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Thomson gets big grant for downtown By Elwood Hamilton Staff Writer The City of Thomson was awarded $490,000 earlier this week by Georgia DOT in the form of a Transportation Enhancement Grant, which will be used to kickstart a series of improvements officials hope to make to the downtown area. The cityŻapplied for around $800,000 in grant money late last year to improve sidewalks, street lights and intersections along Main Street. Even though the full amount of the grant wasn't awarded, City Administrator Bob Flanders said he was very pleased with the outcome. "We did not anticipate getting ($800,000) awarded even though we were hopeful...We felt like if we got at least $300,000 we'd be off and running starting on the improvements," he said. "The good news is that we got more than we thought we were going to get, and we're completley ecstatic that when this project is completed you'll see a lot safer area downtown, and it'll be a little easier to get across the street without getting run over by a truck, and we hope at the same time that it'll be more attractive and pleasing." Web posted on Thursday, April 22, 2004