These stories are from the past month. I will leave stories that will have a follow-up here until the story is complete and all other stories will remain for a month or so until I update the home page and past stories page. Thanks for reading the Pike County Times.com!

Pardon me as I extract my foot from my throat in this article. I slipped back into the "past wrongs of the county commission" mindset without giving the BOC as a whole the benefit of the doubt. And while I did leave a message on the County Manager's voice mail to advise my misgivings, I did not call Nancy to ask who added the phrase "Agenda subject to revision" on the bottom of the agenda and ask why it was added--and I know that she is the one who puts the agenda together for the BOC.

The lesson in all of this is to ask questions instead of jumping to conclusions because the answer that is staring you in the face is not always the right answer. (Chewing on your own foot is not a pleasant experience either.)

I spoke with Nancy this morning and was informed that the agenda is now being placed on the county website. See link below. And Nancy is the one who puts the agenda together. There is a little lag-time between the time that it is uploaded to the time that it hits the website and people do ask to put items on the agenda after the cut off time so this phrase is a technicality (my words, not Nancy's) that needs to be on the agenda. However, Nancy stressed that these items still have to be introduced and voted on at the BOC meeting before a public audience and that it is legal to add items to the agenda at the meeting.

As my diatribe about public advertisement will show, it takes a long time to build up public confidence after it has been dashed by prior actions. I would still caution commissioners to be careful with what they add to the agenda at a meeting because it is vitally important to ensure that the public is able to comment on issues before the BOC makes a decision.

I apologized to Nancy by telephone this morning for jumping to a conclusion without calling to ask what was going on with the agenda and this is the public apology. I will try to refrain from jumping again without a phone call if for no other reason than so I don't have write another article like this one.

Click here for the Pike County Government website. The minutes from the past two meetings are uploaded along with the post agenda from the July 29 meeting as well as the agenda from yesterday's meeting. My notes from the meeting are below.

[Note from the Editor: "Agenda subject to revision" is actually written in bold and underlined and centered on the bottom of the agenda and I take offense at that statement. Maybe I am being overly sensitive since I am the one who asked the BOC to show some courtesy to the public and place the Donnie Bennett matter on the next agenda at the last meeting, but I am going to make the following statement and then leave this subject alone.

The Board of Commissioners is obligated to advertise to the public what is going to be on the agenda. The Consent Interlocutory Order that was entered on January 21, 2004 reads as follows: "The Agendas for each public meeting will reasonably and accurately identify the matters expected to be considered in a public meeting whether the meeting is a Regular Scheduled Meeting or a Special Call Meeting in order to inform the public as to the true topics said to be discussed in the said meetings."

I know that things come up at the last minute occasionally that have to be added at the meeting, but that should not be a regular occurrence. And if there is any doubt on whether something is going to be a problem and it should wait if possible to be advertised, the BOC should err on the side of caution. If something cannot wait, the public--and even this reporter--will understand, but the BOC needs to show courtesy to the voters who put them into office and put as much as possible on the agenda.

Common sense should be a determining factor in this because the trust of the people is sorely needed in county goverment. Any government if you ask me, but especially in county government where we are still rebuilding our track record. Just because it is technically legal to do something does not mean that it is the right thing to do. Update 8.14.08: Despite all of my reasons for jumping to my conclusion above, the fact still remains that I did not call Nancy to ask why this was added and I know that she is the one who puts together the agenda. I did leave a voice mail for the CM that stated my misgivings before the meeting, but I did not specifically ask who added the phrase "Agenda subject to revision" before I jumped to my conclusion. I'll try to refrain from jumping into my "County Commission Done Wrong Again" mindset without giving the benefit of the doubt and making a phone call first.]

Update 8.13.08: Welcome to the roller coaster ride that we call the County Commission held this morning. The Sheriff's Office was called to escort someone out at one point and the go cart track was addressed by neighbors as well as the business owner. Dr. Duncan came to the meeting with two Board of Education members to address taxation. And the Overlay District is at the point of needing an ordinance to be written that will need to cooperation of the Industrial Development Authority, Rochester and Associates, the County Attorney, and the Citizens Advisory Task Force on Zoning and Ordinances. And nothing that would have raised my eyebrows was added to the agenda though additions were made to the agenda. Things that merit public awareness should not be slid in under the radar and I thank the BOC for doing what needed to be done today.

All commissioners were present except for Jake Garner who was running a few minutes late. Nancy took minutes and the County Manager Steve Marro and County Attorney Rob Morton were present. Motion to amend the agenda to include Dr. Duncan with the Senior Tax Exemption, Pike Historic Preservation about a house that they need to move, and Executive Session to include personnel and pending and potential litigation.

County Manager Report: The CM and Todd Goolsby met with Thomaston reps from the DOT about the striping on Hwy 362 in a dangerous place where it needs to be changed to a no passing lane. The county has been working on this for a long time but things look like they are moving for us now. The signs will be changed shortly, but someone other than the rep that they met with will have to give the go ahead on the striping. The CM advised that the way that Hughley Road was bid out by the county with the county doing all of the leg work will be the norm from now on. Deeds, prep work, etc. will have to be completed before we can put in an application to compete with other counties in our district--Troup and Fayette being two of those--for up to $750,000 per government and up to 8 projects per year from the State. LARP (road paving) and striping will be included in that allotment. Update on insurance for the fire stations: VFIS and ACCG will only give an estimate after there is a complete inventory of everything in the station so they can insure it all. Dept of Corrections work crew on ADA county work: CM has been waiting for a call for two weeks and got it this morning. He was advised that they are booked months out and since a man fell out of his wheelchair on the ramp at Planning and Development recently, it might be something that the BOC wants to look into doing sooner than that. Said that a land trust had contacted the county again about parks and recreation land of 160 acres on Bethany Church Road at $5,800 an acre with the county paying half of that amount. The CM said that was doubtful but again was a BOC decision.

Update 8.15.08: REPORT FROM COMMISSIONERS: District 1 Roosevelt Willis asked about the bill from Whitley and Associates. Two bills had recently come in together with a third that had been resubmitted because it got lost in the shuffle and had not been paid yet. Roosevelt was concerned with the BOC knowing on a weekly basis what is being paid to this firm as it works in Planning and Development. A bill will be turned in every Friday. District 2 Parrish Swift asked about the developments in the Tax Assessor's Office and the letter that had been received from attorneys Mallory and Trice in Thomaston about Reese and Associates' work with the re-evaluation that had so many problems with it. The attorneys contend that they did the work and should be paid for it. The Tax Assessor's Office contends differently and is dealing with this problem by paying a lesser amount than the entire bill and Reese and Associates is supposed to be coming back to help with the 2009 re-evaluation without an extra charge. Parrish asked if flag lots had been eliminated and was told that they have not been. Rob advised that there are changes in the road frontage for flag lots but they have not been eliminated. Parrish suggested that Sands Road in Molena be renamed because there have been some problems with E-911 due to the reservoir. Parrish also asked about the Adult Entertainment and Sign Ordinances that are supposed to be drawn up, discussed, and passed before the Beer and Wine Ordinance takes effect and was told that the CATF is on top of this. [Note from the Editor: The Citizens Advisory Task Force on Zoning and Ordinances is a small group of citizens who meet twice a month to review county ordinances. We have been meeting since November of 2007 with the help of Rob and Tom Morton and representatives from Planning and Development. The Sign Ordinance should be going before the Planning Commission next month and soon the Board of Commissioners so it will be in place by November 1st. We will soon begin working on the Adult Entertainment Ordinance that needs to be in place before any applications are taken for pouring beer and wine by the drink on November 1st.] District 4 Jake Garner gave an apology for any rumors that there were missing Keep Pike Clean and Beautiful funds saying that there was no missing money. [Note from the Editor: I don't have a clue what this is about and this was all that was said about it. All I can figure is that it came up during the budget workshop help on Monday.]

