Hello, Statesboro!
Two of the three property tax hearings are behind us, and almost nobody came. One person signed up to speak at noon on September 8. Five spoke at the 6 p.m. hearing. Tuesday at 5:30 the third hearing opens, and when it closes the council votes on the rate in the same room, at the same meeting.
Tuesday is stacked. County commissioners meet at 8:30 that morning, which is when nominees for the data center working group are due. The city cuts the ribbon on its third fire station at 11. The council work session starts at 4, the tax hearing and the vote at 5:30.
Also in this edition: the school board asked the legislature for its first pay change since 1999, the Eagles lost late Saturday night in a game that kicked at 9:31, Southeast Bulloch won on a safety, and Brooklet's parade steps off Saturday at 10 a.m.
Let's get into it.
📰 TOP NEWS
The Tax Hearings Happened, Almost Nobody Came, and the Vote Is Tuesday at 5:30
The City of Statesboro held the first two of its three required public hearings on September 8, at noon and at 6 p.m. Mayor Jonathan McCollar and a quorum of council members attended both. One citizen spoke at the first. Five spoke at the second. The third hearing is Tuesday, September 15 at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 50 East Main Street, and it is also the start of the regular meeting where the council can adopt the rate as Resolution 2026-37.
Here are the numbers, because the advertised percentage confuses almost everyone. City Manager Charles Penny is recommending 9.6 mills, up from the 8.625 the city charged in 2024 and 2025. Measured against last year's rate, that is an 11.3 percent increase. Measured against the rollback rate of 7.165 mills, which is what the Bulloch County Board of Tax Assessors staff calculated would raise the same money on this year's higher assessments, it is 33.98 percent. Georgia law makes the city advertise the second number. Your bill is not going up by a third.
The reason city officials keep giving is the fire service split. When Bulloch County dissolved the fire district in July 2025, the city lost roughly $2,755,000 a year it had been paid to cover the county area beyond its limits. A three-year federal SAFER grant that paid for 12 additional firefighters expired in August, another $703,000. That is about a $3.5 million hole. The transfer from the general fund to the fire fund went from $3.2 million last year to more than $7.4 million this year.
Two things shrank the increase. A change in state law let the city book five months of Floating Local Option Sales Tax revenue early, about $1.4 million, and growth in the tax digest came in near 13 percent instead of the 8 percent used in budgeting. Penny had floated 3.8 mills in the spring and 2.129 mills after the first FLOST adjustment. The recommendation is now just under a full mill.
Penny told both rooms that adopting the rollback rate would mean eliminating about 60 positions across all departments. He also predicted the city will cut 2.1 mills next year on a full year of FLOST money. District 4 Councilman John Riggs pushed on the wording. "I thought that we were going to be forced to do that by law," Riggs said. Penny agreed: "By law you're going to have to, but the good part of it is that the sales tax will be sufficient to cover those costs."
The sharpest moment came at noon, from the only person who signed up. Vester Mock reminded the mayor of a conversation in his driveway before the FLOST referendum. "You told me if I voted for this FLOST 1 percent sales tax that our millage rate was going to go down," Mock said. He and his wife live on Social Security. "A hundred dollars, when I'm paying almost $200 a week on groceries for two people, is a lot of money."
McCollar said conditions changed. "When me and you talked, I gave you the God-honest truth," he said. "If we passed FLOST, we would be able to reduce the taxes. The fact of the matter is, Bulloch County decided to end a 40- or 50-year contract that we had with them."
If you want a word in before the vote, Tuesday at 5:30 is the last one.
A Correction, and It Matters If You Planned to Show Up: the Commission Meets Tuesday Morning, Not Tuesday Night
Last week we told you that nominees for the county's data center working group were due at the commission's meeting "that evening." That was wrong, and the mistake is ours. The Bulloch County Board of Commissioners meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at the North Main Annex, 115 North Main Street. The first Tuesday meeting is at 5:30 p.m. and carries the zoning items. The third Tuesday meeting, which is this Tuesday, September 15, starts at 8:30 a.m.
