Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
ASHBURN,GA, 31714
VOL 109-No. 51 *500
www.thewiregrassfarmer.com
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Call 567-3655
Coat Drive
As colder weather ap
proaches, many in our local
areas do not have adequate
fall/winter coats. Many
children are put into foster
care with only the clothes
on their backs. Even some
adults and children don't
have access to warm cloth
ing or a warm home. YOU
can help! Please consider
donating new or gently
used, good condition coats
and jackets for children and
adults. They can be dropped
off at Pylant Insurance and
will be donated to local
charities that can put them
to use right here at home!
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
Eugene Gravitt, 79,
Ashburn
Complete obituary
information Page 5
J
Serving Turner County Since 1902
Major
rate
hike
Sycamore stunned by
51% hike in employee
insurance rate.
Literally days before the Open En
rollment period ended for health insur
ance, Sycamore got a letter from Blue
Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Georgia.
The letter said the City’s insurance
for employees was going up 51 percent.
“I was livid. I was very upset,”
Mayor Wayne Woodruff said. “I have
agonized over this thing for 3 nights
now. There is no simple way out of it. It
just isn’t there.”
The City plans to file a complaint
with the state Insurance Commissioner
over the extremely late notice of the rate
hike.
The Council approved an employee
insurance plan, but does not have the
money to fund the program without
eliminating contingency funds.
“We don’t have any squeak left
over,” said Councilman Fred Eister.
“This uses up the contingency.”
EMPLOYEE PAY
To help offset the cost, the Council
discussed having employees pay part of
the insurance premium. Employees
presently pay nothing for their own cov
erage, but do pay the full amount to
cover family members.
(See HIKE Page 2)
TCMS HOMECOMING
Jimena Garcia is the Middle School Homecoming Queen. Elijah
Stephens is the Homecoming King. The pair was crowned last week
between the ladies basketball game and the boys game.
Discipline reports drop at schools
Discipline reports and office refer
rals are down by 50 percent from last
year, said Superintendent Jeff Mc
Daniel.
“The academies are having a posi
tive influence and impact,” he said.
The “academies” are the 6th grade
at the middle school and 9th grade at
the high school. Students in those
grades are isolated from the rest of the
school for most of the school day. The
middle school was also moved to its
own campus this year, at the former
PreK and alternate school campus next
to the Board of Education offices.
“We are headed in the right way,”
Dr. McDaniel said. “Discipline is not
just getting better, it is getting a whole
lot better.”
In other business:
• With annual property tax money
rolling in, school coffers are swelling.
Spending continues to be tight. “The
system continues to do an absolutely
fantastic job in watching expenditures,”
the superintendent said.
• Holland & Holland was appointed
board attorney.
• Phillip Crawford will have another
year as Board Chairman.
GETTING IT UNSTUCK
f
1210
zor
Clay Harris and Jeff Cameron pull cables to a semi that was stuck on the
railroad tracks last week. The trailer’s load jacks hit pavement before the
tracks, but the driver kept going. It eventually would not move any farther.
Yes, that is a train in the background. Watch video of two attempts, Cameron’s
effort succeeded, to get the truck off the tracks on our Facebook page.
Special exception for trailer approved in Sycamore
A special exception to allow a mo
bile home on a lot in Sycamore was ap
proved unanimously by the City
Council.
The Sconyers Trust owns the prop
erty and tore down a site-built home on
the property.
A property owner across the street
objected to the request at the Planning
and Zoning board hearing. The owner
did not attend the Council meeting.
In reviewing the request, the Coun
cil looked at the surrounding property.
On the affected street, all the homes but
one, that being the owner across the
street, are mobile homes.
“If you took all the mobile homes
out of Sycamore, it wouldn’t be
Sycamore,” said Zoning Administrator
Mike Mastrario.
“It would be Syca-less” quipped
Councilman Jim Galt-Brown. “I can’t
see how this will materially change the
nature of the neighborhood.”
The first
Christmas
by Matthew
1:18-25 NIV
This is how the birth of Jesus the
Messiah came about: His mother Mary
was pledged to be married to Joseph, but
before they came together, she was
found to be pregnant through the Holy
Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was
faithful to the law, and yet did not want
to expose her to public disgrace, he had
in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an
angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream and said, “Joseph son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary home as
your wife, because what is conceived in
her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give
birth to a son, and you are to give him
the name Jesus, because he will save his
people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the
Lord had said through the prophet: “The
virgin will conceive and give birth to a
son, and they will call him Immanuel”
(which means “God with us”).
When Joseph woke up, he did what
the angel of the Lord had commanded
him and took Mary home as his wife.
But he did not consummate their mar
riage until she gave birth to a son. And
he gave him the name Jesus,
by Luke
2:1-20 NIV
The Birth of Jesus
In those days Caesar Augustus issued
a decree that a census should be taken of
the entire Roman world. (This was the
first census that took place while
Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And
everyone went to their own town to reg
ister.
So Joseph also went up from the town
of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Beth
lehem the town of David, because he be
longed to the house and line of David.
He went there to register with Mary,
who was pledged to be married to him
and was expecting a child. While they
were there, the time came for the baby
to be born, and she gave birth to her
firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in
cloths and placed him in a manger, be
cause there was no guest room available
for them.
And there were shepherds living out
in the fields nearby, keeping watch over
their flocks at night. An angel of the
Lord appeared to them, and the glory of
the Lord shone around them, and they
were terrified. But the angel said to
them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you
good news that will cause great joy for
all the people. Today in the town of
David a Savior has been born to you; he
is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a
sign to you: You will find a baby
wrapped in cloths and lying in a
manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the
heavenly host appeared with the angel,
praising God and saying,
Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his
favor rests.
When the angels had left them and
gone into heaven, the shepherds said to
one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and
see this thing that has happened, which
the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary
and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying
in the manger. When they had seen him,
they spread the word concerning what
had been told them about this child, and
all who heard it were amazed at what the
shepherds said to them. But Mary treas
ured up all these things and pondered
them in her heart. The shepherds re
turned, glorifying and praising God for
all the things they had heard and seen,
which were just as they had been told.
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Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas.
Dale Evans