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16 Pages, 2 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia $1.00 Copy Wednesday, January 13, 2021
CORONAVIRUS UPDATES
Barrow Vaccine clinics offered in area as eligibility expands
death toll
hits 75
At least 75 Barrow Coun
ty residents have died from
COVID-19 since the start
of the coronavirus pandem
ic last March, with the state
reporting eight additional
deaths in the county since
Dec. 31.
The county had one death
from COVID-19 recorded
each day from Jan. 5-8, ac
cording to the latest Geor
gia Department of Public
Health daily update released
Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 12.
In addition to the 75 con
firmed deaths among Bar-
row residents, the state also
listed one probable death.
The latest death numbers
come as the record-level
number of daily infections
continues in the county and
around the state. The DPH
confirmed another 100 cas
es in Barrow on Tuesday,
bringing the cumulative to
tal to 5,838 cases and rais
ing the seven-day average
to 81.1 new cases per day, a
new high mark. The county
had a record-high 143 cases
confirmed Friday, Jan. 8.
Nearly 28 percent of coun
ty residents who have been
tested for COVID-19 over
the past week have tested
positive.
As of Tuesday afternoon,
the state had a cumula
tive total of 648,694 cases,
10,444 confirmed deaths
from COVID-19 (including
145 reported Tuesday) and
1,218 additional probable
deaths.
Hospitals in the area
have also continued to be
slammed with COVID-19
patients.
Northeast Georgia Health
System has recorded 60
deaths over the past week,
bringing the cumulative
death toll to 645 across its
facilities as of Tuesday. The
system was treating 336
confirmed-positive patients
as of Tuesday morning —
including 25 at Northeast
Georgia Medical Center
See Virus, page 2A
Index:
Public Safety
5A
School news
4B
Classifieds
5B
Legals
6-7B
Obituaries
6-8A
Opinion
4A
Sports
1-2B
MAILING LABEL
Residents across northeast
Georgia who are 65 years or older
can now schedule an appointment
to receive a coronavirus vaccine
at one of several events hosted by
Northeast Georgia Health System
(NGHS).
Seven COVID-19 vaccine clinic
events have been planned through
the end of January — including
one in Winder on Jan. 23 — along
with follow-up events at which
participants will receive their sec
ond dose. The first was held Mon
day, Jan. 11, in Oakwood.
“It’s exciting to finally take this
next step in the fight against the
pandemic,” said Dr. Sakib Maya,
medical director of Urgent Care at
NGHS.
“I can’t wait to start seeing pa
tients receive their vaccines. We
know how anxious they are and
we’re proud to offer this service
for our community.”
Appointments are required and
walk-ins will not be accepted. The
remaining event dates and loca
tions are:
•8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan.
14 — Oakwood, Corporate Plaza,
3137 Frontage Rd., second dose
on Feb. 11.
•8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan.
16 — Oakwood, Corporate Plaza,
3137 Frontage Rd., second dose
on Feb. 13.
•8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday. Jan.
18 — Dawsonville, Veterans Park,
186 Recreation Rd., second dose
on Feb. 15.
•8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 23 —
Winder, NGPG Family Health
Associates, 63 West Candler St.,
second dose on Feb. 20.
•8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 27 —
Gainesville. NGPG Family Med
icine, Medical Park 2, Suite 102,
1439 Jesse Jewell Pkwy., second
dose on Feb. 24.
•8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 30 — Toc-
coa, NGPG Toccoa Clinic, 58 Big
A Rd., second dose on Feb. 27.
“We are offering as many ap
pointments as possible with the
vaccine supply and staffing re
sources we have available,” said
Bobby Norris, vice president of
operations for Northeast Georgia
Physicians Group. “We will add
more appointments — at more lo
cations — as soon as we can. In
the meantime, we appreciate ev
eryone’s patience.”
Schedule your vaccine appoint
ment at nghs.com/vaccine-regis-
tration.
See Vaccines, page 2A
Annexation approved
Google Maps image/
The Winder City Council on Tuesday, Jan. 12, approved the annexation and rezon
ing of more than 200 acres south of Atlanta Highway and east of the city limits to
allow for a subdivision of more than 230 single-family homes as well as “neighbor
hood commercial” development.
In split vote, Winder council grants
annexation request, rezoning for
residential, commercial development
By Scott Thompson
sthompson@barrownewsjournal.com
After it was rejected last summer, a mod
ified request to annex more than 200 acres
of old Russell family land into the City of
Winder and rezone the land for a large resi
dential development and some commercial
uses was approved by the council by a split
4-3 vote Tuesday, Jan. 12.
