Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

PAGE 2A THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2008 Voting continued from page 1A DOT planning to install cable barriers on I-85 by Tuesday, Feb. 5, and no ballots will be mailed after Friday, Feb. 1. Local officials encourage citizens who wish to vote absentee to go ahead and request ballots early to avoid the deadline. Advance voting will be held Monday, Jan. 28, through Friday, Feb. 1. For this type of voting, there is also no reason required to vote — only that the voter wishes to vote early. Advance voting will also be in the Registrar’s Office on the second floor of the Banks County Courthouse in Homer. Hours will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The presidential primary will be the only election on the Feb. 5 ballot. For more information, contact the Registrar’s Office at 706-677-6260. Chapman continued from page 1A various state and local law enforcement agencies. Although the job is a demand ing one, Chapman said he has a great love and respect for the office and for Banks County. Chapman said if re-elected he will continue to dedicate himself to the office and the service of Banks County as he has in the past. The primary election for sheriff will be this summer. Chapman said he changed to the Republican Party approximately two years ago although he considers his office to be a non-partisan one. Baldwin continued from page 1A Fellowship Church member Stan Crump spoke in the absence of Lee at Thursday’s meeting. Crump said the church has a lot of enthusiasm toward coming back to Baldwin. Sumner said, “If a church is allowed, will another church and then another church locate here. An industrial park is a place for growth for the city.” Crump said, “There will be a lot of people come through here (the indus trial park) on a daily basis that we may reach.” Baldwin resident Linda Caudell said, “I think we need to separate religion from the industrial park. How would the church feel about certain busi nesses locating in the park?” Reed told those in attendance that in the event Fellowship Church vacates the property for 12 months the special use is no longer valid. Reed also said this piece of the industrial park does not have covenants that have been set by the Habersham County Industrial Development Authority. The building the church is looking to locate in has also been vacant for some time. Baldwin resident Phyllis Marshall told the council and church members that she cares about these people at this church and she wants to see them have a building. Marshall said because the city has no ordinance against noise, odor or poisons any kind of business, a paper plant for instance, could locate near the church. Reed said the lease agreement being pursued by the church with Russell is a three-year lease agreement and the church is looking for land to build a church on. Crump also told those in attendance that this is being pursued as a tempo rary location. He said the church is currently looking for land, but if they had the land now it would take one- and-one-half years to see anything out of the ground. Church member Gary Nunnally told those in attendance that the church has opened its doors for a lot of people in Baldwin and they would like to do this again. The public hearing was closed and the second reading of the special use permit was held. Council member Robert Bohannon told those in attendance that he thought it was wonderful to have a church that has outgrown its location. R. Bohannon made the motion to approve the special use permit and the council voted unan imously to approve the request. Caudell asked Mayor Reed could the public hearing be held and the vote be taken tonight. Caudell replied, “I guess we can.” Reed told Caudell that the first reading on this was held at the council meeting on Dec. 10. OTHER BUSINESS In other business at the Dec. 27 meeting: •the council unanimously approved the second reading of a special use request for Tony Johnson to allow a new manufactured home to be located on one-and-one-half acres currently zoned R-1 single family. Johnson is asking to locate the manufactured home on a site where his home burned several months ago. Johnson told the council, “I have tried to meet all the requirements, I hope I have.” No one spoke in opposition of this request at the public hearing held at the begin ning of the meeting. After approval of the request, Johnson asked the coun cil, “Can I call them (the trailer sales company) tomorrow and tell them to bring it out?” •the council held a public hearing and the second reading of the business tax ordinance for financial institutions in the city. No one spoke in opposition to this ordinance. The second reading of the ordinance to collect a license fee for banks located in Baldwin was unanimously approved by the council. •the council agreed unanimously to approve a sewer availability letter for Chris Thomas for a convenience store he is building on Hwy. 365 and Mt. Zion Church Road. Thomas has met with the city’s engineers, Engineering Management, Inc. on this project. Reed said the city’s sewer force main comes by this property from the prison and the city has to be careful with pen etrations into this force main. Thomas said he needed a letter stating that once all conditions are met sewer service is available in order for him to proceed with the project. Thomas said, “You can see I am going to build on this property and not sell it. I was waiting till we moved some dirt to ask for this.” $ 5 00 OFF Ticket Of , 2Q 10 Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only. La Hacienda Commerce La Hacienda Jefferson 173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd. 605 Athens Street 706-335-7458 706-367-5095 The Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant. GET MONEY BACK FAST! $25 Discount Refund .Anticipation Loans Apple Square Call or Visit us today! 