Newspaper Page Text
The True Citizen, Wednesday, January 6, 2010 — Page 7
Deadline approaching
Waynesboro charter still hung up
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
Waynesboro’s new charter is
still on hold.
After more than 18 months on
the table, the deadline for sub
mitting it to the General Assem
bly has dwindled to weeks.
If it’s to happen this go-round,
it’ll take the presence of all six
city council members and their
unanimous approval.
If it doesn’t fly, not only will
the charter be dead in the water
for yet another year, but so will
a mess of ordinances, zoning
changes and recodifications that
are hinged on its adoption.
“You’ve been working on this
for a year and a half and you’re
in the same position you were
when you started,” resident Bill
Alston told council Monday
night. "This is ridiculous. You
meet, meet, meet... but nothing
is going to happen because you
people don’t understand En
glish.”
While council was finally in
full attendance, among them
was one member with continued
objections and newly elected
Portia Washington who wasn’t
privy to two years worth of dis
cussions about the charter’s
finer points.
She got her first copy of the
39-page document Monday
night and said she would be pre
pared for a Jan. 13 meeting in
which city officials will try once
again.
Five councilmen had come
prepared to do the job at their
Dec. 7 meeting but fell short
when Willie Roy Williams
didn’t show. Judging from
Monday’s meeting, they
wouldn’t have gotten the nec
essary approval anyway.
“I will not agree to them... it’s
just that simple,” Williams said,
referring to a “short list” of ob
jections he gave to city attorney
Chris Dube. “I was elected by
the people ... and what I think is
best for the people is what I’m
going to do.”
Dube, who has requested a
one-on-one meeting with Will
iams for months, said he didn’t
understand the reasoning be
hind 80 percent of the objec
tions.
Among the objections was
paragraph 1.11 B, which gives
the city power to change its
boundaries through annexation.
“I have no idea why we
wouldn’t want that in there,”
Dube said.
Williams maintained that
some sections of the charter
should just be deleted. Though
he was not specific, he has pre
viously objected to a paragraph
aimed at keeping council mem
bers from abstaining from a vote
when there is no direct conflict
of interest.
For the fourth time in as many
months, Coalson asked Will
iams to meet privately with
Dube to discuss each issue at
length.
While vice-mayor James
“Chick” Jones, who was re
elected to that position by a
unanimous vote on Monday, has
also voiced concern over a para
graph that limits city council’s
interactions with employees, he
has indicated he will vote in fa
vor of the new charter.
“I’ve got to do what I need to
do,” he said.
WHY A NEW CHARTER?
The proposed revisions will
align the charter with federal
and state laws that have
changed since the existing
charter was adopted in 1971.
The new charter is also de
signed to outline the opera
tional changes that have taken
place at city hall since then.
Charter school denied state approval
By Anne Marie Kyzer
annemariek@thetruecitizen.com
A state commission has de
nied approval for a proposed
charter school in Burke
County to serve at-risk middle
school students.
The Georgia Charter
Schools Commission turned
down the petition for Boggs
Charter Academy after receiv
ing a recommendation to do so
from a special interview panel.
The panel reviewed the
school’s application, which
was filed by the Boggs Com
munity Development Corpora
tion (BCDC), and interviewed
members of the BCDC before
making the recommendation.
An outline of the panel’s de
cision pointed to a lack of spe
cific and measurable academic
goals and objectives. The
panel also questioned the busi
ness plan and the capacity of
the BCDC to operate the
school.
The BCDC has been devel
oping plans for Boggs Char
ter Academy for the past sev
eral years and first presented
the idea to the Burke County
Board of Education in Febru
ary 2008.
After withdrawing an initial
petition to start the school, the
group resubmitted its petition
to the local school board last
May. The BOE voted in July
to deny the petition, following
the recommendation of a com
mittee of school system em
ployees appointed to research
the feasibility and need for the
charter school.
