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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.” _2aS444ewrr- -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 is within your reach, 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