BOE
Offices Under One Roof
Finally,
all the administrative services for the Burke County Board of Education are
under one roof with the recent completion of a new central office which is
located on the Waynesboro Bypass. The 23,000 square foot building replaces
outdated and smaller facilities on Academy Street. The cost of the structure
was $976,222. The contractor was Dobbs-Williams Construction Company of Statesboro.
Public
Hearing On OLF Draft Set For Burke
True Citizen Editor
While the hearing is scheduled from 7 to 9:30 p.m., an “open informational session” will be held between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to give the public an opportunity to discuss informally the document with officials who will be on hand to answer questions. In addition, 12 other similar public hearings will be held beginning on Aug. 20 in Havelock, N.C., and conclude on Sept. 12 in Waynesboro.
Meanwhile, Congressman Charlie Norwood of the 10th Congressional District, has written a letter to the Navy wanting to know the reasons for holding these hearings in the areas that are not on a preferred list for an OLF.
The GOP representative said it doesn’t make sense for these hearings at locations no longer on a preferred list of sites. He also wants to know how much it will cost to conduct them. The Navy also announced that copies of the DEIS are now available for public viewing at the public libraries in Waynes-boro and Sardis.
The Navy announced Tuesday that the DEIS has determined that the preferred sites for an outlying airfield are located in Craven County and Washington County, both in North Carolina.
Burke was one of six counties under consideration for the 8,000-foot airfield to accommodate the Super Hornet’s practicing “carrier landings.” Susan Bargeron of Girard, a leading organizer of Burke County citizens who fought the location of the practice field in the community, said her group would be on hand for the public hearing to let them know, “we still oppose the airfield in our county.” (See Rest of Story In The True Citizen).
Burke
Countians Get Taste of Poverty
True Citizen Staff Writer
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They are a typical family with a typical home and all the usual amenities that such a life entails. However, the Beardens were reminded recently just how un-typical their home is when compared to other parts of the world and how very fortunate their family and many families are.
John and Donna, along with Earl Barnhart, Sherry Barnhart, Tammy Lane and Joan Oglesby, were all part of a 30-member missionary team out of Statesboro that recently returned from the Dominican Republic. The group spent five days in the poverty-stricken countryside outside of Barahona, which is a three to four hour bus ride from the capital city of Santo Domingo.
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The group traveled to makeshift villages, known as bates, where they set up clinics for dental and medical needs for the Haitian immigrants that live there. The Haitians work as hired hands, providing almost slave labor to the Dominicans who manage sugar cane plantations owned mostly by large corporations. Some of those corporations are American based companies. In a third world country where the majority of its citizens live in abject poverty, these Haitian refugees are on the lowest rung of the ladder.
“The whole situation is very humbling,” Donna Bearden says, “the poorest conditions in the U.S. probably don’t compare. ”The bates consist of shacks constructed, mostly, of wooden slats and thatched roofs. They have dirt floors and no running water. The closest thing many of these houses have to a bathroom is simply a designated corner in the room.
(See Rest of Story in The True Citizen).
Burke Unemployment In June Tops 9 Percent
True Citizen Editor
For the first time since April of 2000, the county’s unemployment rate exceeds 9 percent, according to the Georgia Department of Labor report for the month of June. The rate in June was 9.2, while in May it was recorded at 7.4 percent.
The state of Georgia’s unemployment rate jumped to 5.2 percent in June, up from 4.5 percent in May. The state rate in June of last year was 4.5 percent. State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said the state’s increase in unemployment is directly tied to the overall conditions of the national economy. “I’m concerned that the less-than-robust economic recovery and revelations of corporate scandals continue to impact employment opportunities here in Georgia.”
Jobless figures for the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA), which encompasses 14 counties, including Burke, rose to 6.3 percent in June, up from 5.1 in May. Still, this is an improvement during this same period in 2001, when the jobless rate for June was 7.1 percent. County officials say they are a little surprised at the increase given the fact the majority of industries in the county are “holding steady” in their employment figures. However, at the end of June Perfection Schwank did close putting more than 25 workers out of jobs.
(See Rest of Story in The True Citizen).
Legal
Organ of Burke County, Waynesboro, Sardis, Midville, Keysville, and Girard
