General George Washington created the Purple Heart on August 7, 1782. Click here for an interesting history of the award.
On August 7, 1790, a delegation of Creeks met with the United States Secretary of War and signed the Treaty of New York, ceding all land between the Ogeechee and Oconee Rivers to Georgia.
Theodore Roosevelt, who served as President from 1901 to 1909, was nominated for President by the Progressive Party, also called the Bull Moose Party, on August 7, 1912.
On August 7, 1942, Marine forces landed at Guadalcanal.
Voters ratified a new version of the State Constitution on August 7, 1945. Among the new features was the establishment of the State Board of Corrections to ensure humane conditions.
The board was directed to be more humane in its treatment of prisoners and abolished whippings, leg irons, and chains. Until 1945, prisoners in Georgia could expect to have heavy steel shackles put on by a blacksmith upon arrival. They were then taken out to work under severe conditions.
The caravan bearing 43 ounces of Dahlonega gold to be used in covering the Georgia State Capitol dome reached the Capitol and delivered it to Governor Marvin Griffin on August 7, 1958.
On August 7, 1964, Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which would be used as the legal basis for U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Governor Brian Kemp issued Executive Order #08.04.23.01, appointing Elizabeth Holcomb as Director of Health Strategy and Coordination.
Governor Kemp spoke at a Tenth Congressional District barbecue, according to the AJC.
“Don’t be complacent — just because we won in 2022 doesn’t mean we’re going to win in 2024. But I’ll tell you one thing: If we do to them again in ‘24 what we did to them with our statewide candidates … this whole talk about Georgia being a purple state will be over with,” Kemp said.
But Kemp cautioned that Georgia politics have fundamentally changed. Regardless of whether next year’s election brings a GOP tide, he anticipates future election battles will be closer than those his predecessors faced.
“We are also not the red state we were when Sonny Perdue got elected. We are not the red state we were when Nathan Deal got elected,” said Kemp. “But we are a red state that has conservative values, with people who will stand up to fight for what we believe in.”
Gov. Kemp also discussed the lawsuit by four District Attorneys, seeking to invalidate the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission legislation, according to the AJC.
The governor brought up the lawsuit Saturday at the 10th District GOP rally in Monroe, where hundreds of conservatives cheered when he mentioned the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission that Republicans designed to sanction wayward prosecutors.
“We’re going after rogue prosecutors that don’t want to follow the law and prosecute the law,” he said. “Y’all probably saw where there is a few of them suing us. But you know what? I’m not worried about that. We’re on the right side of that issue, and we’ll continue to be.”
On Friday, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones appointed three members to the panel. Among them is Jason Saliba, a top deputy to Cobb County District attorney – one of the four plaintiffs challenging the law.
“Prosecutors across Georgia should always prioritize protecting Georgia families by prosecuting criminals properly,” said Jones, “instead of focusing on their own special interests.”
United States Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta) and U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Gwinnett) say the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will help improve the Chattahoochee River, according to the Rome News Tribune.
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath and Sen. Jon Ossoff highlighted the rollout of the Chattahoochee River Act this week. The act, which became law last December, was part of the Water Resources and Development Act reauthorization.
Under the new law, the Corps of engineers, whose jurisdiction has traditionally extended along the Chattahoochee from Lake Lanier to State Route 20 in Buford, will have the authority to carry out water projects down to at least the Georgia-Florida line on the river.
According to the Chattahoochee River Act, as it was introduced, these projects were intended to include: sediment and erosion control; protection of eroding shorelines; ecosystem restoration, such as the restoration of submerged aquatic vegetation; essential public works protection; “beneficial uses of dredged material” and other projects that can help living resources located in the Chattahoochee River basin.
“Over the next decade, the Chattahoochee River Act will have a transformative effect for the better, improving water quality up-and-down the River and its tributaries, which stretch into so many corners of Georgia,” Ossoff said. “This is fundamentally about the health of Georgia families, access to safe and healthy recreation, and the long-term economic development of Georgia, which depends upon a healthy Chattahoochee River.”
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a long history of working in the Chattahoochee River Basin on projects including restoration of aquatic environment and the protection of critical infrastructure from flooding,” Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District Chief of Planning and Environmental Division Jeremy LaDart said. “The USACE looks forward to continuing this work in the future through the Chattahoochee River Program.”
A Go Fund Me to pay for law enforcement salary raises in Burke County has more than $22,000 dollars, according to WRDW.
Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams posted a Facebook video message Saturday afternoon, commending funds raised by private citizens to help with promotions.
Williams said private citizens raised $22,000 for employee promotions that were put in place a few weeks ago.
Williams asked County Administrator Merv Waldrop to put acceptance of the local donors’ money on the agenda for the next meeting of the Burke County Council.
