Newspaper Page Text
VOL. 105, NO. 45, MAY 27, 2009
LEGAL ORGAN OF JENKINS COUNTY
MILLEN, GEORGIA • 75 CENTS
Local couple restore!
historic Milieu home
The Edenfield-Holland Home as it appears today. (Photo contributed)
By Art Johnson
Thousands of individuals
across the country are celebrat
ing National Preservation Month
this May. "This Place Matters!”
is the theme of the month-long
celebration sponsored by the Na
tional Trust for Historic Preserva
tion.
A “Place that Matters” in
Millen is the Edenfield- Holland
Home. During Preservation
Month 2009 Millen salutes the
efforts of Beth and Rodney
Collins who have purchased and
are restoring this historic house.
The Edenfield-Holland home
site on Gray Street was originally
a grant from King George of En
gland to Robert Gray who sold it
to John M. Edenfield. The lot was
covered by a cotton patch at the
time of the purchase by Mr.
Edenfield. Mr. Edenfield built the
house, and it was shown on the
map of the “Town of Millen in
1881.” It was the second house
to be built in Millen after the in
corporating of the village. Col.
Josiah Holland purchased the
property from a loan company.
“The Edenfield-Holland
House” might be more accurately
identified as the John M.
Edenfield home since Mr.
Edenfield was the builder and a
very talented one. Among his
buildings that still remain in
Millen are Millen Baptist Church,
the Lane building and the homes
of Mi - , and Mrs. Annon Forehand,
Ms. Bill Landrum and Ms.
Delores Thompson. His last
known remaining building on
Cotton Avenue is the Edenfield
Building, built around 1900 and
located in the center of the block
between Masonic Street and the
end of Cotton Avenue. It was a
major gift to his community. Up
stairs was the Opera House,
where one of the earliest movies
was shown, “Birth of a Nation.”
This was the center of social life
in the area and the site of school
graduation services and many
cultural activities. Shops and of
fice spaces filled the ground floor.
John M. Edenfield really built
some of Millen’s best examples
of attractive and functional, as
well as high quality buildings.
Miss Minnie Holland inherited
the house from her father. Ailene
Hatcher purchased the house
when Miss Minnie died; she ran
an antique shop there for many
years and later leased it to Ed Wil
son for the same puipose. When
Ms. Hatcher died, Beth and
Rodney Collins purchased the
house from her estate.
The Collins’ are preserving as
many of the original elements as
possible. The tin roof on the
porches is the original tin that was
placed during the construction of
the home. Restoration work has
primarily been on the exterior,
consisting of painting and repair.
Since the National Trust for
Historic Preservation created
Preservation Week in 1971 to
spotlight grassroots preservation
efforts in America, it has grown
into an annual celebration ob
served by small towns and big cit
ies with events ranging from ar
chitectural and historic tours and
award ceremonies, to fundraising
events, educational programs and
heritage travel opportunities. Due
to its overwhelming popularity, in
2005, the National Trust for His
toric Preservation extended the
celebration to the entire month of
May and declared it Preservation
Month to provide an even longer
opportunity to celebrate the di
verse and unique heritage of our
country’s cities and states and en
able more Americans to become
involved in the growing preser
vation movement.
BOE hears graduation test results
By Deborah Bennett
Millen News Editor
The 2009 scores of students at
Jenkins County High School
(JCHS) on the Georgia High
School Graduation Tests
(GHSGT) were comparable to
state and RESA results. Jenkins
County School Superintendent
Melissa Williams reported on the
tests during the Monday, May 18,
meeting of the Jenkins County
Board of Education (BOE).
Eighty-six percent of the first-
time test takers, 11 th graders, at
JCHS passed the English/language
arts portion of the test. This com
pares to a 90 percent passing rate
for the state and 88 percent for the
RESA district. On the math por
tion of the test, 93 percent of JCHS
students passed; 94 percent of the
students passed statewide; and 92
percent passed in RESA;
JCHS students excelled on the
science part of the test with a 95
percent pass rate. This compares
to 88 percent for the state and 85
percent for RESA. In social stud
ies, JCHS students scored a 78
percent passing rate as compared
to 89 percent for the state and 84
percent for RESA.
JCHS principal Dr. Joey
Kirkland reported that remarkable
improvement had been made in
the scores of black students tak
ing the GHSGT.
“We have made gains on the
GHSGT in all areas and
subgroups. We are especially
proud that we made significant
gains in our black subgroup both
in Math and language arts this
year,” he commented to The
Millen News.
In other matters, students’
achievements were recognized by
the BOE as follows: Math-a-ma-
nia participants - Darien Bragg
and Dawson Fields; and Stock
Market Slingerz - Will Collier,
Robert Newsome and Ben Dickey.
Other actions taken by the BOE
included the following:
• Approved the renewal of con
tract with the Jenkins County Ex
tension Service for the 4-H pro
gram;
• Approved CTAE Perkins pro
gram Improvement Plan;
• Approved use of school bus
for Summer Lunch program;
• Approved the employment of
Ashley Burch as agriculture
teacher at JCHS;
• Approved the employment of
Lisa Jones as family and consumer
science teachers at JCHS;
• Approved coaching supple
ments for the 2009-2010 school
year in the amount of $74,950; and
• Approved Summer Lunch pro
gram salary schedule as presented.
To see photos of those
recognized during the BOE
meeting,
- See page 3
Health officials put the final touches on plans for a mock
Anthrax exercise. From left, are Preston Harpe, Medical
Reserve Corps coordinator, East Central Health District;
Emmitt Walker, Public Relations Information coordinator,
East Central Health District; Pam Drake, RN, Jenkins
County nurse manager, Jenkins County Health
Department; and Jonathan Adriano, Deputy Director of
Emergency Preparedness, East Central Health District.
