WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2025
BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 9A
State News
Georgia Republicans, Democrats disagree over bombing Iran
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia politicians are re
acting to President Donald
Trump’s weekend decision
to bomb Iranian nuclear
sites mostly along party
lines.
Republicans have rushed
to support the president’s
action, while Democrats
criticized Trump for order
ing the bombing without
congressional authorization
and warned it could drag the
U.S. into a lengthy war.
“America can never al
low Iran to obtain a nuclear
weapon,” Gov. Brian Kemp
posted on social media.
“Thank you to President
Trump, our service mem
bers and intelligence per
sonnel, and administration
officials who conducted this
successful operation.”
“It’s one of the best oper
ations that I’ve seen in quite
a long time,” added Georgia
Insurance and Safety Fire
Commissioner John King,
who is seeking the Republi
can nomination to challenge
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.,
next year. “The operational
security was incredible.”
While praising U.S.
troops, Democrats objected
to Trump’s decision to move
forward with the air strikes
without consulting mem
bers of Congress.
“I pray for the safety of
U.S. military service mem
bers deployed around the
world and express my admi
ration for their courage and
professionalism,” Ossoff
wrote in a prepared state
ment. “Congress must be
fully briefed on (the) oper
ation and consulted on the
administration’s strategy.”
“President Trump ... has
now entered another Middle
East conflict,” added Sen.
Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.
“He has not sought congres
sional approval and has not
sufficiently explained why
this operation was neces
sary right now. ... And this is
not the first time the Ameri
can people have been told it
will end quickly. The people
deserve to hear more than
they’ve heard so far.”
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor
Greene, R-Rome, departed
from the GOP party line in
opposing the U.S. air strikes
and warned of dire conse
quences, echoing concerns
among Republican base
voters who historically have
backed Trump’s “America
First” agenda.
“Every time America is
on the verge of greatness,
we get involved in a foreign
war,” Greene posted on so
cial media. “This is not our
fight.”
Meanwhile, Georgia po
litical leaders at the state
level took the partisan po
sitions of their respective
camps.
“Iran messed around and
found out the hard way —
President Trump means
business and delivered
on his promise of peace
through strength,” said state
Senate Majority Leader Ja
son Anavitarte, R-Dallas.
“Iran must never be able to
hold a nuclear arsenal.”
“I am thankful for the
safe return of all service
members involved in (Sat
urday) night’s air strikes,”
said Senate Minority Lead
er Harold Jones, D-Augus-
ta. “(But) I believe, like so
many others, that diplomacy
is the only way we can truly
resolve this crisis.”
After years of trying, environmentalists neutralize a
mining threat near Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
By Ty Tagami
Capitol Beat News Service
The Alabama company
that planned to mine tita
nium dioxide next to the
Okefenokee Swamp has
agreed to sell its property to
an environmental fund, end
ing — for now — a threat to
more than 350,000 acres of
designated national wilder
ness that is home to several
endangered and threatened
species.
The Conservation Fund
announced Friday that it had
agreed to buy Twin Pines
Minerals’ property on Trail
Ridge near the Okefenokee
National Wildlife Refuge,
ending a six-year effort to
protect North America’s
largest blackwater swamp.
“By purchasing this land
from Twin Pines, The Con
servation Fund will ensure
that the Okefenokee Nation
al Wildlife Refuge remains
wild and unspoiled for all
Americans,” Stacy Fun-
derburke, the Fund’s vice
president for the central
Southeast region, said in a
statement.
Funderburke said in an
interview that the Fund had
agreed to pay about $60
million for the nearly 8,000-
acre property.
The transaction will oc
cur in two phases, with the
first phase Friday involving
a transaction for 40% of the
purchase price and the final
closing July 31. He said his
organization continues to
raise money for that final
phase-two transaction.
Twin Pines had no com
ment but confirmed the sale
through a spokesman.
The fund pulled together
money from private donors
with the help of advoca
cy group One Hundred
Miles.
