Newspaper Page Text
32 Pages 3 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County Georgia 50« Copy Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Barrow
Briefs
Radio classes
to be held
The Barrow County Commu
nity Emergency Response Team
(CERT) will be holding a five-
week course where you can learn
everything you need to earn your
Technician (entry -level) FCC
Amateur Radio License.
Classes begin on Feb. 5 at 2
p.m. at Barrow County Fire Sta
tion 6, 222 Pleasant Hill Church
Road. Winder.
Registration is required. Classes
are free. To join, contact Mike
Wolcott at 404-281-6581 or
w4wyi@arrl.net
BOC approves purchase of
chest compression devices
By Scott Thompson
News-Journal Editor
In a move Barrow County offi
cials believe will ultimately save
lives, the county Board of Com
missioners voted unanimously
Tuesday to purchase seven auto
matic chest compression devices
to be used by Barrow County
Emergency Services.
The Lucas 2 devices will be
purchased from Physio-Control,
Inc. for just over $99,000 and
will be paid for through the
county’s general capital projects
fund. The devices, which BCES
Chief John Skinner hopes to
have in use by March 1, deliver
100 compressions per minute to
patients and are designed to be
more efficient than humans giv
ing compressions during emer
gencies.
They would fit approximately
95 percent of adults in the U.S.
and most children 8 years old
and up, Capt. Heath Williams
with BCES said.
The Lucas 2 device is the sole
compression one used within
the Northeast Georgia Health
System and there are currently
28 agencies in northeast Geor
gia using the devices, including
Jackson and Hall counties. Skin
ner said.
Prior to the board's vote Tues
day, county manager Mike Ren-
shaw gave a ringing endorse
ment of the devices.
“A couple of years ago, I saw
one of these devices demonstrat
ed,” Renshaw said.
“I was very impressed with
the technology two years ago
and I’m sure it’s advanced since
then. I’m convinced, after speak
ing with (Skinner) and some
members of his department, that
these devices do save lives.”
In other business Tuesday, the
board:
•approved a job description to
create a new position for senior
manager of utility operations.
The position will manage the
operations of the water, waste-
water and customer service
See BOC on Page 3A
Bowling
benefit
set for
next week
The Peters Company and
Campbell & Brannon law firm
are co-sponsoring Pet Bowl
2017 on Saturday. Feb. 4, to
benefit Pup & Cat Co.
The bowling event will be
held 3-5 p.m. at Bowlmor,
2175 Savoy Drive, Atlanta.
A $5 donation will be made
for every strike.
To RSVP to the event, email
kimber@thepeterscompany.
com by Jan. 28.
Boys & Girls
Club to apply
for grant
The Barrow County School
District in partnership with
the Boys & Girls Clubs of
Winder-Barrow County will be
applying for Georgia Depart
ment of Education Fiscal Year
2018- 21st Century Communi
ty Learning Center grant funds.
The application will be sub
mitted Jan. 25, and questions
concerning this application
should be submitted to: Derek
Hutchens - Derek @winderbar-
rowbgc.com.
Index:
Church News
10A
Classifieds
5-6C
Legals
7-12C
Obituaries
11A
Schools
9A
Public Safety
7-8A
Sports
1-6B
Mailing
Label Below
Witnessing history
CELEBRATING TRUMP
Barrow County resident Lucretia Hughes, right, attended President Donald Trump’s inau
guration Friday in Washington, D.C. Hughes was traveling with a contingent of the Fayette
County GOP. Photo courtesy of Lucretia Hughes
Barrow County woman attends Trump inauguration
By Scott Tliompson
News-Journal Editor
Lucretia Hughes
was still on an emo
tional high Monday,
three days after the
inauguration of Pres
ident Donald Trump.
Hughes, a Bar-
row County resident
and former Georgia
House of Representa
tives candidate, was in
Washington, D.C., to
experience it Friday
after securing a tick
et from former Hall
County commissioner
Ashley Bell, who was
part of Trump’s tran
sition team.
Hughes made the
trip with members of
the Fayette County
GOP and said it “was
one of the most mem
orable experiences of
my life.”
“There was very
positive energy and
people from all walks
of life there,” Hughes
said. “There were
people of all races and
backgrounds. It was
a very positive atmo
sphere, something I’ll
never forget.”
By the time Hughes
and her crew reached
the gates to get into
the standing area
for the inauguration
at the U.S. Capitol
Building, the gates
were already closed.
Still, the group saw
the Motorcade carry
ing all of the ex-pres
idents in attendance
and Trump to the site
pass by. And they
heard the speech
es through the loud
speaker.
A chorus of boos
at Democratic Sen.
Chuck Schumer’s
See Trip on Page 2A
INAUGURATION SITE
Hughes snapped this photo of the U.S.
Capitol Building, the site where President
Donald Trump’s inauguration was held Friday
afternoon. Hughes said there was a “positive
atmosphere” throughout Friday’s festivities,
which also included the traditional presiden
tial inaugural parade.
County to
replace
pumping
station
By Scott Tliompson
News-Journal Editor
A 23-year-old sew
age pumping station in
Barrow County is set to
get what county officials
deem a much-needed
overhaul this year.
The county Board of
Commissioners approved
on Tuesday a bid of
just under $670,000 to
replace the 23-year-old
Tom Miller Road pump
ing station in Bethlehem
with a newer station that
county wastewater man
ager Mark Whiddon said
would provide greater
pumping velocity and bet
ter serve a growing area.
Construction, which
will be led by winning
bidder Allsouth Construc
tors, Inc., is expected to
begin soon and will likely
take about nine months to
complete, Whiddon said.
He said the station,
which connects to the
main sewer connec
tion system along the
Apalachee River and Wil
liamson Creek, is “the
backbone of the Barrow
County sewer system,”
but that it has now become
a problem for the county.
The station was initial
ly designed to provide
service for commercial
development along the
Ga. 316 corridor, but con
ditions have since rapidly
changed, Whiddon said,
adding that over 1,000
residential units, four
schools and various other
commercial units have
been built and connected
into the system since the
station was built.
“With all that said, the
See Station on Page 2A
'0 4879 14941
o
3 stores busted in illegal gambling sting
Three Barrow County gas sta
tions have been busted for ille
gal gambling and temporarily
barred from any lottery sales.
The Barrow County Sheriff’s
Office conducted search war
rants Thursday at the BP gas
station at 1132 Atlanta Highway
NW in Auburn, the Shell station
at 10 Patrick Mill Road SW in
Winder and the Marathon sta
tion at 669 Atlanta Highway SE
in Winder as part of an illegal
gambling investigation.
The stores were paying out
cash for the gaming machines
located on the premises. The
investigation led to the seizure of
currency in excess of $100,000
total from the three stores,
according to a news release.
The short-term investigation
revealed the stores were paying
cash money to people using the
gaming machines which is a
violation of Georgia law. The
machines were immediately
disabled and will be removed
promptly, the release said. The
stores have also been temporar
ily barred from the sales of any
lottery and any scratch off style
lottery tickets.
The Sheriff’s Office was
assisted in the investigation by
the Georgia Lottery Corpora
tion. The investigation is still
active and further information
will be released at a later date.
Correction
Winder attorney John
Stell represented other
property owners in a Bar-
row County case against
Roll-Off Systems, the com
pany attempting to have
a transfer station built in
Statham. He did not rep
resent the county, as was
incorrectly reported in the
Jan. 18 issue of the Barrow
News-Journal.