706-778-0082 c-770-540-7087 215 Hodges St., Suite 106, Cornelia, GA According to the Department of Transportation, Georgia averages 550 to 600 accidents and 24 to 25 fatalities a year in cross-over accidents. Cable barriers should help lower those numbers, the DOT says. Project could be awarded next month BY KERRI TESTEMENT It was a gruesome accident on Interstate 85 that state transporta tion officials admit could have been avoided. Four children from two separate vehicles were killed in an accident on I-85 in Jackson County in July 2007, when a southbound vehicle crossed the median and stuck a northbound car. The drivers and other passengers of both cars sur vived the wreck. “That accident could have been prevented, if a cable barrier was installed,” said Georgia Department of Transportation spokesperson David Spear on Thursday. Jackson County is now one of several area counties slated to see cable barriers installed by the end of the year, according to Spear. Cable barrier systems use woven, tension cables attached to steel posts and are installed in the open median of major highways. The cable barriers have prevented cross over accidents in which vehicles traveling in one direction become out of control, cross the median and strike vehicles traveling in the opposite direction — often caus ing head-on collisions resulting in fatalities and serious injuries, according to the DOT. The DOT will seek bids this month for a cable barrier system stretching from S.R. 20 in Buford in Gwinnett County, through Barrow, Jackson and Banks coun ties. That cable barrier project will be 41 miles and will end at the Franklin County line. The DOT anticipates award ing a contract for the project in February, with construction start ing in the spring and ending in the fall of 2008, Spear said. Last week, the DOT announced plans to install 22.3 miles of cable barrier on I-985 between I-85 and U.S. Hwy. 129 (Jesse Jewel Parkway) at a cost of $3.8 mil lion. That project spans Hall and Gwinnett counties. State transportation board chair man Mike Evans said in a state ment that he intends to push for similar projects in all applicable locations throughout Georgia. “I’m both delighted and relieved to announce these critical safety projects,” Evans said in a state ment. “Anytime there is an open, grassed center median on a free way, there is a distinct risk of vehi cles leaving their side of the road and striking oncoming vehicles.” Spear said Georgia averages 550-600 accidents and 24-25 fatal ities a year in cross-over colli sions. In the past, the DOT had the phi losophy that wide, open medians on highways would give drivers ample time to correct their vehicles in the event of an accident. But with more vehicles on Georgia roads, and those vehicles traveling faster, the DOT recogniz es that drivers don’t have the abil ity to make corrections, he said. And that’s one reason the Georgia DOT is pushing to install cable barriers throughout the state. Cable barriers are also cheaper to maintain than guardrails, Spear said. Georgia has about 90 miles of cable barriers installed on inter- states and freeways. “Cable barrier is relatively new. We’ve been doing it about a year,” Spear said, while adding that other states have reported success with cable barriers. Cable barriers work in a similar manner like a rubber band — by absorbing the energy of an oncom ing vehicle and shifting the force of the impact to prevent a cross over collision. However, cable barriers don’t prevent all cross-over accidents, Spear said. Cable barriers are not designed to stop vehicles that are flipping, or tractor-trailer trucks traveling at a high rate of speed, he warned. “But it will certainly stop a vast majority of the accidents,” Spear said. Baldwin recognizes outgoing council members BY SHARON HOGAN Baldwin City Council members recognized two outgoing coun cil members, Jeff Bohannon and Mitchell Gailey, at a meeting on Dec. 27. Mayor Mark Reed presented a plaque to Bohannon and said he would deliver a plaque to Gailey at a later date. Gailey was absent from the meeting due to health reasons. Bohannon served 12 years on the council and Gailey served the city for nine years on the council. Bohannon told the two newly- elected council members to keep God and the citizens on their minds and in their hearts as they serve the citizens of Baldwin. The council also recognized Tim Hall, public works director, as the city’s employee of the year and the public works department was recognized as the city’s depart ment of the year. OTHER BUSINESS In other business at the meeting, the council: •approved payment of an invoice in the amount of $8,160 to Engineering Management, Inc. for November professional fees for the Park Avenue sewer and road project. The invoice will be paid out of Banks County Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds. •unanimously approved the renewal of a loan in the amount of $6,520 at Habersham Bank at the rate of 8.75 percent due on June 27, 2008. The loan is for money to repay Banks County the last payment on back taxes on cash flow. •approved the renewal of a loan at United Community Bank in the amount of $385,199 at the rate of 5.7 percent. This is a temporary loan to roll over short-term debt on the police and fire buildings. This loan will be paid out of SPLOST funds. •unanimously approved the final payment in the amount of $20,648 to Duncan Pipeline for work on the Dairy Queen project. This project was funded by a grant received by the city. •agreed to discuss who will han dle FOGIS samples for the city. This is not in the contract with Woodard & Curran. Chad Conard, wastewater plant supervisor, has agreed to continue handling this at a cost to the city of $100 per sample. This will be discussed at the work session at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 10, at the police department courtroom. Homer garbage rate increases The Town of Homer has announced that the garbage rates have increased as of Jan. 1. The rate is now $15 per month. BOE meeting schedule given The Banks County Board of Education will meet at 7 p.m. on the following dates in the Banks County Board of Education con ference room: Jan. 22, Feb. 19, March 17, April 21, May 19, June 16, July 21, Aug. 18, Sept. 15, Oct. 20, Nov. 17 and Dec. 15. “ROOF DOCTOR" - Metal - Shingles - Flat Roofs - Flashing - Maintenance - Inspections HOMER CARVER Roofing & Repair OFFICE 706-677-1986 CELL 678-617-4503 FAX 706-677-1369 The new iMac. Power is a beautiful thing. peachmac macs • ipods • software • service 1850 Epps Bridge Parkway (across from Lowe’s) 706-208-9990 • peachmac.com Lordy, Lordy ook Who's Forty! Love from your little sister and all the family Weekly Health Tip From Kim Bost Pharmacist - Owner We Deliver! Believe me, I can fully understand the fast pace of today’s families. Between work, family and church responsibilities, my family seems to stay at a steady run! From this understanding, came the idea to offer our patients an extra degree of convenience. In November, Homer Drug Co. and Tiger Town Pharmacy began a free i prescription delivery service. Yes, we’ll deliver your prescriptions right to your front door. At ‘ this time, we are offering this service to any location within a 5 mile radius of either Homer .Drug Co. or Tiger Town Pharmacy. And even ( better, there is NO EXTRA CHARGE for this service! We will need to get some information, so just call the store for more details. Our phone numbers are listed below for each store. Give us a call to start this service for your family! Homer Drug Co. - 706-677-3223 Tiger Town Pharmacy - 706-335-0099 706-677-3223 • 1228 Historic Homer Hwy. • Homer, Ga. Monday-Friday 9 - 6; Saturday 9 - 12 Noon; Sunday Closed