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VOL. 106, NO. 16, NOVEMBER 4, 2009 LEGAL ORGAN OF JENKINS COUNTY MILLEN, GEORGIA • 75 CENTS SS Mb b-wL jjk- Jjr VP Students escape school By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor Students were safely evacu ated from a Jenkins County school bus that caught fire Wednesday. Oct. 27, in the Palmer Row area of the city. Jenkins County School Su perintendent Melissa Williams said approximately 35 stu dents were still onboard when substitute driver Charles Anfield saw smoke coming from the dash of the vehicle. He quickly stopped the bus and escorted the students off the vehicle to an area of safety, following safety and evacua tion procedures established by the school system. As he looked back, he said he saw flames engulfing the vehicle. Superintendent Williams at tributed the safe outcome of the potentially disastrous situ ation to Anfield’s “calm de meanor and level head.” She also called attention to the quick responses of Transpor tation Coordinator Talmadge Fries, who was on the scene almost immediately, and that of the Millen Police Depart ment and Millen Fire Depart ment. “The neighborhood resi- This Jenkins County school bus caught fire Oct. 27 as it was transporting students in the Palmer Row area of the city. Students were safely evacuated with no injuries. (Photo contributed - staff photo by Deborah Bennett) bus fire dents were also outstanding in their cooperation and support as well as several employees of the school system who stopped on their way home to offer assistance,” Mrs. Will iams said. Students were quickly trans ported to their homes on an other bus with very little de lay, and the cause of fire re mains under investigation. JROTC Raiders win state championship The Jenkins County High School Army JROTC Raider Team traveled to Fort Yargo State Park in Winder Saturday, Oct. 24, to compete in a 33- school 66-team State Raider Championship. The Jenkins County Male Mixed Team (four females and six males) outscored Paulding County, the defending National and State Champion, by six points to cap ture the overall State Champi onship in the Male Mixed Di vision. JROTC competitions are all “open-class” meaning there is no distinction between schools, regardless of the number of stu dents enrolled in the school. Unlike football, basketball or other Georgia High School As sociation sports, JROTC teams compete against all classifica tions to determine the champion.The only other team from the area competing was Richmond Hill. The Richmond Hill Female team finished sec ond in the Female Division, 10 points behind first place Cedar Shoals. Richmond Hill’s male team finished fourth overall in the Male Division, 19 points behind first place Paulding County who was the defending State Champion in that division last year. Members of the Jenkins County State Championship Male Mixed Team are: Rubicela Delgado, Keondra Members of the Jenkins County Army JROTC Raider Male and Male Mixed Teams shown are, from left, front row: CSM Hayward Thompson, Dwayne Snelling, Jerome Taylor, Jose Solis, Yahnchelle Scott, Brittany McKinney, Marquis Moody, Keondra Kelly, Rashon Brady, Tay Taylor and COL Ken Wade; and second row: Chris Simmons, Juan Jeronimo, Ayana Walker, David Guzman, Keith Heggs, Fernando Gomez, Bernard Thompson, Quentin Williams, Paul Dieteman, Justin Ellis, Rubicela Delgado, Trenton Polk, James Amerson, Anthony Sea and Andres Jeronimo. Not pictured: Irene Dieteman, Brittany Singer and Candice Waters. (Photo contributed) Kelly, Brittany McKinney, Ayana Walker, James Amerson, Fernando Gomez, Andres Jeronimo, Marquis Moody, Jerome Taylor and Tay Taylor. The third National Raider Championship competition will be held at Thunder Scout Boy Scout Reservation in Molena, Saturday, Nov. 7, and Sunday, Nov. 8, beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday. There is no admission charge and conces sions are available. Molena is approximately 50 miles West of Macon and North of Thomaston. Additional infor mation may be found at: www.thenationals.net (Sports Network International, Daytona Beach, Florida is the venue director with the United States Army Cadet Command as the sponsor). Burglaries on rise in Jenkins County Over the past several months, residential burglaries in Jenkins County have increased at an alarming rate. The Jenkins County Sheriff’s Office reports that since Julyl, deputies have investi gated 25 residential and three business burglaries. “This is not just a problem in Jenkins County; but is a very serious problem in surrounding counties and especially in rural areas. We have always had a low crime rate and have been a quiet community. This is really upsetting to everyone, and it is something I