It’s time for the 23rd annual National Mayhaw Festival in Colquitt. The event will take place this Friday and Saturday. Everyone around town has been caught up in the preparations for the bake sale, concerts, parade, golf tournament, 5K run, parade and the many other things involved in making the festival such a huge success.
Veryl Garland Cockey, chamber of commerce president, commented that this year’s festival promises to be the biggest and best in the 23 year history of the festival. “We would like to encourage everyone to come out Friday and Saturday to attend the fabulous festivities that have been planned for this year’s festival. We’re sure that you will have a ball,” stated Cockey.
The Colquitt/Miller County Chamber of Commerce members and the many community volunteers have worked non-stop to make this year’s festival a huge success.
The new Mayhaw T-shirts look great! You’ll want to get yours early by stopping by the Chamber of Commerce. There are all sizes from children’s small to adult sizes, and they’re all $10.00. But hurry, they will go fast!
Friday, April 14, will kick off the weekend festivities with a huge bake sale on the square. Ladies from our community will have prepared their best goodies for everyone to enjoy. The bake sale will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will last as long as they have goodies to sale or until 3:00 p.m. They are all good, so be there early to get the best selection. It’s just in time for Easter!
Also some of the best BBQ you’ll ever put in your mouth will be on sale on the square from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There will be all kinds, pork, beef, and chicken. What ever is your choice, it is promised to be mouth-watering.
And for all you golfers, the annual Mayhaw Classic Golf Tournament will get underway at 12:00 noon at Crooked Oak Golf Course. There will be prizes for flight winners and longest drive and closest to the pin on par 3’s. There’s still time to enter by calling 758-9200.
Then from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. there will be live, local entertainment for everyone to come out and enjoy on the square.
Saturday’s festivities begin bright and early with a one mile fun walk and 5K run at 8:30 a.m., taking off in Spring Creek Park. Serving as the grand marshal of the parade that gets underway at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday will be the State Champion Dixie Youth Baseball Team from Colquitt. Make sure you give this group of young people and their coaches a big round of applause as they make their way down Main Street.
After the parade, everyone will head down to Spring Creek Park where admission is FREE. You will find around 150 vendors from all over that will have their merchandise displayed. Arts and crafts, jewelry, T-shirts, food galore, pocketbooks, and almost anything you can image will be on display and for sale.
There will also be entertainment for the crowd to enjoy all afternoon with several bands on the festival schedule. “The River” will perform at 11:30 a.m. and again at 2:30 p.m. “Charlotte’s Web,” featuring Colquitt’s very own Charlotte Kikel, will perform at 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. “Brian Free & Assurance” will be entertaining the crowd at 1:30 p.m. and also at 3:30 p.m.
This is a great family event where there will be something for every age group. So come out and bring your lawn chairs and enjoy the 2006 National Mayhaw Festival.
Swamp Gravy cast members will also be performing their final shows of the season, “Nuthin But a Will” in Cotton Hall. If you haven’t seen this year’s show, you might want to see if you can get a ticket for one of the last shows of the season. Performances are scheduled for Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon.
For more information, please contact the Colquitt/Miller County Chamber of Commerce at (229)758-2400 or look through the pages of the Miller County Liberal for the advertisements.
If it gets too hot for you down at the festival, the Colquitt merchants will be open for the thousands of visitors in town for the weekend. Some of them will be having sales, so don’t forget to check them out!
Colquitt really is a great place to visit and even a better place to live, work and rear a family.
See y’all at the festival!