So the deadline Chairman David Bennett set is a morning deadline. Each of the six commissioners is to bring three citizens willing to serve, which with the chairman's appointments makes 21. The group picks its own chair, sorts out anyone appointed twice, and takes up the question the commission declined to settle on September 1, when the proposed ban on data centers in the county's business and manufacturing districts died 4-3 on Bennett's tiebreaking vote.
The moratorium blocking any data center application in unincorporated Bulloch runs through December 31, 2026. That is the clock the working group is racing, and Bennett has said he believes it could be extended with legal advice.
One thing has not changed since last week: the seats are filled by individual appointment. There is no application form, and nobody is going to come looking for you. If you want one, call your commissioner this morning.
The School Board Voted to Ask the Legislature for Its First Pay Change Since 1999
The Bulloch County Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday, September 10, to send the county's legislative delegation a resolution asking for local legislation on board member compensation. Board members are paid $100 per meeting. That figure has not changed in 27 years.
Superintendent Dr. Torian A. White recommended approval and framed it as a question about who can afford to serve. "I do think after 26 years, it is appropriate and fair for us to update this conversation," White said. In the district's own announcement, he put it more directly: updating compensation "helps ensure that serving on our local school board remains accessible to everyday citizens, parents, and working adults and not just those who can afford to volunteer."
Board member Lannie Lanier made the scale argument. The district's budget was about $55 million in 1999 and is around $169 million now, with more students and more employees. "If you see us here at two meetings a month, and we're here for a few hours, and if you think that's all we do, that's just the tip of the iceberg," Lanier said. "We all knew what the job was when we ran for it. But I think we need to think about the future, and who will be the next person that sits in this seat."
For comparison, the district cited Bryan County at a minimum of $750 per meeting, Emanuel County at $400 per meeting plus health insurance, Barrow County at $550 per meeting, and Floyd County at $1,000 per month. Bulloch board members get no health insurance, no pension, and no mileage reimbursement for travel inside the county.
Nothing changes this year, and the board cannot change it alone. A signed copy goes to the local delegation, a legal notice runs in the Statesboro Herald for 60 days, and the General Assembly takes it up in January. If it passes and the governor signs it, the new rate would start in 2027, paid from the district's general fund.
The same meeting included a report from Nevils Elementary. Principal Rob Lindsey said the school opened the year at 85 percent Tier 1 readiness in reading, two points better than last year, with third grade cutting its Tier 3 at-risk share from 10 percent to 3. Math came in at 80 percent Tier 1 overall, with second grade up 13 points.
📋 LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS
Fire Station 3 Opens Tuesday, and the Public Can Watch the Truck Get Pushed In
The ribbon cutting is at 11 a.m. Tuesday at 983 Brannen Street, and everyone is invited. It is the city's first new fire station in more than 20 years. Construction started in November 2025 and took 10 months, at $4.8 million, funded with $1.1 million in city SPLOST revenue and a $3.7 million loan from the Georgia Municipal Association's Bricks and Mortar Program, repaid over up to 20 years from future SPLOST. The ceremony includes a push-in for the department's new quint, a 2026 Sutphen SL 75-foot aerial platform with a 500-gallon tank that pumps 2,000 gallons a minute. The push-in is a holdover from the days when crews had to shove hand-drawn engines back into the bay after every call.
A Data Center Town Hall Is Tonight, One County Over
Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund and One Hundred Miles host a town hall tonight, Monday, September 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Mars Theatre, 106 S. Laurel St. in Springfield. The subject is Project Camellia, the 1,400-acre, $20 billion OpenAI data center campus proposed near Rincon in Effingham County. OpenAI has contracted with Georgia Power for up to 3.2 gigawatts, delivered in phases between 2028 and 2032, and that contract is under review by the Georgia Public Service Commission. Organizers describe the event as nonpartisan and open regardless of where you stand. This is Effingham County, not Bulloch, but the questions on the agenda, power, water and who pays for the grid, are the same ones being asked at our podiums.
