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VOL. 105, NO. 40, APRIL 22, 2009 LEGAL ORGAN OF JENKINS COUNTY MILLEN, GEORGIA • 75 CENTS Thieves hit Millen Cemetery, police seek information By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor At first glance, the Millen Cemetery appears to be peace ful and serene, the perfect final resting place for loved ones of local residents. Appearances can be deceiving, however. Lurking amid the tombstones, graves and moss draped oaks is what Millen Director of Public Safety Dwayne Herrington de scribes as a “low life.” Chief Herrington is referring to the person(s) responsible for the recent theft of numerous items from several graves in the cemetery. “It takes a very low form of human life to steal from a cem etery,” Chief Herrington said. “The Millen Police Department patrols the area regularly and will continue to do so. We’re going to do everything possible to stop this lowest form of theft. Our residents should not have to worry about someone steal ing items they place on the graves of their loved ones at the Millen Cemetery.” Chief Herrington is also seek ing help from the public. “If anyone has any informa tion concerning this matter, they can call me personally and re port it confidentially,” he said. Items taken from graves at the cemetery include: six solar pan eled lights, two black fold-up metal tables with flower designs on them and four chairs, two wrought iron wind chimes, a wrought iron bench, two wrought iron stands, a stone “blue bird”, a wrought iron bench- antique brown in color, a 50 foot green garden hose with a green spray nozzle with ad justable patterns and a cast iron ornamental pig- brown in color. Anyone who has any infor mation on the thefts or where these items might be located is asked to call Chief Herrington at the Millen Police Department at 982-2750. 4-H’ERS SERVE AT STATE CAPITOL Jenkins County 4-H’ers recently served as pages for Sen. J.B. Powell and Rep. John Burns at the State Capitol. Pages are responsible for delivering messages and helping where needed on the Senate and House floors. Above, from left, are Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, 4-H’er Lavonte Lovett and Sen. J.B. Powell. Below, are Jenkins County Extension Coordinator Wade Parker, Rep. John Bums, 4-H’er Krista Gay and Speaker Glenn Richardson. (Photos contributed) JCHS athlete signs with Middle Georgia Tashe McClain signed her national letter of intent to play college basketball on Tuesday, April 14, with Middle Georgia College in Cochran. “Tashe is such a great kid,” Head Basketball Coach Randy Cooper said. “She is very humble in her abilities, and has al ways known that she wanted to play at the next level.” Some of McClain’s accomplishments include being a four year starter for the Lady War Eagles, Team Captain for two years and Region 3A Player of the Year 08 and 09. McClain was named as a 2009 All State Team Honorable Mention by The Atlanta Journal Constitution and Georgia Sports Writer’s Association 2009 All State Team Honorable Mention. McClain was also named Jenkins County High School (JCHS) Best Defensive Player 07, JCHS Best All Around Player 08, and The Statesboro Herald Player of the Week 1-13-09. The 08-09 basketball season put McClain in an elite class of JCHS War Eagles who scored over 1,000 points while at tending JCHS. McClain finished the season scoring a total of 1,106 points for the Lady War Eagles during her four years. "Middle Georgia has a strong women’s basketball program. We made the national playoffs last year and expect to again this year,” stated Anderson Ligon, Head Coach for Middle Georgia. "We have a very strong recruiting class joining our pro gram. Our recruiting policy was to not look so much for play ers with size but players with great athletic ability that could contribute to our team’s versatility. Tashe will be a great fit for Middle Georgia”, Ligon added. Jenkins County High School senior Tashe McClain recently signed a letter of intent to play basketball for Middle Georgia College. Shown during the ceremony are, from left, seated: uncle Michael McClain, mother Angie Evans and Tashe McClain; standing: JCHS Athletic Director Charley Waters, Assistant Coach Middle Georgia College Tib Brown, JCHS Lady War Eagles Head Basketball Coach Randy Cooper, Middle Georgia College Head Basketball Coach Anderson Ligon and JCHS Principal Dr. Joseph Kirkland. (Photo contributed) City upgrades waste water treatment facility By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor Anticipation of future needs prompted the City of Millen to begin planning 16 years ago for upgrades to its current waste water treatment facility. Those plans have finally yielded a $3.16 million project that is be ing funded through a USD A grant/loan program with the loan amount to the city being approximately $805,000. “We’re basically doubling our capability in anticipation of fu ture growth. If we’re not pre pared for industry, they’re not going to come,” commented City Manager Lamar Faircloth. R.M. Small, City of Millen utility superintendent, explained that when the project is com pleted, the facility will be able to process approximately one million gallons of water daily. Specifics of the project in clude raising the height of the earthen dam around the oxida tion pond approximately five feet, installing additional aera tors in the pond, reversing the flow of the water and creating 80-acres of wetlands. Currently, water from the fa cility is released into Big Buckhead Creek after treatment in the oxidation pond. When upgrades are completed, the treated water will flow into the Ogeechee River after crossing approximately 80 acres of wet lands. “We’re just letting Mother Nature do most of the work,” explained Small. Improvements at the City of Millen’s waste water treatment facility will include raising the earthen dam around the oxidation pond five feet to increase treatment capacity and the installation of additional aerators. (Staff photos by Deborah Bennett)