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Barrow ... Journal www.BarrowJournal.com •r Read all over... Wednesday, August 4,2010 Vol. 2 No. 41 26 PAGES 3 SECTIONS A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. WINDER, BARROW COUNTY GEORGIA 30680 250COPY •In the kitchen with Penny Cober page 1C •Musings from Journal columnist Shelli Bond Pabis page 2C •Journal goes on vaca tion page 6C Opinions: •Students communi cate differently today page 4 A •The preacher and the politician page 5A •Letter to the Editor page 4A Sports: •Softball season on the horizon page 1B •Countdown to foot ball continues page IB •Barracudas perform well at state meet page 2B Also inside: •Church News page 4C •Classifieds page 7C •Obituaries page 5 C •Public Safety pages 6-9A Online: D Follow us on Facebook by becoming a fan of the Barrow Journal today. www.BarrowJournal.com To subscribe, call today: 770-867-NEWS (6397). The Barrow Journal is delivered every Thursday. Business leaders rip city spending plans Winder votes down loan; new tax plan sent to committee BY SUSAN NORMAN After a political roller-coaster ride over several days, the Winder City Council on Tuesday night decided not to move forward with a contro versial $4.9 million federal loan for a new public works complex. It also tabled for further study a proposed storm water ordinance that would have levied a new tax on every developed property inside the city limits as soon as October. But the council did approve — in a tie vote broken by Mayor Chip Thompson — to implement a new pay scale of up to $132,666 for the next city administrator. The high-dollar issues carried potentially huge political stakes, particularly for the mayor, after sev eral business leaders joined in the council’s public debate and argued against both the new debt and the new tax. The appearance of key busi ness leaders was an unexpected wild card in an intense political struggle leading up to the meeting and could signal a sea change in local politics. As one said after the meeting, their businesses have been hit hard by the recession and they can no longer afford to remain unengaged as cash-strapped local governments talk about raising or imposing new taxes or taking on millions of dollars in new debt. The first sign of increased politi cal activism from the business sec tor happened last week, when Jerry Maynard of Maynard & Bartlett Realty Group LLP warned the B arrow County Board of Commissioners at a budget meeting that the recession might linger for years and even take a turn for the worse. He called on the BOC to drastically slash the FY2011 budget and to start working spending back to FY2002 levels, which were about half of what they are today. Monday night, Maynard warned Winder leaders that other business people agree that the economy is in deep trouble. He said anyone voting to move forward with the $4.9 mil lion federal loan and public works project would come under “tremen dous criticism” in years to come if those fears are borne out. See Winder on page 2A Long-awaited ceremony 21 GUN SALUTE Members of the 18th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Re-enactors fired a 21 gun salute in honor of fallen Confederate soldier Martin Van Buren Parkhurst at Rose Hill Cemetery Saturday. See page 1C in today’s edition for the story behind this unique ceremony. Photo by Kristi Reed Runoff scheduled for Tuesday Congressional, state senate races draw interest Story by KRISTI REED Photos by JESSICA BROWN Next Tuesday, voters will head back to the polls to settle several area and state races. Locally, Republican voters will decide between Shane Coley and Frank Ginn in the State Senate 47 race and between Jody Hice and Rob Woodall for the 7th U.S. Congressional District. Statewide, voters will choose between Republicans Nathan Deal and Karen Handel for the gubernato rial nomination. The win ner will face Roy Barnes in November. Barnes secured the Democratic nomination outright with 65 percent of his party's vote. Other statewide Republican races on the runoff bal- COLEY lot include the Attorney General's race in which vot ers will choose between Sam Olens and Preston Smith as well as the race for insurance commissioner in which vot ers will be asked to decide between Maria Sheffield and Ralph Hudgens. The district 2 Public Safety Commissioner seat is also headed to a runoff GINN between Tim Echols and John Douglas. Democratic voters will have just one statewide race contested in the run off Tuesday. Gail Buckner and Georganna Sinkfield are vying for the Democratic nomination for Secretary of State. See Runoff on page 12A Bethlehem officials look for red light BY CHRIS BRIDGES To say Bethlehem officials are anxious about getting improvements made at the intersection of Hwy. 11/Star Street would probably be an understatement. Town leaders have been lobbying state Department of Transportation officials for years about installing a red light at the inter section, yet the wait continues. During Monday night’s town meeting, another step was taken toward that long-term goal when the council voted unanimously to accept the low bid from McFarland-Dyer and Associates (MDA) for $38,800 to survey, landscape and handle engineering work at the intersection in hopes of getting a traffic light. The council was informed Monday improve ment design would be ready in approximately 60 days. A red light could be installed within 6 months to a year, depending on the DOT and what water lines have to be moved. Councilman Wayne Ridgeway noted people would want to know how far down the road the project may be finished. In other business, there was an item on the agenda about mayor’s compensation/council pay but it was not discussed. Officials also heard a 45-minute presenta tion from Charlie Robison on a possible holi day 5K/1K fun run through the town. Attorney Ron Bennett said no permit would be needed. Bennett just wanted to see proof of insurance for the event. The event would be called “Wiseman 5K: Follow the Christmas Star to Bethlehem.” The proposed date is Sunday, Dec. 19. There was some discussion whether to start it at town hall or at First United Methodist Church, who is the event sponsor. Council members felt it would be better to start at the church since that’s where registra tion would be. Other issues were stopping traffic on Hwy. 11 to allow runners to cross. No vote was taken since it does not have to be officially approved by council, Bennett said. County’s budget gap at $3 million More layoffs, higher taxes looming? BY SUSAN NORMAN The gap between income and expenses for Barrow County’s FY11 budget is a $3 million shortfall. And as he did last year, commissioner Steve Worley has taken personally the chal lenge to balance Barrow County's budget. But his recommended solution might require another reduction in force to eliminate seven full-time positions and one part-time position — as well as a 1-mill increase in the property tax rate, Worley told the Barrow Journal this week. He declined to identify which positions he thinks could be eliminated since that would be up to the Barrow County Board of Commissioners. “I feel like that needs to be discussed in executive session with the whole board,” he said. Worley said his recommended cuts are based on the assumption that the board would not be inclined to raise the millage rate beyond the “revenue neutral” point of merely recouping the revenue that may be lost due to the second suc cessive drop in the tax digest. The digest declined last year by almost four percent and chief appraiser Cecil Highfield has estimated there will be an even steeper decline when the final numbers are released this month. Highfield recommended that county officials build the FY2011 budget on the assumption that property tax revenues would drop by $1.5 million. See County Budget on page 3A Auburn takes first look at FY11 budget BY KATIE HUSTON The Auburn City Council held its first forum on its pro posed Fiscal Year 2011 budget Tuesday night, which is down almost 6 percent from last year. The $3.3 million in the proposed general fund is down $197,514 from FY2010 with cuts coming from 13 of 18 departments. One major cutback comes from capital improvements, where the city has budgeted zero money for 2011 compared to $625,000 in 2010. See Auburn on page 2A A GOOD TIME Morgan Wilson cooled off with some Italian Ice. during Saturday’s Lazy Daze festival in Winder. See more coverage of the event on page 11A in today’s edition. Photo by Lorin Sinn-Cla/V