Incoming county chairman describes ‘breath of fresh air’

Chris Weidner won’t take office as Jones County commission chair until January, but he is already preparing.

Weidner, who beat incumbent Preston Hawkins in the May 24 primary election, sat in on the Houston County Commission meeting Tuesday.

Weidner said he had asked the Association County Commissioners of Georgia if he could start attending some of the group’s meetings even though he had not taken office. He was told he could and has been to a couple of planning meetings held locally, including one in Warner Robins. There he met Houston County Commission Chairman Tommy Stalnaker, who invited Weidner to attend a commission meeting.

Weidner took him up on it, and after the meeting Weidner said he was glad he did. Weidner had been a frequent attendee of Jones County Commission meetings before running for office and said he didn’t like the way the meetings were conducted.

He said he thought Houston County set a good example of how he thinks meetings should be run.

“It was a breath of fresh air,” he said.

He said he especially liked that Houston seems to have a more welcoming attitude toward residents speaking at meetings, where Jones County limits public comments to three minutes.

Tillman returns to County Commission meetings

Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Al Tillman returned this week for his first meeting in a month following a health scare.

Tillman missed commission’s meetings in May after suffering from blood clots. He spent more than a week recovering in hospitals, including some time in the ICU.

Tillman, who was unopposed in May in his bid for second term in office, said men need to stop being hesitant about seeing a doctor when they’re not feeling right.

“When you feel yourself short of breath, we can’t be afraid to get treatment or checked out,” Tillman said. “I’m encouraging folks to go to the doctor. There’s nothing wrong with folks getting checked out.”

Summer school for lawmakers

The annual custom of state lawmakers holding hearings is beginning, as appointees are named to monthslong study committees that could result in legislation next year.

From the midstate, state Rep. Bubber Epps, a Dry Branch Republican, will co-chair a House and Senate joint committee on alternative fuel vehicles and the kind of fueling infrastructure those vehicles need.

Another study committee will look into ways to get better broadband access to rural committees where the internet is slow or expensive. State Reps. Robert Dickey of Musella and Susan Holmes of Monticello, both Republicans, will sit on that committee.

Like most such committees, these two can make recommendations to the Legislature and will be disbanded at the end of the year.

Other committees are working on topics like narcotic treatment programs, petroleum pipelines and growing the music industry in Georgia.

Houston approves rezoning for Dollar General in Kathleen

Another Dollar General store is coming to Houston County.

The Houston Commission on Tuesday approved a rezoning application for a half-acre at 108B Story Road. The location is in Kathleen on Ga. 247 at Ga. 127.

The rezoning requires the developer to make improvements to Story Road to handle the increased traffic. The applicant was Teramore Development of Thomasville.

Macon Circuit District Attorney named to list of most influential Georgia lawyers

Georgia’s James magazine included Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney David Cooke in the publication’s 2016 list of “most influential Georgia attorneys.”

The magazine’s staff considered not only expertise but also lawyers’ efforts that influence public opinion.

The magazine cited Cooke’s instituting “impressive anti-gang prosecutions” as the reason for his inclusion on the list.

Cooke, who was unopposed for re-election in 2016, leads prosecutors in Bibb, Crawford and Peach counties.

A Southern salute

Macon resident Martin N. Bell and Rick Clarke of Hoschton, in Jackson County, were among those who attended the recent national convention of the Military Order of Stars and Bars in Fair Hope, Alabama. There they joined other like-minded Civil War enthusiasts, and on the convention’s last day, they toured Fort Morgan, which was the first line of defense for the city of Mobile during the war until a Confederate garrison there surrendered to Union troops in August 1864.

Bell, who is commander of the Lt. Gen. James Longstreet Chapter of the Military Order of Stars and Bars in Macon, brought back two national awards. He won the Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne Award, and he also brought home the Lt. Gen. Simon Buckner award for the local chapter.

“I expected our chapter to win the Lt. Gen. Simon Buckner award, but I was both humbled and so appreciative to receive the Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne Award from the national body noting my service to the order,” he said in an email.

Clarke is the chapter’s lieutenant commander.

Delinquent Bibb taxpayers to face liens, penalties

Bibb County taxpayers who still have not paid their 2015 property taxes are facing a lien and a 10 percent penalty if they haven’t paid up by Thursday.

On an account with multiple years due, payment is applied to the oldest year first, according to a news release from Macon-Bibb County Tax Commissioner Wade McCord.

“We want to remind people now about the importance of settling these accounts so they can avoid the additional charges and liens,” McCord said in a news release.

This story was originally published June 10, 2016 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Incoming county chairman describes ‘breath of fresh air’."