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PAGE 2A BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016 CHAMBER HONORS BURGAMY AS BUSINESSWOMAN OF THE YEAR The Barrow County Chamber of Commerce recently announced Debbie Burgamy as its 2016 Businesswoman of the Year. Burgamy was honored on Nov. 16 during a luncehon at the Georgia Club. Burgamy was most recently publisher of the former Barrow County News. In the nomination letter sub mitted by Gwen Hill, Hill praised Burgamy as “a pillar in the community” for her newspaper work and credited her with helping to bring more publicity to chamber and community events. Photo courtesy of Nelson Sanders. “Okinawa Etched Deep in My Mind” By Herman Buffington By Scott Thompson Editor As Auburn’s down town district continues to grow, city officials see a need for an improved public address system, and City Council agrees. Council on Thursday approved a bid of just under $46,000 by Gaines ville-based db Audio & Video over two other companies to install a downtown audio system that would be controlled from a single point and would be expandable as the area grows. The bid total was slightly higher than the $44,000 one submit ted by Westlake. Calif.- based Guitar Center Professional, but city officials recommended db because of its local presence and extensive resume that includes sound system installa tions at venues such as the Avalan develop ment in Alpharetta and all the 12Stone Church locations. “They have an impressive track record and the equip ment they’re offering is top-notch,” said Dan Pruehs, Auburn’s parks and leisure ser vices director. “This sound system will be used at every festival and every event down town. It’s weather proof and something that will get 365-days- a-year use. The sound quality is phenome nal.” Currently, the city has to set up a portable sound system for fes tivals and events like “Movie Night,” but the new system will be pro vide greater flexibility, Pruehs said. Some of the speakers will be hung from the side of City Hall while the rest will be elevated 16-20 feet up in the air, he said. Having all communi cations from the system controlled from a sin gle point will also help law enforcement, Pruehs said. “From a public safety standpoint, if we have an emergency, the chief or mayor or whoever can hit the microphone and it cuts off all the music and becomes a public address system for public service announcements if we need that immediately without jumping through a bunch of hoops,” he said. “What I really liked about (an earlier demon stration of the equipment the company gave) was that it is all part of the same system,” Mayor Linda Blechinger added. “In the past with the system we have, when we’ve tried to switch it from music to someone talking, sometimes it doesn’t even work.” Council members were also at ease with the com pany being local and one of its employees who presented information on the system earlier this year being a city resident. “It’s good to have them here,” councilwoman Peggy Langley said. “As far as the money goes, I would rather pay a little more if that means hav ing them here and having a top-notch product.” A Georgia Soldier's Recollection of Okinawa, The Last Battle of World War Two This book by Herman Buffington, the long-time pub lisher of MainStreet Newspapers, is again available in a limited quantity. Buffington, who passed away in 2014, was a combat infan tryman in the last battle of World War II, the Battle of Okinawa. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army’s 96th Infantry “Deadeyes” Division and this book is his personal recollec tion of the Easter Sunday, 1945 Okinawa invasion and other memories of that battle. The book is available for $10 plus tax at The Jackson Herald office, 33 Lee Street in Jefferson. To have a book mailed to you, send a check for $13.70 ($10 plus tax & shipping) to Helen Buffington, 162 Jett Roberts Road, Jefferson, GA 30549. For more information, call 706- 614-4354. Auburn council approves purchase of downtown public speaker system Drought continued from 1A “During this prolonged period of severe drought in Georgia, we are bol stering the state’s drought response in more than 100 counties.” Deal said in a news release. “I would like to remind Georgians that there are specific guidelines and prohibitions to follow during a Level 1 and Level 2 Drought Response, We urge these communities to act accordingly, use good judgment and avoid outdoor burning and watering while we continue to work with the EPD and pray for rain across the state.” This week marks the 24th week of continuous severe drought in northwest Geor gia, the 22nd week for the Atlanta metro area, the 21st week in northeastern parts of the state and the 15th week in central Georgia, according to the release. “Today’s declaration is driven by an extended peri od of little or no rain and increasing dryness in the impacted areas,” said EPD Director Richard Dunn. “What’s more, there is little hope for relief as weath er forecasters expect an unusually warm, dry winter across most of the state.” UPPER OCONEE BASIN WATER AUTHORITY DES IGNATES STAGE C DROUGHT Meanwhile, the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority announced that it has designated a Drought Severity Stage C for its member counties, includ ing Barrow, Athens-Clarke, Jackson and Oconee. Stage C is one stage below the most severe drought severity stage contemplated by the UOBWA’s Drought Management Policy/Con tingency Plan. While severe drought conditions current ly exist, the UOBWA is not asking its member coun ties to implement water use reductions at this time beyond any restrictions that may be imposed by the Georgia EPD. “The UOBWA utiliz es a state of the art model approved by the Georgia EPD to help us identify droughts and make appro priate associated decisions regarding any necessary water use reductions,” said Melvin Davis, chairman of the UOBWA and the Oconee County Board