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1 >.j i I I wwo? I 9$»006 Ot>Qi«00 ^WOO ‘>00900 The Lee €oumiy Ledger * f Volume XXIV - Number 7 your Hometown Source of Cocal JVews Leesburg, Georgia -- September 27,2001 Hometown Newspaper of Spencer and Carol Bowden Fifty Cents The Lee County Board of Equalization ruled on September 21, 2001 in favor of the Lee County Board of Tax Assessors and against A.B.C. Dorminy of Fitzgerald. Albany attorney Louis E. Hatcher, with the well known law firm of Watson, Spence, Lowe and Chambles. represent ing the Lee County Board of Equalization, stated that Dorminy had appealed the 1997 valuation on his property which fronts along Lake Blackshear in the northeast section of Lee County. For the past 4 1/2 years, the case has been litigated between Lee County Board of Tax Assessor’s attorney, George Ellis of Ameri- cus and Dorminy’s attorney. Wheeler Bryan of Atlanta. In 1998, Albany attorney. Don Rentz was also retained by Dorminy to represent him in his appeal. In the ruling last week, attorney Louis Hatcher said the Lee County Board of Equalization is sued a final order in the case. The unanimous ruling addressed both valuation of the property and uni formity of value between other classes of property in Lee County. In their ruling, the Board stated, "We find no reason to believe that the property involved in this ap peal is not uniformly assessed with other property included in the applicable digest. The Tax As sessors supported its determina tion of uniformity and valuation with credible evidence". Hatcher noted that Dorminy may appeal the decision to the Superior Court of Lee County. In a statement released last week to the Albany Herald, attor ney Don Rentz stated, "The Dorminy’s will continue to appeal land values assessed by Lee Stanley and the board’s uphold ing of those assessed values for tax years 1998, 1999 and 2000". He said they based this decision on ‘legal and tactical reasons’”. When reached for comment by the Lee County Ledger, Lee County’s Chief Appraiser. Lee Stanley made the following state ment, "Certainly, every taxpayer has a legal right to appeal their valuation. We have always made every effort to explain and share our data and sales information with any person who questions their value. Everyone in Lee County knows the pressure on valuations in a county with tre mendous growth and demand. Once the Board of Tax Assessors Doherty Duggan wRouse Insurors Home • Auto • Business • Life/Health P.O.Box 71628 (912) 888-2040 Albany, GA 31708-1628 800-628-2040 2301 Dawson Road (31707) Fax (912) 435-3036 www.ddrins.com Lee County Primary School Fall Carnival 10:00 - 2:00 Saturday October 6 Hank Hammond, Director of the Lee County FSA Office, US De partment of Agriculture, is invit ing all interested farmers to attend an informational meeting to be held on Friday, September 28th at 10 AM in the Lee County Gov ernmental Building Assembly Room. Representatives from Farm Ser vice Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Rural De velopment, and Cooperative Ex tension Service will be on hand to discuss their respective pro grams and to answer any ques tions. A discussion of the upcoming FSA County Committee elections will be held at this meeting, and nomination forms will be avail able for those persons residing in the Local Administrative Area (LAA) up for election this year. Lee County is divided into three LAA’s or "districts" for Commit tee election purposes. This year LAA "A" will elect a new Com mittee-person to represent farm ers in that area. LAA "A" encom passes farms in the North-central area of the county, beginning at Hwy 19, from Leesburg to Smith- ville, eastward to New York Rd. The Lee County FSA Commit tee is comprised of three farmer- elected representatives, one from each LAA, that administer fed erally mandated farm programs on the county level. Currently, members of the Committee are Steve Childers, Willie Moms and Sheila Wheaton. All interested persons are invited to attend. For more information, call (229) 759- 9267. Georgia Tech’s Economic Development Institute Names Region Manager Lee County Board of Equalization met regarding an appeal from ABCD Farms Inc. and ABC Dorminy, Jr. for Tax Year 1997. The board was notified by the Dorminy’s attorney that they were withdrawing the appeal. Pictured above (l-r) are Louis Hatcher, attorney, Stephen Roberts, Henry Studdard, and Flora West. Final Order Rules In Favor Of Tax Assessors Dorminys Plan to Continue Appeals has reviewed and finalized a value, it is my duty and respon sibility to vigorously defend the value for all the citizens of the county. By law, we must be fair and uniform with all taxpayers and between different types of