Liberty Life Magazine Fall 2012 by Liberty Life Magazine

Walthourville’s past lives on at Tea Grove Plantation

Dinosaurs in the dirt: Riceboro mayor to county Midway diver unearths chairman, McIver recalls megalodon fossils 30 years of service

LIBERTY life

Liberty L o v es Your picks

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fall 2012

Features

Smooth sounds

Seven musicians brighten with audio delights

Preservation plantation Tea Grove owner curates Walthourvilleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s past

Searching for science

Diver Bill Eberlein unearths ancient fossils

Leaving the limelight Liberty County Commission Chairman John McIver reflects on service

Five reasons to love this season in Liberty (and other Hot Happenings)

16 Coastal Cravings Barbecue, burgers and oysters, oh my! Fall feasts bring us together

Liberty Loves Your favorites in local organizations, commerce and more

Departments Faves 12 Our This Fall

48 Lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Peach 50 Proust Questionnaire Columnist Debra Ayers Brown shows sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder

Inspirational Lady Tigers basketball coach Faye Baker opens up

Hinesville & the Historic Coast 5

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LIBERTY life PUBLISHER S. Marshall Griffin mgriffin@libertylifemagazine.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Hollie Moore Barnidge hbarnidge@libertylifemagazine.com

Image is YOUR Most Valuable Asset

MANAGING EDITOR Danielle Hipps dhipps@libertylifemagazine.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ekaterina Wilkerson kwilkerson@libertylifemagazine.com

PRODUCTION MANAGER Leslie Miller lmiller@libertylifemagazine.com

Full Color Digital Printing Real Estate Signs Military Signs Site Signs Monument Signs Vehicle Wraps Custom Decals Banners Business Cards

A DVERTISING GRAPHIC DESIGNER Jesse Atwood jatwood@libertylifemagazine.com

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Kayla Creel kcreel@libertylifemagazine.com

Lillian Gray lgray@libertylifemagazine.com

Shelly Carpenter scarpenter@libertylifemagazine.com

CONTRIBU TING W RITERS Debra Ayers Brown, Patty Leon, Joselynn McKenna, Randy C. Murray

Now Offering Full Color Printed Canvas

CONTRIBU TING PHOTO GRA PH ERS Andrea Crabb, Geoff L. Johnson, Lewis Levine

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Business Manager Kathryn Fox Distribution Manager Johnny Brown

Liberty Life magazine: 125 S. Main St., Hinesville, GA 31313 912-876-0156 www.libertylifemagazine.com info@libertylifemagazine.com Published by Morris Newspaper Corporation of Hinesville, Inc. Liberty Life magazine is a publication of Morris Newspaper Corporation of Hinesville, Inc. For SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES, BACK ISSUE ORDERS and ADVERTISING INQUIRIES call 912-876-0156 For EDITORIAL INQUIRIES, email editor@libertylifemagazine.com. We welcome your news. Please send press releases and media kits to info@libertylifemagazine.com. Copyright 2012 by Morris Newspaper Corporation of Hinesville, Inc. All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced in any form without written consent of the publisher.

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115 East M.L. King, Jr. Drive, Hinesville, GA 31313 | (912) 876-3564 www.cityofhinesville.org | www.facebook.com/hinesvillega | Twitter @HinesvilleGa

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Editor’s Letter

risp autumn air and its earthy scents always bring me back to being about 16 years old. It was a time when my freshly minted driver’s license allowed me on the open road, where I learned the intricacies of Simon & Garfunkel’s folk-inspired rock and sipped pumpkin-spice lattes. Now I’ve cast the lattes aside for more inspired recipes like apple crumble, but I’ve never lost my excitement for the weather or for my fall soundtrack. So we jumped at the chance to profile seven local musicians whose passion for making melodies and writing riffs inspires us to pursue our own creative pursuits, page 30. Among the talented bunch are a judge, a teacher and a young mother of two — and they each say that their passion is an outlet like none other. Midway shark-teeth diver Bill Eberlein, whose weekend scuba-diving hobby has morphed into a daily departure to Liberty County’s saltwater rivers, says the same on page 44. The rush of finding fossils is an obsession that leaves Eberlein always wanting more, he says. That sounds to me a whole lot like the rabid football fans who cheer on the Panthers, Tigers, and Highlanders in between SEC and NFL games. Those matches provide us a great reason to get together, and we all know that where there’s a gathering, there are great recipes to be found. The Uncovering the Buried Cravings History of proof is in the pudding in our Coastal department on ‘Bottle Island’ page 16. Now that there are many eyes on this year’s elections, we’ve also got political fever. But we don’t want to dwell on partisan divides — after all, we’re all united in our pursuits of liberty and happiness. Turn to page 39 for a look back on outgoing Liberty County Commission Chairman John McIver’s time in office, which soon will end after more than 31 years. The Riceboro native has made an impact in ways big and small, and the legacy of the current commission will continue after he departs. September also brings celebration of another legacy as Hinesville hit its 175th year as an established government on Sept. 12. For pictures from a chamber of commerce gathering in city hall’s Hinesville room, check out Faces & Places on page 10. DigiCode Data File ACCOUNT : 8817501 MNC-HINESVILLE ORDERED BY : KATHRYN FOX P.O. NUMBER : EMAIL 0% INVOICE NO. : 1317560 (PC Illust v3.0 via EMAIL)

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Love and Liberty for all, Danielle Hipps, managing editor

ON THE COVER Walthourville’s past lives on at Tea grove Plantation

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life

Liberty Loves

Your picks for the best of what’s around

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dinosaurs in the dirt: riceboro mayor to county Midway diver unearths chairman, McIver recalls megalodon fossils 30 years of service

LIBERTY

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Within this magazine you also will find Liberty Loves, an annual reader survey where you crown your homecoming court of local businesses and organizations on page 51. Though it wasn’t a Liberty Loves contender, Tea Grove Plantation, owned by Danny Norman, tops our list of eclectic locales. We were awed as we explored his collection of, well, everything from days gone by. Learn more about Norman and his hidden gem on page 18. We’re also launching some new departments. On page 12 we share Our Faves This Fall, a quick glimpse at events, campaigns and rallying points this season. To draw to a close, inspirational Bradwell Institute girls basketball coach Faye Baker opens up about her thoughts, values and experience with answers to the famous Proust Questionnaire. On behalf of the Liberty Life staff, I thank you for reading and hope this publication helps you savor the best of autumn’s offerings.

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Food & football the best of fall

Hinesville musician Bernard Rose, known to the music world as Satin Sax, graces our cover this fall holding his newest instrument, a  gift from his wife, Loretta Liberty Rose. For more on the Loves talents and to player’s Your picks for the best of what’s around meet others who add rhythm to our quality of p Tenpage 30. life,Tosee Under

40 Photography by Geoff L. Johnson

WHO

Cover design by MAKe Ekaterina Wilkerson THe SeASON

BrIgHT

Shot on Commerce Street in downtown Hinesville

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Featured Contributors

REGULAR Contributors Debra Ayers Brown Andrea Crabb Geoff L. Johnson Patty Leon

Randy C. Murray

A published writer since 1978, Randy C. Murray has contributed to regional magazines and newspapers and now covers Fort Stewart and Hinesville for the Coastal Courier. He received his degree in language, writing and editing from North Carolina State University and served a combined 13 years in the Army over two stints. He and his wife have three children, three granddaughters and are awaiting the birth of their first grandson.

Joselynn McKenna

Joselynn McKenna is a freelance writer and columnist for the Coastal Courier. Originally from small town Melcher-Dallas, Iowa, Joselynn moved to Hinesville when her husband was stationed at Fort Stewart. She since has dedicated her time to finishing her journalism degree, writing and raising their almost 1-year-old daughter.

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FACES&PLACES

Liberty County School System dedicates the Liberty College & Career Academy { Photos by Hollie Barnidge }

1: Michele Desbiens, Kim Brown, Torri Jackson 2: Rev. Hermon Scott, Susan McCorkle 3: Barry Sallas, Luciria Lovette 4: Christopher Williams, Rev. Henry Frasier

Liberty County Chamber of Commerce Business after Hours celebrates Hinesville’s 175th birthday { Photos by Lewis Levine }

5: Col. John Hort, Maj. Gen. Robert “Abe” Abrams 6: Jason Floyd, Dr. Rebecca Coefield 7: Dave and Bonnie Conrad, Brandy Simon, Joe Ford 8: Frances Moody, Command Sgt. Maj. Edd Watson, Elaine Tuten

Hinesville Area Arts Council unveils community mural for Hinesville’s 175th birthday { Photos by Danielle Hipps }

9: Sara Swida, Benjamin F. Turner Jr. 10: Holly Stevens, Laura Troutman

9 8

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Our Faves this Fall United Way raising funds for good

ast year, the United Way of the Coastal Empire Liberty County office raised $185,026 to provide grants for local outreach groups like the St. James Community Center, the YMCA of Coastal Georgia, Helen’s Haven Child Advocacy Center, Rape Crisis and the Manna House. This year, they’re seeking donations through Nov. 15 to best their fundraising goal of $195,000 to continue meeting basic needs. To donate, contact the Liberty County office at 368-4282.

‘Clue’ brings mystery to life

iberty Theatre Company, the performing-arts arm of the Hinesville Area Arts Council, is slated to host two dinner performances of the whodunit “Clue: The Musical” in conjunction with Fort Stewart. The show combines one of our favorite board games with kitschy humor and local talent — what’s not to love? At press time, shows are slated for 7 p.m. Oct. 20 at Dorchester Village Civic Center and 7 p.m. Nov. 2 at Club Stewart. Tickets are $25 and include dinner. To confirm show times and purchase tickets, visit www.hinesvillearts.com.

Football builds fellowship

ootball fans may rally behind their Panthers, Tigers, Dawgs and Gators on the gridiron, but the sport has a way of unifying us regardless of our team colors. In between watching NCAA and NFL teams duke it out, we can catch live regular-season games for Liberty County High School and Bradwell Institute through the first week of November. First Presbyterian Christian Academy Highlanders also make their debut in Friday night lights this year with home games at Long Bell Stadium at Liberty Independent Troop Park.

Scarecrow Stroll and Beggars Night brings childhood excitement

e always loved Halloween for the candy and the chance to play our favorite characters, but this annual event draws families together to show off their costumes and seek thrills with a safe, social alternative to neighborhood trick-ortreating. The Hinesville Downtown Development Authority and downtown businesses host the event from 4-10 p.m. Oct. 26, and the Hinesville Area Arts Council follows with a movie night.

Hinesville celebrates 175 years of heritage

ounded in 1837, the city of Hinesville held its own through the Civil War and two world wars before becoming home to the largest military installation this side of the Mississippi River. This year, the city commemorates 175 years of growth and change, and we salute its dedication

to maintaining a tight-knit feel while welcoming newcomers with open arms. For a look back through stories, video and pictures, check out the Coastal Courier’s online coverage at www.coastalcourier.com/ Hinesville175th

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HOT HAPPENINGS

October 6

Ride for the Cause

Drivers of all model bikes and cars are invited to participate in this benefit ride for Georgia Regional Hospital patients. Event features food, door prizes, entertainment and 50/50 drawing. Admission is either a $10 registration fee or a $10 unwrapped gift, 9 a.m. at Irene B. Thomas Park on Sharon Street, hosted by the city of Hinesville through the Mayors’ Motorcade.

awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project and the American Diabetes Association, 10 a.m. on Brigantine-Dunmore Road near Sunbury Crab Company, $30, Facebook. com/Sunbury5K.

Roll the dice at this casino night fundraiser to benefit the Hinesville Downtown Development Authority’s Memorial Drive sculpture “The Resonance.” Event runs 6-10 p.m., tickets are $50 per person or $90 per couple, at Bryant Commons, HinesvilleDowntown.com.

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Sunbury 5K

The annual 5K footrace through historic Sunbury seeks to raise money and

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Scarecrow Stroll & Beggars Night

Young ghouls and goblins trick-or-treat in a safe, festive atmosphere that transforms some daytime haunts into nighttime frights complete with a free movie night, 4 p.m. with some events running until 10 p.m., downtown Hinesville, sponsored by the Hinesville Downtown Development Authority; movie by Hinesville Area Arts Council.

Farmers Market — Go Pink Night

The traditional downtown farmers market gets a makeover to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research. Past years included partnerships with the Suzie Q’s to host a pink pancake supper at Poole’s Deli, Art Your Bra designing contests and Books for Boobies used book sales, 5:30-7:30 p.m. in Bradwell Park, sponsored by the Hinesville Downtown Development Authority.

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Haunts and history combine within the walls of the historic Midway Cemetery, where guides offer spooky tales that get us into the Halloween spirit while recalling events and people who contributed to the early

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HOT HAPPENINGS a.m.-4 p.m. at Fort Morris Historic Site, Gastateparks.org/FortMorris.

Coastal Georgia community, 6 & 7 p.m. both nights, hosted by the Midway Museum, RsvpMidwayMuseum@gmail.com.

November 3

Denim & Diamonds Gala

Meet and greet medical professionals and community leaders at the annual fundraiser for the Liberty Regional Foundation, which benefits Liberty Regional Medical Center, details to come, contact Rene’ Harwell at 369-9491.

