About The Georgia post. (Knoxville, Crawford County, Ga.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 2013)
8TH ANNUAL MERRITT POTTERY FESTIVAL will be Saturday, November 16th, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. at Crawford County High School Practice Gym, Admission is FREE. For more information contact Coni Merritt at 478-361-4552. Crawford County Schools invite you to Parent Center Open House, Thursday, November 21, 5-7 p.m. (drop in) Board of Education on E. Crusselle Street, light refreshments. Call 478-836-3426 Cheryl Whitaker for more information. Autumn volunteer Days at Massee Lane Gardens November 15 and 16. If you need to earn Master Gardener, Master Naturalist, or other agriculturally-relat ed intern hours, this is a great oppor tunity to do so. Volunteer schedule: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (includes flexible work schedule; partial or full day). Complimentary box lunch will be served to each participant. Snacks and chilled bottled water will be pro vided throughout the day. Issue 43 Thursday, November 14, 2013 CCSO investigates child molestation cases The Crawford County Sher iff s Office has been investi gating two child molestation cases. Carlteze James Saffold, 28, who was arrested after an investigation and charged with four counts of sexual exploitation of children, four counts of enticing a child for indecent purposes and four counts of child mo lestation in October, was arrested again on November 6th. He was charged with an additional count of aggravated child molestation. Saffold, who was out on a $100,000 bond, went before Magistrate Judge Richard Spencer on November 6th for his first hearing on this additional charge. No bond was set. Anyone with any information about this case can contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation at 478-987-4545 or the Craw ford County Sheriffs Office at 478-836-3116. The second case led to the arrest of Hillis Mitchell Law- son, 40, of Roberta, Georgia on November 7, 2013. Lawson has been charged with (2) counts of Aggravated child molestation, (2) counts of Incest and (1) count of Child moles tation. Lawson went before Magistrate Judge Richard Spencer on November 8, Lawson 2013 for his first appearance hearing and no bond set. The Voice of Crawford County Since 1921 2 Sections, 12 Pages One Dollar also serving Byron and Peach County Senior night at CCHS game Seniors were recognized at the final football game for Craw ford County High School Friday night. Senior cheerleaders are Danielle Jones, Tashawna Appling, Courtney Griffitts, Lexus Whidby, Regina McCoy, Keandra Washington and Ro- mona Knolton. Senior football players include Conner Evans, Desmond Tennison, Caleb Upchurch, Christopher Smith, Dino Watson and Jamacl Biddle. Dance team members recognized were Destiny Harris and Kelsey Carrol. Amber Ware and Secilie Joiner were recognized as senior Flag team members. Senior band members included Lacy Amos, Brandon Bass, Apryl Walker, Javon Clark and Joshua Kirkland. PHOTO BY CAREY LEE Tempers flare over potholes in roads BY TAM IWALBERG The Georgia Post Voices were raised and emotions were high when citizens of Crawford Coun ty attended the County Commissioners meeting on November 5, 2013. Sandra Colbert lives on Dent Road, and she and her neighbors are tired of dodg ing all the potholes that are making their road unsafe. The road was first paved in 1988 and since then the lines have faded away, the potholes have come, been patched and returned, only to be patched again, she told the board. Residents want the road to be resurfaced to stop the endless patching but the earliest they will be on the list for county re paving will be sometime in 2015. Hugh Puckett, county engineer, said Dent road does need to be overlaid. Dean Fripp, County Commission Chairman, said, ”We work off a list and pave roads in order of need. Lots of roads need to be fixed but there aren’t funds.” “Some roads are waiting for first time paving”, said Commissioner Paul Chap man. Sandra Colbert said,” We are taxpayers and we are very impatient.” Commissioner John Thomas, stated that when they get the new machine for paving that Dent Road is not the only one that needs done and that again they lack the funds. Sometime back over on Blue Bird Lane, a ditch was dug to keep runoff water from the rain out of resi dents’ lawns but it hasn’t been doing the job, stated Annie Howard. The board had approved a water drainage easement across her property to divert water from Blue Bird Lane to Hwy. 341 South. The ditch has helped but to solve the prob lem the ditch needs to be re-dug and a new driveway culvert installed at How ard’s home. Some of the water standing in her yard is caused by runoff from her house and holes or low spots but in a video that the coun ty made, it clearly showed water running into her yard from the road and the improper cut of the ditch. Puckett said that easement was having the desired effect and collecting 90% of the water running down Blue Bird Lane. He added that the water collecting in her yard was from rainfall and not a product of runoff from Blue Bird Lane. Commissioner Frank Hollis said that the water collecting