Newspaper Page Text
Page 4B - The Lee County Ledger, Thursday, August 2, 2001
HeritageBank’s Brian Hicks
Promoted to VP, Indirect Lending
Brian Hicks, who joined
HeritageBank in August 1999 as
Leesburg Pawnbrokers
Instant Cash on Most Anything of Value
T.V.’s, Guns, Jewelry, VCR’s, Computers
Large Selection of Jewelry & Firearms
101 Tabatha Street Jewelry Repair
(US 19 South, next to Phoebe) oo3"93/ 5
LEE COUNTY
HIGH SCHOOL
Orientation for all new students will be held
in the Robert A. Clay auditorium on Thurs
day, August 9. Freshmen orientation will be
conducted in two sessions designated by the
first initial of the student's last name. The
freshmen orientation schedule is as follows:
A-L M-Z
5:00 PM 6:30 PM
Orientation for new students who will be
sophomores, juniors, or seniors during the up
coming school year will begin at 1:00 PM
on Thursday, August 9.
manager, indirect lending depart
ment. and was named assistant
vice president in October 2000,
has now been promoted to vice
president.
"Brian's promotions truly rec
ognize outstanding perfor
mance," said Lee H. Bettis,
HeritageBank president and
CEO. "He has developed produc
tive relationships with more than
20 automobile dealerships in
Southwest Georgia and made
HeritageBank number one in
dealer finance. He also is devel
oping new markets for indirect
lending."
A native of St. Simons Island
and a 1989 graduate of Glynn
Academy, Brunswick, Hicks has
a bachelor's degree in business
administration, with a major in
accounting, from Georgia South
ern University. Statesboro.
The Lee County resident has
been in banking since 1995 when
he joined First State Bank and
Trust, Albany. When he left First
State in 1998, he was assistant
branch manager. Prior to joining
HeritageBank. he worked for
First National Bank of South
Georgia. Albany, where he was
assistant vice president and assis
tant branch manager.
Hicks is married to the former
Audrey Young of Albany. She
teaches at St. Teresa's School,
Albany. They are the parents of
three young children.
The Sammy Glass Family, Sammy, Kayla and children,
Justin, Candice, and Chris, will share their testimony
in song Sunday morning, Aug. 5th, at Amazing
GraceBaptist Church at 2217 Ledo Road during the
10:45 A.M. Worship Service. You are invited to come
and bring your friends.
Georgia Businesses Face Challenges With
New Financing Statements, Nix Says
ATTENTION
LEE COUNTY
CITIZENS
The gate across the road that used to go
to Burke’s Ferry has been removed by
temporary restraining order. This road
has been abandoned by the county for
almost 40 years. This is known by the
people who live in the area.
Anyone that is concerned about the
treatment of Lee County citizens and
taxpayers in this situation should contact
their commissioner and voice their opin
ion. What is happening to the landowner
in this situation can and may happen to
you!!!
Wake up Lee County and know the truth.
Paid for by Lee County citizens who
know that this has not been handled
fairly by our local government.
Recent changes in state law
have Georgia businesses in a
quandary. Procedures for filing fi
nancing statements that secure
property interests for lenders
were changed effective July 1 to
conform Georgia to national stan
dards, according to Lee County
Superior Court Clerk Ann E. Nix.
Banks, small loan companies
and businesses that provide in-
house financing are largely un
aware of these changes to what
are commonly referred to as Uni
form Commercial Code (UCC)
filings. Within 30 days of the
changes, substantial confusion
has resulted as lawyers, bankers
and other filers attempt to protect
their security interest on loans for
personal and real property.
According to Nix, the legisla
tion was promoted by a coalition
of large law firms and interstate
banks that do business across the
United States. Local lenders have
not been as aware of the changes
with many observers concerned
that small businesses may end up
with inadequate protection for
their loan portfolios.
