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Vol. 126 Issue No. 27 56* L\ County's ■ Newspaper August 3,2011
Legal Organ For Peach County ; City of Fort Valley and CityOf Byron
Pilot Dies in
Bvron Plane Crash
Mill Rates
Hold Steady;
Tax
Collections
Set to Shrink
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
The taxman taketh, but this year, he
taketh a tiny bit less.
Three of the four governments
in Peach County that collect prop¬
erty taxes have left their mill rates
unchanged for the 20111 tax year.
With the economy sluggish and assess¬
ments still frozen, local governments
have anticipated taking in fewer tax
dollars this year. Also, foreclosed or
distressed properties that sold below
market value go on the tax digest
for one year at the sale price rather
than the fair market price, which also
reduces the value of the tax digest.
The Board of Education rate stays
at 17, the county’s at 13.555 and Fort
Valley plans to keep its rate at 11.855.
Byron won’t set its rate until near the
end of the calendar year.
The BOE and county commissioners
have already approved their mill rates.
Fort Valley just announced its rate and
plans to approve it at an August 25
meeting.
After a July 28 public hearing that
no citizens attended, commissioners,
unanimously approved Commissioner
Roy Lewis’s motion to set the mill
rate at 13.555. The 2011 tax year is
the third straight year the board set
the rate at 13.555 mills. The motion
also included approving the 17-mill
rate set by the Peach County Board
of Education. By law commissioners
can discuss BOE mill rates but can’t
reject them.
The board also unanimously
Continued to page 3
Millage in
a
Nutshell
A mill is $1 of tax for $1,000 of
assessed value. In Georgia, taxes are
calculated on 40% of property’s fair
market value. Thus, if a home has a
fair market value of $100,000, that
means assessors concluded that it
would sell for that amount, based on
market conditions and recent sales of
similar properties. The assessed value
for tax purposes for that home would
be 40% of $100000. or $40,000. in
Peach County, the tax bill on that home
would include county taxes, board of
education taxes, and Fort Valley or
Byron taxes if the home is in the limits
of either city.
For the theoretical $100000 home,
the tax bill would look this:
Fair Market Value: $100000
Value for Tax Purposes: $40000
County Taxes: (40 x 13555)=
$542.20
BOE Taxes: (40 x 17) = $680
Total County and BOE: $1,222.20
If the home is in Fort Valley, add
11.855 x 40 = $474.20.
Total County, BOE and Fort
Valley: = $1696 40
There do not
include exemptions, which vary
according to the type of property, own
er’s and by city, county or BOE.
Call the Tax ’s Office at
(478) 825-3161 or die Tax Assessors'
Office at (478) 825-5924 with
You also go online to www.
to took up tax
information on your own or other
Peach County Tax
W.L. Brown expects to 2011 tax
. with a due of
\< /
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
A Macon man died Sunday when
his single-engine plane crashed in
Byron.
According to release sent by Peach
County Sheriff Terry Deese, calls
started coming in around 1:20 p.m.
Sunday, July 31 that a plane had crashed
in the Autumn Cove Subdivision of
Byron, off 247 Connector.
The pilot, Robert Pelissier, was
killed during the crash. He was 44
and lived in Macon. Mr. Pelissier was
en route back to the Perry Airport
Life Finds a Way
Earnest Habersham's Garden Gives Forth
Miracles Despite Drought
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
__ __
The last time we paid a visit to
Earnest Habersham's garden, it was to
admire his tomatoes - as big as two
large Fists put together.
This year, the house on Julius
Simmons Blvd. is still easy to Find,
with its hand-built blue and white
arches and two driveways painted in
the same colors. Habersham, a retired
hoolth, One tomato with appoars normal in good
but size coro
parmd to last voar's doublo fist
size monsters Mr. Haborsham has
grown in provious yoars.
Photo by Victor Kulkosky
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To School!
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from Kentucky and he was the lone
passenger in the plane, according to
the Sheriff.
