Week in Review For the Week of Jan. 8 – 12, 2024
On Monday, the Toccoa City Commission held extended discussions, both during a called work session at 4 p.m., and the regular meeting at 5 p.m., about the Tugalo Greenspace.
Following the discussion during the regular meeting, commissioners voted to move forward with the construction of the Tugaloo Greenspace, despite budget and scheduling concerns and hesitation about the public’s perception of the project, especially considering the loss of parking spaces downtown, and the fact that the project no longer includes the construction of an amphitheater as was proposed in the original plan. The amphitheater was dropped from the project in efforts to bring the project in under budget.
However, on Friday, a notice was published by the city stating that a called meeting of the Toccoa City Commission has been scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 5 p.m. in the Commission Courtroom at City Hall, 92 North Alexander Street in Toccoa. The sole item on the agenda is a discussion of the Tugalo Greenspace.
Also at Monday’s Toccoa City Commission Meeting, Josh Carroll from the city’s auditing firm, Mauldin and Jenkins, presented the City of Toccoa’s annual audit report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023, stating that the city received an unmodified, or “clean” report, which indicates that the city’s financials are materially correct. The report also stated that the city’s basic financial reports were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Also, he said the city could improve its segregation of duties on finances, but added that many small governments have that issue because they cannot afford to hire enough staff to fully segregate those duties. He also noted that there were less comments regarding the lack of segregation of duties in this year’s audit compared to previous years.
Late Monday night, several Toccoa fire department units responded to a fire inside a room at Regency Inn, 509 West Currahee Street. Fire personnel extinguished the fire before it spread beyond the single room. No further information on the fire has been made available at this time.
On Tuesday, Stephens County Schools joined school systems throughout Northeast Georgia in canceling classes and closing offices as the forecasted storm brought excessive rain and wind, which also caused power outages for nearly 2,000 customers in the city and county.
At Tuesday’s 6 p.m. meeting of the Stephens County Board of Commissioners, the county adopted the budget calendar for the Fiscal Year 2025 budget process.
Significant dates on the adopted calendar include a March 1 deadline for expenditure requests from department heads and officials, with discussions about departmental budgets taking place April 22-23 and an offsite budget review planning session for the Commission and staff scheduled for April 29 and 30.
The first public hearing for the FY 2025 budget is scheduled on June 11, with the second public hearing scheduled on June 25, followed by adoption of the budget by Commissioners. The full budget calendar is available on wnegradio.com.
On Wednesday morning, WNEG News spoke with SCDA President and CEO Brittany Ivey after several individuals contacted the newsroom to report that local industry Nifco KTW had held an employee meeting to talk about the future of the company.
Ivey said Nifco KTW officials shared a notice that they “reached a Preliminary agreement on January 1, 2024 with AEQUITA SE & Co. KGaA, an international industrial group, about the possible sale of their subsidiaries which conduct German OEM (original equipment manufacturer) business. Nifco will proceed with further discussion to aim to sign the definitive agreement. Nifco will make an announcement immediately once we have decided any material issues to be disclosed.
Ivey said Nifco officials stated that this information is what was passed on to employees.
Comments to WNEG radio from those reporting the employee meeting indicated that employees were told “not to worry about their jobs,” and Nifco has posted several job openings on job search websites and their LinkedIn account in the past few days, indicating that facility operations are expected to continue despite the agreement with Aequita.
Also on Wednesday, WNEG News began reporting on the indictments handed down by the January Term Grand Jury in the Superior Court of Stephens County on January 2. The Grand Jury handed down more than 30 indictments. Included in the indictments were charges of malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault against Skye Savannah Shaw and Richard Fitzgerald Weir, individually and as parties concerned in the commission of a crime. According to the indictment, the charges stem from an incident that occurred on June 11, 2022, when Shaw and Weir allegedly shot Waylon James Lee multiple times, causing Lee’s death.
Other indictments handed down include more than a dozen indictments on charges involving methamphetamines, including trafficking charges, as well as numerous family violence charges and crimes against children.
