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StarNem
CARROLL COUNTY, GEORGIA'S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED / LOCALLY OPERATED NEWSPAPER
The Agriculture Voices of
CARROLL COUNTY, GA
A StarNews Special Series see pages i6,17, is & 19
1 A FREE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER IS VITAL TO A FREE COUNTRY
StarNews monthly traditional print/StarNews Online daily local news 1
MAY 12, 2024 • VOLUME 30 NUMBERS
www.starnewsgaonline.com
Georgia’a 17th Agriculture Commissioner
Tyler Harper: state’s $83B agri industry is
more than just “cows, plows, and sows”
story by Wayne J. Reynolds
Established in 1874 and celebrating their 150th anniversary
this year, the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) stands
as the United States’ first State Department of Agriculture.
GDA administers a variety of programs which all have the pri
mary goal of maintaining the state’s viable farm industry and
protecting the consuming public.
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper shared,
“Our focus is on meeting the needs of Georgia’s citizens. At the
time back in 1874, the creation of a government agency to
oversee the state’s agriculture industry was a highly contentious
See GEORGIA AG COMMISSIONER page 18
How do you find affordable housing? by moving
further out, advises housing market expert
Current zoning is stuck in place from 20 to 30 years ago
story by Wayne J. Reynolds
“Three years ago you were able to buy a home under $350,000 in 10 of the 15
top high school districts in the 29 county metro Atlanta market. Today - zero,”
began John Hunt of MarketNsight, featured guest speaker at the Carroll County
Chamber of Commerce’s Membership luncheon held Thursday, April 18,2024.
“How do you find affordable housing? Move further out,” Hunt said. “Covid
taught us we can live, work, and play anywhere by working remotely. And
See MOVE FURTHER OUT page 11
Commissioner
Tyler Harper
County loses 109.25 wooded acres zoned
Agricultural with 23 one acre lots on septic
Carrollton’s Planning & Zoning recommending denying rezoning: Council approved anyway 4-1
Same acreage was previously denied for event venue citing roads could not handle traffic
Entirety of acreage was zoned Agricultural with sections subject to flooding
Concerning flooding, applicant said: “if soils weren’t good for septic” he could tie into city’s sewer
story by Janice Daniel
Mayor and Council of the City of Carrollton met
Monday, April 8, 2024, 6:00 p.m. for a regular
(monthly) meeting. All council members and mayor
were present.
There was an annexation and rezoning request
request by applicant Jeff Camp for 109.25 acres at
14 Hays Mill Road, 104 Martin Cemetery Road and
Martin Cemetery Road from Carroll County to
Estate Residential minimum lot size one acre for the
two tracts on the south side of Martin Cemetery
Road, where 23 lots are proposed and Estate
Residential minimum lot size 3 acres for the tract on
the north side of Martin Cemetery Road, where 7
lots are proposed. Property is located near the inter
section of Martin Cemetery Road and Hays Mill
Road just south of the Carrollton Bypass. Tracts are
mostly wooded with a mixture of pines and hard-
“46% of the southern portion is in the flood
zone and all those lots are unacceptable for
septic field lines. This portion of the property
will require major restrictions on any wetland
or stream encroachment. This really is a
county issue” - citizen John Paulk
wood trees, and the area surrounding Buffalo Creek
is in the flood plain.
The entire area is currently zoned Agricultural in
Carroll County’s jurisdiction.
See 109.25 WOODED ACRES GONE page 13
General Election Primary
Tuesday, May 21st
Sample Ballots at: carrollcountyga.com
County Safety Action Plan
Public Meeting
Thursday, May 16th
5:00-7:00 pm Carroll County
Recreation Gym Meeting Room
1201 Newnan RD, Carrollton
- see story page 4
County commission approves purchase of seventh
ambulance for West GA Ambulance: expected to
reduce number of calls per ambulance per day
At its regular meeting on April 9, 2024, the Georgia Ambulance. Carroll County EMS
Carroll County Board of Commissioners Committee first recommended to the commis-
approved adding a seventh 24-hour 911 ambu- sion in January 2024 that an ambulance be
lance to the county’s EMS contract with West See 7th AMBULANCE page 8
J ))-♦
Knowles Hicks Paul
District 5 candidates share
County Coroner: 67 drug-related deaths involving fentanyl since 2020 their views on top priorities
But, there could possibly be more as the State Crime Lab is 4-6 months behind on completing drug test results and millage rate reduction
story by Wayne J. Reynolds
There were 58,220 total casualties in the Vietnam War. In the
United States in the year 2022 alone, 74,654 people died from the
illegal dmg fentanyl, with deaths increasing each year this decade.
For Carroll County, there were some surprising facts about the ages
of those who died from dmg-related overdoses that included fen
tanyl. In addition to the danger to the user who may be overdosing,
fentanyl poses a risk of contamination to others including First
Responders, investigators, and others physically nearby the victim.
hi Carroll County, Carroll County Coroner Keith Hancock reports
that in 2020, fentanyl began showing up in a significant way with
fentanyl appearing in 14 of 35 drug-related deaths. In 2021, 44
deaths were dmg-related of which fentanyl was involved in 21 of
them (48%). In 2022, there were 48 deaths with 32 involving fen
tanyl (67%). And in 2023, 27 of 43 dmg-related deaths had fentanyl
involved (63%). To these sobering facts, Hancock added that not all
Carroll County cause of death cases had been completed, as the State
See DRUG DEATHS INVOLVING FENTANYL page 4
Commission candidates Ben Hicks, Keith Knowles,
and Sean Paul responded to StarNews inquiry
story by Sue Horn
There are seven candidates on the May 21st
Primary Election Republican Ballot in the race for
the Carroll County Commission District 5 seat.
StarNews sent two questions to all seven candi
dates offering each an opportunity to express what,
See KNOWLES, HICKS & PAUL page 27
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it flies with the last breath of each soldier
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