Because of a state law passed
in 2008, the BCDC then had
the option to appeal to the
newly created Georgia Char
ter Schools Commission, an
independent, state-level autho
rizing entity with the power to
approve or deny petitions re
gardless of the local school
board’s vote. The commission
operates separately from the
Jurors drawn for Superior Court; report Jan. 11
Jurors have been drawn for the
October 2009 term of Superior
Court criminal/civil session with
Judge Carl C. Brown Jr. presiding.
Jurors are to report 10 a.m.,
Monday, Jan. 11.
The list includes the following:
Michael-Cole Hayman Thames,
Waynesboro; Mary Brown Gibbs,
Waynesboro; Ronnie Irvin,
Waynesboro; Ronald Douglas
Morris, Blythe; Yvonne G. Cham
bers, Waynesboro; Floyd Mack,
Waynesboro; Fucy Miller Cleve
land, Hephzibah; Thorsten R.
Riley, Hephzibah; Paula Michelle
Dunaway, Waynesboro; Elizabeth
Susan Billips, Waynesboro;
Mandrell Jenkins, Waynesboro;
Felecia Marie Doe, Girard; Kelli
L. Jenkins, Waynesboro; Holly
Marie Council, Waynesboro; Essie
Mae Parris, Midville; Stephanie C.
Dixon, Girard; Crystal Davis,
Waynesboro; Alexandria Marie
Price, Key sville; Alberta B. Clark.
Waynesboro; Glen Dixon Jr.,
Sardis; Chad R. Syms,
Waynesboro; Julie Danielle King,
Waynesboro; Reba F. Kight,
Hephzibah;
Deborah Lynn Shearouse,
Waynesboro; Robert Lee Aiken
Jr., Hephzibah; Charlie Neely,
Waynesboro; Raymond R. Smith,
Waynesboro; Grant Tyler Herring,
Waynesboro; Patricia T. Roberts,
Waynesboro; Reginald Williams,
Waynesboro; Rosa L. Williams,
Waynesboro; Sarah Rebecca
Chance, Waynesboro; Amy Eliza
beth Story, Waynesboro; Douglas
S. Jenkins, Sardis; Turetha Eliza
beth Neely, Keysville;
Alfonso Parnell Davis, Millen;
James Lee, Keysville; Jan Eliza
beth Ryan, Keysville; Dana Marie
Rogers, Waynesboro; Beatrice S.
Jenkins, Waynesboro; Kenny
Keith Roberts, Waynesboro; Wil
liam Anthony Chance,
Waynesboro; Betty Jean Bush,
Waynesboro; Brandice Carol Hol
land, Waynesboro; Darrell Will
iams, Waynesboro; Ruby P.
Johnson, Waynesboro; Dean
Gates, Blythe; Shakelya Charae
Bell, Waynesboro; Krystal Lashae
Harris, Sardis; Fred D. Reeves Sr.,
Waynesboro; Kristie R. Jones,
Hephzibah; Matthew Jenkins,
Waynesboro; Lexie C. TenHuisen,
Waynesboro; Curtis Lee Martin,
Waynesboro; Thomas Tyrone
Tennyson, Waynesboro; Dean
McClellan Hall, Waynesboro; M.
Elizabeth K. Bryan, Waynesboro;
Shepard E. Clark, Keysville; Tif
fany Lynnette Avery, Waynesboro;
Chinesea La Torya Bradley,
Waynesboro; Dale L. Holt, Blythe;
Willie J. Lovette, Waynesboro;
Tamara Anne Youngblood,
Waynesboro; Michelle Farrah
Beasley, Waynesboro; Joan R.
Dixon, Waynesboro; James Lee
Tripp Jr., Waynesboro; Roger E.
Spencer, Waynesboro; Jermaine
Antonio Way, Waynesboro;
Clifford Ree Pope, Blythe; Patrick
C. Moore, Hephzibah; Elizabeth
Augusta
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CSSKINS
Georgia Department of Educa
tion and was created to foster
the development of charter
schools across the state.
