Newspaper Page Text
32 Pages 3 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County Georgia 50« Copy Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Aim programs at student behavior,
Barrow school board members say
By Ron Bridg'eman
News-Journal Reporter
Providing more money and people to help
students deal with “bullying,” whether it
meets a code of conduct definition or not,
got attention and discussion for the second
straight Barrow County Board of Education
meeting Tuesday night.
Board members Garey Huff Sr. and Rolan
do Alvarez urged the BOE and administra
tion to “prioritize” providing more attention
to the question of “interpersonal” behavior
among students.
Huff noted the district's code of conduct
has a definition of bullying and “it's import
ant that we enforce that. Em not sure we’re
enforcing that as rigidly as we should.”
Board members and administrators said
“bullying” is commonly used for behavior
that does not necessarily meet the definition
of that term.
“I don't think talking about it as 'bullying'
is very helpful anymore,” Ken Greene, assis
tant superintendent for support services,
said.
He said he would like to “break the mis
understanding” that the district does not deal
with behavior problems that does not reach
the level of bullying. He said all behavior
problems are dealt with.
Vice chair Lynn Stevens said a perception
exists “that we’re not taking this seriously
and we actually are.
“Bullying is not going to be tolerated in
this community if we know about it,” she
said.
Superintendent Chris McMichael said he
believes principals and assistant principals
are “doing a great job.”
“I hear we have a perception of this (bully
ing),” he said, but when specifics are sought,
details become sketchy.
“Let's don’t stick too strictly to a defini
tion,” Huff said. “Let’s don’t wait until it’s
happened (multiple times) and a kid doesn't
want to come to school.”
See BOE on Page 2A
Chess and Community Scho ° ls
* / could get
$4.2 million
more in
local taxes
By Ron Bridg'eman
News-Journal Reporter
Barrow County schools
would get a “conservative”
increase of $4.2 million in
property taxes for the 2018-
19 school year because of
the improving economy.
Don Elrod, Barrow Coun
ty’s chief appraiser, told the
Board of Education Tues
day night.
“(Housing) sales are just
phenomenal,” Elrod said.
“The economy is very
robust.”
He said his office has
added $660 million to the
county’s tax digest for
2017. The additional reve
nue is an estimate based on
the increase in valuations,
minus expected reductions
in appraisals, and assumes
the same millage rate of
18.5. he said.
The current budget antic
ipates about $33 million in
local taxes. The increase
would put that number at
more than $37 million.
The current budget also
anticipates spending $3.6
million from the school dis
trict’s reserve funds. The
fund balance at the end of
this fiscal year — June 30
— is anticipated to be $9.8
million.
Elrod spoke to the BOE
about the tax digest as the
board starts its budget work
for fiscal year 2019. The
board will meet in a plan
ning session on the budget
at 6 p.m. April 19.
He said building permits
for single-family homes
have increased more than
eight times the level in
2012. In 2017, Barrow
County issued permits for
543 houses. Those were
valued at $72.3 million, he
said, an average of about
$133,149. Permits in 2012
numbered 64, he said.
See Taxes on Page 2A
YOUR MOVE
Winder-Barrow Boys and Girls Club member and Statham Elementary School student
Landes Watkins plays chess with an Athens-Clarke County Police sergeant during the sixth
annual Chess and Community Conference Tournament at the Classic Center in Athens on
Saturday. The Barrow students performed well as the elementary school teams placed sec
ond, third, fourth and fifth in their division, the middle school team finished third and the
high school team finished in the top five. Submitted photos
Winder-Barrow Boys and Girls Club teams
do well at regional tournament in Athens
The Winder-Barrow Boys and Girls Club's
chess teams had strong showings at the sixth
annual Chess and Community Conference Tour
nament at the Classic Center in Athens on Sat
urday.
Even though it was most of the students’
first time competing in a chess tournament, the
elementary school teams placed second, third,
fourth and fifth in their division; the middle
school team finished third; and the high school
team earned a top-five finish with first-time com
petitors Cedric Johnson and Jonathan Hartman.
