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Vol. 140, No. 37 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, November 4, 2020 - $1.00
Chalker and his grandson, Zane Williams, out making deliveries.
Chalker hits
50-year milestone as
True Citizen publisher
DIANA ROYAL • jdianaroyal@gmail.com
H e started out sweeping floors for a quarter an hour
when he was eight years old. At 24, he assumed
publisher responsibilities. Today, at 74, he still hand delivers
newspapers every Wednesday morning.
Aside from a stint as a summer lifeguard in the ’60s, Roy
F. Chalker Jr. never worked anywhere else but at The True
Citizen. In October, he tried to quietly celebrate half a
century as the newspaper’s publisher, and he might have if
not for his three proud daughters who recall growing up in a
newspaper family amongst some of their fondest childhood
memories.
“I used to love coming to the office after school with my
friend Brian Holland, whose dad, Albert Holland, was the
plant manager for Chalker Publishing,” recalls Chalker’s
oldest daughter, AnneNeil Piccone. “We would climb to the
top of the barrels of paper and do our homework. It was the
highlight of my week.”
At 12, she, too, began working for her grandfather, Roy
Sr., stuffing inserts into the paper each week. “I loved being
down in the office seeing all the people coming in ordering
their wedding invitations, business cards, etc.”
Jennifer also put in her own hours at the office, typing
up old obituaries into a database, while Megan remembers
running around both offices “talking to the staff and loving
every minute.”
“Most of all, I was always so proud of my newspaper
family,” AnneNeil adds, “and of my father, who had so
much pride in his legacy and his community, and who had
worked since he was in his early 20s to make this business
the success that it was.”
R obert Williams, retired publisher of The Blackshear
Times and long time friend of the Chalker family,
remembers with a hearty chuckle how he’d met a college-
aged Roy when he himself was still in high school.
“His dad is actually one of the men who got me into the
business,” Williams says, adding that as the years have
passed, Roy reminds him more and more of Roy Sr. “He has
Roy Chalker and his
brother, Phil, took charge of The
True Citizen publication in October 1970.
always been very active in politics, always knew everybody in
Georgia and had lots of connections. He followed his daddy’s
lead as a civic leader and newspaper man. It’s hard enough
being an editor and doubly as hard when you’re a politician,
too, but Roy is a very unselfish man who has worked hard to
put his community first.”
Roy not only became the youngest man to serve as mayor
for the City of Waynesboro, but he served on boards across
the state and locally, including the Georgia Press Association,
State YMCA of Georgia, the Augusta Area Adult Literacy
Advisory Board, Ogeechee Mental Health Advisory Council,
American Cancer Society, Waynesboro Rotary Club, Burke
County Chamber of Commerce, Burke Communities in
Schools, Burke County Hospital Authority and the Burke
County Economic and Industrial Development Committee
(just to name a few).
“He’s had to make lots of difficult decisions,” Williams
says, “and he’s done so with wisdom and an investment
of his time. He has been a giver all his life. So many small
newspapers have sold out to big corporations now, and they
no longer have links to the community. But Roy, he’s an
elder statesman of his community now. He’s had successes
and failures, and he learned from them; people appreciate
that. The True Citizen has always been on the cutting edge
of technology, and that’s because he has been innovative and
willing to take chances. That sets him apart. It’s been a relief
for me to be able to pick up the phone to call him and say,
‘Here’s what I’m dealing with. What should I do?’ That’s a
real friend ... Roy is an example to other editors on how to
do things right.”
J esse Palmer III, president of First National
Bank of Waynesboro, also began his
career around the same time as Roy.
SEE
CHALKER,
2A
The battle is on
Guns & Hoses Blood Drive underway
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
This week the blood battle
is on, but the good news is
everyone wins.
Though the team with the
most blood donors does get
bragging rights and a shiny
trophy, in the end, the Guns
& Hoses Blood Drive is all
about saving lives.
