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Barrow Journal
www.BarrowJournal.com •r Read all over...
Wednesday, May 6,2009
Vol. 1 No. 28 20 PAGES 3 SECTIONS A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. WINDER, BARROW COUNTY GEORGIA 30680 250COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•In the kitchen with a
Cook of Barrow County
page 1C
• BOE officials study
stimulus funds
page 2A
•County looks at
Bethlehem ordinance
page 2A
•Business operates at
odds with Winder
page 3A
Opinions:
•Homes stand strong
with memories
page 4A
•The field is nearly
complete
page 4A
•Translucence at the
end of life
page 4A
Sports:
•WBHS baseball team
on the road for state
page 1B
•WBHS, AHS athletes
to compete at state
track
page 1B
•AHS soccer just misses
upset
page 1B
Also Inside:
•Classifieds
page 6C
•Church News
page 5B
•Public Safety
pages 6-8A
•Obituaries
pages 4-5C
To subscribe,
call today:
770-867-NEWS
(6397).
The Barrow
Journal is
delivered
every
Thursday.
Barrow man charged after..
Children locked in closet
BY SUSAN NORMAN
A 37-year-old Barrow County man
was arrested last week, after he alleg
edly knocked around a 7-year-old boy
in a drunken rage and locked him and
two terrorized friends in a closet.
The boys — ages 7,9 and 12 — told
Barrow County sheriffs deputies that
they were at the 9-year-old's house
on Clacktown Road late Monday,
April 20.
The 9-year-old's mother reportedly
had been drinking with Jeffrey Shane
Reed of 1060 Double Bridges Road,
when he suddenly became angry and
began pushing the boys around.
The 7-year-old said Reed's anger
was sparked when he refused to tell
him his name. The boy told deputies
that Reed already knew his name.
He said the 165-pound man “became
upset and pushed him approximately
20-25 feet across the room,” caus
ing the child to fall and to bruise his
knee.
The three boys then ran into a
closet, and Reed
used his belt
buckle to lock
the closet door.
The boys said
they screamed
for help, and
after about 20
minutes, the
mother of the
9-year-old let
them out.
When the boys came out of the
closet, Reed again attacked the
7-year-old, slamming him against the
bed frame and “hurting his ribs” anc
bruising his thigh.
The children ran barefooted to t
neighbor's house, arriving at aboui
1 a.m. The neighbor allowed their
to spend the night at her home anc
called their mothers later that morn
ing. The 7-year-old and 12-year-olc
are brothers.
continued on page 3A
CFO appealing
recent suspension
By SUSAN NORMAN
Barrow County’s chief financial officer has filed a formal
appeal of her 40-hour unpaid suspension for being “untruth
ful” to the board of commissioners.
Beth Horacek, who has worked for the county since 2000
and has been the CFO for the past four years, has hired for
mer commissioner Bill Healan as her attorney to represent
her at an upcoming hearing before the Personnel Review
Board.
Healan said he approached Horacek weeks ago to offer
his help, because in working with her during his time on the
board, he had found her to be “above reproach.”
He said he has informally lobbied some of the commis
sioners behind the scenes on her behalf in order to avoid a
public battle before the review board.
“I tried to get everybody to work this out without it going
public,” he said. “But so be it. I didn’t want this fight, but
I have the utmost respect for Beth and I wasn’t going to
let them sully her reputation without a fight. And Beth is a
fighter.”
The hearing date has not been set. It likely will be in late
May or early June, Healan said.
The five members of the review board are appointees
of locally elected officials. The BOC appointees are Jim
Litchford, the former CEO of Barrow Regional Medical
Center; Colleen Jenkins, who works in public relations at
the hospital; and Johnny Smith, a local businessman and
former commissioner.
The appointees of the county’s other elected officials are
Allyson Summerour, human resources manager at Peoples
Bank; and Robert Akin, a retired businessman.
