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Ti GEORGiANEW3PAPEF! PROJ EOT tnents shock local
UNiV. ATHENS, OF GA ‘ A 0602 residents
By Hallie Higdon
If your recent tax assessment no¬
tice has reached you and you are in
a state of shock, you are not alone.
Peach County Tax Commissioner
Dwight Byrd is urging everyone
who feels their notice is incorrect or
blatantly unfair file an appeal in
writing within 30 days.
“Under no circumstance will I
certify a digest based on shoddy
work like this,” said Byrd. “I want
people to understand that our office
does not do assessments and that I
will not certify this digest; nor will I
take it to Atlanta. I urge everyone to
®he ffieaher-Oribune
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Peach County, Georgia
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Photo by Kevin Osborne
Hunt Primary School students are grabbed by pennant fever and honor the Atlanta Braves
Braves Fever has traveled the state since the Braves miraculous bottom of
the ninth inning single by Frank Cabrerra that allowed Sid Bream to score
the winning run to oust the Pittsburgh Pirates from the World Series. These
Discussion of Oak Lawn
dominates council meeting
By Kevin Osborne
Rose Pearson, of Fort Valley,
appeared before the Fort Valley city
council at their regular meeting last
Thursday, October 15, to talk to the
council again about the condition of
Oak Lawn cemetery.
"Concern has increased since it
has been on T.V.," she said.'T've
gotten about a hundred phone calls
concerning the cemetery."
The council discussed the prob¬
lem with her for about 30 minutes.
Both sides agreed that the condition
of the cemetery wasn’t perfect, but
the council pointed out that a lot of
the damage occurred before John
Snead, the current caretaker, took
over.
Clyde Scott, the caretaker before
Snead, was contacted and ques¬
tioned about the cemetery's condi
tion.
"He (Snead) isn't making any
money. Just one lawnmower like
he's using costs about $8,000. He
cuts the grass once a week out there
where I used to cut it only once
every two weeks. If I were to bid on
doing it once a week like he is, I'd
bid at least $50,000, and still every¬
body wouldn't be happy."
Snead is paid $36,000 a year for
maintaining three cemeteries, which
he explains is more like a budget.
He said, "I paid money out of my
own pocket to maintain the ceme¬
tery this past year," he said. "Out of
what I get paid, I have to maintain
my equipment, pay my employees
and pay for all the herbicide and
other necessities that I use to main¬
tain three cemeteries."
When questioned about the appli-
When You See News Happen, Call lUaftCV-tiExulmtU, Your Hometown Newspaper, at 825-2432
take a good close look at their
notices and appeal them if they are
wrong.”
An outside firm, Coulter and As¬
sociates, was hired to work with the
tax assessors to revalue all the prop¬
erty in Peach County this year to
bring it up to state standards as the
state felt the county was under¬
valued.
According to Byrd, since the no¬
tices have gone out, the phones
haven’t quit ringing in the court¬
house and there are already lines of
people waiting to see an assessor
requesting an appeal.
Wednesday, October 21,1992
cation of herbicides, Snead said,
"No, we didn't spray any herbicides
this year. This is the first year that I
have had this, and I was trying to
figure out what different kinds of
grasses grow here. The main kind is
Centipede grass, which is what you
want. The other kind is Bahia,
which will grow in three days. I
wanted to figure out where this
grass was so I could spray it. Cen¬
tipede is very sensitive to herbi¬
cides, and I didn't want to kill any
that wasn't necessary. We do have
an eradication program implement¬
ed now to control the weeds that
grow out here, but it would be
senseless to spend $2,000 to spray
now when the dormant season is
only two weeks away."
Mr. Scott agreed with his com¬
ments. "Bahia grass is the grass that
you see with 10 to 12 inch shoots
and three seed pods on the top. It
can get that tall three days after a
rain, and when you cut it, it can go
straight to seed."
