Newspaper Page Text
28 Pages 2 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County Georgia 50$ Copy Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Barrow
Briefs
90-day Ga. 11
detour begins
Monday
A 90-day closure of a por
tion of Ga. 11 will begin
Monday as workers replace a
culvert underneath the high
way.
A 14.7-mile detour that uti
lizes only state routes will
be in effect while the 1938
drainage structure is replaced,
according to a Georgia
Department of Transportation
news release. Traffic will be
routed from Ga. 11/U.S. 129
in Jefferson to Ga. 82 to Ga.
211 and back to Ga. 11 and
U.S. 129. The stretch of road
is scheduled to reopen Oct.
15.
Housing
Authority
board meeting
set for
Monday
The Winder Housing
Authority Board of Directors
will hold a meeting Monday,
July 17, at 1:30 p.m. at 163
Martin Luther King Jr. Drive,
Winder.
Square dance
set for Friday
The Winder Square Dance
Club “Jug Tavern Squares”
will have a “Summer Casu
al” dance from 7:30-10 p.m.
Friday. July 14, at the YMCA
Winder. No YMCA member
ship is required.
Beginner Western-style
square dance classes will start
August 8 and be held Tuesday
evenings from 7:30-9 p.m.
Those interested in attend
ing can go to www.jugtavem-
squares.org. For more infor
mation, contact club presidents
Buddy or Sharon Davis at 770-
513-1189.
Index:
Church News
14A
Classifieds
12A
Legals
4-9 B
Obituaries
15A
Public Safety
8-9A
Sports 1-3,
10, 12B
Pets of the Week
11A
Opinion
4-5A
Other columnists
6-7A
Mailing
Label Below
'0 4879 14541
o
'Such a good man’
AUBURN MAN SHOT AND KILLED
Paul Wilson, of Auburn, is pictured here with school children while on a trip to Kenya several
years ago. Wilson was shot and killed near his house on Crest Pointe Court while walking
two family dogs just after 1 a.m. July 2. His neighbor, Larry Bates, has been charged with
murder. Photos courtesy of Beth Wilson
Auburn murder victim mourned as
questions surrounding his death linger
By Scott Thompson
News-Journal Editor
If anyone was ever an enemy of Paul Wilson, “it
was probably their fault,” Sheryl Petrovich said of
her son-in-law Friday while holding a photo album
of Wilson’s and her daughter Beth’s wedding.
“Everybody who knew him loved him,” she
said.
Wilson, 44, who was shot and killed early the
morning of July 2 while walking his dog and
Petrovich’s near their Auburn home, was remem
bered last week by his family and friends on social
media as an intelligent, genuine and kind-hearted
man who had a strong love for animals.
Ever since the Wilsons moved in with Petrovich
in her Crest Pointe Court home three years ago, it
had become a ritual for Wilson to walk the family
dogs late at night after he arrived home from his
job as a cook at Ted’s Montana Grill in Law-
renceville. That was the case when Wilson came
home at 1 a.m. July 2 and could hardly get in the
door to go change clothes for the walk because his
dog, Maggie, and Petrovich’s dog, Scooter, were
so overjoyed to see him.
The dogs eased up eventually, and Wilson and
them set out for their stroll down the quiet street.
A few minutes later gunshots rang out, and Beth
Wilson knew something was terribly wrong. She
ran down the street and found Paul, and Scooter,
lying motionless in the street in front of a house
three doors down. Walking briskly past her was
the Wilsons’ neighbor, Larry Bates.
“He was yelling something and I couldn’t tell if
he was yelling at me or was on the phone or had
a gun in his hand,” Beth said. “But I knew he had
killed my husband.”
Bates, 46, was arrested and charged with murder
after shooting Wilson in the torso and head. He is
also facing an animal cruelty charge in the death
of Scooter. Maggie was able to escape and ran
back home.
Bates has a bond hearing scheduled for July 21.
See Wilson on Page 10A
MARRIED 12 YEARS
Beth and Paul Wilson are pictured on their
wedding day in 2005. The couple met in 1997
while they were working at an Applebee’s in
Snellville and had been together ever since.
Two GoFundMe pages have been set up
online to provide financial relief to Wilson’s
family. They had raised nearly $7,500 com
bined as of Tuesday. The pages can be
found at https://www.gofundme.com/paul-wil-
son-family-fund and https://www.gofundme.
com/Beth Pau I Wilson.
