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V
™ E Wiregrass Farmer
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
ASHBURN,GA, 31714
VOL 109 - No. 52 • 500
www.thewiregrassfarmer.com
Around Town
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Call 567-3655
Courthouse
The Courthouse will be
closed Friday, Dec. 30th for
the New Year Holiday.
Rec ball
Basketball signups for
ages 4-14 boys and girls.
Free signups at Rec. Dept.
9:30-11:30 and 2:00-4:30
Mon-Fri thru remainder of
December. January 4th-
13th Mon-Fri 9:30-11:30,
2:00-6:00. All signups are
at Rec. Dept. Any questions
call Chuck Martenn, 229-
567-1543.
TCES Parent
conferences
Parent Conferences will
be held at TCES on Tues
day, Jan. 3, 2017 from
10am to 3pm. Any parent
who would like to have a
conference will need to
contact their child's teacher
by December 16, 2016 to
schedule one.
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 pro
vide you with a certified
copy. For more information
call Probate Court Judge
Penny Thomas at 567-2151.
Welcome kits
If you are new to Turner
County please be sure to
stop by the Ashbum-Tumer
County Chamber of Com
merce to pick up your New
Resident Welcome Kit. The
kit is filled with promo
tional material, advertise
ments, and coupons
provided by Chamber
Members, along with a map
and directory. We are lo
cated at 238 E College Ave.
and look forward to wel
coming you to Turner
County!
Obituaries
John Christopher Goss,
62, Cordele
Complete obituary
information Page 8
Serving Turner County Since 1902
Chamber to split billboard costs
Two Chamber of Com
merce members will get half a
billboard on 1-75 and the
Chamber will take the other
half under a proposal in the
works for a while at the Cham
ber.
At last week’s Board meet
ing, the board reviewed the
idea again and looked at four
Chamber members who
wanted to participate. Under
the proposal, only a chamber
member can participate in the
half-price half-the-sign bill
board. The contract is for 3
years. The chamber signs the
contract with the billboard
company and the participating
member has an agreement with
the chamber to pay half the
bill.
The billboard will cost a
Chamber member $2400 a
year. This can be paid quarterly
or annually.
The board discussed who
should get the signage.
“We need to get someone
on there who wouldn’t other
wise be able to have a bill
board,” said Mike Rice.
The board voted to offer
contracts to one of the locally
owned gas companies and Pre
cision Movers.
The other half of the bill
board will promote something
in Turner County like the Jail
Museum, shopping in Turner
County or something else to
draw people in.
In other business:
• Ashburn Mayor Sandra
Lumpkin is the incoming
chairman. Mike Moore is vice
chair and Eric Hughes is treas
urer.
• Buck White, representing
Sconyers Gin, was welcomed
as a new member of the Board.
• The annual general mem
bership meeting and banquet is
set for Jan. 26. Tickets are ten
tatively $30.
OATH OF OFFICE
7 county-level elected officials took the oath of office last week at the court
house. Probate Judge Penny Thomas administered the oath. Pictured are
County Commissioner Sam McCard, Clerk of Court Mary Lee Green, Board
of Education member Sam Brown, Judge Thomas, BOE member Ann
Kendrick, County Commissioners Brad Calhoun, State Court Judge, John
Holland. County-level elected officials not attending the ceremony were Tax
Commissioner Ranee Gregory, Coroner Edgar Perry, Chief Magistrate Craig
Poole, County Commissioner Daryl Hall, State Court Solicitor Steve Ivie and
Board of Education member Phillip Crawford. They took the oath of office at
another time. On Tuesday, December 20, Judge Penny E. Thomas was sworn
in by Senior Superior Court Judge John D. Crosby for another 4 year term of
office beginning January 1,2017 through December 31,2020.
Organ concert Jan. 10 at 1st Bapt.
Concert Jan. 10
7 p.m. 1st Baptist
No charge
nist, in ensembles and soloist throughout
the southeastern United States. Mr.
Durkovic has served as clinician for church
music classes in the Southeast. He is the
Manager of the Grand Theatre and other
arts facilities in Fitzgerald and organist at
Porterfield Memorial United Methodist
Church in Albany.
Jon has written and produced 13 years
of Children’s Theatre and 8 years of Movie
Camp in Fitzgerald along with producing
and directing numerous live productions at
the theatre. He has composed music for
organ, piano, handbells and other instru
ments and voice.
Jon has been an integral part of the ren
ovation and construction of several historic
and new pipe organs in the southeast. Cur
rently, he plays the recently restored and
installed 1926 Barton Theatre organ at the
Grand Theatre, plays and oversees the on
going upgrades and restoration of the
sanctuary Kilgen/Tellers organ
and a 1929 Robert Morton
organ in the chapel at
Porterfield Memorial
United Methodist
Church.
Jon is a member of the
B __ League of Historic Amer-
ican Theatres, the Ameri-
■flr can Theatre Organ Society,
Historic American Theatres,
Fox Theatre Institute and Geor-
(See CONCERT Page 2)
Jon Durkovic, former organist at
the Ashburn 1st Methodist Church,
has a concert here Jan. 10.
The Turner County Arts Council is
proud to present a free (donations ac
cepted) organ concert with Jon Durkovic
on the Rodgers Trillium Masterpiece
Organ at the Ashburn First Baptist Church
on Tuesday, January 10 at 7 pm. Jon is a
former organist for Ashburn United
Methodist Church.
Jon Durkovic earned his Bachelor of
Arts in Music from Asbury Col
lege and Masters in Music
from the University of Al
abama, Tuscaloosa. He
has also been awarded _
an Honorary Doctorate nrf
in Pipe Organs as part
of his service as con
sultant on many new and
restored instruments in
the southeastern USA. He
has performed as accompa-
January
Week 1
Horace Hudgins is in
terim County Manager for
Turner County by unani
mous vote at last week's
Commission meeting.
Hunting wild hogs in
Georgia is made easier by
the new laws that became
effective Jan. 1.
Hudgins
The APD gets a grant of $10K
from the Governor's Office of High
way Safety (GOHS).
Superior Court judges and the
District Attorney get a raise from
the state.
Week 2
Rebecca Mayor Don Collins,
newly re-elected Councilman and
mayor pro-tempore Junior Lewis
and City Clerk Janice Varnadore
quit last week during the monthly
City Council meeting. Mayor
Collins and Mr. Lewis said council
infighting is why they quit.
On a split vote last week, the
County Commission selected Brad
Calhoun to serve as Chairman for
the coming year.
The City of Ashburn
needs to start making
money on its gas service or
get out that business said
Tom Berry, a consultant the
City has brought in to help
with the budget.
Week 3
The Sycamore City
Council effectively fired
the chief of police at the
Thursday night Council meeting.
Councilman Fred Eister read the list
of City employees to be rehired,
name by name, and left off Chief
Lee Ann Daabes. Jerry Nipper re
tires after working for the City of
Sycamore for 33 years. Shawn
Dupree was promoted to take over
the City of Sycamore’s public works
department.
BOE is looking at Direct Deposit
that could possibly save time and
money.
Week 4
Some Ashburn residents living in
a low spot at the west end of MLK
Dr. are fed up with the sewer prob
lems that have been going on for
(See REVIEW Page 2)
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