Wishing You
the Wiregrass Farmer
Serving Turner County Since 1902
Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008
ASHBURN, GA, 31714
VOL 106 - No. 53 • 500
/Around Town \
Subscribe
to The Wiregrass
Farmer
Delivered in your
mail every week.
Call 567-3655 for
information.
Birth certificates
Need a certified birth
certificate? If you were
bom in the State of
Georgia, the Turner County
Probate Court may be able
to provide you with a certi
fied copy. For more info,
call Probate Court Judge
Penny Thomas at 567-
2151.
Be a mentor
Support the Youth of
Turner County, be a
Mentor! The Turner County
Connection would like you
to join us in providing one-
on-one support for at-risk
children in grades 4-8.
Please contact Garrett
Boone, Mentoring
Coordinator, at 229-567-
2524 or email him at
gboone@turner.kl2.ga.us
Ashton Bell, Ashley Wheeler, and Kyle Gay find out exactly how far $5 will go at an
Ashburn restaurant.
Banking students buy lunch on a budget
Ms. Lynn Christian’s stu
dents at TCHS in Banking and
Investing have been going
through a Financial Planning
Simulation that was provided
free by the NEFE High School
Financial Planning Program.
With personal bankruptcies
and credit card debt increasing
while retirement savings are
decreasing among Americans,
the need to teach financial liter
acy in the nation’s high schools
is critical.
The students have been
involved in discussing their
financial goals along with their
needs and wants. This gives
them an enhanced knowledge
of personal finance and an
increasing confidence in man
aging money. The students
recently visited an Ashburn
restaurant on a $5 Budget.
The students could not
spend more than $5 with tax
included on their meal. While
students’ financial affairs may
seem simple now, this is the
best time for them to get orga
nized.
Students understand that
they will need to update their
budget fairly regularly through
out their life. The budget is a
powerful tool to help students
manage their money. With a lit
tle discipline, it will help stu
dents achieve things they value
most. They can share these
lifelong skills with friends and
family.
AF&R firefighters
honored for work
by Brian Meadows
AF&R Chief
Ashburn Fire & Emergency
Services held its annual
Awards Banquet on December
11th at the Ashburn Youth
Resource Center.
The banquet was started
when I welcomed all those that
were in attendance. Chaplain
Dean McKinney blessed the
food and dinner was served.
After dinner, the Mayor,
Council, & City Manager
addressed the group and com
mended their work.
Afterwards, Artie Eld
served as the emcee for the
awards banquet the following
firefighters received the fol
lowing awards and the follow
ing items in special recognition
for events that they wish they
could forget.
If you would like to know
why they received these bloop
ers you’ll have to ask them.
These awards are given with
the utmost dignity, esteem, and
respect which is the tradition of
the fire service. These awards
are not given to make fun of,
discredit, or disgrace anyone.
Each award is an honor to
receive even the awards that
recognize a moment you wish
you could forget.
OPEN SESAME AWARD -
Mark Robinson (KEY)
MARTHA STEWART
AWARD - Darren Gipson
(FLOWERS)
POWDER PUFF AWARD -
Bryan Altman, Dean
McKinney, Jamie Turner, and
Matt Wiggins (POWDER
PUFFS
UPSIDE DOWN AWARD -
Bryan Altman, Terry Peavy,
and Kenny Guy (Banana)
GILLETT AWARD -
Darren Gipson (2 RAZORS
ONE FOR EACH HAND)
THREE BLIND MICE
AWARD - Dean McKinney
(MAGNIFYING GLASS),
Kenny Guy (Whistle)
CHICKEN LITTLE
AWARD - Billy Caton
(CHICKEN)
KERMIT THE FROG
AWARD - Jamie Turner,
Charles Fortson, Timmy
Mathis, and Bryan Altman
(FROG)
CERTIFIED OPERA
TOR’S AWARD - Billy Caton
(CERTIFICATE)
HUH OH AWARD - Steve
House (WHOOPEE CUSH
ION), Darren Gipson (Badge)
SSSSSSSSSSSS AWARD -
Hank Pate (SNAKE)
COBRA AWARD - Darren
Gipson (COBRA)
GOLDEN GLOVES
AWARD - Darren Gipson
(PINK GLOVES)
LASSIE AWARD - Jamie
Turner and Bryan Altman
(ALPO)
REYNOLDS AWARD -
Mark Robinson and Hank Pate
(TIN FOIL)
Girl Scouts
Do you have a talent
that you would like to
share? The Girl Scouts of
Southwest Georgia would
like to invite volunteers to
participate in troop leader
ship or service unit man
agement. Training is pro
vided. Time dedication
depends on assignment
selected. For more informa
tion call Sherri Girard at
229-242-5213.
Firefighters
needed
The Turner County Fire
Department wants you. If
you want to become a vol
unteer firefighter, no matter
where you live in Turner
County or what your abili
ties are, if you are 18 or
older, we have a place for
you. Call Randall Whiddon
at 567-3501.
