About The Lee County ledger. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1978-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 2024)
The Led County Ledger Your Hometown Source Of Local News Hometown Newspaper of Joan Snipes Volume XLVI- Number 18 Leesburg, Georgia - - January 17, 2024 Fifty Cents Commercial Development Recap Presented At Commission Meeting A recap of commer cial land development permits issued during 2023 was presented to the commissioners during the first meeting of the new year Janu ary 9th. Commercial developments included Boaters World - Ri- dezilla on Hwy 19, DeSoto Silicon Ranch Phase II & III, Drake Properties - downtown Leesburg Restaurant Passion & Bliss, Elia- no’s Coffee on Hwy 19, Flint Ventures com mercial subdivision on Hwy 19, Forrester Crossing Commercial Subdivision Phase 11 on Hwy 19, Forrester Crossing Phase 1 new office building, Georgia Electric Associates new office on Veterinary Way, Giovingo Prop erties Sanitary Sewer Expansion on Hwy 82, Hibachi Express drive-thru expansion on Hwy 19, Marlow Lane sewer utilities exten sion on Hwy 82, Mavis Tire - on Hwy 19, New Jerusalem Grove Baptist Church in Smithville, Oxford Business Park, Seven Brew on Hwy 82, Wawa Gas Station on Hwy 82, Whistle Wash on 82 and Woodgrain Millwork Expansion on Hwy 82. An update was provid ed on the DeSoto Solar Project. Both DeSoto II and DeSoto III will be completed by the end of Spring 2024. An update was given to the commissioners on SPLOST VIII. Citizens will vote on SPLOST referendum March 12, 2024. If approved by the voters, sales tax pro ceeds will begin Octo ber 1, 2025 and con tinue until September 30, 2031. The amount to be collected on the proposed SPLOST is $16,995,017.00. The amount collect ed was $16,649,928.94 as of November 2023 which was 98% of the anticapated amount for the current SPLOST. Average monthly col lection is $301,219.79 and is projected to collect ballot amount by the end of January 2024. The commissioners approved the alcohol license renewals or the four package stores. All four applicants have met the requirements for renewal of their licenses. V’s, 1420 Us 19 South is currently under construction. Phi- lema Liquor & Wine, 1777 Philema Rd, has a building with some renovations needed. Oakland Package, 1302- 1304 US Hwy & The Spirits, 1379 US Hwy 82, are not under con struction. The license fee for package store is $5,950.00 each. The commission ers approved selling surplus equipment and parts on GovDeals. Items approved includ ed 1991 landoll trailer, 2015 Dodge Charger, 8’ Reading Utility Body with lift gate, 14” trac tor operated auger, 6” tractor operated auger, bolt onpad foot roller for an I.R. Roller, as sorted used and outdat ed tires that do not fit existing equipment. Singletary Named Commission Chairman Luke Singletary was named chairman of the Lee County Commission during the county com mission meeting January 9, 2024. He replaces Billy Mathis as chairman. Mr. Mathis had announced earlier that he was step ping down as chairman. Luke Singletary said “I am looking forward to continuing the commis sion’s fiscal accountabil ity, working to make Lee County a place where businesses want to be and continue the efforts to make Lee County a great place to work and live.” He said “The chair manship will not be an easy task, but hopefully my experience from past years and the support of management and my fellow commissioners will help. The chairman ship is important but the employees that serve our citizens are what makes our county great, so I want to continue to foster that commitment. Our county has a long track record of ‘getting it right’ and I hope to continue that trend.” Chairman Singletary was elected to the county commission in Novem ber 2012. As the District 10499 02456 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 Utilities Authority will meet Thursday, January 18 at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the T. Page Tharp Governmental Building 2 Commissioner, Luke Singletary started his term on November 13, 2012 due to the early resignation of Commis sioner Betty Johnson. He served as vice-chairman in 2023. He served as chairman of Parks & Recreation Authority and as chairman, of the personnel committee. Mr. Singletary has lived in Lee County for most of the last 22 years and is a proud graduate of Lee County High School. He and his wife, Patsy Brettel Singletary, are the parents of two children. He graduated from Valdosta State Uni versity in 2002, where he received a bachelor degree in Business Ad ministration, majoring in Finance. He also