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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2008 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PAGE 3A Banks gets 20-year loan for water system improvements Banks County has been approved for a Georgia Fund loan of $858,725 to finance water system improve ments and the replacement of some 32,850 linear feet of water line. The county will pay 4.1 percent interest on the 20-year loan. The total project cost is $858,725 and will be entirely funded by the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA). Gov. Sonny Perdue approved $31.7 million in loans to finance water, sewer and reservoir infrastructure improvements this week, including nine Georgia Fund loans. Fieldale Farms recognizes 161 safe vehicle operators at banquet RECOGNIZED FOR SAFE DRIVING Tom Hensley and Joe Hatfield recognize Calvin Gragg and Buman Bone of the Live Haul Division for 30 years of safe driving at Fieldale Farms. Fieldale Farms recently recog nized 161 commercial vehicle operators for their years of safe driving. A banquet and awards presentation ceremony were held. Fieldale operators drove nearly eight million miles during 2007 while experiencing a minimum of vehicle accidents. Those recognized for 15 years or more were: Buman Bone, 30 years; Calvin Gragg, 30 years; Buford Addis, 29 years; Joel House, 26 years; Mickey Sweeten, 26 years; Doug Jones, 24 years; John Price, 23 years; Dennis Rogers, 22 years; Wayne Taylor, 22 years; Andy Tench, 22 years; Aubrey Westmoreland, 22 years; Danny McCay, 21 years; Johnny Robinson, 21 years; Mitchell Skelton, 21 years; Raymond Nix, 20 years; Ray Payne, 20 years; Dennis Franklin, 19 years; Jerry Dockery, 18 years; Joel Dockery, 18 years; George McCallister, 18 years; Ronald McCallister, 18 years; Frank Taylor, 18 years; Ezra Wiley, 18 years; James Arrowood, 17 years; Billy Caudell, 17 years; Marcus Crowe, 16 years; Lonzo Ellis, 16 years; Danny Grindle, 16 years; Danny Erwin, 15 years; Charles Gibson, 15 years; David Krich, 15 years; Dennis Taylor, 15 years; and Milton Wade, 15 years. Those recognized for under 15 years were: Chris Cochran, 14 years; Keith McCallister, 14 years; Travon Mack, 14 years; Gary Newsome, 14 years; Frank Shook, 14 years; Alan Chambers, 13 years; Scott Chambers, 13 years; Tony Hulsey, 13 years; Tim Taylor, 13 years; Eddie Coley, 12 years; Roger LeMaster, 12 years; Larry Littleton, 12 years; Marty Smith, 12 years; Roger Thomason, 12 years; Mark Cochran, 11 years; Jimmy Crowe, 11 years; Jerry Wayne Etris, 11 years; Steve Gragg, 11 years; Henry Grizzle; Max Alfani, 10 years; Dale Bradshaw, 10 years; Heath Caruso, 10 years; Jimmy Hopkins, 10 years; Stanley Layman, 10 years; Buddy Linder, 10 years; Glenn Porter; Tim Pritchett, 10 years; Stanley Etris, nine years; James Garrett, nine years; Jimmy Garrison, nine years; Tony Harding, nine years; Charles Pittman, nine years; Dean White, nine years; Ralph Wilbanks, nine years; Jerry Skelton, nine years; Larry Shirley, nine years; Marcus Bohannon, eight years; Linda Newton, eight years; Billy Owenby, eight years; Doug Sosebee, eight years; David Tallant, eight years; Les Tench, eight years; Dwayne Umberhandt, eight years; Terry Dean, seven years; Brad Dockery, seven years; Autry Gibby, seven years; David Jarrell, seven years; Mike Lovell, seven years; Chris Pritchett, seven years; Ron Rafala, seven years; Daniel Chadderdon, six years; Shannon Chitwood, six years; Roy Defoor, six years; Stephen Jones, six years; Robert Oliver, six years; Larry McConnell, six years; Michael Speed, six years; Larry Bohannon, five years; Jody Cantrell, five years; Wayne Chitwood, five years; Matthew Eller, five years; Jerry Fowler, five years; Ronnie James, five years; Chris Martin; Adrian Brooksher, four years; Jeffery Cotton, four years; Kevin Goss, four years; Dewey Holcomb, four years; Kelly Lord, four years; Pedro Martinez; four years; Jason Mulkey, four years; Jose Jimenez-Reyes, four years; Tommy Richardson, four years; Martin Rodriguez,four years; Jeffery Stephens, four years; Ernest Thomas, four years; Clifford Tuck, four years; Ted Wilbanks four years; Melvin Bridges, three years; Larry Bryant, three years; Joseph Dimaggio, three years; Chad Edwards, three years; Joseph Hamilton, three years; Brady Hurt, three years; Scott Lindvig, three years; William Manley, three years; Ronald Prather, three years; William Sage, three years; Robert Sanchez, three years; Roman Soto-Herrera, three years; George Tate, three years; Edward Winkler, three years; David Adams, two years; Greg Etris, two years; Randy Crow, two years; Keith Franklin, two years; Keith Goss, two years; Chris Head, Steve Henry, Kim Johnson, Tim Meeks, Ricky Moore, James Nations, Daryl Nichelson, two years; Hoyt Patton, two years; Chris Pilcher, two years; Preston Rider, two years; Lyle Robertson, two years; William Slayton, two years; Jerry Thompson, two years; Daniel Thurmond, two years; Ramona Benson, one years; Ryan Bonnette, one years; Jason Brock, one year; Brent Brumbaugh, one year; Grant Brumbaugh, one year; Jeremy Crowe, one year; Roger Defoor, one year; Jeffery Evans, one year; Ronald Freeman, one year; Johnny Gibson, one year; Matt Hall, one year; Jason Isom, one year; Ray Laney, one year; James McGee, one year; David Tatum, one year; Tony Thomason, one year; and Truett Simmemon, one year. Legacy Link provides free job training for Banks County seniors Legacy Link offers free job training for Banks County residents age 55 and older. The senior community service employment pro gram offers part-time on-the-job training positions for qualified people. The qualifications include: age 55 and older, must be a