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PAGE 10A
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016
“I haven't done anything
not to be electable again to
the people,” Brown said.
“I have not wasted taxpay
ers’ money.”
“We have separation of
church and state in this
country, sir” Acey replied,
again referencing the Ten
Commandments contro
versy.
“I’m not worried about
that,” Brown responded. “I
have a record, I have integ
rity and I have dedication.
I think that’s been proven
throughout the years.”
The forum, hosted by
the Barrow County Cham
ber of Commerce, was a
chance for county resi
dents to hear from the can
didates in the locally-con
tested races that are on
the Nov. 8 general election
ballot, including Acey and
Brown, who are vying for
the District 2 seat on the
Board of Commissioners.
Board of Education Dis
trict 6 candidates Repub
lican Rickey Bailey and
Democrat Brittany May-
weather also participated.
The two BOC District 3
candidates — Republi
can commissioner Roger
Wehunt and Democratic
challenger Mike Pope —
were invited, but did not
attend.
Acey, a retired police
officer and chairman of the
county Democratic Party
for the past five years, said
he was concerned about
the BOC’s performance in
recent years.
‘‘There were some issues
I noticed while attending
meetings where I felt the
public was not taken care
of in the way they should
have been,” Acey said.
He also noted that there
are no Democrats on the
seven-seat board, which
currently has one vacan
cy. If elected, Acey would
become the first Demo
crat to serve on the com
mission since the late Bill
Healan, who lost a re-elec
tion effort in 2008.
‘‘There haven't been any
in quite a while and that’s
not necessarily a good
thing,” Acey said. “I think
the citizens should be will
ing to look closer at people
and look beyond political
affiliation. ...My feeling
is that you need somebody
new with some new ideas
to give a chance to address
(county issues).”
Brown, a former three-
term commissioner,
defeated sitting commis
sioner Kenny Shook in the
May 24 Republican pri
mary — four years after
Shook topped him by just
10 votes.
He touted the county’s
building of new senior
and leisure services cen
ters. new fire stations, a
new courthouse and a new
detention center during
his tenure on the com
mission, as well as eco
nomic growth along Ga.
316, including the Barrow
Crossing shopping center,
which he said brought in
more than $800,000 in
sales tax revenue to the
county last year.
Brown said he would
work to help bring sewer
service to the Ga. 11 cor
ridor in Bethlehem and
address traffic issues
throughout the county.
There were very few
other differences between
Brown and Acey on other
issues discussed during
the forum.
Both said the key to
more economic growth
in the county would be
a combination of enticing
businesses to locate and
remain in Barrow through
tax incentives and fee
waivers and utilizing local
educational resources to
retain a trained workforce
locally.
They also were in
agreement in their general
Forum continued from 1A
RACE FOR BOARD OF EDUCATION SEAT
Republican Rickey Bailey (left) is facing Democratic challenger Brittany
Mayweather. Bailey is vying for a fifth term on the Barrow County Board of
Education. Photo by Jessica Brown
opposition to any further
privatization or outsourc
ing of county services.
‘‘There are a few rare
instances where privatiza
tion might make sense,”
Acey said. “In those rare
instances, when services
can’t be provided by the
county in a reasonable
manner or adequately
funded, I would be willing
to consider that. But other
than that, I don’t think it
should be revisited.”
On the traffic logjam
issues, particularly in
downtown Winder, Brown
and Acey agreed that fur
ther support for the West
Winder Bypass project
and finding ways to divert
truck traffic would be cru
cial.
Brown said the county
tried to pass a truck ordi
nance previously but ran
into an issue of the Sher
iff’s Office being unable
to enforce it due to a lack
of funding.
“I know (the traffic) is
terrible, but until we get
a bypass or pass a truck
ordinance through there,
we have to grin and bear
it.” Brown said.
When asked whether he
would support a consol
idated local government,
such as Athens-Clarke
County, Brown said he
would be in favor of it.
Acey said the idea sound
ed good on the surface, but
that he had not studied the
issue in great detail.
