Newspaper Page Text
THE
"M'SLANDER
Published by
Permar Publications
www.theislanderonline.com
ssislander@bellsouth.net
May 3, 2010
Chief Judge's
gavel 'passes'
to Wood
By Matthew J. Permar
For 20 years the Southern
District federal court's Chief
Justice gavel has been wielded
by Judge William T. Moore, Jr.
from his seat on the bench in
Savannah.
And now that Judge Moore
has turned 70, federal law
requires that the gavel and
mantle of the Chief Justice be
passed to the next in line.
The next in line is United
States District Judge Lisa God-
bey Wood of Brunswick, the
first woman to be appointed to
District Judge for the South
ern District of Georgia.
Judge Wood will have the
gavel passed to her when she
is named Chief Judge for the
Southern District this week on
Wednesday, May 5.
It’s appropriate that Judge
Wood receive this honor on
Turn to Page 6
Judge Wood
County to
toughen Bed
Tax Ordinance
By Matthew J. Permar
As St. Simons Island has
grown, a rather unique situa
tion has evolved with regard to
rental property.
Over the years, many
property owners have turned
garage apartments, mother-
in-law apartments and condo
miniums into vacation rentals.
The problem with many of
these vacation rental proper
ties is the owners aren't pay
ing the Accommodation Excise
Tax, commonly referred to as
the 'Bed Tax' on them.
Perhaps as long as 20 years
ago, the local hotel-motel
industry agreed to impose the
Bed Tax on themselves and
split it with the county com
mission.
In 2001 the split was frozen
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Bed Tax
Established 1972
Vol 38 Issue 18
North Glynn Skateboard park
The proposed design of the North Glynn Park skateboard facility by American Ramp
Co. The facility is substantially larger than the skateboard pad on St. Simons Island.
Along with size, two of the main differences are the inclusion of the two half pipe
structures on the right and the covered seating area on the left.
Graphic by American Ramp Co, Courtesy of Glynn County Recreation
Contract awarded for North Glynn skateboard park
Autistic student
finds success
with art
By Pamela P. Sheirling
It’s trite but true. Good
comes from all things, even
things that appear devastat
ing.
Justin Riddle was bom in
1990 and seemed to be devel
oping verbally at a normal rate
until 18 months of age. By the
age of two years, he was com
pletely non verbal. According
to Justin’s mom, Della Harri
son, autism was not recognized
at that time and, ‘We were
told to wait,” she said.
Lucky for Justin that his
mom did not wait much lon
ger.
She took him to Nemours
Children's Clinic in Jackson
ville at age three where he was
evaluated and diagnosed with
autism. ‘He was very low func
tioning at that point,” Della
said. “But he underwent exten
sive speech and occupational
therapy.”
“It’s extremely important
for an autistic child to be able
to communicate,” she contin
ued. “The earlier they enter
Skateboarders on St. Simons
Island got their SPLOST 4
funded (Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax) skateboard
park more than a year ago
and the popular Demere Park
facility has seen regular use
since then.
Mainland skateboarders
Correction
Due to a reporting error
there was incorrect information
in the article titled “Epworth
says “No’ to gym” in the April
26 edition of The Islander.
According to the article, the
Glynn County Recreation Dept,
proposed to build a 60,500 sq.
ft. gymnasium in Epworth
Park.
According to Assistant
County Administrator Paul
Christian, the size of the pro
posed gym was 16,000 sq. ft.
We apologize for this error. □
By Matthew J. Permar
were also promised a facility,
to be built at the North Glynn
Recreation Complex, with the
same SPLOST 4 referendum
and that skateboard park is
about to become a reality.
Last week the Glynn Coun
ty Commission’s Finance Com
mittee voted unanimously to
recommend that the contract
for construction of the North
Glynn Skateboard Park be
awarded to American Ramp
Co. of Joplin, Missouri for
an amount not to exceed
$379,192.
The money will come from
the $2.5 million of SPLOST
4 funds that were earmarked
for “completion of the North
Glynn Park facilities.”
Glynn County Recre
ation Director Wesley Davis
explained to the finance com-
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Skateboard park
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Autism and art
n i
■ »
; i
Autistic artist Justin Riddle
Islander Staff Photo - Sheirling
Surfin’
the
News
Candidate
Announcements
Community News
- Pg 2
County-Wide News - Read County-Wide
First Friday
Feature Section
- Pg 8 & 9
The Losers
Movie Review
-Pg 12
Back Talk
Editorial Column
" Pg 20 0
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