Newspaper Page Text
28 Pages 2 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County Georgia 50c Copy Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Barrow
Briefs
Wellness Expo
set for Aug. 18
The Barrow Health and
Wellness Expo will be Thursday,
Aug. 18, at the Winder YMCA
from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sponsorships and exhibitor
booths are still available and
may be reserved by contacting
the Barrow County Chamber of
Commerce at 770-867-9444.
To be a gold sponsor, the cost
is $1,500 and a silver sponsor
is $600.
Chamber members may
reserve an exhibitor booth ( 8x10)
for $250 or an over-sized space
(8x20) for $425. Non-member
exhibitor booths are available
for $450. Outside booths may
be reserved for $100.
Exhibitors will set up from
9-11 a.m. and the Expo will be
open to the public from 11 a.m.
to 3 p.m.
There will be ticket draw
ings for prizes and a “Taste of
Barrow” will be available with
the purchase of a $5 wristband.
Local restaurants will be offer
ing samples from their menus.
Cattlemen’s Association
to hold Aug. 16 meeting
The next meeting of the
Barrow County Cattlemen’s
Association will be Tuesday,
Aug. 16.
The meeting will be held at
the Barrow County Extension
Office at 90 Lanthier Street
in Winder. A meal will be
served at 7 p.m. followed by
the meeting at 7:30 p.m.
The cost for the catered meal
is $5 per person for members
and guests. Those planning
to attend are asked to contact
Cindy Davis at 770-307-3029
or at ugel013@uga.edu.
Those who plan to attend
are asked to make reservations
by Friday, Aug. 12.
Barrow GOP
to meet Monday
The Barrow County
Republican Party will hold its
next meeting Monday, Aug.
15, at the Winder Woman’s
Club at 7:30 p.m.
Insurance Commissioner
Ralph Hudgins and GOP
national delegate Kirk Shook
will be guest speakers.
The Winder Woman’s Club
is located at 15 Midland Ave.
Inside
Today
Church News
Classifieds
Legals
Obituaries
Public Safety
Sports
11A
13-14A
5- 9B
15A
6- 8 A
1-4B, 10B
Mailing
Label Below
Newspaper merges names
BY MIKE & SCOTT BUFFINGTON
CO-PUBLISHERS
This newspaper has a new name.
Starting this week, Barrow County’s local newspaper will carry
the flag "Barrow News-Journal."
The name is the result of merging the 123-year-old Barrow County
News with the 8-year-old Barrow Journal. Our family-owned firm,
Mainstreet Newspapers of Jefferson, bought the Barrow County
News from Swartz-Morris Media on July 29.
It is our intention to merge the best of both newspapers into
one stronger publication to serve the citizens of Barrow County.
As part of that, we are keeping all the current BCN columnists in
the merged newspaper. And we will continue with the Journal's
award-winning sports coverage and award-winning photography.
We have a lot of respect for the traditions of the Barrow County
News, which was known from 1913-2000 as The Winder News. It is
the oldest business in Barrow County and has a rich history.
As part of our purchase of the Barrow County’ News, we are pre
serving the historic newspaper files and old photos from the past.
We are also proud of our own Barrow Journal’s eight years of
covering Barrow County. In that time, the Journal has been named
the best newspaper of its size in the state several times. And it has
done some important investigative reporting over the last eight
years that impacted the community.
But times have changed in the newspaper industry and it has
become increasingly difficult to sustain two competing newspapers
in a small community. By merging these two newspapers, the news
paper’s business model will be stronger and better able to grow as
the community grows.
Since purchasing the Barrow County News two weeks ago, we
have debated what to call the newly-merged newspaper. We wanted
the new name to reflect the traditions of both newspapers and to
also reflect the community we serve.
In the end, it only made sense to use both “News" and “Journal”
in the name and to keep the word “Barrow,” which both newspapers
had previously used.
So starting with this issue, the Barrow County News and the
Barrow Journal become the “Barrow News-Journal.” The front
page nameplate will also carry the previous two names in smaller
type and the years they were established.
In addition to changing the name, we also changed the typestyle
for the nameplate. The font used for the name is Theano Old Style,
a simple, but elegant typeface that we believe captures the best of
both the BCN and Journal’s previous styles.
In the coming weeks, we will continue to tweak the Barrow
News-Journal and to expand our coverage and articles.
And we invite you, our readers, to let us know what you think.
We want your suggestions and ideas as we grow this newspaper to
cover one of the nation’s fastest growing communities.
Feel free to contact us at mike@mainstreetnews.com or
scott@mainstreetnews.com or come by our office at 77 East May
Street, Winder and let our staff know what you think.
And to all our readers and advertisers, we say “thank you” for
your support.
Beautifying Winder
NEW DOWNTOWN
WINDER PARK
The newly-formed Hal Jackson
Park was constructed where the
old buildings used to be. Those
buildings were demolished. The
City of Winder purchased the
property from David Jackson,
Hal’s son. Hal Jackson was
the owner of Winder Lumber
Company, one of the oldest
businesses in the city when it
closed. The two buildings on
the location which were demol
ished were home to various
businesses through the years
including Sue’s Beauty Shop
and Allen’s Hamburgers.
Photos by Jessica Brown
Solar farm
rezoning may
get another
vote Aug. 23
By Scott Thompson
News-Journal Reporter
The Barrow County Board of
Commissioners failed to take
action on a request to rezone
25 acres of vacant land near
the corner of Cedar Creek and
Rockwell Church Road for a
solar farm.
Though the commission voted
3-2 in favor of the proposal, four
affirmative votes are required for
rezonings.
Because no vote was made to
deny the request, either, the pro
posal will come before the board
again at its Aug. 23 meeting.
See BOC on Page 2A
Missing man
found dead
49-year old had
disappeared July 28
The body of a missing
49-year-old Winder man was
discovered Monday morning.
Winder Police Department
officials said there is no evi
dence of foul play in the death
of Steven Lloyd Sheriff.
Family members have been
notified of his death, WPD offi
cials said.
On Monday at approximate
ly 11:40 a.m., WPD officers
responded to a call of a body
found in an area located between
Regal Apartments and sever
al buildings on McNeal Road,
some occupied with businesses
and some vacant.
See Missing on Page 2A
Parks set for return to Barrow Board of Commissioners
By Scott Thompson
News-Journal Reporter
Billy Parks will return to
the Barrow County Board of
Commissioners in November
after he was the only person to
qualify by last week’s deadline
to fill the seat he left vacant to
run for the chairmanship.
Barrow County elections
supervisor Monica Franklin
said Aug. 3 there will no longer
be a special election on Nov. 8
to fill the District 5 seat since
Parks was the only candidate to
qualify.
Parks has to wait until after
the Nov. 8 general election to
take office, but can do so with
in 10 days after the election,
Franklin said.
He will have to run for
re-election in 2018.
Parks had to resign his seat
in March in order to chal
lenge Commission Chairman
Pat Graham in the May 24
Republican primary.
Graham defeated Parks by
less than 300 votes and will run
unopposed in November.
“I’m honored to get to serve
District 5 again,” Parks said
last week. “After (the primary
loss), I was contacted by many
Barrow County residents who
asked me to consider running
again. I really enjoy it and being
part of the local government. I
look forward to working with
the chairman and other commis
sioners to make Barrow County
a better place.”
See Election on Page 9A
BILLY PARKS