Newspaper Page Text
144th YEAR, NO* 52
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2021
1 SECTION, 8 PAGES
50 CENTS PER COPY
Miss December
The Taylor County News Calendar Girl for Dec&nber is Bridgette
Byrd. Bridgette is a senior at Taylor County High School, where
she has been an Honor Roll!Gold Card Student all four years.
She was a member of the SAGA Yearbook Staffs freshman / sopho
more years), Key Club (sophomore /senior years), and Beta Club
(junior/senior years). She has l?een a Varsity Cheerleader through-
out her middle and high school career and served as Captain her
senior year. Following graduation, Bridgette plans to attend the
University of West Georgia to pursue a degree in Psych iatry. She
is the daughter ofda mason Byrd of Reynolds and Terry Byrd of
Reynolds, Her grandparents are Frank and Betsy Byrd of
MitledgevUle and the late Bernard and Jean Conley. The Calen
dar Girl is a monthly feature of Taylor County High School and
The Taylor County News. Calendar Girls are chosen based on
academics:, extracurricular activities, personality, and character.
IpHr® _ - iMm
iijhi Yk\' #
Mr. December
Clayton Me Gough has been named The Taylor County News Cal
endar Guy for December. Clayton is a senior at Taylor County
High School. Following graduation, he plans to attend Georgia
Southwestern State University to pursue a degree in Mechanical
Engineering. Clayton is the son of Chance McGough and Carol in e
Harp of Reynolds. His siblings are Camden Watson and Conner
McGough. He is the grandson of Desmond and Cheryl Harp of
Reynolds. The Calendar Guy is a monthly feature of The Taylor
County News and Taylor County High School. Calendar Guys
are chosen based on academics, extracurricular activities„ per
sonality, and character.
Taylor County 2021:
By VALORI MOORE
Editor
Through another year of
COVID-19 spikes and valleys;
the county commissioners fac
ing issues such as railroad
crossings, roadside garhage
pickup, and adjustments with
the fire department and EMS
services; and tumultuous times
for the Reynolds Mayor and
City Council, a few other head
lines stand out in our county,
as we look back and close 2021.
2021 began with two new
members of the Taylor County
Board of Education. Wayne
Mclnvale, Jr. and Wes Sum
mers were sworn in at the first
meeting of the year. There
were, and will be, more elected
officials taking their seats
throughout the year.
At the September meeting of
the Reynolds City Council,
Laticia Dixon w as sworn in to
represent Post 3 on the Coun
cil. This came alter the resig
nation of City Councilman
Chris Mason,
Municipal elections were
slated for Nov. 2nd, but no elec
tions were needed in Butler or
Reynolds. After qualifying,
there was a sole qualifier for
each seat up for election.
In Reynolds, beginning in
January 2022, Danny Peed w ill
replace Danny Perkins in rep
resenting Post 1 on the City
Council. Hiram Couch will re
place Walker Moore for Post 2;
Ti mi shea Price wi 11 fill Post 5,
replacing Libby Bond; and
Hannah Summers will replace
Erie Barker for Post 6. They
will join Tiffany Coker (Post 4)
and Laticia Dixon (Post 3) on
the council.
In Butler, Rodrick Flowers
will replace Amanzio Jenkins
for District 1, Post 1 on the
Butler City Council. Jake
Hopkins (D2. Post 3) and Glenn
Harris (D2, Post 5) ran unop
posed for another term. Coun-
cilwoman Deborah Williams
and Mayor Pro tern Ed Guinn
were not up for election this
year.
* * *
On April 16th, Butler Police
Chief Kain Cobb resigned.
During a called meeting on
May 27th, the Butler City
Council appointed Assistant
Chief Matt Woodard as Chief.
Chief Woodard w p as sworn in at
the June 8th council meeting.
jfc ak $
On March 29th, a ribbon cut
ting ceremony was held for the
new Reynolds Police Depart
ment, now located at The Ar
mory. Renovation of the new
police department w r as paid
with Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax (SPLOST)
funds.
