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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.