Evacuations ordered because of wildfire, though many stay put
Janet L. Fricks
Mrs. Janet L. Fricks, age 78, of Rome passed away Sunday, May 7, 2017 at her residence.
Funeral services will be held at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at North Rome Church of God with Pastor Terry Addis officiating. Interment will follow in Oaknoll Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends from 1:00 p.m. until the hour of service on Wednesday at North Rome Church of God, 1929 North Broad Street, Rome, GA 30161.
A complete obituary will follow in Wednesday’s edition of the Rome News-Tribune.
Parnick Jennings, Sr.’s Good Shepherd Funeral Home, 2750 Shorter Ave., Rome, GA 30165, has charge of arrangements.
Shelia Ann Hays Vines
Shelia Ann Hays Vines, age 65, of Rome, passed away Saturday, May 6, 2017 at her residence.
Shelia was born March 16, 1952 in Floyd County, a daughter of the late Eugene Hays and Annie Mae Pelfrey Hays. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Christie Vines, and sister, Shelbia Hays.
Survivors include her husband, Warren Vines, Jr.; son and daughter-in-law, Trey and Kathy Vines, Panama City Beach, FL; grandchildren, Kelson Vines, Morgan Vines, Kensley Langley, and Bordy Haney; great-grandchildren, Hunter Grace Adams and Brantley Vines; brothers, Ray Hays and Doug Hays; sister, Janice Johnson; step father-in-law, Larry Borders; several nieces and nephews also survive.
Funeral services will be held at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday at Good Shepherd Funeral Home Chapel, with the Rev. Joey Ineichen officiating. The family will receive friends from 2:00 P.M. until the service hour on Tuesday at Good Shepherd Funeral Home, 2750 Shorter Ave. Rome, GA 30165.
Please visit our website, www.goodshepherdfh.net, to post your tributes.
Parnick Jennings, Sr.’s Good Shepherd Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.
Betty Bryson Frazier
Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Bryson Frazier, age 84, of Rome, died Saturday, May 6, 2017.
Mrs. Frazier was born December 14, 1932, the daughter of the late Elizabeth Daniel Bryson and James W. Bryson. Her mother died in 1935, and she was lovingly raised by her fraternal grandmother, Helen Bryson, and her father, Jim Bryson. She was also preceded in death by her husband Bob, a daughter, Frances, and her brother Bill Bryson.
She attended Central Primary, Neely, and graduated from Girls High School in 1950. She was employed by Dr. Robert Woodruff as his dental assistant and remained there until her marriage to her high school sweetheart, Bobby Frazier, in 1954. At the time Mr. Frazier was a member of the U.S. Army and was being deployed to Tokyo, Japan. His new bride joined him Betty Bryson Frazier SOUTH CHAPEL
Mr. James Douglas “Doug” Seals, age 77, of Silver Creek, passed away Sunday, May 7, 2017, at his residence.
Mr. Seals was born in Rome, GA on October 9, 1939, son of the late Harrison Seals and the late Vivian Watson Tucker. He was a veteran of the United States Navy, serving as a radio operator on the U. S. S. Pickaway and the U. S. S. Summit County during the Vietnam War era. Prior to his retirement, he was an insurance professional in our area for over 50 years, serving in sales and management. Upon his retirement, he was employed with United Insurance Co. of America. A member of First Baptist Church of Lindale, Mr. Seals was a member of the Joyful Hearts Choir, the Triple L. Club, and served as an usher. He was an active member of the Adult Men’s Sunday School Class and the Senior Adult Ministries. He was an avid fisherman and hunter, loved golf, and was well known for his smoked meat. Mr. Seals was a member of the American Legion Post #136 in Lindale.
Survivors include his wife, the former Shirley Teems, to whom he was married on March 1, 1963; a daughter, Cyndi Seals Yearous, and her husband, Danny, Silver Creek; two grandchildren, Sky Yearous, and his fiancée, Hannah Fox, Augusta, and Abby Yearous, and her fiancé, Ben Skeen, Silver Creek; a sister, Doma Wheeling, Cedar Bluff, AL; two special cousins, Tom and Dewey Watson, both of Rome; nieces and nephews also survive.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, May 12, 2017, at 1 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Lindale with the Rev. Kevin Boyd officiating and with his daughter, Cyndi Yearous, and Max Hill delivering eulogies. The American Legion Post #5 Honor Guard will extend military honors.
A visitation reception will follow the service in the Christian Life Center at First Baptist Church of Lindale. Mr. Seals’ remains will be placed at Georgia National Cemetery in Canton.
Honorary pallbearers will include members of the Adult Men’s Sunday School Class at First Baptist Church of Lindale and should assemble at the church on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Heyman Hospice Care at Floyd, P. O. Box 163, Rome, GA 30162-0163.
Henderson & Sons Funeral Home, South Chapel, has charge of the funeral arrangements. James Douglas Seals
ST. GEORGE — The wildfire burning for weeks in southeast Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp had gotten so close that Mason Pair could see its orange glow through the trees as large flakes of ash rained down around his home in St. George.
Facing an evacuation order, Pair and his wife packed up their valuables and had a ladder standing by to put sprinklers on their roof as the flames approached over the weekend.
But like many in this small community of about 2,000 near the Georgia-Florida state line, they remained home Monday rather than leave everything to the mercy of the flames now burning less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the center of town.
“It’s a little unnerving,” said the 26-year-old resident. “But the flames are going to have to push people out of here.”
Emergency officials in south Georgia’s Charlton County ordered a mandatory evacuation Sunday for all of St. George and for nearby Moniac, small rural communities on the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp.
Lightning sparked a wildfire on April 6 inside the vast Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. The blaze posed little threat to people or homes
MACON (AP) — A Georgia teenager is in stable condition after being shot in the chest and walking up to 2 miles home for help.
Bibb County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that 16-year-old Daebreon Mims was shot late Friday night while walking with a friend. The two then walked to Mims’ home on Crystal Lake Circle, which is up to 2 miles from Robin Hood Road, where he was shot.
A fire truck passes as a plume of smoke rising from a wildfire burning Monday just outside the town of St. George. Officials placed the town under a mandatory evacuation.
until Saturday, when strong winds pushed the flames across the fire breaks plowed along the refuge perimeter.
As of Monday, the fire had burned 210 square miles, including about 37 square miles (95 square kilometers) in Charlton County. Pair said perhaps half of his neighbors had heeded the order to evacuate.
Officials weren’t forcing people to leave their homes, but were urging them to get out before the fire gets any closer, said Susan Heisey, supervisory ranger for the Okefenokee refuge.
“The accumulated moisture in the vegetation is at record-breaking lows right now,” said Heisey, a spokeswoman for the command team fighting the blaze. “These fuels, they’re getting one little piece of ash and the fire’s just picking up and moving.”
More than 600 firefighters and support personnel were fighting the fire Monday. Helicopters dumping water and tanker planes spraying fire retardant managed to keep the fire from St. George homes over the weekend. Firefighters with tractor plows worked to carve a Russ Bynum / The Associated Press
path of bare soil around the town to form a barrier. Charlton County schools were closed Monday because of the blaze and a shelter was opened at a recreation center a safe distance away.
James and Lisa Burnsed drove the 10 miles from their home in Moniac to the four-way stop with a small grocery on one corner that’s the center St. George. The fire had jumped across Georgia Highway 94, their main evacuation route, late Sunday and they wanted to see if there was still a clear way out Monday.