An attorney for a Bulloch County business owner related to a sitting commissioner rose to address commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting regarding commentary on social media.
Jim Durham, attorney for Sand Creek Land Construction owner Clay Conner, said he asked to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting in response to some of the ‘unfairly’ made comments about Conner and his business. Clay Conner is related to Commissioner Toby Conner and both were present at Tuesday’s meeting.
The brothers have been the subject of media coverage in recent months over a pending investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation with regard to the county’s bidding practices and contract awards. Commissioner Conner also drew criticism for failing to recuse himself from consent agenda votes which included contracts for Sand Creek Land Construction.
On Tuesday’s agenda were additional contracts, stemming from sealed bids, for Sand Creek Land Construction, which prompted social media commentary Monday. Durham, a former federal prosecutor who worked cases in southeast Georgia, addressed commissioners with Conner by his side on Tuesday.
“I know public corruption and I know fraud. And the allegations that have been made against Clay and his company are as far from that as you can get,” Durham said. “I don’t typically do this work. I have my own firm now. We got offices in Atlanta, in Macon, in Savannah, and the only time that I get involved in things like this is when I think people have been treated unfairly and Clay has been treated unfairly. And the reason why I asked to be here today is because something went out on social media yesterday that said:
“There have been concerns raised by citizens about the proposed issuance of contracts to Sand Creek Land Construction, which is owned by Commissioner Toby Conner’s brother. People are chiefly concerned because there are no other bidders and the continued mention of Sand Creek Land Construction in a GBI investigation. Sources below.” (Post on social media by Bulloch Action Coalition on August 18, 2025)
Durham said ‘sources below’ referenced in the BAC post linked to news reports that were “generated by the very entity that posted this, those allegations.” The post by BAC linked to two articles – one by the Statesboro Herald and Grice Connect. District Attorney Robert Busbee told the Statesboro Herald in an interview in June 2025 that his office was not contacted by the founders of Bulloch Action Coalition.
“When I got involved in this, I looked at every scrap of paper, every invoice, every ticket, every whatever and the only thing that I found in regards to Clay Conner is that he’s providing an excellent service to Bulloch County. That is it,” Durham said.
“And so based on the information that I reviewed, we took it to the GBI and I said ‘Clay, you’re going to sit down and talk to them, voluntarily, with all of this information that we have, based on these anonymous community sources of information.’ And when I saw this posting last night, I called the GBI agent, I said ‘I know you guys don’t typically do this, cause I was a fed one time, and you don’t agree to the existence of an investigation and you don’t agree that an investigation has been terminated’ and I told the GBI agent ‘This is a time you need to step up because this stuff keeps occurring.’ He said ‘From my perspective, this investigation is closed. Thank you very much.’
“So, I bear no ill will to anybody on this commission. I just thought it very important that the public know based on public information that is going out there with regards to Clay and his company. Clay and his company is providing a valuable service to the citizens of Bulloch County. Thank you very much.”
Chairman David Bennett said he had received a number of calls over the last week from the public regarding the Sand Creek Land Construction matter and he told those people that a man is innocent until he’s proven guilty.
“Let that sink in for a minute. Now you can not like a man for personal reasons, that’s fine. You can sit here and raise sand about stuff, that’s fine too. But with things like this, when you’re saying there’s an investigation ongoing, yeah there might be. But, I think that the fact that we need to look at is a man is innocent until he’s proven guilty and I tell y’all, stand by.”
TheGeorgiaVirtue.com reached out the GBI regarding the status of the case. Region 5 Special Agent in Charge of Lindsay Smith said the case is considered open at this time and that the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council will make the final decision on what happens next. PAC is currently reviewing the GBI findings, according to Smith.
On the agenda items related to Sand Creek Land Construction, Bennett asked commissioners to consider tabling the contracts based on information he received from the GBI the day prior. Commissioner Conner recused himself from the discussion and vote. Newkirk made a motion to table, which was seconded by Davis. It failed with Rushing, Simmons, and Mosley voting not to table the agenda items.
