Local & State Headlines

Officials to hear residents

• Dougherty County officials will talk to community members at a quarterly listening session.

Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY — Dougherty County Commissioner John Hayes’ Citizen Listening Session for the third quarter is scheduled to be held at the Radium Springs St. John and St. Mark Episcopal Church Tuesday evening.

Hayes, District 12 State Senator-elect Freddie Powell Sims, County Administrator Richard Crowdis and other county government leaders will take part in the listening session, which is scheduled to be conducted from 6:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

“We hold these sessions essentially because the overwhelming majority of folk in the county do not come to our meetings at the government center,” Hayes said. “Government truly exists for the people; that’s an essential of a democracy. So we try to take our government to the people, to engage them in what we do.

“Our citizens’ greatest voice comes at the polls, and afterward we don’t hear much from them. This session is not a lecture on our part; we listen to our citizens’ concerns.”

Hayes decided to hold the quarterly meetings throughout his district in an effort to give citizens an opportunity to meet their elected and appointed officials and to air grievances about issues that affect them most.

The commissioner notes that the meetings help foster greater relations between government and community.

Also scheduled to appear at the listening session are Assistant County Administrator Thomas Thomas, County Attorney Spencer Lee, Dougherty Police Chief Don Cheek, county Public Works director Larry Cook, Code Enforcement Director Mike Tilson and Planning Director Howard Brown.

“We take part in these sessions at the request of our commissioners,” Crowdis said. “It gives us an opportunity to go out and talk directly to our citizens. In that respect, it’s productive. It gives elected and appointed officials visibility in the different areas, allows our citizens to put faces with the names.”

St. John and St. Mark Episcopal Church is located at 2425 Cherry Laurel Lane at Holly Drive.

Subsequent listening sessions are tentatively planned by the District 2 commissioner on Nov. 13 and Feb. 19. For additional information, contact Hayes at (229) 446-7853 or (404) 451-5464.