Newspaper Page Text
Commissioners hope to
avoid borrowing on TAN
WALTER GEIGER
news@barnesville.cam
Noting sales tax collec
tions set a new record in
April, county administra
tor Sean Townsend told
the county commission
TOWNSEND
May 18 it
is possible
the county
may make
it through
2021 with
out borrow
ing against
its Tax
Anticipation Note (TAN)
line of credit.
“We haven’t used
TAN yet and we hope
not to have to use it,”
Townsend said, much to
the delight of the com
missioners. The line of
credit has been a staple
of county finances for
years.
Townsend said sales
tax collections were
about $122,000 last
month. They usually
run around $90,000 per
month.
“The school board set
a record, too,” Townsend
added.
In other action, the
commission:
•Approved routine
minutes.
•Agreed to sell at
surplus three worn out
vehicles from the sher
iff’s office fleet.
•Accepted a bid from
Midstate Striping in the
amount of $36,000 for
striping and guard rail
repair on Yatesville Road.
•Agreed to refund
property taxes to White
Horse Partners/Loblolly
Investments for $1815.05.
CUVA was approved for
the property but never
applied.
•Accepted a bid of
$71,560 from Precision
Planning to do architec
tural planning for the
new recreation depart
ment gym. This is a
SPLOST project.
•Noted bids will soon
be sought for the new
animal shelter, the last
major project to be
started under the current
SPLOST
•Appointed Laura
Trice to the Board of
Health to replace Jodi
Kidd.
•Appointed Lavetrece
Walker to the Board of
Appeals.
•Approved the second
reading of a financial
policy ordinance.
•Approved the second
reading of an ordinance
to designate the section
of McKenzie Road from
the Milner city limits to
Martin Dairy Road as a
no thru trucks zone.
Tuesday, May 25,2021 ®[je Hrraltr <©a?£tte 3A
THE HERALD GAZETTE/WALTER GEIGER
County approves
zoning for police dog
kennel, cell tower
WALTER GEIGER
news@barnesville.com
At its regular meet
ing May 18, the Lamar
County commission ap
proved a special zoning
exception to allow a dog
kennel on 80 acres at
544 Yatesville Road. The
exception was sought by
Heather Henderson and
Robert Leigh who own
Arete Canine.
Arete trains dogs
for tracking, detection,
executive security and
other duties for the mili
tary and law enforcement
agencies around the
world. Leigh and Hender
son created a kennel in
a barn on the property
last November but were
stopped in March due to
noise complaints from
neighbors.
They said they were
unaware of the noise
until they went to help a
neighbor catch cows and
heard it for themselves.
They have since closed
in the barn doors and
added noise suppressing
insulation throughout
the barn.
“The metal building
acted like a cheerleader’s
megaphone. We were un
aware of the noise issue,”
Leigh said.
Arete trains dogs for
Homeland Security, ICE,
TSA and many other
clients. “We trained less
than 10 dogs here from
November to March.
Those dogs were suc
cessful on 40 or 60
tracks. Nationally, the
success rate is 30%,”
Leigh said. Their canines
also assisted in 150 non
marijuana, felony drug
arrests and brought to
hand a violent pedophile
that resulted in a human
trafficking arrest, he
added.
No one spoke against
the kennel during the
public hearing portion of
the meeting. Zoning ad
ministrator Anita Buice
said the board of appeals
urged the exception be
granted.
The commission voted
unanimously to allow the
exception, limiting the
number of dogs that can
be onsite at any given
time to 44.
During another hear
ing, the commission
heard no opposition to a
cell tower to be erected
by Fortified Telecom for
Verizon Wireless. The 150
foot tower will be erected
on a wooded tract at
1444 Hwy. 18 West.
The property, owned
by Diane Fuller, is very
near the Pike County
line.
The tower was ap
proved unanimously.
On another zoning
issue, the commission
learned Dr. Wayne Kong
had withdrawn his
request for a driveway
from the expansion of
Zoe Pediatrics onto
Silver Dollar Road. That
request had property
owners in the area up in
arms at the April meet
ing.