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

DONNIE BENNETT HAS REQUESTED THAT HE BE ALLOWED TO TEST ENGINES AT HIS BUSINESS ON SATURDAYS FROM 1 TO 6 P.M. Mr. Bennett owns a business that manufacturers parts for racing go-carts and says that those who buy parts from him use the race track to test out their parts. This was added to the agenda of the past meeting and several people were there with Mr. Bennett to show support for his business at that time who returned at this meeting too. Mr. Bennett's business license is tied to only using the test track during specific hours during the week with no Saturday testing. Neighbors showed up to tell their side of the story today who would have been denied that right to speak or write a letter if this topic had not been properly advertised. Motion was made to allow public comment. Greg Mayo lives on McKinley Road on property that is adjacent to the go cart track off of Silver Dollar Road behind Hammond Storage. Greg brought a DVD of racing that was taken from his back porch on February 17, 2008. [Note from the Editor: I couldn't see the screen but he had the commissioners' full and undivided attention.] Greg was speaking a normal voice from the back porch on the DVD and the noise was pretty bad. He even went so far as to say hold on for about 20 seconds because they are running during a yellow caution flag here--and it got louder when they got the green flag. He went on to say that this is not in the best interest of the community and that this will completely destroy property values. He said it was a lake just a year ago and that he thought this property should have gone through rezoning. He closed by telling the commissioners that they could correct this. Tony Morris lives 1/4 mile away from the track. He said that he has refurbished the house next door and lost two sales because of the noise. He stated that this is not a Wal-mart go cart and that the noise is way above what he think go carts should be. Said that he is opposed to this 100%. Another neighbor also spoke who lives down the road from Greg and Tony. Mrs. Landry said that she is home all day long and got to hear the noise all of the time. Said that they have 10 grandchildren and Saturday is her husband's only day off. Said they can't enjoy Saturdays if they have to listen to the noise. Said that the go cart track wasn't a track before Mr. Bennet got there--said he had the track built there. Said that if they are testing parts on the go carts they don't need flags and don't need other carts to race with. Said that she does not know if they have governors on them or not, but children could get injured. Also stated that her peace and quiet was being disturbed by the track. Carol Bass then asked what this is zoned. C-3 commercial. Is this an allowable use? She as advised that it was not as outdoor recreation but was as a business use. Parrish asked what the status of the EPD (Environmental Protection Division) investigation is. Rob told him that there is no written report but that they investigated and found no EPD violations. There is no encroachment on streams, etc. He also said that using the track is a permitted use for business use only and not for recreation. Donnie Bennett got to speak for his business. He said that the business is zoned C-3 (commercial) for recreational sales and service and he doesn't understand how his business can be set to certain times on this. He went on to say that people run go carts all over the southeast and we let them test on our track. Said that the restrictions hurt his business because kids in school cannot test. There are 30 customers (adults buying parts for their kids) who want to test and that the track has never been a lake that he knew of. He has been there for 8 years with his regular business and it has never been a pond. Maybe a retention runoff pond from the highway but it has never been drained and when it was used for a mudbogging pit 3 years ago, they had to bring in water. Donnie bought this in February and the track was already there. Greg Mayo said that there was some kind of an explosion that caught his yard on fire when they were clearing it out and burning it off and that the Fire Dept should have records that could show when they came to his house to put out the fire to tell when it happened. Discussion of the different types of tracks around here. There are asphalt tracks in Woodbury and Lamar County and a dirt track in Coweta County. The neighbors kept saying that it was a frog and duck pond at one point but that it's dry now because we are in a drought. Donnie and Danny Hubbard insisted that nothing has been altered. Roosevelt asked where the testing was done before the track was built because the go cart part of the business is new. CM advised that Low Temp was a machine tooling shop and that he has been out to the business several times. Carol Bass said that C-3 commercial for recreational vehicle sales and service doesn't indicate that type of noise. The BOC looked at Section 156.028 of our code. The Planning Commission and BOC has to consider all this. Noise has to be considered with land use because residents can have problems with a business. Vibrations, etc. are listed specifically in industrial but not in C-3. Rob said that this is not an issue about land use. He said that the BOC is considering whether to allow this business to permit go cart track use on Saturday from 1-6 p.m. Tommy Powers made a motion not to permit use of the go cart track on Saturday at this time. There was no second so the motion died for lack of a second. The Chairman asked if anyone else wanted to make a motion and there was silence from the other commissionersso they moved on to the next subject.

The commissioners started to move on to the next subject and then came back to the go carts. Parrish said that the noise appears to be the problem. Rob said that the environmental has to be considered too. Parrish said that the environmental is pretty much a moot point and that maybe this could be revisited after we put in a noise ordinance. The go cart track is allowed to use the go cart track on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1-5 p.m. Rob advised that we have not begun drafting this and that the CATF could look into it. Said it has been talked about before.

FIRST READING OF FY 2008 FINANCIAL BUDGET RESOLUTION: Dept 38's numbers were off at last meeting so they postponed this until the numbers were correct. A report was ran at the end of July. Motion to move amounts between departments. 4-0 [Note from the Editor: Parrish stepped out of the meeting for a minute and missed this motion.]

Update 8.21.08: DONNIE BENNET SITUATION READDRESSED: At this point, Commissioner Willis addressed some of the mumbling in the audience about the hours of go cart track operation. [Note from the Editor: One gentleman behind me told Donnie in a loud voice that he could run the track any time he wanted since the BOC did not vote on the Saturday hours.] A clarification was given that the operating hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1-5 p.m. with no Saturday hours. No change was to what was previously given with business license.

MR. MIKE BETTS, BUILDING AND GROUNDS SUPERVISOR AND THREE BIDDERS ON AUTOMATIC DOOR OPENERS FOR FIRE STATIONS TO DISCUSS THE BIDS. Mike was sick so the CM summed up what Mike had found by making phone calls to the door manufacturer to confirm what type of doors we needed in the fire stations. The CM presented a spreadsheet of the information from bids as well as updated information that had been given to the commissioners since the last meeting. All were given the chance to itemize their expenses so the commissioners could bid apples to apples because there were bids for two different door opener systems before and Mike Betts even talked to the manufacturer to ensure that the county got the right type of system to raise the doors. There was discussion because the BOC accepted sealed bids and one of the vendors had dropped his price, but was advised that the vendor who dropped their price by about $1000 dropped it down because they were changing from one door system to the kind that the fire stations needed. McLeroy had previously put in a bid for the other type of system but did not respond to numerous attempts to give an itemization with the system that we needed because of the height of the station. The commissioners chose to go with TC Doors' bid of $8,928 in a 4-1 vote. Commissioner Garner voted against it.

Public comment was allowed after the discussion of automatic door openers bid for the new fire stations. A motion was made to allow Eddie Brannon to speak on the matter. Eddie asked why the automatic door openers were not part of the SPLOST and was told that it was not part of the original SPLOST. He then asked if the county had enough money to pave with concrete in front of the fire stations and was told that we do. Fry said that the SPLOST was to get the buildings for the fire stations and then additional money would be used to finish them out. Eddie insisted that a project should be bid out at the same time with doors, windows, and everything at once--basically accused them of not having their ducks in a row. The conversation became heated as Mr. Brannon left the front of the meeting where he had addressed the BOC and returned to his seat. Steve Fry said, "We've heard enough out of you for today." To which Eddie replied, "I don't think you have." At that point, Steve said, "You're out", banged the gavel, and asked Nancy to call the Sheriff to have Mr. Brannon removed. Eddie left the room of his own accord before a deputy arrived, but took a parting jab at the Chairman as he left saying, "I'll leave but you're out of here too." To which Fry replied, "In five months." There were no further incidents. [Note from the Editor: It was childish of both participants if you ask me. This whole bid process has been tedious, but it was no excuse for the exchange that happened after the Commissioners made a decision on the automatic door openers. (Added 8.14.08: Adding so much detail from this confrontation was probably overkill, but my hope was to discourage another incident like this from occurring in the future.)]

DISCUSSION OF GEORGIA DEPT OF CORRECTIONS MOBILE CONSTRUCTION CREW DOING THE WORK FOR ADA COMPLIANCE ON PIKE COUNTY BUILDINGS: This was discussed earlier in a report to the BOC.

DISCUSSION REGARDING THE PROCESS OF NAMING PIKE COUNTY ROADS FOR TROOPER TONY M. LUMLEY, SHI HOLMES, AND DONNIE DICKENS: A request came to the BOC to name a portion of Hwy 19 for Trooper Lumley. When this request was mentioned, it was said that roads were supposed to be named for Shi Holmes and Donnie Dickens since both had been previously approved by the BOC and sent to a previous representative but it hasn't happened yet. The final step is sending the approved information to the State Legislature to sign off on it. The BOC was advised that Rep. Billy Maddox has been advised that the BOC is readdressing this issue. All three will be together in the same bill to ensure that the process is completed together. [Note from the Editor: The Deputy arrived at this time only a few minutes after the call went out. Eddie had already gone. Another deputy came in and stood for a short while but when there was no more excitement, he made a call and was given the ok to go back out on the road. It's a shame that these deputies had to come to the meeting to begin with but maybe this will help everyone act like adults in future meetings.]

DISCUSS THE RESOLUTION TO ADOPT THE UPDATED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ELEMENT: Of course this is one of those requirements that the state requires in order for the county to receive any state funds. The resolution was passed in February and, according to the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), it adequately addresses requirements so the BOC is now required to pass a resolution to adopt the CIE. Approved 5-0.

KAREN BROWN, INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (IDA) AND BILL SCHMID WITH ROCHESTER AND ASSOCIATES TO DISCUSS THE OVERLAY PROJECT: This overlay will be a district with specific building requirements along Hwy 341 and Hwy 19. This overlay was approved in 2006 and extensive time and effort by community leaders and members of the community has gone into this study. Mr. Schmid recommended that the county consider available land and types of buildings as well as standards and their effect on competition along with practicality and enforcement. He recommended anything 400 feet from the centerline of the road be included in these requirements. Advised that the public has been involved through an April 19, 2008 public forum for discussion and active participation in the preference survey of what they would like to see in Pike County by a large group of citizens. Advised that the IDA would be making a formal request to draft the ordinance. Concerned with reducing time and effort from the county as well as duplication of efforts. [Note from the Editor: The CATF subcommittee on zoning and ordinance is reviewing this information as well. The Sign Ordinance should be going before the Planning Commission next month too. The Sign Ordinance is of particular concern with this overlay district.] County Attorney Rob Morton advised that Rochester and Associates is nearing the end of their work and Rob is the one who advised them to bring their project information back before the BOC for a motion of support. Jake asked how much this would cost--less than $3,000. Motion to indicate support of the continuance of the Overlay project. 4-1 Jake dissenting. Motion to allow the County Attorney’s office to work on the formatting with Bill Schmid. 4-1 Jake dissenting. The public was allowed to comment. Carol Bass, who is a member and regular attender of the CATF subcommittee referred to above said that the subcommittee has come to the completion of the Sign Ordinance and it is a vital part of this overlay. Said she would like to have seeen the Overlay District Ordinance come before the CATF Subcommittee prior to this but supports moving the project forward. Jake stated that a Sign Ordinance had been adopted in 1997 or 1998 with revisions, but Rob advised that changes to state law with signs made it necessary to revamp this ordinance. It was completed in November of 2007 but never presented to the Planning Commission and BOC. [Note from the Editor: I won't say anything to the reason it was never presented except to say that constant turnover in county government effects us all in one way or another.]

