Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 141, No. 31 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Established in 1882
Wednesday, September 22 ,2021 -$1.00
Community rallies around family struck by COVID tragedy
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
A home on Jones Avenue
housed a family of five, em
barking on a mother’s dream
to escape Miami life and give
her children a taste of rural
Georgia. Rudolfo Conche-
so and Ivis Santana moved
their 13-year- old son Lazaro
Menendez to Waynesboro
nearly two months ago and
enrolled him in Waynes
boro Middle School. Ivis’s
22-year-old daughter Kenia
Penalba and her 90-year-old
mother Paulina Santana relo
cated with them.
“The family came from
Homestead Florida near Mi
ami,” said Lynn White, Ex
ecutive Director of Wimberly
House Ministries. “Mom
wanted to move to a more
rural area. While researching
real estate she came across
property in Waynesboro and
fell in love with the area.”
Tragedy struck the fam
ily when both Rudolfo and
Ivis died of COVID-19 just
a week apart between Sep
tember 8-14. Ivis was not
vaccinated and Rudolfo had
recently received an initial
dose. Lazaro was not vacci
nated but suffered only a mild
case. Paulina and Kenia were
fully vaccinated.
“Honestly, I’m still com
pletely in a state of shock I
never expected to lose my par
ents this young and for them
to lose their lives so young,
they were both 49,” Kenia
told WRDW September 16.
Members of the community
began stepping up to assist
the family from the time the
parents fell ill with the deadly
vims. Wimberly House Min
istries, Inc. and St. Michael's
Episcopal Church had been
in contact with the Concheso
family since hearing of Rudy
and Ivis’s hospitalizations.
Several local churches, busi
nesses, Burke County Public
Schools system, and indi
viduals have been supportive
emotionally and monetarily as
well, White said.
Lazaro’s teacher Elise
Peeples set up
a GoFundMe SEE
page. As of TRAGEDY,
September 19, 8
This family, who recently relocated to Waynesboro, suffered
a terrible tragedy when the parents Rudolfo Concheso and
Ivis Santana died of COVID-19 six days apart.
Revitalizing
a gem in
nearby Blythe
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Lonnie Boardman bought the Bath Gardens property on
Bath Eddie Road in 1958 with a vision of replicating the
Austrian-village ambience he witnessed while visiting his
son in Europe.
“He created the gardens for himself but he wanted to share
it with people and so it was shared privately,” according to
his granddaughter, Catherine Fleming.
Boardman died in 1972 and the estate fell into disrepair. In
2018, the grandchildren obtained their share of the property.
Fleming opted to claim the 55-acre garden portion of the
estate but donate the land to the Bath Gardens Foundation
which would strive to restore it back to its 1968 state and
beyond.
“It was a complete jungle,” Fleming said of the initial
state of the property left to become overgrown for decades.
“It was a swampland down here because we have hundreds
and hundreds of springs on the property.”
Fleming holds a position on the board, but the idea is to
give it to the public if the foundation can raise enough money
to maintain it. Eventually Fleming wants the property to
include simple housing units that host guests overnight.
“I wanted the gardens because I wanted to restore it and
give it to the public,” Fleming said. “My hope is that when
we get it restored, it will be available for events, corporate
events, weddings, movie filming and children’s camps.”
The restoration process began with six months of plan
ning. After that, the initial task was replacing cracked and
dirt-filled clay pipes six feet under the ground. The job took
more than 18 months.
“The difficulty was that there were so many springs, that
my grandfather’s piping would dart off to the left or the
right, plus new springs have developed,” Fleming said. “It
took quite a while to capture all the water and bring it into
the big pond.
This cozy but reminiscent lodge is being refurbished with
the intention of renting it out for events. Research, includ
ing reading personal journals, is being done to find out the
history and authenticity of its contents.
The “big pond” holds 265,000 gallons of water and fills
up in about three days.
“So, there is a tremendous amount of water running
through this and to manage it is quite a job,” she said and
pointed out a total of six cement ponds on the property, three
of which contain fountains.
