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Elbert County High School Graduation tonight 05/18/2012
The Elbert County High School Class of 2012 will make “The Walk” this evening at the Granite Bowl.
Elbert County Seniors will not have to worry about it raining on their parade as the weather forecast for tonight calls for clear skies.
Graduation starts at 8:00pm this evening. If you can’t make it to the Granite Bowl, be sure to tune into the radio; as 105.3 WSGC will broadcast the graduation ceremonies in their entirety live on the air.
30th Annual Whole Town Yard Sale takes place in Calhoun Falls 05/18/2012
Tomorrow thousands of people will descend on the small town of Calhoun Falls, South Carolina for the 30th annual Whole Town Yard Sale.
Sherlyn York is with the Calhoun Falls Chamber of Commerce and explains the origins of this enormous event.
“Back in the early 80’s everyone around here was having spontaneous yard sales here and there; so we just thought why don’t we all have a yard sale on the same day. That is how it started and it grew from there.” said York.
Now everyone is invited to attend the event, but there are some costs for those who are interested in selling items or food during the yard sale according to York.
“Most of the property owners charge a small fee for people to set up in their yards, and if you sell new or used items you have to go through City Hall and get a permit. If you have food items, it will have to be approved by the Abbeville County Health Department.” said York.
The Whole Town Yard Sale is preceded by a music festival later this evening. Live music will be provided by the band Still Cruzin. The music gets started at 7:00pm and will last until 11:00pm.
The yard sale kicks off at 8:00am on Saturday morning and will last until.
Part 1 of the Summer Concert Series takes place tomorrow 05/18/2012
Tomorrow will mark the beginning of the Main Street Elberton Summer Concert series.
The concert will take place on the downtown square on McIntosh Street, and will feature Elberton’s own Erica Sunshine Lee. Main Street Director Sissie Herring has some suggestions for concert goers.
“Bring your chairs, blankets, or whatever you will need to sit. Come downtown early and eat at one of our restaurants. This is actually the first time that Erica’s full band will be here.” said Herring.
There will be no admission charged for those who want to attend the concert, and Herring says local support makes that possible.
Herring said, “We do try to do that through sponsorships, which this year we are thankful for Elberton Net and the County Commissioners for sponsoring our Summer Concert Series. We have to beg for money and they always come through for us, and again it is free to the public.”
Erica Sunshine Lee said she can’t wait to come back to Elberton.
“Now I think that everyone here is more familiar with my songs. This will be a fun show because I will be able to play with my full band. My brand new album just came out, and I am really excited for everyone to hear the new songs.” said Lee.
The show gets under way at 8:00pm and will go on until 10:00pm that night. If you would like more information, feel free to contact the Main Street office at (706) 213-3204.
Hart County Humane Society Wants something done about stray dogs 05/18/2012
By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia, Georgia
Something needs to be done about the stray dog population in Hart County, according to members of the Hart County Humane Society.
This past Monday night, the group met at the library to hear from Stephens County veteran animal control officer Bobby King to learn about the process for instituting some sort of animal control in both the city and county.
King, who is also a past president of the Georgia Animal Control Association, suggested Hart County and Hartwell do what Toccoa-Stephens County did, share the cost of animal control.
"Back around 1995, the City took over the animal control for the county," King said. "The county agreed to pay the city so much a year for animal control and stray pick up. The City pays the salaries for two animal control officers, including their benefits, but the animal control officers pick up animals in both the city and the county."
Under the intergovernmental agreement in Toccoa-Stephens County, the county pays 60% of the cost for animal control, while the city pays 40%, but animal control comes under the City of Toccoa’s Police Department and budget.
Humane Society President Donna Madkiff stressed her group has no intention of endorsing any sort of leash law.
Madkiff said she just wants to get stray and unwanted dogs off the streets, but says her group is in no position to pick up stray and possibly sick or dangerous animals.
"We're not a shelter," Madkiff said. "Some of these animals have disease and they're sick and they're dangerous. I had to spend $300 in vet bills after I took in one these strays and it attacked my dog."
Madkiff said the city already has a holding facility for stray animals that could be used by both the county and the city until animals could be transported to the Northeast Georgia Animal Shelter in Lavonia.
No votes or decisions were made at the meeting Monday.
Elbert County Chamber hands out monthly awards 05/18/2012
The Elbert County Chamber of Commerce awarded two local businesses with awards for the month of May.
The business that was awarded the Business of the Month award was Cheap Deals Bargain Bazaar.
The business that was awarded the entrepreneur of month award was Fusion Xpress.
June’s businesses of the month will be revealed in the next month’s Chamber of Commerce monthly newsletter.
