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Vol. 126 Issue No. 36 500
Wanted:
Tons of
Love #•1
And Food
By Victor Kulkosky
_ _News Editor
Give The Grace House credit
thinking big - by the ton, to be
With the Holiday Season
ing. The Grace House ministry is
ing up for its second annual
House Tons of Love Food
The concept is simple:
churches, organizations and
als sponsor one ton of food for
which meets Grace House's cost of
cents a pound at the Middle
Community Food Bank.
Grace House Executive
Craig McKinney said last year’s
was a big success: setting out with
relatively modest goal of 25 tons,
of Love gathered 53 tons of food.
So, were those 106,000 pounds
food enough? This year's goal is
tons (200,000 pounds), which
huge, until you learn that Grace
distributed 110 tons of food last year.
“Last year, I thought 25 tons was
reach. Those 53 tons blew me
McKinney said.
And the food drive didn't even
a big push last year. This year,
is going out through churches,
munity groups, schools and, of
the local press. That
drive at the end of the year is part
McKinney's goal to have the
budget in place by January I.
“We want to stress to the
to remember the poor and the needy
year," he said. Public attention
be concentrated in last few weeks
the year, but the needs aren't.
“We don't go away after
when all of the joy and fun is
McKinney.
Tons of Love is the ministry's
fundraising for the whole year, and
100 or more tons will last a long
“When everything dries up. we
to rely on that throughout the
McKinney said
Grace House also has a program
concentrates on the joy and fun.
Christmas Wish List program
wish lists from children, and
nity members come in, pick up a
and donate the things on the list.
lists are already at the Grace
ready for pick up.
A question that comes up these
for charitable groups is the impact
the economy on their work. Like
ministries. Grace House is seeing a rise
in first-time clients.
“They've never been on any kind
of assistance and don’t know where
begin," McKinney said.
Grace House taps into
a software program that prc qualifies
people for all kinds of government pro¬
grams in one session. That informa¬
tion then goes to Peach County DFCS,
which sets up an appointment for the
family. They come to the appointment
with the paperwork already done.
And, since they've come to Grace
House, incoming clients receive spiri¬
tual counseling along with food and
other assistance
“Our goal is to make people's lives
just a little more comfortable and easi¬
er," McKinney said.
Needing assistance for the first time
can be a Wow to people's pride, but
Grace House takes a “we're all in this
together” attitude.
“Most of us are two or three pay
checks away from being here,"
McKinney said. To new clients who
say they never thought they'd ever
need a food bank. “We tell them it’s all
going to be okay."
It doesn’t hurt that Fort Valley lives
up to the city's motto. “Where caring is
a way of!!?*."
Continued to page 3_
S err it iv / eat // ( tt /v For Over 100 ) ears 1 Peach Publishing Co. W nspaper
Peach
Organ For Peach County, City of Fort Valley and City
Fort Valley Team Wins Red
Kettle Kick-off Contest
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Left to Right (standing) - Julia Alvarado, Pat Murphy, Kristin Alligood, Frank Absher, Tiffany Champagne,
Anne Lane Tribble, Linda Gove, Mike McGrow, Doris Westmoreland, Duke Lane, Jr. , Duke Lane, III,
Heather Harper; Mark Sanchez, Tammi Sledge, Wendy Barton, Carolyn Schladensky
In addition to being Veterans’ Day,
Friday Nov. 11 was also the kick
off for the Salvation Army’s annual
Red Kettle season. To add a little
extra spice to the kick off in the cen¬
tral Georgia area, the Central Georgia
Division of the Salvation Army has a
“Media Mogul Contest.” In the sec¬
ond annual contest, 10 teams of media
outlete,i>iwuuiissetand kettle locations
competed fo see who could raise the
rribst in the first hour of ringing. Fort
Valley’s team consisted of the Leader
Tribune, lane Southern Orchard and
Camellia & Main. The rules permit
“padding the kettle” ahead of time as
long as the money is put in the kettle
during the first hour of ringing!