More shortly.

The American Red Cross held a blood drive at the Allie B. Edwards Senior Center today. Donors lined up to give platelets and donate blood to help others in a time of need.

Blood donations are needed for emergencies and for those who need regular blood transfusions to live. Other people who need blood include those who have blood disorders, anemia, cancer, sickle cell, and other illnesses.

58 people came in to give blood today. 13 people tried to give but had low iron levels and were not able to give blood today. Those who could not give today can give blood at another blood drive when they bring up their iron level.

48 pints of blood were given by the time I went through the line--and shortly back out the door probably because of too much coffee--and there were two more waiting to see if they could donate just before closing. The numbers do not match up because 3 people donated platelets and that counts as two pints for each donation.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to come out to the blood drive. Future blood drives in our area are on the Calendar of Events page. Call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543) if you have any questions or visit www.givelife2.org/aboutblood/default.asp to find out more about donating blood. The life you save may be your own.

I am at the Extraordinary Women Conference at First Assembly in Griffin this weekend. It is 11:42 p.m. and I've gotten online long enough to put a couple of thoughts on the website in this paragraph since I will be growling over my coffee as I return for day two of a wonderful conference. Richie McDonald, who used to be the lead singer of Lonestar, was the closing act tonight and it was worth the sleep that I lost to sit and enjoy his concert. If you ladies ever need to be encouraged, this is a conference that I've been to twice and will go to again!

The Pike County Commission writeup is not finished... This is the first week of school and I'm trying to do everything at once at it doesn't yet and I haven't gotten back into the groove of things... BUT... I have to mention that Donnie Bennett and the go cart track on Silver Dollar Road came up at the last meeting. To make a long story short, it did not make the last agenda but got added at the meeting itself. After I made a point of order on this, the commissioners decided to wait to discuss the track hours and a possible Saturday time to test the go-cart parts, etc. until it could be properly advertised. I will say that the EPD has come in and they are done. We do not have a noise ordinance in this county so it cannot be regulated in that way, and yet, I would like to see some sort of compromise from the owner for residents who live closeby as well as a some give and take from nearby residents. (Yes, I have a neighbor who has kids that drive motorcycles part of the time and it is annoying so I know where you're coming from if you've contacted me on this.) There needs to be a happy medium here until we can get an ordinance in place to handle this. They were talking about operating hours of maybe 1-5 or 6 during the week and one Saturday a month. It will not be a public hearing but citizens who want to tell commissioners about their concerns can do that by contacting their commissioners by phone, email, or asking that a letter be put in their box for the upcoming meeting on Wednesday.

I am working on a story about the Potter's House and a story to make the public more aware of motorcyles on the road since my Dad's wreck. He's had surgery on his foot and is doing as good as he can be for someone who can't get out and do all that he would like to do with his business and life in general. Keep an eye out for motorcycles. They are everywhere now. Give them some extra room on the road.

Have a great weekend!

Update 8.9.08: I took a camera today and got a few pictures. It's not often that the public is allowed to get up close and personal with celebrities for pictures and autographs. Of course, they are ordinary people like you and me with families, problems in life, and all that, but it was cool never-the-less... and I am not a groupie kind of girl.

A group of ten ladies went from my church and I kept running into women that I knew the entire that we were there. It was a lot of fun and a time to make sure that my focus was where it needed to be. Pictures will be on the We Are Pike County page shortly.

Best-selling authors and extraordinary women Angela Thomas, Carol Kent, Thelma Wells, Karen Kingsbury, and Lisa Whelchel--Blair from "The Facts of Life"--were the special speakers for this two day event of hope and encouragement. Christian Music Artists Michael O'Brien and Richie McDonald, and Christian Music Group "New Song"--they sing "The Christmas Shoes" www.newsongonline.com/--provided the musical entertainment and encouragement for the event. If you missed it this year, keep an eye out for the next eWomen conference at First Assembly of God in Griffin.

Thank you to Richie McDonald www.richiemcdonald.com/, Michael O'Brien www.michaelo.org/, and Angela Thomas www.angelathomas.com/ for allowing me to upload their pictures.

The 2008 Dixie Youth AAA World Series is being held August 4-9 in LaGrange, Georgia. Twelve teams are competing to win this tournament.

The Pike 9-10 Allstars Team represented the state as Team Georgia and won their first round in the tournament against Team Virginia on Monday. This meant that they got to advance to the next round of the Dixie Youth World Series and play against North Carolina on Tuesday. The 12-2 loss to North Carolina eliminated them from the tournament, but the 9-10 Allstars Team got to go to the Dixie Youth AAA World Series and no other Pike County baseball team has had this honor.

(From the Pike Journal Reporter)Team Georgia players are Derik Webster, Kalen Puckett, Douglas Caldwell, Kody Fulham, William Clark, Boomer White, Brody Grinnell, Jacob Edwards, Kain English, Bryson Bell, Tyler Harris and Jackson Martin. Jack Martin, Tim White and Wayne Puckett are the coaches for Team Georgia.

Congratulations Team Georgia!

Pictures are on the We Are Pike County page.

Out of 9,704 registered voters in Pike County, 1,803 voters cared enough to cast their ballots in today's Run Off races to determine who will be at the helm of the County Commission and the District 4 Commission Seat. That is a scant 18.58% of the total voting population.

The courtroom was packed with Mangham supporters. Many of the recent "Tea Party" members were there to listen to the results as well as a couple of candidates who ran and lost in the July 15th Primary. A cheer went up from the gallery when Probate Judge Lynn Brandenburg read the final results.

The County Commission Chairman race was hotly contested. It began with two challengers and ended with a new Chairman to lead the Commission on January 1, 2009. Incumbent Steve Fry received 574 total votes to Douglas Mangham's 964 votes. Doug won by a margin of 62.68% to 37.32%.

The District 4 Commission race began with four challengers and ended with a new commissioner on January 1, 2009. Incumbent Jake Garner received 220 total votes to Don Collins' 333 votes. Don won by a margin of 60.22% to 39.78%.

These results are not final at this point because there are 10 overseas ballots that have until Friday to arrive at the Post Office and 1 provisional ballot that will be verified, but these votes would not be enough to swing the two races. The Secretary of State will certify the results of this election next week.

Thank you to everyone who got out and voted today and last week and thank you to those who voted by mail. Thank you to those who cared enough to carry voters to the polls. One person that I know carried 19 people to the polls today! Thank you to everyone who sent emails, sent text messages, and made phone calls to remind your friends to vote.

I met Mrs. Bonita Fluker today at the Primary School and saw firsthand some of the changes that are taking place at the Primary School. The line was still long this afternoon, but things were better than yesterday and will continue to get better as the kids and teachers get used to some pretty big changes that have been made--especially with the bus line coming to the Primary School after picking up kids at the Elementary School. It's not easy to be patient in the heat, but safety is worth it.

First of all, it cannot be stressed enough that safety is the main factor in the changes that are being made at the Primary School. Parents are asked to drop their children off at the front door of the school all of the time and not allow children to enter their classes any other way. Side doors should not be used to enter the building and if parents arrive after 8:15 a.m. with their children, they are asked to sign their children into school at the front office. And parents should be aware that teachers do not report to school until 7:40 a.m. so children are not allowed into the classrooms until after 7:40 a.m. Breakfast is served from 7:30 to 8:15 a.m. and the children do have an area to go to if parents arrive prior to 7:40 a.m.

Afternoon dismissal has been a bit hectic the first couple of days, but parents seem to be adjusting to the changes with the buses and the number of children at the school. It takes a few days to get the kinks worked out but the staff at the school has been working very hard.

With safety being the top priority, some changes have been put into place on how our children can be picked up from school. The Primary School is asking that parents pick up their children from their vehicles instead of coming inside to pick them up. Parents who walk inside to pick up their children from school will be required to bring a picture identification before they will be allowed to pick up their child and the school is asking parents to bring in the colored sign with the child's name on it as well. They are stressing that this will probably take longer than simply waiting in the car line.

The main thing that has been stressed over the last couple of days is not to arrive early to pick up children from the Primary School. Pre-Kindergarten is dismissed at 2:15 p.m. Kindergarten students will be released at 2:30 p.m. and 1st and 2nd grade students at 2:35 p.m. Kindergarten parents need to use the right hand lane and 1st and 2nd grade students need to use the left hand lane for car rider pick up.

Parents who have questions or concerns about this or other matters at Pike Primary School should call the school at 770-567-8443.

WASHINGTON — Blasting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and continuing their call for a special session, about 20 Republican lawmakers took control of the empty House of Representatives chamber floor for the second day of protests against Democratic policies.

Democrats left town en masse on Friday, closing out their summer to take the annual August recess and officially closing down business on that side of the Capitol. Republicans, upset over energy policy, have stuck around, though. The Senate also is on break.

Following similar protests Friday, Republicans on Monday penned a high-volume letter to Pelosi, brought tourists into the House chamber — a move that usually would be against House rules, but since it's technically closed for the summer, just about anything goes — and talked to reporters who would listen to their complaints about the Democrats controlling Congress.

And it's not going to end any time soon, Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., warned.

"There will be many more hours, many more days of this (protest) this week. Sadly there is no window to show the broader world through television and photography (what we're doing in the House chamber)," Pence said.

Dismissing the suggestion that there is any political motivation behind the protest, Pence said he and his GOP colleagues were simply "hoping for an up or down vote" on offshore oil driling.

And in an open letter to Pelosi, Republicans said they "believe that Congress should not go on vacation until we take action to lower gas and energy prices for struggling American families.

"For the last two months we and our House Republican colleagues have used every tool at our disposal to try and get you and your Democrat majority to vote on legislation to lower gas and energy prices. ...

