Summer surprise
      Shirley White got quite the surprise this summer when a volunteer watermelon vine sprang up and out of her back yard flower garden on Lakewood Drive. The vine has three large melons so far, and has spread over a large portion of her yard.
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Blakely Senior Center
310 Meadowbrook Drive
      Daily Events Aug. 3 — Rhythm band practice - 10:30-11:30. Lunch: BBQ pork, baked beans, cole slaw, hamburger bun, hot cinnamon peaches. Aug. 4 — Physical fitness - 10:15 a.m. - 11 a.m. Games - 11 a.m. Lunch: Meatball stew, mixed veggies, Harvard beets, wheat roll, pears.
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Congress passes PAYGO bill
      Con. Sanford Bishop joined his fellow members of the Blue Dog Coalition to pass H.R. 2920, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act which marks a crucial step in bringing the federal budget under control by following the most basic of budgeting rules: don't spend money you don't have.
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County to hold tax increase hearings
      The Early County Board of Commissioners announces its intention to increase the property taxes it will levy this year by unincorporated 10.96 percent and incorporated 9.15 percent over the rollback millage rate. Each year, the board of tax assessors is required to review the assessed value for property tax purposes of taxable property in the county.
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MILITARY NEWS
      Martavious Bankston, son of Lee Bankston and Christine Bankston of Blakely, will return from deployment in the Persian Gulf July 31. Bankston is a Seaman E3 first class with two years of service in the U.S. Navy. He has one sister, Breanna Bankston of Blakely.
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ACRE sign up deadline is Aug. 14
      David F. Laster, acting state executive director of USDA's Farm Service Agency in Georgia, announced that the USDA sign-up deadline to elect the new Average Crop Revenue Election program is Aug. 14. "I encourage all producers to visit their local FSA office and land grant university representatives to evaluate and consider whether ACRE is right for your farm," Laster said.
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Gopher frog metamorphs released at Williams Bluffs
      Researchers released about 250 gopher frog metamorphs in a seasonal pond at the Nature Conservancy's Williams Bluffs Nature Preserve near Blakely recently. Another 800 will soon be added thanks to improved rearing methods.
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Mosquitoes pose threat of viruses for southwest Georgia
      A horse in Grady County has tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis, a disease that can cause severe illness in humans, said Southwest Health District Health Director Dr. Jacqueline Grant. "This virus is spread the same way as West Nile virus, through the bite of an infected mosquito," Grant said.
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