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A look back at what made news in 2007: May, June, July
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May 2007

Miss Georgia, Amanda Kozak, spoke to students at Effingham County Middle School about the importance of making good decisions.
Kozak told the students that she had a hard time while she was growing up, and moved frequently due to her mother being in the military.
She said she has difficulty with math but strived and graduated from high school and college with honors.

From county staff recommendations and through the commissioners’ own cuts, the original county budget requests have been pared from $30 million to $28.5 million.
Assessment notices went out beginning last month, and commissioners said they would try to take into account the higher assessments when setting the millage rate. Phillips has said the commissioners don’t want to raise the millage
The county dipped into its fund balance to use $1.5 million to balance the budget. But commissioners don’t want to have to resort to that again.

Rincon signed a contract to receive surface water from the county, through its deal with Savannah I&D.

Vastly higher property assessments and possible higher taxes are still on the minds of Effingham County citizens, who let county commissioners know exactly what they were thinking.
In a meeting at the county administrative complex that was ostensibly for the hospital authority’s decision not to roll back its millage rate from 2 mills, residents questioned where the tax money is going and who is responsible for the higher taxes.

A parent allegedly stole more than $100 in cash and charged over $1,000 after stealing from teachers and staff at her child’s school.
According to the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, Tabitha Cribbs, 25, of Guyton took her two children to Sand Hill Elementary on the last day of school where everyone participated in Fun Day. However, ECSO Capt. Mike Bohannon said, while everyone was outside enjoying themselves, Cribbs was inside the building stealing credit cards and cash.

JUNE 2007 

Donnie “Donna” Dickey, 40, played the instant game Georgia’s $500 Million Club and won $1 million.
Dickey purchased the scratch off ticket at the El Cheapo on Highway 17 in Guyton. She scratched it off while still in her car.

The Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s parent report card of schools gave high marks to some Effingham County schools.
The report card is based off of test scores. Schools are ranked from the highest to the lowest of students that meet or exceed the state standards. The percentage of students who exceed the standards is used as the tiebreaker if two schools have the same score.
South Effingham High School was 44th in the state among 369 public schools ranked, and Effingham County High School was ranked 177th.

Mitchell Bieber was indicted for the stabbing death of his 7-year-old brother and an attack on his parents.
A grand jury comprised of 23 jurors found probable cause to indict Bieber, 16, of three counts of murder, one count of cruelty to children, three counts of aggravated assault and three counts of possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of certain crimes. He later pled not guilty.

Chief Appraiser Janis Bevill said her office had received more than 2,000 appeals on property assessments that went out last month. Normally, her office receives about 800 in a year on the more than 24,000 parcels of private property in the county.
Residents have questioned their assessments, but Bevill said she is going by the guidelines enacted by the state.

The Colorado Rockies took former South Effingham High School baseball star Austin Chambliss with the 522nd overall pick in the 17th round of the First-Year Player Draft.

Hospital officials broke ground for the state of the art imaging center, which will go next to their primary care center at the corner of Highway 21 and Goshen Road in Rincon.
Building the facility and getting the equipment in will take about 12 months, with a projected opening of July 2008.

Effingham County High grad Ray McKinney announced his intention to run for the Republican nomination for president. McKinney later revised his campaign aim to the 12th District Congressional seat.

David Herrin, chief of rural and air operations for Memorial Health University Medical Center, approached commissioners about finding a place for the emergency medical helicopter that will put it more in the middle of its service area. LifeStar serves a 150-mile radius throughout coastal Georgia and southeastern South Carolina.
LifeStar had been based at Memorial for 21 years, but the hospital needed the room to expand.

JULY 2007

Rincon’s city council approved the hiring of Donald Toms as city manager.
Toms and Stuart Turille of Matthews, N.C., were the final candidates for the position. More than 50 applicants put in for the position.

Effingham County schools earned the distinction of being one of 55 systems out of the 180 in the state to have all its schools meet Adequate Yearly Progress for the No Child Left Behind Act.

The 31,000 square foot YMCA opened to rave reviews and a great deal of joy and relief for Y staffers and directors.
When the Effingham Y first opened its doors 10 years ago, it was housed in 4,000 square feet at the United Way Service Center.

Marlow Elementary School’s Lorin Alderman won the state young author competition.Alderman wrote a story titled “The Race Horse” in her first grade class for the competition. She was recognized at the state board of education by state Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox in September.