Hello, Statesboro!
The alarm went off early this morning for a lot of houses. Today is the first day of school across Bulloch County, which means the car line is back, Fair Road drivers are relearning patience, and somebody in your neighborhood is already looking for a lost water bottle.
The rest of the week is heavier than the calendar suggests. Tomorrow night, county commissioners take the actual vote on banning data centers, the one that has been building since spring. Out east of Brooklet, the fire that ran for nine days finally slowed down at more than 400 acres, investigators traced it to a single tree, and the county responded with a burn ban that took effect Saturday.
And for the first time in weeks, there is rain in the forecast every single day.
Let's get into it.
📰 TOP NEWS
Tomorrow Night, Commissioners Take the Data Center Vote
This is the decision. Not another recommendation, not another moratorium extension. The Bulloch County Board of Commissioners meets Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 5:30 p.m. at the North Main Annex, and on the agenda is the zoning text amendment that would write data centers out of the county's code entirely.
Here is how it got here. On July 21, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-1 to recommend adopting the amendment. It defines what a data center is, then declines to list it anywhere in the county's use chart. The practical effect is a ban: no data centers in General Business, Light Manufacturing, or Heavy Manufacturing zones. The same amendment strips the county's cryptocurrency mining definitions and rules out of the ordinance.
County Attorney Jeff Akins explained the mechanism plainly at that meeting: "The way the Zoning Ordinance works, if a use is not listed as a permitted or conditional use or an accessory use, then it's basically not allowed."
Planning and Zoning is an advisory board. Tuesday is where it becomes law or it does not. The county's existing data center moratorium runs through Dec. 31, 2026 either way, so a no vote tomorrow does not open the door immediately; it just means the county keeps the temporary pause and keeps arguing.
If you have an opinion on this, tomorrow at 5:30 is the room to be in.
One Tree, Nine Days, 400 Acres, and Now a Burn Ban
Last week this newsletter said the cause of the fire east of Brooklet was undetermined and investigators were headed out. They went, and here is the answer: Georgia Forestry Commission investigators traced the fire to a lightning strike on a single tree on Wednesday, July 22.
That one tree cost nine days of work. By July 30, the burned area had grown to between 410 and 415 acres, and containment was still being called 75 percent, a conservative number because flareups kept coming back. Bulloch County Fire Department Chief Benjamin Tapley said crews put more than 200,000 gallons of water on it over eight days.
What the fire could not do was make it rain. Rick Lane, the Forestry Commission's Region 4 fire management officer, put the whole situation in two sentences: "We just need some rain. The only thing that will really make a significant change is a rain event, with some volume of water."
So commissioners called an emergency meeting Friday, July 31 and passed a temporary ordinance restricting outdoor burning across unincorporated Bulloch County. It took effect Saturday, Aug. 1 and stays until drought conditions improve and commissioners formally vote to rescind it.
What it covers: all open burning of yard debris, including limbs, grass, leaves, and other vegetative matter. What it does not cover: state-permitted agricultural and forestry burns, and properly attended cooking fires in grills and fire pits. Your Saturday cookout is fine. Your brush pile is not. The maximum penalty is a $1,000 fine or 60 days in jail, enforced by the sheriff's office and code enforcement.
The good news, and this newsletter does not get to say this often lately, is in the weather section below. Every day this week has rain in the forecast.
Next Door in Effingham, the OpenAI Deal Got Its Tax Package
Bulloch is voting to keep data centers out. Effingham County, one county over, spent the past week locking in the biggest one this part of Georgia has ever seen.
The Effingham County Industrial Development Authority board approved an incentive package for OpenAI's Project Camellia that gives the company a 50 percent property tax abatement for 15 years. Even with that abatement, OpenAI is expected to become the county's largest taxpayer. Effingham officials have tied the revenue to "Project Zero," the county's stated goal of eliminating its homestead property taxes.
The scale keeps moving. The publicly announced figure is $20 billion, but OpenAI Vice President of Compute Strategy Sachin Katti told Bloomberg the project will cost more than $30 billion at full build-out. The campus would contract 3.2 gigawatts from Georgia Power, delivered in phases between 2028 and 2032, with the site opening in phases starting in 2028.
None of this is Bulloch County's vote. It is, however, the clearest available picture of what our commissioners are actually deciding tomorrow night: what a county gets, what it gives up, and how long the deal lasts.
📋 LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS
GBI Arrests Former Chief Investigator for the Ogeechee Circuit DA's Office
Andrae Tramaine Wright, until recently the chief investigator for the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office, was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Monday, July 21.
According to the GBI, Wright accessed the Effingham County Sheriff's Office Flock Safety license plate reader system more than 60 times between June 15 and July 5, despite no longer working there. The Effingham County Sheriff's Office found it during an internal audit and asked the GBI to investigate.
