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Former Columbia County commissioner Tommy Mercer dies at age 71   04/01/12 - 12:03am

For Brad Usry, Santa Claus died Wednesday.

Before he was a Columbia County commissioner, Tommy Mercer for more than 25 years portrayed Santa at the Usry family’s Augusta store, Fat Man’s Forest.

Mercer, 70, died Wed­nesday evening after a brief hospitalization.

Funeral arrangements for Mercer were held Saturday. In addition to his wife, Brenda, he is survived by seven children and 10 grandchildren.

Fat Man’s previous Santa had just retired “around 1980,” Usry recalled, and Mercer walked in before the store could start searching for a replacement.

 

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Election turnout exceeded expectations   03/11/12 - 1:07am

A higher-than-predicted number of Columbia County voters showed up at the polls Tuesday to vote in the Presidential Preference Primary.

Just more than 24 percent of the county’s voters cast ballots, nearly 10 percentage points more than Columbia County Board of Elections Director Deborah Marshall had predicted.

“I was very happy with the turnout,” Marshall said.

 

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Georgia voters finally get a say a presidential primaries   03/04/12 - 1:05am

After two months of sitting on the sidelines, voters in Georgia and nine other states get to have their say in the 2012 presidential primaries.

Despite the election year hubbub, only about 15 percent of Columbia County voters are expected to visit their precincts during the Super Tuesday presidential preference primary, said Board of Elections Director Deborah Marshall.

Of the county’s 85,000 registered voters, “I’m thinking it’s going to be less than 15 percent” to vote in the primary, Marshall said.

 

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Bid awarded for Evans Elementary School   02/19/12 - 1:13am

Construction soon will get under way on a new, larger Evans Elementary School after the Columbia County school board chose a contractor Tuesday.

Trustees awarded the contract for the new Gibbs Road school to McDonald Construction Co., of Vidalia, Ga., based on its low bid among seven companies seeking the project. Including options added to the base price, the system will pay just more than $13.4 million for the school.

 

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New radio system will boost sheriff's office   02/19/12 - 1:05am

A bill signed into law last year in a Columbia County ceremony will mean new police radios as early as this fall.

Tuesday, the Columbia County Commission’s Management and Financial Services Committee fowarded for full commission approval a proposal to purchase a nearly $7 million radio system for the sheriff’s office.

The initial $3.5 million payment for the 800 mhz trunked radio system from Motorola will come from a fund accrued by the county’s 911 fees, which are levied on every telephone in the county.

 

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School board weighs budget options   01/29/12 - 1:01am

Columbia County’s school system is expecting to fill a budget gap for next school year with larger class sizes, fewer teachers and fewer aides, while the county government might be able to provide a tax cut.

Those were the main points from two budget sessions held Tuesday, with school officials struggling to make up for an expected $10 million shortfall, and county officials anticipating lowering property tax rates for the fifth year in a row.

 

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School board to start discussing budgets Jan. 24   01/15/12 - 1:11am

Facing the possibility of a shortfall of as much as $10 million, Columbia County school board members plan to start budget discussions Jan. 24.

School Superintendent Charles Nagle told trustees Tuesday that the worst-case scenario for filling the gap in the upcoming budget, depending on state funding, will be creating larger class sizes, increasing taxes, or furloughing employees.

 

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Broadband project hits temporary snag   01/15/12 - 1:03am

The federally funded project to expand broadband access throughout Columbia County hit a snag recently when bids for work on the latest portion came in far higher than budgeted.

Phase 6 of the project, which includes finishing connections of fiber-optic cable now buried throughout the county and taking the connections inside county buildings, is budgeted at $950,000, said Finance Director Leanne Reece.

Yet two bids on that portion of the project came in at $1.77 million and $2.87 million.

 

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Columbia County Water Utility will recycle used cooking oil   11/27/11 - 1:11am

For those who fried a turkey on Thanksgiving and now need to dispose of the used cooking oil, Columbia County wants to dispose of it and help keep it out of the sewer systems.

Columbia County Water Utility will have a free recycling center set up for used cooking oil from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at the offices at 4325 Evans-to-Locks Road, according to an announcement from county officials.

In addition to providing a place to dispose of the used oil safely, recycling also helps prevent blockages in sewage systems, the announcement says.

 

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