Tobar pushes commissioners to hire new intern to assist him

PAGE A8
The Cairo Messenger
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Tobar pushes commissioners to hire new intern to assist him
Randolph H. Wind
Editor & Publisher
Grady County Administrator Carlos Tobar said he
has heeded the advice of the
county commission to "slow
down" but he will bring forward some additional projects for the board to approve
at next Tuesday's county
commission meeting.
According to Tobar, the
county has a good possibility
of receiving funding for two
major projects and he needs
the board to approve the hiring of a new intern in his office to assist him and hold
down project costs.
Lynsey Johnson, who has
been employed as a parttime intern in the commission office, has been hired
full-time by the Grady
County Board of Tax Assessors to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of
Chuck Lee. Johnson begins
her duties today, Sept. 14.
"If the board allows me to
work on these projects, I
would like to have some
help," Tobar said.
The county administrator
said he met last Friday with
Georgia Department of
Transportation District Traffic Operations Manager Ken
Werho in Tifton and he was
advised that DOT is prepared to commit $1 million
for the construction of a
roundabout at the intersection of GA 188, Airport Road
and Old Thomasville Road.
Tobar says the county
would be responsible for acquiring any necessary rightsof-way, utility relocation,
and engineering design.
The administrator said he
is soliciting estimates for
what the county is responsible for and then, if the
county commission approves him moving forward,
he will seek additional Local
Maintenance & Improvement Grant (LMIG) funds
from the state to cover the
county's portion of the project cost.
Tobar said the project is
as good as done because the
DOT has studied the project
and deemed it worthy of federal and state funding.
According to Tobar, an average of 6,000 vehicles per
day go through this intersection.
"The project obviously
meets their criteria for a
roundabout," Tobar said.
Next Tuesday, Tobar will
also seek the commission's
blessing to pursue applying
for a Community Development Block Grant for im-
provements to Harper Road
in northeast Grady County.
The road stretches from GA
Hwy. 188 to Woodland Road.
"It looks like a good
CDBG project and I'd like
permission to investigate. If
they approve it will be an extremely busy two to three
months for me," Tobar said.
Tobar said the county is
wrapping up the CDBG project at Lewis Estates in southern Grady County.
The paving of streets in
that subdivision has been
completed and they will be
striped once the asphalt
cures.
The administrator is at-
tempting to schedule a ribbon cutting for the project
on either Sept. 26 or 27.
In related news, Tobar will
be updating the board on the
Old 179 North full-depth
reclamation project. The administrator says he is hoping
to have additional information and cost estimates for
the commissioners to consider.
"I started work on this
Old 179 project and the
roundabout project three
years ago. I would have
never dreamed the funding
would have come together at
the same time," Tobar said.
Grady County BOE comes out against constitutional amendment
Randolph H. Wind
Editor & Publisher
The Grady County Board
of Education joined the
ranks of other school boards
across the state that have
gone on the record in opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment #1
regarding the opportunity
school district.
The Opportunity School
District, which is on the Nov.
8 election ballot, is a mechanism for a state takeover of
low-performing schools. The
district would be headed by
a superintendent, appointed
by the governor, who could
take over schools where students underperform on
standardized tests.
Governor Nathan Deal
and legislative leaders have
endorsed the concept and
are pushing for Georgia voters to approve the constitutional amendment.
Local school officials and
others are opposed to the
elimination of local control
an OSD would allow. Under
the OSD, the governor's
hand-picked superintendent
would take control of local
schools.
Schools are considered
"failing" if they score 60 or
below on the Georgia College and Career Readiness
Index for three consecutive
years.
The Grady County School
System does not have any
schools that would be
deemed "failing" under the
current rules.
Regardless, Grady County
School Superintendent Dr.
Kermit Gilliard has voiced
his opposition to the measure and has hit the ground
running to campaign against
its passage.
The Grady County school
superintendent and other
opponents of the amendment are voicing concerns
that the language used in
crafting the resolution may
confuse voters as to the actual realities.
The ballot question will
read "Shall the Constitution
of Georgia be amended to
allow the state to intervene
in chronically failing public
schools in order to improve
student performance?"
Dr. Gilliard said more accurate wording would be
"Shall the Constitution of
Georgia be amended to
allow the state to take over
our public schools from our
locally
elected
school
boards?"
