Commission names park
Cedartown honors hometown film legend Sterling Holloway.
The Cedartown City Commission has finally given a name to a public space that has been simply known around town as “that park in front of the court house” by honoring a hometown star who lit up stage and screen with his shining presence.
Commissioners voted unanimously to approve naming the pocket park in front of Polk County Courthouse No. 2 as Sterling Holloway Park, one of many suggestions offered up during past months of consideration.
Holloway — known to millions from his work in motion pictures, television and as the animated voice of Walt Disney’s Winnie the Pooh — was born in Cedartown, Ga. on Jan. 14, 1905. The entertainer’s accolades and achievements are numerous. Spanning animated blockbusters to primetime television, Holloway has appeared in over 100 movies and 40 different television shows.
“We’re going with Hol- loway park, but we all know it’s Sterling Holloway Park,” commissioner Dale Tuck explained before the motion was approved.
Holloway Park joins Sterling Holloway Street which runs alongside his birthplace in Cedartown, and was renamed in his honor shortly before his death of heart failure on Nov. 23, 1992. The street is located off College Street, near the county government office building.
Sterling was the first Hollywood actor drafted into World War II.
His number came up in a drawing held by Treasury Secretary Morganthau in October of 1940.
Holloway co-wrote a variety show for the Army— ” Hey Rookie!”— which paid for a recreation facility for G.I.s. His show played in Los Angeles theaters for nine months before moving to the allied front lines in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.
Holloway and his troupe traveled 60,000 miles while exposed to bombing raids, machine gun fire, snipers and mortar rounds. Holloway was formally mustered out of the Army with a regimental retreat review, “an honor unparalleled in military history for an unwounded, undecorated solider.”
In other business on the agenda, the council unanimously approved a revised purchasing policy that works to make the process of procuring new tools and necessities without receiving prior approval a much easier task.
“Very basically, the revised purchasing policy provides a much cleaner format,” city manager Bill Fann said. “It clearly stipulates applicable State and Federal legislation dealing with procurement (Section 2), clearly identifies methods of procurement (Section 4), identifies purchasing authority limits and responsibilities (Section 7) and provides an ethics section directly relating to procurement (Part B).”
Under t he current purchasing policy, department heads are authorized to spend $ 500 without prior approval from the city manager; The city manager or Chief Financial Officer may spend up to $10,000 without prior approval from the commission. A limit of $25,000 may be spent for city vehicle procurement.
Clear limitations are set forth by the document’s Code of Ethics section, which bar the purchaser from making illegal purchases, using city funds for personal gains, and much more. Officials are also required to maintain records of purchases via reference materials, procurement records, contracts support documents, etc.
The Nov. 13 meeting also marked the group’s first meeting since election results came in. Commissioners congratulated incumbents Jordan Hubbard and Matt Foster who each raked in over 200 votes. Newly elected commissioner Jessica Payton, while not present, was given congratulations for earning a spot on the commission.
“It’s a t rue honor,” Hubbard said during his commissioner report. “Getting to serve in the city I grew up in.”
“This wasn’t necessarily a win for me,” Foster said. “This is a win for the city of Cedartown. The citizens have shown that they want results.”
The Cedartown Commission meets on the second Monday of each month at city hall on Philpot St. Meetings begin at 6 p.m. and last until business is completed.