Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, February 14,2013
2 Sections, 16 Pages
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By Victoria Simmons
The Georgia Post
Monday (Feb. 18) is President’s Day and
is also the night for the annual Roberta-
Crawford County Chamber of Commerce
annual meeting. This year’s meeting will be
held at Camp Grace and will begin at 7 p.m.
The Business Expo begins at 6 p.m. and
gives everyone a chance to network.
Dr. Robert W. (Billy) Browning, will be
the keynote speaker Monday evening. He
is president of Browning Consulting, LLC,
an organization development firm special
izing in serving executives and boards of
directors. He is a Board Certified Licensed
Psychologist with a dual specialty in Clini
cal Psychology and Organizational Develop
ment. His developmental coaching experi
ence spans over 25 years.
In his position he assists senior leaders in
re-thinking their business strategy and orga
nizational structure in order to re-energize
organizational performance. Dr. Browning is
highly regarded in the field of organizational
design and has pioneered innovative meth
odology by creating a “High Speed Design
Process” enabling the rapid reorganization
of companies.
An international speaker on topics such
as The Changing Role of Leadership and
Coaching Strategies for Personal and
Professional Development, Dr. Browning
coordinated the development of the assess
ment instrument “Who Moved My Cheese
Profile”. This is based on the national best
selling book, “Who Moved My Cheese” by
Spencer Johnson.
Currently, Browning spends about one-
third of his time advising senior executives
and board of directors, one third developing
high potential leaders through personalized
coaching and a third training leaders.
He received his B.A. from Asbury College
where he played tennis; obtained his Ph.D.
in Clinicial Psychology from Georgia State
University; completed his clinical intern
ship at Alabama Medical School, Depart, of
By Abigail Adams
The Georgia Post
Dr. Browning
Psychiatry; and did post doctoral studies in
organization studies in organization design,
organizational behavior and organizational
development.
He had a Clinical Pyschologist practice in
Atlanta for five years and then co-founded
Irwin and Browning Associates, which
specialized in helping grow business lead
ers and developing their organizations. In
September of 2000, Right Management ac
quired Irwin and Browning Associates. In
November of 2009, Dr. Browning founded
Browning Consulting, LLC, which focuses
on delivering organization development ser
vices for board of directors and executives.
Browning and his wife, Sandy, live on
Lake Burton in North Georgia where he
is heavily involved in the Rabun County
community. He serves on the Habitat Board
and attends Grace Community Church in
the winter and Boat Church in the summer.
He volunteers his time to work with numer
ous civic and educational leaders, as well as,
mentoring high school and college students.
He restores antiques and enjoys woodwork
ing and making lamps out of vintage items.
City Council Rescinds Action
By Victoria Simmons
The Georgia Post
Roberta City Council
rescinded a decision from
last month at this month’s
regular meeting. They had
said no private parties in
David Bailey Park at the re
quest of Joanne Hamlin. This
month they rescinded that
action, stating they wanted to
develop a policy and hold a
work session with Hamlin.
Renee Thompson of
Thompson Towing appeared
before council requesting to
be added to the call list. She
was told she had to meet all
qualifications and turn in
required paperwork to Police
Chief Bennie Thomas before
she could be considered.
Trey Gavin of Carter and
Sloope was in attendance
to discuss the project with
Knoxville Store owner, Bry
ant Pyles concerning water
and sewer.Though there
are some unknowns like if
rocks were found where a
pipe was to go, the project
is estimated to cost $60,800.
If rock problems are found,
that cost would go up. There
was some discussion as to
whether grants were avail
able and that answer was not
at this time, however, it was
noted that GEFA funding
was still available at a low
rate. Councilman B. J. Bas
sett also said that SPLOST
monies could be used. The
area in question would also
have to be annexed into the
city.
Councilwoman Amita Har
ris and B. J. Bassett will look
into redoing the website.
City council set the date
for the audit presentaiton of
Tuesday, February 12th at 3
p.m.
After months of discus
sion on the best project for
the CDBG application, the
Crawford County Board of
Commissioners has finally
made a decision. At their
regular scheduled meeting
on Tuesday, February 5th
the agenda for the night had
several items that brought a
crowd which almost filled
the room.
First on the agenda,
Jaquelyn Cartwright, owner
and operator of JBC As
sisted Living Home, came
forward with a request to
grant her the ability to use
the assisted living home to
house only veterans. When
trying to renew her busi
ness license after the home
had been closed for a period
of time, Cartwright had her
license denied because Zon
ing Officer, Frank Miller, felt
the new plans for the home
sounded too much like a
boarding house. Cartwright
stated that Miller misunder
stood what she was trying to
do and that the home will be
the same as before but will
only house veterans.