On Thursday, long-time Stephens County Probate Court Judge Glenda Ernest announced that she would be stepping down from the position at the end of her term in December.
Ernest sat down with WNEG News the day she made her announcement, and said she has very mixed emotions about the decision.
She said the office has been a family to her over the years, and said she would miss the people the most, and the joy inherent in the job.
She noted that the office also helps people going through very difficult times, and said that how the staff interacts with those people is an important part of the office.
She said, even though she is leaving, she will offer her help to whoever steps into the position.
A full copy of Ernest’s letter to the community is available on wnegradio.com
On Friday, City officials provided WNEG News with a notice regarding two sewer spills that resulted from the heavy rains early in the week.
According to the notice, on January 9, a city worker found two manholes overflowing.
The first Sanitary Sewer Overflow, which is defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a release of untreated or partially treated sewage from a municipal sanitary sewer, was located at 782 Poplar Street. City crews were dispatched to monitor the situation. There was no corrective action to be taken as the collection system was inundated from heavy, incessant rainfall. The overflow amount is estimated to be 1,000 gallons. The discharge entered a small unnamed creek adjacent to the manholes.
A second Sanitary Sewer Overflow condition was found at the Ward Creek lift station and subsequent lines that tie into the lift station. The overflow was also caused by heavy rainfall overwhelming the sewer collection system. The overflow amount was approximately 8,000 gallons. The discharge entered Ward Creek.
City officials stated that there are no known water intake points within twenty miles of either overflow site.
On Friday, WNEG News also detailed scheduled closings and service adjustments regarding the Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 15.
Toccoa routes for garbage and recyclables scheduled to be picked up on Monday, January 15th will be picked up on Tuesday, January 16th.
Commercial garbage will be picked up as usual, but yard waste and other items will not be picked up.
The Toccoa Police and Fire Departments will be on duty. Utility Department employees, as well as employees from the Public Works Department, will be on call for emergency situations.
The Links Golf Course will operate as usual, with normal operating hours of 8 a.m. until sunset.
For more information on Toccoa services and schedules, call (706) 886-8451.
All Stephens County departments and offices will also be closed, with the exception of public safety personnel who will remain on duty, and public works staff who will be on call in the case of emergencies.
Stephens County Schools and offices will also be closed on Monday, January 15, to honor the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday, as will all public libraries, including the Toccoa/Stephens County Public Library.
All state and federal governmental offices, such as the Department of Driver Services, Social Security, Employment Security and other area and regional offices will be closed in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. All U.S. Postal Service offices will be closed, and no mail or packages will be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service on Monday.
According to company websites, Federal Express will be making deliveries. United Parcel Service will open limited store locations on Monday, but its domestic ground, air and international services will be closed, and banks will be closed for the national holiday.
Also, a reminder that The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will waive day use fees at Lake Hartwell recreation areas in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day next Monday, Jan. 15. Day Use fees at J. Strom Thurmond recreation areas will also be waived, as the Corps is instituting the fee-free day at more than 2,850 Army Corps-operated recreation areas nationwide.
The waiver covers fees for boat launch ramps and day use areas. The waiver does not apply to camping and camping-related services, or fees for specialized facilities and events. Other agencies that manage recreation areas on Army Corps of Engineers’ lands are encouraged, but not required, to offer the waiver in the areas they manage.
Visitors are encouraged to contact the lake projects office before visiting to ensure recreation areas are open. Click here for a list of Corp-managed Hartwell and J. Strom Thurmond recreational areas and their status.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday honors the civil rights leader, who was born Jan. 15, 1929. Monday would have been his 95th birthday. The holiday is always observed on the third Monday of January.
Also, WNEG News has received confirmation that The Black Christian Men’s Association will be sponsoring the annual MLK Holiday program at Trinity C.M.E. Church, 241 West Franklin Street in Toccoa, at noon on Monday, Jan. 15. The speaker will be Carlos Davenport.