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Vol. 130, No. 31 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, November 3, 2010 - $1.00
Burke County Extension Coordinator Peyton Sapp weighs cotton harvested in
a trial plot at the research station near Midville. He and other Extension staff in
Burke County, including two additional fulltime agents, will continue to be funded
by the University of Georgia Extension Service under the new restructuring
plan.
Top Tier
Burke is priority in Extension rankings
By Anne Marie Kyzer
annemariek@thetruecitizen.com
Burke County has been
named a priority for the Uni
versity of Georgia’s Coopera
tive Extension Service.
To cope with state budget
cuts totaling 23 percent over
the past two years, the Exten
sion Service announced a re
structuring plan to determine
how resources will be allocated
among Georgia’s 159 counties.
Based on criteria ranging
from population and poverty
to agricultural income and
county support, counties were
placed in a six-level ranking
system. Burke County and only
two dozen other counties were
placed in the highest level
ranking, meaning they will
continue to be fully staffed.
Those counties will each have
a fulltime Extension Coordi
nator as well as other agents
and a 4-H program assistant.
Counties ranked in other tiers
would go without a Coordina
tor and some would not have a
single fulltime agent.
Burke County Extension
Coordinator Peyton Sapp said
this is big news in Burke
County and can be attributed
in large part to the county sup
port Extension receives here.
“It’s huge and it’s because of
the support that has been there
and hopefully the support that
will be there,’’ he said. “It goes
far beyond the implications to
the agricultural industry. If we
continue to have the county
support from extension clients
and local boards, we’ll con
tinue to have a strong family
and consumer science program
as well as ag.”
With drastic budget cuts put
ting many county Extension
positions on the chopping
block, Burke County’s histori
cal and future support means
the difference in services resi
dents here receive.
"Whether we realize it or
not, now is a critical time,”
Sapp said.
Jefferson, Screven and
Jenkins counties were all
ranked in lower tiers. Bulloch,
Richmond, Chatham and
Washington were the only
other counties in this part of
the state to receive the same
ranking as Burke.
Burke County Commission
chairman Wayne Crockett said
county support for the local
Extension service is a good in
vestment.
"It has been a priority and I
expect it to remain a priority,”
he said. “This is an agricultural
county. There is a lot of agri
culture here and it generates a
lot of dollars. Farmland pays
a lot of taxes into Burke
County and I think we should
return some of it to the agri
cultural community. We sup
port extension and as far as I’m
concerned we will continue to
do so.”
For fiscal year 2011, around
$110,000 was allocated in the
county’s $16.7 million budget
to support the salaries, supplies
and equipment needed for Ex
tension personnel here, accord
ing to Burke County Adminis
trator Merv Waldrop. The
county also provides office
space for the Extension Ser
vice.
“The support we give them,
as a percentage of our budget,
is a relatively small amount,”
Crockett said. "And extension
doesn’t just serve farmers, it
serves homeowners, hobby
farmers and 4-H.”
Still, Sapp said that finan
cial support as well as the back
ing of the agricultural commu
nity and others here made the
difference for Burke County in
the restructuring process.
“We are feeling a pinch in
the office,” he said. “But it
could have been far worse if
we had been designated as an
other tier status.”
SPLOST III passes, two
BOE incumbents ousted
By Anne Marie Kyzer
annemariek@thetruecitizen.com
Burke County voters decided
to keep spending pennies on
local projects.
SPLOST III (Special Local
Option Sales Tax) passed by a
nearly 20 percent margin.
Vidette was the only one of the
county’s 15 precincts to vote
not to renew the one-cent sales
tax, narrowly defeating the
measure 75-74.
County officials expect
SPLOST III to raise roughly
$56 million over the next six
years. The money will be di
vided among the county and its
municipalities to support
building projects, infrastructure
improvements and equipment
purchases.
Meanwhile, voters opted for
change on the Burke County
Board of Education.
