Newspaper Page Text
Issue 11 Thursday, MARCH 17, 2022
1 Section 10 Pages, 2 Inserts One Dollar
The Voice of Crawford County Since 1921
also serving Byron and Peach County
Commissioners attend legislative breakfast
Crawford County Commissioner Omar Dickey and Commissioner Jackie Mc-
Cowen attended the ACCG Legislative Breakfast in Atlanta last week. They are
pictured with Rep. Robert Dickey, center, but also saw Sen. John Kennedy.
City updates burn ordinance
BY KRISTI WATKINS -
NEWS EDITOR
Roberta City Council
updated two ordinances
this month. The out of
date burn ordinance is
now updated for residents
to use recreational fire
pits for cookouts, s’mo-
res and camping in your
backyard. This ordinance
still includes not burning
trash of any kind. No per
mit is required but there
are conditions that have
to be followed.
• Only clean dry wood
products are to be burned,
no treated or painted
lumber is permitted
• A fire pit/ring limited
to 3 foot in diameter and
2 foot in height is re
quired.
• Fires in patio fire pits
or chimineas must be in
accordance with manu
facture instructions.
• Fire location no closer
than 25 feet from a
structure or combustible
material.
• Fires are not permit
ted within ten feet of
any street, public way or
property line.
• An approved method
of extinguishing fire shall
be on site for immedi
ate utilization (I.E. fire
extinguisher, garden hose,
water barrel, sand, dirt or
water truck.
The golf cart ordinance
has been updated to add
a yearly renewal fee to
include a new decal after
an inspection from the
police chief.
Council is moving City
Flail forward with im
provements outside after
the clearing of old land
scape and installing new
landscaping. Council ap
proved for a lighted sign
with a digital information
sign to be located in front
of City Flail. This will be
the first sign installed to
designate the building
as city hall and Roberta
Police Department. With
three estimates to choose
from, council decided to
go with Sign Store costing
$26,119 including instal
lation.
Council approved to
spend SPLOST funds for
new tasers for the police
department. The depart
ment’s current tasers
are 15 years old, outdat
ed and unavailable for
upgrades and service. The
new tasers will be paid
out of the old SPLOST
hinds and any remaining
amount due will be out of
the new SPLOST funds.
The cost will be approxi
mately $22,350 total for
all officers.
Mayor Jay Andrews
stated this is the most
important weapon the
officers have as a first line
of defense and basically,
there is no choice but
to purchase new tasers.
Council members agreed
as well.
Jeff Harrison ap
proached council on
pouring a concrete pad
with brick walls at the di
gestive pond to help filter
trash when septic compa
nies use the facility. This
will help the city to keep
the pond free of debris.
Harrison stated the com
panies that use the facility
will be removing the trash
from the traps. Harrison
will bring an estimate to
council next month for
approval.
Council approved to
hire a new city attorney
with a recommendation
of Morton and Morton
in Zebulon. The cost
would be a fixed $400 for
3 hours of service every
month. This company is
experienced in municipal
governments. All were in
favor to hire Morton and
Morton to become the
new city attorney.
Mayor Andrews an
nounced Arnita Harris as
Mayor Pro-tem.
Youth leadership learning about peaches
SOUTHERN ORCh
Crawford County’s Youth Leadership group recently toured Lane’s Southern
Orchard in Peach County to learn about the facility.
Re-districting decreases
precincts for Roberta
Highway 128. sending in your absentee
BY KRISTI WATKINS-
News Editor
There are new district
lines in Crawford County
after the 2020 Census
numbers changed with
2,292 voters who have
moved into a new district
and 322 voters who were
in District lA that have
moved into District 1 for
a total of 2,314 voters
who will all vote in a new
location.
Brenda Peacock, Craw
ford County Elections
Supervisor, stated every
10 years the lines change
according to the Census.
The districts were
changed according to the
number of people in each
area to be close in com
parison on the numbers.
Districts were redrawn by
the commissioners and
State of Georgia working
together to come to an
agreement on the lines.
