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The Le*6 Count y Ledger
Volume XLV- Number 36
Submitted Photo
Lee County Primary School Teacher
of the Year and Paraprofessional
of the Year for 2023-24
LCPS is proud to announce that their Teacher
of the Year for 2023-24 will be Andrea Kennedy
and the Paraprofessional of the Year will be
Florence Usry. Congratulations!
Commissioners
Approve Package Store
The commissioners
approved an application
for a Package Store for
Mr. Brijesh Patel. The
package store will be
located at 1529 US 19
South. Mr. Patel re
quested that the com
missioners grant him an
alcohol license for retail
sale of off-premise
consumption of liquor,
wine and beer.
As has been the
tradition of the county
commissioners to show
appreciation to long
time employees, Forest
Hormell, a captain of
the Jail Division, was
recognized for 20 years
of service.
A public hearing was
held to allow people to
comment on a propos
al for a community
development block
grant application. The
Lee County Board
of Commissioners is
considering applying
10499 02456
to the Georgia Depart
ment of Community
Affairs for a Com
munity Development
Block Grant (CDBG)
of up to $1,000,000.00.
The grant funds are
designed to primarily
benefit low-and mod
erate-income persons.
Funds are for housing,
public facilities, and
economic development.
A request from Deer
Trace Development,
LLC was denied by
the commissioners.
Deer Trace Develop
ment, LLC submitted
an application to the
Lee County Planning.
Commission requesting
to rezone a total of 1.69
acres from R-l (Single
Family Residential)
to C-l (Neighborhood
Business District). The
subject property is
located at 100 Bermuda
Lane. Planning depart
ment staff and planning
commission recom
mended denial. A public
hearing was held April
11th.
Your Hometown Source Of Local News
Hometown Newspaper of Robert and Linda Leach
Leesburg, Georgia - - May 3, 2023
Fifty Cents
Leesburg, Smithville, County
To Update Comprehensive Plan
Lee County and the
Cities of Leesburg and
Smithville will conduct
ing a Public Hearing to
update the Lee County
Joint Comprehensive
Plan on Tuesday, May
23, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. in
the Opal Cannon Au
ditorium of the T. Page
Tharp Governmental
Building, which is lo
cated at 102 Starksville
Avenue North in Lees
burg. The current plan
will expire on February
28, 2024. In accordance
with the Georgia Min
imum Standards and
Procedures for Local
Comprehensive Plan
ning (Chapter 110-12-1),
each community must
conduct a public hearing
before the start of the
planning process.
The purpose of the
hearing is to brief the
community on the
process to be used to
update the compre
hensive plan and offer
opportunities for public
participation and public
input in the develop
ment of the plan.
Copies of the current
Comprehensive Plan are
available for viewing
and downloading at
https://www.dca.ga.gov/
node/2567 or at the Lee
County administrative
office, Leesburg City
Hall or Smithville City
Hall.
Questions should be
directed to the Lees
burg, Smithville, or the
Lee County Offices
listed above or call Kay
Olubowale or Barbara
Reddick, Southwest
Georgia Regional Com
mission, (229) 522.3552
ext.112 or 102.
Sumter EMC Sponsors Two
Washington Youth Tour Chaperones
Special to the Ledger
Tonya Jones and
Yolanda Robinson
have been selected as
two of 15 chaperones
from across Georgia to
oversee and accompany
high school student-del
egates on this summer’s
Washington Youth Tour,
a weeklong leadership
program sponsored
by Georgia’s electric
membership corpora
tions (EMCs), including
Sumter EMC.
For more than 50
years, EMCs have sent
promising students on
the tour, the oldest youth
leadership program in
the state. During an
all-expense paid week,
the chaperones will
guide the students in
learning about U.S. his
tory, government, public
service, the principles of
the cooperative business
model and the signifi
cant role EMCs play in
Georgia and across the
nation.
The 2023 Washington
Youth Tour is set for
June 15-22 with 105
youth delegates sched
uled to attend. The
fast-paced trip focuses
on leadership training in
the nation’s capital and
brings together more
than 1,800 students
from 44 states for the
event.
Tonya Jones joined
Sumter EMC in June of
2022 as the Community
Relations Specialist,
where she serves as
the local Washington
Youth Tour coordinator.
Tonya is no stranger to
the Washington Youth
Tour, as this will be her
fifth time serving as a
chaperone. Tonya has a
passion for cooperatives
and youth development.
Yolanda Robinson is
the Public Relations
Coordinator for the Lee
County School System.
In 2007, she became a
certified speaker for as
sembly programs within
K-12 schools and col
leges. She is currently
a Youth Leader within
her church and desires
to be a chaperone to
“facilitate conversations
about what they are
being exposed to and
help students embrace
the new world they are
discovering”.
Veteran chaperones
say that the trip gives
them the opportunity to
watch students mature
during the week, to visit
cherished landmarks
and to come away with
a deeper appreciation of
our nation and the gen
erations who have come
before them.
“These chaperones
play an important role
in helping some talented
young people transform
Yolanda Robinson
how they see leaders -
from being just charac
ters in history textbooks
and news reports to
living, breathing indi
viduals, and in doing
so the students begin
to realize they also can
become leaders in their
communities and maybe
even on a larger stage,”
says Andrea Walker
Vice President, Market
ing & Administration
at Sumter EMC. “We
are pleased that Tonya
and Yolanda will be the
first chaperones Sumter
EMC has sponsored and
that they are accompa
nying this year’s dele
gates.”
The students and chap
erones gather in Atlanta
to kick off the tour,
spending time getting to
know each other before
departing for Washing
ton D.C.
In D.C., destinations
include the Smithsonian
DOHERTY, DUGGAN,
HART&TIERNAN
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.ddhtins.com
Lee County
Board of
Education
will meet
Monday,
May 8th at
5:30 p.m.
The meeting
will be held
at the board
of education
office
Tonya Jones
Museums, Holocaust
Museum, Union Station,
Mount Vernon, Supreme
Court, U.S. Capitol,
National Archives,
Washington Monument,
and the FDR, MLK,
Jefferson, World War
II, Lincoln, Korean War
and Vietnam Veterans
monuments and memo
rials.
The youth participate
in a moving wreath-lay
ing ceremony at Arling
ton National Cemetery,
view the United States
Marine Corps Sunset
Parade at the Iwo Jima
Memorial and attend a
meeting with members
of Georgia’s U.S. repre
sentatives and senators.
The Washington Youth
Tour was inspired by
former president Lyndon
Johnson who, in 1957,
encouraged electric
cooperatives “to send
youngsters to the na
tion’s capital where they
can actually see what
the flag stands for and
represents.”
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-Co3tly Mortgage
Photo by Lee County Chamber of Commerce
On Tuesday, April 25, 2023 the Lee County Chamber hosted a ground breaking for Ace
Hardware located at 136 Carlton Drive, Leesburg, Ga, 229-894-2480. The Owner is Joe Sheffield.
Their hours of operation will be Monday thru Friday 8:00 am - 7:00 pm, Sat 8:00 am - 6:00 pm,
and Sunday 10:00 am - 6:00 pm. They are a hardware store that specializes in retail home
improvements. They are locally owned with quality products and great customer service.
To Subscribe Call 229-759-2413
Homeownership
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even if you don't have
much to put toward a
down payment.
GCB has you covered
with low mortgage
insurance premiums.
Contact us to
get a quote today!
Georgia Community Bank
3000 N. Slappey Blvd.
(229) 446-0102
Online @ GCB.bank
NMLS # 648124
Subject to
credit approval.
Member
FDIC