About The wiregrass farmer. (Ashburn, Ga.) 1984-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 2008)
Thousands have lived without love, not one without water. W. H. Auden I^Readi I What you Readers Write have to say. Page 4 f Arts, I I New se & Entertainment series announced. Page 6B K= Retiring? Yep Pauline Rogers. Page the Wiregrass Farmer Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008 ASHBURN, GA, 31714 VOL 106 - No. 43 • 500 /<Around Town Subscribe to The Wiregrass Farmer Delivered in your mail every week. Call 567-3655 for information. Halloween Halloween hours for Turner County, Ashburn, Sycamore and Rebecca are 6- p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30. Trick or Treat The 2nd Annual Trick or Treat in the Street will be Oct. 30th from 6-8 pm in front of City Hall. Anyone wanting to participate please call Amanda Bridges or Lynn Hewitt at 567- 3431. You may also bring candy by the City Hall if you cannot be there. We would like for every busi ness to participate. Band Booster There will be a Band Booster meeting in the Band room on Monday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m.. Everyone is encouraged to attend. Williford exhibit The paintings of Linda Williford are now on dis play at Victoria Evans Memorial Library. The works of the well known local artist will be at the library through the month of October. Linda owns Patches Art Studio and has taught painting for many years. In the main library, you can view the beautiful display of Capodemonte porcelain flowers. This collection is owned by Jerry Loltz. Both exhibits are proudly sponsored by the Turner County Arts Council. Pet Show TCS Band Pet Show Nov. 8th, 1-6 p.m. at TC Elementary School. All Pets Welcome! Questions? Call Olivia 821-6896 Fest Yard Sale November Pest will be Nov. 1 10 a.m.-l p.m. The Yard Sale is in conjunction with the November Pest will be from 7 am-1 pm Breast exams October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Turner County Health Dept, will be offering PREE Breast Exams Oct. 20th - Oct. 24th. Please call 567-4357 for an appointment. Boston Butts Friends of Scouting Boy Scouts boston butt sale, (See BRIEFLY Page 2) Obituaries Shawn Ryan Martinez, 20, Sycamore Randy Matthew Long, 49, Ashburn Brenda (Lulu) A. Burgess, 62,Ashburn Complete obituary \information is on Page 5 Serving Turner County Since 1902 Sales tax income jumps $5K by Ben Baker Editor Sales tax figures for Turner County in September were up about $5000 from the previous amount, said School Superin tendent Ray Jordan. The most recent check was for $85,000. The County showed similar figures, said County Manager Charles Kinney. That does not automatically mean spending was up in the County for that period, Mr. Kinney said. He said there are two things which affect Sales Tax revenue at the county level, both of which can generate a single month spike in revenue. One is litigation. If the State sues someone over sales tax, a settlement could see revenue for that month jump when the settlement is paid. Turner County has seen several such cases in past years. Mr. Kinney said the state usually does not tell local boards who is being sued, when they are being sued and what the outcome is. They find out by seeing the spike in rev enue. The second reason is sales taxes are distributed with a two to three month delay. The Department of Revenue col lects sales taxes and then hands it down to the local level. The check sent from Atlanta in September repre sented mostly June and possi bly some July sales. “We are 80 to 90 days in collections to remission to the local community. We’ll get a check in October and that rep resents August and July,” he said. Despite tough times facing the state, as shown in press releases from Atlanta showing sales tax collections continue to be down, figures for Turner County have remained fairly consistent. ( See TAX Page 2) The County has 2 one-cent sales taxes. 1) A Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). This is voted on by the electorate every 6 years. Money can only be spent on capital improve ment projects as listed in the referendum. 2) A general purpose Local Option Sales Tax (LOST). Lost goes directly into general funds. Both taxes are considered "County" taxes, but both taxes are also shared directly with the three cities. SPLOST is also shared with the Turner County Development Authority and the Victoria Evans Memorial Library. The School Board has a SPLOST. The same restric tions apply to it as the County SPLOST with the sole exception than this money can also be spent on textbooks. STATE CHAMP! Coats next issue for dress code by Ben Baker Editor The school system’s new dress code has gone ahead with some minor, and expected, bumps, said High School Principal Chad Stone. With weather turning colder, Mr. Stone, David Wheeler at the Middle School and Patricia Hargess at the alternate school, are turning their attention to jackets and coats. The dress code requires jackets be “Solid, black, brown, navy, khaki or