District 2 has now most
of the City of Roberta
with District 1 having on a
small clip of the city.
Due to the changes in
the Census, the City of
Roberta now has only two
precincts instead of three.
District 1 also lost a
polling station on Cool
Springs Road due to
that area moving out of
District 1 into another
district. Therefore, those
who voted at Cool Springs
Road location will vote
at the Crawford County
Government facility on
Precinct cards have
been ordered according to
Peacock and will be sent
to registered voters in the
next 30 days. When your
card arrives, please be
sure to check your polling
station. If you do not want
to wait until then, you
can go to My Voter Page
at https://www.mvp.sos.
ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do to
look at your new polling
station (if it changed)
or if you need to change
your name, address, see a
sample ballot, or request
an absentee ballot appli
cation.
Be sure to have your
photo ID ready and/or
military ID with you at the
time of voting. If you are
ballot, you will notice that
you will have to give your
Georgia driver’s license
number or Georgia ID
number.
Early voting begins on
May 2nd from 8 a.m. - 5
p.m. and two Saturdays
May 14th and 21st from
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Election
Day is May 24th.
No opposition for
elected officials in District
1 or 5 for County Com
missioners or School
Board. Therefore, Com
missioners Omar Dickey
and Dale Jump along with
School Board Members
Raymond Dickey and
Jackson DeFore were the
only qualifiers for the May
24th primary.
HERE ARE THE NUMBERS BEFORE REDISTRICTING
AND AFTER THE CHANGE.
District 1 Before 1,624 Now 1,792
District 2 Before 1,737 Now 1,812
District 3 Before 1,838 Now 1,722
District 4 Before 1,889 Now 1,925
District 5 Before 1,890 Now 1,727
Gained 168 voters
Gained 75 voters
Lost 116 voters
Gained 36 voters
Lost 163 voters
BoE chairman still unhappy
with Asst. Principal supplements
BY KRISTI WATKINS - NEWS EDITOR
A debate between the chairman of the
Crawford County Board of Education
and two other board members arose
on assistant principal supplements that
were presented to the board from May of
last year during a workshop meeting.
Chairman Raymond Dickey has been
questioning for several months now on
the assistant principals supplements
with Al Hatcher asking again in last
month’s meeting. Both Dickey and
Hatcher stated assistant principals have
not had a raise since 1999. The March
meeting included a copy of the supple
ment sheet from last year’s workshop
budget meeting to be discussed.
In last month’s meeting, Dickey stated
they voted on the supplement increase
for assistant principals in the workshop
budget meeting and stated they voted on
the increase for the assistant principals
to be included in the budget. Although
the board cannot vote on anything in
a workshop meeting, Dickey argued
they did when Tim Johnson stated they
did not vote on the assistant principal
increase on supplements in the actual
meeting.
In last week’s meeting, the copy from
the May 2021 workshop meeting was
presented to those in the meeting with
the ranges for the assistant principal and
other positions. The assistant principal
had a proposed increase from $2,000
- $5,000 from the current $2,000-
$4,000. The notes to the side of the high
school assistant principal stated the new
middle/high school after x amount of
positive evaluations we can move up the
scale.
Dickey then questioned the compari
son of several positions. He questioned
the amount employees receive and how
do they determine what they get on the
supplement and what scale. The board
approves supplements yearly where the
board discusses the information in bud
get workshops before the information is
voted on in a public meeting.
Dickey argued he didn’t want a range,
but a fixed amount which caused a
heated discussion with board member
Jackson DeFore. DeFore claimed the
range gives an incentive for employees
by rewarding them for their hard work.
Dickey stated he wanted one number;
no ranges. DeFore then asked Dickey
about someone that has been at the high
school for 40 years and you don’t want
to reward them? Dickey only wanted
one figure for supplements.
Dickey then raised the issue on the
assistant principal doing more than the
principal and not receiving the amount
of money the principal receives in sup
plements.
See UNHAPPY, Page 9
