepair and was torn down in the late 1980s.
But high school baseball lives on in both Eastman and Dublin, and so does the rivalry. Dodge has had the upper hand in recent years as Dublin High’s enrollment has dwindled. This week would be no different. Landin Crummey took the mound for Dodge where he almost went the distance pitching six and two-thirds innings, striking out twelve, while allowing only three hits, issuing two walks and surrendering one unearned run. Dodge defeated the Irish 10-1.
Dublin actually took a 1-0 lead in the first thanks to a two out Dodge error followed by an RBI double. It would remain that way until the bottom of the third. Parker Hardin reached on an error. Timmy Johnson entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin and promptly stole second. Seth Cossett walked. Brendan O’Connor singled in Johnson tying the game at 1-1.
Dodge broke it open in the fourth. Andrew Lowery walked. Kaden Burse doubled to left giving the Indians runners on second and third with no outs. DJ Bursch reached on an error allowing Lowery to score and Burse to advance to third. Noah Mincey ripped a single to left driving in Burse and moving Bursch to second. Hardin flied out to centerfield. Cossett grounded out to short driving Bursch in. O’Connor singled Mincey home for the 5-1 lead.
Brodie Woodard led off the bottom of the fifth by reaching on an error. The hit and run worked to perfection as Woodard broke for second allowing Lowery to single to center. Woodard was held at second. Burse attempted to move the runners to second and third and was awarded a hit when no one covered first base on his bunt. With the bases loaded, everyone advanced on a wild pitch scoring Woodard. Bursch then hit a sacrifice fly to left scoring Lowery and advancing Burse to third. Mincey then hit a sacrifice fly to center scoring Burse and making it 8-1 Dodge.
O’Connor reached on an error with one out in the sixth. Garrett Durden drove O’Connor in with a triple. Brodie Woodard grounded out driving in Durden making it 10-1 Dodge.
Crummey struck out the first two batters he faced in the top of the seventh before walking the third batter. Garrett Durden came in to record the final out. Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows:
Brendan O’Connor was 2 for 4 with two RBI and one run scored. Garrett Durden was 1 for 4 with a triple, one RBI and one run scored. Andrew Lowery was 1 for 4 with one walk and two runs scored. Kaden Burse was 2 for 3 with a double and two runs scored. Noah Mincey was 1 for 2 with two RBI and one run scored.
On March 6th, Dodge traveled to Fitzgerald to face the Purple Hurricanes in a non region contest. Parker Gay took the mound for Dodge. Due to the schedule and a couple of rain outs, Gay was pitching on eleven days rest. While this was good from the standpoint of getting Gay some rest before a crucial stretch of region games, it is not ideal to have such a long layoff between appearances and often can affect a pitcher’s control. As expected, Gay did not have his best stuff. His strikeouts were down, and his walks were up by Gay’s standards. However, he still went the distance and pitched well enough for Dodge to have a shot at winning the game. Gay went six innings striking out two and issuing six bases on balls while hitting one batter. However, Gay only allowed three hits. He surrendered five runs in a 5-4 loss to the Canes. At times, the Dodge defense was brilliant. However, there was one costly error.
Dodge took an early 1-0 lead when Brodie Woodard reached on an error with two outs and Andrew Lowery singled putting runners at first and third. With Kaden Burse at the plate, Coach Herring signaled for Lowery to break for second before the pitch and intentionally get caught in a rundown hoping to score Woodard from third. The Canes could not resist going after Lowery who was obstructed by the first baseman who did not have the ball. By rule, Lowery was called safe at first, and Woodard scored on the play. Dodge then had some bad luck trying to hit and run. Kaden Burse hit what would have been a base hit up the middle, but with Lowery running, the second baseman headed toward the bag and was in perfect position to field the ground ball and step on second for the force.
Fitzgerald went in order in the first, which was highlighted by a diving stop by Noah Mincey at first base who got up to throw to Gay covering first base for the out.
Dodge went in order in the second. Gay walked two batters in the bottom of the second, but he worked around those. The key to the inning was Woodard fielding a one out ground ball in the hole at short. There was a runner on second, and Woodard had almost no chance to get the batter at first. Instead, he threw behind the runner at second to Garrett Durden. The runner had no choice but to head for third where he was tagged by Burse for the easy out.