The release said witnesses reported
that the plane was flying very low and
appeared to have have some type of
mechanical problem. The witnesses
reported hearing a that a loud pop
and seeing the right wing brake off,
causing the plane to start spinning
out of control. The wing was found
about 200 yards from where the plane
crashed.
Autumn Cove is a densely popu¬
lated neighborhood but there were
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ST
a
no injuries to any residents and only
minor damage to the roof of one
house, according to the release.
The accident has been turned over to
the Federal Aviation Administration
and National Transportation Safety
Board for further investigation.
The Peach County Sheriff’s Office
received assistance from Byron Police
Department, Peach County Fire
Department. Perry Police Department,
Houston County Sheriff’s Office and
the Georgia State Patrol.
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Earnost Haborsham stands bohind a row of his collard greens, giving
a good sonso of thoir size and vigor. Photo by Victor Kulkosky
funeral home director, is on the back
porch, peeling an cation in prepara
tion for a big pot erf Brunswick stew,
which he says is the customary dish he
prepares in anticipation of his children
coming to visit.
The drought, however, has cut Mr.
Habersham's tomatoes down to size,
A handful still cling to the vines, with
ered and unable to boast the Olympian
proportions of previous year's crops.
Only one tomato, in partial shade deep
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Principal
Was
Suspended
Over $100
Check
Incident Led
to Changed
Check Policies
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
Peach County High School Principal
Bruce Mackey was suspended after an
investigation determined he had inap¬
propriately used school funds. Mackey
served out the suspension and reim¬
bursed the school system.
According to the investigation File
provided by the Georgia Professional
Standards Commission, Assistant
Superintendent Jim O'Shields initiated
a complaint after questions arose over
a $100 check written on a school
account in August 2010. The check
was written to a fraternity brother of
the principal who was running for
office in that organization. (The GPSC
is the organization in Georgia that
licenses teachers and accredits teacher
education programs.)
According to the case File, the book¬
keeper responsible for the account was
absent on Aug. 24, 2010, the date the
check was written, and the $100 check
was prepared by a secretary following
Mackey's instructions. The secretary
told GPSC investigators she used a
stamp of the assistant principal's signa¬
ture. The stamp was kept in a desk the
secretary shared with the bookkeeper.
According to the case File, the assis¬
tant principal tpld investigators he was
not aware the check had been written
and the signature on the check was
from a stamp, which the bookkeeper
was authorized to use.
The reports says that Mackey told
GPSC investigators that he directed his
secretary to write the check and that he
gave the check to his fraternity brother.
“He stated that he made the donation
to the fraternity brother's campaign
because the fraternity had previously
given scholarships to students at the
school and that the fraternity brother
was a critical player in the school
receiving the scholarships,” the report
says.
The report quotes Mackey as telling
investigators: “ ... what happened was
strictly an error in judgment, not an
indicator of my level of professional¬
ism or standard.”
The report also quoted Mackey as
saying: “Again, 1 wish to stress that at
no time have I ever or will I ever write
a check knowing that misuse was or is
ever intended.”
The report says
According to the report, Mackey
told investigators that PCHS had a
procedure in place that allowed for
signature stamps to be used on most
checks issued on school accounts,
but after this incident, the procedure
was changed. The reports says then
Superintendent Susan Clark told inves¬
tigators she had directed Mackey to
reimburse the funds and change the
check issuing procedure to require
two original signatures. She also told
the GPSC that Mackey's actions had
been reviewed by the Peach County
Board of Education and he had been
suspended without pay for 10 days.
GPSC records also show that Mackey's
certification was suspended from April
26.2011 to June 11.2011.
The report says Assistant
Superintendent O'Shields told the
GPSC that his internal investigation
“did not indicate there was a deliber
(ontmuMl to pogo 3
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inside some vines, shows a robust
blood-red color,
But check out those the greens ...
The miserly rainfall of this year
didn't stunt the growth erf Eamesi
Habersham's collard greens. Rows
and rows of them stand three to four
feet tail, firm leaves stretching out.
waiting for any taker with a pot big
enough to handle these awe-inspiring
Continued 10 page 3______________