resident of the state and must meet federal low-income guidelines. “The purpose of the program is to offer a tempo rary stepping stone back into the work force,” offi cials say. “Positions are not meant to be permanent employment.” On-the-job training means that the participants will be assigned to train at a government or non profit agency for 20 hours per week. The pay will be minimum wage for any time spent training, attend ing approved classes or program meetings or any other related training activities. Program participants perform a wide variety of duties, including clerical/office support, providing social services to other seniors and members of the community, helping in the kitchen of senior nutri tion sites and other tasks. The participants will also undergo assessment, testing and counseling while in the program. Participants will also be referred to jobs in the area as they become available. The program is funded by a grant from the United States Department of Labor through the National Council on the Aging Inc. For more information, call 770-538-2650. SAMPLE BALLOT BANKS COUNTY PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE PRIMARY FEBRUARY 5, 2008 DEMOCRATIC For President of the United States (Vote for One) o JOE BIDEN o HILLARY CLINTON o CHRIS DODD o JOHN EDWARDS o MIKE GRAVEL o DENNIS J. KUCINICH o BARACK OBAMA o BILL RICHARDSON REPUBLICAN For President of the United States (Vote for One) o RUDY GIULIANI o MIKE HUCKABEE o DUNCAN HUNTER o ALAN KEYES o JOHN McCAIN o RON PAUL o MITT ROMNEY o TOM TANCREDO CD FRED THOMPSON Public meetings you can attend The following local government agencies hold regular meetings which are open to the public: •Maysville City Council, 7 p.m., first Monday of each month at the Maysville Public Library. •Banks County High School All Sports Booster Club, 6:30 p.m., first Monday of each month, BCHS library. •Maysville Beautification Committee, 7 p.m., fourth Thursday of each month at the Maysville Public Library. •Banks County Planning Commission, 7 p.m., first Tuesday of each month at the courthouse. •Gillsville City Council, 7 p.m., first Tuesday of each month at city hall. A work session is held at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month. •BanksCountyBoardofEducation, 7 p.m., third Monday of each month at the BOE office. The work session is held on the Thursday prior to the regular meeting. •Baldwin City Council, 7 p.m., second and fourth Monday of each month at city hall. A work session is held at 6:30 p.m. on the Thursday preceding each regular meeting. •Homer City Council, 6 p.m., sec ond Tuesday of each month at city hall. •Banks County Board of Commissioners 6:30 p.m. second Tuesday of each month at the court house. A work session is held at 3:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month at the courthouse. •Alto City Council, 7 p.m., second Tuesday of each month at city hall. •Lula City Council, 7 p.m., third Monday of each month at city hall. A work session is held at 11 a.m. on the Thursday preceding the regular meeting. •BJC Medical Center board of directors, 1:30 p.m., third Monday of each month in the conference room of the hospital. •Banks County Middle School Booster Club, 6:30 p.m., third Monday of each month at the Banks County Middle School lunchroom. Georgia Fund Scholarship offers assistance to local GED students The new Georgia Fund Scholarship pays the $95 testing fee for all adult learners who live in designated rural coun ties across Georgia, including Banks County. To qualify for this scholar ship, participants must: •reside in Banks County. •be enrolled in GED class es at the Banks County Adult Learning Center. •meet the minimum atten dance requirement (12 hours). •achieve the status of “Test Readiness” (Level 6) on a skills test and GED practice test. For more information, call the Banks County Adult Learning Center, 706-677-4302, or drop by during regular, busi ness hours (Mondays through Wednesdays, 8:30 - 5:30, and Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Georgia Fund Scholarship will be offered to qualifying stu dents one time only. Students must pay for second attempts at passing the GED. About MainStreet Newspapers •About the newspapers: The five MainStreet Newspapers pub lications - The Madison County Journal, The Jackson Herald, The Commerce News, The Braselton News and The Banks County News - are printed and delivered once a week. •About delivery: The newspapers are delivered to the post office and, from there, to subscribers’ post office boxes or home mailboxes. The newspapers do not have “paper boxes” at people’s homes and are not delivered by carriers. However, the papers are delivered to news racks in various locations across Madison, Jackson and Banks coun ties. •About subscriptions: Subscribers are sent a renewal notice before their subscription runs out. A quick way to check to see when a subscription ends is to look for the expiration date on the mailing label. For more information on the above items, or for other details about the newspapers, call The Madison County Journal at 706-795-2567, The Jackson Herald and The Braselton News at 706-367-5233; The Commerce News at 706-335-2927; or The Banks County News at 706-677-3491. A thing of beauty truly is a joy for ever! Preserve the celebrations of your life and loves with quality you can see and experience you can trust! Saturday, February 2 Grand Opening! Handcrafted FRAMING Beautiful Handmade Gifts and Pottery DonByramArt 706-336-8080 249 Pottery Factory Drive, Commerce Commerce Crossing Shopping Center Stop in and say hello to Janice and V.C. (formerly of The Pottery Frame Shop) and ask about our February Grand Opening special!