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Barrow Journal
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Wednesday, July 8,2009
Vol. 1 No. 37 20 PAGES 3 SECTIONS A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. WINDER, BARROW COUNTY GEORGIA 30680 250COPY
•In the kitchen with a
Cook of Barrow County
page 1C
•Celebrating the 4th
in Auburn
page 1C
• New no tethering
ordinance working in
Bethlehem
page 2A
Opinions:
•Hopefully Americans
will wake up
page 4A
•Open letter to
Chairman Yearwood
page 4A
•Charter schools are
not magic formula
page 5A
Sports:
•Local swimmers con
tinue standout season
page 1B
•AHS Wildcats have
successful summer
page 1B
•Race season contin
ues at WB Speedway
page 1B
Also Inside:
•Classifieds
page 5C
•Church News
page 8A
•Public Safety
pages 6A-7A
•Obituaries
pages 4-5B
To subscribe,
call today:
770-867-NEWS
(6397).
The Barrow
Journal is
delivered
every
Thursday.
TUESDAY MORNING CRASH
This small aircraft had to made an emergency landing Tuesday at the Barrow
County Airport. No injuries were reported. Photo by Susan Mobley
No injuries in plane crash
A pilot and two passengers esca
ped injury Tuesday when a small
aircraft crash-landed at the Barrow
County Airport.
Sources said the three men were shaken
but walked away.
The call to Barrow County Fire &
Emergency Services was made at 11:13
a.m., and firefighters arriving at the scene
found a small fuel leak but no fire, said
Lt. Scott Dakin, department spokesman.
According to the Federal Aviation
Administration’s aircraft registry, the
plane is owned by Du Mo Aviation LLC
of Norcross.
The aircraft is a 2007 model Cirrus
fixed-wing, single-engine plane.
On June 22, a small plane on a sales
demonstration tour landed on its belly
with its gear up.
That crash apparently was caused by
pilot error. No one was injured in that
crash either.
Both incidents arc under investigation
by the National Transportation Safety
Board.
Pay cuts range from $94 - $10,000
BY SUSAN NORMAN
The county government’s
budget crisis became very
personal for 112 Barrow
County employees over
the past several days who
learned that their salaries are
being cut anywhere from $94
to more than $10,000.
The affected employees
work in 20 departments.
The most severely impacted
departments are Emergency
Services (42 salaries cut).
Community & County
Development (11), and
Roads & Fleet (10).
It is the third pay cut the
employees have received
since January after the
Barrow County Board of
Commissioners began tack
ling a multi-million-dollar
FY2009 budget shortfall.
The earlier cuts included
across-the-board decreases
of 3-10 percent based on sal
ary level as well as the loss
of paid holidays at least for
I See details of county
pay adjustments on page
7A of today’s edition.
FY2009.
The new cuts target only
employees who have not met
a new BOC requirement that
they work for the county for
eight years before reaching
the midpoint of their posi
tions’ pay scales. The policy
corrects the previous admin
istration’s implementation of
midpoint salaries following
the 2005 Archer compensa
tion study.
The successive blows to
employees’ pay reportedly
have severely impacted staff
morale, especially as they
see county leaders contin
ue to struggle with putting
together hard numbers for
the FY2010 budget.
Sales tax revenues continue
to flounder and the Barrow
County Tax Assessor’s
Office, while preparing offi
cials for a 20-percent drop
property tax revenues, still
has much work to complete
before the actual numbers
can be accurately forecast.
NERVES FRAYED
ALL AROUND
HR Director Norma Jean
Brown said at least two fire-
fighter/EMTs have resigned
since the board’s reduction-
in-force took effect in mid
June.
The firefighters worked
out their notices and left on
good terms, she said.
But some employees
have expressed anger and
confusion about the cuts,
and BOC Chairman Danny
Yearwood has taken much of
the brunt of their anger as he
and Brown have gone from
department to department to
deliver information on the
pay cuts, she said.
continued on page 2A
Atlanta firefighter arrested in Barrow
Sales taxes tank
for Barrow Co.
Down $1.1 million from YTD budget
BY SUSAN NORMAN
Barrow County’s sales tax slump continued in June, dash
ing hopes that the recent opening of the Barrow Crossing
retail center might salvage the county’s 2009 budget.
The June Georgia Department of Revenue disbursement of
$356,883 in Local Option Sales Taxes to the county govern
ment was considerably less than anticipated and far under last
year’s income.
