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Articles by Kathryn Crockett
Beyond the bushel: Value-added products give southwest Georgia growers a second paycheck
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Madeline Hall stands behind the Burton Brambles booth at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie. The Coolidge farm sells berry products, including kombucha, alongside branded apparel. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett MOULTRIE — Natalie Burton makes a simple promise to the customers who buy her barbecue sauce, cobbler kits and kombucha. “If my name’s on the jar, my berries are in the jar,” Burton said Wednesday at the Sunbelt Ag Expo here.
Small fish make big business for Southern farmers
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Katie Everett, a doctoral student at the University of Florida’s Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory, stands beside an aquarium display at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie. The exhibit introduces visitors to Florida’s ornamental fish farming industry. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett MOULTRIE — The fish in a University of Florida display at the annual Sunbelt Ag Expo this week were more than technicolor aquarium pets.
Heated exchanges, lengthy delays precede Lee school board’s 17.96-mill vote
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Residents fill seats and stand along the walls during the Lee County school board’s Oct. 15 meeting, marked by heated exchanges over taxes and the board’s response to public concerns.
Lee County residents press school board for alternatives before Thursday’s tax vote
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Residents listen to a presentation from Kathleen Truitt during a Lee County School Board hearing on a proposed 3-mill property tax increase. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett LEESBURG — Lee County residents urged school board members Friday to reconsider spending, find other revenue and weigh the strain on household budgets before voting Thursday on a proposed 3-mill property tax increase.
Improper payroll deductions among seven findings in Terrell school audit; corrective action planned
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Terrell County Schools Superintendent Shereca Harvey reviews Fiscal 2025 audit findings ahead of a state-approved corrective action proposal with school board members during an Oct. 6 work session in Dawson.
No budget, overdue audits: Dawson extends spending through November
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Emily Davenport, a member services consultant with the Georgia Municipal Association, addresses the Dawson City Council on Oct. 8. Davenport warned that overdue audits threaten the city’s access to grants needed for infrastructure repairs. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett DAWSON — More than five weeks into its fiscal year without an adopted budget, Dawson has authorized spending through November while officials work to close a projected general fund shortfall.
Dawson City Council update: Downtown plans, sewer work and medical office lease
Dawson City Hall stands at the intersection of Main and Lee streets. At its Oct. 8 meeting, the City Council discussed downtown development, received a wastewater construction update and extended CareConnect Health’s medical office lease.
‘It’s time to listen to us’: Lee County school tax proposal draws fire
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... John Clay addresses the Lee County Board of Education during an Oct. 8 public hearing in Leesburg on a proposal to raise the school operating tax rate from 15.96 to 18.96 mills. Clay urged the board to reject the increase and review its spending priorities. Photo Courtesy of Gina Clay. LEESBURG — A longtime Lee County resident was among many who spoke against a proposed school property tax increase at a packed public hearing Oct.
Value of Dougherty’s tax-exempt worship property more than doubles
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Places of religious worship are among the properties eligible for Georgia property-tax exemptions. File Photo: Carlton Fletcher Editor’s Note: Third in a series on local property taxes — Who pays and who doesn’t. ALBANY — The assessed value of property in Dougherty County’s religious-worship exemption category more than doubled over a decade, reaching $38.2 million in 2025 while the county’s net taxable value grew about 2%.
Lost in translation: A reader’s guide to Georgia school budgets
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... School budget talk can sound like a foreign language. A “deficit” does not always mean the district cannot pay its bills. “Instruction” covers more than pencils and paper. And a district can lower its tax rate and still have to advertise a tax increase. This guide explains the words you are most likely to hear at a school board meeting, plus major budget-related rules Georgia’s county and city school districts have to follow.
Lee County schools seek higher property taxes: The costs, choices and questions ahead
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The Lee County Board of Education office in Leesburg is where residents can attend public hearings on a proposal to raise the school operating tax rate from 15.96 to 18.96 mills. File Photo LEESBURG — Lee County property owners face a proposed school tax increase that district leaders say would restore savings, help replace expiring sales tax revenue and cover rising costs.
A bigger home for second chances: Cynthia Miller relocates Dawson thrift boutique
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Cynthia Miller, owner of Second Chance Thrift Boutique, stands inside the store’s new location at 647 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Dawson. The boutique celebrated its grand opening Oct. 3, offering a larger space for furniture, clothing, home decor and nonprofit initiatives.
Terrell schools acknowledge career-training gaps, seek employers’ help to rebuild
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... A dispatcher works at a console equipped with multiple monitors. Terrell County schools are working to expand their law and justice pathway to prepare students for 911 dispatch jobs, Superintendent Shereca Harvey said.
