Newspaper Page Text
Blood Drive!
Thursday
2-7 at Civic Center
v. Trion
7:30 p.m. Friday
Alan Hobby Memorial
Stadium
WIREGRAS8 FARMER
Wednesday, November 18,2015
ASHBURN,GA, 31714
VOL 109 - No. 46 • 500
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Blood Drive
American Red Cross
Community Blood Drive is
Thursday, Nov. 19,2015,
at the Turner County Civic
Center 2:00pm until
7:00pm. Please give the
gift of life this holiday sea
son.
Christmas
parade
Annual Christmas Pa
rade December 12th at
6pm "Rockin' Around the
Christmas Tree". Entry fee
$10. Contact the Chamber
for more information.
Book signing
There will be a book
signing for Cleveland
Brown's new book Thurs
day, Nov. 19 at the Crime
& Punishment Museum
from 4-6 p.m. Inviting ah
elected officials that can
come will be very much
appreciated, as well as the
public. Refreshments will
be served. Books are $11.
School concert
The Turner County
Middle/High Music De
partment will present its
2015 Songs of the Season
Christmas concert on
Thursday, December 10
beginning at 7. Admission
will be $5, a toy of equal
or higher value for the
Toys for Tots drive, or, if
you so desire, both. Thank
you for your support of the
Turner County Music De
partment!
JROTC, American Legion honor vets
Beverly North (c) re
ceives a flag from Ameri
can Legion Post 98 for her
late husband Robert. Mike
Geoghagan (r) presented
the flag. The presentation
was one of several
Wednesday at the Veter
ans Day salute in Elrod
Park. Photo Susan Baker
The freedoms people in the
United States have today are a
direct result of our veterans
willing to fight to preserve that
freedom.
Last week on Veterans Day,
Nov. 11, the High School
JROTC unit and the American
Legion Post 98 held celebra
tions to honor the vets.
The JROTC event went first
at the Civic Center.
“Consider the freedoms you
have today to live, prosper and
enjoy the American way of
life,” said JROTC lead instruc
tor Maj. Reginald Gavin.
“Please, thank a veteran.”
Ashburn Mayor Sedric
Carithers thanked the JROTC.
He thanked the veterans for
their “unwavering belief in the
cause of freedom.
“Remember the sacrifice of
those who died and those who
live among us today. We owe
them our lives for the freedom.
“Thank you for your sacri-
(See VET Page 2)
BOE expected to set referendum date
The Board of Education is
planning a vote for next year to
extend the 1 cent sales tax.
The Board is planning a
called meeting Nov. 24 to dis
cuss when to have this elec
tion.
According to Elections Su
perintendent Jan Winter, the
vote can only be held on one of
3 dates in 2016. The first avail
able election is the presidential
preference primary in March.
To make the ballot for that
vote, the BOE must make a de
cision by the end of this month.
Board Attorney John Holland
said the election has to be
called at least 90 days before
the vote.
By riding on another elec
tion, the BOE won’t have to
pay for the election.
The School Board wants to
extend the 1 cent Special Pur
pose Local Option Sales tax to
continue to make school im
provements and buy needed
materials for the school sys
tem.
“The main thing is to call
for the referendum and the bal
lots,” Mr. Holland said. Then,
list the amount and set proj
ects, he said. “You need to
have certain things in mind
which you know you need to
do.”
The ballot item must set an
amount to be collected. The 1
cent tax will expire when that
amount is collected or the time
for the tax expires.
The current 1 cent tax will
not collect the amount set in
the last referendum. The tax
expires in 2017.
The current tax is being
used to pay for the HVAC and
electrical systems upgrades
done by ABM, formerly Line
Mechanical. ABM will be paid
off in two more years.
Interim Superintendent
Tommy Day said the elemen
tary school needs to be re
painted. The state will
reimburse the BOE for part of
that, but the school must pay
for everything first.
