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THE GEORGIA POST & BYRON BUZZ
THURSDAY JULY 9, 2020
Trustees - Thomas Public Library,
Fort Valley, Ga. The board meets
the second Thursday of February,
April, June, August, October, and
December at 5:15 p.m. in the Meet
ing Room at Thomas Public Library,
Fort Valley, unless otherwise
specified.
THE ICU MINISTRY provides hope
to others in need. Handmade bags
are delivered to area hospital waiting
rooms with toiletry items, pillows
and blankets, magazines, etc. for
the family. Items for bags are always
needed. If you are interested in
volunteering or donating supplies
call Para at 214-5560. Icukits.
blogspot.com or icukits@gmail.com.
ICU Survival Kits Ministry. We meet
every second and fourth Thursday at
the Byron Depot from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
BYRON AL-ANON meets Monday
mornings, 11 a.m. and Saturdays
@ 10:30 a.m., 101 Murdock Lane,
Byron (the new Community Center).
Newcomers always welcome. Call
478-714-9393 for more information.
and helping others to better assist
the grieving family. Chapter meetings
are held the 2nd Monday of each
month at 7 p.m. at CrossLife Church,
3768 Eisenhower Parkway, Macon
and the 4th Thursday of each month
at 7 p.m. at Byron United Methodist
Church, 103 W. Heritage Blvd.,
Byron. Please contact for more
information Karla Chidester (478)
954-4592 or visit www.compassion-
atefriends.org.
GENTLE YOGA offered by Mindful
Mountain Mediation & Movement
on Mondays 6-7:15 p.m. at the
Helping Hands Now Inc. (old
elementary school), 801 Chamlee
Drive, Fort Valley. Suggested
donation of $10 per class. If you
are unable to donate, you are still
welcome. Register at https://www.
eventbrite.com/e/empowering-yoga-
2018-tickets-42596410009. Lisa
Cummings, certified yoga instructor.
Call 478-737-6356 or learn more at
mmmmonline.com
-Al-Anon meets Mondays, 11 a.m.
at old Byron School. For informa
tion call 956-5637.
-PC Board of Education meets
first Tuesday of each month at 6
p.m.; Study session last Tuesday of
month, 6 p.m.
-PC Tax Assessors meet first
Thursday of each month, 4 p.m.
- Byron Lions Club, first and third
Thursday, 7 p.m.
-Byron City Council, second
Monday, 6 p.m.
-PC Commission, second Tues
day, 6 p.m.
-PC Development Authority, third
Thursday, 8 a.m.
-PC Water & Sewage Authority,
third Monday, 6 p.m.
GOVERNMENT & MORE:
-Byron Rotary Club, every
Wednesday, 8 a.m., Byron Wel
come Center.
-Byron Tax Office, Tuesday &
Thursday, 8:304:30 p.m. Byron
Municipal Complex
-Medical Center of Peach County
meets third Wednesday of every
month, 9 a.m. Board room at
hospital.
-Hospital Authority meets at 12
noon on the fourth Tuesday in Jan.
April, July & October.
-Byron Main Street/CVB/DDA
board meets at 5 p.m. every first
Monday of every other month (even
months), at Welcome Center.
-Byron Planning and Zoning
Commission, fourth Thursday, 5
p.m.
-Peach Public Libraries, Board of
SCRAPBOOKING AT THE DEPOT
Meets every 3rd week on Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday. This is a
free event, just bring your scrap-
booking supplies and enjoy the fun
with Fran (478) 333-6474.
BYRON BAPTIST CHURCH
SERVICE Sunday School: 9:15 a.m.
Classes for all ages from birth to
seniors. Morning worship service:
10:30 a.m. in the sanctuary. Evening
worship service: 6 p.m. in the sanc
tuary. Wednesday Prayer/Worship
Service 6:30 p.m. in sanctuary; youth
in the chapel; children in the gym.
Programs on Wednesday night. 100
W. White Road. 478-9564670.
THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS
OF MIDDLE GEORGIA, We are
a national nonprofit organization
dedicated to helping bereaved
parent by providing highly personal
comfort, hope and support to every
family experiencing the death of a
TAKE OFF POUNDS SENSIBLY
(TOPS) holds meetings at the
Peach County Hospital cafeteria
every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. This is
a safe and welcoming environment
where the scale goes up to 750 lbs.
SPIRIT’S QUEST is hosting a new
event and are now open every 1st
and 3rd Sunday afternoon for a
Social Sunday. It’s free and open to
all to come hang out with the horses
and spend some time enjoying
nature. Check out Spirit Quest
events on Facebook.
