Newspaper Page Text
Page 2—Wednesday, October 16, 2013, TheTrue Citizen
WANT TO WEAR A CROWN?
If you are a student at Burke
County Middle School this is
your chance. FFA is sponsor
ing a school pageant in Novem
ber and applications are avail
able from homeroom teachers.
Sign up by Oct. 21 to be a contestant.
The pageant will be held, 3-5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 2. Ad
mission is $3 for adults, $2 for students and free for kids
under 10. Proceeds from refreshments and ticket sales
will help fund FFA activities for local students.
LIKE CANDY?
Then share the love at Trick or Treat on Lib
erty Street this Halloween. Organiz
ers are looking for businesses,
churches, clubs and volun
teers to give out candy in
downtown Waynesboro, 3 -
5 p.m., on Thursday, Oct.
31. To get in on the fun,
call Nan or Amy (Down
town Organization of Re
tailers) at 706-554-8100.
READY FOR UPWARD?
Then call 706-554-5156 to get
signed up. All children, grades kin
dergarten through sixth, are invited
to play basketball or be cheerlead
ers for the Christian sports league
which is hosted by First Baptist
Church of Waynesboro. Registration
deadline is Nov. 9 and those who sign up before Oct. 25
can knock $5 off the $60 registration fee. All Upward games
and practices will be held at the Burke County Alternative
School gym.
County funds raises, hospital
By Roy F. Chalker, Jr.
Publisher/Editor
The biggest change in the
Burke County Commission’s
budget for the coming year
is the addition of $1.5 mil
lion for the Burke Medical
Center. It is the first install
ment of $10 million the panel
has pledged to keep the fa
cility open while a new man
agement team works to sta
bilize its finances.
According to the latest
numbers, the hospital has run
up a deficit of $2.3 million
in the first six months of op
eration under the new man
agement firm. Community
Hospital Corporation, head
quartered in Plano, Texas.
That was not unexpected and,
according to County Admin
istrator Merv Waldrop, the
deficit will total $4.3 million
by March 30 of next year un
less utilization of the hospi
tal and its services change
considerably.
Waldrop says that the hos
pital management reported an
average census of five pa
tients per day for the last six
months, with only four per
day during the last month.
Other than funds for the
hospital, another big addition
to the budget will be almost
$420,000 in cost of living ad
justments and step plan pay
increases for county employ
ees.
The only significant change
in pay was for State Court
Judge Jerry Daniel, who had
requested a 78 percent in
crease in his salary from
$38,507 to $68,509. Judge
Daniel based the request on
additional responsibilities
brought on by his duties in
the accountability courts -
DUI and Drugs, Mental
Health and Family Violence.
The board approved an in
crease of $16,000, bringing
Daniel's salary from $38,508
to $54,508, an increase of
about 42 percent.
Overall, the county’s gen
eral operating budget, funded
by property, fire district and
sales taxes, increased from
about $26 million last year to
$30.7 million for the coming
year.
Commissioners anticipate
the budget needs will be met
without an increase in the
millage rate. Construction on
Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle
are underway, and Waldrop
said he anticipates an increase
in the utilities digest will fund
the growth in the budget.
Farmers feel pinch of government shutdown
By Roy F. Chalker Jr.
rchalker@bellsouth.net
Local agribusiness leaders
agree that the federal govern
ment shutdown is having an
impact on the local farming in
dustry.
Three county offices - the
Farm Service Agency (FSA),
U.S.D.A. Rural Development
and the Natural Resources Con
servation Service (NRCS) -
have all been closed since Oc
tober 1. Nine federal employ
ees from those offices have
been furloughed since then and
no services are being provided
by any of the agencies.
Tommy Bryan, manager of
the local FSA, said this week
that “loan programs for corn,
peanuts and other qualifying
crops can’t be implemented
because the money’s not
there.”
The NRCS is the agency re
sponsible for, among other
things, identifying and desig
nating wetlands that might be
impacted by agricultural or de
velopment activities. None of
those designations are taking
place while the agency is shut
down.
Burke County Extension
Coordinator Peyton Sapp said
he knows of one instance
where seeding has been done
in an environmentally sensitive
area, with part of the cost to be
paid by federal funds. The
project has been completed,
but the contractor can’t be paid
because of the government
shutdown.
“Technical support from fed
eral agencies is not being pro
vided," Sapp said. "Where
there was already a backlog of
work and things were bogged
down, things have come to a
complete halt.”
Ward 3 debate
next Thursday
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
One seat... three candidates.
Waynesboro residents can get to know all three Ward 3
city council candidates at an Oct. 24 debate.
It will be held, 6-8:30 p.m. at the Davis Park Community
Center (former Teen Scene) on Davis Road.
All three candidates have won the seat before.
Incumbent Portia Washington is facing former Ward 3
councilmen Willie Roy Williams and Curtis Bell.
Advance voting is already underway, and the General Elec
tion will be held Nov. 5.
The Myles Youth Facility, Inc. is sponsoring their debate.
Two qualify for
Midville council
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
Midville is going to have an election.
Last week, two residents stepped into the running for the
city council seat formerly held by Marion “Butch” Brinson.
The seat has been empty since Brinson died in late Septem
ber. He had already qualified for a 2014 term and was running
unopposed.
Now, a special election will be held on Nov. 5 to decide who
will take his place.
Two candidates will be on the ballot - the late councilman’s
32-year-old son, Seth Patrick Brinson, and 73-year-old Larry
W. Sauls.
EVENT
20t3 FORD EXPEDITON XIT
stk* 10209
M$RP - $43,860
SELLING PRICE
ZOO 6 LINED LHTQWKCAH
(>!p “ ;«uii
- .J luhl,
it B ViriUui
aniaUTA
2089 MINI CS1PEI
'24 mcrnlfi lease will* S3?B6 due Bt signing with 12K rrAIttfytar + tai jna ins. For well quaked buyers.
2013 FORD F150 XIT CREW CAB
Stk# 10131 V A A
MSRP - $40,770
r SELLING PRICE
rw.ft.iitfftu
farr.Wvtt*.
fcVIffi Rebates
'35 month lease with 53299 due at signing vfrn 12K mlttsfyeir * tax anti Ins. For mil qifififlm flayers.
LlJlIW
2013 FORD EDGE SEL
stk* 10140 K. A>
anZMOGECMHEtn
MSRP - W7.97S
SELLING PRICE
tju, tii
musi!
lewMiKi.
FttllBK*
rtPUten*
5 HUH*
|Ur. HP (
CKltflSfUl,
nuunnJJl
UTiTi’O
With Rebates
’29 Hon to IMM, SJ455 11 signing m'rh I2K miks/yeai i 1 at end ffjj. Foi veil qu«Jilrad tyqw*.
2010 FB HD F2S0 KING RANCH 414
OwCjG PJH
IMfil.S'a
4 JL -n s«rirf *»i.
:--nv! wsa*
2013 FORD FLEX SE
Stk# 9779 K. Avl
MSRP - $32,090
> SELLING PRICE
fc? Waynesboro. Georgia
WU i (AM
MiZELL
FORD
bVirfo Rebates
*24 month lease with $168? due el signing itiA Wtmiitafyeat*tuaitHH». For wen ouattiicb buyers.
WWW.A1IIEUF0RD.IXM
ASK ABOUT OUR
$36 TEST 001UE
mmmm
/_| 1