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See Inside j yf dmiMi $ remtniscings of Carroll County Christmases past COMPANY JEWELERS INC MaaafectBrer of Sfce MammA Jewsky 770*459*1136 tken»|j.!eyceffipaay,csai Highway 61 next to 0* Charley^ in Villa Rka "A trmttJ Sjihc ix GsM <s»i Dimomis Sasaf i WO* K&aei, siiiF ® mb mu OTm ssui®t Don’t be footed b? expensive TV ads or amateur bupg parte. Get II® real value of your gold. (famoads. platinum and silver _^^ln»^3pa!!icn of rise ii the giefeal goldmarket String the months of January aril February we w® pay up to 50% more ■ fcy GofeiDiaaM^.Pt3ttBgt and 2*3 Btoes wore to pawn shops! I set & m% imm wsum ~xaof*r*? Georgia Newspaper Project 320 S Jackson St y r,A tikm-smW www.starnewsga.com “Not just what happened - but what matters ” 770-214-9900 • P.O. Box 680/961 Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 30117 DECEMBER 5, 2010 50$ StarNews monthly publication /StarNews Online www.starnewsga.com VOLUME 16 NUMBER 11 Toys for Tots: Dec. 9th, 10th at Southwire parking lot Southwire Company and Toys for Tots want this to be a Christmas to remember for children through out Carroll, Haralson and Heard counties. Every year, Toys for Tots brings cheer to children around the world who might not otherwise get to experience the joy of receiving pre sents on Christmas. TOYS FOR TOTS page 27 SPLOST meetings Public meetings will be held on the upcoming Carroll County Schools SPLOST. “Project Review” meetings will be held at 6 p.m. at each high school in the cafeteria on the following dates: Mon., Dec. 6th: Mt. Zion High Tues., Dec. 7th: Bowdon High Thurs., Dec. 9th: Central High See related story this page. County school board member: board overspent SPLOST by $6M; new SPLOST won’t fix problem by Prissi Sullivan story from StarNews Online www.starnewsga. com Carroll County Board Member Bart Cater conducted a town hall meeting at Copeland Hall, 103 Ban- Avenue in Bowdon, Georgia on Monday, November 22, 2010 in order to clarify issues surrounding the upcoming educational SPLOST (Special Local Option Sales Tax) proposal by the Carroll County Board of Education. The current educational SPLOST expires on December 31,2012. For the current SPLOST, reve nues (collections) are $6 millions less than what the board has already obligated to spend. Part of the new, proposed SPLOST, if New radio station officially launches in Carroll County passed, will go to pay off that $6 million the board has overspent. Board member Cater’s position was that if the five year SPLOST is passed (to be on the ballot March, 2011) when it expires in five years, if all the proposed projects are done, the taxpayers will then be on the hook for $28.64 million due to future anticipated shortfalls in reve- See OVERSPENT page 22 The “Texas ratio” and what it means to banks by Carole Scott As a whole, banks are in trouble. Some of them are in a lot of trou ble. However, during the current banking crisis, only the owners of banks have suffered losses. Deposits of individuals amounting to no more than $250,000 dollars in a given bank under a given name or See TEXAS RATIO page 26 from press release West Georgia’s newest FM radio station, WWGA (98.9-FM), was launched on November 22, 2010. Initially, WWGA will be called “Christmas 98.9”. On Dec. 26th, the station will shift to its new, perma nent music format. The new format will be made public that day. Part of the Gradick Communications Group of radio stations, WWGA is a six- kilowatt station which will reach beyond the borders of Carroll County, where its antenna is located. The station is a new frequency allocated by the FCC and licensed to Tallapoosa. “We want everyone to tune in after Christmas to see what the for- See 98.9 page 16 New health director for this region: Dr. Alpha Fowler Bryan by Sam Gentry Dr. Alpha Fowler Bryan has been named interim health director for District 4, which includes Carroll County. She is taking over the posi tion vacated by Dr. Michael Brackett, who resigned Nov. 15 amid allegations that he demon strated physical aggressive behav ior toward a health department employee. Dr. Wade Sellers, current health director for District 1, was initially to be named as interim director for District 4, but Dr. Jack Birge, chairman of the Carroll County Board of Health, requested a change after obtaining documents through the open records act that contained communications between Sellers and Brackett. The documents, according to Birge, contained copies of emails See NEW DIRECTOR page 25 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERIES Grant for county environmental health department allows for free mold inspections by Sam Gentry inspection services. hoping to receive additional fund- Animal control officers Connie Bates and Jan Singleton hold Freckles, who is looking for a nice place to call home this holiday season. Anyone who donates a new, unwrapped toy at the Carroll County Animal Shelter, 770-834-8150, may adopt an animal at a reduced price/free. The animals are already spayed/neutered, have been given the rabies shot, and are microchipped. Photo by Sam Gentry In an effort to help create health ier home environments, the Environmental Health section of the Carroll County Health Department is working through a grant to inspect Carroll County homes for mold at no cost to residents. The office has been conducting free mold inspections for almost a year by way of the grant and now, to further their efforts, environ mental health is hoping to help improve patient health and cutback on readmissions for respiratory ail ments, particularly COPD, at Tanner by expanding the free mold COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a common lung condition that restricts breath ing. COPD is recognized in two main forms, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Those diagnosed with COPD often have a combination of the two. Gene Ellis, Environmental Health county manager, said although his office is already able to offer free mold inspections to citizens of Carroll County through the Tanner grant, working with them on the COPD issue will require more resources and “the money will run out”. His office is ing through their partnership with Tanner, Ellis said, to help handle the increase in services. “We want to expand on it and make more benefits from it avail able to the citizens of Carroll County,” he said. “What we hope to do is go out and make mold assessments of their homes to see if there’s any conjunction with prob lems in their homes that could be causing their breathing problems.” Environmental Health has a range of equipment necessary for mold inspections, which can exam ine and test a number of materials See MOLD page 30