&10 Ricefest

Liberty County natives will flock to Riceboro and embrace Geechee culture during the sixth annual event, which celebrates the contributions of coastal area residents through historical exhibits, food and entertainment in addition to a pageant, step show, homecoming and parade, events throughout the weekend, sponsored by the city of Riceboro.

Veteran’s Day observed

East Liberty County American Legion Post 321 sponsors an annual parade around Veterans Day to honor the sacrifices of soldiers and their families. The procession typically weaves its way through Hinesville featuring 3rd ID troops and officials, lawenforcement officers and supporting businesses and organizations. Check with the Coastal Courier for details.

Mayor’s Thanksgiving Service

Hinesville Mayor Jim Thomas will host a nondenominational praise program that unites the community with songs and service to give thanks for its many blessings, 6-8 p.m., location to be determined, hosted by the city of Hinesville.

Come & Take It! American Revolution Encampment

Commemorate Col. John McIntosh’s defiant American Revolution stand in reply to British demands for surrender with colonial demonstrations, musket and cannon drills, a skirmish, and 18th century music, 11

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Coastal Cravings by Randy C. Murray

Fall Brings Food and Fellowship Whether for football or holidays, autumn indulgences gather crowds

A A

utumn leaves, pine straw and ragweed pollen are not the only things carried by coastal winds this time of year — on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, area residents are likely to catch whiffs of succulent flavors from nearby grills, smokers, fish-fryers and stew pots as Coastal Georgia residents hold fall celebrations. Whether we’ve got friends gathered for a backyard barbecue before watching the Dawgs score six on a big-screen TV, we’re tailgating outside of Georgia Southern University’s Paulson Stadium or we’re gathered for a church social, we know that food is the centerpiece of any fall event. By October, whole neighborhoods become enveloped in the smoky aroma of ribs, pork shoulders and chicken — most dripping with tangy barbecue sauce — while hamburgers, hotdogs and sausages sizzle on grills or catfish crisp to a

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golden brown. “Fall is the season when you can enjoy food outdoors without gnats enjoying it with you,” Hinesville resident Dana Ingram says with a laugh. “Fall makes me think of football season. It’s when you have tailgate parties and barbecue cook-offs.” Outdoor chefs who are skilled at producing smoked, grilled, roasted, broiled, boiled or deep-fried treasures tend to become celebrities within their communities, churches or workplaces. “I’ve been smoking chicken for more than 30 years,” says Talmadge Kicklighter, whose succulent poultry is sought-after by his friends, family and fellow church members. “It’s all trial-and-error, mainly. I used to do it for the (Fort Stewart) fire department at Thanksgiving and Christmas.” Kicklighter, who grew up near Glennville and retired as an assistant fire chief after 28 years, continues to hone his skills as an outdoor chef, preparing his locally famous chicken for family barbecues and church socials. Sandra Kicklighter says the secret to her husband’s mouthwatering chicken is its simplicity. He seasons chicken halves with nothing but salt and pepper — no sauce — then smokes them for two or three hours at 250 degrees. “He’ll cook five chickens for 18 to 20 members of the family,” she says, explaining his technique for quartering the chicken after it’s cooked. “It’s easier to handle as halves while it’s cooking.” Grinning, Kicklighter says his wife left out an important detail: Part of his smoking secret is using green oak rather than dried hickory or pecan wood. But Glennville resident Larry Wiley, who hails from San Antonio, swears by mesquite, which he hauls by the truckload back from Texas during frequent trips home. “I cook for family reunions, parties, church socials — whoever wants some good barbecue,” he says, noting that he specializes in brisket and Boston butts but also has been known to tackle smoked ribs, chicken and turkey. “The kind of barbecue I like is when the fire never touches the meat.” Wiley warns first-time brisket smokers to make sure there’s a thick layer of fat on the outside, which keeps the meat moist during smoking at 325-350 degrees for six to eight hours, depending on the size of the brisket. Hinesville resident Charles Bell, a retired soldier from New Bern, N.C., has his own signature flair for barbecue — but he’s reluctant to share. Most important to him is that people enjoy it.

“The best thing about barbecue is, if you like it, it’s good barbecue,” Bell says with a laugh. “A barbecue is a time to get together with friends — cook, talk and eat. There’s no wrong way to do it.”

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— Charles Bell, a retired soldier from New Bern, N.C. Savory and sweet barbecue flavors aren’t the only ones to indulge in this fall. Lowcountry boils and oyster roasts are an autumn specialty for Jesup resident Alvin LaRue. The retired soldier loves to treat his family and friends to seafood feasts, but his greatest hit is an annual Lowcountry boil and oyster roast for Ludowici’s Faith Baptist Church held in late October or early November. The evening event at LaRue’s home in Jesup attracts nearly half of the 140-member church. Ladies of the church contribute to the feast with side dishes specially prepared to complement seafood, including cheese grits, pasta salads and seafood chowders. The event also features an enormous selection of pies, cakes and banana pudding — a Southern staple. LaRue says he’s still a little surprised when he occasionally encounters people who admit they’ve never gotten a whiff of smoke from a nearby campfire, mixed with the aroma of Georgia shrimp, sausage, new potatoes and corn on the cob, seasoned to perfection with Old Bay and all boiling together in a huge pot. Some people have never tried a roasted oyster on a cracker with a touch of hot sauce, but they quickly learn why members of his church look forward to the annual event, he says. Cooler temperatures allow coastal residents to venture outside among the brightly colored maple, sycamore and hickory trees and enjoy good food with friends and family. “Just like the colors of the fall leaves, the foods that come to my mind this time of year are equally as colorful,” says Sherry Strickland, executive assistant for Hinesville Mayor Jim Thomas and City Manager Billy Edwards. “Sweet potatoes, squash casserole, corn, collard greens, fried apples and, of course, pumpkin and sweet potato pies.”  Combine these ingredients in a pan with just a little heat then refrigerate overnight. Apply a little sauce to Boston butts, pork shoulders or whole hog while it’s cooking then generously apply more sauce to chopped — not pulled — pork when it’s done. Provided by Hinesville resident Charles Bell

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Tea Grove Plantation offers unique view of areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history

{ By Patty Leon | Photographs by Geoff L. Johnson }

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A A

rea history buffs and curious tourists seeking an authentic old Southern farm experience needn’t wish for a time machine or resort to living vicariously through books and time-ravaged photos. They need only take a quick jaunt to the outskirts of Liberty County to immerse themselves in the culture and antiquity of the original Walthourville Village, which thrived in the last

half of the 19th century and much of the 20th century. Tea Grove Plantation owner Danny Norman has spent more than four decades recreating the village on 200 acres that span his family plantation. There, visitors can see a working blacksmith shop, grist mill, turpentine still, an expansive collection of tractors, carriages, trains and automobiles — all in working order — as well as 40 buildings that Norman either has relocated or built.

Top: Tea Grove Plantation owner Danny Norman, right, poses with his family. Left to right: Granddaughter Ainsley Dawson, sonin-law Jeff Dawson, daughter Julie Norman Dawson, wife Kathy Norman, grandson Ryder Dawson, granddaughter Harley Dawson. Left: Norman poses in his milk wagon. Right: Ainsley, Harley and Ryder hang out among their grandfather’s vehicle collection.

“My heart and soul have been in doing this, not for recognition or notoriety, not to say I have the largest collection of anything or that I did the best job,” Norman says. “It was simply to

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Harley and Ainsley pose with a vintage vehicle while Ryder shows off one of Norman’s vintage tractors.

“

I like things that you can’t go just anywhere to see. It is rewarding to be able to provide an environment to preserve something.”

say that I believe that the era of history that I am trying to preserve is important to me.” The plantation lies on what once was part of Liberty County’s Sand Hill community. The area also was known as Lambert before it was named Walthourville around 1800 in honor of Andrew Walthour, whose family is credited with settling the area, according to www.cityofwalthourville.com. Walthour Village, once one of the most prosperous communities in

Southern Georgia, boasted a population of more than 700. That thriving atmosphere and way of life are what Norman is intent on preserving. Visitors flock to Tea Grove to see the live-steam locomotive circle around a one-and-a-half-mile railroad track. They come to learn how a grist mill grinds grain or corn into flour, to see how blacksmiths forged horseshoes from raw metal and to watch raw sugar cane become syrup. The plantation also is home to a barber shop, newspa-

— Danny Norman, owner Tea Grove Plantation

One of the 40 structures on the plantation boasts having “Relics of the Past.”

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A Texaco fuel station models gas stops before pay-at-the-pump was an option, and a chapel shines white under a dramatic sky.

“

I can remember the old cars and things, and it’s fun going back that far, to really see how people really did live.”

per press, police department, jail and service station. Growing up, Norman’s daughter, Julie Norman Dawson, says she thought she had the world’s biggest playground. “I was like a kid in a candy store,” Dawson says. “He collected a lot of the bigger items when I was older. When I was younger, it was more like a big huge open playground. There were some buildings, and he acquired every-

thing throughout my childhood. I was probably in my teenage years when he acquired the steam train, and I thought he was crazy. And then I was out there and watched as they laid the track. I don’t know what life would be like without having to experience all that. We had so many things and just loved hanging out there.” The name Tea Grove dates back to when Norman’s great-great grandfather, John Harden, grew and cultivated

— Kathy Norman, owner Tea Grove Plantation

Tea Grove has its own REA Express train station with an arrivals and departures board. Though tracks do run past the platform, the route is out of commission.

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tea on the plantation’s farmland, Norman says. In 1877, Harden built the original wooden home where Norman and his wife of 44 years, Kathy, raised their daughter and still live today. “My efforts were to try and preserve something here similar to what it was back in the 40s and 50s,” says Norman, who started collecting items in the early 1970s. “It was really to try and create a representation of what the Walthourville area was like and the industries that were here. ... This was all about creating an environment and a place for an annual family reunion and giving everybody a chance to see something they haven’t seen before, and each year I added a little bit.” He gradually brought in a cotton gin, added a water tower, church, fire station, city hall, a telephone office and two tractor dealerships representing Ford and Ferguson tractors. About 20 years ago, someone gave Norman an iconic brass pole for firefighters to slide down when responding to calls — so he was forced to build a two-story station to make it useable, he says with a laugh. Norman admits the hobby is a “passion-turned obsession,” but it’s near

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Normanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s property is a glimpse at rural Americana, complete with general store wares and a fortune teller next to vintage mailboxes in the model post office.

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and dear to his heritage. The plantation also has a general store, modeled after his grandfather’s business. “It was located where my front gate is at now,” Norman says. “He had a general store and a post office there, and I can faintly remember the smell of kerosene when you go in there.” The reconstructed general store is filled with goods of the era: kerosene lamps, washboards, farm tools, cattle supply and mason jars. Norman even recreated the store’s original sign bearing the names “H.C. Norman General Merchandise,” and “Post Office Walthourville Village.” “Bill’s Gas and Oil,” service station still advertises gas for 10 cents a gallon, and if you want to place a call from the old telephone office, be prepared to crank the phone handle. Norman’s tractor collection has surpassed 400, and his stable of antique cars, trucks and horse-drawn buggies is just as deep. “The first tractor I got I bought in 1970, and I still have it,” Norman says. “The first old car that I bought, I got

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A Lummus Air Blast Gin at the plantation harkens back to the South’s cotton days.

when I was 11 years old, and I still have it. I’m just not much for selling. I have an affection for it and I just enjoy it. “People ask me, ‘What is your favorite piece?’” he says. “Honestly, I don’t have a favorite, I like it all. I have someone that helps me, and one day we washed over 138 cars — no sane person has 138 cars to show, and that wasn’t even all of them. You can’t enjoy all of that, but you can share that with others, which is what I enjoy doing.” For Kathy Norman, her husband’s passion spurs plenty of warm memories. “He comes home with something different every day, and that is what is exciting about it,” she says. Norman’s quest for the next item has taken the couple on a multistate journey spanning the past and present. “I can remember the old cars and things, and it’s fun going back that far, to really see how people really did live,” Kathy says. “We visited Amish country and I was amazed at how they live and what they do, and it is very much like the way we used to live if you really look at it — if they really went back in time, they would realize we were living the same way they are.” For 16 years, the family opened its plantation to an estimated 25,000 visitors each year for Old South Farm Days, where folks marveled at the working machinery, and older generations shared stories about how they used similar equipment and maintained farms by hand. But as time passed and the crowds grew, it became impossible to host the event, Norman says.

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Red’s Barber Shop does not take customers, but it is reminiscent of the time when men could get a close shave while catching up on community news.

