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!•• !!• III..II mi .1,111.,.11,..II ■&9 Milt HI, I,,I, i,,11.,,! Stop UNIV ATHENS 4*2 GEORGIA OF GA GA NEWSPAPER 30602-0001 ‘♦•AIL PROJECT FOR ADC 301 JUtot&er Vito doomU f 0 / P I AO Come out and support the Trojans as they take on the Rldgeland Panthers Friday Night 1 f flff it L\ r f eilMic- . BA # 81- tp--T j* 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 - U f o 1 ir"‘ H u II Ht • J* In jim 4 ? 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 '# r 1 Jvr 4 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