In talking with both men, the
topic of chipped and scratched
markers came up.
As we walked through the cemetery
and pointed out some of these
markers, and questions were asked,
Snead said, "I won't try to weasel
my way out of anything. I can't look
at this (a particular chipped marker)
and say that I didn't do it or did do
it. I can say that any time someone
has come to me and said, 'Hey, this
wasn't like this a month ago and
now it is,' I have fixed it with no
questions asked. I have a guarantee
that says I will fix anything I break,
no questions asked, not because it's
In order to appeal your appraisal
notice, you must file an appeal in
writing within 30 days of the notice
to request a hearing for an appeal.
That appeal will be before the
Peach County Board of Tax Asses¬
sors. If you are not satisfied with
the results, you may appeal to the
Board of Equalization. If you are
still not satisfied, you may file suit
in Superior Court.
<( Better a delay in the digest than
certify this kind of work,” said
Byrd. “I just won’t have anything to
do with this digest. The county, the
cities and the school board can all
Volume 103, Issue 43
youngsters dressed in every imaginable Braves shirt, hat, tomahawk shirt or
whatever they could find to show their support for the Atlanta Braves. There
must have been 200 of them cheering for Atlanta!
in my contract, but because that's
my guarantee."
Mr. Scott made the following
comments, without knowing of Mr.
Snead's prior comments; "When
you cut within two inches of some¬
thing once a week for seven
months, you are bound to hit some¬
thing sooner or later. I have seen
the equipment he (Snead) uses, and
it is smaller than the mowers I used.
I don't think he could have caused
the extent of damage that everyone
claims."
Mr. Scott went on to say, "That
cemetery has been there since 1850.
Before I took over, who ever cut it
used a large field-type tractor to cut
the grass. Most of the damage that
is there has been there for a long
time."
Snead said, ”1 don’t have a con¬
tract to maintain the headstones and
foot stones. My contract says I'll fix
what I break. In the old section, a
lot of stuff is falling down just
'cause it's old. My mowers won't get
up high enough to knock over a
headstone."
He did say that he walked through
the cemetery with some of the
council members and Mrs. Pearson.
"She pointed out some things that
should be fixed, and they were
fixed within a week. She was sup¬
posed to come back out in two
weeks to check on those things.
Some of the council members
showed up, and I did, but she wasn't
here. The things she pointed out
were fixed. If anyone shows me
something I broke, I'll fix it I just
want everyone to be happy.”
borrow money until this mess is
straightened out. i
And it may takes months, accord¬
ing to Byrd.
Several Byron business people
have noticed substantial raises in
their tax assessment notices.
Mike Huff, who owns several
businesses in Byron, said that his
increases have ranged from 4% on
commercial land on the 247 Con¬
nector to 469% on property on
Highway 49.
“There is no way businesses can
pay these kinds of taxes,” said Huff.
"I can see that if the state thought
16 pages, 5 inserts
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Hhoto by Kevin Osborne
These pumpkins may have winning faces by October 29!
Floral Expressions on Anderson Avenue in Fort Valley has gotten into the Halloween spirit with this lovely display.
Halloween Carnival coming October 29
Get out your kitchen knives and
carve your most creative idea into
the face of a pumpkin! Houser and
Lee once again will sponsor the
Halloween Pumpkin Carving Con¬
test for the Halloween Festival,
Thursday, October 29.
Pumpkins must be in place on
the stage in the parking lot next to
the Peach County Courthouse by 7
p.m. Judging will take place at 8
p.m. and prizes will be awarded by
8:15.
A $20 prize will be awarded in
the following categories: Most Cre¬
ative, Scariest, Funniest/Silliest
and Best All Around.
Entrants may win more than one
category.
So get creative, Peach County!
Enter those great pumpkins in the
we were undervalued there would
be a modest increase. But this is
unbelievable! A 469% increase is
far beyond reason. I’ve heard of this
happening in other parts of the state
but I never thought it could happen
here.”
