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Features: IIA Sports: I4A New coach brings respect for BCHS Bn j^- iftj i kfEML' _ / ETTi ■ * Sf3ajH Forrest Hills Resort get-away January 2, 2008 January 2, The Banks County News 504^ Homer, Banks County, Georgia 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • mainstreetnews.com • 16 Pages, 3 Sections Plus Supplements • Vol. 39 No. 21 Hart to seek re-election BY CHRIS BRIDGES Gene Hart had been tossing around the idea of whether to run for re-elec tion as Board of Commission chairman for some time. After a final dis cussion with his wife, Thelma, Hart decided recently he would seek a sec ond term as chair man and made that announcement offi cial. Hart, who will run once again on the Republican ticket, said there are many important issues facing Banks County right now and he would like to continue to help move the county forward. “There is just so much going on in the county right now and I believe things are going in the right direction,” the chairman said. “I would like to con tinue to be a part of it. I enjoy the work associated with being in this office and the interaction with the people of the county.” If elected to a second term, Hart said he would concentrate on industrial growth for the county. “Banks Crossing is really growing,” he said. “I want to see that continue. We need to have some roadwork done in that area. I want to promote some of that growth to be on the Banks County side.” Hart said it will be important for developers and land owners to work together to help push proper growth for the county to meet industrial needs and he said he wouldn’t mind seeing the county purchase land to help attract new businesses. “We have to be able to offer some thing to new businesses,” the chairman said. The positive steps the county has taken during the last four years has been a combined effort of all commis sioners, Hart said. During Hart’s leadership, Banks County citizens have approved a new administrative building and renova tions to the current courthouse. The projects are being paid for through a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, which was approved through a local referendum. The primary election for chairman will be in July. HART — Newsmaker of the Year — “I am overwhelmed every day. You have to have God by your side...There are days that I cry because I can’t solve that Mom’s problem of needing rent money or seeing that Dad come in who just lost his job. Each day is different. I do it to help those children and families — not to get a pat on the back." — Robin Trotter, director of Banks County’s Family Connection and Generous Hearts Planners to hear poultry operation request Thursday BY CHRIS BRIDGES Members of the Banks County Planning Commission will once again look at a request from Country Charms Egg Company at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3, concerning the opening of a large- scale egg laying plant. Representatives of the Gainesville- based poultry company appeared before the Banks County Planning Commission in early December requesting approval for a new opera tion in the area of Browns Bridge Road and Duncan Road. After listening to an hour of discussion from company offi cials and concerned citizens, the plan ning commission tabled the request until its next meeting to have time to go over additional submitted information. An overflow crowd filled the Banks County courtroom earlier this month as citizens turned out to voice their continued on page 7A — Political Story of the Year — A fall from grace: District attorney now faces charges It was a long way to fall. After serving nearly a quarter-century as the district attorney for the Piedmont Judicial Circuit, which covers Jackson, Banks and Barrow counties, DA Tim Madison found himself facing criminal charges during 2007. It was a wrenching and painful development for the judicial circuit and for this particular DA’s seat. Forty- years ago, prosecutor Floyd Hoard was murdered by a local organized crime gang he had been investigating. REPORTS TO JAIL Former district attorney Tim Madison (right) and his wife, Linn Jones, turned themselves in to the Banks County Jail in August after being indicted the day before. They are shown in the jail parking lot with attorney Ed Tolley. Photo by Allen Luton That event cast a long shadow and those who followed him as district attorney would always hear the echo of Hoard’s martyrdom. So for Madison, the judicial system’s top prosecutor, to taint that office over allegations of wrongdoing was especially difficult to fathom. It reverberates still across the three-county circuit. The story of Madison’s resignation and his subsequent criminal indictment on theft charges, along with the indictments of his wife and a former assistant district attorney, was the Political Story of the Year for 2007. Working from a tip, MainStreet Newspapers began looking into Madison’s handling of public funds in early 2007. Using Georgia’s Open Records Law and talking with a number of sources, the staff uncovered informa tion that raised serious questions about how Madison continued on page 7A Robin Trotter's generous heart connects families HELPING OTHERS Robin Trotter helps many people in Banks County through her work as head of Generous Hearts and Family Connection. She is shown (to the left) at the recent holiday program coordinated by Generous Hearts. She is also shown speaking about the Family Connection program at a Banks County Chamber of Commerce meeting. — Newsmakers of past years — 2006 Gene Hart, BOC chairman 2005 Doug Cheek, Homer mayor 2004 Rep. Jeanette Jamieson 2003 Chris Erwin, superintendent 2002 Jack Banks, IDA 2001 Bonnie Johnson, CVB 2000 Charles Chapman, sheriff 1999 Mark Reed, Baldwin mayor 1998 Gary Freeman and Danny Maxwell, BOC 1997 Bo Garrison and Dock Sisk, BOE chairman and superintendent 1996 Milton Patterson, BOC BY ANGELA GARY Sometimes the Newsmaker of the Year is obvious. It is someone whose name was in the headlines throughout the year. It could be someone who has been a controversial figure or someone who seeks attention. Other times the Newsmaker of the Year is someone whose name you might not see in the headlines week after week. It is someone who prefers to work out side of the spotlight. It is someone who works tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure the county they call home is a better place. One Banks County lady, a graduate of the local high school who still calls the county she loves home, works behind the scenes to make sure children who don’t have school supplies have what they need for the school year. She leads the effort to make sure needy children get presents during the Christmas sea son. She helps those without jobs look for work. She leads those who want to further their education in the right path. The list goes on and on as to how she helps people throughout Banks County. Robin Trotter, who leads Generous Hearts and Family Connection, helps those in the community who many ignore or don’t worry about it. Robin has shed many a tear and spent count less hours helping people who might otherwise not get a helping hand. It is interesting to note that Generous Hearts and Family Connection are the names of the two organizations she leads. Robin Trotter has a most generous heart that is overflowing with love for people she doesn’t even know. Her work connects families and enables them to flourish. Because of the work Robin Trotter does behind the scenes throughout our community she has been named as the Newsmaker of the Year for 2007. “It’s in my heart to take care of the kids and families,” Trotter said during an interview about the Family Connection program earlier this year. Pat Westmoreland, a former board of commissioner who has worked with Robin through Generous Hearts, spoke of her work at a dinner held earlier this year. “She has a passion for the people of Banks County — the young and the elderly,” he said. “She has a personality that will fit in with the people to get the job done.” Westmoreland said the Generous Hearts program would have ended years ago without Robin’s work. “She is the reason Generous Hearts is as successful as it has been,” he said. “It’s been a privilege to work with her. I don’t have much work to do because Robin does all the work.” Trotter has been with the Family Connection program for more than seven years. Children’s education and child abuse and neglect are the focus of the program. Trotter said that “making sure children’s needs are taken care of” has always been the focus of the Family Connection program. “It always seems to work out,” Trotter said earlier this year of the problems she encounters. “It may not solve the problem, but it helps the problem. We don’t have the resources here in Banks County to solve all of our problems.” In addition to these programs, Trotter said she deals with various other needs of children and families each day. “I am overwhelmed every day,” she said. “You have to have God by your side.. .There are days that I cry because I can’t solve that Mom’s problem of needing rent money or seeing that Dad come in who just lost his job. Each day is different.” Trotter said her heart leads her to pro viding service. “I do it to help those children and families — not to get a pat on the back,” she said.