Letters to the Editor
Judges, DA get raises.
Page 2
Basketball report
THE Wiregrass Farmer
Wednesday, January 6,2016
ASHBURN,GA, 31714
VOL 109 - No. 1 • 500
www.thewiregrassfarmer.com
^Around Town N
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The Wiregrass
Farmer
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mail every week
Call 567-3655 for
information.
Chamber
banquet
Tickets for the annual
Chamber of Commerce
banquet in January are on
sale now at the Chamber of
fice. Tickets are $30. Call
567-9696 for more infor
mation.
Open House
Open House/Parent Con
ference. Turner County El
ementary SchoolandTurner
County Middle/High
School will be Thursday,
Jan. 7, 2016. Each school
will be open from 4-6 p.m.
for parents to pick up report
cards and talk with their
child's teacher.
TCES PTO
Turner County Elemen
tary School PTO will be
held on Thursday, Jan. 7,
2016 right after open house
in the lunchroom.
Literacy night
Turner County Elemen
tary School Family Literacy
Night. Parents and Teachers
Working Together to Help
Children Enjoy Reading
January 26, 2016 from
4:30-6 p.m. Enjoy: Story
Time, Teacher Led activi
ties, Reading books with
your child. 2nd-5th graders
may take AR test.
Take home activities to
help your child with Read
ing. Blue tickets will be
given to students who at
tend with their parents.
Music classes
Music classes for guitar,
bass, drums and piano are
being held each Saturday at
6 p.m. at Christ Foundation
Assembly of God church in
Roger's plaza. Donations
are requested to help cover
expenses.
Obituaries
Mr. Royce Hanner, 86,
Ashburn
Bobby Neil Clower, 67,
Fitzgerald
Complete obituary
information Page 5
V J
Serving Turner County Since 1902
Hudgins is interim Co. Mgr
I look forward to working with the citi
zens of Turner County. I hope we can
get some good things happening in
Turner County.
Horace Hudgins,
best known in Turner
County as the Georgia
Power area manager, is
now the interim County
Manager.
He takes office in
February.
The Commissioners
unanimously voted Mr.
Hudgins in at last
week’s meeting.
“I am ready to make a mo
tion to hire him,” said Com
missioner Nick Denham.
Commissioner
Brad Calhoun
asked if the candi
date was going to
be named.
“Horace Hud
gins,” Mr. Den
ham replied.
Mr. Hudgins
comes to the job
after many years
with Georgia
Power and an extensive list of
public service work in Irwin
County. He served as Mayor of
Ocilla and ran for the Georgia
State House in a special elec
tion earlier this year.
Mr. Hudgins is retiring from
Georgia Power.
“I look forward to working
with the citizens of Turner
County. I hope we can get
some good things happening in
Horace Hudgins
Turner County,” he said.
“Turner County is a good
county. I appreciate the Com
mission allowing me the op
portunity to serve as County
Manager.”
Mr. Hudgins is the interim
county manager. A permanent
(See MANAGER Page 2)
Hudgins
CHRISTMAS HOOPS
The Lady Rebels took top honors in the 3rd annual Ronalda Pierce Holiday Hoopfest tournament at the Civic
Center over the Christmas break. The boys took 3rd place. Brad Christian provides the details in sports.
Now easier to hunt wild hogs in Georgia
Among the new laws that
took effect in Georgia on Jan.
1, the state’s law on wild hogs
also changed.
The major changes are:
• Allows hog hunting at
night with a spotlight, except
during deer season.
• Allows hogs to be hunted
from a vehicle.
These two provisions appar
ently mean you can drive
around at night with a spot
light to hunt and kill wild hogs.
The law does say in another
part that a hog depredation per
mit is needed to hunt from a
vehicle.
Wild hogs are major nui
sance in Turner County and
most of Georgia.
The most recent completed
study, 2011, showed hogs
caused $57 million in crop
damage in the 41 counties that
make up Southwest Georgia
said Will Gay, co-director at
the Turner County Extension
office. Another study is under
way.
