Newspaper Page Text
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Wednesday, January 8, 2020 - $1.00
Established in 1882
Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
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Vol. 139, No. 47-
Big Changes Coming to Burke Medical Center Clinic
ROY F. CHALKER JR.
rchalker@bellsouth.net
Burke Medical Center announced
this week that it has formed a
partnership with Medical Associates
Plus to run daily operations of the
hospital’s clinic, located in the office
which formerly housed the OB-GYN
practice of Dr. Mark Gresham.
One of the major changes resulting
from the agreement is the termination
of weekend services by the clinic.
New office hours will be 8:30 a.m.
-5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday.
Hospital CFO Tiffany Varnadoe
said this week that all current
employees will remain with the clinic
and will continue to be employees
of Burke Medical Center. A grand
opening of the facility is planned for
early spring.
Medical Associates Plus is an
Augusta-based primary care provider
with multiple locations in the area,
including a clinic in Keysville. The
firm’s offices offer abroad spectrum
of primary care services, including
adult/family medicine, geriatric
medicine, diabetes management,
cancer screenings, flu shots, annual
physical exams, sports physicals,
childhood immunizations and HIV/
AIDS primary care, testing and
counseling.
Sherrell Gay, seated far right, carried photos of her organ donors on the Donate Life float in the Parade of Roses.
Rose parade celebrates life, power of hope
DIANA ROYAL • jdianaroyal@gmail.com
It stood 24 feet tall and was 55
feet long, 18 feet wide. Sherrell
Gay sat on the Donate Life float, a
rose among literal roses, holding a
picture of a young man she never
met. She was participating in a
once in a lifetime opportunity and
had to show the world one of the
faces who got her there. Amongst
thousands of flowers in a rainbow of
colors, cinnamon and sugar spices,
coconut flakes, brass oil lamps and
an intricately detailed floragraph,
she clasped tightly to the photo of
Ty Harrison Bray.
She was there because of him,
celebrating the start of a new year
at one of the most coveted parades
in the world. Because of him, she
is living, and that’s something she
remembers not just at the new year or
holidays or birthdays, but every day,
as well as the 16-year-old boy who
saved her life a second time.
As a dedicated volunteer for
LifeLink of Georgia over the last
17 years, Sherrell was selected by
the organization’s
leadership to be a SEE
rider in the 2020 ROSE PARADE,
Donate Life Rose 14
Water, sewer rates
to increase for
City of Waynesboro
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
City residents will soon see an
increase on their water and sewer
bills.
During Monday night’s meeting,
council members voted unanimously
to adopt a resolution increasing water
rates by 7 percent (31 cents per 1,000
gallons of metered water inside the
city limits and by 41 cents outside
the city limits), bringing the rates to
$4.75 and $6.19.
City manager Jerry Coalson
explained that for a household
using 1,800 gallons, this would be an
increase of less than $9 per month.
Coalson went on to say these rates
had not been increased since 2013
and that the city is still well below
the rates of other comparable cities,
so much so that if they went up 23
percent, the city would be charging
just around the average.
The flat monthly fee for water
meters, which has not increased in
more than 20 years, will also go
up this year, by just a few dollars
for smaller meters. For example, a
3/4-inch meter will see an increase
from $3.19 to $7; 1-inch, $4.78 to
$8; 2-inch, $19.14 to $25. The larger
the meter, the larger the increase will
be, but Coalson said 95 percent of the
city’s water meters are 3/4-inch in
size and that updating these fees will
help the city when it comes time to
start replacing meters. “We aren’t at
that point yet,” he said, “but we will
be in about five years.”
Sewer rates will increase from
$4.71 per 1,000 gallons (inside and
outside the city limits) to $5.40
and the month charge will be $7 as
opposed to $3.69.
Waynesboro’s utility deposit fee
will also increase for the first time
in more than two decades: for water
the increase is $15 to $30; gas, $50
to $100; and solid waste, $10 to
$20; for a total deposit fee of $150.
Coalson said Waynesboro is well
below what other cities charge,
including Louisville, whose rate is
$200; Millen, $225; and Statesboro,
$205.
No other utilities were affected by
these rate and fee increases.
Also during the meeting, council
adopted a resolution in which the
city can temporarily borrow 75
percent of its property taxes, which
are collected at the end of the fiscal
year, to cover expenses throughout
the year.
Council also voted to appoint
James “Chick” Jones as the vice
mayor.
Field trials underway
DIANA ROYAL
dianaroyal@gmail.com
And the tradition carries on.
The 2020 Georgia Field Trials
are well underway, having kicked
off competition on Jan. 2, and
continuing a Waynesboro pastime
for nearly 120 years.
The first of the four stakes, the
Georgia Derby Championship, began
early Thursday morning, giving
younger dogs the opportunity to
qualify for the national championship,
and wrapped up Sunday. Thirty-nine
dogs qualified for the stake, and
Touches Breakaway Fred, trained
by Ike Todd, was proclaimed the
winner. First runner-up was Millers
Heat Advisory, trained by Judd
Carlton.
The Georgia Quail Championship,
now in progress and open to all ages,
also saw 39 dogs qualify and is
expected to end at lunch time today
(Wednesday). These dogs qualify by
either winning another recognized
derby or an all-age championship.
Two other stakes will take place
following it: the Georgia Derby
Classic and the Georgia Open
Shooting Dog Championship, with
the trials expected to finish on Jan.
18.
The 22 dogs drawn for the derby
classic, which will begin Friday, Jan.
10, are younger dogs who have won
either an open or amateur stake.
The shooting dog championship,
usually the largest in the nation, will
begin on Sunday, Jan. 12. Sixty-nine
dogs will run in this competition.
For Ashley Roberts, executive
director of the Burke County
Chamber of Commerce, it’s a joy to
spend time with the many visitors
to the community during the field
trials. “It’s exciting to have so many
people here, carrying on a tradition
that earned us the name ‘The Bird
Dog Capitol of the World,”’ she said.
“Not only that, but to see what they
are able to do with the dogs is truly
amazing. Our visitors have become
friends, and their presence here is
always a boost to our community.”
Look for more results in the next
edition of The True Citizen.
Trainer Mike Tracy during the
2019 Georgia Field Trials
330 US HWY. 25 NORTH, WAYNESBORO - 706-554-2114 - www.mizellford.com