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Barrow g Journal
www.BarrowJournal.com Doesn’t everyone you know read the Journal?
Vol. 4 No. 1
Wednesday, October 26,2011
36 PAGES 3 SECTIONS plus inserts A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
WINDER, BARROW COUNTY GEORGIA 30680 25(4 COPY
Inside:
•Raider Challenge held
at Ft. Yargo
page 15A
•AHS Homecoming
pages 1C,3C
Opinions:
•Three years old and
continuing to grow
page 4A
•Change in county
government needed
page 4A
•Gearing up for
'Gaslight'
page 5A
Sports:
•WBHS Lady Doggs
go for another region
title page 1B
•Battle of Barrow set
for Friday night
page 1B
•Bulldogg, Wildcat
football reports
pages 4-SB
Also Inside:
•Church News
page 7C
•Classifieds
page 11C
•Obituaries
pages 8-9C
•Opinion
page 4A
•Pets of the Week
page 3C
•Public Safety
pages 6-11A
•School News
page IOC
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Thursday.
Spending issue raises more questions
Document obtained after staff tells attorney it doesn ’t exist
By Susan Norman
snorman @ barrowjournal. com
Questions raised last week about the purchas
ing policies of Barrow County’s government have
raised new, and more troubling, issues.
County staffers last week apparently lied to the
county attorney, telling her that there is no county
document that establishes a spending threshold for
when the Barrow County Board of Commissioners
must approve purchases.
Yet two days before attorney Angela Davis told
the Barrow Journal in an Oct. 20 email that no
such document existed, the county’s top adminis
trative official — operations development manager
Bob Hohe — sent to another county official a copy
of a 2010 memo that does just that.
The Journal obtained a copy of that “Approval
Levels” memo on Oct. 21 and forwarded it to
Davis. She quickly apologized.
“I just want to let you know that I did not realize
the memo from Danny (Yearwood) existed,” Davis
wrote. “We made requests and got confirmations
from more than one county staff person that no
documents existed that contained the $10,000
spending authorization limit. Based upon our
review, we did not see any such authorization in
the Charter or the Purchasing Ordinance. Hence,
my response to you that there were no responsive
documents to your (Open Records Act Request).
Sorry for the confusion.”
2010 ‘APPROVAL LEVELS’ MEMO
Hohe, who supervises the purchasing depart
ment, wrote the “Approval Levels” memo to
Yearwood on Jan. 25, 2010. In it, he cited a pro
vision in the county’s purchasing ordinance that
states, “The Chairman will establish such approval
levels which shall be in writing and be maintained
on file for audit purposes...”
Hohe asked the chairman in the memo to approve
the following spending limits:
•$10,000 or more — “Board of
Commissioners.”
•$l,000-$9999.99 — “Chairman except in the
Chairman’s absence when a purchase is of a criti
cal nature. The Operations Development Manager
may approve such purchases under these condi
tions.”
•$.01-$999.99 — “Operations Development
Manager.”
Yearwood signed the memo and dated it Jan. 26,
2010. Hohe wrote a similar memo in 2004 to the
late chairman Eddie Elder, who agreed to the same
threshold of “$10,000 or more” for mandatory
BOC approval. It was signed Jan. 13, 2004.
See Spending on Page 3A
Chee Homecoming
THE CROWN FITS
(TOP) Apalachee High School senior Ashton Butlerwas crowned Homecoming
Queen Friday night during halftime of the football game against Cedar Shoals.
(BOTTOM) She is all smiles after hearing her named announced as the win
ner. She is shown with her parents, Cole Butler and Tammy Baughmann.
Ashton’s future plans include attending college at Kennesaw State University
where she will major in dance. Photos by Jessica Brown
Ginn, England favor
government change
By Susan Norman
snorman @ barrowjournal. com
The primary sponsors of the legislation that paved the way for
the county’s Nov. 8 special election came out this week in favor
of the proposed changes to Barrow County’s form of govern
ment.
When asked by the Barrow Journal for their positions on the
ballot question, both Rep. Terry England and Sen. Frank Ginn
said Monday that they favor a move to a county-manager form
of government. Rep. England said it is his personal opinion that
state and federal regulations have made running of a county gov
ernment’s day-to-day operations too complex
for an untrained elected official to take on.
“My whole thing is there needs to be some
body who is up to date on all the new rules and
regulations, whether they are state or federal
regulations,” Rep. England said. “It’s almost
impossible for a guy or gal to come off the
street knowing all that.”
He said his position is not based on any neg
ative feelings about the performance of BOC Chairman Danny
Yearwood over the past three years. The proposed changes would
not take place until the next chairman, to be elected in 2012, takes
office in January 2013.
“I told someone in here the other day who is a big fan of
Danny’s that this ain’t against Danny,” Rep. England said.
“I’ve been in the general assembly for seven years, but I’m not
qualified to become the chairman of the board of commissioners
because there’s stuff I don’t understand.”
England said if voters approve the “county manager” ques
tion on the ballot, the county could recruit someone with the
education, training and experience for the job, and then hold that
person accountable.
Inside
•An evolution
of Barrow's
government.
— Page 2A
See Government Change on Page 11A
Veader honored as 2011
Businesswoman of Year
The Barrow County Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction
with the Women’s Pavilion at Barrow Regional Medical Center,
announced this week that Pam Veader is the 2011 Barrow
County Businesswoman of the Year.
Veader has been recognized for her contributions to the bet
terment of Barrow County, and her dedication to her customers,
and State Farm Insurance, a press release stated. Veader has
been a constant presence and supporter of charitable and civic
organizations for many years.
Her Servant Leadership for a variety of entities has helped
the First Baptist Church of Winder, The Winder Community
Theater, and the Winder Woman's Club. She has been a Partner
in Education with the Barrow County School System, a member
of the Board of Education's Business and Technology Initiative
and a past member of the Winder-Barrow High School Band
Booster’s Club.
See Veader on Page 11A
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