Candidates debate health care, development, rural investment at Albany forum
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Candidates and residents gather for a forum Oct. 1 at Brooks Plaza in Albany to discuss health care, education, infrastructure and economic development in southwest Georgia. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett ALBANY — Candidates seeking to represent southwest Georgia called for greater investment in health care, education and infrastructure during an Oct. 1 forum, but differed over data centers, economic development and how to work across party lines.
County approves 198-foot Gillionville Road cell tower; no speakers at public hearing
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... An aerial map outlines Gillionville Forest Baptist Church’s property at 4614 Gillionville Road in blue. Dougherty County commissioners approved a 198-foot cell tower on the narrow strip extending west behind nearby homes and a power substation.
Who Pays Dougherty County Property Taxes?
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... ALBANY — Nearly 1 of every 5 dollars of property value in Dougherty County pays no property tax at all. Government buildings, hospital campuses, churches, charities and two of the county’s largest factory sites sit outside the tax base. Together they hold $497.8 million in assessed value, about $1.24 billion at market value, according to the 2025 state tax digest. That equates to 17.7% of all property on the county’s rolls.
‘We train leaders’: Albany’s Marl McCracken honored for 70 years of combined service
Lt. Col Marl McCracken, right is presented award by the Georgia Wing, Civil Air Patrol for 70 years of service. Special Photo ALBANY — When his 12-hour shift at Albany’s 911 center ended during the Flood of 1994, Marl McCracken still had another job to do. He went to the airport. There, the Air Force veteran served as a Civil Air Patrol incident commander, coordinating missions requested as agencies responded to the disaster. His military career had taught him how to organize air operations.
Dougherty schools celebrate national award, state honors, alumni support
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Westover High School Principal William Chunn joins in celebrating the school’s 2025-26 National Sickle Cell Scholarship Champion award. According to Chun, Westover collected more blood donations than any other high school in the country. Special Photo ALBANY — From a national blood donation award to state recognition for schools and teachers, the Dougherty County School System is celebrating achievements in community service and education.
Dawson driver recounts Walnut Street collapse after months of complaints about road conditions
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Traffic barrels and caution tape surround a dirt-filled section of Walnut Street in Dawson on Monday morning, three days after a roadway collapse trapped Curtis Jackson’s vehicle and sent him to the hospital. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett DAWSON — Curtis Jackson knows he needs his car. But after a section of Walnut Street collapsed beneath his vehicle Friday, trapping him inside and sending him to the hospital, his first concern is getting himself well.
Dawson postpones budget hearing as temporary spending authority nears expiration
Dawson canceled its Sept. 24 budget hearing, citing an unfinished countywide property reassessment. A new hearing date has not been set, and the city’s temporary spending authority expires Sept. 30. AI-generated graphic. DAWSON — The City of Dawson canceled its Sept. 24 budget hearing, citing an unfinished countywide property reassessment, as its one-month temporary spending authorization approaches expiration Sept. 30.
Family roots, customer connections fuel Kim’s Kitchen & Noodle Bar expansion
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Timothy Lee Kim stands in front of the logo he designed for Kim’s Kitchen & Noodle Bar in Albany. The restaurant is expanding into the former Milkster space next door, with a grand opening scheduled for Oct. 10. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett ALBANY — Timothy Lee Kim grew up in restaurants the way some children grow up around a second language. He was surrounded by it, and he absorbed it before he ever chose it.
Lee County approves hospital bond payments in 95-second vote
Contract requires payments even if hospital closes; officials say county can cover cost without raising taxes. LEESBURG — Lee County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to commit the county to payments on up to $31 million in hospital bonds under a contract that requires payments to continue even if the hospital ceases operations. There was no board discussion during the regularly scheduled voting session.
Lee County hospital bonds: What the $200 million plan means for taxpayers
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The proposed 51.966-acre hospital site in the Grand Island area of Lee County. The Hospital Authority of Lee County holds a public hearing on the project’s financing Sept. 22. Courtesy of Lee County LEESBURG — Lee County has agreed to pay an estimated $1.8 million a year toward debt on a proposed acute-care hospital off Grand Island Drive, according to contracts obtained by The Albany Herald.
Seven years in foster care: Dougherty children wait far longer than the rest of Georgia
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The Albany Housing Authority is accepting applications for 25 housing vouchers reserved for eligible young adults leaving foster care. None of the vouchers is currently in use, according to the authority. File Photo ALBANY — The Albany Housing Authority is accepting applications for 25 housing vouchers reserved for young adults leaving foster care. None is currently in use.
