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Vol. 141, No. 2 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, March 3, 2021 - $1.00
Residents protest projects in north Burke County
BEN ROBERTS
benroberts@bellsouth.net
The Burke County Planning
Commission got an earful
from residents of the Big
Bend area at their regular
meeting last week over two
possible projects on the north
end of the county.
The first was a request for
a variance for a proposed
50-space recreational vehicle
(RV) park on a 581-acre tract
near the intersection of Winter
and Story Mill Road, north of
Waynesboro.
The tract was purchased by
George I. Wike Jr. this past
December for $1.6 million.
Wike also owns and operates
two other RV parks on the
eastern side of the county.
According to Burke County
Building Official Scott Lee,
the variance was a request
to approve a right of way
width of 40 feet for a road
thru the park. Lee said the
current code calls for a width
of 60 feet when ditches and
swells are necessary for water
retention but that width can be
reduced based on conditions.
Planning commission
chairman Leon Bynes told the
crowd of roughly 50 people
that they would hear comments
on the “variance discussion
only” but speakers made it
clear they were opposed to
the park’s construction and
development.
Several speakers did not
understand the planning
commission’s role in the
process or the fact that the
commission could not stop
the RV park from moving
forward.
In a phone interview
Monday, Lee explained that
the county’s zoning ordinance,
passed in 2018, allows RV
parks on any agriculturally
zoned property, with the
amount of spaces determined
by acreage size and water and
sewer requirements.
“Before zoning, there was
nothing to prevent an RV
park in a residential area,”
Lee said. “This was done
to protect residential areas
by moving RV parks out of
smaller areas to larger tracts.”
Lee said that since zoning
was passed, the planning
commission has been
SEE
petitioned to rezone
residential parcels BCPC,
to agricultural to 11
Last week marked the one-year anniversary of the death of Ahmaud Aubrey, who was killed while out jogging in his
neighborhood. Family, friends and community and church leaders gathered for a candlelight vigil to honor and remember
a life that was cut short at just 25 years. The vigil was held at New Springfield Baptist Church, where Arbery is buried,
and various speakers took turns addressing the crowd as they remembered their loved one. Georgia State Rep. Gloria
Frazier presented his family, including his mother, Waynesboro native Wanda Cooper-Jones, with a copy of a resolution
passed by the Georgia General Assembly honoring his life.
Baxley retires,
Parrish new chief
DIANA ROYAL • jdianaroyal@gmail.com
After a career that’s spanned nearly 48
years, Waynesboro Fire Department Chief
Ronnie Baxley has decided to retire.
“I woke up this morning at 5 a.m. like I do
every day, but I didn’t have anything to do,”
Baxley said with a laugh Tuesday afternoon,
his first official day of retirement. He hinted at
a new endeavor he’s already working on but
said the community will have to wait to see
what his next plans are.
Baxley began volunteering at the WFD on
Nov. 4, 1973, and worked his way through
the ranks over the next several decades until
he became chief — a position he held for 27
years.
“I started at a young age and it ®EE
stuck,” he said. “I guess it’s true CHIEF,
what they say. It really does get in 11
Ronnie Baxley
Robert Parrish
COVID CORNER
According to the Georgia Department of Public Health,
Burke County has had a total of 2,394 COVID cases since
the beginning of the pandemic. This number includes 1675
confirmed cases and 719 instances in which antigens were
found which indicated an earlier infection.
The agency also reported Tuesday that there had been
a total of 52 confirmed and probable deaths here from the
vims, including one in the last week.
The county has had 50 new cases in the last two weeks
and has had a total of 143 hospitalizations.
The DPH reports that there have been a total of 1,011,807
cases of COVID 19 in Georgia, resulting in 17,480 deaths.
This total includes 2,271 probable COVID deaths and 15,209
confirmed deaths.
Lost after wreck, dog found after three weeks
BEN PALMER
Little Bella finally made
it home safely Monday,
thanks to the efforts of
caring community members,
family, Burke County Sheriff
deputies and Facebook - and
a fair amount of luck.
The critter had been on the
lam since Jan. 29 when the car
in which she was riding was
involved in a single-vehicle
rollover wreck on Highway
25 about 3 a.m. after hitting
a deer.
Bella escaped out of the
car’s back window while
emergency personnel worked
to free the injured passengers.
June Jones, whose family
home is along the west side
of the busy four-lane highway
about five miles north of
Waynesboro, said she last
saw Bella running across the
hayfield next door.
Over the next three weeks,
friends and neighbors looked
for Bella on their properties,
to no avail.
Amazingly, later Bella
was seen wandering around
the Northlake Community,
which means she somehow
negotiated the four lanes
of the highway to reach
Northlake on the east side.
Northlake resident Lee
Lewis said Bella was seen in
Northlake for maybe three
weeks. Residents tried to
catch her but she avoided
capture until Lewis was able
to get her.
The Lewis’ took care of
Bella. Then last weekend,
Catherine Lewis posted
pictures of Bella on her
Facebook page. Mrs. Jones
saw the pictures on Facebook.
She said, “I know that dog.”
A call to the Lewis’ and
to the sheriff’s office, and
Bella was on her way to
Waynesboro, where she was
met by Demarshal Scott,
nephew of the dog’s owner,
AhDelzia Gaines of Augusta.
Ms. Gaines was happy to
see her dog on her nephew’s
phone.
That’s my Bella,” she cried
with joy.
Demarshal Scott uses his cell phone to show his aunt,
AhDelzih Gaines, of Augusta her dog, Bella. Holding Bella
is Lee Lewis. June Jones stands nearby.
TRUCK
MONTH
143 YEARS)
Requires FMCC Financing In Lieu Of Rebates
STK#15963
FORD F-SERIES
330 US HWY. 25 NORTH, WAYNESBORO ■ 706-554-2114 - www.mizellford.com