Mike Patel, who owns a motel in
Byron, had his property increased
over 300%. He, too, said having to
pay his taxes based on that assess¬
ment would put him out of busi¬
ness.
In Fort Valley, Matt Mullis at
Dairy Queen, found his property
value had tripled. He questions that
Single Copy 35c
Utility Commission
hears complaints
Both water and electric rates are
questioned during the meeting
By Hallie Rigdon
Although there was neither old
nor new business on the agenda for
the Utility Commission when they
met this month, the meeting was
consumed by two complaints from
consumers.
Claudia Lucas, who lives on
Highway 341 South, complained to
the commission that she felt her
power bills were completely out of
line. The home she rents is owned
by Dr. Earnest Corker.
”1 was paying $155 a month on
the budget plan," said Lucas. "Now
it's $225 a month and I can't afford
it. My last bill was for $280."
"That is a 1500 sq. ft. dwelling,"
said Corker. "She is paying more
than I pay for my house which has
three air conditioning units and is
three times larger. It doesn't seem
right to me."
Members of the commission
asked about insulation, windows,
and other things which could affect
the usage of power. Corker stated
that the house was fully insulated,
that Mrs. Lucas kept the blinds
drawn and was doing everything
contest and provide all of us with a
real Halloween treat! Your idea may
just be the best ever!
MainStreet will be in the triangle
park in downtown Fort Valley at
5:30 p.m. on October 29 handing
out free Trick-Or-Treat bags for the
young ghosts and goblins who
want to participate in the half-hour
of Trick-Or-Treat sponsored by the
downtown Fort Valley merchants.
So get your little one dressed for
Halloween and gather up the good¬
ies before walking over to the
courthouse for the festival!
The costume contest will be
judged at 7:30 p.m. on the stage in
the parking lot. Three category
prizes will be awarded, ages to six;
six to 12 and 12 and over. So let’s
everyone get in the spirit of the
but said that his inventory “is ob¬
viously a mistake.” Last year it was
valued at $5,160 and this year it is
nearly $858,000.
tt I went to the courthouse to
see
about this,” said Mullis, “but found
a line down the hall. Some people
had come from out of town and had
only that one day. I gave them my
place in line. I can go any time.”
Thomas Delton, Chairman of the
Board of Tax Assessors said that his
assessments were up, too. “We’ll
probably be seeing a lot of people,”
he said. “Nobody likes to see their
taxes raised.
possible to lower her bills; which
just kept getting larger.
Commission Chairman Bob
Hunnicult looked through Lucas'
bills and described the usage as
"enormous."
"That's why I think there is
something wrong," said Corker.
"There is no way a 1500 sq. ft.
house could use that much power.
All the appliances have been
checked and she uses gas for healing
water."
The Utility Commission had
pulled Lucas' meter three times in
the past and sent it off to check cal¬
ibration and found them to be per¬
fect. "We'll look into the matter
ourselves," said Hunnicutt.
William Khoury of Fort Valley
came to make his feelings on the
water rate hike known.
"It seems that asking outsidc-lhe
city residents to pay what city resi¬
dents pay for water is unfair. I own
a trailer park and provide the water.
The increase means a real burden for
me," he said. "I'd just like an ex¬
planation."
Continued on Page 2A
event and dress up for the contest
sponsored by the Fort Valley
Woman's Club!
The VFW will be on hand at
8:30 p.m. to award the rifle to the
winner of their raffle to benefit vet¬
erans. Be sure and be there to see
the event.
There are still a few spaces left
for organizations who would like to
have a booth at the carnival. You
may call Jimmy Jones of the Fort
Valley Lions Club at either 825-
8454 or 956-4587 for information
on reserving your space. Hurry,
they're going fast!
The Halloween Carnival is spon¬
sored by the Lions Club for the en¬
joyment of the entire community.
Come one, come all!