VALDOSTA — A pair of inmates received additional charges this week when they reportedly phoned a bomb threat from the Lowndes County Jail to South Georgia Medical Center Tuesday, according to the Valdosta Police Department.

Kareem Ladonald Foster, 23, and Asa Brandon Balloon, 18, are charged with terroristic threats and acts, a felony charge, Valdosta Police Chief Brian Childress said Friday.

One individual dialed the phone, the other made the threat, and both men laughed about it, said Valdosta Police Cmdr. Leslie Manahan.

Authorities evacuated the area where the threat was said to be located and sent bomb dogs through, but nothing was detected, said Childress who thanked SGMC’s staff and security forces for their cooperation and assistance. With the bomb threat ruled false, authorities traced the source of the call back to the Lowndes County Jail, the chief said.

“Both of them were already in custody at the county jail and for one reason or another,” said Childress, “they called out from the jail, which they have the right to do. But those phone calls are in fact monitored by the county jail. So as part of our investigation, we tracked the number back there. The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office did a tremendous job helping us with the follow-up on this case.”

ADEL — A public indecency call late Friday afternoon led to the seizure of a marijuana grow house, 38 mature plants, and the arrest of an Echols County man, according to the Echols County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies arrested Jose Sanchez and he is charged with trafficking marijuana, manufacturing marijuana, possession of tools used in the commission of a crime and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, said Echols County Sheriff Randy Courson.

On Friday afternoon, Echols sheriff’s deputies received a complaint of public indecency. Deputies arrived at a 2300 block Highway 129 residence. When a man answered the door, “deputies noticed an odor of marijuana,” Courson said.

Deputies secured the resident while investigators applied for a search warrant.  “After obtaining the search warrant for the residence and property, deputies discovered a Hydroponics indoor marijuana grow in an outbuilding behind (the) residence,” Courson said.

Authorities seized 38 mature marijuana plants, prepared marijuana, all weighing 83 pounds, and with an estimated street value of approximately a half-million dollars, Courson said. Two firearms and tools used to manufacture marijuana were seized. Sanchez was taken Friday evening to the Lowndes County Jail.

Morven, GA — Peach tarts, peach ice cream, a peach parade and the Peach Queen — it’s time for the 26th Annual Morven Peach Festival.

Held each year at Ernest Lawson Park in the middle of Morven, right off Highway 133, the festival is the city’s largest fundraising event each year. Dozens of arts and crafts and food vendors will be on hand from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18. The festival opens at 9 a.m. with a Zumbathon, according to members of the Peach Committee, followed by the judging of the peach cooking contest.

Dishes are entered in one of three categories: dessert, main dish and miscellaneous. And of course, they must include the festival’s namesake — peaches.

Following the contest, live entertainment will be provided by Trailer of Tears, an area band, at 10:30 a.m.

“The Peach Parade is at 2 p.m. and the Brooks County Trojans are the grand marshals,” said organizer and Morven City Clerk Sandy Rentz.

The Peach Queen and her court will be at the festival and in the parade, and organizers said if there are any latecomers who want to participate in the parade, they are welcome, as long as they check in with the committee members.

VALDOSTA — An 11-year-old has been charged with arson after reportedly starting a fire in a Lowndes Middle School restroom on a dare earlier this week, according to the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Thursday.

At approximately 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, sheriff’s deputies and Lowndes County Fire Rescue firefighters responded to Lowndes Middle School, 2379 Copeland Road, for a fire in a restroom, said Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine in a release.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze which was contained to a trash can in a boy’s restroom. The bathroom sustained minimal smoke damage. Classes resumed shortly after the fire was extinguished.

During the fire investigation, an 11-year-old student was identified. During interviews, authorities learned that the student had set the fire based on the dare of another student, according the sheriff’s office.

The juvenile, whose name will not be released, has been charged with arson in the second degree and has been referred to the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. This investigation is ongoing and additional arrests may be possible.

Prine asks that anyone with information on this event to contact the sheriff’s office investigative division, (229) 671-2950. Anonymous tips may be provided at (229) 671-2985; or online at www.lowndessheriff.com

VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Police Department has offered to exchange $2,500 for a name or any other information that leads to the arrest of the persons responsible for the murder and robbery that took place at a beauty shop last Friday night.

Investigators would rather not wait for evidence analysis to return before making an arrest in the case, according to Police Chief Brian Childress, who confirmed that authorities had advised the family of Kanwaljit Spai, 62, that police were offering a reward for information.

“I want to be clear, in stating that we have evidence in the case that we have submitted to both the VLRCL (Valdosta Lowndes Regional Crime lab) and GBI crime labs. It’s just a matter of waiting for it to be analyzed,” said Childress. “But in the meantime, we want the offender or offenders in custody quickly. We’re offering a $2,500 reward to anyone who provides us with information that leads to the arrest of the offender or offenders in this case.”

