Newspaper Page Text
20 Pages, 2 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia $1.00 Copy Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Fun, friends and farewells
Teachers and students celebrate another schoolyear in the books
Statham Elementary students (pictured left) played hard last week on water field day, which featured a giant
slip-n-slide, relay races, water baloons fights, inflatables, duck duck goose and a very muddy tug-of war compe
tition. Across town in Winder, a fifth grade dance party was thrown as teachers and staff bid the Class of 2023
farewell as they move on to middle school.
On Friday, May 26, the City ofWinderwill remember
those who served at a Memorial Day event at the
Winder Cultural Arts Center, located at 105 E Athens
St. in downtown Winder. The program will begin at
11:30 a.m. and include the city's police and fire
lonor guard and Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Cary S.
(ing as the keynote speaker. Light refreshments will
be provided prior to the event.
BCWSA issues
K-12 student registration open,
early enrollment encouraged
Registration for K-12 students is open for the
2023-2024 school year for the Barrow County
School System. Online registration is required of
all students, including:
•New students — Families new to Barrow County
and/or those with children who will be 5 years old
on or before Sept. 1
•Previous students
•Students transferring from another county
•Custody changes
Students currently enrolled in a Barrow County
Pre-K class do not need to enroll again for kinder
garten.
Children must be 5 years old on or before Sept. 1
to attend kindergarten for the upcoming school year.
Enroll by June 1 to ensure child will be able to
meet their teachers at open house and get their
schedules.
The first day of school is Tuesday, Aug. 1.
BCSS urges families to complete registration now,
rather than waiting until July when processing times
are significantly longer due to volume.
For helpful information and videos to get started,
visit: https://www.baiTow.kl2.ga.us/departments/
student-registration
Documentation required as part of online regis
tration:
•Proof of residency — utility bill, settlement
Credit: BCSS
Will your child be 5 years old on or before Sept. 1? If
so, it’s time to register for kindergarten. Registration
is open for all K-12 students for the 2023-2024 school
year for the Barrow County School System.
statement or rental/lease agreement dated within 30
days.
•Identification — parent/guardian photo ID,
student’s birth certificate, student’s social security
card, custody documents (if not the birth parent)
•Health forms — Georgia immunization Form
3231, New Health Form 3300
Winder City
Council receives
FY22 audit results
During a budget meet
ing held by the City of
Winder’s mayor, council
and staff on May 16, staff
presented council with
the results of the financial
audit for the fiscal year
that ended June 30, 2022
MAILING LABEL
(FY22).
In FY22, the city ap
plied some key changes to
its budget, including dou
bling its property tax rate
by converting the 3-mill
fire tax to a 6-mill M&O
property tax. The city also
established cost centers
for public works, library
and cemetery and in
creased rates for planning,
permitting and event ser
vices. The FY22 budget
was adopted as the city’s
first “outcome-based”
budget. Another first for
the city in its FY22 buget
was the incorporation of a
five-year capital plan.
According to the audit
from the CPAs at Rush-
ton, the city’s total net po
sition at the end of FY22
was $152,496,181, with
its net investment in cap
ital assets making up just
over $107 million of that
total.
The city’s unassigned
fund balance at the end
of FY22 was $2,585,176,
See Winder, page 2A
State DOT
Board
green lights
improvements
for Georgia 316
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
The State Transportation
Board gave the go-ahead
Thursday to a series of im
provements along Georgia
316 between Lawrencev-
ille and Athens to relieve
traffic congestion and
improve safety along the
heavily traveled corridor.
Board members ap
proved a joint resolution
with the State Road and
Tollway Authority (SRTA)
to move forward on the
first of three “bundles” of
projects, a $100 million
plan to build grade-sepa
rated interchanges at Geor
gia 316’s intersections
with Bethlehem and Bar
ber Creek roads in Barrow
County.
The Georgia Department
of Transportation will is
sue a request for proposals
from interested contrac
tors in July, Andrew Hoe-
nig, construction program
manager for the DOT’s
Office of Alternative De
livery, told members of the
board’s Program Delivery
Committee on Wednesday.
The DOT will announce
the apparent winner of the
bidding in December and
return to the board early
next year for a notice to
proceed with the work,
Hoenig said. He said con
struction will start during
the fall of next year,
“We’re looking at trying
to grade separate some of
the signalized intersec
tions along the corridor,”
he said. “You have a lot
of conflicting movements
now, with turns to the side
roads, and you have a lot
of bumper-to-bumper traf
fic.”
Hoenig said a second
bundle of projects in
Oconee County will build
See 316, page 2A
$36.3 million
bond to
finance water
and sewer
infrastructure
The Barrow County
Board of Commission
ers authorized the Bar-
row County Water and
Sewerage Authority
to issue a $36.3 mil
lion bond for financing
water and sewer in
frastructure improve
ments. The motion to
approve passed 5-1
with Commissioner
Rolando Alvarez op
posed and Commis
sioner Joe Goodman
absent.
The $36.3 million
price tag includes a
10% contingency.
On Feb. 1, county
staff met with Stefel
Public Finance to con
duct preliminary dis
cussions on the process
of bond financing to
accommodate funding
needed for water and
sewer project improve
ments.
Over the next three
years, the utility de
partment will embark
on a multi-million
dollar capital im
provement project to
enhance and upgrade
the county’s water and
sewer infrastructure.
“These improve
ments will be an eco
nomic engine that
increases service ca
pacity that will support
more businesses in the
community, improve
the reliability and sus
tainability of the wa
ter and sewer,” said a
county staff report.
Auburn seeks
public’s input on
comprehensive
plan update
currently underway
The City of Auburn is
updating its five-year
comprehensive plan,
and in doing so, de
pends on its citizens to
ensure that the update
reflects the needs and
desires of the commu
nity.
The fourth and final
input meeting is June
14 at 1:30 p.m. The
city will discuss the
city’s natural and cul
tural resources, broad
band and the Commu
nity Work Program.
Other meetings com
ing up in Auburn in
clude:
• Independence Day
Parade Tabling Event -
a community outreach
activity set for July 1.
The meeting time is to
be determined.
• A second public
hearing to allow the
public to review the
comprehensive plan
and comment before it
is submitted for state
and regional review
is set for Aug. 3. The
meeting time is to be
determined.
The city is also col
lecting community in
put through an online
public survey from,
which is open through
June 14.