The charges are computer invasion of privacy and violation of oath by a public officer, both felonies, plus misdemeanor counts of misuse of license plate data and stalking. Bond was set at $10,000. Wright resigned from the DA's office on July 9. The DA's office says it has fully cooperated with the GBI, and the case is ongoing.
19 Years in the 400-Gigabyte Child Exploitation Case
Justin Michael Webster was sentenced July 9 to 19 years in prison followed by 21 years on probation after pleading guilty to 28 counts of sexual exploitation of children. Judge Lovett Bennett also ordered sex offender registration and banished Webster from the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit except for travel on I-16 and I-95.
Webster was arrested in Statesboro in February 2025 after Louisiana investigators tracked him here. Statesboro Police Department's Criminal Investigations Bureau found multiple devices holding roughly 400 gigabytes of material. Assistant District Attorney Candace DeLoach prosecuted the case, which was worked jointly with the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office ICAC unit in Louisiana.
School Board's Final Millage Vote Is Aug. 13
The tentative number is set, the final one is not. On July 23 the Bulloch County Board of Education voted unanimously to tentatively adopt a maintenance and operations millage rate of 10.125 mills, down 0.275 from last year's 10.400. That is a full rollback, meaning it offsets inflation in assessed property values instead of quietly collecting more at the same rate.
Because it is a rollback, no public hearings are required. The board sets the final rate Thursday, Aug. 13 at 6:30 p.m., and citizens can still speak during the public participation portion of that meeting.
Two Pinning Ceremonies at Ogeechee Tech
Ogeechee Technical College pinned 11 dental assisting graduates on Aug. 2 and 14 medical assisting graduates on July 29, both at the college's auditorium. These programs quietly staff a good share of the dental and medical offices in this county, so if there is a new face at your next checkup, this is often where they came from.
Road Work: SR 80 Flagging Continues Through Aug. 13
Georgia DOT's Southeast Georgia advisory for the week of Aug. 1 through Aug. 7 has flagging operations on SR 80 in Bulloch County for ditch digging, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., running through Aug. 13. That is the Brooklet direction, and it is the same stretch a lot of people just spent a week driving around because of the fire. Add a few minutes.
📅 THIS WEEK'S EVENTS (August 3 to August 9, 2026)
First Day of School
Monday, Aug. 3 | All Bulloch County Schools campuses
It's here. Buses are running, car lines are long, and every school office is fielding phone calls today. If you are new to a campus this year, leave earlier than you think you need to for the first week.
Bulloch County Board of Commissioners: The Data Center Vote
Tuesday, Aug. 4 | 5:30 p.m. | North Main Annex | FREE and open to the public
The regular first-Tuesday evening meeting, with the zoning text amendment on data centers up for a hearing and possible adoption. See Top News above.
Statesboro Main Street Farmers Market
Saturday, Aug. 8 | 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | The Market at Visit Statesboro, 222 S. Main Street | FREE admission
Produce, meats, eggs, baked goods, handmade items, coffee, and live music, running Saturdays through November. August is when the tomatoes get serious and the peaches start winding down. Go early, bring cash.
Splash in the Boro: Weekends Only Now
Saturday, Aug. 8, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 9, noon to 6 p.m. | Mill Creek Regional Park, 1388 GA-24 East | Admission varies | 912-489-3000
The weekday season ended Aug. 1. From here through Sept. 6 the park runs Saturdays and Sundays only, which makes these two days the actual plan rather than a maybe.
Statesboro Regional Library
124 S. Main Street | All week | FREE | 912-764-1341
The summer program schedule turns over now that school is back, and the fall calendar was not posted as of Sunday night. Call the branch or check the program calendar before you drive over, especially for the weekday children's programs.
🦅 GEORGIA SOUTHERN UPDATES
Campus is in its last quiet stretch. Move-In Day is Friday, Aug. 14, and fall classes start Wednesday, Aug. 19, so Fair Road and Chandler Road get busy in a little under two weeks.
The one thing worth knowing now if you have a student in the house: the Fall 2026 Statesboro Student Org Fair is Wednesday, Aug. 26 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Russell Union Rotunda. Organizations that want a table have to register by Friday, Aug. 14 at 5 p.m., which is the same day everybody is moving in, so it is worth handling early.
🏈 SPORTS & CAMPUS EVENTS
Eagles Report Tomorrow, First Practice Wednesday
Georgia Southern football reports for preseason camp Tuesday, Aug. 4, with the first practice Wednesday, Aug. 5. The announced practice schedule runs Aug. 5 through Aug. 18 across the Tippins Family Training Facility, Paulson Stadium, and Beautiful Eagle Creek.
