Newspaper Page Text
UPta JHtllctt Nctns
VOL. 117 NO. 3 Millen, Ga. 30442
LEGAL ORGAN OF JENKINS COUNTY SINCE 1903
Wednesday, July 19, 2023 * 750
Atlantic Waste Services submits permit for new landfill
DEBORAH BENNETT
Millen News Editor
Ben Wall, owner of Atlantic Waste
Services, confirmed that his company
has submitted an application to the
Jenkins County Commissioners for
the construction of a new Municipal
Solid Waste (MSW) landfill. It would
be located on property adjacent to
the county’s existing Construction
and Demolition (C&D) landfill. At
lantic Waste has been managing and
operating the county’s landfill since
April, 2021.
Wall said that he is coordinating
with the commissioners and the
county attorney to complete the steps
necessary to move the application
forward as well as the adoption of
the Solid Waste Management Plan
(SWMP) through the proper channels.
“These steps with the SWMP need
to be taken whether or not the applica
tion for the new landfill is approved,”
he said.
The proposed site for the MSW
landfill contains 258 acres with ap
proximately 140 acres being used for
the design of the landfill footprint.
The MSW landfill would accept
mainly household garbage. Currently,
all household garbage from the city
and county is being trucked to a
transfer station in Sylvania where it
is picked up by Atlantic Waste and
transported to Superior Landfill in
Chatham County. The cost to truck
and dispose of the MSW refuse is
approximately $60 a ton, Wall said.
Having an MSW landfill in the county
would reduce the cost to approxi
mately $28 a ton. This translates to
a savings of $l-$2 on sanitation bills
for citizens. Also, Superior Landfill
is expected to be filled in eight years.
Wall said, he expects it to be at least 4
to 5 years before the new facility can
be constructed and accepting waste.
“The major differences between the
proposed new landfill and the current
one is the type of refuse that would
be accepted and the liner system”
Wall said.
The current C& D landfill only
accepts concrete, wood from build
ings, roofing shingles, g^
metals, bricks, glass,
plastics, sheetrock, sal- ATLANTIC ’
vaged building compo- 3
Joyce Mixon
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Joyce Mixon is shown with the portrait of
herseif as a 5-year-old child in Germany that
led to her desire to paint.
DEBORAH BENNETT
Millen News Editor
It is often said that a child’s ex
periences can influence their life
choices and set them upon the path
their life will travel. Joyce Mixon
believes this is true for her. There
is no doubt in her mind that an
experience she had as a 5-year-old
child in Germany placed a deep
desire in her heart that has stayed
with her all of her life.
“My dad was in the military,
and we were living in Germany.
There was a man there who painted
portraits. We went to him and had
our portraits done. I remember
watching him, and there has just
been something in me all my life
that makes me want to do what he
did,” Mixon said.
She began fulfilling that desire
in 2005 when she started watching
and recording television programs
featuring painter Bob Ross.
“I remember thinking, ‘I can do
that.’ And, I just started trying,”
Mixon said.
Her talent, her gift, she believes
is “God-given.”
“I can’t paint a thing unless the
Lord gives me the picture. I have
to ask Him to give me something
and pray about,” Mixon said.
Then, something usually catches
her eye and an idea begins to form.
“I’ve had people come to me and
ask me to paint something specific
for them. And, I have tried, but I
just can’t do it. I hate telling them
that I can’t, but it has to come from
God. It has to have some purpose
behind it,” Mixon said.
“The most emotional painting I
have done was for a woman who
had lost her daughter tragically. I
kept getting this picture of a young
girl, sitting with her back to me,
with birds and daisies all around
her. So, I painted her daughter
with her long flowing hair with her
back to me, swinging in a swing
with birds in the tree, and she was
holding a daisy. It was a God-sent
thing,” Mixon recalls.
She said she found out later that
daisies were the girl’s
& OFF
favorite flower. occ
“I did one of Jesus MIXOB,
for another lady who 3
Shown with two of her many paintings is Joyce Mixon
There was standing room only in the meeting room of the county commis
sioners as they heard comments from the public concerning the possibility
of the construction/expansion of a landfill in the county by Atlantic Waste
Services.
Landfill proposal draws fire
from concerned citizens
DEBORAH BENNETT
Millen News Editor
A large crowd of concerned citi
zens turned out for the June 11th
meeting of the Jenkins County Com
missioners in response to a proposal
to construct a landfill from Atlantic
Waste Services, the company that
currently manages and operates the
county landfill.
The meeting, however, failed to
meet the attendance quorum of three.
Commissioners attending were Chair
man Horace Weathersby III and Hiller
Spann. Absent were Commission
ers Johnathan
Powell, Pame- SEE
lia Dwight and COMMISSIONERS,
Tracie Coney. 3
you ML.
we get the answer!
DEBORAH BENNETT
Millen News Editor
The Millen News has received a
question from a city resident inquir
ing as to why the city doesn’t publish
notices in the newspaper when the
water hydrants will be flushed. They
stated that their clothes come out of
the washing machine looking rusty.
We presented the question to City
Manager Jeff Brantley.
“We send notices out in the utility
bills when we have a planned hydrant
flush. The tank maintenance company
we use is planning to flush the tanks
by year end, but I’ve not been given
any dates. The hydrant flushing is
usually what causes the colored water
issues.”
Opposition against new landfill intensifies
DEBORAH BENNETT
Millen News Editor
Jenkins County citizens opposed
to the construction of a new landfill
in the county held a meeting Tuesday
night to organize their efforts. Spear
heading the group are Vondessa Lee,
Sherry Chance, Karen Johnson, and
Danielle Davis.
The movement began when it
became public that Atlantic Waste
Services had submitted a landfill
application to the Jenkins County
Commissioners for construction of a
new landfill adjacent to the county’s
present one. The company currently
manages and operates the county’s
landfill.
Those attending the meeting were
updated on the organization’s efforts
so far.
Chance reported that the Jenkins
County Commissioners were contact
ed and that four of the five members
were receptive to hearing concerns
and questions from local citizens.
She said that the phone numbers of
the commissioners would be provided
and urged everyone to call them and
express their concerns and ask ques
tions.
Lee said that she had been in touch
with Ogeechee River Keeper’s legal
team and that they are “fighting with
us.” She encouraged everyone to join
Ogeechee River Keeper and make a
monetary donation to the organiza
tion.
Johnson reported on the group’s
Facebook page, People of Jenkins
County Against the Landfill, and
urged them to join. She said a petition
was being prepared and urged all to
sign it when presented.
Attendees were asked to break up
into smaller groups and spend sev
eral minutes reviewing copies of the
county’s Solid Waste Management
Plan (SWMP), a 38-page document
which will be voted upon soon by the
commissioners. The groups were then
instructed to select one person to share
one thing from what they learned or
are concerned about after their brief
review of the SWMP. Their remarks
should begin with; “We wonder
about...” they were told.
Things the group members “won
dered about” includ-
SEE
ed: monitoring of
the present landfill, LANDFILL,
leaching, cost of 9
James Saxon addresses local citizens opposed to the construction of a
new landfill in the county during a meeting held Tuesday night. Saxon was
a hazardous waste truck driver for 43 years.