"This is an issue of who
controls public schools in
Georgia. Will our schools be
managed at the local level or
by a bureaucrat in Atlanta? I
suggested that we can make
better decisions right here in
Grady County as how best to
run our schools than someone in Atlanta," Gilliard said.
For more information
about Amendment 1 or to
have Dr. Gilliard speak to
your group, contact him at
229-377-3701.
100 Black Men fundraiser
to be held September 24
THE MEMBERS OF THE WOODMEN OF THE
WORLD chapter 580 of Cairo hosted their annual
9/11 memorial service Friday at the Cairo Fire Department. This year marks the 15th anniversary of
the terrorist attacks that took place on Sept. 11,
2001.
GRADY COUNTY 4STATE REPRESENTAHER Adam Womble
TIVE Darlene Taylor was spoke at Friday's 9/11
the keynote speaker at
memorial service at the
Friday's ceremony.
Cairo Fire Department.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS &
DEBTORS
GEORGIA, GRADY COUNTY
IN RE: ESTATE OF
REBA W. PERKINS
All creditors of the estate of Reba
W. Perkins, deceased, late of Grady
County, are hereby notified to render
in their demands to the undersigned
according to law, and all persons indebted to said estate are required to
make immediate payment to me.
This 9th day of September, 2016.
MARY LOUISA PERKINS
1288 Kingsview Circle.
Smyrna, Ga 30080
Executor of the Estate of
REBA W. PERKINS, Deceased
M. Claire Chason
CHASON LAW FIRM
17 1st Avenue, N.E.
P.O. Box 743
Cairo, GA 39828
(229) 378-1060
PUBlIC INPUT REqUESTED FOR
ThE STATE OF GEORGIA’S DRAFT CONSOlIDATED ANNUAl
PERFORmANCE AND EvAlUATION REPORT (CAPER)
FFY2015/ SFY2016
The State of Georgia, in compliance with applicable U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) regulations, has prepared a
draft version of the State's Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for the
Federal Fiscal Year 2015. The
CAPER is the annual review of the
State's performance in meeting the
goals and objectives identified in the
2013-2017 Consolidated Plan and FY
2015 Annual Action Plan. The State
of Georgia encourages citizens, public agencies and other interested parties to review the contents of its draft
CAPER and to submit their written
comments. The report will be available for review on September 12, 2016 after 5
p.m.
http://www.dca.ga.gov/communities/CommunityInitiatives/programs/ConsolidatedPlan.asp
The report may also be obtained
upon request from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs by calling (404) 679-4840 or by e-mail to
[email protected]. TDD
users may call (404) 679-4915 to request a copy.
All written comments should be
submitted by email or postal mail no
later than Monday, September 28,
2016 at 5:00 p.m.
Georgia Department of Community Affairs
Housing Finance and Development
Attn: CAPER – GHFA HOME
Admin
60 Executive Park South, NE
Atlanta, GA 30329-2231
Public hearing Notice
State of Georgia Non-Entitlement
CDBG Programs
Public hearings for the Proposed
Amended Federal FY 2016
And the Proposed Federal FY2017
CDBG method of Distribution
The State of Georgia’s Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is
proposing to amend its current Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2016/State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2017 Method of
Distribution (MOD) and to propose a
new FFY 2017/SFY 2018 MOD for the
State’s Non-Entitlement Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG)
programs. The MOD affects the
CDBG Annual Competition, the
CDBG Employment Incentive Program (EIP), the CDBG Redevelopment Fund (RDF) program, the
Immediate Threat and Danger (ITAD)
Program, and the 108 Loan Guarantee program. Amendments to the
MOD require U.S Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) approval prior to
enactment. The draft of the amended
FFY 2016 and the proposed FFY
MODs may be found at:
The 100 Black Men of
Brooks - Grady - Thomas
counties will host its second
annual Black Tie Banquet
and Gala at the Grady Cultural Center next weekend
and organizers are urging
the community to support
the event.
Fundraising efforts such
as next weekend's banquet
are necessary to fund the organization's mentoring and
education activities, health
fairs, special events and operations.
The keynote speaker for
the Sat., Sept. 24 banquet
will be Tallahassee attorney
Daryl Parks of the Parks and
Crump law firm. The banquet begins at 7 p.m.
An accomplished attorney, Parks is active in civic
and government affairs in
north Florida. United State
Senator Bill Nelson appointed him to the Federal
Judicial Nominating Commission for the Northern
District of Florida, and former Governor Charlie Crist
appointed him to the Judicial Nominating Commission for the First District
Court of Appeals for Florida.
