About The wiregrass farmer. (Ashburn, Ga.) 1984-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 2005)
Let’s ring in 2006 safely! Youth New Years bash details inside! ™ Wiregrass Farmer Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005 ASHBURN, GA, 31714 VOL 105- No. 52 • 500 ^Around town ^ Courthouse closed The Clerk of Superior Court and the Probate Court office will be closed Dec. 26-Jan. 2, 2006. WGF closed Your hometown news paper will be closed Friday, Dec. 30 for the New Year’s holiday. Deadline for the Jan. 4 edi tion is NOON Monday, Jan. 2. We hope you have a happy New Year! Rebecca Council The Rebecca Town Council has moved its January meeting to Tuesday, Jan. 3. Firefighting 101 Ashburn Fire & Emergency Services will offer the Basic Firefighter: Module One Course as part of its in-service training program. The course is a very fast paced course, which is the mandated training course required by Georgia Law to become a firefighter. The class will begin on Monday Jan. 9, at 6 PM at Ashburn Fire & Emergency Services Station #2 in Ashburn. The course is 60 hours in length and will be held on consec utive Monday and Thursday Nights. The course will take approxi mately 8 weeks to com plete. If you are interested in attending the class please call 567-4952 to register. There is no charge for this class and after successful completion participants may pursue a career in the Fire Service. Bike engraving The Ashburn Police Department and The Wiregrass Farmer are offering FREE bicycle theft protection help. Just bring your bike by the APD or The Wiregrass and someone will engrave your name and address in a hid den location on the bike. We’ll also take down infor mation about the bike so if it is stolen, law enforce ment will be better able to recover to the stolen bike. 2005 WGF on CD The entire 2005 year of the Wiregrass Farmer is now available on CD in PDF file. CDs are $5 each (includes mailing), or you can bring a blank CD by our office and we’ll burn it for free. 2004 and 2003 editions are also available. Obituaries Rev. Robert Lee Osborne, 73, Ashburn Katie Lou Davis, 89, Dacula Mr. Harold Morgan, 64, Fitzgerald Nealon Murphy, 63, Ashburn Complete obituary informa- Serving Turner County Since 1902 Robert Davis Road closing Georgia DOT Interstate Reconstruction Area Engineer, Scott Chambers recently announced that the bridge over Interstate 75 on Robert Davis Road will be temporarily closed. “As progress continues on the Turner County Interstate 75 widening project, it has become necessary to close this bridge beginning on January 9th, 2006,” Chambers said. “Reeves Construction Company’s subcontractor will close this road so that the exist ing bridge over the Interstate can be removed and a new, wider bridge can be construct ed.” During the bridge closure, Robert Davis Road traffic will be detoured from Bethel Road to Inaha Road and eastbound traffic will be detoured from U.S. 41 to Inaha Road. “The inconvenience of this bridge closure is necessary to facilitate completion of this work,” Chambers added. The bridge replacement is expected to last approximately 180 days. Since 1973, 56 state Georgia DOT workers have been killed in work zone acci dents. Nationally, Georgia is close to the top for work zone fatalities, but an on-going Work Zone Safety Awareness Program, which began in 2001 seems to be getting the word out. Georgia’s Work Zone Safety Awareness Program highlights the fact that motorists are more likely to die in a work zone accident than workers. Fines for exceeding the limit in a work zone could run up to $2000 per violation The Georgia Department of Transportation seeks to provide information to the traveling public about traffic obstruc tions on Georgia’s interstates and State Routes in order that motorists may travel safely and efficiently on our systems. Motorists can check for con struction alerts, accidents and other traffic interruptions. Where Are We ONE HUNDRED YEARS AND STILL GOING - This is the last of the 52 weeks series “Where are we in Turner County.” Thank You. For the past 52 weeks it has been my pleasure to photograph and produce “Where are we in Turner County?” I hope that each of you have enjoyed this trail into the history of Turner County and some of its interesting landmarks over 100 years. I want to thank Ben Baker and The Wiregrass Farmer for faithfully presenting this each week. I want to thank all those in Turner County who unselfishly helped me in location of landmarks and gave me interesting facts about these. I have to thanks those who have departed us who provided me with the knowledge and the drive to pursue this history. Wayne Blue Editor’s note - The answer to this week’s question (and last week’s) are inside. 