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UNIV. OF GA
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Vol. 126 Issue No. 39 500 Peach County's Newspaper December 21,2011
Legal Organ For Peach County, City of Fort Valley and City Of Byron
Sheriffs
Deputies
Get New
Software
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
County Commissioners last week
approved a contract that should
Sheriffs deputies more time on patrol
and less time in the office
paperwork.
At last week's regular monthly
meeting of the Peach County
of Commissioners,
Technology Director Rich Bennett
discussed new software and a new
server that would allow officers to do
things such as criminal record checks,
accident reports and other reporting
directly from the computers in their
cars. As a result, deputies would not
have to return to the office as fre¬
quently
"There's a lot of data to enter for
each interaction with the public,”
Bennett said.
He said the computers for each car
would cost $2,500 each and the data
would cost $35 per month per car.
Commissioners unammous
ly approved the contract with
Synergistics Software Inc.
In other business, commissioners
approved a binding agreement with
Peach County Board of Education
covering repayment of bonds. The
BOE issued $7.27 million in bonds
earlier this month to be repaid with
revenue from the latest E-SPLOST.
The agreement obligates the board
of commissioners to raise taxes to
cover the bond payments should the
E-SPLOST fail to raise enough money
to pay off the bonds. Commissioners
approved the agreement after County
Attorney Jeff Liipfert explained they
cannot legally refuse to back up the
BOE.
In other business, Elections
Supervisor Michelle Riley addressed
the board concerning optical scan
units used for counting mail-in bal¬
lots. She said the readers on each
unit are bad would need replacing at
a total of $2,995; however, manufac
turer Election Systems & Software
has a sale on entirely units for $845
each, for a total of $2,535, $400 less
than replacing only the parts.
Commissioners unanimously
approved purchasing the three new
optical scanners.
In other business, commissioners:
• Authorized Johnson Controls to
perform an energy audit on county
owned buildings to determine whether
the county might be eligible for an
energy performance contract, with no
obligations unless a budget-neutral
project is determined to be possible;
• Agreed to vote on a proposed
ordinance covering all-terrain vehicles
at the next monthly meeting;
• Authorized Fire Chief/EMA
Director Jeff Doles to issue a request
for proposal for erecting a new com¬
munications tower and installing all
necessary equipment,
• Approved an agreement with the
Peach County Board of Education to
use a section of the old Hunt Primary
School as a voting precinct;
• Accepted the recommendation
of County Marshall Tommy Joe
Crutchfield for new and renewed alco¬
holic beverage licenses.
Early in the meeting, Frankie
Towles with Peach County Family
Connections introduced the Harp
Choir from the PCPCs target com¬
munity of Tabor Heights. PCFC.
the local member of the state-wide
Family Connections program, works
to reduce child abuse and neglect
among at-risk families. The Harp
Continued to page 2,
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Talen Oneal is delighted to find himself surrounded by
miniature donkeys at the Petting Zoo at the Big Peach
Event in Byron. Photo by Victor Kulkosky
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Passenger Depot Given to Fort Valley
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Connie Rainey and Kathie Lambert with Fort Valley Main
Street/Downtown Development Authority in front of the old
Passenger Depot, which owner Renee Caira recently do¬
nated
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
In time for Christmas, Fort Valley
has just received a gift, although it’s a
bit too large for gift wrapping: the Old
Passenger Depot.
Renee Caira recently donated the
passenger depot building (next to the
Farmers Market) in honor of her late
husband Steven, said Katfcft Lambert.
Executive Director of Fort Valley
Main Street/Downtown Development
Authority. Main Street/DDA is in
charge of maintaining and developing
the city's downtown area.
The donation gives the city control
of the Passenger Depot, the Signal
Building next door and the Freight
Depot across the tracks.
“It’s a huge advantage to our com¬
munity,” said Connie Rainey, a Main
Street board member
For decades, passengers waited in
’’i
Byron resident Michael
Rady "The signs a copy of his
book Quest for Nev
eragain," at the Big Peach
Event last Saturday.
