Newspaper Page Text
16 Pages, 2 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia $1.00 Copy Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Coronavirus spike continues
Georgia Department of Public Health
The latest trends of coronavirus in Barrow County show recent record surges and a high in the seven-day
rolling average of daily cases (yellow line), as shown in this graph from the Georgia Department of Public
Health.
COVID cases countywide hit record numbers;
school district numbers increase sharply
By Scott Thompson
sthompson@barrownewsj ournal. com
Barrow County set a new daily
high in coronavirus cases Thursday,
Dec. 10 — with 68 more cases con
firmed countywide by the Georgia
Department of Public Health in a 24-
hour period as the numbers around
the state, northeast Georgia region
and the U.S. continued to skyrocket.
The sharply increasing case totals
have pushed local hospitals to capac
ity and were reflected in a spike in
the Barrow County School System's
numbers, which led to an elementa
ry school being closed to in-person
instruction for the remainder of this
week.
In its latest daily 3 p.m. update
prior to press time, on Tuesday, Dec.
15. the DPH reported 4,860 con
firmed cases of COVID-19, along
with another 2,787 antigen cases
— bringing the cumulative totals
to 484,152 confirmed cases through
PCR tests and 69,843 through an
tigen tests, also commonly known
as rapid diagnostic tests. The state
had a record 6,126 confirmed cases
Thursday. DPH also confirmed an
other 35 deaths Tuesday, raising the
recorded death toll to 9.250 as of the
latest update.
In Barrow County, 63 more cas
es were reported Tuesday, raising
the cumulative total in the county to
3,891 and increasing the seven-day
rolling daily average to a high of 50
cases. Sixty county residents have
died from COVID-19. according to
the state’s data. The positivity rate
on tests also remained high at 21.9
percent on Tuesday with a seven-day
rolling average of 20.2 percent, the
highest average since the onset of
the pandemic.
HOSPITALS REMAIN
NEARLY FULL
And as hospitalizations have also
surged, Northeast Georgia Health
System is also continuing to bear the
brunt of that. The system reported
See COVID, page 2A
BOC rejects rezoning
request for large
subdivision in Statham
By Scott Thompson
sthompson@barrownewsjoumal.com
A proposed subdivision of
more than 300 single-family
homes in unincorporated
Statham was shot down by
the Barrow County Board of
Commissioners on Tuesday,
Dec. 8.
The board voted 5-1 —
with commissioner Joe
Goodman opposed to chair
man Pat Graham’s motion
and commissioner Rolando
Alvarez absent — to deny
a request by Manor Resto
rations to rezone 95 acres
at 575 Wall Rd. between
State Route 316 and Atlanta
Highway and change the fu
ture land-use map character
designation property from
Rural Reserve to 316 In
novation Corridor in order
to build 318 single-family
homes. Manor Restorations,
which has been active in re
zoning and development re
quests around the county in
recent years, had proposed
that a little more than 20
percent of the homes (67)
be age-restricted to 55 years
old and up.
The BOC voted 4-2 at its
Nov. 11 meeting to table the
request in order to get more
information about sewer
capacity for the proposed
development but ultimately
went along with the county
planning staff's recommen
dation to deny based on the
position that the request
was not in keeping with the
county’s future land-use
map.
Shane Lanham, an attor
ney for the applicants, has
contended in public meet
ings that a change in land-
use designation was appro
priate and that the homes
would complement future
industry and businesses
along the 316 corridor, giv
ing prospective new work
ers places to live. The coun
ty planning commission did
not make a recommendation
on the request at its Octo
ber meeting, but none of
the panel’s members tele
graphed their support of it.
The request also drew
pushback from nearby resi
dents and the Barrow Coun
ty School System, with
concerns ranging from the
impact on traffic and ex
isting infrastructure, to the
price point and square foot
age of the proposed homes,
to the population impact on
local schools.
The proposed develop
ment was just one of several
either currently being eyed
or in the works in Statham.
Similar issues, particu
larly regarding traffic and
infrastructure and the poten
tial impact on schools, have
also been raised within the
city limits of Statham, where
the city council has recently
considered a request by Ma-
cas Development and prop
erty owners to rezone 75.5
acres south of Atlanta High
way along Moore Drive in
order to build 197 homes.
