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Barrow News-Journal
Barrow County News Est. 1893 • Barrow Journal Est. 2008
Merged August 2016
16 Pages, 2 Sections
A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
Winder, Barrow County, Georgia
$1.00 Copy
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Winder
begins
street
resurfacing
projects
The City of Winder
kicked off over $1.3
million in resurfacing
projects this month,
paving seven streets
in various parts of the
city.
Crews with Prime
Contracts began work
ing in mid-October
to remove the former
driving surface and
repave the following
streets:
• Lake Drive
• Howard Circle
• St. Germain Place
• Normandy Court
• Lorraine Valley
• Aberdeen Way
• Sunningdale Drive
To fund the projects,
$214,841 in Local
Maintenance Improve
ment Grant (LMIG)
funds from the state
were combined with
$1,088,663 in Special
Purpose Local Option
Sales Tax (SPLOST)
dollars.
The streets were se
lected in accordance
with the city’s Pave
ment Management Pol
icy, which has over
sight from the city’s
engineering depart
ment and utilities de
partment.
The city’s public
works department uses
software called Street
Saver to generate an
appropriate list of city
streets in need of re
surfacing and coordi
nates with the utilities
department to ensure
none of the upcoming
capital projects inter
fere with the resurfac
ing.
Project estimated
start date is October
16, and drivers will be
directed by flagging
operators during con
struction.
Each street will be
under construction for
approximately eight to
ten days, weather per
mitting.-
MAILING LABEL
Best of
October
Submitted photo
An eerie blend of purple and orange lights, giant lifelike spiders crawling from the windowsills
to the front porch, hanging skeletons and ghostly apparitions transform Duane and Christy
Ware’s home on Center Street in Winder into a spooktacular Halloween masterpiece that is a
must-see for all.
Local residents had the
chance to participate in pie
baking contests, canning
contests, quilting and knit
ting competitions and more
at AuburnFest on Saturday,
Oct. 21. Local BBQ masters
showcased their smoking
skills while competing for
prizes and kids enjoyed ac
tivities like hayrides, face
painting, inflatables, free
crafts and a costume parade.
The festival featured numer
ous food trucks, craft ven
dors and live music by The
Drovers Old Time Medicine
Show.
Credit: City of Winder
During the month of Oc
tober, residents may have
spotted a bright pink Tahoe
patrolling city streets by
the Winder Police Depart
ment, demonstrating the
city’s solidarity with Breast
Cancer Awareness month.
Credit: Barrow County Sheriff’s Office
The annual Back the Blue Cruise In Car and Bike Show was held Oct. 21 by the Barrow
County Sheriff’s Office. All proceeds from the event will go to BCSO’s Youth Summer Camp
for local kids.
House fire on
Matthews School
Road kills 8-year-old
Just before 2:30 this
morning, firefighters with
Barrow County responded
to a reported structure fire,
with reports of people still
inside the home in the 100
block of Matthew School
Road.
“As we arrived on the
scene we found a home
heavily involved in fire
and the family advised that
there was still one person
in the home,” said public
information officer Scott
Dakin.
Firefighters made a rapid
entry through a bedroom
window, where an 8-year-
old child was found still
in one of the beds located
in the room, according to
Dakin.
The firefighters were
able to pull the child out
the bedroom window and
initiate immediate patient
care. EMS crews also per
formed care on the patient
and two others. “This was
a very rapid search and
rescue under heavy fire
conditions,” said Dakin.
“The firefighters worked
fast and hard while man
aging many different oper
ations at one time.”
The home was heavily
damaged as a result of the
fire. Two adults from the
home were transported to
area hospitals. The 8-year-
old child that was pulled
from the home died as a
result of the injuries.
“Unfortunately, despite
heroic efforts by the fire
fighters the child passed
away as a result of injuries
from the fire,” commented
Deputy Chief Brett Skin
ner.
“I am very proud of the
fact that they put their
lives at risk in an attempt
to give the child the best
chance at surviving. My
thoughts and prayers will
be with the family that suf
fered such a great loss, and
the firefighters who were
on the scene.”
Winder woman killed,
child critically injured
in Jefferson car crash
A Winder woman was
killed and a 13-year old
boy was seriously in
jured in an Oct. 18 wreck
in Jefferson.
Georgia State Patrol
Troopers responded to
the two-vehicle wreck
on MLK Jr. Dr. south
of Hillside Dr. around
7:50 p.m.
A purple Toyota Scion
driven by Johnny Tug
gle, 58, of Winder, and
a gray Ford Fusion driv
en by Joshua Weeks, 23,
of Jefferson, were both
traveling northbound on
MLK Jr. Drive, accord
ing to the GSP.
When Tuggle slowed
to turn left into a private
drive, Weeks reported
ly attempted to pass the
Scion in a no passing
zone and struck it in the
rear. Both vehicles trav
eled off the roadway and
onto the west shoulder,
according to the GSP re
port.
A female passenger in
the Scion, Tracy Tuggle,
56, of Winder, died from
her injuries.
Another passenger in
the Scion, a 13-year-old
Winder boy, sustained
life-threatening injuries.
He was transported to
Grady Memorial Hospi
tal.
Both drivers sustained
non-life threatening in
juries.
Charges are pending.
Auburn council, planners table
decision on 169-unit subdivision
By Morgan Ervin
The City of Auburn tabled
a request from Blue River
Development to modify a
conceptual site plan for the
remaining 26.53 acres of the
Harmony development near
the new City Hall Municipal
Complex. This modification
marks the second phase of
the Harmony project and
consists of 59 townho-
mes and 118 detached sin
gle-family homes, totaling
169 units with a density of
6.37 units per acre. An addi
tional 2.48 acres in the Town
of Carl is earmarked for use
as a stormwater manage
ment facility.
The proposal outlines two
entrances on 6th Street, one
of which aligns with Wood-
lawn Drive. If approved, a
network of internal public
streets would serve the new
residences, accompanied by
private alleys for rear ac
cess to some units. The new
roads are proposed to feature
a 50-foot right-of-way and
20-foot-wide alleys.
While the property lacks
wetlands or floodplains, a
stream bounds the northern
property line. The appli
cant has requested several
variances, citing “topo
graphic constraints at the
rear of the site.” Specifical
ly, the applicant seeks relief
from the mandatory 50-foot
city stream buffer and the
25-foot city stream impervi
ous surface setback, aiming
to reduce both to zero feet.
According to the applicant,
this change will “facilitate
more efficient grading and
stormwater management.”
No traffic study was con
ducted as part of the appli
cation, but the request is ex
pected to result in increased
traffic, utility usage, storm
water runoff and school-
aged children.
The Department of
Community Development
recommends approval of the
application with 12 condi
tions. These conditions in
clude the completion of a
traffic impact study and the
installation of all recom
mended changes from said
study by the developer,
marketing 30% of detached
units as active-adult living
properties, adherence to ar
chitectural and landscaping
requirements, compliance
with all City of Auburn Mu
nicipal codes and the estab
lishment of a mandatory
Homeowners Association.
The Auburn Planning
Commission tabled the ap
plication dining its Octo
ber meeting as did the city
council. A public hearing on
the proposal will be held in
November.
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Conceptual representation of the proposed rear entry town-
homes.
Conceptual representation of a proposed 34-foot single-fami
ly detached rear entry lot.
