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sound of music
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Marching bands from across the state will descend on Waynesboro Saturday as Burke County High School
hosts a competition in the Georgia Marching Band Series. The Burke County Bear Invitational will kick off
at 2 p.m., when the first of 10 high school marching bands will take the field. “We have bands coming from
all over the state,” Burke County band director Charles Westman said. “This is a great all-day show for
anyone who likes music.” The Pride of Burke County marching band is scheduled to appear at 4:30 p.m.
and perform several numbers from
the swing band Big Voodoo Daddy
including Go Daddy O, I Wanna Be
Like You, Minnie the Moocher and
Big Time Operator. More than 100
members strong, the Burke County
band will show off plenty of swing
dancing, hand painted murals and
stages for effect. Tickets for the
event are $5. Above, color guard co
captain Shannkera Coleman and
captain Valencia Edmonds perform
during halftime.
A turnaround
Police say swift action at
Pecan Grove has turned
neighborhood around
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
Last month, she was on the verge of leaving her home in
the Pecan Grove subdivision.
Her car was broken into, burglars tried to get into her house
twice and drug deals and gunshots were regular occurrences.
She was scared for herself, and especially for her children.
“It was just a mess... you never saw people outside on their
porches,” said the Waynesboro mother who asked that her
name be withheld. “You just didn’t know what might hap
pen.”
But in less than four weeks, the neighborhood has experi
enced what Waynesboro police Major Mary Bennett calls a
"complete turnaround.”
“Overall, there has been about a ninety percent reduction in
our calls to Pecan Grove,” she said, noting that repeated large
fights involving both adults and teens had been tying up en
tire shifts of officers, not to mention investigators. “Now we
have time to work in other areas.”
Major Bennett was singing a different song on Sept. 16
when she laid out the looming problems for the City of
Waynesboro’s Public Safety Committee and representatives
from Hediger Enterprises, a management company hired by
Pecan Grove owner Gary Hammond to assess the problems
and come up with a plan of action.
Within the week, they’d hired off-duty police officers, along
with trained canines, to work as “on-site property monitors.”
- See Pecan Grove, page 9
Three-year-old Rondarious Rouse tries to catch up
with his sisters Mae-Ghan and Takiya as they play
in Pecan Grove. His family moved into the
Waynesboro subdivision two weeks ago and his
mother says they feel safe and happy.
Plant Vogtle expansion
Opponents strong in numbers at meeting
By Anne Marie Kyzer
annemariek@thetruecitizen.com
Opponents of expansion at
Plant Vogtle offered scientific
evidence, quoted scripture and
even broke out in song during
a public meeting last week in
Waynesboro.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission hosted the meet
ing to gather comments after
announcing there are no envi
ronmental reasons two new re
actors shouldn’t be built and
operated at Plant Vogtle.
The environmental impact
was studied as part of the re
view process for the Combined
Operating License (COL), the
final approval the Vogtle
project must attain before full
scale construction begins. A
decision on the COL isn’t ex-
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pected until sometime next
fall.
Though local elected offi
cials, business leaders and edu
cators spoke highly in favor of
expansion at Plant Vogtle,
more than twice as many oth
ers spoke out condemning the
project.
Many of their arguments
against nuclear expansion fo
cused on nuclear waste storage,
water loss in the Savannah
River and a plan approved by
the Georgia Legislature that
allows Georgia Power to be
gin charging for the project’s
financing costs next year - five
years before the first reactor is
scheduled to come online.
"Is it fair to give the utilities
the biggest straw to pull from
our water resources and a blank
check to pull from our wallets?”
asked Sara Barczak of the
Southern Alliance for Clean
Energy.
Barczak also questioned
waste storage options since the
proposed repository at Yucca
Mountain in Nevada has been
taken off the table.
NRC staff found none of
those issues to be concerning
enough to stop the project from
moving forward.
Supporters of the project, all
of whom were local with the
exception of an Augusta busi
ness woman, touted the
project’s potential benefits in
the midst of an economic
slump and their confidence in
Plant Vogtle’s safety and oper
ating records.
“They have been true profes
sionals,” Burke County Com
missioner Lucious Abrams
said, noting the trust level the
community has with plant em
ployees and the NRC’s evalua
tion. "They have to make sure
that every screw, every bolt and
every grain of dirt is right.”
Many of the opponents ac
cused Burke County residents
of being “blinded by the al
mighty dollar,” but former
mayor and State Senate candi
date Jesse Stone shot down
such comments.
“I can tell you this is not just
important for Burke County.
This is important for this re
gion of the state ... these are
jobs that won’t be exported,”
he said. “I can understand all
of your concerns about safety
and believe me we are con
cerned, too, and we are not
dumb. We are very grateful for
the concerns that everyone in
this room has, and particularly
the NRC.”
Burke County Chamber of
Commerce executive director
Ashley Roberts said this
community’s support could not
be bought if there were major
concerns at hand.
“There is no amount of
money that would be worth
sacrificing the safety of my
family and my community,”
she said.
Those interested in submit
ting a written comment on the
NRC’s draft environmental
impact statement have until
Nov. 24. In April, the NRC is
expected to issue a final envi
ronmental impact statement. If
the COL is issued next fall.
Southern Nuclear Operating
Company will have permission
to fully construct and then op
erate the two new reactors.
Such a decision would con
clude the NRC’s licensing pro
cess for the reactors, which
began nearly five years ago.
Glenn Carroll,
who has been a
voice against
nuclear power
for two decades,
led about two
dozens audi
ence members
in the hymn Do
Not Pass Us By
during the
hearing.
Congratulations D.O.O.R.
On Your Annual
Celebrity Waiter This Thursday
Thank You For Making Downtown Waynesboro A Better Place To Do Business!