Top Stories

By Taelor Rye
When an emergency strikes, it is important to contact the appropriate services for assistance. Commonly, people dial 911 for police, fire or medical help, and emergency responders quickly make their way to the scene. However, many homes do not have clearly listed house numbers, causing service teams to take longer than necessary to arrive.

Currently, according to representatives from Dodge/Wilcox E911, Dodge County does not have any specific ordinances regarding 911 addressing or listing house numbers. However, Eastman does have ordinances concerning the matter.

Article II, § 8-23 of the Eastman City Code states, “It shall be the duty of the owners and occupants of every house, building and lot in the city to have placed thereon, in a place visible from the street, figures at least three inches high, showing the number of the house, lot or building. Such figures shall be neatly displayed on permanent material such as wood, aluminum, metal or plastic.”

One of the most common places that house numbers are displayed are on mailboxes, as the section acknowledges: “It shall also be permissible to place such figures on mailboxes so that such numbers will be easily visible on either side of the inhabitant’s mailbox. Such figures shall also be placed in a visible location on the front of each home or business or on a sign in each yard.”

While placing stickers on one’s mailbox seems easy enough, many residents still do not have house numbers clearly listed.

According to §8-24, a fine of no more than $5.00 each day shall be imposed to “any person, firm or corporation failing to so number any house, building or other structure occupied by him” after the city receives notice of the failure to comply.

However, Eastman city clerk Ivelyn Lampkin recalls, “We do have an ordinance, but we’ve never imposed it. We’ve never enforced it.”

Of course, working to enforce a mandate such as this can be tedious. Going house by house to see if the residents at each address clearly list their respective house numbers may take time away from more pressing legal issues at hand, and many may feel that it is not the obligation of law enforcement officers to notify every person in the city to label his or her mailbox. Instead, this issue may be one of personal responsibility.
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Georgia’s back-to-school sales tax holiday will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 31, and continue through midnight on Saturday, August 1.

During this period, the following items will be exempt from sales tax: clothing and footwear with a sales price of $100.00 or less per item; computers and computer components and software purchased for home or personal use with a sales price of $1,000.00 or less per item; and school supplies, art and computer supplies and instructional materials needed for school with a sales price of $20.00 or less per item.

Items not exempt include belt buckles, costume masks, sewing equipment, craft supplies, clothing accessories and cell phones.

A second tax-free period will be held in October for the purchase of Energy Star-qualified products and WaterSense products with a price of $1,500.00 or less per item.

This tax holiday is scheduled to begin at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, October 2, and end at midnight on Sunday, October 4.

A Plainfield man perished in a house fire on Friday, July 24.

Firefighters got a call at approximately 10:26 a.m. to the home of Washington Battle (age 88) at 75 Welcome Friend Church Road in Plainfield. The call was about a house fire with a person still inside the house.

When firemen arrived, they found that Battle was still inside the house that was on fire. Firemen went into the blazing house and brought Battle out.

Battle was transported to Dodge County Hospital by Emergency Medical Services and then flown by helicopter to Doctor’s Burn Center in Augusta. He died of smoke inhalation there on Saturday, July 25, at approximately 2:00 a.m.

The state fire marshal’s office investigated the fire, and it is believed that Battle had gotten up that morning and started cooking on the stove, but then went back to bed and fell asleep.

Firefighters from Plainfield, Eastman, Crossroads and Dodge Correctional Institute responded to the call.

The house was considered a total loss.

By Taelor Rye
The Eastman city council moved to approve the relocation of many water lines to right-of-ways at the Eastman city council meeting on July 27.

The water lines of interest lie under the following streets in the neighborhood of Bacon Heights: Forest Avenue, Bacon Avenue, Harrison Street, Karen Drive and Russell Avenue.

City council member Milton Johnson stated, “I think it’s a smart move to do. We’re concentrating all our efforts in getting one area taken care of… I think it’s intelligent to take care of it all at one time.”

The city council voted to allow Graham & Studstill to relocate the lines as part of a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). Graham & Studstill was recently chosen to relocate lines on a stretch of Park Street from 9th Avenue to 10th Avenue.

The CDBG project is a subset of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). According to HUD, the purpose of CDBG is to “develop and preserve decent affordable housing, to provide services to the most vulnerable in our communities, and to create and retain jobs.”

Eastman city manager Bea Edge stated that bidding the project out would likely take a month or so, so allowing Graham & Studstill – which is currently working on projects with the city – to complete the project was more time-feasible. The price for the project is set at $181,382.00.

Additional funding for the project will come from the Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).

City council member Raymond Mullis said, “I’m glad to see that started, to tell you the truth.”

Another project that the city approved at the July 27 meeting was for work on the well on Legion Drive.

Edge stated, “This is a project that we need to do, and we think it was affected by the lightning.”

