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“Enjoying Life Off The Beaten Path 99 Butler’s new mural, “Enjoying Life Off The Beaten Path/’ is complete ami adding beauty and interest to the Split Acres Floral building, located at 20 S. Broad Street in Butler. The mural was made possible through the Flint Energies’ Rural Mural Project grant, in the amount of $10*000, with a local match from the Taylor County Chamber of Commerce, in the amount of $2,500. This is the first of two murals awarded to Butler. The second mural will be at the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, located at 4 W. Main Street, and will be titled “Taylor County, Georgia - Connecting You To the Rural Life” The Taylor County Development Authority will provide the match for the second mural. The mural was painted by artist Christopher Johnson. Johnson lives in Columbus and is an Art Professor at Andrew College in Cuthbert, GA. She IButler HUeraih “Your Newspaper Since 1876” (Publication Number USPS 534-720) 144th YEAR, NO. 21 THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021 1 SECTION, 8 PAGES 50 CENTS PER COPY Matthew Woodard Appointed Chief Of Police By Butler City Council “Professional Lea dership, Positive Change” The Butler City Council ap pointed Matthew Woodard as Butler’s new Chief of Police during a Called Council Meet ing on May 27, 2021. Chief Woodard brings 14 years oflaw enforcement experience to the role he filled on May 28, 2021. “Although we had many excel lent candidates, Chief Woodard’s experience and his dedication to the City of Butler will serve him and our city well in his new role. I look forward to working with Chief Woodard as he works to build critical bridges between our officers and the community they serve,” said Mayor Barry Whitley. Chief Woodard is a native of the City of Oglethorpe. He be gan his career with the Reynolds Police Department as a police officer in April of200 7. lie served as Sergeant of the Reynolds Pol ice Department before being promoted to Assis tant Chief. He served as the City of Butler's Assistant Police Chief since March 2018. Tt is the greatest honor of my professional career to be ap pointed as the Chief of Police of the Butler Police Depart ment and to be able to guide and support our officers while also advocating for our commu nity as we address community safety concerns together,” ex pressed Chief Woodard, “1 look forward to the chal lenges and opportunities ahead and to lead our police officers in positive changes for the bet terment of our department and the citizens in our community. 1 will improve our police ser vices through community-ori ented policing and will main tain our partnerships with other law enforcement agencies within the county to ensure that together we provide the best services to our entire com munity,’* said Chief Woodard, The chief of police position plays an important role in the leadership of the City. Chief Woodard will continue working with the City and community leaders to create a new vision for public safety in Butler. Woodard lives in Oglethorpe, GA with his wife, Cassandra, They have four children. MOUNTAIN SCENE FARMS [BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN Frank Riley Wins National Smokey Bear Award For Fire Prevention Efforts By Shawn Jarrard Fire prevention advocate Frank Riley is one of only two people in the nation to win a 2021 Silver Smokey Bear Award by the U.S. Forest Ser vice, and he is “blown away” by the honor. Since 1957, the prestigious Smokey Bear Award Program lias recognized organizations and individuals for outstanding service in wildfire prevention at the national, multistate, and statewide levels, or gold, silver and bronze, respectively, per the Forest Service. No one received a national gold award in 2021, and three people got bronze awards this year. The awards are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, the National Association of' State Foresters, and the Ad Council. 'These Smokey Bear Award winners are being honored for the dedication, innovation and energy they bring to wildfire prevent ion,” USDAForest Ser vice Chief Vicki Christiansen said. “Throughout the many years of these awards, it’s people like these who show up with the passion and desire to make a difference.' 1 >See Riley on page 4 Several Issues Considered At May Meeting Of Reynolds Mayor And City Council By VALOR I MOORE Editor On May 17th, the Reynolds Mayor and City Council held the regular monthly meeting. The new owner of Hometown Foods, Shaista Mohammad, has applied for a business li cense and a beer and wine li cense and was present at the meeting. Approval of the li censes is pending while the Council determ ines if the City’s ordinance allows licensure if the owner resides outside of the City, If the ordinance allows the license, there are no objec tions. Tim Gaines, owner of Tim’s Fireside Grill, requested per mission to begin renovating a portion of the old police depart ment for a new dining room for his restaurant. The Council must decide the best use of the space and plans were to discuss this at a work session. Representatives from Norfolk Southern Railroad were also present. They recommended closing the Cresthill railroad crossing, removing the asphalt, and adding permanent barri cades. Also, they recommended installing automatic signals at the Collins Street crossing, at no cost to the City. The Coun cil did not make a decision and plans to consider access and fu neral processions before closing the Cresthill Grossing. Mayor Butch Turner opposed the clos ing of the crossing. Police Chief Lonnie Holder announced that Officer Clifford Albritton from Crawford County has been hired. The police department also needs a part-time secretary, to work from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., Mon day through Thursday. Public Works Director Scott Jones noted that rain is leak ing in the new police depart mentat the Armory, behind the gutters. Council authorized rep airing the gutters. The gut ters have been removed, the rotten wood has been replaced, and flashing has been installed, Former City Clerk Pam Dowdy presented the budget for final review. She explained that Abbott Jordan & Koon fAJK), the City’s auditors, is downsizing and can no longer serve the City, AJK recom mended Mauldin & Jenkins to serve the City, Also, the City’s tax sale will lx? Sept. 7th. Mrs. Dowdy recently retired, and Brian Smisson is the new City Clerk, The City will con tract with Mrs. Dowdy for six months, during the transition and to finish the City’s ordi nances. There is a potential buyer for the Ride Share in Reynolds, >See Reynolds Council on p. 8 City Of Butler Trash Pickup Notice In the City of Butler, trash pickup normally scheduled for Friday, June 4th, will he picked up on Saturday, June 5th, due to the Memorial Day Holiday. Butler Garden Club Yard Of The Month The Butler Garden Club Yard of the Month for May was the landscape of Ms. Lula Mae Riley. Numerous perennial flowers and shrubs dot the landscape. This yard can be viewed at 15 Martin Luther King Road in Butler. The Butler Garden Club Yard of the Month is a monthly feature of and is chosen by, the Butler Garden Club,