“It really got so big that the logistics of it were almost impossible, and then we had a couple of things come about that created problems with us trying to continue it,” he says, adding that many of his volunteers began aging and dealing with health problems. As older participants passed away, much of their knowledge on how to operate and fix the antiques was lost. Visitors still enjoy the plantation today through smaller events, such as weddings, the Georgia Farm Bureau farm tour and the Boy Scouts of America jamboree. And the village still is living and growing. “I collect everything from thimbles to light bulbs to milk bottles of the early era,” Norman says. “I always wanted a horse-drawn milk wagon. When I was a little fellow and we used to go to Savannah, they had horses pulling the milk wagon. And when you were going into Savannah you would go by the place where they housed them, and I said, ‘I’m going to get me a milk wagon one day.’ We were up in Ohio when I found one. I then bought a bunch of stuff to put in it to make it look like it was ready to make deliveries. I like

things that you can’t go just anywhere to see. It is rewarding to be able to provide an environment to preserve something.” Norman’s preservation efforts have been hindered by changing technology and practices that have become outdated. The venue has not hosted a family reunion in years. As Dawson grew older, she learned to appreciate and respect the work her father started. “I wish my children had the opportunity to experience it,” she adds. “Every Thanksgiving, we would have a huge family reunion and grind cane — I mean that is how this all started — I miss that, and my children have never been able to experience it because when we stopped, my oldest daughter was still just a very small child. But to go out and find somebody that is capable of operating the grinder … or how a blacksmith made a horseshoe … All of that has been lost.” Dawson’s three children are fascinated by the plantation, she says. Her son Ryder, 7, loves the tractors, her older daughter Harley is intrigued by all the old cars, and her middle child Ainsley is partial to Dawson’s favorite spot, the

sugar-cane grinder. “That was probably my favorite area,” Dawson says. “Right underneath those huge oak trees, you step in there and you just step back in time.” Norman plans to preserve the plantation so it can be open to visitors for years to come. “I would hope that we could turn it into something like a museum with the state and have it open on a daily basis,” Dawson adds. “Where else could you go and actually experience this? Nowhere. Where else could you go and see what an old general store looked like — what a real one looked like? Or see a turpentine still or a real cotton gin — and everything else that we take for granted nowadays?” 

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Smooth sounds bring groove

to Liberty

Seven artists sweeten life with rhythm and melody

mooth jazz tones of saxophone from a fifthgrade teacher, bluesy guitar riffs from a superior court judge, country-rock jam livening up the party from a few unlikely friends and the sweet, low crooning of a woman who’s not afraid to show the dirt of life — these are the sounds of Liberty County. Though not the most likely music scene, the area’s talent sings for itself. Even in small-town Georgia, music captivates, inspires and drives people. And these local musicians hope to be part of that journey for listeners local and beyond. Their dreams and passions fuel them to make the best music they can and challenge them to continually improve. Whether they’re dreaming of making it big worldwide or happy to just play for whoever will listen, music moves this talented group to do what they do.

{ By Joselynn McKenna }

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Midway mom writes soulful acoustic

Hear Leigh live at the Hinesville Downtown Farmers Market’s Go Pink Night on Oct. 18 at Bradwell Park, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Photograph by Geoff L. Johnson

coustic singer-songwriter Daffani Leigh says music is her therapy, her way of coping with whatever life throws her way. “A lot of it’s more deep,” Leigh says about her music. “You know, it’s poetry on paper. It’s all from experiences, too. It’s whatever captures me and inspires me.” Though she’s only played guitar five years, Leigh has been singing since she could talk and writing poetry since she was 11 years old. “The very first day I learned to play my first three chords, I wrote a song, so they’ve always gone hand-in-hand,” she says. “I finally had music to my words.” Leigh, who was born and raised in Midway, says she has a unique love for the community because of her family. “Believe it or not, I could sit here and tell you everything there is to know about Midway because my grandmother was the curator of the Midway Museum for 35 years, so I know all the history,” she says. “My grandma, she made me love the history of this area.” Although Leigh loves Liberty County, she’s waiting in line for her ticket to bigger things. “I know where I come from, but I’d love to go other places,” she explains. “I would love to travel, whether it’s with music or not.” Her ambition is to move to Nashville someday soon and hone her music there. For now, there’s much more to Leigh’s life than music — she’s the mother of two daughters, one 4 months old and one 5 years old. “I love being a mom,” Leigh says. “I definitely do. That’s first and foremost.” Juggling two young daughters and a full-time waitressing job makes focusing on her music difficult sometimes, Leigh says. “With the kids and being a full-time mom and full-time worker, it’s just a lot,” she said. “I don’t get to do music like I wish I could. I do it when I can, especially in the midnight hours. It definitely remains my passion.” Leigh’s devotion to her daughters is evident in her lyrics. What she describes Hinesville & the Historic Coast 31

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“

I like it when music is full of passion and soul and it’s full of all the dirt of life.” — Daffani Leigh, acoustic singer-songwriter

as her signature song was inspired by her oldest daughter. “I wrote a song called, ‘Baby, Don’t Cry,’ and it’s a lullaby I wrote for Vega when she was born,” she says. “I wrote it so when she gets older we can sing it together.” “I can sing very good,” Vega pipes in. “But you sing better than me.” “I do not,” Leigh argues. “You’re a great singer.” “You do, too,” Vega laughs. “You’re famous.” Being famous in the eyes of her 5-year-old and being truly famous are two very different things, Leigh says. And she worries that she may have difficulty finding mainstream success with her music because it’s not in the vein of most radio hits. “My music is more underground,” Leigh says. “It’s more like coffee-house acoustic. I like it when music is full of passion and soul and it’s full of all the dirt of life. I like Indie stuff because it’s the dirt. They sing from their being. That’s what I do.” Her music has a folk style with deep, personal lyrics driven home by her low, bluesy voice. She sings from her heart

and aims to hit people in their hearts. That’s what she says is most important: keeping the music real and making music that touches people. For Leigh, writing music comes naturally so she’s composed enough songs to create a debut album but has not yet made it to the recording studio. “I’d really like to put a CD together,” she confesses. “I have enough music for one, and I have it all copyrighted. To be honest, I just don’t have the money or time for the recording.” But Leigh has a plan. She hopes to go back to school and get her associates degree as a dental hygienist, then get a job in Nashville while taking steps to expand her musical career. “That’s my ticket out of this place,” Leigh says. “I love this place— and it’s home— but I want to see more of the world.” Getting on her feet in her music career has always been a struggle for Leigh. “It’s just a matter of circumstance,” she says. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. My goal is to be able to share my music with people.” In the meantime, Leigh plays as frequently as her busy life allows. “I actually lead praise and worship at my church,” she says. “I listen to a lot of praise and worship. If I could do anything with my life, I’d like to continue in that. I write a lot of contemporary gospel stuff, but there’s a time and a place for every type of music.”

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Burgeoning band defies genre definitions For a list of upcoming shows, check out the band’s website at www. 3rdclasscitizens. com

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nyone would be hard-pressed to find a group of guys so different from those in the local rock band 3rd Class Citizens. The four young men have different personalities, and their ages span almost 15 years, but they get along like brothers and successfully create music. They’d be just as hard-pressed to nail down which genre the band plays because the members have such diverse musical inspirations, though they lean toward country with rockin’ roots. “We do a little bit of everything, I guess,” bass player Ashley Sands says. “We’re so different. I think that’s what’s good about our band.” The music they play reflects the music they listen to, according to lead guitarist Robbie Sauls. “I listen to everything about the same,” Sauls says. “Polka?” Rhythm guitarist Blaine Bunting challenges. “You’ve got to have a legitimate type of music, not polka,” Sauls defends. “Polka is a genre,” Bunting rebuts. “Where do you even listen to that?” Sauls asks.

From left: Blaine Bunting, Ashley Sands, Jason Stewart, Robbie Sauls Photograph by Geoff L. Johnson

“You could look it up online, I’m sure,” Bunting says. The brotherly banter between all four guys goes on for hours. “We certainly never lack for entertainment,” Sands adds. “Blaine is the clown, I think. He’s pretty funny, but we all have our moments.” Each of the guys brings something unique to the band, every one of them filling their own role. Where Sands is mellow and laid back, drummer Jason Stewart is dubbed the “hot head” of the group and a self-proclaimed worrier. Bunting constantly cracks jokes, and Sauls always has music on his brain — though the guys joke that’s about all he thinks about. The quartet has played together for about a year, but Bunting and Stewart have been playing together for more than three years. They later added Sands and Sauls to jam together in a practice garage, which led to the formation of what is now 3rd Class Citizens. “We’re dumb enough to think we’re good enough to form Hinesville & the Historic Coast 33

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“

We just write it how we feel it, and you can call it whatever you want.”

— Blaine Bunting, 3rd Class Citizens guitarist

a band,” Sands says with a laugh. But let’s put the modesty aside for a moment. On Aug. 19, the band won the iShowcase Music Exhibition in Jacksonville, Fla. With their victory, they won a consult with Warner Bros. Records and are looking forward to where that may lead them as a band. The members constantly try to remind themselves that they have tasted success, but it doesn’t mean they’ve arrived. “As soon as you don’t see any room for improvement, I think it’s time to stop,” Sands elaborates. In between banter, the men reflect on the band’s beginnings. “We were all sitting in here one night, and we were trying to come up with a name,” Stewart recalls. “Ashley was on stage playing acoustic guitar, and he said, ‘You all sit down for a second, I’m going to play a song for y’all.’ And Blaine said, ‘Why are you talking to us like that? What, are we thirdclass citizens?’ And I think all of us, we were all like, that’s the name. We sat for hours trying to come up with a name, and there it was.” In less than a year, what began as a garage band grew in

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both popularity and talent. They have opened for Nashville recording artist Cody Walden — another musician with local roots — and perform frequently at the VFW and at area restaurants. “We’ve been real busy lately,” Sands says. “It’s been like a few gigs a week, so we only practice about once a week when it’s like that.” With more time spent playing shows, people are starting to become familiar with 3rd Class Citizens. “Recently we played for state Rep. Al Williams,” Bunting says. “He saw us at another show and requested us. I thought that was real cool because that’s someone you learn about in school.” The community is getting better acquainted with the group as well, according to Stewart. “People are starting to see us a little bit more,” Stewart says. “That was our main goal, was to get people to know us from the time we show up. Robbie said it good one time — he said we want people to sing along with us, especially our originals.” Currently the group has six original songs, three written by Bunting, two written by Sauls and one written as a joint effort by Sauls and Sands. They’ve recently spent time in the recording studio and hope to release an EP soon. Their original work is country or alternative country music with a twist of Southern rock. “I don’t think we write a song to be a certain genre,” Bunting says. “We just write it how we feel it, and you can call it whatever you want.”

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Teacher doubles as ‘Satin Sax’

Hear Rose’s rhythms and keep up with shows and releases at www. satinsax.com. Photograph by Geoff L. Johnson

ernard Rose is “Satin Sax,” a smooth jazz saxophonist and composer to many in the community, the region and even the country, but to his fifth-grade students at Diamond Elementary on Fort Stewart, he’s Mr. Rose. Rose’s love for the saxophone began when he was only a year or two older than his students. “I decided for some reason to try the saxophone in junior high,” Rose says. “That included jazz band and marching band and concert band.” It wasn’t long before Rose felt greater pull toward jazz than toward the popular music of his day. “A lot of kids my age were more into pop,” Rose recalls. “My interests were really shifting more to the sophistication of instrumental music that required a lot of thought, usually.” Rose attributes his changing musical tastes to the influence of his father and sister. “I think some of the seeds had been planted for leaning toward jazz because I was an instrumentalist to start out with,” he says. “I remember starting out actually listening to music around my house that my sister and father would play. That included folks like John Coltrane, Bobbi Humphrey and Earth, Wind and Fire.” After playing alto saxophone in band throughout junior high and high school, Rose took a break while studying to become a teacher. “I actually wasn’t playing too much after high school for a while there because I was kind of ‘banded out,’” Rose admits. “I just kind of got to the point where I lost interest a little bit. I certainly wasn’t interested in being on college band with all the craziness Hinesville & the Historic Coast 35

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“

Music is certainly a very powerful influence on the conscience and souls of people, and I just want to do music that’s going to be encouraging and uplifting.” — Bernard Rose, saxophonist

they were having to do.” After graduation, the Orangeburg, S.C., native felt compelled to return to jazz and his saxophone through church worship. “I picked up an interest playing with church choir and that sort of thing probably about ’83, after I graduated,” Rose explains. “Then I really started developing a major interest in contemporary jazz.” And he’s been playing ever since. “Once I got the bug, it wasn’t so much that I needed a lot of prodding or anything like that,” says the musician, who hopes to use his music to positively influence his audience. “Music is certainly a very powerful influence on the conscience and souls of people, and I just want to do mu-

sic that’s going to be encouraging and uplifting to people in some way and that really causes people to feel better,” he says. “To feel better about the day and about where they’re going in some kind of way.” Locally and regionally, Rose’s success as a musician has increased lately. “I get hired pretty regularly to do, like, private events — at least a couple to a few times a month,” Rose said. “More and more I’m getting booked out further in advance.” Rose released his freshman album “Shorebreeze” in summer 2011, and he since has garnered widespread attention. “My first CD I consider to be a great success, especially for an Indie artist,” Rose said. “People are always asking

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when I’m putting out another CD, you know. People have bought a lot of this CD, too. I’ve gotten a lot of great, great feedback on it. A lot of people say it’s relaxing. I think the feedback is one of the most positive things.” Rose’s next release, a liturgical piece, is slated for release in early 2013. “I really like to keep my music in a vein of something I think is pleasing to the Lord, whether I’m doing either liturgical or secular music,” he adds. And his fan base is growing geographically as satellite provider DirecTV is featuring his song, “The Pier at Breezes,” on its smooth jazz channel. He adds that some opportunities may lead to widespread and national travel with his music. Though Rose, too, says his dream is to travel for nationwide shows regularly, he says he loves his small community. And regardless of his musical success, he will always have a heart for his students — he considered it a great honor when the fifth grade used one of his songs for the assembly last year and asserts that he is equal parts Satin Sax and Mr. Rose. “I really love Hinesville and living in this small-town atmosphere,” Rose says. “It allows me to test my ability to promote myself and my music even though there might not be a superstrong musical climate, even if there are a lot of great musicians in the area. And there are a lot of very talented people around here.” The saxophonist also hopes to encourage the music scene in Liberty County. “I’m hoping to start a local regular event that entails contemporary jazz, maybe some blues and that kind of thing,” he says. “I think it’s going to happen eventually, I just have to figure out how to make it happen.”

