About Barrow journal. (Winder, Ga.) 2008-2016 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2009)
Barrow Journal www.BarrowJournal.com •r Read all over... Wednesday, July 1,2009 Vol. 1 No. 36 24 PAGES 3 SECTIONS A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. WINDER, BARROW COUNTY GEORGIA 30680 250COPY • Paintball another summer activitity page 3B •Barrow prepares for July 4th page 1C •FDIC issues order on CB&T page 2A Opinions: •'King of Pop' will never be matched page 4A •State pinches pen nies, local govts suffer page 4A •Was anyone telling the whole truth? page 4 A •Readers voice their thoughts: Letters to the Editor page 5A Sports: •WBHS players work for new season page 1B •Barracudas set new personal bests page 1B •Race season contin ues at WB Speedway page2B Also Inside: •Classifieds page 5B •Church News page 7B •Public Safety pages 6A-7A •Obituaries pages 6C-7C To subscribe, call today: 770-867-NEWS (6397). The Barrow Journal is delivered every Thursday. Drug sweep nets 41 arrests BY SUSAN NORMAN A six-month undercover operation by the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office and the Auburn Police Department cul minated in the arrests Monday of 41 people on drug and other charges. The drug-related arrests were for the possession, sale or trafficking of mari juana, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and controlled pre scription drugs. Some suspects were charged with other offenses ranging from prostitu tion to child molestation. Ten local, state and federal law- enforcement agencies participated in the countywide sweep, said Sheriff Jud Smith. Assisting the sheriff’s office were the Auburn, Statham and Winder police departments: the Walton County Sheriff’s Office and the Monroe Police Department; the GBI and the Georgia State Patrol: and the U.S. Marshalls Service and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Together, they provided 75 law-enforcement officers during the day. The operation began at 5 a.m. with a briefing of 50 officers in the gym of the Performance Learning Center/ Alternative Education Program School on Mulberry Road. The facility is adjacent to the sher iff’s office annex that houses the crimi nal investigations division. "We went early because we wanted not only to protect the officers, but also the suspects and the public,” Smith said. “We knew if we got there early, we would really catch them off guard and there would be no way for them to fight or run.” At the end of the 30-minute briefing, the officers formed five, multi-agency teams. continued on page 2A ANOTHER OPERATION An undercover operation by the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office and the Auburn Police Department resulted in 41 arrests Monday. An undercover officer is also shown with their identity concealed, (right). Photo courtesy of BCSO CFO suspension upheld More controversy surfaces THE APPEAL Bill Healan (L) represented Barrow County CFO Beth Horacek (R) during her appeal. Photo by Susan Norman BY SUSAN NORMAN Although the Barrow County Personnel Review Board upheld the county's suspension of county CFO Beth Horacek, the contro versy has only grown in the days since the decision was made. The June 26 written order seemingly sent a mixed mes sage, affirming Horacek's suspension, but also saying she was not “untruthful” and questioned the severity of her discipline. County chairman Danny Yearwood said simply, “There is no winner in this. It doesn't matter who won.” Yearwood attended the proceedings only when he testified as a witness. But he said he is concerned about some of the testimony that has been reported to him. “I haven’t had time to sit down and go through the repercussions of this thing and see what needs to be done,” he said. “I think some damage has been done and I haven’t had a chance to sit down and see what the damage is." QUESTIONS RAISED ON CONTACTS In addition to the mixed- message ruling, one of the members of the personnel board abruptly resigned Friday, saying he felt that during the process there had been improper contact via e-mail and phone between the review panel and county representatives. “Several incidents took place during the Beth Horacek hearing that make it impossible for any Barrow County employee to get a fair and just hearing before the Barrow County Personnel Review Board,” Johnny Smith wrote in his June 26 letter of resignation to the board of commission ers (see other story.) THE BOARD’S RULING The personnel board made its decision Friday during a closed session following the second day of testimony. The actual vote tally was not officially disclosed, but Smith said the vote was 3-1 and that he cast the only “no” vote. Only four of the five board members voted. Colleen Jenkins did not attend the second day of the hearing due to employment obliga tions. Those voting in addi tion to Smith