properties. We’ve already had several hearings on Mr. Dorminy’s appeal. This matter has taken almost five years and many hours of hard work by our staff, but I know, based on the in formation in our files, the value on this particular property has been fairly and uniformly applied by the Board of Tax Assessors. Mr. Dorminy has active appeals for 1998.1999 and 2000 and just filed an appeal for the current, 2001 tax year. We stand ready to defend our values on this prop- The Economic Development Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology has named Arthur J. Ford region manager for south Georgia. He will oversee Georgia Tech’s regional offices in Albany and Douglas. Ford will be responsible for pro viding managerial and technical assistance to industries, support ing Georgia’s economic develop ment efforts through courses and research, and using technology to help companies and communities become more productive and competitive. "I am excited about the opportunity to serve people in a larger portion of south Georgia," Ford says. "Our new structure al lows us to develop a regional team with the skills to more effectively meet the regions’ needs." Recently the Economic Devel opment Institute realigned the number of service delivery re gions in the state from 12 to seven in an effort to increase teamwork, communication and breadth of services offered to Georgia busi nesses. The regional realignment was also done in recognition of Georgia Tech’s collaboration with the Georgia Department of Indus try, Trade and Tourism and the Georgia Department of Commu nity Affairs. According to Rick Duke, direc tor of the Economic Development Institute, this was done to capi talize on the strengths of the Eco nomic Development Institute as a team. "We want to have repre sentatives of all resources-qual- ity. energy, lean enterprise, infor mation technology, economic de velopment, environmental man agement. marketing and strategic planning, process productivity-in each regional team," he says. "This gives us the breadth we need to serve effectively." Ford came to Georgia Tech’s Albany regional office in 1986 as an engineer. In this role, he was responsible for providing man agement and technical assistance to industries and communities in the 20-county Albany office re gion. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, he was employed at Albany’s Lilliston Corporation and was responsible for oversee ing its industrial engineering ac tivities. Ford’s current interests include economic development, entrepre neurial and incubator develop ment. financial analysis for enter prise strategic planning, produc tivity and facility expansion plan ning. He is a registered profes sional engineer and a member of the Georgia Economic Develop ers Association, the National Business Incubation Association and the American Society of Ag ricultural Engineers. A native of Bay Springs, Mis sissippi, Ford received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Florida and his M.B.A. from Albany State College. He is also a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Develop ment Institute. The Albany regional office is located at 1117 Whispering Pines Rd. and the Douglas regional of fice is located at 404 N. Peterson Ave. Ford can be reached either by phone (229.430.4188) or by e- mail (art.ford@edi.gatech.edu). Sentences Issued In Municipal Court erty and I truly believe, in the FSA To Condtitr aluesw,llbeuphe “ r - Informational Meeting Leesburg Municipal Court was held September 18, 2001 with Cathy Spillers presiding. Michael J. Bradley was found guilty to driving on suspended or revoked license and proof of in surance on person. He was fined $245.00 and sentenced to 12 months probation. Bruce Darnell Butts pled nolo to disorderly conduct. A $70.00 fine was suspended with 30 days pre-trial probation. Vonda Anisha Davis pled not guilty to running a stop sign. Her fine was suspended with 60 days pre-trial probation. John Todd Fleming was found guilty to DUI third offense. He was sentenced to credit for time served, a fine of $1547.00, 12 months probation and 120 hours of community service. Paul Golden, Jr. pled not guilty to cruelty to animals - fighting. He was found guilty and was fined $1000.00, and sentenced to 24 months probation and allowed no possession of animals during the probation period. Jack Griffin was found guilty to public drunkenness. He was sen tenced to a fine of $70.00 and two months probation. Allman G. Hogsed was found guilty for failure to dim head lights. He was fined $70.00. Anthony Michael Kempisty was found guilty to giving false infor mation to police. He was fined $70.00 and given 30 days proba- Death Claims Leesburg Councilman Jessie Henderson Leesburg City Councilman School. He was an Army veteran Mr. Henderson is sur Leesburg City Jessie Clyde “J.C.” Henderson died September 21. 