Newspaper Page Text
28 Pages 2 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County Georgia 50$ Copy Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Barrow
Briefs
Relay for Life
set for Friday
Cancer survivors, caregiv
ers, volunteers and community
members will come together
Friday for the annual Ameri
can Cancer Society Relay for
Life for Barrow County in an
effort to free the world of the
pain and suffering of cancer.
The event will be held at
W. Clair Harris Stadium on
the campus of Winder-Barrow
High School.
Activities start at 6 p.m.
with the opening ceremony.
Other events throughout the
evening will include the Survi
vor’s Lap, the Caregiver’s Lap
and the Luminaria Ceremony.
During the Relay for Life
events, members of each team
take turns walking or run
ning around the track or path.
Numerous teams participate
in fundraising in the months
leading up to the event.
The American Cancer Soci
ety Relay for Life movement
is the world’s largest fundrais
ing event to save lives from
cancer, according to a news
release.
Uniting communities across
the globe, the American Can
cer Society celebrates peo
ple who have battled cancer,
remember loved ones lost
and take action for lifesaving
change.
Funds raised help the Amer
ican Cancer Society provide
free information and support
for people facing the disease
today, educate people about
how to reduce their risk for
cancer or detect it early when
it’s the easiest to treat and fund
cancer research that will help
protect future generations.
In the United States alone,
there are more than 3,500
Relay for Life events with
approximately 2.7 million
participants, according to the
release, and last year Relay
for Life events in the United
States raised over $279 mil
lion.
For more information about
this Friday’s American Can
cer Society Relay for Life for
Barrow County, contact Ali
Jackson at 706-543-2240 or at
ali.jackson@cancer.org.
Index:
Church News 14A
Classifieds 6-7B
Legals 8-9B
Obituaries 15A
Pets of the Week 16A
Public Safety 8-1OA
Sports 1-4, 10,12B
Mailing
Label Below
Walton Inti, seeks bankruptcy
protection in Canadian courts
Firm has history of controversial ‘land banking ’ locally
Walton International, the larg
est landowner in Jackson and
Barrow counties, is seeking
bankruptcy protection in Cana
dian courts.
The Calgary-based firm and
32 of its affiliate companies
were granted creditor protection
last week under a Canadian law
known as the Companies’ Cred
itors Arrangement Act, accord
ing to an article in the Calgary
Sun and other Canadian news
outlets.
While the move does not
directly include any of its local
area holdings, the firm’s finan
cial turmoil might indirectly
affect how the company manag
es its holdings here in the future.
According to the published
reports, Walton lost $67.3 mil
lion over the last three years. Its
sales volume fell from $117 mil
lion in 2013 to just $20 million
last year, a drop of 83 percent.
As a result of the financial tur
moil, the company has dramati
cally shrunk its North American
workforce from 469 employees
in 2013 to just 96 in April this
year.
According to the Sun, the
company plans to sell some of
its assets and restructure its debt.
Canadian banks are reported
ly demanding the company do
monthly “paydowns” on some of
its debt related to nine Canadian
projects.
That, along with the lower
sales, has created “short-term
liquidity issues,” William
Doherty, CEO of Walton, told
the Sun.
In a hint that some local Wal
ton property might be affect
ed in this bankruptcy action,
Doherty also said the firm plans
to restructure its holdings that
aren’t directly involved in the
creditor protection to strengthen
its financial standing.
In its filings, the firm blamed
the 2008 recession and the drop
in oil prices for its problems.
Of particular concern is a cur
rent recession in Alberta, Can
ada.
See Walton on Page 3A
Ride for awareness
BIKERS GATHER AT MOOSE LODGE FOR RIDE
Bikers gathered at the Winder Moose Lodge on Saturday for a motorcycle ride to benefit the
Piedmont Rape Crisis Center. Over 50 bikers and six Jeeps participated in the ride, which
was escorted by the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Division. Photos by Wesleigh
Sagon
Piedmont Rape Crisis
Center holds annual
motorcycle benefit ride
By We si eig'li Sag'on
Mainstreet Newspapers
The Piedmont Rape Crisis Center aims to end
sexual assault by empowering victims and educat
ing others through community awareness.
It does this through benefits such as its motor
cycle ride, which was held Saturday at the Moose
Lodge of Winder.
Sexual assault does not affect just the victim
but their family and children as well, said Susan
Schuenemann, executive director of the center.
“Most people think that it is going to be the
boogie man in the bushes that attacks you and it’s
typically not. It is 80 percent of the time someone
who the person knows, loves, and trusts,” said
Schuenemann.
See Ride on Page 2A
ADDRESSING THE CROWD
Susan Schuenemann, executive director of
Piedmont Rape Crisis Center, addressed the
crowd before the ride Saturday morning.
School
budget
approved
in split
5-4 vote
By Ron Bridg'eman
News-Journal Reporter
It took two 5-4 votes
before the Barrow County
Board of Education adopt
ed a general fund budget of
about $118.9 million.
The budget will require
using $3.7 million of the
district’s fund balance. It
provides a projected fund
balance for June 30, 2018.
of $5.9 million.
But the discussion about
the budget, and the argu
ment that required two
votes, was about $85,000
for a proposed public rela
tions director.
Lynn Stevens, the board
vice chair, proposed the
position during the board’s
work session about the bud
get in April.
She strongly defended it
Tuesday night and made
the original motion to adopt
the general fund with the
money and the position in
it.
That motion failed with
Stevens. Debi Krause,
Rolando Alvarez and chair
Mark Still voting for it.
The five members against
it were Garey Huff. Connie
Wehunt. Michael Shelley
Rickey Bailey and Suzanne
Angle.
Bailey made the second
motion to adopt the gener
al fund without the public
relations position.
See Budget on Page 2A
Tattoo shop prohibitions removed by Winder City Council
By Scott Thompson
News-Journal Editor
Anyone hoping to open a tat
too shop in Winder can now do
so.
City Council voted Tuesday to
approve the first reading of and
waive the second reading of a
repeal of a prohibition on tattoo
shops within city limits and will
instead regulate them through
zoning.
Tattoo shops will be permitted
throughout the city’s industrial
zones and as a conditional use
in the city’s general commercial
district, including the downtown
area.
For a conditional use to be
approved, the applicant would
have to go before the city’s plan
ning board and zoning board of
appeals.
During a council work session
Monday, Winder resident John
Switzer lobbied for the change,
saying he plans to open a tattoo
shop in the downtown area. He
said he wanted to assure council
that his shop would not apply to
any negative stigmas associated
with tattoo parlors.
“The shop I’m wanting to put
in is very classy and very clean,”
Switzer said. “I want to bring
art to Winder. I want to bring
good-quality tattoos. I under
stand the concerns. .. .There will
be no riff-raff going on. I don’t
want that in the city.”
In other business Tuesday,
council:
•approved the periodic clo
sures of North Jackson Street
between East Midland Avenue
and East Candler Street between
May 8 and June 30 to conduct
traffic studies. City administrator
David Toms said there are plans
to permanently close the one-
block strip so improvements,
including a widened walking and
seating area, can be constructed.
Toms said the city wants to close
the street for one week every
other week during the period
between May 8 and June 30 to
make sure such a closure doesn’t
lead to too much congestion on
surrounding streets. Toms added
that the city has been seeking
ways to improve the intersec
tion of North Jackson Street and
East Midland Avenue anyway
because it doesn’t properly align
and there have been vehicle acci
dents there over the years.
“This was the most economic
way of fixing that intersection,”
Toms said.
•approved the city’s purchase
of the property at 176 East
Athens St. in the amount of
$240,000 for stormwater deten
tion and green space.