"We think it is unconscionable that Congress has gone on vacation before we have addressed the high gas prices that are crippling our economy and hurting millions of families. We are asking that you reconvene the House from your five-week vacation and schedule a vote on legislation to increase American energy production. Let us be clear, we are not asking for a guaranteed outcome, just the chance to vote," reads an open letter signed by top House Republicans to Pelosi.

A few Capitol tourists received copies of the letter. Lawmakers had tried to get tourists to sign a petition, but it apparently ran afoul of other House rules.

Republicans want a vote on a bill that would include their demands for more domestic drilling.

Rep. Tim Price, a Georgia Republican, told colleagues the time had come for Congress "to go to work on the most important issue of the day — and that's the rising gas prices."

Lawmakers also want President Bush to hold a special session of Congress, which would bring lawmakers back to Washington before the five-week break ends.

The last time a president convened a special session was in 1948 under President Truman's administration.

Republicans have their mock House sessions scheduled at least through the end of this week.

[Note from the Editor: I am angry that a majority of our representatives were arrogant enough to vote to go on a five week vacation from work while ordinary people like me are suffering with the price of gas first of all and then the price of petroleum affecting everything from the prices of products to the delivery of products to grocery stores. There was no reason not to take a vote unless someone has a problem with losing the vote and making America more self-sufficient on gasoline usage.

I'll take this rant just a step further and say that American car and truck manufacturers had better get busy making our vehicles more gasoline sufficient or they won't have a business. It's been needed for a long time and the rest of the world has gotten on the boat. My truck could be gasoline sufficient if they wanted it to be. The big oil executives need to build a refinery or two for the oil that we will soon be drilling off of our own coast too. 30 years is long enough, don't you think?! And one more before I stop this gripe (for now). America needs to be looking for ways to wean ourselves off of the oil with different types of clean power. It's out there. We just have change our way of thinking and start using it.

And I would be remiss if I did not stand up and applaud our Congressman, Representative Lynn Westmoreland for taking a stand on this issue both for the people in his district and people who are suffering from the high price of oil everywhere. Thank you, Lynn. We appreciate your hard work for our us!]

Update 2:30 p.m. Email from Congressman Westmoreland's Office.

The U.S. Congress has taken off for its annual August recess – leaving Washington for five weeks without taking serious action on America’s energy crisis. While Americans were getting soaked at the gas pump, the Congress voted to go into recess.

I have fought in Congress for an “all of the above” approach, as outlined in the American Energy Act. All Americans understand that we have to increase our conservation efforts and that we must invest heavily in alternative energy research to meet tomorrow’s needs. What separates Republicans is our stance on increasing U.S. oil production – which I vocally support in the House.

Now is your chance to let me know how you feel on this crucial issue by voting in this survey:

Do you support increasing U.S. oil production by opening offshore areas to drilling? Yes or No?

Do you support increasing U.S. oil production by opening the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling? Yes or No?

Do you think you the United States should build new nuclear power plants to meet our growing energy needs? Yes or No?

Click here to share your thoughts with Congressman Westmoreland's office.

Australian scientists say an organic compound used by Indian women to paint dots or bindi on their foreheads could hold the key to a breakthrough in cancer treatment. Rose Bengal was first used in the early 1900s as a dye for food, textiles and cosmetics. But now it is proving to be a useful weapon in the fight against skin cancer. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

Television advertisements constantly warn of the dangers of overexposure to the fierce Antipodean sun. Among them is the possible contraction of the disease melanoma, a type of skin cancer characterized by a dark tumor that can spread through the body. More than 1,200 Australians die every year from the disease.

Initial trials of a solution of Rose Bengal injected into some melanoma cells have had a 75 percent success rate in controlling the disease.

Professor John Thompson, the director of the Melanoma Unit at the University of Sydney, says this organic dye could become a powerful cancer-fighting treatment.

"We believe it works by getting into the tumor cells and causing them to self-destruct. But the exact mechanism by which it works is not totally clear. It's not useful for people who have a primary melanoma. The treatment of primary melanoma is surgical excision," he said. "It's useful to inject tumors for people who have recurrences; when the primary treatment has failed and when recurrence in the area, or at more distant sites has occurred."

About 90 percent of Australians who develop melanoma survive thanks to early diagnosis and treatment. If left untreated, however, the disease can be fatal.

Convincing younger people in Australia about the dangers of over-exposure to the sun is a battle campaigners are constantly waging.

Veronica Manock, a 21-year-old student, had two major operations to remove a cancerous tumor from her leg.

"I've had a lot of friends who before this happened to me they just said 'I thought it was just, you know, I'll get a mole cut out and that's it,' whereas I don't think people realize how much danger they're putting themselves into and how easy it is to stop something like this happening to you just from doing little things," said Manock.

Other researchers in Australia are investigating genetic treatments to skin cancer.

There is a pressing need for such research to produce effective treatments. Australians, the majority of whom are fair-skinned, are four times more likely to develop a melanoma than people in Canada, the United States or Great Britain.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., today released the following statement concerning the passing of broadcaster Harry Christopher “Skip” Caray Jr.

“Skip Caray’s passing has left a tremendous void in the hearts of Atlanta Braves fans,” Isakson said. “As a broadcaster for TBS, his voice was not only familiar to baseball fans in the South but to millions around the country. Whether it was the many years that the Braves spent in the depths of the division or the 14 consecutive seasons at the top, Caray provided the voice of a friend who shared the same passion for ‘America’s Team’ that his listeners did. I extend my condolences to Skip’s family and all the fans who will miss this broadcast giant.”

“I am very saddened by the loss of Skip Caray. Since Skip first came to Atlanta in the 1960s, he has brought Braves baseball to the entire southeast and the nation and made us feel like we were at the ballpark when we were oftentimes unable to be there,” said Chambliss. “I will never forget his immortal call of Sid Bream sliding into home during game 7 of the National League Championship Series in 1992, and his emphatic repeating of Braves Win! His voice will remain synonymous with Atlanta Braves baseball in my mind for and for all Braves' fans for a long time to come. Julianne and I send our thoughts and prayers to the Caray family and the larger Braves family.”

The Sheriff's Office, Board of Commissioners, and Planning and Development were discussed in this meeting. It was nice to see so many there for the beginning of the meeting. Most filed out after the first budget was discussed so the old timers (that's includes me) and a fairly new faces endured the remainder of the meeting. [Note from the Editor: My only complaint the Commissioners' budget was allowed to drag on forever and citizens were pretty much allowed to join in a group mauling of the County Manager that was uncalled for. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect even if you don't like them or don't agree with them.] That being said, however, citizens were allowed to ask questions and interject comments throughout the process, some good ideas came out of the meeting, and the public was shown that procedures are being put into place that show good stewardship of our taxpayer funds.

Sheriff's Budget consisted of the Sheriff's Office, Jail, and Inmate Care. Citizens found out that the County is doing much of the repair and work on Sheriff's cars that we can here in the county. It is saving a lot of taxpayer dollars too. So far, Public Works has changed out 2 engines and 3 transmissions for the Sheriff's Office. We also found out that there is a log kept of individual vehicles and their gas, etc. Connie Dallas out at the Road Department has her hands full keeping up with this, I'm sure! The county's gas usage is in check now with the key card system on the pumps that tracks who uses how much for what department so it can come out of their budget. There is also a camera there 24/7 to keep everyone honest.

The Jail is recommended to have $605,548 in next year's budget. $614,548 was requested and $580,988 has been used so far this year with October 31, 2008 being the end of the fiscal year. There are 13 employees in the jail.

Inmate Care used $364,297 in the 2006-2007 year and has requested $312,000 for this year. It costs $35 per day to house an inmate in another Jail. We only have so much bed space here anyway, but every juvenile and female inmate has to be housed elsewhere. Here is a summary of surrounding Sheriff's Office and Jail budgets. Lamar County has a $2,795,004 budget. Upson County has a $3,041,926. Spalding County has a $13,644,363 budget. Meriwether County has a $2,657,568 budget. Pike County has a budget of $2,303,485. Lamar and Meriwether are the closet to Pike in population.

Seizure funds were mentioned at the last part of this budget hearing. There are state and federal rules that regulate how these funds are spent. OCGA 16-13-49(D)(i) says: "... Proceeds received may be used for any official law enforcement purpose except for the payment of salaries or rewards to law enforcement personnel, at the discretion of the chief officer of the local law enforcement agency, or may be used to fund victim-witness assistance programs or a state law enforcement museum. Such property shall not be used to supplant any other local, state, or federal funds appropriated for staff or operations." This money can be used for vehicle purchases and used to buy items needed items that were not in the budget like providing training for officers, but it also means that the BOC can't leave a car off of the budget and just have the Sheriff pay for it with seizure funds.

The Board of Commissioners budget was next. It began at 7 p.m. and ran until 8:20 p.m. The county is still working to keep a handle on county cell phones by limiting who has them and turning off the ones that are not in use. [Note from the Editor: I was concerned about a cost to turn off phones, but I found out after the meeting that there is a flat fee for having a phone for an employee and there is no cost to turn them off for a time according to our contract.]

Travel training was a big discussion item. There is $23,283.30 (hotel rooms, gas, meals, etc,) plus $12,650 (training) in the budget for commissioner in case we end up with 3 new commissioners in upcoming elections. This can be left in or taken out depending on how the elections go. There is also money allotted for travel and training for Nancy, Martha, and Sean in the office that is needed. [Note from the Editor: Sean actually has a CFO class scheduled to become better acquainted with our finances for the county. This is being proactive and needs to be done.] The CM is trying to save stay within budget restraints by limiting his training in the upcoming year. Discussion included the fact that he is doing so much that it would be difficult for him to leave for training until we get a Department Head in Planning and Zoning anyway. The BOC even factored in funds in case of an increase in stamp costs which may be coming.