of Commissioners, in a news release. “Even though current conditions, while severe, do not require water use reductions beyond those which may be required by the State, we felt that it was important to continue to inform the public about current conditions and to let the public know that we are actively monitoring the situation. “We also ask that the pub lic use our water resourc es carefully and conserve water when possible.” The Bear Creek Reser voir, which is in southwest Jackson County and is the water source for the authori ty, is about seven feet below its full pool. Brad Lanning, with Jacobs Engineering, reported the authority has been treating an average of 11.8 million gallons of water per day since its last meeting in September. That is “much higher use we’re seeing” than the same time in 2015, he said. It was about 7 MGD in 2015, he said. However, Lanning also said the amount processed for Wednesday was about 8 MGD. He noted cooler weather likely helped lower the amount. Bobby Snipes, the author ity’s “owners’ representa tive,” said the authority’s engineering and operations committees will start meet ing every two weeks to more closely monitor the conditions. The next joint meeting will be Nov. 30. Snipes said if conditions get worse, the authority might have a called meet ing. But he said the model used to predict water usage and lowering in the reser voir is better than in years past. Projections for use and water availability show the reservoir level going to about 64 percent if the drought does not get worse. Under “probably the worst case scenario,” Snipes said, the reservoir might fall to 41 percent full. The res ervoir water pool was at 688 feet above sea level Wednesday. Full pool is 695 MSL. Based on the authority’s projections, and assuming the state issues a restriction of five percent of usage, the reservoir is projected to go as low as 683 MSL. Lanning told the board the lowest level for the res ervoir has been 678 MSL. He also said the authority is not. and has not. taken water from the river for nearly all of seven weeks. Snipes pointed out that about four million gallons of water was added to the reservoir Monday. Lanning said that occurred in about five hours. The authority board also approved changes in pip ing that would allow for pumping about one million gallons of water per day back into the reservoir from the settling ponds. Wayne Haynie. chair for the engi neering and operations committee, said the recy cling of the water would help with the operations. Amrey Harden, mem ber from Oconee County, asked about the outlook for replenishing the reservoir. Snipes said predictions are for a 60 percent chance of less-than-normal rainfall. “It’s a long answer to a question to say, ‘we don’t know,”’ Snipes said. He told the county rep resentatives they might want “to dust off your pub lic information campaign” about water conservation. “Let’s not wait until we get in a crisis to think about that,” he warned. Ron Bridgernan contrib uted to this story. Considering buying or selling? 770-867-9026 www.maynardrealty.com PUBLIX MYSTERY COUPON See What 1$ Gets! Bring this coupon to Publix on November 23, 2016, and find out what one penny gets you! Good with your purchase of $10 or more. Limit one coupon per household per day. Excluding all alcohol, tobacco, lottery items, money services, postage stamps, gift cards, and prescriptions. Customer is responsible for all applicable taxes. Reproduction or transfer of this coupon is strictly prohibited. Effective November 23, 2016 at participating stores in Ga., Ala., and Tenn. Publix. WHERE SHOPPING IS A PLEASURE* LU# 1 1078 WATER RESTRICTIONS/DROUGHT NOTICES November 18, 2016 Due to the worsening of drought conditions, the EPD has declared a Level 2 Drought Response effective immediately. During a Level 2 Drought Response, outdoor landscape watering is only allowed two (2) days a week determined by odd and even-numbered addresses. Even-numbered addresses and properties without numbered addresses may water on Wednesday and Saturday between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. Odd-numbered addresses may water Thursday and Sunday between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. Prohibited outdoor water uses include the following: • Washing hard surfaces such as streets, gutters, sidewalks and driveways, except when necessary for public health and safety; • Using water for ornamental purposes, such as fountains, reflecting pools and waterfalls; • The use of fire hydrants, except for firefighting, public health, safety or flushing; • Washing vehicles, such as cars, boats, trailers, motorbikes, airplanes or golf carts; • Non-commercial washing, or pressure washing, of buildings or structures, except for immediate fire protection; and • Charity, or non-commercial fund-raiser, car washes. The following activities are allowed under both Level 1 and Level 2 Drought Responses: • Irrigation of personal food gardens may be done at any time of day; • Irrigation of new and replanted plant, seed, or turf may be done at any time of day for 30 days after installation; • Drip irrigation or irrigation using soaker hoses may be done at any time of day and hand-watering with a hose with automatic cutoff or handheld container may be done at any time of day; • General landscape watering may be done between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. on the designated days. • For additional allowable uses refer to EPD Drought Management Document Rule 391-3-30-.03 Predrouaht Mitigation Strategies • Go to Barrow County website for more listings: www.barrowaa.ora Barrow County is included in the 52 counties for Level 2 Drought Repsonse. More water conservation information is available at http://eDd.aeoraia.aov/water-conservation. Water conservation kits are available at Barrow County Water office upon request. Barrow County Board of Commissioners 30 North Broad Street; Winder, GA 30680 • www.barrowga.org