were Allyson Summerour, human resourc es manager at Peoples Bank; Jim Litchford, executive director of Athens Regional Physicians Services/ Regional First Care; and retired businessman Robert Akin. The order states the coun ty met its burden of prov ing that county procedures were followed in Horacek’s suspension and that the per sonnel action was based on “a legitimate, non-discrimi- natory reason and that it is consistent with the policies of the Barrow County Civil Service System.” However, the document said the panel “does not believe Beth Horacek was untruthful” to the board of commissioners, though “she failed to provide all the information that she had available.” And the order adds that while some form of disci pline was appropriate, the board members would have considered first “a written reprimand versus a suspen sion." Though the order acknowledges merit in both sides of the case, the county attorney said the bottom line is that Yearwood’s decision was upheld. continued on page 3A Barrow BOE passes FY2010 budget BY CHRIS BRIDGES While one Barrow County Board of Education member had some pointed words about one aspect of the system’s proposed FY2010 budget, the BOE passed the new budget Tuesday night during a called board meeting. The new budget, which is approximately $99.1 million in the General Fund, passed 7-1 with veteran member Lynn Stevens in opposition due to the school system accept ing approximately $3 million in federal stimulus funds. Even before the vote was taken, Stevens said she was not going to vote for the pro posed budget, terming it “manure.” “We should send a message to the federal government to stay out of the education busi ness,” Stevens said. “It's blood money on the backs of all American taxpayers.” The total budget, including capital projects and debt service funds, totals $143 million. It is the General Fund, however, which is the largest share and gets the most attention since it funds general school operations and is the most revenue sensitive. Even with the $3 million in stimulus fund ing, the school system will have to eat around $3 million of its $9 million in reserves. Barrow is in better shape financially this year than many other school systems in the area, but officials believe that the next few years may be more difficult than FY2010 in funding. continued on page 3A Unemployment rate back up for county After a two-month respite, the unemployment rate in Barrow County moved up in May to 10.7 percent, the sec ond highest rate so far this year. Barrow hit a high of 10.9 percent in February, but that dropped to 10.6 percent in March and April. May’s slightly higher rate means that some 3,600 Barrow Countians are out of work, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. Barrow’s unemployment rate is the highest in the immedi ate area and has been above 10 percent for five months in a row. May Unemployment Rates Barrow 10.7% Jackson 10.1% Hall 8.9% Gwinnett 8.9% Madison 8.1% Banks 7.3% Clarke 6.8% Oconee 5.8% ‘Highlights ’ added Winder council officially approves FY2010 budget BY SUSAN NORMAN The Winder City Council at a called meeting Monday adopted its budget for fiscal year 2010. Distributed at the meeting was a new document of budget highlights developed in response to public comment at the June 18 budget hearing. Former school board chairman Bob Dixon asked that an overview be included in the budget. Councilman Mike Mingus worked with finance direc tor Leslie Ginn to prepare the information, which briefly addresses 14 areas of the budget. Mayor George “Chip” Thompson III said such highlights would become a permanent part of future budgets to help local residents understand any proposed changes from year to year. The highlights address projected revenue in several catego ries and other topics. Also discussed was another issue brought forward at the recent budget hearing. Councilman Sonny Morris said he has been asked by several people recently why the city council meetings aren’t televised on the public access channel on Comcast. The city spends about $200,000 a year for the opera tion of the station, which produces some local program ming including meetings of the Barrow County Board of Commissioners. Retired schoolteacher Kay Pierce raised the question at the budget hearing. A couple of council members said they liked the idea. “It provides another service to the citizens that can’t get here,” Mingus said. “It would let them see how their govern ment operates.” The mayor appeared less enthusiastic about the idea, say ing the cameras could change the tone of the meetings, but he said the issue could be taken up at the July 6-7 meetings. In other budget-related business Monday, Mingus asked Ginn to provide an overview of year-end budget amendments for the FY2009 budget. The council approved the amend ments in a unanimous vote. continued on page 2A
