Newspaper Page Text
Page 8 — Wednesday, October 20, 2010, The True Citizen
Waynesboro charter finally passes
To view photos taken at recent events,
visit our photo gallery at
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
The City of Waynesboro has a
charter, at long last.
After nearly three years of
meetings, disagreements and
split votes, city council gave their
new charter a unanimous nod,
clearing its path to the General
Assembly in 2011.
If it is approved by lawmak
ers, as expected, city council can
begin to dislodge a virtual log
jam of ordinances and zoning
changes that have all been
hinged on the long awaited adop
tion of the charter.
“I’m going to do a flip to
night,” councilman Herman
Brown said after the all six affir
mative votes were cast.
The decision came swiftly, and
with no discussion about the is
sues that have plagued the
charter’s rocky past.
Twice, the proposed charter
has been approved with a major
ity split-vote - but not the unani
mous support State Representa
tive Gloria Frazier required for
an introduction to the state leg
islature.
During its first round of rejec
tion, former councilman Curtis
Bell refused to sign off, and on
the next try Willie Roy Williams
and newly elected Portia Wash
ington had objections.
Both were concerned that the
charter “stripped the mayor of his
power” and made him little more
than a glorified figurehead. Oth
ers argued the point, reasoning
that the proposed charter con
firmed the mayor’s power to
break tied votes, veto anything
passed by council and line-item
veto anything in the budget.
Williams had also taken issue
with a paragraph that gave the
city the right to extend its bound
aries through annexation.
Neither portion was changed
prior to its approval.
According to city attorney
Chris Dube, the 39-page charter
adopted Monday night is the
same one council members have
been mulling over, with the ex
ception of some updates to re
flect date changes.
The city has been operating on
an outdated charter that was
adopted in 1971, and officials
say the new one will reflect op
erational changes that have taken
place at city hall over the past
four decades.
Commissioners deny raises in tax office
By Anne Marie Kyzer
annemariek@thetrucitizen.com
An untimely request for pay
increases in the tax office was
denied by Burke County Com
missioners last week.
Burke County Tax Commis
sioner Cynthia McManus sub
mitted forms requesting pay rate
changes for seven employees in
her office - everyone except her
self. Her salary, as an elected of
ficial, is set by the state.
Most of the changes were in
creases in pay of around 50 cents
per hour, according to the forms.
However, Burke County Admin
istrator Merv Waldrop said some
of the requests were beyond the
parameters of the Burke County
Employee Pay Plan. The pay
plan is used to accommodate step
increases in pay based on time
and service. Requests that do not
follow the plan are brought be
fore commissioners.
The main sticking point, how
ever, was timing. Payroll
changes are addressed as Com
missioners develop the annual
county budget, which was al
ready approved several months
ago, according to Waldrop.
Commission Chairman Wayne
Crockett said it was too late to
change the budget now.
“I don’t think we can amend
the budget. I don’t think we have
anything to amend it with,” he
said. “I don’t think there’s any
thing out of line that she’s pro
posing. The only thing is she
should have proposed it three or
four months ago.”
Commissioner Henry Tinley
agreed.
“We had thirteen (budget)
meetings or more, one every
week, and people could come
and tell us what they wanted,”
Tinley said. “I’m like the chair
man ... I don’t know where you
can find it. If we do this, how
many more are going to want
something else?”
Others also offered support but
said they couldn’t make such
changes after budget approval.
"I just wish she would have
come while we were working on
the budget,” Commissioner
Allen DeLaigle said.
Pride of Burke County hosts
hundreds for competition
By Anne Marie Kyzer
annemariek@thetruecitizen.com
Hundreds of high school mu
sicians from across east Geor
gia gathered in Waynesboro to
sound off before judges last Sat
urday.
Burke County High School
hosted the Burke Bear Classic,
one of five events in the Geor
gia Marching Band Series. The
series was founded by Burke
County band director Charles
Westman and Jeff Davis direc
tor John Hillsman.
As the host, The Pride of
Burke County marching band
was not scored in the competi
tion.
In the series’ first event,
which was held at Jeff Davis,
Burke County placed third with
a score of 78.4 in the finals, be
hind Southeast Bulloch and
Houston County high schools.
Burke County’s color guard was
named High Guard of the day,
receiving top honors among all
the schools.
Burke County’s band will
head to Grovetown Saturday for
the next event in the series.
The Georgia Marching Band
Series will wrap up back in
Burke County Nov. 6, when
BCHS hosts the series finals.
BURKE BEARS
CLASSIC RESULTS
Class winners
AA- Southeast Bulloch
AAA-Thomson
AAAA-Houston County
Finals Results
1 st : Houston County 85.0
2 nd : Lakeside 80.13
3 rd : SE Bulloch 73.10
4 th : Thomson 72.04
5 th : Greenbrier 69.94
6 th : Grovetown 67.35
7 th : Jeff Davis 64.05
8 th : Clarke Central 59.10
www.thetruecitizen .com
I
Waynesboro-Burke
Concert Series
presents
The Legacy of Floyd Cramer
featuring grandson Jason Coleman
Thursday, October 28, 2010
7:30 p.m.
Burke Office Park
Tribute to legendary Nashville artist
Floyd Cramer by his grandson Jason Coleman
Crazy, Last Date, Chattanooga Choo-Choo
Sponsors:
Harper Communications
William Mizell Ford www.mizellford.com
and
South Arts, NEA and Georgia Council for the Arts
For information call
706-437-0070
This performance is funded, in part, by a grant from South
Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the
Arts, and Georgia Council for the Arts.
u a 11 o N A L
C NOOWMFMT
FOR tHE ARTS
Harper Communications
-HSOUTH
Smarts
Georgia
council'^or the
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Council approves
$899,000 well project
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
Waynesboro will have a new
well on Highway 25.
Monday night, city council
approved a low bid of nearly
$899,000 from Rowe Well
Drilling of Pooler.
Three companies submitted
bids, but none was local.
According to city engineer
Charlie Armentrout, the bid in
cludes around $190,000 for im
provements to the well house
and treatment facility on Sixth
Street, as well
City officials are expecting
half the costs to be covered by
a grant from the Georgia Envi
ronmental Financing Authority,
and the rest will be paid back,
interest-free, over the next 20
years.
Constructing a new well is a
A'rolrdde is (he proud daughter of
Ms, Marquitla kvines.
She wrli relebrate her parly with
family and friends.
Her grandpnrenl5 ore Median
Levines and Beafuha Davis. Goclpar
mis are LaQulllia Janes and Lottie
Horre.
Happy Birthday, "Mira"
We Love You,
Marquilta, Ka'myw,
Ja'Kavious, D'jilm and CJ
must to keep the city in line with
state guidelines that require a
minimum of three municipal
water sources.
“It will be a huge savings,”
city administrator Jerry Coalson
said of the project, noting the
electric costs associated with the
city’s poorly functioning wells.
In fact, the current Highway
25 well, which was constructed
in the early 90s, hasn’t produced
“a drop of water” in some time.
The well was all but aban
doned after problems there,
which were likened to sucking
a milkshake through a miniscule
straw, began making the process
cost prohibitive.
The new well will actually be
constructed just about 40 feet
away, but Armentrout says a
1,200-foot test well will allow
him to sample different aquifers
at different depths and isolate
the "good water.” Upgrades will
also be made to the treatment
facility there.
Officials expect the project to
be completed in June.
Looking
Forward To
Serving You
Again This
Season!
214 Briar Creek Estate Rd.
Waynesboro
706-5544859
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Waynesboro
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