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Barrow News-Journal
Barrow County News Est. 1893 • Barrow Journal Est. 2008
Merged August 2016
20 Pages, 2 Sections, Plus Preprints
A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
Winder, Barrow County, Georgia
$1.00 Copy
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Oktoberfest,
Photos courtesy of The City of Winder
The City of Winder’s “Thank Goodness Its First Friday”
(TGIFF) event for October was Barrels and Brews, a fami
ly-friendly, Oktoberfest-themed party held on Oct. 6 at Jug
Tavern Park.
Families enjoyed axe throwing, inflatable games and other
activities and games throughout the evening.
Winder-style
The first 100 attendees at the event received a chocolate bar
from Willy Wonka, and for 20 lucky individuals, a golden
ticket. Golden ticket holders will receive unlimited free
play, reserved parking, a complimentary drink and can skip
the lines at Winder’s Spooktacular event on Oct. 27.
The event featured craft beer from local breweries, Ger
man-inspired cuisine from a variety of food trucks, live mu
sic, a photo booth with Oktoberfest-themed props and more.
The TSPL0ST vote
Barrow County’s transportation crossroads
Barrow County voters face a critical decision at the polls
next month as a TSPLOST referendum will appear on bal
lots. Its outcome will determine the next steps toward im
proving transportation infrastructure — one of Barrow’s
biggest growing pains.
A Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax
(TSPLOST) is a unique taxation mechanism with a focus
solely on funding transportation projects. Unlike proper
ty-centric taxes, TSPLOST applies to all purchases made
within the county. Its broad application ensures that all
consumers, regardless of property ownership, contribute to
improving the county’s transportation infrastructure.
Two key characteristics of TSPLOST are duration and
tax rate. A TSPLOST can be imposed for up to five years
and is capped at 1%.
Proponents of TSPLOST tout its ability to spread the tax
burden across all consumers within the county and that it
would serve as a dedicated funding source for much-need
ed transportation projects. With the proper infrastructure,
the county will be in a better position to attract business
and create jobs, leading to economic growth.
“We as Barrow County citizens have an opportunity to
resolve and stay ahead of some serious and much need
ed roadway work for enhanced safety and maintenance
that is paid for not by Barrow County property owners,
but instead by all motorists and truck drivers that use our
roadways if we vote Yes for the TSPLOST,” said Douglas
Mitchell, chairman of Barrow Citizens for Better Roads.
Critics of TSPLOST are concerned an additional sales
tax would place an undue burden on local families. Ques
tions have also been raised regarding the allocation of ex
isting funds, prioritization of projects and whether alterna
tive funding methods are available.
TSPLOST is estimated to generate approximately $130
million in revenue over five years, which will be allocated
between Barrow County and the municipalities as follows:
6.43% to Auburn; 1.27% to Bethlehem; 1.57% to Braselton;
0.55% to Carl; 3.37% to Statham; 14.33% to Winder; and
72.49% to Barrow County.
The funds would be and to be used to pay for the follow
ing capital outlay projects:
BARROW COUNTY PROJECTS
• Improvements to bridges on Boss Hardy Road, Covered
Bridge Road, Manning Gin Road and Smith Mill Road.
• Roadway capacity widening at Dee Kennedy Road and
Rockwell Church Road.
• Intersection improvements on SR 2 at Cedar Creek
Road and SR 2 at Hal Jackson Road.
• Sidewalk improvements and roadway improvements at
SR211, Atlanta Highway and Bankhead Highway
WINDER
• Intersection and roadway improvements
• Sims Road realignment and drainage
• Intersection improvements
• Midland Ave. operational improvements
• Roads, streets, bridges, sidewalks, trails and bicycle
paths
BETHLEHEM
• Roads, streets, bridges, curbs and sidewalk projects
• Investment in general infrastructure and stormwater
management
STATHAM
• Repair, resurfacing and restriping improvements on
Mulberry Street, 8th Street and Railroad Street
AUBURN
• Street paving projects including on County Line-Au-
bum Road and College Street
• Enhancements at Etheridge Rd and Hwy 8, Apalachee
Church Rd and Hwy 8
BRASELTON
• Construction of roads, bridges and sidewalks — proj
ects include Highway 211 and Highway 124
• Resurfacing of approximately three miles of Bra-
selton-maintained roads.