Now in its fifth
year, the annual event,
which is cosponsored by
Queensborough National
Bank and Shepeard
Community Blood Center,
has impacted more than 700
people. Just last year, a total
of 109 people attempted to
donate, and 255 individuals
received life saving blood as
a result.
The way it works is quite
simple: those interested in
donating are asked to show
up during the drive, and
upon registration, they select
which team of local heroes
they want their donation to
support — the Guns (Burke
County Sheriff’s Office and
the Waynesboro and Sardis
police departments) or the
Hoses (Burke County EMA
and the Waynesboro Fire
Department). Whichever
team has the most donors is
declared the battle’s winner.
The Guns
have pulled SEE
off the win GUNS & HOSES
since the 7^
Abrams, Martin,
Smith re-elected
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
With 16 precincts reporting
and approximately 1,000
absentee ballots left to count,
there are few clear winners in
the general election.
Locally, County
Commission District 1
and District 3 incumbents,
Lucious Abrams and Evans
Martin, respectively, look to
have large enough margins
to declare victory. Abrams
garnered 1,139 votes (57.26
percent) to challenger Rodney
Braswell, who had 42.74
percent with 850 votes, and
Martin had 64.90 percent
(1,368 votes) to George
Wimberly’s 740 votes (35.10
percent).
A total of 359 early voters
chose Braswell while 329
went with Abrams, and of
the absentee ballots counted
so far, 62 were for Braswell
while that number quadrupled
for Abrams, who had 332.
Martin and Wimberly had
similar absentee numbers,
134 to 176, respectively, but
690 early voters came out
for Martin while Wimberly
had 326.
Incumbent Clerk of
Superior Court Radeta Smith
also had a large margin over
her competitor Karen Ellison,
claiming 54.60 percent (5,384)
of the votes to Ellison’s
45.40 percent (4,477). Early
voters picked Ellison 2,399
to Smith’s 2,219, but as
seemed to be the trend for
most Democrats, the absentee
numbers nearly quadrupled
with Smith earning 1,514 to
Ellison’s 365.
The race for probate judge
was close, with incumbent
Republican Rex Myers
earning 50.48 percent (4,980
votes) over Democrat Ashley
Moore Jr.’s 49.52 percent
(4,885). Moore had 1,433
absentee votes
compared to
Myers’ 456. In
early voting,
Myers had
SEE
ELECTION,
3A
Valerie Kirkland
Valerie Kirkland is
new City Manager
ROY F. CHALKER JR.
rchalker@bellsouth.net
Waynesboro has a new
City Manager. Interim
manager Valerie Kirkland
was unanimously approved
for the permanent position
at Monday night’s council
meeting.
The Girard native is an
Honor graduate of Burke
County high School and has
Bachelor of Science Degree in
Administrative Services from
Valdosta State University.
A Certified Finance Officer,
she is also taking classes at
the Center for State and Local
Finance at Georgia State
University.
The long-time city employee
is married to Sean Kirkland.
They have two daughters and
three grandchildren.
Kirkland said this week
that, “It is with the highest
appreciation that I thank those
who believed in me and gave
me the opportunity to lead
the City of Waynesboro.” She
added that it is her objective
to, “continue the advancement
of our organization through
strong leadership and
discipline of our personnel
while building their character
to better serve the city. I wifi
continue managing the city
with the utmost integrity,
humility and transparency.”
COVID CORNER
This week, the Georgia Department of Public Health
showed a total of 374,589 confirmed COVID-19 cases for
the entire state as of Tuesday afternoon, including 8,029
deaths and 31,893 hospitalizations. On Tuesday, 1,738 newly
confirmed cases were reported as well as 30 deaths.
Locally, according to the B. Lamar Murray Public Health
Center, Burke County has reached a total of 904 confirmed
positives, up 18 from last Tuesday. No new loc al deaths have
been reported; that number remains at 10. The numbers of
total hospitalizations is at 92 for the county.
-554-2114 www.mizellford.com Waynesboro, Ga.
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