Last Friday, at approximately 10 p.m., police officers responded to a reported shooting at the Ashley Beauty Supply store at 1507 North Ashley Street. Spai was apparently closing the business for the night when the gunman held up the business.

Investigators aren’t ruling out the possibility of more than one person being involved in this case, according to Childress, who cautioned that the approach didn’t necessarily mean that multiple people were involved in the shooting and robbery.

There was no evidence found that indicates the incident was gang-related, according to Childress, and there was no cause to seize the video poker terminals that were discovered at the back of the store and later processed by crime scene technicians.

“There’s a statute that allows businesses to operate a set number of machines of the type we found, so long as if you operate the machines, you can’t hand out monetary rewards because that constitutes gambling in the state of Georgia. Do we believe they were or were not involved in illegal gambling at the facilities? I’m not willing to say right now. But we don’t think this was a random thing. We think for one reason or another, some one targeted that business,” Childress said.

Police will accept anonymous tips, but tipsters will need to identify themselves in order to claim the reward, stated Childress. Detectives have pursued several leads and have followed up on persons who they felt may be pertinent to the case. Police aren’t ruling out anyone at this point.

Tips may be provided to the Valdosta Lowndes Regional Crime Lab at 293-3091 or to the police department’s lead detective at 229-293-3111. Tipsters may also visit the Valdosta Police Department in person at 500 North Toombs Street.

VALDOSTA — From the Valdosta Police Department:

On May16, 2013, police were called to 825 Bethune St., regarding a dispute.  Upon arrival, police located a 58-year-old female victim who stated she had been attacked, after an argument, by her son, inside their home.  The victim had a cut to the back of her neck and stated that her son had cut her.  She also stated he had used a stun gun on her.  The victim had ran out of her house to the neighbor’s house calling for help as he son fled the residence on foot.  Police arrested the son a short time later not far from the crime scene.  A knife was located in the residence that may have been used in the assault.  A stun gun was not located.  The victim was transported to South Georgia Medical Center for treatment.  Dexter C. Harding, 26, is charged with Aggravated Assault (Family Violence) and is currently being held at the Lowndes County Jail, according to the VPD.

VALDOSTA — Lowndes County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bill Slaughter missed the work session Monday morning due to illness, but Commissioner Joyce Evans successfully chaired the brief meeting in his absence.

The Board moved through a short agenda of two appointments, a rezoning, two alcohol licenses, a bid for street paving and two other issues in about 15 minutes.

Jeff Sikes and J. Kevin McCraney submitted applications to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Airport Authority seat to be vacated by Wayne Edwards later this month. The Board will appoint one of these men to the position Tuesday evening.

Sikes is the President/CEO of 1st America Drugs, 1st America Drug Services and 1st America Home Equipment, and McCraney is the South Region External Affairs Manager for Georgia Power.

The Board will also decide whether to re-appoint South Georgia Community Service Board Chairperson Shamb Purohit, whose term expires in June.

County Planner Jason Davenport presented the Commission with a proposal to rezone a 2.7-acre property at 4850 Peat Moss Road from Suburban Density Residential to Low Density Residential, so that the owner can add a second building. The owners could have chosen to subdivide their property, but instead chose to rezone, Davenport said.

The Board considered a beer license for consumption off-premises for C&M Country Store at 2295 New Statenville Highway and a beer and wine license for Quick Change #3 at 4592 North Valdosta Road, both due to a change in ownership.

Commissioners discussed whether to issue a Trust Indenture to the Valdosta Islamic Center for a private water well at the group’s new church, the Merciful Community Center located at 5426 Old U.S. 41 North. The Trust Indenture is a requirement of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and places management responsibility in the hands of the well owners and not the County.

The Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority proposed the sale of a small one-room building in Clyattville Park for disposal. The building does not meet the Authority’s current needs, and the proposal is intended to ensure the County consents to the disposal.

The Board discussed a construction bid in the amount of $495,845 for soil cement, bituminous prime with sand, and paving for Bayhill Drive, Pinewood Drive, Grand Pine Drive, Glenn Hill Drive, Bay Wood Drive, Bemiss Knights Academy Road North, a portion of Old Bemiss Road, Payton Place and Dodd Road.

The Scruggs Company holds the low bid, and the funding source for the projects is the Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) program through the Georgia Department of Transportation. Bayhill, Pinewood and Grand Pine drives are 80 percent ready to begin the construction projects.

The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners will hold its regular meeting tonight at 5:30 p.m. in the commission’s chambers.