StarNews
www.starnewsga.com
“Not just what happened - but what matters'
M " MI
Georgia Newspaper Project
320 S Jackson St
Athens GA 30602-5002
still only
50*
770-214-9900 • P.O. Box 680/961 Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 30117
JANUARY 31, 2010
500 StarNews monthly publication/StarNews Online www.starnewsga.com
VOLUME 16 NUMBER 1
NEWS BRIEFS
UWG to host state high
school 4A, 5A basketball
The University of West Georgia
will be hosting the Georgia High
School Association class 4A and 5 A
boys and girls basketball quarterfi
nals at the Coliseum in Carrollton
Friday and Saturday March 5th and
6th.
The Coliseum, which opened in
January 2009, seats approximately
6,500. www.westga.edu/coliseum
Recall group submits
no signatures
by Chuck Wanager
In the Carroll County Election
and Registration office in Carrollton,
time was getting very short for the
group of county residents trying to
oust Bill Chappell as chairman of
the county Board of Commissioners.
It didn’t appear they would meet
their deadline: 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010. They
didn’t. No one from the group - call
ing themselves the Citizens for the
Future of Carroll County - showed
up at the elections office this day as
their recall effort fell short. No sig
natures were turned in to the elec
tions office.
See RECALL page 2
Maple Street Commons
in foreclosure
by Carole Scott
As a result of default, on Tuesday,
February 2, 2010, Maple Street
Commons property on which is
owed $9,950,000 to First Citizens
Bank and Trust Company, Inc. by
University Village Partners, LLC
will be sold to the highest bidder.
In 2005, a number of people
residing near this property opposed
the zoning request submitted to the
City of Carrollton for this property.
Although the city council agreed to
the requested zoning, building stu
dent apartments there was forbid
den. Two years later, the city was
asked to allow student apartments.
Nearby residents objected to this,
and it was turned down.
One-third of all foreclosed
either by vandals, gangs or
homes in nation damaged
home’s previous owners
by Carole Scott
Thomas Popik, research director
for Campbell Surveys, which pub
lishes the Campbell/Inside Mortgage
Monthly Survey of Real Estate
Market Conditions, told CNN that
“About a third of all of the fore
closed properties nationwide have
been so damaged, either by the pre
vious owners or by criminal gangs
coming in after the foreclosure, that
mortgage financing”. Atlanta real
estate broker Dana Ash told CNN
that many foreclosed homes in
Atlanta have been vandalized.
Homes are foreclosed when a
homeowner fails to make mortgage
payments or fails to pay property
taxes, homeowners, assessments, or
contractors, bills. Neither the Carroll
County Sheriff’s Department nor the
Carrollton Police Department has
they no longer qualify for standard received many reports of damaged
foreclosed homes. However, it is
suspected that such cases are not
likely to be reported, and a Carroll
County resident reports having been
shown several damaged foreclosed
homes while viewing homes for
purchase.
In Georgia, foreclosure can take
place both in court and out of court.
Out of court is the more common.
Most mortgages and trust deeds
include a clause that allows an out of
Butler
while Bearden gains leadership
Representative Tim Bearden (R-
ed of powerful post
hi
court proceeding. If this is the case,
the lender has the power to sell the
property outside the court system,
and the process begins by the lender
scheduling a foreclosure sale. Unless
the mortgage or deed of trust
requires it, the borrower does not
have to be notified. In the case of a
court foreclosure, the borrower must
receive a written, 30 day notice.
On January 19, 2010, foreclo-
See DAMAGED HOMES page 12
by Chuck Wanager
With a new Speaker in the House -
the Georgia House of
Representatives - David Ralston —
one might expect reassignments.
That’s what has happened to com
mittee membership, including
assignments given local representa
tives, as this year’s session of
General Assembly gets under way.
Following House Speaker David
Ralston’s assignments,
Villa Rica) has gained a top commit
tee leadership position. In a reversal
of fortunes, Representative Mark
Butler (R-Carrollton) was stripped of
his post as a vice chairman on the
powerful and large appropriations
committee.
As a vice chair, Butler was one of
several who held similar offices. The
vice chairs head up subcommittees;
See REPRESENTATIVES page 2
WiFi to soon be available in
every nook and cranny in
Carroll County and beyond
by Carole Scott
David Nist, owner of two
Carrollton information technology
businesses, is in the process of roll
ing out a WiFi system that will make
WiFi available in every nook and
cranny in Carroll County and
beyond. There are only about a
dozen companies in the nation capa
ble of utilizing the trailblazing tech
nology his company employs.
WiFi makes it possible to connect
to the internet without wires. WiFi
(wireless networking) provided by
Nist’s Carrollton-based business
NISTWORKS is already in use by
Carroll County’s government for
email and connecting to the world
wide web. Spot the Internet, a
NISTWORKS subsidiary, is already
providing WiFi to Tallapoosa. It is
currently being rolled out in
Carrollton, and Nist expects it will be
available in Villa Rica in March. It
will next be made available in
Buchanan and Waco.
Gradually, the rest of Carroll and
Haralson counties will be added to
its network. Subsequently it will be
extended into other counties.
Spot the Internet provides WiFi to
See WiFi page 12
Shelby McCampbell cuddles her as yet unnamed puppy at the
new Carroll County Animal Shelter at its open house on January
23,2010. See story page 2. Photo by Carole Scott
www.walkergmauto.com (gj
770-832-9602
1492 North
Highway 27
CARROLLTON, GA
7 WALKER
Reasons to
. _ ..... ,_ swse buy at
P0NT,AC Carrollton, Georgia WALKER!
jCOMEBY WALKER&lsiTYOQrIFMMI^mSmMW Hfp * LOCALLY! Owned & operated
mm COOLANT LEVEL & protection check I * Award Winning Service Department
mm TIRE tread depth check | * Community involvement
fHHi TIRE*PRESSORE^CHECK 10 ' 7 ' 0 ^ “ 1
THIS COUPON EXPIRES FEBRUARY 28, 2010 ONE COUPON PER PERSON PER VISIT VCnT UOfTipOUlIVlJ rTiGCS!
