Newspaper Page Text
•—
II,II,.,,11,,I! (•III II.,.H IH.I..I. Inti la * m
4# 2 (II ml :
mm ,v» ^
GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT Ws ■
UNIV OF GA 1m
A THEN'S GA 30602-0001 •M*
<3 1 I s - I
fK*. they
Come out and support the Peach as take on
‘-hi CunoUto” T f( funs fralev "■ qhi
'
rWFlT *
Vol. 126 Issue No. 37 500
Legal Organ For Peach County. City of Fort Valley and City Of Byron
Byron
Keeps Mill
Rate at 9
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
The Byron City Council voted last
week to leave the city's property tax
rate at nine mills for the next fiscal
year.
During a called meeting. Business
and Finance Committee Chairman
Michael Chumbley said the committee
had reviewed the city's finances and
looked at the future and voted to keep
the mill rate at nine, unchanged from
the previous year.
TTie council unanimously approved
the committee’s recommendation.
A mill is one dollar of taxes for every
$1,000 of assessed value. Georgia
law sets the assessed value for tax
purposes at 40% of the fair market
price of a home. Thus, a theoretical
$100,000 home in Byron would be
worth $40,000 for tax purposes. Nine
mills times 40 equals 360, making the
home's city tax bill $360. The owner
of that theoretical home would also
have a county tax bill of $542.2(Land.
a Board of Education tax bill of $580,
bringing the total to $1,582.20. This
example does not include any exemp¬
tions. which vary by the individual
property owner and each government
entity.
In other business, the council
approved revisions to rental and use
policies for the Byron Municipal
Complex. City Councilman Mark
Waters said the Public Properties
Committee had added a refundable
deposit for damage and clean-up of the
kitchen. A security detail consisting of
a Byron Police officer will be assigned
to every event. The officer will have a
checklist to go over with a representa¬
tive of the group renting the facilities.
Mayor Collins said problems with
damage and clean-up, particularly with
weekend rentals were well known and
the revised policies would hopefully
eliminate those problems.
Update
on A.W.
Our long-time Sports
Correspondent A.W. Dorsey has
been transferred from the Medical
Center of Central Georgia to its affil¬
iate, Central Georgia Rehabilitation
Hospital, to begin the next phase of
recovery from his recent stroke.
He has difficulty swallowing and
gets most of his nourishment intra¬
venously. Doctors expect him to be
able to swallow in the future. A.W.
can move his legs but does not yet
have enough strength to walk. He
also has use of only one arm.
A.W. could sure use some encour¬
aging words. His cell phone number
is 737-8587. We encourage readers
to call or write and let him know
people are pulling for him. The
phone number at Central Georgia
Rehab is (478) 2015-6500. The
address is 3351 Northside Dr.,
Macon GA 31201.
m for last week s
‘ i of The
Kettle
*
of the winning team.
We
-
S# n / > Pt arh ( 1* Italy I Oi Over UK) )i t in s
Peach Newspaper
On to Round Three
Hrr Wj X
•JL uA
t
.ASr-sC.
ft
. gjg sa
‘ :
■■ * ■
- -.
SaiiS ii-.i - '*§?
Keyshawn Lowe sweeps left during fourth-quarter action. His 13 carries and 81 yards led
the team and made a major contribution to the Trojans' 35-14 victory. The team's next
match is Friday against the Carrollton Trojans.
Bkckto by Victor Kulkosky
Next SPLOST in the Works
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
It will be 2014 before another coun¬
ty-wide Special Purpose Local Option
Sales Tax could begin, but local offi¬
cials are already working on how to
divide the money that would come
from it.
Representatives from the Peach
County Board of Commissioners,
the City of Fort Valley and the City
of Byron met last Friday at the
Commissioners offices on Persons
Street to outline an agreement on shar¬
ing the estimated $21.7 million from
the proposed SPLOST.
Representatives began by listing
their priorities. Mayor Larry Collins
shared Byron's list of “near and dear"
projects. First is a stormwater utility.
Collins said SPLOST funds could be
the "seed money” for creating a storm¬
water system, which he said would
need to be self-sustaining, that is. pay
for itself by fees charged for services.
Byron also needs either a new fire
station or a new pumper to improve the
city's insurance rating. The city will
also need new communication equip¬
ment for the police department because
of widely anticipated changes in pub¬
lic safety communications around the
state. The city is also looking at water
system improvements and cultural/his-
Dogs Have Best Friend in Peach County
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
It's a pity dogs can't read or dial
phones. If they did, the ymight read
this article and the following message:
“Lost or abandoned? Call Tammy
Knowland at 955-8541.”
Knowland is the proprietor of Peach
County Animal Rescue, which in its
II months of existence so far has
arranged 170 per adoptions. She is
currently at full capacity w ith 40 dogs
in need of food, medical attention and
a good permanent home.
