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BARROW JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2008
Freedom Bank enters ‘cease and desist’ order
F reedom Bank of Georgia based
in Commerce has entered into
a “cease and desist order” with
state and federal regulators to overhaul
the bank’s operations. The bank agreed
Dec. 17 to the order and it becomes
effective Dec. 27.
The bank will maintain its current ser
vices and hours and all deposits are cove
red by the FDIC to the limits allowed by
law. The bank has offices in Commerce,
Jefferson, Winder and Homer.
The order comes from an on-site visit in
June, according to documents filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Among the terms of the order, the bank
is to address the following: Maintaining
sufficient capital at the bank; improving
the bank’s liquidity; revise the bank’s
allowance for loan and losses; improve
the bank’s position regarding real estate
it owns; and to create a plan to improve
the bank’s overall condition.
Under the terms of the agreement, the
bank cannot pay dividends or bonuses
without consent of the regulators.
The bank has engaged an investment
bank to help review the firm’s “strate
gic alternatives,” according to the docu
ments.
Like many of the smaller banks in
North Georgia, Freedom Bank has been
hit hard by the economic downturn and
housing bust. The bank had a net loss of
$2.7 million in the third quarter and has
lost $4.8 million in the first nine months
of 2008.
The bank had total assets of $147
million at the end of the third quarter.
“Freedom Bank of Georgia has been
affected by the down-turn in the economy,
particularly in the real estate sector of the
market,” said Vince Cater, president and
CEO of the bank. “Jackson, Banks and
Barrow Counties have been among the
fastest growing and most dynamic areas
of the country for the past several years,
and Freedom Bank of Georgia, in serving
the local economy, participated actively
in construction and related loans.”
According to the SEC filing, the bank
has “aggressively taken steps to address
the findings of the (June) exam. The
Bank and its Board of Directors have
taken an active role in working with the
Department to improve the condition of
the Bank and have already completed
many of the items included in the order.”
“Many of the bank’s local customers
are involved directly or indirectly in the
construction industry, and some of them
have been struggling for the past year
or so,” Cater said. “This, in turn, has
affected the bank’s loan performance and
earnings.
“The bank has been aggressively
addressing these issues in cooperation
with the regulatory authorities, and
remains confident in the future of this
market as the economy recovers. The
bank has retained an investment banker
to assist in finding the best alternatives
for strengthening the bank’s capital.”
In the third quarter SEC filing, the
bank and regulators said the firm’s ability
to maintain an on-going business would
be dependent on the bank’s ability to
raise additional capital.
“We will continue to provide the high
quality of service that our customers have
come to expect,” Cater said. “Our intent
is to serve our community, assist our cus
tomers, and to work with our borrowers
that are struggling in the current down
turn to overcome their problems. Our
depositors remain fully covered by FDIC
insurance to the maximum extent permit
ted by law, our Board of Directors and
staff remain committed to the commu
nities we serve, and our confidence in
the future of Freedom Bank of Georgia
and in the future of Northeast Georgia
remains strong.”
Freedom Bank of Georgia opened
in for business initially early 2004 in
Commerce.
Hoschton lands a new scarecrow world record
Candles at town hall
to help Relay for Life
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
Hoschton may not have a
Guinness World Record title
— but it does have an official
world record for the “Most
Scarecrows in One Location.”
The World Records
Academy has granted
Hoschton a world record for
the 5,441 scarecrows that
were posted throughout the
30548 zip code in September.
Hoschton officials didn’t
learn about its new world
record until recently, after
the World Records Academy
posted the city’s accomplish
ment on its website.
“We think that’s exciting
because it’s a 50-year compa
ny that has a lot of sports peo
ple associated with it, media
people, different groups and
organizations and they work
to find very specialized groups
to award this to,” said Robbie
Bettis, one of the key orga
nizers of Hoschton’s world
record attempt.
Tom Howard of the World
Records Academy said the
company has the world’s
largest database of attempted
New postal
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
A new post office annex to
serve Braselton and Hoschton
is under construction — but
that doesn’t mean the cities’
post offices will close.
The United States Postal
Service is building an 8,700
square-foot annex on a
2.1-acre property on Jesse
Cronic Road in Braselton.
Construction is expected to be
completed in June 2009.
The carrier annex will
serve both cities, and delivery
employees from Braselton and
Hoschton will be moved to the
new facility. The Hoschton
Post office has 20 delivery
employees, while Braselton
has 15.
“This is strictly for deliv
ery purposes,” said Michael
Miles, a spokesperson for the
U.S. Postal Service.
Customers will still do their
retail transactions and receive
mail in their post office boxes
Read
then
Recycle
world records. Once Hoschton
announced its world record
attempt, the company started
watching its progress.
“It was a nice community
event, it involved a lot of hard
work, local people took it seri
ously and did a great job —
this is why it was selected to
be published so fast,” Howard
wrote on Monday.
Just a few weeks ago,
Hoschton learned that it
didn’t earn a Guinness World
Record — based largely on
a technicality. The London
office differed on the defini
tion of “location” and said a
zip code isn’t a location.
“Everybody likes to
announce they will have a
Guinness record — your town
included,” Howard wrote.
“We know from the beginning
that you will get a rejection
because in 90 percent of cases
they do. Guinness adores to
spot small (insignificant) mis
takes and turn you down — to
make you call them next time
for a very expensive adjudica
tion. In my personal opinion,
this is not world records adju-
annex under
at the existing facilities, he
added.
“(Customers) really
shouldn’t have to go the
(annex) at all,” Miles said.
“With the typical carrier
annex, it’s sort of a transparent
facility — as far as customers
are concerned — it’s typically
just for carriers to stage their
mail and get their mail ready
for delivery.”
