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VOL. 105, NO. 26, JANUARY 14, 2009 LEGAL ORGAN OF JENKINS COUNTY MILLEN, GEORGIA • 75 CENTS Commissioners appoint chair, vice-chair By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor James Henry was reap pointed Chairman of the Jenkins County Commission ers. and Tommy Lane will serve as Vice-Chairman for 2009. The action came during the group’s Tuesday, Jan. 6, meeting. Commissioner Henry was reappointed by a 3-1 vote with Commissioner Domingo Green opposing the action. Commissioners Floyd Chance. Tommy Lane and Pam Dwight voted in favor. During discussion of the matter, Commissioner Green commented that he felt the board “was moving toward a one man county operation” and outlined several of his concerns. These included: the manner and time frame in which the U.S. Census Bureau advertised and hired local po sitions, a delay in the hiring of an employee for the Jenkins County Senior Citizens Cen ter, actions taken to deal with trucks hauling pipes on Old Louisville Road and the Spe cial Purpose Local Option Sales Tax agreement with the City of Millen. Following the vote for chairman. Commissioner Dwight inquired if Green would be interested in serving as vice-chairman of the group. When he declined, she nomi nated Commissioner Lane for the post, stating that she felt every commission member should have the experience. The motion was approved. Troy Gay was also reap pointed as county attorney. Newly elected sheriff, Rob ert Oglesby, accompanied by Chief Deputy Johnny Griner, addressed the commissioners with several concerns. Sheriff Oglesby requested a close-out audit of the Sheriff Department’s finances and in ventory to begin his first term of office. The commissioners approved the request with the county’s auditing firm to per form the financial audit and a qualified private citizen to be asked to audit the departmen tal inventory. The commissioners also ap proved the purchase of a pick up truck for the department with the sheriff authorized to attempt to negotiate a better price than the $31,046.04 quoted. It was noted that the last patrol car purchased for the department was more ex pensive than the price quoted for the truck. Sheriff Oglesby inquired of the county policy which re quired county employees to work for the county one year before they became eligible for health insurance. The commissioners noted that the policy did not apply to elected officials and agreed to recon sider it for possible revision. In other matters, Jenkins County Tax Assessor Don Rich informed the group of a vacancy on the Board of Tax JAMES HENRY, COUNTY COMMISSION CHAIRMAN Assessors and requested that consideration be given to nominating someone to fill the position. He pointed out that several weeks training was re quired. Architect Beryles Johnson presented a slide presentation on renovations and repairs his company had performed on the Jefferson County Court house, stating his intention to bid on proposed water damage repairs to the Jenkins County Courthouse. He requested and received specifications for the project. Other actions taken by the commissioners included the following: • Approved a request from the local VFW post seeking permission to place a War Me- TOMMY LANE, COUNTY COMMISSION VICE-CHAIRMAN morial Monument on the courthouse lawn with Com missioners Lane and Chance to meet with VFW members to determine a suitable loca tion; • Approved renewal of a re duced landfill dumping fee for Cavalier Home Builders for an additional 12 months; • Approved resolution for renewal of transit system 5311 program application with the Department of Transportation; and • Approved request from North Jenkins County Volun teer Fire Department for matching local funds in the amount of $4,382 as a require ment of a $87,648 grant to be used to purchase protective clothing. BOE vice-chairman recognized for service By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor Jenkins County Board of Education Vice-Chairman Roderick Campbell was rec ognized during the Monday, Jan. 5, meeting of the group for receiving a 15 year service pin at the Georgia School Boards Association’s annual conference in December 2008. “Mr. Campbell was elected by the voters in District 1 as their representative of the community’s voice on educa tion matters. He has diligently worked to make improve ments to the school system. Having received this service milestone is indicative of his commitment to public educa tion,” said School Superinten dent Melissa Williams. In other business, Carroll Gay and Campbell were reap pointed as Chairman and Vice- Chairman, respectively. Gay has completed 14 years of ser vice, all while serving as Chairman. Campbell has com pleted 15 years of service while serving as Vice-Chair man for 11 years. “It is quite an honor to have Mr. Gay and Mr. Campbell elected to these leadership po sitions, which in indicative of their sincere dedication to our students and our schools. However, the success of the school system is dependent upon the entire board working as a cohesive team,” Superin tendent Williams said. Vanderver R. Pool was also reappointed as School Board Attorney. Superintendent Williams re ported that tax revenue was beginning to come in with col lections as follows: $25,318 in