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Summer Health & Safety page 7
- Wine Offers Beauty
Benefits page 10
- Carroll County Land Records
Now Online page 14
~ounty Government
Closes Out Year
The Black page 30
Carrollton, GA 30117
JUNE 5, 2011
500 StarNews monthly publication /StarNews Online www.stamewsga.
com
OLUME 17 NUMBER 6
County school boards County school board Another
discusses upcoming budget w iH no t consider four bank closes
and options on what to cut ^av sc hool week in Carroll-
by Prissi Sullivan hot topic of the evening. Chief W CCK Ill Cdli Oil.
by]
After an executive session, the
Carroll County Board of
Education work session was
called to order in front of an
audience of 90+ citizens,
Thursday, May 26, 2011. The
tentative 2011/12 budget was the
topic or tne evening.
Financial Officer Greg Denney
has diligently researched the ten
tative budget proposal to find
further savings for Carroll
County Schools. Other possible
areas were then targeted for
See WHAT TO CUT page 19
Calendar set at 176 instructional days; C^CrtllsB&Ilk
first day is August 10 for students;
33 days vacation in 10 month work year tftkCS OVCF
by Prissi Sullivan
Carroll County Board of
Education, in deference to the rec
ommendation of the superinten
dent and staff, would not consider
a four day work week for the
upcoming 2011-12 school year,
citing the need to “study” the pro
posal for a year. The idea of a four
day school week was suggested
several years ago and was sched
uled for “study” at that time. This
year the board is faced with budg
etary problems and a four day
school week could be one option
to saving costs.
At the recent work session,
Board Member Jon Anderson
asked the board and superinten
dent why the system could not go
See 33 DAYS VACATION page 42
by Carole Scott
Milton H. Jones, Jr. is chair,
CEO, and president of
CertusBank and its parent,
Atlanta-based holding company,
Blue Ridge Holdings, Inc. Certus,
purchased the First Georgia Bank
from the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
after the FDIC closed it on Friday,
May 20, 2011. It opened the next
day as CertrusBank. In Carrollton,
this bank is located on Tom Reeve
Drive.
The first bank Blue Ridge
Holdings purchased was the
CommunitySouth Bank and Trust
See CERTUSBANK page 46
The Carroll County School Board was met with a packed room, 90+ citizens, at the
recent work session during which discussion centered around the upcoming budget.
Lawsuit claims UWG’s Michael Ruffner
entered into binding contract at $10,000
per month: cost reached $250,000
Lawsuit also claims Ruffner violated state contracting law: guilty of
fraudulent misrepresentation; breach of fudiciary duties; whistleblower act
New immigration law
requires businesses to only
employ legal individuals
by Sam Gentry
The former Assistant Vice
President for Development and
Alumni Relations at the
University of West Georgia,
James Naughton, has filed a law
suit against the Georgia Board of
Regents of the University System
of Georgia after being fired from
his job following an evaluation
period. Naughton also served as
Executive Director and Treasure
of the University of West
Georgia’s Foundation, which is a
nonprofit entity that raises,
administers, invest, and ulti
mately transfers all private and
charitable gifts for the benefit of
the University.
According to the lawsuit,
Naughton was fired on Feb. 17
from UWG after his probationary
period was complete - he was
hired on August 18, 2010. His
firing apparently came on the
heels of him reporting his boss
and direct supervisor, Michael
Ruffner, to superiors for repeat
edly violating “Georgia law as
See UWG LAWSUIT page 19
by Carole Scott
Georgia Governor Nathan
Deal signed an immigration meas
ure passed by the 2011 General
Assembly on May 1, 2011. This
made Georgia and Utah the only
states that have passed immigra
tion laws similar to the one passed
in Arizona in 2010. Motivating
Georgia’s legislators who- voted
for this legislation—House Bill
(HB) 87—was their dissatisfaction
with what they view as the inade
quate enforcement by the federal
government of the nation’s immi
gration laws and the cost of this to
Georgia’s taxpayers.
Proponents of this law view its
passage as a victory for the state’s
taxpayers because illegal aliens
have, through public schools, hos
pitals, and jails, imposed signifi
cant costs on them. The Pew
Hispanic Center estimates that
there are 425,000 illegal immi
grants residing in Georgia, who,
say the law’s supporters, are tak
ing jobs away from citizens. Only
six states are thought to have
more illegal aliens residing there
than Georgia does. By cutting off
See IMMIGRATION page 17
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■MMI
