MARCH 2007 

Rincon City Manager Mike Barton resigned March 2 amid allegations of inappropriate conduct from two different city employees. He was accused of visiting inappropriate Web sites, printing lewd images and telling jokes and making comments with sexual overtones.
Police Chief David Schofield, who succeeded Barton as chief of police, was named interim city manager.

Two Effingham County residents who went out for a fishing trip drowned.
Michael Lucas, 42, and Shannon Lucas, 7, of Guyton and Alfred Lynn Jr. of Savannah were found dead in a west Chatham pond where they had gone fishing.
Wilson said the marine unit went to the area where they found the SUV and trailer of the missing boaters. The marine unit found the capsized boat about an hour into the search.

The First Effingham Bank branches in Rincon and Springfield officially opened. Building the Rincon office took nine months at a cost of $1.1 million. While that was under construction, First Effingham operated out of a modular unit, taking up a portion of the parking lot in front of the Rincon Kroger.
The bank is designed to keep operating under the most adverse conditions — it’s hurricane resistant and it is wired to be connected to an emergency generator.

The Springfield City Council discussed benefits and requirements for the city administrator position being created.
“Basically the city manager will have to be Superman and a certified genius,” Councilman Kenny Usher said.
The suggested salary range was $50,000 to $70,000.

If the Springfield Revitalization Corporation has its way, there will be life in Mars.
The group is targeting renovating the old Mars Theater in Springfield and is calling their project “Mars on Main.”
The group hopes to offer shows, dance, comedy, drama and movies in the Mars once it gets refurbished.
The theater was open from 1948-57 and was named after the daughters —Margaret and Mary — of its owner. It is now owned by the Ramsey estate.

Effingham County High School’s Serena Lai was named STAR student for Effingham County.
Lai and South Effingham STAR student Emmalyne Braswell were recognized by the Effingham Rotary Club. Lai chose graphic arts teacher Kimberly Larson as her STAR teacher and Braswell selected English teacher Tina Crapse as her STAR teacher.

Effingham County commissioners have taken another step in completing their comprehensive plan, having approved a resolution to accept the community assessment and public participation plan segments.
The community assessment and public participation plan originally included comments that irked developers and also set some of the county commissioners ill at ease. The most provocative was the comment to “ban developers from land decisions made countywide.”
The Savannah architect firm of Lott and Barber is helping the county craft the plan, which the state says isn’t due for several years but county leaders want done before another growth wave washes over the community.

Effingham County commissioners may have given the green light to the Economic Development Authority’s plans for its I-16 tracts.
Commissioners unanimously approved a second reading of a rezoning request for 1,550 acres north of I-16 to I-1 after two weeks of nearly nonstop negotiations between Meldrim area residents, county officials, EDA representatives and developers DP Partners.
Henry was pleased with the tone of the negotiations that ensued following the vote of two weeks ago, and he praised Commissioner Hubert Sapp for his efforts.

Effingham County Board of Education members received a draft of a proposed systemwide uniform policy.
The proposed policy would require girls in all grade levels wear short- or long-sleeved collared, three button polo shirts, in white or a school designated color with a khaki, navy or black skirt, shorts, slacks, Capri pant, skorts or jumper. Bottoms would be required to be made of twill or cotton. Shorts, skorts and skirts must be no more than four inches above the bend in the back of the knee.
Boys would wear the same shirts and slacks or shorts with the same color and fabric requirements.
Schools would be allowed to include in a school sponsored T-shirt in the dress code for the school.
Principals would be allowed to have dress down days for special occasions. Students would be required to follow the current dress code on these days.

A long-awaited project of Georgia Salzburger Society is finally coming to fruition.
The GSS is working on a collection of letters of Johann Martin Boltzius, the first minister of the Salzburgers after they settled in Ebenezer.
The GSS started working on the project several years ago and once it’s done, the book will be about 300 pages long. Much of what is known about the Salzburger settlers stems from Boltzius’ detailed and descriptive writings.

