Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017
RANDOM RANTS IN RHYME
Weather observations
I look on the wall at my calendar
and see it is late in February.
I look at my outdoor thermometer
and see a number disturbing to me -
the temperature is above seventy -
almost rising to seventy-three.
The radio says on this day last year
the pollen count was forty-two.
Then he said, on that day this year,
the pollen count was a number that blew
my simple mind when he seemed to have thundered,
the pollen count was over fifteen hundred.
I looked out my window and saw the trees
bearing their blossoms of pink and white.
As they rustled in the gentle breeze,
I thought to myself what a sheer delight.
This sight was a vivid reminder to me
of the day of the “blizzard of ’ninety-three.”
Our weather right now is really strange,
and not what we expected it to be.
The staunch advocates of “Climate Change ”
will use it as ammo on you and me
to press for more government regulations
to “save our world and our great nation.”
God has granted me a long life span,
and I have lived through many “dooms-days ”
that “greatly endangered the life of man.”
“Y-2-K” had us all in a daze
for fear that our planes would fail out of the air -
but not one thing happened, not anywhere.
That day the Mayan calendar ended
was considered by many “the end of time.”
These people waited, with breath suspended.
The day passed as simply as a nursery rhyme.
Less spectacular “dooms days ” have come and gone,
and God is still reigning on His throne.
Climate change is a cyclic thing
and history reveals it page by page.
Remember “the Flood” near the earth’s beginning,
“and the clearly documented great “Ice Age.”
Man controls the destiny of his own soul,
but, as for this world, God is in control.
© 2017, cbs
Dr. CB Skelton is a retired Winder
physician and author of several books.
Statham continued from 1A
He said a rezoning for a business was
denied for the house, but the city plans
to have business offices there.
Bridges said offices are allowed in
that area under current zoning regula
tions. Bridges said the city paid $65,000
for the property “several months ago.”
He said eventually city offices might
be in that building and what are now
offices in city hall could be an enlarged
meeting area.
McCormic said questions about the
need for the house should be answered
publicly.
“Nobody even knows what we're
going to do with it.” he said.
He said the city should discuss “what
we’re doing with the property. What's
the budget and what’s the game plan.”
McCormic also asked about the city's
audit.
He asked why it has been so long
being completed.
City Attorney Thomas Mitchell said
city staff thought all the needed infor
mation had been sent to the auditors in
November.
Not until the last couple of weeks, he
said, had the auditors indicated a need
for more information.
Bridges and Gayle Steed, vice mayor,
said after the meeting the city’s auditor,
Herbert Briscoe had resigned because of
illness and the city switched to Hawkins
& McNair.
Both of those firms are in Winder.
The Carl Vinson Institute at the Uni
versity of Georgia posts financial docu
ments from counties, cities and school
boards.
Statham has only one audit on that
list, the one for fiscal year 2014.
The city’s fiscal year is July 1 to June
30. Fiscal year 2014 ended June 30,
2014.
The audits for fiscal years 2015 and
2016 are not posted on the site.
The city budgets for 2014, 2015 and
2016 are on the site.
McCormic also asked about rumors
that a “large sum of money” may be
missing from the city.
Mitchell said he asked the new audi
tors about that and “the response I got
was ‘no.’”
The attorney also said the city had
been sent a report in July 2016 about
some auditing problems.
City staff members responded to
those, he said.
“As of three weeks ago, the city was
under the impression” that necessary
financial information for the audit had
been provided, Mitchell said.
He said the questions in the last cou
ple of weeks deal with previous fiscal
years and how those are reconciled for
the current audit.
Until McCormic made his comments,
the council meeting had been notewor
thy mostly for lack of action.
Council members were silent on
requests for two changes in the city’s
ordinance about the sale of alcohol.
One property owner, Kabir Nurani,
asked that he be allowed to sell beer and
wine in package sales 24-hours a day at
Kenny’s Foodmart.
Nurani told the council at its work
session that he plans to be open 24
hours, will have food sales and would
like to sell alcohol.
Another request was from Ed Ger-
stner, owner of Vintage Billiards. He
asked for permission to sell alcohol by
the drink until midnight.
The ordinance now cuts off sales at
11 p.m.
Council also declined to lower a water
bill for B&M Pallet company. A leak
occurred and increased the water bill
dramatically.
Owners had asked for a lower bill to
be approved.
In other business, council:
•Designated May 12-13 for cleanup
days in the city. Crews will pick up
limbs, trees and large objects not nor
mally allowed for garbage pickup.
•Agreed to hold Ladies Homestead
Gathering April 8. The event is expected
to attract about 2,000, council was told
at its work session. It includes a sheep
shearing demonstration at the city's ball
field. It will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A
number of other demonstrations also are
part of the event.