on Howard’s yard was from the road and the county needed to install ditching and a driveway culvert pipe on her side of the road. A discussion ensued and then Hollis made the mo tion to have the county sur veyor state the current right of way and have Puckett make an assessment on how best to drain and grade the property fronting Howard’s Jugfest kickoff John McBride, standing, and David Mincey, Jr. were the guest speakers at last week’s kickoff for the Georgia Jug- Fest/Old Knoxville Days. Part of the presenta tion included identification of artifacts. McBride is explaining the history of one person’s pieces she brought to the meeting. Both men are members of the Archaeological Society and his tory buffs. Merritt Pottery Festival offers more than pottery Be sure and put the Merritt Pottery Festival on your schedule for this Saturday, November 16th. It will be held from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. at Crawford County High School in the practice gym. Admission is free and you could pick up some Christmas presents while attending. “In early 2006, Mark and I decided we wanted to host our own pottery show and invite our pottery friends from throughout the southeast to join us,” said Coni Merritt. ”It was only natural to have it in Crawford County since Crawford County is a pottery mecca and home to Lizella Clay Company; and Mark is a sixth generation Crawford County potter. With the Georgia Jugfest still in its early days, our festival was yet another way to attract pot ters, pottery and pottery lovers to town.” Today most of the potters attend both shows. This year the Merritt Pottery Festival, has grown to over 30 potters and vendors, from four states. Also on hand for the second year is Steve Johnson and the Crawford Coun ty High School Art Dept. The Crawford County Counseling Center will also be there with their annual bake sale and Hudson’s BBQ will have barbecue plates for sale with proceeds benefit ing the high school art department. Pottery is not the only thing available for purchase. Be sure and check out the soaps, candles, photography, wood turned bowls and much more which will be available to purchase. So as Coni says, come out and “shop local and handmade”, this Saturday at the Crawford County High School gym. For more information contact Coni Merritt at 478-361-4552. Farm City Week highlights rural-urban partnership Roberta, Ga. - Did you know that an acre of land, which is about the size of a football field, may produce 2,784 pounds (46.4 bush els) of wheat? One bushel of wheat produces about 42 pounds of flour, which can be used to make 42 loaves of bread or 42 pounds of pasta. If you’ve recently enjoyed any of the many food items made from wheat, then the Crawford County Farm Bureau invites you to join the organization in celebrating Farm- City Week, Nov. 22-28. Farm-City Week celebrates the part nership between farmers and their urban colleagues who help prepare, transport, market and retail the food and fiber farmers grow for the American consumer. Kiwanis International began Farm-City Week in 1955 to increase the understanding of the part nership between urban and rural residents. Farm days at schools, farm tours, banquets and mayoral proclamations are just a few of the activities that will be held in commu nities across Georgia to mark this annual event. “It takes teamwork to stock your local stores with food and clothes,” said Edd Har ris, Crawford County Farm Bureau pres ident. “Georgia farmers work year round on their farms to grow cotton and produce delicious beef, chicken, peanuts, milk, pe cans, peaches, watermelon and other fruits and vegetables that we all love to eat. Then, employees of agribusiness companies work to prepare, market and transport the food and clothes to stores for consumers. It takes all of us to feed and clothe America and this partnership is what we’re celebrating with Farm-City Week.” In addition to growing our food, farmers also grow fiber, such as cotton, to clothe us. On average, an acre can produce 821 pounds of cotton. A bale of cotton weighs about 480 pounds. One bale can be used to make 215 pairs of jeans or 313,600 $100 bills. According to the University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development (CAED), food and fiber pro duction and related businesses represent the largest or second largest segment of all goods and services produced in two-thirds of Georgia’s counties. Food and fiber production and directly related processing directly and indirectly generated a total economic impact of $71.1 billion for Georgia and created more than 359,000 jobs in 2011, according to the UGA CAED. One in seven Georgians works in ag riculture, forestry or an ag-related job, and almost half of the state’s manufacturing jobs are in agribusiness. Georgia farmers lead the nation in pro ducing broilers, peanuts and pecans, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics show. Georgia farmers also pro duce a majority of the cotton and fruits and vegetables grown in the United States. In 2011, the top ten commodities grown in Georgia were broilers, cotton, eggs, pea nuts, greenhouse/nursery plants, cattle and calves, PARTNERSHIP, Page 3