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Jazz guitar a lifelong hobby for area judge

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tlantic Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Jay Stewart presides over courtrooms in a six-county region by day, but when he’s not pounding the gavel and sporting his robe, he brings another talent to the table. He’s an accomplished musician known for his blues-tinged rhythms. “I started playing guitar when I was 6 years old,” Stewart says. “My mom plays the piano, and my dad plays piano and guitar and there was music in my house. I don’t know how not to do music. I’ve just always done it.” While Stewart was surrounded with melodies from birth, a Christmas present from his parents gave the Savannah native, his older brother and sister the hands-on experience that would help him hone his craft. “My parents would always give us one gift that we were to share,” Stewart recalls. “I guess the teaching behind that was you have to share some things. One year it was a guitar. “It was a pretty inexpensive learner’s guitar, and my dad said ‘Whoever learns to play this guitar, I’ll buy you a nicer guitar,’” he says. “Well, that didn’t really interest my brother or my sister, but I picked it up and I never put it down.” It wasn’t long until his dad was ready to buy him his promised six-string.

Sample Stewart’s tunes at www. jaystewart guitar.com

Photographs by Eleanora Alberto

“There’s a gentleman by the name of Buddy Owens who’s a wonderful finger-style jazz guitar player who originally was from Pembroke — he lives in Savannah now — but he was friends with my parents,” Stewart says. “As a family friend, he kind of took an interest in my playing, and he and I became very close. I had an opportunity to study under him through my teen years.” Under Owens’ tutelage, Stewart learned finger-style guitar, using a thumb pick rather than a traditional pick, a style he’s used since. That style of playing has earned him significant regional recognition. “After my freshman year of college, I toured with a band called Avalanche,” Stewart says. “We played all over the Southeast. We played with Mother’s Finest, Atlanta Rhythm Section — a lot of the bands that were well-known in the South.” A short time later, at only 19, Stewart grew weary of life on the road. Hinesville & the Historic Coast 37

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“

I started playing guitar when I was 6 years old. My mom plays the piano, and my dad plays piano and guitar and there was music in my house. I don’t know how not to do music. I’ve just always done it.” — Jay Stewart, guitarist

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“Even at that age, I realized that’s not where I wanted to spend the rest of my life,” Stewart confesses. “The hotel rooms and that living on the road stuff, it’s good for four hours a night, but the traveling part is terrible. I decided to come back home, started dating my wife and enrolled in Georgia Southern.” Just because Stewart stopped touring with Avalanche didn’t mean music was finished for him. He continued to play and he taught guitar. “I’ve always had music as a kind of secondary way of making some money during the lean times,” he adds. Juggling a law education and career, a family and music hasn’t always been easy, but the Claxton resident says he wouldn’t give any of it up. “It’s all about balance,” he adds. Balance, for Stewart, meant balancing a family — his wife and 1-year-old daughter — with his love of music while attending Mercer University in Macon. “I had two sets of friends when I was in law school,” Stewart recalls. “I had my law-school friends, which were all the nerds, and I had my musician friends, who were a lot of the guys that I actually knew when I was playing on the road.” At the time, income from working 10 hours a week at minimum wage as a clerk for a law firm fell a little short. “I could play on weekends, and I was making 100 bucks a night, so I hooked up with some of my musician friends in Macon and we put together this great band that ended up getting a record deal just after I graduated from law school,” Stewart says. “I told them, ‘I passed the bar. I’ve got to go.’ So I went to practice law, and they went to be rock stars.” Music supplemented his career and his career supplemented his music. He said it’s always been that way. Stewart does not aspire to make music alone, despite the successful release of “Enjoy the Ride,” an album Stewart put together in his spare time through New York record producer Jason Miles. “I don’t ever plan on quitting my job and going on tour,” Stewart says. “If I were touring to support the record, I’d probably sell a lot more records. But I love my job. I love what I do. Some guys play golf and some guys fish. I play guitar. I can’t help it. It’s what I do.” 

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Leaving the limelight

After 30 years in public office,

John D. McIver prepares to hang his hat

{ By Danielle Hipps | Photographs by Andrea Crabb }

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“H

e is a man of integrity, and his ethic is beyond reproach, and so you know what you’re going to get when you work with him.” — Kenneth Howard, Hinesville assistant city manager

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iceboro native John Douglas McIver says he never aspired to become a politician. As the fourth of eight children born to Hagar and James McIver, the retired Interstate Paper employee had his sights set on a low-key life building a family and enjoying the area’s fishing spots.

But all that changed when the Liberty County High School graduate, now 70, was elected mayor of Riceboro on June 8, 1978. Now in the autumn of his political life, McIver is preparing to hand over the reins of his 10-year run as Liberty County Commission chairman and perhaps return to the low-key existence he promised his wife Gloria decades ago. “I was just a little brat around the community,” McIver recalls. “I was a different person; I was not a party person; I’m not a drinking person; I did not smoke; … that was just my family values that were instilled in us.” McIver put those family values to use in March 1967 when he married Gloria Grant, who hails from the Jones community in McIntosh County. Today, the pair has seven children and 16 grandchildren, most of whom live near Atlanta. In July, they minted the newest addition to their brood when they adopted 2-year-old Zion Timothy McIver. So what led the family man to run for mayor? “I didn’t,” he says. “There’s a little bit of history behind that one.” At the time, Riceboro officials acted as caretakers but had only been elected once, about 12 years before 1978. Several residents were dissatisfied with the city’s services — but when they sought the county’s help, officials told them it was a municipal problem. “We weren’t getting any results, no services so to speak, so that’s when I became concerned,” McIver says. The group presented its case before the grand jury, which recommended contacting the Department of Justice and

petitioning for a municipal election. McIver intended to serve as one of four council members, but he threw his name in the ring for mayor after no one else qualified for the seat. He was elected alongside Bobby Hughes, Jack Helmuth, John Williams and Alexander Gardner and was the third African-American elected to office within Georgia, he says. “It was kind of strange, but we worked through that and we were able to serve,” he adds. In one of his greatest accomplishments as mayor, McIver secured grant funding through the United States Department of Agriculture to provide and later expand public water service within the incorporated area, which helped land SNF Chemtall as an industrial presence. Hinesville Assistant City Manager Kenneth Howard, a Riceboro resident and founder of the Riceboro Community Churches organization, says providing water was a move that enhanced the area’s quality of life. “The water system and those wells, they were just not functional for a lot of the residents, which created a safety issue most of the time,” Howard says. The council also implemented garbage collection, improved the local volunteer fire department and annexed nearby areas. In between city council meetings, McIver and his wife raised their children and kept a steady stream of foster children. Gloria McIver estimates they’ve fostered 10 during a 30-year span. McIver planned to give up the gavel for more family time in 2000.

“I figured after 21 years, I gave as much as I could give to the city,” he says. The 36,000-square-foot $151,000 city hall on Highway 17 was McIver’s final project as Riceboro mayor. Gloria McIver enlisted Howard to help coordinate a celebration for the mayor’s retirement at New Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Riceboro. “He leads by example, and I think that’s one of the rare qualities that he has … he is a man of integrity, and his ethic is beyond reproach, and so you know what you’re going to get when you work with him,” Howard says. “I think that is a quality that he has that has set him aside from a lot of folks.” For that reason, former constituents came knocking about two years later and asked McIver to consider running for chairman of the Liberty County Board of Commissioners. “Initially, it wasn’t my aspiration to say, ‘I need that chairmanship,’ — No, they came to me. …,” McIver says. “It’s not like I needed name recognition or I needed status. That’s not John McIver; I don’t seek that kind of thing.” He was reluctant at first, especially because he had promised his wife and mother that he was done with politics. “She said, ‘Boy, just get out of that thing,’” he says of his late mother. “She used to ride me pretty hard. She’d say, ‘You can’t please everybody. You don’t need the headache. Just get out of it.’” After more goading and meetings with the supporters, McIver gave in. “When he decided to run for chairman, he talked to me about it and I said, ‘Yes, you have my blessing. Go for it.’ But now that his time is up, he has Hinesville & the Historic Coast 41

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Setting an example for family The chairman’s 19-year-old granddaughter Miche’ McIver cites her grandfather as an inspiration whose tenacity “has exceeded and set the standards for so many men” in an essay for school. “Unlike several others, he didn’t let obstacles prevent him from accomplishing what he sought after. With that ‘can-do’ mentality, he became the first African-American mayor of Riceboro. He was elected in the year of 1978; still a time of declining racism. Nevertheless, he still did it, holding office for 21 years. I guarantee that he had uncertainties campaigning and working alongside those who despised him, but he never showed it, staying true to the statement made by Henry Ford, ‘Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal,’” Miche’ McIver wrote.

my blessing to go ahead and get out,’” Gloria McIver says with a laugh. In the 2002 Democrat primary, McIver took on Hinesville businessman Reggie Sage, former commissioner Harry R. Rogers, and then-District 5 Commissioner Edna Walthour, according to Coastal Courier reports.

McIver and Rogers went into a runoff before McIver advanced to the final ticket, where he won over incumbent Jimmy Smith, who ran as a Republican. Meantime, he maintained fulltime employment at Interstate Paper Company, which he credits for supporting him once he took office. His fellow shift-workers swapped work assignments so McIver could attend meetings and uphold obligations that come with chairmanship. McIver served two years as chairman before running again in 2004 due to the commission moving to staggered four-year terms. Despite his mother’s initial suggestions to avoid “all that mess,” McIver was re-elected in 2004 and again in 2008. While in office, McIver set his sights on moving the county forward and expanding the scope of applications for tax revenue. That coincided with a General Assembly change in how special purpose local option sales tax, or SPLOST, funds can be used. The change made funds expendable for more than roads. “In that case, I said, ‘You’ve got citizens paying 1 cent; some of them are not going to get their road paved,’” he says, adding that he heard concerns about improvements to recreation or courthouse facilities. The $22 million Liberty County Justice Center completed in 2011 is among the projects that came to fruition from the SPLOST expansion. The Riceboro Community Youth Center is one of the larger projects to come to fruition under McIver’s leadership, Howard says. The center — the only one of its kind in the county — resulted from a collaborative effort. The center received a $500,000 community development block grant around 2005 or 2006 for the project, and SNF Chemtall provides support for the building’s operational costs while the Liberty County Recreation Department staffs the center and provides equipment, Howard says. The Riceboro Community Churches’ After-School Program serves about 20 students per day and another 40 or so attend for recreation activities. “It is really a stroke of genius in terms of … all of them coming togeth-

er to work toward a common goal to provide these services to the youth in the community,” Howard adds. But McIver’s influence has stretched westward, as well. In 2007 an intergovernmental agreement established the MidCoast Regional Airport, which aims to spur industrial development. The airport exists at Fort Stewart in partnership with the commission, Hinesville City Council and the Liberty County Development Authority, on which McIver also serves. The county also opened its first county-owned fire station in summer 2012 to serve residents around Gum Branch — a step toward consolidating the county’s volunteer fire services into a paid force, which would ensure better response times and could reduce rates for homeowners’ insurance. Some projects long in the works will continue after successor Donald L. Lovette takes office in January, such as a new Hinesville branch library and a $3.876 million Liberty County Community Complex near Midway. Slated for completion in spring 2013, the east-end complex will include a public swimming pool, an expanded library for east-end residents, offices for Keep Liberty Beautiful and classrooms preserved in tribute of the former Liberty Elementary-High School, McIver’s alma mater. And providing clean water continues to be a top priority. A countyowned rural water system for the Holmestown-Screven Fork areas is coming down the pipe with support from SPLOST funds, Office of Economic Adjustment remuneration and USDA support loans and grants. Project engineer Matthew Barrow says the rural water system has been in the works for at least eight years but accelerated in 2009. Residents have responded positively to the project and the USDA has lauded the county’s initiative to provide for low-income citizens, Barrow has reported to the commission. McIver’s time in office has drawn some opposition, such as in 2008 when the county put $1.5 million into land with frontage on the North Newport River for construction of a county marina. That project sat idle for a cou-

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ple years before receiving a $35,190 coastal incentive grant in the summer of 2012 through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Management Program for site planning. So how does the leader respond to criticism and navigate tough decisions? “You listen; you’ve got to be a good listener, and then look at the total picture of what’s best for the community, not what’s best for a few people, one individual or specialinterest groups,” he says. “When I reach that decision, I can stand behind it and vote for it, and I don’t have to worry whether I’ve made the right decision or not. My gut feeling tells me that I did what was right, and I can go to bed at night and sleep.” To stay in touch with constituents, McIver takes phone calls and follows the messages residents send through public forums. “I can tell you right now, if there was a hot potato that we were dealing with right now in this county, and the general consensus was not in agreement with it, that room would be packed,” he adds. “I’ve seen it since I’ve been on the board. What it tells me is we may not get too many responses if they trust in us.” And because McIver’s time in office began with his own concerns as a citizen, he says he encourages people to get involved and bring their thoughts before the board. “You don’t have to feel intimidated,” he says. “We’re just one of you.” 