2001 follow ing an illness. Funeral service for Mr. Henderson will be held Fri day, September 28 at 1:00 p.m. at Macedonia Baptist Church. Macedonia Baptist Church is lo cated on Macedonia Road in Lee County. Interment for Mr. Hend erson will be in Macedonia Bap tist Church Cemetery. Rev. Tramaine Hill and Rev. Gary Baker will officiate. A native of Lee County. Mr. Henderson was a self employed brick mason contractor and ma sonry instructor at Albany Tech nical College. He was a 1948 graduate of Lee County Training School and a graduate of Albany Area Vocational Technical lArmy of the Korean War. Mr. Hender son was a member of the Macedonia Baptist Church, He was chairman of the Deacon Board and secretary of the Greater Bethesda Association, mem ber of the American Legion Post 512 and a member of the Ambassador Club. Mr. Henderson was a long-time member of the Leesburg City Council and former mayor pro- tem of the city council. Mr. Henderson recently qualified for reelection to the Leesburg City Council. Mr. Henderson is survived by his wife, Pauline Mosley Hend erson of Leesburg: five sons, Jessie Bernard Frazier of Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. Willie Clarence Guest, Earl Kennedy Henderson and James Calvin Guest, all of Albany. Georgia, and David L. Ross of Detroit, Michigan; three daughters, Cheryl Lynn Wallace of Mufreesboro, Tennessee. Ida Pearl Range of Albany, Georgia and Hilda M. Doster of Warner Robins, Georgia; one sister. Charlie Lou Flowers of Leesburg. Georgia, 22 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. tion. Curtis Theo McGee was found guilty for a no seat belt violation. He was fined $15.00. Ferlin Eugene Parker was found guilty for driving on suspended - revoked license and DUI first of fense. He was sentenced to a fine of $1465.00, 12 months proba tion, 24 hours jail and 40 hours community service. Andrew Lee Smith, Jr. pled guilty to open container, no proof of insurance and DUI first of fense. He was sentenced to a fine of $1165.00, credit for jail time served, 40 hours community ser vice and 12 months probation. Crystal Strokes was found guilty to driving on suspended - revoked license. She was sen tenced to a fine of $625.00 and 12 months probation. Tiffany Hansen pled nolo to improper parking and was fined $35.00 Anthony Terrell Ware pled nolo to DUI first offense. He was fined $715.00 and sentenced to 12 months probation. Shannon Newell, charged with DUI and driving while license suspended - revoked, had her case continued until the October 16th court date. Chantay Smith had her charge of obstruction of an officer re duced to disorderly conduct. She was fined $100.00. Vernon McCray Watson charged with unlawful use of utili ties was sentenced to six months probation and no utility service until account is paid in full. The following people failed to appear in court or make arrange ments to pay their fines. A $25.00 contempt of court fee will be added. A Department of Public Safety (DPS) Form 912 will be issued which will result in suspen sion of their driver’s license if not paid within 20 days. The follow ing fines have the contempt of court fee added: Virginia H. Austin, charged with speeding 72 in a 55 m.p.h. zone, was fined $85.00. Christopher B. Bashline, charged with speeding 50 in a 35 m.p.h. zone, was fined $75.00. Timothy Wayne Carter, charged with no seat belt, 19 years or older, was fined $40.00. Charmon Lavern Chapmon, charged with speeding 67 in a 45 m.p.h. zone, was fined $115.00. Ralph C. Franklin, charged with no proof of insurance, was fined $275.00. Ernest Romarian Hudson, charged with refusing to obey officer’s directions, was fined $135.00. Kelvin Montrez Leroy, charged with speeding 71 in a 45 m.p.h. zone, was fined $125.00. Kabron Carnell Little, charged with no proof of insurance, was fined $275.00. Freemont Casaueno Lowe, charged with speeding 52 in a 45 m.p.h. zone was fined $65.00 and was fined $150.00 for an expired tag. Brian Keith Merritt, charged with no proof of insurance, was fined $275.00. David R. Seward, charged with no seat belt 19 years or older, was fined $40.00. Octavious L. Singleton, charged with no proof of insurance, was fined $275.00 and was fined $75.00 each for two charges of no seat belt four years and younger first offense. Heather Arlene Smith, charged with no seat belt 19 years and older, was fined $40.00 and was fined $95.00 for no license on person. Melissa Anna Thomas, charged with speeding 61 in a 45 m.p.h. speed zone, was fined $145.00. BUFFALO ROCK Smithville’s 6th Annual Chicken Pie Festival 10:00 - 5:00 Saturday October 27