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Sports: IB
BCHS soccer teams
usher in new season
Saddle club
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Day' Sat.
February 27,2008
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The Banks County News
504^ Homer, Banks County, Georgia 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • mainstreetnews.com • 22 Pages, 3 Sections Plus Supplements • Vol. 39 No. 29
TANKER TRUCK OVERTURNS
Banks County fire and EMS responded to a tanker truck that was
overturned and leaking Friday afternoon at Hwy. 59 and Ledford
Road. The truck, which was ruptured and leaking, was carrying
7,700 gallons of diesel. The Hall County Hazardous Material Team
was called in to assist. Approximately 4,000 to 4,200 gallons of
product was released. “The product was contained and did not
reach any water ways,” reports chief Gary Pollard. “The EPA and
all other agencies were notified. We responded with three engines
and one med unit. We had 15 people responding.”
Accident on Hwy. 59
causes diesel spill
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
A tractor-trailer accident in Banks
County Friday caused a diesel fuel spill
which in turn caused passage in the area
to be blocked for several hours.
A tractor-trailer driven by David
Joseph Clark of Dacula was traveling
north on Hwy. 59 approximately half a
mile from the intersection of Hwy. 164
when he lost control and eventually ran
off the roadway, ran into a telephone
pole and overturned.
Clark told investigators he was reach
ing down to pick up some papers he had
dropped, but his truck began exiting the
road as he went around a curve. The
trailer, owned by Rock and Tank Lines
of Florida, was filled with diesel fuel
and there was some spill on the roadway
and nearby ground.
Clark was not seriously injured in the
accident and did not require transport to
a hospital, Banks County sheriff Charles
Chapman said. Fire fighters from Banks
County and Hall County responded to
the scene to assist with the cleanup.
Initially, it was not known whether
the trailer was filled with gasoline or
diesel fuel.
Representatives of the phone com
pany and power company were also
on hand. The area around where the
accident occurred was not accessible for
several hours.
The Georgia State Patrol Office in
Gainesville investigated the accident.
Clark was charged with failure to main
tain proper lane.
“The accident involved several man
hours to clear,” Chapman said.
Rep. Jamieson cited for
not paying state taxes
JAMIESON
Rep. Jeanette Jamieson has been cited by the
Georgia Department of Revenue for not paying
her state taxes for the past eight years.
She has reportedly agreed to pay $45,734 by the
March 15 deadline.
Rep. Jamieson, a Toccoa accountant, represents
Banks and Stephens counties, as well as part of
Franklin County.
News - 2-3A
•Crowd opposed to
development proposal for
Lula — page 2A
•Outdoor watering OK
in Baldwin — page 2A
Op/Ed
• ‘No such thing as per
fect timing’
— page 4A
Other news
•School News — pages 6-8B
•Social News — pages 8-10A
•Public Safety — page 6A
• Legals — page 4B
•Church — page 5B
• Obituaries — page 7A
County leaders
in Washington,
D.C., this week
Banks County leaders are in
Washington, D.C., this week meeting
with the nation’s leaders about issues
concerning the county. The 15-mem
ber Banks County group will be in
the nation’s capitol Wednesday and
Thursday of this week meeting with
legislators who represent the coun
ty. This is the fifth year the Banks
County Chamber of Commerce has
organized the trip.
Those county leaders going on
the trip include: Gene Hart, board of
commission chairman; Robin Trotter,
Family Connections director; Angela
Sheppard, county administrative offi
cer; Tara Fulcher, chamber of com-
continued on page 3A
First K-9 officer on job for BCSO
Officer Jo Jo rated
'one of best' at
the K-9 academy
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
The newest member of the Banks
County Sheriff’s Office is sleek, lean,
strong and ready for duty.
He’s also approximately two years
old and has four legs. His name is
Officer Jo Jo and he is the first K-9
officer the Banks County Sheriff’s
Office has employed.
A full-blooded German Shepherd,
Officer Jo Jo is a native of Texas
where he was brought up at a kennel
which trains police K-9 officers. Banks
County Sheriff Charles Chapman said
the Texas kennel is considered “highly
respected” in the field.