The annual conference aims to bring the
Athens-area communities together through lead
ership development, chess and a celebration of
local students, artists and businesses.
The theme of this year’s conference was
“Choose Your Path, Make Your Move,” Chess
teams from across the state competed and gained
tips for setting their own paths from Kevin Dious,
a software engineer at Reddit. Law enforcement
officers also engaged with the students.
The Winder Police Department and Barrow
County Sheriff’s Office are invited weekly to
practice with the Barrow teams.
“It gives them an opportunity to see each other
in a different setting while both the young people
and local law enforcement learn critical thinking
skills from each other,” Sheriff Jud Smith said.
“Let's just say our young people are very good
and don't take it easy on our guys.”
RUNNERS-UP
Winder-Barrow Boys and Girls Club chess
coach Barnard Sims poses with the ele
mentary school team that placed second in
its division at the sixth annual Chess and
Community Conference Tournament at the
Classic Center in Athens on Saturday. It was
most of the students’ first time competing in a
chess tournament, but that didn’t deter them
from having a strong showing.
Two children escape burning bed in Statham house fire
Barrow
Briefs
News-
Journal office
relocating
Beginning on Monday, April
16, the Barrow News-Journal
office will be located at 122
West Athens Street. Suite A.
We look forward to serving
our readers in our new location
Mondays, Tuesdays and Thurs
days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
Wednesdays and Fridays from
9 a.m. to noon.
Council on
aging event
for next week
The Georgia Council on
Aging and CO-AGE (Coali
tion of Advocates for Georgia’s
Elderly ) invite older adults and
organizations that work with
older adults in Winder to a one-
hour program featuring videos,
personal stories and reports on
the results of the 2018 leg
islative session. “Engage with
CO-AGE” for Winder will take
place Tuesday, April 17, at
11 a.m. at the Barrow Coun
ty Senior Center, 80 Lee St..
Winder. The event is open to
the public and there is no cost to
attend. The occasion is part of
the Council's “ENGAGE with
CO-AGE,” a series of events
across the state of Georgia
during the week of April 16-20.
The goal is to share updates on
important legislation affecting
older Georgians in the 2018
legislative session and enlist
support for CO-AGE.
Tour of
homes set
for April 21
The Barrow Preservation
Society will have a Spring Tour
of Historic Homes in Old Town
Winder on Saturday, April 21
from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The
tour will include 11 historic
properties and will showcase
See Briefs on Page 2A
Index:
Public Safety
8, 10A
Columns/opinion
4-7 A
School news
11A
Church News
5B
Classifieds
4-5C
Legals
6-12C
Obituaries
7B
Sports 1 ■
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00
CD
Mailing
Label Below
8 *0 4879 14541 7
Two children escaped a burn
ing bed in Statham on Sun
day night after a radiant heater
caught fire in their bedroom.
According to a Barrow Coun
ty Emergency Services news
release, firefighters responded
to a fire in the 500 block of 8th
Street shortly after 10 p.m. and
found the single-story structure
with dark smoke coming out of
a window. All the residents —
three adults and the two children
had safely made it out of the
home. The children, 7 and 8,
woke up coughing due to smoke
in the room and noticed the bed
was on fire because the heater
had been too close to it.
Crews deployed two hoses
and made entry to quickly extin
guish the fire, according to the
release. The room of fire origin
was a total loss, but much of the
home was saved. Other parts of
the home received smoke and
water damage. Red Cross was
dispatched to assist the resi
dents.
There were no working smoke
detectors in the home.
"We continue to encounter
structure fires without smoke
detectors installed,” BCES
assistant public information
officer Steve Rose said. "We
urge all residents to have work
ing smoke detectors in the
house, including bedrooms.
Mattress fires burn very quick
ly and very hot. These two
children are extremely lucky
to have woken up in time to
escape the fire.”