2005: The year in review compiled by B en Baker Editor The major news for Turner County in 2005 was the settle ment on House Bill 489. The state law requires counties cities within those counties to have formal agreements on how local tax money will be spent. In Turner County, a debate between the County Commission and Ashburn Council had gone on for two years. As the matter continued, Ashburn threatened to sue the County Commission, but even tually decided against it. The County Commission did file suit. Just a few days before the first deposition in the suit, the County and City Council reached an agreement. Commissioners Joe Burgess, Daryl Hall and Mike Geoghagan made a three-man committee which met with City Councilmen Richard Weaver, Bob Callaway and Major Sanders. The three men worked out an agreement on funding and operating the 911 depart ment which the Council and Commission approved. The agreement will have Ashburn pay the County a cer tain amount each year. The County will continue to run the 911 department and handle radio traffic for the City Police and Fire & Rescue depart ments. Another major news item was concluded in the last of December 2005. The Turner County Development Authority signed final paperwork to bring three new industries to Turner County. While not the first to have all the paperwork fin ished, the first of the three industries to announce a plant here is Nationwide Fiberglas Pools. The company is head quartered in California. As the name states, the company will make Fiberglas pools. This company will go into the first building in the new industrial park near 1-75 Exit 84. The second announced company is an erosion control fence manufacturer. This com pany is relocating its headquar ters here from another South Georgia community. The plant is moving into the old Cornerstone buildings in the old industrial park. The third industry is McElroy Metal,a company which forms metal siding for metal buildings. The company will move into the back side of the new industrial park. The company’s plans for the initial building include a plant expan sion two years down the road. McElroy was also a first for Turner County in that it has tax-free plant construction bonds. The County Commission approved the bonds, but will have no obliga tion to repay the bonds. The Commission’s action merely gives McElroy a lower interest rate. McElroy came to Turner County after Cordele was unable to meet the company’s plant-size needs. Between them, the three companies should employ close to 200 people within 2 years. The Year In Review JANUARY Jan. 5 - Wendy Hamner was named Teacher of the Year for the school system. She was also the elementary school teacher of the year. Rachel Flake received the award at the high school. Wade Burnette received the award at the Middle School. The Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club and Exchange Club joined forces to make Christmas brighter for some Turner County families. The School Board allowed Kaycee Land to be excused from classes to attend a nation al dance company event. The trip was not sponsored or endorsed by the Board, so action was needed to allow Miss Land to miss class work and not be counted absent. Jan. 12 - Public Safety Director Jimmy Wynn was not rehired at the County Commissioner’s regular meet ing at the first of the year. The Commission held a called meeting Jan. 7 and hired Mr. Wynn through April when he could fully retire. The City of Ashburn’s insurance rate dropped from a 5 to a 4, with the actual drop taking place in May. The rating drop, by the Insurance Services Office (ISO), means Ashburn’s firefighting ability was improved since the last time ISO checked the firefighting ability. Ashburn’s firefighting ability has improved substan tially over the past few years. The result is felt in wallets across town as property owners pay less for property insurance. Your hometown newspaper received the Overall Advertising Excellence award at the annual Trib Publications advertising conference. The Wiregrass received several other awards, including first place Classified Page and first place Best Newspaper Promotion. These awards, combined with a number of news awards in the Summer, saw the WGF receive second place Best of Trib for the best newspaper company-wide. Cheryle Bryan and the Ashburn City Council made history as Mrs. Bryan accepted the post of public defender at the Ashburn municipal court. The Council also discussed a Community Relations Board. The board would be a place (See REVIEW Page 3) Willie Jackson jumps for a rebound in a Rebel basketball game. This was one of Trish Oliver’s award winning pictures in 2005. The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, “I'm from the government and I’m here to help.” Ronald Reagan