Recalling his discovery, Terry Hardeman – who is over Eastman’s wells and pumps – explained, “The Legion Drive well was off, so I started checking everything, and the in-line fuses coming from the power pole were all blown apart. I took the starters apart, [and] the contacts in the starters were all burnt up.” [Full Story »] 

Terry Coleman, Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) member, presented a check to executive director Debbie Connell and the kids at The Club recently! The MDRT Foundation has awarded a $2,000.00 grant to Dodge Connection-Communities In Schools of Dodge County, Inc. to provide opportunities for youth at The Club summer program such as Skycamp at Middle Georgia State University’s Aviation Campus and Missoula Children’s Theater.

Through its global grants, the MDRT Foundation is committed to building stronger families and communities around the globe. This year, the MDRT Foundation will award nearly $1 million in MDRT member-endorsed grants to more than 100 charitable organizations worldwide. Board chair Julia Johnson expressed her appreciation to community members such as Terry Coleman who continue to find creative ways to support our local club!
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After firemen saw heavy smoke on the north end of Eastman, a fire truck was dispatched to check out the situation. When the fire truck reached Dorough Street, Eastman Fireman Johnny Howell saw that the house at 5709 was on fire, with several people standing around watching. Howell called back to the fire department for assistance. Fire had engulfed the rear of the wood frame house. Eastman firemen arrived and extinguished the flames. The house was unoccupied and was considered a total loss. The cause of the fire was unknown at press time. The fire occurred at approximately 4:27 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15. Firemen fought the fire for approximately 1 1/2 hours. (Photo by Chuck Eckles)

By Taelor Rye
The boat landing at Dodge County’s entrance to the Ocmulgee River on Lower River Road will be named the Ochise Bubbling Water Landing, the Dodge County board of commissioners voted at its July 20 meeting.
According to commissioner Terry Niblett, an email from Kelvin Mullis – who has been instrumental in supporting tourism on the Ocmulgee River and assisting the board with the project – indicated that the early English settlers referred to the Ocmulgee River as the Ochise River, providing the basis of the new landing’s name. Based on Mullis’ recommendation, Niblett moved for the board to approve the name suggestion.
Commissioner Brian Watkins added that the boat ramp is not open right now “until the river gets low enough that we can check some erosion that happened on the lower part of the actual landing itself.”
County manager Bobby Peacock clarified, “When it flooded, it sort of eroded [the landing] some and twisted it. Something needs to be done with that before we open it… When it gets a little lower, we can check it.”
Watkins did clarify that, to his knowledge, as of a week or so ago, the old landing was still accessible.
Eastman-Dodge County Chamber of Commerce interim president and CEO Charles Williams revisited the board, publicly updating the commissioners on the status of the library annex. Both the city and county have agreed to jointly fund the development authority in its financing of the library’s building currently used as Mercer University’s Eastman Regional Academic Center (RAC).
When Mercer pulls its RAC from Eastman after July 31, the development authority will seek another institution to replace Mercer so that Eastman can still have that level of access to post-secondary education. Williams has stated that the development authority is currently in talks with three institutions.
In the meantime, the city and county each will give $1,250.00 to the development authority to pay to the library, creating a $2,500.00 income to the library each month to ensure that it remains feasible to keep open.
Williams stated that county attorney John Harrington is working on a memorandum of understanding among the county, the city and the development authority as well as one between the development authority and the library. Upon completion, “we’ll be set up to move forward,” Williams said.
Anne Bowen, director of the Murrell Memorial Library – Eastman’s branch of the Ocmulgee Regional Library System – said, “We really appreciate what y’all are doing on our behalf.”
Celebrating its tenure at the Eastman RAC, Mercer held an event on July 20 to show its appreciation of community support over the years.
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The driver and two passengers of a 2009 Chrysler Town and Country van were transported to Dodge County Hospital after they were involved in an accident on Tuesday, July 7 at the intersection of College Street and the Terry Coleman Parkway at approximately 1:15 p.m. According to the Georgia State Patrol report, Marcuetta K. Anderson (age 64) from Perry, the driver of the van, and Eugene Lawrence Anderson (age 76) from Perry and Amy Dunahoo (age 48) of Bethlehem, passengers in the van, were headed north on the Terry Coleman Parkway. Fred Frye (age 73) of Screven was driving a 2005 Ford pickup and was stopped at the intersection of College Street and the Terry Coleman Parkway. He then pulled into the path of the van. (Photo by Tracey Graham)

