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Tuesday, May 17,2022 barnesville.com Barnesville, THE TO BE : A FORCE ONED WITH /4A Ga. 30204 HERE’S THE SCOOP Community awards Thursday The 38th annual com munity awards celebra tion will be held May 19 at the Fine Arts Center. The evening will begin with fellowship and heavy hors d’oeuvres at 5:30 p.m. with the cer emony, emceed by Ryran Traylor, beginning at 6:15 p.m. Mayor Peter Banks will give the welcome which will be followed by a presentation from the board of the Boys & Girls Club of Barnesville which is seeking further finan cial support. The Career Woman of the Year award, spon sored by the Rotary Club, will be presented by Linda Olivier. Traylor will then present the STAR Student and Teach er awards on behalf of the Kiwanis Club. Kathryn Knapp will present the Law Enforce ment Officer of the Year awards and Douglas Mat thews will bestow the Britton Cauthen Firefight er of the Year Award. Traylor will present the final four awards of the evening. They are Volunteer of the Year, Businessperson of the Year, Healthcare Hero and Outstanding Citizen. Tickets are $20 and available at the chamber office. For more informa tion, call 770.358.5884. Subscribe. Your name goes on the label in this box 96852 78853 New zoning ordinance likely to be tabled tonight after town hall pushback WALTER GEIGER news@barnesville.com The implementa tion of Lamar County’s new zoning ordinance, which was expected to be approved after a public hearing to night, seems likely to be tabled after push- back from citizens at an informal town hall meeting May 10. The county currently has a moratorium in place on new applica tions for major subdivi sions that was imple mented last November. The county has distrib uted a draft map and is considering limiting new subdivisions with one-acre lots to certain areas and banning them completely in the Eady Creek watershed. Thirty-seven citizens attended the meet ing. Also present were commission chairman Charles Glass, commis sioners Bob Heiney and Nancy Thrash and zon ing administrator Anita Buice. There was discussion of how the proposed ordinance followed the comprehensive plan that was done in 2014. Melissa Cline and Bill Daniel, who served on the comprehensive plan committee, were pres ent. “At that time, the zoning ordinance had just been redone and now it is being redone again,” Cline said. That planning pro cess divided the county in 14-16 districts for zoning purposes. “The (comprehen sive) land use plan is a guide. It is not in the code,” Buice noted. “When we were drawing up the plan, we thought it had a lot more teeth in it than what we are hearing now,” Cline countered. One issue was the circles on the map showing radii around Barnesville and Milner in which one-acre lot subdivisions would be allowed. Those pres ent felt those areas would be overrun with such developments if the current proposal is adopted. Buice explained the situation the county is dealing with in regard to high-density subdivi sions. “Now, if you have water, you can apply for one-acre lots. At present, that is the only qualification,” she said. Many present urged a two-acre lot minimum countywide to deter shoddy work by build ers and developers. Melissa Warren sug gested taking a hard look at lot sizes, in creasing square footage minimums and higher standards for roads, curb and gutter, set backs fencing, etc. “You need to look at quality of development and quality of construction. There are a lot of things you can put in place to slow these developers down,” Warren said. “You need to set the standards for the peo ple who live here not to benefit those mov ing here from Henry County. If they don’t like it, they can move to Monroe County,” realtor and former commission chairman Kent Kings ley said. He and others also suggested impact fees be put in place on developers and their projects. Kingsley and Ashley Gilles suggested the commission keep the moratorium in place until a once-delayed, proposed ballot ques tion on maintaining the county’s rural nature is placed on a ballot and voted on. In closing the meet ing, Glass expressed a willingness to hold off for a time while more input is received but said the matter will remain on the agenda for tonight. “This is the kind of turnout and feed back we need. We pi *qq want to GLASS g e t this right. We want to get the best possible prod uct out of this process,” Glass concluded. GLASS Woman bitten by rabid fox; deputy son comes to the rescue WALTER GEIGER