About The Sylvester local news. (Sylvester, Ga.) 1984-current | View Entire Issue (April 3, 2013)
f * *.*************'3- d1G i lc 3<a6 Eifef Vol. 129 - No. 27 - 75<t Serving Worth County Since 1884 April 3, 2013 “A man of courage is also full of faith.” - Marcus Tullius Cicero Banks Funeral Home 210 N. Main St., Sylvester (229) 776-2055 www.banksfh.com banksfh@yahoo.com Isakson Meet and Greet Planned The Sylvester-Worth County Chamber of Commerce would like to invite you to a Meet and Greet with Senator Johnny Isakson on April 4, 2013 from 2:00-300 PM at 122 N. Main Street in Sylvester. Senator Isakson will give a brief update from Washington and take questions from the audience. He hopes those attending will come ready to share their thoughts and concerns on the critical issues facing our state and nation. The public is encouraged to attend. Blood Drive The American Red Cross will be hosting a blood drive on Thursday, April 4th from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Margaret Jones Public Library. 4-H Selling Vidalia Onions Worth County 4-H Club is selling Vidalia onions until April I Oth.The cost is $ 10.00 per 10 lb bag. For more info, call 229-776- 8216. Booster Club Selling Rams Discount Cards 2013 Rams Discount Cards are here! Businesses around the community have agreed to give discounts when you purchase from them. The discounts are listed on the back of the card. The Discount Card is good for one year. You may purchase your card from any of the High School baseball players, their parents, Booster Club officers and always at the concession stand at all home games. Annual Cancer Awareness Ride The 3rd Annual Cancer Awareness Ride, hosted by Unique Ryders M.C. Sylvester, is planned for Saturday, April 6th. Registration will be held from 10 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. Kick stands up at 12 noon sharp.The ride will begin at Jeffords Park and end at Tifton Harley Davidson. Fee is $I0 per bike, $5 per passanger, or $I0 per vehicle. Proceeds will benefit Cherokee Rose Team for Relay for Life. For route info, call 229-392-7626. Food and drinks will be available at the end of the ride. Obituaries James E. Dunlap, Ashburn Complete obituary information on page 4 WE NOW CARRY A FULL LINE OF OFFICE PRODUCTS! Photo by Kellie Parten MIDDAY FIRE QUICKLY EXTINGUISHED - At approximately 11:30 Friday afternoon, Worth County Fire Rescue responded to a structure fire at 112 Clearview Drive. According to Capt. John Graddy, the homeowner Ed Spicer heard a crackling sound in the attic and then noticed smoke. The former county volunteer told officials he had been hearing squirrels in the attic. The origin of the fire is believed to be electrical. The home had three different roofs and ceilings for the fire to travel through, but WCFR was able to extinguish the fire and clear the scene in about an hour and a half. .Because of the age of the home, it will probably be declared a total loss, though only one room suffered extensive damage. Graddy estimates roughly 80 percent of the contents are salvageable. County Fire Hot Topic for Chairman Kellie Parten kelfie@thesylvesterlocal.com The Worth County Board of Commissioners held a workshop at 1 p.m. Tuesday to address a number of issues having impact on the county fire department. The first order of business by Chairman Cosby was a question confirming redistribution of fire equipment to ensure coverage of the Worthy Manor area while the truck usually stationed there is undergoing repair. The fire captains assured the chairman the trucks had been moved the day following the request. Chairman Cosby then ques tioned Captain Graddy about a trip to Blue Ridge to look at equipment and who authorized the trip. Graddy stated they had spoken with Commissioner McDonald prior to leaving for the day trip to Blue Ridge and reminded the chairman he even spoke directly with him after leaving Unadilla, where they also looked at equipment earlier in the day before continuing on to Blue Ridge. Cosby responded, "Why haven't y'all been to Florida to look at those trucks that we re quested y'all to go look at back on January 8th?" According to Graddy, they had been in contact with Florida, and that none of the equipment met their price range or needs or that would be of any benefit to the county. He informed the board he and the other two cap tains would continue to search for a moderately used truck. Next, Cosby raised the question originally posed at the Board of Commissioners meet ing on Thursday, March 21. According to Cosby, the board had requested a plan to recruit, train and maintain volunteer firefighters and then expressed concern as to why the board had never received the information. Captain Graddy then began dis tributing copies of that plan in a packet to all commissioners and stated the plan was ready, but needed input from the board to provide the incentives previ ously discussed. Graddy pointed out the in formation had in fact been sub mitted before and Commission er Bozeman affirmed that she had received her package stating that all the commissioners did and questioned what the chair man had done with die package he received. She went on to say the captains did what they were asked and that it was the board who failed to do what they were supposed to do