by C. Edward Wilson

Apparently, someone has taken the people who have lived on the 
Ogeechee River all of their lives for granted.
That someone is the City of Guyton and now those residents who have 
made it their priority to protect that river, are up in arms as 
knowledge of a proposed water treatment plant has been revealed.
Leading the charge of the River dwellers is Wayne Carney, a self 
proclaimed rebel of sorts. He owns and operates a Harley-Davidson 
motorcyle repair shop in Blitchton.
Carney also owns a piece of property adjacent to the Ogeechee and  
he claims that the river is already polluted as algae and slime have 
begun showing up more frequently than not. His concern that Guyton 
wants to use the river as a possible dumping site has 
environmentalist and the Ogeechee River Keepers on guard. “I think 
big money is behind what is going on now,” said Carney. “I’ve been 
fishing and swimming in the river for more than 30 years and now 
things are deplorable.    Read More

A Controversial Rezoning...
Pooler City Council’s Vote Paves Way for Warehouse

By Stephen Prudhomme

Smaller cities face the challenge of encouraging business 
development while maintaining a quality of life that brought 
residents to the area in the first place. Frequently, this compels 
local government to make some tough choices as it tries to maintain 
the delicate balance between development and the status quo. Such was 
the case in Pooler earlier this month.
On July 7th, the Pooler City Council approved a request to rezone an 
area on Jimmy Deloach Parkway, near The Farm at Morgan Lakes, from 
residential to light industrial. This paves the way for a 950,000 
square-foot distribution center/warehouse to be built next to the 
residential development.
Then, two weeks later, in a largely unprecedented move, City Council 
voted again on the rezoning, adding conditions for development that 
had been left out during the first vote. With Councilman Bruce Allen 
absent, the remaining council members voted the same: 4-1 in favor of 
the rezoning.     Read More