Hello, Statesboro!
Tomorrow is Election Day, and City Hall has a big morning of its own. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and at 9 a.m. the city council votes on the budget cuts we have followed since early October. After that the week belongs to Homecoming at Georgia Southern, which ends with Marshall at Paulson on Saturday afternoon.
The weather stays warm, low 80s through Thursday, and the first real rain chance arrives Wednesday night and hangs around into Friday.
In the news: what the council votes on Tuesday, where the three District 2 candidates stand on data centers, and what came out of the last data center forum.
Also in this edition: the Eagles are in first place in the Sun Belt East, Friday night has three big things going on at once, and a sandwich shop on Highway 80 that caters.
One ask before we start. Did you use our Halloween in the Boro guide? Take our three-question survey, or hit reply and tell us what you went to and what we missed. Your answers decide whether we make one for Christmas.
Let's get into it.
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📰 TOP NEWS
Tuesday at 9 a.m., the Council Votes on $1.04 Million in Cuts
The city council meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall, the same morning the polls open, and the main item is the first amendment to this year's budget. It is the cut list City Manager Charles Penny brought in October, minus four things the council asked to keep.
The numbers come from the finance director's October 28 memo in the meeting packet. After the council held the tax rate at 8.625 mills, the city needed to take $1.34 million out of the budget. This amendment takes out $1.04 million. The draft minutes of the October 20 meeting explain the gap: about $295,000 goes back to Youth Connect, Village Builders, Downtown Live concerts and the employee holiday bonus.
What stays cut: dozens of small lines, mostly travel, training, uniforms and supplies, in nearly every department. The largest lines come out of employee pay budgets, where Penny's plan froze positions: $115,500 in police administration, $87,794 in planning and development, $75,000 in engineering and $58,000 in public works administration. Parks gives up $20,000 for the art park lease and $48,482 in contract work. The fire fund trims $33,420, and the city moves $175,000 from the solid waste fund into the general fund.
Also on Tuesday's agenda: 34 body-worn cameras for the police department at $70,516.60, paid from 2025 SPLOST money, and $197,950 in TSPLOST money for right-of-way negotiations on Phase 2 of the Blue Mile project.
Why it matters: the work session minutes also record Penny's warning about next year. He recommends suspending employee pay adjustments for fiscal 2028, and he says that if the council rolls the tax rate back the expected 2.5 mills once the new FLOST sales tax arrives, the city comes up short again. Public comment on agenda items comes before the vote, and the meeting is open to anyone.
District 2 Votes Tuesday. Here Is Where the Three Candidates Stand on Data Centers.
If you live in city council District 2, your ballot Tuesday includes the special election for the seat that has been empty since May. The Statesboro Herald asked all three candidates about data centers, and their answers differ more than you might expect.
Kathleen Keehner is against them: "I oppose allowing large-scale data centers within Statesboro's city limits," she wrote, pointing to their demands on electricity, water and infrastructure against very few permanent jobs.
Loletta Donaldson-Elliott wants the city to wait. She said it "should pause any further action on data centers until District 2 has an elected representative at the table," and that her position will follow what district residents want.
Maleek Jones said approval should come only after "rigorous examination" and "meaningful input and support from the community." The question he hears most from residents, he said, is "Why here?"
How to vote: polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at your assigned precinct. Statesboro Precinct 11 votes at the Jones-Love Building at Luetta Moore Park, 585 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, not the Old William James Complex. Check your precinct and sample ballot on the state's My Voter Page, or call the Board of Elections at (912) 764-6502.
The Last Data Center Forum: Noise, Revenue, and What Happens to Your Input
Georgia Southern's third and final small-group forum met Tuesday night at the Jones-Love Cultural Center. Residents talked through three options: keep data centers out, allow them under the rules as written, or allow them under stricter conditions.
A neighbor of the proposed Burkhalter Road site asked how many backup generators a data center would need and what they would sound like. Developer Bobby Bagwell said that number is not available yet. He said preliminary sound readings have been taken around the property and that the project has to meet the city's noise rules. "At the end of the day, we cannot build a site that is louder than existing conditions today," he said.
Mayor Jonathan McCollar told the room that the rezoning did not approve a data center. A special use permit would still be needed, and no application naming an end user had been filed. He put the possible revenue at $2.5 million to $4 million a year in revenue and franchise fees, money he said could help roll back property taxes.
What happens next: organizers said the questionnaires and discussion notes will go into a report for city and county officials and the public. Georgia Southern said it is not taking a side. The county's moratorium on data center permits runs through December 31.
📋 LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS
Willow Hill Gets $750,000 to Restore the Old School in Portal
The Willow Hill Heritage and Renaissance Center received a $750,000 National Park Service grant to preserve and restore the historic Willow Hill School. Formerly enslaved African Americans and their descendants founded the school in 1874. It integrated in 1971 and closed in 1999, and the center now runs out of the 1954 school building. The money goes toward the building's exterior, its infrastructure and its original architectural features.
