A “Save Jimmy Davis Park” rally and social event were held Saturday. Ironically, the park was vandalized the day before and again the day after the events, according to authorities.
The park, named after one of Putnam County’s first two Black commissioners, was once a popular place for children and families to play, and host events, and also served as the home of the senior citizen center. It later fell into neglect, but the county recently took steps to clean the park up and improvements began.
A Save Jimmy Davis Park Committee was organized last year, and the committee hosted a march, rally, and social event on June 24, to celebrate the recent and upcoming success of its cause.
Sometime during the evening or night Friday, June 23, and again on Sunday, June 25, the glass doors of the park’s community center were shattered by a large rock thrown through them, according to Eatonton Police Chief Howell Cardwell.
“I’m sad to say it happened twice, on both days,” the police chief said, noting the exact times of the vandalisms are unknown.
On one of those days, witnesses reported a suspicious person driving along the roadway beyond the park, according to Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills. Law enforcement officers spoke to that person and are in the process of confirming the driver’s alibi, he said.
Chief Cardwell asks anyone with information regarding the incident to please call him at 478-288-3386, or Eatonton Police Department at 706-4853551, or Putnam County Sheriff’s Office at 706-855-8557.