“I get more homeowner
calls. Most of the farmers
know what there is to do about
(See HOG Page 2)
Two big changes to the law
•Allows hog hunting at night with a
spotlight, except during deer season.
•Allows hunting from a vehicle.
Kelly Wupper with a wild hog she shot over the week
end. The hog was donated to the local food bank.
2015: Year in Review part 2
Part 1 appeared in last
week’s newspaper.
July
Week 1
County Manager Mary
Wynn was feted by the County
Commission on her retirement.
Turner County Young
Farmers hosted its first canning
class at the Canning Plant.
Dr. Tyrone Kellogg, assis
tant principal at the high school
and boys head basketball
coach for the past five years,
has resigned. He is taking a po
sition as principal at Dublin
High School in Dublin, Geor
gia.
Week 2
JROTC gets muddy during
its Summer Leadership Train
ing at Ft. Benning.
Social media erupted this
week in Turner County over
the high school mascot, the
Rebel. An online petition set
up to have the mascot changed
to something else. Within a day
or so a competing petition was
launched to keep the mascot as
is. The matter was brought up
at a BOE meeting by board
member Cornelius Ball and
asked if the mascot could be on
the agenda for a "dialogue. He
and a number of other people
thinks the mascot should be
changed saying it is offensive.
In other BOE news, the Board
has given it's approval to con
tinue participation in the
REACH Scholarship program.
Rec director Mike Coker
says the Holley Pavilion at the
Rec Dept, needs a lot of work.
He pitched the idea of com
pletely gutting and redoing the
building at last week's work
shop meeting.
Turner County Connections
Board of Directors voted to
end the relationship with the
Communities In Schools and
return to roots as Turner
County Connections.
Turner County High School
Baseball Team had a 50 inning
fundraiser in late June.
Week 3
Ashburn City Manager Dan
Bollinger resigns saying it was
for "personal and professional
reasons".
The BOE hires an inde
pendent search company to
help find a new permanent
school superintendent. The de
cision was 3-2. This will cost
the School Board $4000 and
must come from the general
fund.
Week 4
An armed robbery at a con
venience store in Sycamore
ends with two being charged
See YEAR Page 2)
APD
gets
The Ashburn Police De
partment is pleased to an
nounce it has received a
$10,000.00 grant from the
Governor's Office of Highway
Safety (GOHS). There were 25
small agency incentive grants
given across the state and the
Ashburn Police Department
was one. These grants are
awarded based upon the part
nership with The Governor's
Office of Highway Safety in
helping to reduce crashes, in
juries, and fatalities across the
State of Georgia.
The grant, which will con
tinue through September of
2016, will help finance in
creased use of child safety
seats, update the equipment
utilized by the traffic units to
more efficiently complete acci
dent reports and enforce traffic
safety for the residents of Ash
burn, and to keep the traffic
Officers safe while performing
their traffic duties. The Ash-
bum Police Department will be
purchasing Child safety seats,
updated Mobile Data Termi
nals for the traffic units, as well
as body cameras.
"The Governor's Office of
Highway Safety is committed
to keeping everyone safe on
our roads and highways, from
the smallest precious cargo to
the most seasoned drivers,"
said GOHS Director Harris
Blackwood.
Lt. Purvis advised, "We
greatly appreciate the Gover
nor's Office of Highway Safety
offering these grants to assist
small agencies like ourselves.
These grants assist communi
ties by allowing the Ashburn
Police Department to purchase
needed items and this will save
the tax payers money and in
crease the safety of our resi
dents."
Ashburn Police Department
enjoys providing a safe envi
ronment for the residents to
live and work. The Ashburn
Police Department is struc
tured to handle patrol, traffic,
investigations, drug enforce
ment, and canine operations in
order to serve thepublic with
more effectiveness and effi
ciency.
For more information on the
APD's award, contact Lt.
Richard Purvis at (2567-2323
or ashbumpolice@gmail.com.
For more information on
GOHS and its highway safety
programs visit www.gahigh
waysafety.org.
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When we know as much about people as hog specialists know about hogs, we'll be better off.
Lewis B. Hershey
