Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2020
Barrow County firefighters raise money for
cancer research through ‘No Shave November’
Submitted photo /
Pictured, from left to right, are Deputy Chief Heath
Williams, Chief Alan Shuman, Lt. Nic Bourchier, North
east Georgia Medical Center Barrow president Chad
Hatfield, and NGMC Barrow public relations manager
Sunita Singh.
Firefighters are tradi
tionally clean-shaven.
But in November, some
firefighters with Barrow
County Emergency Ser
vices (BCES) let their
beards grow for charity in
support of local cancer pa
tients and services.
No Shave November is
a nationwide campaign
started in 2009 where fire
fighters opt to forgo shav
ing in order to evoke con
versation and raise cancer
awareness.
Originally started with
a focus on prostate cancer
awareness, the No Shave
November campaign has
grown to include aware
ness for all cancers and
cancer research.
Any member of BCES
who donated $25 to the
Barrow Fire Foundation
was allowed to waive the
requirement to shave.
The firefighters raised
$935 that was recently
presented to Northeast
Georgia Flealth System
(NGFIS) Foundation and
designated for local cancer
services.
“This is the third year
BCES has participated by
putting our razors down,
and participation has
grown every year,” Chief
Alan Shuman said.
“Our firefighters look
forward to the chance to
not shave for a few weeks
while also raising funds
for a good cause.”
Shuman did reiterate that
if at any time a firefighter’s
facial hair interfered with
the ability to obtain a tight
seal on his breathing mask,
he’d be required to shave.
“We are so thankful for
the work our emergency
workers do every day,”
said Chad Hatfield, presi
dent of Northeast Georgia
Medical Center Barrow.
“It is a privilege and an
honor to have them sup
port our organization’s
cancer services. Being
able to keep their dona
tions locally, will help us
impact lives of those in our
community.”
Projects continued
from 1A
Persinger said, because of the more immediate
results and the opportunity to adjust an individ
ual student’s learning.
In addition, the Milestones test is “a once-a-
year snapshot of student achievement at the end
of the school year,” McMichael said.
He said the goals are to “develop and imple
ment an assessment system that reduces test
ing time, provides teachers data they can use
to guide instruction during the school year and
challenges students to develop the higher-order
thinking skills they need to succeed in college
and careers.”
Persinger explained that three pilot projects
were established by state law and process. One
of those ended, she said, when it was “decided
that’s not what we wanted to do.”
The results will be sent to the state Depart
ment of Education and that will be forwarded
to the federal level.
Persinger said the pilot study will include
a language arts and math test in the spring of
2021. All students will take that, she said.
She said the testing should deal with “ac
countability,” which now is done through the
Milestones, and the need for data teachers can
use in the classroom.
2019
continued from 1A
Eddie Jackson and Rudy
Krause in the race to re
place outgoing Mayor
Robert Bridges, who had
announced his retirement
earlier in the year.
Piper’s election was
part of several chang
es to the government in
Statham, which started the
process of transitioning
from a strong-mayor to a
weak-mayor form of gov
ernment.
The city council will
also have two new fac
es in 2020. Gary Venable
was elected to the coun
cil, while Tammy Crawley
won a special election to
fill the seat Jackson va
cated in order to run for
mayor.
The city also saw its po
lice chief, Allan Johnston,
resign Dec. 1. The criti
cism of Johnston became
near-constant after a se
ries of arrests by then-of
ficer Marc Lofton in 2015
and 2016. Statham faced,
and still faces, multiple
federal lawsuits over those
arrests, most of which
involved driving under
the influence-less safe
charges.
TWO NEW WINDER
COUNCIL MEMBERS
ELECTED
On Nov. 5, two new
members were elected to
the Winder City Council.
Kobi Kilgore defeated
incumbent councilman A1
Brown in Ward 2, while
Holly Sheats beat out
Robert Lanham for the at-
large seat held by outgo
ing councilman Michael
Healan, who chose not to
seek re-election.
Kilgore and Sheats will
become the second and
third women to serve on
the council, following
Beth Caldwell.
Incumbent council
man Travis Singley was
re-elected in Ward 4, fend
ing off a challenge from
Holt Persinger.
ALVAREZ WINS
SPECIAL
BOC ELECTION
The Barrow County
Board of Commissioners
elected a new member in
March as Rolando Alvarez
won a special election to
fill the District 3 seat left
vacant by Roger Wehunt,
who had resigned in Oc
tober 2018 due to health
reasons.
Alvarez defeated Scott
Vickery for the seat.
Alvarez had served on
the Barrow County Board
of Education in an at-
large seat prior to running
for the BOC. The school
board appointed Jordan
Raper to be his replace
ment.
VICTOR LORD PARK
EXPANSION
PROJECT GETS
UNDERWAY
A groundbreaking cere
mony was held in June for
the voter-approved Victor
Lord Park expansion proj
ect at the corner of Second
Street and Highway 11 in
Winder.
The roughly $8.3 mil
lion project will add three
multi-purpose athletic
fields (one synthetic turf,
two natural grass), an
eight-court tennis com
plex, press box/conces
sion building, restrooms
and other amenities to the
Considering
((TM*R) )) buying or
selling?
770-867-9026
www.maynardrealty.com
SOCIAL SECURITY
DISABILITY
Applications & Appeals
We Do All The Hard Work!
Hynes & Associates LLC
Disability Advocates
Call 706-969-7420 • SSIHelp.org
$
BBB
Free Consultation. No Fee Unless Approved
NOTICE TO THE
PUBLIC
City of Statham
Special Called Meeting
Personnel, Vice Mayor &
Committees
January 3, 2020 • 6:30 p.m.
park. The facilities are ex
pected to open in spring
2020.
