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The Lee County Ledger
Volume XXIV - Number 27
!’Jour Hometown Source of Cocal JVews
Leesburg, Georgia -- February 14,2002
Hometown Newspaper of Carl and Sue Everett
Fifty Cents
Part Time Lee County Employee
Paid $ 57,690 Last Year
Leesburg Mayor R.S. “Bob” Boney presented
Assistant Police Chief George McDonald with a
retirement plaque for his years of service to the city
of Leesburg.
According to county payroll
records made public last week to
the Ledger, Ronnie Brogdon, a
part-time right-of-way agent for
Lee County was paid $57,690 last
year in salary and travel reim
bursement. He resigned last Mon
day, on the same day the Lee
County Commissioners refused to
extend County Administrator
Randy Dowling's contract.
Brogdon, from Berrien County,
is retired from the Georgia De
partment of Transportation. Be
fore coming to Lee County,
Randy Dowling served as county
administrator for Berrien County.
It is not known if Dowling and
Brodgon had prior business rela
tionships in Berrien County be
fore coming to Lee County. Ac
cording to public records obtained
by the Lee County Ledger,
Brogdon was paid $30 per hour
as a part-time right ofway em
ployee and 30 cents per mile
Sheriff’s Department
Files Arrest Report
Sheriff Harold Breeden re
ported cases that Lee County of
ficers worked recently.
Jason Lawrence Owens, 22, of
1139 Eager Drive, Apartment B,
Albany, was charged with shop
lifting on February 11. Owens
was arrested on the shoplifting
charge after attempting to exit a
store with unpaid items.
Charles Leon Wilson, Jr., 25, of
154 Big Oak Road, Leesburg,
was charged February 10 with
distribution of a scheduled con
trolled substance. Charles Leon
Wilson was arrested on said
charge on an outstanding warrant
where Wilson was accused of dis
tributing the controlled substance.
Leroy Wilson Jr.. 17, 118 Pine
Street. Leesburg, was charged
February 10 with obstruction of
an law enforcement officer, inter
ference with government prop
erty and probation violation.
Leroy Wilson Jr. was arrested on
the said charges after officers at
tempted to serve a warrant at the
above location and a fight be
tween offender and officer oc
curred.
Kaysba L. Lewis and Migel M.
Lewis were charged on Febru
ary 9.
Kaysba L. Lewis, 26, of 2805
Newcastle Lane, Albany, Geor
gia, was charged with improper
lane change, DUI (Drugs) and
possession of marijuana.
Migel M. Lewis, 26, of 3207
Doherty
Duggan
~s~ 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
"Parliamentary
Procedure
Made Simple"
Feb. 25th
2:00 PM
Leesburg
Library
Free & Open
Sponsored by
Lee County
Library
F/M/l 759-2369
War Eagle Avenue, Albany, was
charged with possession of mari
juana.
The above offenders were ar
rested on said charges after be
ing stopped for traffic violations
on Highway 29 South and
Endoline Drive.
Randy Mills and Ryan Scott
Smith were charged on February
8.
Randy Mills, 17, of 179 Canal
Street, Leesburg, was charged
with possession of marijuana less
than an ounce, DUI. weaving on
roadway, driving with no license
and improper turn.
Ryan Scott Smith. 17, of 122
Ashwood Court, Leesburg, was
charged with possession of mari
juana less than an ounce.
Mills and Scott were charged on
said charges after being pulled
over on a traffic stop in the 100
block of Apalachee Drive. A
search of persons revealed a
quantity of marijuana that was
seized.
Terresa Smithart, 43. of Route
4 Box 117, Blakely. Georgia, was
charged with theft by shoplifting
on February 8. Smithart was
charged with theft by shoplifting
after attempting to exit a store
with unpaid items.
Otis Garner, Jr. and Gregory
Bernard Leverett were charged
February 7 after narcotics inves
tigators interrupted a drug trans
action on Highway 19 South.