5t #
The City of Reynolds filed suit
against the City of Butler on
Jan. 17, 2020, for reimburse
ment of training expenses for
terminated police officer
Marquavious Harvey. The City
of Butler filed an answer and
Motion to Dismiss in February
2020, and oral arguments were
heard on July 22, 2021. To end
an almost two-year court battle
between the cities in Taylor
County, on Oct 13, 2021, the
Honorable Judge Bobby Peters
granted Butler's Motion to Dis
miss,
# * *
After the 2020 Census, which
was plagued with problems due
to the COV1D pandemic, in
August of 2021, the Census
Bureau reported that Taylor
County’s population declined
from 2010 to 2020, by 8.8%,
down from 8,906 in 2010 to
7,816 in 2020. These Census
results are used for congres
sional and legislative redis
tricting and the allotment of
federal and state funding,
4 ^ +
In January, five juveniles
from the Georgia Center es
caped, stole a tractor, broke into
a home, and damaged property.
They were apprehended by the
Taylor County Sheriff’s Office.
This incident followed 2020 es
capes that resulted in the bur
glary of a church and stolen
firearms and a separate escape
in which vehicles in Reynolds
were broken into.
Af ter these incidents, in Janu
ary, local law enforcement, in
cluding the sheriffs office and
Taylor County Tag Office To Close
For System Upgrade And Holidays
According to Taylor County
Tax Commissioner Shirley Gra
ham, the county tag office will
be closed Jan. 3,2022 for a sys
tem upgrade. The office was
also closed Dec. 23rd and Dec,
24th for Christmas and will be
closed Dec, 30th and Dec. t31st
for the New Year.
During this system upgrade*
the DRIVES (Driver Record
and Integrated Vehicle Enter
prise System), including DDS
Online Services and DRIVES c-
Services, will be unavailable
beginning Thursday, Dec. 30,
2021, at 7 p.m., through Mon
day, Jan. 3, 2022,
According to Department of
Driver Services (DDS) Com
missioner Spencer Moore and
Department of Revenue (DOR)
Commissioner Robyn Critten
den, "This upgrade will result
in significant cost savings,
while optimizing system perfor
in a nee and ensuring that
DRIVES is always running on
modern, state-of-the art hard
ware. Both agencies will be
well positioned to pursue fu
ture innovations because of this
improvement to the underlying
technology that powers Georgia
DRIVES,”
Both agencies and all 159
County Tax Commissioners
encourage those with late De
cember and early January re
newal dates to plan ahead and
renew early.
System Upgrade Schedule:
DDS: Dec. 30, at 5 p.m. - Jan. 3
In person, DDS online ser
vices, and the DDS 2 Go mo
bile app will be unavailable to
customers,
DOR and County Tag Offices’
Motor Vehicle Operations: Dec.
30, at 7 p.m. - Jan. 3
In person, online, and kiosk
services will be unavailable to
customers.
Please note all DDS Customer
Service Centers will be closed
on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022, and
all state offices will be closed
on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, in ob
servance of the New Year’s Day
holiday. Both agencies will be
open and fully operational on
Tuesday, Jan, 4, 2022. We
apologize for the inconvenience
and ask for patience as we per
form this necessary system up
grade.
The Year In Review
both city police departments,
contacted the Governor’s Of
fice, the Department of Juve
nile Justice (DJJ), and the De
partment of Family and Chil
dren Services (DFACS), seek
ing a solution. In February,
State Representative Patty
Bentley addressed the issue,
and in May, Rep. Bentley an
nounced the closure of the
Georgia Center, after DJJ did
not renew their contract.
In May, it was announced that
the City of Butler was awarded
two grants through Flint En
ergies’ Rural Murals Program.