And the Braselton and
Hoschton post offices will
remain open, he said. There
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dication, it’s a scam.”
Howard said after Guinness
denied Hoschton a world
record, the World Records
Academy also took a second
look at the attempt.
“From a legal point of view
(and common sense, also)
a record like [Hoschton’s]
has to be made on a large
area, around the whole city,”
Howard wrote. “[The] same
zip code counts as a location
— this is our decision. We
don’t want to have thousands
of scarecrows stored like in a
depot, we want the whole city
to participate in such an event
and enjoy it.”
Bettis said on Monday that
a committee hasn’t decided if
the city will appeal Guinness’s
decision. A subcommittee of
the Hoschton Fall Festival
committee will discuss an
appeal in mid-January, while
the full committee will meet
later in the month, she said.
Committee members still
want to hear from citizens
if Hoschton should attempt
another world record next
year, or any other suggestions
are no plans to change the
operating hours at those exist
ing facilities, either.
for the scarecrows, Bettis
said.
Hoschton’s world record
will be honored on a full-page
in 2009 book of the World
Records Academy, which
goes on sale in January. The
Guinness World Records only
publishes a selection of world
record titles, Howard wrote.
The city will also be recog
nized on the company’s web
site — www.worldrecordsa-
cademy.org.
This Saturday, the fall festi
val committee will host a bon
fire of the scarecrows, start
ing at 5 p.m. The event will
be held at the Kenerly farm,
located at 1688 Ga. Hwy. 53.
Bettis said she expects a fun
atmosphere at the controlled
burn, which will be moni
tored by the West Jackson
Fire Department.
“It’s something new and
different for our little town,”
she said.
Those with scarecrows in
Hoschton are asked to bring
them to the bonfire. Hot choc
olate and marshmallows will
be provided.
The Hoschton Post Office
has 11 postal routes, while
Braselton has eight.
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
In the remaining hours of
2008, several hundred candles
will be lit at Braselton Town
Hall.
The candles — each in a
white bag with a name written
on it — are part of a fund
raising effort to benefit Relay
for Life teams in Jackson and
Barrow counties.
It's one way to honor those
battling cancer, those who are
survivors of the disease and
those loved ones who are now
gone.
“Candles Lit for the Eve”
will be held on Wednesday,
Dec. 31, from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Each luminary cost $5 and
luminaries may be purchased
at town hall, including during
the event.
“It's pretty and it’s a way
of remembering people as
we start the New Year,” said
Victoria Patrick, senior com
munication manager for the
American Cancer Society in
Jackson, Barrow and Newton
counties.
A familiar sight at Relay for
Life, luminaries have been fea
tured at Christmas-time events
in Jackson and Barrow coun
ties in recent years.
“It's a way of remembering
someone during the holidays,”
Patrick said. “Because the holi
days are the hardest times — if
you lost someone or if some
one’s battling this disease, it’s
just really hard.”
Jackson Austin is a five-year-
old Hoschton boy who is bat
tling leukemia. The kindergar
ten student at West Jackson
Primary School was diagnosed
with cancer in December 2006.
He is currently taking daily
chemotherapy medication, and
he gets chemotherapy once a
month through a surgically-
implanted catheter and once
every three months during a
spinal tap. Jackson's treatment
is expected to continue through
March 2010.
“He’s handling it really well,”
said Danielle Austin, Jackson’s
mother. “When he first started
pre-K, he asked questions like,
‘Can my friends catch cancer
from me?' But he just takes
it in stride. It doesn't really
bother him anymore.”
Danielle Austin — who is
helping to organize the New
Year's Eve event at town hall
— said those who are healthy
and able should contribute to
Relay for Life.
“Cancer does not discrim
inate,” she said. “You never
know when it’s going to be
your family. My dad was diag
nosed (with cancer) and three
months later he was dead. You
never know.”
Danielle Austin said she
hopes those who drive by town
hall and see the candles will
think about the disease.
“The one thing I don't real
ly want them to feel is pity,”
she said. “Yes. Jackson has
been sick, and yes. he’s been
through a lot, but we've had a
lot of blessings come through
his diagnosis.”
And she said that includes a
strong support network from
the American Cancer Society
and the Lighthouse Family
Retreat, a seaside retreat for
families whose children are
battling cancer.
Despite the tough economy,
people will continue to be diag
nosed with cancer next year,
Patrick said.
“We want people to still be
aware that people will still
need help,” she said. “And
therefore, people still need to
give. People may not give as
much, but whatever they can
give — we’ll do it one dollar
at a time.”
And if the community sup
port is there, Patrick hopes
Relay for Life will hold its
own event for the Braselton-
Hoschton area in the next few
years.
“I think it would be success
ful out here.” she said.
Jackson County's Relay for
Life will be held May 29-30
in Jefferson. A kick-off event
is set Jan. 22. at the Jefferson
Civic Center.
Barrow County's Relay for
Life will be held May 15-16,
at the Winder-Barrow High
School football stadium.
“There's always a little com
petition between the two,”
Patrick said.
Last year, Barrow County
raised $245,000 for Relay for
Life. Jackson County raised
$242,000 in 2008 — placing it
seventh in the nation, based on
population.
Barrow County had 42 teams
participate in Relay for Life in
2008. while Jackson County
had 48 teams.
For more information on the
local Relay for Life events,
visitwww.relayforlife.org/jack-
songa or www.relayfoiiife.org/
barrowga. For additional infor
mation, including organizing
a Relay for Life in Braselton
and Hoschton, e-mail victoria.
patrick@cancer.org.
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