Newspaper Page Text
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.