According to Georgia DOE
spokesperson Matt Cardoza,
the BCDC may still revise its
plan for Boggs Charter Acad
emy and resubmit its petition
at a later date.
Cardoza said 35 petitions
were filed for new charter
schools last year, and seven of
those schools were approved
by the commission. Most were
in the Atlanta area and one will
serve Calhoun, Clay, Early,
Randolph and Baker
counties in southwest Georgia.
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Shrimp & Fish on Fridays
Steaks after 5 p.m.
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Thursday, Friday & Saturday «
11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Burney, Waynesboro;
Calvin E. Jones, Waynesboro;
Alton lee Smith, Sardis; Shirley T.
Henry, Waynesboro; Joseph Chris
topher Cates, Waynesboro;
Tammy McClain Alverson,
Girard; Arie Delora Mack,
Waynesboro; Mallory Susan Wil
liams, Waynesboro; Ashleigh
Morgan Barefield, Waynesboro;
Amber S. Miller, Midville; Shirley
Hayman, Waynesboro; La’Keia
Lavarseitte Cleveland, Sardis;
Constance Bevan Rhodes,
Waynesboro;
Russell Lamar Zipperer, Sardis;
Donald A. Fielding, Waynesboro;
Jayson Eric Bridgers,
Waynesboro; Leroy M. Bell Jr.,
Sardis; Gloria D. Young,
Waynesboro; and Laura Jean
Fuller, Waynesboro.
CPA Notes
Incentives for Businesses
Tax breaks for businesses include extended bonus first year
depreciation with a one-year optional extension to forego bonus
depreciation for otherwise deferred credits,
increased section 179 expensing, and tax-
deferred debt forgiveness income on
repurchase of qualifying debt.
Refundable Credits
Instead of taking bonus depreciation,
businesses can now monetize accumulated
AMT and R&D credits. Originally, this election
applied to 2008 only; however, the new law
extends the option to property that qualifies for
bonus depreciation and was placed in service through 2009.
Section 179 Expensing
The 2008 Economic Stimulus Act increased the section 179
expensing amount to $250,000 and increased to $800,000 the
threshold for reducing the deduction. Under the new law, these
amounts will remain the same. (Without the extension, the
expensing amount would have been limited to $125,000, and
the maximum deduction threshold $500,000.)
If I can be of assistance to you, please contact my office at
706-437-1042 or at lfulcher@ 1040.com.
My office is across from the Dairy Queen and next door to
the Lake Restaurant or at the forks of Highways 24 and 25.
John “Lee” Fulcher, CPA
706-437-1042
South Liberty Street across from the Dairy Queen
Jaycees help 277 children
Meet our Waynesboro Staff.
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
Hard times didn’t stop
Burke County residents from
giving.
The Waynesboro Jaycees
surpassed their $20,000 goal
for the Empty Stocking Fund
by nearly $2,000 ... despite a
year marked by layoffs, unem
ployment and low retail sales.
“I had no idea that the
money would come in as well
as it did,” said Jaycees Rebel
Corps member Scott DuMars.
“This was a huge surprise,
thinking it would be an off
year.”
Local residents poured more
than $16,000 into the fund,
and the Jaycees added another
$5,500 from Christmas tree
sales.
Together, that provided
Christmas gifts for 277 Burke
County children from 113
families.
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(From the left) Back row: Jim Hodges, Gaines Story, Dominee Thomas; Front row: Melissa Redd, Alice Getzinger
Correction
The following are corrections from the 2009 Magic of Christmas. The True Citizen regrets the errors:
MAKAYLA CHEYENNE
WALKER, daughter of Heather
Ivey and Thomas Walker, both
of Waynesboro. Grandparents
are Sandra Ivey, Rob
Cunningham, Juan Ivey, Glenda
Walker and Thomas Hall.
JACKSON, 7, and LANE, 5, children of Jonathan and Mandy
Hillis of Girard. Grandparents are David and Reesa Smith and
Stan and Jean Hillis.