Officer Jo Jo was shipped from
Texas to the Chatham County Sheriff’s
Department in Savannah for additional
training. During this time he met his
new partner in Banks County, deputy
Mike Wood. The new partners spent
four weeks training together and now
are on patrol on the highways and
byways in Banks County.
Officer Wood is now a certified K-9
handler and he and his partner were on
display earlier this week at the BCSO.
Officer Wood demonstrated the com
mands Officer Jo Jo abides by and
continued on page 3A
MAKING IT POSSIBLE
A donation from Wayne and Heather Abbs, owners of Wayne Neal Chevrolet, allowed the Banks
County Sheriff’s Office to obtain Officer Jo Jo. The new K-9 officer was on display this week along
with the Abbs and his partner Officer Mike Wood and sheriff Charles Chapman.
Photo by Chris Bridges
Madison plea hearing set March 4
A plea hearing has
been set for 10 a.m.
Tuesday, March 4, in
Banks County for for
mer District Attorney
Tim Madison, who was
indicted in August on
theft charges.
Madison and two
others, his wife Linn
Jones and former
ADA Anthony Brett
Williams, were charged with
diverting public funds while the
three worked in the Piedmont
Judicial Circuit DA’s
office. Jones and
Williams will also be
present for Tuesday’s
hearing, but it is not
known whether they
will be entering a plea.
All three pled not
guilty to the charges
in December, but next
week’s hearing could
see a change in those
pleas. A pretrial conference
was held earlier this month
between state prosecutors and
the defendants.
DeKalb County Judge Robert
Mallis is hearing the case after
all three judges in the Piedmont
Circuit recused themselves.
Madison resigned last June
as district attorney following a
series of investigative newspaper
articles published in The Jackson
Herald. GeorgiaAttorney General
Thurbert Baker subsequently
launched an investigation into
the DA’s office. That probe led
to the theft indictments in Banks
County last August.
MADISON
Land talk
held behind
closed doors
The Banks County Development
Authority met Wednesday, Feb. 20,
with most of the 40 minutes spent in
closed session to discuss land acquisi
tion. No action was taken when the
meeting was opened to the public.
The authority will hold its next reg
ularly scheduled meeting at 9 a.m. on
Wednesday, March 19, in the meeting
room at the courthouse.
New graduation requirements
Current Rule
4 tiers, each with different requirements: College Preparatory
(CP) and College Preparatory with Distinction (CP+),
Technology/Career (TC) and Technology/Career with
Distinction (TC+)
Proposed Rule
1 common set of requirements for all students
22 total units required for CP and TC
24 total units required for CP+ and TC+
23 total units required for all students
4 units of English Language Arts required for all students
4 units of English Language Arts required for all students
4 units of Mathematics required for CP and CP+; 3 units
required for TC and TC+
4 units of Mathematics required for all students
3 units of Science required for all students
4 units of Science required for all students (the 4th science
unit may be used to meet both the science and elective
requirements)
3 units of Social Studies required for all students
3 units of Social Studies required for all students, all courses
are specifically identified
1 unit of Health and Physical Education required for all stu
dents
1 unit of Health and Physical Education required for all
students; 3 units of JROTC may be used to meet the require
ment
1 unit of Computer Technology and/or Fine Arts and/or
Technology Career Preparatory and/or Foreign Language
required for all students
A total of 3 units required from: CTAE and/or Foreign
Language and/or Fine Arts for all students (students plan
ning to enter or transfer into a University System of Georgia
institution or other post-secondary institution must take
two units of the same foreign language).
2 units of Foreign Language required for CP and CP+ stu
dents
5 - 6 additional elective units depending on tier (CP, CP+, TC,
TC+)
4 additional elective units for all students
BOE sets new
graduation
requirements
The Banks County Board of
Education passed a new set of gradua
tion requirements Feb. 19 at the regular
session that will assure Banks County’s
students graduate high school ready for
college and work.
The new graduation rule, similar to the
rule adopted by the state last September,
eliminates Georgia’s “tiered” diploma,
in which there were different expecta
tions for different students.
The major changes in the new
Georgia rule call for four units of math
ematics and an additional unit of sci
ence required for all students.
The current Georgia rule allows for
four units of mathematics and three
units of science for students prepar
ing to go to college and three units of
mathematics and three units of science
for students graduating with a “tech
prep” seal.
continued on page 3A