Recreation advocates
have long sought the fa
cilities in Barrow County
that they say will attract
tournaments and events
that will be a boon to the
local economy.
The project was the
cornerstone of a 1-cent
SPLOST renewal project
approved overwhelmingly
by voters in 2017. Near
ly $3 million in overruns
from the initial estimated
price tag of $7.36 million
caused county leaders
to scale the project back
some.
The board of commis
sioners voted in 2018 to
transfer $1.3 million from
its reserves to the Barrow
County School System
to complete the turf in
stallation at the two high
schools (part of the orig
inal master plan budget),
and the county will have
access to those fields for
games and events through
a joint-use agreement. The
remaining amenities that
were part of the original
master plan are planned
for completion in later
years.
In March, commission
ers voted 4-3 to approve
$500,000 in additional
funding for the expansion,
money that county man
ager Mike Renshaw said
would go to cover the bulk
of design and project man
agement costs while al
lowing for more upgrades.
REZONING OF HWY.
211 PROPERTY FOR
LARGE SUBDIVISION
APPROVED
On Oct. 22, the Barrow
County Board of Com
missioners approved Law-
renceville-based Corridor
Development’s request to
rezone 86.8 acres at 627
Hwy. 211 NWto allow for
the construction of up to
247 single-family homes.
The approval marked the
next step toward the build
ing of the first large-scale
residential development in
Barrow County since prior
to the Great Recession.
Corridor’s plans had
gone through several it
erations and the version
approved was scaled back
from an original one that
called for 182 single-fam
ily homes and 128 sin
gle-family townhomes.
Corridor representatives
have long contended a
residential development at
the site, just to the north
of where the future West
Winder Bypass will ter
minate at Highway 211,
would be compatible with
other current and future
development in that area.
RULING ON NEW
HAMILTON TRIAL
UPHELD BY
SUPREME COURT
In a decision released
Sept. 3, the Georgia Su
preme Court upheld for
mer Piedmont Judicial
Circuit Chief Superior
Court Judge David Motes’
October 2018 ruling that
Grant Notice
The Technical College System of Georgia’s (TCSG) Office of Adult
Education will open its multiyear adult education grant competition in
January 2020. State and federal Workforce Innovation & Opportunity
Act grant funds can be used to provide adult education and literacy
activities to individuals over the age of 16 without a high school
diploma, as well as English language learners. TCSG will hold a
technical assistance day for all interested applicants on February 10,
2020 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at Chattahoochee Technical College.
More information is available at https://tcsq.edu/adult-education/.
TCSG is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate on
the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.
Paul Hamilton, convicted
for the 2015 murder of his
nephew, was entitled to a
new trial.
Hamilton was convicted
Oct. 5, 2018 on a charge
of felony murder and three
counts of aggravated as
sault in the death of Bran
don Lay, 32, of Statham.
On Oct. 25, 2018, Motes
imposed a mandatory life
sentence, but then imme
diately reversed the con
viction on the grounds
that he had erred in his
instructions to the jury
and that he did not believe
the evidence presented
during the week-long tri
al supported a conviction,
saying a new trial would
be "consistent with the
principles of equity and
justice.”
In the Supreme Court
ruling, Justice Sarah War
ren quoted state statutes
that “Even when the evi
dence is legally sufficient
to sustain a conviction, a
trial judge may grant a new
trial if the verdict of the
jury is ‘contrary to...the
principles of justice and
equity,’ or if the verdict
is ‘decidedly and strongly
against the weight of the
evidence.’”
CONSTRUCTION ON
NEW HIGH SCHOOL
GETS UNDERWAY
In March, Barrow Coun
ty School System officials
broke ground on the dis
trict’s third high school
on Austin Road in Winder,
next to Sims Academy of
Innovation and Technolo
gy-
The high school, which
was formally named Bar-
row Arts and Sciences
Academy later in the year,
will be an arts and scienc
es magnet school and will
offer most athletics with
the exception of football
and basketball. It is sched
uled to open in August
2020. Dale Simpson will
be the principal.
NEW VISITORS’
CENTER AT
FORT YARGO OPENS
In May, local and state
officials held a ribbon-cut
ting ceremony for the new
and larger visitors’ center
at Fort Yargo State Park in
Winder.
The project included
about $4.2 million in state
funding — from bonds
and park receipts — plus
additional private funding.
It was designed by Stevens
& Wilkerson GA, Inc. and
contracted by Bayne De
velopment Group, LLC.
The new center, locat
ed about a half mile south
from the original center,
spans more than 5,000
square feet. It was com
pleted in April and sits
across the lake from the
historic fort. It includes an
expanded gift shop, con
cession area, bike rental
space, public locker and a
reception room for confer
ences, weddings and other
events, along with an ele
vated community fire pit
by the lake.
M and M
Construction and Farms
Bobcat & Farm Services
• Grading • Bush Hog Work
• Excavating • Land and Brush Clearing
Over 40 Years Experience • Insured
Mark Childers 678-618-1446
December 25, 2019 Select Fence Group
Crossword Answers I 1
A
S
p
1
C
U
A
T
E
R
M
O
C
O
U
R
L
1
N
K
O
L
D
1
D
Y
E
R
Y
D
A
T
E
A
L
A
S
Y
O
K
E
S
E
E
S
S
L
A
M
T
A
C
O
O
U
R
S
O
N
E
S
L
D
1
A
S
s
R
A
p
s
M
1
1
D
E
N
R
S
H
E
S
1
A
L
P
S
K
Y
Select Fence Group: (678) 201-6548