take very seriously,” commented Sheriff Robert Oglesby. During the months of July and August, six residential bur glaries were investigated each month. Three incidents were in vestigated during September, and 10 during October. Deputies also investigated two business burglaries in August and one in October. Arrests have been made in three residential burglaries and in one of the business burglaries with a portion of the stolen prop erty being recovered. In another residential burglary, more than half of the stolen property has been recovered, but no arrests have been. This case remains under investigation. The sheriff notes that since July, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office has investigated more than 100 residential burglaries, most of which occurred in areas bordering Jenkins and Screven Counties. The Screven County Sheriff’s Office has investigated 69 residential burglaries and nine business burglaries during the same period of time. Sheriff Oglesby urges local citizens to take some precaution ary steps to protect their homes and property and that of their neighbors. These measures will also assist the Sheriff’s Office in solving burglaries. “Be observant - if you see something that doesn’t look right, it probably isn’t. If you see something suspicious, please call us so that we can check on it,” Sheriff Oglesby said. The sheriff also offered the following suggestions, “Keep an extra eye on your neighbors’ homes and property. Communi cate with each other. If you are going out of town or will not be home for a period of time, let your neighbors know what your plans are and ask them to especially watch your place. Ask someone to pick up your mail or have the post office hold de livery until you return. Try to leave a vehicle parked close to your home; and if possible, have someone move it daily. Call or come by the Sheriff’s Office before leaving on a trip to re quest that the department put the residence or business on the checklist. The dispatcher or deputy will fill out a form with important information about the location, dates and times the owners will be gone and return as well as emergency contact information. Make a record of the make, model and serial num bers of all property in the home with special emphasis on ve hicles, lawn equipment, weapons, power tools, electronics and jewelry. It is also helpful in the event of a fire or theft loss to have photographs of each room of the home kept with the list of property.” Most of the stolen property recovered from burglaries and thefts by the Sheriff’s Office has been a result of victims fur nishing the make, model and serial numbers of the property stolen. The Sheriff’s Office enters the property into GCIC (Geor gia Crime Information Center) and NCIC (National Crime In formation Center). These entries require a serial number. When the police in other jurisdictions have contact with the property and check it on the system, they receive a “hit.” The local Sheriff’s Office also receives that “hit”. Through this system, many items of property have been recovered and returned to the rightful owner. A final tip, "When possible, have an alarm system installed,” Sheriff Oglesby said. Rain extends harvest season By Wade Parker Jenkins County Extension Service Coordinator This past growing season was one of the best in recent memory for Jenkins County farmers. With the exception of a dry spell in June, every time rain was needed it was received. The June dry spell hurt dryland corn yields with some fields averaging 25-40 bushels per acre, while some irrigated corn in the county averaged well over 200 bushels per acre. Peanut, cotton and soybean crops have major potential. However, it seems as though the wetter than normal growing season has spilled over to the harvest season. As for now, peanuts are approximately 55 percent harvested, and the cotton harvest has barely started. Only a very few soy beans have seen a combine. If the wet conditions continue, this spells trouble for local farmers. Peanuts are a very diffi cult crop to harvest after repeated rain has fallen; cotton on the other hand will dry out fairly quickly, but grade (quality) will deteriorate. Not only are farmers paid a base price for the quantity of product produced, but the base price is either adjusted up or down in relation to quality. In other words, if rain reduces qual ity, then this adversely affects their bottom line. Even with the rain experienced in the past few weeks, this week appears to be drying out. Cautious optimism exists that the harvest season weather will improve, and farmers will be able to get their crops out of the field. Farmers cannot control Mother Nature, therefore, they must play the hand out of cards dealt to them.