Newspaper Page Text
VOL. 106, NO. 26, JANUARY 13, 2010
LEGAL ORGAN OF JENKINS COUNTY
MILLEN, GEORGIA • 75 CENTS
Farm Bureau hosts legislative luncheon
By Deborah Bennett
Millen News Editor
Lunch and legislative issues
were served up Tuesday. Jan. 5,
at the Jenkins County Agriculture
Center where U.S. Representative
John Barrow addressed local citi
zens.
The event was sponsored by
Jenkins County Farm Bureau and
Burke County Farm Bureau.
Jenkins County Extension Service
Coordinator Wade Parker served
as moderator.
In his remarks, Rep. Barrow
discussed his position on several
issues that recentiy came before
Congress. He began by outlining
legislative works that he opposed:
Tarp, the federal budget, the en
ergy bill and the health care re
form bill.
Rep. Barrow said he voted
against Tarp “because it didn’t do
what it said it would” and he op
posed the federal budget "because
the spending plan was too big. The
Congressman said he felt the en
ergy bill “was unfair to Georgia
and wouldn’t work” and that the
health care reform bill “had too
many mandates and taxes on small
businesses.”
A legislative work that he sup
ported included the state children's
health insurance plan, which funds
the Peach Care program.
“It is a Georgia grown pro
gram,” he commented.
During a question and answer
session. Rep. Barrow addressed
the Central American Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA) and the
North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), noting that
he opposed both because he felt,
“we are playing on an unfair field,
and they arc unenforceable.”
When asked how small commu
nities like Millen and Jenkins
County could recover from lost
jobs. Rep. Barrow outlined three
ways that he felt life could be
brought back to rural economies.
“We need to stop subsidizing
companies that want to move jobs
out of the country,” he said, citing
the closure of the local Jockey In
ternational plant as an example of
the effects of CAFTA and NAFTA.
He noted that developing new
sources of energy in the state and
public infrastructure through fed
eral assistance programs were
good ways to put people back to
work.
“Putting contractors to work to
build the stuff we need is a good
investment,” Rep. Barrow said.
When the issue of a federal sales
tax was brought up, Rep. Barrow
said that he had concerns with the
“fan - tax” issue.
“We would need a sales tax that
is higher than anywhere in the
world. We can’t raise as much
money from sales tax as the exist
ing taxes without shifting the tax
burden from those who don’t
spend all their income to those
who do,” he commented.
“People would be paying more
sales tax than they would pay in
income tax. We need tax reform,
but it needs to provide relief to
those who bear the burden,” he
added.
Several local farmers com
plained about a change in policy
at the Farm Service Agency that
required checks for federal pro
grams to be issued from Kansas
City rather than local offices as had
been the custom in the past. Rep.
Barrow agreed to look into the
matter.
Jenkins County Extension Service Coordinator Wade
Parker, left, introduced U.S. Rep. John Barrow at a
legislative luncheon held Jan. 5 at the Jenkins County
Agriculture Center. (Staff photo by Deborah Bennett)
Sprucing up downtown
The Cotton Avenue TE-grant project continues to progress with the addition of green spaces and
new sidewalks along the city’s main street. New streetlights have also been installed. In addition to
improvements currently underway through a Department of Transportation TE-grant, Cotton Av
enue will also get a new surface. Millen City Council approved a bid on the paving project from
Ellis Wood Construction during the group’s December meeting. The company submitted the only
bid received, and it was approved up to $145,000. Christmas bonuses for city employees were
discussed with council approving bonuses based on the previous year’s formula. Also approved was
an extra $100 in recognition of the city’s having gone all year without filing any Workers Compen
sation claims. In other matters, Councilman Ivey McMillan was recognized for 28 years of service,
and council reviewed some of the properties on which complaints had been filed and the actions
being taken to enforce codes. (Staff photo by Deborah Bennett)
Consultants to help run Tax Assessor office
By Deborah Bennett
Millen News Editor
State consultants will tempo
rarily assist with the operation
of the Jenkins County Tax
Assessor’s office following the
recent death of Don Rich,
Jenkins County’s tax appraiser/
chief tax assessor. However, the
spot held by Rich on the Jenkins
County Board of Tax Assessors
needs to be filled as soon as
possible as it will be necessary
for the person selected to attend
state training classes.
