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The Football Contest Is BACK.... See pages 12 & 13... win great prizes!!!!! JSIAND€R_ Surfin’ the News • Dave Barry - 8 • Editorial Back Talk - 20 • Football Contest 12 & 13 • Health -14 • Movie Review The Time Traveler's Wife - 9 • Pew News -18 Published by Permar Publications • P.O. Box 20539 • St. Simons Island, Ga. 31522 • 912-265-9654 • www.theislanderonline.com • ssislander@bellsouth.net September 7, 2009 Established 1972 Vol 37 Issue 36 College Park floods again Above: A College Park resi dent has to drive his truck through water up to his bumper to get out of his neighborhood after last week's rain storm. Left: Red Cross volunteers Brooke Thompson and Buddy Baker (seated left) get ready to admit College Park residents, who were flooded out of their homes, to the emergency shelter at Selden Park. Islander Staff Photos Residents blame city for lack of action By Matthew J. Permar Red Cross sets up shelter in Selden Park gym Glynn's (almost) hidden treasure By Pamela Permar Shierling When controversy sur rounds something, it becomes easy to lose sight of what you are actually looking at. The fact that Glynn Coun ty's Altamaha Park is a true treasure has been somewhat lost in the scuffle over who should manage the park and the perception that the park is reserved for only a special few. Altamaha Park is in the northern part of Glynn Coun ty and affords the only public access to the Altamaha River in Glynn County. The first piece of Park prop erty was conveyed to Glynn County by Timber Lands, Inc. in September 1951. Two tracts were recorded on the deed: 3.12 acres on the northwest side of the railroad (Seaboard Air Line Railroad at that time) and 1.45 acres on the south east side of the railroad. The deed states that the conveyance is made upon condition that the property.... shall be used and maintained by Glynn County as a public park and for that purpose only. The property would revert to Timber Lands, Inc. if it ceased to be used or maintained by the county as a public park or if the county failed to prevent the creation of public nuisanc es, illegal operations or unde sirable enterprises within the park property or property in the vicinity. In August 1958 Brunswick Pulp and Paper Company deeded to the county an addi tional 4.3 acres with the same stipulation that it be used as a public park. In November 1960 Bruns wick Pulp and Paper deeded one acre abutting the north west boundary of Park prop erty with the same stipula tions plus the property would be used for the benefit of the Glynn County Police Depart ment and a recreation area for the School Boy Patrol. In June 2004 the Park went from a little under 10 acres to 75 acres with little notice from the public. Turn to Page 5 Altamaha Park College Park resident Caro line Massey had tears in her eyes. Standing near the edge of a puddle of backed up rain water that flooded the majority of her neighborhood, unable to get to her house, Massey explained her distress at last week’s unusually heavy rains. “I’ve lived here since 1974,” said Massey, “The neighbor hood flooded like this in 2005 and water got all inside my house, in a lot of our houses. My husband and I had to gut the whole house and then take another mortgage to have it repaired.” With the last mortgage still hanging over their heads, Massey wonders how they will pay for water damage repairs this time. The residents’ frustration comes from the fact that they believe the city of Brunswick could have done something to prevent the flooding. The residents say the flood ing is due to the city not clean ing the storm water drains and drainage ditches that service the area. Several residents also said commercial development around the Brunswick Mall dumps water into their drain age system overloading it. “The area around the mall drains to here. They built those buildings up higher than the neighborhood, so the water drains here, the drains and ditches plug up and the water backs up and we get no offer of help,” said one unidentified resident. “When Mayor (Bryan) Thompson was elected, he Turn to Page 6 College Park No I St. for Glynn By Matthew J. Permar After voting more than a year ago unofficially to aban don a one block stretch of I St. in downtown Brunswick to the Glynn County Commission for the proposed jail expansion, the Brunswick City Commis sion has changed their mind. Last week, during their Wednesday, Sept. 2 meeting the city commission voted to withdraw their offer to aban don I St. Originally, when the city agreed, with a motion and vote at a public meeting, to aban don the one block portion of I St. it was with the stipulation that the county must acquire all the property needed for the jail expansion before the aban donment would occur. The county is currently in Appeals Court trying to get the last two pieces of property, owned by Brunswick business man, Bob Torras, by eminent Turn to Page 6 I Street Mother Nature 7” Gateway project 0 By Matthew J. Permar Originally the St. Simons Island Gateway road project was supposed to be done by early November. But thanks to Mother Nature, that time frame is now highly unlikely. According to Glynn County Engineer Jim Bruner, “After this last week of rain, we’re going to have to re-evaluate the project. And when we recover, we’ll have to see where we are and where we’ve got to go as far as a completion date.” Prior to what has been called an “unprecedented rain event” last week, Bruner said that Southern Development Co. of Jacksonville, Fla., the Gateway project contractor, was confident the job would be completed on time, but after several weeks of rain the origi nal time frame will have to be pushed back. Speaking with The Islander last Thursday morning Sept. 3, Turn to Page 17 Gateway update