Senior Man and Woman awarded at WSGC Senior Living Expo 05/18/2012
Yesterday WSGC held its ninth annual Senior Living Expo at the Senior Center located at McWilliams Park.
The expo got underway right at 9:00am, and featured over 30 different vendors who offered a ton of information for senior citizens of Elbert and surrounding counties.
WSGC General Manager Carl Pundt was surprised by the turnout the expo brought in this year both in attendance and of the number of vendors that were featured this year.
Also awarded during the Senior Living Expo were the Senior Man and Woman of the Year. The winners were based off of votes that were received here at WSGC leading up to the expo.
The Senior Man of the year was William Price, and the Senior Woman of the year was Mickey Dye.
Business after hours to be held at pinnacle bank 05/17/2012
Business After Hours will be taking place later this evening at the Pinnacle Bank main office off of Lower Heard Street.
During the event there will also be a reception for Don Fortson, who is retiring after forty-two years of working with Pinnacle Bank. Jackson McConnell, who is the President and CEO of Pinnacle Bank, says Fortson has worn many hats in his time with the bank.
“Well over the course of his career he has done everything. He has been a lending officer. He also managed our branch system which covers eight counties. He has also been a member of our board of directors, and will continue to serve on the board for several years.” said McConnell.
When asked how someone like Don Fortson can be replaced, McConnell simply said he can’t be.
“You can’t. We have been joking with him over the last several weeks as he has made lists of the things he has done and been responsible for. We have talked who is going to be handling which aspect, and it seems like we have a lot of ‘oh yeah’ moments as he added things he has done to his list. So there are a lot of things that I don’t know how in the world we are going to replace.” said McConnell.
Business After Hours gets underway at Pinnacle Bank at 6:00pm this evening.
Elberton police make drug related arrest 05/17/2012
The Elberton Police Department, Elberton City Marshall’s Office, and the Piedmont MANS unit executed a search warrant on a Hillcrest Avenue residence.
Elberton Police Chief Mark Welsh said that two arrests were made during the execution of the search warrant.
“As a result of that search warrant, drugs were found at the location, and two arrests were made. Marqui Reed and Melissa Turman were arrested and charged with the drugs in that case.” said Welsh.
During the search officers found a large blue bag filled with suspected marijuana along with suspected marijuana seeds, stems, and baggies. Officers also discovered a set of digital scales that were disguised as an iPhone.
Marqui Reed and Melissa Turman were taken to the police department for processing.
USPS to scale back hours at local post offices 05/17/2012
The USPS announced last week that it would not close the roughly 3500 rural post offices that it originally said it would close due to the public outcry about the closings.
Instead of closing any post offices, the USPS will scale back the hours of nearly 13,000 different rural post offices nationwide. Michael Miles with the Atlanta Division of the USPS said that the changes will slowly be phased in.
“Well immediately customers won’t see any changes made before the month of September as this process will be phased in over the next two years. Typically the post office is open eight hours a day, and those offices will see their hours reduced. They could be reduced by two, four, or six hours depending on what the formula shows the kind of foot traffic they receive.” said Miles.
Some local post offices that will see hour reductions are Dewy Rose, Rayle, Tignal, Carlton, Crawfordville, and Lexington, Georgia.
Dewy Rose, Rayle, and Carlton are currently open eight hours a day, but once the changes are made, they will only be open for four hours a day.
Tignal, Crawfordville, and Lexington will see a two hour cutback in their operating hours down to six from eight.
24th annual kid's fishing derby has great turnout 05/17/2012
This past weekend the 24th Annual Kids Fishing Derby took place at the Calhoun Falls fishing bank area off of Lake Richard B. Russell.
Erin Parnell is a natural resource specialist with Russell Lake, and said the volunteers this year really helped to make this event great.
“We had a lot more volunteers this year and that really helped us with serving the food. Serving so many people can really get hectic. We had about seventeen volunteers. I was able to round up a few volunteers from Calhoun Falls, and they really helped us out from start to finish.” said Parnell.
Over two hundred people attended the event, and Parnell felt that it was a good event for families to spend time with one another.
“The most important thing that the families are getting to be in the outdoors with their children, and for a lot of kids it was their first time fishing. It was really neat for me and for others to see them catch their first fish.” said Parnell.
Parnell said that this is an event she expects to continue for many years to come.
Elbert County Commissioners advertising for bids on Off System Safety Project 05/17/2012
The County recently received $250,000 in federal money for the Off-System Safety Improvements Project.
The money will go towards re-striping the centerlines on about 76 miles of county roads, and in some cases the outside lines will also be re-striped if the road is wide enough. County Administrator Bob Thomas says that re-striping is not the only project on the list.
