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HR 1708: W.D. "Don" Ballard Memorial Highway; Newton County; dedicate

Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds · Last action March 19, 2026 · Introduced

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House Resolution 1708

By: Representative Fleming of the 114th

A RESOLUTION

Honoring the life of Mr. William Donaldson "Don" Ballard and dedicating a road in his memory; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, Mr. William Donaldson "Don" Ballard graduated from Covington High School and earned bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Georgia; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Ballard served as a guardian of this nation's freedom and liberty with the United States Navy during World War II and trained as an underwater demolitionist, known as amphibs, to destroy manmade, underwater obstacles; and

WHEREAS, he diligently and conscientiously devoted innumerable hours of his time, talents, and energy toward the betterment of his community and state as evidenced dramatically by his superlative service as the attorney for Newton County, the Newton County Water and Sewage Authority and the cities of Oxford, Mansfield, Covington, Porterdale, Newborn, Walnut Grove, and Jersey; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Ballard was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1957 and served until 1970, when he was elected to the Georgia Senate for District 45; and

WHEREAS, in the Senate, Mr. Ballard served as chairperson of the Secondary Education, Upper Ocmulgee Economic Opportunity, and Industry, Labor, and Tourism Committees; and

WHEREAS, he was elected mayor of Oxford in 2004, where he established a citizen committee that assisted and advised on city planning, paving way for numerous city projects such as the destruction of the utility and work yard, building of the modern utility system, upgrading the city's equipment and personnel; and

WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that this remarkable and distinguished Georgian be recognized appropriately by dedicating a road in his memory.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AND ENACTED BY THE GENERAL

ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that the portion of State Route 81 from East Clark Street to West Richardson Street in Newton County is dedicated as the W.D. "Don" Ballard Memorial Highway.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is authorized and directed to erect and maintain appropriate signs dedicating the W.D. "Don" Ballard Memorial Highway.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the family of Mr. William Donaldson "Don" Ballard and to the Department of Transportation.