Jimmy Bass suggested that if commissioners come back to meetings and give a brief description of what they learned, citizens would be more accepting of their going off to classes because we don't know if they've gone anywhere or learned anything unless they make it public in a meeting. The CM said that participants in training are supposed to write up a written report so commissioners can have it in their packets and know that they have had necessary training and it is supposed to trickle down to employees through department meetings.

My biggest problem with the BOC budget is that there was $62,000 allotted for a Certified Financial Officer (CFO). That does not include the FICA, benefits, etc. that go along with this position which would make it a likely $100,000 expenditure in a time where we don't have this to spend. There were many in the audience that shared this opinion. The CM said that he included it because of the recommendation made by our Macon auditing firm, but most of the commissioners seemed to be against this with the exception of Commission Chairman Fry. At one point, the CM said that he thought we should change our charter and go with a County Administrator who is a CFO instead of a CM. [Note from the Editor: County Manager versus County Administrator is a complicated but not new argument for Pike County. A CM is answerable to the BOC but they can't outright tell him who to hire, fire, etc. A County Administrator would be under the direction of the BOC. This would require an ok from the State Legislature in order to do this and is not something that should be done without a lot of thought. I know it's a tough job being the CM in ANY county with frequent disagreements and power struggles between the parties, but I don't know that I want to see the BOC have more power than they already do either. I would have to do some serious study on this before I made a decision on it to make sure that the pro's outweighed con's.] The suggestion was made to put out a bid to have a CPA firm to do our monthly work and not worry about getting a CFO. Tammy's article in the Journal Reporter really put this into a new light because no county of our size has a CFO.

The county attorney contract is going to go out for bid. We probably won't find anybody else who will work for the flat rate fee of $80,000 that Morton and Morton asked for this time--a $10,000 jump from last year but still not very much for the amount of hours they put in at county meetings including the CATF subcommittee meetings where we discuss ordinances twice a month. And that does not include the work that is needed outside of meetings to get things done.

On a closing note for this portion of the meeting, that went on for far too long rehashing the same things over and over. All of the computers in the county have been checked for pornographic materials by an outside source and nothing else has been found on the computers in the county.

Planning and Development (Building and Zoning, Planning and Zoning, etc.) was next on the list and it went from 8:20 to 9:05 p.m. The CM began by saying that the county is saving 1/4 of a million dollars ($250,000) by contracting with a private company to run the Transfer Station. [Note from the Editor: I think this is one of the best decisions that this BOC has made over the past four years.] A new phone system is needed that can take messages with expansion for an answering service like that at the BOC office. Discussion of the number of vacancies in P&D and Whitley Engineering's role in that department. Discussion of cell phone usage with a monthly tower rate and new radios versus Verizon's fees. It would be an expensive transition. There are several positions open at P&D. One is for a County Planner. Discussion of maybe hiring an administrative assistant to handle the phones with Kim being moved up to the Office Administrator with a Zoning Specialist/Planner being hired and then maybe getting a Director for the Dept down the road. Everyone who has nibbled at these positions has backed out before getting hired. There was an emphasis on how many people can we get by with in one year with thoughts of a temporary Zoning Administrator who could run the department instead of having the CM do this as we are operating now. Big emphasis on spending our money wisely.

The BOC should be commended for allowing citizen comments at this meeting.

A circle of citizens prayed together as a group and then went individually or in small groups to pray for our schools today. 35 to 40 citizens joined organizer and founder of Prayer Power of Georgia, Ben Maxedon, with upraised hands and sincere hearts as instructions were given and the opening prayer began in front of the old Middle School on Highway 19. Ice cold water was available for participants as they began their trek in the warm morning air.

Prayers for teachers, office personnel, cafetria workers, maintenance works, bus drivers, and students were given as well prayers for the parents and homes for each child, protection from alcohol, sexual activity, hate, envy, jealousy, greed, selfishness and obtaining of weapons by children. Protection on each school playground, at sporting events and all school activities were given as well as prayers for students and their families who have family members serving in the military overseas and in the United States.

Parents, grandparents, students, young children, and concerned citizens joined in this Prayer Walk. Small groups of friends and families walked and drove to the schools in Pike County as well as the Board of Education building in Zebulon. Prayers were said in each location by these citizens.

For more information on Prayer Power of Georgia, send an email to Ben Maxedon. Prayer Power of Georgia is based on James 5:16 and is located here in Pike County.

ELLIJAY, Ga. -- Most people know Criag Cylke simply as "Grizzly". He's raised abandoned bears and nursed injured predators. Now, he's scared the animals he loves could soon be euthanized.

"We're down to the point now, this will probably be our lat week, this coming week," Cycle said.

The Ellijay Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is the largest in Georgia, and one of just a handful that can handle large animals. The wildlife sanctuary lost its federal funding. Now, private donations have slowed to a trickle. The animals go through two tons of dog food and two tons of meet every month. The non-profit organization is $300,000 in debt.

"If we go down, there's not going to be many places for these animals," he said. "In fact, the bears that you see here today, the state will probably have to put down because there's no home for them."

It's devastating news to Chris Enfinger. He came for summer camp one year and kept on coming. He's now a volunteer. "Just to see them, after all the time I've spent with them, just to get put down because they can't go anywhere, that would be really sad for me."

Dr. Lyn Lewis is a vet at the Appalachian Animal Hospital. They donate about $40,000 in care every year. He says the sanctuary is a safety net for all of Georgia. "The wildlife would suffer," he said. "We already have endangered species in this area. I firmly believe that this sanctuary keeps many of those animals from going extinct in this region."

Cykle and his wife haven't taken salaries in three years. They've sold off personal assets to keep these animals fed and keep their doors open.

Now, the money is gone. Some of the animals have no where to go. The center is days away from closing. And still, the man called "Grizzly" tenaciously holds on to hope.

"We have a hope. And that hope is our Georgia people and our lovely neighbors in the surrounding states. If they just hear the message of what's happening here, then they can make a difference."

To find out how you can help, click here.

As the Democrats gaveled the House to a close today for a five-week recess and turned off the microphones, U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland took to the floor and began speaking to tourists in the House Gallery about the Democrats lack of action on lowering gas prices.

Following Westmoreland’s lead other Republican members of the House lined up to give speeches as visitors in the gallery clapped and cheered. The debate has now gone on for five hours and continues. The Hill newspaper tells of Westmoreland’s role in the revolt.

The microphones are off, the C-SPAN cameras are no longer running in the House chamber, but all is not silent as a group of House Republicans has stayed behind to continue to speak about energy issues.

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) began the protest, which included about 20 GOPers who chose not to make the traditional mad dash for the airport following adjournment. Instead, they gave speeches on the empty floor to protest that Congress went into recess and to raise awareness of what they say is an unwillingness by Democrats to take up legislation to deal with the nation’s energy crisis.

“There were about 40 people lined up to speak, and Democrats adjourned to keep us from doing the special orders,” Westmoreland said. “I was looking around and trying to figure out what we were going to do and just decided to go down to the well and started talking to the people in the galleries.”

Among the GOP members who lined up to speak were Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio), Minority Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.), Reps. Michael Burgess (Texas), John Campbell (Calif.), Eric Cantor (Va.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), John Carter (Texas), John Culberson (Texas), Charlie Dent (Pa.), Jeff Fortenberry (Neb.), Virginia Foxx (N.C.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Duncan Hunter (Calif.), Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.), Mike Pence (Ind.), Tom Price (Ga.), Ted Poe (Texas), Adam Putnam (Fla.), Bill Sali (Idaho), John Shadegg (Ariz.), John Shimkus (Ill.) and Tim Walberg (Mich.).

Others received word as they were leaving town and turned around to join their colleagues on the House floor. Texas GOP Rep. Kevin Brady left his seat on an airplane departing for the Lone Star State and was greeted by a standing ovation when he entered the chamber.

Formal dress was not a requirement. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) showed up in khaki shorts and sandals.

At one point, the Republicans began to interact with people in the gallery who were shouting questions to the floor, such as : "So when are we going to do something to actually bring down energy prices?"

Members also traded off turns sitting in the press gallery, a move necessary to keep it open.

Nadeam Elshami, a spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), chalked the display up to politics. At one point the lights went off but were later turned back on. The microphones were also eventually turned on, according to staff present. In addition, the Capitol Police tried to shut down the press gallery at one point but Shadegg ensured that it remained open.

“Republicans are too scared to go home to face their constituents after voting against bills to force Big Oil companies to use it or lose it, demand that the president free our oil from the government stockpile and crack down on speculators,” Elshami said. “In a week where Exxon Mobil made the largest quarterly profits by a U.S. corporation, Republicans are staying in Washington to argue that Big Oil deserves more taxpayer lands.”

He added, “That sums up their priorities.”

The House floor filled with constituents, staff and members was an extraordinary sight for any day, but particularly noticeable on the day when lawmakers were supposed to be heading home for a month of campaigning and rest. The last time members stayed on the floor after the House had adjourned was in 1995, and that time it was Democrats leading the protest.

It was unclear as to when Republicans would relinquish the floor. But the gallery closes to the public at 4:30 p.m.

This story was updated at 3 p.m.

On Friday, August 1, 2008, at 1 :58 P.M. Deputies responded to a theft in progress call at 545 Blount Road. A report was received of two men stealing scrap metal from the yard of the victim. The victim was able to provide a very accurate description of the suspect's vehicle.