My office is receiving many re
quests for clarification on the
proper forms and filing proce
dures, said Nix. Most lenders
are unaware that the old forms are
no longer valid and do not pro
tect a lender's interest in loans on
property.
Besides changes in the form
used for filing security interest,
financing statements are now
filed in the debtor s county of in
corporation or the home address
if not a corporation. This means
that there will be no local record
of existing liens on some prop
erty located in Georgia. Lend
ers now need to search the state
where a company is incorporated
as well as in Georgia when re
searching encumbrances on real
property, said Nix.
All financing statements on
Georgia-based corporations are
filed with the Superior Court
clerk in each county in Georgia.
The Georgia Superior Court
Clerks Cooperative Authority, a
state agency, maintains a central
database of filings at
www.gsccca.org. Businesses and
lenders can also get detailed in
formation regarding new filing
procedures at that web site.
Phyllis Brown Promoted
to A VP at HeritageBank
Kristy and Doug Fincher
Cellular Express
Holds Ribbon Cutting
By Brad Lofton
Cellular Express, formerly lo
cated in the Sunbelt Plaza, is now
located at Lee Market in the Winn
Dixie Shopping Center.
Locally owned by Doug and
Kristy Fincher, Cellular Express
opened their doors for business
in September of 2000. Cellular
Express is an exclusive agent for
Cingular Wireless, formerly
BellSouth Mobility, serving Lee,
Dougherty and surrounding
counties.
Doug and Kristy together have
Lee County Head Start
The Lee County Child Development
Center (Headstart Program) will hold
Open House between the hours of 5:00-
7:00 p.m. on August 2, 2001. Classes be
gin at 8:00 a.m. on August 6, 2001. The
Lee County Head Start Program is oper
ated by a local non- profit organization,
Southwest Georgia Community Action
Council, Inc.
Children who attend Head Start are be
tween the ages of 3-5 years old. They par
ticipate in a variety of developmentally ap
propriate activities. The curriculum is de
signed to help children grow mentally, so
cially, emotionally and physically. The
classroom environment is arranged to
stimulate curiosity and exploration. The
child will socialize, work on tasks with
other children and solve problems. This
experience helps children become self -
confident. Their listening skills, sentence
length and speaking skills improve.
At the beginning of the school term each
child is screened for language, articulation,
motorskills and cognitive skills. This helps
the teachers to make an Individualized
Education Plan for each child. Services are
also offered to meet the special needs of
children with disabilities. Resources
within the community are used to ensure
the needs of all children are met.
Head Start also offers comprehensive
services in all areas of family develop
ment, including social services - (com
munity partnership), education, parent
involvement - (family partnership),
health, nutrition, dental health and dis
abilities. Head Start offers each child
access to nutrition assessments, proper
health and dental health check ups, by
skilled professionals. If the child needs
follow up services the Head Start staff
will make the necessary arrangements.
The children receive a well balanced
breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack.
If a child qualifies to enroll in the pro
gram, these services are offered at no
cost to the parents.
Head Start staff members offer chil
dren love, acceptance, understanding
and the opportunity to learn and expe
rience success. Each child will leave
Head Start more prepared for kinder
garten, excited about learning and ready
to succeed.
The Lee County Head Start staff are
excited about the upcoming year and
serving Lee County families. For more
information contact the Center Super
visor, Terry Parker or the Family Ser
vice Worker, Sandra Brooks at 759-
2559 or 759-2544.
over ten years' cellular experi
ence, They offer cellular phones
and service at great prices and
pride themselves in friendly cus
tomer service. They carry a wide
variety of accessories like: col
ored face plates, batteries, leather
cases, car chargers, holograms,
colored key pads, hands-free car
kits, external antennas and more
at great prices.
Cingular Wireless has the larg
est local and extended calling area
around. They offer "roll over"
minutes, unlimited nights and
weekends, unlimited mobile to
mobile, unlimited national long
distance, interactive messaging
and more. They service
everyone's needs, if its personal
or for your business. Call or come
by to see them. 446-6522.