•Approved annexing a portion of the
Glenn Jackson estate. It is expected to
be developed as a subdivision that will
have about 135 lots. Prices are expected
to be in the $200,000 range. A second
motion will require a second access
for the subdivision from Dooley Town
Road. That access would require decel
eration and acceleration lanes according
to county regulations.
•Approved leases for a postage meter
and copy machine. The postage meter
will cost $504 per year. The town now
spends about $10,000 per year on post
age, City Clerk Mai Chang said. The
copy machine will cost about $409 a
month. Chang said the current machine
is out-of-date and is not being serviced
because of its age.
•Approved a one-year contract for
$9,696 at the city’s raw water reservoir.
FATAL PLANE CRASH
Two people, Shanning Ewing of Dacula and his nephew Henry Ewing of
Jones County, were killed Thursday afternoon when the small plane they
were flying in crashed at the Barrow County Airport. The cause of the crash
remains under investigation. Photo courtesy of Scott Dakin
2 killed in plane crash at airport
Two people who were killed Thursday
afternoon in an airplane crash at the Bar-
row County airport have been identified.
Shannon Ewing, of Dacula, and his
nephew, Henry Ewing, of Jones Coun
ty were killed sometime early Thursday
afternoon when the small airplane they
were flying in crashed in a wood line off
Runway 13 near Ga. 82. Both victims
were adults.
Barrow County Emergency Services
responded to calls of the crash around 2
p.m. and the investigation has been turned
over to the Federal Aviation Administra
tion and National Transportation Safety
Board.
It has not been determined yet how the
crash occurred or whether it was taking off
or landing, according to an FAA spokes
person.
There were no further updates on the
investigation as of presstime Tuesday.
Statham woman killed in
vehicle crash in Jones Co.
A Statham woman and Oconee County
business owner died last week in a vehicle
accident in Jones County.
According to the Macon Telegraph, just
after 9 a.m. on Feb. 13, Laura Pitsikoulis,
55, was sleeping in the back seat of a
Ford Escape that her husband was driving
southbound on Eatonton Highway.
The SUV failed to stop at the intersec
tion with a new stretch of the Gray Bypass
and was hit by a van.
Pitsikoulis was ejected from the vehi
cle and died at the scene, the newspaper
reported.
It was the second fatal accident at that
intersection in the span of less than a
week. The new stretch of highway opened
in December.
Pitsikoulis was the owner of Big Frog
Custom T-Shirts at Epps Bridge.
‘Four Old Broads’ to premier next
week as new WBCT season opens
The world premier
of the play "Four Old
Broads” will be March
3 at the Colleen O. Wil
liams Theater.
The show will run
for two weekends. Fri
day and Saturday shows
(March 3-4 and 10-11)
start at 7:30 p.m.
The Sunday matinees
(March 5 and 12) will
start at 3 p.m.
Tickets are going fast
and can be purchased in
advance at the Winder
Customer Care Center
(770-867-3106; prompt
“1” for event ticket sales)
or at Pam Veader’s State
Farm Insurance office at
41 South Center St. in
Winder (770-867-1679).
Advance prices are
only $10 for seniors, stu
dents and teachers.
Adults are only $12.50
in advance.
If tickets are still avail
able at the door, they are
$13 and $15.
The play is for older
teens and adults and
might not be suitable for
younger children.
The play will open
Winder-Barrow Commu
nity Theatre’s 15th sea
son.
It was written by a local
author, actress, and direc
tor Leslie Kimbell.
Kimbell is a resident of
Winder and an 11-year
WBCT veteran as actor
and director.
She is the mother of
two teenage boys, Cam
eron and Logan, and wife
to Scott Kimbell.
In addition to writ
ing, Kimbell is an actor
who has appeared on
television in “Tyler Per
ry’s House of Payne,”
“Swamp Murders” and in
various commercials.
She also had a sup
porting role in the movie
“Buried Cain” and
the pilot of “Nowhere,
U.S.A.” for Netflix.
“Four Old Broads” is
Kimbell’s first play, and
she has been thrilled and
honored to be mentored
by Del Shores.
“Broads” won the 2016
Centre Stage Green
ville New Play Festival
where it will receive a
full 16-show production
in September 2017.
The play also received
an Equity Staged Read
ing in New York City in
November.
"Four Old Broads,”
directed by Leland Karas,
is a Southern comedy
about four older women
who are living in a senior
assisted living communi
ty in Georgia.
The ladies are trying
to find out what is hap
pening to some of the
other residents and get
involved in solving the
mystery. The twist at
the end will surprise you
as you laugh through the
entire play.
For more information
about Winder-Barrow
Community Theatre,
upcoming shows, and
auditions, please see the
website at www.winder-
barrowtheatre.org.
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