Two Old Cases Moved This Week
The Bulloch County Sheriff's Office arrested Perry Edwards on Thursday in the 2015 killing of Betty Jean King, who was found dead in her George Road home 11 years ago. He faces charges including malice murder and is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Anyone with information can call Lt. Walter Deal at (912) 764-1788. On Friday, a Bulloch County jury convicted Lucas Lopez Fields in the 2023 shooting death of 17-year-old Jabari Walker, and the judge sentenced him to life in prison plus 15 years.
Bulloch's Teacher of the Year Finalists Are Named
Zach Barrow, who teaches eighth-grade Georgia Studies at William James Middle, is the 2026-27 Bulloch County Teacher of the Year, and John Hendrix, the engineering and technology teacher at Portal Middle High, is first runner-up. The other finalists are Joanna Mosely of Stilson Elementary, Anna Swint of Southeast Bulloch Middle and Raymond Mendoza of Statesboro High. All 15 school-level winners were honored at a dinner Thursday night.
High School Seniors Can Apply to College for Free This Month
More than 60 Georgia colleges and universities are waiving application fees for high school seniors through November 30. There is no limit on how many a student can apply to. The full list of schools is on GAfutures.org, and seniors who apply to public colleges through the Georgia Match dashboard get the waiver automatically.
The TMT Farms Christmas Lights Are Moving Downtown
The lights at TMT Farms are over, and a community group is carrying the tradition into town. TMT in Town runs December 1 to 25, from 6 to 9 p.m. nightly, with lit displays at businesses downtown, along the Blue Mile and at Georgia Southern's Sweetheart Circle on a set route. Food donations for the local food bank go to AgSouth or First United Methodist Church, and some downtown businesses will have collection barrels. Businesses that want to take part can sign up at tmtintown.com.
📅 THIS WEEK'S EVENTS (November 2 to 8, 2026)
French Week at Georgia Southern
Monday, Nov. 2 to Friday, Nov. 6 | Georgia Southern, Statesboro campus | Free, except the French Table meal Wednesday | Films, lectures and panels, open to the community. Schedule at georgiasouthern.edu
Election Day
Tuesday, Nov. 3 | 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. | Your assigned precinct
City Council Meeting
Tuesday, Nov. 3 | 9 a.m. | City Hall, 50 E. Main St. | Open to the public
Ogeechee Area Hospice Chicken Dinner Pickup
Friday, Nov. 6 | 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 200 Donehoo St. | For plates ordered by Oct. 30
Tractors & Tunes
Friday, Nov. 6 | 5:30 to 8 p.m. | East Main Street, downtown Statesboro | Free | Rescheduled from October: tractor displays, show cows, live music and a bounce house
Georgia Southern Homecoming Concert
Friday, Nov. 6 | Doors 5:30 p.m., show 7 p.m. | Hill Convocation Center | Moneybagg Yo, K CAMP and Jacquees
Statesboro High vs. Wayne County
Friday, Nov. 6 | Home | The regular-season finale, back home after four road games
True Blue 5K and Abbie's Adventure Race
Saturday, Nov. 7 | Starting at 8 a.m. | M.C. Anderson Park
Main Street Farmers Market
Saturday, Nov. 7 | 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | 222 S. Main St., behind Visit Statesboro | Free to browse
Pet Adoption Weekend at Bulloch County Animal Services
Saturday, Nov. 7 and Sunday, Nov. 8 | Noon to 3 p.m. | 81 Mill Creek Road | $50 for a dog, $30 for a cat | Bring a state ID; adopters must be 18 or older
Georgia Southern vs. Marshall
Saturday, Nov. 7 | 3:30 p.m. | Paulson Stadium | Homecoming and Military Appreciation Day
Darin & Brooke Aldridge
Sunday, Nov. 8 | 4 p.m. | Emma Kelly Theater, Averitt Center for the Arts, 33 E. Main St.
🦅 GEORGIA SOUTHERN UPDATES
Homecoming Week Is "Built to SOAR"
This is Homecoming week on the Statesboro campus, and it is also Military Appreciation weekend. Friday night's concert at the Hill Convocation Center brings Moneybagg Yo, K CAMP and Jacquees, with doors at 5:30 p.m. Saturday starts with the True Blue 5K at M.C. Anderson Park. Alumni have a NOBA and First 500 reunion brunch at the Dining Commons from 10 to 11:30 a.m., then the Alumni and Friends tailgate at the Bishop Alumni Center from noon to 3 p.m., which doubles as the Salute to Service tailgate.
At the game, Georgia Southern and Operation Teammate are hosting about 30 military-connected children and their families with a pregame tailgate, the Eagle Walk and a halftime recognition.
French Week Runs All Week
The Department of World Languages and Cultures and the Department of History host the 27th annual French Week through Friday. This year's theme is the alliance between France and the American colonies during the Revolution. Every event is free and open to the public except Wednesday's French Table meal at the Dining Commons.
