Newspaper Page Text
Page 2A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, October 13, 2021
Veteran and Active
Military of the Year
nominations sought
Pike County Middle
School is now accepting
nominations for its an
nual Veteran of the Year
and Active Military of
the Year Awards.
Nominations must
in the form of an essay
as to why the person
should receive the
honor. It should include
name, branch of ser
vice, years served, med
als and ribbons earned
and any other relevant
information. For veter
ans, any veteran orga
nizations, community
service, et cetera will be
helpful.
The deadline for
nominations is Nov. 1.
Nominations can be
sent to Todd Child at
Pike County Middle
School or e-mailed to
childt@pike.kl2.ga.us.
County discusses
SPLOST, road
improvements
Pike County com
missioners discussed
ongoing and upcoming
paving plans for the
county during their
Sept. 28 meeting.
Commissioners
heard an update on
the CDBG grant in the
Hilltop Community of
Concord from county
manager Brandon
Rogers who noted that
patching and leveling
is complete and public
works has started pav
ing on First Street.
Commissioner
The county also
approved $70,000 in
SPLOST funding for the
paving of Hill Street in
Concord with the city
contributing $50,000.
Work would include
widening the intersec
tion at Highway 18 and
Hill Street to allow bet
ter visibility for drivers
at the intersection.
In addition, they
approved no more than
$6,000 in SPLOST fund
ing to restripe Chap
man Road and Hughley
Road.
THE COUNTY ALSO:
• Hired Lavetrece
Walker as the new se
nior center director.
• Approved the
use of the driveway
adjacent to the new
Concord Fire Station by
Cherry Thomas, home-
owner of the adjacent
property.
• Appointed Su
san Boggs to the Pike
County Animal Shelter
Advisory Board.
• Approved changes
to Section 1.23 Employ
ee which will provide
benefits for employees
who work full time.
• Approved request
to use the courthouse
grounds for the Pike
County Christmas
Festival and Parade on
Saturday, Dec. 11.
• Proclaimed Sunday,
Nov. 7 as Retired Educa
tors Day in Georgia.
• Approved Tim
Daniel as Voting Del
egate for the ACCG 2021
Business Session, with
Daniel abstaining from
the vote.
• Approved Duffey
Family Subdivision as a
private road name for
property off Roberts
Quarters Road.
• Approved the
first reading of a text
amendment to Title 111:
Administration, Chap
ter 36 Personnel Policy,
Section 36.36 On-Call
Status.
• Held a public hear
ing and approved a spe
cial exception request
from Joseph Gosman,
owner, and Ashlee
Fennell, applicant, to
operate a general home
occupation at 19556
Highway 18, Zebulon as
a pet grooming spa. The
applicant plans to build
a 14x40 building and
run the business from 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
through Friday.
• Approved amend
ing the Clerk of Superi
or Court budget for the
year 2021-22, increasing
it $14,000 due to an
oversight during the
budgeting process.
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
The Rickerson family stand in front of Orange Crush, which won second place in the Demolition Derby at the Spalding County
Fair on Sept. 28. Pictured are (l-r) Carla Blalock, Rick Rickerson, Josh Rickerson, Caleb Rickerson and Kristin Rickerson.
Demolition Derby builds family bond
BY RACHEL McDANIEL
news@pikecountygeorgia.com
They may have been
destroying their cars,
but the Rickersons were
building their family
bond even stronger than
before as they prepared
for and competed in the
Demolition Derby at the
Spalding County Fair
recently. Josh Rickerson
earned second place and
Rick Rickerson was put
out with three cars left
in the derby on Sept. 28
as 150 to 200 spectators
cheered them on. Many
of the fans came just to
see the derby.
“The derby lasted 18
minutes and it was just
amazing. We had a blast.
The crowd went wild. We
didn’t win the purse but
my son Josh took second
place. He was outstand
ing and he was definitely
the crowd favorite,” said
Rick.
“The bleachers were
full and people were
standing all around the
track. We did have the
best looking cars and 1
know 1 got hit a dozen
times or more, probably
up to 18 hits, I’m not
sure. When I went out,
my car still had power
but just wouldn’t turn
over. We had a great time
and are already looking
for cars for next time.”
After months of pre
paring their cars, Orange
Crush and Mellow Yellow,
in Rick’s garage with his
son Josh and grandson
Caleb, the two drivers
pledged to give any win
nings to the Pike County
Animal Shelter. They
came up just short but
the experience - and the
soreness - was all worth
it. Josh was sore all over
and Rick’s left arm hurt
him, he thinks from it
getting jammed by the
steering wheel.