Knowland worked in business until
she became “burned out and bored”
and looked for a calling. She found
it in animal rescue. She learned the
business at Georgia Canine Rescue and
Rehabilitation under Heather Za ret sky
before establishing her own indepen¬
dent rescue operation in January of
this year.
Continued to page 3.
torical improvements, which Collins
said involve “quality of life issues.”
Also on the list is a new state court
facility that would be located in Byron.
Collins said a state court would rank
below Superior Court and above
Municipal Court. Such a project would
require enabling legislation. Collins
said the new state court would relieve
the burden of misdemeanor cases on
Superior Court, where many cases are
dismissed due urlack of resources. He
said local government could gain up to
$300,000 a year in additional revenue
from the proposed state court.
Mayor Stumbo offered Fort Valley’s
list of proposed projects. First would
be continued work on streets and the
stormwater system. The aging City
Hall is in need of renovation. The city
also needs street improvements beyond
the limited number supported by state
funds each year.
Stumbo also said public works and
public safety vehicles will need replac¬
ing. Fort Valley, like many local gov¬
ernments. has had to find other ways
of funding capital expenditures other
than through the General Fund, which
comes largely from property taxes.
Parks and recreation funds could
help build basketball courts and play¬
grounds on the rehabilitated Woolfolk
Site. The swimming pool at the Hunt
community center could use expansion
m
A true gentle giant, Magu it a lbs., 10-month-old who will Husky/ reach
Great Dane mix, now at 60
80-90lbs. lbs. At maturity loves children Magu will and be playing. approximately
80-90 He Magu
will make a great addition to playful any family. but He is be not
a TV-watchmg typical puppy. couch He can be well. Magu can safe, a
potato as is cat
and become a city pool.
The city's trash trucks, while they
look good with their recent paint jobs,
are aging and in need of replacement,
Stumbo said.
An issue that Stumbo said he
can't predict is whether the state
Environmental Protection Division
will require groundwater monitoring at
the Vienna Street wastewater plant. He
said a decision on that issue is about a
year away.
Commissioner Roy Lewis offered
the county's proposed list. About $6
million would go to road improve¬
ments of the kind normally funded
through property taxes.
“Just about everything relates to
taxes,” Lewis said.
The county also needs to replace
public safety vehicles, Lewis said.
Equipment at the E9II Center has a life
expectancy of seven to 10 years and
will need replacing by 2014, he said.
Also on the list are new ambulances
for EMS, another item once included
in the general fund and now routinely
bought through SPLOST money.
The county's list also includes a
new fire truck, county-wide tornado
sirens and a generator to ensure they
will work, police radios, computers for
the Public Libraiy, voting machines,
equipment for the Clean Community
Continued to page 5,
KfitsSd
Tigger is a Terrier saved mix who by was picked up by animal
control and was a veterinarian. She is a
sweat girl, well who loves doing being in well your with presence. house She
listens and is playful very break
mg. She is very and a lot of fun. Tigg ■
weighs about 43 lbs. She is full grown. Tigger h os
never paid any attention to the cats.
I Patch Publishing ( a. \ ewspaper
November 23,2011
County
Approves
Byron SPLOST
Drawdown
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
______
The Peach County Board of
Commissioners dealt with several
issues at a called meeting last Friday
morning.
The board approved two drawdown
requests from Byron for water and
sewer system work funded by the 2000
SPLOST. One request for $159397.49
for easements and professional servic¬
es. The second was for $519352.52
for materials and construction, bring¬
ing the total to $617,951.01. The
Peach County Water & Sewerage
Authority had previously approved the
requests. Georgia law specifies the
county government as the only entity
authorized to disburse SPLOST funds.
In other business, commissioners
voted to accept the recommendation of
Purchasing Manager Clarice Davis for
taking down the communications tower
at the old EMS station at Jail house
Alley and moving equipment to anoth¬
er location. A letter from Fire Chief/
EMA Director Jeff Doles says the old
tower currently holds equipment that
controls the county's tornado warning
system, which could be moved to the
tower at Station I.
Davis Told commissioners that
Tower Erectors in Gray offered a
quote of $ 122230 and Quality Tower
Erectors, based in Florida, offered a
quote of $27,530. She recommended
the low quote, which commissioners
approved.
In other business, commissioners
approved a revised intergovernmental
agreement between the county and
the Peach County Board of Education
covering School Resource Officers.
County Manager Marcia Johnson told
commissioners the revisions were
needed because the four-day school
week extended the school year by
about two weeks. That required slight
adjustments to the previously approved
pay rates.
In other business the board approved
a revised agreement governing the
State University Drive Streetscape
project. Johnson told commissioners
the revised agreement clearly specifies
what the county's $250,000 contribu¬
tion to the project will be used for and
spells out Fort Valley's responsibili¬
ties. The county's contribution, which
comes from 2008 SPLOST funds, will
pay for preliminary engineering work.
The rest of the roughly $1.5 million
cost of the project will come from a
federal grant.