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20 Pages, 2 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia $1.00 Copy Wednesday, August 9, 2023
Credit: Jamie ODonnell
Pictured (from left): Dr. Kenneth Carney, Mayor Linda Blechinger and Dr. Brent Sharpe
Where there’s a will,
there’s a way
Mayor Blechinger’s tale of transformation
and gratitude for medical heroes
By Morgan Ervin
morgan@barrownews j ournal. com
Seven years ago, a
life-altering diagnosis of
bladder cancer set in mo
tion a remarkable journey
of resilience and determi
nation for one of Barrow
County’s longest-serving
and respected political
leaders, Linda Blechinger,
the mayor of Auburn.
After undergoing surger
ies to remove the tumors,
she began a treatment that
involved inserting tubercu
losis bacteria into her blad
der, to which Blechinger
was severely allergic.
The far-reaching effects
of her allergic reaction to
the tuberculosis treatment
quickly turned her world
upside down as it wreaked
havoc on her bladder, infil
trated into her bloodstream
and left her covered in
painful blisters.
“It was terrible. There
was never a time that I was
not in pain,” she said.
Despite this, she treated
the allergic reactions and
continued the tuberculo
sis treatment she thought
would save her life.
“It took everything in me
to get through that. It was
excruciating,” she recalls.
As the treatments pro
gressed, her bladder be
came irreparably dam
aged, leaving her reliant on
a catheter and bag for over
six years. The constant
presence of the catheter led
to recurrent infections, cre-
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Emory’s expert urologist Dr. Kenneth Carney (pictured
on right) was given a unique opportunity to perform Lin
da Blechinger’s (pictured left) bladder surgery at NGMC
Braselton on May 31 alongside NGMC urologist Dr. Brent
Sharpe (not pictured).
ating a cycle of setbacks.
About five years after
Blechinger’s diagnosis, a
glimmer of hope emerged
when she sought out a
urologist at Northeast
Georgia Medical Center
in Braselton, Dr. Brent
Sharpe.
When Dr. Sharpe saw the
condition of Blechinger’s
bladder, he made a stark
recommendation — her
bladder needed to be re
moved.
“I had in my heart there
was a surgery I could get
done where they could
build a bladder,” she said.
“I was pretty determined.”
Clinging to a vision of a
better future, where a new
bladder would be craft
ed within her body, Dr.
Sharpe never gave up in
the search for a solution.
Due to his steadfastness,
he was able to connect
Blechinger to Dr. Kenneth
Carney at Emory Hospital,
an expert urologist who
had performed the surgery
Blechinger needed before
and saw promise in her
case.
“He was our hope,” she
said. “Without Dr. Sharpe
and Dr. Carney, the sur
gery would not have hap
pened.”
The complex eight-hour
surgery involved taking
a portion of her colon to
fashion a new bladder,
a procedure rarely per
formed, especially on
adults.
For both Dr. Sharpe and
Dr. Carney to perform
the surgery together, they
needed permission from
NGMC to allow Dr. Car
ney to work at its Braselton
campus.
Although it took some
time and required a collab
orative effort between doc
tors, specialists and nurses
at NGMC, once everyone
was on board, what was
once a glimmer of hope fi
nally became a reality.
Blechinger’s surgery oc-
cured on May 31 at NGMC
Braselton.
“I was so ready, I
couldn’t have been more
ready,” she said.
For her, the day of the
surgery was everything she
had ever dreamed of.
However, for her two
sons, who had remained
by her side as her sup
port system since she was
first diagnosed, surgery
day was another hurdle
to overcome. “They were
walking on egg shells as
they understood the se
verity of what happened,”
Blechinger said.
See Blechinger, page 2A
Lamonte D. Smith, 21, Christian L. Williams, 20,
of Lawrenceville of Norcross
Jay wan T. Edwards, 19,
of Columbus
Details emerge about SRO’s
confrontation with WBHS intruders
By Morgan Ervin
A report by the Barrow
County deputy working
and school resource offi
cer (SRO) who confronted
three intraders at Wind
er-Barrow High School last
week revealed further de
tails into the incident.
