AC repair inRiceboro, GA

Riceboro Mayor Chris Stacy says a planned log fumigation plant outside the city limits has been canceled after outcry from local residents and elected officials. The plant would have used a chemical, methyl bromide, which is highly toxic to aquatic life, eats the ozone layer, and has been banned for other uses.

Stacy told The Current that he spoke with a regional manager for Weyerhaeuser who told him the South Newport project would not go forward.

Weyerhaeuser Senior Director for Advocacy and Philanthropy Nancy B. Thompson issued this statement:

“Weyerhaeuser cares deeply about the health and safety of the communities where we operate. After listening to the concerns of leaders and citizens about the potential impact of our proposed log fumigation facility near Riceboro, we have decided to withdraw our plans for an export yard operation in Liberty County. Although we believe fumigation would have been done safely and in full compliance with all state and federal laws, as we have demonstrated at multiple other locations, we recognize that we should have engaged with the local community and addressed potential concerns earlier in the process. Weyerhaeuser has a long history of operating in Georgia. We are proud to support local jobs and the region’s thriving forest industry, and we will continue to seek locations for the export yard that benefit local landowners and the broader community. In the meantime, our work on the proposed Jelk’s Pasture Planning Area, a separate project in Liberty County, will continue with the goal of creating an important economic development hub in the area.”

Weyerhaeuser, which owns tens of thousands of acres of forest in and around Riceboro, had applied to Georgia EPD’s Air Protection Division for an expedited permit to use methyl bromide, a highly volatile and toxic chemical, to prepare logs for shipping overseas. Weyerhaeuser’s EPD air permit application places the site just outside the city limits in unincorporated Liberty County.

About 40 citizens and activists from both Liberty and McIntosh counties showed up last week for a press conference at Riceboro City Hall, where local, state, and county officials urged them to flood the Georgia Department of Natural Resources with letters against a proposed log fumigation plant.

Stacy told The Current that Weyerhaeuser had approached the city in 2021, seeking permission for increased truck traffic in and out of its timberland inside the city limits. When the city turned down its plans, Stacy said the company moved its proposed operation just outside the city limits and tried its luck with the county.

“When they came, I don’t think they every had to explain how the process was going to work. And I think the chairman was saying the owner should’ve explained what’s going to be the process. So we never — when I got on board, the problem we had was they couldn’t never come up with the numbers. They said it’s gonna be six trucks coming in and eight going out. You know, that ain’t no good math right there. Unless they’re making trucks. And then they say that they will, when they got in there, we weren’t going to put a turnaround in, and turn off of 17. And when they got back, they needed an accelerator lane for the big trucks coming around that curve to pick up. So they said that all the trucks are gonna turn right. And it’s gonna turn right off the highway, and then turn back right to get on the highway. And then they wanted to try to move it on Sandy Run Drive. They came back, said they’re gonna move it somewhere else. And then after that happened, they went to the county, they said, ‘We’ll go down there where we don’t have to deal with Riceboro.’ And by 95 without a turn lane, without a deceleration lane.”

Pastor Tommy Williams lives in Riceboro and is the pastor of Hope of Glory Pentecostal Church in McIntosh County. He served on Riceboro’s city council for 39 years and was mayor pro tem for 12 of those years. “It’s close. To close for comfort, right. And the original plan was to put it like a mile from my house….nothing never came up about the fumigation and what they’ll be doing there, other than it was gonna be a woodyard. And they didn’t tell us how they were gonna process the wood. No one asked that question. But the major concern then [for Riceboro] was a traffic issue. So the attention of the city was on the traffic and not the production of the product. So therefore, we were able to ban them because of the traffic would be a safety hazard, the big trucks in and on on the highway right in that curve there. So we fought against that, but then when they went back to the county and talked with them, I think from what I’m hearing is, it was kind of like the same issue but not traffic, but it was just the idea that they were gonna put a woodyard down there.”

That disconnect between zoning and the environmental protection permitting process meant residents and some elected officials were caught off guard, he said.