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Skills Showcase By Joselynn McKenna

On the Hunt for History

Liberty Rivers bring treasures, thrill for Midway diver

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B B

ill Eberlein has every 7-year-old boy’s dream job, and it probably would make most adults envious, too. He doesn’t spend his days fighting fires or combating crime — he greets the day by diving Liberty County’s saltwater rivers in search of shark teeth. These teeth aren’t from any shark either, but an ancient dinosaur shark called the megalodon. “Scientists believe they went extinct 2 million years ago,” Eberlein explains. “It’s a shark the size of a whale, and since sharks are made of cartilage — not bone — the only thing that remains of them are the shark teeth.” Rarely do people find opportunities to pursue their hobbies as a full-time career. Bill Eberlein is one of the fortunate few. As owner of MegaTeeth Fossils, he spends his days in murky waters surrounded by shining sun and azure skies as he searches for pieces of history. “It’s like when you’re a kid on an Easter-egg hunt — you know there’s something out there to find, and you know you’re probably going to find something, but you don’t know what it is … you get all excited,” he says. “When I have a good day, all day I just keep thinking about going diving the next day.” Eberlein and boat captain Gene Ashley head out around 5:30 a.m. for an excursion, where Eberlein usually makes two dives. The Midway resident already was a skilled diver when he moved to the area in 1999 for a job with Gulfstream. He began diving in 1986 and logged more than 10 years as a member of a sheriff ’s office underwater search-and-rescue team, dove shipwrecks in Lake Eerie and was a scuba-diving instructor. When a Gulfstream coworker told him about diving for shark teeth, Eberlein was boggled. “I thought that was crazy. I couldn’t believe it. I thought, ‘You live here on

In search of megalodon teeth, diver Bill Eberlein cuts the fingers out of his gloves so he can better feel what lies beneath Liberty County’s saltwater rivers.

the ocean, and you go in the rivers for shark teeth?’” Eberlein recalls. “I was thinking of the little ones you find on the beach.” When the colleague brought in a 5.5-inch tooth, Eberlein decided to give it a try from a Hilton Head Island charter boat. Eberlein’s coworker told him most likely he wouldn’t find anything on his first megalodon-teeth hunt. With more than 15 years experience, Eberlein was an experienced diver but an inexperienced shark-tooth hunter. “I told him, ‘I just want to find

Bill Eberlein, left, and boat captain Gene Ashley explore Coastal Georgia waters daily in search of fossils. His finds range from 3 inches to 6.94 — 7-inch teeth are like the divers’ Holy Grail.

one,” he says. “I found like five or six teeth. I was hooked ever since.” Despite his early success, Eberlein, who has master’s degrees in accounting and information technology from Pennsylvania State University, still had no intention of making it a career. “It kind of morphed into it,” Eberlein says. “What happened was, I was finding more and more. At one point, I had hundreds of them. I just sold them to get rid of them and to help pay for the boat. Every year it just got bigger and bigger.” The diver has lost count of how many fossils he’s gathered, but says it goes into the thousands. He keeps some, sells some and gives others away for charity events. Typically, there are three types of buyers for the products: eager fossil Hinesville & the Historic Coast 45

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“

It’s like when you’re a kid on an Easter egg hunt — you know there’s something out there to find, and you know you’re probably going to find something, but you don’t know what it is.” — Bill Eberlein, shark teeth diver collectors with premium stashes of earth history; parents whose children are fascinated by sharks and dinosaurs; and the odd “Shark Week” fan who wants to show off to friends. “My busiest week is when Discovery Channel has shark week,” he says with a laugh. “I get all these emails and questions for shark week.” Eberlein and Ashley spend most of their days out on the water, Eberlein diving deep then crawling around on the floor, searching for megalodon teeth while Ashley watches and waits for Eberlein to resurface. “He’ll come up, change tanks and go right back in,” Ashley says. “He’ll go

any time, any weather. I think last year the water temperature got down to 39 degrees and he still came out to dive.” Eberlein’s finds range from 3 inches to 6.94 inches — just short of the shark diver’s Holy Grail. “What you really want to find is a 7-inch tooth, but 7-inch teeth are so rare. I’ve never found one that’s 7 inches,” he says. The day he found the 6.94-inch treasure, Eberlein had an inner dialogue about whether he thought it was a tooth. “I had maybe 2 inches of visibility and I just kept staring at it … I kept looking to see where it was broken, and

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I wanted to come right up and look at it on the boat, and then I thought, well, maybe there’s more down here,” he says. “I just put it in my bag and moved on, but the whole rest of the dive I wanted to go look at it back on the boat because I knew it was huge. “I have it in a safety deposit box because I’m afraid I’ll break it — it’s the find of the lifetime,” he adds. Only severe storms keep Eberlein out of the water, Ashley says. Together they’ve worked out a signal to alert Eberlein of lightning. “I just rev the engine three times,” Ashley says. “He comes right up.” Beneath the surface, Eberlein has very low visibility and little way of knowing what’s happening above water. “Under water, you can’t tell anything,” Eberlein says. “You surface sometimes and you’re in the middle of a storm.” Because Eberlein spends his time between 40 and 60 feet below the surface and with almost no visibility, he relies heavily on his ability to feel the

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shark teeth with his hands. “It’s so hard to see down there, so I go all by feel,” he says. “That’s why I cut the fingers out of my gloves.” Eberlein dives with normal diving gear like a wetsuit and fins, but he adds fingerless gloves and denim jeans. Because the floor of the riverbeds isn’t always forgiving, the jeans protect Eberlein from cuts. Megalodon teeth aren’t all Eberlein finds while he’s diving. He’s found mammoth and mastodon teeth and a giant crocodile jaw. Despite how novel these items may seem to the layman, he says none of his finds would be considered rare in the fossil world. The hobby comes with some unsettling moments, too. Eberlein also has had his fair share of encounters with flopping stingrays, mystery creatures and strong currents — conditions most diving instructors would advise against. For that reason, he cautions that the endeavor is not something to try at home. But Eberlein laughs when he recalls an encounter with a Savannah customer who told him he was “nuts” for having such a “dangerous job.” The punch line? The customer said he’s a tree trimmer who climbs high into the sky with a chainsaw in hand. “I feel safer under water than I did driving to Gulfstream every day on the highway … It’s all what you’re used to …,” Eberlein adds. “You have to love this. You have to do it because you love this.” 

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LIFE’S A PEACH by Debra Ayers Brown

Home Sweet Home

W W

Realizing Hinesville can be home

ith the city of Hinesville’s recent 175th birthday celebration, I’ve been thinking back to my early days in the heart of Liberty County. What I first encountered was a small town with few conveniences compared to today. But a beautiful realization — and one of my favorite memories — revolves around midnight buffets, muumuus and my good friend Linda DeLoach. After marrying Allen Brown in 1982, I moved to Hinesville from Charleston, S.C., a city I adored. It was not as easy as I expected to shift from the freedom of being single to married-life responsibilities — and I learned it was harder yet to transition from city amenities to a slower small-town pace. I missed my hectic corporate marketing position and my favorite shops, museums and restaurants. I longed for my house in Charleston — the one I’d worked long hours to afford to purchase; and the one Daddy and I had renovated together. Through my first couple of years here, I pined for the bigger city lifestyle. Both had friendly people, but the other differences seemed monumental. In the early ’80s, Hinesville had little resemblance to today. We stored my Columnist Debra Ayers Brown and husband Allen Brown pose on their 1982 wedding day in Charleston. The marriage lured her away from a city she adored, but Brown soon made Hinesville her home. 48 LIBERTY LIFE MAGAZINE

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furniture and lived in Allen’s Woodwind South condo. I enjoyed the pool and making new friends to while the summer away until I started my new job as chamber of commerce director in a couple of months. It was the first time I’d had that kind of downtime, and I didn’t know what to do with myself. So I traveled to and from Savannah most days to work out at a spa I’d found until Allen said, “You don’t need to go to Savannah every day.” “Why not?” I asked. “There’s nothing to do here while you work.” I didn’t understand. Savannah seemed no farther than going across Charleston to the beach or to a trendy restaurant. In fact, Hinesville had McDonald’s, Dairy Queen and a few other fast-food options. Otherwise, you had Buck’s or places on the coast. I found Roger’s on Main Street for ladies apparel, but where was the variety of Charleston’s King Street stores? One day I went back to Charleston to get my hair cut on Society Street. While there, I looked up to see a floral delivery guy walking to my chair after a brief stop at the front desk. “Debbie Brown?” he asked. Surprised, I looked from him to the dozen red roses, and then to my hair stylist. “What does the card say? Who sent them?” he asked. I opened the card and read, “I love you. Hurry home.” I had moved to Hinesville to start a new life. It was time to get with it. But during down times, it was easy to glamorize the city I had left — to forget the traffic snarls, tourist-packed restaurants and crime. Though I had settled into a routine, I still found it difficult on occasion to fully embrace the life that came with my wedding vows. So I didn’t hesitate when I won a free three-night Bahamas cruise through my job. I asked Linda to join me for a change of tempo — the trip promised excitement, breathtaking scenery, Broadway-style entertainment and world-class shopping. “Let’s go,” she exclaimed. The cruise ship rocked and rolled a bit in the rough waters. Chilly air nipped at our bare legs when we were

hough I had settled into a routine, I still found it difficult on occasion to fully embrace the life that came with my wedding vows.

sightseeing. A musty smell permeated the ship. Even so, we stayed busy and didn’t miss a minute of the onboard activities and shore excursions. After a few days, Linda and I wobbled off the ship. Wearing our nausea patches throughout the cruise and eating too many desserts left us tired and woozy. When our return flight from Miami was canceled, we were bewildered. “No worries,” the reservationist said. “We’ve put you on another one.” Linda and I breathed a sigh of relief — until we saw the tiny plane that would carry us to Jacksonville. It was a six-seater at most, and not much bigger than a Miami mosquito. “Oh no! I’m not flying in a puddlejumper,” Linda cried. A uniformed agent greeted us with a gap-toothed grin. “We’ll need your weight before you board.” Linda turned to me. “Don’t lie,” she demanded. She weighed less than she did in high school. “I’ll kill you if you lie.” I groaned, realizing she probably lost weight on the cruise since she swore her taste buds were dead from wearing the nausea patch. She looked from me to a hefty lady in a floral muumuu behind us. “We’re going to die,” she said, “because she will lie.” The airline employee smiled. “No worries. We’ll weigh everyone.” He gestured toward a “Biggest Loser” type scale. “Will my driver’s license weight suffice?” I asked as visions of sinful desserts kicked my lazy behind. Had I climbed enough stairs on the ship? Why hadn’t my taste buds died? I weighed my options. I could stowaway in Linda’s checked bag. I could hide in the lady’s floral muumuu. I could do what I figured might fly:

I dropped my purse and carry-on. I kicked off my shoes. I shed my jacket, my belt, my bracelet, my earrings. “Stop,” the employee instructed. “Grab your belongings and step on the scale.” I wasn’t happy with my inflated number and mentally tried to calculate the weight of my purse and my carry-on and the weight of my diamond studs. OK, so what if I’d gained a pound or two during the cruise? With everyone weighed, the airline guy said, “We can just make it.” Linda and I crawled aboard and into the cramped quarters, squeezing into our assigned seats based on weight distribution. Linda grabbed my arm in a deathgrip and squeezed her eyes shut as the attendant said, “Buckle your seatbelt tightly.” The plane roared, and the noise continued throughout the flight. My ears popped. I breathed in and out, trying to relax. For the next hour, memories tumbled through my mind. I thought of my husband, my friends and my home. I’d been embraced by the Brown family, found a passion for my chamber projects and made lasting friendships. Allen and I had made a home for ourselves at Cherokee Rose Country Club, and we discussed starting a family. Hinesville offered the kind of support you found in a community. To my surprise, my comfortable place was Hinesville, a coastal Georgia town rich in history with a welcoming Southern hospitality. Perhaps not so different from Charleston after all. Upon landing, the rotund lady across the aisle belted out, “Ha-lle-lu-jah!” Linda and I lost it. Our giggles turned into rip-roaring belly laughs. Blame it on midnight buffets, nausea patches and puddle jumpers. “No worries,” I whispered. “Soon, we’ll be home sweet home.”  Hinesville & the Historic Coast 49

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Proust Questionnaire compiled by Patty Leon

Coach Faye Baker

radwell Institute girls’ basketball coach Faye Baker enters her 17th coaching year at her alma mater this fall. The Hinesville native is a 1981 Tiger grad who played on the team four years under coach Janet Reddick. She played two years of softball and two years of basketball at Georgia Southern University while earning her degree in education and returned to teach in Liberty County. She began her coaching career at Bradwell as an assistant to former head coach Johnny Tiles, and she moved into the top spot in 1995. Under Baker’s leadership, the Lady Tigers have made it to four state sweet 16s, four state quarter-finals and a state semi-final. In 2009, 2010 and 2011 Baker earned back-to-back region titles and was named Coach of the Year by her peers all three years. She has been honored by the WNBA

with a Woman of Inspiration Award for overcoming adversity — she continues to inspire even after sustaining neck and spinal-cord injuries in a 2000 accident. The accident occurred on I-95 just outside of South Carolina when a tire blew out on the 15-passenger van Baker was riding in. The vehicle flipped three times. Baker was paralyzed from the waist down and was told she would never walk again. Baker placed her coaching career on hold for one year but returned with a newfound determination to her team and her inner goals. “I will walk again,” she once said. “I keep my faith in God and He has the last word on what is going to happen to me, not the doctors. I put my faith in knowing it will happen but on His time. When He is ready for me to walk, I’ll walk. My goal is to get out of this wheelchair completely.”