BE SURE AND CHECK
WITH THE HOSTING
ORGANIZATION TO MAKE
SURE EVENTS ARE STILL
ON DURING THIS TIME.
Calendar deadline is Friday at 5 p.m.
If times change notify us at
byr20nbuz2@pstel.net or
CALL478-836-3195
Middle Georgia Community Action Agency
LIHEAP CARES Assistance Available
Peach County residents will have a change to sign up for the program by calling
825-3193 between the hours of 8:30 Am and 4:30 PM for an appointment. On
July 13, 2020, the program will open up to all eligible households for those who did
not receive Heating and/or Cooling assistance between November 1, 2019 and June
30th 2020.
On August 3, 2020, if funds remain, all income eligible households may contact the
county number listed above for an appointment.
To be eligible for assistance, households must have an income at or below 60 percent
of the state median income level which amounts to:
$23,776
One-person household
$31,092
Two-person household
$38,408
Three-person household
$45,724
Four-person household
$53,040
Five-person household
$60,356
Six-person household
$61,727
Seven-person household
$63,099
Eight-person household
Annual gross amounts shown above
A minimum of the following items will be required to verify eligibility for this type
of assistance:
• Verification of all household income for every person living in the home for the
past 30 days. PLEASE BRING ALL DOCUMENTATION BECAUSE WE ARE NO
LONGER ABLE TO OBTAIN INFORMATION FOR YOU.
• Social Security Cards for every person living in the household
• A recent electric bill with the service address and account number printed on it
• A recent heating bill for residence verification
• Verification of U.S. citizenship (Driver s License or Birth Certificate)
IMPORTANT INFORMATION-PLEASE READ
1. No -Walk- INS (Appointments must be made by Phone only)
2. Program funding is allocated on a county-by-county basis.
3. Middle Georgia Community Action Agency, Inc. CANNOT obtain any of the
required documents on your behalf. Please be prepared with the required documen
tation or assistance will be delayed until you provide the necessary verification.
4. An appointment for energy assistance DOES NOT guarantee processing or
payment. Approvals will be made when and if customer eligibility is determined and
funds are received from the State.
5. Appointments are scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis.
*THIS PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE TO ALL ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS REGARD
LESS OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, AGE, SEX, POLITICAL BELIEFS,
OR HANDICAP.
Check your label Today!
Don’t let your Subscription Expire!
Moving scams cause financial
and emotional nightmares
Allowing someone you
don’t know to drive away
with your belongings is
among the many stressful
aspects of a long-distance
move — especially if that
move is complicated or
maybe prompted by the
coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic. Unfortunate
ly, some consumers find
their stress compounded
by fraudulent movers who
charge them many times
the amount quoted, subject
them to unreasonably long
delivery windows, hold their
items hostage for additional
undisclosed fees and leave
them with damaged goods.
An in-depth investigative
study by Better Business
Bureau finds that scams are
widespread in the moving
industry, particularly when
it comes to interstate moves.
BBB receives an average
of 13,000 complaints and
negative reviews about mov
ers each year, with many
complaints describing how
experiences with dishonest
moving companies have
turned into financial and
emotional nightmares.
The investigative study
— Know Your Mover: BBB
Study Reveals Scammers
Price Gouge, Taking Belong
ings Hostage and Destroy
Goods — highlights the risk
to consumers who do not
do careful research before
hiring a mover.
According to the study, a
fraudulent moving company
initially may be helpful on
the phone and may have
a well-designed website
boasting of its many years
of experience, well-trained
workers, satisfied customers
and appropriate licensing.
However, the red flags begin
when the company claims
to be unable to make an
in-person inspection and es
timate; while it may claim to
be local, in reality, it is based
out of state and paying for a
local post office box address.
An initial low-ball quote
soon balloons as the compa
ny claims — often based on
improper calculations — you
have more belongings than
originally estimated.
The bad actor may de
mand additional fees before
loading and unloading the
truck, and it may not deliver
your goods until days or
even weeks after you move
in. In fact, the company you
originally paid may not even
be the company conducting
your move — it may have
hired local temporary work
ers who rented a truck, or it
may have acted as a broker
with another company.
The U.S. Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administra
tion (FMCSA), a branch
of the U.S. Department of
Transportation, regulates
interstate and international
moves. Of the 4,780 com
plaints FMCSA received in
2019, 57% involved over
charging. It is believed that
fewer than 10% of victims
report fraud to BBB or
enforcement agencies, ac
cording to the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC), so the
actual size and severity of
this problem is likely much
larger and more severe than
statistics reflect.