Effingham County school board members were given an overview of what next year’s budget could look like and a wish list from Superintendent Randy Shearouse for things he would like to see included for the 2007-2008 school year.
Shearouse asked for 25 additional teachers and three graduation coaches, one for each middle school, and two counselors, one for each of the freshmen academies that will be in the high schools next year. He also asked for additional coaching positions.
The school board also accepted a bid from Pope Construction to build additions at both high schools as well as South Effingham Middle, Ebenezer Middle and Sand Hill Elementary schools.

It truly is just luck that Kelly’s Tavern was to open on St. Patrick’s Day.
Walter Keith and his wife Patricia are opening the Springfield pub in the former Dairy Queen on Laurel Street. They started working on the restaurant in the first week of December, turning it from the home of blizzards and braziers to an Irish tavern.
The Keiths saw the old Dairy Queen and thought to themselves it would make a great Kelly’s Tavern.

Officials cut the ribbon on the long-awaited judicial complex.
Court officials have been in the new building, a 57,000 square foot structure, for two months.
The justice complex houses superior, state, probate and magistrate court, the solicitor general and the clerk of courts offices.
The new justice complex cost more than $9 million.
The new courthouse also lasted through three different county commissions, four county administrators and three county project managers.
New courthouses also have to be built with much stricter security than in years past. Visitors to the new justice complex have to pass through a metal detector and an imaging system.

A serial bank thief hit Citizens Bank in Springfield making off with a mere $12 in coins and the man suspected in the case was caught at a Pembroke bank.
Charles Latham, 44, of Ellabell is alleged to have entered Citizens Bank with rolls of pennies intending to cash them in. He told the teller the rolls were dimes instead. The teller cashed in the coins and then Latham asked for additional wrappers. While the teller retrieved the wrappers, the suspect grabbed some coins from her area.  

Rincon’s planning commission members were given the chance to vent their frustrations during an admittedly long overdue workshop with the city council.
Commission members admitted that the turning points came when their power to grant ordinances was revoked and when the council approved the preliminary plans for Lowe’s before the commission reviewed them.

APRIL 2007 

The General Assembly passed a handful of bills that had impact on Effingham County.
House Bill  728, which created a county commission chairman who would be elected countywide, passed.
Under HB 728, the chairman would be a voting member of the board of commissioners, giving them six such members. In the event of a tie vote, the vote will be recorded as a no vote.
HB 543 mandated that the Effingham Economic Development Authority be subject to the same zoning laws as others, and did HB 705 created a board of elections.

A former gymnastics coach who pled guilty in December to two charges in connection with his arrest for child exploitation was sentenced to 30 years in jail.
William Allen McCabe, who operated Savannah Metro Gymnastics and Cheerleading in Rincon, pled guilty to sexual exploitation of children and making false statements to federal agents. He faced 19 charges in all, but the other 17 were dismissed in conjunction with his guilty plea.

The last rezoning hurdle for the Effingham Economic Development Authority’s plans for its massive I-16 tracts was cleared with ease.
County commissioners approved stipulations, varying from the guidelines on the imposed on the larger northern tract, for the 182.5 acres of the southern tract. That tract is scheduled to be developed first.

Federal agents apprehended an Effingham County prisoner who fled from a work detail.
Jorge Tirado broke away from a detail along Fort Howard Road, instigating a search that ended in Orlando, Fla.
Tirado’s escape was the first for the prison since 2002.

Local parents spoke out against the new uniform policy at an Effingham County Board of Education meeting.
BOE Chairwoman Vera Jones said the board was not going to re-vote on the issue.
Parents complained they didn’t know about the uniform policy proposal ahead of time and there wasn’t enough communication from the school system.

An Effingham County teen will be tried as an adult for fatally stabbing his younger brother and the stabbing of his parents on April 20 in Guyton.
Mitchell Bieber, 16, was charged in the incident.