By Taelor Rye
Students from Dodge County Middle School (DCMS) and teachers from Dodge County High School (DCHS) attended the Mercer University/Woodrow Wilson STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Camp at Mercer from June 15 through June 19th and were recognized at the Dodge County Board of Education meeting on July 9 as part of the board’s Examples of Excellence.
A week prior to the camp, DCHS science teachers Dana Niblett, Scarlett Selph and Miranda Simmons partook in a robotics workshop at Mercer.
At the STEM camp, students Mark Lucas, Aliyah Durham, JaColby Mizell, Jordan Morgan, Glenn Peacock and Emily Roddenberry participated in activities related to STEM, including building bridges with toothpicks, racing robotic cars, learning about micro-controllers and observing the sun through a solar telescope.
These students submitted applications to the camp that were reviewed anonymously, and they were chosen to participate based on their applications.
Dodge County superintendent Dr. Melinda Dennis visited Mercer during the camp and said that she “was amazed at some of the things that these kids were doing… It was a pretty awesome opportunity that our students got to enjoy.”
Dr. Sharon Murphy Augustine, associate professor of education and Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship program director at Mercer University, said, “We had a saying in STEM Camp that we wanted students to push themselves to ‘their optimal levels of confusion’ because that is where innovation and learning happens. These Dodge County students accomplished this balance by showing a great deal of intellectual curiosity, collaboration and persistence. They were great representatives of what Middle Georgia students can do.”
Dr. Lawanda Gillis, Dodge’s Director of Curriculum and Professional Development, informed parents that the staff members at the camp “were most complimentary of our students… You have a lot to be proud of. We have a lot to be proud of.”
Emily Roddenberry and a student representative from another school earned first place in the bridge-building exercise, which determined a bridge’s efficiency, given its own mass with respect to the weight that it could hold.
Glenn Peacock’s team was awarded second place in the robotic car activity, which tested the force of one car against another in a given timeframe. This competition was based on how far one car could push its opponent upon impact. [Full Story »] 

By Taelor Rye
The Eastman city council moved to give $1,250.00 per month to the development authority to finance the purchase of the annex building from the Murrell Memorial Library, provided that all memoranda of understanding go through successfully, at the July 13 city council meeting.
Eastman-Dodge County Chamber of Commerce interim president and CEO Charles Williams requested that the City of Eastman link with Dodge County to pay a sum of $2,500.00 to the Eastman branch of the Ocmulgee Regional Library System to fund the development authority in its financing of the library’s building currently used as Mercer University’s Eastman Regional Academic Center (RAC).
Because Mercer is withdrawing its RAC from Eastman after July 31, $30,000.00 in revenue to the library will be lost if a replacement is not found. Williams clarified that, under the proposed deal, the responsibility to find a replacement lies with the development authority and that three institutions were in talks.
Williams expressed that payments would ideally begin in the month of August, leaving no gap in pay after Mercer leaves.
The city council then voted upon city attorney Rita Llop’s recommendation to approve the deal “contingent on getting this memorandum of understanding and agreement” among all involved parties.
The city’s decision follows the county’s move, which was to pay the amount every month only if the city also voted to pay its part.
In this agreement, both the county and Eastman would continue to pay a sum of $2,500.00 every month for at least 10 years. Provided that a renter takes Mercer’s place in the building, any rent paid will be divided between the county and Eastman until each is fully reimbursed. Any additional funds will be split between the two.
In support of the deal, city council member Bobby Slye said, “We can’t lose this library in Eastman.” He went on to specify the high number of people using the computers available for professional use.
Following a work session on July 7, the city council voted to refer Llop’s suggested changes to the Eastman sign ordinance to the Eastman planning and zoning committee. Generally, the suggested changes remove any reference to content of signs but still allow the city to regulate sign size and number of signs on one property, among other tweaks to existing ordinances such as the clarification of the definition of a “temporary sign.”
Additionally, the city voted to extend the moratorium on sign applications until it works through the changes with the planning and zoning committee. Due to the committee’s meeting schedule corresponding with the number of suggested changes and the time that it would take to review the changes, the city council agreed to extend the moratorium for 120 days.
Chief of police Becky Sheffield delivered to the council the monthly police department report. In her report, Sheffield stated that, for the month of June, 13,205 miles were patrolled with 1,245 gallons of gas used. She also reported that 1,196 calls were answered and that the police department responded to 17 traffic accidents.
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By Taelor Rye
Dodge County Commissioner Karen Cheek approached the Dodge County Commission Board with a motion to have Dodge County citizens vote on whether the Confederate battle flag, at the Confederate memorial in front of the courthouse, should remain or should be removed, at their meeting on Monday, July 6.
“It is my sincere belief that this memorial and flag was created and dedicated to honor all those who have fallen in this terrible conflict,” Cheek stated. Additionally, she stated that this is something that “God has impressed upon” her.
On the significance of this issue, Cheek stated that “high profile issues” such as jobs, hunger, the high school dropout rate and the teen pregnancy rate take precedence over whether the flag should or should not fly.
Still, Cheek expressed her personal desire for the citizens of the county to decide what ultimately happens with the flag, requesting that the issue be included on the 2016 ballot.
Meanwhile, O.C.G.A. §50-3-10 of the Georgia code states, “Nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent the use of the flag of the United States or any flag, standard, color, shield, ensign, or other insignia of the State of Georgia or of the Confederate States of America for decorative or patriotic purposes, either inside or outside of any residence, store, place of business, public building, or school building.”
This inclusion permits the Confederate flag to be displayed on the grounds of any public building, among other locations. In this sense, the vote that Cheek requested would violate Georgia code by allowing county citizens to defy state law.
After Cheek moved to approve the vote, commissioner Terry Niblett seconded the motion so that the board could discuss and vote on it. The board voted 3-1 against the proposed inclusion of the vote on the 2016 ballot, with Cheek as the only one voting in favor.
The recent influx in animosity toward the flag and what it represents comes as a response to the massacre of nine African American men and women at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, by white supremacist Dylann Roof. Roof notoriously donned the Confederate flag in many pictures prior to the shooting and confessed that he wanted to start a race war, according to Charleston officials.
However, the Dodge County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has been trying to get the Confederate flag removed since 2002.
Dodge County NAACP president John Battle rebutted Cheek’s comments, saying that his following statements were “no discredit to the sons of Confederates” and that he, as a two-time veteran, respects his own flag. He also stated that the NAACP’s request to have the flag taken down is “not a disgrace but about the history of it… we did not teach the proper history in the school system.”
In response to Cheek’s statements about issues that she sees more important than the flag, Battle further likened this situation to one in 2012, when he says that the possibility for over 350 new jobs was lost when the board of commissioners would not allow the company to install its own water system. Similarly, Battle argued, the board’s decision on this matter prevents new jobs as well. Battle said, “This flag don’t bring jobs in here,” elaborating that the flag is divisive and that no companies are going to want to invest in a community with such division.
“Why did we fight [the Civil War]? We fought about free labor – money. Who was the free labor? It was me, my grandparents,” Battle said, alluding to his lineage and the enslavement of hundreds of thousands of Africans in the United States and Confederate States in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Battle did distinguish the difference between public property and private property, saying that he does not wish to get rid of the flag in its entirety, just on public property. “We ain’t taking back your heritage, your history and all,” Battle clarified. “As a black man who pays taxes here in Dodge County… we buy from y’all… yet you don’t have enough compassion to remove this flag.”
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Dodge County Hospital has recently been awarded a four-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal agency under the umbrella of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

