Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Braselton News
Page 5A
Public Safety
Barrow deputies arrest child predator suspect
Rep. Broun to launch virtual town halls
U.S. Rep. Paul Broun is launching a series of virtual town
halls in which he will use YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to
gather ideas from constituents.
Visit Broun’s YouTube page at www.youtube.com/reppaul-
broun to learn more about the virtual town halls.
By Katie Cofer
katie @ mainstreetnews. com
A Jackson County man has been charged
with two felony sexual predator counts
after allegedly chatting online with an
undercover agent posing as an underage
girl, authorities released this week.
Barrow County Sheriff’s investigators
arrested Gregory Franklin Varner, 47, on
May 12, with a search warrant accusing
him of chatting with the undercover inves
tigator since September of 2010.
Varner is charged with enticing a child
for indecent purposes and sexual exploi
tation of a child. Both are felonies under
Georgia law.
The warrant was executed at Varner's
residence in Jackson County where inves
tigators seized computer equipment used
to communicate with
underage females.
Officials said they
plan to conduct a
forensic analysis of the
computer in the near
future. The investiga
tion is still active.
Varner repeatedly
requested nude photos
of the underage female
be sent to him, as well
as numerous other illicit requests and lewd
statements in the multitude of chats, offi
cials said.
The undercover investigator also chatted
with the suspect through the social net
working site of Facebook.
Authorities encourage all parents to
monitor their children’s Internet activity,
including chat logs, history of sites visited
and Facebook accounts. Any suspicious
activity should be reported to their local
police department or Sheriff’s Office.
“It is vital for parents to take an active
role in the Internet activity of their chil
dren,” Sgt. Caine Tate with the Barrow
County Sheriff’s Office said “If left
unchecked, online predators have direct
and easy access to children and vulnerable
adults.”
Varner
Braselton Police
Homeowner found not paying for water
A Braselton Water
Department employee said he
received a request to turn on
water service at a residence.
He told police he responded
the previous day and noticed
the water box was covered
up with a bobcat and he was
unable to check the meter.
When the employee returned
the next day, he told police he
noticed the water line didn’t
have a meter and was hooked
up with a straight pipe. The
homeowner told the deputy he
was unaware of the water line
and thought it all came in on
one line. The deputy advised
him that he needed to take
this matter up with the water
department as soon as pos
sible, which he agreed to do.
Other incidents reported last
week to the Braselton Police
Department:
•domestic dispute at a busi
ness on Spout Springs Road.
The victim said that she took
her daughter, her daughter’s
boyfriend and her daughter’s
child to the grocery store. She
said as they were leaving,
her daughter began “getting
mouthy with her” and as they
pulled out onto Friendship
Road, she began punching and
slapping her in the face. The
victim also said that while
she was driving, her daughter
pulled a chunk of hair out of
the her head, which was still
lying on the front seat of the
vehicle. The victim stated that
her daughter’s boyfriend was
constantly yelling and cursing
at her, while her daughter was
beating her up.
•a man said he was sitting
in his truck at a Ga. 53 busi
ness when a man came to his
truck and asked him to use
his lighter. The victim said he
let him use a lighter and then
the man said, “Come see this,
this guy just won a $170,000
on a scratch-off.” The victim
said he followed the man to
where an older white man was
playing three-card Monty. The
victim then said he told the
older man that he wanted to
play for $100 and pulled out
his cash. The older man said
he didn’t want his money
and then another man came
around the truck yelling,
“You better not be gambling
in my parking lot. I’ll have
your trucks towed.” While this
man distracted him, the older
white man grabbed the cash
and took off.
•two children were left
alone in a car at a Ga. 211
business while their mother
was “tanning.” A passerby
noticed them because one of
the children was screaming
because her finger was caught
in the window. The woman
took them in the tanning salon
to wait for their mother.
•domestic dispute at a
Mossy Oak Landing location.
A woman reported that her
boyfriend struck her in the
face after she started yelling
at him.
•fight between two men at
a Spouts Springs Road busi
ness.