Dawson’s budget hearing: What the law requires and residents should ask
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Dawson City Hall, at 101 S. Main St., will host a public hearing on the city’s proposed 2026-27 budget at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 24. Residents can review the proposal at the city clerk’s office ahead of the scheduled Oct. 8 adoption vote. File Photo DAWSON — Dawson residents will have an opportunity Sept.
Dawson approves K-9 program, wastewater purchases amid audit delays
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The Dawson City Council approved moving forward with the Police Department’s K-9 program, which officials said will cost the city about $5,000 after grants and donated services. Photo: G-R Mottez/Unsplash.
Pittman, Walker decline to support Dawson’s $8 monthly fire charge
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... DAWSON — Dawson utility customers will pay an additional $8 per month to support the city fire department after the City Council approved a new fire service district charge amid questions about unfinished audits, a proposed budget deficit and how the money will be tracked. Council members Iri Pittman and Sondra Walker did not vote to approve the charge. The charge will apply to residential and commercial utility accounts within the Dawson city limits.
‘Tell them ordinary Americans did extraordinary things’
Members of the Young Marines unveil Albany’s Global War on Terror monument Friday at Veterans Park. The memorial chronicles the conflicts and events that led to and defined U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett ALBANY — Twenty-five years to the day after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, veterans and their families gathered Friday at Veterans Park here to dedicate a monument to those who served in the Global War on Terror.
State superintendent: Lee County High firefighter certification program a model for Georgia
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... State School Superintendent Richard Woods talks with Lee County High School seniors about the school’s new firefighter certification program Thursday. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett LEESBURG — Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods said Thursday that a new partnership training Lee County High School seniors to become certified firefighters could serve as a blueprint for school districts across the state.
Lee County orders Winifred Road speed study as growth raises safety concerns
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Lee County commissioners have authorized a $14,750 traffic study on Winifred Road to evaluate vehicle speeds, the posted speed limit and possible safety improvements between Old Dawson Road and U.S. Highway 82. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett LEESBURG — Lee County will study traffic speeds along Winifred Road and consider lowering the posted speed limit following residential growth and the resurfacing of the increasingly traveled corridor.
‘There’s only one Palmyra’: Residents defeat Ledo Road rezoning
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Residents line up to register to speak before a Lee County Commission public hearing Tuesday on a proposed commercial rezoning along Ledo Road. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett LEESBURG — A standing-room-only crowd erupted in applause Tuesday after Lee County commissioners rejected a request to expand general commercial zoning along Ledo Road beside the Palmyra subdivision.
Dawson City Council uninformed as state freezes sewer loans, audits remain incomplete
The Dawson City Council met Aug. 13 at City Hall. During the meeting, members approved a $109,886 wastewater-treatment-plant change order identified as GEFA-funded. Records obtained by The Dawson News show the state had already frozen Dawson’s GEFA loan disbursements, but council members were not told during the public meeting.
Across a county line, foster care rates reveal stark divide
An abandoned home in Dawson sits overgrown and deteriorating, one example of the city’s ongoing struggle with blighted and unusable housing. Dawson’s long-range planning documents identify both a high vacancy rate and a need for more safe, affordable housing. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett DAWSON — Foster care is intended to be temporary, with reunification the goal whenever children can safely return home and doing so is in their best interest.
Crime in Albany is flat. Residents’ fear of it isn’t
Albany Police Chief Michael Persley speaks during a media briefing at Albany Police Department headquarters. Persley has used the briefings to discuss crime trends, investigations and the department’s relationship with the community. File Photo ALBANY — When The Albany Herald recently asked its Facebook readers a simple question — “How safe do you feel in your own city?” — the responses captured a widening gap between official crime data and public perception.
Wild Game Dinner marks 34 years as South Georgia Scouting reaches for next generation
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Attendees gather for a previous Lem Griffin Wild Game Dinner at the Exchange Club Fairgrounds in Albany. The annual fundraiser supports Scouting programs across the South Georgia Council’s 28-county service area. Special Photo ALBANY — More than a century after organized Scouting first took root in southwest Georgia, local leaders say the program is working to preserve its traditional mission while adapting to a new generation of young people.
Months of unresolved records requests leave Dawson taxpayer questions unanswered
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Editor’s note: Because The Dawson News and The Albany Herald submitted the Open Records requests discussed in this story, the newspapers are parties to the events described. This account is based on dated and verifiable correspondence, email records and written responses exchanged between the newspapers and the city of Dawson.