If Your Water Runs Brown This Week, This Is Why
The Statesboro Water Department is testing fire hydrants overnight through Friday, September 18, between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Affected areas are Zetterower Road from North Main Street to Highway 80, Westlake Drive, Duke Road, Lanier Road and Jef Road. Expect low pressure or discolored water. Flush a cold line from an outside spigot or a faucet with no screen until it runs clear, then work through the lowest floor and up. Do not do laundry in it, because it stains. Questions go to Public Utilities at (912) 764-0693.
The Millage Vote Is Not the Only Thing on Tuesday's Council Agenda
Also up Tuesday at 5:30: a rezoning request from Zack Smith Properties for 17.83 acres on Zetterower Road, from a residential and highway commercial mix to high density residential; a special use permit for a sober living residence for up to eight women at 105 Peg Wen Boulevard; a rezoning of a 3.8-acre piece along Tormenta Way from planned unit development to mixed use; and an ordinance replacing the city's Subdivision Incentive Program with a Workforce Housing Incentive Program. The council will also consider $164,900 for natural gas lines along Cypress Lake Road and Veterans Memorial Parkway to serve Kroger and nearby development. The meeting opens with a proclamation recognizing September 15 through October 15 as Hispanic Heritage Month.
Peanut Butter and Jelly, Starting Today
Synovus runs its third annual "Spread the Love" drive today through September 25 at all three Statesboro branches: 2 East Main Street, 987 Lovett Road and 1205 Brampton Avenue. Lobbies take donations 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. Everything goes to the Statesboro Food Bank. Last year's drive brought in 208 jars of peanut butter and 187 jars of jelly.
A Prison Drug Network Was Sentenced in the Statesboro Federal Courthouse
Defendants in a Georgia prison drug trafficking operation were sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Judge J. Randal Hall's courtroom at the Prince H. Preston Federal Building here in Statesboro. The network used drones and other methods to move drugs, phones and contraband into Smith State Prison in Glennville, Telfair State Prison in McRae-Helena and other state prisons from 2019 through July 2024. Deivon Waller, 32, an inmate at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison, got 240 months and a $2,000 fine. Kelvin Rogers, 40, got 96 months. Tristahn Ash, 29, got 92 months. Asa James Ward, 30, got 56 months. There is no parole in the federal system.
Interstate Lane Closures Run Through Saturday
The 16 at 95 improvement project has intermittent lane closures all week through Saturday, September 19, on I-16 between the I-516 and I-95 interchanges, on I-516 at the I-16 interchange, and double lane closures overnight on I-95 at the I-16 overpass. Daytime windows run roughly 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. depending on direction, and nighttime work runs 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. If you are driving to Savannah this week, leave a cushion.
Wing Maxx Turned 15 on Saturday
The anniversary celebration drew nonprofits, schools, first responders and families for wing eating contests, a $1,000 tailgating raffle and a fire department touch-a-truck. Safe Haven representatives Brian Barber and Victor Ramirez took first and second in the nonprofit bracket, and 15 percent of the day's proceeds went to Safe Haven, which Wing Maxx named its 2026 Nonprofit of the Year. Owner Tina Hook, who opened the restaurant in 2011, put the reason plainly: "I shop local, and I encourage everybody to shop local. They support us, and we support them."