What, to you, is perfect happiness? Self fulfillment; good family and friends; close relationship with God What one material possession would you save in the event of a fire (assuming your family was safe)? My last will and testament What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? When life brings adversity, remember that things can always be worse than they actually are. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? My physical limitations What is your greatest fear? Heights What real or fictional person do you most identify with? Richard Collier — It’s because of the similarity of our situations and because I know him well. He has a great attitude. He took his adversity with a grain of salt and he is not focusing on what has been taken away from him. And I can identify with that because that is pretty much my attitude too. {Editor’s note: Collier, who is married to Baker’s niece, was at the peak of his NFL career with the Jacksonville Jaguars when on Sept. 2, 2008, he was shot and wounded in Jacksonville’s Riverside neighborhood. Collier was in the passenger seat of a car driven by his former Jacksonville teammate Kenny Pettway at the time of the attack. It later was revealed that he had suffered 14 gunshot wounds and was left paralyzed from the waist down. A blood clot later necessitated the amputation of his left leg above the knee.} What is your greatest extravagance? Purchasing my home If money weren’t an object, how would you spend your time? Shopping, traveling and helping less-fortunate people What is your favorite thing about yourself? I genuinely love and care about people What trait do you most admire in another person? Perseverance and faith What trait do you most deplore in another person? Conceit and disrespect Who are your favorite musicians? Raphael Saadiq; Maxwell; Deitrick Haddon What are your favorite books? The Bible; fictional dramas What talent would you most like to have? To be able to play multiple musical instruments

50 LIBERTY LIFE MAGAZINE

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services home auto health & beauty shopping & clothing food LIBERcommunity TY drink entertainment services home auto health & beauty shopping & clothing food 2012 drink entertainment community THE BEST OF LIBERTY services home autoCOUNTY health & beauty shopping & clothing food drink entertainment community services home auto health & beauty shopping & clothing food drink entertainment community services home auto health & beauty shopping & clothing food drink entertainment community

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Attorney

Jeffery N. Osteen, Jones, Osteen & Jones

Jeffery N. Osteen may have law in his pedigree, but he’s known for his down-to-earth demeanor and empathy. He specializes in criminal injury law, criminal law, probate and general civil practice, and he’s known for giving back to the community.

Financial Institution Teller Jessica Wilkins, The Heritage Bank

Forget about automated tellers — Jessica Wilkins is known for her service with a smile, and she tries to make banking a breeze. That’s why readers voted her their top teller.

Financial Institution The Heritage Bank

Hometown institution The Heritage Bank had a modest Court Street beginning in 1911 and now offers a wide variety of banking services and products at more than 30 bank locations in Georgia. We love that it still offers smalltown familiarity with the convenience of larger institutions.

Financial Planning Consultant Derek Sills, The Heritage Group

Award-winning financial-planning consultant Derek Sills brings expertise and guidance to clients when helping them develop plans and portfolios for short- and long-term investments.

Hotel/Motel

La Quinta Inn & Suites

For those passing through, La Quinta Inn & Suites in Flemington provides beautiful rooms with many free amenities. But locals love it because it also doubles as a chic venue for civic events and cocktail gatherings in a stylish, cozy atmosphere.

Insurance Agency State Farm

They’re not called “good neighbors” for nothin’ — State Farm provides auto, renters, home, life and health insurance without headaches or hassles. The agency is known for providing support and tools to help its clients navigate bumps in the road.

Insurance Agent

Melissa Carter Ray, State Farm

Local State Farm agent Melissa Carter Ray may work for a national firm, but residents love that Ray is a second-generation agent and Liberty County native, which gives her dual expertise in the insurance world and issues likely to affect area clients.

Law Firm

Jones, Osteen & Jones

The law firm Jones, Osteen & Jones has served Hinesville since 1959, and its eight attorneys practice a breadth of civil and criminal matters. In addition to working with individual clients, the firm also counsels local governments, from Liberty County to municipal governments. Readers

selected the firm’s Jeffery N. Osteen as their Liberty Loves pick for best attorney, and partner Billy Jones also was named Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year in 2012 for personal injury litigation in the Savannah area.

Loan Company

Springleaf Financial

The housing market has seen some turbulence in recent years, but mortgage lender Springleaf Financial and its Hinesville branch help to keep the American Dream a reality in Coastal Georgia.

Administrator/Customer Service Terri Willett, Flemington city clerk

Childcare/Daycare Center Little Treasures Learning Center

Florist

Stacy’s Florist

Personal Photographer Alimond Photography

Pet Services The Paw Spa

Public Accounting Firm

Pedrick & Company Certified Public Accountants & Advisors

Wireless Phone Company Verizon

Thank You, neighbor, for voTing us

besT Happy Hour Late Night Restaurant Steak Place

1492 West Oglethorpe Highway, Hinesville, GA

912-369-4909

applebees.com

OFFICIAL home energy PArTner OF buILdIng A brIghT FuTure FOr geOrgIA. Air Conditioning/Heating

Ashley Sittle also was one of this year’s Top 10 Under 40 honorees, and he brings expertise and an eye for detail.

Real Estate Agent

Overall Utility Service

Commercial real estate broker Jimmy Shanken isn’t just dedicated to helping locals with their properties; he’s also helped land commercial sales from outside restaurants and businesses, which helps to strengthen the local economy.

Georgia Power

Aire Serv Heating & Air Conditioning

Centrally located commercial heating and air conditioning provider Aire Serv is dedicated to meeting Hinesville area needs. The company, which is owned by a military retiree, also makes security and peace of mind a top priority, which is crucial when we welcome service companies into our homes and offices.

Lawn Service C.A. Sittle Inc.

Whether you’re looking to manicure your lawn, overhaul your landscaping or spruce up your exterior, C.A. Sittle can deliver. Company founder

Many Georgians couldn’t have light and air conditioning without Georgia Power, but readers are grateful for the utility providers’ extensive network, swift responses and ability to keep rates below the national average.

Real Estate Agency

Coldwell Banker Holtzman, Realtors

Local real estate aficionados George W. Holtzman and his wife, Babs Holtzman, are at the helm of several real estate services in the area. Whether you’re looking to rent or buy commercial or residential properties, their extensive network is likely to fit your needs.

transportation Auto Repair

Southeast Auto Service & Repair

Family owned and operated since 2005, Southeast Auto Service & Repair has quickly grown into your trusted company for auto services. The business isn’t just a garage — they

also ease the experience with shuttle service, prepaid maintenance plans and educational materials that help keep your vehicle well-oiled and tightly tuned.

Auto Salesperson

Jesse Shelton, Hinesville Ford

We’re plugged into Georgia

Jimmy Shanken, Coldwell Banker Holtzman, Realtors

Furniture Store Gibson’s Home Store

Home Improvement Store Lowe’s Home Improvement

Nursery Garden Store Lowe’s Home Improvement

Pest Control Company

Yates-Astro Termite & Pest Control

Body Shop

NaCon Auto Collision Center

Oil Change Shop Jiffy Lube

Tire Store Goodyear

Georgia is our home too. That’s why we’ve partnered with state agencies and local leaders across the state to stimulate growth and invest in the future of our communities. And why, for more than 80 years, we’ve helped bring jobs and eorgia Power is committed to helping our great state thrive, especially in the area of education. That’s why we partner investment to the state – almost 110,000 new jobs and more than $18 billion in ith organizations throughout the state that help our young people succeed in school and strengthen our communities. capital investment over the past decade alone. hildren are our most valuable asset and a strong education is vital. Working together we can continue to build a state e are all proud to call home.

econdevga@southernco.com EcondEvga@southErnco.com

selectgeorgia.net

www.sElEctgEorgia.nEt gEorgiapowEr.com

Thank you, Liberty County! Best Financial Planning Consultant

Thank You Liberty County for Voting Us the

Derek Sills

912.408.6521 300 South Main Street, Hinesville

Best Lawn Care Service Lawn and Flower Bed Clean Ups New Mulch and Pine Straw Fertilizing and Weeds Pressure Washing Landscaping and Irrigation

Call Today for A Free Estimate

912.269.0684

Thank you, Liberty, for voting me the Best OB/GYN Again! Seth A. Borquaye, M.D., F.A.C.O.G. Obstetrics • Gynecology • Infertility 3D Ultrasounds • Authorized Tricare Provider Phone Number: (912) 877-2228 Fax Number: (912) 877-2463

455 South Main Street, Suite 202 Hinesville, Georgia 31313

cobgyn.net

WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK Advanced Chiropractic Center 514 Elma G Miles Pkwy, Hinesville

(912) 876-2011

best Breakfast &

Home Cooked Meal

Liberty Loves Winner for 7 years in a row!

Poole’s Deli 912-876-3549

406 South M ain Street • hineSville

Dine In Take Out Catering

Voted Best Chiropractor dANIEL COOKE

Mon - Fri: 6am-2pm

THANK YOU, LIBERTY COUNTY FOR VOTING US THE BEST HOTEL!

1740 E. OGLETHORPE HWY, HINESVILLE, GA 31313 912.369.3000

thank You

Liberty County for voting us the Best Law Firm in the county and voting Jeff Osteen Best Lawyer! Proudly serving the residents of Liberty County since 1959. We’re not just lawyers. We’re your Lawyers.

Jones osteen & Jones G. Brinson Williams Linnie L. Darden, III* L. Kelly Davis Jeffery N. Osteen, PC Richard E. Braun, Jr., PC Carl R. Varnedoe

J. Noel Osteen Billy N. Jones Charles M. Jones (1930 – 2007)

Concentrating in personal injury cases including:  18 Wheeler Wrecks  Car Accidents  Premises Liability

 Product Liability  Wrongful Death *Member GA & CA Bar

Personal. Professional. Proven.

206 E. Court St. • P.O. Box 800 • Hinesville, GA 31310 912-876-0111 • 912-368-2979 FAX

608 E. Oglethorpe Hwy. • Hinesville, Georgia 31313 912-876-0888 • 912-368-5536 FAX

WWW.JOJLAW.COM Like Us on Facebook

health & beauty Chiropractor Dr. Daniel Cooke

Whether you’re seeking a back alignment or treatment for another area, Dr. Daniel Cooke offers expert service that helps us realize how interrelated our body systems are.

OB-GYN

Dr. Seth Borquaye

Comprehensive OB-GYN Health Center partner Dr. Seth Borquaye strives to help his patients meet both their physical and spiritual needs with his attentive care. His Ghana roots have given him a world perspective that enhances his interactions with people from all walks of life, and he’s also heavily involved in global outreach missions.

f Podiatrist

Dr. Brett Bodamer

ailments that hit the ankles and below. He specializes in sports medicine, diabetic foot care and surgical management of foot and ankle conditions.

Pharmacy

Hinesville Pharmacy

Liberty loves the feel of Hinesville Pharmacy, where the pharmacist and technicians take care to ensure that patients have a full understanding of their prescription medications. That’s why this group has succeeded as Hinesville’s only independent pharmacy for the past 30 years.

Dentist

Dr. William E. Wege

Family Physician

Pediatrician Dr. Eric L. Hall

Veterinarian Dr. David Beatie

Barber Shop

Off Post Barber Shop

Beauty Salon Cut Loose

Nail Salon Lovely Nails

Tanning Salon Golden Tans

Dr. Firas Bannout

Since 1992, Parkwood Podiatry’s Dr. Brett Bodamer has brought compassionate care to Hinesville patients as they identify and remedy

Optometrist

Dr. Mark Manocha

food ,drink , entertainment Home Cooked Meal Place & Breakfast Place Poole’s Deli

A 20-year Hinesville favorite, Poole’s Deli serves authentic Southern cooking in a cafeteria-style setting. We’re partial to their fried chicken, but voters also deemed it top breakfast place — that’s likely because its popular “Breakfast in a Cup” is so indulgent we have to plan it before and after a hard workout.

Steak Place, Late-Night Restaurant & Happy Hour Applebee’s

For a perfectly seared steak, two-for-one beverages or a late-night bite with a friend, Applebee’s has been chosen again as a triple-crown winner. It’s no wonder, since this restaurant has a wide menu, fun staff and an atmosphere that allows folks to catch up with each other or stay tuned to sports games.

