During Monday night’s Hogansville City Council meeting, Mayor Bill Stankiewicz announced that the hit TV show “The Walking Dead” will be in town all week filming. 

“They called us and [came back] based on the reception they received the last time they filmed here,” Stankiewicz said. “They found us to be receptive to them, the community, the businesses and the folk’s downtown that had to kind of shutter up, restrict their businesses. They enjoyed working here.” 

According to Stankiewicz, they had called Hogansville City Manager David Milliron who then took them around town to look for filming areas. 

The end of Main Street has been blocked off for filming. Stankiewicz said that they are filming in other disclosed locations, but due to crowd control and “Walker Stalkers” they are not revealing those locations. 

Due to the lack of quorum, the rest of the meeting consisted of honoring members of the community for their achievements. 

Brody Storey, a Hogansville Elementary School student was recognized for his acceptance into the Duke University TIP (Talent Identification) Program, a nonprofit organization that supports academically talented students in grades fourth through twelfth.

“That program is for high achievers,” Stankiewicz said. 

Members of the Hogansville Police Department were honored with lifesaving awards. 

“On Sep. 19 of this year Troup County had their valor awards and two of our officers were recognized for the Bronze Medal of Valor for a lifesaving event that occurred in May of 2018,” said HPD Chief Brian Harr. “Officers were dispatched and responded to an unresponsive male. No pulse, no sign of basically life.”  

HPD officers Nathan Smith and Shane Williams performed CPR and lifesaving tactics for 13 minutes. 

“By time the ambulance arrived, they transported the gentlemen with a pulse,” Harr said. 

On Sept. 25, the State Certification Joint Review Committee met and reviewed the June 2019 on site report for the HPD, which they were approved for recertification. 

The HPD was found to be in compliance with all 129 standards of the State of Georgia Law Enforcement Certification program. 

Harr said that the department would not have been able to accomplish that without HPD employee Michelle Toth, who was honored with a plaque as an expression of gratitude for her dedication and efforts toward the certification process. 

“This one person has to keep 20 something people in line all the time to achieve this,” Harr said. “Michelle, we can’t do it without you.” 

The Hogansville Conservation and Garden Club also honored Councilman Fred Higgins with the ECHO award. 

“ECHO stands for environmentally conscious homes and organizations,” club member Jenny Hall said. “This is the one award that is a little bit harder to give and a little bit special.

I think it’s a special award. We’re hoping that by receiving this award, the recipient will echo our sentiment and will proceed to keep trying to encourage other people to do things to help our city to keep it litter free, to make it more beautiful, whatever it takes.” 

Hall calls Higgins “the rose man,” because he helps take care of all the rose in town. 

“I think that is a special thing to do,” Hall said. “It isn’t a job that anyone asked him to do. He just does it for the better of Hogansville. This is a recognition for your passion, dedication and hard work in keeping Hogansville feel so beautiful.”