School
taxes to
increase
By Ron Bridg'eman
News-Journal Reporter
School taxes may
increase in Barrow County
even though the millage
rate will remain the same
at 18.5.
The Barrow County
Board of Education unan
imously agreed Tuesday
night to leave the millage
rate at 18.5 mills.
However, the “rollback”
millage rate, which would
provide the same amount
of property tax revenue as
this year, is estimated at
17.146 mills.
The increase would be a
bit less than 8 percent.
The school district will
hold three public hear
ings about the millage rate
before a board vote July
25.
Public hearings will be
held at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Wednesday. July 19. and
at 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 25.
The hearings will be held
at the central school board
office, 179 W. Athens St.
Property owners whose
property was reassessed in
2016 would pay more in
property taxes.
A tax rate of one mill
represents $1 per $1,000 of
assessed value. Property is
“assessed” at 40 percent of
the fair market value, or the
appraised value.
If a house is appraised
at $100,000, the assessed
value is $40,000.
The property tax bill is
40 X the millage rate. If
the rate remains the same,
it would be 40 X 18.5 or
$740.
Board members said the
district is still recovering
from the economic reces
sion and should not reduce
the millage rate until the
reserve funds are higher.
Vice chair Lynn Stevens,
who made the motion to
keep the same millage rate,
said the district needs at
least one month’s operating
funds in its fund balance
before reducing the rate.
“There are too many
variables here and we’re
still recovering from the
recession,” she said.
Stevens said the school
system has spent money
in the past year or two on
items that had been put off
during the recession.
See Taxes on Page 2A
County SPLOST project list approved; resident objects
By Scott Thompson
News-Journal Editor
The Barrow County Board
of Commissioners on Tuesday
approved a recommended list
of capital improvement projects
to be included on a 1-cent spe
cial-purpose local-option sales
tax voter referendum this fall.
The $31.4 million list includes
the following categories:
•Sewer system projects and
equipment ($11 million)
•Road, street, bridge, curb and
sidewalk projects ($10.8 mil
lion)
•Purchase of equipment,
including voting equipment;
transportation vehicles and
equipment; communication
equipment; and technology, sys
tems and software upgrades and
improvements ($4.38 million)
•Emergency services and fire
department equipment and facil
ities ($3.26 million)
•Water system projects and
equipment ($850,000)
•County facility projects and
improvements ($550,000)
•Stormwater projects
($325,000)
•Parks, recreation and leisure
services facilities and equipment
($240,000).
The list was recommended by
a four-member subcommittee of
a citizen panel that was formed
to select projects to be included
in the SPLOST referendum.
The board of commissioners
is scheduled to meet July 28 to
approve the placement of the
referendum on the ballot.
If approved, the current
SPLOST, which expires June 30.
2018, would be extended for five
years through June 2023. The
tax is projected to generate $56.6
million in revenue if approved.
Of the $56.6 million, $7.4 mil
lion would be taken off the top
for an expansion of recreational
facilities at Victor Lord Park.
The remaining $49.2 million
would be distributed between
the county and the municipali
ties of Winder, Auburn, Statham,
Bethlehem, Braselton and Carl
based on population.
The board’s vote to approve
the list of county-owned proj
ects was 4-0 with chairman Pat
Graham and commissioners Ben
Hendrix and Isaiah Berry all
absent due to scheduling con
flicts. Because Hendrix serves
as chair pro tern, the board had
to vote on a temporary chair
pro tern to conduct business and
appointed Commissioner Bill
Brown.
While none of the four com
missioners present spoke before
voting to approve the list, the
referendum drew sharp criticism
from local resident Mark Staley.
During the public comment
portion of the meeting. Sta
ley characterized the SPLOST
referendum as a “sham.” He
was speaking in reference to
Graham’s remarks in previous
meetings that absent a SPLOST.
property owners would have to
pay for needed improvements
through higher taxes.
Graham has been critical of
the City of Winder for not sup
porting an intergovernmental
agreement with the county that
would allow the SPLOST col
lections to continue for an extra
year and for $27.4 million of
the projected $66 million under
that scenario to be put toward
the county’s retirement of debt
on SPLOST 2005 projects. City
leaders have said Winder and
other municipalities would lose
out on money under that sce
nario and that the county should
See BOC on Page 2A
