EDITORS NOTE: This is the third of a four part series looking back at the year 2018 in Troup County:

July 2

Boyd retires, passes gavel to Wade

Judge Donald Boyd celebrated his retirement in July and swore Chief Probate Judge Debbie Wade in as the new probate judge in July. Boyd served as the probate judge for almost 18 full years.

July 6

Roger’s Bar-B-Que reopens in Hogansville

Following a March fire, Roger’s Bar-B-Que reopened in Hogansville in late June. 

July 13

Animals saved from ‘horrendous conditions’

Twenty one dogs were rescued from a house in Hogansville in July. Authorities said the animals were living in “horrendous” conditions in the home, which included large amounts of animal feces and showed signs of rodent infestation. Bobby McCoy, 27, was arrested and charged with neglect by caregiver and cruelty to animals.

July 19

New scoreboard up at Callaway Stadium

The scoreboard, which was ready for the start of football season, was up by July. The new board cost around $400,000, with many different entities paying a portion of the funding.

July 21

GDOT awards contract for Bridge

The Greenville Street Bridge in LaGrange has been closed since 2016, but it’s under repair thanks to an $8.9 million grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation.

July 23

Man shot, killed on Houston St.

John Davis, 40, was killed after the car he was driving in was shot at in July. Davis was in the car with a 15-year-old and a friend when a suspect opened fire. Davis was transported to a Columbus hospital and was declared deceased. The other two victims suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Benatar ends Sweetland Series

Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo ended the Summer Sweetland Concert Series in July. The concert sold around 2,000 tickets.

Aug. 6

Puppies adopted at training camp

Fifty five puppies transported through Puppy Pipeline were adopted at Cleveland Browns’ training camp.

Aug. 7

Winning lottery ticket claimed

A winning Fantasy 5 lottery ticket purchased in Hogansville was claimed in August, making someone fairly rich. Two winning tickets were sold for the nearly $1.4 million prize.

Aug. 9

LFD earns accreditation

The LaGrange Fire Department became the tenth in Georgia to earn accreditation from the Commission of Fire Accreditation International in August. It was a three-year process for the LFD to earn the accreditation.

Aug. 14

BOE accepts Pugh’s resignation

The Troup County School Board accepted Dr. Cole Pugh’s resignation during its August board meeting. Dr. Roy Nichols was named as Pugh’s replacement. Pugh was paid his remaining salary of $152,891 as part of the resignation agreement.

Aug. 17

Inmates escape from jail

Two inmates escaped from the Troup County Jail in August. Eric Calvin Bell, 28, and Thomas Christopher Cuddington, 28, were discovered missing around 8 a.m. on Aug. 16. They escaped through the roof. Both were caught within a week and sent back to jail.

Aug. 21

TCSO recovers body of missing kayaker

The body of 24-year-old Maranda Whitten was found at West Point Lake in August. After a three-day search by authorities, Whitten’s body was found and her death was ruled a suicide.

Aug. 28

Troup BOE approves gym budget

The Troup County Board of Education approved a guaranteed maximum price of $14.1 million for the Troup County High gymnasium. The cost increased from the $12.6 million price the board approved in October 2017. Tariffs and a general increase in price for construction material was blamed for the cost increase.

Sept. 1

BANK on South Davis RD robbed

CharterBank on South Davis Road was robbed after a white male handed a note to a teller demanding money. No one was injured in the robbery and the man left with an undisclosed amount of money.

Sept. 4

Firefighters HURT in LABOR DAY blaze

Six LaGrange Fire Department firefighters were injured in a house fire on the 300 block Revis Street in September. Four firefighters — Josh Williams, Jonathan Williamson, Pete Trujillo and Jordan Avera — were severely injured in the fire and were hospitalized for weeks afterwards.

Sept. 7

Walking Dead films in Hogansville

The hit AMC series filmed an episode of its ninth season in downtown Hogansville in September.

Sept. 11

LPD K9 Chico passes away

K9 officer Chico, who served for the LaGrange Police Department from 2010 until 2018, died in September. Chico died of cancer. His handler was Wendy Bryant.

Sept. 12

Chamber gives out Valor awards

The LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce presented its Valor Awards in September, which recognizes local first responders in the community. Jeremey Jones of the LPD was named Public Safety Person of the Year and the LaGrange Fire Department, Troup County Fire Department and LaGrange Police Department were named Public Safety Unit of the Year. There were countless other winners.

Sept. 14

Shelter takes in animals in storm’s path

The LaGrange Animal Shelter took in nearly 70 animals being evacuated from Hilton Head, South Carolina due to Hurricane Florence. Fifty cats and 16 dogs were taken in.

Sept. 18

Walk to End Alzheimer’s

Around 250 people took part in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s at Vernon Woods Retirement Community in September. The goal for the walk was to raise $58,000. By the day of the walk about half of that goal was raised with donations still coming in.

Sept. 20

Graduation rates on the rise

The Troup County School System saw its graduation rate rise to 84.1 percent, an increase from last year’s 78 percent. Troup High School’s graduation rate was 87.2 percent, LaGrange High School’s was 81.9 percent and Callaway High School’s was 84.1 percent.

Sept. 25

Man hit, killed by train

Josh David Pursley, 38, was struck by a train and killed in Hogansville. He was from Tennessee.