With the council’s approval of MMK,
LLC’s and Sullins Engineering’s requests
to annex and rezone the seven parcels south
of Atlanta Highway between Pine Hills
Golf Course and Russell Cemetery Road,
developers cleared a key hurdle to build a
232-home residential subdivision known
as Fieldstream on the bulk of the land and
undetermined “neighborhood commercial”
uses on the roughly 45 acres at the front of
the land along the highway.
Mayor David Maynard broke a 3-3 tie in
favor of councilman Travis Singley’s mo
tion to grant the annexation and rezoning
requests, joining Singley and council mem
bers Sonny Morris and Kobi Kilgore in sup
port. Council members Chris Akins, Jimmy
Terrell and Holly Sheats objected to the
requests, and the final votes on the residen
tial and commercial components came after
motions by Akins and Terrell, respectively,
failed along the same 4-3 lines.
The council’s vote was a significant move
that will reshape the appearance of the
city’s eastern gateway coming in from Ath
ens on Atlanta Highway and a stark reversal
from its position in July, when it rejected
similar requests by a 5-1 vote. It also came
after the city’s planning staff recommended
approval of the requests with several condi
tions and the planning board unanimously
recommended denial due to concerns over
what board members contended were a lack
of specifics about the project and a lack of
community input.
Julie Sellers, an attorney for the appli
cants on the residential end, noted Tuesday
and during a council work session Thurs
day, Jan. 7, that the applicants made sub
stantial changes to the original request,
which sought a higher-density residential
development with just under 400 homes
and “light industrial” uses on the pro
posed commercial parcels and garnered
significant pushback due largely to traffic
concerns. The property has been under the
county’s agricultural zoning and designated
“Rural Reserve,” which would have only
allowed for about a third of the homes orig
inally sought if the applicants had tried to
rezone it through the county. The applicants
have said previously that less than 150
homes wouldn’t be economically feasible
for the project.
According to the revised site plan, the
number of proposed homes would be re
duced by 165 and the commercial com
ponents would be “neighborhood com
mercial.” Sellers said the revised site plan
increases lot widths from 75 to 100 feet and
commits to having at least 43 percent of the
homes be on 15,000-square-foot lots with
a minimum of 12.000 square feet. Homes
would be a minimum of 1,800 square feet
for single-story and a minimum of 2,200
square feet for two-story houses.
The residential development is also slat
ed to include 42 acres of open space and
an amenities area that will include a junior
Olympic-sized swimming pool, community
lawn and children’s play area.
Sellers said Fieldstream would give the
city new “quality single-family homes” that
the city “doesn’t have a lot of right now.”
She said it would help improve the city’s
tax base, attract new residents to the city
and be a potential boon for downtown-area
businesses.
See Winder, page 3A
Bill Ritter
Ritter elected
new BOE chair,
replaces Stevens
By Scott Thompson
sthompson@barrownewsjournal.com
The Barrow County Board of Education shook
up its officer leadership Tuesday, Jan. 12, electing
Bill Ritter to serve as board chairman for 2021.
Ritter was elected over Lynn Stevens, who had
served as chair the last two years. She replaced
Mark Still as chairman in 2019 after Still’s re
tirement from the board. Stevens, who has been
in office since 1997, is the longest-serving board
member.
Ritter, who served as the vice chair in 2020,
is serving his first term on the board after being
elected in 2018.
“I’m humbled and honored that (the board) made
that decision,” Ritter said after the vote Tuesday.
“I promise I’ll do my best to do what’s right for
the board and the schools, and (superintendent
Chris McMichael) and his team on a daily basis.”
The board elected Debi Krause vice chair after
she was the only member nominated for the post.
Krause has been on the board since 2015 and is in
her second term.
The board also officially welcomed new mem
ber Vince Caine, who took part in his first voting
session Tuesday. Caine was the lone person to
qualify for the District 2 seat last year after Garey
Huff opted not to seek re-election.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business Tuesday, the board:
•extended McMichael’s contract as superinten
dent following a closed session. Details of the
agreement were not immediately available Tues
day night.
•was recognized by McMichael for achieving
Exemplary School Board status from the Georgia
School Boards Association for a fifth year in a row.
•awarded a security camera installation services
contract to Adapt to Solve of Winder in the amount
of $37,162. The district has 279 replacement and
156 new security cameras to install in 13 schools.
•approved the purchase of network switch
equipment from MXN of Woodstock in the
amount of $437,000. Of the amount, 80 percent
will be funded by the federal e-rate program, and
20 percent will be funded by the district (project
ed at $87,400). In related items, the board also
approved the purchase of wireless networking
equipment from MXN in the amount of $31,648
and UPS equipment from SHI in the amount of
$53,330. The same 80-20 split between federal
and district funding will also be applied to those
purchases.
•approved utilizing Superior Commercial Clean
ing for custodial support along with the district’s
current Primero staffing. The anticipated cost for
the remainder of fiscal year is $150,000.
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