Newspaper Page Text
BCPS BUS ROUTES
"Look for Back to School Calendar
inside The True Citizen" 513
CITIZENS REACH OUT
"Thank you to our men and women
in blue" 14A
o
CM,
O
CM
CM
CO
Vol. 136, No. 23 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, July 27, 2016 - $1.00
BRIDGING THE GAP
Police Chief speaks on police
interactions with local citizens
By: Michaela Carter
mcarter.truecitizen@gmail.com
Anthony Hill. Freddie Gray,
Sandra Bland. Michael Brown
Jr., Trayvon Martin. Eric Gar
ner, Alton Sterling, Tamir Rice,
Philando Castile, Tanisha An
derson, and the list goes on...
Communities all over the
country are hurting because of
shootings both by and of law
enforcement officers. Videos
of officers shooting black men
have incited the anger that has
resulted in several police kill
ings around the U.S. and caused
an increased distrust of law en
forcement as a whole. This week
Waynesboro’s Chief of Police,
Augustus Palmer, weighed in
on this topic by explaining the
issues from the perspective of a
police officer.
“We have to make decisions in
a split second that judges, juries,
and other peer-reviewed person
nel have days, hours, weeks,
and months to determine if you
did the right or wrong thing.”
Chief Palmer recognizes the
seriousness of police brutality;
however, he also wants others to
understand that police officers,
by large, are good people who
are faced with tough decisions.
He would like for these officers
to receive more recognition for
their hard work since the media
focuses its stories on police of
ficers who commit acts of hate.
He said he understands these
stories should be covered, "but
there are many officers who put
their lives on the line everyday
because of their love for people
and their desire to do the right
thing." Over his thirty years of
law enforcement, Chief Palmer
has noted that there are differ
ent categories of police officers.
There are those that truly want
to serve and protect while oth
ers choose this career for other
reasons. Then, there are those he
likes to call the “bullies and the
bullied.” He feels these are the
most dangerous officers because
they are not in the profession for
the right reasons. Despite there
being a number of officers that
are considered to be “bad cops,”
the chief recognizes that there
is hope for his profession. “The
saving grace out of all of this
is that there are those of us that
still stand with our heads held
high; waving the banner of truth,
fair play, and justice.”
He also addressed what his
department is doing to avoid
cases of police brutality. Chief
Palmer is an advocate for ac
countability and makes sure that
his staff is thoroughly trained
before going out to police the
streets. Training involves sub
jects of interpersonal commu
nication, use of force, sexual
harassment, etc. He believes
that “the law is for everyone,”
including himself, and that no
—Continued, see
Bridging the gap, page 2A
First National buys Capital City building
By Roy F. Chalker, Jr.
rchalker@bellsouth.net
First National Bank of
Waynesboro has purchased the
building currently occupied by
Capital City Bank. Capital City
announced earlier this year their
local branch would be closing
in August.
First National Bank President
Jesse Palmer III said this week
that plans for the use of the
building are still being explored.
"First National is growing and
we've run out of space in our
main office. We may consider
moving some of our internal
operations across the street."
He said First National would
convert the walk-up ATM in the
front of the building for the use
of its downtown customers.
The purchase also included all
the parking area behind the bank
building as well as a portion of
the parking lot across Shadrack
Street behind the offices of The
True Citizen.
"We have no plans to elimi
nate any parking in the area,
but we may make improvements
to the area at some point in the
future," Palmer said.
The building was built by the
bank of Waynesboro in 1967
following a devastating fire in
December, 1965 which con
sumed a number of buildings
on Fiberty Street. It was subse
quently purchased by Georgia
Railroad Bank and Trust Co. of
Augusta and was occupied by
a branch of First Union Bank
before being acquired by Talla
hassee based Capital City Bank.
Regions Bankset to close in Waynesboro
By: Michaela Carter
Mcarter.truecitizen@gmail.com
And then there were three. At
the beginning of the year there
were five banks with branches
in Burke County. Soon two of
them will be gone. With the
Capital City Bank branch here
set to close next month, we
learned this week that the com
munity will lose another finan
cial institution later this year.
The Waynesboro branch of
Regions Bank, located at 204
West Sixth Street, will officially
close on October 28, 2016. In a
letter to customers, the bank's
area president. Bill Linginfel-
ter, said the local office will be
combined with the Hephzibah
branch which is located at 2509
Highway 88.
He added that, "we are con
tinually evaluating our banking
network to be sure we invest our
resources where customers use
them the most."
Jk Regions
It's time to expect more.
The building currently occu- It has been occupied by sev-
pied by Regions was originally eral banks and savings and loan
built in the 1970s as a branch of institutions through the years.
First National Bank of Waynes
boro.
Georgia Power will
close local office
i' <m.
i
PHOTO/ROY F. CHALKER, JR.
By Roy F. Chalker, Jr.
rchalker@bellsouth.net
Georgia Power Company is closing its Waynesboro busi
ness office along with over 75 more across the state.
By mid-October, according to company spokesman John
Kraft, the company will operate only the 27 busiest offices
across the state, with the majority of those handling more
than 100,000 customer transactions per year. "Customers
will have several options for paying their bills, including
in person at local businesses," Kraft said. "Over the past
decade, payment transactions have shifted from traditional
business offices and by mail to electronic payments (online,
mobile and auto-draft), which currently account for more
than 50 percent of all payments."
Kraft also said the company is expanding its network of
Authorized Payment Locations (APLs) from more than
2,700 currently to 5,300 locations in grocery and retail
stores by the end of the year. Locations in Waynesboro are
Walmart, KJ's IGA, Bi-Lo and Walgreens. Customers us
ing an APL will have to pay a surcharge of $1.50 for each
transaction..
"Of our 8,000 dedicated employees statewide, these orga
nizational changes will impact approximately 270 of them
by the end of the year," Kraft said. "We're working closely
with all of those employees and, in the majority of cases,
they will have the opportunity to apply for other positions
within the company. Those employees who do not have
a position within the company following the process will
receive a severance package."
Kraft added that the changes "will better allow us to meet
the changing needs of our customers and continue providing
them with great service at low rates."
PRAYER VIGIL SET FOR MISSING MAN
Simon Powell, age 63, has been missing for almost two
months. He was last seen around 7:00 p.m. Wednesday June 1.
Powell's family is planning a prayer vigil for the missing
man at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, July
30 at Mt. Zion CME Church.
"We are inviting the commu
nity, clergy, elected officials and
anyone to help uplift the name
of Jesus," son Larry Powell said
this week.
According to the Burke
County Sheriff's Department
Investigator Sgt. Dedric Smith, a
burned vehicle found on Wilson
Road around 6 a.m. Thursday,
June 2 is believed to be Powell's
truck. "It is believed the vehicle
was driven to the isolated area
for the purpose of disposing of the vehicle. Anyone with infor
mation regarding the whereabouts of Simon Powell is asked to
contact the Burke County Sheriff’s Office at (706) 554-2133."
A HLGE SELECTS JF CAPS T^LC K3 A® 5UVS'
FORD
SMAPTRONUS