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PAGE 2A
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2020
2020
continued from 1A
Wehunt had been re-elect
ed to a four-year term in his
District 3 seat in 2016. but
resigned in October 2018
for health-related reasons.
WINDER GETS GRANT
FOR FORT YARGO/
DOWNTOWN AREA
TRAIL
In February, the City of
Winder was awarded a $1
million state grant to com
plete a mile-long multi-pur
pose walking trail connect
ing the downtown area with
Fort Yargo State Park.
The trail, which is
planned to extend from the
visitors’ center at the park
to city-owned property at 41
Lee St., will have a 10-foot-
wide pathway that will be
used for walking, bicycling,
inline skating and nature
viewing.
It was one of 14 projects
across the state selected for
the Georgia Outdoor Stew
ardship Program (GOSP)
“Conserve Georgia” grant.
The Georgia Department
of Natural Resources an
nounced the selections out
of a held of 58 applicants
Feb. 26.
With the grants, the de
partment is awarding just
under $20 million in fund
ing for the conservation and
outdoor recreation projects.
The grants are largely the
result of a voter-
approved state constitu
tional amendment in No
vember 2018 to dedicate
funding for the conservation
of priority lands, steward
ship of state parks and wild
life management areas, and
support for local parks and
trails.
In a called meeting Oct.
27, the council voted 4-3,
with Mayor David Maynard
breaking a tie in favor of his
recommendation, to award
a $1.15 million contract to
Peach State Construction of
Covington for the work over
local firm Bayne Develop
ment Group, which sub
mitted a bid about $88,000
under Peach State’s. City
officials defended their rec
ommendation over push-
back from Bayne represen
tatives and some council
members, saying Peach
State had the highest score
on a scale that was set up to
grade the 10 firms that sub
mitted bids.
The city will be respon
sible for a 25.85-percent
match for the project, which
is expected to be completed
by summer 2021.
CORONAVIRUS HITS
The coronavirus pandem
ic flipped “normal” life in
the country upside down in
March, and Barrow County
saw a wave of government
office closures, restrictions
on business operations as
part of Gov. Brian Kemp’s
executive orders ( which su
perseded a mix of localized
orders within the county’s
various jurisdictions), the
move of local meetings to
online settings, the closure
of schools to in-person in
struction for the remainder
of the 2019-2020 academ
ic year, the cancellation of
spring high school sports
and the cancellation of other
various community events.
The state’s presidential
primary and general prima
ry elections were also post
poned until June.
The school closures led
Barrow County School Sys
tem officials to scrap the
originally-scheduled tradi
tional graduation ceremo
nies, replacing them with
virtual ceremonies in May.
District employees hand-de
livered diplomas to the class
of 2020 graduates at their
homes. Makeup graduation
ceremonies that had been
tentatively scheduled for
late July were also canceled
due to a second surge of
the virus in the summer. A
group of parents organized
ceremonies of their own at
Innovation Amphitheater.
Bethlehem Christian
Academy held an in-per-
son graduation ceremony in
July.
More than nine months
into the pandemic, the
county continues to feel
the effects. To date, more
than 4,600 county residents
have become infected with
COVID-19, and at least 65
county residents have died.
Winder Health Care and
Rehabilitation was one of
many long-term care facili
ties across the state vicious
ly impacted by the virus, as
17 residents died during the
spring, and more than 90
residents and over 30 staff
members tested positive.
The county is current
ly experiencing a late fall/
early winter surge that has
brought record numbers of
cases to the country, state
and northeast Georgia re
gion, but there is hope for
a better 2021 with the de
velopment of federally-ap
proved vaccines that are
being offered to health care
workers and other vulnera
ble populations and expect
ed to be made available to
the general sometime in the
spring.
Amid the human trage
dy and economic turmoil
wrought by the pandemic,
many in the community
have also rallied around
each other, providing per
sonal-protective equipment
for frontline medical work
ers and emergency respond
ers, providing support for
businesses and volunteering
to help at-risk and vulnera
ble populations.
WILLIAMS RETIRES
AS TAX
COMMISSIONER
After more than 34 Vi
years with the office and
24 years as Barrow County
tax commissioner, Melinda
Williams retired in May,
ahead of the scheduled end
of her term.
Jessica Garrett, the lone
candidate to qualify to re
place Williams, was sworn
in early and then officially
elected to a full four-year
term in November.
