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CROWNING THE QUEEN
Scenes from Edmund Burke
Academy's homecoming 1B
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Vol. 134, No. 34-Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Established in 1882
Wednesday, October 15,2014 - $1.00
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Saddle Creek Rodeo back for second year
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@vahoo.com
This ain’t his first rodeo.
It’s been two decades since cowboy Leroy
Lane pressed his knees into the back of a
1,200-pound bull and waited for the
chute to open. But he can still feel
it in his bones.
“It can be heaven
or hell ... and in
the blink of an
eye it can all
change," he says, re
membering the magic of
the eight-second bell
with the beast still buck-
SADDLE UP
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 17 & Saturday, Oct. 18
6 p.m.: Gates open: mechanical bull riding and
rock climbing wall
7:30 p.m.: Rodeo begins. Calf scramble for kids
under 12 at half-time.
WHERE: Saddle Creek, located at: 3659 Hwy 25
S, eight miles south of Waynesboro
TICKETS: $10 in advance or $15 at the gate. Chil
dren 6 and under are free.
www.saddlecreekrodeo.com
ing beneath him. He also re
members the face-first land
ings and the horn that
pushed straight through his
jaw.
But he always gathered
himself up and went back
for more.
Though the 54-year-old
grandfather has evolved
from riding livestock to rais
ing it, he can’t seem to shake
his lifelong love.
That’s half of the reason
he’s bringing the Saddle
Creek Rodeo back to Burke
County this Friday and Satur
day night.
On the flipside of that
horseshoe are area youngsters
like his granddaughters,
Wylie Jo and Liza Lane
Lively, who he would rather
see nose-to-nose with a horse
than a video game.
He believes exposing a
child to events like this
weekend’s rodeo can pique
a real interest in raising live
stock and a way of life that’s
being crowded out by comput
ers and social media.
"This is the age of communication, yeah ...
but some kids don’t know how to look you eye
to eye and carry on a real conversation," Leroy
said, noting the solid friendships that develop
between those who love dealing with horses, hogs
and cattle. “If you can get kids involved in live
stock, chances are they won’t get involved in
things they can get arrested over. It puts them in
the mainstream of good things and a set of people
who want to do right.”
There will be plenty of those people milling
around at Saddle Creek this week.
Among them is eight-time world champion
calf roper and steer wrestler Justin Thigpen who
will make a return trip to Waynesboro as the
rodeo’s stock contractor.
"This ain’t no pumpkin rollin’,” Leroy said,
remarking on his decision to retain the reigning
world champ as his right-hand man. “This is a
real professional rodeo. We need good bucking
stock and good cowboys who can ride them, who
can rope them and who can bulldog them.”
Thigpen, 32, is expecting around 200 cow
boys and cowgirls to rise to the challenge.
Dec. 1 is cash-in day for making the cut for
the International Professional Rodeo Association
Finals in Oklahoma City and competitors are
pushing hard.
"It’s crunch time and they’re all jockeying for
position,” Justin said, eyeing the names of fierce
Continued, see Rodeo, page 10
OVERPAID TAXES
First wave of refunds approved
By Anne Marie Kyzer
annemariek@thetruecitizen.com
A handful of property own
ers have been cleared to re
ceive refunds for school taxes
they’ve paid over the past few
years.
Those refunds stem from a
finding last month that a num
ber of local property owners
may have been denied an ex
emption they were actually
entitled to receive. The ex
emption is available to prop
erty owners who are 65 or
older and applies to their
home and up to one acre of
land. Their denial was sup
posedly based on an income
cap of $40,000 that hasn’t
actually been in effect since
2003.
Property owners who were
denied the exemption have the
opportunity to apply for a re
fund of those taxes for up to
three years, which is the
maximum allowed by law.
Some 16 such applications
have been filed, according to
Burke County Tax Commis
sioner Marian Jackson. Eight
of those have been approved
for refunds, since they were
able to prove they had tried
to take advantage of it previ
ously, Jackson said.
Jackson said those applying
for the refunds who are able
Continued, see Taxes, page 9
APPEALS GRANTED
Four property owners seeking refunds on their taxes filed
appeals with the Burke County Commission when their ap
plications weren’t first approved by the tax commissioner
and county administrator.
Three of them sought the school tax exemption based on
the senior citizen provision,, and commissioners granted
all three appeals at a hearing last Tuesday evening.
“It’s very unfortunate that the rumor got out the income
was tied to this legislation,” Commissioner George DeLoach
said, before making the motion to approve the refund for
one of the property owners. “The intent of this legislation
was to give relief to those over 65.”
Chairman Wayne Crockett called the situation a “quagmire”
but concluded that “we are doing the right thing.”
A fourth property owner sought a refund on all taxes he
paid since 2013 based on a disability designation he re
ceived this year that was retroactive to June 2013. Com
missioners ultimately decided not to refund the 2013 taxes,
since his designation was not in effect when he would have
applied for that year’s exemption.
Hospital adopts
Ebola protocols
By Roy F. Chalker Jr.
Editor
Like medical facilities all over the country and around
the world, Burke Medical Center is implementing new pro
tocols to deal with the Ebola virus.
Following the death of Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan
in Dallas last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
implemented new guidelines concerning the virus.
Debbie Burch, Chief Nursing Officer at Burke Medical,
said all emergency room patients will be subject to a spe
cific check-list covering possible Ebola symptoms and the
patient’s recent travel and personal contacts.
“Our prayer is that no one in our community experi
ences this illness,” Burch said, “but we are prepared to pro
vide the best possible care for those who might need our
services.”
Continued, see Ebola, page 10
WANT TO BE ON TV?
Producers search
for Burke actors
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
The next body
that turns up at the
landfill could be
from Burke
County.
The producers of
the upcoming mur
der mystery series
Clairvoyance will
be in Waynesboro
Monday for a cast
ing call.
“We need all
ages, body shapes, colors and sizes,” Starr Maxx producer
Carl Millender said from his Atlanta studio. He anticipates
the weekly series will call for as many as 100 actors during
its premier season since each episode calls for an entirely
Continued, see Casting Call, page 10
CASTING CALL
Monday, Oct. 20, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
by appointment
Best Western Executive Inn, 1224
Liberty Street, Waynesboro
http://clairvoyancetvseri. wix. com/
casting for sign-up information
Audition fee: free with agent; $95
for others
Join us for the
SADDLE CREEK
330 US HWY- 25 NORTH,