“Not no one questioned the details about well how are y’all gonna process, are you just gonna cut trees and make lumber out of it? And then ship it? Are you gonna treat the trees and what are you gonna do with it? And it’s a treatment-type process, what they’re doing, and it’s a specific treatment that needs to be done to go overseas, I guess. So it’s not good. From what we’re hearing and what we’re reading, it’s very harmful. And not only will it affect us here in Riceboro, we just the closest one to it. Matter of fact, we may be better off than the people further down the road. Because no doubt, when whatever they let up in the air, when it goes up, they come back down. It’s going to affect areas further than us, you know.”

Williams’ wife, Leilia, expressed concerns about the potential for a workplace incident to cause damage outside the company’s property.

“You’ve got people now who are living so loosely with their mentality problem, so many people with mental problems, that they get mad because you fire them, they decide that they want to just go do something stupid, it’s there for them to do it with. You see? So you just don’t want to take no chances. I’d just rather it be just not done.”

Type of Story: Breaking News

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RICEBORO, Ga. – Weyerhaeuser pulled the plug for constructing a log fumigation plant after meeting strong opposition from community members concerned about potential health threats.

The Coastal Courrier was one of several local news outlets to report on Weyerhaeuser’s decision not to see approval from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to use methyl bromide at the log treatment plant it is building about five miles south of Riceboro. Among its uses, methyl bromide is used to kill pests in wood. It is considered highly toxic and a threat to the ozone layer and human health.

Dozens of residents voiced their objections to the plant during a recent meeting at Riceboro City Hall. Shortly afterward, Weyerhaeuser withdrew its permit application. According to the Courrier, county commissioners rezoned a tract for Weyerhaeuser to build the log treatment facility in January.

Weyerhaeuser released the following statement about its decision to withdraw the permit application.

“Weyerhaeuser cares deeply about the health and safety of the communities where we operate. Although we believe fumigation would have been done safely and in full compliance with all state and federal laws, as we have demonstrated at multiple other locations, we have decided to withdraw our plans for an export yard operation in Liberty County.

“Weyerhaeuser has a long history of operating in Georgia. We are proud to support local jobs and the region’s thriving forest industry, and we will continue to seek locations for the export yard that benefit local landowners and the broader community. In the meantime, our work on the proposed Jelk's Pasture Planning Area, a separate project in Liberty County, will continue with the goal of creating an important economic development hub in the area.”

Rich Christianson is the owner of Richson Media LLC, a Chicago-based communications firm focused on the industrial woodworking sector. Rich is the former long-time editorial director and associate publisher of Woodworking Network. During his nearly 35-year career, Rich has toured more than 250 woodworking operations throughout North America, Europe and Asia and has written extensively on woodworking technology, design and supply trends. He has also directed and promoted dozens of woodworking trade shows, conferences and seminars including the Cabinets & Closets Conference & Expo and the Woodworking Machinery & Supply Conference & Expo, Canada’s largest woodworking show.

RICEBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - A large childcare provider in Liberty County reached a huge milestone Wednesday.

The head start program through the Coastal Georgia Area Community Action Authority now has a permanent home. It’s in Riceboro, just off of Highway 17.

It was an important and exciting morning for parents in Liberty County, as they got to drop off their children at Liberty County Head Start’s new, permanent location.

Children under 5 stepped off the bus and said goodbye to their parents before entering their first day of early learning in a brand new building.

“I cannot contain our excitement, we are elated. We waited for a while. The parents are excited. The community has supported us through these years, because we’ve been waiting a while,” Liberty Head Starts Center Supervisor Teddra Jakes said.

The facility serves children ages 6 weeks to five years. It’s funded through federal grants and provides early education to qualifying families at no cost. Parents say this program is already making a big difference.

“Childcare can be very expensive. They can come in as young as two years old to do head start.. and I think that’s awesome. It’s free. That helps the community a lot,” Parent Regina Brown Betts said.

And the students say it’s giving them something to look forward to.

“I’m excited to have new friends,” Student Annalise Betts said.

This facility now serves about 60 new friends, to be exact. The program has existed in Liberty County for decades, but has moved around numerous times adding to the significance of this new building.

“It’s like going out, it’s almost like renting someone else’s car, you finally get your own car, and get a chance to drive it,” Liberty Co. Commissioner Marion Stevens said.