Williams had been ap
pointed and taken over as
tax commissioner in August
1996 following the death of
Kate Jones. Williams won
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COUNTY GOES WITH
NEW ANIMAL SPAY/
NEUTER-SERVICES
PROVIDER
After nearly a decade
of using Leftover Pets for
the county’s, animal spay/
neuter services, the Barrow
County Board of Com
missioners voted June 9 to
terminate the professional
services agreement with
the nonprofit and the lease
agreement for the coun
ty-owned building on Bar-
row Park Drive in Winder
that the organization helped
refurbish in 2011.
The decision came at the
recommendation of coun
ty manager Mike Renshaw
and animal control director
Jaclyn Fryman, who cited
programmatic and person
ality differences between
Leftover Pets representa
tives and county employees.
The BOC also approved
an agreement with CatSnip
to be the new provider of the
services and later approved
a similar lease agreement
with that company for the
Barrow Park Drive building.
The county’s decision
drew backlash from repre
sentatives and supporters of
Leftover Pets and commu
nity members who worried
that many county residents
might lose access to low-
cost spay/neuter services.
Leftover Pets has since
relocated to a building on
Woodlawn Avenue in Wind
er.
LOCAL RESIDENTS
MARCH IN SUPPORT
OF BLACK LIVES
MATTER MOVEMENT
Barrow County residents
added their voices to the
Black Lives Matter move
ment last weekend as a pair
of peaceful protests were
held in Winder in June. Pro
testers lined up June 6 at the
front of the Winder Square
shopping center along East
May Street with signs. Then
on June 7. another group, or
ganized by Winder-Barrow
High School rising senior
Grade Griffith, marched
from the Winder Police De
partment parking lot and
Jackson Street pedestrian
plaza to the historic Barrow
County Courthouse, where
they rallied for about three
hours with signs, chants and
an open megaphone for peo
ple to voice their thoughts.
The local protests came
amid weeks of protests
across the U.S. and the
world in the aftermath of the
death of George Floyd, an
unarmed 46-year-old black
man who died in police cus
tody in Minneapolis, Min
nesota, on May 25 while
under arrest for allegedly
passing a counterfeit $20
bill.
The downtown crowd on
June 7 held up signs and
chanted in support of the
Black Lives Matter move
ment with many cars that
passed by honking in sup
port. They said the names
of Floyd and several other
people of color who have
wrongfully died as the result
of police misconduct and/or
racism.
Among the names were
Ahmaud Arbery, an un
armed 25-year-old Bruns
wick man who was shot and
killed in February. Three
white men were charged
with murder after a video
of the killing taken by one
of the men was publicly re
leased in May. The crowd
also kneeled silently for
eight minutes and 46 sec
onds, the time Minneapolis
officer Derek Chauvin had
his knee on Floyd’s neck as
Floyd struggled to breathe
before dying.
While many of the pro
tests in larger cities includ
ed clashes between law
enforcement and citizens
and property damage, the
demonstrations in Wind
er were peaceful and the
moods among the crowds
both warm and resolute.
Winder mayor David May
nard and city councilwoman
Kobi Kilgore addressed the
crowd downtown in a show
of solidarity, while council-
woman Holly Sheats and
councilman Travis Singley
were also in attendance. Sin
gley brought a cooler full of
bottled water for protesters,
law enforcement and com
munity leaders amid scorch
ing temperatures.
Winder police chief Jim
Fullington and Barrow
County sheriff Jud Smith
were also in attendance,
while local pastor Rev. Pe
rez Watson led a community
prayer for justice, peace and
understanding.
FUNERAL PROCES
SION HELD FOR
FRANKLIN CO. DEP
UTY, BARROW RESI
DENT
A law enforcement-led
funeral procession and ser
vices were held in Winder
and Bethlehem on
July 25 for Barrow Coun
ty resident and Franklin
County sheriff’s deputy Bill
Garner, 53, who was killed
while responding to and as
sisting people involved in a
single-vehicle car crash on
Interstate 85 around 7 p.m.
July 19 when another vehi
cle traveled into the median
after the driver lost control
and hit Garner, killing him,
according to the Georgia
State Patrol.
The driver, Abdulhafiz
Tawfik Abdullahi, 21, of
Lawrenceville, was charged
with first-degree vehicular
homicide in the incident.
Garner had a 22-year ca
reer in law enforcement
with various agencies in
north Georgia.
A memorial service was
held at Bethlehem Church.
Prior to the service, a fu
neral procession with a law
enforcement escort began
at Smith Funeral Home,
traveled westbound on At
lanta Highway into Winder,
turned south on Highway
81, east on Highway 316
and then north on Christmas
Avenue to the church.