October; $141,081 in Novem ber and $284,770 in Decem ber. She also reported that the school system was recently recognized by the Georgia De partment of Education for ex cellence in the education of students with disabilities by meeting the state target in transitioning students to their desired postsecondary out comes, educating students in the least restrictive environ ment, graduating with regular education diplomas, reducing the number of students who drop out of school and meet ing or exceeding state achievement standards for Reading/English Language Arts. Superintendent Williams said, "We are indeed grateful to school system personnel, parents, community members, stakeholders and the special education director for your diligent efforts in receiving this honor.” In other matters, approval was granted for installation of a fence by Ronnie Fleming per lease agreement with the St. Bernadette Catholic Church at a cost of $1,085. The BOE will request from the Jenkins County Commissioners a waiver of a $267 fee for in stallation of a driveway pipe at the location. Roderick Campbell was reappointed Vice-Chairman of the BOE. He is shown being recognized by Jenkins County School Superintendent Melissa Williams for 15 years of service on the Georgia School Boards Association. (Photo contributed) Other actions taken by the BOE included the following: • Approved BOE meeting dates for 7 p.m. the third Mon day of each month with the following exceptions - Feb. 23 and Dec. 14 in 2009 and Jan. 4, 2010. • Approved Georgia School Boards Association Risk Man agement as the vendor for workers compensation ser vices with a bid of $55,015; and • Approved a $500 coaching supplement for C-team girls’ basketball coach. CARROLL GAY, BOARD OF EDUCATION CHAIRMAN Three injured in shooting By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor A fight on Reeves Street in the City of Millen Saturday, Jan. 10, sent three Millen men to the hospital with gunshot wounds and resulted in the arrest of another. Charged with aggravated assault in the incident is Khampbrel Gross, 21. The victims were Timothy Lamar Burke, 24, Simone Sinclair Chance, 25, and Tyrone Jeff, 21. Chuck Sullenger, assistant special agent in charge, Geor gia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), said the Millen Police Department (MPD) received the initial call for assistance at approximately 1:25 p.m. “A fight started with gunfire, and three persons were hit,” said Agent Sullenger. No one was critically wounded, he added. The incident remains under investigation as a joint effort of the GBI and MPD. Neighbors save man from fire By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor Observant neighbors and their quick thinking averted a near tragedy this weekend when Rhesa Reeves of Millen was pulled from his burning mobile home at 2185 Speedy Sapp Road in Jenkins County around 10 a.m. A North Jenkins County Volunteer Fire Department (NJCVFD) in cident report identifies his rescuers as neighbors Clarence and Lucille Overstreet. The Overstreets reported that they saw smoke coming from the Reeves residence and had a relative call 9-1-1. Mr. Overstreet then took action, forcing the front door open. He was initially driven back by smoke and heat, however. When Mrs. Overstreet attempted to enter she tripped over Mr. Reeves who was lying on the floor. Together they man aged to pull him from the house. Mr. Reeves suffered from smoke inhalation and was taken by private vehicle to Burke Medical Center for treatment. Betty Boone, who lives with the Overstreets, said that the couple did not think of themselves as they tried to help a neighbor. "We just think of him (Reeves) as family,” said Boone. “You don’t want to see someone you love killed in a fire.” The origin of the fire was determined to have been the kitchen range and was ruled accidental in nature. The NJCVFD and Jenkins County Fire Department re sponded to the call for assistance. Special Election to be held March 17 By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor A Special Election to determine if the present Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) should be renewed for an additional 5-year period has been set for Tuesday, March 17. The deadline for registering to vote in the Special Elec tion is Feb. 16. Anyone who is not presently registered may do so in the office of the Jenkins County Registrar at the Jenkins County Courthouse during normal business hours. The present ESPLOST was originally passed in 2005, for a 5- year period, along with approval of the issuance of general obligation bonds. The sale of bonds allowed the school system to obtain immediate funding for planned capital improvement projects rather than having to wait for ESPLOST funds to accumulate. It was noted then that a second referendum would be needed in order to generate sufficient revenue to pay off the bonds as they matured over a 10-year period. The maximum amount of revenue that could be collected by renewal of the ESPLOST has been set at $5,258,175. The Jenkins County Board of Education stresses that this is not a request for an “additional” one-cent sales tax but the “renewal” of the present tax. A legal ad outlining the election process and other ESPLOST details appears elsewhere in this issue of The Millen News.