Last
Week's Snowfall
Results
In Power Outages
In Burke County
By Jimmy Ezzell
True Citizen Editor
Ironically on Jan. 9 of 2001, the county received a "dusting" of snow that fell for several hours but had melted by nightfall. The storm at times left nearly 4,000 residents without electricity. This included customers for Georgia Power and also for Planters Electric Membership Corp. Outages ranged from just a few minutes to many hours for some Planters' customers, according to Matt Brinson, the general manager of the cooperative. He said this storm was the worst he had seen since the windstorm of 1993 that left heavy damage throughout the area covered by Planters. He said about 1,000 customers in the Burke area were affected by outages during the two-day period.
Lynn Lovett, Georgia Power's regional manager, said Monday that on Wednesday, more than 1,000 customers lost power for varying periods of time. On Thursday, the figure reached 1,400 as lines were dropped because of the snow and ice. She said all the linesmen in Burke were pressed into duty and line crews from Augusta came to Burke to assist in restoring power. "Augusta had few problems so they sent their linesmen to help us out," Lovett said. On Sunday, more than 400 customers in Waynesboro lost power as high winds buffeted the area knocking tree limbs down on power lines. (See Rest of Story In The True Citizen).
Happy
New Year's Ladies
Pictured from left, are baby girls Sadondra Freeman, Morgan Carter and Ka'chyra Dukes. Little
Miss Freeman was the first to meet the world, with the help of Dr. Frank Carter, at 9:45 a.m. Dr. Mark Gresham was also busy … Ka'chrya, the big girl of the bunch, introduced herself at 3:58 p.m., and Morgan said 'hello' at 6:52 p.m.
The proud parents, in respective order, are Wynette Freeman, Eugene and Mary Pearl Dukes, and Courtney Carter.
Commission,
BOE Differ On Redistricting
True Citizen Editor
Under the county map, changing of the voting district lines was not drastic but necessary because several districts under the new census either had too many people or not enough. The redistricting map as adopted by the county commission must also have the approval of the Burke County Board of Education or they can approve their own district map. Tuesday night, the BOE's vice chairman, Willie Latimore, presented a second map that he had drawn earlier in the day by the state's reapportionment agency in Atlanta. On Monday, Latimore, the District 2 school board member, told The True Citizen he would not vote to approve the map adopted by the county commission until there was a joint meeting of the two bodies. Last night after laying the newly drawn map on the table, Latimore said, "This is the map that I will vote to approve." Two county commissioners, chairman Jimmy Dixon and Wayne Crockett, along with county administrator Merv Waldrop were at the board of education meeting. Prior to Latimore unveiling his map, Dixon had explained how the county map was drawn and pointed out that the commission had approved it. Usually the same map is used for commission and school board districts, but there's nothing to say that the school board cannot come up with their own districts. Johnny Jenkins, the BOE chairman, said he will call a special meeting next Wednesday or Thursday to determine the board's position on the two maps. He urged the board members to take Latimore's map and the county approved map home to study.
Following the discussion the county people left the meeting with Dixon saying the school board can do whatever they want. After a map or maps have been adopted by the two governing bodies they must be submitted to the U.S. Justice Department for approval. After that the maps would go to state Rep. Alberta Anderson, D-Waynesboro, and state Sen. Don Cheeks, D-Augusta, who then will take it to the general assembly and have a bill drafted approving the district lines adopted by both the commissioners and the board of education. (See Rest of Story in The True Citizen).
Burke
Is One Of Seven Sites
For Navy Landing Field
True Citizen Editor
They are located in Windsor, Morehead City, Vanceboro, Englehard, Elizabeth City and Plymouth. The Navy said it contracted with Ecology and Environment Inc., (E&E) of Buffalo, N.Y., last summer to conduct a site study for the establishment of an "Outlying Landing Field (OLF)." In a release received Monday by The True Citizen, the Navy said the Georgia site is located in Burke County, "4 miles north of the town of Sardis." They would not be more specific at this time as to the precise location. However, according to a map on the Navy WEB site, the area under consideration is between Shell Bluff Road and River Road near Royal Road.
Such an airstrip would be used by the F/A-18 Super Hornets as simulated practice landings on an aircraft carrier. The Navy spokesman said, "This practice is essential in maintaining combat readiness of aircrews." The Navy also said the site would include the establishment of refueling capability to allow maximum flexibility in field usage. When asked how many personnel would staff such a field, the spokesman said, "It would be minimal," but would not give a numerical figure. The release said the Navy is considering four sites as the potential East coast homebase for the Super Hornet. They are Norfolk Naval Air Station in Oceana, Va., the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, N.C., the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, S.C., and the Naval Air Station in Meridian, Miss.
The Navy spokesman told The True Citizen that because of the rural nature of Burke County, it fits the criteria for an OLF. He said low population density (less than 50 people per square mile), the absence of controlled air space, limited towers or high structures and consideration of wetland complexes, played a role in the selection of the seven sites. The Navy hopes to make a final selection by late October. (See Rest of Story in The True Citizen.)
Legal Organ
of Burke County, Waynesboro, Sardis, Midville, Keysville, and Girard