Political newcomer Larry
Preston Sr. garnered nearly 67
percent of the votes in District
2, unseating longtime vice
chairman Willie Latimore. Re
tired Burke County assistant
superintendent Ruby Saxon-
Myles picked up about 52 per
cent of the votes cast in the
District 1 race to edge out vet
eran BOE member Willie Jor
dan. Chairman Johnny Jenkins
will serve another term after
nearly 70 percent of voters
picked him over challenger
Ashley Moore Jr.
Voter turnout in Tuesday’s
election was just more than 50
percent, with 6,371 of Burke
County’s 12,546 registered
voters casting ballots. All of the
races tallied votes for at least
one write-in candidate and, as
of midnight, the only un
counted votes were 14 absen
tee military ballots.
NOV. 2 GENERAL ELECTION
* Unofficial results as of 1:40 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 3.
Approximately 91% of Georgia precincts reporting.
Board of Education
District 1
Ruby Saxon-Myles
627
Willie Jordan - Incumbent
566
SPLOST RENEWAL
3535
Yes
2406
No
BURKE COUNTY
VOTER TURN-OUT
50.78%
To see how Burke County
voters weighed in on the rest
of the races and proposed
amendments go to
www.thetruecitizen.com and
click on the red "Election
Results” button. To see offi
cial results for the state of
Georgia, go to
www.sos.ga.gov/elections/
Local Races
Board of Education
District 2
Larry Preston Sr.
666
Willie Latimore - Incumbent
321
Board of Education
District 5
Johnny Jenkins - Incumbent
998
Ashley Moore Jr.
438
State Races
STATE SENATOR Burke Georgia
Jesse Stone (R) 3998 *
Diane Evans (write in- D) 350 *
*Stone has been declared the unofficial winner, but state tallies are not yet available.
U.S. SENATE
Johnny Isakson (R)
3098
58.3%
Michael Thurmond (D)
2855
39.1%
Chuck Donovan (L)
98
2.7%
GOVERNOR
Nathan Deal (R)
2765
53%
Roy Barnes (D)
3292
43%
John Monds (L)
134
4%
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 12
John Barrow (D)
3633
56.7%
Ray McKinney (R)
2571
43.3%
AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER
Gary Black (R)
2648
56%
J.B. Powell (D)
3399
40.4%
Kevin Cherry (L)
92
3.6%
Man hit with chair in critical condition
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
A Sardis man is in critical
condition after being hit with a
chair.
Timothy Lawton Murray, 45,
has been unconscious since last
Tuesday night when emergency
responders found him on North
Hill Street with a severe head
injury.
Officers said he was hurt dur
ing an argument with 23-year-
old Nibrent Carter.
"(Carter) threw a plastic chair
with metal legs, and it hit
Murray on the head,” Sardis
Police Chief John Finley said.
“He went down, bleeding pro
fusely and has still not woken
up. They’re not certain if he’s
going to live or to what extent
he’ll have brain damage if he
does.”
Chief Finley said Murray has
already undergone several
emergency surgeries for blood
clots and swelling of the brain.
Tuesday afternoon, officers
said Murray appeared to have
no brain activity and his mother
was facing the decision as to
whether he should be removed
from the life support system.
Carter remains in the Burke
County Jail on a single charge
of aggravated battery, and of
ficers say additional charges will
be brought forth if Murray does
not survive. "Whether its mur
der or manslaughter will be up
to the DA,” said Mike Ayers,
special agent in charge of the
Thomson GBI office.
At the time of his arrest,
Carter was still recovering from
a superficial wound he received
last weekend when he was
grazed by a bullet at Club Para
dise outside of Waynesboro.
7
'18122
'04420
7
706-554-2114
www.mizellford.com
Center for New Beginnings
DINNER TIN EATER
Thursday, Nov. 11, 6:30 p.m. * Burke County Office Park
For more information call, 706-437*0505