This year's winner was the Fort
Valley Team! In second place was the
Forsyth learn.
While there is always a lot of vis¬
ibility for the Salvation Army during
the Christmas season, assistance is
provided to people, without discrimi¬
nation. all throughout the year. For
Bryon, EPD on
Better Terms
Sunday Alcohol
Coming in
December
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
_
It was something of a milestone for
Byron.
At Monday's regular monthly meet¬
ing of the Bynon City Council, Mayor
Pro Tern Michael Chidester reported
on a recent meeting between Byron
officials and Georgia Environmental
Protection Division representatives
to discuss another extension of the
Consent Order covering the city's
wastewater treatment plant”.
“For the first time, the atmosphere
was cordial and there was no ani¬
mosity,” Chidester said. “They're
just thrilled to death with what we’re
doing.”
Byron has been trying for years to
solve problems with its outdated and
undersized sewage treatment facility.
Those problems have led to fines
and several agreements with the EPD.
Political and financial obstacles have
delayed or scuttled the city’s plans to
update or replace the plant. The city
finally decided to get out of the waste¬
water treatment business and send
much of its wastewater to Macon
for treatment. Work on that project
is underway but will require anoth¬
er extension on the Consent Order
between Byron and the EPD.
Chidester said the EPD readily
agreed to this extension, fcven giv
Co ntinued to page 7
example, services provided by The
Salvation Army to the Central Georgia
Community in 2010 include:
Homeless shelters (120 beds- giving
over 48,000 nights of lodging).
Social Services (providing food,
utility assistance, clothing, and/or rent
assistance to over 6300 families).
Family Stores (providing low
priced clothing & household items at
much reduced prices and vouchers to
those who cannot pay. Income from
the Family Stores helps support the
programs of The Army).
Disaster Relief (staff and volunteers
stand ready to deploy in a state-of
the-art mobile kitchen to give aid
when and where needed in time of
fire, tornado, hurricane, flood or even
terrorist attack. When tornados struck
Alabama and Georgia earlier this year,
the Central Georgia disaster relief unit
was deployed to assist in Bamesville
and Griffin).
Youth Services (Boy Scouts, youth
clubs, Summer Camp)
Chancellor Addresses FVSU
Students About Issue
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of Newly elected University System
Georgia Chancellor Hank
Huckabee
Newly elected University System
of Georgia Chancellor Henry "Hank"
Huckaby put minds of Fort Valley
State University students at ease with
his forum.
The Georgia native was named by
the Board of Regents as the USG
Chancellor nearly four months ago
and is trying to better understand¬
ing of what condition the university
system is in.
Huckaby decided that by the end
of December he will make personal
visits to all universities and colleges
in the state of Georgia.
Since then, the 12th USG
Chancellor has visited almost all of
the 35 institutions of higher learning
including North Georgia. Kennesaw
State and Gordon College with
FVSU being his 30th stop.
“My main focus for being here is
to visit and meet with students and
faculty to see what’s going on; I
don’t do tire campus visits to make
speeches. I will be responding to
their questions and their concerns,"
Women’s and Men’s Ministries
Senior Citizens Ministries
Six-month Substance Abuse
Rehabilitation Program
Safe House for Domestic Violence
Victims and their children
Community Feeding Program (serv¬
ing over 120,000 meals in 2010)
Volunteers are a very integral part
of The Salvation Army work, and
this work could not be done without
the unselfish gift of time, talent and
treasure committed to “Doing The
Most Good” for the least, the last and
the lost. The Salvation Army Advisory
Board and the Women’s Auxiliary are
all volunteers.
This year, for the first time in many
years, there will be a red kettle at Lane
Southern Orchards each Saturday
through Dec. 17, from 9:00 to 5:00,
staffed by volunteers from our
area—churches, school clubs, youth
groups, civic clubs and individuals.
Stop by and put something in the
kettle!
said the 12th USG chancellor.