white” and no hoodies. Mrs. Hargess said stu dents at the alternate school have some confu sion over hoodies. “I see that as being a problem. Some students, that is all they have,” she said. The School Board set a policy banning hoodies because some students pulled the hood over their head so far as to fully obscure their face. This could be a problem in classroom settings, the board reasoned. “If it has a zipper, I allow that,” Mr. Stone said. “Some of them, that’s all they have.” School Superintendent Ray Jordan said he interpreted the hoodie dress code to mean heavy pullover shirts with a hood on the back. When used as an outer jacket, which can be taken off, it (See DRESS Page 2) HOODIES Pullover shirts with a hood (above)not allowed. Such shirts with a zippered (or buttoned) front all the way down (below) are allowed. 1 West side water improvements bids due Oct. 31 by Ben Baker Editor Imagine a plum. Now put a cantaloupe next to it. That should give you a good idea of the size of the water pipes, 3/4 of an inch, in a west Ashburn neighborhood. The cantaloupe represents the new, 6 inch, pipes which will be installed with help from a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). A CDBG is a federal grant which must be spent in low to moder ate income neighborhoods. At the October City Council meeting, City Manager Ben Taylor held up a piece of 3/4 galvanized pipe and then a 6 inch PVC main to show the Council the difference. The City is going to replace 11,000 feet of smaller pipes with the big mains and 1,800 feet of sewer lines for the same neighborhood where some peo ple still have septic tanks. “It will improve pressure problems. It will also allow ... fire hydrants every 1,000 feet,” he said. “The big thing is fire protection.” By getting hydrants into the neighbor hood, Ashburn’s fire fighting ability will improve. “This is one of the pro jects that needs to be done. I recom mend we get this done and some other areas in west Ash burn as we can get to them as Taylor well,” he said. The CDBG also has popula tion density requirements. If enough people do not live in an area, a CDBG cannot be used there. Typically a CDBG is $500,0000 and requires match es from the community receiv ing it. Ashburn usually pro vides the match with in-kind contributions of City workers doing part of the labor needed for the project. Construction bids for the project are due Oct. 31. The City’s engineering firm will review the bids and make a rec ommendation to the City Council for a decision. Mr. Taylor said he hopes work can begin around the first of the year. If necessary, the City Council will have a called meeting Nov. 13 to award the construction bid. “The sooner we can approve this ... gives more time to the construction firm,” said Mayor Jim Hedges. City Councilman James Burks asked if the Council could review the bids. “Normally they are looked at by the engineer,” the mayor said. “The Council will have final approval,” Mr. Taylor said. He said this CDBG project will not be as outwardly as impressive as some past pro jects, like the Youth Resource Center in west Ashburn. But it is necessary, he said. “It’s not a glorified project. There will be a lot of dirt dug up. It is very necessary.” CDBG • Community Development Block Grant • Usually $500,000 • Low to moderate income neighborhoods • Requires cash or in-kind work from local gover- ment • Area covered must have a minumum population • A community may receive a CDBG every two years West side work • 3/4” main lines will be replaced with 6” mains • Water pressure will increase • More fire hyrdants will be installed • Fire protection will be improved Box Tops for Education hopes to raise $500 for schools this year You can Clip Box Top coupons from favorite products and send them to our school. We’ve recently launched our 2008-2009 Box Tops for Education fundraising cam paign. This year we’ve set a goal of earning $500 through Box Tops to purchase items that will help increase learning in all subjects and grades. For 12 years, Box Tops for Education has helped America’s schools raise over $250 million to buy the things they need. The Box Tops for Education program offers three easy ways to make a difference for our school through every day activities: buying gro ceries, shopping online and purchasing books. School bud gets are tighter than ever, and Turner County Middle School is asking for the support of families and community mem bers such as yourself. Sign up to support our school at the Box Tops website (www.btfe.com). You’ll get updates on our school’s Box Tops earnings, money-saving coupons, family-pleasing recipes, chances to win Bonus Box Tops for our school and the latest Box Tops news! To get started, go to the website and type in Turner and Georgia. Then choose Turner Co. Middle School and follow the prompts. For more information on how you can help our school earn cash through Box Tops for Education, contact Susan Powell, our Box Tops coordi nator, at spowell®turner. kl2.ga.us or visit btfe.com.
