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Where learning begins, but the fun never ends
WELCOME BACK-TO-SCHOOL
LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO PREPARE OUR
CHILDREN FOR ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL TERM.
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Vol. 143, No. 24 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Established in 1882
Wednesday, August 2, 2023 - $1.00
Vogtle money dissipates as construction workers move on
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
As Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 draw
nearer to completion, people are
beginning to feel the money crunch.
Georgia Power announced Mon
day that Unit 3 has entered com
mercial operation and is now serving
customers and the State of Georgia.
They announced Friday, July 28
receipt of the 103(g) finding from
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) for Vogtle Unit 4. No further
NRC findings are necessary for
Southern Nuclear to load fuel or be
gin the startup sequence. The team at
the site continues working diligently
to make final preparations for Unit 4
fuel load, initiate startup testing and
to bring the unit online. A Southern
Nuclear Company spokesperson
confirmed Unit 4 is still projected to
enter service in the late fourth quarter
of 2023 or the first quarter of 2024.
However, as Plant Vogtle moves
closer to completing construction of
Unit 4, the victory brings a sense of
uneasy anticipation of less revenue
for the county and local businesses.
In February 2020, Georgia Power
announced the project workforce
had reached an all-time high with
approximately 9,000 workers on site.
Today, the current project workforce
continues to fluctuate. However,
there are still several thousand in
volved in construction. The nuclear
power plant is expected to sustain
only approximately 800 permanent
jobs once Units 3 and 4 begin op
erating.
How does Plant Vogtle generate
revenue for the county and why
will it decrease?
One way the county gains revenue
is through property taxes on Plant
Vogtle. As the units are constructed,
the utility digest increases, peaking
at the time they are
commissioned. After
that, the units are ex- VOGTLE
pected to depreciate
at approximately 3 % ^
Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Highlights
General Fund Revenues
■ 2022 Actual ■ 2023 Bud*ct ■ 2024 Budget
This slide presented by Director Michael Wiseman during budget talks July
26 shows the trending decrease in sales tax revenue.
Happy
100th
Birthday
Mr. Robert
Lowry
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
The Burke County Senior Center hosted a birthday party
for Robert Lowry that included members of his family.
Pictured here with Robert is his niece Jean Jenkins.
Robert Lowry turned 100 years old Monday, July
31.
He was bom in Dunbar, South Carolina to parents
Leloa and John Lowry. However, Robert grew up in
Waynesboro after the family moved to Georgia.
Beginning at the age of 18 Robert served in the U.S.
Army and traveled to England, France and Japan. In
his early twenties, he moved to Miami, Florida where
he worked in the construction industry.
He moved back to Waynesboro approximately a
year ago to live closer to family, including his nieces,
Jean Jenkins, Bobbie Rivers, Mary Scott and Shannon
Scott, and his nephew, Probate Judge Ashley Moore.
Since moving back, Robert has become fond of
visiting with new friends at the Burke County Senior
Center. He also rides the stationary bike at the center
every other day for 5-25 minutes. When asked if he
rode a bicycle in Florida as part of a regular exercise
routine, he is quick to point out that even seniors can
benefit from beginning a new exercise regimen.
“Nooooo,” he said laughing about his previous
exercise routine. “It’s never too late.”
Born in 1923, he said he has witnessed a lot of
societal changes. The most surprising changes in his
eyes, involve the advancement of Black Americans.
Robert recalls vividly the days the U.S. struggled with
desegregation.
Blessed with a remarkable mind, Robert also recalls
a funnel cloud that touched ground in the mid-1920s.
He felt fortunate his home was not affected by the
tornado.
As far as the secret to living a long, healthy life,
Lowry has no answers. However, he
suspects a diet that includes fruits,
vegetables and meats may have con
tributed.
SEE
LOWERY,
13
Sheriff requests
“urgent” meeting
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
A non-public meeting Monday,
in which Commissioners Art Lively
and Evans Martin met with Sheriff
Alfonzo Williams, might pave the
way for a productive public budget
work session later this month.