During the Chancellors forum stu¬
dents expressed concerns ranging from
lack of institutional funding, diversity
among university and their most press¬
ing concern that state of their institu¬
tion .
This concern arose from a specula¬
tion stating that the University System
of Georgia is making plans to con¬
solidate FVSU with the University
of Georgia, both the only land-grant
institutions in Georgia.
With the Chancellor standing at the
lec,ern FVSU Student Government
Association President Dominique
Vidal Nichols requested that shed light
on the vague details that have been
provided to the student body.
“I’m not sure where this rumor came
from or where it originated but it is
totally false there’s absolutely no truth
to that," said Huckaby.
Huckaby went on to explain that the
consolidation of universities has been
discussed for over 30 years now with
little progress or effort from the USG
and universities to get a deal done.
After the forums concluded Huckaby
meet with several science, biotech¬
nology and biology students as they
presented their research in the form
of a brief poster presentation. The for¬
mer Spalding county product was then
escorted on a tour of Fort Valley Stare
ending his visit to the university.
“I felt like it was a very good visit, it
was nice of him to come down here,”
said Fred D. Hammonds III, Student
Government Association business
manager “I feel like it’s very important
for our students to continue to go to
class and continue to strive for
Continued to page 7
November
Byron
County to
Send $200K
to Fight RAFB
Encroachment
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
Last week. County Commissioners
voted to do their part to protect Robins
Air Force Base from encroachment.
At their regular monthly meet¬
ing, the Peach County Board of
Commissioners unanimously approved
a $200,0(X) payment to the Central
Georgia Joint Development Authority,
an intergovernmental agency created
to buy property near Robins Air Force
Base to protect it from encroachment.
With military budgets facing cuts
and communities concerned about pro¬
tecting their military bases, encroach¬
ment has emerged as one of the major
obstacles that can cause a base to
lose existing programs or miss out on
new ones. Encroachment occurs when
new owners acquire property near a
base and then begin complaints and
legal actions about base operations, in
RAFB's case, the main issue is noise
from planes taking off and landing.
The $200,000 payment is the first of
two equal payments, with the next pay¬
ment scheduled for the next fiscal year.
In other business. Public Works
Director Paul Schwindler addressed
commissioners concerning the agree¬
ment with Kay Center for lawn care
service. He said Kay Center was ask¬
ing for an increase of the monthly fee
from $990 per month to $1,040 per
month, the first increase since Kay
Center began doing the work for the
county.
Schwindler said the price increase
was justified, but he suggested com¬
missioners might want to consider bid¬
ding out the work or at least drawing
up a formal contract with Kay Center.
He said the current informal arrange¬
ment lacks specifications, and he has
concerns about the adequacy of Kay
Center's equipment.
“It's a community service thing,”
said Commissioner Roy Lewis.
“Everything they do for us goes back
to the community.” Lewis said he is
“not in favor of backing them out the
door” but would support coming up
with a more detailed contract.
Commissioners voted to maintain
the month-to-month arrangement with
Kay Center at the new price. {Tending a
more detailed contract.
In other business, commissioners
voted to accept the recommendation of
Purchasing Manager Clarice Davis to
the sealed bids for a new phone
for the court house. Davis
only two bids were received and
was adequate. The county will
more bids without re-advertising.
Commissioners also approved a
from the Fort Valley Utility
for some changes
wording to the Memorandum of
covering the planned
system extension into Southwest
The changes in wording clarify
FVUC's responsibilities for the
without changing them.
Number 3 will now say that FVUC
“Pay for upgrades to the system,
be at the sole discretion of the
Valley Utility Commission, which
not required to successfully service
Peach County portion of the proj¬
The changes are in italics.
Number 5 will now read: “Since the
Valley Utility Commission will
be paying any of the construction
the Utility Commission will not
connection fees."
Homes in Southwest Peach are built
lots that are too small for adequate
tank drainage. More recent
building codes don’t permit septic
on lots typical feu- Southwest
In September 2011, Fort Valley.
County and the FVUC signed a
Continued fo