📅 THIS WEEK'S EVENTS (September 14 to 20, 2026)
Senior Craft Activity
Monday, Sept. 14 | 10:30 a.m. | Statesboro Regional Library, 124 S. Main St. | Free, ages 55 and up | (912) 764-1341
Library Teen Leaders
Monday, Sept. 14 | 5 p.m. | Statesboro Regional Library, 124 S. Main St. | Free, ages 12 to 18 | (912) 764-1341
Effingham County Data Center Town Hall
Monday, Sept. 14 | 6 to 8 p.m. | Mars Theatre, 106 S. Laurel St., Springfield | Free, open to all
Bulloch County Board of Commissioners
Tuesday, Sept. 15 | 8:30 a.m. | North Main Annex, 115 North Main St. | Open to the public, streamed on the board's Facebook page and YouTube channel
Fire Station 3 ribbon cutting and quint push-in
Tuesday, Sept. 15 | 11 a.m. | 983 Brannen St. | Free, public invited
Tuesday Social
Tuesday, Sept. 15 | 3:30 p.m. | Bethany Community Commons Building, Gesmon Neville Lane | (912) 225-7204
City Council work session
Tuesday, Sept. 15 | 4 p.m. | Council chambers, City Hall, 50 E. Main St. | Robotics center, Convention and Visitors Bureau, housing rehabilitation, Art Park trees
Graphic Novel Book Club
Tuesday, Sept. 15 | 4:30 p.m. | Statesboro Regional Library, 124 S. Main St. | Free, ages 6 to 11 | (912) 764-1341
Third millage rate hearing, then the council vote
Tuesday, Sept. 15 | 5:30 p.m. | Council chambers, City Hall, 50 E. Main St. | Open to the public
County Planning and Zoning Commission
Tuesday, Sept. 15 | 5:30 p.m. | North Main Annex, 115 North Main St. | Open to the public
Bingo
Thursday, Sept. 17 | 3:30 p.m. | Bethany Community Commons Building, Gesmon Neville Lane | (912) 225-7204
Senior Bingo
Friday, Sept. 18 | 11 a.m. | Statesboro Regional Library, 124 S. Main St. | Free, ages 55 and up | (912) 764-1341
Tidal Wave Auto Spa Charity Day
Friday, Sept. 18 | All day | 3 Grady Johnson Rd. | 100 percent of wash proceeds to charity, half to Safe Haven
"Boro Nights, Senior Lights"
Friday, Sept. 18 | Red carpet 4 p.m., event 5 to 7 p.m. | Statesboro Family YMCA | $25 per person, $40 per couple
Statesboro vs. Benedictine
Friday, Sept. 18 | 7:30 p.m. | Statesboro High School, 10 Coach Lee Hill Blvd. | Region opener, ticket required
Portal at Atkinson County
Friday, Sept. 18 | 7:30 p.m. | Atkinson County High School, Pearson | Ticket required
Main Street Farmers Market
Saturday, Sept. 19 | 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | 222 S. Main St., behind Visit Statesboro | Free to browse
37th Brooklet Peanut Festival
Saturday, Sept. 19 | Parade at 10 a.m., festival all day | Around the Randy Newman Community Center, between East Lee and Railroad streets, Brooklet | Free
Georgia Southern at Jacksonville State
Saturday, Sept. 19 | 7 p.m. ET | AmFirst Stadium, Jacksonville, Ala. | Away, on ESPN+
Southeast Bulloch is idle this week and returns September 25 at West Laurens.
🦅 GEORGIA SOUTHERN UPDATES
Georgia Southern Named the Task Force That Will Design Georgia's First College of Optometry
Georgia has never had an optometry school. Georgia Southern is building one, and last week it named the Optometric Education Task Force that will advise on how. It is chaired by Horace Deal, O.D., who owns Southeastern Eye Care Clinics here in Statesboro, has been the team optometrist for Georgia Southern Athletics for years, and is a past president of both SECO International and the Georgia Optometric Association.
"Georgia has needed an optometry school for decades," Deal said. "This task force represents an incredible opportunity to help shape an institution that will educate future optometrists, improve access to care and strengthen the profession for generations to come."
The group includes alumni in private practice, the 2026 American Optometric Association Young Optometrist of the Year, a rural-care practitioner who sits on the Georgia Optometric Association Board of Trustees, and a public affairs principal for the government relations side. Provost Avinandan Mukherjee said the mix is meant to produce a college that handles clinical training, research and statewide access at once.
State Lawmakers Asked Georgia Southern What Social Media Is Doing to Teenagers
The Georgia Department of Public Health commissioned researchers at Georgia Southern's Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health to answer that question after legislators asked for better information. Tilicia Mayo-Gamble, Ph.D., associate dean for practice and research, is the principal investigator, working with biostatistics professor Chun Hai Fung, Ph.D., whose work was cited in the U.S. Surgeon General's 2023 advisory.
