Newspaper Page Text
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20 Pages, 2 Sections
A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia $1.00 Copy Wednesday, November 2, 2022
BASA’S CLASS OF 2023 CREATES HISTORY
credit: BAS A
Barrow Arts and Sciences Academy’s Class of 2023, the school’s first graduating senior class, gathered at the
customized senior parking spaces Friday to document their momentous creation. This is one of several school
traditions being created this school year by BASA’s Class of 2023.
STATHAM’S HALLOWEENTOWN
Photos submitted
Statham councilmember Gary Venable cuts no comers when it comes to decorating his house for Halloween.
See Halloween, page 6B
Photo submitted
The Barrow Board of Education recently designated the new elementary school as a traditional K-5 school with
rezoning for the Apalachee Cluster following feedback from surveys and information sessions.
BOE designates new elementary as K-5 school
The Barrow Board of
Education voted to desig
nate the new elementary
school as a traditional K-5
school with rezoning at its
Nov. 1 meeting.
The new school, which
is the 10th elementary,
will be located on the In
novation Campus off of
Austin Rd. in Winder.
It will open in
MAILING LABEL
August 2023.
Students will be rezoned
from the Apalachee Clus
ter (Auburn, Bethlehem,
Kennedy and Yargo ele
mentary schools).
The cluster has seen stu
dent enrollment numbers
increase in the last five
years.
The other option dis
cussed was a 4th and 5th
grade academy for all of
the cluster schools except
Auburn, which would
have had an academy at its
school because of the lon
ger commute.
The designation for tra
ditional rezoning was se
lected following feedback
from surveys and informa
tion sessions held at the
four schools.
The school system re
ceived 1,730 individual
survey responses.
The majority of respon
dents preferred the tradi
tional K-5 school, with
75% of elementary school
teachers and 53% of par
ents selecting that option.
The school system plans
to move ahead with the
rezoning of the existing
cluster schools as neces
sary.
A committee, which will
include school staff and
parents, will be created
to provide input on atten
dance lines.
Tentative maps will be
shared with families in
the next few months for
feedback and final rezone
maps will be shared during
the spring semester.
The rezoning will take
effect at the beginning
of the 2023-2024 school
year when the new school
opens.
■Community Affairs
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WINDER RECEIVES $1 MILLION CDBG GRANT
Winder reeived a $1 million Community Development Block Grant, which it will
use to fund the stormwater project at Stephens St. and Georgia Ave. Pictured (from
left): Winder’s assistant city administrator Roger Wilhelm, Mayor David Maynard,
management analyst Renee Long and councilman Travis Singley.
City of Winder v.
Barrow County: Appeals
court issues ruling on SDS
By Morgan Ervin
The Court of Appeals of
Georgia issued its ruling over
the longstanding service de
livery strategy (SDS) dispute
between Barrow County and
the City of Winder, where it
affirmed the Barrow County
Superior Court's ruling in the
county’s favor on all issues.
According to state law, the
county and each of its mu
nicipalities must develop and
update a coordinated strategy
for the delivery of public ser
vices every ten years. They
must adopt an agreement that
identifies who will provide
each service and how it will
be funded.
Barrow County and the
City of Winder began review
ing SDS in 2017, and reached
an agreement on the majority
of the service issues, but were
unable to reach an agree
ment regarding the manner in
which funds were collected
for road maintenance and wa
ter services.
The county filed a petition
for judicial resolution, where
it raised four specific issues
before the superior court:
Whether the county was au
thorized to charge Winder
residents for the maintenance
of county-owned roads;
whether Winder impermissi
bly charged an arbitrary rate
differential for water utility
service based on customers'
location within or beyond city
limits; whether the county is
authorized to provide water
utility service to Winder's
unincorporated customers
and whether Winder’s water
charges amounted to an ille
gal tax on its unincorporated
customers.
The parties participated in
mediation before ultimate
ly resorting to court, where
the Barrow County Superior
Court ruled in favor of the
county on every issue.
The county reached out to
the city to meet so the par
ties could implement the trial
court's decision and negotiate
the final details of an agree-
Appeals court upholds
Barrow County Superior
Court’s ruling in county’s
favor on all SDS issues.
ment. However, the City of
Winder declined the invita
tion and instead Hied an ap
peal to the Georgia Court of
Appeals.
WATER SERVICE AR
EAS
The original SDS Agree
ment was adopted in 1999
and included a water service
area map, which the county,
Winder, Auburn, Braselton
and Statham were each con
tractually authorized to op
erate at the exclusive water
provider within one of five
water service territories in the
county.
Under the terms of the
agreement. Winder’s water
service area extended beyond
its city limits and into large
portions of the unincorporat
ed areas.
Since the 1999 SDS agree
ment, the county has been
contractually prohibited from
providing water to many of
its unincorporated residents,
forcing them to rely on Wind
er as the exclusive water ser
vice provider.
In court, the county’s posi
tion was that it could provide
water anywhere within its un
incorporated boundaries. The
city disagreed and sought to
block the county from serv
ing citizens who are already
Winder’s water customers,
arguing it would duplicate
services since there’s already
water lines in those areas. The
trial court ruled in favor of the
county on this issue, and the
city did not appeal that deci-
See SDS, page 2A
The future of
Rock Solid
Distillery
By Morgan Ervin
The Rock Solid Distillery’s future hinges on a num
ber of factors, including the outcome of ongoing liti
gation between the business owners and the property
owners of the building it operated out of, as well as
the city’s approval of its alcohol permit. It’s the lease
agreement, however, that is at the center of the long
standing feud and remains a contested issue between
all parties involved.
The lease agreement between Billy Stonewall
“Stone” Birt and Robert Maxwell was signed June 3,
2019 for the building located at 24 Woodlawn Avenue
in Winder, which Maxwell is listed as the landlord and
Stone as the tenant. In the 40-year lease agreement,
“work and effort” is listed as the method of paying
rent.
General contributions were included in the lease,
which shows Stone and his wife contributing a com
bined $275,000 in addition to time, work and effort.
Stone also contributed all equipment and materials
needed to remodel the building, according to the lease.
According to the lease, Shane Maxwell, the son of
Robert Maxwell, contributed personal loans totaling
$25,000, including $100 per week he gave to Stone
in gas to fuel a tool body work buck valued at about
$25,000.
Robert Maxwell is listed to have contributed $3,500
in cash in addition to leasing his building, which he
previously used as a pants factory, to Stone until 2060,
for use as the location of Rock Solid Distillery.
Finally, Billy Stonewall “Stoney” Birt is listed to
See RSD, page 2A