The CMS’ new star rating system runs on a scale of one to five, with one being the lowest rated score and five being the highest. The system includes patients’ evaluations of staff’s responsiveness, communication about medications, cleanliness and quietness of the facility as well as how well physicians listen to and communicate with the patients, among other qualities; a total of 11 measures from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey are taken into account for each score.

According to the CMS, the purpose for this system is “to make it easier for consumers to choose a hospital and understand the quality of care they deliver.” Further, the rating impacts the reimbursement that the hospitals receive on Medicare and Medicaid patients.

Dodge County Hospital’s four-star rating indicates quality service and high patient satisfaction between the period of July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014.

“Modern Healthcare” reports that facilities that specialize in a specific field may more easily receive higher scores due to the facilities’ smaller sizes and narrower focuses. With that context, such a high score for a general hospital like Dodge County Hospital may be especially noteworthy.

Of the 100 hospitals in Georgia that were required to report to the CMS, Dodge County Hospital is one of 30 to receive a four out of five; only four Georgia hospitals received the highest distinction.
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A fireworks show will be held at Memorial Stadium in Eastman on Saturday, July 4 at dark (approximately 9:30 p.m.).

The fireworks display will be put on by Santori Fireworks and is sponsored by the Eastman/Dodge County Chamber of Commerce, the City of Eastman and Dodge County.

Memorial Stadium will be open for spectators to view the fireworks. Only the home side bleachers will be open to the public. Those are the bleachers closest to ChasMar.

Everyone is invited to come see the free fireworks display.

Dodge County Sheriff’s investigators have solved two recent burglaries and have arrested one adult and two juveniles.

After the Albert Glass home on the Rhine Highway was burglarized on June 17, Dodge County Sheriff’s Investigator Roy Conley got the case and began investigating. Then, the home of Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Curt Smith, located on the WPA Road, was burglarized. Dodge County Sheriff’s Investigator Glen Conley began investigating.

Investigators believed that they knew who had done the burglaries and went to the Eastman Motel, where the suspects were staying. When they confronted the people, they confessed to the two crimes.

Arrested and charged with two counts of burglary was Homar Martin Ramirez (age 23), and arrested and charged with one count of burglary each were a 13 year old male juvenile and a 16 year old female juvenile.

Most of the items from the two burglaries were recovered.