There is currently no
proposal for consolidation
in front of the BOC or
any of the municipalities
in Barrow.
“I don'tthink the peo
ple realize how cheap it
would be if we had one
government,” Brown said.
“Ultimately, it’s all about
power. Nobody wants to
give up their power.”
BOE
RACE
The school board race
portion of the forum did
not yield any significant
pushback between the
candidates.
Bailey, who is seeking a
fifth term, touted his board
and business experience
and said the school system
has made strong progress
over the past 20 years,
pointing to improved test
scores.
“Excellence is not about
doing something very well
once. It's a lifestyle,” Bai
ley said. “You do your best
every day. We are trying to
get our students to be the
best citizens they can be
going forward.”
When the candidates
were asked which area of
the system’s budget they
would be willing to stretch
to serve students, Bailey
pivoted to Georgia’s Qual
ity Based Education fund
ing. which he said has not
been fully funded in Bar-
row County.
Mayweather said the
system needs to cut down
on its high school dropout
rate and suggested that it
provide more resources for
students who are pregnant
or having to work jobs
to support their families,
such as on-campus child
care and evening classes.
“We want our students
to excel and soar.” May
weather said. “It’s our
duty to provide them with
the necessary tools to suc
ceed in life.”
SHU-DE! to be presented at
Winder Cultural Arts Center
The City of Winder and the Winder Cultural Arts Center
present SHU-DE! with director and executive producer
Michael Faulkner as part of the South Arts Southern Circuit
Tour of Independent Filmmakers at the Winder Cultural
Arts Center on Sunday, Oct. 16, at 4 p.m.
Following a screening of the film, the filmmaker will
engage the audience in a discussion about the film and his
work. The screening is free and open to the public.
Considered to pre-date modern linguistics, Khoomei is
an ancient Tuvan tradition of throat singing that involves
a remarkable technique for singing two or more pitches
simultaneously. The Alash Ensemble are masters of this
vocal art who have been touring the world and sharing their
music with other cultures for year. SHU-DE! follows Amer
ican Beatboxer, Shodekeh, as he embarks on a musical
journey to the remote Republic of Tuva, located in southern
Siberia, where he collaborates and competes with some of
the world’s best throat singers.
SHU-DE! (Tuvan for “giddyup” or “let’s go”) is a senso
ry experience of music and landscape that takes the viewer
on a journey through the vastness of Tuva and the human
voice, revealing the sounds that unfold with collaboration.
Faulkner is a Baltimore-based filmmaker, writer, location
scout and improv artist. While he has worked on countless
film, television and commercial sets, SHU-DE! is his first
feature documentary. Faulkner’s journey with Shodekeh
began when he herd him perform a long drum roll in a
Baltimore bar.
The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers is
a program of South Arts. Southern screenings are funded
in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the
National Endowment for the Arts. South Arts, founded in
1975, is a non-profit regional arts organization building on
the South’s unique heritage and enhancing the public value
of the arts.
Their work responds to the arts environment and cultural
trends with a regional perspective, through an annual port
folio of activities designed to address the role of the arts in
impacting the issues important to our region, and linking
the South with the nation and the world through arts.
For more information, contact Christopher Childs, Wind
er Cultural Arts/Winder Television, 105 East Athens Street,
Winder, 678-425-6836.
Diabetes support group to meet
The Diabetes Support Group in Barrow County meets
at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of every month in the
third floor conference room at Barrow Regional Medical
Center, 316 North Broad Street, Winder. The topic for the
meeting on Monday, Oct. 17, is the pharmacy. For more
information call Bob Krebs at 770-725-5247.
Tea Party set to meet Oct. 25
The Tea Party of Northeast Georgia will hold its
monthly meeting on Tuesday. October 25. at 7 p.m. at the
Holiday Inn Express at Banks Crossing.
The guest speaker will be Mike Scupin, who will be
speaking on the Grand Jury. All voters and concerned
citizens are encouraged to attend and bring questions.
For more information, call 706-654-8292 (call instead
of text).
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