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Barrow County’s only award-winning Georgia Press Association member newspaper
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Barrow k Journal
www.barrowjournal.com Barrow County’s Legal Organ Newspaper
VOL. 8 NO. 36 44 PACES 3 SECTIONS, PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. WINDER, BARROW COUNTY GEORGIA 30680 50« COPY
Barrow
Briefs
Winder Library offers
free lunch program
The Winder Public Library
is providing free meals to chil
dren this summer in partner
ship with the United States
Department of Agriculture’s
Food and Nutrition Service,
Georgia’s Bright from the
Start agency and the Athens
Housing Authority.
Lunch will be served from
noon until 1 p.m. on Tuesdays
at the library, located at 189
Bellview Street.
The program will continue
through Tuesday, July 12. The
program is open to children up
to 18-years-old. Children must
be able to eat alone, without
the assistance of parents.
Concert planned
at Fort Yargo
A July 4 weekend concert
will be held at Fort Yargo State
Park in Winder on Friday,
July 1. The bluegrass band 3
Bucks Shy will perform Friday
from 7:30-9 p.m. at the Beach
Pavilion.
The band features Gary Scott
on guitar, Jeff Carter on man
dolin, Terry Fohey on banjo
and Ernie Graham on bass for
this special event. There is no
charge for the concert other
than the usual parking fee to
enter the park.
Journal closed
for July 4
The Barrow Journal office
will be closed Monday, July 4.
Dealines for the Wednesday,
July 6, edition will be Friday,
July 1, at noon.
All classified and retail
advertising as well as church
news and other social news
submissions must be made by
this time.
Inside:
Index:
Church News 10A
Classifieds 4-5B
Legals 6-9B
Obituaries 11B
Pets of the Week 10A
Public Safety 6-8A
Sports 1-3B,10-12B
Contact Info:
Phone: 770-867-6397
Mail: 77 E. May Street,
Winder, Ga. 30680
Fax: 706-621-4115
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2-year-old drowns at Ft. Yargo
Family member charged with involuntary manslaughter
A two-year-old drowned Saturday at the beach area
of Fort Yargo State Park and a family member has
been charged with involuntary manslaughter follow
ing an investigation into the incident.
The drowning occurred Saturday afternoon during
the hottest day of the year and despite the efforts of
emergency personnel, who responded to the scene
within minutes. Following an investigation by the
WPD and the Department of Natural Resources,
28-year-old Tarnue Kolubah of Winder, a relative of
the family who was reportedly responsible for watch
ing the child at the time of the incident, was charged
with involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children
in the second degree.
At approximately 2:48 p.m. Saturday, the Winder
Police Department, Winder Fire Department and
Barrow County EMS responded to the Fort Yargo
State Park beach area following a report of a child
drowning in the designated swimming area of the
park. Fort Yargo State Park employees also responded
to the scene. A WPD officer arrived within one min
ute of the call being dispatched.
A citizen visiting the park had already begun CPR
efforts on the two-year-old male child who was unre
sponsive at the time.
See Drowning on Page 9A
TARNUE KOLUBAH
Road work ahead...
CONSTRUCTION JUNCTION
Work continues not only on the new Russell Middle School but on the roads sur
rounding the new facility. In recent days, this intersection of Candler Street and Green
Valley Drive has been undergoing upgrades as the start of the 2016-2017 school year
approaches. At times, access into the entrance of Green Valley Drive near the home
side of W. Clair Harris Stadium has been blocked while at others motorists have been
unable to continue through on Candler. Photo by Jessica Brown
New budget approved
Employees
to receive
raises in
Statham
By Chris Bridges
Journal Editor
Statham’s new fiscal year
budget will go into effect
July 1 and will include
items such as a new officer
for the police department
and a three-percent salary
increase for city employees.
The new budget also allo
cates $60,000 for the hiring
of a new city administra
tor. That position has been
vacant since the resignation
of Steve Martin last year.
Martin, who previously
served as Statham Police
Chief, was the first city
administrator but resigned
from the position following
criticism from some citi
zens.
The position has been
vacant since. Statham
mayor Robert Bridges will
handle the task of searching
for a new city administrator,
per the city charter.
With the new fiscal year
budget allowing for a new
police officer at a salary
of $35,323, the depart
ment will have six officers,
including police chief Allan
Johnston.
See Statham on Page 9A
Auburn plans
July 4 event
The City of Auburn
has scheduled its annual
Independence Day cel
ebration for Saturday,
July 2, from 5-11 p.m.
The event will include
fireworks, food, crafts,
specialty vendors and
other shows and demon
strations. The Tangents
Band will be in concert.
Barrow receives grant for West Winder bypass
Barrow County has received
a $1.08 million grant from the
state of Georgia for the West
Winder bypass, officials have
announced.
The State Road and Tollway
Authority (SRTA) Board voted
last week to approve $27 million
in grants and loans for 20 trans
portation infrastructure projects
around the state.
The funds will be pro
vided through the Georgia
Transportation Infrastructure
Bank (GTIB), a revolving infra
structure investment fund estab
lished by state legislators in
2008.
Georgia Governor Nathan
Deal serves as the SRTA board
chairman.
“(The vote) marks a major
transportation milestone for
Georgia.” Gov. Deal said in
a news release. “Through the
GTIB Program, significant trans
portation infrastructure invest
ments have been made towards
the future of our communities
— continuing to give Georgia
a competitive edge. Georgia
mobility is pivotal to the eco
nomic vitality of our great state,
and this supplemental funding
will enhance accessibility and
quality of life for employment
centers throughout Georgia.”
The West Winder bypass will
widen five miles of Patrick Mill
Road from two lanes to four
lanes and will include a sep
arated interchange at Ga. 316
to help alleviate traffic conges
tion. improve regional freight
mobility and enhance access to
emerging development along the
corridor.
The county has been com
pleting preliminary engineering
designs and drawings for phase
three and acquisition of rights of
way for the roughly $73 million
state project scheduled over the
next three years.
Officials hope construction
will be completed by 2020. The
bypass will create an 11-mile
transportation corridor connect
ing Ga. 316 to Ga. 211 to 1-85.
Barrow County economic and
community development direc
tor Guy Herring said.
“This ease of access to 1-85
and (Ga.) 316 will open up hun
dreds of acres for industrial and
commercial development, as
well as. move existing commer
cial and industrial traffic more
safely and efficiently through
our community,” Herring said
last week.
See Bypass on Page 9A