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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2008
STUDENTS OF THE MONTH
Ashley Duran, Clint Caudell, Melinda Brown and Crystal Cruz were recognized as February
Students of the Month by the Banks County Chamber of Commerce. Photo by Sharon Hogan
Flu activity increasing in area, officials say
Influenza activity across the area
has recently increased, according to
local physicians and hospitals.
“This increase in flu activity is
not unusual because flu typically
peaks during the months of January
and February,” said David Westfall,
M.D., District 2 Public Health direc
tor, which serves Banks County. “We
understand that parents, school offi
cials, child care providers and others
are concerned about flu and offer the
following guidelines to help reduce
the spread of the illness.”
•The best defense against flu is the
flu shot. There is still vaccine avail
able and since flu season in Georgia
runs from October to May, patients
can still get protection.
•Flu is spread by coughing and
sneezing. By covering your mouth
and nose when you cough and
sneeze, you reduce the chance of
spreading the disease.
•Wash your hands frequently and
well. Flu germs can live on hard
surfaces up to 24 hours. When you
handle common items like phones,
door knobs, and pens, germs can
get on our hands. If you touch your
mouth, eyes, or nose then the germs
can enter your body.
•Avoid people who are sick, and if
you are sick, stay home from work
or school.
Flu can be more severe in the elder-
ly, the very young, and people who
have weakened immune systems.
During this time of increased flu
activity, you might consider making
phone calls to people in this group
instead of personal visits to reduce
the chance of giving them the flu.
There are several different strains of
flu. Each year vaccine is prepared
to guard against the most common
strains of flu that are circulating.
Sometimes a type of flu that was not
included in the vaccine for that year
may suddenly become active.
According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, the
vaccine may still offer cross protec
tion for this emerging strain.
Red Cross to offer babysitter’s course March 1
The East Georgia Chapter of the American Red Cross
is offering a babysitter’s training course on Saturday,
March 1, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the American Red
Cross Blood Donor Center in Athens.
The fee is $38 and is open to all 11-to-15 year olds.
Participants in the course will learn how to respond to
emergencies and illnesses with first aid and other appro
priate care, make decisions under pressure, manage
young children safely, identify common safety hazards
and prevent injuries, and choose safe and age-appropri
ate games. For more information, or to register, contact
the East Georgia Chapter at 706-353-1645.
BCHS students honored by chamber
BY SHARON HOGAN
Banks County Chamber of
Commerce members honored four
students from Banks County High
School at the monthly breakfast
meeting on Thursday.
The students were chosen as
February Students of the Month at
BCHS. Each student was recognized
at the meeting and presented with a
certificate from the chamber.
The students honored were: Ashley
Duran, freshman, daughter of Pat
and Sarah Duran, Commerce; Clint
Caudell, sophomore, son of Eddie
and Melinder Caudell, Carnesville;
Melinda Brown, junior, daughter
of JoAnn Brown, Commerce; and
Crystal Cruz, senior, daughter of
Valerie Ladd, Maysville.
The breakfast meeting on Thursday
was sponsored by North Georgia
Accounting and Tax Services, LLC,
Baldwin.
Mark Payne and John Dalton, own
ers of North Georgia Accounting
and Tax Service, LLC presented the
program at the breakfast.
Payne told the members in atten-
dance that they couldn’t wait until
April 15 to start thinking about
taxes.
“You need to know the rules of the
game and take advantage of year-
round tax planning opportunities,”
he said.
Payne said some retirement provi
sions are made permanent begin
ning this year. The higher Individual
Retirement Account (IRA) contri
bution limits is one of these. Also
made permanent was the ability
to make catch-up contributions to
IRAs and the saver’s credit worth up
to $1,000.
Payne also said that the rules
for deducting monetary charitable
contributions have been tightened
beginning in 2007. Donors must
have documentation of a monetary
gift of any amount in order to take
the deduction. The rules for donat
ing clothing or other household
goods have also changed. In order
to get a deduction for such gifts,
they must be in “good” condition or
better. Payne said there is no criteria
on determining what “good” means,
and encouraged everyone to make
sure they get a receipt from the char
ity and take pictures of the item to
substantiate the condition.
“If you donate a single item
appraised at more than $500, you
can take a deduction if you include
a qualified appraisal with your tax
return,” he said.
Payne said there are a lot of chang
es to the tax laws and it is best to
consult a tax professional on these.
Tara Fulcher, Banks County
Chamber director, told the group
that the annual Washington, D.C.,
trip is scheduled for Wednesday and
Thursday, Feb. 27 and 28. At the
meeting on Thursday, a total of 13
people had already signed up to go
on the trip.
Also at the meeting, Annette
Raymond, Piedmont CASA, remind
ed everyone about CASA Blanca
Night planned for Saturday, March
8, at the Jefferson Civic Center.