Parks has served his alma
mater as chairman of the
Board of the FAMU Foundation and the FAMU Boosters
and as vice chair of the
FAMU Board of Trustees.
He is active in the Tallahassee Urban League, the
Leon County Sickle Cell
Foundation, the Bethel
Community Development
Corporation and Legal Servhttp://www.dca.ga.gov/communities/CDBG/index.asp
The public may contact DCA directly at (404) 679-0594 or through
the TDD line at (404) 679-4915 to receive a written copy of the amended
Method of Distribution.
Comments by the public regarding the amended and proposed
MODs will be accepted for a period of
review and consideration, ending 5:00
p.m., October 17, 2016. The State encourages citizens and other interested
parties to review the amended FFY
2016 and the proposed FFY 2017
MODs and to submit comments to
[email protected] or to: CDBG Method of Distribution
Georgia Department of Community
Affairs
Attn: Michael Casper
60 Executive Park South NE
Atlanta, GA 30329-2231
Public Hearings regarding the
amended FFY 2016 and the proposed FFY 2017 MODs will be held
at the following:
September 22, 2016 – 10:00 am Middle Georgia Regional Commission
175 Emery Highway, Suite C
Macon, GA 31217
478-751-6160
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.middlegeorgiarc.org
October 5, 2016 – 4:00 pm
Hyatt Regency Savannah
2 West Bay Street
Savannah, GA 31401
912-238-1234
Web: www.hyatt.com
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs is committed to providing all persons with equal access to
its services, programs, activities, education and employment regardless
of race, color, national origin, religion,
sex, familial status, disability or age.
For a reasonable accommodation or
if you need an alternative format or
language, please contact Michael
Casper at: (404) 679-0594 or email
ices of North Florida, to
which his law firm made a $1
million contribution to fund
a legal aid center in Gadsden
County, Florida's only predominately African American county, that earned him
the Association of Fundraising Professionals Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year
award.
Michael Bryant, president
of the 100 Black Men and
deputy district director for
U.S. Congressman Sanford
D. Bishop, reports that mentoring programs have been
established in both Thomas
and Brooks counties and the
group is looking to expand
into Grady County, which
makes
the
upcoming
fundraiser vital to that effort.
For sponsorship or ticket
information call 229-2261693 or email [email protected]. Tickets are
$25 each.
DARYL D. PARKS will be
the keynote speaker at the
upcoming 100 Black Men of
Brooks - Grady - Thomas
counties second annual
Black Tie Banquet and Gala
to be held in Cairo.
[email protected].
Petición para Comentario Publico
con Respecto al
Borrador del Reporte de Evaluación del Desempeño del Plan Consolidado Anual 2015-2016 Del Estado de Georgia
El Estado de Georgia, en
cumplimiento de las regulaciones
aplicable del Departamento de
Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano de
EE.UU. (HUD, por sus siglas en inglés), ha preparado un borrador del
Reporte de Evaluación del Desempeño del Plan Consolidado Anual
(CAPER, por sus siglas en inglés) por
el año fiscal federal 2015. El CAPER
es la revista anual de los desempeños del Estado de lograr las metas
y los objetivos identificados por el
Plan Consolidado 2003-2017 y el
Plan de Acción 2015. El Estado de
Georgia les anima a los ciudadanos,
agencias públicas, y otras partes interesados revisar los contenidos del
borrador del CAPER y entregar los
comentarios escritos. El informe estará disponible para
su revisión a las 5:00pm el lunes el 12
de septiembre 2016. http://www.dca.ga.gov/communities/CommunityInitiatives/programs/ConsolidatedPlan.asp
El público puede llamar directamente al Departamento de Asuntos
Comunitarios de Georgia (Department of Community Affairs, DCA) a
404-679-4840 o a través de la línea
TDD al (404) 679-4915 para recibir
una copia escrita del borrador. También se puede escribir a [email protected].
Comentario público debe ser entregado por email o correo postal a
más tardar a las 5:00pm el lunes de
28 de septiembre 2016.
Georgia Department of Community Affairs
Housing Finance and Develop-
CAIRO CITY COUNCILMEN got their first
look at the city's new fire
engine Monday night.
The 2016 Rosenbauer arrived Monday morning
and was put on inspection for the council following the city council
meeting that night.The
new fire engine was purchased at a cost of
$448,000 and was outfitted with an additional
$60,000 in equipment.