“There were no commitments
made,” County Manager Merv Wal
drop said of Monday’s meeting. “It
was productive in that it was civil. I
don’t know that it moved anything
one way or the other, but at least we
are talking.”
In a July 25 letter addressed to
Chairwoman Terri Lodge Kelly,
Sheriff Williams requested an “ur
gent” meeting with the Board of
Commissioners.
Williams said he wished to discuss
the BOC’s recent decision to hold off
on funding recent promotions in his
department.
However, Monday’s discussion
revolved mainly around Williams’
insistence that his department needs
more than the approximate $12.5
million budget that Waldrop’s office
has recommended.
Nearly $1 million over budget,
the Detention Center’s payroll
funds are currently exhausted and
the BCSO is slated to
run out of funding later SEE
this month, according MEETING
to Waldrop. g
Still, during Mon-
Man dies after
deputies tase him
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
The Columbia County Sheriff’s
Office Force Investigation Team is
investigating an incident that led to
the death of Freddie Walker after he
was tased by Burke County Sheriff’s
Office deputies.
Shortly after midnight Friday, July
28, the Burke County EMArequest
ed the assistance of the BCSO when
Walker refused to be transported by
a family member to a hospital for a
mental health evaluation.
“Mr. Walker became combative,
jumped out of the vehicle and at
tempted to raise his fist at a para
medic in an attempt to strike him,”
a BCSO press release states. “After
attempting a second time to get Mr.
Walker safely in the car, he became
combative, jumped out of the ve
hicle again, and raised his fist while
aggressively advancing toward the
deputy in an attempt to strike him.”
Initially, a deputy de
ployed their taser unsuc-
cessfully, and then another TASED
deputy on the scene de- 8
Shining a light on the Open Meetings Act
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Editor’s note: This is part two of
a two-part series on Georgia's open
records and open meetings laws. It is
published to help local government
agencies and entities, as well as the
general public, understand how to
follow the law.
Public policy in the State of Geor
gia requires that all state agencies
conduct business in the open and
maintain records that are available
to the public. Georgia’s Open Meet
ings Act requires that state and local
governmental bodies conduct their
business so the public can review
and monitor elected officials and
others working on their behalf. The
law requires that government meet
ings are open to the public. The law
also requires governmental bodies
to provide reasonable notice of all
meetings.
Which entities must transact
business in the open?
Under the Open Meetings Act,
each of the following must transact
business in the open: city councils,
county commissions, regional devel
opment authorities, library boards,
school boards, planning commis
sions, zoning boards and hospital
authorities.
Most meetings covered by the
Open Meetings Act must be open.
Whenever the minimum number of
members are present at a meeting,
enough to make the proceedings of
that meeting valid, the meeting must
be open to the public. Even meetings
conducted by telephonic, electronic,
wireless or other virtual means must
be open. Any official action of any
type taken at a meeting that is not
open is invalid and may be set aside
if an action is brought promptly.
When are meetings exempt from
the law?
The Open Meetings Act provides
exceptions that allow certain closed
meetings and some confidential ac
tions . However, a government entity
may close a meeting only if a specific
statutory exception applies. Addi
tionally, a meeting can be closed to
the public only by a majority vote
taken during a properly noticed and
open meeting. The most commonly
used exceptions are for personnel
matters (but only for discussion and
deliberation by the governmental
entity, not for votes), attorney-client
discussion of actual or potential
lawsuits or claims and discussion of
real estate transactions. In a closed
meeting, an agency may take pre
liminary votes regarding real estate,
but a transaction does not become
binding until a public vote is taken.
How must government provide
open access and adequate notice
of meetings?
The public must be given full ac
cess to all open meetings and may
make video and
audio recordings SEE
of all open meet- RIGHT TO KNOW,
ings. In addition 3