Weekly Editorial

With dry conditions, little chance for rain this week and near 100-degree temps, residents are urged to not burn yard debris, fields, trash, etc. The Satilla District of the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC), which includes Appling, is not issuing burn permits due to current conditions. [Full Story »] 

(The following editorial was published in The Savannah Morning News on May 8.)

THANK YOU, Sam Olens.

Thank you for coming to Savannah last Thursday and giving a lesson on Georgia’s Open Meetings Law to Savannah City Council. [Full Story »] 

Many financial experts are touting that the country is finally on the rebound after years of recession. Are they right? They could be correct, as a few national indicators have shown an upward trend the past few months. Even the state of Georgia recently reported that monthly revenue was up. That’s all good news. [Full Story »] 

It looks as if Baxley and Appling County will finally have a recycling program, at least for paper products. In case you missed the article on this week’s front page one young lady in the community, Tierra Lewis, recognized that our community needed to get a recycling program started and worked to get the ball rolling. Tierra, along with the Girl Scouts, now have a paper recycling program operating within county schools. Thank you Tierra. [Full Story »] 

By Georgia Representative Tommy Smith

A large group of farmers and other businessmen, mostly representing Georgia’s agricultural and landscaping industries, gave lawmakers a dire warning about the impact of immigration legislation being considered by lawmakers, as it is currently written. In a letter delivered to the General Assembly last Monday, the group made up of scores of vegetable and fruit farmers, landscapers, and agricultural industry representatives, warned that if significant changes are not included in the legislation, it could threaten Georgia’s 68.8 billion dollar industry. The groups included the Georgia Farm Bureau, the Georgia AgriBusiness Council, and the Georgia Urban Ag Council. [Full Story »] 

For the past week The News-Banner has been in a battle to retrieve a document from the Appling County Board of Commissioners or the Appling County Recreation Authority, which is reportedly some type of settlement agreement for Appling County Recreation Director Michael Coleman in return for his resignation. County attorney Bob Highsmith has cited the attorney/client provision in the Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. 50-18-2(e)), in that the settlement agreement is still in negotiations as the reasoning that the request is not being honored at this time. [Full Story »] 

(Editor’s note: The following is an editorial written by the staff of the Savannah Morning News and published on March 14.)

PARENTS MAY stress the concept of personal safety to their children, but for some kids, the idea of “don’t touch the hot stove” never really comes home until they singe their fingertips.
It’s a succinct, powerful lesson: Break the rule, get burned. [Full Story »] 

For weeks there has been tremendous discussion over several issues that voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, March 15, and decide. The first is the countywide Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) issue. The second is a decision on whether or not to close Fourth District Elementary School. [Full Story »] 

I heard last week that this newspaper, and in particular this editor, were wrongly accused around some of the local morning coffee tables. It was noted that the newspaper was unfairly playing up one side of the Fourth District Elementary School closure issue over the other. Let me assure the readers of this newspaper that our stance has been neutral on the issue and will remain neutral. [Full Story »] 

According to a report the newspaper received this week from a reader, an extremist Muslim cleric is planning a March rally at the White House in hopes of sparking a revolution that would turn the United States into an Islamic state. According to the Daily Mail newspaper, Anjem Choudary told a reporter that “The event is a rally, a call for the Sharia, a call for the Muslims to rise up and establish the Islamic state in America.” [Full Story »] 

In the coming weeks you will hear or receive information on continuing Appling’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). If approved by the voters of Appling County, the 2012 SPLOST is projected to bring in about $18 million for various projects over a period of six years. [Full Story »]