Newspaper Page Text
JOURNAL REPORTER
ONE DOLLAR IViVAVA>11 ATOl'IilU'M»H<■ l=H»lnM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22,2023
Give gifts for
local kids,
Just Because!
Just Because United
Inc is a non profit
501c3 and the group
is now collecting new
gifts for grades pre-K
through twelfth as
well as hygiene items.
Drop donated gifts and
items off at Prosperity
Group, Benchmark,
Unclaimed Bargains,
Walk By Faith, the J.
Joel Edwards Public Li
brary, Harper Jaymes
in Molena, Mustard
Seed, Highland Real
Estate Investors LLC,
Church of Joy, Provi
dence First Baptist of
Williamson and Griffin
Moose Lodge.
“We also accept gift
cards $5 to $25, to be
given as gifts - gas,
grocery, pop shelf and
in town boutiques are
great for the older
students,” said Stacy
Berry. “Chick-Fil-A,
Dairy Queen, Burger
King and Dollar Tree
are some great ideas
for all ages. If you
would prefer to donate
monetarily we have
Cash App, PayPal and
Venmo. Checks may be
sent to P.O. Box 645,
Zebulon, GA 30295.”
Tax receipts are
available. To request
a receipt email JustBe-
causeUnited@gmail.
com or send a private
message to the Just
Because United... face-
book page.
For more on the
ministry group, go to
www.justbecauseunit-
ed.org.
“Thank you so
much to all the busi
nesses for allowing us
to place Just Because
Collection Boxes at
your location. Thanks
also to all who are sup
porting JBU and these
sweet students. We
appreciate you very
much!”
Pike property taxes due Feb. 20
Pike County’s tax digest
was approved and bills will be
mailed to citizens on Wednes
day, Nov. 22 with a due date of
Feb. 20.
Several citizens were
concerned about not being
able to pay by the end of the
year as usual for tax purposes
but tax commissioner Donna
Chapman said citizens should
be able to make payments
after the bills are mailed.
“With check or cash there’s
no additional fees but with
any kind of card, there is
an additional fee,” she said.
“Citizens can also pay online
at pikecountypay.com if they
choose. The good thing about
paying online is they can basi
cally pay with a check and the
fee for that is not as high.”
The tax and tag office - as
well as other county offices -
will be closed Thursday and
Friday, Nov. 24-25 for Thanks
giving and Friday, Dec. 22 and
Monday, Dec. 25 for Christ
mas holidays.
PHOTO BY CHAD MOORE / BURSTMODE.SMUGMUG.COM
Athens Jackson carries the American flag during XX Bulls’ last event. Mask Roll Off and XX
Bulls will host Flat Shoals Bull Riding at QC Arena in Gay Nov. 24-25 with gates open at 6 p.m.
Grab the bull by the horns Nov. 24-25
XX Bulls and Mask
Roll Off will present Flat
Shoals Bull Riding Nov.
24-25 at QC Arena, 1017
Flat Shoals Road in Gay.
Gates open at 6 p.m.
and the show starts at 8
p.m., featuring Colt 45,
food vendors and heart
stopping entertainment.
Rylee Banks will be
performing both nights.
An after party will
be held at Towerhouse
Farm Brewery for both
days where everyone can
meet the cowboys and
participants. They will be
competing for more than
$10,000 over the course
of the weekend.
Tickets are $20 (cash
only) at the arena and
kids 8 and under are free.
Find out more about
Flat Shoals Bull Riding
from the ad on page 2A.
A crowd of citizens gathered in the Pike Community Center for the annual Veterans Day Pro
gram as John Ellis was named
Pike Veteran of Year announced
At the Nov. 11 Pike
County Veterans Day Pro
gram at the Community
Center, John Ellis was
announced as the 2023
Pike County Veteran of
the Year. Presenting the
award were commission
chairman Briar Johnson
and outgoing and incom
ing Pike County Vet
eran of the Year program
directors Todd Childs
and Bryan Richardson,
respectively.
