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Barrow News-Journal
Barrow County News Est. 1893 • Barrow Journal Est. 2008
20 Pages, 2 Sections
A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
Winder, Barrow County, Georgia
Merged August 2016
$1.00 Copy
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
‘A big family reunion 9
Winder celebrates 130years
with a birthday bash to remember
Credit: City of Winder
Over 3,000 of the City of Winder’s closest friends joined at Jug Tavern Park
on Friday night for Celebrate Winder, the city’s tridecacentennial (130th)
birthday celebration. Celebrate Winder was also the city’s “Thank Goodness
It’s First Friday” (TGIFF) event for July. Lots of food, dancing and smiles
were had by attendees young and old, including some lifelong Winder resi
dents as well as families and individuals planting new roots in the area. City
staff behind the scenes of the event described the it as a “big family reunion,”
which was made into a live concert with a performance by the Swingin’ Me
dallions, a high-energy band from South Carolina who entertains crowds
of all ages with a blend of classic and modern rock. The live concert was
followed by a fireworks show to mark the finale of a memorable evening.
Barrow County School System recently released helpful information for parents preparing to
send kids back to school Tuesday, Aug. 1.
Backpack Drive 2023
Thanks to the kindness and generosity of
local churches, civic clubs and business
es, Barrow County families can pick up a
free backpack filled with school supplies
for their child before the start of the school
year.The backpacks will be given out
during a drive-through event at the Bethle
hem Church 316 Campus on Saturday, July
29 from 9 a.m. until noon or while supplies
last.The address for Bethlehem Church 316
Campus is 548 Christmas Avenue, Bethle
hem.
• Parents/guardians will be asked for their
student’s name and current school.
• Students do not need to be present.
Limit of up to 4 backpacks per household.
School meal prices to
increase for 2023-24 school year
Backpacks filled with school sup
plies will be given out during a
drive-through event at the Beth
lehem Church 316 Campus on
Saturday, July 29 from 9 a.m.-12
p.m. or while supplies last.
Robert Hainer— stock.adobe.com
The Supreme Court of Georgia granted the City of Winder’s writ of certiorari petition seeking
its review on the service delivery strategy case with Barrow County.
City of Winder v. Barrow County
Georgia
Supreme
Court
grants city’s
petition to
hear service
delivery
strategy case
By Morgan Ervin
Last week, the Supreme
Court of Georgia granted
a writ of certiorari request
to hear a case between the
City of Winder and Bar-
row County concerning the
state’s laws on service de
livery strategy.
In the case, the court is
concerned with three key
issues, all of which stem
from varying interpreta
tions between the parties
concerning the service de
livery strategy criteria and
the dispute resolution pro
cess as defined in Georgia’s
code.
First, the court will
address the question of
whether the use of county
roads in an unincorporated
area of the county, which
connect to roads within the
city, is “primarily for the
benefit of the unincorporat
ed area,” as the state code
reads.
If the court agrees with
the city and finds the ser
vice to be primarily bene
ficial to the unincorporated
areas, the county would be
permitted to collect funds
only from those who live in
the unincorporated area.
However, according to
the Court of Appeals’ rul
ing in this case, any service
available for use by incor
porated area residents isn’t
provided primarily for the
benefit of unincorporated
areas.
The city points out that if
this is the case, the state’s
code language, which
reads: “primarily for the
benefit of the unincorpo
rated area” would be ren
dered a “nullity” as to the
services provided.
The city adds that the ap
pellate court’s opinion “im
poses a ‘one-size-fits-alT
rule that would be applied
to all services spawning
future controversy and lit
igation.”
Instead, the city asserts
that the geographical scope
of government services
should carry “heavy, if not
dispositive” weight in de
termining who primarily
benefits from a service.
Meanwhile, the county
asserts that road mainte
nance should be funded
based on who uses the
roads, not their geographi
cal location.
In making its case, the
county argues that if the
geographical location of
the service or infrastruc
ture is the sole criteria for
determining who may be
taxed instead of who ben
efits, city residents would
be burdened with a host of
other county-wide services
provided geographically
within the City of Winder.
“Unless the City of
Winder agrees to a geo-
graphically-based model
for every county service, it
cannot insist on a geogra
phy-based model for deter
mining who funds county
road maintenance.”
“Winder is cherry-pick
ing in a most obvious and
impermissible way,” said
the county.
The court also agreed to
review the sources of rev
enue used to fund services
provided primarily for the
benefit of unincorporated
areas. More specifically,
whether state law requires
funding to come from prop
erty taxes, insurance pre
mium taxes, assessments
or user fees levied and im
posed by a special service
district, or whether it au
thorizes the county to use
other sources of revenue.
The appeals court ruled
See SCOGA, page 2A
A rendering by KOMPAN of the future destination play
ground at the Center for Innovative Teaching (CFIT).
Barrow
County
firefighter,
family
hospitalized
after car
accident
Due to numerous price in
creases with food, supplies,
labor, insurance and bene
fits, the Board of Education
voted at its April meeting to
approve school meal price
increases starting with the
MAILING LABEL
2023-24 school year. Fed
eral regulations also require
schools that participate in the
National School Lunch Pro
gram to meet meal pricing
requirements.
While breakfast will re
main free to all students,
lunch must be paid for in
advance or at the time of
purchase. Set up an online
payment account at My
School Bucks, which can be
See School, page 2A
Barrow’s Best
NGMC Barrow and BOSS
Partnerships:
Submitted photo
Northeast Georgia Medical Center Barrow (NGMC Barrow)
made a generous donation of medical supplies to cover nurs
ing clinic supplies for all 17 Barrow School nurses clinics for
the 2023-24 school year under the District Partners In Ed
ucation program. Pictured above are school representatives
and NGMC Barrow staff with the medical supplies.
Winder commits
over $1 million to
community park
project at CFIT
By Morgan Ervin
The City of Winder
has committed to take
a critical part in the
development, imple
mentation and mainte
nance of the communi
ty park project led by
the Barrow Community
Foundation’s Building
Our Future Campaign,
which launched last
spring.
The campaign is a
fundraising effort by a
group of business and
community leaders who
partnered with Barrow
County Schools to make
the vision of a desti
nation park and play
ground on the Center
for Innovative Teaching
(CFIT) campus a reali
ty-
Since launching, the
campaign has received
financial support from
a variety of local busi
nesses, organizations,
individuals, and most
recently, the Barrow
County Board of Com
missioners.
Its partnership with
the City of Winder is
unique due to the park’s
location in the heart of
Winder’s historic down-
See CFIT, page 2A
The community has
raised over $40,000 for a
Barrow County firefighter
and his family after they
were hospitalized from
injuries sustained in a car
accident July 7.
On their way home from
Hiawassee, firefighter Jere
my Dalton, his son, 11, his
cousin, 10, and his father-
in-law were hit by a dump
truck that lost control.
Dalton was life-flighted
to NEGMC Gainesville
while his son and cousin
were flown to Children’s
Healthcare of Atlanta Scot
tish Rite. The father-in-law
passed away at the scene.
Dalton had no severe in
juries and has since been
released from the hospital.
He and his wife are now
with his son in Atlanta as
he remains in intensive
care with a head injury. His
cousin is also recovering in
the hospital.
To donate to the Dalton
family, visit gofundme.
com/f/help-the-daltons-
with-medical-and-other-
bills.