WINDER TEEN SPENDS
THREE MONTHS IN
HOSPITAL AFTER PIT
BULL ATTACK
The community spent
more than three months ral
lying around Joslyn Stinch-
comb, a 15-year-old Wind
er-Barrow High School
freshman who was brutally
attacked by two pit bulls
from a neighboring house
while walking through her
neighborhood in Winder
late on the afternoon of July
31.
The dogs, which had es
caped from an open door
while their owner was not
home, caused severe facial,
throat and neck damage to
Stinchcomb. They were lat
er captured and euthanized,
and the owner was arrested
and charged with reckless
conduct and violations of
the county’s animal-control
ordinance.
In a journey to recovery
that garnered national and
even worldwide attention,
Stinchcomb spent nearly
three months in an Atlanta
children’s hospital and un
derwent 19 surgeries. She
was welcomed back home
to Barrow County with a
large parade Oct. 24. Led by
an escort from local public
safety agencies, the parade
began at the Ingles on At
lanta Highway in Auburn,
traveled into Winder, turned
onto North Broad Street
and ended in the parking lot
of First Baptist Church of
Winder, passing hundreds
of community members
with signs of support along
the way.
In the church parking lot,
as Stinchcomb sat in a fire
truck. Winder First Baptist
and Jackson County Baptist
Church pastors Chad Man-
tooth and Matt Booher gave
prayers and words of en
couragement for the family.
The WBHS marching
band dedicated its 2020 sea
son to Stinchcomb, and she
even got to perform with
the band during its halftime
shows later in the football
season. She also was select
ed as the grand marshal for
the city’s “reverse” Christ
mas parade in December.
BASA OPENS
The Barrow County
School System’s third high
school. Barrow Arts and
Sciences Academy began
instruction in August.
A delayed ribbon-cutting
ceremony was held Oct. 6.
Construction of the $18.8
million, 114,000-square-
foot facility off Austin Road
in Winder next
to Sims Academy was led
by Charles Black Construc
tion and took two years to
complete. It includes a stu
dent center, which houses
the media center, cafeteria
and learning spaces, and the
academic building for class
rooms and lab spaces. The
high school, serving grades
8-10 this year, is a school of
choice — meaning that stu
dents apply to attend and are
admitted based on a lottery,
with no pre-requisite re
quirements for attendance.
In December, the school
board approved design and
construction manager at-
risk contracts for Phase 2 of
BASA. which will include
additional classrooms and
a future elementary school
at the district’s Austin Road
property.
316/81
INTERCHANGE OPENS
The new interchange
at state routes 316 and 81
opened fully in October, a
little more than three years
after the construction con
tract was awarded by the
Georgia Department of
Transportation.
The $27 million federal-
ly-and state-funded project
See 2020, page 3A
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Town of Braselton
2020 Schedule of Receipts and Expenditures of Special Purpose
Local Option Sales Tax
Project
Original
Estimated
Cost
Current
Estimated
Cost
Prior to
FY 2020
Expenditures
FY 2020
Total
Jackson County (2009)
Roads, streets and bridges
563,345
658,737
658,724
658,724
Parks & Recreation
563,345
658,737
627,691
-
627,691
1,126,690
1,317,474
1,286,415
-
1,286,415
Jackson County (2017)
Multipurpose Civic Center
1,365,300
1,365,300
237.626
584.388
822.014
with Parking Deck
Gwinnett County (2009)
Roads, streets and bridges
1,230,899
1,322,484
1,239,015
83,469
1,322,484
Gwinnett County (2014)
Water & Sewer
1.168.163
1.365.120
982.044
350.557
1.332.601
Transportation
389,388
344,363
80,636
263,727
344,363
1,557,551
1,709,483
1,062,680
614,284
1,676,964
Gwinnett County (2017)
Roads, streets and bridges
3,500,000
3,500,000
81
69,759
69,840
Hall County (2015)
Streets, Sidewalks, Stormwater
1,270,589
979,204
610,139
162,134
772,273
Hall County (2019)
Roads, streets and bridges
Parks & Recreation
1,187,395
1,187,395
-
-
2,374,789
Barrow County (2012)
Roads, streets and bridges
233,688
211,905
209,901
2,004
211,905
Parks & Recreation
233,688
211,905
68
9,000
9,068
467,376
423,810
59,523
11,004
220,973
Barrow County (2018)
Parks & Recreation
770.216
770.216
-
83
83
$ 13.959.176
$ 11.683.737
$ 4.772.919 $
1.525.121
$ 6.448.486