Brendan O’Connor walked and stole second in the third. Woodard singled, but O’Connor was thrown out at the plate for the third out. Fitzgerald got to Gay in the bottom of the third. A leadoff walk, a sacrifice bunt, and an infield hit gave the Canes runners at second and third with one out. A Dodge fielding error allowed a run to score. Another walk loaded the bases. Gay then issued a third walk in the inning forcing a run home. With the bases still loaded, Gay induced a ground ball to Burse who stepped on third base for the force, but another run scored. Gay got the next batter to fly out to center to end the inning. Fitzgerald led 3-1.
Dodge battled back in the fourth. Burse reached on an error. DJ Bursch singled giving Dodge runners at first and second. Both advanced on a wild pitch. Another wild pitch scored Burse cutting the lead to 4-3 Canes. Fitzgerald went in order in the bottom of the fourth.
Neither team scored in the fifth. Dodge went quietly in the sixth. Fitzgerald tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth on a hit batsman, a sacrifice bunt, and a base hit making it 5-3 Canes. O’Connor, an infielder his whole life, made a diving catch to end the inning in left field where the coaching staff is looking for solid defense. Durden who has been the designated hitter during the early part of the season was flawless at second in place of O’Connor.
Dodge was down to their last out in the seventh when Hardin walked. Timmy Johnson entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin. Johnson moved to second on a wild pitch. Then O’Connor doubled down the right field line scoring Johnson to cut the deficit to 5-4. Dodge had the tying run at second, but could not drive him in dropping this one to Fitzgerald. Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Brendan O’Connor was 1 for 3 with a double, one RBI, and one stolen base. Brodie Woodard was 1 for 3 with one run scored. Andrew Lowery was 1 for 3. DJ Bursch was 2 for 3.
On March 8th, Dodge visited Dublin to face the Irish. Brodie Woodard started on the mound for Dodge. He went the distance scattering three hits over five innings striking out six and walking two to earn his first win of the season in a 13-0 Dodge victory.
Dodge wasted no time getting on the board in the first. Brendan O’Connor and Garrett Durden each walked. Woodard singled to left scoring O’Connor. Noah Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for Woodard. DJ Bursch walked to load the bases. Andrew Lowery doubled driving in Durden and Cummings. Kaden Burse hit a sacrifice fly to left scoring Bursch. Noah Mincey singled scoring Lowery. Parker Harden singled scoring Mincey. Landin Crummey entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin. Seth Cossett doubled home Crummey. When the dust settled, Dodge led 7-0 after one.
Timmy Johnson made a diving catch in left to end the bottom of the first with Dodge still leading 7-0.
Dodge tacked on a run in the second when Bursch walked, went to second on a balk, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Lowery making it 8-0 Dodge.
Dodge tacked on another run in the third when Hardin was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a passed ball and advanced to third on a wild pitch. O’Connor grounded out, but drove in Hardin making it 9-0 Dodge.
Dodge added three more runs in the fourth. Lowery had a base hit, but he was erased when Burse hit into a fielder’s choice. Mincey had a base hit advancing Burse to third. Hardin was again hit by a pitch to load the bases. Crummey entered for Hardin as a courtesy runner. Cossett was hit by a pitch plating Burse. O’Connor was then hit by a pitch plating Mincey. Durden was walked plating Crummey. Dodge led 12-0.
Dodge would add a final run in the fifth when Roper Weathersbee walked and stole second. Weathersbee went to third on a wild pitch. After a fly out by Dodge, Cummings walked. Macky Rowland then doubled to left scoring Weathersbee to cap the scoring.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Brodie Woodard was 1 for 4 with one RBI and one run scored. Andrew Lowery was 2 for 2 with a double, three RBI and one run scored. Noah Mincey was 2 for 3 with two runs scored. Parker Hardin was 1 for 1 reaching twice on a hit batsman with an RBI and a run scored. Seth Cossett was 1 for 1 with a double, a walk and reached on a hit batsman with two RBI and a stolen base.
Dodge (5-2) was to host West Laurens (9-3) on March 11th for a non region game and travel to Bleckley (6-6) on March 12th for a region game, but no results were available at press time. This will be a huge week in region play as Dodge will also host Bleckley on the March 15th. Both teams are thought to be among the best in the region, and both enter the week 2-0 in region play.

By Mary Beth Dopson
Continuing a strong season, the Dodge County High School tennis teams defeated their sixth opponent, Dublin City, on March 5th. Both the boy’s and the girl’s teams were victorious in their region match.
