NEWS UPDATES

Organizers with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Committee say that due to the coming weather conditions the celebration events planned and scheduled for this weekend have been postponed. The dedication of the M.L.K. Jr. Memorial Park and the Community March will now be held on Saturday February 6th at 2pm. For more information contact City Councilman Sonny Vickers at 229-242-1520.

The men and women at Valdosta’s Moody Air Force Base are at the ready to bring aid and assistance to the earthquake victims in Haiti. Wing Commander Colonel Gary Henderson says that plans are being put in place for personnel deployment to the ravaged island. The Moody deployment would assist in humanitarian medical provision, security, evacuation and supply delivery.

Officials here in Lowndes County say that illegal burning is on the rise in the area. Firefighters have been called out to at least 10 such blazes since the first of the year and some of those fires were set by people who burned without obtaining the necessary permits. The latest incident damaged nearly 20 acres. For more information on burning and permits contact the Lowndes County Fire and Rescue at 229-671-2730.

Jack Byrd III had already allegedly committed several crimes by breaking into homes in the Moultrie area. And on Wednesday law enforcement officials charged Byrd with even more serious violations of the law. He was spotted by law enforcement officers and began firing his weapon at them-no one was injured. The burglar-turned shooter was captured and taken to the Colquitt County jail.

Medical officials in Colquitt say that almost 1 in nine residents in Colquitt County are affected by Diabetes. In the area that comprises the 14 county Southwest Georgia health District-Colquitt County ranks 3 percentage points above the national average at 10.9 percent. A federally funded program in Colquitt County focuses on health-nutrition-and lifestyle changes in an attempt to stem the rising tide of Diabetes.

Governor Sonny Perdue says that he will propose a new 300 million dollar loan to be made for road projects in the state of Georgia. He also wants residents in the state to vote to boost the sales tax by one cent to fund transportation projects; the vote is proposed for 2012.

In his last State of the State address Governor Sonny Perdue called upon the state’s lawmakers to take a strong stand when dealing with Georgia’s budget crisis. Perdue evoked images of the Great depression and the nation’s struggles in the historic past but did not offer many solutions to the current fiscal meltdown. Georgia’s revenue collections are down by as much as 13 percent and more budget cuts are due to come-to the tune of 1 billion dollars.

Moultrie and Colquitt County officials are now exploring the possibility of creating a shelter for the homeless that can facilitate the needs of families in their area. The discussion included group administrators of shelters that basically serve the needs of those who have suffered incidents of domestic violence and adults. But a survey done last year found that Colquitt County has as many as 380 people who are without stable housing situations and of that number 93 of them are children; the United Way initiative also found that 13 people used their cars as homes, lived in abandoned buildings or other structures that were uninhabited. Officials say that with the current state and national economic crisis-a new survey could show that the plight of those at risk has worsened.

That single mother in who refused deployment to Afghanistan has been formally charged by the United States Army and could find herself facing prison time. Specialist Alexis Hutchinson age 21 refused the deployment on the grounds that she is a single mother with no family in the area and no one to care for her child. The 21 year old could face dishonorable discharge if convicted in a court martial. An officer must first decide whether or not there is enough evidence to bring a case against her. Hutchinson says that the only relative she has to take care of her 10 month old son is her mother who refused the overwhelming task and dropped out of the agreement to care for the child. The Army requires that care plans be on file for single-parent soldiers regarding their dependent children before they deploy to a war zone. Currently there are over 70 thousand single parents on active duty in the United States military-nearly 5 percent and about half of that amount is in the Army.

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