Emotional moment as Smith gives granddaughter her diploma
McKenna Strom shed tears of joy after receiving her diploma from her grandfather, school board member Ronald Smith
(center). Smith has also presented diplomas to his three children during his 33 years service on the board. McKenna was his
first grandchild to graduate. Looking on is school superintendent Dr. Jute Wilson (left)
THE HERALD GAZETTE/WALTER GEIGER
Signing to reach all
Keri Brousseau O’Neill had a busy morning Saturday at the
LCHS graduation ceremony at Trojan Field. O’Neil, an LC fac
ulty member, presented the entire program in sign language
to one hearing-challenged student in the graduating class.
CALENDAR ITEMS
• The John Birch Society will meet Wednesday,
May 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lamar County Library
meeting room located on Thomaston St.
• The Lamar County Republican Party meets the
first Tuesday of the month at 6:45 p.m. in the Com
missioners meeting room. The next meeting will be
on Tuesday, June 1, 2021.
• The Boy Scout Troop 38 will celebrate their 75th
anniversary on Saturday, June 5 in conjunction with
the June Court of Honor from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
at Aldora Park. The church will have the grill from
United Bank set up to cook lunch.
COVID-19:
Four new cases last week
Lamar County had
1,362 confirmed cases of
COVID-19 as of the May
23 update from DPH.
That number is up from
1,358 cases May 16. La
mar has had 124 corona-
virus related hospitaliza
tions and 46 deaths.
As of Monday, sheriff
Brad White was tracking
eight positive cases at
eight local residences.
Local COVID-19
numbers and those from
surrounding counties are
updated daily at barnes-
ville.com.
Milner investigation
FROM PAGE ONE
funds, already avail
able to the city but can
only be spent on infra
structure not including
roads. She said many
complaints come to City
Hall about water billing
mistakes by Barnesville,
and older meters may be
the problem.
Attorney Newton Gal
loway of Griffin, a former
Milner city attorney,
represented Randolph
(Rudy) Vaughn on an
ordinance to de-annex
Student records
This is to provide no
tice to all students and or
parents of students with
disabilities who attended
Lamar County Schools
with birthdates on or
between October 2, 1996
and December 21, 1999
that their records are no
longer needed for educa
tional purposes and will
five acres of his land, as
described in property
books, from the city back
into the county. The
county has approved
acceptance, he said;
council approved first
reading.
Galloway also provid
ed the “comic relief” in
the tense meeting: “And
1 trust,” he said after the
ordinance was approved,
“that anything 1 did or
didn’t do many years
ago as city attorney, the
statute of limitations has
long passed.”
to be destroyed
be destroyed after May
31,2021.
Those who want or
need these records may
contact the Exceptional
Student Education office
at 770-358-5891 prior
to May 31, 2021. Those
requesting records will
be required to provide
identification.
NOTICE TO TAXPAYERS:
Lamar County, along with many other counties in Georgia are experiencing what can
only be described as an “inflated” real estate market. The combination of historically
low interest rates, with historically high construction costs, are driving home sales
to an all-time high. Unfortunately, if there are enough sales within the county that
are a certain percentage higher than the Assessors values, the Georgia State Audit
Department mandates an increase in property values. This is what has happened in
Lamar County. Current 2020 sales have indicated that Lamar County was well below
the accepted sales ratio range for the Audit Department. While an increase in property
values is probable, a representative from Norman Appraisal Services will be available
to discuss individual properties with taxpayers. A sales package will be provided to
taxpayers upon request, containing sales throughout Lamar County of like properties.
The package will be provided to show how low Lamar County Residential property
values were last year compared to current year sales. The amount of increase to each
property, while significant, should not be basis for appeals, but the value of your home,
compared to sales within Lamar County. The increase to property values in Lamar
County are based solely on current market adjustments and have nothing to do with
taxes or need to increase revenue.
ADVANCED
Barnesville Office
NOW OPEN!!!
207 A Main St.
ROOFING & INTERIORS * Licensed and Insured ‘Guaranteed
678.521.9747 * Insurance Specialist • No Money Up Front
www.advancedroofingandinteriors.com
We Do So Much More
Than Roofing!
* Skylight Repairs * Spray Foam Insulation
* Gutters * Fencing
* Concrete * Painting
Call our live phone
lines 24/7 for request of
emergency tarps when
needed for your roof:
678-521-9747