Newspaper Page Text
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Established in 1882
,J Vol. 128, No. 39 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - $1.00
INSIDE
Hoop & Holler
A spotlight on senior basket
ball players and wrestling
- Section B
Tmv iev
this week online...
The True Citizen has added
a new feature to its website.
“True View” will offer commu
nity news exclusively online
and will be updated regularly.
A preview of “True View”
will run in the print edition of
The True Citizen.
- Page 13A
Website reveals
state travel, salaries
Georgia residents can see
exactly how their state tax
dollars are being spent,
thanks to a new website that
allows users to access gov
ernment expenditures in
cluding state employees’
salaries and travel expenses.
- Page 3A
Sports
Lady Bears start
off year with win
Their coach said it was exactly
what they needed.
A come-from-behind 59-54
win over Jefferson County last
Saturday gave the Burke County
Lady Bears (1-9) their first win
of the season and something to
feel good about.
- Page10A
EBA begins
region action
As 2009 begins, the Spar
tans and Lady Spartans start
their region play on the bas
ketball court.
Both teams will face region
foe Frederica Academy this
Friday in St. Simons, with the
girls’ game beginning at 6
p.m.
- Page10A
From council
Retirement complex gets green light
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
Waynesboro City Council
gave a Dunwoody developer
the green light to proceed with
plans for a 39-unit retirement
complex.
Monday night, councilmen
agreed to rezone the proposed
site between Academy Avenue
and Shadrack Street from resi
dential to multi-family.
While the complex is still not
a done deal, developer Gary
Hammond can move ahead
with plans for his $6.4 million
project.
Two weeks ago, city council
tabled a decision after hearing
nearly two hours of fears and
cheers from around 20 residents
who stood on both sides of the
fence.
Monday, five of the six coun
cilmen approved the zoning
change while Willie Roy Will
iams abstained from the vote.
This time, council neither dis
cussed the complex nor asked
for public comments.
SPECS
WHAT’S NEXT?
• 2.2 acre site on old Waynesboro Elementary campus
• 39 units
• 18 one-bedroom units, 21 with two bedrooms
• Some units in existing two-story building; additional units in newly
constructed apartment buildings
• Rent from $350s to upper $500s, depending on unit size and in
come
• All residents must be 62 or older.
• Must have incomes between $12,000 and $26,000
• At least six units reserved for occupants on the low end of income
bracket
Developer Gary Hammond will try
to get the historic preservation
board’s recommendation before
returning to council with a request
to construct in the historic neighbor
hood. He’ll also appear before the
board of adjustments to ask for a
variance to the city’s parking and
multi-family density ordinances.
Right now, existing codes prohibit
more than approximately 18 units
on a site that size.
TUCKERED OUT
Ricky, above, was plumb exhausted after the Geor
gia Derby Championship finished up Monday after
noon at Di-Lane Plantation WMA. He and a mess of
other points were brought to the competition by then-
handler Randy Sanderson of New Albany, Miss. The
derby marked the first of four trials hosted this month
by the Georgia Field Trial Association. The Georgia
Quail Championship began on the heels of the derby
Monday and will likely finish up Friday.
Two injured
Young veteran
killed in accident
By Anne Marie Kyzer
annemariek@thetruecitizen.com
A veteran of the Iraq War was killed in a three-car crash
outside Waynesboro last Tuesday night.
Senior Airman Judson Lester Farrar, 22, of Harlem died
from injuries he sustained when the Chevrolet Camaro he
was riding in was struck by a diesel truck with a load of hay
in tow. The accident occurred around 8:25 p.m. on Highway
24 South at Clarks Place Road.
Farrar was on leave from his duty at Herbert Air Force
Field in Florida.
He was riding in the car with two Burke County High
School students. The driver, Bobbie Ann Williams, 16, of
Perkins was transported to MCGHealth Medical Center and
has since been released. The other passenger, Elizabeth
Lucinda “Lucy” Mercer, 16, of Perkins was also transported
to MCGHealth following a lengthy extraction from the ve
hicle. She has undergone a series of surgeries since then,
and she remains in critical condition.
Initial reports indicate that the Camaro turned in the path
of the dually truck and was struck on the passenger side,
causing both vehicles to flip.
The driver and passenger in the pickup, Justin Andrews,
40, and James Phillips, 31, both of Watkinsville, escaped
injury.
A third driver, Ronnie Lee Overstreet Jr. of Sardis, be
came involved when his small sedan ran into the hay that
spilled from Andrews’ load. Overstreet was not injured.
The accident has been turned over to the Georgia State
Patrol’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team in
Reidsville for investigation, and no citations have been is
sued yet. Alcohol is not believed to have been a contribut
ing factor.
Daniels named ‘RVer of the Year’ by Good Sam Club
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
Waynesboro resident Rich
ard Daniels has been named
the first ever Good Sam Club’s
RVer of the Year.
He is featured in this
month’s national Highways
magazine, as is his story about
finding “Old Fella” on a camp
ing trip four years ago and how
the skinny old stray spurred an
animal rescue movement in
Burke County and beyond.
While Daniels wasn’t even
sure he wanted to keep Old
Fella in the beginning, he not
only did so but drew on that
relationship to establish the
Old Fella Burke County Ani
mal Rescue.
The organization, which is
now a state-licensed non
profit, has saved hundreds of
abandoned animals and estab
lished a network of foster
homes and “forever homes” all
over the nation.
Daniels also drew on fellow
RVers who watched the story
develop on the Open Roads
Forum, an online discussion
post maintained by the Good
Sam Club.
Those online friends encour
aged the Daniels to take Old
Fella in and sent donations to
help with his dog’s mounting
emergency medical bills. They
were also behind Daniels ev
ery step of the way as he es
tablished the animal rescue
group, which was named in
Old Fella’s honor.
When The True Citizen first
covered Old Fella’s story in
2006, more than 85,000 Open
Roads hits had already been
- RVer, page 9A
mployee
Pricing Pli)
Extended through January /2th!!!
Prive a New Ford in 2009!
706-554-2114
www.mizellford.corn