The Decatur County Board of Commissioners, composed of six elected members representing the six districts in the county, welcomes you to its official web site.
Located in Southwest Georgia, Decatur County is home to about 29,000 citizens. Its southern boundary is the state line between Georgia and Florida. Decatur County is uniquely situated at the crossroads of two major thoroughfares- U.S. Highways 27 and 84 -and is located within easy driving distance of four major cities: Dothan, Alabama; Albany and Thomasville, Georgia; and the Capital of Florida, Tallahassee. Decatur County is one of the top 10 agricultural counties in the State of Georgia, and is ranked No. 1 in tomato, peanut and sweet corn production.Tom Patton is the County Administrator who works for the Board of Commissioners and handles the day-to-day business of the county. His office is located at 203 W. Broughton Street in Bainbridge, the county seat. The Administrative Office phone number is (229) 248-3030, fax is (229) 246-2062. For more county information, go to Georgia Department of Community Affairs' Decatur County demographics or University of Georgia Decatur County facts, or Decatur County.georgia.gov.
Decatur County Commissioners, Bainbridge Public Safety officials, officers from Mitchell County, Decatur County, Seminole County, Donalsonville, Colquitt, Attapulgus and Climax government and law enforcement offices, representatives from the District Attorney’s office, people from City and County road departments and the county jail, and the Mayor of Attapulgus attended a Litter Enforcement workshop at the Decatur County Administrative office on Broughton Street last Thursday, June 25th. County Administrator, Col. Tom Patton, opened the meeting with comments about his philosophies about littering and verbalized his commitment to the eradication of litter in Decatur County in the interest of promoting growth for our area.
The workshop was sponsored by Keep Decatur County Beautiful. The Keep America Beautiful affiliate has been striving to bring this workshop to Decatur County for quite some time. To make it easier for people to attend the group was able to enlist the financial help of several local businesses and volunteer help from friends and board members of KDCB. Wal-Mart, Southwest Georgia Oil Co., Ivey Funeral Home and Robinson Motors all made financial contributions. Park Avenue Bank provided pads and pens for the attendees to use. Volunteers from the City and County and Executive Director Suzanne Brandt made centerpieces for all tables from miscellaneous recyclable materials.
Bringing the information to Decatur County were Randy Hartmann of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Lynn Cobb of Keep Georgia Beautiful, and Cpl. Scott Carroll of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The three brought information gathered by the State of Georgia regarding the status of litter and the results of research done at the request of Governor Purdue. Some facts about litter presented are:
· Litter often decreases property values by as much as 15 percent
· There are 7 – 10 deaths on Georgia highways each year because of litter
· Litter damages our precious water resources
· Litter negatively impacts economic development, tourism and community pride
· Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world
· The #1 reason people litter is because they are careless. 2/3 of what is along Georgia roadsides comes from an unsecured load. This is called negligent litter
· People caught littering can face charges from a fine of $1,000 or up to 12 years in prison, to a fine of $25,000 and/or a term of five years in prison
· No one wants to visit, work or play in a trashy environment.
Lunch was provided for the attendees and each was presented with a “toolkit” from DNR. Each toolkit was a canvas bag containing a coffee mug, reflective vest, disposable gloves, clipboard and tongs to sort through trash.
The litter problem is one that needs the cooperation of all departments. The workshop presented an opportunity for area enforcement professionals to form alliances in order to present a united front to combat the problem.
Our County Seat, Bainbridge
Officially named the "Bass Capital Of Georgia," by the 2008 State Legislature, Bainbridge is also known as "Georgia's First Inland Port" because the Flint River, whose headwaters are located in Atlanta, flows through the city before emptying into Lake Seminole, one of the top 10 bass fishing lakes in the nation. Bainbridge Mayor Mark Harrell or City Manager Chris Hobby can be reached at (229) 248-2000. Contact the local Chamber of Commerce for information about upcoming city events, visit either the City of Bainbridge's site or its Bainbridge Mainstreet site.
OTHER MUNICIPALITIES IN DECATUR COUNTY INCLUDE
Attapulgus, Mayor Johnny Medley, (229) 465-3322
Brinson, Mayor James Earp, (229) 248-1752
Climax, Mayor Elizabeth Sheddy-Phillips, (229) 246-0467
OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS REPRESENTING DECATUR COUNTY
U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R)
Washington D.C. office: (202) 224-3521
Atlanta office: (770) 763-9090, District Office (229) 985-2112
Macon office: 1-800-234-4208
E-mail at Web Site: www.chambliss.senate.gov
U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R)
Washington D.C. office: (202) 224-3643, District Office (770) 661-0990
Atlanta office: (770) 661-0999
E-mail at Web Site: www.isakson.senate.gov
U.S. Representative 2nd District Sanford Bishop (D)
Washington D.C. office: (202) 225-3631
E-mail: bishop.email@mail.house.gov
Albany office: (229) 439-8067 (Field Representative Wallace Sholar)
Wallace Sholar Email: wallace.sholar@mail.house.gov
State Senator District 11 John Bulloch (R)
Atlanta Office: (404) 656-0040, District Office (229) 683-3420
E-mail: john.bulloch@senate.ga.gov
State Representative House District 172 Gene Maddox (R)
Atlanta Office: (404) 656-0152, District Office (229) 377-1812
E-mail: gene.maddox@house.ga.gov
Governor's Office of Customer Service 1-800-Georgia
Georgia's Sunshine Laws (pdf version) Freedom of Information Act
SWGA Community Action Council link For Heating and Home Repair Assistance, or call 229-246-3119 for Decatur County Neighborhood Service Center
Scenes from the 8,430-acre Silver Lake Wildlife Management Area in Decatur County, acquired by Georgia Department of Natural Resources 2007-2008. For information on Fall Quota Hunts, go to www.gohuntgeorgia.com or contact Hunter Services at 770-761-3045.
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