Newspaper Page Text
SCHOOL COUNSELOR
"Hall of Famer" «
O
CM,
O
CM
CM
CO
Vol. 136, No. 28 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, August 31,2016 - $1.00
PAULINE W. JENKINS
Waynesboro mourns
death of beloved mayor
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
Flags at City Hall will fly at half-mast this week while Waynesboro mourns
the death of its mayor.
Pauline W. Jenkins, the city’s first female and first black mayor, died last
Wednesday after a brief battle with cancer.
She was 64 years old.
She was diagnosed in early July, and though she knew her prognosis was
grim, Jenkins continued to keep up with city affairs from her bedside.
“I met with her on August 10 and she wanted updates on all our city busi
ness,” City Administrator Jerry Coalson said. “She was still keeping watch.”
As friends and family prepare for her funeral this Saturday, they remember
the late Jenkins as a leader set apart not only by compassion and drive, but by
her tenderness.
“Anyone who knew Pauline Jenkins knew how much she loved the City of
Waynesboro,” Coalson said. “It was obvious.”
The road leading to the city’s helm was a long and winding one for Jenkins.
After 12 years on the city council, Jenkins was heartbroken when she lost
her seat to a challenger in 2005. She soon decided to make a bid in the 2007
mayoral election ... but lost by 22 votes.
Undeterred, Jenkins traded her government duties for volunteer boards, got
back on the ballot four years later and campaigned hard.
In the late hours of Dec. 6,2011, she won the run-off election by seven votes
and would make double-history as the first woman and first African American
to take the city’s gavel.
Waynesboro citizens gave Jenkins an astounding affirmation in 2015 when
she ran for her second mayoral term. Though the ballot was split between three
candidates, Jenkins received nearly 72 percent of the votes.
Senator Jesse Stone was not surprised.
He forged a friendship with Jenkins back in 2003 when he was Waynesboro’s
newly elected mayor and she was his vice-mayor.
“She was a gracious lady. We worked closely together and she helped me
greatly as I learned the way the city worked,” Sen. Stone said. “I started a
Special Election will
decide next mayor
The late Mayor Pauline Jenkins
number of projects that didn’t get finished while I was mayor. When Pauline
became mayor, she put a lot of effort in continuing them. She had a vision for
the city ... I feel really blessed to have known her.”
While Jenkins held the city’s reins, she pushed hard for downtown revitaliza
tion and nurturing an environment where small businesses could grow. She was
also intent on reestablishing the city’s presence in the larger scope of economic
-Continued, see Waynesboro mourns page 2A
Strictly Personal
By Roy F. Chalker Jr.
rchalker@bellsouth.net
When I heard Waynesboro Mayor
Pauline Jenkins had died from the
cancer she fought so bravely the past
few weeks, I was saddened but not
shocked. I knew her condition was
grave and, barring a miracle, the
outcome was certain. I had spoken
to her by phone when she was hospi
talized and I had a chance to tell her
what a good mayor she was, what a
good friend she was and what a good
person she was. I'm so thankful for
having that opportunity.
When I think of "Mayor" Pauline,
the opening lines of a famous old
poem come to mind;
If
by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all
about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it
on you,
If you can trust yourself when all
men doubt you,
But make allowance for their
doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by
waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in
lies,
Or being hated, don 't give way to
hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor
talk too wise.
Those words fit Pauline very pre
cisely. All political leaders have their
trials and tribulations. But, as a for
mer mayor, I know they become much
more personal on the local level. She
handled the conflicts she faced with
grace and dignity, as well as good
humor when the situation allowed it.
As the first woman and the first
black mayor of Waynesboro, she
knew she would be held to a higher
standard.
She not only met that standard, she
raised the bar for anyone who follows
her. As the moderator of city council,
she exhibited both patience and un
derstanding well beyond the norm.
But, she knew the old adage; "No
matter how thin the pancake, there are
always two sides."
She always let both sides be heard,
but knew how to bring down the gavel
when it was time to take action.
As an ambassador for Waynesboro,
whether at sporting events, grand
openings or other special events, she
never failed to reflect the pride she felt
for her city and its citizens.
But it was her love for her family
and friends we will remember most
of all. As caregiver to sick and dying
relatives through the years, she exhib
ited the same compassion, patience
and grace we saw in her as a public
figure. Her smile was her trademark.
I won't be at her memorial service
this Saturday. I'm recovering at home
from recent extensive back surgery, so
I'll have to miss it.
But, I know that hymns will be sung
and prayers will be raised for Mayor
Pauline in thanks for the gift she was
to her city.
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
Waynesboro will have a new mayor,
but probably not until March.
According to city officials, a Special
Election will be held to fill the seat left
open by the Aug. 24 death of Mayor
Pauline W. Jenkins.
As of Tuesday, a date for qualifying
had not been set.
“That’s the million dollar question,”
City Administrator Jerry Coalson said,
noting early 2017 is likely.
Earlier this month, Waynesboro’s
Vice-Mayor Herman Brown assumed
the duties of acting mayor and will
continue to do so into 2017.
However, the actual process for
qualifying is likely to create a huge gap
in the functionality of city government,
mostly due to Waynesboro’s charter
which will not allow a city employee
or elected city official to qualify for
mayor.
That means any council member or
city employee who wants to be on the
ballot must first resign from his or her
current position.
“It is very likely that at least one
person will drop off to run,” Coalson
said of the six-member council with
Vice-Mayor Brown already pulled
from regular voting duties. "We could
run into some real problems if more
than one city council member resigns.”
If that does happen and qualifying is
held in January, city council is looking
at a two-month period where making a
quorum to vote on city business could
prove difficult.
The late Jenkins was less than nine
months into her second four-year term
so her successor will finish that term,
which runs through the end of 2019.
WHO CAN BE MAYOR?
To qualify for the mayoral ballot, a
candidate must be at least 18 years old
and a resident of the city for at least
12 months prior to the election date.
Among the mayor’s duties are residing
over city meetings, exercising general
supervision over administrative work,
acting as the city’s official spokes
person and voting in the case of a tie
vote between council members. The
mayor’s annual salary is $4,200.
MURDER ARREST
Boyfriend accused
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
An infant is dead, and his moth
er’s boyfriend is in jail.
William Roger Hillis II, 21,
of Waynesboro is charged with
murder following the death of his
live-in girlfriend’s six-month old
son on Monday.
Deputies got involved Saturday
afternoon after Hillis called 911
and told the dispatcher the child
was unresponsive.
“He was watching the child
while the mother was out,” GBI
Special Agent Pat Morgan said,
noting the joint-investigation with
the Burke County Sheriff’s Office
is still in its early stages.
Hillis put the child in his ve
hicle and met an ambulance and
a Richmond County deputy along
Old Waynesboro Road in route to
the hospital.
The infant was rushed to the
Children’s Hospital of Georgia
where investigators said evidence
began to point to Hillis.
“The baby had suffered blunt
in death of baby
William Roger Hillis II
force trauma to the brain,” Sgt.
Dan Lowe of the Burke County
Sheriff’s Office said. “The injury
was sustained while he was in
Hillis’ care.”
Hillis was jailed for cruelty to
children while the infant hung on
for two more days in the pediatric
intensive care unit.
On Monday, the baby died.
-Continued, see Murder
page 6A
APR FINANCING
/ *0N i HUGE
SELECTION OF CJ
IRS, TRUCKS AND 51
(VS*^
-—
10
uSttwt
, 25 NORTH
, WAYNE
SBORO -
706-9
154-2
114 - ww
w.mizell
Iford