The Taylor County Chamber of
Commerce and the Taylor
County Development Authority
were each awarded $10,000
and each invested an addi
tional $2,500 for two murals in
Butler. The murals were
painted by Chris Johnson of
Columbus. The first mural,
“Butler, Georgia - Enjoying Life
Off the Beaten Path,” was com
pleted on the Split Acres Flo
ral building at the end of May.
The second mural, “Taylor
County, Georgia - Connecting
You to the Rural Life,” was com
pleted at the beginning of July.
It is located on the sheriffs of
fice building, The*sc murals
were dedicated during Taylor
County’s National Night Out
on Aug. 5th.
A third mural, 'The Sweetest
Spot in Georgia,” was com
pleted at the end of August, on
the Knight’s Pharmacy build
ing in Reynolds. This mural
w'as paid for by the Chamber
of Commerce and the Develop
ment Authority, with no grant
funds,
* * *
Tickling Masonic Lodge cel
ebrated 101 years with a dedi
cation ceremony held on Sept.
12th, The ceremony included
the opening of a time capsule
that was enclosed in the corner
stone of the lodge in 1920, The
time capsule was refilled and
replaced in the cornerstone.
=5 *
At the final meeting of the
year, the Taylor County Board
of Commissioners approved a
conditional use application for
a privately owned and operated
golf, fishing, and hunting club,
Fall Line Camp (FLC). This is
a $40-$50 million investment,
to be located off Currington
Road. The resort is expected
to create around 125 jobs and
to be completed in Fall 2023.
As always, the youth made
Taylor County proud through
out the year. Following is a list
of some of their accomplish
ments.
Lauren Blair was named the
Taylor County High School
CTAE Student of the Year.
Lauren studied Audio-Video
Technology.
Shekeela Williams claimed
first place In the FBLA Re
gional Leadership Competition
in Banking and Financial Sys
tems. Jazarion Daniely earned
fifth place in Job Interview.
Nick Woodard was named the
Region 5A Basketball Player of
the Year.
Region w-inners, from Taylor
County, in the Chattahoochee -
Flint RESA Young Georgia Au
thors Competition were:
Patrick McCarthy, 41 h grade;
Sadie Mur rah, 3rd grade; and
Erin Allen, 7th grade.
The Kiwanis Cluh of Taylor
County locally sponsors the
STAR (Student Teacher
Achievement Recognition) Pro
gram. Taylor County’s STAR
Student for 2021 is Jordyn
Fauccttc. The STAR Teacher
is Nicole Hoffman,
Little Miss Charlotte Parker
was crowned Baby Mips Geor
gia Strawberry Queen. Char
lotte and Ava Chambers were
also Miss Georgia Strawberry
Princesses.
The Taylor County 10U
Allstars won the District and
State Baseball Championships
and represented Georgia in the
World Series in Laurel, MS,
where they finished runners-
up.
The Taylor County 12U Pony
tails won the State Champion
ship in softball and represented
Georgia in the World Series in
Alexandria, LA. They were
>See Year In Review on p, 2,
City Of Butler
Holiday Trash Pickup
New Year’s Day:
Trash will be normally scheduled this
week and the following week*
Taylor County Board Of Assessors
Notification
Notice is hereby given that a member of the appraisal
staff will review and inspect properties which are the
subjects of an active building permit for changes and
improvements which have been made to the property,
Also, site visits and review's will be made, if determined
needed, in all of Taylor County of residential, agricul
tural, and commercial properties to determine if im
provements have been made or verifications need to be
made in our data,
These appraisal reviews will include measuring struc
tures, listing construed on information, and photograph
ing the subject property. The majority of these field
reviews will take place in the coming weeks, from the
hours of 9 a.in. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Ap
praisal staff will be in a vehicle dearly marked Taylor
County Tax Assessors or GMASS Contractor/Appraiser.
For more information or concerns on this notification,
please contact the Assessors Office at (478) 862-3802 or
by email taylortax(?< pstel.net.