Pinkie (left) and Curley Lee
are two female llamas from
Rock Creek Farm and Llama
Co. in Fort Valley. They
were part of the Petting Zoo
at last Saturday's Big Peach
Event at the Peach Shops
@ Byron. Photo by Victor
Kulkosky
the depot to board up to 15 daily trains
that stopped in Fort Valley when the
city was a bustling agricultural and
commercial center, while arriving pas¬
sengers passed through it cn route
to one of the city’s several hotels or
to farther destinations. The last pas¬
senger service to Fort Valley ended in
1963.
Many current Fort Valley residents
have fond memories of the Caira’s
furniture store, which carried an eclec¬
tic mix of antiques and unique furni¬
ture and home ddcor. The depot also
housed the Railroad Caff, which for
a few years was popular for its unique
sandwiches. An African-themed store
was also housed in the depot for a
while.
Connie Rainey said Main Street is
seeking volunteers to form a commit¬
tee to develop ideas for fitting uses
of the Passenger Depot and two other
railroad buildings. Previously awarded
grants will help restore the Freight
Depot. Among the decisions that com¬
mittee will make will be how to make
use of a set of iron gates recently given
by an anonymous donor. Renee Caira
also donated the safe that still sits in
the Passenger Depot, but reserved any
contents for herself. Just what is in tire
safe is anyone's guess, as it hasn't been
opened in decades and the combination
is long lost. A public “cracking" will
happen at some rime in the future.
A formal dedication ceremony for
the Freight Depot will be held in
February 2012.
As for the gift wrapping. Lambert
and Rainey did put up a few Christmas
decorations, including a wreath with
a bow.
Ballard
Spins A
Wreath and
A Few Tales
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At his workshop at Byron's
Big Peach Event at the
Peach Shops, Mark Ballard
displays one of the home
decorator's indispensable
items: a pipe cleaner, with
«k/or matched to blend
in to the project at hand.
Photo by Victor Kulkosky
By Victor Kulkosky
New s Editor
_ _
If you didn’t manage to get to
Ballard's creatively decorated home
Macon for the annual Christmas
you had a chance to catch a glimpse
how he does it last Saturday in
Ballard, Middle Georgia's own
of gourmet cooking and
home ddcor, did a workshop at
Cow and The Calf Gallery as part
the Holiday Extravaganza at the
Shops <s> Byron.
The theme of the workshop was
orating a Christmas wreath.
announced he would depart from
norm for this occasion and fashion
wreath with a subdued color palette:
few shades of green mixed with a bit
gold. Which isn’t to say the
was colorless; this wasn’t just
"how to" workshop, after all, but
performance by Mark Allen Ballard
who kept up an eclectic commentary
including anecdotes from a recent trip
to New York City to take in the holi
day sights; an encounter with Phoebe
saleslady at a particularly snooty bou
tique; and some painful moments witf
glue guns.
Ballard joked that he could get away
with crimes because his fingerprints
have been peeled off by hot glue.
“Everything I make has a little piece
of me with it," he added.
As for New York City. Ballard rec¬
ommended the Christmas displays ai
the Bergdorf Goodman department
store, but he had the most fun witf
bemused stories about some of tftt
strange (and overpriced) stuff that
passes for “art” in downtown New
York galleries, such as dismemberec
motor home fragments with stripes
painted on them and a '70s era disce
ball that descended ever so slowly inte
a pool of water, only to then rise up.
Closer to home. Ballard tossec
friendly barbs at Debra, his wife ol
29 years, who was manning a table
of Ballard’s books and other items foi
sale. He complained, for instance
that Debra often arranges sales of the
things he makes at workshops at tht
same time he thinks he's arranging t
sale through nonverbal cues.
The sale of this one - as if there wa>
any doubt - went to Frances McDaniel
Director of the Byron Convention &
Visitors Bureau and host of Ballard’*
w orkshop. .
She got the wreath and - given tht
he was gleefully dispensing - i
Mark Ballard fingertip or two.