by following up with incentives. Commissioner Sutton also agreed they had in fact received the information. Captain Graddy noted that in spite of the difficulties in re cruiting volunteers, there are currently 72 paid and state-certi fied volunteer firefighters com pared to only nine recognized to be state certified in 2005. This achievement is a first for Worth County whereas in the past cer tification was not required for all personnel. Graddy suggested that when comparing numbers of volunteer firefighters in other counties to those on the roster in Worth County, it is necessary to verify that all those counted are See FIRE on page 7 Photo by Cale Colby Worth County’s newest extension agent Scott Carlson began working with local farmers on March 1. Worth's Newest Cale Colby info@thesylvesterlocal.com In addition to Worth Coun ty’s Extension Coordinator Larry Varnadoe, local farm ers may also get to know new Worth County Extension Agent Scott Carlson as planting season begins in the weeks to come. Praised on his family farm in Dawson, Carlson always want ed to help farmers. Now, after nearly two decades of service as an extension agent in South Georgia, the Tift County resi dent will begin assisting farm ers in and around the Peanut Capital. After attending ABAC, Carlson transferred to the Uni versity of Georgia where he studied crop science an agri business. While he has gained an array of experience through out his career, the agent says row crops are his background. Carlson began his career in Irwin County where he worked for two years before moving to Tift County for the next five years. The extension agent then moved to Ben Hill County where he served for nearly ten years before starting in Worth on March 1. While he had never Extension Agent worked specifically in Worth County previously, he com ments that all of his previous jobs were “fairly local,” and he has met a few local Worth grow ers in the past. He expects to be come well acquainted with the land and those who tend it in the near future. So far, rains have delayed corn planting this spring, but the new county agent says he has received some calls on wheat and ponds in Worth County. He says it has been a little slow be cause of the wet weather, but he expects business to soon pick up as warmer temperatures dry out the soil. Carlson also says the new varieties of peanuts with good disease resistance is also en couraging farmers to return to planting in mid-April, rather than May as has been the case in recent years. However, the extension agent expects farmers to begin planting corn this week as soil temperatures rise. Overall, Carlson says he is just excited to begin working with Worth’s farmers, “I’ve al ways wanted to be involved in agriculture... I grew up with a farm background, and that’s what I enjoy about this job. I get to work with the farmers.” Williams Hosts Aviation Awareness Weekend Photo by Cale Colby Commander Claven Williams (U.S. Navy, ret.) and his son Lt. Commander Chris Williams stand before Chris’s Navy F-18 during the annual Aviation Awareness Day on Friday, March 22. Cale Colby info@thesylvesterlocal.com Bridgeboro resident and Retired Navy Commander Claven Williams, who serves as military liaison coordinator for Albany State University, hosted the college’s fourth annual Aviation and Military Awareness Days celebration from March 22 to 24 at the Al bany airport. The main attrac tion, as in years past, came thundering in at approximate ly 4 p.m. that Friday afternoon as Williams’ son Lieutenant Commander Chris Williams landed his Navy F-18 fighter jet at the regional runway. In addition to the F-18, the static aircraft display also featured five OH-58 helicop ters this year. As Commander Williams explains, “It has be come an annual thing. And now, every year we try to co ordinate with military and ci vilian organizations to bring the aircraft in for the students and the community, as well as faculty and staff at the univer sity.” According to the ASU li aison, the annual display helps shed a positive light on the military, it helps with recruit ing efforts, and it teaches lo cal youth that they can achieve anything they set out to ac complish. Lt. Commander Chris Williams, now just one rank below his father, is cur rently stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach. But, travelling at twice the speed of sound, the young er Williams can touch down in Albany to promote the Navy and vigit his family within 45 minutes. After graduating from ASU,. Commander Claven Williams attended officer candidate school in the Navy. Ultimately, the elder Williams flew sub hunters during the Vietnam War. He first began this Aviation Awareness cam paign in Savannah in 1990. Now, Lt. Commander Chris Williams is a prime example of potential realized through hard work in the U.S. military. After attending the U.S. Naval Academy, the Lt. Commander will likely surpass his father to become an admiral before he retires. And, the father and son aim to show that anyone can achieve these goals if he or she is dedicated. Commander Williams says, “Minority re cruitment is a big effort, and it’s promoted by kids like Chris who come back to show that you can be whatever you want to be. Barriers that may have existed in the past are not there now.”
