Brooklet vs Richmond Hill vs Guyton (Savannah, Bloomingdale: elementary school, closing, zip code)

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by CoastalGAGuy

That must have been one short parade! Sonny deserves his own thread. Yes, he's so much about being the good old boy, that he can't get out of his own way sometimes. He is key to WTOC's goal to dominate the rural landscape from here to Macon and Augusta.

Brooklet DEFINITELY qualifies as the heart of their territory.

Well, apparently all of Sonny's "cousins" are from the Brooklet area, though he's actually a son of Tattnall County:

'"It's got 2 Ts and 2 Ls y'all!" -- SONNY DIXON QUOTE

And you're right: It was a short parade, and would have been even shorter without the contingent of Slow Tractors preparing for the Brooklet Peanut Festival Slow Tractor Race (I'm not making this up):

"Here come the slow tractors! Them some mighty fine tractors! Look how slow they be going! Hoo boy! Ain't this fun?!"-- SONNY DIXON QUOTE

I think a Sonny Dixon thread is a GREAT idea!

On yesterday's coverage of the parade, the whole broadcast consisted of parade video over audio of Sonny going, "Hey Bubba! How your mama and them? Good to see ya!!"

[DanielAvery]

I guess the OTT folksiness can be...um, polarizing. I have always thought they (Sonny Dixon and Doug Weathers before him) lay it on just a bit too thick, but obviously that is something that gets them a certain amount of loyal viewers, or else it would have ended with Doug Weathers and the "Giant Vegetables Era" (and Mike Manhatton would probably have inherited Doug's chair rather than Sonny Dixon). Still, I prefer the news folks being a bit more "aw-shucks" than being plastic/artificial or smug and condescending.

But back to the topic at hand. My father's side of the family has been in Guyton since the 1880s and all I hear my dad, uncles, and aunts complaining about these days is the recent spate of real-estate purchases by the town's various churches. Lots of vacant lots and old houses are being bought up by the churches and (in most cases) left vacant, not developed or anything. Not sure why this is worse than being bought up by people from out of town, but it is interesting to hear my uncle outline just how much of the land in the center of town is actually held by various churches rather than individual landowners.

They also seem amused by the recently-formed police department, making all the usual Barney Fife jokes and such. It is worth noting that there was enough criminal activity to merit a small police force being formed, but I think they will probably spend as much time collecting speeding-ticket revenue as protecting citizens, much like Brooklet's police department does.

Though I grew up outside of the Guyton city limits I've always felt like that's my "hometown" (we had a Guyton mailing address, and of course my family connections to the town). The days of everyone knowing everyone have long since passed, but that's not necessarily a bad thing because it also lends a bit of "live and let live" feeling that you don't tend to get when everyone is in everyone else's business (as Guyton most definitely was when I was growing up).

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by DanielAvery

I guess the OTT folksiness can be...um, polarizing. I have always thought they (Sonny Dixon and Doug Weathers before him) lay it on just a bit too thick, but obviously that is something that gets them a certain amount of loyal viewers, or else it would have ended with Doug Weathers and the "Giant Vegetables Era" (and Mike Manhatton would probably have inherited Doug's chair rather than Sonny Dixon). Still, I prefer the news folks being a bit more "aw-shucks" than being plastic/artificial or smug and condescending.

But back to the topic at hand. My father's side of the family has been in Guyton since the 1880s and all I hear my dad, uncles, and aunts complaining about these days is the recent spate of real-estate purchases by the town's various churches. Lots of vacant lots and old houses are being bought up by the churches and (in most cases) left vacant, not developed or anything. Not sure why this is worse than being bought up by people from out of town, but it is interesting to hear my uncle outline just how much of the land in the center of town is actually held by various churches rather than individual landowners.

They also seem amused by the recently-formed police department, making all the usual Barney Fife jokes and such. It is worth noting that there was enough criminal activity to merit a small police force being formed, but I think they will probably spend as much time collecting speeding-ticket revenue as protecting citizens, much like Brooklet's police department does.

Though I grew up outside of the Guyton city limits I've always felt like that's my "hometown" (we had a Guyton mailing address, and of course my family connections to the town). The days of everyone knowing everyone have long since passed, but that's not necessarily a bad thing because it also lends a bit of "live and let live" feeling that you don't tend to get when everyone is in everyone else's business (as Guyton most definitely was when I was growing up).

1. The real sad thing about Mike Manhatton's passing is the fact that he put in 33 years at that station and was far and away the best anchor they ever had, but because of WTOC's ridiculous policy/strategy of wanting to be No.1 to the huckster audience in the boondocks, he was never allowed to ascend to first chair. WTOC has some good reporters and other good anchors (Mike Cihla, Dawn Baker, Jodi Chapin, Don Logana) but their work is often diminished by Sonny's good old boy personality -- which unfortunately comes across on air way more than it should and often at really inappropriate moments.