“We got some really
good hits in. 1 hit a lot of
cars and knocked them
out using my front end. 1
Above, Rick Rickerson (left) congratulates his son Josh Rickerson at the end of the Demolition
Derby at the Spalding County Fair. Below, Rick Rickerson, in the Mellow Yellow, goes up on
two wheels after hitting the number 88 car and riding up on his fender at about 35 to 40 miles
per hour. The Rickerson family all helped prepare and build the cars for the derby in Rick’s
Meansville shop.
tried to strategically hit
cars in the front end and
one time I got up on two
wheels going about 35 or
40 mph. 1 went to hit the
front and went up on the
car’s fender. You can hear
the crowd screaming,
whenever someone got
hit and especially when
I was on two wheels,”
said Rick. “We got down
to three cars left when
mine stopped. 1 was
right in the middle of the
track and Josh was just
doing fabulous. He put
all but the last car out
and he was chasing that
last car. It was a cat and
mouse game. The crowd
was going crazy yelling
for Josh because that
guy looked scared. He
had hardly any dents on
his car because he had
avoided everyone. At one
point, the guy’s car went
dead and the crowd went
wild but then it cranked
back up. A little while
after that, Josh’s car
went dead and the other
driver backed up and hit
him hard to make sure he
was out. The crowd was
so mad. By the end of it,
Josh’s car had busted a
tire and his front end was
sideways with dents all
over it.”
Next year the Demo
lition Derby will have
two different events,
one for bigger cars with
V-8s and one for smaller,
front wheel drive cars.
The Rickersons plan to
enter again but in differ
ent events so they won’t
have to compete against
each other.
“He hit me early in the
race,” said Rick. “1 told
him afterward, ‘My car’s
not supposed to have
orange paint on it.’ He
actually hit me twice.”
Despite the loss, they
both count it as a win for
the time spent preparing
together and sharing the
exhilarating experience
on the track.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Members of the Pike County Retired Educators Association is inviting members to the upcom
ing Oct. 27 meeting. Pictured are members at the first meeting of the new school year.
PCREA invites members, visitors to Oct. 25 meeting
The PCREA held its
first meeting of the new
school year Sept. 27
at Mt. Olive Church in
Molena.
“We would like to
thank United Bank for
hosting our meeting and
providing a delicious
lunch. We would like
to also thank our guest
speakers Greg Daniel
and Rene’ Watson,”
said Diane Beres. “We
want to encourage more
members to attend next
month. We have a very
important goal this year
of increasing our scholar
ship -100% of this money
will go to deserving Pike
County High School stu
dents who plan to go into
the educational field.”
Pike County Retired
Educators Association
meetings are held at
11 a.m. on the fourth
Monday of each month at
Ruth’s Restaurant.
PIKE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
Five Year M & O Tax Digest and Tax Levy History
2021 Tax Digest & Tax Levy for FY22 Budget
The Pike County Board of Education does hereby announce that the millage rate will be
established at a meeting to be held at the Pike County Schools Memorial Annex, 7454 Hwy.
19 South, Zebulon, Ga. on October 27, 2021 at 8:30 A.M. and pursuant to the requirements
of O.C.G.A. 48-5-32, do hereby publish the following presentation of the current year’s tax
digest and levy along with the history of the tax digest and levy for the past five years.
CURRENT 2021 TAX DIGEST AND 5 YEAR HISTORY OF LEVY
COUNTY SCHOOL 2016
(FY17 budget)
2017
(FY18 budget)
2018
(FY19 budget)
2019
(FY20 budget'
2020
(FY 21 budget)
2021
(TY22 budget)
Real & Personal 506,639,694
515,566,497
527,046,229
543,656,176
683,405,744
704,936,240
MotorVehicles 27,245,130
21,226,310
17,833,120
15,270,980
13,470,090
12,594,210
Mobile Homes 1,347,895
1,363,376
1,277,886
1,289,463
1,255,695
1,229,378
Timber-100% 2,227,243
1,394,601
1,052,258
666,224
901,081
624,614
Heavy Duty Equipment
58,204
80,996
88,794
147,902
75,306
Gross Digest 537,459,962
539,608,988
547,290,489
560,971,637
699,180,512
719,459,748
Less M&O Exemption 117,811,379
115,227,462
113,617,686
118,676,105
146,926,301
145,740,307
Net M&O Digest 419,648,583
424,381,526
433,672,803
442,295,532
552,254,211
573,719,441
State Forest Land
Assistance Grant Value 3,502,740
3,534,387
3,619,100
0
Adjusted Net M&O
Digest 423,151,323
427,915,913
437,291,903
442,295,532
552,254,211
573,719,441
Net M&O Millage 16.147
18.669
18.664
18.665
16.933
16.677
Total School Taxes Levied 6,832,690
7,988,970
8,161,616
8,255,446
9,351,321
9,567,919
Net Taxes $ Increase 288,898
1,156,280
172,646
93,830
1,095,875
216,598
Net Taxes % Increase 4.41%
16.92%
2.16%
1.15%
13.27%
2.32%
STAY UPDATED AT PIKEC0UNTYGE0RGIA.COM