County Fire Department gets $250K for new engine
by Robby Royal
Turner County Fire Rescue
has been awarded an Assistant
to Firefighters Grant for $
250,000. This grant money
will be used to purchase a 2016
Class A Fire Pumper similar to
the 2005 fire engine in the pic
ture.
This AFG Grant is a 95/5
grant, meaning Turner County
will pay 5% of the truck which
come to $ 11,904 with FEMA
paying $ 238,096 maximum of
the trucks cost.
Chief Royal said the 3 rd
time was the charm, “I have
applied for the grant three con
secutive years finally being
awarded the grant in August
2015. This Class A pumper
will go a long ways to in
creasing fire protection for
Turner County and its citi
zens.
“Our newest pumper
currently is a 2005 Pierce
and the new truck will be a
2016 Pierce, we have taken
bids and are in the final
stages of completing the
truck order with 10-8 Fire
Equipment, Inc. If ah goes
well, we will have the new
truck placed in service
sometime around April-
May 2016 once the build is
complete.
This is a huge blessing for
Turner County tax payers to
get a quarter of a million dollar
fire truck for basically 5% of
the cost, and a huge boost for
our firefighters and fire depart
ment.”
Holiday bonuses but no Columbus Day in Sycamore
A unanimous Sycamore City Council, except for
the missing Fred Eister, decided to give full-time em
ployee’s a week’s pay as a Christmas bonus and part-
time employees $100, if the budget can take it.
Councilman Eister was expected to decide if the
budget has that much money when he returned to
town.
Last year the Council gave $200 to full-time em
ployees and $100 to the part-time help.
“You also suggested last time the full-time [em
ployees} would get a full paycheck,” City Clerk Ash
ley Topley said to Council Jim Galt-Brown.
“Me?” he replied.
Mayor Wayne Woodruff read from the minutes
which showed Councilman Galt-Brown did make that
suggestion last year.
Council member Brenda McNair again brought up
the idea of giving City employees Columbus day as a
holiday.
“I will vote with the majority of the Council. I am
non-committal,” Councilman Galt-Brown said. He
then offered a second to Mrs. NcMair’s motion to
allow more discussion.
“I want to hear the discussion,” said JC Harris.
Mayor Woodruff noted the employees get Good
Friday off for Easter. Ms. Topely said they typically
get the Monday after Easter off as well.
Without adding Columbus Day, Sycamore employ
ees get 11 paid holidays and their birthday as a day
off for a total of 12 days off with pay.
“I suggest we leave it alone,” the mayor said.
I am really, genuinely equivocal on this,” Mr. Galt-
Brown said.
The vote was 3-1 with Mr. McNair, Mr. Galt-
Brown and Mr. Harris voting no. Mrs. McNair voted
yes.
“They’ve got 12 days is what I say,” Mr. McNair
said.
“It don’t really matter,” Mrs. McNair said.
County Commission buys motorgraders, tractor for road department
Music classes
Music classes for guitar,
bass, drums and piano are
being held each Saturday
at 6 p.m. at Christ Founda
tion Assembly of God
church in Roger's plaza.
Donations are requested to
help cover expenses.
Birth certificates
Need a certified birth
certificate? If you were
bom in the State of Georgia,
the Turner County Probate
See BRIEFLY Page 6
Obituaries
Teri Suzanne Whiddon,
35, Ashburn
Complete obituary
information Page 5
The County Commission is
getting three new motor-
graders, two backhoes and a
tractor for the road department.
The County signed a 5-year
lease for the motorgraders and
backhoes. At the end of the
lease, the equipment company
will “buy us out of the lease.”
The tractor is a 4-year lease.
The combined annual pay
ments for all the equipment
comes to just shy of $90,000 a
year. The big equipment is
$8IK a year and the tractor is
$7,900 a year. The total on the
tractor is $56K.
The purchases are in the
budget.
The County will make one
up-front payment and then four
more on the big equipment
said County Attorney John
Holland.
Commissioner Brad Cal
houn said the tractor, which
will be used for mowing with
a pull-behind rotary mower, is
a good deal.
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On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind. Dan Lipinski