“Twin Pines’ decision to
sell their land to a conser
vation buyer instead of to
a mining company is a re
spectable response to the
hundreds of thousands of
voices who have spoken
out against the mining pro
posal,” Megan Desrosiers,
president and CEO of One
Hundred Miles, said in a
statement.
Alice Keyes, a vice presi
dent of One Hundred Miles,
credited “the unbelievable
public outcry” against min
ing the swamp.
About a quarter million
people submitted comments
against the mining project
to the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and to the state of
Georgia, said the Southern
Environmental Law Center,
which worked against the
mine.
“It was one of the largest
public campaigns that I have
ever been involved in,” said
Keyes, who has worked on
environmental issues for
three decades.
The Okefenokee is a rich
ecosystem hosting bald ea
gles, bobcats, black bears,
and 13,000 alligators. Wood
storks, indigo snakes and
red-cockaded woodpeckers
are among the endangered
and threatened species that
rely on the swamp.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a
Democrat who has been in
volved in the effort to stop
the mine, called the pur
chase “great news for all
Georgians and our beloved
natural treasure.”
Threats remain, though.
Josh Marks, president of
Georgians for the Okefeno
kee, said the purchase was
a “huge victory” to protect
a natural treasure “from a
dangerous project promoted
by an atrocious company.
But the threat is not over by
a long shot.”
The Conservation Fund
struck a deal with DuPont
in the early 2000s to stop
a different titanium dioxide
mine.
Marks is worried that
Chemours, which spun off
from DuPont a decade ago,
could still mine nearby pri
vate property, and said the
General Assembly should
pass the Okefenokee Pro
tection Act, legislation that
has stalled.
Funderburke agreed that
a couple other private prop
erties nearby could also be
mined, but said the Twin
Pines sale reduced the risk.
He said the company’s in
ability to secure a mining
permit after six years of try
ing could discourage other
mining efforts.
And he said that such a
large mine so close to the
swamp would have set a ter
rible precedent.
He said other options
besides outright purchases
exist, such as buying con
servation easements.
“The threat is not over, so
the drumbeat should con
tinue,” Funderburke said.
“But this is a really import
ant milestone in the fight
against mining in the Oke
fenokee.”
That drumbeat has been
growing louder.
Sonny Perdue, a former
Republican governor of
Georgia, has pushed for
protecting the swamp. The
long-serving cabinet mem
ber during President Donald
Trump’s first term is now
chancellor of the University
System of Georgia. In April,
Perdue urged U.S. Interior
Secretary Doug Burgum to
support the years-long effort
to get the national wildlife
refuge designated as a Unit
ed Nations World Heritage
Site.
The letter, which Perdue
sent on Board of Regents
letterhead, cited a study by
an environmental conser
vation group that said the
designation would be an
economic boon for the area
around the Okefenokee.
Others have used the eco
nomic argument as well.
The Southern Environmen
tal Law Center noted that
the Okefenokee draws more
than 700,000 visits a year,
supporting more than 750
jobs and generating about
$65 million in annual eco
nomic activity for the four
counties around the Okefe
nokee.
Rural site development grants going to four Georgia recipients
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
Four Georgia communi
ties will receive $7.5 mil
lion in grants through a state
program designed to foster
economic development in
rural counties.
The OneGeorgia Authori
ty’s Rural Site Development
Initiative helps communities
identify, assess, and develop
new ready-for-development
industrial sites. Eligible
activities include site stud
ies, land grading, and other
infrastructure projects that
support site development.
“Georgia offers the work
force, connectivity, and
business-friendly environ
ment for companies to be
successful in every corner
of the state,” Gov. Brian
Kemp said late Wednesday.
“The Rural Site Develop
ment Initiative helps us
maintain that competitive
edge over other states by
empowering communities
to build on that success and
turn fields of dreams into
sources of good-paying jobs
for rural Georgians.”
Grants of $2 million each
will go to the Development
Authority of Milledgeville
and Baldwin County, the
Dublin-Laurens County De
velopment Authority, and
the Worth County Econom
ic Development Authority.