A Colquitt man was killed late Thursday night when he pulled into the path of a vehicle driving on SR 253. The accident occurred in Baker County.
According to the accident report, Donald W. Singletary, 48, of Rt. 3, Box 171, Colquitt, was traveling east on County Road 49, in a 1996 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 6.
Singletary apparently pulled out into the path of a 1997 Volvo 9604D headed south on SR 253 in Baker County. The Volvo driven by Kevin Lanoris Butler, 27, of Rt. 3, Box 165B, Colquitt, struck the pickup truck in the driver’s side. The report indicated that after the auto struck the truck, the truck rotated counter-clockwise while traveling off the east shoulder of GA Hwy. 253. The truck then turned over, coming to its final uncontrolled rest approximately 87.9 feet from the area of impact, facing north.
After impact, the Volvo rotated counter-clockwise travelling off the east shoulder of GA Hwy. 253, coming to its final uncontrolled rest approximately 71.2 feet.
According to the accident report, the driver of the truck, Singletary, was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected 13.5 feet from the vehicle. He was killed at the scene.
The driver’s wife, Tina D. Singletary, 48, a passenger in the truck, was pinned in the truck, and the Colquitt/Miller County Fire and Rescue Service used the Jaws of Life to remove Ms. Singletary. She was taken to an Albany hospital for treatment of extensive injuries.
Butler was taken by ambulance to an Albany hospital for treatment of injuries.
The condition of the passenger, Tina Singletary, the passenger in the pickup truck, or the driver of the Volvo, Kevin Butler, were not known at press time, but they were were both listed in serious condition according to the accident report.
Mr. Singletary was service manager at Pat Sammon Chevrolet in Colquitt.

Qualifying has been set for the Miller County offices that will be open for the next election.
Qualifying for the candidates to run in the General Primary Election will open at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, April 24, 2006 and close at 12:00 noon on Friday, April 28, 2006.
The local offices that will be open for qualifying are:
County Commissioner- District 2
County Commissioner- District 4
Board of Education member-District 2
Board of Education member- District 4
Anyone interested in qualifying for one of these offices may come to the Miller County Courthouse, Room 110, between the hours of 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Thursday and between 9 a.m.- 12 noon on Friday with the proper qualifying fee and qualifications.
The qualifying time starts in 13 days and ends in 16 1/2 days.
By the next edition, we will make an effort to find out if the four incumbent officers are planning to run for another term or plans not to offer for reelection.

Blooming Business Florist held its grand re-opening on Friday morning, April 7, at 11:00 a.m.
Chamber of Commerce president, Veryl G. Cockey welcomed everyone to the re-opening and thanked owner, Vicki Whittaker, and her staff for such a beautiful building, exterior and interior, and wished her continued success in her business.
Mayor Jerry Chapman thanked Vickie for “staying in Colquitt” and expressed his appreciation on behalf of the City of Colquitt for wanting to have a business here.
County Commissioner chairman, Howard Small, representing the County Commissioners, wished the florist continued success at her new location and commented on how nice the florist shop looked.
After the cutting of the ribbon, everyone was invited inside to enjoy looking at the spacious displays and enjoy a vast assortment of delicious finger foods and punch.
Blooming Business is not new to the community. The establishment has been located at 404 West Crawford Street since August 2000. However, the building became too small for Vickie to accommodate her customers as she wanted to, so she decided to make the move. At her new location, at 214 E. College St., she will be able to provide her customers with more floor space, more windows for plants and with much needed parking space.
Vickie stated, “Colquitt has been good to us and has opened their arms to welcome me. I have many, many friends for life. My customers are my friends.”
She is married to Randy Pace Whittaker of Brinson, and they have one son, Pace, who attends Valdosta State University.

Cedar Springs - Jerry Widner, 59, formerly of Miller County, was killed Monday morning, while at work at the Georgia Pacific plant in Cedar Springs.
According to reports from Celia Bostwick, plant communication manager, the accident victim was on a catwalk with a co-worker, Johnny Creel, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Monday morning, and a release of steam possibly caused Widner to lose his footing, and he fell approximately 20 feet causing severe head injuries. Widner was transported by ambulance to a Dothan, AL hospital where he died. Mr. Creel was uninjured.
Mr. Widner has worked at the Cedar Springs paper plant for over 39 years. “He was a friend to all of his co-workers and he will be missed,” Ms. Bostwick continued.
Mr. Widner and his wife, Grace, have two children, Chris and Michelle. He and his wife had recently built a home near Lake Eufaula, where they planned to retire in about two more years.
The preliminary plans are to have the deceased at an Abbeville, AL funeral home, with the funeral being held Thursday, April 13.
More information will be in the next edition, and the obituary will be placed on the www.millercountyliberal.com website as soon as the information is available.
Jerry Widner is the son of Louvenia Widner and the late Leslie Widner of Colquitt.

Week of April 9, 2006