The city council authorized the purchase of the
truck last August. Chief
Bill Schafer and his men
are working to get the
new truck in service. He
is also planning a "wet
down" ceremony to celebrate the truck going
into service.The community event will be held
in early October, according to Chief Schafer.The
chief demonstrates
ment
Attn: CAPER – GHFA HOME
Admin
60 Executive Park South, NE
Atlanta, GA 30329-2231
Notificación de Audiencia Pública
Programa de Subsidio en Bloque
para el Desarrollo Comunitario
(CDBG) bajo el Programa del Estado o
Ciudades Pequeñas (“Non-Entitlement”) del Estado de Georgia
Las Audiencias Públicas para el
Método del Estado de Distribución
Modificado del FFY 2016 y el Método
del Estado de Distribución Propuesto
del FFY 2017 El Estado de Georgia, Departamento de Asuntos Comunitarios (Department of Community Affairs, DCA)
propone la modificación del Método
del Estado de Distribución (Method of
Distribution, MOD) de su actual Año
Fiscal Federal (FFY, por sus siglas en
inglés) 2016 / Año Fiscal Estatal (SFY,
por sus siglas en inglés) 2017 y proponer un nuevo MOD del FFY
2017/SFY 2018 para su Programa de
Subsidio en Bloque para el Desarrollo
Comunitario (Community Development Block Grants, CDBG) Non-Entitlement. El MOD afecta a la
Competencia Anual de CDBG, el Plan
de Incentivos de Empleo CDBG (EIP,
por sus siglas en inglés), el Fondo de
Redesarrollo CDBG (RDF, por sus siglas en inglés ), el Programa de Amenaza y Peligro Inmediato (ITAD, por
sus siglas en inglés), y el Programa
de la Garantía del Préstamo 108. Las
modificaciones a los MODs requieren
la aprobación del Departamento de
Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano de
EE.UU. (HUD, por sus siglas en inglés) antes de su promulgación. Se
encuentra los borradores del MOD
modificado del FFY 2016 y del MOD
propuesto del FFY 2017 en:
http://www.dca.ga.gov/communities/CDBG/index.asp
El público puede llamar directamente a DCA al (404) 679-0594 o a
some of the features of
the city's new fire engine
Monday night. Looking
on are, l-r: Firefighter
Stephen McKinnon,
Councilman Lannis
Thornton, Boy Scout
Will Porter, Joe Porter,
Mayor Pro Tem James H.
(Jimmy) Douglas, Councilman Ernest Cloud, Engineer Kenneth Barfield
and Councilman Bobby
Gwaltney.
MAYOR PRO TEM
James H. (Jimmy) Douglas tries out the driver's seat.
través de la línea TDD al (404) 6794915 para recibir una copia escrita del
MOD modificado.
Se aceptan los comentarios del
público sobre los MODs modificados
y propuestos para un período para revisión y consideración, finalizando a
las 5:00pm el viernes, el 7 de octubre
2016. El Estado les anima a los ciudadanos y otras partes interesadas
revisar el MOD modificado del FFY
2016 y el MOD propuesto del FFY
2017 y entregar los comentarios a
[email protected] o a: CDBG Method of Distribution
Georgia Department of Community Affairs
Attn: Michael Casper
60 Executive Park South NE
Atlanta, GA 30329-2231
Se llevaran a cabo las audiencias
públicas sobre el MOD modificado del
FFY 2016 y el MOD propuesto del
FFY 2017 en los seguientes sitios:
September 20, 2016 – 10:00 am Middle Georgia Regional Commission
175 Emery Highway, Suite C
Macon, GA 31217
478-751-6160
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.middlegeorgiarc.org
October 7, 2016 – 1:00 pm
Hyatt Regency Savannah
2 West Bay Street
Savannah, GA 31401
912-238-1234
Web: www.hyatt.com
El Departamento de Asuntos Comunitarios de Georgia se compromete a proporcionar a todas las
personas con igualdad de acceso a
sus servicios, programas, actividades, educación y empleo sin distinción de raza, color, origen nacional,
religión, sexo, estado civil, discapacidad o edad. Para un ajuste razonable
o si necesita un formato o lenguaje alternativo, por favor, póngase en contacto con Pam Truitt al: (404) 679 a
5.240 o [email protected] de