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Vol. 142, No. 5 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, March 23, 2022 - $1.00
Staying ahead of fuel prices
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Prompted by the Russian inva
sion of Ukraine, a gallon of regular
unleaded gasoline increased by $.32
the first half of the month to $4.29
per gallon.
The Georgia General Assembly
approved a bill last week that, when
signed by the governor, suspended
the state tax through May 31. Cur
rently, the State’s gasoline tax is $.29
a gallon for gasoline, and approxi
mately $.33 for diesel. Congress is
considering legislation that suspends
the federal fuel tax as well.
Locally, Burke County planned
ahead for the fuel price increase.
“All the departments that we
provide fuel for, everyone is track
ing within budget or very close to
it,” said Financial Director Michael
Wiseman during this month’s com
missioners meeting. Fie told the
panel that as soon as he believed
Russia would invade Ukraine, the
county purchased as much fuel as
possible in order to get it before the
prices increased.
Still, the County’s 2022 revised
budget for gasoline and
diesel has increased to
$1,169,600. The 2022 ac
tual cost is $477,491.89. FUEL ’
Q
indicating that nearly
Signs for unleaded gasoline in Waynesboro March 20 showed
prices ranging between $4.15 and $4.19 per gallon.
Laverne and Lonnie Sello have operated an at-home business together
for 34 years.
Couple
tows the
line for
business
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Couples around the county man
age businesses together. Lonnie
and Laverne Sello have operated
an at-home business for 34 of their
38-year marriage.
Lonnie decided at the age of 40
to try something different. Fie had
always worked for someone else,
and wanted to try his hand at en
trepreneurship. Flis wife, Laverne
was supportive. Together they
opened Lonnie’s Towing.
Initially he handled the tow
jobs and automobile repairs; she
handled the phone calls and the
administrative tasks.
“I had to get used to being with
him all the time,” Laverne said of
the challenge. “We didn’t get a
whole lot of leisure time together.”
They had to sacrifice vacations
for the sake of the business. Lon
nie’s desire to visit the Grand
Canyon never materialized. The
couple has mostly written it off
since he feels he is now too old
to make the drive and she is not
inclined to fly.
“We had to do what we had to
do,” Laverne said. “We gave up
some of that time.”
Laverne pointed to transparency
as a positive aspect of managing a
business together.
“You know everything that goes
on,” she said. “You don’t have to
question anybody.”
Lonnie said he and his wife
were always on the same page as
far as how to treat their customers.
Over the years, the couple’s
three sons have taken over most
of the business duties. Laverne
retired as director of the Burke
County Board of Elections last
December. Still, she continues
to handle the nighttime dispatch
duties for the towing company.
Lonnie, 73, doesn’t repair vehicles
anymore, but still often responds
to tow calls during the day. The
couple spends more time pursu
ing leisure-type activities. Lonnie
rides his Spyder-type trike for fun
and from time-to-time Laverne,
68, still rides behind him. They
consider themselves to be semi-
retired. Full retirement plans are
not in place, but the desire to one
day stop working is there.
“I don’t know about him,” La
verne said laughing. “But, I will.”
Lemons mayoral victory stays
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Wallace Lemons won his Midville
mayoral bid in a close race against
opponent Pat Dye.
According to Elections Supervisor
Fran Watson, voters elected Lemons
74-63. He was sworn in Friday,
March 18.
The Burke County Board of Elec
tions and Registration issued the
following statement March 16,
regarding a citizen’s request to chal
lenge Lemons’ Burke County voter
registration.
“The Burke County Board of Elec
tions and Registration has decided
not to hear the challenge since the
intent is to challenge the qualifica
tions of a candidate to pursue or
hold office. This type of challenge
needs to be made with the munici
pality holding jurisdiction over the
qualifying for the office in question.
Furthermore, the Burke County
Board of Elections and Registration
has no authority to remove an elected
official.”
DABC hires new director
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Equipped with an expressive re
sume, the Development Authority’s
new director Jonathan Lupo is ready
to give Burke County a try.
Lupo served as director of Busi
ness Recruitment for the Douglas
County Development Authority
where his most notable business wins
include Stitch Fix, an e-logistics fa
cility that created 981 new jobs and
BANG Energy, a manufacturing/
distribution operation that created
600 jobs.
“The county had a 600,000-sq.
ft. building that had been vacant
for a good bit and the Development
Authority had been marketing it
for food processing and possible
pharmaceuticals and BANG En
ergy started looking at
it through a developer
and a site consultant and
ultimately decided that
SEE
DABC,
13
Municipal Court Judge Duff Ayers swore in Wallace Lemons March 18 in
a ceremony at the Midville City Hall that included Lemons wife Cynthia.
Ill
X
CO
City beefs up security
after YouTuber strikes
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
A YouTuber has Burke County
officials seeking legal advice and
training.
A March 14 email sent from
County Manager Merv Waldrop
asks several recipients at Association
County Commissioners of Georgia
(ACCG) how city and county work
ers might receive training on how to
deal with public information requests
made during recorded episodes that
are then posted on YouTube.
“Do you have any legal advice as
we expect more visits from these
folks?” Waldrop asked in the email.
“Are you aware of any training for
local government team members that
might be available?”
City Manager Valerie Kirkland
told the City Council Monday that
employees became concerned when
a First Amendment auditor’s video
focused on a drop box where resi
dents make payments and submit
identifying information.
The City has taken steps to provide
tinted plexiglas for employees work
ing behind the counter.
“That was a red flag for us,”
Kirkland said. “Working close to the
counter, they could be working with
sensitive information.”
In a phone interview Wednesday,
March 16 with The True Citizen,
the auditor identified himself as Ben
Newsome. Growing up in Richmond
County, he was traumatized by
an incident with a deputy sheriff,
which later inspired him to start
the YouTube chan
nel, Georgia Constitu- SEE
tion Media, and begin YOUTUBER,
his work as a “First 14
New Hours! 32nd annual Burke Count y FFA Plant Sale
The BCMS and BCHS FFA chapters are excited about the 32nd annual plant sale! Young Farmer teacher,
Allie Crockett, says she is excited about the addition of the two new ag teachers, Katie Burch (BCHS) and
Dylan Thomas (BCMS) to the programs and they have two full greenhouses to offer this year. “We have
faced struggles with pests and disease like never before but we are still able to offer a lot of really high qual
ity plants at great prices”. “Mrs. Burch and Mr. Thomas have been a huge help in getting our production
numbers up,” she added. There is a change in the plant sale hours. The sale will open Monday March 28th
to the public at 3:45 pm. Hours for Tuesday-Friday (or until plants sell out) is 8:00 am-5:30pm. Geraniums,
vinca, impatiens, sweet potato vine, ferns, miscellaneous hanging baskets are among some of the plants
offered this year. For pictures and to stay informed, visit the BCHS FFA Facebook page, Burke County
Young Farmer Facebook page, or email Allie Crockett at acrockett@burke.k12.ga.us to be added to the
Young Farmer email list to receive program updates and plant sale information.