The council held a public
hearing on that request Dec.
3 and was scheduled to hold
a vote on it at its Tuesday,
Dec. 15 voting session (See
barrownewsjournal.com
and the Dec. 23 edition for
coverage of that meeting).
Last month, the council
approved the final plat for
the 76-lot Lakes of Statham
subdivision south of Provi
dence Road, and building is
expected to begin next year.
In another item on the
Dec. 8 BOC agenda, com
missioners voted for a sec
ond straight month, at the
applicant’s request, to table
a request to rezone 18.15
acres at 725 R.D. Mack Rd.
and change the property's
future land-use map des
ignation in order to build
an age-restricted commu
nity with 27 single-fami
ly homes, 126 townhome/
condominium units and an
estimated 12-15 executive
suites at the front of the
proposed development. The
primary applicant has re
quested the tabling due to
health issues.
See BOC, page 2A
Index:
Public safety
5A
School/social
8A
Classifieds
4B
Legals
5-7B
Obituaries
6-7A
Opinion
4A
Sports
1-2, 8B
MAILING LABEL
'0 4879 14541
o
Little looks forward to new role
as interim county manager
By Scott Thompson
sthompson@barro wne wsj ournal .com
Walton County native Kevin Little chose
not to seek re-election to a sixth four-year
term as chairman of the county’s board of
commissioners this year, but he also wasn’t
ready to retire from a career in local gov
ernment. So in October, he put out his re
sume to surrounding counties, including
Barrow, and let it be known that he was
interested in a managerial or departmental
position if an opening should arise.
Such an opportunity emerged just to the
east recently when Barrow County man
ager Mike Renshaw accepted a similar
position out west, and Little was offered
the interim county manager position and
accepted. The board of commissioners ap
proved the hiring of Little, effective Jan. 1,
following a closed session at its Tuesday,
Dec. 8 meeting and also accepted the res
ignation of Renshaw after more than 4 Vi
years with the county.
Renshaw’s last day of work with the
county will be Jan. 12, and he will then
take over as general manager of the High
lands Ranch Metropolitan District in High
lands Ranch, Colorado, an unincorporated
community of a little more than 100,000
people just south of Denver. The board of
directors there approved the hiring of Ren
shaw at a Dec. 3 meeting.
As BOC chairman in Walton County
over the last 20 years, Little has essentially
been in a dual role as elected official and
Photo courtesy David Clemons/
The Walton Tribune
Kevin Little presides over the Walton
County Board of Commissioners meet
ing Dec. 1 in Monroe. It was the last
scheduled meeting of Little’s fifth and
final term as chairman. He will become
interim Barrow County manager start
ing in January.
top administrator and has held various
leadership titles around Georgia and the
northeast region of the state, including be
ing a past president of the Association of
See Little, page 3A
Winder council
postpones rezoning
requests for properties
near Hwy. 11/53 split
By Scott Thompson
sthompson@barrownewsjournal.com
The Winder City Council has postponed action on a
pair of rezoning requests near the split of highways 11
and 53 in order for city staff to work with the developers
on their proposed projects.
One of the requests, by Roxeywood Development and
Barrow Investment Group, would be to rezone 49.4 acres
at 436 Gainesville Hwy. and build a 78-home subdivision
called “Stone Haven” on 42.3 of the acres. The remaining
acreage would be separate commercial parcels.
The property was part of a much larger proposed devel
opment that the council shot down in 2018, when it de
nied a request from another developer to rezone 70 acres
and build up to 220 homes.
The new request was recommended for approval by
the city’s planning board earlier this month, but council
members did raise some concerns about traffic impact,
particularly with a future shopping center anchored by
Publix planned across Gainesville Highway (Highway
53).
A representative for the applicant said the developer
would have to work on permitting with the Georgia De
partment of Transportation and estimated it would be at
least year and a half before construction could begin if the
request is approved.
The council also postponed a rezoning request for 1.4
acres at Jefferson Highway (Highway 11) and Amherst
Drive right at the 11/53 split for a convenience store to be
See Winder, page 3A