earned a master degree of Or ganizational Leadership from Troy University in 2004. Lacie Wheeler was recognized during the board meeting January 8,2024. Pictured (l-r) are Dr. Kathleen Truitt, Superintendent, board member Fran Walls, Lacie Wheeler, board members Donna Ford, Claire Lang and Dr. Trey Newell. Lacie Wheeler Recipient Of Scholarship Lacie Wheeler was recognized by Dr. Kath leen Truitt, Superinten dent and board members Fran Walls, Donna Ford, Claire Lang and Dr. Trey Newell during the board meeting January 8,2024. Lacie Wheeler re ceived the Mr. Wil liam C. “Bill” Baisley “Sumpin’ Big” Scholar ship from the Georgia Agribusiness Council Foundation. There were three total recipients of this schol arship in Georgia and Lacie was the only high school student who re ceived it. The other two were college students. . The scholarship can be used at any agriculture program in the state of georgia. Lacie plans to attend ABAC and use the scholarship to become a high school agriculture teacher. Valerie Davis Named TOES Interim Assistant Principal During the January 8th meeting of the Lee County Board of Educa tion meeting, the board approved the superinten dent’s recommendation of Valerie Davis to serve as the interim assistant principal ar Twin Oaks Elementary School. Valerie Davis has been a teacher at Lee Coun ty High School. She replaces Dr. Brian Holt who was recently named Twin Oaks interim prin cipal. Dr. Truitt, who has been the superintendent four months reviewed her entry plan with the board members. During Guarnieri Named Vice-Chairman Chris Guarnieri as named as vice-chair man. Mr. Guarnieri was elected to the Lee County Board of Com missioners in November of 2022. As the District 4 Commissioner, Chris Guarnieri began his term on December 13th, 2022 due to the early resignation of Commis sioner Rick Muggridge. He has lived in Lee County for the last 26 years. He served on the Planning Commission from 2012 until he was elected to the county commission. He and his wife Tammy have three children Logan, Lawson, and Layten, Chris Guarnieri who have all attended Lee County Schools. Mr. Guarnieri attended Darton College and Al bany Technical College for a degree in Applied Science and Electronic Communications. He worked for International Business Machines and now Toshiba as a Field Engineer and Operations Team Lead. these first four months, she has met with staff, parents, citizens and elected officials. Some of the stated objectives are to have reliable 2 way communication and con tinue advisory groups, improvement of formal (website) and informal communication (social media), continue to meet and collaborate with elected officials, bal ance of print and digital resources for students, additional integration of STEM and coding and expansion of CTAE and career opportunities post high school graduation. The priorities for 2024-2025 are for all students to be reading on grade level, strengthen student learning,ensure highly effective financial operational systems and ensure organizational ef fectiveness and Commu nication and Operations. The renovations on Lee County Primary School is nearing com pletion. An open house is planned for later in the month. The work at the baseball and softball fields, including fencing and lighting, are near completion. The artificial grass has been installed at the baseball field and almost complete at the softball filed. It is antic ipated that the turf will be installed by the end of January on the softball field. SPLOST collections for December was $444,259.14 which was close to October’s total of $457,892.02 and November’s $433,014.50. During 2023, Lee County’s school system received $5,228,112.32 for a monthly average of $435,676.03 from SPLOST VI collection of sales tax. The installation of the vape detector system at the high school is in progress. The installa tion should be complete by the end of January. First violator was caught December 19 and con sequences issued within minutes. The board approved Tangela Grier as a high school paraprofession- al, Brandy Black as a middle school basket ball coach, Clarence Hayward as a full time bus driver, Jeffrey Scott Kent as a LCHS teacher, Miranda Lawhorn as a KPS special ed parapro- fessional and Brittany Anderson as a high school assistant fishing coach. It was announced that Beverly Joy Brinson, a KPS teacher, and Sherry Exum, a LCMS East teacher, will retire at the end of the school term in May. _2aS4-Bewrr- -Co3tly Mortgage 701AS 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. 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