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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