Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 140, No. 44 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Established in 1882
Wednesday, December 23, 2020 - $1.00
across
Jim Reeves, pictured above, of
American Legion Post 120, greets
families of late veterans who were
honored in a special ceremony on
Saturday. The legion, which was
selected to take part in the national
Wreaths Across America (WAA)
Day, laid wreaths on the graves of
veterans at Burke Memorial Gar
dens and Magnolia Cemetery in
Waynesboro. WAA Day pays tribute
in veterans’ cemeteries across the
nation every year.
WREATHS
across
AMERICA
The Christmas Story
BES fourth-graders share
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
It all happened on the play
ground.
Nine-year-old Lucy Lane
wanted to share the true
meaning of Christmas, but
rather than telling a few
friends about Jesus, Lucy’s
enthusiasm morphed into a
special project that’s touched
the hearts of many.
“At first, I thought I would
just bring my Bible to school
and read with my friends at
recess,” Lucy says, describing
how the idea to create a play
came to be. “I just wanted my
classmates and schoolmates
to remember the true meaning
of Christmas in a fun way.”
“My first thoughts were
that this was a great idea, and
I thought it would do a lot of
good,” said Lucy’s classmate
Audrey Kyzer.
With their minds made up,
the group of friends got busy
with the logistics.
First, they brought the idea
to their Discovery teacher,
Marie Murray.
“Lucy and a group of her
friends approached me at re
cess one day in early Novem
ber with an idea for presenting
a Christmas play at school,”
Murray recalls. “They had
begun brainstorming details
at lunch and recess, and I
could tell they had put seri
ous thought and effort into
every aspect, from props
and costumes to scenery and
rehearsals. The whole time I
was listening to them I was
thinking, ‘Things are so dif
ferent this year; I don’t know
how we can make this hap
pen.’ But I also thought, ‘This
is what teaching is all about
— seeing children take what
they’re learning and run with
it, to put something
good and encourag- SEE
ing in their world.’” PLAY
With Murray’s ^
support, the fourth -
Fourth-graders at Blakeney Elementary School wrote and starred in their own play to show the true meaning of Christmas.
Missing man’s
body is found
ROY F. CHALKER JR.
rchalker@bellsouth.net
A Waynesboro man who
had been missing since last
Wednesday was found dead
on Monday.
Mike Jones, age 60 of 418
West 8th Street in Waynes
boro, was last seen near his
residence at approximately
8 p.m. on Dec. 16. Family
members had told law en
forcement officials that Jones
may have been suffering
from dementia or some other
related condition.
According to Deputy Coro
ner April Evans, Jones was
found in an abandoned house
located at 436 W. 8th Street,
just a few doors from his
residence.
Evans said the body was
found at about 4:30 p.m.
The cause of death is pend-
Mike Jones
ing the results of an autopsy,
which could take several
weeks because of toxicology
tests, Evans said.
Attempts to obtain infor
mation from the Waynesboro
Police Department were un
successful.
City approves $9,8
million budget
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
The City of Waynesboro
has adopted a $9,848,500
budget for fiscal year 2021.
On Monday evening, coun
cil held its second reading of
the budget ordinance, which
was approved 4-0, with coun
cil members Willie “LeRoy”
Williams and Alberta Ander
son absent.
The budget, which is $ 1,200
above what was allotted for
2020, includes a 3 percent
COLA (Cost of Living Ad-
justment)/merit increase for
all city employees as well as
additional salary increases
for fire department personnel.
In her budget proposal,
Waynesboro City Manager
Valerie Kirkland highlighted
several areas, pointing out
that premiums for medical
insurance will see a decrease
from 14 to 6 percent, the capi
tal equipment purchase is set
at $85,000 and restructuring
of a number of departments
includes the hiring of an ac
counting technician, adminis
trative assistant and a heavy
equipment operator.
While the budget does not
include rate increases for
natural gas or solid waste,
there is a 4 percent increase
in water and sewer.
The proposed property tax
millage rate remained at 11
mills.
The budget proposal is
posted on the city’s website,
waynesboroga .com.
Kirkland said the new bud
get will go into effect in
January.
The first reading of the bud
get ordinance passed on Dec.
7, with Dick Byne, Bill Tinley
and James “Chick” Jones
voting to approve. Anderson
voted against it while Vickie
Bates abstained.
name of Christ mm
This week’s True Citizen includes our 42nd annual Magic
of Christmas edition. We appre
ciate the support of the Burke
County businesses that make
this special publication possible
and the families who took the
time to include photos of their
children and grandchildren in
the issue.
This is a special time of
year when communities
come together in unique
ways to celebrate long-held
traditions. We’re glad our
Magic of Christmas has
become one of those tradi
tions.
We wish all of our readers a
Merry Christmas and the happiest of holidays.
'Out 42 tt{
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