Newspaper Page Text
Fake Cash Alert!!!
Funny money
passed at
City Hall. Page 7
Got your tlu shot:
"Better get one. Page 2
eorass Farmer
Wednesday, November 29,2017
ASHBURN,GA, 31714
VOL 109 - No. 48 • 500
www.thewiregrassfarmer.com
^Around Town ^
Subscribe to
The Wiregrass
Farmer
Delivered in your
mail every week
Call 567-3655
Cinnamon rolls
Toys for Tots is selling
Miz Vivian's cinnamon
rolls. The 9th grade acad
emy is selling tickets, $1.50
each or $12 a dozen. Tick
ets on sale now and the dis
tribution is 4-7 p.m. Friday.
Dec. 8.
Ornament swap
Pre-K and Kindergarten
Ornament Swap Dec. 13,
2017 at 8:30 a.m. in the
TCES Lunchroom.
Firefighter class
Ashburn Fire & Emer
gency Services will offer
the Basic Firefighter: Mod
ule One Course as part of its
in-service training program.
The course is a very fast
paced course, which is the
mandated training course
required by Georgia Law to
become a firefighter. The
class will begin on Monday,
January 8, 2018 at 6 PM at
Ashburn Fire & Emergency
Services Station #2 located
at 1070 Bridges Road in
Ashburn. The course is 68
hours in length and will be
held on consecutive Mon
day and Thursday nights.
Therefore, the course will
take approximately 8 weeks
to complete. If you are in
terested in attending the
class please call 567-4952
to register. There is no
charge for this class and
after successful completion
participants may pursue a
career in the Fire Service.
Tree festival
The Festival of Christ
mas Trees at 400 Highway
32 Sycamore is open. We
are a non profit that every
year raises money food and
toys for families in need
here in Turner county. We
have a bam full of over 100
decorated trees, Santa
Clause, for pit for roasting
marshmallows ect. You can
read more about us on our
Facebook page Festival of
Christmas Trees.
Obituaries
Julian C. Elliott, Jr., 71,
Ashburn
Pamela Wynn Speight, 49,
Sycamore
Complete obituary
information Page 5
Serving Turner County Since 1902
Scrapyard up in flames
Sycamore Fire Chief Terry Peavy calls for more pressure to put water on the tire
fire at the closed scrapyard in Sycamore.
A regular source of irritation, because of the spread of junk,
for the Sycamore City Council went up flames over the week
end.
The on-again, off-again scrap yard on the south end of town
burned on Saturday. The call came in around midnight Saturday.
Monday morning, firefighters were back on the scene trying
to extinguish a pile of tires stored in the middle of the property.
Getting to the fires was an issue because of the piles of junk
all over the property. What sparked the blaze is not known.
Man kills self
A Florida man, name with
held, committed suicide last
week in the Zaxby’s parking
lot after being brought to the
ground by a deputy.
He was not shot by respond
ing officers.
The Ashburn Police Depart
ment got the initial call of a
suspicious man and possible
shots fired at the Super 8
motel.
“We found 1 case at the
Super 8,” said Capt. Richard
Purvis.The one case matched
the 9mm handgun the man was
carrying.
The officer at the scene de
scribed a “very distraught male
pacing back and forth.” He at
tempted to “engage” the man
by talking with him.
“The officers tried every de-
escalation technique. Talk to
him. Get his first name ‘Hey,
we can help you.’ Try to calm
him down,” Capt. Purvis said.
The man walked toward the
officer, causing the officer to
retreat behind his patrol car.
“Then he started walking.
The officer ordered him to
stop. They continued to talk.
He crossed 112 to Pizza Hut
and made his way to Zaxby’s,”
the captain said.
At this point, another APD
officer and three deputies ar
rived as backup.
“They saw an opportunity.
He didn’t drop the gun, but put
it by his side. They attempted
to tackle him and get the gun
away. They fell to the ground
and the guy stuck it to his head.
1 round,” Capt. Purvis said.
The death was ruled suicide
as the man shot himself.
Sheriff Andy Hester said the
officers repeatedly attempted
to get the man to put the gun
down when he was in the fast
food restaurant parking lot.
“He turned away with the
gun by his side. One of the
deputies attempted to subdue
him to keep him from walking
off. He took him (the Florida
man) to the ground and he shot
(See SHOOT Page 2)
Rising cost of yard trash removal gets pushed back again
The cost of hauling off yard
trash, limbs, leaves and trim
mings, is busting the City’s
budget. The Council twice dis
cussed the matter without com
ing to a definite solution.
The problem is not so much
leaf piles, but whole trees.
“They cut down the whole
tree. They cut it themselves. If
they hire a contractor, then the
contractor is responsible for re
moving the debris,” said
Mayor Wayne Woodruff.
When the resident cuts down
the tree, the public works de
partment is often tasked with
hauling off the logs and limbs.
The tipping fees are wreck
ing that department’s line item
budget.
“We are having to pay the
tipping fee and it is killing us,”
the mayor said. As of Novem
ber’s meeting, the City spent
$2,180 of the $1500 budgeted.
“That’s a lot of money we’re
paying in. We can’t afford to
just do that.”
At the November meeting,
the Council again mulled op
tions. The mayor suggested the
resident be responsible for the
tipping fee.
“We’ve got to find a way to
offset the cost,” the mayor
said.
“How will you determine
who gets charged and what
amount?” asked Councilman
Signed up for the Ashburn Christmas parade?
Why not? Call 567-9696.
This year’s parade is Saturday, Dec. 9 at 10
a.m. It will follow the traditional route from the
Civic Center to E. Washington through downtown.
Merchants are encouraged to hold special
sales after the parade.
Fred Eister. He pointed out the
truck may make several stops
before heading out to dump the
load.
Public Works Director
Shaun Dupree said the driver
could collect a load at one lo
cation and haul it off. That
way, the tonnage and fee
would be exact.
“I’ve had two loads from
one house,” he said.
Mr. Eister suggested an or
dinance. He wants a public
hearing on the ordinance be
fore adopting it.
He also said the ordinance
should exclude storm damage.
Councilman Jim Galt-
Brown asked how the Council
could tell if it was storm dam
age or not.
“They wait a little bit and
cut it down,” he said.
“Look at that case by case,”
Mr. Eister said.
“I don’t want to get stuck on
a limb,” Mr. Galt-Brown
quipped.
45 minutes, 29 tickets at Gorday & Hudson
WJJU.W
An Ashburn Police officer checks the back seat passenger to make sure he’s in
the child seat properly.
Kicking off the recent holi
day Click It or Ticket Cam
paign, the Ashburn Police
Department set up a seat belt
check station at Gorday and
Hudson.
Officers were checking par
ents and children as they went
to the elementary school on
Gorday.
From 7:15-8 a.m., officers
wrote 29 tickets. 15 were for
child restraint violations, one
was for a suspended license
and the others were adult seat
belt violations.
“Several people had their
children in their lap. They
thought it was a wreck. They
thought it was OK to bring
their children to school to see
the wreck on their lap,” said
Capt. Richard Purvis.
Some of the children, prob
ably at the direction of the par
ent, were actually seen on the
floor of the vehicle.
The APD estimates the
morning generated about
$2,000 in citations.
8
66670
00023 4
500 - tax included
This space available.
Your ad runs 4 or more
weeks. Get your
business noticed!
Call Chuck at
567-3655
Wed Mostly Sunny Thur Mostly Sunny Fri Cloudy
Sat Set TStorms Sun Mostly Sunny
Once you have a firefighter in your family, your family and the families from his crew become one big extended family. Denis Leary