February 27, 2008
PAGE 3A
^Reporter
Local News
Have local news to report? Call 994-2358 or email wpdavis@bellsouth.net.
City lets
obody wants to
Logwall Baptist pass
go to church. It’s obvious they don’t care about Jesus
out tracts
- Logwall member Howard Faulk
It’s been reported that 80 percent
of Georgians don’t go to church,
and members of Logwall Baptist
Church in Forsyth want to do
something about it.
“Nobody wants to go to church,”
Howard Faulk, a member of
Logwall, explained to the Forsyth
city council last Tuesday, Feb. 21.
“It’s obvious they don’t care about
Jesus.”
So Logwall, which draws about
12 members to its Hwy. 42 sanctu
ary on Sunday mornings, is asking
the city to let it hit the streets.
Faulk said they’d like to be able to
distribute Christian tracts on
Saturdays in front of busy places
like Wal-Mart and Ingles.
The city requires those wanting
to hold parades and demonstra
tions to get prior approval for spe
cific dates and times from city
hall. Faulk said church members
want to evangelize on Saturday
afternoons but don’t want to com
mit to certain times because they
don’t know how many can attend
and about the weather.
Council member Lamar Russell
wondered why Logwall couldn’t
just make a commitment. “Jesus
never had an umbrella,” he said.
But Faulk said the weather may
affect when they do their outreach.
“Some of these little old church
ladies ain’t gonna be out there
with an umbrella,” said Faulk.
Council approved a 3-month per
mit letting the church hand out
tracts on Saturdays. After that, it’ll
review the situation.
Council member Melvin
Lawrence asked Faulk if it’s really
true that 80 percent of people in
Georgia don’t go to church. Faulk
said that was the finding of a sur
vey by the Georgia Baptist
Convention.
“That’s why Jesus said only a
few will be saved,” said Faulk.
“Come to Logwall. We got 12-15
people and we can barely pay the
light bill.”
Delaying a vote,
city still has no
animal control
ordinance
Stray dogs and cats may be able to roam Forsyth some
what safely for a few more weeks while the city hashes
out another animal control contract with the county.
A contract obligating the county to provide animal con
trol in Forsyth expired Dec. 31. The county has approved
a new contract with the city, but Forsyth council mem
bers on Feb. 19 said they’re not ready to sign it.
Council ordered city attorney Bobby Melton to make
changes to the proposed animal control contract in con
junction with county attorney Michael Dillon. Melton
urged council not to approve the contract as is because it
abdicates the city’s authority over stray animals to the
county.
In September 2007, the city and county agreed to a
three-month contract which provided that the county
hire an animal control officer for the city but to be con
sidered a county employee. For the service, the city paid
the county $7,500.
One of the sticking points has been the poor condition
of the county’s small shelter, and the county’s policy
allowing it to euthanize dogs and cats within 24 hours.
The city has said it would like to wait longer to give resi
dents a chance to reclaim lost cats and dogs. But mayor
Tye Howard said Feb. 19 that just because the county
can kill strays that quickly, it doesn’t mean they do.
In other news:
• James Street residents will have another chance to
get new water and sewer lines, but it may have to
become a one-way street to get them. City council mem
bers learned more about their new application for a
$500,000 grant to do infrastructure improvements in the
area Feb. 19. A similar application was rejected late last
year but Chan Layson of the Middle Georgia Regional
Development Center (RDC) told council members by
making James Street one way they’ll be able to show
state officials they’ll still have room for emergency vehi
cles on the road. He said he’ll also remove plans for
storm water drainage work from the grant application,
which is due by April 1. The city would have to spend
$207,000 to match the grant.
County delays vote
on new boat ramps
Monroe County commissioners held off on approving
lease agreements for boat ramp construction at Pope’s
Ferry and operation and maintenance on the Ocmulgee
River in Juliette. Instead of voting on the issue,
Commissioners Jim Ham and Mike Bilderback decided to
set a public hearing for the county’s March 18 meeting
on both ramps. The Georgia Department of Natural
Resources had proposed the leases.
Ham said he is afraid that maintenance of the Juliette
ramp would be a burden on the county. He added that
the site for the ramp is not a natural one and that silt is
a major problem. “We need to meet with the DNR and
get that worked on,” he commented.
The commission voted unanimously for the delay.
Bolingbroke fire station
seeks aid for renovations
J.D. Chapman, captain of Fire Station No. 4 in
Bolingbroke, asked commissioners to fund improvements
to the fire station. Chapman said the lowest bid for
improvements is $37,000. “We have an agreement and I
wish you could come up with a way to honor it. Let’s be
proactive and go ahead and make it better,” he empha
sized. Chapman told the commission that the inside of
the fire station has been remodeled and repainted.
“Volunteers did it. The only thing the county did was fur
nish the paint. Volunteers paid for everything else,” he
said.
Chapman also said that sooner or later the county is
going to have to have a ladder truck. He said that the
increasing number of two and three story homes make
the ladder truck a necessity Currently however, he said
that only station 12 is big enough to house a ladder
truck. No action was taken on the request.
Bankers' Hoursf
When it's family,
Bankers Hours extend
well after 5 p.m
For Candice Griffin, Monroe County Bank is more than just her place of
business for the past 38 years. It's more like her extended family. In fact,
she's one of four generations who have been customers of Monroe
County Bank. And her mother, Grace Hardage, worked at Monroe County
Bank for years until her retirement. Now Candice has been serving
Monroe County at the bank for almost four decades.
For Candice, Bankers Hours don't end at 5 p.m. That's just the way it is
with family.
m*b
MONROE COUNTY BANK
M e m b e r
Local. Listening. Leading.
