Page 28 - Georgia Forestry - Winter 2019

“When the wood is sitting there, everybody in the woods gets complacent, and they don’t perform like they are supposed to.” — Bernie Henderson
I’m confident I’m going to get the proper training. I think the shortage of drivers means there is some wood going to waste.”
Peagler said log truck drivers starting out can make $40,000 a year, which is comparable to other “local” haulers, like cement truck drivers. But there is going to be a weeding-out process. A seasoned instructor will know pretty quickly in the cab if a young driver can handle to chore of driving a log truck. Peagler said insurance companies will have a chance to tweak the program and make it more rigorous, if that is what it
Students from Coastal Pines Technical College and the Timber Harvesting program: Dakota Long, Kacee Johnson, Jonathan Herrin, Allen Sapp, Payton Strickland, Eli Chancey, Brad Guest, Jack Golub, Jules Bowers, Trey Long, Gavin Manning, and teacher
Tommy Peagler.
Henderson said. “We have to gain that back now. Logging is a lot about rhythm and being there on time and keeping the wood flowing at a steady pace, rather than have a whole bunch of it sitting there waiting on a truck. When the wood is sitting there, everybody in the woods gets complacent, and they don’t perform like they are supposed to. I’m out of my groove terrible.”
The Next Generation
There is nothing like need to stoke ambi- tion. So when Peagler kept talking about
the shortage of log truckers in the state, one of his Coastal Pines students, Jona- than Herrin, looked at it as a career path. The 17-year old from Waycross already had some experience in the woods driving bobcats and using small equip- ment and he liked the work. He signed up for Peagler’s “in woods” class and he is planning on signing up for the CDL log truck driving course after that.
Herrin will be 18 next April and he is ambitious enough to think he will one day be behind the wheel of the log truck.
“I know I can handle it,” he said. “It is going to be a great way to make a living.
So why risk cutting one while digging?
Contact 811 before you dig to have utility lines marked AND help protect yourself from injury and expense. Log on to Georgia811.com or simply dial 811 at least 2 business days before you begin your project.
MACON • ATLANTA ROME • LUMPKIN WAYCROSS
FRC.US.COM (877) 832-2441
26 | GEORGIA FORESTRY