Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

o o 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- MAILING LABEL '0 4879 14541 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