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Barrow News-Journal Barrow County News Est. 1893 • Barrow Journal Est. 2008 16 Pages, 2 Sections A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia Merged August 2016 $1.00 Copy Wednesday, July 19, 2023 problem By Morgan Ervin morgan@barrownews j ournal .com The Barrow County Board of Commissioners hosted a meeting for city leaders across the county to revisit the discussion over placing a Transpor tation Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) referen dum on ballots during the November election. The TSPLOST dis cussion was initiated by the City of Winder last year in hopes of plac ing it on ballots during the Nov. 2022 election. However, the county put the referendum on hold to allow time to conduct a transportation study, but pledged it would re address the issue once a more detailed plan could be presented. With the transportation study now complete, lo- See TSPLOST, page 2A County proposes TPLOST project list, distribution calculation to city leaders A look inside the plan to tackle Barrow's transportation Credit.GDOT State Route 316 and State Route 11 in Barrow County Beloved ghost sign in downtown Winder to shine anew Credit: City of Winder A group of historical preservationists from the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art will revitalize the Benson Bakery’s ghost sign on the Old Colson Hardware building across from Renasant Bank in downtown Winder. Winder preservationists were impressed by the group’s mural recently finished in downtown Hoschton. The group will continue the work begun on the mural after its discovery in 2019. The group will take the existing painting up to in clude the Tanner Hardware sign, then seal coat it. BCSO under scrutiny after drawing guns on couple in search of active shooter By Morgan Ervin A couple is claiming their civil rights were violated by deputies of the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office af ter they were pulled over and ordered out of their vehicle at gunpoint Friday night. The traffic stop was ini tiated on the couple’s black Porsche SUV due to it matching the description of a vehicle driven by a man who shot a Gwinnett Coun ty District Attorney investi gator in a fit of road rage in Auburn that occurred min utes before. Both were placed in handcuffs and were even tually released once depu ties learned the couple had already been stopped and cleared by Gwinnett Coun ty- According to the Channel 2 report, Mrs. Johnson said the traffic stop conducted by a Gwinnett County dep uty didn’t involve weapons drawn and that her husband bore no resemblance to the shooter. However, BCSO said the information it received regarding the shooter matched the description of both the driver and the ve hicle. BCSO also said its deputies were not aware Gwinnett had cleared the vehicle until after the cou ple was detained. Mrs. Johnson also told Channel 2 News she suf fered a minor shoulder in- MAILING LABEL '0 4879 14541 o Credit: BCSO A screenshot of Barrow County Sheriff’s Office’s dash cam footage of Mr.. Johnson being detained by a deputy. Credit: BCSO A screenshot of Barrow County Sheriff’s Office’s dash cam footage of Mrs. Johnson and a deputy after receiving confir mation from Gwinnett County the couple had been cleared. jury from the handcuffing, which she described was conducted “vigorously” by the BCSO. She added that she and her husband feel a formal apology from the BCSO is in order as she deemed the police barricade with guns drawn to be inappropriate. According to a statement from BCSO following the incident, “We do not feel compelled to apologize for any of our deputies’ actions in this encounter and are proud of the professional ism and dedication to the safety of the community they demonstrated during their search for an armed and dangerous suspect.” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith added that his agency is “extremely dis appointed” in Channel 2’s reporting of the incident re garding the traffic stop. In his statement, Smith said unedited body cam footage depicting the en counter from multiple deputies was provided to Channel 2, but the portions of the footage aired in the broadcast “fall far short of an accurate depiction of events as they actually oc curred.” Smith stands by the ac tions of his deputies during the investigation and in sists each of them remained “professional and courte ous in all their interactions with the Johnsons, apolo getic for the inconvenience to the Johnsons, and appre ciative of the cooperation from the Johnsons.” “The men and wom en of the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office, as with our counterparts across the nation, put themselves in harm’s way every day, in order to protect the com munities we serve. We continue to do so in a pro fessional manner with our own safety and the safety of the public as our top pri orities.” The suspect, Tyler Moore, 27, of Auburn, tmned himself into Gwin nett County Sheriff’s Of fice, who charged him with aggravated assault, possessing a firearm, and criminal damage to prop erty. The victim was shot in the leg and is expected to make a full recovery. BARROW’S BRIGHTEST WBHS STUDENT WINS FIRST PLACE AT TSA NATIONAL CONFERENCE Credit: WBHS Winder Barrow High School student Connor Manning (pictured left) placed first in the nation in transportation modeling at the Technology Student Association’s 2023 National Conference in Louisville, Ky. earlier this month. Manning used 3D printers and a laser cutter to design and build a yacht, which featured its own scen ery. Manning was accom panied by advisor Kimberly Garren (pictured right). Barrow’s students return to school on Tuesday, Aug. 1. Open house and orientation schedule The following is the 2023-24 open house and orientation schedule for each school in the Barrow County School System: ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS (ES) All elementary open houses are set for Friday, July 28 Auburn ES 8-9:30 a.m. — students with last name starting A-M 10-11:30 a.m. — stu dents with last name start ing N-Z Austin Road ES 8-10 a.m. — all grades 4-5 p.m. — all grades Bethlehem ES 8-10 a.m. — all grades Bramlett ES 8-10 a.m. — all grades County Line ES 8-10 a.m. — all grades Holsenbeck ES 8-10 a.m.- all grades Kennedy ES 8-9:45 a.m. — students with last name starting A-M 9:45-11:30 a.m. - students with last name starting N-Z Statham ES 8-10:30 a.m. — all grades Winder ES 8-10 a.m. — all grades Yargo ES 7:30-8:30 a.m. — students with last name starting A-M 8:30-9:30 a.m. — students with last name starting N-Z MIDDLE SCHOOLS AIM/CFIT July 29 from 10 a.m. — noon — all grades Bear Creek July 27 — 5-7 p.m. - 6th grade orientation July 28-10 a.m.-noon — 7th and 8th grade Haymon Morris July 28 — 10 a.m. - noon — all grades Russell July 27 — 6-7:30 p.m. — 6th grade open house/par- ent orientation July 28 — 10 a.m. - noon - 7th and 8th grade Westside July 27 —6-7:15 p.m.— 6th grade open house/par- ent orientation July 28 — 10 a.m. - noon 7th and 8th grade HIGH SCHOOLS Apalachee July 27 — 11:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. — 9th grade July 28— 1:30 — 3:30 p.m. — 10 th-12 th grades Barrow Arts and Sciences Academy July 27 — 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. — 12th grade July 27 — 1:30-2:30 p.m. — 10th and 11th grade July 28 — 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. — 9th grade Winder-Barrow July 28 — 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. - 9-12th grades