“It will replace some old stop signs and other road signs. It will also put some safety stop bars at some intersections. It sort of gives you a warning that a stop is ahead.” said Thomas.
The whole project is currently being advertised for bids, and the commissioners will open those bids on May 31st, and will award the bid during June’s regular monthly meeting.
Elbert Board of Education announces new principals 05/16/2012
 A small crowd was on hand for Tuesday evening’s Elbert County Board of Education meeting.
The meeting started off with two community speakers in regards to the release of former Elbert County Middle School Principal Paul Garrett. Reverend John Barnett was one of the speakers, and felt that the community has been left in the dark on the situation.
“We want to know what happened, if this board is able, what happened to the principal. We are being left in the dark and we don’t know why, and would ask that this board reinstate him; we know that you have done it in the past.” said Barnett.
“The board is not allowed to comment on personnel in public.” said Ben Baker, Chairman of the Board, “That is just one of the things we are not allowed to do.”
Baker stated that the board would go into executive session later in the meeting to announce the principals of the consolidated schools, as well as the middle school.
After the executive session, which lasted about thirty minutes, the Board had their recommendations from School Superintendant Rick Higginbotham.
Tammy Mason was approved as the Principal of Elbert County Pre-K, and Rosa Harris received the Principal position at Elbert County Primary.
The Elbert County Elementary Principal position went to Selena Brown, and John Jarvis was approved as the new Principal of the Elbert County Middle School.
Chairman of the Board Ben Baker said these decisions were made for the benefit of the school system.
“Everything that has been done has been long hard work for the administration. The board puts our faith in the administration to make these decisions. All of these decisions are for the county to move forward with our education, and I appreciate all the work that they have done.” said Baker.
Following the recommendations and approvals, the meeting was adjourned.
Elbert Development Authority requests $5000 from Board of Commissioners 05/16/2012
The Development Authority of Elbert County, Elberton, and Bowman went before the Elbert County Board of Commissioners during its Monday night meeting.
Anna Grant Jones was present on behalf of the Development Authority, and asked the commissioners to provide an extra $5,000 to the Authority’s current fiscal budget. According to Jones, the money would cover the costs of some very important reports.
“This will pay for the wetland and stream delineation, and the geotechnical work that has been done in the industrial park. Included in that is also the recommendation on the best sites to develop in the park.” said Jones.
These reports will help the county get industrial sites GRAD certified. GRAD stands for Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development.
County Administrator Bob Thomas explained that having GRAD certified sites would allow the county to stand out among others.
Thomas said, “What these companies look for is under these certifications, they will go to the state first and ask which locations are GRAD ready for industrial development. They will look at those communities first that are certified and are ready for industrial development.”
Commissioner Frank Eaves however, felt that the county needed to stick with its budget.
“I’m not opposed with the Development Authority moving forward with the new building, because I realize it is important, but I am opposed and I will vote so, to giving an extra $5000 to a budget. It’s not that I am in opposition to the start on a new building; I just think we need to stick with our budget to the end of the year.” said Eaves.
After discussion on the issue, the commissioners made the motion to vote on whether or not to give the $5000 to the Development Authority. The vote passed 3-1, with Commissioner Frank Eaves voting against. Commissioner Kenneth Ashworth was absent from the meeting and did not vote.
Link to Band Video featured on the Senior Take Over the Studio Segment 05/16/2012
Here is the video to the audio that was played on Wednesday May 16 during the 3-6pm segement where the Seniors take over the Studio! Check it out by cpoying and pasting the below link into your internet!
www.youtube.com/user/memo16ledezma?feature=results_main
Senior Living Expo takes place tomorrow 05/16/2012
The WSGC Senior Living Expo will be taking place tomorrow morning in the Elbert County Senior Center at McWilliams Park.
This year marks the ninth straight year that WSGC has put this expo together for the senior citizens of Elbert and surrounding counties. WSGC General Manager Carl Pundt expects a big turnout for the event.
“The last couple of years we have had over 400 people show up, and we are expecting an excess of that because there haven’t been as many expos in the month of May this year as there has been in the past. Because of the success of our past expos it has grown. We are completely filled up with as many vendors as we can have. We are expecting about 600 people to show up at this year’s expo.” said Pundt.
There will be some things different going on during this year's expo than there were last year. Pundt explains what those things are.
“This year because we are expecting more people to come, we are offering more services. There will be other activities going on inside the Senior Center while the expo is going on. So if you have already gone through and seen all that you want, there could be a breakout info session. There will also be bingo going on at 10:00am in the dining hall, and once again all of this is free.” said Pundt.
The Senior Living Expo will get underway at 9:00am tomorrow, and will last until 1:00pm. Once again, the expo is taking place in the Elbert County Senior Center at McWilliams Park.
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