According to the SRO’s
report, at around 9:51 a.m.,
he observed three unfamil
iar individuals entering the
school premises through
the gym area. Identified as
three black males, the in
truders were spotted enter
ing the boys’ restroom in
the 9100 hallways. The in
cident occurred during the
transition between first and
second-period classes.
Shortly after, a student
informed him that the three
individuals were not stu
dents of Winder-Barrow
High School. Acting on
this information, the SRO
approached the restroom
to investigate. Upon en
tering the restroom, he
identified himself and re
quested the names of the
intruders. He reported they
were reluctant to provide
their names and questioned
the necessity of disclos
ing such information. The
SRO then requested to see
their schedules as proof of
enrollment at the school.
However, the schedules
they showed him were in
consistent with the school’s
classes, teachers and room
numbers, according to the
report.
The intruders were
later identified as Lamon
te Dianell Smith, 21, of
Lawrenceville, Christian
Lebron Williams, 20, of
Norcross, and Jaywon Ed
wards, 19, of Columbus.
However, two of the three
individuals falsely identi
fied themselves to the SRO
as John Smith (Edwards)
and Amaron Nesmith (Wil
liams). The SRO contacted
the school’s front office to
verify their student status
and cross-check their atten
dance. The front office con
firmed that the three were
not enrolled at WBHS.
When the SRO advised the
three intruders they were
being detained for criminal
trespass, all three ran away
in opposite directions and
See Intruders, page 2A
Jimmy Terrell announces
bid for mayor of Winder
Winder Councilman Jimmy Terrell an
nounced his bid for the mayor of Winder in
the upcoming Nov. 7 municipal election.
Terrell released the following statement
Tuesday morning:
“At the urging of many citizens and busi
ness owners throughout our community, and
after prayerful consideration, I have decid
ed to seek the office of Mayor of Winder.
It has been an honor to serve the citizens of
Ward 3 for the past six years. My experience
in both city and county government gives me
the solid foundationnecessary to lead Winder.
The city needs proven leader
ship to take us to the next level.
Winder can become a major destination in
the region. We have a rich history to show
case in our community events and civic ac
tivities. My vision is to see a bustling down
town with busy sidewalks every day, and on
weekends our parks and playgrounds filled
with citizens and visitors.
I believe city government should be re
sponsive to the needs of our citizens and the
local business community. We need to strive
to provide services at the lowest possible
cost and lower the tax burden on everyone.
We need to mend our working relation
ships with the other municipalities and with
Barrow County.
We can achieve cooperative working rela
tionships through effective communication
and by finding common ground on issues.
Winder City Councilman Jimmy Terrell
Working together with our citizens, business
owners, and other local governments is an
essential element for a prosperous Winder.
I will work to make Winder the best place
to live, work, play, and raise a family.
I appreciate your vote on November 7th.”
‘There’s nothing we can do’
Statham city officials deliver grim outlook to
Oak Springs homeowners
By Carole Townsend
Homeowners in the Oak
Springs subdivision attended
Thursday’s work session in
Statham, hoping to hear good
news from the mayor and
council about their neighbor
hood’s unfinished, crumbling
roads. Neighborhood street
lights don’t work, and there
are also no stop signs. Many
homeowners in the subdivi
sion say that safety has become
a genuine concern.
This situation was created
by the developer, who failed
to obtain a surety bond and
follow proper procedures as
he constructed the homes and
sold them to unsuspecting buy
ers.
After homeowners turned
out in numbers at a July city
meeting voicing their frustra
tion about the matter, they re
turned on Thursday to hear the
mayor and council’s decision
about whether the city can help
those property owners pay the
estimated $304,000 tab to re
pair the roads.
The answer is “No.”
According to homeown
ers, the first developer in Oak
Springs, Matt Richardson,
assured them that the city is
responsible for finishing and
maintaining the roads, lights
and stop signs in the neigh
borhood. City attorney Jody
Campbell stated again Thurs
day that those roads are pri
vate, and homeowners are re
sponsible for the cost to bring
Safety has become a
genuine concern to
homeowners in the Oak
Springs subdivision
due to crumbling roads,
inoperable streetlights
and missing stop signs,
all of which they blame
on the developer.
See Statham, page 2A
