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your Hometown Source of Cocal flews
Hometown Newspaper of Diane and Denver McLendon
Volume XXIV - Number 22
Leesburg, Georgia -- January 10,2002
Fifty Cents
fortunate that this new position
will afford me that same
opportunity.
I would personally like to
thank Mr. Randy Dowling for
his tremendous support of me,
my staff and department during
my tenure. I could not have
asked to work with and for a
better person. Lee County is
very fortunate to have a man
like Mr. Dowling as County
Administrator. He supports his
Directors whole heartedly and
stands up for what he feels is
right.
I hope that my successor can
come in and continue to build
upon the solid foundation we
have laid in Parks and Recre
ation. The future is very bright
for Lee County in Parks and
Recreation and I have no doubt
that the citizens of this wonder
ful County will continue to
support the efforts of Parks and
Recreation.
In closing, if I have one
regret, it is that I did not do a
very good job in handling the
stress and pressures that come
with such a position in County
Government. I let rumors and
innuendo affect me personally
in a way that I shouldn't have. I
have grown as a person from
these experiences and realize
that you cannot please everyone
regardless of how hard you try.
I also let outside political
interference hinder my job
performance at times. It is
extremely difficult to run a
department when you have
people that try to mico-manage
or tear down what you have
tried to build. Lee County hires
professionals to come in and do
a job. Let these professional
people do their job and don't try
to undermine them for personal
and political hidden agendas. I
let these people with their own
personal and hidden agendas
affect me adversely at times and
for that I am sorry. In the end
however, we were able to
overcome these bumbling
blocks and build a very strong
and viable Parks and Recreation
Department. Paula Davis, my
assistant for the past year, will
assume the duties as "Interim
Director". Please give her your
support as she strives to
continue to build upon the
foundation that has been laid.
Once again, THANK YOU LEE
COUNTY for giving me the
wonderful opportunity to work
with your children and with you
these past three years! It has
been MY pleasure!
Larry Thompson
County Salary And Department
Consolidation Study To Be Conducted
Lee County Commissioners
voted Monday night to contract
with the Association County
Commissioners of Georgia
(ACCG) to conduct a classifica
tion and compensation study.
ACCG will secure the services
of MAXIMUS as a subcontrac
tor. MAXIMUS will conduct a
classification and compensation
study for Lee County, covering
approximately 180 positions in
40 classifications. The study
will include an analysis of the
duties and responsibilities for all
180 positions, interviews with a
representative sample of
employees, development of new
classification descriptions and
development of a recommended
pay plan showing the classifica
tions, pay grades and salary
ranges for all county positions.
A detailed job analysis will be
performed for every position in
the study. All employees will be
asked to complete a Compre
hensive Position Questionnaire
which will assist in identifying
duties and responsibilities for
each position. The Comprehen
sive Position Questionnaire will
be the primary source of data
about each job which will be
supplemented by discussions
with supervisors and directors
and follow-up questions to
employees if necessary.
During the 14 weeks study,
appropriate job classification
will be identified. The title and
scope for each classification
will be defined and positions
will be classified accordingly.
The study will objectively
measure and determine the
relative worth of each classifi
cation to the county. Employees
will be given the opportunity to
review and recommend revi
sions to the draft class descrip
tion for their classification.
While discussing the feasibil
ity of combining the planning
department and the building
inspection department into a
community development
department, the commissioners
decided to postpone combining
the departments until the study
is completed by the outside
consultant. The personnel
committee comprised of
Chairman Billy Mathis and
Commissioner James Mays at
their December 12 meeting
agreed to recommend the
concept of combining the two
departments to the full board for
further consideration. However,
Monday night Chairman Mathis
recommended that combining
the departments be delayed until
the outside study is completed
to take their recommendations
into consideration. If the
Doherty
Duggan
ar~Rouse
Insurors
Home • Auto • Business • Life/Health
P.O.Box 71628 (229)888-2040
Albany, GA 31708-1628 800-628-2040
2301 Dawson Road (31707) Fax (229) 435-3036
www.ddrins.com
PLEASE
GIVE
BLOOD
Lee County
Community
Blood Drive
Thursday, Jan. 10th
1 - 7 p.m.
Century Fire/
EMS Station
repetitive loss home has been
purchased, it is demolished and
the land is returned to open
space.
"In situations where
repetitive flooding occurs,
mitigation just makes good
sense," says McConnell. "It has
been proven time and time
again that the impact of natural
hazards can be minimized and
avoided altogether if action is
taken before a hazardous event
takes place."