Cartwright stated that the
reason she would like to
cater only to veterans is be
cause she has had very little
problems with them and feels
that only housing veterans
will cut down on a lot of the
problems she was having in
the home before she closed
it last year. Cartwright also
stated that she had a meeting
set with a representative of
the Dublin branch of the Vet
eran’s Administration to find
out about getting funding
through them to help with
the project.
After lengthy discussion
on the reasons behind why
she shut the home down in
the first place and whether
she was sure she could
receive funding from the VA,
Commissioner John Thomas
made the motion to table
Westberry Steps Down As Chairman
By Victoria Simmons
The Georgia Post
Though Charlie Westberry has been the
chairman of the Development Authority of
Crawford County for about 28 years, he said
at this month’s meeting he would not serve
as chairman again.
Westberry indicated the Authority had
several projects he wanted to work on
which would take a lot of hard work and a
lot of time and being chairman took up too
much of his time.
Brenda Carroll had said in previous meet
ings she would not take the chair, however,
she agreed to become the chairperson. West
berry will become the vice chairman.
Henly Custom Solutions was selected to
construct two bathrooms at the spec building
complete with tile, plumbing and anything
else needed at a cost of $5,126. Westberry
Electrical was selected to do some electrical
work at a cost of $6,756.
There was discussion about people being
found inside the building after hours. Carroll
suggested either new locks or rekeying was
needed. Roy Shepard is to look into what
can be done.
David Matthews reported that there would
be no jobs at the old wanderlodge building
in Fort Valley as the Australian company had
decided to try and lease the building out and
not open it as originally planned.
The board went into a closed executive
session to discuss future acquisition of real
estate.
Dr. Browning To
Address Monday’s
Chamber Meeting
Commissioners Finally
Approve CDBG Project
the issue until Cartwright
received a determination
from the VA. Chairman
Dean Fripp also stated that
though Cartwright had had
no problems from veterans,
there is always the possibility
of conflict especially among
those just coming back from
war or suffering from PTSD.
The CDBG grant applica
tion process has been men
tioned in almost every meet
ing for the past few months.
Now the commissioners,
with the help of some very
thorough research done by
Kelly, have decided on the
project they feel will best fit
the application requirements
and help the county. The
water extension of the Sarah
Hills Subdivision has been
at the top of the list for quite
some time now. Although a
few other projects have been
suggested, Kelly has foimd
that this project will be the
best one to submit.
For the project to be suc
cessful the county had to
choose a project that would
meet the requirements of the
CDBG application in income
levels and need for the coun
ty as well as having the right
amount of occupied houses
for potential water clients to
make up the county’s match
amount of $50,000. Sarah
Hills Subdivision meets
these requirements and due
to the amount of wells drying
up in the area, the need for
the water extension there is
great. The board approved to
use the project in their appli
cation for CDBG funds.
At the last meeting of
the commissioners Thomas
questioned the county’s
policy on dirt sales. He
stated he would like to see
how much the county pays
to deliver the dirt and how
much is being lost by being
in the “dirt business.” Kelly
researched the issue further
and brought his findings
to the board stating that it
costs the county a total of
$104 to mine and haul a load
of dirt, but the county was
only charging $50 per load.
Thomas stated that this did
not seem like good business
sense to sell dirt if the county
was not making any money
from it. Fripp also said that
it didn’t seem fair for the
county to sell dirt when there
are companies in the county
that may be losing business
because of it. Thomas made
the motion for the county to
discontinue the service and it
was approved unanimously.
Kelly next presented two
proposed amendments to
the Crawford County Land
Development Regulation
to help put a limit on how
long a property can utilize
a special exception. In the
past there has been no time
limit on special exceptions
and Kelly felt this could lead
to problems in the future if a
property is granted a special
exception and then that ex
ception is not acted upon in a
timely manner. Kelly would
like to change the wording
in the CCLDR to amend
the definitions of special
exceptions and variances
to include a twelve month
See PROJECT, Page 10
The CCHS boys varsity basketball team lost a big
region game to Putnam County this week. It was
a must win game in order to move up to the next
round. The Eagles only lost by three points, 84-81.
T. J. Hicks led the team in scoring with 52 points.
PHOTO BY CAREY LEE
Annual Roberta-
Crawford County Chamber
of Commerce Meeting
Monday, Feb. 18th,
7 p.m. at Camp Grace