All-Around Restaurant Ruby Tuesday

Barbecue Restaurant Shane’s Rib Shack

Best Coffee Fix

Uncommon Grounds

Burger Wendy’s

Kid-Friendly Restaurant & Fast Food McDonald’s

Fried Chicken

Mexican Food Restaurant Rodeo Mexican

Pizza Place

Papa John’s Pizza

Sandwich/Sub Place

Baldino’s Giant Jersey Subs

Sweet Tooth Satisfaction

Jeff’s Candy Kitchen

Seafood

Sunbury Crab Company

KFC

Sushi Restaurant

Health/Organic/ Vegetarian

Wings

Farmer’s Natural Foods

Sushi House

Gata’s Sports Bar & Grille

Supermarket Kroger

Thanks Liberty! The Heritage Bank voted: “Favorite Financial Institution’’ “Best Place to Work” “Favorite Financial Institution Teller Jessica Wilkins” www.the-heritage-bank.com | 1.800.624.6452 | Member FDIC

Best Outdoor/Tactical Supply

15 Years of Proudly Serving the Soldiers at Fort Stewart

Thank YOu! new uniforms available 771 Frank Cochran Dr., hinesville 912.877.2901 www.rangerjoes.com

Thank You, Liberty County!

BEST PAWN SHOP

S * QUALITY ELEC TRONIC * * FURNITURE * * JEWELRY * * GUNS *

912-876-6580

501 W Gen Screven Way # H, Hinesville, GA

Thank You Liberty County For Voting! Best Agent • Best Insurance Agency Melissa Carter Ray, Agent Life long resident of Liberty County • 2nd Generation State Farm Agent Chamber of Commerce • Downtown Development Authority Select Agent • Ambassador Travel Life Qualifier Legion of Honor Melissa Carter ray & teaM melissa@hinesvilleinsurance.com

OFFICE: 912.368.6729 119 Ryon Avenue, Hinesville (across the street from the Liberty FAX: 912.369.6129 County Chamber of Commerce)

THANK YOU For voting us

BEST JEWELERY STORE

Than k you Libert y County!

Thank you for voting Hinesville PHarmacy

Liberty County’s Favorite Pharmacy & Gift Shop! Hinesville PHarmacy is the only independent pharmacy in Hinesville, Georgia with over 30 years of service to the community. We provide accurate, fast and friendly hometown service, know our customers by name and welcome all new patients with a smile.

Dream!

481 e.G. miles Pky, Hinesville, Ga 31313 Phone: (912) 876.8125 HinesvillePharmacy.com

Thank You, Liberty! for voting me

the best realtor in the county!

BUY THE HOUSE... LIVE THE DREAM! Call Hinesville’s Award Winning Agent

Jimmy Shanken, REALTOR®, Associate Broker, CIPS, RSPS 912.977.4733 (c) 912.368.4300 (o)

www.FortStewartHomeFinder.com

HOLTZMAN, REALTORS ®

shopping & clothing Tactical Outdoor Supply Store Ranger Joe’s

Founded in 1963, Ranger Joe’s is our top tactical outdoor supply contender for its wide range of products geared toward soldiers, law-enforcement officials and outdoors connoisseurs. From boots to weapons to uniform updates, they’ve got you covered.

Gift Store

its kind, Gold & Silver Pawn, has been known for its friendly service and wide array of goods from jewelry to electronics at reasonable prices.

Clothing Alterations Victory Sewing

Dry Cleaning Lamas Cleaners

Discount Store

Hinesville Pharmacy

Whether we’re looking for birthday gifts, Christmas treasures or a hostess thank-you, we love to pop into Hinesville Pharmacy to see what’s new. You’re guaranteed to find something there for football fans, newlyweds and cooing newborns alike.

Big Lots

Congratulations

Jewelry Store

Thomas Hill Jewelers

Customer service shines bright at Thomas Hill Jewelers, but the store’s range of jewels for special occasions and life events is the star of the show. The business has served Hinesville since 2001 and holds steadfast to its mission of providing quality jewelry and a unique experience.

Patty Leon

Pawn Shop

Gold & Silver Pawn

For more than 25 years, Hinesville’s oldest store of

for being voted the

BEST REPORTER!

Best Loan Company Marlena Moore

Thank you Liberty County for voting us as the Best Loan Company for 2012. We are proud to offer our financial services to the Liberty County community and enjoy serving you.

Jessy Allen

Davia Mobley

Sunday, May 6, 2012 www.CoastalCourie r.Com

Game day

Today MLB:

• Braves at Rockies, 3 p.m. (FSN) • Dodgers at Cubs, 2:15 p.m. (WGN) • Yankees at Royals, 2 p.m. (TBS)

firsT presbyTerian ChrisTian aCadeMy

Page 1b

’Landers one win away from title Play May 12 for crow n

By Patty Leon

pleon@coastalcourier.

com

NASCAR:

Hosting last year’s state runners-up, the First Presbyterian Christian Academy girls’ soccer team figured it had a tough task at hand. But playing on their home field at St. James Friday afternoon, the NBA playoffs: girls looked poised. The Highlanders overpow • Hawks at Celtics, ered the Heritage School Hawks, 6-1, to clinch game four, 7 p.m. FPCA’s first state titlegame appearance for (TNT) the fourth-ye 1b ar program page . • Bulls at 76ers, “There are just no words to describe this feelm1 ing,” Highlander coach www.coasTalcourier.co p.m. (ABC) Tom Sukaratana said. “This team is so young, • Heat at Knicks, but they showed character today.” 3:30 p.m. (ABC) • Lakers at Nuggets The ’Landers will play for their first state , title next Saturday on St. 9:30 p.m. (TNT) Simons Island at Frederica Sunday, auguS t 19, Academy NHL , 2012 • Sprint Cup Talladega, noon (FOX)

Sunday, September

9, 2012

fall on road BI, Liberty and Long 2 week in tough ng Area teams find sleddi Game day Tigers look good M todayW early at WCHS BI starters hold lead in preseason scrimmage p r playoffs:

