Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 130, No. 51 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Established in 1882
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Japanese tragedy
No impact on Vogtle’s future
By Angie Lee
adlee863 @ hotmail.com
Despite what activists and in
dustry leaders are saying about
last week’s Japanese earthquake
and tsunami might mean for
nuclear power. Southern Nuclear
is not giving up on Plant Vogtle.
They believe two new reactors
will be built on the Burke
County site.
“Based on what we know
now, we don’t expect these
events to have an impact on
Vogtle 3 and 4’s construction or
it’s licensing,” says Beth Tho
mas, spokeswoman for South
ern Nuclear.
Southern Company CEO Tom
Fanning goes further. The plant
will be built on schedule and re
main on budget.
Fanning said last week that
Southern Company is monitor
ing events in Japan. It remains
committed to building two new
reactors at Vogtle.
The company’s $14.8 billion
plan to add two reactors at the
plant is in the final approval
stages for a combined operating
license authorizing for both con
struction and operation of the
new units.
But some activists and indus
try leaders believe the public
might demand more scrutiny of
the nuclear industry - and the
permit for Vogtle - after Japan’s
growing crisis.
"The image of exploding re
actors rightfully will have an
impact on the Vogtle project both
from a public as well as a regu
latory perspective,” says Tom
Clements, who coordinates the
Friends of the Earth’s Southeast
ern nuclear campaign.
"The most prudent thing
Georgia Power could do right
now is to announce that the fast-
track license application for
Vogtle will be put on hold while
the impacts of the Japanese ac
cident are assessed,” he says.
Georgia PSC member Doug
Everett says that design changes
and safety upgrades the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
imposed after the Three-Mile
Island nuclear accident led to
cost overruns for Vogtle’s first
two units and pushed project
costs up 11 times higher than pro
jected.
The NRC has approved many
of the proposed Vogtle designs.
But it hasn’t issued final approval
and a permit for construction and
operation. He believes the NRC
could delay final approval until
scientists determine what could
have prevented the Japanese
problems. Those features could
be required at Vogtle.
Vogtle is in line to receive the
first combined operating license
ever issued. It is also the only
new U.S. nuclear project so far
to receive a federal loan guar
antee to help finance construc
tion.
However, experts believe the
Japanese situation might compli
cate the government’s loan guar
antee program for future appli
cants.
Federal authorities who moni
tor U.S. nuclear power plants arc
closely watching Japanese devel
opments. They say existing pro
grams that evaluate safety and
vulnerability concerns are ad
equate.
Authorities say the new reac
tor designs like the AP1000 units
planned for Plant Vogtle are
safer, stronger and immune to
some of the vulnerabilities of the
40-year-old Japanese reactors.
However, some experts believe
spent nuclear fuel pools, usually
found outside containment
buildings, might be better pro
tected through mandatory con
version to dry cask storage that
would make leaks less likely.
They also think federal regu
lators should focus on older U.S.
nuclear plants that operate in
seismically active regions.
Burke’s homeless count up 65 percent
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
At least 81 people in Burke
County are homeless, and
more than half are children.
While single men were most
likely to fall into the home
less category in most Georgia
communities, single mothers
with children were most com
mon in Burke.
“Many had been evicted
from their homes,” said Jane
Stoddard, Community Build
ing Coordinator for the United
Way of the CSRA, who
headed up the study with help
from the Burke County Jail,
churches. Communities in
Schools (CIS) and other local
agencies. "Some were living
in vehicles and some were liv
ing in abandoned homes.”
One family, she said, was
squatting in the garage of an
abandoned home during the
sub-zero temperatures of Janu
ary.
"It’s a cause for concern ...
especially for the school sys
tem,” Stoddard said, noting
that the 41 homeless children
range from infants to teens.
“The count went up a lot more
than we thought it would.”
Two years ago, only 49
Burke County residents were
reported homeless by the
Georgia Department of Com
munity Affairs. The 2011 fig
ure shows an increase of 65.3
percent.
