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Published by Permar Publications • P.O. Box 20539 • St. Simons Island, Ga. 31522 • 912-265-9654 • ssislander@bellsouth.net
July 13, 2009 Established 1972 Vol 37 Issue 28
Gateway enters Phase II
Man in the middle.... Glynn County Engineer Jim Bruner on site at the intersection of
Demere and Sea Island Roads on St. Simons Island working to keep traffic flowing
smoothly through the Gateway road construction project last week. Islander Staff Photo
Drivers need to pay attention while navigating
Gateway project construction
Local botanical
artist recognized
internationally
By Ben Friedmon
I first met Hillary Parker at
my brother’s soccer match and
when I heard that she was a
painter I thought it sounded
interesting, but remembered
that the Golden Isles seems to
inspire plenty of artists.
A few weeks later I saw a
watercolor picture of a bird’s
nest that Ms. Parker had
painted.
The nest was so incredibly
vivid on the paper. Its edges
stretched around the thin
branches and every little detail
was visible.
Considering that a bird
placed in front of mirror will
assume that it has company;
I would wager that if a bird
were to see Hillary Parker's
painting, it would try to inhab
it the nest.
Instead of nests, Parker pri
marily paints plant life with
the flair of a botanist. She
describes herself as an ama
teur naturalist and her studio
attests to this claim.
Books for identifying all
manners of plants and animals
stand side by side with her col
lection of painting prints.
In a recent interview Parker
Turn to Page 6
According to Glynn County
Engineer Jim Bruner, there
would be less traffic problems
at the St. Simons Island Gate
way road project if distracted
By Matthew J. Permar
drivers would hang up their
cell phones and pay attention
to the road and their driving.
“The vast majority of people
who come through this project,
who are confused, cause a traf
fic hold up because they are
talking on cell phones,” said
Bruner, “It’s distracted driv
ers that are causing additional
problems.”
In an interview last week,
Bruner acknowledged that
major traffic problems and
delays arose on Sunday and
Monday July 5 and 6 when
the construction contractor
switched from Phase I of the
project, which focused primar
ily on Kings Way, to Phase II,
which includes Demere and
Sea Island Roads.
But since that time Bruner
and the County Police Depart
ment have worked on-site
keeping an eye on traffic and
adjusting the timing on the
traffic light to keep cars flow
ing as smoothly as possible.
Bruner said, “This project
has been in the discussion
and planning stages for more
than four years. And all along,
especially since we got close to
breaking ground, we’ve tried to
let people know to expect traf
fic delays. This is the case with
any road construction project.”
According to Bruner the
heaviest flow is north bound
on Sea Island Rd. through the
traffic signal, and the next
heaviest is west bound on
Demere Rd. going to Bruns
wick.
The traffic light at the Deme
re Rd. Sea Island Rd. intersec
tion is controlled by a magnetic
loop switch in the pavement.
As drivers approach the road
construction, they need to not
only be aware of other cars,
but of the traffic light’s timing
as it cycles through its phases
controlled by the loop switch.
Cars traveling north on Sea
Island Rd. will have 120 sec
onds of green light before it
changes to yellow and then
red.
But, the critical part is they
will only have the 120 seconds
Turn to Page 7
Gateway project
George Dawes Green
returns to island
on new book tour
St. Simons native George
Dawes Green, the author of
the critically acclaimed nov
els, The Caveman's Valentine
and The Juror, is returning to
the island in late July on tour
for his latest book, the thriller
Ravens.
Beachview Books will host
a book signing and reading for
Ravens on Saturday July 25
from 5 to 7 p.m. at 215 Mallery
Street, in the Village on St.
Simons. For details call 912-
638-7282.
The Caveman's Valentine
received outstanding reviews,
was listed as an Editor's
Choice in the New York Times
Book Review, and won an
Edgar Award. The Juror was
an instant New York Times
bestseller and the movie was
released by Columbia Pictures
starring Demi Moore and Alec
Baldwin.
A movie version of The
Turn to Page 5
George Dawes Green
Class action sought
against Synovus
connected to Sea
Island Co. dealings
• Synovus refutes
claims
Various News Sources
According to the Tuesday,
July 7, 2009 edition of the
Atlanta Business Chronicle
(ABC), and other news sourc
es, a class action law suit has
been filed against Synovus
Financial Corp based on the
company's dealings with the
Sea Island Company.
Filed in U.S. District Corut
for the Northern District of
Georgia, the suit alleges that
some of Synovus's "officers and
directors lied about the compa
ny’s financial exposure through
a loan to the Sea Island Co.
resort," said the ABC.
"The complaint alleges from
Jan. 24, 2008 through Jan. 21,
2009, the company (Synovus)
issued materially false and
Turn to Page 15
Synovus Corp.
Hillary Parker
St. Simons Island resident Hillary Parker is an internation
ally recognized botanical artist, as well as an art teacher.
Here, Parker is at work on a painting of an American Bald
Eagle feather, for which she was commissioned.
Islander Staff Photo