Their recommendation is a media literacy program for grades 4 through 12, developed by the Georgia Department of Education, covering healthy habits, privacy skills and problematic use patterns, plus continued funding for monitoring. "A program like this would be extremely important," Mayo-Gamble said. "That's what public health is, it's more than research, it's about having the chance to impact people's lives."
🏈 SPORTS & CAMPUS EVENTS
The Eagles Lost 22-7 at Clemson in a Game That Kicked at 9:31 p.m.
Lightning pushed kickoff back two hours, which made it the latest start on record for Georgia Southern football. The Eagles hung around anyway. Jakyri Jones intercepted a pass in the first quarter and later recovered a fumble that Carlo Thompson forced near the goal line, and Clemson led only 7-0 after 15 minutes.
Max Johnson hit Ashton Hollins for a 42-yard touchdown with 3:03 left in the half to make it 13-7. That was the last time the Eagles scored. Three second-quarter field goals and two more in the fourth, from 50 and 49 yards, did the rest. Georgia Southern threw for 244 yards, ran for 22, and went 4 for 17 on third down. An 11-play, 72-yard drive in the fourth reached the Clemson 3 and ended on downs.
Johnson finished 27 of 47 for 244 yards. Hollins caught five for 97. Jones had seven tackles with the interception and the fumble recovery, and Rashon Myles Jr. led everybody with 13 tackles. The Eagles are 1-1 and play at Jacksonville State on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The next home game is September 26 against Houston.
Southeast Bulloch Won on a Safety and a Fourth-Down Stop
The Yellow Jackets beat Westside 15-8 in Augusta on Friday, the first meeting between the two schools. After a one-hour lightning delay, Southeast Bulloch scored its first points when Brant Horst tackled a Westside ball carrier in the end zone. Taylor Chaney recovered a fumble, Bailey Hutchins picked off a pass with 30 seconds left in the half, Owen Turner hit two field goals, and the defense stopped Westside on fourth down with 20 seconds to go. SEB is 2-2 and idle this week.
Portal Has Won Three Straight
The Panthers beat Telfair County 49-28 at home Friday, scoring all seven touchdowns on the ground. KJ Hunter, this week's Grice Connect Difference Maker, ran for three of them and threw a 25-yard pass on a fake screen to set up the first. Jeremiah Walker opened the game with an interception at the Telfair 35. Portal is 3-1 and travels to Atkinson County on Friday.
Statesboro Is 3-0 and the Region Schedule Starts Friday
The Blue Devils had last week off after beating Southeast Bulloch 44-7, Burke County 29-22 and Emanuel County Institute 26-12. It is their first 3-0 start since 2019. Benedictine comes to 10 Coach Lee Hill Boulevard on Friday at 7:30 for the region opener.
Bulloch Academy also won, 28-20 over Westfield, on touchdown runs from Conner Perry and Sam Hubbard and a fourth-quarter fumble recovery. Head coach Aaron Phillips was not satisfied: "We kept shooting ourselves in the foot. We had a bonehead play in all phases of the game, special teams, offense, defense, and those are the things we cannot do."
🍽️ RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT
QDOBA Mexican Eats, 229 Tormenta Way, Suite A3
This one has been open since June 15 and plenty of people still have not walked in. It is QDOBA's tenth location in Georgia, close to 3,000 square feet, with indoor and outdoor seating, sitting in the Tormenta Way development near Eagle Village.
The menu is the build-your-own fast-casual setup: burritos, bowls, tacos, quesadillas, nachos and salads, assembled in front of you. The detail worth knowing, and the one that separates it from the obvious comparison, is that queso and guacamole are included rather than upcharged. If you have ever watched a $9 burrito turn into a $13 burrito at the toppings station, that is the difference.
The store employs about 45 people. It opened quietly on a Monday in June and held its grand opening that Saturday, handing the first 100 people in line free burritos or bowls for a year.
Hours: Daily, 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Phone: (912) 512-8052
Worth knowing: it is a short walk from Paulson Stadium, which makes it a real option on a home game Saturday. Order ahead on the app if that is your plan.
