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o 04 ^3* ■'3- O 04 CM GO Vol. 143, No. 30 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, September 13, 2023 - $1.00 Sheriff accuses BOC of defunding; predicts catastrophic consequences SHELLIE SMITLEY thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com In a September 7 letter addressed to the Board of Commissioners, Sheriff Alfonzo Williams accused the panel of “defunding” the police and predicted that people will die because of their fiscal management practices. “The Commission is on a very dangerous path seeking to defund and dismantle law enforcement ser vices, which will have catastrophic consequences on public safety,” Wil liams wrote. “.. .People will die due to dangerous defunding. We do not have alternative means of protecting the public.” In the letter, Williams alleged he would be forced to terminate 12 uniformed deputies who were previously paid by Plant Vogtle, The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and the Department of Justice Administration, and one jailer previ ously paid by Burke County. He also accused the BOC of attempting to defund and dismantle the BCSO by not providing the $650,000 needed to house inmates outside of the Burke County Detention Center and the $600,000 for an inmate medical contract that is currently out for bid. “If you do not adequately fund the sheriff’s office, you are essentially asking that 13 deputies be termi nated,” he wrote. “We cannot afford to revert to crime rates prior to our administration in 2017. Your inac tion has the potential to get deputies hurt or killed, increase gang activity in our schools and communities, and cause a huge spike in violent crimes (i.e., aggravated assaults, domestic violence, school fights, robberies, murders, and other criminal activ ity).” Threatening costly litigation, Wil liams stated the BOC is poised to underfund his department by $2.25 million. “I assert that without this funding, it becomes SHERIFF, a legal issue of whether 8 Five BCHS cheerleaders chosen for Border Bowl XI Each year in January, some of the best senior high school football players and cheerleaders in the CSRA face off against one another in the annual Border Bowl as Team Georgia and Team South Carolina, for a chance at victory and of course, the coveted trophy. (L-R) Kaneria Wesby, Stalayah Crawford, Tommie Conner, Catelyn Rodriguez, and Ka- meryn Cooper are five of the 17 cheerleaders who were chosen to represent our hometown and state on the Georgia Cheer Squad. For the first time in WJBF Sports Border Bowl history, the Border Bowl will be played in the Bear Den at Burke County High School! The game is scheduled for Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. This annual game is a "Non-Profit Game", the proceeds from the ticket sales are given to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Augusta. Congratulations to our five outstanding Bears! Keysville ignores state department SHELLIE SMITLEY thetuecitizen.shelliel@gmail.com Although the City of Keysville supplied copies of their 2018 and 2019 audits to The True Citizen after a complaint was filed with the Attorney General’s Office, Keysville has failed to respond to the Depart ment of Law. Assistant Attorney General Kris ten Settlemire has given Keysville Mayor Linda Wilkes 10 days to respond to their inquiry regarding the two open records requests made by The True Citizen in July asking for 2018-2022 Agreed Upon Proce dures. The True Citizen requested the financial documents after it was made public that the city did not have the funds to pay for their second well despite receiving American Rescue funding and more than $500,000 in SPLOST funds. In a September 11 letter to Wilkes, Settlemire stated she had made numer- SEE KEYSVILLE, 3 BEN ROBERTS benroberts@bellsouth.net Collateral damage is defined as “an injury or other damage that is an incidental result of an activity.” It was first used in war-time to describe actual injury or death to people or property in close proximity to mili tary targets. In today’s world, it can mean anyone or anything that gets un necessarily caught up in something. Currently, in Burke County, “collat eral damage” has come to describe the very citizens of this community. About two years ago, in August of 2021, Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams took his dispute over his office’s budget with the county man ager and the Board of Commission ers public. At the time, it appeared that Williams was simply upping the ante on his wish list for his depart ment. It was a poorly kept secret that Williams had wanted a new jail and Sheriff’s Office since his first day in office. In that August com missioner’s meeting he demanded four-hundred thousand dollars and 50 acres of land for the first stage of construction on a state of the art training center and firing range. The large amount of acreage would one day also house the new jail and sher iff’s office, a massive complex built as an effigy to Williams’ stature as a lawman. The commissioners SEE didn’t bite, and Wil- g|pp qqg liams threatened to g sue, a threat he made Local candidates weigh in on their bids for office SHELLIE SMITLEY thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com Editor’s Note: This is part 2 on a series of interviews involving candi dates running for local public offices. Vickey Bates Incumbent Vickey Bates has served on the Waynesboro City Council since 2020, representing Ward 3 Post 3. She is running against Portia Washington this time. “I trust in the Lord and want to do all I can to glorify God through my work on the council,” she wrote in a recent email. “We have accom plished many things since 2020 but there is always more to be done for others.” Bates believes Waynesboro needs to continue working to bring in more business and job opportunities and learn to work better together. The council and commission should meet a couple of times a year as they should all be working together to glorify our community for everyone, she said. If they were doing this, the recent situation involving the new trash company could have been handled better to help everyone with their needs. She pointed out the city has made improvements to sewer lines, water wells, parks and other infrastructure, but believes more progress needs to be made. She also pointed out that 6th Street park is looking better and is being improved with grant funds. The city is constructing the well on Hwy. 56 to provide for an additional water source and the sewer lines from the cemetery to 4th street are being worked on also. The council has worked hard to improve salaries in the police department. “I am a good candidate because I stay engaged within my ward and all of Waynesboro,” she said. “I listen, attend meetings, am involved in my community and do my best to vote on behalf of everyone I represent. I am always easy to reach, eager to meet and willing to listen to everyone for the betterment of Waynesboro.” Brenda Lee Lewis Mayoral candidate Brenda Lee Lewis served on the Waynesboro City Council, representing Ward 3 Post 3 when she was first elected in 2012. She served as Vice-Mayor under former Pauline Jenkins and interim mayor upon Jenkins’ pass ing. Lewis also & cpF served as Vice- occ mayor under for- CAN Dl DATES, mer Mayor Greg 6 Vickey Bates Brenda Lee Lewis