Deputies were able to locate the vehicle on Highway 19 travelling northbound. A traffic stop was made on the vehicle during which Howard Banks, 46 years of age, and Drew Banks, 45 years of age were both arrested. The two are brothers and are from Union City.

During the investigation involving the brother's activities items were also discovered from several burglaries that have occurred in Talbot County. The Sheriff's Office in Talbot County was notified and is working to press charges against the Banks brothers. Both men have numerous prior arrests including thefts and burglaries and are convicted felons. They are currently in the Pike County Jail awaiting a bond.

Scrap metal theft bas become a common occurrence across the State, as prices have risen in the scrap metal business. Anyone observing suspicious persons or vehicles are encouraged to report them immediately to 911.

Houses that are for sale and abandoned houses are prime targets for thieves targeting scrap metal. Copper piping and wiring is the primary target as this brings the highest price at the scrap dealers.

WASHINGTON D.C.- Today (July 31st) as members of Congress prepare to begin a five-week recess, U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland implored his colleagues on the floor of the House to stay in session until they can vote on the American Energy Act, which would give our nation an “all of the above” energy policy to increase supply.

“There is no greater issue facing the American people today, and the House Democratic leadership is showing everybody how out of touch they are with the daily lives of working families,” Westmoreland said. “Republicans are offering the common-sense solutions that Americans are demanding. We want to work; they want to vacation. We say, ‘Give us lower gas prices’; they say, ‘Pass the sunscreen and order me another drink with one of those umbrellas in it.’”

The American Energy Act would boost U.S. production, conservation and innovation to lower the cost of energy. Even though more than 70 percent of Americans support opening up new energy exploration, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refuses to allow a vote on new drilling on the floor of the House for an up-or-down vote. In fact, she said it’s a “hoax” that more energy production would bring down the price of gasoline.

“I encourage Americans to call the House switchboard, and tell their Democratic members of Congress and Nancy Pelosi to let us vote,” Westmoreland said. “The Democratic majority is in a special-interest headlock – the environmental extremists who are funding their campaigns won’t let them do what is best for the American people. Just this week the Sierra Club said the United States is ‘better off without cheap gas.’ Well, that’s not how my constituents in Georgia feel. That’s now how small business owners trying to meet their payroll feel. That’s not how people who can’t afford to take their families on vacation feel. Those voices need to be heard on the floor of the U.S. House. Instead, a majority of Democrats, including almost all of the Georgia Democrats, voted to jet off on vacation.”

[Note from the Editor: The American Energy Act included bills entitled H.R. 6108, H.R. 6107, H.R. 6138, H.R. 6139, H.R. 1618 and H.R. 765, H.R. 6384, H.R. 5984, H.R. 778, H.R. 6384, H.R. 2652, and H.R. 6384. These bills address subjects such as drilling, refining, renewables, tax credits for energy efficient cars, permanently extend the tax credit for alternative energy production, including wind, solar and hydrogen. Establish a renewable energy trust fund from money obtained from offshore exploration, and a bill addresses nuclear power production. (Info from various sources including WRAL.)]

The BOC meeting began at 6:52 p.m. after the Fire Department Budget Workshop. Chairman Steve Fry, Commissioner Tommy Powers, Commissioner Parrish Swift, Commissioner Jake Garner, and Commissioner Roosevelt Willis. Also in attendance were County Attorney Rob Morton and County Manager Steve Marro. Nancy took the minutes. Parrish commended Nancy for her work on the minutes because she took special care with the SPLOST discussion at the past meeting.

CM Report: There are new SPLOST Election Dates that the state has passed down. FYI for the commissioners. Steve Marro gave an apology to Carol Bass because her Open Records Request for Trial Balance was two days late due to a glitch with info coming from bank with no check numbers. The bank came up with a solution on this, but it was time-consuming to match everything up. [Note from the Editor: Thank you to the CM and Nancy and all those in the office who work to ensure that Open Records Requests are fulfilled in a timely fashion. It is a pain sometimes to provide open government when there is so much that needs to be done already, but it is worth the effort because it builds trust in county government. We appreciate the work that you do on this.]

Update 7.30.08: The Pike County Government website is up and running. Click here to read the June 24, 2008 minutes. The agenda for the July 29, 2008 meeting is online as well. Commissioners were concerned about whether this was online and how it could best be utilized for Pike citizens. Parrish asked about whether monthly financials could be uploaded. As soon as the Pike Code of Ordinance review process is complete, our ordinance will be uploaded onto the website as well. Click here to see the Pike County government website.

Update 8.1.08: [Note from the Editor: I attended the 4 hour Budget Workshop last night. The Sheriff's Office, Board of Commissioners, and Planning and Development were discussed in this meeting. It was nice to see so many there for the beginning of the meeting. Most filed out after the first budget was discussed so the old timers (that's includes me) and a fairly new faces endured the remainder of the meeting. I won't say much about that for now except that it the Commissioners' budget was allowed to drag on forever and citizens were pretty much allowed to join in a group mauling of the County Manager that was uncalled for. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect even if you don't like them or don't agree with them. That being said, however, citizens were allowed to ask questions and interject comments throughout the process, some good ideas came out of the meeting, and the public was shown that procedures are being put into place that show good stewardship of our taxpayer funds. More on that in a separate article soon.]

Commissioners Report: Roosevelt had a question about Whitley that would be discussed in Executive Session. Parrish asked about the status of the Grisham/Oswald case. Status is that Oswald is cooperating with Planning and Development (P&D) and has removed from the property what he has been asked to remove. He is preparing a notarized affidavit that he is not running a business on the premises. This affidavit will become part of the file. Parrish advised that he had asked another member of P&D to find a resolution between the parties, but it was pointed out that this had been an ongoing civil matter between 2 neighbors for the past 12 years. The County Attorney is working on a formal document that will go to both parties on this matter. According to Code Enforcement, Oswald is not in violation of county ordinances and this is a civil matter. Jake had a question about the Recreation Department and the former Recreation Director. Jake said that he had been told that personal items had been paid for with a county visa card. He was advised that the GBI is conducting a forensic audit of this matter. There was concern that this matter has dragged out for the past 14 months and Jake said that he does not know why we're dragging our feet on this. [Note from the Editor: This is complicated and not much can be said about the matter because it is being investigated by the GBI. The allegation of misappropriation of funds is a serious one. Just a couple of notes to help the read understand this. There was a year period when the Recreation Department was formed and the Director was under the supervision of the county rather than the Recreation Authority. This is no longer how things are laid out with the Recreation Director and the Recreation Authority.] Motion was made to prosecute. Discussion after that motion before the final vote included the fact that it was given to the Sheriff's Office and turned over to the GBI with the intent of the GBI being to handle this with the District Attorney's Office after the completion of the forensic audit. Approved 5-0. Roosevelt mentioned a boat ramp in the Shoals subdivision that is being investigated by the EPD and the worry that this will impact the county. He was advised that this is an ongoing investigation and there was no further discussion.

County Attorney Report-Status of animal control efforts: Attorney Gene Dabbs is assisting Friends of Pike County Animals to gain non-profit status. There is expectation of a county non-binding referendum [Note from the Editor: Basically, citizens will vote on this but the BOC has to make the final vote on animal control if it is put on a referendum. Why we can vote on animal control in a straw poll but not on sale of beer and wine by the drink has been a hotly contested issue of late.] Update on the Code of Ordinances is that the paralegal has finished her painstaking review of the official minutes from current meetings all of the way back to 2002 to find out what was voted into law and what was included with our Code book and what wasn't. There are some conflicts that will have to be resolved. The county is currently up to the Land Use portion of our Code of Ordinances which is the largest portion of our code and has the most changes in it. Rob said that he hopes to finish Title 15 by the next CATF Subcommittee of Zoning and Ordinance Meeting. The object is to get the Code Book together and get it codified. Then we will have to appoint someone to keep the book current. Rob said that this project is nearing completion.

More later.

Bruce Knowles, the 50-year-old victim of a shooting Sunday at the Moose Club, at 1435 Zebulon Road, died Wednesday at Atlanta Medical Center.

Witnesses who were present at the time of the shooting told authorities that the dispute began when John Holcomb, of 1375 Patton Road, the suspect in the incident, attempted to leave the Moose Club while allegedly intoxicated.

Statements provided to investigators claim that Holcomb shot Knowles in the neck after he tried to prevent him from leaving on his motorcycle while under the influence of alcohol. Knowles was initially transported to the emergency room of Spalding Regional Medical Center but was later flown to Atlanta Medical Center due to the severity of his injuries.

Spalding County Sheriff Dee Stewart said in a press release Wednesday, “Investigator Scott Piper had been investigating the incident since Sunday and had already arrested and charged John Holcomb, of Griffin, with aggravated battery and aggravated assault. The charges have now been upgraded to felony murder, along with the other charges that he will be facing.”

Holcomb is expected to appear Thursday in Spalding County Magistrate Court for his first hearing. He is currently being held without bond in the Spalding County Jail.

Update 8.1.08: From the Griffin Daily News: Mr. Bruce Wayne Knowles, 50, of Molena, passed away July 30, 2008. He was a self-employed plumber, an entered apprentice mason, member of Montgomery Lodge No. 31 and former youth baseball, football and softball coach. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, playing with his grandchildren and riding his motorcycle. Bruce had participated in numerous charity rides. He was preceded in death by his father, Gene Knowles; father-in-law, Richard Quinn; brother-in-law, Ricky Quinn; and a sister-in-law, Gina Langley.

From the Pike Journal Reporter: Funeral services for Bruce Knowles, 50, of Molena will be held Saturday, August 2 at 2 p.m. at Mt. Gilead Baptist Church in Pike County. Visitation will be held Friday, August 1 from 6-9 p.m. at Moody Funeral Home in Zebulon. An account for Knowles' family has been established at First Bank of Pike.

