Pat Donahue

FORT STEWART — Soldiers going through the line at the Rocky II dining facility had some rather large men ladling the offerings of ribs, catfish or oxtails on their plates last week.

Board members, in a 3-1 vote, approved the tentative budget for the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1. The budget calls for $160.7 million in expenditures and $156.2 million in revenues. That gap of nearly $4.45 million will made up through the school system’s fund balance.

FORT STEWART – A soldier who shot and wounded five people on the base last August and shot at another learned his fate Tuesday afternoon.

Pat Donahue, Coastal Courier FORT STEWART – A soldier who shot and wounded five people on the base last August and shot at another learned his fate Tuesday afternoon.

Some form of property tax relief could be headed to Liberty County property owners sooner than expected. The state has enacted legislation that allows local governments to apply the one-cent sales tax collected through the FLOST, or floating local option sales tax, through June 30 to go toward property tax relief this year, instead of having to wait for an entire year of collections to be made.

As the Liberty County Development Authority ponders where a proposed wastewater treatment plant will discharge its effluent, Riceboro officials said their own plant is in serious need of work.

Thanks to the power of the penny, children in east Liberty County have new playground equipment to enjoy. County officials cut the ribbon on two new playgrounds, one at Briar Bay Park just outside of Riceboro and another at Jesse Stevens Park adjacent to the Dorchester Academy in Midway last week, wrapping up improvements at three east end parks.

With the 3rd Infantry Division finally back, from the cooler climes of eastern Europe to the sun-baked Mojave Desert and Fort Irwin’s National Training Center, Fort Stewart held it annual Independence Day celebration July 2 at Donovan Field.

Liberty County commissioners hope a subdivision under construction will tip the state Department of Transportation’s numbers in their favor. Commissioners approved a contract with ATLAS to conduct a study to see if a traffic signal is warranted at Highway 84 and the western starting point of Independence Parkway, also known as the Hinesville bypass.

Col. Alex Montgomery said he is excited to lead Winn Army Community Hospital and MEDDAC, or Medical Department Activity. For Col. Margaret Berryman, it was another bittersweet farewell. The command of Winn Army Community Hospital changed from Col. Berryman to Col. Montgomery at Fort Stewart’s Cashe Garden on Wednesday morning.