2. The townsfolk of Guyton are likely opposed to churches buying up property because it removes it from the tax rolls.

3. Is the new police force a reaction to the hoped-for Medient Studios project? Isn't Guyton the nearest town to the site?

[DanielAvery]

The police department formed long before this Medient Studios stuff. Not sure, but I think they've been around for two years, maybe more. My understanding is that they have no power outside the city limits of Guyton. The studio site is probably 15-20 minutes away from Guyton, anyway. I assume the police department was more to support ECSO fight the meth lab epidemic that seems to be more of an issue in western Effingham than in the eastern half.

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by DanielAvery

The police department formed long before this Medient Studios stuff. Not sure, but I think they've been around for two years, maybe more. My understanding is that they have no power outside the city limits of Guyton. The studio site is probably 15-20 minutes away from Guyton, anyway. I assume the police department was more to support ECSO fight the meth lab epidemic that seems to be more of an issue in western Effingham than in the eastern half.

Is Effingham County Middle / High inside the Guyton city limits? It has a Guyton address ...

[DanielAvery]

The Guyton addresses are a function of the rural routes driven by the post office, not the Guyton city limits. Guyton, Marlow, Pineora, the whole area of Highway 30 (including SEHS, SEMS, and Marlow Elementary) as well as Highway 119 up to (around) the area of ECHS/ECMS are all still grouped in the 31312 zip code. Though I could swear when I went to ECHS (in the OLD ECHS a bit down the road) it had a Springfield address, so I'm not sure what's going on there.

The lofty sounding "South Guyton" was a term coined by the writers of the yellow pages (remember those??) when they used to divide us up between "actual" Guyton and the areas south of Guyton all the way down Highway 30 and Sandhill Road. Given the way the USPS has been re-districting and closing PO's over the years, some of the boundaries may have changed, but the Guyton PO handles a lot more than just the city's mail.

[Drewplanner]

My mother works in Brooklet and I visit her sometimes for lunch. It's a small bedroom community of roughly 2,000 in the 'town'-limits. They have a subway and a chinese food place in a tiny shopping center, and then a few cute little restaurants in the tiny downtown. There has been a wave of upscale subdivisions built around Brooklet's city limits - I think because of the school district mainly. It is a hop/skip to Statesboro but far enough on the edge of the city that if you wanted to drive to Savannah, you wouldnt have to sit in any traffic on the way out - just smooth sailing.

I am not aware of any confederate flags flying in the area - I think there is one really tall/large flag on I-16 heading towards Savannah (in Effingham county?) - thats the only one I have noticed. Its so obnoxious because it's setback so far from the house on the edge of the interstate property, its clear they are trying to make a statement.

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by Drewplanner

My mother works in Brooklet and I visit her sometimes for lunch. It's a small bedroom community of roughly 2,000 in the 'town'-limits. They have a subway and a chinese food place in a tiny shopping center, and then a few cute little restaurants in the tiny downtown. There has been a wave of upscale subdivisions built around Brooklet's city limits - I think because of the school district mainly. It is a hop/skip to Statesboro but far enough on the edge of the city that if you wanted to drive to Savannah, you wouldnt have to sit in any traffic on the way out - just smooth sailing.

I am not aware of any confederate flags flying in the area - I think there is one really tall/large flag on I-16 heading towards Savannah (in Effingham county?) - thats the only one I have noticed. Its so obnoxious because it's setback so far from the house on the edge of the interstate property, its clear they are trying to make a statement.

I know the house / farm / flags you are talking about on I-16 and it is definitely in Bulloch County. And yes, it's obvious and offensive. I've often wondered who those people are -- Bulloch County's finest no doubt.

[DanielAvery]

Funny you mention this, because when I am driving back up to GA to visit, I see this sign posted along I-95 (somewhere in middle Florida--I can't recall an exact area) that someone took the time to erect that tells all the motorists not to stop in Richmond Hill, GA, to basically not patronize their businesses and just drive right on through. Like I said, it's somewhere in mid-Florida, not even close to the GA line, and it looks like one of those signs someone painted themselves and put up in their yard. It's one of those situations where you're just riding along and bam--there it is, giving you just enough time for your eyes to land on it to read its main headline. Not sure what the owner of the sign has against RH, and why he/she would think the sign would be effective so far away from RH.

[counterclockwise]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

Is Effingham County Middle / High inside the Guyton city limits? It has a Guyton address ...

You know better. Medient Studios proposed location has a Bloomingdale address on Old River Road and Bloomingdale is in Chatham and Medient Studios is to built in Effingham. It is nowhere near Guyton. The proposed studio location is closer to Meldrim. You can't tell the geographical location of anybody in Effingham by their address. Actually the closest P.O. to Medient's proposed location is in Eden few miles North. They will probably use a Savannah address before all is said and done.