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VOL. 105, NO. 43, MAY 13, 2009 LEGAL ORGAN OF JENKINS COUNTY MILLEN, GEORGIA • 75 CENTS City accepts TE-Grant bid for Cotton Ave. By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor Work on the long awaited Transportation Enhancement (TE) grant project for Cotton Av enue could soon get underway. Millen City Council accepted the low bid for the project of approxi mately $600,000 from Ellis Woods Contracting during the Tuesday, May 5, meeting of the group. Mayor King Rocker noted that Ellis Woods Contracting was the contractor that performed work on a similar project in Sylvania. The Georgia Department of Transportation awarded the city a $500,000 TE grant in 2004 for the purpose of renovating and promoting economic develop ment in downtown Millen. An additional $350,000 TE grant was awarded the city in 2005. The city has also received a grant for re surfacing of Cotton Avenue in conjunction with the projects. Phase I of the TE grant project will incoiporate green space into Cotton Avenue, enhance lighting, make the sidewalks handicap ac cessible and initiate parallel park ing on the store side of the street. Phase II provides for construction of additional parking lots on the railroad side of the street, among other things. Federal funds available under the TE grant program provide 80 percent of the total project cost. The sponsor’s local match must be at least 20 percent of the total project cost and may be cash, in- kind services or donated services, materials or real estate. In connection with the TE grant project, Mayor Rocker and City Manager Lamar Faircloth were authorized to explore the possi bility of securing funding for re placing the city’s water main on Cotton Avenue. It was noted that the water line was thought to be over 100 years old. The cost for the project was estimated to be approximately $219,128. “If we’re ever going to do it, now is the time,” commented Mayor Rocker. In other action, Mayor Rocker volunteered to donate his May- oral salary for as long as it takes to cover the city’s contribution to ward swimming pool repairs at Magnolia Springs State Park. The repairs arc needed in order for the pool to be able to open this sum mer. Funding of the repairs will be a joint effort of the city, Jenkins County Commissioners and Jenkins County Development Authority. “That is a show of leadership,” remarked Councilman Ivey McMillan as council approved the mayor’s request. The only other action taken by council was the approval of switching city communications from Verizon to duplex radios at a monetary savings. Cotton Avenue is scheduled to get a “face-lift” as work will soon begin on the City of Millen’s TE-grant project. (Staff photo by Deborah Bennett) CLOSING TIME A local retail landmark, Citi-Trends, will soon close its doors. A sign in the window indicates that the Millen store is the only facility that is being closed. The store began operations in Millen as Allied Department Store many years ago and later became Citi-Trends. The exact number of years it has been in operation is unknown, but it is estimated to be 50+ years. The number of workers employed by the store is also unknown. Numerous telephone calls from The Millen News to Citi-Trends’ headquarters in Savannah were routed to “voice mail” and not returned. (Staff photo by Deborah Bennett) A A T RELAY FOR LIFE ip A-T! II-f II HM t Cancer Sutiefy J Relay For Life to be held Friday By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor Jenkins County’s annual Relay for Life will get under way 7 p.m. this Friday at the Jenkins County Recreation Department complex. Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society’s signa ture fundraising event designed to celebrate survivorship and raise money for cancer research, prevention and early detection. Participants form teams, raise money through a variety of activities and walk non-stop throughout the night "because cancer doesn’t sleep.” The opening activity will be the customary Survivors’ Walk. Another important activity is the lighting of lumi naries in honor of those battling the disease and in memory of those who have lost the fight. Entertainment and other activities are planned through out the night, and food items will be available. The public is invited to come out and spend an enjoy able evening with friends and neighbors in support of the fight against cancer. For more information on the Relay for Life, contact Vicki Adams at 982-5700. Courthouse repairs to be bid out By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor Needed repairs to the Jenkins County Courthouse, which in clude repairs to the roof and clock dome, will soon be bid out. The authorization was given to archi tect Frank D’Arcangelo during the group’s April 21 meeting. The replacement/repair of the heating and cooling system in the courthouse was discussed as to whether or not to repair the present system at an estimated cost of $360,000 or replace it with 10 all electrical units at a cost of $220,000. Also discussed was the use of tin roofing rather than as phalt shingles. In other matters, Jenkins County Sheriff Robert Oglesby met with the group and presented several architectural drawings of the Jockey International building for inspection, based upon the county’s consideration of acquir ing the building. Sheriff Oglesby also discussed the need for a Resource Officer for the Jenkins County school sys tem, stating that since there are funds for this puipose, he felt they should be used. He also noted that he had been working with Jenkins County Family Enrichment Cen ter on a proposal and grant for the program. It was also noted by the sheriff that his department now has “around-the-clock surveillance” on Friday and Saturday for the county. Jerry Jennings attended the meeting and requested that the commissioners give their ap proval on the third phase of the Carlton Oaks Subdivision. Fol lowing a discussion of the matter with county field director Grady Lane, approval was given by a vote of 4-1. Commissioners James Henry, Pam Dwight, Domingo Green and Tommy Lane voted in favor. Commissioner Floyd Chance cast the opposing vote. Other actions taken by the com missioners included the follow ing: • Approved a request from Byron Scogins of the VFW to conduct a Memorial Day Service May 25 on the courthouse grounds; • Approved a Mutual Aid Agreement with the City of Swainsboro, pending Fire Chief Dwayne Henington’s approval; • Approved securing a credit card to be issued in the Jenkins County Sheriff Department’s name; • Tabled action on water/meth ane monitoring contract with Stantec in order to secure addi tional information on rates; • Accepted a bid in the amount of $5,927 for office furniture for the commissioners’ office from Best Office Solutions; and • Tabled appointment of mem ber to the Jenkins County Tax As sessor Boai'd. The roof and clock dome of the Jenkins County Courthouse will soon get needed repairs. (Staff photo by Deborah Bennett) Jenkins County Hospital to hold Health Fair The Jenkins County Hospital Health Fair has been a local favorite for several years now. Regretfully, due to various circumstances, the Health Fair will be presented in a scaled down format this year 6 a.m. until 2 p.m. Tues day, May 19, and Wednesday, May 20. The laboratory will offer the "discount rate” lab pack age as a general health screening. The package will in clude a Complete Blood Count (CBC), Basic Metabolic Profile (BMP), AST (basic liver screen), and a Lipid Pro file (good and bad cholesterol screen) all for one price of $15. In addition to the tests offered in the package, par ticipants will be given the opportunity to have their thy roid (TSH) and/or prostate (PSA for males) screened for an additional $5 per test. No physician’s order will be required, and the results will be sent to the participants only. It will be up to the participants to take the results to their physicians if they so choose. The lab will not report the results to any phy sicians. This is a great opportunity for citizens and a great health screen, which in the past has proven to uncover previously undiagnosed conditions. The Lipid Profile and Glucose (included in the BMP require an 8-12 hour fast (no eating). Testers may have water only and regular medications). Testers should re port to the front lobby of the hospital to receive a lab packet and take advantage of this great opportunity.