The True Citizen
P.O.Box 948
Waynesboro, GA 30830
(706) 554-2111
Quality products provided locally.
April 10, 2002

Kwikset Transfer of Product Lines Means 120 Jobs to be Phased Out
By Jimmy Ezzell
True Citizen Editor
Kwikset, one of Burke County’s largest employers, will lay off 120 production people over the next nine months as the company transfers several product lines to other Kwikset plants.
Employees were told of the layoffs at
two meetings last Wednesday, April 3, by plant manager Greg Gluchowski, who has been at the helm of the Waynesboro operation since early January.
A short statement released from the headquarters of Black & Decker, of which Kwikset is a subsidiary, said transfers of three products, levers and one dead bolt line to a sister plant in Bristow, Okla., and -
handle sets to Merical, Mexico, will begin soon and should be completed by the end of the year. These three products represented about 20 percent of the plant’s current volume in Waynesboro and as a result, transfers of up to 120 positions including temporary workers could be affected.

The second paragraph of the release was troublesome to Burke County officials. It said, “The company also announces that the plant (in Waynesboro) is being evaluated for possible closure with a final decision to be made by the end of the year.”

The Kwikset announcement comes on the heels of another announcement last week that the production operations of Perfection Schwank will cease June 28 putting 39 of 45 employees out of a job. The company has been at its same location for the past 48 years andchanged its named from Perfection Industries Inc., to Perfection-Schwank in 1981 when it was purchased by Bernd Schwank of Colonge, Germany.
(See Rest of Story in The True Citizen).
WPD, Courts Battling
Family Violence Abuse
By Ben Roberts
True Citizen Staff Writer
(Editor's note: April has been designated Domestic Violence Awareness Month, to help raise awareness of this issue, The True Citizen has taken a look to see how this issue
affects Burke County. This is the first of a two-part series.)
Susan Salemi can tell you stories, but they’re not the kind you want to hear. Salemi, who is in her fourth year with the Waynesboro Police Department, moved to the criminal investigations division a little less than a year ago. Since that time, she has become the lead investigator for all cases pertaining to family violence, domestic abuse and child abuse in the city. Unfortunately, she is very busy. In January of this year alone, the city responded to 40 incidents involving family violence. Many times, officers are responding to the same house over and over, sometimes more than once in a day. It is a serious problem that has begun to gain a tremendous amount of attention, not only on a state or national level, but locally as well.
Judge Duncan Wheale, a Superior Court judge for the Augusta Judicial Circuit, which includes Burke, Columbia and Richmond counties, has been a major proponent for family violence issues in the area. Judge Wheale points out that it’s not that domestic abuse and child abuse are on some strange rise, these problems have always been here, it’s the issue of awareness that has gained so much momentum.

Salemi’s answer for this is simple, “There were too many women being killed and people started to pay attention.” Wheale states a national statistic that 42 percent of all women killed are murdered by present or former boyfriends or husbands.

If you don’t believe Domestic Abuse and Family Violence are issues in Georgia, Wheale can quote you more statistics. There were a staggering 56,000 cases of domestic abuse in Georgia in 2001. Wheale points out that one-third of all incident calls to law enforcement are related to domestic problems. This translates into a huge amount of tax dollars and resources used to combat the problem, which, in turn, makes politicians and lawmakers pay close attention to the issue. With more and more attention being placed on the issue, there has been a large push for groups to work together. Law enforcement at all levels, courts, DFACS and other agencies have all begun to work closely together and share valuable information.
(See Rest of Story in The True Citizen).
Burkeland Garden Club Sets
First Tour Of Gardens
The first ever Burkeland Garden Club Hidden Garden Tour is set for Saturday, June 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. rain or shine. Six Burke County homeow-ners have opened their gardens for the tour and all boast “gardens in progress.” Following the tour, beginning at 4 p.m.
Shorty and Sue Eden-field will be hosts for an art show from adult students in Katie Gardner’s art class and iron works created by Shorty Eden-field.
Participating in the tour are Dr. Harvey and Martha Jane Sanders, Bill and Lois Craven, Mike Bickley and Vanessa Santos, Marjorie Story, Albert and Sally Holland and Shorty and Sue Edenfield.

Garden club committee chairpersons, Nancy Palmer, Sandy Stewart and Kathy Allen; garden club president Sara Carter; along with homeowners and local master gardeners met at Wisteria Hall last Tuesday night, April 2, to discuss the event. The garden tour is in conjunction with National Garden Week, and garden club members hope to inspire area residents to come to love gardening as much as they do.
Two local merchants are committed to the day’s events. Jeff Jorgenson, owner of Good Day Café, will have free dessert with lunch purchase to garden tour ticket holders. Phillip Maddox, owner of 618 Liberty Antiques, has offered a 20 percent discount on all plants to participating garden tour homeowners from now until the day of the event. A 20 percent discount on all plants will also be available to garden ticket holders.

The event is turning into a community-wide event with assistance from many areas. Local master gardeners including Fran Freeman, Ron Reeves, Jane McDaniel, Carolyn Heath, Jan Baker, Cecila Taylor, Edwin Stephens, Jeannie Stephens and Lewis Tinley, working on certification, will volunteer their time to homeowners the day of event to act as garden tour guides.Tickets are $6 each and will be on sale from Burkeland Garden Club members beginning in May. Other ticket locations will be announced at a later date. Tickets will be available the day of the tour at Southern Bank starting at 9:30 a.m. Garden club members are prepared for the tour and have contacted area publications for publicity including The True Citizen. Beginning April 17, and running six consecutive weeks, each homeowner will be featured along with a photo of their garden in The True Citizen. Garden club members will welcome ticket holders to participating homeowners the day of the event and will provide lunch for the homeowners the day of the tour.
(See Rest of Story in The True Citizen)
Legal Organ of Burke County, Waynesboro, Sardis, Midville, Keysville, and Girard