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36 Pages 3 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County Georgia 50« Copy Wednesday, February 1, 2017 Barrow Briefs Annual chamber dinner set The Barrow County Chamber of Commerce will hold its 70th annual awards dinner Saturday, Feb. 11 at Chateau Elan Winery and Resort. A reception will be held at 6 p.m. with dinner and awards to follow at 7:30 p.m. A platinum sponsorship is $1,800 and includes a table for 12, preferred table locations, listing in the evening program, logo on the rotating Powerpoint presentation and logo on the chamber website for one year. A gold sponsorship is $1,500 and includes seating for eight people with logo on the Power Point presentation and a listing in the evening program. Individual tickets are $90 each. A cash bar will be available. Make a reservation by emailing mmilner@barrowchamber.com. 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 WHS Class of ‘62 reunion The Winder High School Class of 1962 will hold a mini-reunion at 1 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6, at the Golden Corral, Winder. For more information, call Jane Krebs at 770-725-5247. Index: Church News 10A Classifieds 5-6C Legals 7-12C Obituaries 11A Schools 7-10B Public Safety 7-9A Sports 1-6B Mailing Label Below o 7 Having a ball DANCING AT COMMUNITY CENTER Jim and Darlene Townsend danced to the music of “Back in Time” during the 24th annual Adult Literacy Barrow Literacy Ball at the Winder Community Center on Saturday evening. The ball is the organization’s primary fundraiser and supports dropout prevention efforts, Adult Literacy instructional support, GED exam scholarships, family literacy activities, and English literacy programs. Photos by Wesleigh Sagon Adult Literacy Barrow hosts 24th annual Literacy Ball; money donated to help organization’s efforts By We si eig'h Sag'on News-Journal Reporter The 24th annual Lit eracy Ball was held at the Winder Commu nity Center Saturday evening with 300 visi tors in attendance. The Literacy Ball is a fundraiser to support adult learners and to positively impact the community. “Adult education is vital to workforce develop ment in Barrow Coun ty, because it provides an avenue for students to pursue higher educa tion and better employ ment opportunities,” said Lynn Hammond, Literacy Ball chairper son. Since 1993. more than 11.000 people have been served in the local adult educa tion program. Funds from the Literacy Ball support dropout pre vention efforts, Adult Literacy instructional support. GED exam scholarships, family literacy activities, and English literacy pro grams. Desmond Vaird is one of the success sto ries of this program. Once addicted to drugs and living at the Pot ters House he turned his life around by obtaining his GED. “After my grand mother passed away my life spiraled out of control,” said Vaird. While work ing toward getting his GED, Governor Nathan Deal present ed him with the Eagle Award. He is cur rently serving as the State Ambassador for adult education. Vaird’s future goal is to become an elemen tary school teacher and work with special edu cation children. Adult Literacy Bar- row seeks to promote greater public inter est in increasing adult literacy levels in the county to improve job See Ball on Page 2A WAGES SPEAKS Susan Wages, Adult Literacy Barrow board chair, spoke at the 24th annual Literacy Ball on Saturday evening. CHECK DONATED Sally Brown, Adult Literacy executive director, left, and Mindy Reid, Bethlehem Elementary School principal, are shown holding a $1,009.64 check that was donated from Bethlehem Elementary School to Adult Literacy Barrow for its Read-a-thon. This check will help the English as a Second Language (ESL) classes to educate parents so they are better prepared to support and educate their children. Expletive hurled at BOC over speeding on road By Scott Tliompson News-Journal Editor Two residents of Cash Road in Barrow County contend that speeding on the road is a threat to their family, and their ire led one of them to utter an exple tive at the county Board of Commissioners last week. Married couple Doug and Pam Brewer addressed commissioners during a public comment session at the Jan. 24 meeting and implored the county to install speed bumps along the residential areas of the small road between Atlan ta Highway and Pleasant Hill Church Road west of Statham. The Brewers say that hundreds of drivers per day travel along the road at higher speeds than the 25 mile-per-hour limit in place. Pam Brewer became increasingly emotion al during her comments, saying that she was fear ful of backing out of her driveway and being hit by speeding cars rounding the blind curve at the top of a hill near her home at higher speeds. At one point, she pound ed the lectern with her first and yelled, “I'm tired of being damn nice.” After her allotted time to speak had expired, she walked away, turned back around and shouted, “F*** y’all” to the board before exiting the chambers. Doug Brewer addressed commissioners prior to his wife and said he has tried “for eight years to get you See Road on Page 2A BOE gets update on school ‘climate’ ratings By Al ex Pace News-Journal Reporter Most Barrow County schools earned an above average climate rating in 2016. The Barrow County Board of Education got a look at its 2016 School Cli mate Star Ratings on Tues day. The Georgia Depart ment of Education released the ratings last week and every school in the Bar- row County School Sys tem earned an “average” or higher rating. Most schools scored “above average” and “excellent” except for Auburn Elementary and Kennedy Elementary, which both scored “aver age.” The climate star rating “refers to the quality and See BOE on Page 3A