Dawson’s $10.2 million sewer project leaves major financial questions unresolved
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The entrance to Dawson’s wastewater treatment plant on South Herod Road. The facility is part of the city’s ongoing multimillion-dollar sewer improvement project. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett DAWSON — The resignation of Dawson’s finance director Friday adds new urgency to understanding a city financial picture that has become increasingly difficult to reconcile. Dawson has struggled to bring recurring revenues in line with the cost of normal operations.
As Georgia weighs ag education funding, Miller County students show what’s at stake for the region
Miller County FFA Sentinel Fletcher Long speaks during the chapter’s Blue and Gold Social Monday at Cotton Hall in Colquitt. Students shared how agricultural education and FFA have shaped their lives, leadership skills and future plans.
As assessments climb, DCSS signals sizable millage cut
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Dougherty County School System millage rates have generally declined over the past two decades, falling from 19 mills in 2005 to 17.93 mills in 2025. District officials said Friday they expect another reduction in 2026 as property values increase.
Terrell schools bring in outside financial team after CFO departure
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The Terrell County Board of Education has approved an agreement with the Mauldin & Jenkins CPA firm to provide CFO-level consulting and financial support as the district works to strengthen its financial operations and internal controls.
Dawson’s $6.18 million budget draft balances to the penny — but the money doesn’t add up
The historic Dawson Municipal Building stands at the corner of Main and Lee streets in downtown Dawson. Submitted Photo: Michael Rivera DAWSON — A draft of Dawson’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget included in a Finance Department report presented to the Dawson City Council on Aug. 13 shows revenues and spending in perfect balance — $6,180,350 on each side, to the penny. An Albany Herald review of the numbers, though, found the draft does not actually balance.
Terrell County school board calls special meeting to consider CFO consulting services
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... DAWSON — The Terrell County Board of Education will hold a special called meeting Tuesday to consider hiring outside financial consulting services as the school district continues work on its financial operations. The meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday in Room 107 of the Terrell County Board of Education office at 761 First Ave. SE in Dawson.
William G. Anderson: A lifetime of testing the waters
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Dr. William G. Anderson appears on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in 1962 during the Albany Movement. Anderson, who led the civil rights coalition, died last week at the age of 98. New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection (Library of Congress). ALBANY— Dr. William G. Anderson, the pioneering surgeon and civil rights leader who helped found the Albany Movement, died Aug.
Dontavious Reese sentenced to 15 years in prison for fatal 2024 crash that killed three
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... A white Mercedes involved in the Oct. 27, 2024, high-speed crash in Albany is removed from the scene. Driver Dontavious Reese, the only survivor of the four people in the vehicle, was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree homicide by vehicle and other charges.
Take what you need — even the house
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Pastor Raymond Andrews and his wife, Sharon Andrews, stand on the porch of the historic house at Raines Baptist Church in Dawson. The couple has spent more than three decades building a ministry centered on serving families in need and now hopes to find someone willing to relocate and preserve the house as the church prepares to expand.
Albany reviews water system security after nationwide cyber attacks
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Albany’s water and wastewater infrastructure is monitored around the clock through a centralized control system. Utility officials say the city has reviewed its systems following recent cyberattack warnings and can continue essential operations manually if computerized controls are disrupted.
Terrell schools CFO exits after six months as district continues financial overhaul
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Terrell County School System Superintendent Shereca Harvey says the district’s ongoing financial and administrative reforms are aimed at strengthening operations while protecting the quality of education and services provided to students.
Community effort provides food to 150 families in Terrell County
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Members of the Terrell County Fire Department, in red, join Raine’s Baptist Church volunteers following an Aug. 12 food giveaway in Dawson. Firefighters volunteered to assist with the community event, which served about 150 people. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett DAWSON — Raine’s Baptist Church continued its community outreach Wednesday with a free food giveaway at the church, providing groceries to area residents while supplies lasted. The Aug.
Dawson City Council addresses budget, fire fee, wastewater spending
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The Dawson City Council met at City Hall Thursday to consider a proposed fire service assessment, wastewater infrastructure spending and other city business. Staff Photo: Kathryn Crockett DAWSON — Dawson will enter its new fiscal year without an adopted budget as city officials work toward a September public hearing, while residents could also face a new monthly charge to help fund the fire department.
Helping Hands to serve 1,100 Dougherty families weekly with help from Paula Deen foundation
From left, Catherine Whitfield, Helping Hands Ending Hunger co-administrator; Susan Greene, The Bag Lady Foundation board member; and Cathy Revell, Helping Hands Ending Hunger administrator, show off a donation from the Bag Lady Foundation.
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