Political Notebook: Former Macon Mayor C. Jack Ellis recalls journey to politics
An interview with former Macon Mayor C. Jack Ellis is now part of the Library of Congress.
Ellis describes in a video shot by The HistoryMakers how he became the first black mayor of Macon. The Chicago-based nonprofit, which has partnered with the Library of Congress, archives video interviews of black leaders in fields such as politics, science and the military, Ellis said.
The organization sent a crew to learn about Ellis' life. He joked that since he is now a "relic," that being in a museum is his rightful place.
"We talked about where I was from and how did I get to mayor's office, born and raised in Macon as a sharecropper's son," he said.
To see Ellis' video interview visit www.thehistorymakers.com and type "C. Jack Ellis" into the search box.
MACON-BIBB LAWSUIT SETTLED
Macon-Bibb County will pay a woman $45,000 after agreeing to a settlement this week.
The Macon-Bibb County Commission approved the settlement with Loretta English for a lawsuit she filed against the city of Macon in 2013. English claimed the city did not properly maintain storm water drainage outside her home, thus causing flooding and large sinkholes on the property.
The settlement says that Macon-Bibb does not accept liability.
HOUSTON JOB ATTRACTS 250 APPLICANTS
Either secretarial jobs are in short supply or Houston County commissioners have a reputation for being good bosses.
The retirement of the board's administrative secretary, Diane Sweat, left a vacancy in the office. Commission Chairman Tommy Stalnaker said the job drew about 250 applicants.
The person hired, Dawn Ramirez, will make $35,817 annually, and that's with 15 years of experience in administrative and client relations.
The board approved the hire at Tuesday's meeting. Ramirez starts work next week.
HOUSTON APPROVES SALE OF SURPLUS FIRE TRUCK
Houston County may finally have a buyer for an old fire truck it has been trying to unload.
The 1989 Ford D80 is in good running condition, but it has a bad pumper. The county put the truck in the spring surplus auction, but the highest bid was $2,500. The county wanted to get $5,000 for it, so the bid wasn't accepted.
Turns out, it probably should have been. The commissioners voted Tuesday to sell the truck to Bleckley County for $2,000. And that's contingent on the pumper being cost-effective to repair.
Telegraph writers Stanley Dunlap and Wayne Crenshaw contributed to this report.
This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 10:35 PM with the headline "Political Notebook: Former Macon Mayor C. Jack Ellis recalls journey to politics ."