Here is the part worth putting on the calendar: the announced practices are open to the public. The first scrimmage is Saturday, Aug. 15 at 6:35 p.m. at Paulson Stadium, paired with Fan Day. The second scrimmage is Saturday, Aug. 22. At Paulson, fans sit in the stands; at the other sites, keep a respectful distance from the sidelines.
Free football in August, in air you can chew. Bring water.
Six Former Eagles Are in NFL Camps
Six players who came through Statesboro reported to NFL training camps this summer, including cornerbacks Darrell Baker Jr. with the Miami Dolphins and Shemar Bartholomew with the Green Bay Packers.
Statesboro High Opens at Southeast Bulloch on Aug. 21
The Blue Devils start the season on the road for the county rivalry game, Friday, Aug. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Southeast Bulloch. Then a two-game homestand: Burke County on Aug. 28 and ECI on Sept. 4, before the Region 1-5A schedule gets real.
🍽 RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT
Dolan's Bar-B-Q
239 S. Main Street | 912-259-9997
Downtown, on the South Main stretch, Dolan's does pit-smoked barbecue the slow way and says so right on the sign: "Girls Can 'Que Too."
The menu goes past the plate you expect. Pulled pork sliders, smoked chicken plates, BBQ wraps, and a loaded-sides list that runs mac and cheese, cheese curds, and fries. There are brunch items too, French toast and cheesecake among them, which is not the usual barbecue-joint move.
Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday, so plan around that. They do online ordering for pickup and delivery, catering packages, and private parties, which is worth filing away now: fall around here is one long stretch of team dinners, tailgates, and church events, and the good caterers book up.
Ask about the daily special. Regulars say that is the real menu.
🌤 WEATHER ADVISORY
Rain. Actual rain, in the forecast every day. This is the live National Weather Service forecast for Statesboro as of early Monday morning:
Mon, Aug. 3: 88°F, 60% rain. Showers and storms likely before 11 a.m., then a chance through the day.
Tue, Aug. 4: 91°F, 50% rain. Mostly sunny with afternoon storms possible.
Wed, Aug. 5: 91°F, 30% rain. Mostly sunny, storms possible after 2 p.m.
Thu, Aug. 6: 92°F, 40% rain. Mostly sunny with a chance of storms.
Fri, Aug. 7: 92°F, 50% rain. Storms possible late morning onward.
Sat, Aug. 8: 90°F, 60% rain. Storms likely in the afternoon.
Sun, Aug. 9: 91°F, 60% rain. Same pattern, afternoon storms likely.
Two practical notes. First, this morning's rain lands right on top of the first school-bus run and the first car line of the year, so give yourself extra time and expect the drop-off loop to move slowly.
Second, do not read a 60 percent chance as drought relief. The forecast amounts are small, a tenth to a quarter inch today and less than a tenth most other days. That is enough to green up a lawn and not nearly enough to end what Rick Lane at the Forestry Commission was asking for. The burn ban is still on, and a stray afternoon shower does not change that.
Highs in the low 90s all week with that much moisture in the air means the heat index runs well above the number on the thermometer. Check the back seat, every time.
👀 LOOKING AHEAD
Tuesday, August 4: The data center vote.
5:30 p.m., North Main Annex. Also the day Georgia Southern football reports for camp.
Saturday, August 8: Farmers market and the first weekends-only Splash weekend.
Market 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on South Main. Splash 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thursday, August 13: School board sets the final millage rate.
6:30 p.m., on the proposed 10.125 rollback. Public participation is open.
Friday, August 14: Georgia Southern Move-In Day.
Also the 5 p.m. deadline for student organizations to register for the Aug. 26 Org Fair.
Saturday, August 15: Eagles Fan Day and first scrimmage.
6:35 p.m. at Paulson Stadium, open to the public. Same morning, the SHE Women's Expo runs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Venues at Ogeechee Technical College, free, about 70 exhibitors, presented by the Statesboro Herald.
Wednesday, August 19: Georgia Southern fall classes begin.
Friday, August 21: Statesboro High at Southeast Bulloch.
7:30 p.m. Season opener, county rivalry.
Saturday, September 5: Eagles home opener.
Georgia Southern hosts Charleston Southern at Paulson Stadium.
After nine days of fire and a burn ban, there's finally rain in the forecast every day. What are you hoping it does?
✉ THANKS FOR READING!
That's Edition 43. A first day of school, a vote that has been coming since spring, a nine-day fire that started with one tree, and the first week in a while where the sky looks like it might help.
Tomorrow night at 5:30, the county decides something it has been circling for months. Whichever way you lean, that room is open to anybody who walks in, and there are not many decisions around here where showing up counts for as much.
Until then: the burn ban is on, the kids are back in the building, and the tomatoes are good.
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