•intoxicated person in a
parking lot on Grand Hickory
Drive punching vehicles.
•juveniles went into a home
on Grand Hickory Drive and
took a stuffed animal.
•a Wallace Falls Drive man
said someone put a threaten
ing letter in his mailbox. It
read “Think about the people
around you. If you did, you
would: 1. Put your dog inside
that barks at every night at 3
a.m. for two hours. 2. Turn off
the flood lights all night. 3. Do
something with your yard. If
the barking dog is not fixed,
we will fix the dog for you.”
•suspicious activity on
Grand Hickory Drive where
several people were in a car
smoking marijuana.
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West Jackson
Fire Department
The West Jackson Fire
Department responded to the
following calls last week:
•reports of a person not breath
ing at a Reisling Drive location
who was found to be dead.
•man with chest pains at a
Braselton Industrial Blvd.
address. He was taken to an
area hospital.
•grass fire on 1-85.
•accident on 1-85.
•man with chest pains at a
Charlie Cooper Road address.
•man on the square in
Hoschton complaining of dia
betic-related issues.
•cardiac arrest at a Ga. 53
address. A man was found
dead.
•a man with chest pains at a
Hwy. 53 location. He was taken
to an area hospital.
•a man at a Hwy. 53 address
had an allergic reaction after
being stung by bees.
•truck fire at an 1-85 address,
•a person with a low pulse at a
Rebecca Street location.
•two-vehicle wreck on 1-85.
•two-vehicle wreck at 1-85
and New Cut Road.
•medical call at a Chelsey
Court residence.
Academy — from 1A
in several other area commu
nities. But the class also gives
her a connection with residents
from across the town, which is
invaluable when she’s in need
of community input for future
projects.
“We wanted to do some
thing that would bring people
together who wouldn’t other
wise,” Dees said. “We get to
know our citizens as well, and
we get new people who know
about our government.”
The inaugural class includes
residents from all comers of
Braselton’s sprawling four-
county area, along with some
residents of neighboring com
munities as well. All of them
said they were impressed
with how Braselton worked
as a town, and they want
ed to know more — that’s
what spurred them to take the
Citizens Academy course.
“I like what Braselton is
doing, and I thought I’d learn
more about what’s going on,”
said Jill Eisel, a resident of
Mulberry Park.
Fellow student Cherie
Jackson, also a Mulberry
Park resident, said she’s taken
the Hall County Citizens
Academy and liked how
the course gives her a better
understanding of what’s going
on. And Doug Callahan, a res
ident of the Falls of Braselton,
agreed that the course was a
good way to find out how the
town worked.
“This gives me a better
understanding of how things
work,” he said. “This town
seems to be prospering, so we
have some top-notch people
here.”
Dees, with help from the
town’s Finance Director Nan
Edwards, first gave the class
a bit of background on the
town’s history, starting with
the Braselton brothers who
co-founded the town and its
five mayors in the town’s 100
years; Dees has worked for
three of them.
The town is one of two in
Georgia that covers four coun
ties, which makes budgeting
things like SPLOST money
tricky, since money from each
year of SPLOST and from
each county needs to be kept
in a separate bank account; all
told, the town has 12 SPLOST
accounts. The town also has
four area codes, two power
companies and two water
utilities.
Throughout the first class,
the students said they were
amazed at the details involved
in balancing the budget,
determining where SPLOST
money should spent or even
how the town balances the
budget without a property tax.
(Answer: A combination of
utility franchise fees, alcohol
taxes, building fees and court
fines, plus little extras like
partnerships with federal pro
grams.)
Don Allen, a resident of
Traditions of Braselton —
which has a Hoschton address
— said he was so intent on
learning how the town worked
that he asked Dees specifically
whether he could be in the
class. Technically, the Citizens
Academy is only open to
Braselton residents, but when
you span four counties and a
few Zip codes, Dees said the
rules may get a little fuzzy.
“I’ve always been fas
cinated with the communi
ty and the vibrance of it,”
said Allen, who served for
18 years as the chairman of
the Snellville Planning and
Zoning Commission.