The next monthly breakfast
meeting will be held at 8 a.m. on
Thursday, March 13, in the meeting
room at First Georgia Bank.
Banks County Preparedness Team meets
BY SHARON HOGAN
The members of the Banks County
Emergency Preparedness Team
held a meeting on Thursday, Feb.
7, to discuss the team’s exercise
objectives and a “tabletop exercise”
planned for March. The scenario
the team will be dealing with is a
pandemic flu outbreak. The team’s
exercise objectives are:
•to evaluate proper personal pro
tective guidelines and that resourc
es are available for identified first
responders.
•to explore the effectiveness of
social distancing by identifying non-
essential services and understand
ing notification procedures and the
procedures for dealing with non
compliance.
•to evaluate the mechanism in
place for alternative forms of nurs
ing care.
•to examine the effectiveness of
timely media releases using newspa
per, TV and radio.
•to evaluate procedures for the
activation of the EOC and the estab
lishment of incident command.
Those in attendance at Thursday’s
meeting were: Deidra Moore and
Toni Faulkner, Banks County 911/
EMS; Bob Waldorf, county agent;
Clay Hobbs, Banks County School
System; Darrell Crane, Banks County
Sheriff’s Office; Brian Eubanks and
Gary Pollard, Banks County Fire
and EMS; Angela Sheppard, Banks
County government; JoAnn Dodd,
Ashley Smith and Jan Poole, Banks
County Health Department; Mark
Palen, District II Public Health
Emergency Preparedness Manager;
Nina Cleveland-Hall, District II
Public Health; Melody Stancil, Linda
Overby, Lisa Leedahl and Shanda
Hegwood, BJC Medical Center; and
Robin Trotter, Generous Hearts.
Grant funds available for local agricultural producers
The Georgia Soil and Water
Conservation Commission
(GSWCC) has announced that a
Clean Water Act, Section 319(h)
water quality improvement cost
share program is available for land
owners in the Upper Broad River
Watershed. The project area includes
Banks County.
GSWCC will be working with
local agricultural producers over the
next three years to implement the
program. Participating producers
will receive cost share funding for
the purpose of installing best man-
agement practices (BMPs) in the
Upper Broad River Watershed. The
management practices will be avail
able to landowners at a base cost
share of 60 percent. Landowners
will have one year to complete prac
tices under contract.
Eligible BMPs that can be funded
through this project include, but are
not limited to: stackhouses, winter
feeders, composting facilities, water
ing ramps, stream crossings, inciner
ators, heavy use areas, buffer fencing
and crossing fencing. Buffer fencing
is paid at 60 percent for 15-foot buf-
fers, 80 percent for 30-foot buffers
and 100 percent for 60-foot buffers.
The local soil and water conserva
tion districts assisting in the project
include the Broad River Soil and
Water Conservation District, and the
Stephens County Soil and Water
Conservation District.
Interested agricultural producers
may apply to take part in the pro
gram Feb. 18 through March 21.
For more information, or to sign up,
contact project coordinator Loren
Hebert at the GSWCC office in
Athens at 706-542-9233.
Call 706-367-5233 to subscribe to the ISC\
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Damascus
BAPtfST
CHURCH
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1
Damascus Baptist Church
Requests that you join us in our
Celebration Weekend
February 22, 23, and 24, 2008
To celebrate and dedicate God's gift to
Damascus Baptist Church and Damascus Community
of the beautiful new facility located at the corner of
Damascus Road and Christmas Tree Road
1526 Damascus Road, Homer, Georgia 30547
6:00
7:00
7:45
12:00
Friday, Feb. 22, 2008
Youth Revival led by the Worship Band of Truett McConnell
College
Meal in the Fellowship Hall
Fellowship and Worship led by the youth band of Antioch Baptist
Church
Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008
Chicken Q in the fellowship hall followed by gospel singing and
special music including The Rays, Mountain Faith, The Jackson
Family and others
Choir Practice
Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008
10:00
11:00
12:00
2:00
Bible Study
Worship - sermon by Rev. Ricky Powell, Fort Caroline Baptist
Church, Jacksonville, FL
Meal in the Fellowship Hall
Dedication service and worship led by choir and Joe and Kim
Stanley
3:30 Reception and Open House
Dr. Neelagaru, M.D. (Dr. Neel)
J
N. Neelagaru, M.D. (Dr. Neel) is
now associated with Northeast
Georgia Medical Center,
Gainesville, Georgia and will do all
aS a
Invasive Cardiology Procedures at
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this facility.
Commerce Cardiology Clinic
Call 335-2000 for appointment
THANK YOU!
Kyle Smith and family would like to thank
the community for your thoughts and
prayers. We would also like to send a special
thanks to Coach John Bertrang for his
generosity and kindness. We are proud to be
part of this Leopard community.
Thanks,
Kyle, Robert, Linda, Brittany and Laney