The Jenkins County Commis
sioners agreed during their
Tuesday, Jan. 5, meeting to ad
vertise the appraiser/chief tax
assessor position and to actively
recruit a qualified individual to
serve as the third member of the
board of tax assessors.
A called meeting was set for
6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 11, to dis
cuss the issue as well as the
county budget.
In other matters, representa
tives from the South Jenkins
Volunteer Fire Department Dis
trict 6 addressed the commis
sioner concerning how the new
agreement proposed between
the county and volunteer fire
departments would affect ISO
insurance ratings. Following a
discussion of the matter, it was
decided that the county attorney
would discuss the matter with
an ISO official.
Other actions taken by the
commissioners included the fol
lowing:
• Reappointed James Henry
as commission chairman,
Tommy Lane as commission
vice-chairman and Troy Gay as
county attorney;
• Instructed the county attor
ney to draw up an ordinance
preventing private ambulances
from operating within the
county;
• Tabled action on bid for
work to be done on Jenkins
County Senior Citizen Center
roof until after a budget discus
sion;
• Awarded bid for work to be
done in senior citizen center
kitchen to Dabbs and Williams
at a price of $2,555; and
• Approved transit system
resolution as part of the grant
MLK activities
announced
Pageant, breakfast,
worship service
and more planned
The local celebration of Dr. Martin
Luther King’s birthday will begin 7
p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14, at with the Mr.
and Miss Dream Queen-King Pageant
to be held at the Millen Community
House.
The Prayer Breakfast will be held at
8 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, at the First
Baptist Church Annex. The Rev. A. A.
Bush will be the speaker. Tickets are
on sale for $5 and may be purchased
from any member of the Millen Opti
mist Club.
A Unity Worship Service/Recognize
Grand Marshal will be held 4 p.m. Sun
day, Jan. 10, at Nannie E. Williams
U.M.C.
The Service of Rededication will be held 5 p.m. Sunday,
Jan. 17, at the Zion Baptist Church. The keynote speaker
will be the Rev. Kenneth Thomas, pastor of the Williams
Grove Church Of God In Christ.
On Monday, Jan. 18, the activities will begin at 10 a.m.
with a parade through downtown
Millen. Grand Marshal for the parade will be Demetrius
Bynes, a Millen native and the son of Melvin and Carlene
Bynes.
Bynes is a 1998 honor graduate of Jenkins County High
School and a 2002 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Georgia
Southern University (GSU) with a Bachelor of Business
Administration degree in Management with an emphasis
in Human Resources Management. In 2004, he received a
Master of Business Administration degree in General Busi
ness from GSU, and in 2005, he received the Professional
in Human Resources (pHR) certification from Human Re
source Certification Institute (HRCI). Currently, he serves
as Employment Manager at GSU and oversees the hiring
of all non-faculty positions. Bynes has also served as an
Adjunct Faculty member at GSU and Ogeechee Technical
College (OTC). He has over 10 years of experience which
includes stints at OTC, the County Council of Beaufort
County and GSU.
Bynes’ Professional affiliations include the Magnolia
Midlands Society for Human Resource Management Chap
ter, Society for Human Resource Management and College
and University Professional Association for Human Re
sources (CUPA-HR). He served as president of the Mag
nolia Midlands Society for Human Resource Management
Chapter and a board member of the SHRM Georgia State
Council from Jan. 1, 2007 through Dec. 31, 2009. He has
served as a board member of the Management and Super
visory Development Committee at OTC since January 2008.
The Jenkins County High School and Portal High School
bands will also participate in the parade.
Following the parade, a program will be held at Bethel
A.M.E. Church. The speaker for this program will be the
Rev. William Patterson, pastor of New Light Baptist
Church. He is also band director for Portal High School.
Awards for parade participants will be given out during
this program.
For further information on the Dream King-Queen Pag
eant, contact Miriam Johnson at 982-8951 or Annie An
thony at 982-8092.
For more information on the Prayer Breakfast, contact
Bobby Anthony at 982-121 or Pam Dwight at 982-1667.
For information on the Service of Rededication, and pa
rade contact, Walter Thomas at 982-1503, Johnnie M.
Sherrod at 982-2822, Maebel McCloud at 982-2374 or Mae
Della Sapp at 982-1877.
For information on the after parade program, contact Pam
Dwight at 982-1667.
Demetrius
Bynes, MLK
parade Grand
Marshal