Boardman, known for his love of camellias, is featured
in a 1930 Life Magazine article. A statute of St. Francis of
Assisi commemorates Fleming’s grandfather’s love for the
13th century leader of the movement of evangelical pov
erty. Fleming hopes to add a life-size bronze statue of her
grandfather feeding ducks. The Bath Gardens is
plural for a reason. There will be multiple plots SEE
throughout, featuring a multitude of plants at- BLYTHE,
trading an array of beautiful butterflies. 14
Smith qualifies to
run for BOE seat
From Staff Reports
Darrell Smith, 53, of
Waynesboro qualified last
Monday to run in the special
election to fill the seat of
veteran BOE chairman
Johnny Jenkins. He is a
lifelong resident of Burke
County, a graduate of Burke
County High School and
is currently employed as
an operations supervisor at
EZGO Textron. His children
are graduates of Burke County
Public Schools (BCPS), and
his youngest daughter is
currently a seventh-grader at
Burke County Middle School.
While Smith is a newcomer
to the political arena, he’s no
stranger to having experience
in various leadership roles.
A member and deacon at
Forest Hill Baptist Church,
he has served 11 years on the
Board of Commissioners at
the Recreation Department
(WBCRD), 15 years on the
Board of Directors of Relay
For Life, 10 years as vice
president of B.R.I.D.G.E.
and 20 plus years as president
of Waynesboro Officials
Association.
Smith has also volunteered
for BCPS for more than
20 years as a booster,
Communities in Schools
mentor and Real Men Read
participate, among other
capacities.
He says one of his top
priorities as a board member
would be to continue the
Darrell Smith
efforts to get a countywide
broad service. “We need to
ensure every single student
in our school system has
access to the internet so they
can successfully accomplish
their studies and academics
at home,” Smith said. “This
is vital and very crucial today
with the negative effects the
COVID pandemic has had
on face-to-face instruction.
Whether we are prepared
or not, online learning and
technology-based education
is the wave of the future.”
Smith is also a supporter
of adult literacy and parent/
community involvement
and wants to see assistance
offered to parents who need
resources and education on
instructional technology.
“Workforce readiness is
also something I think is
very important
for the school
system,” Smith SMITH,
said, adding that 6
Coach worries annexation is a game changer
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Burke County commission
ers have unanimously object
ed to a proposed annexation
into the City of Waynesboro.
The city has provided no
tice to the county that it in
tends to annex two parcels
into the city limits, one of
which Coach Eric Parker
believes would cause traffic
problems on Brinson Road.
“Whenever a city is an
ticipating annexing a piece
of property, state law pro
vides that the city notifies
the county board and the
board has either 30 days to
object or state that they have
no objection to annexation,”
explained County Manager
Merv Waldrop during the
panel’s monthly meeting
September 14.
The annexation request was
made by Mark B. Yoder Jr.
and Polly D. Yoder. Follow
ing annexation, tract 2 of the
property will be split into two
parcels with proposed zoning
of R-3 Residential and R-l
Residential Districts. Another
parcel will be R-l Residen
tial. The principal land use
will be residential for the an
nexed properties, according
to an August 25 letter signed
by City Manager Valerie
Kirkland. Most of the site is
already inside the city limits.
BCHS Football Coach Eric
Parker objected to the an
nexation in-person and by a
September 3 letter submitted
to the board.
“The reason for this com
munication is to request that
our county commissioners ob
ject to the proposed annexa
tion of the .11 acres of land,
located on Brinson Road
the letter states. “We are talk
ing about a proposed, nearly
100 family unit project using
a small neighborhood road,
which is not equipped for this
purpose - as an entrance or
exit for the new development.
My wife and I find it quite
frightening.”
Parker said the new de
velopment will border his
property and brings concern
for the amount of increased
traffic.
“We are not talking about
20-25 homes,” he said. “We
are talking close to 100 fami
lies being in that subdivision
upon completion.”
Parker said the proposed
project brings concern for the
impact to the esthetics and
safety of the neighborhood.
“I really ask that you op
pose the annexation from the
county commissioners simply
for the fact of what it will do
to my home,” he said. “Right
now, if you go out there, there
are kids biking, walking their
dogs. There are families out
strolling in their golf carts.
That is going to change if you
annex that piece of property
right next to my property... I
don’t think it’s fair to uproot
the way of life for people in
that community.”
Parker said he also spoke
for others who currently live
in that community.
To ease worry, the devel
oper stated that the townhouse
traffic would be rerouted to
the East forcing it to exit onto
4th Street.
County Attorney Barry
Fleming advised the board
that they could object to the
annexation until written plans
were submitted to Waldrop.
“You hie an objection then
when the city and the devel
oper satisfy our concerns,
then you can always drop
your objection,” he said.
“This gets you to the point of
negotiations with the city.”
Protect yourself and your loved ones.
GET VACCINATED
AGAINST COVID-19
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