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Vol. 126 Issue No. 31 ?0 Peach County's » Newspaper September 14,2011
For Peach County. City of Fort Valley and City Of Byron
ch County
• Byron City Council: Every 2nd
Monday, 6 p.m., 2nd Floor, Byron
Municipal Complex.
• Ft. Valley City Council: Work
Session 5:30 p.m. Tuesday before
regular meeting. Mayor's Office, City
Hall; Regular Meeting every third
Thursday, 6:30 p.m.. Public Meeting
Room, City Hall.
•County Commissioners: Every 2nd
Tuesday. 4 p.m.. Public Meeting Room.
County Courthouse Annex. Ft. Valley.
•Board of Education: Study Session,
Tbesday before Regular Meeting, 5
p.m.. Board Meeting Room; Regular
Meeting every 1st Tuesday. Board
Meeting Room, 523 Vineville St„ Ft.
Valley.
• Hospital Authority: Friday after 4th
Monday. 9 a.m., Conference Room.
Peach Regional Medical Center.
•Development Authority: Every 3rd
Thursday, 8 a.m.. Conference Room.
Troutman House, Ft. Valley.
• Ft. Valley Utility Corn-mission:
Every 2nd Monday, 6 p.m., Public
Meeting Room, Ft. Valley City Hall.
• Water & Sewerage Authority: 3rd
Monday of month, 6:15 p.m.. Public
Meeting Room. County Courthouse
Annex, Ft. Valley.
•Tax Assessors: First Thursday of
month, 6 p.m.. Public Meeting Room.
County Courthouse Annex, Ft. Valley.
•Byron Planning & Zoning: Every
4th Thursday of month, 6 p.m.
•Fort Valley DDA Board: First
Tuesday, 6 p.m., Troutman House
Conference Room.
• Fort Valley Historical Preservation
Commission: Second Thursday at 6
p.m., Troutman House Conference
Room
Locol Weother Forecast
Wednesday, Sept. 14
Partly 92 Cloudy
Hi: 9
Lo:62°
Thursday, Sept. 15
Scattered
Thunderstorms
Hi: 92 •
Lo:68
Friday, Sept. 16
T-storms
Hi. 84*
Lo:61 *
Saturday, Sept. 17
Showers
Hi.79*
Lo.59*
Sunday, Sept. 18
Mostly Cloudy
Hi.8 O’
Lo60‘
Monday, Sept. 19
Mostly Hi:8l‘ Cloudy
Lo'62”
Tuesday, Sept. 20
Sunn^ (Clear)
Lo.63 * sf
Serving Peach ( aunty lor t Per I OfI ) < ar\ 1 Peach Publishing Co. \en\papcr
2011 a Banner Year
lor the Hambone Jam
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Georgia State BBQ Champs. Looking a bit stunned, Carl Williams holds the 2011 ComSouth Hambone
Jam Grand Champion trophy. Williams leads Smokin' Willy Squealers Barbeque Team, which hails from
Barney, Ga., near Valdosta. Other members include Carl's wife Mary, Melissa Emerson and Jimmy
Emerson. Smokin' Willy Squealers also won 1st Place in Ribs. Photo by Victor Kulkosky %
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
The smoke was starting to clear and
the grills had already been scrubbed by
the time the 2011 ComSouth Hambone
Jam Grand Champion was announced
at the Austin Theater in downtown Fort
Valley last Saturday afternoon.
The winner and arguably State
Champs of barbecue is Smokin' Willy
Squealers Barbeque Team from the
little town of Barney, near Valdosta
in south Georgia. The Smokin' Willy
team also took home 1 st Place in the
ribs category.
Team leader Carl Williams won
loud applause and multiple hugs and
handshakes from fellow barbecuers. a
fiercely competitive but also collegial
bunch.
“Nobody deserves it more,’ said
competitor Danny Evans. “He really
put it in there.”
After accepting the trophy and
prize money from the Hambone Jam
and Georgia Barbeque Association,
Williams spoke of fellow barbecuers
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MwMm in Offer. Coach Chad Campbell leads the Trojans, coaches and supporters in post-game
prayer after Peach County's 14-7 win over Veterans High School. Photo by Victor Kulkosky
who had passed recently and who were
there in spirit.