www.coastalcourie On Friday, the Highland • Blues at Kings, the road r.com onstruck early in The Tigers are ers game four, 3 p.m. lightning when they travel gain the lead, 7-6, before Brooke standard punched (NBC) Page 1B to clear again next week FPCA the ball in for the and rain caused everyone Patty Leon first goal with this to Charlton County. continues on 2B home against the Heritage kick in Friday’s semifina school. the field and the stadium. l game at Tithe In the third quarter, ike RiddLe Tide at Benedictine Blue eighTl By Patty Leon and M • Braves at Mets, onday ifTing in their own terrifor deep much were too gers were The Cadets 1 p.m. (FSN) sports@coastalcourier.com Jackets pushed MLB tory when the BlueLittLe on Friday as the SaTide L Blue eague the • Yankees at Orioles, to a safety and earned Tide, lightning. f “We controlled layof 39-0, to improve oundup them back at Cubs, WorLd SerieS: vannah teamBywon, row the• Braves the ball well. 1:30 p.m. (TBS) The Long County Blue Patty Leon We Friday’s It was the third year in a game was a scrimma controlled the game 8-6. 8 p.m. and Libergo up, (SPSO) 2-0. “And almost all of them • U.S. Bracket ge, he • Cubs at Pirates, tempo, and used Bradwell Institute Tigers stung the Tigers. play,its record topleon@coastalcourier. the Blue com e played,” when we the opportunity to see fourth 2quarter, to travel Blue Jackets threw in the first half, he said. Phillies, p.m. (ABC); in the• MetsInat the 1:30 p.m. (WGN) everyThe game was competitiv ty County Panthers all had we one play. Savannah High scored win scoring a did really well,” he said. sealed the 7 p.m. (ESPN) week. All Internati first quarter, with In the first half, Walsh onal NFL: Pool throughout the Tigers “We scored for Friday night lights this but missed the ex- Jackets football coach conversaid he a 2-point “We were able to answer of Jim Walsh primaril with a second quarter NHLtouchdow 6-0, at the end 7 p.m. (ESPN2)the Tide trailing, playoffsn and play, y went with his starters on our first drive and were up, 7-0, said Friday’s • Falcons at Chiefs, some three teams ended the night 35-7 loss to Wayne left. questions at certain tra point. minutes four until with the • sion MLB: Capitals and (FOX) last few minutes of positions and veterans. 1 p.m. a 2-yard at Rangers, 0-2, while the County in Jesup doesn’t loss. the were left with Bradwell answered with to fell second quarter, when Tigers game 5,The more questions at • Dodgers oad continues on 3Btell a true R During Day 7:30 • Jaguars at Vikings, story at p.m. the Braves, DeAndre we second of by the started scrimmage. half, he ro- to rotate others,” he said. touchdown run 1-1. p.m. (NBCSP) Blue Jackets are1:30 tated in backups. our other players in 1 p.m. (CBS) (TBS or He said the scrimma Tigers at Blue Jackets Miller extra point to and Darren Beverly scored ge was his FSN) things broke down a Bradwell and a Robert • Panthers at Tiger quarterback LaBaron the Tilast chance at evaluatin bit.” Savannah High beat the y Patty Leon gers’ first-quarter touchdo Ang his • Red Sox at Walsh said B Buccaneers, he was concerne wn, and chart at certain position depth thony got all his reps in the d Tuesday pleon@coastalcourier. first Yankees, 8 p.m. s, 4:30 p.m. (FOX) com Sterling Burns looked great at cendressed nearly 100 players. so he half, and Walsh said the veterans about potential injuries and havter, Walsh noted. (ESPN) ing sufficient depth • Steelers at Broncos, did what they had to MLB: to cover posido. First NFL Presbyte tions 8:15 p.m. (NBC) e xhiBitio througho rian • Braves at Cubs, N ut the season. Since Christian Academy’s baseball Scrimmage continues gaMe: TeNNis: team forced 8 p.m. (SPSO) on 2B a tiebreaker game in the • Colts at Steelers, • U.S. Open, men’s state playoffs NBA playoffs: after going 1-1 Friday finals, 4 p.m. (CBS) in the best• A first round game,8 p.m. (NBC) of-three series at Citizen’s WNBA: Teams TBD, 7 p.m. Pga: Christian Academy in Douglas. • Wyndham • Washington at However, the (TNT) Highland ers lost game three Atlanta, 3 p.m. • A first round game,Championship, Saturday afternoon. 3 p.m. (CBS) (SPSO) Teams TBD, The Patriots triumphe • U.S. Amateur, ike RiddLe d in game 9:30 p.m. (TNT) By Patty Leon and M one taking a 6-2 victory. 4 p.m. (NBC) • College baseball: By Patty Leon sports@coastalcourier.com The Highlanders made teNNiS: Monday Stephen F. Austin at the secpleon@coastalcourier. ond game a dogfight. com • Western and Southon shining The finally game Rice, sun the was 7 p.m. (CSS) ern Open, With MLB: knotted at 6-6 in the 12:30 p.m. teams got bottom of the Glynn Academy relied the local softball fields, • Braves at Brewers, sixth inning, and the (CBS) on regular Highlanders team Hinesville weightli enced offensive backfield its experi8 p.m. (SPSO) chances to get back to their dug deep to pull out Wednesday fting takes some time to down the an 8-7 win in Photo provided away from lifting the Chris wood, far right.Liberty County schedules. NFL: game two. Monda big iron to joke around team HinesvillePanthers , 40-6, Friday y memoria County earned five with coach CoLLege BaseBaLL: Davis at Donell Woods This past week, Long • Bengals at Ravens, l held at In Saturday’s win-or-g Stadium. gold medals, three silvers and a bronze the anderson/Cohen victoat the matt • Georgia at GeorgiaLittLe League weightlifting Center o-home Luckily for the Panthers 7 p.m. (ESPN) and Liberty County earned game, in savannah the Highland new april , it was a to a 28. ers lost, 4-3. Tech, 7 p.m. (CSS) WorLd SerieS: scrimmage. But it ries, while Bradwell fell FPCA ended the season gave the coaching 11-8 over• Tennessee at • International staff a look at what region opponent. all. needs to be fixed to 2-2 Memphis, 7:30 p.m.elimination game, before the Panthers take Bradwell’s Lady Tigers fell tueSday Bradwell Institute’s the field in two after losing 6 p.m. (ESPN2); U.S. baseball team (SPSO) in Region 3B-AAAAA traveled to Powder weeks for the reguMLB: Effingham Springs to take • Furman at South elimination game, to new region opponent on Hillgrove High School lar-season opener We 8 p.m. (ESPN2) • Braves at Brewers, County, 10-1 in the first Carolina, 7 p.m. round of the state at Olvey Field 8 p.m. (SPSO) MLB: By Patty Leon playoffs Friday were notlifting the in five innings, heavy iron, and Coach (FSN) If you night. The Tiger boys tial meets but has polished against Bradwell WNBA: • Braves at on Thursday lost the team has. experipleon@coa Nationa MLB: his stalcourier. quite as Wood saidThe l, com two games in the best-of-t the first hit a technique under the • Seattle at Atlanta, enced new growth.Panthers in Hinesville. guidance of hree series • Braves at Cubs, 7 p.m. (SPSO) to end the Hinesville coach Wood. gave sharp their 7 p.m. (FSN) • Giants at Dodgers “Right Bradwell team’s season. piece of now, I’mquarter2 p.m. (SPSO) Team Hinesvill writing work, e Weightlif The Hillgrove Hawks back sufficien “His technique looks 10 p.m. (ESPN2) rowas held to shut out the great,” ing captured five gold as wet- outs for at least 12-15t guys,” NBA Playoffs: junk, it’s he Wood said. “I have Tigers, 10-0 and 9-0, medals, said. tations and snaps. NFL e xhiBitio to advance to people one hit. A few three silvers N com• A first round game, wanted and a bronze the quarterfinals. ing up to me and asking going to Jordan at the gaMe: Waters Wood Tigers reached said me Matt S if April he Davis Teams 28’s Sport Memoria TBD, meet Local 7 p.m. • Eagles l held BI finished the season is the same guy that was played at quartertoatbe, the but was a local be a piece on errors and a 16-12 overcompetat qualifier Anderson Patriots,/Cohen Weightlif (TNT) upcoming six months all and 13-5 in Region back for the for 8 ago. His numbers first 3-AAAAA. we ting fielder’s choice, have ing national, Center April 28 in Savannah AAU and • A first round game, p.m. (ESPN) of junk. school- are higher, tueSday Jenkins High also was quarter, freshman . Tuesday and he looks like he age events. but they didn’t eliminated, The school-age has It was the third meet time to fix Teams TBD, losing 6-1 and 5-0 to for Team events Ty HigH-scHooL been lifting for years. Leon LittLe League most Harrison High areColes Bradwell softball put a run on open took People Hinesville under to Patty weightlif 9:30 p.m. (TNT) School. Camden County newsome coach 15 and of soFTBALL: the second- ters have taken notice.” coach sharyl WorLd SChris younger, the scoreboard advanced in erieS:Wood, who which is a growthe playoffs by topping only had two ing eastlake on Fox was one of Team quarter • Bradwell hosts snaps effingham the bot• U.S. eliminat populatio and things. McEache against until Hinescompetit n among Wood’s rn, ionors at Tigers’ game ThursdayJJ home the 2011 6-5 and 6-3. The scores batting discipline ville’s gold medalists GeorgiaGlynn Academy, the lady lifters. Grant took reps at third8during for Benedic. The honor tom of the fifth p.m. Alabama LWC Weightlif tagged outgame, sHargrove porTsis brief tine at North Cobb 4:30 p.m. student said his personal coach ting lady Tiger Kelissa the third quarter. (ESPN2) innings. Kirk warner s10-1, The inlongest-t in five Champio were not availinning. bests are enured lifter on 103 nships held Dec. 17 visiting lady rebels won, MLB: able at press time. • Liberty County kilos in the snatch and in Team Coles with went Eastlake county. The five innings Savannah. 115 e is back throwing Hinesvill Ludowici kilos for Lady Tiger coach Sharyl plays hosts South EffIn other Tigers news, have a strong team, win, the clean and jerk. He inonly the • “I residentout Braves thinkatweSince fourth, Lady Rebels James and the Lady Benefi Fox.allowing is of junk, strikeouts as Fox joined looking t run then, word has four ingham, 5 p.m. said she had not seen the is both teams hit a piece set Tigers soccer team gave their junior-va gotten to qualify for the junior e, our freshman, Nationa Team they were strikes. If you ls,out was eliminated MacKenzi rsitya Hinesville about 7 p.m. and that Team said. junk.” players hit. of one • FPCA hosts Trinity, in action before, but knew piece playing year “I a The Hinesvill be from to 200 national time. the Club going e (SPSO) state playoffs after losing still ago under will just meet next February. it,” Eastlake Taylor record. it’s therocking were coach former means hitting host to business perforLeadingto hitters 4:30 p.m. kept Savanna “We wanted a good team based on their Jenna Rebels annual Harrison High, 9-0, it comes The Lady 6th give all threewith to Bussard. WNBa:ask for a betterwhen two Mile on Wednesday. a bit rusty, did wellsome wentHe3-for-3 runs, h couldn’t playingPoole, in his iniRunand scoring She said her team was time,who The BI girls finished and that was the a.m. May 26. from a freshMinneso MedAls continues on 2B was ta at Seattle, who especially weather the ball into gaps at 8defense 9-6 overall and peckIt mance, and Madalyn Flynn ing order,” runs; Panthers herat Forsythstill 10 begins as the recent rash of bad 7-2 in Region 3-AAAA WedneSday head coach Kirk Park andp.m. (ESPN2) four but Eastlake said A. with two runs. Warner2-for-3 goes one mile straight man.” has forced them to reschedule said. “Grant performed well. was just HigH-scHooL Caitlyn downThe Lady Tigers, 8-6 overall, recently time. game, given his medical In the second solid; there tueSda Drayton was Street, games and miss practice clearanc “Our defense finishing the Academy on Tuesday. e, for y some sowin soFTBALL: as on Glynn he the has lucky host up as the not picked in are to workWingate “We Broughto miscues his way back up from n Street. Registra-Earlier in the week, Long Coun• Bradwell hosts have a were only two thefour bot- inLittLe League Tide by throwing tom of the Lady tion other teams. Other teams rotation. ” . AprilW30, Ware County, 6 p.m. te- game,” she said. is $15 through imup its fifth and sixth wins picked tyorLd and recording two strikeouts The Red nings SerieS covered batting cage, unfortuna especially through was Terrors Eastlake $20 were up, 7-0, at May 24, $25 a double, season :Tuesday by defeating one. If we theeliminat the pitcher • of U.S. went 3-for-3 with startd-of the Poole May freshman ly Bradwell doesn’t have her25 ion in a doublehea second and 26. Army quarter when RangCounty 1-for-2. definitely pressed with WaAtkinson Garcia went 8 p.m. ters mounted MacKenzie game, while aSam ers and families ever get one, that would 13-play 40-yard run complithat her and first baseman, drive one, er in Pearson. played well in game foul ball (ESPN2) for a touchdo aregister, “We mentary. help,” Eastlake said, adding caught wn. Stewart To 12-1. and Stewart. 8-0 briefS were visit Scores and started SportS at first, in-MLB: On fourth down, Waters team struggled at bat several plays hundredc and made www.two lub.org• Braves on 3B first game, Blue Tide rancontinues the the or pitch. In ball every oftBall s nearly catch a at for at first down and connecte Fleet stretch on swinging Dawson got athe d with Alton it’s a cluding a huge Feet Savannah at www. Nationa pitcher ls, 7Harley Sapp on a 15-yard pass p.m. “We have to know when frunner l e e t f eout. e to get near the red om/ hit only the to get the savannah t s a v a n n a h . c (SPSO) Basketball camp at zone. Moments later, ball and lay off of it and -mile. For sponsorWaters tucked the st. James ball and scampered in ship information, call WNBa: St. for what proved to Renee Minnesota at Seattle, The second annual be the Panthers’ only Laurie at 912-238-1200, touchdown. ext. 10 James Sport Center Fundaliberty county High Patty Leon 111 or email at rlaurie@p.m. (ESPN2) will school defensive Camp coordinator Derek mental Basketball defense after Glynn princebush.com. sills and head coach academy scored its LiBert y continues on Kirk warner talk to third touchdown during be from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Satur2B stadium. their Friday night’s scrimma Local the Sport ge at Donell woods day, Oct. 13, at the St. James Photo by Laurel Howard specialSolympics Club holding tryouts By Patty Leon held their opening n. the second ceremon Sports Center in Holmestow Fort stewart starting april 27 before ylosing on The Richmond Hill tueSda pleon@coastalcourier.com eon parade withLtheir in y Patty B set, Socof third athletes. y the In Open to boys and girls Debbie tomkiewicz, according to set, 25-23. cer Club is holding adaptive alcourier.com camp pleon@coast physical education Tigers stayed high-SchooL fotryouts both looking fifth-ninth grades, the local coordinator teacher and the Lady for the fall season Two small private schools, of the liberty County be 2012 the SoFtBaL at special season, went head Devaul L:letes from Fort is free, but campers must and outscored olympic cused Staff s, athstewart, rePort volleyball for their first win of the Henderso liberty can ts Bradwell’s an n and Park the long Participan • for on Bradweltrack, First Presbyteri registered. l at WindGators 25-16 wheelchair races Ladyparticipa sports@coa ted in 5-3County Highway to com to head Friday night as stalcourier. scott’s all-stars earned improved throwing team and sor Forest,not events. “our event St. Andrews at informat 144. For more Photo provided 4:30 register at the center. some community p.m. have been successfuand would Region win. Christian Academy hosted service hours voluntee 4-1 in the ion e-mail: richmonat be overall l without • FPCA atwho ring their time help of mavis Twenty campers will Trinity motto is ‘One last week’s small world Festival. the young “Our Crowell, works at aCs on Ft. Former week dhillsc@gmail.com. Long Bell Stadium. pastlarry this Liberty men worked from p.m. setting up tables, stewart MVP County Christian,with 3-AAAAA and with kids football 4:30their 8 a.m. until 2 laughlin ’” coach Dep.m.youth sports named all-stars, and the picking up litter and Beat,player , who Heart works Aaron Both teams had small rosters Bennett helping out local was in defeating among after program ,” Groves tomkiew fourDavis vendors at the ball, but for 48 said. “If weevent. the boys also were able to enjoy icz Andre Tuskegee will receive a free Nike T-shirt By Patt players th , 25-16) said. playing both sides of the

Game day today MLB:

Memorial Tigers, 16-7, on Friday at a game that Stadium in Savannah in hour by was delayed for about one

FPCA, BI eliminated

Sun, softball back on loc Liberty, Long get wins, BI falls to EC

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al diamonds Liberty gets look at what Panthers spread the playing time in loss

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Team Hinesville sco res nine medals at Matt Davis Memo rial tournament “

“

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Serving Liberty County and Coastal Georgia since 1871 Special Olympics held on

Highlanders lose barnburn

Stewart

Scott’s All-Stars don

Lady Tigers are serving up wins Bennett named All-SI AC

ate time

BI splits games on first day of Blast

LIBERTY COUNTY

community All Around Industry

FOR VOTING US

Liberty County Chamber of Commerce

REAL ESTATE COMPANY

While its formal role is to promote area businesses, the Liberty County Chamber of Commerce does so much more. The group hosts annual events that enhance our quality of life and galvanizes local governments to act on issues of importance. Since partnering with the Liberty County Convention & Visitors Bureau earlier this year, the group also strives to bring out the best of Liberty for visitors and residents.

Festival or Event Christmas in the Park

An annual event that has grown by leaps and bounds, Christmas in the Park spreads Christmas cheer to the community and brings Santa Claus and his reindeer to downtown Hinesville. Hosted by the Liberty County Chamber of Commerce, the December event draws representatives from different parts of the community for a true music and arts showcase.

HOLTZMAN, REALTORS

730 General Stewart Way, Hinesville 912.368.4300

Serving Liberty County for Over 37 Years

George & Babs Holtzman Certified Real Estate Management Brokers

Our People Make the Difference

Reporter Patty Leon

Award-winning Coastal Courier reporter Patty Leon truly has her finger on the pulse of Liberty County. She manages to keep up with Jimmy Shanken Miake almost everyViola highBelletty school sportsBrian team and gives players and coachesDagmar Madden 912-977-4733 912-572-5315 912-368-4300 912-572-6005 their due credit. When she’s not on the sidelines, Patty covers courts and is the brains behind most of Liberty Life’s historical features.

Boss Luis Lopez

912-977-4321

David Cargill 912-271-0138

Dagmar Madden 912-572-6005

Viola Belletty 912-572-5315

Clenton Wells, Liberty County Public Works director

Place to Work The Heritage Bank

Public Servant Sara Swida,Luis Keep Brigittedirector Cabeza Shanken LopezLiberty Beautiful David Cargillexecutive Jimmy Shanken 912-977-4733

Jeanne Evans 912-977-4230

Crystal Gaddy 912-271-3646

Helene Peterson 912-271-7263

912-977-4321

912-271-0138

912-222-8279

Jeff Ashmen 912-271-5861

Recreational Facility Liberty County/Armed Services Branch YMCA

Youth Organization Liberty County/Armed Services Branch YMCA Porcha Carew

Brigitte Cabeza Shanken

Shannon Anthony 912-659-5431

Leigh Smiley

912-222-8279

Margarita Fell

Jeff Ashmen

Misty Causey

Brian Maike

912-659-5636

912-492-8764

912-271-5861

(912) 399-8686

912-977-3401

912-368-4300

Visit our website for more information

www.FortStewart.com

Jeanne Evans

Helene Peterson

Margarita Fell 912-492-8764

Shannon Anthony

912-271-7263

Porcha Carew

Crystal Gaddy

Leigh Smiley

Misty Causey

912-977-4230

912-659-5636

912-271-3646

912-977-3401

912-659-5431

(912) 399-8686

Thank you Liberty County for voting us Best Repair Shop for the 4th time!

SOUTHEAST AUTO Service & Repair www.southeastautoservice.com 104 Carter St # B, Hinesville, GA

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Financial Services

for the military and surrounding civilian communities

GeoVista Credit Union (previously Fort Stewart Georgia Federal Credit Union) has been proudly serving our military since 1964 with branches on Fort Stewart & Hunter AAF and in 5 counties. Today, we continue to offer financial services to the military as well as residents of Liberty, Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham and Effingham Counties.

GeoVista CU Mobile App â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Fingertip Access to all of your accounts anytime, anywhere! Available for all smartphones.

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This credit Union is Federally Insured by the National Credit Union Administration

9/17/2012 4:51:31 PM