Commissioners say they have told Williams multiple times to cut back on spending, and they say he has not listened.
Williams promoted 20 employees within the agency on June 27 as part of a restructuring that also includes eliminating some positions through retirements, consolidation of workload, restructuring, state and federal grants, and other methods.
The sheriff says the reorganizational plan would save taxpayers $200,000 in 12 months.
“My office has been approached by a group of citizens who report they have raised enough money to pay the salaries of deputies who aren’t being paid for the additional work and responsibilities they took on after retirements allowed us to restructure the office and eliminate some positions,” Williams wrote in an email to Waldrop. “The citizens are concerned about their safety if deputies are not being paid as promised and it is their desire to fix this situation through the end of this fiscal budget. They are asking that we present this issue to the commission and have the commission adopt a resolution accepting the money. They have a representative who can attend to answer any questions or concerns the commission may have.”
Three Augusta Commissioners are hosting a public lunch this Wednesday, according to WJBF.
Augusta Commissioners Jordan Johnson, Stacy Pulliam, and Francine Scott will hold a luncheon on Wednesday, August 9th from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum.
The event is meant to give citizens a chance to ask questions and have their voices heard.
The Georgia Council on Literacy holds its first in-person meeting today, according to the Statesboro Herald.
The Georgia Council on Literacy, which state Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro, helped create, will hold its first in-person meeting and a roundtable discussion Monday, Aug. 7, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the Nessmith-Lane Conference Center ballroom at Georgia Southern University, Statesboro.
Hickman was lead sponsor in the 2023 legislative session of Senate Bill 211, which established the Georgia Council on Literacy, now chaired by Scott Johnson. Hickman is also one of the members appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp. Georgia Southern University President Kyle Marrero, Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, Bulloch County Schools Superintendent Charles Wilson and Bryan County Schools Superintendent Paul Brooksher are among the Statesboro area leaders with roles in the meeting agenda.
State Rep. Lehman Franklin (R-Statesboro) was appointed to the Georgia Commission on Interstate Cooperation, according to the Statesboro Herald.
“The Georgia Commission on Interstate Cooperation plays a vital role in fostering collaboration and synergy among states, the federal government and international entities,” Franklin said. “I want to thank Speaker Jon Burns for appointing me to serve on this pivotal platform that ensures our state’s interests are effectively represented. I look forward to helping streamline governance and facilitate efficient cooperation between our state and other governing bodies.”
The Georgia Commission on Interstate Cooperation is responsible for carrying forward Georgia’s participation as a member of any regional, national or international nonpartisan legislative organization that promotes interstate or international cooperation.
Bulloch County Board of Education members will host public meetings to discuss a proposed increase in the property tax millage rate, according to the Statesboro Herald.
That increase alone, from a school tax rate of 8.236 mills last year to 8.478 mills, is a 2.9% rate increase. But when compounded with inflation in real estate values as determined by the county Board of Tax Assessors staff, the resulting proposed increase in property tax for school maintenance and operations is 16.07% on average, so that is the percentage stated in the formal notices required under the Georgia Property Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
The first hearing is slated for 12 noon Thursday, Aug. 10. Two more hearings will be held on Thursday, Aug. 17, the first at 9 a.m. and the last at 6 p.m., also in the Board of Education’s central office meeting room at 150 Williams Road.
Bulloch County Commissioners are also hosting public meetings to discuss a proposed increase in the property tax millage rate, according to the Statesboro Herald.
The three public hearings required before the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners can vote on a proposed increase in the property tax millage rate are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on the next three Mondays: Aug. 7, Aug. 14 and Aug. 21.
All three hearings are to be held in the commissioners’ meeting room at the North Main Annex, 115 North Main St., Statesboro. The county’s fiscal year 2024 budget, as adopted by the commissioners in June, called for a millage increase, now recommended by County Manager Tom Couch as 1.5 mills.
The county government’s new, general millage rate would be 12.85 mills, up from last year’s 11.35 mills. That alone would be a 13.2% increase, but when compounded with the inflation in assessed property values, it amounts to a 28.04% increase on average, so that is the percentage stated in a formal “Notice of Property Tax Increase” the county published as ads in recent editions of the Statesboro herald.
Those statements also refer to the 12.85-mill rate as “an increase of 2.814 mills” instead of just 1.5 mills. This is because the state law known as the Georgia Property Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights requires that the notices be based on a rollback rate, the rate to which the tax would need to be reduced to fully compensate for inflation in assessed values. The rollback rate would have been 10.036 mills, as stated in the notices.
Couch and county department leaders say the tax hike is needed to “catch up” in providing a basic level of services after inflation and years of delayed hiring and renovations and to prepare the county for further growth.
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