The Baldwin County proj
ect will include construction
of an entry road and other
improvements at a 1,500-
acre site called Sibley Place.
The Dublin-Laurens
County grant will help fi
nance sewage and drainage
improvements at a 250-acre
site along Georgia 257.
Worth County’s econom
ic development agency will
use its $2 million for water,
drainage, road, and other in
frastructure improvements
at the 196-acres Worth
County Industrial Complex.
The fourth grant — worth
about $1.5 million — will
go the Development Au
thority of Bulloch County
for site grading and sewer
improvements at the 69-
acre Cannady Site.
In each case, the local de
velopment agency contrib
uted a share of the financing
toward each project.
“The Rural Site Develop
ment Initiative empowers
communities to proactively
shape economic growth that
aligns with their long-term
goals,” said Pat Wilson,
commissioner of the Geor
gia Department of Econom
ic Development. “As we
build on years of economic
success, investing in new
site development ensures
we sustain and accelerate
that momentum. This was
the second round of funding
under the state program. A
first round of $9.3 million
in grants to six local devel
opment authorities was an
nounced last December.
Georgia DOT completes Hurricane Helene recovery efforts across state
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
It took the Georgia De
partment of Transportation
seven months to finish clear
ing the massive amounts of
debris Hurricane Helene left
across a wide swath of the
state, an engineer with the
agency said Wednesday.
The DOT used 2,134 em
ployees in the response to
the storm — more than half
of the agency’s staff — to
haul nearly 4.8 million cu
bic yards of debris from 35
sites, Assistant State Main
tenance Engineer Emily
Fish told members of the
State Transportation Board.
The work was completed
in April, she said. Helene
rampaged through South
Georgia and north through
the Augusta area in late Sep
tember, killing 34 Georgians
and causing heavy rainfall
and widespread flooding
as well as extensive power
outages.
The General Assembly
approved $862 million in
disaster relief for victims of
the storm.
Fish said the DOT has
sent five applications for
reimbursement from the
Federal Emergency Man
agement Agency. The feds
are expected to fully reim
bursement the state for the
first 120 days of recovery
efforts and cover 75% of
the costs after that, she said.
The Federal Highway Ad
ministration also kicked in
$9.1 million separately to
help repair damaged roads,
she said.
Fish said the state is
having to provide a huge
amount of documentation
with the various reimburse
ment applications. “It be
comes incredibly tedious,
but we have to do this to get
that funding back,” she said.
Fish said lessons learned
from the massive recovery
include a need to improve
communications among the
various repair crews work
ing throughout the disaster
area. Cellphone service was
out in some areas for up
to five days following the
storm, she said. Fish said
the DOT has bought 1,200
new radios and satellite
phones that will help with
communication the next
time a hurricane or other
weather emergency strikes.
The 2025 hurricane season
outlook from the Nation
al Oceanographic and At
mospheric Administration
(NOAA) is calling for a
60% chance of an above-av
erage amount of activity.
“I think we’re better pre
pared than ever,” Fish said.
“But I hope we won’t have
to respond.”
Georgia unemployment dips slightly for the month
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia’s unemployment
rate fell slightly in April to
3.5%, seven-tenths below
the national jobless rate, the
state Department of Labor
reported Thursday.
“After holding steady
at 3.6% for nearly a year
— and recent job growth
— we’re proving once
again that Georgia’s busi
ness-friendly environment
and competitive workforce
deliver results,” Georgia
Commissioner of Labor
Barbara Rivera Holmes
said.
The number of jobs in
Georgia increased by 4,900
in May to an all-time high
of 4.99 million. 1,900 jobs.
The state’s labor force fell
by 4,111 last month to near
ly 5.4 million, as did the
number of employed Geor
gians, which dropped by
1,386 to almost 5.2 million.
On the positive side, un
employment declined by
2,725 to 189,026.
The number of first-time
jobless claims also was
down by 1,901 in May to
19,135.
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