Newspaper Page Text
44 Pages 3 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County Georgia 50c Copy Wednesday, October 12, 2016
BOC candidate Acey criticizes Brown
Raises issue of placing Ten Commandments
in courthouse during previous term on BOC
By Scott Thompson
News-Journal Reporter
Democratic Barrow County
Board of Commissioners candi
date Dwight Acey sharply crit
icized his Republican opponent
last week for not being a good
steward of taxpayer money.
During a local candidate
forum Thursday, Acey asked for
mer commissioner Bill Brown,
who is seeking a return to office
after being ousted in the 2012
Republican primary, why he
should be trusted by county vot
ers.
Acey pointed to Brown’s
support for the county’s expen
sive lawsuit fight from 2003-
2005 with the American Civil
Liberties Union over the placing
of a Ten Commandments poster
in a public area of the county
courthouse.
A court ruling ordered the
county to remove the poster and
as part of a settlement, the coun
ty agreed to pay $1 million to
the complainant and $150,000
in legal fees for the complainant.
Brown, though, defended his
support of the county at the time
by noting the poster came from
a private donation and said no
taxpayer money was used in the
effort.
See Forum on Page 10A
BATTLE FOR BOC SEAT
Democrat Dwight Acey and Republican Bill Brown are vying for a spot on the Barrow
County Board of Commissioners. Acey challenged Brown on his part in placing the Ten
Commandments in the Barrow County historic courthouse. “We have separation of church
and state in this country, sir,” Acey told Brown at the forum. Photo by Jessica Brown
Barrow
Briefs
Food distribution
scheduled Oct. 27
The Barrow County Food
Pantry in partnership with
The Food Bank of Northeast
Georgia will have a Food
Distribution Day, beginning at
8 a.m., on Thursday, Oct. 27, at
Holly Hill Mall. The event will
be held rain or shine.
The October distribution day
is sponsored by Pam Sharpton
and Tommye Stewart and is
open to all Barrow County resi
dents who meet USDA income
eligibility requirements. Proof
of Barrow County residency is
required.
The distribution will be on a
first-come, frrst-served basis.
The mall is located across
from Hill’s Hardware, at 186
West Athens Street, Winder.
The food distribution day
is the fourth Thursday of
every month, January through
October and the third Thursday
during the months of November
and December.
Annual Christmas
parade set Dec. 10
While the weather has felt
like anything but Christmas of
late, the annual City of Winder
Christmas parade has been
scheduled for Saturday, Dec.
10, beginning at 4 p.m.
The parade will begin at
Ingles on North Broad Street
and conclude at Jug Tavern
Park.
Various streets will be closed
during the parade, includ
ing North Broad Street, East
Athens Street and East Candler
Street between North Broad
Street and North Jackson
Street.
Mailing
Label Below
FIRST PITCH
Alexis Rutlege threw out the first pitch prior to a Winder-Barrow High
School varsity softball game this fall. Alexis has inspired the Barrow
County community with her battle against a brain tumor.
‘A Big Heart’
6-year-old Barrow County girl with brain
tumor receives support from community
By Scott Thompson
News-Journal Reporter
S ix-year-old Barrow County
resident Alexis Rutledge has
had to endure more than the
average person her age.
Born with an inoperable tumor on
her brain stem, she has lost hearing in
her right ear, most of the sight in her
right eye and suffered from muscle
damage to the right side of her face and
balance issues — similar side effects to
those of a stroke.
Frequent doctor visits have also
forced Alexis to miss several days of
school and deal with academic chal
lenges. But none of that has broken
the spirit of a little girl who loves her
family, softball and people in general,
according to her mother.
“She’s got such a big heart,” Kelli
Rutledge said last week of her daugh
ter, adding she witnessed it in earnest
last Christmas.
When Alexis was given money by
family members, she instead gave it to
a little boy with cancer at the children’s
hospital where she receives care.
“I honestly didn’t know how
to react,” Kelli said. “She had it all
planned out. She doesn’t worry about
herself, but she worries about the other
kids. Every time we go to the hospital,
she sees what the other kids are going
through and asks me if they’re going
to be O.K.”
But the same compassion isn’t
always extended to Alexis, who has
been subjected to bullying from some
students at her elementary school.
See Alexis on Page 11A
WINDER-BARROW HOMECOMING
Cameron Griffith, center, was crowned homecoming queen for Winder-
Barrow High School last Friday night. She is shown with WBHS principal
Al Darby and Tiera Mayweather, the 2015 queen. See pictures of all home
coming court representatives on page 4C. Photo by Jessica Brown
Thompson
new editor of
News-Journal
Scott Thompson has been named the
editor of the Barrow News-Journal. He
succeeds Chris Bridges, who has served as
editor for the past eight years.
Thompson had previously been editor
of The Barrow County News before it
merged with the
Barrow Journal in
August to become
the Barrow News-
Journal.
Thompson is a
native of Dublin
and a 2007 gradu
ate of Dublin High
School. He gradu
ated from Georgia
College and State
University in 2011
with a bachelor’s
degree in mass communication (print jour
nalism) and a minor in political science.
He completed summer internships with the
Courier Herald in Dublin and the Savannah
Morning News.
After graduating, Thompson was a report
er and sports editor for the Courier Herald
from August 2011 to June 2012.
He was a reporter for Savannah Morning
News publications in Bryan County and
Bluffton, S.C., from June 2012 to April
2016. While there, he covered a wide range
of beats, including sports, education, local
government, politics and business.
Thompson joined MainStreet Newspapers
as a reporter in August following the merger
of the two Barrow County newspapers.
Thompson lives in Athens with his wife,
Lauren, and son, Jude, who turns two years
old in December.
“We’re pleased that Scott has taken the
editor’s position, although we’re sad to see
Chris Bridges move into another career,”
said MainStreet Newspapers co-publisher
Mike Buffington. “Scott knows Barrow
County and Winder very well and we look
forward to his leadership in taking the
Barrow News-Journal forward.”
The Barrow News-Journal is part of
MainStreet Newspapers, Inc., based in
Jefferson. The family-owned firm publish
es six weekly newspapers: The Barrow
News-Journal, The Jackson Herald, The
Braselton News, The Banks County News,
The Commerce News and the Madison
County Journal. The firm is owned by Mike
and Scott Buffington.
Clarification
A story last week in this newspaper said
that Northeast Georgia Health System
“has purchased” Barrow Regional Medical
Center in Winder.
NEGA Health Systems has signed a
“definitive agreement” to purchase
BRMC, but the actual closing on the deal
is set for Dec. 31.
Index:
Church News
14A
Classifieds
6-7C
Legals
8-15C
Obituaries
15A
Pets of the Week
3C
Public Safety
7-9 A
THOMPSON