Phyllis Brown, who joined
HeritageBank in 1997 as a per
sonal service officer and now
manages the bank's Telephone
Services Center, has been pro
moted to assistant vice president.
Before moving in to her current
position. Brown was assistant
branch manager of
HeritageBank’s Westover Office
in Albany.
A native of Americus, Brown
graduated from high school there
in 1978. She then attended Geor
gia Southwestern University,
Americus. She graduated in 1981
with a bachelor's degree in soci
ology from the University of West
Georgia, Carrollton. She com
pleted in 1997 the Georgia Credit
Union Affiliates Lending School.
Before HeritageBank, Brown
worked for 10 years with Bank
of America, first in Atlanta, then
Albany. Before that, she worked
for four years with Citizens Bank
of Americus. She is married to
Lorenza Brown, and they have a
daughter and a son.
The Telephone Services Center
opened six years ago. By tele
phoning 883-5701 or 800- 227-
7989, a HeritageBank customer
can receive a variety of banking
services, including the opening of
anew account or applying for a
consumer-type loan. A staff of 11
employees handles an average of
27,000 calls per month.
Rain Mixed Blessing for
Georgia Peach Crop
By Brad Haire
Georgia Agricultural
Experiment Stations
This summer, timely rains have
Kati-Morgan Johnson Participated
In District 4-H Competition
Kati-Morgan Johnson, a sixth
grader at Twin Oaks Elementary
School, participated in the Dis
trict 4-H Club AP competition.
Her presentation was in the area
of communication. She presented
the history of sign language and
signed portions of her presenta
tion. Kati-Morgan won first place
in the district in her area of com
munication.
Kati-Morgan Johnson also par
ticipated in the National Ameri
canism essay contest sponsored
by the American Legion Auxil
iary. Her essay "I Thank Veterans
For My Freedom", was the win
ning essay for Lee County. Her
essay was entered in the State
competition. It was announced at
the Department of Georgia
American Legion Convention,
held in Macon, Georgia, that
Kati-Morgan's essay had been
award the Americanism metal at
the state level. Kati-Morgan was
notified by Mrs. Pizzo, of Ameri
can Legion Auxiliary Unit 30, of
this award July 23. She will be
presented an Americanism metal
at the Legion Youth Night to be
held at later date by American
Legion Auxiliary Unit 30.
Kati-Morgan is the daughter of
Darren and Chimene Johnson.
Parrish Johnson is her sister. Kati-
Morgan lived in Lee County and
attended Lee County schools. She
and her family moved in June to
East Point, Florida and are living
on St. George Island, Florida.
Kati-Morgan will attend
Apalachicola Middle School in
the fall.
helped Georgia farmers recover from
three years of severe drought. Peach
growers, however, know too much of
a good thing can bring a whole new
set of problems. This season, peach
producers face the worst disease prob
lems in years, said Phil Brannen, an
Extension Service plant pathologist
with the University of Georgia Col
lege of Agricultural and Environmen
tal Sciences. Extended, frequent rain
has caused long stretches of moist,
soggy conditions, he said. These have
opened the gate for diseases, causing
fungi and bacteria to thrive and attack
Georgia's $24 million peach crop.
"This year, we had nearly perfect
conditions for dissemination of spores
and subsequent germination,"
Brannen said. Over the past three
years, because of drier conditions,
peach producers have had little worry
with diseases, he said. But this year,
diseases have consumed as much as
25 percent of some orchards.
The blight, the spot, the rot A dis
ease known as blossom blight entered
orchards early in thegrowing season.
This condition led the way for brown
rot, a much more serious disease, to
appear during harvest, he said.
"We don't often have blossom
blight," he said. "But we had wet con
ditions during bloom this year, and we
had a goodly amount of infection dur
ing bloom. Spores were formed... .
This set us up for a heavy brown rot
See Peaches,
Page 7B