Preparations are being made to raise voter awareness and encourage voter participation in the election process in Pike County. Two local races will be decided August 5th when voters return to the polls. Steve Fry and Doug Mangham are in the run off for Chairman of the Pike County Board of Commissioners. Jake Garner and Don Collins are in the race for 4th District Commissioner.

A group of approximately 20 Pike County citizens supporting Doug Mangham met in the Pike County Middle School cafeteria last night to discuss the upcoming election run off. This meeting was called to support Doug Mangham and Jake Garner. Attendees took home voter lists pledging to make calls on their behalf and flyers will be mailed out to households in the county to let citizens know where they stand on the issues.

Supporters for Steve Fry and Don Collins have been busy as well. Making calls to voters and mailing out information to voters are important in a run off. Getting information out to voters about where they stand on issues is important in this run off. A personal phone call often encourages others to get out and vote.

Signs are out and candidates and supporters are visiting households in the county. With ads being placed in the PJC by all four candidates, the personal touch of a call will hopefully spur a larger than expected voter turn out on August 5.

As I always say to those who may choose to stay home on vote day for whatever reason (or the week of early voting that is going on now at the Courthouse), if you don't vote in the run off to voice your opinion, don't bother voicing it later. Voting is a right that needs to be exercised on a regular basis because we will all be affected by those who are voted into office.

The 12u Georgia Fury Fastpitch Softball Team played in the Global Sports Association World Series in Carrollton, Georgia on the weekend of July 26th.

These young ladies played in the 14 and under category instead of against girls in the 12 and under bracket. They were undefeated in the tournament. They scored 46 runs and only allowed 9 runs in the entire tournament.

Paul Whitmire, Ron Miley, Brad Armistead are the coaches for the 12u Georgia Fury Fastpitch Softball Team.

Congratulations!

The 5th Annual Miss Pride of Pike Scholarship Pageant was held on June 9th in the Pike Auditorium. It was open to girls ages newborn through grade 12. Contestants were judged on beauty, first impression, overall appearance, and personality and the older girls even had to do a question and answer session.

Winners are as follows: Baby Miss POP is Brylee Daniel. Tiny Miss POP is Kaitlyn Campbell. Little Miss POP is Tristan Burns. Young Miss POP is Melanie Windham. Jr. Miss POP is Christain Pierce. Miss POP 2008 is Caitlin Cox. The 2008 Pride of Pike Ambassador is Brea Driskell.

Congratulations!

I attended this workshop prior to the BOC meeting that was supposed to start at 5:30 p.m. The meeting actually began about 5:40 with Chairman Fry coming in at 5:45 p.m. This was attended by all of the commissioners, the CM, Nancy to take the minutes and Attorney Rob Morton.

I had a problem with this right away because the budget information that was projected up on the wall was not the information on the newly prepared budget that was passed out to the commissioners at the beginning of the meeting. The CM even clarified that he had no recommendations on this because he had not seen the information prior to the budget workshop. I think that this was just Tom trying to reduce this amount further and make clarifications, but for future reference, this is not a good idea to spring new information at the last minute.

Tommy and Jake both voiced disapproval at this last minute budget. Citizens in the audience were not happy either. It was confusing to hear the new budget while seeing the old budget on the wall because things had been moved from one place to another. Nancy did make copies and pass them out to the public at the end of the meeting though.

The fire department is going to try to find some base radios that are a little less expensive than the ones that they were looking at. There are 9 cell phones for those in leadership positions and fire is looking at getting rid of the touch to talk option with this Verizon plan. It hasn't been as helpful as they thought it would be.

The fire stations are in need of internet service and the 2nd District fire house does not have a high speed capability through anything but satellite. [Note from the Editor: I live close to this fire station and would LOVE for Georgia Broadband to come down in our area so I can bundle my service and sack my current provider. Website from dial-up is my only option from home.] Apparently some of the fire stations don't even have telephones so that needs to be remedied. And the fire fighters in some of the stations are having to type up their reports from home because there are not computers at all of the stations.

Computers and internet access are very important with volunteer fire fighter training because the required hours will go up from 120 hours to 240 hours in January of 2009. There is an online training program called Target Safety that can keep our fire fighters up to date on their training without having to send them off for training. We have approximately 75 volunteer firemen so this will come to about $750 per volunteer. This program can be tailored to fit our needs.

The new budget came to $248,500 without the grading, relocation, etc. for Station 8 which was $57,000, the equipment to properly equip the new fire trucks that we will be receiving shortly which amounts to $105,000 (and this won't be covered by SPLOST money but is required for ISO rating), and the grading at Station 8 which is $25,000. Station 8 is also known as the District 2 fire house on Gresham Road. This is the headquarters station. Discussion about whether District 2 could put extra items in other areas or whether the fire safety house could be put under a carport for protection. There was a very short discussion about keeping a tanker outside but that was ended when it was pointed out that the tanker would have to be drained in order to keep the water from freezing in the tanker during the winter. ISO requires heating to keep it from freezing anyway so that is not an option.

Discussion about pulling older vehicles out operation is pretty much on hold until after the ISO recommendation/study is concluded. In the meantime, the 2001 engine is going to Zebulon Fire Dept so they can respond to county fires. One of the engines from Lifsey Springs will go to Molena to cover county responses as well.

There has been a recommendation from ISO to build a satellite station to cover an area that is outside of the 5 mile radius around the current fire stations. The county is paying $4,000 per city station to be included in the ISO study as well. Discussion that city residents pay county taxes too and that there is no way to separate the city and county stations if we want to have the overall ISO reduction based on 5 mile radius around the stations.

Bottom line on the Fire Department budget is $372,050 and this includes the $105,000 that is needed to equip the new trucks.

Click here for the first pdf file and click here for the 2nd pdf.

strong>Update 8.4.08: 7.29.08

ZEBULON - Some sat on bags of feed while many came prepared with their own folding chairs Thursday night when more than 100 Pike County residents gathered for the second time in less than two weeks at the Feed and Seed to talk about financial responsibility in county government and the school system. Oversized, color-coded county maps, outlining the school districts, were placed around the room as co-organizer David Hughes asked residents to sign up to help identify possible Pike County Board of Education candidates in their districts.

“We can’t wait until the election year and then make changes,” Hughes said, explaining that school board elections are two years away. “We need people willing to invest their time and educate themselves to the issues. Two years will be gone before you know it.”

Residents further charged that the county’s budget has gone from $3 million to $10 million in the last 10 years, and that there is no financial accountability on the part of the Pike County Board of Commissioners. Property taxes in the county have averaged huge assessment increases. This prompted the Board of Commissioners to recently freeze assessments at the 2007 levels, but organizers say that assessments are only the beginning of the problem. Co-organizer Joe Mangham told residents to be patient.

“We can’t change everything in this budget,” he said. “And everything is not bad in the county.”

Organizers told residents to write down their e-mail addresses if they want county budgets to be sent to them. The meeting was orderly, but residents would occasionally shout out their discontent.

“The first thing on the agenda should be to get rid of that county manager (Steve Marro),” one resident yelled to a room full of applause.

But it was Steve Brown who echoed the sentiment of most. “We’re country folk. We’re frugal,” Brown said. “And that’s what we want in our government.”

[Note from the Editor: The comment about the county manager is one that I heard quite a bit of late but after some in depth questions to some who have said this, some of the things that they are blaming on the county manager are not his doing.

It has become common to place the blame on the CM for everything in the county. This happens every time we get a new CM. The endless cycle of hire and fire and running people off has gotten really old. Especially when you look at the mess that happens in between getting rid of the old CM and getting a new CM with the new CM having to learn everything all over again.

Pike County is locked into an endless cycle that does not help us even tread water where we are currently. We keep falling behind instead of working together to move forward. Of course that is my personal opinion, for what it's worth. It's something to think about if nothing else.]

Advanced voting begings today and runs through Friday. Voters can drop by the Registrar's Office from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Pike County Courthouse and vote prior to Election Day on next Tuesday. A picture ID is required for all voters.

Those who voted the Democratic Primary will only be allowed to vote on the Democratic Run-Off and those who voted in the Republican Primary will only be allowed to vote on the Republican Run-Off.

Those who did not vote in the Primary will be allowed to vote in the Run-Off. However, they will be asked to choose either a Republican or Democratic ticket.

Republican voters countywide will choose between Steve Fry and Doug Mangham as the County Commission Chairman. County Commission District 4 Republican voters will choose between Jake Garner and Don Collins. State-wide Democratic voters will choose between Vernon Jones and Jim Martin to run against Saxby Chambliss in November.

Update 7.28.08: I talked to Sandi at the Voter Registrar's Office and was advised that the printer of our ballots is a bit late getting these ballots sent to them at the Courthouse. They are supposed to arrive tomorrow around noon though so anyone who wants to go vote tomorrow needs to call the Registrar's Office after 12:00 p.m. at 770-567-2003 to make sure that ballots are in the office before you make a trip to the courthouse.

Update 7.29.08: Go vote at the Registrar's Office from now until Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. The ballots are in for those who want to vote during the week before the election. This is not to be confused with those who are voting absentee from their homes and will be receiving their ballots by mail.

Absentee ballots are going out in the mail today so anyone who is voting absentee through the mail needs to get that ballot marked and back into the mail as soon as possible so their ballot can be counted on August 5th.

You do not need a reason to go in and vote early this week. Just show up at the Courthouse and fill out your paperwork and your ballot. Don't forget to bring a picture identification.

The 12u Georgia Fury Fastpitch Softball Team played in the Universal Fastpitch Association World Series in Cordele, Georgia on July 19th and 20th.