(Staff photo by Deborah Bennett)
For Anthrax Exercise
Health Department
needs volunteers
Health officials are asking for the public’s help. The pub
lic is needed to turn out on Saturday, May 30, to play the
role of victims of Anthrax as part of an exercise conducted
by the Jenkins County Health Department. The exercise
will begin at 10 a.m. and end when enough victims have
been processed to meet state established goals.
The exercise will test the ability of Jenkins County to
respond to a bio-terrorist’s distribution of Anthrax spores
in the community. Emergency response agencies in Jenkins
County will participate, and planning has been going on
for several weeks.
Officials are stressing that there is no danger involved in
the mock exercise. Volunteers are being asked to just drive
through the dispensing site at the Jenkins County High
School, entering from Barney Avenue, and receive mock
medicines after filling our a very brief form. The exercise
is designed to simulate a real-world emergency situation.
The public is encouraged to bring their families, if de
sired, and help make this test successful. Local clubs,
churches and other civic organizations are also encouraged
to participate.
“Come out and have fun with us as we prove our readi
ness to meet a challenge such as this to our community,”
said Pam Drake, Jenkins County nurse manager, Jenkins
County Health Department.
JCHS seniors
graduate May 29
Jenkins County High School’s (JCHS) 2009 Commencement
Exercise will be held 7 p.m. Friday, May 29, in the Jenkins
County Schools’ gymnatorium on North Avenue.
The 2009 honor graduates will present the program.
In an effort to provide each graduate’s family equal access to
observe this milestone ceremony and to ensure the sanctity of
the event, admission tickets will be required to enter the
gymnatorium. The doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and will close
promptly at 7 p.m.
Balloons will not be allowed in the gym area before or dur
ing the ceremony. Food and drink will not be allowed in the
gym. Anyone arriving after the doors close at 7 p.m. will not
be seated.
Public cooperation is being enlisted.
Gas authority honors R.M. ‘Bubba’ Small, City of Millen
The Municipal Gas Authority
of Georgia (MGAG) honored
R.M. “Bubba” Small of Millen
with the 2008 Billy Hersey Sr.
Award at its recent annual meet
ing. The award is presented an
nually to a veteran gas system
operator known by his peers to
exhibit excellent leadership, be
of upstanding character and
demonstrate true commitment
to the natural gas industry, as
well as to his community. Mr.
Small is the Utility Superinten
dent for the City of Millen.
The City of Millen’s Utilities
Department was also recog
nized for marketing excellence.
This award is presented annu
ally to municipally-owned natu
ral gas systems served by the
MGAG for unique marketing
initiatives. The city was recog
nized for its work with Reeves
Construction’s asphalt plant,
resulting in increased natural
gas sales for the city.
The City of Millen devised a
unique variable rate structure
for natural gas service that com
peted favorably to the asphalt
plant’s alternate fuel pricing.
The plant was primarily using
No. 5 waste oil before the city
designed the competitive and
attractive natural gas pricing. In
addition, the city had to balance
the plant’s fluctuating need for
fuel based on production cycles,
which added to the challenges
the city faced in proving a
unique solution. Since August
2008, when the plan went into
effect, the city has seen a
marked increase in natural gas
sales to the plant.
MGAG’s Vice President of
Member Services, Chris
Strippelhoff, presented both
awards to Mr. Small, who ac
cepted on behalf of the City of
Millen.
“This year’s recipient (of the
Bill Hershey award) is an indus
try veteran, employee and friend
to us all, having faithfully
served his community with ex
cellence for 36 years; he is be
yond a doubt deserving of this
award,” he said.
Mr. Small began working as
a helper with the Utilities De
partment with his father at the
age of nine, digging ditches and
painting both water meters and
fire hydrants. He would follow
his father’s footsteps in making
Utilities Superintendent his life
long career. In fact, now his son,
Mikel Small is following in his
footsteps in the City of
Waynesboro and is continuing
the family tradition.
“For 36 years, he has been
responsible for the city’s water,
wastewater and natural gas sys
tems. He has earned the respect
of his fellow employees and
other professionals in the field,”
Mr. Strippelhoff said.
Mr. Small is a graduate of
South Georgia Technical Col
lege in Americus. He has also
earned certifications in water
and wastewater from the State
of Georgia, as well as numer
ous other certificates and
awards throughout his career.
Lamar Faircloth, city man
ager for the City of Millen, said,
“Bubba Small is well respected
in this community and is known
especially for his integrity. He
grew up here in Millen and has
provided wonderful leadership
and true commitment to this
community. If anyone ever tells
him he is working too hard, he
just simply says, ‘That’s my
job.’”
Mr. Small’s wife Gloria and
son Mikel were in attendance at
the annual meeting to see him
accept the awards.
MGAG is the largest non
profit natural gas joint-action
agency in the United States,
serving 76 members in Georgia,
Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ten
nessee and Florida that meet the
gas needs of approximately
243,000 customers.
The City of Millen and R.M. “Bubba” Small, city utilities
superintendent were each recently recognized by the
Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia (MGAG). Mr. Small
received the 2008 Bill Hersey award and the city was
recognized for its unique marketing initiatives. Shown
during the program are, from left, Scott Tolleson, MGAG;
Mr. Small; and Chris Strippelhoff, MGAG vice-president
of MGAG member services. (Photo contributed)