About The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 7, 2008)
Important voting information from Board of Elections - Page 2 JSlflND€R_ • Dave Barry - 8 • Editorial SUPfifl* Back Talk - 24 f (jg • Health -10 • Movie Review Wanted-16 • Pet Page -17 • Pew News - 22 Published by Permar Publications • P.O. Box 20539 • St. Simons Island, Ga. 31522 • 912-265-9654 • ssislander@bellsouth.net July 7, 2008 Established 1972 Vol 36 Issue 27 Dylan goes home... Above: Dylan makes her way into the ocean for the first time in ten years on Monday, June 30. A special satellite transmitter has been attached to the back of her shell and will provide Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) researchers and visitorstotheGSTC and Georgia Aquarium websites the opportunity to monitor her activities and movements. Below: Staff from the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Aquarium carry Dylan down the beach to the Atlantic. Island and the Georgia Islander staff photos Loggerhead turtle released back into the ocean on June 30 The Islander is now online The Islander newspaper is now available to readers online at www.theislanderonline.com The site went live on Mon day, June 30. The entire newspaper will be available at no cost to the public for the next four issues. Starting with the August 4 issue availability will be lim ited to subscribers. Select portions will remain available to the public, but to continue to be able to read the entire paper online, a paid sub scription, which will include home delivery of the paper, will be required. After August 4 subscribers who want access to the website can call the office at 912-265- 9654 or e-mail at ssislander@ bellsouth.net for details on obtaining access. Some of the site's highlights include: a public forum in which readers can post com ments, local weather, a photo gallery, movie listings, local advertisers and more. Please check us out today. □ Thaw recall hits road block • BOE rules application insufficient The attempt to recall Glynn County Commissioner Tony Thaw (Dist. 3) came to halt Wednesday, July 2, at least temporarily. The Glynn County Board of Elections (BOE) sent a letter to Bernard Ask, chairman of the recall effort, stating that the BOE had determined the application was legally insuffi cient because it did not contain at least 100 valid signatures. Therefore a recall petition would not be issued. Of the 133 signatures submitted, the BOE determined that 89 signatures were valid. The BOE issued a recall application on June 10 to recall District 3 County Commis sioner Tony Thaw. The signed application was turned back in to the BOE on June 25 as required. The BOE then had to verify Turn to Page 6 Thaw recall Site plan OK’ed for Mercedes- Benz facility on Colonels' Island By Matthew J. Permar While corporate honchos are being tight lipped about the plans, it isn't as if it's a big industry secret that the Mercedes-Benz automobile company is getting ready to open a vehicle processing cen ter on Colonel's Island near Brims wick. The facility has been a topic of discussion and pursuit in local economic development circles for several years and in fact a major railroad track connection was built a year or two ago to shorten the travel time to Colonel's Island with the German car manufacturer in mind. On Tuesday, July 1 officials from Mercedes-Benz appeared before the Glynn County Main land Planning Commission (MPC) with a request for site Turn to Page 9 Mercedes-Benz ’Markdown Monster’ gets reprieve • City still undecided on sign ordinance • Billboard company threatens lawsuit By Matthew J. Permar A proposed Brunswick city sign ordinance that would have prohibited inflatable signs like the 'Markdown Monster' at the used car lot on the comer of Community Rd. and SPUR 25, was deferred by the Brunswick City Commission during their July 2 meeting. The proposed sign ordinance is made up of 19 amendments to the city's existing Zoning Ordinance. Going down the list of amendments one by one, city commissioners approved some of the amendments, while defer ring others, including the one addressing inflatable signs. The amendments were pre pared by City Planner Arne Turn to Page 6 City sign law challenged Jekyll Island, Ga. (June 27, 2008) — Dylan, a straggler hatchling turtle who was res cued on Jekyll Island almost 10 years ago and became a national ambassador for sea turtles, has gone home. Officials from the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island, and the Georgia Aquar ium in Atlanta released Dylan into the ocean on Monday, June 30. After outgrowing her tank at the Tidelands Nature Center on Jekyll Island, a partnership was formed with the Georgia Aquarium, where Dylan was relocated in November 2005. She returned to Jekyll Island in May of 2007, arriving at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center shortly before its official public opening, becoming the second patient. Visitors to Coastal Encoun ters Nature Center on St. Simons Island, the University of Georgia’s Tidelands Nature Center, the Georgia Aquarium and (most recently) the Geor gia Sea Turtle Center have enjoyed the sights of this graceful sea turtle for many years. Because her carapace is over 50 cm long, Dylan is big enough to return to the ocean according to standards set by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Since last summer, when Dylan returned to Jekyll Island from the Georgia Aquarium in Turn to Page 15 Dylan the turtle
