Newspaper Page Text
C M
K
Inside
Crime Report
Suspects keep local
law enforcement
officers hopping.
see9A
Park award
Crooked River State
Park is recognized for
its operations.
see 3A
Index
Obituaries 2A
Opinion 4A
Upcoming Events 11A
Sports 1B
People 3B
Classifieds 7B
Legals 8A, 8B
Today’s Poll
Who will get your
vote for probate
judge?
Vote online at
tribune-georgian.com
Tribune &
Georgian
P.O. Box 6960,
St. Marys, Ga.
31558
Volume 110, No. 20
22 pages* Two sections
tribune-georgian.com
© 2013, Tribune & Georgian,
Community Newspapers Inc.
CtJ
O
I
O
c
.0
N
C\l
01
■Q-T
b $
.S 00
3 ^
CO c\l
t
a
CO
s
84264
0U0U3
House slashes tech school funding
Jocelyn Brumbaugh
jocelyn@tribune-georgian.com
The funding for the Camden
County campus of Altamaha Tech
nical College (ATC) failed to make
it into the state House budget in
Tuesday’s legislative session, leaving
the fate of the project in the Senate’s
hands.
Many local officials were opti
mistic after Gov. Nathan Deal in
cluded $15.93 million in his 2014
budget in January for the construc
tion of the Camden campus of ATC,
especially after the funding was in
cluded in 201 l’s budget but failed to
make it to a final draft. ATC cur
rently operates out of space at the
College of Coastal Georgia campus
in Kingsland.
Road construction had even
started around the potential site on
Harrietts Bluff Road off Interstate
95 Exit 7, with the Joint Develop
ment Authority approving the dona
tion of the land to the state at its
Feb. 22 meeting, along with setting
a utility installation deadline for the
City of Kingsland of July 1 of this
year. According to ATC’s official
website, student enrollment at the
Camden County campus was ex-
See FUND, page 11A
Turned
around
Legion brings
new life to club
Johna Strickland Rush
johra@tribune-georgian.com
This is a story about rebirth.
It’s about an American Legion
post that came within moments of
losing its charter three years ago
but now boasts dozens of mem
bers.
It’s about a building, too, that
fell into disrepair but is becoming
a gathering place of a different
sort.
Mostly, though, it’s the story of
people changing their community
for the better.
Those people are the men and
women of American Legion Post
511 and its auxiliary. In 2010, the
historically black Kingsland post
had dwindled to seven active
members since its charter in 1962.
“The district commander was
coming to a meeting to suspend
our charter,” post commander
Marcus Hill said. “So in order to
keep the charter, we had to have a
meeting with a quorum of seven.
... Literally before the district
commander stood up to suspend
our charter, the seventh person
came to the meeting.”
Those seven members quickly
held an election for officers, an
other requirement to retain the
charter, then started serving the
community and seeking more ac
tive members.
By mid 2012, the post had 59
See POST, page 11A
Johna Strickland Rush | Tribune & Georgian
American Legion Post 5 I I member McDonald Knight sweeps the front
of the old Venezuela Club in Kingsland while Robert Spann and Reginald
Burden prepare for a meeting. Upon leasing the building in December
201 I, post members started repairing and revitalizing the structure to
create a gathering place for themselves and others.
Submitted photo
Suspect
charged
with sex
crime
Johna Strickland Rush
johna@tribune-georgian.com
A suspect is facing a felony child
molestation charge after a girl re
ported the alleged abuse to her
mother, according to a St. Marys
Police Department incident re
port.
Jerry Lee Dixon, 43, of Mul
berry, Fla., and formerly of St.
Marys, was arrested Wednesday
and charged with one count of
felony child molestation.
The victim’s mother brought
her daughter to the police station
in August when the girl said
Dixon had allegedly molested her
while babysitting her. Upon re
turning home from the store and
hearing her daughter’s statement,
the woman asked Dixon to leave
and made a police report.
Dixon
Set clocks, check
batteries Sunday
Jocelyn Brumbaugh
jocelyn@tribune-georgian.com
Daylight saving time be
gins Sunday, March 10, and
the Camden County Fire
Rescue (CCFR) is remind
ing the community to not
only set its clocks forward
by one hour, but to take the
time to test its smoke
alarms.
More than 3,000 people
die in home fires each year
in the United States where
a working smoke alarm is
present. The U.S. Fire Ad
ministration (USFA), a divi
sion of the Federal
Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), has
launched a nationwide cam
paign called “Install. In
spect. Protect,” which is
designed to raise awareness
about how working, prop
erly installed smoke alarms
can lower a person’s chances
of dying in a fire.
CCFR is supporting this
effort in an attempt to pre-
See TEST, page10A
Tribune & Georgian file photo
Camden County Fire Rescue is reminding residents to change their smoke alarm batteries
and check that they are functioning properly as they set their clocks forward for daylight
saving time on Sunday.
/ Compassion for families in their time of deepest sorrow and
'' need for understanding
y / Conviction for fairness & transparency
y / Committed to God, Family, Community
March 1 9 th VOTE
MartihkTURNER
y;
BA Social Sciences & Theology, Completing a Master Degree
in Business Administration
61838-MT-3-8
ProbatevJ udge
Paid for by the committee to elect Martin Turner