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Vol. 141, No. 49 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, January 26, 2022 - $1.00
Court denies Sheriff’s petition: County retains control
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
In an order filed in the Superior
Court Tuesday, Judge Jesse Stone
denied Sheriff Alfonzo Williams’
mandamus petition against the Burke
County Board of Commissioners
asking that the BOC turn over pay
roll administration and funding to
his department.
Stone pointed to the lack of a clear
legal duty for the Board to turnover
payroll administration, the reason
able exercise of the BOC’s discretion
in its roles as fiscal agent for the
County and the availability of more
suitable remedies in his decision.
In a counterclaim, the county
sought an order directing the Sheriff
to comply with their purchase proce
dures. Stone ruled that issuing a writ
requiring the Sheriff to follow county
purchasing procedures would go be
yond the scope of a mandamus since
it would require the court to monitor
compliance on an ongoing basis.
“No evidence was presented that
the Board’s budget for the Sheriff
is inadequate to enable him to carry
out his responsibilities,” the order
states. “Likewise, the Sheriff does
not claim that the Board has refused
any outstanding funding request.”
Besides the cost advantage of con
solidating county payroll administra
tion, Stone ruled that it is essential
that the Board fulfill its role as fiscal
agent to account for the use of funds
and county property. Therefore, it
would be within the BOC’s sound
discretion to continue administering
the payroll for county employees.
The Board is not required to turnover
on demand the lump sums budgeted
to each constitutional officer. Similar
considerations apply to the Board’s
demand that the Sheriff follow
county purchasing procedures. If the
procedures were limited to facilitat
ing accounting and ensuring compli
ance with State and Federal Laws,
there would be no objection, Stone
stated. County policies beyond state
and federal mandates are embedded
in the procedures so the risk of intru
sion into the Sheriff’s independence
increases. That would exceed the
Board’s authority, he wrote.
Prescribed burning like this, contributes to a quality quail habitat.
Maintaining
the Bird Dog
Capital status
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Retaining the status of Bird Dog Capital requires
a host of habitat management techniques.
Ryan Meckel has been managing the habitat at
Di-Lane Plantation, the site of the Georgia Field
Trial Association’s annual competition for many
years. He is a wildlife technician with the Game
Management Section of the Georgia Wildlife Re
sources Division (WRD). The WRD is a division
of the Department of Natural Resources.
“Di-Lane Plantation Wildlife Management Area
(WMA) provides ideal hunting opportunities for
small game including quail, rabbits, squirrels and
doves,” Meckel wrote in an email. “We offer dove
and quail hunting opportunities exclusive to youth
to provide a conservation-based learning experi
ence for new hunters that places emphasis on the
future development of safe and ethical hunting
skills. In addition, the area is popular for deer and
turkey hunting. “
The history behind Di-Lane Planation is as di
verse as the species that inhabit it.
It was created by Henry Berol of New York in
the 1950s, by consolidating plantations and farms
in the southwestern part of Burke County. Berol, an
avid quail hunter and held trail enthusiast, managed
the plantation for those purposes. Following his
death in 1976, the land was sold and managed for
agriculture and timber production. Later, the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers acquired the land to use
as a wetland mitigation site for Lake Richard B.
Russell located in Elbert County. The Corps then
established a long-term agreement with WRD to
manage it as a wildlife management area.
Di-Lane consists of 8,100 acres, of which ap
proximately 5,100 are managed intensively for
wildlife. The other 3,000 acres are low-lying
(left to right) Ryan Merkel and Kyle Kervin head back to
the shop after a day of prescribed burning.
wetland areas.
Since 1992, the Game Management Section worked
to improve the wildlife habitat through aggressive
timber thinning that promotes weeds and grasses that
do not exceed shoulder height. Seasonal disking and
herbicide treatment includes running a plough through
the fields and then allowing the weeds to grow back the
following year. The crew also implements prescribed
burning, wildlife plantings and fallow held management
to maintain a quality quail habitat.
Di-Lane Plantation’s popularity in the Field Trial
World helps make Waynesboro the Bird Dog Capital
of the world, Meckel said. It is a sought-after location
to run trials.
“Quail and quail management is our focus,” Meckel
said. “Our goal out here is to provide the best habitat
for the quail possible.”
Meckel is quick to point out that it is too big of a
job to handle by himself and credits his crew of three
others, the Georgia Field Trail Association, biologists
and the University of Georgia with its
success. UGA conducts graduate-level SEE
research that assists Meckel in forming DI-LANE,
their management plan. 15
“We are always trying to improve our
Threat to public schools
received on Tuesday
The Burke County Sheriff’s Of
fice is offering a $2500 reward for
information leading to the arrest of
the person(s) responsible for an e-
mail threat sent to the Burke County
Public Schools Tuesday.
The threat was sent to the BCPS
Public Information Office and read
as follows:
“At 10:30 am a car will drive into
as many students as possible as they
try to leave.
If you try and evacuate them the
driver will get out and shoot any
student leaving. You have a choice
here, you can ignore this email and
risk the lives of the students you say
you care for, or you can listen to what
we are telling you. The only way out
is to go out with a BANG.”
The email was sent on Tuesday,
January 25 at 12:18 a.m. and was
read by the Public Information Of
ficer at 8:15 a.m. The threat does not
indicate a specific school.
Additional law enforcement per
sonnel were placed on and around
school campuses throughout the
county. The Sheriff’s Office added
that, “the BCSO is working with
BPS to ensure a safe learning en
vironment for our students, staff,
faculty and community. We are
actively working the case and inves
tigating the IP address to determine
its origin. We ask that all personnel
remain vigilant and to report any
suspicious activity or pertinent in
formation to school personnel or law
enforcement.”
300 COVID cases here
in the last two weeks
The Georgia Department of Public
Health reports an all-time high of
300 new COVID cases throughout
the county for the 2-week period
prior to January 25. The Omicron
variant, which is prevalent across
the country, appears to have milder
symptoms than earlier variants, al
though hospitalizations and serious
cases are still being reported.
The county’s vaccination rate
finally hit the 50% mark of fully
vaccinated residents and 55% having
received at least one dose. The per
centage of fully vaccinated residents
receiving a booster rose slightly
from 34% to 37%.
Following the recommendation
of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), the Georgia
Department of Public Health (DPH)
and health districts throughout
Georgia are offering Pfizer pediatric
COVID vaccine to children 5-11
years old.
• The Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine
is over 90% effective at prevent
ing COVID-19 in children ages 5
through 11 years.
• After getting a COVID-19 vac
cine, children may have some side
effects similar to those seen in adults
and with other vaccines. The most
common side effect was a sore arm.
• Vaccinating children will help
protect them from getting COV
ID-19 and reduce their risk of severe
disease, hospitalization, or long-term
COVID-19 complications.
CDC recommends a booster dose
of COVID-19 vaccine for all persons
aged 18 or older, at least 5 months
after completion of a mRNA vac
cine (Phzer-BioNTech or Moderna)
primary series, or at least 2 months
after receipt of the single primary
dose Janssen vaccine. Eligible indi
viduals may choose which vaccine
they receive as a booster dose. Some
people may have a preference for
the vaccine type that they originally
received and others may prefer to
get a different booster. CDC’s rec
ommendations now allow for this
type of mix and match dosing for
booster shots.