According to the county’s Civil Service Handbook, the
personnel board conducts appeal hearings and renders deci
sions regarding adverse employment actions. The BOC can
not override a personnel board decision.
A formal appeal can be heard only after a disciplined
employee files an informal appeal of a suspension, demo
tion or termination.
continued on page 2A
Bethlehem officials seek
update on county sewer
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
Bethlehem officials asked a guest county commissioner
Monday night about the status of sewer on the Hwy. 11
corridor.
Councilman Wayne Ridgeway said during the previ
ous county administration, numerous studies were done
and maps prepared on installing sewer on Hwy. 11 in the
Bethlehem area, but no progress has been made recently.
“I’m not sure if the current administration knows how
much work went into it," Ridgeway said. “I know the cur
rent economy is tough. You wonder should we be trying to
bridge this gap and keep communication open. I never hear
anything about this."
County commissioner Eva Elder, who was elected last
November, was in attendance at Monday night’s Bethlehem
City Council meeting and said the board of commissioners
are aware of the proposed Hwy. 11 project and it has been
discussed since she took office.
“Do we as a council need to be doing something we
aren’t doing?” Ridgeway asked. “(Commissioner) Billy
Parks was very committed to this before the election."
“I believe everyone is still committed to this," Elder
said.
Elder also said she can put Bethlehem officials on the
agenda for an upcoming county commission work session.
“Everytime I talk with (county chairman) Danny
(Yearwood) since he has been elected, it’s not ‘hello,’
but ‘I don’t have any money for you’ and then ‘hello,’”
Bethlehem mayor Sandy McNab said Monday.
Council member Scott Morgan said the Hwy. 11 stretch
to Bethlehem is “very important."
McNab asked Elder if she had seen any of the plans and
Elder said she had not.
“Not having sewer is what is holding us back here,”
McNab said. “I have been told Waffle House wants to go
here, but there is no sewer."
A dirty job...
MUD ON THE TIRES
More than 350 riders descended upon Ft. Yargo State Park last weekend for the
Dirty Spokes competition. Determination and skill were required to navigate the
difficult course as this rider shows. Riders of all skill levels competed. See a
complete feature on the event on page 1C in today’s edition.
Photo by Lorin Sinn-Clark
Tax commissioner files
record number of liens
BY SUSAN NORMAN
Barrow County Tax Commissioner Melinda
Williams is in the process of filing an unprecedented
number of tax liens on local properties.
By the end of this week, she expects to file with
the Clerk of Superior Court more than 2,900 liens -
known legally as writs of fieri facias.
The legal actions are to collect delinquent 2007
taxes, plus all 2008 taxes due on those same prop
erties, and also to collect 2008 taxes on builders’
subdivision lots in which banks may have security
interests.
Williams began filing the liens on April 28. She
expects to complete the filings within a few days.
The FiFa filings are the first step in the process
leading to tax sales of the properties.
As of late April, the tax commissioner's office was
still trying to collect $1.2 million in delinquent 2007
property taxes and $3.8 million in 2008 taxes on a
total of about 1,700 properties.
Property owners will get three letters and three
more chances to pay their overdue taxes before the
auctions occur later this summer.
The names of property owners also will be pub
lished for four consecutive weeks in a local newspa
per, Williams said.
continued on page 2A
Ruling goes
against Town
of Braselton
A lengthy lawsuit against the
Town of Braselton was decid
ed last week after the Georgia
Supreme Court ruled against the
town and in favor of a local
developer.
Century Center filed suit
against Braselton in 2007 ovei
the town’s zoning requirements
along Hwy. 211 in Barrow
County. Century Center has a
26-acre commercial develop
ment along the corridor, which
is just off 1-85 and is the north
ern gateway into Barrow County
off the interstate.
Century Center argued, and
the Supreme Court agreed, that
the town has no legal right tc
mandate zoning rules along the
road where the right-of-way
falls outside the city limits ol
Braselton.
continued on page 2A