Newspaper Page Text
Sports: IB
Mat Leopards excel
at area tournament
Wintry weather in forecast
The weather forecast calls for
rain and sleet mixed with snow
Wednesday night and Thursday.
January 16, 2008
January 16
The Banks County News
504^ Homer, Banks County, Georgia 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • mainstreetnews.com • 24 Pages, 3 Sections Plus Supplements • Vol. 39 No. 23
BOC CHAIRMAN SPEAKS
Banks County Board of Commissioners chairman Gene Hart spoke at the
groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for the new courthouse annex. More than
75 city, county and state officials attended the ceremony held at the site on
Eagles Nest Drive, off of Thompson Street. See page 2A for more photos.
Photos by Angela Gary
GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY HELD
County, city and state leaders gathered at the site of the new courthouse annex in Homer Thursday for a ground-breaking
ceremony. Among those shown are: Angela Sheppard, BOC office, sixth from left; Pat Westmoreland, former commis
sioner, seventh from left; Gene Hart, BOC chairman, eighth from left; Sen. Nancy Schaeffer, state senator, ninth from left;
Rickey Cain, commissioner, 10th from left; and Henry David Banks, former magistrate judge, second from right.
Groundbreaking held at courthouse annex
BY ANGELA GARY
County leaders gathered at the site
of the new courthouse annex in Homer
Thursday for a ceremonial ground
breaking.
City and state officials joined the
county leaders underneath a white tent
at the site for a ceremony sponsored
by Turner Construction. More than 75
people attended the ceremony despite
the cold temperature and rain.
“We’ve been looking forward to this,”
board of commissioners chairman Gene
Hart said. “It’s a special day for Banks
County. I’m really excited about it. It is
a beginning for something grand.”
Anthony Turpin with Piper O’Brien,
the architect, spoke on the building,
which will be a 18,000 square foot facil
ity located on Eagles Nest Drive, off of
Thompson Street in Homer. Turpin said
the layout on the site will allow expan
sion or the location of other county
buildings. The building will include a
100-seat commission meeting room as
well as county offices.
“We’re very excited to be a part of the
process,” he said.
Scott Edwards of Turner Construction
also spoke: “We’re really proud to be
here. I think this will be a facility you
can be proud of.”
Sen. Nancy Schaeffer also attended
the groundbreaking.
“We’re real happy for you,” she said.
“...We appreciate what this will offer
down the road. The population is com
ing and its so much better for us to pre
pare now.This is a marvelous asset.”
The new courthouse annex is being
funded through Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax funds. A total of $8
million has been designated for the
courthouse annex as well as renovations
of the current Banks County courthouse.
The current courthouse will continue to
house the judicial-related offices and
courtrooms.
The courthouse annex is expected to
be complete by July.
News - 2-3A
•Cities hold swearing-in
— page 12A
•Baldwin agrees to lift
burn ban
— page 3A
Op/Ed - 4-5A
•‘Banks community
shows strength during
past year’ — page 4A
•‘Thoughts on presiden
tial candidates’ — page 5A
School - 7-8B
•Art contest winners
named - page 7B
•FFA teams compete
- page 8B
Other news
•Social News — pages 10-12A
•Public Safety — page 6A
• Legals — pages 7-9A
•Church — page 6B
•Obituaries — page 5B
FLAG MAKES STOP IN BANKS
A flag that is traveling through all 159 counties in Georgia made a stop in Banks County last week.
The executive directors for the 16 regional development centers in Georgia have been working with
the Navy League on a project to take the flag to all of the counties in the state. The USS Georgia
submarine will be retrofitted from a ballistic sub to another mission and restationed at Kings Bay
in Camden County, Georgia. As part of the relocation to Georgia, the Navy League is planning to
honor the return to Georgia by getting a flag taken to every county in Georgia and then placing it
permanently in the USS Georgia. After the flag has traveled through all 159 counties, the flag will be
presented by Gov. Sonny Perdue to the Commanding Officer of the USS Georgia at the Return to
Service Ceremony in Kings Bay on March 28. The flag was in Banks County on January 7.
— Election Updates —
Galloway to seek second
term as county coroner
Henry Galloway has announced that he plans to seek
re-election as county coroner.
Galloway has been serving Banks County for the
past four years.
“I want to thank the residents of the area for their
support,” he said.
GALLOWAY
Absentee voting under way
Absentee ballots for the Feb.
5 presidential preference primary
are currently available from the
Banks County Registrars Office.
Rules regulating absentee bal
lots have changed as registered
voters no longer have to give a
reason for requesting an absentee
ballot by mail. Those requesting
an absentee ballot must ask for a
Democrat or Republican ballot,
however.
Absentee ballots must be
received by the Registrar’s Office
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:
Jan. 28-Feb. I
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 sec
ond 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 additional information,
contact the Registrar’s Office at
706-677-6260.
Baldwin hearing on suit against city postponed to Feb. 5
BY SHARON HOGAN
A hearing on the suit filed against the
City of Baldwin by Baldwin resident
Theron Ayers will be held at 9 a.m. on
Tuesday, Feb. 5, at the Habersham County
Courthouse.
Judge Hugh W. Stone is scheduled to hear
the case filed by Ayers against the city and
City of Baldwin Election Superintendent
Brandy Kyle.
Ayers alleges in the suit that Kyle went
out to homes in the city and brought back
absentee ballots.
Ayers ran against incumbent council
member Beverly Holcomb for the Post 1
council seat. The count after the Nov. 6 city
election showed Holcomb beating Ayers by
three votes.
Ayers suit states that, according to the
two voting machines, Ayers won the elec
tion by one vote. With the 18 absentee bal
lots in question, Ayers lost by three votes.
Ayers states the following reasons for
filing the suite: not knowing the conditions
that the election superintendent required
to be eligible for her to come out to their
homes, the inconsistency of her answers as
to how many homes she actually went to;
his winning on the voting machines; and
the closeness of the vote after counting the
absentee ballots. Ayers also questioned the
training of Kyle to hold this position.