The only bright spot from
the study is that Burke County
could qualify for more GDCA
funding in 2012 to help the
homeless find permanent resi
dences through housing assis
tance grants and funds for
utilities.
The sharp rise came as a
shock to many .. .even CIS Ex
ecutive Director Deandre’
Davis who assisted with the
study and has been working
with three homeless families
since October.
Among them was a teenage
couple that was living in a van
while awaiting the birth of
County Population
Burke 22,797
Emanuel 23,075
Jefferson 16,478
their first child.
In all three cases, temporary
assistance kicked in through
CIS and local churches, but
long term help remains a great
need.
“It runs out very, very
quickly,” Davis said of the
one-week and one-month ho
tel stays Burke County
churches have been providing.
"With no transitional homes or
other facilities like the Salva
tion Army, it’s a real chal
lenge. Our biggest issue is not
having adequate resources.”
Homeless
Children
81
41
93
48
48
24
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - $1.
Two accused
in gunfight
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
Two men are wanted by police for gun fighting in a
Waynesboro neighborhood.
A1 Pacino Bryant, 24, and Brandon Jordan, 20, are both
charged with aggravated assault and numerous weapons
charges following a fight in Magnolia
Acres last Saturday that ended in gunfire.
“Several kids were outside playing,”
Waynesboro police investigator Gene
Boseman said, “and at least ten to fifteen
shots were fired between the two.” While
neither man is believed to have been in
jured, it was a close call for two families.
According to the report filed at the
A| Pacino Bryant Waynesboro Police Department, a mother
and her two-month old infant were inside
their Martin Futher King Drive apartment
when a bullet punched through the roof
and lodged in a bedroom closet. Another
woman was walking her daughter to their
car when shots rang out and the passenger
window was shattered.
According to court records, Bryant was
released from jail in mid-December fol
lowing his conviction for the manslaugh
ter of Johnny Paul Jones Jr.
Bryant was originally charged with murder but took a plea
bargain that came with a 10-year, mostly probated sentence
and credit for the nearly two years he’d already spent in jail.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Bryant or
Jordan is asked to call police at 706-554-8029.
Both men are considered armed and dangerous.
Brandon Jordan
Commissioner
Andrews dies
Alphonso
Andrews
By Angie Lee
adlee863@hotmail.com
Burke County has lost a leader. County Commissioner
Alphonso Andrews died Sunday.
“He was a good man,” Commissioner Henry Tinley
said Monday. It is a sentiment that’s been voiced repeat
edly throughout the county for days now. It will be re
peated for days - and years - to come.
Vice-chairman of the Burke County
Board of Commissioners since 2009,
Andrews was one of the first on the
scene any time anything happened here.
He was an integral part of every activ
ity he blessed.
A native of Greenville, AL, he came
to Burke County in 1963 with the
Farmers Home Administration. Even
tually, he became the agency’s district
director.
He served on the Burke County Fi-
brary board, the Burke County Board
of Assessors, the Central Savannah River Area Regional
Commission Board, the Burke County Hospital Authority
and the Capital City Bank board of directors.
He was active in his community.
So much so that former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue
appointed him to the state’s Public Defender Supervi
sory Panel. Closer to home, he served on the board of
elders at Waynesboro’s Westminster Presbyterian Church.
Elected to the county commission in 2004, Andrews
wasted no time getting in the thick of things.
Shortly after he took his commission seat, he became a
certified county commissioner. Certification came after
completing 48 hours of instruction from local govern
ment experts. Andrews and other participants were com
mended for their commitment to providing better lead
ership and service to their citizens.
Back in Burke County, Andrews’ commitment to his
citizens grew stronger. He was a man who was always in
the news, evidenced by these snippets from the archives
of The True Citizen.
When a proposed board of education tax hike loomed,
he was quick to comment. “Any increase would be a hard
ship on many of my neighbors who live on fixed in
comes.”
He always had his eye on the future.
When water issues became a hot topic in Burke County
and Georgia, he had this to say.
■ See Andrews, page 8
13122
04420