Smithville News

The Lee County Commission agreed to take part in a 50/50 matching grant to upgrade the Lee County Emergency Operations Center at its monthly work session Tuesday evening.

As he eases his 1999 F-250 pickup over the two miles of Old Leslie Road, Lee County Commissioner Dennis Roland expertly turns into each slide on the rain-soaked dirt road, never coming close to the looming ditches on either side.

LEESBURG a ' There was a hint of defiance in the Leesburg City Council's surprising vote Tuesday night not to participate in funding a proposed flood study if the Lee County Commission held to its plan to pay only $37,599 of the $74,400 the study would cost.

The Leesburg City Council voted at its monthly meeting Tuesday night not to participate in funding a FEMA flood study unless the Lee County Commission provides more of the cost of the study.

Sparks flew at the conclusion of the Lee County Commission meeting Tuesday night when businessman Ralph Jackson criticized commissioners for spending money to attend a retreat at Callaway Gardens in January.

While lamenting the continued economic downturn that has affected the county's bottom line, Lee County Commission Chairman Ed Duffy was able to offer citizens of the county some good news in his monthly update.

A Smithville man caught a 25-year sentence to federal prison without parole from a federal judge after pleading guilty to illegal drug distribution Thursday, a U.S. Department of Justice press release stated.

ALBANY, GA When many Lee County neighborhoods were under water recently, Jason Wiseman's Groover Park neighborhood fared better than others.

ARCHER, Tyler Marie, daughter, was born Jan. 27 to Kathi and Rob Archer of Leesburg.

Highway 19 now bypasses Smithville. But people who live near a new overpass say every time it rains now... water runs into their yards and stays pooled there for days.

Now that the Lee County Commission has taken care of its state-mandated duty of establishing qualifying fees for the 2010 election cycle, let the campaign season begin.

Lee County firefighters and EMS personnel who use county vehicles to pick up meals during their 24-hour shifts got a one-month reprieve when the Lee County Commission voted to table a proposed policy change that would have halted the practice.

A A A George Angry, 51, of 709 Mayo Street, Americus is charged with probation violation and was jailed.

The following students from Americus made the Dean's List at Darton College for the Fall 2009 semester.

The abbreviation SGP is for the South Georgia Progress, 1911-1917, Clarence A. Ames, editor, and the only competition for the Americus Times-Recorder at the time.

Citizens of Lee County had a large chunk of their yearly wish list granted during 2009, according to an update provided by Lee Commission Chairman Ed Duffy.

Don Bollinger, the executive director of the Camilla-based Southwest Georgia Regional Development Center, did not mince words as he led a discussion of issues and challenges facing Lee County leaders.

A Leesburg man died Sunday morning after falling 40 feet from a roof, according to Smithville Coroner Ronald Rowe.

A teenager plunged 40 feet to his death while working at McClesky Mills near Smithville Sunday morning.

As Sonja Montgomery and her daughter, Ericka Adkinson, add condiments to customers' hamburgers, hotdogs and fried chicken sandwiches on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, the owner of Sonja's Kitchen here offers her take on a theme that pervades this tiny community.