Otis Garner Jr., 30, of 410
Whitney Avenue, Albany, Geor
gia, was charged with possession
of cocaine, DUI (Alcohol and
Drugs), open container, and driv
ing on suspended license.
Gregory Bernard Leverett. 27.
of 807 Lincoln Avenue, Albany,
was charged with possession of
cocaine with intent to distribute.
Rose Thomas, 43,142 A-2 Bou
levard Street, Smithville. was
charged with financial identity
fraud February 6. Thomas was
charged after having a bank ac
count of another person debited
without authority.
Patricia Ann Reid, 37, of 6359
Bells Fairy Road, Acworth, Geor
gia, was charged February 3 with
possession of marijuana less than
one ounce and speeding. Reid
was arrested on said charges af
ter an officer initiated a traffic
stop in the 600 block of Middle
Road South.
Vontressa Sequanta Hooks, 19,
of405 Bessie Mae Circle, Ameri-
cus, was charged February 2 with
theft by shoplifting. Hooks was
arrested by security personnel at
a store for attempting to exit with
an unpaid item.
Ross Edward Rudrow, 20, of
1604 Jean Avenue, Albany, was
charged February 1 with one
count of possession - consump
tion of alcohol by an underage
person, one count of possession
of marijuana with intent to dis
tribute, three counts of distribu
tion of marijuana and three counts
of furnishing alcohol to a under
age person. Rudrow was charged
after narcotics investigated. Aju-
venile was also charged with pos
session of alcohol by a minor.
Hiram Joel Perez, 18. of 3513
Surrey Road, Albany, was
charged January 31 with posses
sion of marijuana less than an
ounce. Perez was stopped on a
traffic violation in the 1500 block
of US 19 South. Perez was found
to be in possession of a quantity
of marijuana.
Jimmy Vicks Jr.. 24, of 175 C
Winding Way, Leesburg, was
charged January 30 with simple
battery. Vicks was charged after
officers responded to a domestic
violence call at the above loca
tion.
Jason Thomas Stafford, 24,
2710 A Homewood Court. Al
bany, was charged with theft by
shoplifting January 31. Stafford
was arrested by a store’s security
on said charges.
Anthony Gene Harrison, 30, of
848 U.S. 19 South, Leesburg, was
charged with disorderly conduct
and James Kent Clark, 59, of 848
U.S. 19 South, Leesburg, was
charged with disorderly while in
toxicated after getting into a fight.
while performing his duties.
When contacted at his home in
Berrien County, Brogdon was
very cooperative. He had no writ
ten contract and when asked why
he was paid 30 cents per mile, he
stated, “Randy let me charge more
when the price of gas went up re
cently.” After contacting several
Lee County employees, the Led
ger learned that all other county
employees and elected officials
are paid 25 cents per mile while
on official county business.
Brodgon had no explanation for
the difference in payment for his
mileage expense and that of other
county employees.
Based on expense documents,
during 2001, Brogdon charged
Lee County for 40,107 miles or
an average of 771 miles per week.
At the rate of 30 cents per mile,
he was paid $12,210 in travel ex
penses. His salary of $45,480 is
based on the 1516 hours at $30
per hour as claimed on his ex
pense reports to Mr. Dowling.
During the month of December
2001, Brodgon worked 108 hours
in twelve days. He averaged nine
hours per day during that particu
lar pay period and collected
$3,240 in salary or $270 per day,
excluding his mileage. According
to his expense reports for Decem
ber, he drove 2,840 miles during
that same twelve day period for
an average of 240 miles per day.
The dates and amount of travel for
each work day was not shown on
his expense records.
In the past few weeks, several
Lee County citizens have ap
proached the Ledger with con
cerns about the cost of right-of-
way activities in Lee County. Pre
vious county employees had also
questioned the inadequate record
keeping activities with regards to
expense reports by Brodgon. In an
effort to gather information for
this publication, Dowling re
quired the Ledger to make all re
quests in writing to comply with
the Freedom of Information Act.