CARL
• Repair, resurfacing, and restriping on East Avenue, 4th
Avenue and Carl Midway Church Road
• Addition of sidewalk; enhance accessibility on Bank-
head Highway and Carl Cedar Hill Road
Early voting for the Nov. 7 election begins Oct. 16. Polling
locations can be found at https://mvp.sos.ga.gOv/s/.
For more information about TSPLOST, visit VoteYesBar-
row.com.
MAILING LABEL
Winder to invest $22 million in
water treatment plant expansion
The Winder City Coun
cil approved a contract
for the expansion of
its Highway 53 Water
Treatment Plant, totaling
$18,537,600, to address
the urgent need to bolster
its water treatment capac
ity.
The decision was
prompted by rising de
mand, with the plant
currently running at its
maximum capacity of six
million gallons per day
(MGD). The expansion
project aims to boost the
capacity to nine MGD.
“There’s no redundan
cy at the moment. If we
Credit: City of Winder
The expansion will increase the plant’s capacity from six to
nine million gallons per day (MGD).
have a pipe break, there’s
no way we could meet
our current demand,”
ESG professional engi
neer Neil Counts told
the Winder City Council
during its work session
on Sept. 28.
“In the summertime,
when we’re at peak ca
pacity, we cannot take our
See Winder, page 2A
INSIDE
MEET THE
CANDIDATES
Mayor of Winder 6A
Mayor of Statham 6A
Winder City Council 7A
WINDER EVENING
WITH THE CANDIDATES
The Barrow County Chamber of Commerce is hosting “Wind
er Evening with the Candidates” on Monday, Oct. 16 at 6:30
p.m. at the Wimberly Center, located at 163 MLK Jr. Dr. in
Winder.
WITH THE CANDIDATES
The chamber will then host “Statham Evening with the Can
didates” on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Statham
Community Center, located at 336 Jefferson St. in Statham.
Vigil and rally in support
of Israel set for Oct. 15
The Winder First Baptist Church is hosting a
vigil and rally on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. to
express unity and support for Israel in response
to the recent attacks by Hamas. Winder First
Baptist is located at 625 Jefferson Hwy. in
Winder.
Remains of missing
Winder man found
The remains of a miss
ing Winder man were dis
covered by members of the
Barrow County Sheriff’s
Office’s (BCSO) Commu
nity Emergency Response
Team (CERT) Thursday af
ternoon after almost a week
of searching.
The body of David Na-
jour, 24, was located in a
wooded area a considerable
distance from his residence
on Tom Miller Road near
Loganville Hwy., where he
was last seen by family on
Sept. 29.
According to the BCSO,
an investigation into the
cause of death is underway,
however, no foul play is
suspected. Najour’s remains
were taken from the scene
to the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation Crime lab for
examination.
ABOUT CERT
CERT, operates under
Barrow County Emergency
Services (BCES), and is de
signed to teach citizens what
to do in the event of a di
saster. When citizens know
how to prepare for disasters,
it can lead to less loss of life
and property damage. It can
also help citizens learn how
to assist their families and
neighbors when larger di
sasters occur.
The Barrow County
CERT program has been
teaching classes to citizens
for years, utilizing both
public safety professionals
and CERT members as in
structors. After completing
the classes and participat
ing in a disaster drill at the
end of the classes, citizens
Credit: BCSO
David Najour, 24, or Wind
er, was found deceased on
Thursday, Oct. 5, by the Bar-
row County Sheriff’s Office
CERT team.
have the option of joining
the CERT team in Barrow
County. “CERT volunteers
work special events and
occasionally work with lo
cal public safety agencies,”
states John Sliman, Public
Information Officer for the
CERT team. “This can in
clude helping with searches
such as this one”
The CERT team is look
ing for volunteers to join its
trained and certified group
to assist Barrow County
emergency services, lo
cal towns and local police
departments with event
first aid, traffic control and
search operations.
To fill attend a future
class, fill out an application
at www.barrowcert.org. For
more information, contact
Penny Clack, emergency
management director at
Barrow County, at pclack@
barrowga.org, or call 770-
307-2987.