🏈 SPORTS & CAMPUS EVENTS
The Eagles Beat App State 19-3 and Sit in First Place in the East
Georgia Southern held App State to 6 rushing yards on Halloween night and kept the ball for 43 minutes and 54 seconds, a school record. The defense had three sacks, two interceptions and a fumble recovery, and Chance Gamble picked off a pass at the goal line with 3:02 left. Taeo Todd ran for the only touchdown, and Tripp Bryant made all four of his field goals.
Last week we could not find out whether quarterback Max Johnson was healthy. He was: 36 of 47 for 318 yards. "Max Johnson who may not have been at 100 percent but he was a true professional out there," coach Clay Helton said.
The Eagles are 4-4 and 3-1 in the Sun Belt, which puts them first in the East Division. They have now beaten App State four straight times. Marshall comes to Paulson for Homecoming on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Statesboro Comes Home 6-3, and Portal's Region Title Run Falls Short
Statesboro opened its game at Jenkins with an onside kick and came back from 21-14 down at halftime to win 31-21. DJ Brooks ran in two touchdowns, Adian Brewton recovered a fumble to set up the go-ahead score, and the defense blocked a punt. The Blue Devils are 6-3 and finish the regular season at home Friday against Wayne County.
Portal played Emanuel County Institute for the region championship and lost 36-28 after trailing 28-7 at the half. The Panthers are 7-2. Southeast Bulloch lost 48-34 to New Hampstead on Senior Night, a loss Grice Connect says hurt the Yellow Jackets' playoff hopes. Bulloch Academy, the region champion, had the week off and will host a second-round game in the GIAA Class AAAA playoffs.
One more: the Southeast Bulloch Middle School boys tennis team went undefeated in region play and beat Richmond Hill 3-0 for the first region title in program history.
🍽️ RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT
Newk's Eatery, 23900 U.S. Highway 80 East
Homecoming weekend means a lot of people feeding a lot of people, so here is a place that does both a drive-thru and catering. Newk's opened on Highway 80 East in September 2025. The owners, Rick Howard and Tiku Schroff, are also behind the Dunkin', Popeyes and Wild Wing's in town, per Grice Connect, and the managing partner is Statesboro native Ron Flott, who used to own Larry's Giant Subs.
The menu is sandwiches, salads, soups and pizzas. The kitchen is open to the dining room, there are no fryers or microwaves, the meats are sliced in house and the dressings are made there. There is a covered outdoor seating area too.
"We have an extensive catering menu, and we'll be changing our menus seasonally to keep it fresh and different," Flott told Grice Connect when it opened. That is worth knowing if you are feeding a tailgate on Saturday.
Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, per its Google listing.
Phone: (912) 225-3106
🌤️ WEATHER ADVISORY
Warm through Thursday, a few rain chances from Wednesday night to Friday, then a cool, clear weekend.
Monday: High near 78, mostly sunny, low near 59
Tuesday: High near 82, partly sunny, rain 6 percent, low near 62
Wednesday: High near 83, partly sunny, showers and storms possible at night (32 percent), low near 63
Thursday: High near 82, showers and storms possible, rain 32 percent, low near 59
Friday: High near 80, showers possible, rain 27 percent, low near 53
Saturday: High near 78, mostly sunny, low near 49
Sunday: High near 76, mostly sunny, low near 48
Pulled live from the National Weather Service forecast updated at 7:32 a.m. Monday. No active alerts for Bulloch County at that time. Check weather.gov before you commit to an outdoor plan.
Election Day looks dry. Friday is the day to watch: a 27 percent chance of showers lands on Tractors & Tunes, the Homecoming concert and the Statesboro High game, so look again Friday morning. Saturday clears out for the 5K and the 3:30 kickoff, and Saturday night drops near 49. Bring a jacket if you stay downtown after the game.
On the drought: no change. The U.S. Drought Monitor map dated October 27 matches the three before it: about 62 percent of Bulloch County is out of drought categories, and about 16 percent is still in moderate drought.
👀 LOOKING AHEAD
Saturday, Nov. 14: Recycle Fest, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on East Vine Street behind City Hall. Free document shredding, recycling, a Fix-It Fair for broken lamps, bikes and small appliances, and a free tree from the city's Tree Board. That night, Jason Crabb plays the Emma Kelly Theater at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 17: the council votes on Jason Boyles as city manager, 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Friday, Nov. 20: Dancing with the Statesboro Stars, 6:30 p.m. at Connection Church, raising money for Safe Haven. Eleven teams, one show.
Tuesday, Nov. 24: Shopping by Lantern Light at the farmers market, 5:30 to 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 1: TMT in Town begins, 6 to 9 p.m. nightly through Christmas.
Thursday, Dec. 31: the county's moratorium on data center permits expires.
✉️ THANKS FOR READING!
A ballot, a budget vote and a Homecoming game, all in six days. Vote early in the day if you can, and if you are headed downtown Friday night, give yourself time: there is a lot going on at once.
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