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Page 2— Wednesday, August 17, 2022, The True Citizen
Community invited to praise in the pines
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Praise in the Pines will offer
families an inexpensive eve
ning of fun and fellowship in
a picturesque setting.
While inflation, crime and
the pandemic have chipped
away at people’s morale, the
Padgett family decided it
was time to give back to the
community. Bobby and Lisa
Padgett are inviting everyone
out to the 610-acre estate lo
cated on Hwy 23 September
24 for an evening of contem
porary Christian music. Food
trucks will be on site. Musical
groups will perform on a stage
overlooking a lake while at
tendees relax in an open held
surrounded by a wooded area.
“We have just had a lot of
things happening in our com
munity and Bobby just felt
led to give back and do some
thing special,” Lisa said. “We
thought it would be great to
have a Christian concert where
people can come together and
enjoy worship and bring their
friends.”
Bobby believes the grounds,
first purchased more than thirty
years ago by his dad, Leslie
and his wife, Judy, have been
anointed and ordained. The
family, who started out strug
gling fi
nancially,
has found
much
success in
starting a
marketing company, wedding
venue and RV rental park on
the property.
“We try to give back in every
way that we can,” Bobby said
and mentioned a ministry event
that previously took place for
inner city kids. “If the world
needs anything right now, it
is love. We are commissioned
by God to do two things, love
God with everything we have
and to love each other. When
God put this on my heart, I said
okay, we are going to do this.”
The list of entertainers for
the Praise in the Pines event
promises an uplifting experi
ence. Labeled a powerhouse
voice intent on “making a
difference in people’s lives,”
JJ Weeks formed the JJ Weeks
Band in 2001. The band re
leased songs featured on the
official soundtracks for both
the high-profile films “God’s
Not Dead” and “Four Blood
Moons.” Weeks, originally
from Macon, continues on as
a solo artist.
Brothers-in-law Cody Clark
and Jerad Moffitt formed “Af
ter Grace” in their hometown
of Mountain Home, Arkansas
in 2013. The duo has per
formed with artists such as
TobyMac, Crowder, Building
429, Colton Dixon, 7eventh
Time Down, Sanctus Real, and
Cochren & Co., among others.
Joel Vaughn has consistently
had his songs appear and chart
on Billboard and Mediabase
during his career. Songs like
Wide Awake, As You Are,
Pray It Up, More Than Good
Enough, I Look To You, I
Would Be Lost, and Already
Done were all radio hits and
also gained millions of streams
on ser-
vices
like Spo-
tify and
Amazon
Music.
Sanctus Real recorded a
cover of U2's song, "Beautiful
Day" in 2004 and received a
GMA Dove Award nomination
for Modem Rock Song of the
Year. The band has also been
nominated for Grammy awards
in 2009 and 2010.
Originally Bobby’s idea,
Lisa prayed about it before she
jumped onboard, knowing that
“If the world needs anything
right now, it is love.”
- Bobby Padgett
it was a huge undertaking. The
family, including 82-year-old
Leslie, jumped in to prepare the
estate for an anticipated large
crowd. Without any advertis
ing , the family sold 200 tickets.
Oasis Church at Hephzibah
organized a volunteer work day
and the Burke County Sheriff’s
Office will provide assistance
with parking.
“We want to make an impact
on our community,” Lisa said.
“People need hope. I feel like
this is going to be an amazing
event.”
Praise in the Pines takes
place 5-9 p.m. September 24.
The gates open at 4 p.m. Tick
ets are $5 and can be purchased
at www.itickets.com. Tickets
are limited to about 1,500.
Attendees are encouraged to
bring blankets or chairs. All of
the proceeds will be donated
to charity.
Bobby, Lisa and Leslie Padgett are co- owners of the family business, Padgett’s Farm.
The 610-acre Burke County estate will host Praise in the Pines September 24.
BCSO Grant remainders
BEN ROBERTS
benroberts@bellsouth.net
Sheriff Alfonzo Williams
turned over $217,914.16 in
remaining grant funds to the
county last month and now it’s
up to the Burke County Com
mission to add those funds to
the Sheriff’s office budget.
The commissioners attempt
ed that process at their regular
meeting last Tuesday, Aug.
9, when they considered two
separate budget amendments
that would have allotted those
funds to the 2022 budget for the
Burke County Sheriff’s Office
(BCSO).
The first amendment was
to consider $5,204.96 that
remained from the $50,000
Housing Authority Grant.
Burke County Manager, Merv
Waldrop, recommended those
funds be added to the small
grants fund to be used for small
equipment purchases, per Sher
iff Williams’ request.
In an email on Monday,
Waldrop explained that, for the
county’s accounting purposes,
small equipment is defined as
items that cost less than $5,000.
Commissioners voted unani
mously to agree to the request.
The commission then con
sidered the $212,709.20 left
over from the $375,000 Vogtle
Safety Grant. Waldrop told the
commission he disagreed with
the BCSO request to use this
amount for small equipment
purchases. He said the sher
iff’s request was inconsistent
with the terms of the grant’s
agreement and instead recom
mended the commission ask
for clarification from Williams
for his intended use of the
funds. Commissioners took no
action on the proposed budget
amendment and will send it
back to the BCSO for further
consideration.
In a statement emailed Mon
day, Williams said he will ask
that the remaining funds “be
put in the sheriff’s office bud
get to cover the cost of supply
ing law enforcement services
consistent with the contractual
obligations we have to those
entities.”
Two previous Vogtle Safety
Grants, totaling $500,000,
were used to cover the sala
ries of deputies assigned as
additional patrol units around
the western side of the county
near Plant Vogtle. The 2021
grants were deposited in a
bank account separate from
the county’s general fund,
however, without the commis
sion or the county manager’s
knowledge.
The commission became
aware of the grants’ existence
back in April. A subsequent
investigation revealed that Wil
liams had spent approximately
$207,085 since September 1,
2021.
Williams has been unable or
unwilling to turn over receipts
for a large portion of those
expenses to the county’s audit
ing firm.
As questions surrounding
the purpose of those expenses
continued, Williams agreed
to turn over the remaining
grant funds to the county. He
also dropped the appeal of his
Mandamus lawsuit against the
commission.
As of this date, the com
mission has not asked for an
official investigation of the
sheriff’s spend
ing from any SEE
outside author- GRANT,
ity. 6
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