Russell Thompson, elected to Gray City Council last November, was recently named City Manager for Summerville, in northern Georgia's Chattanooga County.  Thompson is due to resign from Gray's city council before starting his new post on March 1.  The city will hold a special election to fill his seat.

Do you enjoy shopping the sales?  If you celebrate snagging bargains, then you won’t want to miss this first-ever one-day-only Warehouse Sale!  It’s going to be a bargain hunter’s heaven, so save the date: February 27, from 12 – 5 p.m.  Shop for premium tops, dresses, hoodies, skirts, denim,  shoes, and accessories for women at up to 90% off!  You will find deals so good, that you won’t be able to pass them up!  This year’s sale will be held at the SoChi Gallery, located at 534 Second Street in downtown Macon.
 

 
Atlantic Sun Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships
Hosted at Mercer University (University Center), Macon, GA
Wednesday, March 3 – Saturday, March 6
 
For the first time in the school’s history, Mercer University will host the 2010 and 2011 Atlantic Sun (A-Sun) Conference Tournament for Men’s and Women’s Basketball championships. The 2010 tournament will be held at Mercer’s University Center on March 3 – 6. In 2008, A-Sun combined the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to be held at one venue, and it has remained combined since then. The A-Sun championship returns to Georgia for only the fifth time, and the first time since Georgia State hosted the women’s tournament in 1999, and men’s tournament in 2003. When the announcement was made last year that Mercer would host the 2010 and 2011 A-Sun Basketball Championships, A-Sun Commissioner Ted Gumbart said, “We are very excited to bring our premier event to Macon, and we look forward to Mercer University serving as host for the General Shale Brick A-Sun Basketball Championships for the next two years.” He added, “Mercer has an outstanding facility, provides a central location for A-Sun fans, and the Mercer community will do an outstanding job as hosts. On behalf of the membership, we extend our thanks to Mercer University President William D. Underwood for his sincere interest in bringing the event to the University Center and we look forward to continuing a tradition of excellence and growth by having our championships here in 2010 and 2011.” The Atlantic Sun was founded in 1978 and moved to Macon, GA in 1992. Mercer has been part of the league since its inception.
 
Mercer’s $40 million University Center first opened for basketball in 2004 and seats 3,200. Basketball attendance at the Mercer’s University Center has seen a significant increase over the past two years, largely through the support of the Middle Georgia community and active community involvement of head coaches Bob Hoffman and Janell Jones.
 
Bob Hoffman is in his second season as head coach of the Mercer University men’s basketball program. In his first season, Hoffman made an immediate mark. He guided the 2008 – 2009 Bears to a 17 – 15 overall record and 11 – 9 in Atlantic Sun Conference play. It was the Bears' most wins since the 2002 – 03 season, and their first winning mark in conference play since 2004 – 05. The new era in Mercer men’s basketball began on March 27, 2008 when Hoffman was introduced as the new head coach. When Hoffman accepted the head coach position, he was quoted as saying, “I am very excited about the potential at Mercer. I was overwhelmed by the prospects we saw when we visited the campus.   I could tell that the Mercer administration is committed to developing a highly successful men's basketball program.” 
 
Janell Jones is in her third season as head coach of the Mercer University women’s basketball program. In her first two seasons at Mercer, Jones displayed her ability to transform a program, a quality that has proven consistent throughout her eight-year head coaching career.  Last season, the Bears enjoyed the biggest RPI turnaround in the country according to CollegeRPI.com, jumping from No. 315 at the conclusion of the 2007 – 2008 season, to No. 162 in the final week of the 2008 – 2009 campaign. Last year, Jones guided the Bears to the program’s first conference tournament victory since 2006 and highest win total since the 1991 – 1992 season.  This year, Jones looks to continue the trend of improvement and lead Mercer to its first ever Atlantic Sun Championship.

 
Game Times
 
Wednesday – Thursday
Women’s Quarterfinal   12 p.m.
Men’s Quarterfinal         2:30 p.m.
Women’s Quarterfinal   6:30 p.m.
Men’s Quarterfinal         9 p.m.
 
Friday
Women’s Semifinal         12 p.m.
Women’s Semifinal         2:30 p.m.
Men’s Semifinal              6:30 p.m.
Men’s Semifinal              9 p.m.
 
Saturday
Women’s Final    12 p.m.
Men’s Final         6 p.m. (ESPN2 will carry the game)

All the games, except the men’s final can be seen on the conference’s web-streaming channel, www.ASun.TV.
 