🌤️ WEATHER ADVISORY
A dry, hot week. Today is the hottest day on the board, and the rest of the week backs off a couple of degrees without ever getting cool.
Monday: High near 95, sunny, rain 1 percent
Tuesday: High near 90, mostly sunny with a slight chance of afternoon storms, rain 21 percent
Wednesday: High near 89, sunny, rain 0 percent
Thursday: High near 89, sunny, rain 1 percent
Friday: High near 90, sunny, rain 13 percent
Saturday: High near 91, mostly sunny with a slight chance of afternoon storms, rain 18 percent
Sunday: High near 91, chance of afternoon storms, rain 29 percent
Pulled live from the National Weather Service Charleston office at 7:07 a.m. Monday. No active alerts for Bulloch County at that time. Check weather.gov before you commit to an outdoor plan.
Overnight lows run from the low 60s midweek back into the low 70s by the weekend, so Wednesday and Thursday mornings are the pleasant part of the week.
On drought, the news went the wrong way. The U.S. Drought Monitor map dated September 8 puts 85.44 percent of Bulloch County at D0, abnormally dry, up from 80.86 percent the week before. The moderate drought share has not moved off 16.18 percent in a month. Friday night football and the peanut festival will both be dry and dusty. The new map publishes Thursday.
If you are going to Brooklet on Saturday, the parade is at 10 and the tractor races roll at noon on Warnock Street. Bring water and a hat.
The council votes Tuesday on a 9.6-mill city property tax rate, up from 8.625. Where do you land?
👀 LOOKING AHEAD
Tuesday, Sept. 15: the day everything lands. County commission at 8:30 a.m. with working group nominees due, the Fire Station 3 ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. on Brannen Street, the council work session at 4 p.m., and the third millage hearing plus the vote at 5:30 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 18: Tidal Wave Auto Spa's 18th annual Charity Day, at 3 Grady Johnson Road. All wash proceeds go to charity, with half to Safe Haven and the rest to Annandale Village and The Joseph Sams School.
Saturday, Sept. 19: the 37th Brooklet Peanut Festival. Parade at 10 a.m., State Prison Cloggers at 11, the Southeast Bulloch High School Band at 11:30, the 3rd Infantry Division Band from Fort Stewart at noon, tractor races at noon on Warnock Street, and The Ripleys closing it out from 6 to 8 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 30: the second annual Forensic Science Symposium at Georgia Southern, run by the College of Science and Mathematics with Shimadzu Scientific Instruments. Panelists include Interim Statesboro Police Chief Jared Akins and Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Catherine Sumner.
Saturday, Oct. 3: "Bulloch Together: Faith & Blue," noon to 6 p.m. at Mill Creek Regional Park, hosted by the Sheriff's Office and the Sheriff's Foundation and presented by the Exchange Club of Statesboro. Free food, live music, bounce houses.
Saturday, Oct. 10: the Statesboro Family YMCA's next "A Place to Dream" bed delivery. The Y planned for 20 beds and has requests for 36. Each complete set runs about $400, and volunteers are asked to sign up in pairs.
Thursday, Oct. 15: the 16th annual Tasting Statesboro the United Way, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Anthony P. Tippins Family Training Facility next to Paulson Stadium, with more than 40 local restaurants.
Saturday, Oct. 24: the inaugural Black Creek Outdoor Classic, a charity fishing tournament co-hosted by Black Creek Scout Reservation and the Live Like Aiden Foundation.
Tuesday, Nov. 3: the District 2 special election. Loletta Donaldson Elliott, Maleek Jones and Kathleen "Katie" Keehner are on the ballot for the seat Paulette Chavers left in May.
✉️ THANKS FOR READING!
Six people spoke across both tax hearings last week. Tuesday is the third and last one, and the vote happens in the same room right after it closes. If that number bothers you, the fix is a chair at 5:30.
And if the data center question is the one you care about, the deadline is Tuesday morning, not Tuesday night. We got that wrong last week, and we would rather say so out loud than quietly fix it.
Got a tip, a correction, or an event we missed? Hit reply. We read every message.
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