Newspaper Page Text
\
...........—— ..............
Chill hours inadequate for some varieties but growth regulator may help
- Th *
All fruit trees need a cert.
initiate blooming and fruit s
we are particularly interest*
While we experienced col
week, it is not known how much the cooler
weather helps the peaches after February 15th
FVach trees need a certain amount of hours
when the temperature is at or below 45“ As of
February 16th those hours for Fort Valley were
650 while Byron had closer to 700. If they are
Wcdnesdgf/FVhrtiarv 24 1999 Peach County's source of local news, advertising and sports for over 100 years...
©e Heater ©tbune
Vol. No. 110. Issue 8 2 Sections, 16 Pages f, i 50* Per Copy
>•*
7
ig| i
INSIDE&OUT
Foster homes needed
The Peach County Depart
ment of Family and Children
Services need families who an*
willing to provide stable and
loving homes for children
requiring temporary or perms
nent care If you are interested
in becoming a foster and/or
adoptive parent please call
(912)825-6438
Veterans Service
A re p r e s e ntative of the Geor¬
gia Department of Veterans
Service will be in residence
each Wednesday afternoon
from IrOO p.m to 4:00 p.m to
assist you in veteran related
matters at the Peach County
Courthouse - across from voter
registration office
Festival sponsorships
A nyone interested in being a
Georgia Peach Festival sponsor
please contact the festival
office at 825-4002
Car safety seminar
A free car maintenance and
safety seminar for women will
be held or. Monday. March 1,
1999, from 6:00 p.m to 8 00
pan. at Middle Georgia Techrn
cal Institute in Warner Robins
The class is sponsored by
HODAC's Victim Resource
Center, The Warner Robins
Police Department, and Middle
Georgia Technical Institute
Topics will include basic car
maintenance: emergency items
for trips, how to avoid mechan
k scams, and persona! safety
while driving If interested in
attending, please call
HODAC’s Victim Resource
Center at 912-953-5675 for
reservations Limited Seating
s
Hospital Authority
The February meeting of the
Hospital Authority is sched¬
uled for Thursday. February
25, 1999 at 9:00 a.m, in the
hospital conference room
Republicans
’Die Beach County Republi¬
can Party will meet on Feb 25.
1999 at 7:00 p.m at the
Thomas Public Library in Fbrt
Valley. Speaker will be Bill
Stembndge from the office of
U.S Rep. Saxby Chambliss
The public is welcome to
attend For information, call
Joe Collins at 953-6070 or
Christine Hoskins at 923-9967
Chamber BAH
The Beach County Chamber
Of Commerce and The Amen
can Camellia C •'fotv invite
you to Business After Hours at
the American Camellia Soci¬
ety's Annabel! Fetter-roan Edu
i, 100
Lane Fort Valley 5:30 p.m.
until 7:00 pm Beb 25,1999
helrwH Kv of cold, that number ut
y according to reports
x tension Director Mark
of our peach crop
hours needed based on
different varieties. On the high end trees could
ne «d as much 900 hours which means there
» « this year for those high chillers This
mean a scattered bloom delay and leaves
will come in slow and late In other words, the
t
..rk snmae
* ?. l sfP
•K®
t
Fort Valley Mayor John Stumbo with his own brick to be used in Fincher Park He is standing
front of the design plans for the park which will include a plaza, bandstand, clock and water
fountain
Several people have donated trees to city
By Jerry Murtagh
The
Trees, bricks and caskets dom¬
inated discussion at Fort Val¬
ley’s regular city council meet
mg
1 want to say a special word of
thanks to people who donated
trees over the last few weeks
1 wanted to speak a word of
thanks to David Cleveland of
Cleveland Wholesale Tree Ser¬
vice He gave us 348 Ginkgo
■frees.-';'.
Mike Huckabee gave us ten
Bradford Pears, Lorraine
Collins gave us 500 saw-tooth
Oak Trees, Dr Nathan gave us
50 Camellia bushes which will
be planted in public areas and
parks'
Mayor John Stumbo
announced February’s employee
of the month as Sergeant Jef-
City tables raising funeral cost
It may be cheaper to die now than to wait until
Fort Valley City Council takes a proposed ordi¬
nance off the table for bather discussion
Council members tabled the proposed ordinance
at last week’s regular meeting after questions
arose during discussion of how it would be imple
merited
The ordinance would require any person being
buried within the city to have their casket placed
inside a vault
The proposed new ordinance reads, in part, “...No
person shall bury any dead body without first
placing said dead body into a casket and then plac¬
ing the casket into an outer burial container
The outer burial container includes, but is not
limited to, a vault made of concrete, steel, fiber
glass, capper or a nsrtiiinsl concre t e enclosure, a
crypt or a a wooden enclosure
Any person violating this ordinance shall be sub¬
ject to a fine, not to exceed $1000 and imprison
ment not to exceed 180 days’
trees are not naturally able to aet an adequate
crop. Compare this to last year when for this
same time frame when there were 1147 chill
hours In fact, the last thre.* years the hours
have been adequate in 1997 there were 1126
and in 1996 that figure was 1371 In fact, the
last time hours were really inadequate was in
1974. according to Collier
Scientifically the hours are measured from
the time the tree goes dormant
Ail is not lost for those requiring more chill
hours, however. For the first time in Peach
frey Lundy of the Fort Valley
Police Department
Lundy has been with the police
department since 1993, Stumbo
noted, and his wife is a deputy
with the Beach County Sheriffs
Department
Mayor Stumbo added that
Lundy has been recognized by
the department as officer of the
year and has also been recog¬
nized as officer of the year by
the Optimist Club
Lundy also devotes time to
working with DARE program,
according to Stumbo, and he vol¬
unteers his time to work with
Habitat for Humanity.
