Newspaper Page Text
Barrow g Journal
www.BarrowJournal.com Barrow County’s Award-Winning Newspaper
Vol. 3 No. 48
Wednesday, September 21,2011
34 PAGES 3 SECTIONS plus inserts A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
WINDER, BARROW COUNTY GEORGIA 30680 25(t COPY
Community:
•Latest performance
at Winder Theatre
page 1C
Opinions:
•'Naps join football
on scale of importance'
page 4 A
,'More gimmicks as
economy struggles'
page 5A
•Readers have their
say in Letters to Editor
page 5A
Sports:
•AHS prepares for
undefeated Heritage
page IB
•WBHS hosts defend
ing region champ
page IB
•Lady Dogg volleyball
learns on the go
page2B
Also Inside:
•Church News
page 9C
•Classifieds
page 11C
•Obituaries
page 8C
•Opinion
page 4A
•Pets of the Week
page 3C
•Public Safety
pages 6-1OA
•School News
page 7C
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Security guard faces charges
Arrested after altercation with blind woman, guide dog
By Katie Cofer, Susan Norman
Barrow Journal
A security guard for the Winder office
of the Social Security Administration
turned himself in to Winder Police on
assault charges Wednesday after he had
an altercation with a blind woman at
the agency’s office.
Guard LeRoy Huff. Athens, admit
ted grabbing the arm of Winder resi
dent Melissa McMann to force her out
of the SS building because she had a
seeing-eye dog.
McMann. 38, said in a phone inter
view Wednesday she was led by her
dog, Hurbie, into the Social Security
office in Winder Thursday, Sept. 15,
along with her husband.
Hurbie wears a harness that goes
over his shoulders and under his chin,
and a sign that reads: “Ignore me, I’m
a working guide dog.”
“Everything from his collar to his
harness to even his leash is special
working equipment,” said McMann.
Nevertheless, Huff demanded to see
paperwork verifying its use as a guide
dog.
One thing McMann said she found
odd is that Huff never introduced him
self to her as a security guard, he just
came up to her and demanded to see
the dog’s papers.
“If he had any training, the first thing
he should have said is to have introduced
himself,” said McMann,
who has a degenerative
retinae condition known as
Retinis Pigmentosa, or RP,
for short.
“Not being able to see
him, I wouldn’t have had a
clue.”
McMann said her hus
band spoke up and said,
“It’s my wife's guide dog.
She’s blind.”
The McManns attempted
to explain the law, even as going so far
as to try to show the guard the state of
Georgia access code on service dogs
on their personal iPhone, but Huff
apparently refused to reason.
“The harness alone indi
cates that the dog is spe
cially trained.”
Usually that explanation
is enough, McMann said.
“By law, I don’t have to.”
But the officer said he
wasn't going to be “fooled”
by “any old dog” and we
were told we had to leave,
said McMann.
Huff said he had seen
hundreds of service ani
mals and they have all had papers, said
McMann, who said she also found that
to be perplexing.
See Denied Access on Page 2/
HUFF
Winder Election 2012
Cooley challenges
Eberhart’s residency
By Susan Norman
snorman @ barrowjournal. com
The challenger for Charlie
Eberhart’s Ward 2 seat on the
Winder City Council filed com
plaints this week with state and
local elections officials, claim
ing the 20-year councilman
does not reside in the city limits
of Winder.
Jim Cooley, a resident of
Eagle’s Landing, on Monday
filed a complaint with the
Elections Division of the
Georgia Secretary of State’s
Office and later, with county
election officials.
However, Eberhart insisted
Tuesday afternoon that he does
live at his funeral home business
in Winder, rather than with his
wife who has a house in Athens.
He said he doesn’t know what
Cooley’s problem is.
Eberhart used his business
address at 131 King St. in
EBERHART
Winder both to register to vote
in Barrow County and also tc
register as a candidate this year.
He has used that address since
he became registered to vote in
1968, according to the county
elections office. Eberhart said he
has an apartment in the funeral
home.
See Residency on Page 11A
Unkept bank property causes
backlash from DDA chairman
By Susan Norman
snorman @ barrowjournal. com
Simmering frustration over state regulators’ 2010 takeover ol
downtown Winder’s former community bank — and federal regula
tors’ failure to maintain its vacant properties since then — erupt
ed at Tuesday’s meeting of the Winder Downtown Developmenl
Authority.
Using several choice words, DDA chairman Mike Rice said the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. needs to clean up the three formei
Peoples Bank properties it still owns downtown and he called or
city officials to make sure that happens. He said the city governmenl
should mow the grass, remove the weeds that are growing several
feet high and do whatever else is needed to clean up the sites and
then send the FDIC a bill every week. If the agency doesn’t pay up.
he said, “Go to the courthouse and file a lien against the federal gov
ernment." In a tongue-lashing that grew in intensity with each word.
Rice said: "To hell with the federal government... They are not going
to come into our town and destroy our ship. It’s bull crap."
He added: "As far as I’m concerned, the FDIC can kiss my ass. I’m
tired of them coming in and destroying what we have.”
He said if regulators had worked with the failed local, commu
nity banks — that in Winder included both Peoples Bank and Firsl
Piedmont Banks — instead of helping other banks take them over,
they might not have failed.
See Bank Property on Page 11A
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