These young ladies were undefeated in the tournament. They scored 26 runs and only allowed 9 runs in the entire tournament.

Paul Whitmire, Ron Miley, Brad Armistead are the coaches for the 12u Georgia Fury Fastpitch Softball Team.

Congratulations!

A group of more than 100 citizens gathered at Pike Feed and Seed last night to get organized and make their feelings known on county taxes and politics in general. Citizens, current elected officials, and candidates for office mingled in the back of Pike Feed and Seed.

I'll have more on this meeting later. I've been to one too many meetings of late I guess because I got the time wrong on this one and it was on my calendar of events! I'll program my scheduler next time so I don't miss anything. I stayed and talked for over an hour even though it was over as I got there so I got a pretty good feel for the meeting.

I was told by those who were there that it was a good meeting and that there were probably as many people or even more than the first organizational meeting where I counted 125 people. The Board of Education will be under close scrutiny as well as the Board of Commisioners from now on.

I'll upload Vivian's story from the Griffin Daily News or Tammy's story from the Journal Reporter--whichever comes out first. Vivian has done an excellent job covering Pike County for the Griffin Daily News. They've come a long way in the past several years.

The bridge safety bill that passed the House today includes a Westmoreland provision that creates a $5 million pilot program to fund technologies that constantly monitor bridges for warning signs of danger. The National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act passed by a wide bipartisan margin, 367-55.

“After the Minneapolis bridge collapse on I-35 got so much attention last summer, we saw a renewed urgency in Congress about safety and inspections,” Westmoreland said. “As the only Georgian on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I met with a Georgia company based in Alpharetta. LifeSpan Technologies produces a product that constantly monitors the status of bridges in real time and it can detect many problems that wouldn’t be caught by the human eye. In all these ways, this technology far surpasses the traditional eye inspection done by state departments of transportation.

“This technology will increase the safety of bridges and save states money,” Westmoreland said. “Though a Georgia company introduced me to this technology, several businesses throughout the nation have manufactured similar products so the benefits of the pilot program could stretch far beyond Georgia.”

The Westmoreland provision green lights a pilot program and authorizes funding for bridge assessment technologies that will encourage states to use them.

Overall, the bridge bill will add $1 billion to the $4.5 billion already authorized for this year’s federal bridge program and it bans the earmarking of those funds for specific projects by the administration or members of Congress.

[Note from the Editor: Banning earmarks is important because it restricts the linking of pet projects (paid for with taxpayer dollars) to this legislation.]

Third Friday on the Square on July 18th was the first night that it stretched into the night past 8 p.m. It began with Mike June and Ryan Wilson with music from the 60's to present. Their set was from 6 to 8 p.m.

Rovazetella with members Rob Hardie, Jordan McGhin, Matt Riggs, Ben Zahn, Raliegh Chesney, Molly Parden, and Josh Blount and Sound of Film with members Max Moody, Jacob, Trey Barnett, Matthew Herring, Lea, and David then took to the stage and played.

I did not get to attend this 3rd Friday on the Square, but I went by about 10:30 p.m. and listened to one of the closing songs. They sounded pretty good and the crowd of young people was tremendous for a Pike County event. Some teenagers with their parents, young couples, and just groups of friends applauded and hung out through the concert.

Now no one can complain and say that we don't have anything to do in Pike County if the late night 3rd Fridays on the Square continue. Thinking outside of the box can be a good thing!

Click here for Rovazetella online. Click here for Sound on Film online.

Department & Family Children Services: will no longer be able to provide the Secret Santa Christmas Program for the Pike County Community that has been provided for over 20 years. DFCS is asking area churches, civic groups or other organizations to provide this much appreciated services.

For more information, please contact Susan Boggs or Michele Madewell at 770-567-8427.

The Pike County Board of Commissioners FY 2009 Budget Workshop Schedule is as follows.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 hearings are 5:30 pm Carla Caidwell, Health Department; 6:00 pm Terrell Moody, Coroner; 6:30 pm Karen Brown, IDA; 7:00 pm Priscilla Killingsworth, Magistrate Court; 7:30 pm Paul Faulds, Library Board; and 8:00 pm Joe Sala, Public Defender’s Office.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008 hearings are 5:30 pm Chief Tom Tyree, Fire Department. The Regularly Scheduled Board of Commissioners meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, July 31, 2008 hearings are 5:30 pm Sheriff Jimmy Thomas; 6:30 pm Steve Marro, Planning & Development; and 7:30 pm Steve Marro, Board of Commissioners.

All hearings will be held in the Board of Commissioners Meeting Room beside the Sheriff's Office. The public is invited to attend.

The Pike County Run-Off Election will be held on Tuesday, August 5th from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at the same precincts where you voted in the Regular Election.

Those who voted the Democratic Primary will only be allowed to vote on the Democratic Run-Off and those who voted in the Republican Primary will only be allowed to vote on the Republican Run-Off.

Those who did not vote in the Primary will be allowed to vote in the Run-Off. However, they will be asked to choose either a Republican or Democratic ticket.

Advanced voting will be held at the Courthouse from July 28 to August 1st from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day.

A picture ID is required for all voters. According to the Secretary of State's website, if a voter does not have one of the required forms of photo ID, or if the voter's name cannot be located on the voter's list, such voter will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot. Instructions on the provisional balloting process will be displayed at each voting location.

Republican voters countywide will choose between Steve Fry and Doug Mangham as the County Commission Chairman. County Commission District 4 Republican voters will choose between Jake Garner and Don Collins. State-wide Democratic voters will choose between Vernon Jones and Jim Martin to run against Saxby Chambliss in November.

Special thanks to Chief Registrar Sandi Chamblin for answering all of my questions!

What a great celebration the Pride of Pike, 4th of July event turned out to be! Again this year thousands of people were treated to a fun-filled event that included a parade, food and craft vendors as well as activities for the kids. The Hudson Road Band, back by popular demand, entertained the crowd with great music and, despite the unexpected thunderstorm, the fireworks show was spectacular!

As a non-profit the Pike County Chamber of Commerce is dependent on the investment our members make to the organization as well as the sponsorships and other fees charged for the events it hosts during the year to remain solvent and the advocate for business in the community. Many of you may be asking why the Chamber decided to charge $5.00 for parking at this year’s event. The decision was made to try and insure that the event would pay for itself and all the expenses would be covered for this community celebration. Safety was another reason for closing the road and handling the parking of vehicles in an orderly fashion.

In 2006 this event lost $3,100 and in 2007 it lost $5,535.

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped make this event such a success, from the parking lot attendants, tram drivers, chamber table volunteers and committee members, this event would not have happened without you!

All of the members of the Board of Appeals were present as well as Kim Morris to take the minutes, Mark Whitley to represent Planning and Development, and Rob Morton as legal representation. A court reporter was also present to take down the meeting.

The Board of Appeals met last night from 7 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. meeting to hear the appeal of Brookstone resident Billy Paul to the acceptance of the rezoning application of Centerfield Sports and Fitness, Inc. owner Mike Grant by the acting Zoning Administrator County Manager (CM) Steve Marro. Billy contended that Centerfield Sports is out of compliance cannot apply for rezoning. This was Billy's opportunity to present his case to the county through the Board of Appeals.

[Note from the Editor: I am combining the history and this article together because I believe it is important for citizens to understand how the county got into the mess that we are in. I've made no secret of my opinion that this should have been resolved a long time ago. Citizens have stepped forward with suggestions that would have worked to work this out and the Board of Commissioners (BOC) have not only turned their heads the other way to those suggestions, they have chosen to go the other way when they gave every indication that they would resolve this issue. I think last night was a turning point and I sincerely hope that the BOC chooses to do resolve the matter as quickly as possible.]

The original Centerfield Sports and Fitness Center, Inc. facility is located on Lot C-1 North Park at Brookstone Subdivision. This 1.02 acres was purchased on May 9, 2003. Lot 1 of Brookstone Subdivision is subject to Restrictive Covenants that were filed on January 8, 2004. The original covenants prohibited "business or commercial activity" from being operated or maintained "from any Dwelling Unit or other structure upon or within the property". An Amendment to the Covenants was signed on May 31, 2005.

This revised covenant on Lot 1 was filed and recorded by the Clerk of Superior Court on June 10, 2005. The Amendment restricts Lot 1 uses to the following: 1) a parking lot, ball field, eight batting cages, playground, picnic area and swimming pool. It specifically restricts buildings of any kind with the exception of the pavilion as shown on the site plan attached to this Amendment which is Exhibit A, 2) Lot 1 must be accessed only from the east and no drive shall be permitted to access Lot 1 from Brookstone Drive, 3) must maintain a natural or landscaped buffer of 30 feet in width along the north, south and west property lines and specifically, Bradford pears shall be planted in the north buffer, 4) must comply with all soil conservation requirements upon development and improvement of the lot, 5) no flood lights, ball park lights or similar lighting will be permitted. Only sodium type street lights of 150 watts are permitted with a pole length not to exceed 20 feet, and 6) no activities of any nature shall be permitted after 9 p.m. Every property owner in Brookstone Subdivision signed this document with the witness of a notary public including Tamara Woods, who is now married to Billy Paul.

Pike County's Code of Ordinances does not allow outdoor activity on C-1 Neighborhood Commercial zoned property--only indoor recreation. Section 156.188(c) at that time said: The following accessory uses are permitted in C-1 Districts: those determined by the Zoning Administrator to be customarily appurtenant to those uses permitted in this District. At that time, Wendell Becker was the Zoning Administrator for Pike County and was allowed to make these decisions without BOC approval.

No structure was going to be built on the property so no building permit was required; however, a grading/land disturbance permit was required and was purchased. The Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Con