About The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 2024)
theislanderonline.com Published by Permar Publications ssislander@bellsouth.net November 4, 2024 Established in 1972 Vol 52 Issue 45 Debris Above: Glynn County hosted members of the local media last week (Wed., Oct. 30) at the Blythe Island hurricane debris storage area to give an update on debris removal. Taking part were (left to right): Public Works Director Danny Smith, Emergency Management Director Andy Leanza, CERES contractor Monica Dauzart; Tetra Tech monitors Brendy Lynn and Nick Russo. Right: Two Tetra Tech employees check a load to make sure the carrier is full of debris as required by FEMA for reimbursement. Islander Staff Photos - Permar Glynn County to collect debris through early Dec. Higgins lawsuit accuses county of conspiracy & racketeering By Pamela Permar- Shierling Last week (October 29) Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Keith Hig gins filed a lawsuit against Glynn County and all seven Glynn County commissioners. The charges include civil conspiracy and violation of the Georgia Racketeer Act. For years Glynn County has processed and paid the payroll expenses for all the county-paid personnel within the Brunswick Judicial Dis trict. The DAs office, until last November (2023), reimbursed Glynn County for the payroll expense from the funds re ceived from the five counties in the District. At that point the office did not have enough funds to reimburse the county. The DA’s office over spent its personnel budget and was unable to reimburse Glynn County. During a July 16 Special Called Board of Commission ers (BOC) meeting, Higgins told the BOC that he was unaware of the problem until February 2024 and blamed his staff for not telling him he did not have the budget to hire additional personnel. Glynn County and Higgins have been unable to reach a pay back agreement. An Au gust 14 letter from Higgins to BOC Chair Wayne Neal pro posed a payback plan over four years. He also asked Glynn County for an increase in his FY 2025 budget part of which would be used to pay back the payroll amount owed. Glynn County funded the DA’s office at $1.1 million for FY 24 and $1.3 million for FY 25. That is 50% and 52% respectively of the DA’s to tal budget. Higgins asked for Turn to Page 5 DA's lawsuit If Glynn County Public Works hasn’t picked up your debris from the recent storms, they will. Two pick up passes county wide will be made, and be cause of a shortage of trucks, it may take through early December to remove all the debris. Danny Smith, Glynn’s Di rector of Public Works, said there are only 10 trucks op erating county wide. This is because there was so much devastation in Florida, other By Pamela Permar-Shierling parts of Georgia, parts of Ten nessee and North Carolina. “Trucks are scarce right now,” he said, “but we will get it done.” Through Tuesday, Oct. 29, 32,607 cubic yards of debris has been collected; one haz ardous tree has been removed; 160 hazardous limbs, called ‘hangers,’ have been removed. A bucket crew is used to make any leaning trees safe. About 20,000 cubic yards have been picked up on St. Si mons Island. Smith explained that debris pick up on St. Si mons was slower than on the mainland. “The large trucks that can pick up and haul don’t fit on St. Simons because of the low tree canopy and denseness of the canopy.” he said. “So it takes two trucks for St. Simons, one piece of equip ment to load a smaller debris truck,” he said. “It’s a slower process when we can’t use the Turn to Page 2 Debris County-Wide News - Read County-Wide Page 2 - GIRW hosts author Jim Paulk Page 3 - Teacher of the Year ~ CCGA students achieve licensure Page 4 - D.A. King - Looking for a Better Life Page 10 Pew News ~ Ritz Theatre awarded $50,000 Page 11 - Frat Beach 2024 Page 12 - Back Talk City renews 1200 Glynn Ave. leases By Pamela Permar- Shierling Last week (Wed., Oct. 30) during a special called meet ing the Brunswick City Com mission renewed four leases with the tenants at 1200 Glynn Avenue. The four businesses are Marshside Grill, Southeast Adventure Outfitters, The Salon at Studio B and Coast al Tide Excursions. The city leased the property 30 years ago to East Bay Holdings LLC. The city decided to renew the leases with the individu al businesses for 11 months while a longer lease term is considered. City Attorney Brian Corry said the property would go through an evaluation process to determine its best use and Turn to Page 8 Leases Land Trust, DNR protect beavers, place German Village homes at risk By Pamela Permar- Shierling After years of public prom ises to be a good neighbor to German Village, the Georgia Department of Natural Re sources (GADNR) and the St. Simons Land Trust (SSLT) refuse to remove a beaver dam blocking Glynn Coun ty’s drainage system for the subdivision. The dam, built within a drainage easement on the SSLT’s Guale (Musgrove) Park property, is flooding the yards of at least four homes on Virginia Drive in German Village. Water from the plugged Turn to Page 6 Land Trust, DNR 0 94922 29970 3
