Dollar Square builder

is still in the game

Don Buie and Tim Washington had a special relationship; the two schemed to put Washington’s new Dollar Square store in some fancy downtown digs for a whopping $1-a-month rent, with taxpayers picking up the difference. To boot, taxpayers would spend tens of thousands more on interior renovations and purchases.

The scheme was covered by up then-city manager Alfred Lot after being revealed by The Albany Journal with the help of some citizen servants. The rest is history: Washington and Buie pleaded no contest, and guilty, respectively, and Lott ultimately was forced to resign.

The deal stunk so badly that Washington’s former business partner, Loronzo Williams called The Albany Journal to ensure that his name wasn’t associated with the downtown Dollar Square. After a business deal involving the Dollar Square on Newton Road went sour, Williams took Washington to court.

It was Williams and his Stone Mountain company, North American Equities, that left taxpayers holding a $94,000 bill – thanks to the City of Albany Community and Economic Development Department, which issued him a loan without ensuring the City was the first lien holder — in the Newton Road development deal, which went bankrupt. Williams also defaulted on $443,000 loaned to him by Citizen’s Trust Bank.

Williams said that he wasn’t paid for a $10,200 North American Equities invoice that Buie submitted with receipts submitted for reimbursement from the city.

Meanwhile, Williams is back in the game: He just got a construction business license from the City of Albany.

Doin’ the CRCT rap

This is CRCT week in Dougherty County. At Sherwood Acres Elementary School, students learned a motivational rap song that would make scholastic purists cringe due to its use of African American Vernacular English.

Here is the song, titled “We Study Non-stop (We So Out Yo League):

(Hook)

We study non-stop

So much fatigue

We making level three

On CRCT

We so out yo league

We so out yo league

(Verse)

We’ve been practicing and studying everyday

Tryin’ to make that 850, so we what can we say

We got five great teachers who be keepin’ it real

We got Curry, Anderson, Bonner, Peterson

And don’t forget Jackson cuz he makin’ it happen

We know our math facts and we know em real good

Reading, we gone read just like we should

Language arts, our subjects and verbs all agree

We gone ace this test people can’t you see

Synonyms and antonyms, the same and the opposite

Homophones sound alike, we know it there’s no droppin’ it

Sum and difference, dividend and quotient

Decimal, numerator, don’t forget denominator

Knowing our mat terms is helping us, it makes us greater

Less than, equal, naw boo, not to you

CAMin’ and STAMin’ and doing what we have to do

Gotta make 850, there’s no other choice you know it’s true

MLK lieutenant to visit

During the month of the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, Albany State University and the Albany Civil Rights Institute will welcome to Albany the Rev. Dr. C.T. Vivian, a civil rights legend and King’s lieutenant in the struggle.

Vivian will speak on “A Dream Remembered a Vision Continued” on Friday, at the Albany Civil Rights Institute (Old Mount Zion Church sanctuary).

As a young man in 1947, Vivian led one of the early sit-ins of the post World War II era. That success introduced him to the work that would lead him into the eye of the storm, the Civil Rights Movement.  The movement eclipsed much of America’s history during the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s and became the quintessential example of how to conduct a peaceful revolution.

During his work with King, Vivian served as the national director of affiliates and strategist for every S.C.L.C. organization.

During his speech in Albany, Vivian will explore the direction the struggle has taken in the 21^st century and the role of young people in the future. Doors open at 7 p.m. with the program starting at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Clay shooting for Darton

The Business and Social Science Division at Darton College is sponsoring its annual Clay Shoot Competition at Wynfield Plantation on Saturday. All proceeds from the event will benefit student scholarships for the Business and Social Science Division.

Tickets for the clay shoot are $25, and the dinner tickets are $25. The dinner menu is fine southern cuisine. There will be prizes for the winners, and a cash bar is available.

Call 317-7001 for tickets or information.