Andrew Carroll, The Upson Beacon Journalist Profile

Articles

T-U Rec Announces 14U Baseball All-Stars

2 weeks ago | upsonbeacon.com | Andrew Carroll

The Thomaston-Upson Recreation Department announced its spring 2025 14U baseball All-Star team on Thursday, May 19. The 14U All-Stars are Adein Montgomery, Gabine Troop, Chance Partin, Brenton Glover, Tomorris Daniel, Tristin Caldwell, Ethan Tidwell, Derreck Hobbs Jr., Carter O’Dell, Caleb Sauls, AJ Thompson, Steven Millen, William Morgan, Deigo Ramirez, Eli Brawner, Levi Howard, and Jordan Stoll. The team is coached by Mason Bridges, Ben James, and Seth Morgan.
Project SEARCH Hosts First Graduation Ceremony

2 weeks ago | upsonbeacon.com | Andrew Carroll

Students in the first class of Thomaston’s Project SEARCH program received diplomas on Monday evening inside the Upson Regional Medical Center Auditorium. A large crowd of parents, hospital staff, and Thomaston-Upson School System staff gathered in the auditorium to celebrate the occasion. The first class featured 10 graduates: Wyatt Benson; Everette Bridges; Zymir Carnell; Cameron Cochran; Destiny Davison; Sy Hutchens; Allen Piper; Adam Roberson; Emily Teague; and Amy Williams.
10U Baseball Crowns Champs, All-Stars

2 weeks ago | upsonbeacon.com | Andrew Carroll

The 10U spring baseball season came to an end Thursday, May 15 for the Thomaston-Upson Recreation Department with a fantastic game that closed out an equally fantastic season. In what turned into a pitchers’ duel between the White Sox’s Reid Mallory, and the Rays’ Rowan Basilici, it was the Rays which came out victoriously, 7-2.
Knights Searching for Line Depth Ahead of Spring Game

3 weeks ago | upsonbeacon.com | Andrew Carroll

Upson-Lee hosts Griffin High School at Matthews Field on Friday at 7 p.m. for the annual spring football game. Spring practice started on May 1, and the Knights have been hard at work to get prepared for the game. The biggest word and concern for Head Coach Justin Elder was “depth.”“Just trying to gain some depth,” said Coach Elder. “O-line and D-line really trying to gain depth. Our best offensive line is our best defensive line.
Stewart’s ‘Sway’

3 weeks ago | upsonbeacon.com | Andrew Carroll

Stewart Bowers took over as the full-time athletic trainer for Upson-Lee last season and has brought several changes to the program, but his latest addition to the medical repertoire at U-L could have lasting effects for the lives of the student-athletes under his care. During basketball and wrestling season, Bowers introduced a new approach to handling concussions at U-L. Called the “Sway” app, Bowers stated that it gives him new tools in a modern era to keep up with concussions.
‘Purple Rain’ Doesn’t Stop ‘Rock the Block’

3 weeks ago | upsonbeacon.com | Andrew Carroll

For the first time, Thomaston-Upson Chamber of Commerce’s “Rock the Block” series concert was held indoors at The Ritz Theatre due to weather conditions. But in show business, the show must go on, and Marshall Charloff & The Purple Xperience had attendees on their feet for a Prince tribute show.
Blakely Receives Barron Gulley Scholarship

3 weeks ago | upsonbeacon.com | Andrew Carroll

Upson-Lee golfer Cason Blakely received the third annual Barron Gulley Memorial Scholarship on Friday. The scholarship is given each year to a member of the Upson-Lee golf team in memory of the late Barron “Bear” Gulley, who competed on the team for multiple years before graduation. Blakely led the Knights this season, frequently gaining the lowest score for U-L during matches while filling the gap left by Whitaker Hawkins, who graduated last year.
Rec Baseball Crowns 8U, 12u Champs & All-Stars

3 weeks ago | upsonbeacon.com | Andrew Carroll

Thomaston-Upson Recreation Department hosted 8U and 12U baseball championship games on Thursday May 8, after which All-Star teams were announced, with 8U having enough players for two All-Star teams. In 8U, the Braves defeated the Cardinals, 12-4, to take the championship. The 8U Champion Braves are Ryder Smith, Tyler Brownlee, Nash Dunn, Beckett Watson, Canon Hayes, Kason Foster, Joseph Sanders, Levi Freeman, Chant Corriea, Lucas Dalton, and Rylan Woolf.
Skelton, Hadley Win Sectional Championships

1 month ago | upsonbeacon.com | Andrew Carroll

Although Upson-Lee track was hampered heavily by prom scheduled the same day as the sectional track meet, several U-L names still topped the board at the end of the day in Peach County on Saturday. Jayden Skelton backed up his region championship 200-dash run with a sectional victory in the same event. Skelton finished with a time of 21.43, just a couple tenths slower than his region run. However, Skelton still finished nearly a half-second better than the closest competitor.
Religion in the Eyes of Murderers | Kingdom of Heaven at 20.

1 month ago | headstuff.org | Andrew Carroll |Andrew Carroll

“What is Jerusalem worth?” asks Balian of Ibelin (Orlando Bloom) towards the end of Ridley Scott’s 2005 crusader epic Kingdom of Heaven. “Nothing,” replies Saladin (Ghassan Massoud), Sultan of the Muslim forces. He then smiles before adding “Everything!” Distilling thousands of years of bloodshed into just two lines of dialogue Scott and screenwriter William Monahan mine pathos and relevance from an exceptionally violent and intolerant period of history.