The building expands the program’s capacity by four classrooms with the ability to serve more than 100 kids. Jakes says the organization has a focus on helping families holistically.

“Sometimes, you bring us in with your kid needing an education, but you need a job. We can help. Maybe you bring your kid in and you live with your mom, and you can’t feed her in the summer, well we have meals on wheels, we can help there too.”

This serving as the first day of the future of Liberty County Head Start.

Staff members with the school say there’s still room for more students, if you’d like to enroll your child here at the head start program.

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The Coastal Georgia Child and Family Development Center held a historic occasion on Friday, July 22, when it opened the doors of its brand new Head Start in Riceboro. This event was monumental, as this is the very first Head Start building built in Liberty County.

The opening was packed with visiting dignitaries from all over southeast Georgia.

The building itself is 42,000 square feet and will play a host to approximately 200 children, ranging in age from 6 months to 4 years old.

When the ceremony began, the keynote speaker, Abra Lattany Reed of the Board of Directors of the Coastal Georgia Area Community Action Authority, welcomed everyone in attendance and thanked them for coming out.

State Rep. Al Williams spoke next, welcoming those at the ceremony and detailing the journey of how the Head Start building came to fruition. He also gave a word of encouragement to never underestimate the value of having a grand vision.

“You can make a difference in people,” Williams said. “Anytime you can do that, just remember the vision.”

Pastor Neil Dawson of First AB Missionary Baptist Church led the invocation afterward.

Several other guests shared of their involvement with the building and expressed their sheer delight at seeing this project completed. They included Donald Lovette, Chairman, Liberty County Board of Commissioners; Chris Stacy, Mayor, City of Riceboro; Dr. Robert Brown, CGACAA Board Chairman; Marion Stevens Sr., Commissioner, District 1; Allison Settlerlind, State Head Start Collaboration Officer; and Craig R. Buckley and David Holton, Buckley & Associates.

Tres Hamilton, CEO of the CGACAA, gave a very detailed account of the process, which he said started about seven years ago. The Liberty County Board of Commissioners applied for a Community Development Block Grant on their behalf in an effort to help, and they subsequently received the grant. They also received a disaster grant from the Office of Head Start. That combination allowed them to build the facility at no cost to the county or its taxpayers.

Hamilton was thoroughly excited at the completion of the facility and the overwhelming turnout for the ribbon-cutting.

“It’s a big, huge relief,” Hamilton said. “We’re excited about the fact that we are going to have so many families that will be able to serve here, and we’ll be able to serve our families in one location.”

He said they’ll also be able to serve families through their community services as it relates to their other support programs, such as housing assistance.

When Stevens spoke at the event, he had the same level of enthusiasm and expectations as Hamilton.

“I hope that all parents who have small children will utilize it and come out and see what’s going on and enjoy this facility,” Stevens said.

The closing remarks at the ceremony were given by Hamilton and Nina Bryant-Hunter, Division Director of the CGACAA.

All the dignitaries gathered together to cut the ribbon before a tour of the facility proceeded.

The GBI and the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office are continuing to seek the public’s help in identifying a woman who was found dismembered. An updated forensic artist’s rendering of the woman is attached.

Initially, partial remains of a white female were discovered off Jones Road in the woods of the Portal Hunting Club in Riceboro, Liberty County, GA. Additional remains were discovered within a three-mile radius on the hunting club property in Liberty County, as well as McIntosh County. Further testing has determined that the remains were placed in the area on or around November 27, 2022.

The remains are that of a white female with brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair, approximately 5’9” to 5’10” in height, and approximately 185 to 200 lbs., with an age range of 20-50 years old. The body has no scars, marks, or tattoos. There is a single tooth implant in the upper right jaw. Clothing found near the remains is described as a dark blue long sleeve, “Merona” brand shirt, size medium; white camisole top, size large; light gray boy shorts with white stripe down the side, size large; and white “Amazon Essentials” underwear, size large.

Anyone with information regarding a person matching this description is asked to contact the GBI Office in Statesboro at 912-871-1121 or the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office at 912-876-4555. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.