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20 Pages, 2 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia $1.00 Copy Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Statham welcomes fall at
annual Sunflower Festival
The City of Statham kicked off the fall season with its
annual Sunflower Festival last weekend in downtown
Statham, where town merchants and local food and craft
vendors displayed handmade crafts, art exhibits and an
tique and vintage items for sale. A bouncy house and face
painting were enjoyed by local childen.
Craft vendors like The Humble Gnome (pictured) line the
streets of Statham each year to showcase their works of
art.
AIM students celebrate
Hispanic Heritage Month
Credit: AIM at CFIT
Students in Mrs. Gosen’s class at the Arts and Innovation Magnet Program at
the Center for Innovative Teaching kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month with a
Frida Kahlo installation. “My homeroom kiddos researched Frida Kahlo and
helped me create this Kahlo inspired bulletin board for our hallway to help kick
start Hispanic Heritage Month,” said Gosen, who added that her students also
learned how to make flowers and el papel picado.
Off-duty
Statham
PD officer
faces battery
charges
An off-duty officer with
the Statham Police De
partment was involved
in an incident at the Auto
Zone in Winder on Fri
day, Sept. 15. On Monday,
Sept. 18, the SPD received
notification of a battery
warrant issued against the
officer after a criminal and
internal affairs investiga
tion.
During the investigation,
it was uncovered that the
officer had violated sev
eral policies, procedures,
rules, and regulations set
forth by both the SPD and
the City of Statham. As a
consequence, the officer’s
employment with the SPD
was promptly terminated.
The incident is currently
under the scrutiny of the
Georgia Bureau of Inves
tigation.
Credit: City of Auburn
Drive up view of Auburn’s new city hall
Contention arises
over street name at
Auburn’s new city hall
By Morgan Ervin
morgan@barrownews j ournal. com
The naming of a re
cently constructed street
that leads to the new Au
burn Municipal Complex
sparked unexpected con
troversy after a council
member’s rogue move
that took many city lead
ers and staff members by
surprise.
In April, the mayor and
city council discussed the
naming of the street that
would serve as the address
for the new city hall and
police department with
in the Auburn Municipal
Complex. Following the
discussion, the council
MAILING LABEL
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submitted three proposed
names to the project man
ager, who would then for
ward them to Geograph
ic Information Systems
(GIS) authorities for final
approval. The contenders
were: Auburn Way, Daddy
Bill Way and Hawthorne
Way. Due to the presence
of an existing Hawthorne
Road in Auburn and con
cerns about the suitability
of “Daddy Bill” for use
by emergency services,
the county advised that
1 Auburn Way was the
best choice and the proj
ect manager subsequently
registered the name with
GIS.
For several months, 1
Auburn Way became the
city’s official address
used on city documents,
business cards and even
customer water bills.
What seemed like a
straightforward and un
problematic decision took
an unexpected twist three
months later when Coun-
cilwoman Jamie Bradley
learned the street was
named 1 Auburn Way in
stead of one of the other
options she had suggest
ed. Bradley responded
promptly and unilater
ally by contacting GIS
authorities and changing
the street’s name to Haw
thorne Ave. in tribute to
her family, who had sold
the property to the city for
the new municipal com
plex.
Councilwoman Peggy
Langley, who is also relat
ed to the Hawthorne fam
ily, said the Hawthornes
were promised they would
be honored in some way
upon the completion of
the project, though she
never specified what that
something would be.
The sudden change
put City Administrator
Michael Parks in a com
promising position as he
and staff had to hastily
navigate the bureaucratic
process of renaming an
existing Hawthorne Road
and manage the repercus
sions of a decision made
without the full council’s
consensus or input.
Making matters more
problematic, Bradley’s
timing was seemingly con
tentious as her decision to
rename the street occurred
while Mayor Blechinger
was hospitalized and un
available to provide staff
with guidance or offer her
perspective on the matter.
The absence of
Blechinger rendered May
or Pro Tempore Taylor
Sisk unable to vote as the
sitting mayor. As a result,
the decision passed with
out opposition during the
city council’s July 6 busi
ness meeting.
“The message behind
1 Auburn Way really re
flects what our local gov
ernment is trying to con
vey,” said Sisk.
“Auburn is built one
way and that’s the Auburn
Way, which is communi
ty-centered and uniquely
ours.”
Barrow County judge strikes
Bethlehem councilman’s latest
defamation suit against neighbors
“Ifyou
can’t stand
the heat, get
out of the
kitchen. ”
By Morgan Ervin
morgan@barrownews j ournal. com
Following his defeat
in a defamation law
suit against the Barrow
News-Journal in Jack-
son County Superior
Court earlier this year,
a Bethlehem coun
cilman faced another
significant blow last
week. This time, the
blow came from Judge
Joseph Booth in the
Barrow County Superi
or Court, who granted
Sharon and Jerry John
son’s motion to strike
in response to a defa
mation lawsuit brought
against them by their
neighbors, Scott and
Susanne Morgan.
Wittingly, in his or
der issued Sept. 15,
Judge Booth referred to
comments previously
made in a similar case,
in which the judge re
marked, “If you can’t
stand the heat, get out
of the kitchen.”
BACKGROUND
The origins of the
lawsuit trace back to
a contentious dispute
involving Morgan’s
allegations of code vi
olations at the John
sons’ property, which
the Bethlehem Town
Council determined to
be baseless. In response
to Morgan’s allegations
against them, the John
sons requested that the
town investigate code
compliance matters at
the Morgan property,
including an unpermit
ted storage building and
a camper being lived in
See Judge, page 2A
Shannon Hammond seeks
office of Mayor in Winder
Winder City Councilwoman Shannon
Hammond is running for Mayor. Ham
mond has lived in Winder since 1980
and was appointed to an at-large seat on
the City Council in 2021. She recently
retired from a 27-year career in public
education, serving in various leader
ship roles. She has previously served
the Winder community in several ways,
including serving as the Barrow Coun
ty Campaign Chair for United Way of
Northeast Georgia and Board President
of the Tree House.
Hammond states: “It will be critical
ly important for Winder’s next Mayor
to work collaboratively with the other
municipalities in the county and with
county leadership. We all need to work
together in the best interest of taxpay
ers. Growth and change are inevitable,
but I am committed to managing devel
opment so that only the best businesses
and homes are built in the City. We are
in the process of bringing more services
in-house. We have recently hired a pro
fessional engineer who will assist us
with planning, design and construction
issues, and infrastructure maintenance
and improvements. Using employed
staff instead of contractors to provide
services allows the Council and Mayor
to have more direct supervision over the
services provided. I am so proud of the
wide variety of activity types that have
been offered as part of Winder’s TGIFF
Winder Councilwoman Shannon Hammond
(at-large) seeks office of Mayor.
(Thank Goodness Its First Friday) and
am excited for everyone to see what is
scheduled for 2024.”
Hammond also shares that if she is
elected Mayor of Winder, one of her
first goals will be for Winder to become
a certified City of Civility by taking a
pledge to govern with civility and cour
tesy.
“If you would like to join me in striv
ing to make Winder a great place to live,
work, and play where every voice is
heard and respected, please vote for me
on November 7,” stated Hammond.
