Relighting of eternal flame discussed at BOC meeting

Workers are busy running sewer lines to the site of the new gymnasium at the Curry Colvin Recreation Complex. In addition to a gym, the 13,800-square-foot facility will also feature a concession stand, a meeting room, an office, storage space, and a fitness center. The structure will be built by S.D. Clifton Construction, Inc. using pre-engineered steel.

The eternal flame in front of the Lincoln County Courthouse was under discussion at the regular meeting of the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners held Thursday, March 13.

In comments made from the floor, Al Bean said that as a Korean veteran and a resident of the county for 17 years, he was disappointed and ashamed to learn that the eternal flame was not in working order and that the matter had not been addressed by the citizens of the county or its elected officials.

"The fallen veterans of Lincoln County, who have made the ultimate sacrifice, should in no way ever be forgotten," stated Bean. "It is our patriotic duty as citizens of the county to do our part to show our gratitude and respect for all of our military personnel, who have given so much so that we can live in peace."

Speaking on behalf of himself, the Concerned Citizens of Lincoln County, and American Legion Post 194, Bean asked the commission to address the problem and make every effort to effect the necessary repairs or replace the damaged equipment in a timely manner.

"Although we have a struggling economy, we should at least make an effort to light the eternal flame on Memorial Day weekend and Veterans Day," he continued. "Also, should we experience the loss of another serviceman in the line of duty, it would be our patriotic duty to show our respect and light the flame for a period of time to pay tribute to the memory of that individual."

In his remarks, Commission Chairman Walker Norman pointed out that he believed the flame, which was donated by American Legion Post 194, was first installed in the late 1960s or early 1970s. A few years later in the mid-1970s, the flame was turned off due to the gas crisis.

In the early 1980s, following repairs made by Mitchell Flanigan, the flame burned brightly until the equipment was rendered unusable. Then, in the early 1990s, American Legion Post 194 presented the county with a new eternal flame, which, for some reason, has not been used at all since 1995. In fact, there is not even a gas line connected to it at the present time.

After thanking Bean for bringing this matter to the county's attention, Chairman Norman said he and the other commissioners are in support of repairing or replacing the eternal flame. "I can't see anything that would stop us from moving forward with this in a timely manner."

The chairman referred Bean's request to the General Government Committee, chaired by Commissioner Mike Hawkes. He asked that Bean as well as representatives of both American Legion posts in the county meet with the committee to discuss the options available and present their recommendations to the full board at its regular April meeting.

Commissioner Hawkes indicated that he would like to see the flame burn eternally.

According to Commissioner Larry Collins, "I am a veteran and I have a son doing his third tour in Iraq, so veterans have a special place in my heart."

In other business, Jim Butler, one of the county's code enforcement officers, informed the commission that the annual clean-up day, sponsored by the county and the City of Lincolnton, is set for Saturday, April 26.

Volunteers will meet in the parking lot at the courthouse at 8:30 a.m. for their assignments. Water, gloves, hand sanitizer, and trash bags will be provided.

"Last year, 14 volunteers picked up 65 bags of trash, which translated into approximately 1,170 pounds of garbage," said Butler. "They definitely helped make the county a lot cleaner."

He went on to say that each Georgia resident disposes of about 6.3 pounds of trash each day or more than 2,300 pounds annually. This amounts to the weight of eight baby elephants.

"The Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) picks up more than two million bags of trash along our interstates each year," Butler continued. "If you laid those bags endto end, they would stretch more than 1,000 miles.

"The most commonly found items during roadside litter clean-ups are cigarette butts, fast food wrappers, aluminum cans, and drink bottles."

The code enforcement further noted that it can take one million years for a glass bottle to decompose. "Plastic foam cups and aluminum cans may take up to 500 years to disintegrate."

For more information about the county-wide clean-up day, contact Butler at 706-359-5522 or City Hall at 706-359-3239.

The theme for this year's campaign is "For a Cleaner, Greener Georgia."

In further business, the commission:

.. Voted to approve a cash match of $5,020 for a $112,000 OneGeorgia Authority BRIDGE (Broadband Rural Initiative to Develop Georgia's Economy) Grant received by the Clark's Hill Partnership, which is comprised of Lincoln, Columbia, McDuffie, Warren, and Wilkes counties.

In conjunction with the partnership's mission to promote economic development, Lincoln County agreed to offer its support as a coapplicant for the grant.