Ticket Information
 
Tournament Tickets
$75 (Adults)
$50 (Seniors ages 62 years and older)
$50 (Students ages 12 – 22 years and older with valid college student ID)
$20 (Youth ages 6 – 11 years)
Free (Children ages 5 years and younger)
 
Session Tickets
$15 (Adults)
$10 (Seniors ages 62 years and older)
$10 (Students ages 12 – 22 years and older with valid college student ID)
$5 (Youth ages 6 – 11 years)
Free (Children ages 5 years and younger)
 
To Order Tickets
Tickets are on sale the day of the games beginning at 10 a.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door, by phone, or online. Doors to the University Center Arena will open one hour prior to first game of each session.
To order by phone: (478) 301-5470
To order online: www.mercerbears.com
 
Teams in the Atlantic Sun Conference
Belmont (Joined in 2001)
Lipscomb (Joined in 2003)
East Tennessee State (Joined in 2005)
Campbell (Joined in 1994)
Kennesaw State (Joined in 2005; men’s first time eligible)
Mercer (Joined in 1978)
South Carolina Upstate (Joined in 2007; not eligible for the tournament as part of NCAA reclassification rules)
North Florida (Joined in 2005; men’s first time eligible)
Jacksonville (Joined in 1998)
Stetson (Joined in 1985)
Florida Gulf Coast (Joined in 2007; not eligible for the tournament as part of NCAA reclassification rules)
 
A-Sun Men’s Basketball Players from Georgia
(Middle Georgia players in bold)
 
Campbell
12    Junard Hartley  Atlanta, GA (Whitefield Academy) 
23    Chris Reynolds  Augusta, GA (Glenn Hills) 
 
East Tennessee State
10 De'Shaud Johnson Riverdale, GA (King College)
44 J.C. Ward Marietta, GA (Marietta HS)
 
Jacksonville
2 Russell Powell Newnan, GA (Newnan HS)
3 Ben Smith Dublin, GA (Dublin HS)
14 Josh Sparks Savannah, GA (Sav. Christ. Acad.)
15 Chris Edwards   Albany, GA (Westover HS)
41 Lehmon Colbert Roberta, GA (Crawford Co. HS)
 
Kennesaw State
3  Kelvin McConnell  Smyrna, GA (Whitefield Academy)
5  Spencer Dixon  Marietta, GA (Kennesaw Mountain HS)
12  Jay Mitchell  LaGrange, GA (LaGrange HS)
14  Matt Heramb  Douglasville, GA (Chapel Hill HS)
15  LaDaris Green  Savannah, GA (Beach HS)
23  Junior Ajayi  Atlanta, Ga (Riverdale HS)
32  James McRae  Brunswick, GA (Brunswick HS)
40  Romain Henry  Atlanta, GA (Stephenson HS)
41  Jonathan Whipple  Gordon, GA (Wilkinson County HS)
 
Lipscomb
1 Brandon Barnes Douglasville, GA (Chapel Hill HS)
 
Mercer
0    James Florence     Marietta, GA (Wheeler HS)
22    BeJay Corley  Marietta, GA (Wheeler HS)
23    Chris Smith  Dublin, GA (Dublin HS)
25    Brian Mills  Douglasville, GA (Chapel Hill HS)
33    Daniel Emerson  St. Mary's, GA (Camden County HS)
50    David O'Shaughnessey  Macon, GA (Stratford Academy)
 
North Florida
3  Parker Smith  Columbus, GA (Chestatee HS Tennessee State)
25  Germaine Sparkes  Hinesville, GA (Liberty County HS)
 
A-Sun Women’s Basketball Players from Georgia
(Middle Georgia players in bold)
 
Belmont
3 Kristin Nash Stone Mountain, GA (Dunwoody HS)
15 Kristin Bunch Fayetteville, GA (Fayette County)
 
East Tennessee State
44 Siarre Evans Griffin, GA (Spalding HS)
 
Jacksonville
4 Courtney Jackson Atlanta, GA (North Atlanta)
5 Drameka Griggs Jonesboro, GA (Jonesboro)
20 Crystal Grable Sparta, GA (Hancock Central)
23 Danielle Gray Stone Mountain, GA (Stephenson)
24 Lynsey Paschal Fairburn, GA (Sandy Creek)
32 Abril Peeples Americus, GA (Americus Sumnter)
 
Kennesaw State
3  Rachel Loe  Kennesaw, GA (North Cobb Christian HS)
11  Greteya Kelley  Lawrenceville, GA (Collins HS)
15  Kayla Weaver  Ringgold, GA (Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe HS)
20  Gia Lockett  Snellville, GA (South Gwinnett HS)
 
Mercer
5    Sharmesia Smith Jonesboro, GA (Jonesboro HS)
12    Neicey Lewis Riverdale, GA (Heritage HS)
14    Alex Phillips Duluth, GA (Duluth HS)
21    Kendra Grant  Macon, GA (Rutland HS)
33    Amber Chatmon  Albany, GA (Albany HS)
 
North Florida
10  Brittany Kirkland  Monroe, GA (Monroe Area HS)