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20 Pages, 2 Sections A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
GENERAL ELECTION RUNOFF RESULTS
U.S. Senate
Herschel Walker (R) 48.72% - 1,714,055
Raphael Warnock (I) (Dem) 51.28% —1,804,189
LOST agreement in limbo
as deadline approaches
By Morgan Ervin
A Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) Cer
tificate of Distribution was signed by the
mayors of Auburn. Bethlehem, Carl and
Statham and presented to the Winder City
Council Tuesday night for its consider
ation.
The council unanimously agreed to au
thorize Mayor David Maynard to sign the
LOST certificate, which allocates funds
based solely on population and mirrors
the current LOST agreement, which the
county and its six municipalities original
ly agreed upon in 2012.
The distribution agreed upon in the cer
tificate allocates 62% of LOST funds to
the county and differs from the Barrow
County Board of Commissioners’ (BOC)
offer currently on the table, which allo
cates 67% to the county.
“I cannot imagine any changes in the
local economy that would warrant such
a significant change in the distribution
percentages. I am still hopeful a reason
able LOST agreement can be reached,”
Maynard said in a Winder press release in
response to the county’s offer made in a
resolution signed by the BOC Nov. 22.
Interestingly, the 5% difference between
the allocation amount offered by the coun
ty and what’s in the LOST Certificate the
cities have agreed to can be attributed to
the updated analysis that was initiated by
Winder city officials at the onset of LOST
negotiations in June.
Winder officials determined it would be
in the public’s best interest to enter into a
more equitable LOST agreement by using
all eight criteria set forth by the General
Assembly of Georgia, which is the state’s
recommended approach to determining
the proper allocation of LOST funds.
The county agreed and hired Sutton
Consulting to perform the analysis. Sut
ton’s analysis produced an allocation
based on each of the eight criteria set
forth by state law, which includes (1) cen
tral business district and unincorporated
area, (2) resident population, (3) existing
service delivery responsibly, (4) effect of
change in LOST revenue on debt funding,
(5) point of sale, (6) intergovernmental
agreements, (7) tax equity and (8) service
delivery and funding strategy. The average
of each of those totals came to an alloca-
See LOST, page 2A
‘Plan A always fails’
Local humanitarian prepares for third
trip to war-torn Ukrainian border town
By Morgan Ervin
When Russia invaded
Ukraine in Feb. 2022, as the
world watched in horror with
feelings of helplessness and
sympathy for those stuck in
the war zone, a local resident
did the unthinkable when he
booked the next flight to the
closest city to the Ukrainian
border he could find out of
Atlanta.
B.J. Barnette, a Wind
er-Barrow High Schoo
alumnus, had a plan when
he made the decision to
travel to the Ukrainian bor
der. However, he quickly
learned, “plan A always
fails,” he said.
In hindsight, his “plan A”
was idyllic in theory, but not
feasible in practice consid
ering the reality of the situa
tion at Ukraine’s border with
Romania.
Although Barnette already
learned a similar lesson from
B.J. Barnette (picutred center) and a group of human
itarians he met at the Ukrainian border earlier this
year.
previous humanitarian work
in the United States, he
couldn’t have prepared for
the twists and turns in store
for him in Eastern Europe.
Upon arriving in the
capital city of Bucharest,
Romania. Barnette almost
immediately realized there
were no rentable vans in Ro
mania. “I’ve been through
15 different bookings since
Monday and all have been
bought out from underneath
us, or are fakes.” he wrote to
his Facebook page.
Another unexpected re
ality he quickly faced was
the almost impossibility of
bringing people across the
border to safety. Due to hu
man trafficking of women
and children at the Ukrainian
border, crossing the border
became a much bigger ob
stacle as military credentials
were required to pick people
up at the border and take
them out of the country.
Another hiccup in Bar
nette’s plan A was the price
of gas. which he said at $8 a
gallon, buying gas was prob
ably the least efficient way
to spend money.
Meanwhile. donations
continued to pour in from
local residents back home in
Barrow County. Although he
was grateful and relied heav
ily on the funds to fulfill his
mission, the increased fund
ing created more pressure
to make the best use of the
funds, as well as to make the
biggest impact on as many
people as he could.
“Our goal now is to find
the best way to spend the
money that all of you have
donated,” he wrote on social
media to an eager following
of supporters.
Once he was able to make
a deal with a local near the
border to drive him to the
border, he formulated a plan
B. Barnette was able to put
together a system he said is
similar to a wedding regis
try.
The local towns and ref
ugee camps worked with
Barnette and a crew of other
humanitarians he from vari
ous parts of Europe who felt
the same calling Barnette
felt when he heard of the
crisis in Ukraine follow
ing Russia’s invasion. The
groups would communicate
See GIDR, page 2A
Winder, Barrow County, Georgia $1.00 Copy Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Credit: Morgan Ervin
Pictured (from left): Sonja McLendon, chief of Operational Excellence/interim pres
ident of NGMC Barrow; Carol Burrell, president and CEO of NGHS; Pat Graham,
chairman of the Barrow County Board of Commissioners officially breaking ground
for the new NGHS Medical Plaza in Bethlehem.
