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  TOURISM IN DECATUR COUNTY

Bon Air Motel
The historic BON AIR HOTEL, located in downtown Bainbridge, with historic Decatur County Courthouse clock tower pictured in background.
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In days gone by, the Bon Air Hotel was know as a "delightful place to sojourn at any season of the year." However, over the years, the once-beautiful hotel had deteriorated into an underused three-story building with a leaking roof. The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation assisted in restoring the building and the 39,000 square foot building now serves as a landmark and homage to days gone by in downtown Bainbridge, GA.

Many Choices of Activities
There are lots of places to see and things to do in and around Decatur County, Georgia. Tourists can take the "Heritage Tour", a driving tour of historical places in Decatur County, attend one of the many, many festivals or celebration events held in and around Decatur County, or enjoy the wonderful outdoor fishing and hunting that our area offers with its hunting reservations/preserves, including the new Silver Lake WMA opening in August 2008.

For a list of popular tourist attractions and vacation spots in Southwest Georgia, go to the Regional Development Center's "Tour Sowega" site.

Whether you enjoy attending a parades, listening to various styles of live music, indulging yourself in the arts, or simply attending community events and absorbing the Southern culture that abounds, there is sure to be something for you in Decatur County.

Best Fishing in the South

FishingThe Flint River and Lake Seminole offer abundant fishing and water sports. Both attract thousands of amateur and professional fishermen, and many top bass tournaments are held here throughout the year. Lake Seminole is ranked by some sources as the fifth best bass fishing lake in the United States. Abundant populations of striped and white bass, catfish, crappy, and bream wait to tempt fishermen of all ages.

Fishing is a year-round activity on Lake Seminole. In addition to the challenging bass fishing tournaments held in the area annually, there are many casual competitions held almost every weekend among local bass clubs and professional anglers. The annual Jack Wingate Open is held the first weekend in March and is a good chance to test your skills against the best fishermen in the business. The Lake Seminole area even has a legal netting season - the only location in inland Georgia where this is true.

Camping, Boating, Water Skiing, and Picnicking

In addition to fishing, there are other outdoor activities for nature-lovers. Camping, boating, water skiing and picnicking are also favorite leisure activities in the area. Boaters are provided with numerous boat ramps along the shores of the Flint River, Spring Creek, Lake Seminole, and related bodies of water. Boat rentals are available at Seminole State Park and Wingate's Fishing and Hunting Lodge. There are numerous camping sites, RV sites/parks, and freshwater beaches.

There are several beautiful parks maintained by the City of Bainbridge, including those at the Earle May Boat Basin, Cheney Griffin Park and W.M. Coyle Park. The parks include such items and features as campsites, barbeque pits, stocked fishing ponds, a steam-powered sawmill, playgrounds, a historic steam-powered train engine and an outdoor theater. There are elevated nature trails, boardwalks, bike trails, lighted tennis courts, fishing piers, and more with each park having its own unique combination of the above features, creating a truly unique experience.

Hotel RoomHotels, Motels, and Camp Sites
Whether you're on a business trip and need something that provides internet access and is nice and clean, yet reasonably priced, or don't mind spending a little more in order to have a bigger choice of services provided to you, there are accommodations throughout Decatur County that can meet your exact needs. There are economy-style motels and larger, more "full service" type hotels also available.

For more complete listing of area hotels and motels, you may wish to visit our Lodging page.

 

You may wish to view these related pages on our web site:


Notices
 

To view past Board of Commissioner meeting minutes, the county budget, draft of proposed animal ordinance or other documents, go to the left-hand column under "Directory," click on "County Commission," and scroll down to bottom of the page to find and click on the required document to view it.

Keep Decatur County Beautiful’s Electronic Recycling Event is coming up Saturday, August 23rd at Decatur County Fairgrounds -1213 Vada Hwy., from 10am – 2 pm. At this time, local residents can drop off old personal computers, monitors, LCD screen/flat screen monitors, VCRs, radios, stereos, DVD players, microwaves, power supplies, rechargeable batteries, vacuums, banking equipment, telephones, pagers, networking equipment, laptops, keyboards, mice, power cables, medical equipment (non-hazardous), printers, copy machines, fax machines, cell phones, transformers, scanners, portable electronic devices, servers, HUBS, ink and toner cartridges, remotes, modems, projectors, cameras, and televisions ($10/set charge to leave tv sets.) *Items Not Accepted: Refrigerators, washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, mercury containing devices (thermometers, fire alarms), hazardous chemicals/materials, light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, bio-waste. (*NOTE: appliances ARE accepted at both Decatur County Landfills.  For information, call 465-3188.)

Employment Opportunities

Decatur-Grady 911 Communications Operator Trainee - Part- time (34 hrs per week) during 6 month training period. Insurance/Retirement Benefits after training and Certification. 18 yrs of age, HS diploma or GED, background check, drug screen and driver's history required. Must be able to work rotating shift, weekends, holidays and be on call.

Georgia Certified Paramedic- ITLS & PALS Preferred - 24/48 hr shifts.  Up to $4000 Sign On Bonus 

Contact Human Resources at 229-248-3030 for employment opportunities

County Calendar

The next regular Board of Commissioners meeting is 7 p.m. Tuesday, August 26, 2008, at County Administrative offices on Broughton Street. Call 248-3030 for more information. Commission minutes from previous meetings can be viewed at bottom of County Commission main page.

The Second Annual Decatur County Employee Health Fair will be held Tuesday, August 19, at the Administration Building at 203 W. Broughton St., from 6:30 am to 3 pm. It is recommended that any employee wishing to participate in the free lab work should fast at least 12 hours before having blood drawn. Smoking Cessation classes begin in September, as well as a series of "Lunch & Learn" health sessions. Employees must register for these free classes at the Health Fair. (Go to "News & Events" page under "Directory" for dates, times of these classes.) Contact Human Resources Director Marjorie Mayfield at 248-3030 for more information.

A Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax election will be held Tuesday, September 16, 2008 for the purpose of allowing citizens to decide if they want to renew the one cent tax in Decatur County, which, if passed, is expected to generate a total amount of $36,867,625 in five years for use by the county, the Hospital Authority and the county's four municipalities to pay for infrastructure improvements, capital projects and capital purchases.

Keep Decatur County Beautiful's Annual Rivers Alive! Event will take place on Oct. 11 this year. Call 229-246-3611 for more information.


 

 

 

 

 

Homeland Security Advisory System
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