Kelsey Beam and
Austin Allred received
the award on behalf of
their grandfather John
Ellis who was unable to
attend due to health is
sues. Bryan Richardson
introduced John Ellis
with a condensed ver
sion of his nomination
request. At the end of the
introduction, Richardson
said, “As a matter of fact,
this is the first time over
the years, that I have not
seen John at a ceremony,
not taking photos, and
not wearing his Press
badge.”
See VETERAN OF YEAR page 2A
John Ellis honored for service in military, community
John is originally from
Griffin and has been a res
ident of Pike County since
2004. John enlisted in the
U.S. Air Force on April 20,
1951. He was trained as
a Combat Medic and as
signed to England as the
Korean War was going on.
He was further assigned
to the 7559th Medical
Group Depot working at
the Field Hospital at the
Burtonwood Royal Air
Force Base. He was as
signed duties to the Hos
pital Ambulance Corps.
While performing this
duty, John was later pro
moted to Staff Sergeant
and was selected as the
non-commissioned officer
in charge of the Hospital
Ambulance Corps. U.S.
servicemen in body bags
killed in action during the
Korean War would arrive
at the airfield, and John
would transport them to
John Ellis during his military
service. See more about his
local volunteering on page 2A.
the installation morgue
for further processing
and shipment to the U.S.
While in England, John
took up the hobby of
photography, taking pho
tos of nature and English
land marks, sites and
events. Having learned
of John’s expertise, the
airbase newspaper asked
John to take photos of
the base band and the
precision medical drill
team. He was also a mem
ber of the base Honor
Guard Team. John was
also highly proficient in
musical instruments and
played the clarinet as a
volunteer in the Burton-
wood Air Force Volunteer
Band consisting of fellow
airmen. The band played
all over north England.
He also started playing
the saxophone in a band
with several airmen at
the base non-commis
sioned officer’s club.
In February 1955,
John’s next assignment
was with the 2349th U.S.
Air Force Hospital at Parks
Air Base in California.
See JOHN ELLIS page 2A
School board
superintendent
finalist announced
The Pike County
board of education
announced Shane Wil
liamson as the finalist
for the superintendent
position during their
Nov. 14 meeting. Wil
liamson currently
serves as the assistant
superintendent of Pu
laski County Schools in
Hawkinsville.
“I am
honored and
elated that
the board of
education
has selected
me as the
next super
intendent of
Pike County
Schools,”
he said. “My
desire to
contribute
to the outstanding
legacy of
this school
system begins today.
Pike County Schools
have a rich tradition of
excellence in fostering
positive relationships
with students, educa
tors, parents and the
community. As superin
tendent, I am commit
ted to maintaining the
tradition of superior
schools and enhancing
the opportunities for
growth.”
The board plans to
hold their final vote
on the superintendent
appointment at their
regularly scheduled
meeting Dec. 12. Until
then, he will
meet with
staff and com
munity mem
bers with a
start date of
Jan. 1.
“I am
grateful for
the trust
placed in me
by the board
of education
and enthusi
astic about
the opportunity to lead
Pike County
Schools,” he
said. “Together, we will
continue to provide an
exceptional learning
environment for our
students and uphold
our core value of devel
oping creative problem
solvers in Pike County
Schools.”
the op
SHANE WILLIAMSON
Balloons over PCPS
SPECIAL PHOTO
Kindergarten classes carry their own creations during the
first Balloons over PCPS parade at the primary school.
Students show off STEM skills in parade
Pike County Primary
School students took
part in the Balloons
Over PCPS parade to
celebrate their science,
technology and engi
neering skills as well
as their knowledge of
Thanksgiving history.
PCPS kindergarten
teacher Lauren Ste
phens came up with
the idea to have an
event similar to the Ma-
cy’s Thanksgiving Day
Parade, even including
the Pirate Regiment
Marching Band.
“The parade was the
first ever and featured
the kindergarten class
es, the Pirate Regiment,
Zebulon mayor Joe
Walter and the middle
school cheerleaders,”
said director of bands
Lee Ewing. “It was a
fun way to kick off the
holiday season!”
PCPS kindergarten
classes learned about
Thanksgiving and
traditions that families
have surrounding the
holiday.
One tradition that
many families share is
watching the Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day
Parade.
See PARADE page 1B