The members of the Smokin' Willy
Squealers Barbecue Team include Carl
and Mary Williams, and Jimmy and
Melissa Emerson.
The 2011 ComSouth Hambone
Jam was by all reports a success and
improvement over previous years.
Vendors reported brisk sales, with most
BBQ teams sold out or down to the
dregs by early Saturday afternoon.
Staff with Fort Valley Main Street,
co-sponsors of the Jam, said several
hundred people, including many Fort
Valley State students, attended the
Friday night Street Party.
Main Street staff attributed the 2011
event's new heights to a few fac
tors. ComSouth’s participation was
a major factor. As lead sponsor, the
local cable TV company promoted the
Hambone Jam regularly to subscrib
ers. Organizers also promoted the
Jam at the recent F.L.Y. Friday event
for FVSU students, who attended the
Friday Street Party in large numbers.
Local favorites The John Stanley Band
Renews Byron
Agreement Depot
With
Historical
Society
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
The Byron Area Historical Society
and Byron City Council have
renewed an agreement that will help
keep up the Old Jail and Byron
Depot.
BAHS President Marlene
Humphry addressed the council
Monday night on two related issues.
The first issue was a request for
reimbursement for repair work done
on the Depot. She said boards on
the Depot steps were cracked and
loose, creating a safety and liability
problem. The paint on the Depot
was also faded and peeling.
She said the BAHS moved quickly
to do the repairs and solicited bids.
The winning bid was for $5,371.75.
She said the work was completed
with satisfactory results.
Humphry explained that the
BAHS felt it was necessary to do
the work first and then seek reint
bursement because of the safety and
liability issues, and also said the
existing agreement between the city
and the society called for Byron to
pay any expenses over $250.
The council deferred the request
to the Finance Committee in order
to find the needed funds.
The council next took up the
agreement between the BAHS and
the city. Humphry noted that a for¬
mal agreement had not actually been
made last year, with the 2009 agree¬
ment expiring at the end of that year,
but both parties had been abiding
by terms of the previous agreement.
The council voted unanimously to
renew the agreement on the same
terms through the end of the fis¬
cal year (also the calendar year in
Byron) and then consider a new
agreement for the next year.
In other business, the council
agreed to provide $25,000 to the
Byron Police Department to buy a
trailer which will serve as both a
mobile command center for traffic
enforcement as well as an education¬
al facility. A BPD official said the
city's money would be reimbursed
within a month from the proceeds
of a grant.
In other business. Mayor Pro
Temem Michael Chidester gave
the quarterly report on the Jointly
Owned Natural Gas operation. The
City Byron and several other Middle
Georgia cities are JONG members,
which has allowed the cities to dis¬
continue costly individual gas opera¬
tions. Chidester noted that addition¬
al federal certification requirements
for gas employees would go into
effect next month.
“We're doing well without the
expense of certification.” he said.
Chidester said the JONG report
shows accrued profit and loss has
declined during the summer months,
which is typical, since gas sales peak
in the winter. The accrued profit/
loss July was just below $35 jOOO,
with the peak during February 2011,
when it reached over $61JOOO.
In other businessjhe council:
• Deferred action
on a Transportation Enhancement
Memorandum of Understanding
until a special council meeting to be
scheduled later;
• Approved a for¬
mal policy on use of the exercise
room provided for exclusive use of
city employees;
Approved the
Continued to page 3
provided live music from a stage set up
near the ComSouth office at the end of
Main Street.
Organizers also improved the set up
of the Hambone Jam. The cooking
teams were mostly on West Church
Street, while vendors were on Main
Street, which made it easier for visitors
to find food, drinks and goodies.
The Hambone Jam began in 2006
as local cooking contest, but word got
around the barbecue community and
the Jam became an official event of
the Georgia Barbeque Association the
next year. The GBA bills the Hambone
Jam as the State Championship of
barbecue.
The 2011 ComSouth Hambone Jam
Winners are:
Grand Champions: Smokin' Willy
Squealers
Reserve Grand Champions: DW
Kountry Cookers
1st Place Ribs: Smokin’ Willy
Squealers
Continued to page 3 ______