A man relocating his
family to Springfield, Mis
souri, for a job opportunity
found himself ensnared in
a moving scam in the fall of
2019. He obtained a quote
of $5,000 from a moving
company that had good
online reviews, but a week
later, a man claiming to be
an “expert estimator” for the
company called him with a
revised estimate of nearly
$10,000. On moving day,
when most of his family’s
belongings had already been
loaded, the man was given
a final price of more than
$20,000 — and movers de
manded an additional $100
in cash when they arrived
with his family’s items near
ly a month later. While the
man’s employer had agreed
to reimburse his move, he
was required to repay them
the additional $10,000 he
had been charged over the
revised estimate.
Enforcement action
against moving scams can be
difficult. While FMCSA does
not have law enforcement
power, it is able to send de
mand letters to bad actors,
levy fines and revoke operat
ing authority, and it partners
with some state agencies to
take legal action. The U.S.
Department of Transpor
tation Inspector General
prioritizes moving fraud
and, along with FMCSA, has
supported state and federal
law enforcement agencies in
prosecuting moving fraud
and related offenses. Many
moving scams involve Israeli
nationals operating from
Florida, where the state
attorney general has been
active in bringing lawsuits
against such enterprises.
The best way to avoid
such a scam is to do careful
research before hiring a
moving company. Specifi
cally, BBB advises looking
up a mover’s license number
on FMCSA’s website and its
BBB Business Profile at bbb.
org.
If you find yourself the
victim of a moving scam:
• File a report with local
police.
• Contact MoveRescue at
moverescue.com or (800)
832-1773-
• Go to BBB.org to file a
complaint or report a scam
on Scam Tracker.
• File an online complaint
with the U.S. Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Adminis
tration or call 1-888-DOT-
SAFT (1-888-368-7238).
While the regulator typically
does not represent individ
ual victims, it does track
complaints and will request
the mover’s license number.
• File a claim with the
insurer listed in your moving
contract.
To review the full BBB
Study, visit www.BBB.org/
scamstudies.
Goins, Keaton Sanchez - 31, Valdosta - Driving with sus
pended license; speeding in excess of maximum limits
Green, Lakinya Shaniequa - 26, Byron - Probation viola
tion
Lopez, Jessie - 28, Warner Robins - Driving with suspend
ed license; speeding in excess of maximum limits.
All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Askew, Terrence - 26, Perry
- Simple Battery - family
violence
Bawn, De’exter Demontra
- 31, Fort Valley - Discharge
of firearms on property of
another; giving false name,
address, or birthdate to law
enforcement officer; failure to
appear -felony
Brewer, Jacqueline Lynn
- 52, Byron - Possession
of schedule IV controlled
substance (x2); driving
under the influence/drugs;
possession and use of drug
related objects; possession
of schedule II controlled
substance; prescription drugs
must be in their original
container(s); failure to
maintain lane; marijuana -
possess less than 1 oz.
Glover, Vindarious Amon
- 33, Warner Robins - Theft
by taking -felony; criminal
attempt to commit a felony
(X2)
Goins, Keaton Sanchez - 31,
Valdosta - Probation violation
- misdemeanor
Gordon, Carrie Ann - 38,
Roberta - Failure to appear -
misdemeanor
Hewitt, Timothy Ralph
- 38, Byron - Sexual
exploitation of a minor
Kelly, Anthony Allen -
52, Fort Valley- Illegal
possession of controlled
substance; obstructing or
hindering persons making
emergency telephone call
Maxwell, Catrina Latrelle
- 35, Fort Valley - Public
drunkenness; giving false
name, address, or birthdate to
law enforcement officer
McGriff, Gerome - 39,
Morrow - Speeding in excess
of maximum limits; driving
while license suspended
Nico, Allan Joe - 32,
Warner Robins -Theft of
service- misdemeanor
Smith, Kayla Michaele - 31,
Macon - Failure to appear -
felony
Strickland, Christa Leann -
29, Fort Valley - Aggravated
assault
Williams, Sammy Lee - 42,
Fort Valley - Criminal attempt
to commit a felony; sexual
battery -misdemeanor
Willis, Courtney Antonio
- 38, Fort Valley - Probation
violation - felony
Yancy, Grady Micheal -
60, Fort Valley - Probation
violation -felony
All parties are innocent
until proven guilty in a
court of law.
Moving? Call us today so you don’t miss out!
478-836-3195