The new bandstand planned
for Fincher Park will be funded
in part, according to Stumbo,
from the sale of commemorative
bricks
The bandstand, Stumbo said,
is being designed by Tribble &
City Attorney Charles Jones explained that the
ordinance was designed in an effort to comply with
state law and to avoid health problems
Local funeral director. Clayborn Edwards, told
council he thought the ordinance was needed
Asked how he would handle an indigent case
where a person could not afford to pay for a vault.
Edwards said he would come to the city for assis
tance
“It seems to me.* Stumbo said, “that what we
need to require is that the container would not rot
and is also sealed *
Edwards noted that "some people just won’t be
able to afford it ”
Stumbo indicated that the city might be respan
sible for seeing to it that indigent persons could
obtain a vault
Edwards raised the question of how such an ordi
would be enforced
Faced with several questions, council members
decided to table the proposed ordinance
City selling
bricks for use
in Fincher Park
Your name could be commem
orated in brick for all posterity if
you so desire
The City of Fort Valley is
offering the opportunity to buy a
commemorative brick with
names or special messages per
manently cut in the trick
Purchased bricks will be used
in the new bandstand ami plaza
of Fincher Park which happens
to be in the center of Fbrt Valley
Fincher Park is being rebuilt to
include a bandstand, plaza,
town clock and fountain. The
design plan can be seen at Fbrt
Valley City Hall
Meaaages you use on the
..brick may include an anniver
sary or birthday wish, a meims
rial or simply an individual’s
name The rustic red bricks we
of permanent high quality and
measure eight inches by four
inches by two and n quarter
inches A two-line message with
14 characters per line may be
used Messages an- sandblasted
into the bnck
Richardson
Then* will also be a lam* four
faced clock that will chime the
Westminster chimes on the
quarter hour and there will be a
fountain at one end of the park
Persons wanting to purchase
commemorative bricks should
contact Jo Cobb at city hall
Charles Simms addressed the
council concerning a request for
council to support a survey of
local businesses
The first part of the study,
according to Simms, focuses on
the strengths and weaknesses of
the local economy and is
designed to assist developers
such as Simms in matching the
county’s strengths with compa
nies interested in coming to the
county
The second part of the study,
known as the Business Reten¬
tion and Expansion Project
County, a growth regulator is being used to over¬
come the lack of adequate hours This product.
Dorroex, has been sprayed on a considerable
number of acres
This product has been researched thoroughly
and tune will tell how well it helps the peach
crop here in Peadh County It has proven to be
effective on trees which do not receive adequate
chill hours
Still, even with Dormex. Collier says at this
point, there are a lot of unknowns which only
time will tell.
(BREP), focuses on existing
industries in the county
During the second phase,
Simms explained, a survey of
local businesses will be conduct¬
ed A similar survey was con¬
ducted five years ago, Simms
said
Simms noted that results of
the two surveys will provide a
basis for analyzing business
trends in the county
The third part of the study will
generate a list of industry types
which should be persuaded to
locate in Peach County
(See CITY Page 2 A)
says no to racetrack
The city of Byron’s race to
resurrect the Middle Georgia
Speedway is under a caution
flag this week
Superior Court Judge Martha
Christian ruled Monday that
Byron's efforts to annex the
Middle Georgia Speedway
Property were void because the
property is not contiguous to
the city of Byron
The U.S. Department of Agri¬
culture Research Center is
located between the Middle
Georgia Speedway and the city
limits of Byron
Judge Christian said she
could find no precedent for
annexing across federal prop¬
erty
Byron City Clerk Frances
McDaniel said yesterday she
didn’t know for sure whether
then* were plans to appeal the
case but thought that the city
might leave it up to Leroy
Davidson to make the appeal
Davidson holds the-leas** on
the Middle Georgia Speedway
Mayor John Stumbo feels this
is also a unique way to celebrate
special occasions and milestones
and what better way be says to
start off the millennium
A limited number are being
sold and orders must be received
no later than April 7, 1999 Ded
ication of the newly designed
Fincher Park is expected to take
place during the Peach Festival
in June
Bricks to be placed on the
floor and steps of the bandstand
will coat you twice as much as
the ones for the plaza which are
$25 each Stumbo said he did
not want the bricks to be eost
prohibitive for anyone The sal*
of bricks will help fond the new
design of Fincher Park No tax
monies are being used in this
project
Forms to order your coni
memorative bricks can be picked
up at city hall and found in
stores throughout Fort Valley
including th** office of Tin* lsad
erTnhunv on Anderson Avenue
Lj W ifc to
1 4
i
'
-
Sgt Jell Lundy, city employee of
the month
property and has been active
in trying to get the city of
Byron to permit the reopening
of the track.
The Byron Planning and Ston¬
ing Board voted unanimously
in January to approve the re
zoning of the racetrack area as
a special recreation area
This would have marked the
next to the last step in permit¬
ting racing on the Middle Geor
gia Speed was with only action
by the city council left to be
taken
Action of the city council, of v
course, was not a foregone con
elusion Some observers count
ed three council men opposed to
the track
Monday's decision by Judge
Christian stops the entire pro¬
cess The city of Byron can’t
re-zone property they don’t
have
Whether this race is finished
or not is yet to be decided If
there is no appeal, the race¬
track is dead