news@barnesville.com The arduous rabies treatment regimen has be gun for two Lamar County residents after they and one other person were attacked by a rabid fox at a home near Milner. Sgt. Patrick Saunders was dispatched to 146 Grape Creek Road at 6:40 p.m. May 11 after a 911 call regarding a 64-year-old female having been bit ten on the hand by a fox in her driveway. Saunders was very familiar with the address and arrived to find the victim, his mother Crystal Saunders, in her vehicle. As Sgt. Saunders approached, the fox came out from under the vehicle and ran toward him. He opened fire on the fox with his service weapon, killing it. Saunders and one other unidentified vic tim are being treated. The third person is ok. The dead fox was placed in a garbage bag and then iced down in a cooler. It was picked up the next day by environmental officers from the De partment of Health and tested positive for rabies. VOTE ★ ★★★★ Early voting ends Friday This is the last week to cast advance ballots in the May 24 general primary. Registered voters can cast early ballots from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. through Friday at the elections board office in the county annex. Polls throughout the county will be open from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. on election day for in-person voting. Several local races will be decided in the primary.. At press time Monday, elections superintendent Anita Reid and her staff had served 727 early voters and processed 161 absentee ballots. Statewide, early voters are setting records with over 380,000 having voted thus far. Beware of warrant scammers Sheriff Brad White is warning citizens to beware of a court scam on which his office has received multiple com plaints. At least one local person has succumbed to the scam. “This is an old scam but they keep using it,” White said. Victims are contacted by phone and told they have an outstanding arrest warrant. The victims are then told to pay a fine us ing a Green Dot card or by making a deposit into a jail commissary account. “No law enforcement agency or any government office will ever call you to advise you of a warrant,” the sheriff concluded. Willie Hamm leads tribute for 50 years of track and field at LCHS School superintendent Dr. Jute Wilson (left) and Willie Hamm at the awards ceremony. Hamm was a member of the first track team at LCCHS 50 years ago. KAV S. PEDR0TTI kayspedrotti@gmail.com He was not on the agenda, but super- sports-supporter Willie Hamm was cheered enthusiastically at last week’s school board meeting as he helped celebrate the 50 years of track at Lamar County High School. The meet ing covered numerous achievements in sports categories as well as fine arts, band and chorus. Hamm told the board he was a member of the first track team “back in ’72,” and encouraged board members, coach es and others to “sign the granite” on a pedes tal for displaying the 50- year trophy. He thanked all the officials for their support of student sports and said, “1 would most of all like to thank all the parents for letting me be a part of the kids’ lives.” At present bat tling a recurring cancer, Hamm has rarely missed a Lamar County school athletic event, especially football games. Recognitions began with the introduction of the class of 2022 vale dictorian, Zeke Smith, and salutatorian Emily Danielson. The band and chorus programs led by Justin Miller were recognized for superior ratings in several compe titions. Sports recogni tions included: Golf, Coach Brent Thornton: first area golf championship in school history; baseball, Mike Oberg and Tim Jones: 23-7 season record, region runner-up second round of playoff, tied for most wins in school his tory; soccer girls, Coach Ricci Jules: back-to-back region champions, Elite 8; soccer boys, Coach Ed Jules: back-to-back region champions, Elite. Tennis girls and boys: Lori Green quali fied for state playoffs again; track and field, Coach Toomer: 11 state qualifiers; weightlifting team, Coach Pippin: state champion Denisela Penn: MS girls soccer, Coach Kelly Adamson, second in league; MS boys soccer, Coach Chaz Ellerbee, third in league; MS track - Kelsey Harris: Girls third in league, boys second in league. The board of educa tion also approved a consent agenda compris ing five fundraisers, 11 field trips, two recom mendations for posi tions, six resignations, three retirements and two medical leaves. MVIHK t ^ „,|gS % jjjS % i, ©2022 THE HERALD GAZETTE, BARNESVILLE, LAMAR COUNTY, GA 30204, 770.358.NEWS