He said he told Dees he
was determined to learn more
about his new community. “I
begged her.”
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• The Jackson Herald • The Commerce News • The Braselton News
• The Banks County News • The Madison County Journal
Pilot Club of Jefferson
Meets 3rd Tuesday of
each month, 6:30pm
Jefferson City Club House
706-367-9313 or
706-693-4715 76 4
BANKS COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
meets first Monday each month
7:00 p.m. in the Banks Co. Historial
Courthouse at 105 U.S. Hwy. 441
North in Homer pj. 07
9562 JEFFERSON AREA
BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
www.jaba-ga.org
Meets 3rd Thurs. • 11:45 a.m.
Community Bank & Trust Bldg.
71 Memorial Drive
ATHENS AMERICAN
LEGION
HP Post 20
Meets each 4th Tues., 6:30 p.m.
Ron Keenan, Post Commander
Home (706) 355-9959 • Cell (706) 207-6582
Ronald489@bellsouth.net pd.07
JACKSON COUNTY
REPUBLICAN PARTY
Meets 2nd Sat. of each month
7:30 a.m., Jefferson Clubhouse
302 Longview Drive, Jefferson
Everyone welcome!
www.JacksonGOP.org pd. 12
• - i Northeast Georgia Goat
Producers, Inc.
Meetings 2nd Tuesdays 7:00 p.m.
Dinner & Social Hour 6:00 p.m.
Ryans’ Steakhouse in Commerce
243 Steven B. Tanger Blvd.
Come learn about goat care. Pd. 8
JEFFERSON
WAMERICAN LEGION
Albert Gordon Post 56
Each 3rd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Harvie Lance, Commander
Phone (706) 654-1274 3io
DANIELSVILLE
AMERICAN LEGION
Post 39
Meets last Thursday, 7 p.m.
JANUARY - OCTOBER
American Legion Building
Crawford W. Long Street
St. Catherine Laboure
Catholic Mission
Mass Schedule: Fri. 9 a.m., Sat. 4:00 p.m.,
Sun. 11:00 a.m., Thurs. 12:10 p.m.
First Friday Adoration 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Website: www.stcatherinelabourega.org
706-367-7220 Pd . 12
B9 BANKS COUNTY
|0|AMERICAN LEGION
Riders Post 215
Meets each 2nd Thursday, 7 p.m.
In Homer, GA at the
American Legion Building on
Historic Highway 441 pd l2
Call (706) 367-5233
to advertise your
meeting time
A ROCKWELL
W LODGE F& A.M.
f\/\ No. 191, Hoschton, GA
2nd Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. • Dinner at 6:30 p.m.
www.rockwelllodge191 .com
Two blocks behind Larry’s Garage
West Broad at Hall Street Pd. 2/12
13827
HUMANE SOCIETY OF JACKSON CO.
2011 Meeting dates: May 10, August 9, November
8 at 7 p.m. May meeting at Hoschton Depot.
Speaker will be Atlanta Dog Whisperer Angie
Woods of U.S. Canine Dog Behavior Modification &
Dog Psychology. Beverages and light refreshments
served. No Charge. 706-367-1111 • www.hsjc.com
JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB
Meets Tuesdays
lefferson City Clubhouse
12:30 p.m. *(706) 335-3151
John Ward, President
547
A UNITY LODGE
^ F&A.M.
No. 36, Jefferson, GA
1st Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m.
Tom Hays • 678-316-7492
Borders St. behind Tabo’s mo
BANKS COUNTY
®p AMERICAN LEGION
Post 215
Meets each 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m.
In Homer, GA at the
American Legion Building on
Historic Highway 441 Pd. 6
a BANKS COUNTY
Cl AMERICAN LEGION
W AUXILIARY-Post 215
Meets each 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m.
In the American Legion Building
at 1350 Historic Homer Hwy.,
Homer, GA pa 6
JEFFERSON LIONS CLUB
Meets 2nd & 4th Monday
Jefferson City Clubhouse
6:30 p.m, *(706) 367-9349
Jimmy Mock, President S4 ,
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