Newspaper Page Text
Downtown sewer project
Council borrows $1.6 million for work
1w WIBE0RA88 FARMER
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
ASHBURN,GA, 31714
VOL 109 - No. 50 • 750
www.thewiregrassfarmer.com
^Around Town'
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Call 567-3655
Blood drive
American Legion Post 98
is hosting a Blood Drive Fri
day, Dec. 22 from 12 p.m. - 5
p.m. in the Roses parking lot.
Donors will receive a $20
eGift card, OneBlood Blan
ket, and a Wellness Checkup.
Appointments are encour
aged, please visit
oneblood.org/donate-now and
use sponsor code 72098. ID is
required.
Meetings
County Commission, last
and 1st Tuesday of the month.
Ashburn Council, 1st
Thursday of the month.
Sycamore Council, 2nd
Thursday of the month.
School Board, 1st and 2nd
Monday of the month.
All meetings are at 6 p.m.
Teddy bears
The Kiwanis Club is col
lecting teddy bears for public
safety to give to children. The
bears are to help frightened
kids. New bears may be
dropped off at The Wiregrass.
Stray dogs
Ashburn residents are re
minded that pets must have a
collar and current rabies tag.
Animals without tags will be
collected by Animal Control.
A copy of the City's animal
ordinance is available at City
Hall and the Police Depart
ment. Animal control number
is 567-0313.
Separate debris
If you pile leaves and
limbs at curbside, please sep
arate limbs from the leaves
and pine straw. The City's
street vac can pick up the
leaves and straw. The boom
truck can pick up limbs.
When you separate the leaves
and limbs, pick up goes faster
and takes fewer employees.
Obituaries
Matthew Ray Walker, 24,
Ashburn
Janice H. Little, 83,
Ashburn
Marvin Dale Bell, 77,
Sylvester
Complete obituary
information Page 5
V )
HOMETOWN NEWS SINCE 1902
PARADE WINNERS
Turner County Elementary School won the best education float in the annual Christmas parade. Photos Sami Mastrario
What Christmas
means to me
Mrs. Mathis’s TCES
GATE students
Christmas means joy and
happiness because on Christ
mas everyone is happy and ex
cited. Also everyone gets to be
with family. Christmas is
Jesus’s birth and also hanging
out with family. Wyatt Mc
Daniel, age 11
Christmas is about worship
ping the Lord’s birthday and
spending time with your fam
ily. One way my family cele
brates Christmas is by looking
at lights in Tift on and Cordele.
One year we saw this neigh
borhood that was fenced in and
filled with lights. We also like
watching movies together.
Home Alone is my favorite
Christmas movie. What I want
for Christmas is Rubik’s
cubes. Wyatt Nutt, age 11
Christmas is about presents
and family. During Christmas
you will get a lot of presents
only if you are good during the
year. You will also be spending
time with your family and
making many memories.
Zyden Walker, age 10
Christmas is about Jesus’s
birthday but I celebrate Christ
mas by going to my Gigi’s
house and opening presents.
First I open presents at my
Mama’s house then I go to my
Gigi’s house and open pres
ents. Taylar Peterson, age 10
Christmas is about family,
Jesus, friends, religions, and
giving the heart to one another.
I believe this because each per
son celebrates differently
around the world. Some do
their religion and others do
other ways. I celebrate Christ
mas by waking up my parents,
opening presents, going to my
grandma’s getting more pres
ents, going to my sister’s get
ting presents, and then I snack
on some Christmas Tree Cakes
and stay home all day. We have
a small tree in our house to
decorate with. My grandpar
ents go to church on Christ
mas. Gabby Williams, age 10
Christmas is about celebrat
ing Jesus’s birthday by praying
before Christmas morning and
going to most of my cousin’s
houses and spending time to-
(See MEANING Page 2)
Not all heroes wear capes. The American Legion float reminds us that men and
women in the military have to celebrate the holidays away from their families.
Amended minutes not accurate
Ashburn City Council
minutes for the June 1,
2023 meeting were
amended on Dec. 7.
The amended minutes
do not accurately reflect
what happened in the
summer meeting.
The changed minutes state
the Mayor called for a motion
to go into executive session to
discuss personnel and litiga
LOOKING LIKE CHRISTMAS
tion. The actual call was for a
vote to go into executive ses
sion without a reason being
stated. A video recording of the
June meeting shows no reason
was given to close the meeting
to the public.
Georgia’s Sunshine Laws
require a reason be stated to
close a meeting to the public.
This is one of the charges The
Wiregrass Farmer and editor
Ben Baker have levied against
the Council after the June
meeting. City Attorney
Gary Lamar and WGF at
torney Joy Ramsingh are
currently negotiating a set
tlement to the pending lawsuit
against the City.
This is not the first time the
City of Ashburn minutes do
not truly reflect what happened
in a Council meeting. Years
back when Art Eld and James
Burks were on the Council,
Mr. Eld caught an error in the
minutes regarding a vote. He
asked the minutes be changed
to reflect what really hap
pened.
The Council voted against
Mr. Eld and Mr. Burks said
what happened was done and it
was time to move on.
Sales taxes votes
collected through it stays in
Turner County.
SPLOST stays on the
books until all the money
listed in the referendum is
collected or it expires be
cause of the time limit.
TSPLOST
TSPLOST is the Trans
portation SPLOST. This elec
tion is on the May ballot.
Turner County has a very
minor say in this regional tax.
The region reaches from
Turner County to the Florida
line and then east to Way-
cross.
Each of the counties in the
regional must hold a
TSPLOST election and a ma
jority vote across the region
passes the tax.
The vast majority of the
current tax left Turner County
to go to other counties. The
remainder is split between
approved projects - Ashburn
is getting a roundabout at
(See TAX PAGE 2)
You know it is Christmas when Jayne Pylant puts up her annual Christmas Village
display in downtown Ashburn.
Turner County votes
will decide the fate of
one sales tax and
have a very minor say
in another sales tax in
2024.
SPLOST
The first is the Special
Purpose Local Option Sales
Tax (SPLOST). It is planned
in March during the Presi
dential Preference primary
election.
SPLOST is only used for
items listed in the referen
dum. The County Commis
sion and the 3 City Councils
are drawing up that list now.
SPLOST cannot be spent
on recurring items like power
bills and salaries. It can be
spent on buildings, water,
sewer, roads and bridges and
vehicles.
Complete details will be
announced in 2024.
This tax is only for Turner
County and all the money
8 66670 00023
750 - tax included
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We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. ...but in this world
nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. Benjamin Franklin
