Newspaper Page Text
Barrow ® Journal
www.BarrowJournal.com Barrow County’s Award-Winning Newspaper
Vol. 4 No. 2
www. Barro wJo urnal.com
Wednesday, November 2,2011
36 PAGES 3 SECTIONS plus inserts A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
WINDER, BARROW COUNTY GEORGIA 30680 25(t COPY
Inside:
•'Terror by Gaslight'
now on stage
pages 1C, 3 C
•Community briefs
page 6C
Opinions:
•Time to unseat King
Thompson
page 4 A
•Halloween fun, past
and present
page 4A
•Readers have their
say: Letters to the
Editor page 5A
Sports:
—
•WBMS wins leaque
title
page 1B
•WBHS cheerleaders
set for sectionals
page 1B
•AHS Wildcats to host
Loganville Friday
page 1B
Also Inside:
•Church News
page 9C
•Classifieds
page 11C
•Obituaries
page 8C
•Opinion
page 4A
•Pets of the Week
page 3C
•Public Safety
pages 6-11A
•School News
page IOC
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Thursday.
Historical change for Barrow, Winder?
By Susan Norman
snorman @ barrowjournal. com
Elections that could significantly
affect Barrow County and Winder
governments are just days away.
Though the county and city ballots
are different, the bottom line in both
elections is this: How much power
should the top elected official have?
Tuesday’s votes follow years of
unresolved power struggles that coun
ty chairman Danny Yearwood and
Mayor Chip Thompson have had with
their jurisdictions’ politically divided
governing bodies.
Yearwood operates under a “strong
chairman’’ form of government that
gives him control not only of the
day-to-day operations of the county
Inside
•Sample ballots for 2011 election
— Page 14A
•Coverage of City of Winder races
— Page 15A
government, but also the power to veto
policy decisions of the Barrow County
Board of Commissioners. Voters will
decide whether to have a county man
ager run the government’s operations
and to reduce the chairman’s position
and authority.
Thompson operates under a “strong
mayor’’ interpretation of the city char
ter, with most of the decision-making
centralized in Winder City Hall rath
er than shared with the Winder City
Council.
Mayoral challenger David Maynard
has pledged to operate the govern
ment more in the open and to closely
involve the council. (See related story
about Winder races on page 15A in
today’s edition.)
BARROW COUNTY’S
GOVERNMENT UNUSUAL
Attorneys advised the Barrow
County Charter Review Committee
that the chairman’s position in Barrow
County has unmatched power among
county chairmen in Georgia.
Barrow also is the only county of
comparable size operating without a
professional county manager or county
administrator, according to a review of
the governing documents of counties
with populations from 50,000-75,000.
However, the current “strong chair
man’’ form of government was not put
in place until 1989, when the newly
elected Don Holliday took office.
Ironically, it was Yearwood’s
unchecked veto of Holliday’s appoint
ment to the Barrow County Airport
Authority 22 years later that became
the impetus for this year’s proposed
change to the chairman’s power.
In a discussion of the history of
the chairman’s role, Holliday told the
Barrow Journal that he and three other
chairpersons — Hildred Waits (1993-
1996), Eddie Elder (1997-2004) and
Doug Garrison (2004-2008) — all
served under the current government
structure, but they all had top adminis
trators to run operations.
See Historical Vote on Page 14/
Special Training
VEHICLE ASSAULT TRAINING BENEFITS OFFICERS
The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office hosted special training sessions on
vehicle assaults for patrol officers last week. The new type of training was
initiated in response to the death of a Clayton County sheriff’s deputy in
July. Participants joined Barrow County officials from agencies in Forsyth,
Gwinnett and Oconee counties joined Barrow County Sheriff’s deputies. A
story and more pictures from the training can be found on page 11 A. (TOP)
Barrow County Sheriff’s deputy Brian Green practices taking down a pas
senger suspect. (BELOW) Officers practice how to take down a suspect in a
high-risk scenario. Photos by Jessica Brown
Positive results for Barrow
after amended AYP scores
By Katie Cofer
katie @ barrowjournal. com
The state Department of Education released a second round
of 2011 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) results on Wednesday
indicating two Barrow County schools that had previously not
made AYP are now meeting the state-wide standards.
According to the new data, Russell Middle School and
Statham Elementary School met AYP based on attendance,
academic performance and the number of students who partici
pated in standardized testing. The re-test scores also resulted in
those two schools being placed in distinguished status.
The second round of AYP results were determined by ele
mentary and middle school re-takes of the Criterion Referenced
Competency Tests (CRCT).
The annual test is designed to measure how well students
know the state’s curriculum. If a stu-dent did not meet the
standard the first time the test is offered in the spring of each
year, they have an opportunity to take the CRCT for a second
time.
For the fourth year, Georgia is including these re-test results
in the AYP determinations.
Regarding the positive results for Statham Elementary
School, principal Mac Almond said in a press release: “The
teachers and paraprofessionals of Statham Elementary, work
ing with the support of many wonderful parents, have given
heart and soul and hope to each and every child at Statham
Elementary. These efforts are reflected in the successful learn
ing experiences of our students. I am proud of our teachers and
our students.”
See AYP on Page 3A
Barrow Journal named
legal organ for county
The Barrow Journal has been named Legal Organ for Barrow
County for the years 2012 and 2013.
“We appreciate the opportunity to serve as Barrow’s legal
organ,” said Scott Buffington, co-publisher. “We will strive to
do a high quality job for the citizens in Barrow County in taking
care of the local public notice advertising.”
The Journal has been publishing in Barrow County for three
years. It is owned by Scott and Mike Buffington, who also own
Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc. The firm also publishes newspa
pers in Jackson, Madison and Banks counties that are the legal
organ in those communities.
Legal notices are items required by state or federal law to
be published in a local newspaper, such as notices of public
hearings, notices of tax rates etc. City governments, county
governments, school boards, the state government and a variety
of other public agencies are required to publish certain items. In
addition, certain banking information, such as foreclosures, are
required to be published.
“We will be getting some detailed information out this week
to the various governments and agencies who use public notices
on a regular basis,” said Scott Buffington. “In the meantime, you
can email me at Scott@mainstreetnews.com for more details.”
After 2013, Barrow’s public notices will rotate on a two-year
cycle between the Journal and The Barrow County News.
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