The grant funds will be used to cover the cost of technical assistance (Phase I) to pave the way for providing broadband service to the underserved areas of the county.

.. Voted to pay the county's Clark's Hill Partnership dues for 2008 at a cost of $3,000.

.. Heard the Public Safety Department Report given by Director Ernie Doss, who said the ambulance and fire/rescue services responded to 113 calls for emergency assistance during the month of February. Call volume was down eight calls when compared to February of 2007.

Concerning the E-911 center, operators handled 891 emergency calls last month, monitored 6,251 radio transmissions, and dispatched a total of 538 public safely, law enforcement, and fire calls.

In other items of information, Doss said his department is still working with T-Mobile and Wilkes Cellular to make the E-911 center Phase II compliant. When this has been accomplished, dispatchers will have the ability to pinpoint the exact location of all wireless 911 callers.

.. Heard the Public Works Department Report given by Director Roby Seymour, who said his office billed 1,332 water customers and 417 "availability" customers for a total of $42,842.03 last month.

Concerning roads, the director reported that his staff has been busy working on signs, hauling crush-andrun, patching potholes, motor-grading, cutting trees off of rights-of-way, working on drainage pipes, and cut- ting pavement in preparation for resurfacing.

County workers also did site prep for the new gymnasium at the Curry Colvin Recreation Complex. Slab work should begin shortly, with the building reaching completion in the next six or seven months.

.. Voted to approve a proposal from Engineering Management, Inc. (EMI) to develop a "Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Plan" at a cost not to exceed $6,500. The EPD is mandating that all municipalities develop a monitoring plan of this nature.

According to Fletcher Holliday, the project manager from EMI, "This rule strengthens public health protection for customers by tightening compliance monitoring requirements for two groups of disinfection byproducts, trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids."

.. Heard the Recreation Department Report given by Kathie Davis, who indicated that registration for Little League baseball ended Friday, March 7, with 200 children signed up to play. The season, which will last six weeks, is scheduled to begin Monday, March 24.

In other items of information, the director said the baseball season at LCHS (varsity and junior varsity) and LCMS got underway Friday, February 22, at the recreation complex. The season is set to end about the second week in May.

In closing, Davis noted that members of the girls tennis team at LCHS are using the courts at the complex for their matches. Their season will end Thursday, March 27.

.. Heard the Finance Department Report given by Director Traci Bussey.

.. Heard the Planning and Zoning Report given by Director Meg Burg, who said her office issued 22 business licenses during the month of February for a total of $1,700. The county likewise received $815 in revenues in connection with zoning requests.

Regarding code enforcement, 48 building permits were issued last month for a total of $2,552 and 87 building inspections were conducted.

.. Voted to approve the rezoning of 50 acres, owned by Tommy Lee and Clay Antonakos, from A-1 (Agricultural) to PUD (Planned Unit Development) to accommodate the expansion of a proposed PUD project, located off of Ann Scott Lane and Highway 378. The development will be called "The Retreat at Lake Thurmond."

.. Voted to grant a side setback variance to Randal W. McCourry for property on Shoreline Drive to accommodate the construction of a garage.

.. Voted to grant the preliminary and final plat determinations for a six-lot subdivision being developed by Tom McWhorter. The 154.25-acre subdivision will be located on Highway 220 East.

.. Voted to approve a zoning map amendment application made by Director Burg to designate Elijah Clark Lane an entrance/lake corridor overlay district.

.. Voted to release the cash escrow for the Pointe Shores subdivision in the amount of $10,500, which was designated for the one-year warranty on the water system. The warranty period ended in January of this year.

.. Voted to reduce the cash escrow for the Serenity Pointe subdivision in the amount of $194,070, which will leave a balance of $1,993,223.

.. Voted to accept a right-of-way deed for Global Drive from the Lincoln County Development Authority. The county had to acquire the deed in order to maintain the road, which leads to the Hero Metal Furniture Company's distribution center in the Highway 378 Industrial Park.

.. Voted to accept the low bid of Smith Brothers Mechanical Contractors, Inc. to repair or replace the sinks in the cell blocks at the Lincoln County Law Enforcement Center at a cost not to exceed $32,440.

The monies will be taken from the county's Emergency Fund. Then, after the FY 2009 Budget is adopted, the fund will be reimbursed with monies from the General Fund's Jail Account no later than December 31, 2008.

The next regular meeting of the board of commissioners will be held Thursday, April 10, at 6 p.m. in the courtroom on the second floor of the courthouse.