The girl’s team won 4-1 against the Dublin Irish. No.1 singles for the girls, Mary Beth Dopson, won a great match with a score of 6-1, 6-4. No. 3 singles, Mattie Grace Hutcheson, conquered her opponent in a quick match winning 6-2, 6-0. No.1 doubles team, Abby Christian Manning and Abbey Manning, won with ease at 6-1, 6-0. No.2 doubles team, Olivia Cranford and Precious Coleman, also pulled out a great win.
The boy’s team reigned victorious with a 4-1 win over the Dublin Irish. No.1 singles, Jaret Underwood, dominated the court with a 6-1, 6-0 win. No.2 singles, Nathan Newman, won with an awesome score of 6-3, 6-4. No.3 singles, Dane Hardin, also defeated his opponent. No.1 doubles team, Jason Peterson and Orlanda Brown, had a strong match win of 6-1, 6-4.
The Indians will compete against Bleckley on Tuesday, March 12th and Telfair on Wednesday, March 13th at home.

By Joey Marchant
Dodge’s junior varsity team continued its season last week losing to West Laurens and defeating Rutland High of Macon to even their season record at 2 wins, 2 loses and 1 tie. Dodge hosted West Laurens on February 26th in another junior varsity game that would be decided by a single run. Dodge had previously lost one run games to Irwin and Fitzgerald.
Austin Cannon started on the mound for Dodge holding West Laurens scoreless through five innings. Dodge built a 2-0 lead going to the sixth, but West Laurens took a 3-2 lead in the sixth. West Laurens added two more runs in the top of the seventh to lead 5-2.
Dodge loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Kade Harpe drilled one to deep leftfield on what appeared to be a game tying double. However, the runner representing the game tying run fell rounding third base and had to retreat. Dodge could not get the tying run in and lost this one 5-4.
Dodge looked to bounce back at home on March 7th against the Rutland Hurricanes. Tyler Shields started on the mound for Dodge and went the distance scattering five hits over five innings with one walk and one hit batsman. He gave up three runs and struck out nine batters.
Shields was strong through the first four innings holding Rutland scoreless.
Dodge got on the scoreboard in the second. Macky Rowland reached on an error. Brady Moore singled advancing Rowland to third. Aren Barden entered as a courtesy runner for Moore. Griffin Durden singled scoring Rowland and advancing Barden to second. Barden stole third base and later scored on a wild pitch.
Trase Moore hit an absolute rocket which deflected off the pitcher’s glove. Moore was safe at first as Durden scored from third giving Dodge a 3-0 lead after two.
Dodge continued to score in the third. Kade Harpe reached on an error. Noah Cummings singled to left advancing Harpe to second. Rowland singled driving in Harpe and advancing Cummings to third. Rowland took second on the throw home. Brady Moore reached on an error allowing Cummings to score. Barden entered as a courtesy runner for Moore and stole second. Gage Pitman singled scoring Rowland and Barden to make it 7-0 Dodge.
Dodge added to the lead in the fourth. Davis Marchant hit a bloop single. Harpe grounded out to short while Marchant alertly took second and third as the first baseman held the ball. Cummings walked. Rowland singled to left to score Marchant. Brady Moore singled to left to score Cummings and advance Rowland to second. Barden entered as a courtesy runner for Moore. Durden doubled scoring Rowland and advancing Barden to third. Gage Pittman reached on an error by the shortstop, which also allowed Barden and Durden to score. Marchant singled in Pittman making it 13-0 Dodge.
Rutland would score three runs of their own in the seventh, but Dodge won by a final score of 13-3. Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Trase Moore was 1 for 3 with one RBI and one stolen base. Davis Marchant was 3 for 4 with one RBI, one run scored and one stolen base. Noah Cummings was 1 for 2 with two runs scored and one walk. Macky Rowland was 2 for 3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Brady Moore was 2 for 3 with one RBI. Griffin Durden was 2 for 3 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. Gage Pittman was 1 for 3 with two RBI and one run scored. Aren Barden stole two bases and scored three runs.
Dodge JV was scheduled to travel to Bleckley County to face the Royals on March 12th, but no results were available at press time. Dodge JV will be at West Laurens on March 13th at 5:30 pm. Dodge will host Vidalia on March 18th in a double header consisting of two five inning games scheduled to start at 4:00 pm.