CARROLL COUNTY, GEORGIA'S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED / LOCALLY OPERATED NEWSPAPER
StarNews
| NEWS REPORTING / NEWS RECAP / NEWS ANALYSIS
StarNews monthly traditional print publication /StarNews Online daily local news \
NOVEMBER 13, 2022 • VOLUME 28 NUMBER 11
www.starnewsgaonline.com
Villa Rica purchases
1836 mitigation credits
$275,400 purchase to legally cover and pipe
creek along Mirror Lake Connector
story by Janice Daniels
On Friday, October 14th, 2022, the City of Villa
Rica Mayor and City Council held a Special Called
Meeting for the purpose of purchasing 1,836 screen
credits from Pine Mountain Mitigation Bank for
$275,400. Present were Mayor Gil McDougal; Ward
1 Shirley Marchman (not seen or heard on the official
6 minute 28 second meeting video); Ward 2 Matthew
See 1836 MITAGATION CREDITS page 27
County Commissioner District 5
emphasizes again his concern on
developments “eating up ag land”
Board met Oct. 27th to discuss proposed subdivision regulation changes
At work session, Commissioner Ernie Reynolds stated that agriculture is
the main economic driver in the community and new ordinances need to
be specifically designed, not open to individual interpretions
story by Janice Daniels regulation changes and prepare a one-
The Carroll County Board of vote consent agenda for the following
Commissioners held their monthly work Tuesday, November 1st regular meeting,
session Thursday, October 27, 2022, to In addition to the commission board,
discuss proposed subdivision ordinance g ee p^Q |_AND LOSS page 8
GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
GOVERNOR
(Incumbent) Brian Kemp (R) 53.50% V
Stacey Abrahms (D) 45.79%
Shane Hazel (LIB) 0.71%
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
Burt Jones (R) 51.49% V
Charlie Bailey (D) 46.23%
Ryan Graham (Libertarian) 2.18%
SECRETARY of STATE
(I) Brad Raffensperger (R) 53.30% V
Bee Nguyen (D) 43.91%
Ted Metz (Libertarian) 2.79%
See NOVEMBER 8th ELECTION page 15
Date for Whitesburg’s
Special Election to fill
vacant seat not set yet
Post 2 seat open due to William Smolar’s
abrupt resignation during September meeting
story by Sue Horn Evans
A seat remains vacant on the Whitesburg City
Council since the abrupt and unexpected resig
nation of Post 2 Council member William
Smolar.
The city has held two work sessions and three
meetings since the September 6th regular meet-
See SPECIAL ELECTION page 15
“West Georgia Tech Night”
Wednesday, November 30th
West Georgia Technical College (WGTC) will
host “West Georgia Tech Night” 4 p.m.-7 p.m.
Wednesday, November 30th at all WGTC cam
pus locations. There is no cost to attend this
event.
West Georgia Tech Night attendees will be
able to learn about WGTC college programs,
meet faculty and staff, visit with the Admissions
and Financial Aid representatives, leam about
dual enrollment, adult education/ESL and more.
In addition, attendees who attend the event will
have the opportunity to enter into a drawing for a
free laptop. One winner will be awarded per
campus location.
www.westgatech.edu/event/west-georgia-tech-
night
Georgia Chamber of Commerce president/CEO Chris Carter gave an in-
depth presentation on the economy at the well-attended October 14th Carroll
County Chamber luncheon titled “The New Georgia Economy”.
State chamber president/CEO on economy:
“difficult times” in the next 12-18 months
story and photo by Wayne J. Reynolds
On October 19, 2022, President/CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Chris
Clark spoke at the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon on the
state of the economy in Georgia. The well-attended event was held at City Station, Maple
Street, Carrollton. His presentation was titled “The New Georgia Economy”.
Aware that talks on the economy can oft times be boring and dry, Carter opened with the
humorous comment, “If you don’t like data, this is the time to take out your phone and
checkInstagram!” See “THE NEW GEORGIA ECONOMY” page 4
Economic forecast preview
by UWG’s professor of econ omics
Overall, economy
is trending in the
right direction
Dr. Joey Smith: economy is not the stock market
story by Wayne J. Reynolds
Dr. William J. “Joey” Smith, professor of
economics, a David A. Johnson Distinguished
Scholar, and chair of the Department of
Economics at the University of West Georgia,
gave a preview presentation on the annual
“Economic Forecast” to the Carrollton Kiwanis
Club of Carrollton October 21, 2022.
See DR. JOEY SMITH page 7
VP Rhyne Owenby exits
chamber; hired by UWG
Owenby to be university's first “Director
of Signature Events and Traditions”
from press release
Rhyne Owenby, vice presi
dent of the Carroll County
Chamber of Commerce, has
been hired by University of
West Georgia (UWG) to be
the institution’s inaugural
Director of Signature Events
and Traditions. Her first day
Owenby See OWENBY page 27
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