When presented with the written
request, Dowling stated, “You
know I have three business days
to provide you with this informa
tion, just what kind of witch hunt
are you on now?” Only a limited
number of expense reports for the
past six months were made avail
able. When inquires were made
for additional information and ex
pense records from the Accounts
Payable Clerk Mary Wilson, and
the County Finance Officer,
Darlow Maxwell the Ledger was
told, “No detailed expense records
were made by Mr. Brogdon and
there is no additional documen
tation to report”. According to
notes from Dowling, FEMA and
GEMA paid for most of
Brodgon's travel expenses. How
much of the total expense was
paid by Lee County was not pro
vided. However, Mr. Maxwell
said Lee County paid the travel
expenses and FEMA and GEMA
paid most of the salary.
Apparently, the Board of Com
missioners was not aware of the
details regarding the employment
and payments to Brodgon and the
difference in mileage paid to him
and other county employees.
Jackie McCorkle, Lee County
Commission Vice-Chairman
stated, "We relied on Randy to
handle the day to day operations
of the county, but I’m sure we will
be asking some questions about
this particular matter.
Lee County’s Kim Perez is pictured with Emily Larson
who was Miss Spirit of Georgia last year.
Perez Crowned Teen
Miss Spirit Of Georgia
Kimberly Perez was crowned
Teen Miss Spirit of Georgia on
February 2, 2002. She was also
the talent and interview winner.
Kim will be representing this
area in the Teen Miss Georgia
America pageant in June. 2002.
Kim is a sophomore at Lee
County High School. She is the
daughter of Luis and Barbara
Perez and is the sister of Racquel
Perez and Machelle Floris.
Justice Department
Approves Lee County’s
New District Lines
Lee County officials receive
notification from the U.S. Justice
Department last Thursday that the
redistricting maps submitted by
the board of commissioners and
the board of education have been
pre-cleared.
The map that was known as Map
Number Six was prepared by
Commissioner Lewis Harris of the
Leesburg District. Map Number
Six keeps all of the City of Lees
burg within one voting district.
At public hearings conducted by
the board of commission, many
citizens urged the commissioners
to approve a redistricting map that
would keep Leesburg in one dis
trict. One of the proposed plans
Leesburg Police Files Weekly Report
Leesburg police officers responded to two
calls of vandalism during the past week.
On February 7 , Captain Moody responded
to a call at the Lee County Learning Center on
Starksville Street. The complainant indicated
that damage was done to some of the chairs at
the Center. Four chairs appeared to have been
cut by a serrated edge knife.
Captain Murphy responded to a call on February
11. The complainant indicated that an unknown per
son had pried open the fuel door of his Toyota Co
rolla and removed the fuel cap. His car was parked
under his carport. The damage was approximately
$25.
would have split the city of Lees
burg with the majority of the black
citizens being placed in the Smith
ville - Chokee District.
The minority percentage in the
Smithville - Chokee District is
36.69 percent. The majority of Lee
County’s black population reside
in the Smithville - Chokee Dis
trict. Lee County has a population
of 24,757 of which 3,889 are
black.
The new districts will be used
in the August 20 elections. Voters
in the Palmyra District and Smith
ville - Chokee District will elect
Elections Board
Meets Next week
The Lee County Board of Elec
tions and Registration will meet
Tuesday, February 19. The Board
was scheduled to meet February
12 but rescheduled the meeting to
February 19 at 9:00 a.m.
The meeting will be held in the
Elections and Registration Office.
The public is invited to attend the
meetings of the Board of Elec
tions and Registration.
county commissioners and school
board members.
BUFFALO ROCK
LCHS Trojan
Baseball
Opening Day On
Saturday
March 2, 2002
LCHS Trojan
Baseball Field
Meet The Players
Intra Squad
Games
BBQ Plates
Homerun Derby
Ole Timers Games
10:00 a.m.- until
