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C °URage* s ^ WAYNESBORO, GEORGIA VETERAN DAY Z SATURDAY, NOV. 11 -lTlANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! S o CN o CM OJ Vol. 143, No. 38 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, November 8, 2023 - $1.00 Remembering Sergeant Robert L. Rogers SHELLIE SMITLEY thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com Jane Phillips Rogers sat in the liv ing room of her Waynesboro home Monday recalling the life of her husband, Marine Corps Sergeant Robert L. Rogers. The day marked what would have been the couple’s 58-year wedding anniversary. Jane and Robert were forced to meet in the early 1960s. Her sister briefly dated his brother. Jane and Robert had to act as chaperones for their older siblings. However, cupid saved his arrows for another time. Initially, Jane and Robert had no interest in dating each other. The older siblings’ romance was short lived and Jane and Robert did not see each other again for approximately six years. Robert was bom and raised in Jef ferson County. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps February 1, 1965 to serve his country in the capacity of a mortarman. He was home on leave when he ran into Jane who was working in Wrens. They began dat ing, but Robert got orders to deploy to Vietnam. The couple got married November 6, 1965, before Robert left for training in Cuba. He came home briefly before he made his way to Da Nang, Vietnam in 1967. Da Nang Air Base was used as a primary entry point for American service members flying into Vietnam during the war. Jane said she was worried about Robert and wrote to him nearly every day. Robert wrote back as often as he could. However, Robert never mentioned the war or his activities in the letters. His corre spondence always reflected concern for his wife and his parents. How ever, Robert’s daughter, DeAnna Faulk, recalls a few of the stories that Robert shared about the one year, nine months and 29 days he endured in the coastal city in cen- SEE tral Vietnam. REMEMBERING, HOME FREE freeaMde OF THE BRAVE Robert suf- 10 This photo hangs in the Rogers’ Waynesboro home. Mayor race left undecided SHELLIE SMITLEY thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com Incumbent Bill Tinley and Vice mayor James “Chick” Jones will vie for the Waynesboro mayor posi tion again in a mn-off December 5. Early voting begins the Monday after Thanksgiving. Tinley received 324 votes or 46.69% of the total ballots cast. According to the law, the winner must receive 50% +1 to be declared the winner. Jones received 37.61% or 261 votes. Brenda Lee Lewis received 83 votes and Tyrek Scott received 23. Other victors included Alberta J. Anderson with 81.3% of the votes cast in the race for Ward 2 Post 2 city council seat. Incumbent Vickey Bates won the race for the Ward 3 Post 3 seat with 71.1% of the votes. Incumbent C. Britt Herrington ran unopposed for Ward 1 Post 1. Sardis citizens voted for In cumbent Grady Dixon (75 votes) Wendy Sirmons (63 votes) and Debra Widner Kile (48 votes) to fill three expired council seats. How ever, the race for the third seat was close as Incumbent Arthur Freeman and candidate Vanessa Mutch both received 44 votes. Incumbent Leroy Lane received 31 votes. In Midville, approximately 15 members of the Magnolia Baptist Church and Faith Independent Mis sionary Baptist Church protested the referendum proposing the sale of packaged distilled spirits and sales by the drink. “When most people drink, it’s overboard,” Pastor Pat Dye said. “We should be better stewards of our community and not condone this mess. Alcohol and drugs have wreaked havoc on this country.” Midville voters agreed and neither referendum passed. The citizens also voted for Freddie Lee Wright for city council seat 3. He won the race with 67 votes compared to Incumbent Joan Hall’s 31 votes. Incumbent Mayor Wallace Lemons ran for reelection unopposed. Patricia Ann Davis- Lewis ran for council seat 4 unopposed as well. Members of Magnolia Baptist Church and Faith Independent Missionary Baptist Church urged Midville citizens to vote against the sale of pack aged distilled spirits and sales by the drink. Community responds after Midville home burns SHELLIE SMITLEY thetuecitizen.shelliel@gmail.com A Midville couple was devastated by a house fire Monday that took with it nearly everything they owned. The home was occupied by 42-year-old Kristin Molina and 58-year-old Johnny Banner. The in ferno resulted in extensive damage. They did not have rental insurance. Fortunately, they were not home when flames engulfed the structure. However, they were at an Augusta hospital because Kristin was experi encing chest pains. A neighbor called and informed her house was up in flames. Kristin’s pet guinea pig had recently given birth and all 14 were killed in the fire, along with a dog. According to Burke County EMA Director Steven Mathews, first responders were notified around 9 p.m. of the fire. The Midville Police Department also responded to the incident. When firefighters arrived, the flames were showing through the windows and roof. The house required significantly more flow than is normally needed to extinguish a house fire due to the amount of fire fueled by fat lighter. “You see that a lot in old houses that are built with pine lumber,” Mathews stated. “That stuff is hard to extinguish.” Firefighters gained control of the blaze in about two hours. However, units remained on scene cooling hotspots. No injuries were incurred onsite and the cause remains under inves tigation. Kristin was still shaken and over whelmed with emotion Tuesday morning. On top of everything else, she is diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer and throat cancer. “The whole roof over our bed where we lay our heads fell in,” she said sobbing and SEE cried even harder when she talked about the loss of her ^ pets. “We lost everything. *i ■ ■ b? 1 * 1 Burke County EMA was on the scene of this Midville home fire for ap proximately four hours Monday, November 6.