At the current pace, Barrow County will end FY2009 short
of budget by $1.5 million in sales tax revenues.
In the first nine months of Barrow County’s fiscal year,
which runs from Oct. 1-Sept. 30, the county collected $3.75
million in Local Option Sales Tax revenue. That is $569,900
less than in the same nine-month period last year.
When setting the FY2009 budget last year, county officials
budgeted a $1.2 million increase in sales taxes over 2008.
The FY2009 budget forecast $6.5 million in total sales tax
collections, but at the current pace the county will likely only
collect around $5 million.
Barrow Sales Tax Collections YTD
MONTH
FY2008
FY2009
OCT
$494,841.00
$420,519.60
NOV
554,443.05
481,484.36
DEC
505,014.92
383,756.84
JAN
440,062.33
369,353.63
FEB
528,133.38
487,638.22
MARCH
394,433.99
441,799.11
APRIL
464,240.54
297,196.63
MAY
472,152.91
513,279.55
JUNE
468,475.30
356,883.80
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
YTD
4,321,797
3,751,912
Difference: ■
-569,885
FY09 budget
$6,500,000
YTD collected 3,751,912
Shortfall YTD
-2,748,088
Barrow schools seek new
middle school location
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
The Barrow County School System will look for a new
location for its latest middle school.
Details could never be ironed out with the county concern
ing the installation for sewer on the proposed Mulberry Road
site. Assistant superintendent for facilities Jake Grant told
superintendent Ron Saunders and Board of Education mem
bers last week it will take approximately three years to build
the new middle school once the bonds are sold.
“There could be a one-year extension,” Grant said.
The new facility will be part of the Winder-Barrow cluster
and will be a $16.8 million project.
Also during last Thursday’s 40-minute meeting. Grant said
he has recently met with state Department of Education offi
cials and the system’s five-year plan is about to expire.
Grant said Barrow can ask for an extension or create a new
one,
“It is a big task to do,” Grant said. “This will allow us $5-6
million in entitlement for future projects.”
In order to start the process next month, a resolution asking
the state for assistance with the project needed to be put on
next month’s agenda, Grant said.
BY SUSAN NORMAN
An Atlanta firefighter
was arrested last week for
allegedly beating and sexu
ally assaulting his ex-girl-
friend, who is a paramedic
in the Johns Creek area and
resides in Barrow County.
The July 1 arrest of
Joseph Shoemaker, 22, of
McDonough was one of
two local arrests of public
safety workers from other
jurisdictions.
A Gwinnett County
police recruit was arrested
in Auburn July 2 in con
nection with an alleged bur
glary.
Shoemaker is facing
numerous charges follow
ing the incident.
continued on page 3A
SHOEMAKER
Funding opens up for roads, sewer
BY SUSAN NORMAN
While taking intense political heat for
many of his decisions regarding the day-
to-day operation of the county government,
Barrow County Commission Chairman
Danny Yearwood is managing to score some
behind-the-scenes victories in other arenas.
In an interview last week, the embattled
chairman said — and other parties have now
confirmed — Barrow County is poised to
receive $2.5 million in state and federal fund
ing for transportation projects and $500,000
in grant funding for a sewer project to serve
a $50 million facility a German company
plans to build in the town of Carl by the fall
of 2010.
In addition, Yearwood said U.S. Rep. John
Linder last month made an appropriations
request on the county’s behalf in the U.S.
House of Representatives for $17 million
in federal funding to build the first phase of
the long-sought-after West Winder Bypass.
The funding would pay for the design and
construction of a bridge over Hwy. 8 and the
CSX railroad.
Future appropriations would be required to
complete the project.
To shore up support for the appropriations
request, Yearwood met privately with represen
tatives of senators Saxby Chambliss, Johnny
Isakson, and Linder, plus state representative
Terry England, the district engineer for GDOT,
and the district representative on the State
Transportation Board.
He declined a request by the Barrow Journal
to attend the meeting, saying the parties had
agreed that no media would be involved.
continued on page 2A
ALL DRESSED UP
Megan Turner, 2 1 / 2 , is in the July 4 spirit during the
City of Auburn’s celebration Saturday. Turner joined
numerous others who descended upon Auburn for
an afternoon festival and evening fireworks. See
more coverage on page 1C of today’s edition.
Photo by Jessica Brown