Rec. Director Bids Farewell
It is with mixed emotions that
I announce my resignation as
Director of the Lee County
Parks and Recreation Depart
ment, effective Thursday,
January 24th, 2002. I have
taken a new position in the
Sports Management and
Administration Industry in
another part of the State of
Georgia that will be very
exciting and challenging. This
was a great opportunity for me
to further my career and I look
forward to the new and exciting
challenges that this position will
afford me. As I look back on
the three years I have been here
in Lee County, I can say
without a doubt that I truly
believe WE have made tremen
dous strides within the Parks
and Recreation Department.
Our participation in all of our
athletic programs has grown
nearly 46% across the board
and we have added new
programs including Fast Pitch
softball, Indian Summer Adult
Softball, Fall Baseball and
Wrestling. We have sent all-star
teams to GRPA Post season
competition in baseball,
softball, basketball and football.
We have brought over 25 post
season athletic tournaments to
Lee County and started our own
Football Turkey Bowl, spon
sored by Tyson Foods. One of
the main things I am most proud
of is the fact that we have
increased our revenues to the
County's General Fund from
$35,000 when I came here in
1999 to an estimated $78,000 in
2002!
Working with all the wonder
ful young people in Lee County
has been a great experience. I
have made numerous friend
ships that I will cherish always.
I took this position nearly three
years ago so I could quit
traveling and spend more time
with my family. This job
afforded me that opportunity as
I was able to see almost every
game my son Jonathan played,
whether it was baseball,
basketball or football. I am
Snow In Leesburg???
Many Lee County residents were surprised to see that snow had fallen in Lee
County last week. A snowman built in front of the State Audit Department in
Leesburg was enjoyed by the young and the young at heart.
departments were combined,
Pam Thompson, county planner
and acting planning director,
would be in charge of the new
department. She would receive
an increase in salary for the
increased responsibility. She is
currently earning $34,120 and
the salary would be $45,000.
After the commission agreed not
to take any action, Ms. Thomp
son asked that they approve the
salary increase since she had
assumed the responsibility of
acting director for the last five
months and was not receiving
any addition compensation for
the additional responsibility.
The commission did not take
any action on her request.
To the pleasure of a large
delegation of firemen and
EMS, the commission voted to
employ a fire chief and keep
the fire department and the
emergency medical services
separate. At the personnel
committee meeting in Decem
ber, the concept of hiring a fire
chief to be in charge of both the
EMS and fire department was
discussed. During the meeting
Monday night, EMS Director
Bobby Watkins. Acting Fire
Chief J. W. Cook and Alan Kidd,
part time EMT. explained that
firemen liked being firemen and
EMS personnel liked what they
are doing. If they wanted to
perform the other job, they
would have trained for that
position.
Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) representative, Bill Blackwell,
presents a check in the amount of $354,960.56 to Lee County Commissioner
Eddie Hinman, County Administrator Randy Dowling and Lee County Emergency
Management Agency Acting Director Larry Hill. The check reimburses the County
for expenses related to its flood-prone property buyout. Kenneth Cutts, Field
Representative for Congressman Sanford Bishop was also in attendance.
County Receives Reimbursement For
Flood-prone Property Acquisition
The Georgia Emergency
Management Agency (GEMA)
presented Lee County officials
with a reimbursement check
Thursday, January 3, through
its Hazard Mitigation Grant
Program and the United
States Department of Housing
and Urban Development's
(HUD) Disaster Recovery
Initiative. Each program and
the State contributed reim
bursement funds toward the
expenses associated with the
buyout of flood-prone proper
ties located within the 100-
year floodplain. These
properties were damaged
during the 1994 and 1998
floods.
Georgia Emergency Manage
ment Agency representative
Bill Blackwell, acting on behalf
of Governor Roy E. Barnes and
GEMA Director Gary W.
McConnell, presented the
check totaling $354,960.56 to
County Commissioner Eddie
Hinman, County Administrator
Randy Dowling and Lee
County Emergency Manage
ment Agency Acting Director
Larry Hill. Kenneth Cutts,
Field Representative for
Congressman Sanford Bishop
also attended the presentation at
the County Commission Office.
The purpose of GEMA's
Hazard Mitigation Grant
Program is to provide funds to
state agencies and local
governments for projects that
reduce or eliminate the long
term risk to human life and
property from the effects of
natural hazards by breaking the
repetitive cycle of destruction
and reconstruction. According
to program guidelines, after a
BUFFALO ROCK
Lee County
Middle
School Open
House &
PTO Meeting
6:00 p.m.
Thursday,
January 17