Story time
The Victoria Evans
Memorial Library hosts a
Community Story Time the
third Friday of each month
from 10-11 a.m. Children
of all ages are invited to
attend. Sessions include a
variety of stories, songs and
crafts. The Victoria Evans
Memorial Library is located
at 605 North St, Ashburn
For more information call
567-4027.
GED classes
Moultrie Technical
College is offering free
GED classes at the Turner
Campus located on
Rockhouse Rd. in Ashburn.
Please call the college at
567-2045 if more informa
tion is needed.
Obituaries
Tony Ray Sumner, 55,
Pitts
Sara W. Palmer, 79,
Gainesville
Complete obituary
information is on Page 5
2008
The year in review
compiled by Ben Baker
Editor
JANUARY
Week 1
The Ashburn City Council
expressed some ire over the
Environmental Protection
Division ordering the City to
carry out a series of tests with
out providing money for it.
City Manager Ben Taylor
explained the EPD no longer
had the money to do the tests,
state budget cuts, and so was
making communities around
the state do it.
Ashburn Mayor Jim Hedges
self-grades his first year in
office as B+ or an A-.
Week 2
New sidewalks for down
town are finally ready to begin.
The new sidewalks were com
pleted before the Christmas
shopping season began.
Willie Turner received a
standing ovation from the
crowd at the annual Ashburn
Fire & Rescue banquet. Mr.
Turner retired the year before
the AF&R Department after
many years of service. Retired
department member Bill
McCard belatedly received a
gold watch. At the Ashburn
Police Department banquet,
officers honored Chief Bryant
McCard.
Week 3
A proposal ethanol plant for
just south of Sycamore got
zoning approval from the
County Commission. At the
meeting, the plant’s proponents
said construction was to begin
in September. As of the end of
the year, no ground was bro
ken.
Personnel and officials rep
resenting every emergency ser
vices department in Turner
County attend the Commission
meeting with a list of concerns
about the County’s 911 depart
ment. They all asked for some
one with management experi
ence to take over the depart
ment. The Commission
appointed interim head Kathy
Morgan to run the department
and later in the year would
make that appointment perma
nent. The same emergency
response officials who attended
the meeting would later say
their concerns had not been
addressed, and matters at 911
were no better than before.
Week 4
Paul Perry is named Citizen
of the Year at the annual Turner
County Chamber of Commerce
banquet. Keith Barnette was
named Farm Family of the
Year. Gray Distribution
received Industry of the Year.
Parker Chevrolet was Small
Business of the year. Bill
Leverette was Chamber
Volunteer of the Year.
Coroner Edgar Perry says
the County Commission broke
its word by not allowing him to
have a say about who was
appointed to head the 911
department.
A divided Ashburn City
Council considered a measure
to allow Christmas beer sales
in the City. It would be
approved in February and
brought up yet again in March.
Week 5
The Middle School Boys
Basketball team won the
Conference Championship for
the third year in a row.
The Ashburn Council gives
approval for a street closure for
Golden Peanut to expand. The
street was not closed. That will
happen later when the plant
asks for the street to be closed
and presents expansion plans.
The weather warning siren
was triggered for the December
2007 tornado, but did not go
off because a switch at the
EMS office was turned off.
Julie Cristello was named
Turner County Teacher of the
Year.
After some delays and some
time without, the County
Commission appointed Pete
Giddens as the Emergency
Management Agency director.
FEBRUARY
Week 1
The City of Ashburn cannot
make charitable donations, but
it can contract for services,
which is what the Council did
in giving the Red Cross $5,000.
The contract called for the Red
Cross to provide emergency
services in the City, as it did
the wake of the December
2007 tornado.
Mr. Giddens may have been
appointed by the County
Commission to the EMA post,
but that had to be confirmed by
officials in Atlanta. As of this
week, confirmation was still
pending.
The 2008 Fire Ant Festival
theme is Ring of Fire Ants.
Week 2
Ross, Dawn and Jake
Kendrick were named the
Outstanding Farm Family of
the Year for Georgia by the
Young Farmers Association.
Barack Obama won Turner
County in the Presidential
Preference primary. He lost the
state.
The Ashburn City Council
refused to change the minutes
of the January meeting to
reflect Councilman Art Eld’s
comments and stance on an
issue.
Week 3
More details are announced
about the coming downtown
Ashburn drainage and sidewalk
work.
Thad Jobe is Turner
County’s STAR student. He
selected Dennis Kendrick as
his STAR teacher.
Ashburn contracts with the
County to conduct City elec
tions. Beginning in November,
City elections will be held at
the Civic Center and on the
same machines which host the
County, state and national elec
tions.
The Rebel Boys Basketball
team won the Region
Championship.
Golden Peanut’s safety
record is four years.
Unfortunately, the record
would not last. Later in the
year an employee was killed at
the plant.
Week 4
Probably the result of New
Years celebrations, a bullet was
found lodged in the outside
wall of a home on the northeast
side of Ashburn. The bullet
appeared to have bounced off
the pavement before striking
the house.
Garbage bills, a problem
almost since the County’s
garbage program began more
than a decade ago, continues.
(See YEAR Page 2)
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