NGHS breaks ground on new
medical plaza in Bethlehem
Barrow County will soon have even
greater access to health care close to
home at Northeast Georgia Health Sys
tem’s (NGHS) newest Medical Plaza,
located in Bethlehem. Community and
health system leaders gathered Dec. 1,
to celebrate the beginning of the con
struction project and bless the ground.
“We really care about the communi
ty in the Barrow County area, which I
think is evidenced by our investment
in the hospital here, and now by a new
medical plaza in Bethlehem," said Carol
Burrell, president and CEO of NGHS.
“Bringing expanded access to this area
and being able to offer it all under one
roof is something we’re honored to do.”
The two-story, 34,000-square-foot
building - which is easily accessible
from Hwy. 81, as well as off U.S. 29 -
is expected to accommodate more than
100,000 visits per year after it opens in
fall 2023. It will be home to:
• A new Northeast Georgia Physicians
Group (NGPG) Urgent Care location
- open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a
week
• Cardiology services provided by
Georgia Heart Institute
• NGPG Family Health Associates,
which has cared for the Winder com
munity for 75 years
• NGPG specialty services including
OB/GYN, sports medicine, orthopedic
surgery and general surgery
• Digital x-ray services and an on-site
lab
“Northeast Georgia Health System
has been a key part of this communi
ty for years, with the Barrow hospital
providing our people with the care they
need,” said Pat Graham, chairman of the
Barrow County Board of Commission
ers. “Bringing even more of that friend
ly, expert care to us with a shiny new
building and more doctors will surely
benefit us for years to come.”
To learn more about this project and
all of the other NGHS projects in the
region, visit nghs.com/growing.
Winder revamps special
events calendar for 2023
The City of Winder’s
special events calendar
has been revamped for
2023, offering residents a
variety of themed events,
completely free of charge,
throughout 2023.
The help plan the year,
the City of Winder wel
comed special events di
rector Kristin Edwards to
its staff in October to help
create favorable program
ming for residents and
make better use of city fa
cilities like the Communi
ty Center and Jug Tavern
Park.
Edwards presented
council with the 2023 cal
endar of special events
programming for 2023,
which will begin with a
Noon Year’s Eve celebra
tion Saturday, Dec. 31.
A creative twist on the
traditional New Year’s
Eve party, the Noon Year’s
Eve Celebration at Jug
Tavern Park will be a fam
ily-centered celebration
before bedtime. The event
will feature inflatables,
face painting, a dance par
ty, caricatures, a sparkling
cider station and a confetti
blast countdown at noon.
Debut events in 2023
are February’s Fairytale
Feb. 10-12 and a Putting
for Partnerships Golf
Tournament March 2.
FIRST FRIDAY
SERIES
Recurring every first Fri
day from March through
November will be a series
of “Thank Goodness It’s
First Friday”, or TGIFF.
Jug Tavern Park will host
these opening Fridays
from 6 to 9 p.m. All TGIFF
events will feature themed
activities for families, live
music and multiple food
truck options.
OTHER TGIFF
EVENTS:
• March 3: Dublin on Athens
• April 7 : Art in the Park
• May 5 : Jug Tavern Fiesta
• June 2 : Bark in the Park
• July 7: Summer Jam Concert
• Aug. 4: Pep Rally
• Sept. 1: International Night
• Oct. 6: Barrels and Brews
• Nov. 4: Fall for Winder
OTHER EVENTS
• Art Month is planned
for the entire month of
April, beginning with the
TGIFF: Art in the Park
event.Other art month
events will include a
lantern parade, musical
performances downtown,
chalk art and other artis
tic experiences.
• The Stargaze & Slum
ber event scheduled May
20-21 invites families to
camp overnight at Jug
Tavern Park as a kick-off
to summer.
• An inspired Memorial
Day Ceremony at Rose
Hill Cemetery's Veterans
Section is slated for the
last Monday in May.
• The annual Spooktac-
ular will return with an
added costume contest
for the entire family.
• A Veterans Day event
on November 11 will take
place in the Communi
ty Center with a special
guest speaker and the
Winder Police and Fire
Honor Guard.
• Winder’s 75th An
nual Christmas Parade
will also return in ear
ly December, featuring
the very first lighting of
the city’s new, gigantic
Christmas tree.
• Winder Wander, a
seasonal scavenger hunt
where participants will
explore and experience
all things beautiful in
Winder.
• Movie Marathons at
the Cultural Arts Center
will welcome a true the
atre experience.
• Seasonal Goat Yoga
and Puppy Yoga will
welcome fitness and ani
mal lovers at Pine Shore
Park.
• Peachstate Cornhole
is partnering with the city
to bring a seasonal corn-
hole league to Jug Tavern
Park this spring.
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