25th MLK celebration is Sunday

At 3:30 p.m., the Poplar Springs Baptist Church Choir of Jefferson, under the direction of Marianne Burley, will present a mini gospel music concert. The ecumenical service will start at 4 p.m.

Mayor Willie E. Burns of Washington will be the keynote speaker. He is serving his second term as mayor and is a member of Mt. Nebo Baptist Church.

Burns served in the Army where he graduated from U.S. Army Military Police School and was assigned to the 561st Military Police Company at Fort Meyer in Virginia. After his military service, he graduated from the Northeast Georgia Police Academy in Athens and joined the police department in the City of Elberton. He later went to work for the Georgia State Patrol and graduated from the 51st Georgia State Trooper School in Atlanta.

President-elect Barack Obama will be honored at the event. Awards will be presented to citizens throughout Northeast Georgia. Dr. J.T. Crenshaw and Sammie Rucker, both of Jefferson, will be awarded the “Citizen of the Year” awards. Lois Williams will be awarded the “Humanitarian of the Year” award and James Pittman of Commerce will be awarded the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award.

The Jackson County MLK Choir will give the song service.

The event is sponsored by the Jackson County Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Council. The Rev. R.E. Cooper is the president.